Fic: Companion 5/5 - 5 AU Iantos Now Complete!
I do apologize for the lateness in posting, I know those of you who read the others were expecting it yesterday. But, given the nature of your feedback, the original plot and the next ten I came up with weren't good enough. I was forced to strive for a greater fic. I hope this meets and exceeds your expectations. Probably, since I feel this is my finest Torchwood piece to date, it will stink like rotten eggs.
Without further adieu....
Title: Companion.
Author: Lopaka Tanu
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood and Doctor Who.
Characters: Ianto
Words: 4867
Prompt: 5 Professions Ianto Never Had
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Pairing: Ianto/Doctor (10) - Mentions of Rose/Doctor, Lisa/Ianto.
Rating: Adult
Warnings: Language, Violence, Tragic Historical References.
Summary: Their first meeting is tragic. It goes down hill from there before it gets better.
Author's Note: 1.) Spoilers Doctor Who 2x13 DoomsDay 2.) Catherine Tate's character will not appear, Ianto's enough trouble.
Theme Music: Streets of Tomorrow - Carla Vallet
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The sound of a gun being cocked was the last thing he wanted to hear. Lowering his head, he fought down the instant rage. "You don't really want to do that."
"It doesn't matter." Voice choked with emotion, Ianto used the back of his free hand to wipe his tears away. Using the barrel of his gun, Ianto gestured to the breach controls. "Bring her back."
"I can't." Clenching his jaw, the Doctor stared the distraught young human down. If he could, he would do anything to comply with the demand.
"You don't have a choice. My Lisa, she's in there." Biting back on a sob, he bit his tongue. When the Doctor merely stood there looking at him, he shook the gun. "Open the damned gateway!"
"No." Moving slowly, the Doctor raised his hand. Surprising, the anger he had just a moment ago felt was no where to be seen. Looking at the man only invoked a sense of pity, as much for himself as for the human. "There's nothing you can do. She's gone, they're all gone."
Shaking his head, Ianto's aim wavered. "No!" Shaking his head, he refused to accept it to be true.
"Yes! No one could survive that. So, yes, she is gone. They're all gone." He took slow, measured steps until he was close enough to take the gun from Ianto. The weapon came away with no resistance. Instead of looking at it, the Doctor tossed it away. "It's better this way, you'll see that eventually. She's in a better place and you'll just have to move on with your life. Just like the rest of us."
He couldn't stand it on his own. Ianto felt the last of his hope slip through his fingers and the world became too heavy to carry on his own. Crossing the short amount of space that separated them, he wrapped his arms around the Doctor's shoulders.
The Doctor's eyes went wide in surprise. Uncomfortably, he let this grief stricken lad hang on him. After a minute of standing their useless, he cleared his throat. "Look, I've got to get going. You lot aren't exactly friendly and I don't care to stick around long enough to explain why I shouldn't be shot."
In response, Ianto tightened his hold. He wasn't up to standing on his own and this alien man was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Burying his face in the Doctor's suit, he inhaled wetly through his nose. "Please, don't go."
"What?" The Doctor knew he must be having a mental break down. That had to be the explanation as there was no way some gibbering mentally unstable man had just asked him to stay. Not after everything, it was too much. Raising his arms, he forced Ianto to let him go. "I have to go now."
But Ianto didn't let him go completely. He kept the Time Lord's hand in his own. Clutching it for dear life, he stared down at the floor. The Doctor started to walk away, trying to break his hand away from Ianto. Desperate, he tugged on the appendage. "Take me with you!"
"What?" The Doctor shook his head to clear it. "What?"
"Take me with you." It came out more of a whisper this time.
"Did you or did you not just have a gun on me not five minutes ago?" The anger returned in full force. Pointing at the far wall where he had thrown the weapon, he shook his hand free of Ianto's. "No, I don't think so! You can stay here and rot with the corpses of your precious Torchwood! My beautiful Rose lies beyond that rift and it is all your fault! Yours, you made this mess, not me, you stay here, and you deal with it!"
Turning from the Doctor, Ianto's face went blank. Looking to the wall where the rift had been, he raised his chin. He nodded once. "You're right."
"Of course I'm right! I was right in the beginning when I told you lot to shut if off, but you people didn't bother to listen! You're the reason your Lisa is dead." The Doctor slammed his mouth shut. Eyes wide, he clenched his jaw and forced himself to turn away. It wasn't right, he had no idea how much this young man was involved. Even then, it was still a horrid thing to say.
Still, Ianto nodded once more. After a steady breath, he paused. "I think it's time you left, Doctor."
"Yeah, so do I." Striving for some emotion, the Doctor came up empty. He stood there, mentally flailing for something to hold on to but only sank further. Shaking his head, he stomped on his emotions, hard. Without thinking, he grabbed Ianto's hand in his own once more and jerked the human so hard he nearly fell. Rushing for the stairwell, he didn't care if Ianto could keep up with him.
For his part, Ianto barely kept his feet under him as he was dragged along. His mind was reeling over what was happening, so he let his body go along for the ride. Down they ran, first one flight, then five, then twenty. Round and round they sank. He could hear a distant alarm on one of the higher levels, but it barely registered in his conscious thoughts.
Eventually they reached lower level three.
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor jimmied the lock. When the bolt snicked back, he kicked the door open and continued in a mad dash for his TARDIS across the warehouse sized storage room. It still sat on the back of the flatbed, and would require climbing to get to it. Once they reached the lorry, he released Ianto's hand and started to climb.
Now that they were there, Ianto felt reluctant to follow.
"Hurry, we haven't much time!" As if to emphasize his word, an alarm rang out in the empty storage room.
His adrenaline up, Ianto grabbed the tail of the flatbed and pulled himself up on to it. As he slid forwards, the Doctor grabbed his hands and dragged him towards the TARDIS. He was able to get his knees under him before they reached the doors.
