Second chances (Jack/Ianto)
Title: Second chances
Author: anastasisrick
Rating: PG 13
Warnings: thoughts about threesomes (not graphic descriptions, but a couple does have them)
Length: 3700 words
Genre: AU, hurt/comfort, friendship, romance
Spoilers: not really
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones
Pairings: Jack Harkness/Gwen Cooper, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Summary: When Jack Harkness meets again an old friend starts re evaluating his life choices. When Ianto Jones meets an old friend again he might have found a reason to fight and win over the pain and loss.
Unbeata-ed so all mistakes are mine.
Torchwood and its characters do not belong to me a.k.a. I make no money out of this.
I haven't written anything in the last ten months so please, be kind.
Second chances
February 2008
Pushing Gwen’s barbeque flavoured chips inside the bag, Jack wondered why she was asking for them. Every time, each time she ate them she had indigestion all night. Nevertheless, every time he or she went shopping she wanted them. Coming out of the supermarket, Jack checked the time. He still had some time left to wander around; the city was calm and if he were to believe Toshiko’s predictions there wasn’t going to be any rift alarm that evening. He had planned a quiet evening which he hoped to end up in a great night using the chocolate in inspirational new ways. With one last look at the chips he stepped outside. Small raindrops wetted his face. It hadn’t been raining thirty minutes ago. Wonderful Cardiff weather!
Quickening his pace he tried to reach the Range Rover faster when he saw a man stumble on the road. The bag the man held fell from his hand when he tried to remain standing, the groceries fell on the concrete. Jack stopped mid-step and stared at the guy who was just looking down at the groceries, not attempting to pick them up. He was just standing there, watching them, rubbing his left thigh with his hand. Jack took a good look at the man from where he was standing; tall, dark hair, pale like most Welsh people and really thin.
Absentmindedly, Jack walked towards him. “Hey, you okay?” he asked the man who was still looking down seemingly lost in his thoughts.
“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine. Perfectly fine” was the reply he got, the man’s voice sounding rough and bitter. Jack bent and started picking the other man’s groceries. “You don’t have to do that.”
He looked up to meet slightly familiar blue eyes staring at him. “I know I don’t have to”. Pushing the last item -a package of coffee beans- inside the man’s bag, he straightened up. “Are you Okay?” He repeated while taking a good look of the younger man’s appearance; what moments before seemed like a slight resemblance to most Welsh men transformed into sharp recognition. “Ianto? Ianto Jones!” Jack exclaimed happily pulling the other man into one armed hug.
“Captain Harkness.” Ianto said as he returned the hug, somewhat supporting his weight on the older man’s body. Jack noticed it but said nothing. Instead he faked a grin and wondered what had happened to Ianto to seem so sad and in pain. Lat time he had seen him, he was happy and radiant.
~
Summer of 1994
Jack had an evening off work and he didn’t do what to do with either the free time or himself. It was already late afternoon, the warm humidity unbearable to him. He didn’t remember the last time he had gone for a walk wearing only a shirt. People were staring at him, which meant they weren’t from around there. Living here for so long, Jack was certain at least the natives had become used of less than modern attire.
His thoughts about finding a nice bar to spend his time watching people interact with each other were cut short when he heard fighting noises coming from an alley near by. For a moment he thought he might have to face a group of aliens on his own and mentally prepared himself for a bad beating or a painful death.
However what he came face to face was nothing extra terrestrial, but good, old fashioned school bullying; four against one as per usual, and the designated target was rather smaller than the rest of the boys. For a fleeting moment he was undecided between stepping in and saving the day or going back and letting them resolve their differences on their own. It was a hard decision to make.
Later on, sitting opposite Ianto Jones cleaning the blood from a too pale face, he knew he had made the right one.
“So, care to say why they attacked you?” He asked the kid who was approximately at his early teens if Jack was to guess. Having already asked his name, he went for more important things. The other option - that sneaked in his mind as soon as he saw Ianto’s clean face and big, blue eyes staring at him - would have been tracking down the bullies and beating the shit out of them.
