Title: The First One
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 4
Prompt: 20, First Love
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 with a slight smile, closing his eyes and lifting his face to the sun. Before he'd met the Doctor, he wouldn't have thought that sitting in the middle of a field out in the back of beyond could be pleasant -- but the Time Lord was changing his mind about a lot of things.

Of course, he'd gone camping with Lisa many times when they were together. He'd enjoyed the outdoors then -- but that experience on his first team mission with Torchwood, being held captive by cannibals, hadn't enhanced his love of the wilderness in any way.

Still, that was all behind him now. It wasn't something he needed to remember -- and besides, he had to get over that fear. Jack had always told him that the only way to put a fear to rest was to confront it, and even though he hated to admit it, Ianto knew that he was right.

So when the Doctor had suggested that they spend a bit of time away from the city, alone, Ianto had agreed to do it. He hadn't exactly jumped at the idea, but he hadn't said no, either. The Doctor understood why he was less than enthusiastic, but he'd brought them here anyway.

And so far, Ianto had to admit, it had been pleasant. The Doctor assured him that once it started to grow dusky, they would go back into the Tardis, where they'd be safe. He had nothing to be afraid of, not while the sun was out and everything around them seemed to be bright and innocent.

He wasn't going to go back to that time in his mind, Ianto told himself firmly. It was over, done, behind him. That was part of the past, and he was determined to keep it that way.

This wasn't the time to think about unpleasant events from his past. He was with the Doctor, in a beautiful place, alone with the man he loved. They had time stretching ahead of them -- time to be together, time to talk, to make love, to do anything they chose to do.

As if Ianto's thoughts had somehow called him from the Tardis, the Doctor emerged from the blue police box, coming over to where Ianto was stretched out on the blanket they'd spread on the dewy ground. "You look more relaxed than I've seen you in days, love. It's a good look for you."

"You're looking pretty good yourself," Ianto told him, sitting up and sliding his arms around the Doctor's waist, pulling the other man back against the warmth of his body. "I think we've needed this .... just to be able to get away from everything and have some time to ourselves."

The Doctor sighed softly, leaning back into Ianto's arms and surveying the scenery around them. Though to be honest, there wasn't much to look at -- just a large field of brilliantly emerald grass, clumps of flowers here and there, and the sun shining down on it all.

"I thought we needed a peaceful place to .... rediscover each other," the Doctor finally said, tilting his head back against Ianto's chest so he could look up at the younger man. "You know, just .... talk about things we've never discussed before, find out things about each other that we didn't already know."

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Ianto said, raising a hand to stroke the Doctor's hair back from his face. "What should we talk about? Our pasts? What we want from the future? Or just ...." He smiled, one fingertip trailing across the Doctor's lips. ".... how much we love each other?"

"Now, that wouldn't be anything new," the Doctor told him in a slightly reproving tone. "We already know that we love each other. We should talk about something else, something neither of us knows. Learn more about the person we love."

Ianto nodded, searching his mind for something to talk about. Was there anything that he'd never told the Doctor, anything he'd held back from this man about himself? He didn't think so.

"I can't think of anything that I've never talked to you about," he said, shrugging and smiling apologetically at his lover. "I'm sorry, I feel as if my brain isn't working properly today. But if you want to play Twenty Questions, go ahead. I'll answer anything you feel like asking."

"Anything?" The Doctor's voice sounded surprised, as though he hadn't expected Ianto to give him free rein with his questions. "All right, then. Give me a minute to think of something good." His tone had gone from surprised to mischievous in a matter of seconds, Ianto noted.

"Well, as long as you don't ask me something completely intrusive!" Ianto laughed, leaning back on his elbows. "Really, you can ask me anything, love. There isn't much you don't know, I don't think. And if there isn't, then I don't mind letting you know. I trust you with any of my secrets."

"And I trust you with mine," the Doctor said softly, rolling over onto his stomach and propping his chin in his hands as he regarded Ianto. "Let's see, then .... hmmm. Who was your first love? I mean your very first, the first person who you fell in love with. Not just a crush. Real love."

"That's an unusual question to ask." Ianto looked amused, wondering why the Doctor had chosen that subject. "Are you feeling a bit jealous today? I can assure you, there's no reason to be."