Releasing Ianto, the Doctor turned and used his key to open the TARDIS. It proved to be in the nick of time as massive doors started to descend from the ceiling, dividing the storage room. Vents in the ceiling opened and a yellow gas began to be pumped in. Whatever it was, he had a feeling they wouldn't be laughing if they got a lung full.
The knowledge of what was happening spurred Ianto to crawl in the TARDIS behind the Doctor. Once through the door, he sprawled across a wide surface.
After closing the door behind Ianto, he ran to the controls and began the start up sequence. "Hang on, I haven't a preset course and we're about to take off!" Hitting the activator, he braced himself against the control console. The TARDIS shook violently as the time vortex activated.
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Sitting, the Doctor gazed out over the ocean ignoring the world around him. When they left, they hadn't a destination, but apparently, the TARDIS did. The pungent smell of sulfur filled the air, but couldn't bother him on this day. With a calm, steady beat, he whipped the wooden fan over him.
Across from him, uncomfortably staring about, Ianto was jumping at nearly every sound. Three times the earth had rumbled, three times Ianto had nearly pissed himself. Without the TARDIS' help, he couldn't make out the language they were speaking, but he had visited the site before. Or, he would in nineteen hundred years. He remembered enough of the town to know what exactly would be happening on this very street in a few hours.
When his companion jumped over another minor tremor brought on by a passing meat cart, the Doctor snapped. Slamming the wooden fan down on the table between them, he growled at Ianto. "Settle down! If I must sell you to the slaver across the market square for a beating, you'll do as I tell you!"
Ianto froze mid quiver. Forcing himself to sit up straight, he composed himself and met the Doctor's angry gaze with a passive one of his own. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, go pay for another of these fruit drinks. Tell her to put more ice in it, the heat is becoming unbearable." The Doctor smirked when he saw Ianto's lower lip twitch.
Taking the copper piece the Doctor slid him, Ianto picked up the Time Lord's wax cup and walked inside the small ground floor establishment. The woman met his stare with an appraising look, checking him over. Glaring at her, he slammed the coin on the counter. "One more pomegranate juice, extra ice chips."
Smirking, she sent the boy slave down below to get more chips from the block in the cellar. While he was busy she studied Ianto's features. If she could reach his face, she would have been checking his teeth. "Your master may not have you for much longer. Even if he is not interested in selling you, I may still interest him in stud services."
"He's..." Ianto stammered for a proper response. He glanced over at the Doctor, and found the Time Lord watching him with undisguised glee. Turning back to the shop keeper as she refilled the Doctor's glass with juice and ice chips, he swallowed nervously. He accepted the glass without saying a word and carried it in a daze back to the Doctor.
Accepting the glass, the Doctor began to fan himself again. He waited until Ianto was sitting down before he spoke again. "Nice weather for a volcanic cataclysm, isn't it?"
Ianto over shot the bench and landed on his arse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Entering the TARDIS, coughing, Ianto ran a hand through his hair. As he shook it out, small strands caught on the new gold stud in his ear. Ash and soot cascaded over his shoulders and down to the floor.
"You'll be cleaning that up, I hope." Standing remarkably unscathed at the controls, the Doctor readied them for take off.
"We just witnessed the destruction of an entire civilization and all you can do is complain about a mess?" Ianto stopped shaking the ash from his clothes to stare at the Doctor. It had to be a mistake, this man was nothing like what he had been told about.
Hand resting on a knob, the Doctor turned to look at Ianto with a raised eyebrow. "You expect me to feel sorry for them? They're dead, they've been dead for two thousand years by the time you were born."
Not understanding, Ianto just stood there. This had to be something seriously wrong. "But, they are people."
"No, they were humans! And you humans think you are so special, but you're not." Rolling his head, the Doctor sneered at Ianto. "You're not."
"Yeah." Ianto was forced to look away. May be he would have been better off left to die in the lock down of Torchwood Tower. Then, at least, he could have been with his beautiful Lisa. Raising his head, he met the Doctor's gaze. "Well, I guess, neither, then, was your Rose. She was human after all."
"Oh, don't you dare. Don't you dare!" Storming his way down the ramp to stand in front of Ianto, the Doctor put a finger to Ianto's chest. "You have no idea, none! Never again will you utter her name, you..."
"Human?" Now that he had the alien's attention, Ianto wasn't about to let himself cower in fear. It might as well be suicide, but at least he wasn't going to take it any more. Besides, it was better this way. He expected some form of retaliation, but not for the Doctor to just stand there glaring at him.
Clenching his fists at his side, the Doctor took several aborted attempts at speaking. After a few minutes, he raised a hand, one finger pointed at Ianto's face. The young man gave him a satisfying flinch. "Rose was a good person, she was, is the only reason you and your pathetic little people are still alive. She alone was the one exception, she was the bright shining example of what humanity could have been."
"Then why did you bring me along?" Ianto flinched again when the Time Lord raised his hand. When the blow didn't come, he opened his eyes and found the Doctor back at the TARDIS' controls.
The Doctor snorted. "I've been wondering that myself." Sitting in the lone stool, he activated the time vortex. The familiar screeching began to fill the chamber.
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The TARDIS had been in transit a number of hours when the Doctor noticed Ianto nodding off. The human was sat up against the entrance, his arms crossed and stuffed in his jacket. The fact he could go anywhere at any time in an instant didn't mean much when he placed the TARDIS in a transient time loop. She would remain cushioned in the time bubble until he decided where he wanted to go.
But watching the human yawn, elicited a similar reaction in himself. Frowning, he put unbuttoned his suit jacket and stretched. It had been an awful and long thirty-seven hours since his last sleep cycle. That memory caused his hearts to pause and his breath to hitch. His last sleep had been beside his beloved Rose.
Not caring about the pathetic human or his needs, the Doctor slid off his stool and stumbled towards the right hatchway. It didn't matter which way he went, the corridor would lead directly to his sleeping chamber. He was halfway down the corridor before he sensed a presence behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he peered at a bleary Ianto. After a moment where his brain refused to provide any information, he nodded.
