Title: One Moment in Time
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: Amnesty in January, 5_prompts
Prompt: 4, from Table 28 - In a split second
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 looked around him, alert for anything that might be a danger to himself or the Doctor. This was the first time either of them had been on this planet, and the last thing he wanted was to find that they were unprepared for anything that might strike.

He knew all too well how quickly unseen problems could occur -- and how easy it was to overlook what had led up to them. It only took a split second for catastrophe to happen; he'd seen that often enough in his travels with the Doctor.

He'd seen it during his time in Torchwood, too. He knew how quickly tragedy could take place, and he wasn't going to losing the Doctor due to something that could have been prevented if he'd simply been more cautious, more vigilant.

"It seems safe," the Doctor commented from behind him, moving to stand by his lover's side. "It's always interesting to find a new planet, isn't it? Even though we have to be even more careful to watch out for trouble than on planets we already know."

"I don't know about that," Ianto said with a soft laugh. "It seems that every time we're on Earth, no matter what time period we go to, we get into some sort of mixup. That's the planet we might both know best -- and yet it's the one where trouble seems to always follow us."

"Well, I told you that I'm a magnet for trouble!" the Doctor told him, his laugh echoing Ianto's. "I'm always bringing trouble towards me, I think. It never seems to take a holiday, especially when I'm least expecting it. I think it knows where to look for me."

"Trouble used to seem to have a way of finding me easily when I was working with Torchwood," Ianto mused, a frown furrowing his brow. "But I think that was more in the nature of the work, and not who I am. I hope that hasn't changed. I don't want to cause more trouble for you."

"Well, even if having you with me makes me more of a trouble magnet, that doesn't matter," the Doctor declared, slipping his arm through Ianto's and heading for the door. "As long as I have you by my side, I can overcome any trouble that I might get into."

Privately, Ianto wasn't so sure of that. He'd heard enough horrific stories about how the Master had been able to capture the Doctor in the past to know that his lover didn't always win the battles he faced -- though he was confident that the Time Lord would always prevail in the end.

Still, with two of them looking out for each other, the level of danger that the Doctor might be heading into in any place that he found himself was much reduced -- and Ianto was glad of that. The thought of anything happening to this man made his heart quiver.

The idea of losing the Doctor was something that he couldn't bear thinking about. The Time Lord meant more to him than he'd ever thought one single person could; he'd thought that he had been in love before, but those emotions had been nothing like this.

The love that he felt for the Doctor wasn't just an emotion -- it was a living, breathing entity. Nothing that he'd ever felt had been this overwhelming, this passionate. Not even his feelings for Jack or Lisa had come close to this -- but then, they hadn't been his soul mate, his destiny.

He knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he'd been born to be with the Doctor; the Time Lord had waited patiently all those centuries for their meeting. He'd had to live such a long time to find his other half -- and now that they'd found each other, Ianto wasn't letting go.

It still seemed incredible to him that they'd been put together in the way that they had, that every situation they'd been in, everything that they'd gone through, had led up to the events that had taken place in the Hub such a short time ago.

That had taught him a great deal about the nature of fate. It had only taken a split second for him to fall into the Rift; for the Doctor's regenerations to be stopped at the inward stage; for his own life to be taken -- and then given back to him in the gift of immortality.

Everything could change in the blink of an eye, in the space of a heartbeat. There was only one moment in time when things could be avoided -- and if you missed that moment, that window of opportunity to turn back, there was nothing to do but march forward into the future.

There was one single moment in the space of all time where everything that had seemed to be rushing forward could change -- one moment in time when it could all be turned back, when another path could be instantly chosen and taken.

But all too often, that path wasn't chosen -- either it was ignored, or not seen at all. Or in his case, Ianto reflected wryly, there was no choice to be made. He'd had to go forward, had to come back from where his soul had been sent to be with the Doctor again.

He couldn't have let his lover go through the rest of the long centuries of his life bereft of his presence, not when he could be with the man he loved. And he didn't want to be cold and unknowing, only able to watch the Doctor from the great distance of another realm of being.

It would only have taken a split second for him to make the choice to remain there -- but he couldn't have done that even if he'd wanted to. He needed to be with the Doctor; his love for the Time Lord was so strong that it had pulled him back into this world.

"What are you thinking of, Ianto?" the Doctor asked, his tone curious. Ianto snapped out of his reverie, his eyes meeting the Doctor's. The other man had his head tilted to one side, his expression slightly worried, as though he wasn't sure if Ianto was all right.

The young man shook his head, negating the Time Lord's worry. "I"m fine, Doctor. I was just thinking of how it only takes a split second for everything in our lives to change. And how glad I am that our lives have taken the turn that they did."

The Doctor nodded, obviously agreeing with him. "So am I, love," he said, his voice soft. "If they hadn't, then I would spend the rest of my life mourning for you -- and that's not a life. It would only be an empty existence, one that I'd be all too tempted to end as soon as I could."

"I wouldn't want you to do that!" Ianto said, shocked by his lover's words. "The world needs you too much. You couldn't turn your back on the universe just for me. I know you love me, Doctor, but I'm not worth that -- even though I know it would be hard for you."

"Ah, but you're forgetting your own words," the Doctor admonished him gently. "Everything can change in a split second, Ianto. One single moment, and it can all go in a way that you never could have foreseen or planned. Maybe that's what would have happened to me."

Ianto nodded slowly, then pushed the thought out of his mind, not wanting to contemplate it. A world that didn't include the Doctor, exactly as he was now, was a world that Ianto didn't want to think about. It would be a much colder, darker place.

"I hope that never happens -- to either of us," he said softly, pulling the Doctor close against him and brushing a gentle kiss against the Time Lord's smooth cheek. "If there's one defining moment where we could change anything in our lives, I don't want to take it."

"I don't want our lives to change again -- not at this point," the Doctor told him, a catch in his voice. "I'm still getting used to the way they are now, the marvelous good fortune we've been gifted with. I don't want that to shift into something that we might not be so happy with."

"We'll have to watch out for those moments -- and make sure that we make the right decisions for both of us when they come around," the Doctor told him, his dark eyes searching Ianto's face. "I'm sure that we'll do the right thing in the end, love."

Ianto nodded, hoping that the Doctor was right. The last thing he wanted to do was to slip up and make a wrong decision at a decisive moment -- given what he was now, it would not only affect his human life, but an eternal life that he hadn't bargained on having.

"Are we ready to go out and take a look at this planet?" he asked, trying to change the subject. He hadn't meant for them to become so serious, but maybe it was a good thing. They didn't want to be in a frivolous mood when they were going into an unknown place for the first time.

"We certainly are! Onward and upward!" the Doctor exclaimed, flashing a brilliant smile at Ianto, the smile that could always melt his heart. "Allons-y!" Ianto couldn't help but smile as he followed the Doctor to the door of the ship, waiting to step out into whatever adventure might await them.

***