Author's Notes: I have absolutely no excuse for this. Actually, the last thing I need to start now is another Time Lord!Ianto fic, but the urge is strong, so I'm doing it. Unlike the other two universes I've written it, though (and both of them could fit in a future canon by stretch) this one is completely AU and also takes an entirely different direction. Thus being said, be warned: There's a very mild Jack-criticism in this chapter, so be prepared for that, and even though it's gen now, it's going to get pretty shippy on the Ianto/Ten front.

The chapters – if I do write more than this one, which I most likely will – are based a challenge in livejournal, using nine colours and a list of prompts, from which I choose at least one. And feedback is really welcome because this is the first time I've written Ten and I'm really not sure how it turned out.

Colour: Pink

Prompt: Hot Pink

"Are you sure that this is an– adequate choice for the occasion?" The Doctor asked, scratching the back of his head. Ianto's shirt was an alarmingly bright pink and he wasn't sure he'd be able to stare at it for too long, let alone let him out in it, especially in the time period they had landed in. Ianto threw him a glance in the mirror. "It's my everyday wear. Is it a problem?"

He seemed worried all of a sudden and the Doctor sighed. Ianto seemed like the person to do that a lot – try not to mess up even when he'd hardly opened his mouth yet. The Doctor had just taken him a few hours ago and it was already visible that it might stick if he didn't do something about it.

Several days after he'd seen the Torchwood Hub on the screen during the Dalek invasion, Ianto had been restoring the parts of their base that had been destroyed which, naturally, had led to fiddling with his own possession, just to check if everything was where it was supposed to be, and that itself had make dim find his own old pocket watch.

The Doctor had been called as soon as the shock had passed – shock that had been mostly for Ianto's colleagues and not the recently woken up Time Lord. Gwyneth – Gwen, actually, the Doctor had confused the name several times before getting it right – had accepted it rather easily. She'd been curious, sympathetic of the alien suddenly taking her friend's place and had pointed out the obvious – that the human Ianto wasn't all that different from the new one. He was happier, more alive and Gwen had welcomed it, so Ianto had taken great joy in telling her everything she'd wanted to know about his home world and the places he'd visited.

The same couldn't be said about Jack. He'd closed himself in his office and had refused to come out for two days and when he did reappear, he'd been cold, almost cruel to Ianto, treating him like there was an invasion right under his nose. He had asked several brief questions – why had Ianto come to Earth in the first place (a penalty of some sort, as it turned out, and one the Doctor hadn't heard of because he hadn't been on Gallifrey for too long in the last days before the War, which was exactly when Ianto had been punished – even though he refused to say what he had done to deserve it), whether the human in him was ever likely to return (the answer had been a firm 'no') and what would Ianto do now (he'd said he wanted to travel and then had looked at the Doctor timidly, adding, 'If you'd take me, of course'). Then, things between the two of them had ended without anyone really saying a thing. Ianto – even the Time Lord Ianto – loved Jack enough to stay but not enough to play human for him and Jack had suddenly ended up with a complete stranger in his arms – and, to make things worse, it was a stranger from a species the Captain had seen nothing good of – and he had no clue what to do with him, so the only thing that had kept Ianto around – except for packing up the few important things he wanted to take – had been saying his goodbyes to Gwen.

It had been an emotional affair and the Doctor had tried to give them some privacy, but even that way he'd heard that Ianto offered her to come with them. From what he'd heard, she'd been tempted but had refused anyway – something about her husband and Jack and the general protection of the planet – so he had pulled her up into an embrace, closing his eyes and kissing her forehead, murmuring a final goodbye before he abruptly turned around and strode into the TARDIS without looking back.

The Doctor pulled himself out of his thoughts when Ianto turned to face him, a small smile hiding at the corners of his lips. "I thought it was the perfect colour to start an adventure with." His eyes and his expression were completely serious and yet the Doctor sensed the joke in his words.

"Maybe, yeah, but I'm not really sure it'd be a good idea for 1903 in London."

Ianto raised an eyebrow and now he looked decidedly amused. "I thought we were going to the forty-first century in the Tarelia Galaxy. What happened?"

The Doctor looked down at his feet, suddenly uncomfortable – and damn Ianto for being one of the few people who could actually make him feel humble. The TARDIS generally took him where she pleased and he didn't get much of a say in it, and he highly suspected that Ianto knew it. "Does it matter? The Edwardian Era is much more fun." At this point, he took a rather meaningful look at Ianto's clothes, trying to bring him back to the matter at hand.

The smile on the younger Time Lord's face grew wider as he followed the Doctor's gaze, and there was a twinkle in his eyes the Doctor had rarely seen. Most of companions were humans who had no real idea of just how big the Universe could be. For Ianto, it was something natural and the Doctor relished in the feeling of having someone like that on board for the first time since Romana. "You know, Jack used to say that a pink shirt is appropriate at all times and–" Suddenly, Ianto cut himself off and the smile vanished as quickly as it had arrived. "Actually, never mind. You're right, I better change it."

"No," the Doctor said quickly and his fingers closed over Ianto's as he viciously yanked at the first button. Ianto's eyes had gone back to their usual reserve and he wanted to see the little amused flames in them again. "No, it's very– dashing. Who knows, you might start a new wave of colour in men's fashion. It's all very monochromatic in this time period."

Ianto's face lit up and the Doctor absent-mindledly thought that it was worth it to stand the ungodly colour if he could see that expression more often. "I know. Do I get to have a top hat?"

The Doctor gave a sort laugh. Ianto was – in both human and Time Lord terms – very young and now that he was himself entirely, he was easily distracted and yet exceptionally intelligent, which was a surprisingly good combination. He stored all kinds of information in his head and right now the Doctor could see in his eyes that the question had been genuine.

"Sure you can," he said and, as he gave Ianto directions for the wardrobe, he realised for probably the first time that they could be quite good for one another.