Title: A Lifetime of Moments
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3
Prompt: 33, Moment
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.

***

The Doctor stood on the balcony of Ianto's flat, looking out over the city of Cardiff. Strange how he'd come to feel so much at home here; until just a few months ago, it had seemed that the Tardis would be the only home he'd know from now on.

Cardiff was so different from Gallifrey, yet there was so much about it that felt familiar. And the longer he was here, the more comfortable he became with considering this city the place where he belonged, the more hazy Gallifrey seemed to grow in his memory.

Yet he could still pick out moments of his life there, moments that would be etched in his memory forever. The skies at night; the sparkling waters of the seas on his planet; even the home that he'd grown up in, and the faces of people he'd known and loved.

A lifetime of moments that made up the person he was. Everyone had those moments; it didn't matter if they were Gallifreyan, human, or another race.

Somehow, those moments seemed to come back to him with far less frequency than they had before he'd met Ianto and fallen in love. Was that part of what finding his soul mate done to him, made his memories grow dim?

He shook his head as though he was trying to negate the question from his mind. Of course not. He wasn't going to forget Gallifrey and the people he'd cared for there, any more than he was going to forget any of his companions he'd had.

But life moved on. Just as his body didn't stay the same, he wouldn't remain the same on the inside. He'd changed a great deal from the person who'd first left Gallifrey to travel the universe; he would keep changing as his life went on.

The Doctor sighed, resting his elbows on the iron railing that surrounded the balcony. He'd never thought that he would settle down in any way, especially on Earth. It still seemed incredible to him that he could stay in one place for a fairly long period of time.

Everything about his relationship with Ianto had been new to him. From the emotional side of their relationship to the physical, it was different from any other involvement he'd ever had. Maybe that was because he and Ianto were fated to be together.

He raised his hand to the pendant glowing around his neck, closing his fingers over it. This was part of the proof that they were soul mates, this piece of glowing crystal that never left him.

The moments of his life with Ianto hadn't grown hazy at all; they stood out crystal-clear, with as much clarity as though they'd only happened days ago. He could replay them all in his mind and not miss a single detail.

That night that he'd found out it was Ianto who had been sending him those love letters and roses .... it had been such a turning point in his life. A moment that would always be engraved on his mind, and on his hearts. One that he knew he could never forget.

The moments he'd shared with Ianto, and those he had memories of from Gallifrey. Some of the most important moments of his life, times that had made him who and what he was. And there were others, too, of course.

There had been so many face-offs with the Master, moments when he'd been faced with making decisions that he wanted to walk away from. And other enemies that he'd squared off against, who'd forced him into actions he'd rather not have taken.

He he always made the right decisions in those times? Probably not. Especially with the Master, and especially after the destruction of their home planet. Once Gallifrey was gone, sometimes it seemed that the Master was all he had left to remind him of home.

And he was still out there somewhere. He could pop up at any time; the Doctor wasn't sure if that was a curse, or in some ways, a challenge that he welcomed.

What was he thinking? He shook his head, a frown crossing his features. Of course it was a curse. The few times that he'd had to deal with the Master since he'd been with Ianto, the other man's maniacal villainy had only increased. It would never change, only get worse.

Ianto had been caught in the middle of that too many times already. Now that the Master knew that he had a lover, someone who he would go to any lengths to protect, he would be more of a target than the Doctor was.

Or the Master would use their relationship to his own advantage. A shiver went through his body, in spite of the warmth of the day. That had been done before, by other people -- and by the Master, too. It wasn't something he wanted to deal with again.

But with the Master, anything could happen. Those were moments that he could pull out of his memory, too; moments that he'd had to make yet more decisions that had affected his life -- and sometimes the world -- in a myriad of ways.

Moments that he didn't particularly want to remember. Another shudder swept over his body; the memories that thoughts of the Master evoked were never good ones. Better if he pushed them to one side, left them for a time when he was more willing to study them.

The Doctor sighed, letting his eyes sweep over the panorama of Cardiff that was visible from Ianto's flat. Could he see himself spending his life here -- or at least part of it?

The thought almost made him laugh aloud. Wasn't that what he was already doing? True, he was only here for what were really short periods of time -- but it had been time enough to make him feel comfortable here, almost as though he fit in.

Now, that was something he'd never believed could happen to him. In all the long centuries of his life, he'd never felt that he would feel at home anywhere but in the safe confines of his ship -- or on a planet that no longer existed.

But strangely enough, he did feel at home here. Cardiff had become familiar, a place where people he cared about were, a place where he'd gotten used to being able to come back to. He could slip into life here more easily than he could in any other place.

Of course, he'd never be able to actually settle down. It wasn't what he was meant for; maybe in some deep, dark recess of his mind, a part of him yearned for that kind of stability, but the more rational side of him knew that he wasn't going to do that.

He was too much of a traveler, a wanderer. He would never be happy in one place -- and he was fortunate that his lover understood that. Ianto would never expect him to settle down here, to give up what he was and stay in one place.

Still, there were moments that he could pick out of his life here, too. Moments that he treasured, that he wanted to hold on to. Cardiff had become as dear to him in a way as Gallifrey had been, and he knew that no matter where he went, he would want to come back here.

No, he would never settle down in one place for good. He'd known that for longer than he cared to remember; and Ianto knew that too. Ianto didn't expect him to settle here in Cardiff -- in fact, he expected the Doctor to be nothing less than what he was.

He could have this place, this home, and he could still be what he was. It would be good to finally have a place that he could come home to.

And more than that, Ianto would be here. He would have the man he loved by his side, and the two of them could create many, many more moments in their time together to add to the ones that were already carved into his memories.

Smiling, the Doctor straightened up, running a hand through his hair and surveying the city before he turned back towards the sliding glass doors that led back into the flat. He and Ianto had some memories to make -- and he could hardly wait to get started on doing just that.

***