Title: Life For the Taking
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG
Table: 1, 50scenes
Prompt: 8, Happiness
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.

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Ianto crossed the floor of the Tardis, going to stand behind the Doctor. The Time Lord was leaning over the console, studying the controls intently, and Ianto didn't wantto bother him, or distract him from whatever he might be doing. But the Time Lord straightened up and turned to him with a smile, reaching for his hand.

"Whatever are you doing, love?" Ianto asked, peering over the Doctor's shoulder at the controls on the console. He still hadn't asked the Doctor if he could have a hand in guiding the Tardis anywhere; he knew that the ship was bonded to the Time Lord, and he respected that. He didn't want to incur the wrath of the Tardis by attempting to control her.

The Doctor turned back to the console, a frown furrowing his brow. "I was trying to decide exactly where we should go next," he said, leaning back against Ianto and turning his head to look at his young lover. "The universe is ours, sweetheart. Anywhere you'd like to go, just say the word."

"There's no particular place I want to be in," Ianto answered promptly, slipping his arms around the Doctor's slim waist and pressing his cheek against the soft, tawny hair. "As long as you're wherever I am, then I'm happy. I could be in our flat in Cardiff, or here on the Tardis, or in some far-off galaxy facing aliens -- or even in Elizabethan England. It doesn't matter, as long as you're there."

"Then what do you say to staying in Cardiff for a while?" the Doctor asked him, turning his head again, brows raised in question. "I can't really think of anywhere else I'd like to be at the moment -- even though I'm sure wanderlust is going to tackle me again quite soon. Though I'd like to think that you'll be coming along with me when it does."

"Of course I will." Ianto laughed softly, tightening his arms around the Doctor's waist. "Nothing could keep me from coming with you -- that is, if you're sure that you want me there. I'll only be along for the ride, you know. You're the one who knows all about what you're doing -- I'm only the passenger."

The Doctor shook his head, frowning, a worried look crossing his face. "Ianto, surely you don't think of yourself in that way. Not knowing what you mean to me. You could never be 'only a passenger.' You're my soul mate -- and you belong here just as much as I do."

"Then I can consider the Tardis my home away from home?" Ianto asked, smiling as he brushed his lips across the Doctor's cheek. "Sorry -- I know that I shouldn't refer to her as just a place. But it's hard for me to get used to that mode of thinking. It'll take some work."

"I'm sure the Tardis is used to that," the Doctor told him, glancing around the room. "I doubt that she'll take exception to anything you have to say -- as long as it's not uncomplimentary. She's been known to get rather upset about derogatory comments -- though I don't think you'd be making any of those, now would you?"

Ianto laughed again, shaking his head. "Of course not. After all, if it hadn't been for the Tardis bringing you to the Hub on the day we met, then you wouldn't be a part of my life. I can't thank her enough for that."

"Ianto." The Doctor turned in his arms, until the Time Lord was facing him; the Gallifreyan draped his arms over the young man's shoulders, pulling Ianto close and resting his forehead against his lover's. The Time Lord's eyes were closed, his words coming slowly, heavy with emotion, pouring out as though he couldn't stop them.

"Do you really believe that it was some sort of fate that brought us together? I don't. There was a reason why I was there that day, why our eyes met and each of us knew at that moment that we were meant to be together." The Doctor lifted his head, his dark gaze meeting Ianto's. "You're my soul mate, Ianto. Our meeting was no quirk of chance."

It was Ianto's turn to frown, not quite understanding just what the Doctor was getting at. "I can see why you might think that, but .... you say that you can't see the future, that you don't know what's going to happen for you, why or when. So there would be no way that you -- or the Tardis -- could know that we would meet that day."

"No, I didn't know that," the Doctor said, sighing. "But I knew that something was going to happen -- something that would change my life forever. I could feel it, a tingle in the air, an anticipation. And I knew the moment I first laid eyes on you that you were the cause of it."

"Have I changed your life that much?" Ianto asked, his voice soft. It was still hard for him to believe that of all the men in the universe that the Doctor could have chosen -- and this beautiful man could have had his pick of anyone, Ianto was sure -- this sublime being had chosen him. To him, their relationship still had an air of unreality about it at times.

"Of course you have," the Doctor whispered, reaching up to run soft fingertips over the curve of Ianto's cheek. "You've made me happier than I've ever thought I could be -- happier than I've ever been in all my lives. I don't believe I ever knew the true meaning of happiness before I met you -- or what it means to be in love."

"I've never been as happy as I am with you," Ianto said softly, taking the Doctor's face between his hands and letting his eyes drink in those beautiful features. That face -- he could never get enough of looking at that face. He wanted to spend the rest of his life drinking in those features, every moment of every day.

"As long as I've lived, and as many bodies as I've regenerated into -- it's taken me this long to find happiness, and to find a mate," the Doctor murmured, closing his eyes and turning his face to the side to place a kiss on Ianto's palm. "That's just proof that some things are worth waiting for."

"The best things are," Ianto told him, sliding one arm around the Doctor's waist again. He almost wished that the Tardis was playing music, so that he could sway around the room with the Time Lord in his arms, dip him backwards and kiss him. Of course, he didn't need that sort of excuse to kiss the man he loved -- but it would be romantic.