He led the way through the seemingly endless maze of halls and corridors until they came out in a chamber almost as large as the control chamber. Shucking his jacket on to a pile of clothes he would never wear again, he kicked off his shoes and pulled off the shirt. Instead of removing his belt, he stuck two fingers under each side and slid the whole trouser set to the floor.
With a wide yawn, he walked to the foot of the bed. Raising the cover, he climbed under and crawled up the bed. Once in a place where his head would be resting on the pillow, he dropped and began to breathe deeply.
For a minute, Ianto studied the Doctor, trying to decide what to do.
A hand rose from the bundle of blanket and Time Lord. Snapping his fingers, he pointed at the spot in front of him on the bed.
Ianto didn't need to be told twice. The bed was much more appealing than the semi soft floor. Carefully slipping out of his suit, he folded them so there would be no wrinkles on the floor next to his shoes. Clad only in his boxers and socks, he carefully made his way around the bed. Much to his surprise, the blanket was attached to the bed itself on the sides, leaving the ends open.
When he happened to glance to the Doctor, he found the Time Lord had one eye open, watching him with a smirk. Sighing, he walked to the foot of the bed and grabbed the hem of the blanket. Raising it, he found to his utter surprise, the Time Lord had some how slipped from his pants. Forcing his eyes to look away, he climbed in to the only space in the narrow bed the Doctor had left open for him.
As the blanket settled around him, a tickle began at the bottom of his boxers. Then suddenly, all he could feel were the blanket above him and the sheet below. Looking to his left, he found the Doctor smirking at him. He curled up on his side away from the alien, attempting to put a barrier of blanket between them.
It was for not as the Doctor plastered himself against Ianto's back. With a huffing snort in to the human's ear, he grumbled. "I hope you don't mind, but I do get a bit chilled in the night."
"No." His voice came out tight and high pitched. Ianto closed his eyes and tried not to think about the alien bits now resting against his arse cheek. "Good night, sir."
"Good night, plushie." Giving Ianto's side a nice squeeze, he sighed happily. "You're nice and soft, just like a girl." Yawning, he started to drift off. "Just like my Rose. Night, Rose."
Ianto stayed awake for a while longer. He was not soft, and was most certainly not a plushie!
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Ianto heard what sounded like whispering. He couldn't quite make out the words, but one voice was definitely the Doctor. Awaking in the alien's bed had been an experience in itself. After making sure there were no dried fluids that on his body that shouldn't be there, he had searched and found a bathroom. Thirty minutes in the most sinfully placed water jets, he had had to use the wall to guide him out.
After the shower, he had put on a suit that had been lain out for him next to his now white, dress shoes. Strangely, it was the mirror opposite of what the Doctor had been wearing the day before. White with black pin stripes, the shirt was red and his tie was white. The socks were candy apple red to match the garish shirt. Putting on the suit, as it was the only thing available to him, he was still surprised when it fit him to a T.
After putting them on, he had tried to find his way back to the control chamber, but found only the maze of corridors and chambers. The TARDIS seemed to be deliberately confusing him. By the time he heard the voices, he was almost ready to head back to the sleeping chamber and await the Doctor's return.
As he followed them, he came to the main chamber of the TARDIS. Staring at a glowing sector, the Doctor seemed to be having a hard time breathing. If it weren't for the tears in his eyes, Ianto would have rushed in to the room. The alien may have been the enemy at one time, but he was still a living, and semi breathing, being.
A small alarm sounded on the console and the sector dissipated in a vapor of glowing particles. The Doctor stepped forward, hand out in a futile attempt to keep them together. When he passed right through them, he gasped in pain. For several minutes, the only sound in the chamber was his heavy breathing.
When he looked up, he found Ianto standing at attention, hands behind his back and eyes seriously focused away from him. Strangely grateful, he took a moment to compose himself. When he was certain he could speak without his voice cracking, he faced Ianto. "My Rose is a remarkable lady."
Ianto took a moment to blink slowly before meeting the Doctor's gaze. "As was my Lisa, sir."
"You don't have to call me, sir." Frowning, the Doctor walked over to the console. Several of the circuits had burned out in the attempt to send the communication and were now smoking. He whipped at the air to drive it clear. "We're going to have to put down for repairs. There's a market I know that sells the parts I'll need. You will remain either in my company or on the TARDIS at all times. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Ianto nodded as he entered the chamber proper. Moving around the catwalk, he came to stop at a respectable distance from the Doctor.
Flipping a couple switches, the Doctor activated the time vortex. While the TARDIS screeched their trip through time, he pulled out a wrist watch. Strapping it on, he held it up so Ianto could see the face. "I've implanted a tracker in your body while you slept. I will know if you try to escape, or if, as the case may most likely be, you are abducted for experimentation." After a second, he snorted then tapped a blinking indicator light. The screeching came to a halt and the Doctor walked down the ramp to the doors. "Come," he snapped his fingers, "you know, I don't think I ever learned your name."
"Ianto Jones." Ianto saw the Doctor's smirk, but chose to ignore it. Moving to join the Doctor at the doors, he noted the Time Lord's suit was the exact copy of the one from yesterday, so they were now opposites. Right down to their shoes, the doctor wore red trainers with white socks. He had to keep from rolling his eyes at that little bit of absurdity.
"Right. Come along then." Bounce in his stride before he pushed open the door, he grinned. As he stepped out in to the alien air, though, his expression turned serious. He raised his face, a hand over his eyes to protect him from the sunlight.
Joining the Doctor outside the TARDIS, Ianto raised his own face to examine what the Doctor was looking at. A second later, he heard the doors close behind him. As he turned to see what was happening, the TARDIS began to screech and then disappear, the Doctor no where in sight. Fear gripped his heart, causing it to skip a beat. He reached out, but only encountered a wave of light.