Ianto shook his head negatively still shocked by both the attack and the appearance of his sudden saviour.
~
Ianto stepped away from Jack’s hug. “Captain Jack Harkness to the rescue. Again!” He said, his eyes losing some of the darkness Jack had witnessed earlier.
“Always your loyal servant.” Jack joked winking at him. He instantly sobered up. “Do you have a car?”
Ianto rubbed his thigh again and said he didn’t. “I thought I could walk for a while, you know?”
Gwen and their plans for the evening already forgotten, Jack led Ianto to his car and offered to take him home. Ianto feeling the pain intensifying by the second he had no alternative but to accept.
“How’s Rhi?” Jack smiled recalling Ianto’s fiery older sister.
~
Jack parked in front of the address number Ianto had given him and turned to look at him. The worried expression caught him in surprise. “What is it?” After the conversation, Jack had bought Ianto a hot chocolate and let the boy tell him his problems in life. Granted, Ianto was a very tacitum eleven year old but that didn’t exactly stopped Jack from asking. Of course it also meant that his questions weren’t readily answered but at least they kept Ianto preoccupied with something, namely how to not give Jack a straight answer.
Coming face to face with an older teenager, female this time, who didn’t look at all like Ianto reminded him that some people had families, especially when said people were still kids. He heard Ianto assuring his sister he was OK and from her questions he realized it wasn’t the first time Ianto had been cornered and beaten, probably by the same kids. As soon as Rhiannon made sure her baby brother was alright and not in need for a doctor he turned to Jack.
“Thank you for bringing Ianto home. I’d invite you in, but Mom’s not home...”
He shook her hand and said he had left unfinished business. He ruffled Ianto’s hair for a last time and left the kids on their own. He was certain the boy was in safe hands.
~
Ianto’s place wasn’t far away from the supermarket which was understandable considering Ianto’s constant rubbing of his thigh. Jack wanted to ask what had happened to him, he remembered the close friendship he had with him before Ianto decided to leave for London to study there six years earlier.
The last time Jack had talked with him was a year ago when the younger man had called him to tell him he’d move to Edinburgh after receiving a scholarship for a Master degree. And as an afterthought he told him he had met the woman of his life and was preparing to get married to her just before they left for Scotland.
Jack had received his invitation a week later, but Gwen had made special plans for that weekend and Jack had chosen her instead of his young friend’s wedding. Three days later, he got a envelope. Ianto had sent him a photograph of the couple. Both he and his wife were amazingly beautiful. Ianto tall and proud, pale and strong, and Lisa was beautiful in the cream wedding dress. Jack regretted not going to the wedding that very moment, especially after reading the inscription in the back of the photo.
“I was expecting you. I was sure you would be here.”
After saving Ianto -and making sure he wouldn’t be targeted again- Jack was a constant in Ianto’s life. He liked talking with the intelligent teenager and as Ianto was growing older, he found himself creating a special friendship with him. The man sitting next to him was seemingly broken, and Jack could see the strength and determination he admired in Ianto since he was a child lacking.
He wondered what had happened to Ianto that had reduced him to this. And Jack wasn’t thinking about the injury of his leg but about the blank look in the blue eyes. When he parked in front of the address Ianto had given him, Ianto’s voice surprised him.
“Three months ago while we were driving back to London for a business meeting we had an accident. Lisa died after two weeks in a coma. I was asked to make the choice for her. The doctors said there was no hope. Her parents wished their daughter to rest. And I… I injured my leg.” Ianto said to him in a monotone voice. “I think you were wondering what happened, weren’t you? Lisa was my wife, by the way. You’ve never met her.” That was probably Ianto’s bitter way to remind him his total dismiss of said event. The shared information took a bit longer to settle in and as Ianto was going out of the car Jack felt the sadness and the trauma Ianto had suffered. He followed the younger man in his apartment and as Ianto close the door behind them, Jack reached to him and pulled him to a hug. Initially, Ianto stood stiff in his arms, but Jack didn’t let go. When he felt the hug being returned hesitantly at first, Ianto made his grip tighter and was rewarded by the same act from Ianto. Having Ianto’s jaw on his shoulder was the most human feeling his had for the last half a decade.
