Title: Wander This World
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: 10
Prompt: 35, One Night Stand
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 sighed, tapping his fingers on his desk as he looked out over the city of Cardiff spread out before him. He didn't like to be here in his office, away from the Doctor, when the Time Lord was out there somewhere in the galaxy, but he didn't have much choice.

The Doctor had assured him that he would be back soon, that there was nothing to worry about and that he wasn't headed off into some sort of danger. Ianto wasn't sure that he fully believed that story, but he wasn't going to contradict his lover.

And he realized that he couldn't always go along with the Doctor. There were some things that the Time Lord had to take care of by himself, and Ianto granted him that right. After all, they couldn't expect to be together every moment of every day.

But that didn't stop him from wishing they could be. He missed the Doctor terribly whenever his lover felt the need to go somewhere alone.

He worried, too. But that was to be expected, wasn't it? Anyone who loved a person worried about their safety when they were going somewhere. He wasn't being silly to have concerns for the well-being of the man he loved.

The Doctor could take care of himself. He hadn't lived for over 900 years without having learned a trick or two -- or ten, Ianto told himself, his lips curving into a slight smile. That had been driven home to him time and time again.

He'd seen how well the Time Lord was able to handle himself in bad situations. He really shouldn't worry so much -- but it was hard not to do so. Especially when he longed to be out there with the Doctor, to know what he was doing, who he was meeting.

He wanted to be a part of all that. And he was -- to a certain extent. The Doctor hadn't let him all the way into that part of his life yet, though Ianto could understand why. It was a privilege, not a right. He couldn't expect that door to fully open all the way at once.

If he was only a companion, maybe it would. But he knew that he was much more than that to the Doctor, and that it was why the other man was so careful of him.

He was terrified of losing the Time Lord -- but the Doctor was even more afraid of losing him. Ianto didn't see why; in his eyes, he was certainly no prize. But for some reason, he meant everything in the world to his lover, and he wasn't going to argue with those emotions.

Still, it bothered him that the Doctor was out there in the galaxy alone. He could be wounded, with no way to get word back to Earth to let Ianto, or anyone else, know what had happened to him. There were so many things that could happen to him.

And there were so many people he could meet ..... people who could catch his eye. People who he might never see again, but who could have a startling effect on him.

He worried about that constantly, even though some inner sixth sense told him that it was utterly ridiculous. The Doctor, having a one-night stand? Certainly not. Not when he was involved in a committed relationship with someone he loved. He wasn't like that.

Ianto didn't doubt that the Time Lord had been with other people. He couldn't have lived for as long as he had and still be a blushing virgin! But in this body, this incarnation -- he belonged to Ianto. He'd said so himself -- this body had been untouched the first time they'd made love.

Of course, the Master -- and John Hart -- had come between the two of them, at least physically. Ianto almost growled at the thought of each of them, his hands clenching into fists. He'd like to .... never mind. Getting angry wouldn't solve anything.

But those hadn't been people that the Doctor had sought out, or people that he'd been attracted to. What if he met someone while he was out there, someone who had such a strong pull on him physically that he couldn't resist?

He wanted to dismiss the thought from his mind. The Doctor wasn't some teenager, to be caught up in his senses and be distracted from his relationship by a pretty face or a tempting body. He wouldn't betray what he with Ianto.

Still .... he himself knew how easy it was to be tempted. He'd never acted on that temptation with anyone, but when he'd been with Lisa, he'd definitely felt it.

Not that he hadn't been in love -- at the time -- with the person he was in a relationship with. But looking wasn't doing. He'd never have cheated, on her or on anyone else he was involved with. He had too highly developed a sense of morality.

And besides, he loved the Doctor far too much to even contemplate infidelity. He'd never have been able to forgive himself if he'd let himself betray his heart like that. For him, there was no other man in the world. There might be others, but Ianto didn't notice them.

Nobody else had even come into his mind since he'd been involved with the Doctor, not in that way. Ianto didn't think he was even capable of being attracted to anyone else, at this point. The Doctor had spoiled him for all other men.

He shook his head, almost ready to laugh at himself. Of course the Doctor wasn't going to indulge in any one-night stands while he was away. He wasn't that kind of man. Once he was committed, he took that very seriously.

After all, hadn't he given Ianto that pendant, and told him that they were soul mates? That was enough to prove that he didn't take their relationship lightly. And it was their bond that had led Ianto to him when he was most in need.

When the Doctor mated, it was for life. The only thing that would separate the two of them was death -- and Ianto wasn't so sure that even death could come between them.

Over the time they'd been together, their bond had become so strong that Ianto was sure it was, at this point, unbreakable. Even if something happened to separate him from the Doctor physically, he knew that he would always belong to the Time Lord, and vice versa.

With anyone else, Ianto wouldn't have thought it possible. Not even with Jack -- and when they'd been together, Ianto had thought nothing would ever break them apart. But the Doctor was someone special -- the person he was destined to spend his life with.

What was a meaningless one-night stand compared with the love of your life? Nothing. And he knew that the Doctor felt the same way.

Ianto wanted to be out there with him more than anything -- but he'd learned that the Doctor needed his space at times. Besides, he wasn't going to be gone for long, and he'd assured Ianto more than once before he left that he wasn't going to be in danger.

The young man sighed, leaning back in his chair and letting his eyes drift to the blue sky outside the window. The Doctor was out there in that sky somewhere, maybe even looking at Earth at this very moment. Maybe even on his way back there.

There was no one else that the Time Lord wanted to be with. No one-night stands hidden out there in the galaxy, no people who could threaten what the two of them had in any way. They were far too committed to each other. And deep in his heart, Ianto knew that.

He was worrying over nothing, the young man told himself, trying to lighten his mood. The Doctor wasn't a man given to lies. If he said that he wasn't in danger, he wasn't. And if he said that he loved Ianto and was fully committed to him, then it was the truth.

And when the Time Lord came back, Ianto was going to show him in no uncertain terms that he had no reason whatsoever to wander.

***