When the TARDIS was completely gone, he stood there looking out over an empty market place. A wind picked up, billowing his suit jacket. For a long time, he continued to stare at the exact spot the TARDIS had been.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was beyond hysterics, beyond anger, beyond every emotion and in to numb catatonia when the familiar screeching echoed in the abandoned market. Ianto made no movement, no reaction as the TARDIS rematerialized not ten feet away. When the doors opened, he continued to sit there, staring off in to space.
Pleasant expression in place, the Doctor stepped off the TARDIS. He scratched at his head. "Sorry about that, needed a little time to myself. Did you enjoy your..." Frowning, he looked about him. He spun in a circle trying to find anything among the derelict buildings.
Ianto gave no reaction.
"What the... Where is everyone? This should be a teaming metropolis full of a variety..." Trailing off, the Doctor finally noticed that Ianto hadn't even moved. Expression fading from confused, the corner of his mouth twitched. "Ianto? Ianto Jones?"
Raising his eyes, they focused on the Doctor for a minute before clouding over. The moment he truly saw the Time Lord, his jaw clenched and his breathing hitched. He started to shake his head when the Doctor knelt down in front of him.
Wrapping his arms around the human, he brought his head down against his chest. "I'm here. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Much to his surprise, Ianto clung to him desperately, nearly squeezing the breath from him. The hitching turned to sobs as Ianto whimpered against his breast. "Please, forgive me, I didn't know or I would never have done that. Please."
Rubbing his face against the Doctor's coat, Ianto desperately tried to get as much contact as he possibly could.
"No more teasing. No more pain, I promise." And to his own surprise, the Doctor meant it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easing the still shaky Ianto on to his bed, the Doctor frowned at their joined hands. It shouldn't have bothered him this much that he had scared the human so badly. He remained standing while Ianto sat down. When after a minute, it looked as if Ianto was content to just sit there, the Doctor sighed. "Remove your clothes."
Ianto slowly raised his head and turned it to face the Doctor. His blank expression was marked by tear tracks and red puffiness around his eyes.
"That was not a request." Much to his satisfaction, Ianto stood up and let his hand go.
Undoing the two buttons on the front of his jacket, Ianto arched his shoulders and let it slide down his arms. When it hit the floor, he began to undo the buttons on his cuffs and collar. Pulling the shirt from his trousers, he slowly slipped free each button from the holes. Once done, he let it fall off like his jacket. The vest went with it, then he moved on to the belt and trousers. They came off with the shoes and he soon stood there in boxers and socks. Yet, he didn't stop there and those too were on the pile.
"Good." Swallowing, the Doctor took an unsteady breath. "Now, get in the bed."
Kneeling down, Ianto grabbed the foot of the blanket and pulled it over himself. He slid in between the blanket and sheet until he was properly placed at the center. Ianto laid there on his back watching the Doctor with a trusting gaze.
Before he knew what he was doing, the Doctor had begun to remove his own clothes. Soon, he was down to his pants, hopping on one foot while jerking the sock off the other. When his tighty whities were on the floor, he twitched his toes and took a moment to consider. "What the hell am I doing?"
Neither of them seemed to have an answer.
Kneeling down, the Doctor climbed in to the bed. He crawled between Ianto's spread legs and laid down atop him. Reaching up, he caressed Ianto's temple. Neither of them seemed to be breathing, and he didn't quite comprehend what was happening between them. It wasn't right, and as he placed his other arm to the side of Ianto's head so he could rise up, he didn't care.
Those bedeviled eyes met his and held him. Unable to turn away, he shifted his lower body until he was lined perfectly against Ianto's lower half. The beautiful demon beneath him wrapped his legs around him and that was all it took. Closing his eyes, he arched his head over his back and sank in to the human.
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It was well past mid night and early in to morning. Sitting naked on the end of his bed, he felt more than saw Ianto's eyes open. In his hand, he held a leather billfold with a picture in the center. Her beautiful face stared up at him from paper and plastic. Tracing a finger over her features, he sighed when Ianto curled against him.
The first hesitant trace of lips against his spine made him groan. "When I first met her, I saved her from a mistake. It was my own doing, an unknown side effect of my greatest evil act."
Wrapping an arm around the Doctor's waist, Ianto trailed his fingers down the hair he found on the alien's stomach. When the Doctor's hand wrapped around his, he paused, then flattened his palm against his stomach.
"I had planned on spending the rest of my life cleaning up the messes, making amends where I could. So many." Shaking his head, he pursed his lips before licking them. "She changed that, saw a part of me that I had thought died with my people. Sounds like cliched bollox, but I swear it's the truth. She wanted to be with me, and after a time, I wanted to be with her. It didn't matter where she came from, what species she was, she was special, oh, so bloody special."
He reached out, scrubbing a hand through Ianto's hair. Lost in memories, a smile graced his lips for a bit before turning bitter. "I don't know what I'll do this time. It can't be like it was, too much has happened. I won't be satisfied with fixing the mistakes of my past any more."
Sitting up, Ianto grabbed the Doctor's hand in his own. Bringing it to his chest, he held it firmly against him. "Then perhaps its time you faced the future." Letting their hands slide lower, he leaned forward almost hesitantly. Pressing his lips against the Time Lord's, he felt a tingle run through him. When he pulled back, he licked his own and smiled. "Your lips are glowing."
"So are yours." The Doctor started to reach out to trace Ianto's lips when something in his ear caught his attention. Touching the small gold stud, he frowned. "Where did you get this?"
Ianto stopped smiling as he reached up and fingered it. "Pompeii. A merchant gave it to me for...warning him."
"I see." He wasn't about to lecture Ianto on interfering. He wasn't exactly innocent of such things. "What's that say, I can't quite make it out?"
Smile returning when he realized the Doctor wasn't going to be angry, he traced the hair fine inscription. "It's Greek, means bad wolf."
