The Mystery We Are. TW/HL Xover 36/36 [PG-13]
~*~
When he felt the buzz of another immortal, Methos knew his barely formed idea of just leaving and avoiding the unpleasantness of goodbyes was well and truly scuppered. He half heartedly kicked the bag at his feet in annoyance. There was only one person it could be at this time, a fact that was confirmed by the sound of a key in the lock of the front door. He waited for the sound of the door closing before he said anything.
“Hi Siannon. I’m in the bedroom.” He smiled at the soft chuckle she gave, and waited for the inevitable comment.
“Are you sure it’s safe for me to come in?”
“It is now...” He stuffed the last of his clothes into the bag and turned to face her, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Though I’m glad you didn’t arrive a couple of hours earlier.”
“I’ll bet. I kind of guessed that by the expression on Jack’s face this morning.”
“So, is there any particular reason for the pleasure of your company, or did you just want to make sure I didn’t escape without anyone knowing?”
“Oh that to the escaping,” she gestured. “How far do you think you’d get with them watching every CCTV feed out of the city?”
“You have a point.”
“Seriously though, I just came by to see if you needed a hand.”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
“Are you completely sure about that?” Siannon asked. Methos sighed; that was the downside of having good friends, they always asked awkward questions.
“Let me rephrase that; I’m as fine as I can be. Now stop pestering me.” She acknowledged that with a slight nod, and complied.
“By the way, Ianto said not to worry about anything that wasn’t personal; he’ll sort it all out later.”
“With your help I presume?”
“Probably.”
“In that case, I think I’m just about ready to leave. Apart from this,” he indicated the bag on the floor, “Everything else I want to take with me is by the front door.” He bent to pick up the bag and followed Siannon out into the main living area. She opened the main door, looking back at him over her shoulder. Her eyes met his, challenging and seeking reassurance at the same time.
“Well?”
“I’ll follow you. If I haven’t arrived at the Hub in half an hour you can come back and drag me there bodily. I won’t disappear.” Methos let his eyes say everything that remained unspoken between them, and he recognised the understanding in hers. She blinked to break the contact and then grinned as she said,
“You’d better not disappear, or the next time I see you I’ll give you a haircut you’ll never forget.” She swept out, leaving Methos alone with his thoughts. He moved through the flat one last time, remembering, and carefully cataloguing his memories of the last couple of weeks; his first encounter with Jack Harkness was one he never wanted to forget, no matter how many more they might have in both their futures.
Methos walked through the door of the Hub’s tourist office 20 minutes later. Ianto said nothing, as he was busy on the phone but the smile and sparkle in his eyes said everything he was unable to. Methos couldn’t help but answer with a smile of his own as Ianto opened the door to the hub for him and waved him through with a gesture that promised he would be down soon.
Most of the good-byes would be easy enough; he’d not become close to any of the team apart from Jack and Ianto, and saying goodbye to Siannon was never more than the equivalent of ‘I’ll see you later’ even if later ended up being in 20 years. After handshakes and brief hugs with Owen, Tosh and Gwen he gave Siannon a hug and a kiss, which she returned, her green eyes laughing at him.
“Don’t be a stranger,” she said, and moved away, taking a place beside Ianto who had just arrived. Methos took a step closer, and unexpectedly pulled Ianto into a hug; only Siannon saw the gleam in his eyes as he did so.
“Watch over him for me?” Methos whispered to Ianto.
“Always,” was the fervent reply.
Then there was only Jack; he stood apart from the others, close to the lift and Methos walked slowly toward him. He stopped a couple of paces away.
“This isn’t goodbye, you know.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Jack said. “Shall we go?” He held out a hand as he stepped up onto the lift slab. Methos took Jack’s hand without hesitation, and joined him. They stood close, though not touching apart from their joined fingers, but from that moment no-one else existed in the Hub. As the lift rose, nothing disturbed their absorption in each other, not even a parting shriek from Myfanwy.
When the lift came to a halt, Methos took Jack into his arms and kissed him passionately. Jack responded with wild abandon tempered by a thread of sadness, only breaking the kiss as the need for air outweighed other considerations. They shared a smile as Methos cradled Jack’s face, before dropping one last feather-light kiss on his nose,
“Promise me one thing, Jack.”
“If I can.”
