Title: Mesmerized
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG
Table: 1, 50scenes
Prompt: 42, Dark Eyes
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Ianto Jones or the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

***


Ianto shifted on the couch, his arms tightening around the Doctor's waist. He loved the times they were able to spend together like this, not doing anything in particular, just enjoying the time they had with each other.

Being here in Cardiff was something they did less frequently now; it wasn't that the Doctor received urgent summons from anyone, or that he had somewhere to rush off to. No, it was more that the Time Lord was becoming more comfortable with taking Ianto out into the stars with him.

The young man was glad of that; he hated it when the Doctor left him behind. They'd discussed the reasons for doing that quite a lot, and though he understood the Doctor's reasoning, that didn't necessarily mean that he liked it.

Or agreed with it, at least a good part of the time. He could certainly understand why the Doctor didn't want him to risk his life; after all, the Time Lord had lost so many people in the past that he'd cared for, it made sense that he didn't want to lose another one.

And he wasn't just a friend, or a companion, he told himself as he rested his cheek against the other man's soft hair. He was the Doctor's lover, his soul mate. He was the man that the Time Lord was destined to spend his life with.

Anyone would be cautious about possibly putting someone who meant that much to them in any sort of danger. He couldn't blame the Doctor for feeling that way.

But at the same time, he had pointed out to the Time Lord that his work with Torchwood threw him into the path of danger a great deal of the time -- just as much so as if he'd been with the Doctor out in the galaxy. That couldn't be denied.

The Doctor had reluctantly agreed with Ianto on that point, but he still seemed hesitant to let his lover accompany him every time he felt that he had to leave Earth. But it did happen more frequently now, and Ianto was glad of that.

How many times had he pointed out to the Doctor that if something happened to him, if he was forced to regenerate, or if he was killed, that Ianto would be here on Earth without a clue as to what had happened? He shuddered at the thought.

Of course, if the Doctor regenerated, he'd know eventually -- his lover would come back to him. But that man wouldn't be his Doctor; he wouldn't look the same, and even his personality would change. He wouldn't be the man who Ianto had fallen in love with.

And the Time Lord might not feel the same about him if he was forced into a new regeneration. That was what frightened him more than anything else -- the idea that the Doctor would still exist, in a way, but that he'd be a completely different man.

Though he didn't want to admit it to his lover, he hoped that he would be dead and gone long before that happened. He knew that he wouldn't be able to deal with it.

"Ianto." The Doctor's voice was soft, but it cut into the young man's thoughts as though the other man had shouted. He almost jumped, but he managed to keep himself from revealing how startled he was. Well, at least he hoped he had.

"What is it, love?" he murmured, bending his head to brush his lips across the Time Lord's cheek. "I'm sorry -- I was thinking. I'm usually not miles away in my mind when I'm holding you, but I was thinking about the two of us."

"I could tell that," the Doctor told him, tilting back his head to look up at his lover. "And it's nice to know that you're thinking of me. But .... do you think you could hold me a bit less tightly? You're nearly crushing my ribs."

Ianto hastily loosened his grip around the Time Lord's waist; he hadn't realized that it was getting tighter as his thoughts had grown a bit more disturbing. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to hurt you -- but you know that already."

The Doctor shook his head, leaning back in Ianto's arms with a relieved sigh. "Of course I knew that, sweetheart. I thought you must have something on your mind that was making you tense -- or that might be upsetting you."

"No, not upsetting," Ianto said softly, raising a hand to brush a stray lock of hair back from the Doctor's forehead. "Just .... things that I muse on once in a while."

He looked down at the man in his arms, smiling as their eyes met. He could get lost in those big brown eyes; they were so deep, so dark and fathomless. He couldn't help but wonder if it was possible for him to drown in those eyes; there were times when he was sure that he could.

He'd never really believed in that old cliché about someone's eyes being the doorway to their soul, Ianto thought to himself, but in the Doctor's case, he had to. Those eyes held so many secrets -- secrets that he couldn't fathom.

But the Doctor had told him so many things that he'd never revealed to anyone else. This man had opened up his hearts and his soul to him; he'd made Ianto his mate. If he didn't reveal everything about himself .... well, he had a right to a bit of privacy, even from his lover.

Ianto was sure that the Doctor would tell him anything he wanted to know if he asked. There was nothing that he'd keep from the Time Lord; he'd let this man see into the deepest, darkest depths of his soul, and he knew that the Doctor would do the same for him.

The Time Lord knew everything there was to know about him, really. He knew things about Ianto that the young man had sworn he would never tell another soul -- things that he'd been ashamed of, things that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Somehow, telling the Doctor about those things had made them easier to bear; it had assuaged at least some of the guilt he'd felt over many of the things he'd done.

Looking into those beautiful dark eyes could take away all of his fears for the future, all of his doubts about what might happen to them. There was safety in those eyes, a safety that Ianto had never thought he would be able to find.

There was warmth in those dark depths, a love that reached out to encompass Ianto completely. He'd thought that he had known what love was before he met the Doctor -- but the kind of love he saw in those eyes was beyond anything he'd ever conceived of.

The Doctor's eyes could make him feel safe and protected, wrapped in a warmth that he wouldn't have thought was possible if he hadn't felt it every time the other man looked at him. Those eyes said so much that neither of them ever expressed in words, but they both knew was there.

Ianto had no idea if his own blue-grey eyes expressed the same sentiments to the Doctor, but he hoped they did. He wanted everything he felt for this man to show in his eyes, in the way he looked at the man he loved.

And even if his eyes didn't convey all of that -- he was sure that the Doctor could feel it in the way that Ianto held him, the connection that existed between the two of them. Not just a connection of their bodies, but of their minds, their hearts, and their souls.

It wouldn't be possible for him to have this with anyone else, Ianto told himself, bending his head to capture the Doctor's lips with his own.

No one else could ever mean to him what this man did. He'd cared for people before -- first there'd been Lisa, and then Jack -- but even those relationships paled in comparison to what he shared with the Time Lord.

The Doctor was studying him quizzically, as though he had some question on his lips that he wasn't quite sure if he should ask. Ianto waited for him to speak, wondering just what the Time Lord would say and if it would be something that he'd have an easy answer for.

"I hope those thoughts aren't something that I need to chase away," the Doctor said softly, a small smile curving his lips. "If they are, then I'll have to think of some way of doing that, won't I? Tell me, what do you think would be the best way to do that?"

"You already have," Ianto said simply, smiling down at the man in his arms. "All I have to do is look into those beautiful eyes and any worries I might have just melt away. I can't even remember what I was thinking about, now that you've mesmerised me."

"Good," replied the Doctor, sighing with contentment and leaning back in his lover's embrace. "I'd hate to think that you had something on your mind that was making you worry. We don't need any of that at the moment. Save it for another time."

Ianto nodded, leaning back against the couch cushions and closing his eyes. He had no need to worry, not now. He had the man he loved in his arms -- and now that he'd been soothed by those eyes and the look of love in them, nothing could disturb the peace that surrounded him.

***