The Doctor felt the world tilt on its axis. Breath not coming, he let go of Ianto's ear and cupped his face. Pressing their foreheads together, he moaned low and slowly. "Oh, my precious darling."
THE END.........................
Without further adieu....
Title: Companion.
Author: Lopaka Tanu
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood and Doctor Who.
Characters: Ianto
Words: 4867
Prompt: 5 Professions Ianto Never Had
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Pairing: Ianto/Doctor (10) - Mentions of Rose/Doctor, Lisa/Ianto.
Rating: Adult
Warnings: Language, Violence, Tragic Historical References.
Summary: Their first meeting is tragic. It goes down hill from there before it gets better.
Author's Note: 1.) Spoilers Doctor Who 2x13 DoomsDay 2.) Catherine Tate's character will not appear, Ianto's enough trouble.
Theme Music: Streets of Tomorrow - Carla Vallet
______________________________________
The sound of a gun being cocked was the last thing he wanted to hear. Lowering his head, he fought down the instant rage. "You don't really want to do that."
"It doesn't matter." Voice choked with emotion, Ianto used the back of his free hand to wipe his tears away. Using the barrel of his gun, Ianto gestured to the breach controls. "Bring her back."
"I can't." Clenching his jaw, the Doctor stared the distraught young human down. If he could, he would do anything to comply with the demand.
"You don't have a choice. My Lisa, she's in there." Biting back on a sob, he bit his tongue. When the Doctor merely stood there looking at him, he shook the gun. "Open the damned gateway!"
"No." Moving slowly, the Doctor raised his hand. Surprising, the anger he had just a moment ago felt was no where to be seen. Looking at the man only invoked a sense of pity, as much for himself as for the human. "There's nothing you can do. She's gone, they're all gone."
Shaking his head, Ianto's aim wavered. "No!" Shaking his head, he refused to accept it to be true.
"Yes! No one could survive that. So, yes, she is gone. They're all gone." He took slow, measured steps until he was close enough to take the gun from Ianto. The weapon came away with no resistance. Instead of looking at it, the Doctor tossed it away. "It's better this way, you'll see that eventually. She's in a better place and you'll just have to move on with your life. Just like the rest of us."
He couldn't stand it on his own. Ianto felt the last of his hope slip through his fingers and the world became too heavy to carry on his own. Crossing the short amount of space that separated them, he wrapped his arms around the Doctor's shoulders.
The Doctor's eyes went wide in surprise. Uncomfortably, he let this grief stricken lad hang on him. After a minute of standing their useless, he cleared his throat. "Look, I've got to get going. You lot aren't exactly friendly and I don't care to stick around long enough to explain why I shouldn't be shot."
In response, Ianto tightened his hold. He wasn't up to standing on his own and this alien man was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Burying his face in the Doctor's suit, he inhaled wetly through his nose. "Please, don't go."
"What?" The Doctor knew he must be having a mental break down. That had to be the explanation as there was no way some gibbering mentally unstable man had just asked him to stay. Not after everything, it was too much. Raising his arms, he forced Ianto to let him go. "I have to go now."
But Ianto didn't let him go completely. He kept the Time Lord's hand in his own. Clutching it for dear life, he stared down at the floor. The Doctor started to walk away, trying to break his hand away from Ianto. Desperate, he tugged on the appendage. "Take me with you!"
"What?" The Doctor shook his head to clear it. "What?"
"Take me with you." It came out more of a whisper this time.
"Did you or did you not just have a gun on me not five minutes ago?" The anger returned in full force. Pointing at the far wall where he had thrown the weapon, he shook his hand free of Ianto's. "No, I don't think so! You can stay here and rot with the corpses of your precious Torchwood! My beautiful Rose lies beyond that rift and it is all your fault! Yours, you made this mess, not me, you stay here, and you deal with it!"
Turning from the Doctor, Ianto's face went blank. Looking to the wall where the rift had been, he raised his chin. He nodded once. "You're right."
"Of course I'm right! I was right in the beginning when I told you lot to shut if off, but you people didn't bother to listen! You're the reason your Lisa is dead." The Doctor slammed his mouth shut. Eyes wide, he clenched his jaw and forced himself to turn away. It wasn't right, he had no idea how much this young man was involved. Even then, it was still a horrid thing to say.
Still, Ianto nodded once more. After a steady breath, he paused. "I think it's time you left, Doctor."
"Yeah, so do I." Striving for some emotion, the Doctor came up empty. He stood there, mentally flailing for something to hold on to but only sank further. Shaking his head, he stomped on his emotions, hard. Without thinking, he grabbed Ianto's hand in his own once more and jerked the human so hard he nearly fell. Rushing for the stairwell, he didn't care if Ianto could keep up with him.
For his part, Ianto barely kept his feet under him as he was dragged along. His mind was reeling over what was happening, so he let his body go along for the ride. Down they ran, first one flight, then five, then twenty. Round and round they sank. He could hear a distant alarm on one of the higher levels, but it barely registered in his conscious thoughts.
Eventually they reached lower level three.
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor jimmied the lock. When the bolt snicked back, he kicked the door open and continued in a mad dash for his TARDIS across the warehouse sized storage room. It still sat on the back of the flatbed, and would require climbing to get to it. Once they reached the lorry, he released Ianto's hand and started to climb.
Now that they were there, Ianto felt reluctant to follow.
"Hurry, we haven't much time!" As if to emphasize his word, an alarm rang out in the empty storage room.
His adrenaline up, Ianto grabbed the tail of the flatbed and pulled himself up on to it. As he slid forwards, the Doctor grabbed his hands and dragged him towards the TARDIS. He was able to get his knees under him before they reached the doors.
Releasing Ianto, the Doctor turned and used his key to open the TARDIS. It proved to be in the nick of time as massive doors started to descend from the ceiling, dividing the storage room. Vents in the ceiling opened and a yellow gas began to be pumped in. Whatever it was, he had a feeling they wouldn't be laughing if they got a lung full.