“Love life; don’t just live it.”
“I’ll promise to try, that’s the best you’re going to get.”
“I’ll settle for that, but make sure you do; I’ll be back to check up on you...” Jack watched Methos walk away from him, his skin still tingling from the last brush of Methos’s fingers over his face and found he was unable to help himself from following. He’d gone nearly a third of the way across the Plass before he convinced his feet to stop moving. Methos did not look back, but Jack waited until he was out of sight before turning toward to the Hub. He’d only taken a couple of steps when he changed direction. He wasn’t ready for company in his present frame of mind, and headed upwards, as always, to clear his head of the conflicting thoughts and images roiling around inside it.
Jack had been there a while, looking out over the city he helped to protect, when he became aware that he was no longer alone. He took a step back from the edge before turning to find out who had been brave or reckless enough to come and find him. He expected it to be Siannon, and would not have been surprised if it had been Gwen, but he hadn’t expected Ianto to be standing just a few feet away, hands in pockets, Watching.
“Looking out for me, now?”
“Someone has to; you don’t necessarily do a very good job of looking out for yourself, sir.”
“I guess I don’t, some of the time.”
“That isn’t why I came up here though.” Ianto closed the gap that separated them in a few steps, and cast his own eyes over the Cardiff vista.
“So why did you?”
“I’m not really sure; it just seemed the appropriate place to be.” He glanced sideways at Jack. “Do you always have a reason?”
“Now you come to mention it, no.” They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the lively breeze causing Jack’s coat to flap around them both.
“Do you think he’ll ever come back?” Ianto’s voice sounded wistful, and Jack reached a hand up to rest on his shoulder. There was only one person Ianto could mean.
“He won’t be able to stay away; you can count on that.” They smiled at each other, before returning to the scrutiny of Cardiff below. Not demanding anything, just enjoying the other’s presence; two windswept figures against a backdrop of open sky.
Epilogue
A month later life had returned to what passed as normal for Torchwood. There was no more lightning in clear skies and no more immortals stalking the streets of Cardiff that they were aware of; apart from Jack. Nothing indicated that it had ever been otherwise, except for the new photograph on Jack’s desk.
When he felt the buzz of another immortal, Methos knew his barely formed idea of just leaving and avoiding the unpleasantness of goodbyes was well and truly scuppered. He half heartedly kicked the bag at his feet in annoyance. There was only one person it could be at this time, a fact that was confirmed by the sound of a key in the lock of the front door. He waited for the sound of the door closing before he said anything.
“Hi Siannon. I’m in the bedroom.” He smiled at the soft chuckle she gave, and waited for the inevitable comment.
“Are you sure it’s safe for me to come in?”
“It is now...” He stuffed the last of his clothes into the bag and turned to face her, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Though I’m glad you didn’t arrive a couple of hours earlier.”
“I’ll bet. I kind of guessed that by the expression on Jack’s face this morning.”
“So, is there any particular reason for the pleasure of your company, or did you just want to make sure I didn’t escape without anyone knowing?”
“Oh that to the escaping,” she gestured. “How far do you think you’d get with them watching every CCTV feed out of the city?”
“You have a point.”
“Seriously though, I just came by to see if you needed a hand.”
“As you can see, I’m fine.”
“Are you completely sure about that?” Siannon asked. Methos sighed; that was the downside of having good friends, they always asked awkward questions.
“Let me rephrase that; I’m as fine as I can be. Now stop pestering me.” She acknowledged that with a slight nod, and complied.
“By the way, Ianto said not to worry about anything that wasn’t personal; he’ll sort it all out later.”
“With your help I presume?”
“Probably.”
“In that case, I think I’m just about ready to leave. Apart from this,” he indicated the bag on the floor, “Everything else I want to take with me is by the front door.” He bent to pick up the bag and followed Siannon out into the main living area. She opened the main door, looking back at him over her shoulder. Her eyes met his, challenging and seeking reassurance at the same time.
“Well?”
“I’ll follow you. If I haven’t arrived at the Hub in half an hour you can come back and drag me there bodily. I won’t disappear.” Methos let his eyes say everything that remained unspoken between them, and he recognised the understanding in hers. She blinked to break the contact and then grinned as she said,
“You’d better not disappear, or the next time I see you I’ll give you a haircut you’ll never forget.” She swept out, leaving Methos alone with his thoughts. He moved through the flat one last time, remembering, and carefully cataloguing his memories of the last couple of weeks; his first encounter with Jack Harkness was one he never wanted to forget, no matter how many more they might have in both their futures.
