Title: A Price Above Rubies
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Red, 5_prompts
Prompt: A price above rubies
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.

***

This was a nice peaceful interlude in their lives, Ianto thought as he looked around him with a contented sigh. He and the Doctor were strolling through a park, the sky above them growing dusky, a soft breeze blowing, the air warm and balmy.

He couldn't remember having felt so quietly content during his life here on Earth. There had always been some crisis in his life; from his confusion about his sexuality when he was a teenager, to his relationship with Jack, he had never quite seemed to be in harmony with his world.

But today, he felt at peace with everything around him. Yes, he and the Doctor had worries in their lives, but he wasn't going to think about them. Not today. He wasn't going to let anything negative touch this sphere of time that they'd carved out for themselves.

"It's beautiful here," the Doctor said softly, pulling Ianto out of his thoughts and bringing him back to the present. The Time Lord slipped his hand into his lover's, smiling at the younger man as he did so. "It's been a while since I felt this peaceful."

"I was thinking along those same lines," Ianto murmured, reluctant to break the peace and quiet of their stroll through the park. Even the people around them all seemed to be happy today, which was a rarity for a public place in the middle of London.

"Do you know what I was thinking? That the price of having a bit of peace of mind is far above rubies," the Doctor told him, smiling as he spoke. "That's not exactly the quote, of course, but it seems to fit, doesn't it? Having time together like this is priceless."

"Actually, I could twist that quote a bit more and say that your price is far above rubies," Ianto said softly, his voice husky. "Not only rubies, but diamonds, pearls, and any other jewel you could name. You're priceless, Doctor. Not only to me, but to the world."

"Well, if the world in general knew about me ...." The Doctor laughed ruefully, shaking his head. "I'm known on a lot of planets, Ianto, and also in a lot of different times. But it's a bit ironic that the place I've saved from destruction the most times doesn't know I exist."

"Earth, you mean?" Ianto didn't need to ask the question; he was absolutely positive that was the place that his lover was referring to. And he was right -- it was ironic, and even a bit sad, to Ianto's way of thinking, that the general population of his home planet didn't know about the Doctor.

If they did know of all that the Time Lord had done to keep them safe over the centuries, they probably still wouldn't thank him properly for those brave deeds, Ianto told himself. They more than likely would shrug it all off as some sort of fairy tale.

The Doctor nodded, looking around him at the peacefulness of the dusky twilight. "I think it's a good thing that the general population of Earth doesn't know about me. They would probably think I was priceless, all right -- as a lab specimen for them to experiment on."

Ianto winced at those words, but he knew that the Doctor was probably right. The people on this planet who did know about him accepted him -- but there were those who would see him not as a man, but as nothing more than an opportunity to advance themselves.

But there were people on this planet who knew the Doctor for who and what he was -- and were grateful for everything that he'd done for their planet. Ianto knew that they would agree with his own assessment that the Doctor was indeed priceless.

"You know that I'll never see you in that way," Ianto murmured, sliding an arm around the Time Lord's waist and pulling the other man closer to him. "And neither would the people on Earth who know and love you. We see you for who you are."

"I know you wouldn't, love," the Doctor answered, one arm slipping around Ianto's waist. They walked along in companionable silence for a few moments, until the Doctor stopped and turned to his lover, raising a hand to stroke Ianto's cheek.

"I couldn't begin to put a price on what I feel for you," he whispered, his gaze locking with Ianto's. "From the first moment I met you, I knew that you would be someone special in my life, Ianto Jones. You've owned my hearts from that first moment."

"And you've owned mine," Ianto whispered, his hand moving up to capture the Doctor's and hold it against his chest so that the Time Lord could feel his heart beating. "I can't put a price on my heart or your place in it. There's no price high enough."

The Doctor swallowed hard, blinking back tears. "I hope we'll be able to walk here again like this, Ianto -- and that we'll be able to say these same words to each other. And mean them just as much when we say them for the second time."

"I know we will," Ianto told him, sliding both arms around the Time Lord and pulling his lover close to him. He didn't give a damn who might be watching, and what they might think. This man was priceless to him; why should he care what other people thought of that?

As their lips met, Ianto knew that no matter what the price might be, he would spend eternity loving this man. There was no price that he wouldn't pay for the right to do that -- and nothing that he wouldn't do to ensure that the wish to do so came true.

***