The knowledge of what was happening spurred Ianto to crawl in the TARDIS behind the Doctor. Once through the door, he sprawled across a wide surface.
After closing the door behind Ianto, he ran to the controls and began the start up sequence. "Hang on, I haven't a preset course and we're about to take off!" Hitting the activator, he braced himself against the control console. The TARDIS shook violently as the time vortex activated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sitting, the Doctor gazed out over the ocean ignoring the world around him. When they left, they hadn't a destination, but apparently, the TARDIS did. The pungent smell of sulfur filled the air, but couldn't bother him on this day. With a calm, steady beat, he whipped the wooden fan over him.
Across from him, uncomfortably staring about, Ianto was jumping at nearly every sound. Three times the earth had rumbled, three times Ianto had nearly pissed himself. Without the TARDIS' help, he couldn't make out the language they were speaking, but he had visited the site before. Or, he would in nineteen hundred years. He remembered enough of the town to know what exactly would be happening on this very street in a few hours.
When his companion jumped over another minor tremor brought on by a passing meat cart, the Doctor snapped. Slamming the wooden fan down on the table between them, he growled at Ianto. "Settle down! If I must sell you to the slaver across the market square for a beating, you'll do as I tell you!"
Ianto froze mid quiver. Forcing himself to sit up straight, he composed himself and met the Doctor's angry gaze with a passive one of his own. "Yes, sir."
"Good. Now, go pay for another of these fruit drinks. Tell her to put more ice in it, the heat is becoming unbearable." The Doctor smirked when he saw Ianto's lower lip twitch.
Taking the copper piece the Doctor slid him, Ianto picked up the Time Lord's wax cup and walked inside the small ground floor establishment. The woman met his stare with an appraising look, checking him over. Glaring at her, he slammed the coin on the counter. "One more pomegranate juice, extra ice chips."
Smirking, she sent the boy slave down below to get more chips from the block in the cellar. While he was busy she studied Ianto's features. If she could reach his face, she would have been checking his teeth. "Your master may not have you for much longer. Even if he is not interested in selling you, I may still interest him in stud services."
"He's..." Ianto stammered for a proper response. He glanced over at the Doctor, and found the Time Lord watching him with undisguised glee. Turning back to the shop keeper as she refilled the Doctor's glass with juice and ice chips, he swallowed nervously. He accepted the glass without saying a word and carried it in a daze back to the Doctor.
Accepting the glass, the Doctor began to fan himself again. He waited until Ianto was sitting down before he spoke again. "Nice weather for a volcanic cataclysm, isn't it?"
Ianto over shot the bench and landed on his arse.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Entering the TARDIS, coughing, Ianto ran a hand through his hair. As he shook it out, small strands caught on the new gold stud in his ear. Ash and soot cascaded over his shoulders and down to the floor.
"You'll be cleaning that up, I hope." Standing remarkably unscathed at the controls, the Doctor readied them for take off.
"We just witnessed the destruction of an entire civilization and all you can do is complain about a mess?" Ianto stopped shaking the ash from his clothes to stare at the Doctor. It had to be a mistake, this man was nothing like what he had been told about.
Hand resting on a knob, the Doctor turned to look at Ianto with a raised eyebrow. "You expect me to feel sorry for them? They're dead, they've been dead for two thousand years by the time you were born."
Not understanding, Ianto just stood there. This had to be something seriously wrong. "But, they are people."
"No, they were humans! And you humans think you are so special, but you're not." Rolling his head, the Doctor sneered at Ianto. "You're not."
"Yeah." Ianto was forced to look away. May be he would have been better off left to die in the lock down of Torchwood Tower. Then, at least, he could have been with his beautiful Lisa. Raising his head, he met the Doctor's gaze. "Well, I guess, neither, then, was your Rose. She was human after all."
"Oh, don't you dare. Don't you dare!" Storming his way down the ramp to stand in front of Ianto, the Doctor put a finger to Ianto's chest. "You have no idea, none! Never again will you utter her name, you..."
"Human?" Now that he had the alien's attention, Ianto wasn't about to let himself cower in fear. It might as well be suicide, but at least he wasn't going to take it any more. Besides, it was better this way. He expected some form of retaliation, but not for the Doctor to just stand there glaring at him.
Clenching his fists at his side, the Doctor took several aborted attempts at speaking. After a few minutes, he raised a hand, one finger pointed at Ianto's face. The young man gave him a satisfying flinch. "Rose was a good person, she was, is the only reason you and your pathetic little people are still alive. She alone was the one exception, she was the bright shining example of what humanity could have been."
"Then why did you bring me along?" Ianto flinched again when the Time Lord raised his hand. When the blow didn't come, he opened his eyes and found the Doctor back at the TARDIS' controls.
The Doctor snorted. "I've been wondering that myself." Sitting in the lone stool, he activated the time vortex. The familiar screeching began to fill the chamber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The TARDIS had been in transit a number of hours when the Doctor noticed Ianto nodding off. The human was sat up against the entrance, his arms crossed and stuffed in his jacket. The fact he could go anywhere at any time in an instant didn't mean much when he placed the TARDIS in a transient time loop. She would remain cushioned in the time bubble until he decided where he wanted to go.
But watching the human yawn, elicited a similar reaction in himself. Frowning, he put unbuttoned his suit jacket and stretched. It had been an awful and long thirty-seven hours since his last sleep cycle. That memory caused his hearts to pause and his breath to hitch. His last sleep had been beside his beloved Rose.
Not caring about the pathetic human or his needs, the Doctor slid off his stool and stumbled towards the right hatchway. It didn't matter which way he went, the corridor would lead directly to his sleeping chamber. He was halfway down the corridor before he sensed a presence behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, he peered at a bleary Ianto. After a moment where his brain refused to provide any information, he nodded.