He had back someone he hadn’t realized he had lost. And now he was going to keep him.
~
In the next months Ianto met Jack’s team and got a job in Torchwood three. A scientists, he found himself instantly loving Tosh and clicking in a weird brotherly bickering with Owen. He didn’t have many interests in common with Gwen, besides the Welsh nationality. However, he couldn’t help but liking her seeing her total adoration for Jack.
Jack was another thing altogether. His behaviour now wasn’t any different than that of the past, but some of the things his teenage mind couldn’t understand his mature one could; so he often found himself in the receiving end of Jack’s flirtation and while it made his cheeks burn he never gave it any attention and was certain it meant nothing.
Jack, on the other hand, found himself drawn more and more to Ianto’s sarcastic, knowledgeable, adorable and sometimes innocent self.
That innocent self was put to test when Owen and Tosh confidentially informed the newest member of their team about Jack’s and Gwen sexual escapades. Ianto convinced himself he didn’t care and in the end, he didn’t. Because both his friends were adults and if they enjoyed sharing their bed with a third person well, good for them. He pushed in the back side of his mind catalogued under “unwanted information” before he started feeling like his great-Aunt Grace who threw threats about burning in hell at everyone who was a bit more sexually adventurous than her which, if he was honest with himself it didn’t mean much.
~*~
September 2008
Ianto opened the door letting a frantic Jack to enter. Following him inside, rubbing his hand on his aching thigh, he squinted trying to see the clock and the time. It was 3.15. Ianto went to his bedroom and put on a robe before returning to his friend. Jack had stretched on the sofa; his left arm was covering his face. Ianto stood undecided by the sofa for once not knowing what to do.
“Coffee?” He finally asked. Tired, blood-shed eyes lacking their usual vibrancy stared back at him.
“No.” The negative answer surprised Ianto. “Do you have anything made by… alcohol?” Jack knew Ianto didn’t drink, not after the accident. He also knew he had brought Ianto a bottle of old, ridiculously expensive whisky at his birthday, a couple of weeks earlier. Ianto went to the kitchen to take a glass, feeling his thigh throbbing at the movement. What he needed was to ask Jack to leave and go to his bed after drinking a pain pill, or three.
By the time Ianto got back in the living room, Jack had found the bottle, opened it and probably taken a couple of sips. “Don’t you want any?” He asked taking the glass from Ianto’s hand. Ianto shook his head and sat opposite Jack on an armchair trying to not move his leg a lot.
Jack leaned back on the sofa and petted the space next to him. “Come here, Ianto.” He said a couple of minutes later when the silence was starting to become uncomfortable. Jack was Ianto’s best friend and despite the difference he could see between Jack’s usual attitude and that night, he hesitantly rose up and sat next to Jack, who instantly looped his arm around Ianto and pulled him closer to his Jack, their sides touching, Jack’s jaw resting on Ianto’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” The younger man asked after a while. Jack took another sip of his drink and slouched back on the couch’s back.
“I’m stupid. An idiot!” Ianto was surprised to listen to that particular confession coming from Captain Jack Harkness’ lips. Ianto felt the need to reassure Jack everything will go fine without even knowing what was wrong. So he sat there waiting in case Jack wanted to share something more with him.
When Jack’s returned on Ianto’s shoulder, Ianto felt warm fingers caressing his neck. Ianto knew he and Jack were friends that the older man was seeing a brother at him to joke and have fun with. That night Jack was different and so was his touch. Ianto pulled away and asked him again what was going trying to cover up his unease. Jack staring at the wall as if it was the most intriguing art he had ever seen was mystifying.
“Gwen! She… well, she asked..” Jack turned his eyes on Ianto, his stare intense. “She made me realize something.”