To his surprise, only a few moments after his mind shaped the thought, soft strains began to emanate through the control room; it sounded like one of those songs from the early 20th century that Jack loved so much. Ianto looked around, eyes wide, wondering what could have caused that. Had the Doctor read his mind? Somehow, he didn't think so.

The Doctor looked surprised for a moment, then his face relaxed into a smile as one arm encircled Ianto's waist. "It looks as though the Tardis wants us to get romantic," he murmured, resting his cheek against his young lover's chest and closing his eyes. "I don't mind accommodating her, not in this instance."

"I don't either -- at least, I don't think so," Ianto replied, recovering enough to let his body sway a bit against the Gallifreyan's, realizing after a moment that he was leading. That was odd, but it was something that he was getting used to -- and he was finding that he enjoyed it.

The Doctor's body was warm and pliant in his arms, the Time Lord's head resting on his shoulder; Ianto had never felt so content, so at peace with the world. Did it really matter whether or not the two of them had been somehow destined to find each other -- as long as they had? He didn't think so. The only thing that mattered was that they had come together.

What would his life be like without this man? He couldn't help but wonder. He would still be with Torchwood, that was obvious; as much as he'd begged Jack to take him on after Canary Wharf, he wouldn't have given up his place with the team for any reason. It had been the one anchor in his life, the one thing that was important to him.

But now -- he had his reason, and something that was far more important. Even though Jack would say that he was still a Torchwood member, he would give it all up to be with the man in his arms. The Doctor was worth any sacrifice, anything he might have to put behind him. Nothing else in his life could ever mean nearly as much as the Doctor did.

He'd never felt this happy -- even though his life with the Doctor wasn't perfect. He didn't expect perfection, Ianto told himself, holding the Doctor closer against him and closing his eyes. It would be deadly dull -- and he'd get bored and restless. He couldn't see himself staying in a relationship like that; but then, life with the Doctor would always be anything but dull.

He was going to take the Doctor back to Cardiff -- or rather, let the Tardis take them both back there -- and spend time with this man in a more domestic environment. It was something they hadn't done yet in the time they'd been together, and he couldn't help wondering just what the Time Lord would be like in that sort of lifestyle.

Life was for the taking, and he intended to reach out and grasp all of it that he could. The Doctor was his chance at happiness, a happiness that he'd thought he would never find. And he wasn't going to give that up, not for any reason. He'd had his chances before -- but this time, he'd found what he'd always been looking for.

They'd stay at home in Cardiff for a while, he thought to himself, give themselves some time together before the Doctor might have to rush off somewhere again. A quiet life, a life he'd never really been able to have before. It was a life that other people might be bored with, but it was one that he'd always craved.

Hmmm. Ianto had to smile at the thought of the Doctor doing mundane things like washing dishes, vacuuming up the living room floor, or watching a game show on television. All things that he couldn't imagine his handsome, dynamic lover doing -- but what did he know? Perhaps the Doctor had an addiction to daytime soap operas.

Well, he would find out. There were still so many things he didn't know about this man, things that he wanted to learn. And one thing that he did already know -- that the Doctor made him happier than anyone ever had, or ever would.

"What are you thinking about? That little smirk hovering around the corners of your mouth tells me that you're either up to some nefarious plan, or that you're thinking about something just a little bit naughty," the Doctor whispered in his ear, a smile lurking around the corners of his own lips. "Do you care to enlighten me, or is it a surprise?"

"Oh, nothing .... nothing at all," Ianto replied, his smile growing wider. "What do you say to the two of us spending some private time in Cardiff, just the two of us? Sort of a .... 'get away from it all' experience. I'll tell Jack that we need some time to ourselves, and I have a feeling that he'll comply. And if he doesn't -- then we'll do it anyway."

"No arguments," the Doctor said, laughing softly at Ianto's mention of defying Jack. "I think you'll find that Jack can be a hopeless romantic. If he feels that he can do something to aid the course of our relationship, then he'll do it. We won't have a hard time convincing him."

"Wonderful." Ianto glanced at the Tardis' control console again, raising his eyebrows at the Doctor. "I suppose you've set the controls to go back home?" It never occurred to him that he was speaking of his own home, not the Doctor's.

"Yes. Home," the Time Lord said softly, only a slight hint of wistfulness coloring his voice. "And it shouldn't take us long to get there."

As though to underscore the Doctor's words, Ianto felt a slight bump, and then the sensation of being a little displaced settled into a feeling of being more stable and secure. They must be back in Cardiff -- though he had no idea just where in the city they might have ended up.

"Come on," he told the Doctor, twining his fingers through the Time Lord's and heading towards the door. "Let's find out where we are. I want to start working on that private time with you right away. Or at least, as soon as possible."

"I think you'll find that we aren't too far from your flat," the Doctor told him, laughing as he was nearly dragged along behind Ianto as the young man moved towards the door of the Tardis. "I thought it would be a good idea -- in case we might need to leave again suddenly."

"I think that's a very good idea indeed," Ianto answered, opening the door of the Tardis and stepping out into the bright sunlight of his home city, the Doctor right behind him. He took a deep breath, smiling and looking around him. Yes, he was happier than he'd ever been -- and he had a feeling that his life was only going to get better from here.

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