He led the way through the seemingly endless maze of halls and corridors until they came out in a chamber almost as large as the control chamber. Shucking his jacket on to a pile of clothes he would never wear again, he kicked off his shoes and pulled off the shirt. Instead of removing his belt, he stuck two fingers under each side and slid the whole trouser set to the floor.
With a wide yawn, he walked to the foot of the bed. Raising the cover, he climbed under and crawled up the bed. Once in a place where his head would be resting on the pillow, he dropped and began to breathe deeply.
For a minute, Ianto studied the Doctor, trying to decide what to do.
A hand rose from the bundle of blanket and Time Lord. Snapping his fingers, he pointed at the spot in front of him on the bed.
Ianto didn't need to be told twice. The bed was much more appealing than the semi soft floor. Carefully slipping out of his suit, he folded them so there would be no wrinkles on the floor next to his shoes. Clad only in his boxers and socks, he carefully made his way around the bed. Much to his surprise, the blanket was attached to the bed itself on the sides, leaving the ends open.
When he happened to glance to the Doctor, he found the Time Lord had one eye open, watching him with a smirk. Sighing, he walked to the foot of the bed and grabbed the hem of the blanket. Raising it, he found to his utter surprise, the Time Lord had some how slipped from his pants. Forcing his eyes to look away, he climbed in to the only space in the narrow bed the Doctor had left open for him.
As the blanket settled around him, a tickle began at the bottom of his boxers. Then suddenly, all he could feel were the blanket above him and the sheet below. Looking to his left, he found the Doctor smirking at him. He curled up on his side away from the alien, attempting to put a barrier of blanket between them.
It was for not as the Doctor plastered himself against Ianto's back. With a huffing snort in to the human's ear, he grumbled. "I hope you don't mind, but I do get a bit chilled in the night."
"No." His voice came out tight and high pitched. Ianto closed his eyes and tried not to think about the alien bits now resting against his arse cheek. "Good night, sir."
"Good night, plushie." Giving Ianto's side a nice squeeze, he sighed happily. "You're nice and soft, just like a girl." Yawning, he started to drift off. "Just like my Rose. Night, Rose."
Ianto stayed awake for a while longer. He was not soft, and was most certainly not a plushie!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ianto heard what sounded like whispering. He couldn't quite make out the words, but one voice was definitely the Doctor. Awaking in the alien's bed had been an experience in itself. After making sure there were no dried fluids that on his body that shouldn't be there, he had searched and found a bathroom. Thirty minutes in the most sinfully placed water jets, he had had to use the wall to guide him out.
After the shower, he had put on a suit that had been lain out for him next to his now white, dress shoes. Strangely, it was the mirror opposite of what the Doctor had been wearing the day before. White with black pin stripes, the shirt was red and his tie was white. The socks were candy apple red to match the garish shirt. Putting on the suit, as it was the only thing available to him, he was still surprised when it fit him to a T.
After putting them on, he had tried to find his way back to the control chamber, but found only the maze of corridors and chambers. The TARDIS seemed to be deliberately confusing him. By the time he heard the voices, he was almost ready to head back to the sleeping chamber and await the Doctor's return.
As he followed them, he came to the main chamber of the TARDIS. Staring at a glowing sector, the Doctor seemed to be having a hard time breathing. If it weren't for the tears in his eyes, Ianto would have rushed in to the room. The alien may have been the enemy at one time, but he was still a living, and semi breathing, being.
A small alarm sounded on the console and the sector dissipated in a vapor of glowing particles. The Doctor stepped forward, hand out in a futile attempt to keep them together. When he passed right through them, he gasped in pain. For several minutes, the only sound in the chamber was his heavy breathing.
When he looked up, he found Ianto standing at attention, hands behind his back and eyes seriously focused away from him. Strangely grateful, he took a moment to compose himself. When he was certain he could speak without his voice cracking, he faced Ianto. "My Rose is a remarkable lady."
Ianto took a moment to blink slowly before meeting the Doctor's gaze. "As was my Lisa, sir."
"You don't have to call me, sir." Frowning, the Doctor walked over to the console. Several of the circuits had burned out in the attempt to send the communication and were now smoking. He whipped at the air to drive it clear. "We're going to have to put down for repairs. There's a market I know that sells the parts I'll need. You will remain either in my company or on the TARDIS at all times. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." Ianto nodded as he entered the chamber proper. Moving around the catwalk, he came to stop at a respectable distance from the Doctor.
Flipping a couple switches, the Doctor activated the time vortex. While the TARDIS screeched their trip through time, he pulled out a wrist watch. Strapping it on, he held it up so Ianto could see the face. "I've implanted a tracker in your body while you slept. I will know if you try to escape, or if, as the case may most likely be, you are abducted for experimentation." After a second, he snorted then tapped a blinking indicator light. The screeching came to a halt and the Doctor walked down the ramp to the doors. "Come," he snapped his fingers, "you know, I don't think I ever learned your name."
"Ianto Jones." Ianto saw the Doctor's smirk, but chose to ignore it. Moving to join the Doctor at the doors, he noted the Time Lord's suit was the exact copy of the one from yesterday, so they were now opposites. Right down to their shoes, the doctor wore red trainers with white socks. He had to keep from rolling his eyes at that little bit of absurdity.
"Right. Come along then." Bounce in his stride before he pushed open the door, he grinned. As he stepped out in to the alien air, though, his expression turned serious. He raised his face, a hand over his eyes to protect him from the sunlight.
Joining the Doctor outside the TARDIS, Ianto raised his own face to examine what the Doctor was looking at. A second later, he heard the doors close behind him. As he turned to see what was happening, the TARDIS began to screech and then disappear, the Doctor no where in sight. Fear gripped his heart, causing it to skip a beat. He reached out, but only encountered a wave of light.
