Title: Water Runs Dry
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: R
Table: doctorwho_100
Prompt: 51, Water
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.

***

"That wasn't something I want to go through again," Ianto sighed as he sank down onto the couch in the control room of the Tardis. He looked ruefully down at his shoes; he was going to have to find another pair that actually fit him comfortably.

"No, let's not do that again," the Doctor agreed, bounding up the three steps that led from the Tardis' door to the console and pressing a few buttons. Within seconds, they both felt the displacement of time and space which meant that the ship had shimmered out of the world they'd been in.

Ianto almost wanted to smile as the Doctor's shoes left wet prints across the floor of the Tardis; but at the thought of just why the Time Lord was soaking wet from head to toe, his smile disappeared, and a shiver went through his body.

They'd nearly drowned there on that planet below them; he'd only barely managed to pull the Doctor out of the underground cavern they'd been in when the iron ladder leading up to the surface had pulled loose from the wall it was bolted to.

He'd see the terror in the Time Lord's eyes for the rest of his life, every time he closed his eyes. That was a look he knew would haunt him forever; and the fact that he almost hadn't been able to pull his lover to safety would weigh on him for a very long time.

He should have been stronger, Ianto berated himself. He should have been able to get the Doctor to safety more quickly -- or at least have gotten up that ladder a lot faster than he had. If he'd just gone when the Doctor had told him to ....

If he'd gone up that ladder when he'd been told to go the first time, then the Doctor would have been left behind, Ianto told himself firmly. He shouldn't feel guilty for hesitating -- because if he hadn't been there, then his lover might have died.

They both had to get out of their wet clothes. He bent over, untying his shoes and kicking them off, then peeling off his socks. His jeans and t-shirt were already getting clammy, clinging to his skin and making him shiver in the cool air of the Tardis.

The Doctor was already stripping off his jacket and starting to unbutton his shirt; Ianto's eyes were drawn to the other man, his own motions arrested as he stared at the Doctor calmly taking his clothes off in the control room as though he did it every day.

Of course, before he'd had Ianto on the ship as his companion and lover, he might have done just that, the young man told himself. And who was he to complain? He was able to watch the most beautiful man he'd ever seen, in what he could term a private striptease.

That would carry more weight if the Doctor was actually doing this teasingly, he reprimanded himself silently, wishing that he could force his mind away from the prurient thoughts it always pursued when he saw the Doctor taking anything off.

The Time Lord was shrugging his shirt off, then starting to unfasten his trousers. Ianto swallowed hard, torn between walking over to the Doctor and helping him out of his clothes, or just sitting a few feet away, watching, unable to move a muscle.

Ianto felt as though he was rooted to the spot, his breath catching in his throat in anticipation of what he would see in a few seconds. He couldn't have taken his eyes from the man casually undressing in front of him, even if he'd wanted to.

He knew that the Doctor wasn't one to hold to the convention of wearing underwear, something that had surprised -- and delighted -- him the first time they'd been together. He knew that once the Time Lord's pants were off, he'd be able to view the Doctor au naturel.

Not that he hadn't seen that vision quite a few times already -- but he could never get tired of looking at the man he loved. The Doctor was the most beautiful man he'd ever laid eyes on -- with or without his clothes, Ianto thought as a slight smile curved his lips.

His breath came out in a soft whoosh as the Doctor stepped out of his clothes and turned to look at him with one brow raised in question. "Well, are you just going to sit there staring at me all day, or are you going to get out of those wet things?"

"Oh!" Ianto realized that he'd been sitting there for several long moments, lost in thought as he watched the Doctor strip out of his clothes. He'd completely forgotten his own wet clothes -- and the discomfort they were starting to cause.

Moving quickly, he lifted his t-shirt above his head and pulled it off, then battled with the zipper of his jeans for a few moments. He lifted his head to realize that now, the Doctor was watching him, a smile on those beautiful lips.

His smile grew as the Doctor's eyes swept over him; he could read the light in those dark eyes as surely as if the Doctor had spoken aloud. He was feeling the same way himself; maybe nearly dying was something of an aphrodisiac.

No, that wasn't it, Ianto told himself. It was because they'd come so close to losing each other that they both wanted to lose themselves in the person they loved, to affirm that they were alive and that they were together -- that they hadn't lost.

"What do you say that we brave more water -- and take a shower?" the Doctor asked him, the tone of his voice soft and a little husky. "After all, that water we nearly ended up under wasn't exactly clean. I think we need to wash away any contaminants."

Ianto almost laughed aloud; how like the Doctor to try to minimize the effects of what had nearly happened to him. But he was more than willing to go along with the ploy, if it kept the Time Lord happy. At least he wasn't shaky, as a human would be.

As he had been when they'd made their way back to the Tardis, he told himself. He hadn't been able to keep thoughts of losing the Doctor out of his mind; he'd never been so happy to see the Tardis and to know that the two of them were safe.

"I think that sounds like a wonderful idea," he answered, moving over to the Doctor and sliding an arm around the other man's slim waist. "Though I have an idea that we might be in that shower until the water starts to run dry."

"And you're complaining about that?" the Doctor asked with a soft laugh. He continued, in a more serious tone, "I don't want either one of us to have any sort of phobia about water, Ianto. That's one reason that I want us to be in that shower. Together."

"And the other reason?" Ianto asked, raising his brows as the two of them headed out of the control room and towards the bathroom. "I assume there is another reason -- I know you well enough to know that you have something else going on in that mind of yours."

"Because I want to indulge in a little shower sex with my beautiful boyfriend, of course," the Doctor asked, feigning a surprised look that didn't fool Ianto in the slightest. "What other reason could there possibly be?"

This time, Ianto did laugh, his arm tightening around the Doctor's waist as he led the other man down the corridor to the bathroom. He had a feeling that they were going to be in that shower for quite a while -- and that if the water ran dry, neither of them was going to notice.

***