The Doctor shook his head, a small smile quirking the corners of his lips. "Of course not. Whoever was in your past isn't a part of your life now -- you're with me. I have no reason to be jealous of anyone. I'm just .... a bit curious, that's all."

"My first real love?" Ianto thought back, his mind skimming over Jack, then Lisa, and a few others. He'd never admitted it to anyone before, but she hadn't been the first person he'd fallen in love with. She'd been the first who'd returned his feelings, but .... not the first person he'd loved.

"Yes." The Doctor was studying him, his gaze fixed on Ianto's face, not faltering. "Don't worry, love, I'll tell you mine. I'm not going to withhold that kind of information from you, if you want to know it. Anything I ask you, I'm more than willing to tell you about myself as well."

"His name was Mark." Ianto gave the Doctor a small smile as he looked up into those beautiful dark eyes, not quite knowing what he expected to see in the other man's expression. Surprise that his first love had been a man, maybe? He wasn't sure.

"Ah. So Jack wasn't the first man you fell in love with." The Doctor nodded, not looking surprised at all by Ianto's revelation. "Somehow, I didn't think he had been. I know he was your first in some ways, but not first in your heart."

"No, he wasn't," Ianto said softly, letting his thoughts fly back over the years, to when he'd been in high school. "Mark wasn't in love with me -- at least, I don't think so. But he was the first male I ever kissed, and the first person I ever wanted to give myself to."

"He was a fool not to want to be with you," the Doctor said softly, reaching out to place one thin hand over Ianto's. The young man smiled as he twined their fingers together, squeezing the Doctor's hand and shaking his head regretfully.

"No, I was a fool to fall in love with someone who wasn't sure about who he was and what he wanted. I was much younger then, and I wasn't sure who I was, either." Ianto raised an eyebrow, wondering just what the Doctor would have to say about his own first love. "Your turn."

"I was .... very young." The Doctor looked down, a small smile playing on his lips. "So was he. So young that we were only playing at being in love at first. But .... it turned into something much more than that, over time. I was lucky to know him."

"He was lucky to know you," Ianto corrected him, squeezing the Time Lord's fingers again. He wished he could have known the Doctor when he was young .... that they could have been the first loves in each other's lives .... that they could have spent those lives together ....

But that was ridiculous. The Doctor was over 900 years old. There was no way they could have met when he was young; Ianto's family history probably hadn't even begun when the Doctor was born.

Yet somehow, they'd been brought together -- the man who looked young but was more ancient than anything Ianto could possibly conceive of, and the young man who sometimes felt as though he was far older than the Time Lord who was his lover.

They'd come together, over the centuries, over the vastness of time and space, and connected in a way that Ianto would never have believed possible. Somehow, they'd found each other, their destinies entwined from the moment of their births -- even though one of those births had been long before the other.

"You know, I wish that I'd have been your first love," the Doctor told him, his voice sounding dreamy and wistful. "I wish I would have been the first person you looked at in that way -- the first person you ever wanted to spend your life with. Mark was a lucky fellow."

Ianto shook his head, sitting up and reaching for the Doctor as the other man sat up at the same time. "Our past loves don't matter," he said softly, his gaze locking with the other man's dark eyes. "All that matters is that you're the man I love now -- the man I was always destined to love."

"As you are for me," the Doctor whispered, leaning towards Ianto until their lips nearly touched. Ianto closed the minuscule gap between them, pulling the Doctor into his arms, his mouth meeting the Doctor's in a heady kiss that took his breath away.

When they finally broke apart, the Doctor's breath was coming faster, his gaze slightly unfocused. He looked as disoriented as Ianto felt, though the young man managed to gather his wits more quickly than the Time Lord did. Ianto smiled down at him, raising one eyebrow in question.

"I take it that I answered whatever questions you had about my first love?" he asked, tracing a fingertip over the Doctor's lips. "You seem to be, ah .... satisfied with the answers."

"Oh, I am," the Doctor murmured, laying down on the blanket again and pulling Ianto down on top of him. "Though at the moment .... I'd rather concentrate less on our pasts, and more on our present."

"I think that sounds like a marvelous idea," Ianto said softly, wrapping his arms around the Doctor, reveling in the feel of that slim body pressed against his own. "One that I'd definitely like to explore."

The Doctor's response to his touch left him in no doubt as to the Time Lord's agreement.

***