When the TARDIS was completely gone, he stood there looking out over an empty market place. A wind picked up, billowing his suit jacket. For a long time, he continued to stare at the exact spot the TARDIS had been.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
He was beyond hysterics, beyond anger, beyond every emotion and in to numb catatonia when the familiar screeching echoed in the abandoned market. Ianto made no movement, no reaction as the TARDIS rematerialized not ten feet away. When the doors opened, he continued to sit there, staring off in to space.
Pleasant expression in place, the Doctor stepped off the TARDIS. He scratched at his head. "Sorry about that, needed a little time to myself. Did you enjoy your..." Frowning, he looked about him. He spun in a circle trying to find anything among the derelict buildings.
Ianto gave no reaction.
"What the... Where is everyone? This should be a teaming metropolis full of a variety..." Trailing off, the Doctor finally noticed that Ianto hadn't even moved. Expression fading from confused, the corner of his mouth twitched. "Ianto? Ianto Jones?"
Raising his eyes, they focused on the Doctor for a minute before clouding over. The moment he truly saw the Time Lord, his jaw clenched and his breathing hitched. He started to shake his head when the Doctor knelt down in front of him.
Wrapping his arms around the human, he brought his head down against his chest. "I'm here. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Much to his surprise, Ianto clung to him desperately, nearly squeezing the breath from him. The hitching turned to sobs as Ianto whimpered against his breast. "Please, forgive me, I didn't know or I would never have done that. Please."
Rubbing his face against the Doctor's coat, Ianto desperately tried to get as much contact as he possibly could.
"No more teasing. No more pain, I promise." And to his own surprise, the Doctor meant it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easing the still shaky Ianto on to his bed, the Doctor frowned at their joined hands. It shouldn't have bothered him this much that he had scared the human so badly. He remained standing while Ianto sat down. When after a minute, it looked as if Ianto was content to just sit there, the Doctor sighed. "Remove your clothes."
Ianto slowly raised his head and turned it to face the Doctor. His blank expression was marked by tear tracks and red puffiness around his eyes.
"That was not a request." Much to his satisfaction, Ianto stood up and let his hand go.
Undoing the two buttons on the front of his jacket, Ianto arched his shoulders and let it slide down his arms. When it hit the floor, he began to undo the buttons on his cuffs and collar. Pulling the shirt from his trousers, he slowly slipped free each button from the holes. Once done, he let it fall off like his jacket. The vest went with it, then he moved on to the belt and trousers. They came off with the shoes and he soon stood there in boxers and socks. Yet, he didn't stop there and those too were on the pile.
"Good." Swallowing, the Doctor took an unsteady breath. "Now, get in the bed."
Kneeling down, Ianto grabbed the foot of the blanket and pulled it over himself. He slid in between the blanket and sheet until he was properly placed at the center. Ianto laid there on his back watching the Doctor with a trusting gaze.
Before he knew what he was doing, the Doctor had begun to remove his own clothes. Soon, he was down to his pants, hopping on one foot while jerking the sock off the other. When his tighty whities were on the floor, he twitched his toes and took a moment to consider. "What the hell am I doing?"
Neither of them seemed to have an answer.
Kneeling down, the Doctor climbed in to the bed. He crawled between Ianto's spread legs and laid down atop him. Reaching up, he caressed Ianto's temple. Neither of them seemed to be breathing, and he didn't quite comprehend what was happening between them. It wasn't right, and as he placed his other arm to the side of Ianto's head so he could rise up, he didn't care.
Those bedeviled eyes met his and held him. Unable to turn away, he shifted his lower body until he was lined perfectly against Ianto's lower half. The beautiful demon beneath him wrapped his legs around him and that was all it took. Closing his eyes, he arched his head over his back and sank in to the human.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was well past mid night and early in to morning. Sitting naked on the end of his bed, he felt more than saw Ianto's eyes open. In his hand, he held a leather billfold with a picture in the center. Her beautiful face stared up at him from paper and plastic. Tracing a finger over her features, he sighed when Ianto curled against him.
The first hesitant trace of lips against his spine made him groan. "When I first met her, I saved her from a mistake. It was my own doing, an unknown side effect of my greatest evil act."
Wrapping an arm around the Doctor's waist, Ianto trailed his fingers down the hair he found on the alien's stomach. When the Doctor's hand wrapped around his, he paused, then flattened his palm against his stomach.
"I had planned on spending the rest of my life cleaning up the messes, making amends where I could. So many." Shaking his head, he pursed his lips before licking them. "She changed that, saw a part of me that I had thought died with my people. Sounds like cliched bollox, but I swear it's the truth. She wanted to be with me, and after a time, I wanted to be with her. It didn't matter where she came from, what species she was, she was special, oh, so bloody special."
He reached out, scrubbing a hand through Ianto's hair. Lost in memories, a smile graced his lips for a bit before turning bitter. "I don't know what I'll do this time. It can't be like it was, too much has happened. I won't be satisfied with fixing the mistakes of my past any more."
Sitting up, Ianto grabbed the Doctor's hand in his own. Bringing it to his chest, he held it firmly against him. "Then perhaps its time you faced the future." Letting their hands slide lower, he leaned forward almost hesitantly. Pressing his lips against the Time Lord's, he felt a tingle run through him. When he pulled back, he licked his own and smiled. "Your lips are glowing."
"So are yours." The Doctor started to reach out to trace Ianto's lips when something in his ear caught his attention. Touching the small gold stud, he frowned. "Where did you get this?"
Ianto stopped smiling as he reached up and fingered it. "Pompeii. A merchant gave it to me for...warning him."
"I see." He wasn't about to lecture Ianto on interfering. He wasn't exactly innocent of such things. "What's that say, I can't quite make it out?"
Smile returning when he realized the Doctor wasn't going to be angry, he traced the hair fine inscription. "It's Greek, means bad wolf."
The Doctor felt the world tilt on its axis. Breath not coming, he let go of Ianto's ear and cupped his face. Pressing their foreheads together, he moaned low and slowly. "Oh, my precious darling."
THE END.........................