Title: Shadows of the Night
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Purple, 5_prompts
Prompt: Purple mist through the trees
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 place is eerie," Ianto whispered, looking around cautiously as he and the Doctor emerged from the Tardis. "How do you know there's not something waiting to jump out at us from behind any of these trees? I think it's entirely possible."

The Doctor frowned, also looking around as he took a few steps away from the ship. "Of course it could be possible. You know that we should always stay alert when we're exploring a new place, Ianto. But you're letting your imagination run away with you."

"Oh? Am I?" Ianto asked, shivering as he turned around slowly, trying to look in all directions at once and finding that he couldn't. "With all that the Master has been putting us through lately, I think I have a right to be a little paranoid."

"That's very true." The Doctor's tone was musing, but Ianto could tell by the sound of his voice that he wasn't concentrating entirely on what he was saying. "But you're overlooking some obvious factors that you should have already noticed."

"And what would they be?" Ianto asked, trying to make himself relax. The Doctor didn't seem to be overly concerned about the safety of this place, even though they'd never been here before, so he supposed that he could let down his guard a bit.

"For one thing, there's no way that anyone could jump out at us from behind those trees," the Time Lord pointed out, sweeping a hand in the direction of one of the aforementioned trees. "They're far too sparse. We'd see anyone who was trying to hide behind one of them."

"All right, I'll concede that point," Ianto said, feeling ridiculous for not having noticed that. All he'd been thinking about was that this place seemed to afford several places to hide -- but the Doctor was right. "What else am I missing?"

"You're also not looking at the fact that the Master has been striking out at us through our dreams," the Doctor told him, turning to look at his lover. "And that there was no message sending us here, not even something subliminal. It's just a random place."

Ianto wasn't so sure about that; he was almost positive that the Master was trying to force the two of them towards some sort of confrontation that he had planned, where they would be at a disadvantage. But he didn't say so. It didn't seem like the appropriate time to voice his doubts.

"The Tardis wouldn't have brought us here if she didn't feel that it was a safe place for us to be in the midst of all this," the Doctor continued, shoving his hands into his pockets. "And I trust her. I don't think she would have directed herself here if there was any danger."

Ianto nodded, deciding to accept the Doctor's explanation of why the ship had brought them here. He knew that the Doctor hadn't tried to find this place purposely; it seemed that the Tardis wanted the two of them to have some quiet time away from their worries.

But that was going to be impossible, given how much those worries plagued the both of them lately, the young man thought as he took a deep breath and looked around. The dreams were getting worse; his own more violent and disturbing, and the Doctor's ....

He didn't want to think about some of the horrific memories that those dreams had dredged up for the Time Lord. The Doctor had told him about a few of them, albeit reluctantly, and his lover's words had made Ianto feel queasy and sick inside.

He turned towards the Doctor again, opening his mouth to speak but deciding not to say anything when he saw the Time Lord sitting down on the ground, leaning back against a tree and closing his eyes. His lover had to be tired from all of his sleepless nights.

Moving over to where the Doctor was sitting, Ianto lowered himself to the ground next to his lover, sliding an arm around the Doctor's waist and pulling him close. With a sigh, the Doctor allowed the young man to lower his head into his lap.

"I'll only sleep for a little while," the Time Lord whispered, opening his eyes to look up at his lover. "We can't spend too much time here -- but somehow, I think this may be why the Tardis brought us here. Maybe it's a place where the Master can't reach me through dreams."

"I hope that's true, love," Ianto whispered, brushing a few errant strands of hair back from the Time Lord's face and bending down to brush his lips across his lover's. "Try to get some sleep. And if you can sleep here, I think we might want to stay for a few days."

He desperately needed sleep himself -- uninterrupted sleep that didn't end with him waking up in a cold sweat, a scream lodged in his throat from the horrific visions his dreams had brought him, visions of his beloved dying in his arms.

But he wasn't going to sleep, not when the Doctor might need protection. In spite of the Time Lord's insistence that this place was safe, he wasn't going to completely relax until he was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that they had indeed found a refuge.

How were they to know for sure if this place was safe or not? There was no telling just how far the Master might have managed to burrow into their subconscious minds -- and there might be no place in the entire universe where they could escape from that constant scrutiny.

Leaning his head back against the trunk of the tree in the same motion that the Doctor had made when he sat down, Ianto took a deep breath, intending to only close his eyes for a moment. He wasn't going to let himself drift off; he was going to guard the Doctor while the Time Lord slept.

Unfortunately, the young man's intentions were stronger than his will; as the minutes passed by, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he finally succumbed to the lure of slumber, his head lolling onto his chest and his body relaxing completely.

Neither Ianto nor the Doctor were awake to notice the fact that the Tardis almost seemed to be glowing in the shadowy purple gloom; it was as though the ship was watching over them, protecting them from any harm that might rise up out of the mists.

As the shadows of the night darkened from purple to black, the mist swirled around the two men, almost as if it was trying to cover them from any prying eyes; the glow from the ship grew more pronounced, illuminating the two sleeping figures with a soft glow of protectiveness.

***