Methos walked through the door of the Hub’s tourist office 20 minutes later. Ianto said nothing, as he was busy on the phone but the smile and sparkle in his eyes said everything he was unable to. Methos couldn’t help but answer with a smile of his own as Ianto opened the door to the hub for him and waved him through with a gesture that promised he would be down soon.
Most of the good-byes would be easy enough; he’d not become close to any of the team apart from Jack and Ianto, and saying goodbye to Siannon was never more than the equivalent of ‘I’ll see you later’ even if later ended up being in 20 years. After handshakes and brief hugs with Owen, Tosh and Gwen he gave Siannon a hug and a kiss, which she returned, her green eyes laughing at him.
“Don’t be a stranger,” she said, and moved away, taking a place beside Ianto who had just arrived. Methos took a step closer, and unexpectedly pulled Ianto into a hug; only Siannon saw the gleam in his eyes as he did so.
“Watch over him for me?” Methos whispered to Ianto.
“Always,” was the fervent reply.
Then there was only Jack; he stood apart from the others, close to the lift and Methos walked slowly toward him. He stopped a couple of paces away.
“This isn’t goodbye, you know.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Jack said. “Shall we go?” He held out a hand as he stepped up onto the lift slab. Methos took Jack’s hand without hesitation, and joined him. They stood close, though not touching apart from their joined fingers, but from that moment no-one else existed in the Hub. As the lift rose, nothing disturbed their absorption in each other, not even a parting shriek from Myfanwy.
When the lift came to a halt, Methos took Jack into his arms and kissed him passionately. Jack responded with wild abandon tempered by a thread of sadness, only breaking the kiss as the need for air outweighed other considerations. They shared a smile as Methos cradled Jack’s face, before dropping one last feather-light kiss on his nose,
“Promise me one thing, Jack.”
“If I can.”
“Love life; don’t just live it.”
“I’ll promise to try, that’s the best you’re going to get.”
“I’ll settle for that, but make sure you do; I’ll be back to check up on you...” Jack watched Methos walk away from him, his skin still tingling from the last brush of Methos’s fingers over his face and found he was unable to help himself from following. He’d gone nearly a third of the way across the Plass before he convinced his feet to stop moving. Methos did not look back, but Jack waited until he was out of sight before turning toward to the Hub. He’d only taken a couple of steps when he changed direction. He wasn’t ready for company in his present frame of mind, and headed upwards, as always, to clear his head of the conflicting thoughts and images roiling around inside it.
Jack had been there a while, looking out over the city he helped to protect, when he became aware that he was no longer alone. He took a step back from the edge before turning to find out who had been brave or reckless enough to come and find him. He expected it to be Siannon, and would not have been surprised if it had been Gwen, but he hadn’t expected Ianto to be standing just a few feet away, hands in pockets, Watching.
“Looking out for me, now?”
“Someone has to; you don’t necessarily do a very good job of looking out for yourself, sir.”
“I guess I don’t, some of the time.”
“That isn’t why I came up here though.” Ianto closed the gap that separated them in a few steps, and cast his own eyes over the Cardiff vista.
“So why did you?”
“I’m not really sure; it just seemed the appropriate place to be.” He glanced sideways at Jack. “Do you always have a reason?”
“Now you come to mention it, no.” They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes, the lively breeze causing Jack’s coat to flap around them both.
“Do you think he’ll ever come back?” Ianto’s voice sounded wistful, and Jack reached a hand up to rest on his shoulder. There was only one person Ianto could mean.
“He won’t be able to stay away; you can count on that.” They smiled at each other, before returning to the scrutiny of Cardiff below. Not demanding anything, just enjoying the other’s presence; two windswept figures against a backdrop of open sky.
Epilogue
A month later life had returned to what passed as normal for Torchwood. There was no more lightning in clear skies and no more immortals stalking the streets of Cardiff that they were aware of; apart from Jack. Nothing indicated that it had ever been otherwise, except for the new photograph on Jack’s desk.