Title: Time Slips Away
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG
Table: 5
Prompt: 6, Bored
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 scowled, propping his chin on his hands and gazing out of the window of his office in the Hub. He was bored, Bored, bored, bored. The rest of the team were busily doing .... well, whatever it was they had to do. And he was just .... sitting here.

He knew that Jack considered him an important member of the team. When they went out, he had their backs; he relayed anything to them that they might need to know. He was needed, and he was appreciated. He didn't doubt that for a moment.

And he was even getting to go out with the team more often, which proved to him that he wasn't just the teaboy any longer. He was respected member of Torchwood, someone who the others knew that they could depend on.

That meant a great deal to him. But it was days like this, when he felt that he had nothing to do while the others were immersed in their work, that made him feel .... well, useless.

He shouldn't feel like that, and he knew it. He wasn't just a peripheral office person, as he'd been in Torchwood One, shuffled into the background and not thought about. Here, he made a difference. The people he worked with thought something of him.

Or was it just because he was the Doctor's chosen one? He'd thought that for a while after he'd started his relationship with the Time Lord, letting the worry that he might just be seen as a sort of boy-toy eat away at him.

So much so that he'd said something about it to Tosh, who'd looked at him with wide eyes and asked him why he would ever think that. She was the one who'd pointed out how much he did for the team, and how much they relied on him.

That had made him feel better, for a while. But eventually the worry had started to plague him again, and he'd finally felt the need to speak with Jack about his feelings.

Jack had told him in no uncertain terms that he was being ridiculous. But he'd also said something that Ianto had found illuminating. Jack was trying to keep him out of the line of fire, because he didn't want to face the Doctor's wrath -- and grief -- if anything should happen to his lover.

Of course, that was before he'd started spending more time away in the Tardis with the Doctor than he did at Torchwood. But lately, the Time Lord had seemed content to stay here in Cardiff for longer periods of time, and Ianto had spent time at the Hub.

It wasn't that he didn't like being here, or enjoy what he did with Torchwood. But on days like this, he began to feel that he was just marking time here, and that he wasn't as important to the running of the organization as he'd like to think.

He was important to the Doctor, a little voice piped up in the back of his mind. And that should be enough to make up for everything else.

Ianto's eyes moved to the clock on the wall; only ten minutes had passed since the last time he'd looked at it. Time was moving so slowly, as it always did when he was feeling bored and he knew that he couldn't be with the man he loved.

What was it about the Doctor that made Ianto's time with him seem to fly by? Was it because he was a Time Lord? Did he somehow have the ability to make time irrelevant for those people who were around him and who loved him?

No, he couldn't do something like that. The Doctor had told Ianto at length that he couldn't tamper with time; he'd done it in the past, and he'd come to realize the folly of it too many times. It wasn't that the Doctor had some kind of power to make time move more quickly.

It was because Ianto loved him, and loved the time that he spent with him. The saying "time flies when you're having fun" definitely applied to his relationship with the Time Lord.

Even when they were off somewhere in the Tardis, traveling in time and space, going to other planets, other time periods, he felt that time seemed to zoom by. He could almost feel it slipping away, like quicksilver, too quickly for him to realize it.

He knew that he didn't have the long life span of the Doctor, and that he only noticed time more now because he worried about the eventuality of the two of them being parted by his death. It was just one more thing that made time seem more precious to him than ever.

Ianto sighed, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. He'd never paid that much attention to time before. But now .... being the chosen lover of a Time Lord had changed him, changed how he viewed so many things in his life that he'd taken for granted before.

He really shouldn't be here in the office, away from the man he loved. It was slow, he wasn't doing anything. He should ask Jack if he could leave ....

"Ianto."

The young Welshman almost jumped out of his skin, sitting bolt upright in his chair, his eyes flying open. He looked over at the doorway where Jack was lounging, a slight smile on his face. Ianto could feel the pink blush flooding his face, his embarrassment almost palpable.

"What are you doing sitting here in the office when you should be at home with somebody who's probably waiting impatiently for you?" Jack's brows rose in question, one corner of his mouth quirking, showing his dimple.

"I .... I was just going to ask you if I could leave," Ianto stammered, clearing his throat and trying to compose himself. He always felt guilty when Jack caught him leaning back and daydreaming, even if he wasn't supposed to be busy.

"Do you think I'd keep you away from him?" Jack asked, his voice soft, a slight frown forming between his brows. "I don't want you to feel like you have to be here if you don't want to be, Ianto. I know your time with him means a lot to you."

Ianto was a little startled at Jack's words; his surprise must have shown in his face. Jack smiled a bit ruefully, shaking his head and sighing.

"We all know that you can't be with him forever, Ianto. I know it's got to be something you both think about a lot. And I want you two to have as much time together as you can get -- but I'll be honest, I don't want to lose you as a Torchwood member. You're too important to us."

He hadn't thought of it that way, but Jack had crystallized his thoughts into words. Ianto nodded slowly, rising from his chair and turning to get his coat. He needed a few moments before he could face Jack after hearing those words so that he could compose himself.

If anyone would know about not having enough time, it would be Jack. The man who had all the time in the world. And here he was, giving advice to the man who never seemed to have enough of it. His words had hit closer to the mark than Ianto wanted to admit.

"You're right, Jack," he said softly, turning around as he buttoned his coat, his eyes meeting the other man's. "I want as much time with him as I can possibly get. As much as I'm allowed, at any rate. And even then, I don't think it would be enough."

"He has that kind of effect on people," Jack said, standing back as Ianto moved towards the door. "I don't blame you for wanting to be with him as much as you can. I was like that once too, you know. Grab time and hold onto it with both hands -- and don't let it go until you have to."

Ianto couldn't help but wonder if those words meant more than Jack let on -- but he pushed the thought aside. Jack wasn't with the Doctor; he was. There was no reason for him to feel a fleeting stab of jealousy.

The Doctor had chosen to be with him; he was the Time Lord's soul mate. The time that he had with the Doctor was a gift, one that he meant to appreciate to the fullest.

Casting a grateful look at Jack, he made his way to the door, slipping through and closing it quietly behind him. A feeling of freedom washed over him as he made his way to the outside of the building, his spirits lifting as he thought of the man waiting at home for him.

The boredom that he'd felt such a short while ago had vanished, leaving only anticipation in its wake. Funny how the prospect of spending time with his lover could make his heart race, make him think of all the things he wanted to do and say.

He could hardly wait to get started.

***