Ianto just stood there. If Jack wanted to tell him he should. He was tired of asking, his thigh was throbbing and despite his willingness to help Jack any way he could this was getting way out of hand fast. And Jack kept staring at him.
“You know, I thought me and Gwen … I thought I had found in her the one who could make me happy. She’s beautiful, kind, adventurous, really sensual. It’s not often to find a woman like her at this time and place. I thought we were happy, that she was what I wanted. And I was wrong.” Jack who had returned onto examining the wall while speaking, turned his head to look at Ianto as if afraid to keep talking. “You know about my relationship with Gwen, right? How it works?”
Jack hid his face behind his hands while Ianto wondered if Jack meant the threesome rumours. “Ummm… what do you mean?” He diplomatically asked. Threesomes would never be Ianto’s cup of coffee but it wasn’t in his nature to be judgmental towards a life choice. If Jack and Gwen were happy about it who was he to criticize it? However, Jack’s next words surprised him.
“I realized I don’t like sharing.”
“Sorry, Jack but don’t you think it’s a bit late for that?” Ianto got up trying to stretch his leg, make the pain go away. He would never be able to live with this pain. He slowly went to the cabinet and took a pain pill. Washing it down with water he turned to look at Jack who hadn’t uttered a word.
“I thought I loved her. Gwen is unique, one of the kind… you all are, but I though that, you know, she could give me everything I wanted. But I didn’t know what I wanted. And what she gave me was pleasant and closer to my time. But now? Now everything comes crushing down on me…” Jack stopped talking to take a deep breath while Ianto was wondering if he had ever heard Jack revealing so many things about himself.
“I’m sure if you talk to her you’ll solve the problem… whatever that is.” Ianto’s attempt at reassuring fell of deaf ears.
“What’s the point Ianto? In the end, now that I think about it I wasn’t enough for her…so she needed others to fill the space.”
Ianto was certain that wasn’t exactly true. “I’m sure you have an agreement Jack. If you talk to her and tell her you don’t want to… be with another person she’ll understand.” He really hated this part. And the pain pill wasn’t working.
“You don’t understand!” Jack’s voice was rough and loud and Ianto was so very tired.
“Then why don’t you explain?”
“She told me to ask you if you want to join us!” Jack said unintentionally. He instantly bit his lips and let the glass on the table. Going to the kitchen, he left Ianto alone to think what he had said. By the time he got back, a bottle of water in hand, Ianto was still staring blankly in front of him. “Ianto?”
“Yes, yes. Do you mean what I think you mean?” Ianto wasn’t certain if he was making any sense and by that point he didn’t particularly care.
Jack moved slowly towards Ianto and standing right in front of him, only inches away he responded. “Gwen asked me to ask you to share our bed for one night… or more. She didn’t specify.”
Surprised and shocked Ianto didn’t know what to say. “Me? She wants me?” How was that even possible? Ianto couldn’t understand it.
“You seem surprised.” Jack said, amusement colouring his voice for the first time that night.
“Jack you’re coming in the middle of the night, all moody and sad like I’ve never seen you before to tell me you had an argument with Gwen; you proceed with drinking half a bottle of scotch and then you say that Gwen was to have sex with me… no! With the both of us.”
“Um… I don’t really think you understand the mechanics…”
Ianto interrupted Jack’s explanation. “And I don’t really want to, thank you very much. So, now, because the pain has overtaken my leg, I’d like you to leave and go tell Gwen I refused her kind offer.” He turned around to head to his bedroom, certain that Jack would now live and really uncertain about his sleeping. A strong grip on both his arms stopped him from walking.
When Jack turned him around, Ianto lost any motivation to be cordial. He suddenly felt really angry. “What do you want, Jack?”
“You!” That was not the answer Ianto expected.
“Well, you can’t have me. So let me go!” The pain in his leg had moved up to his spine and he could feel it becoming worse by the second.
“Why?” Jack asked, leaning even closer to the aching man, their faces only a few centimeters away, his breath mingling with Ianto’s. This was way beyond any kind of previous experience Ianto had.
“What is this, Jack? Are you bored all of the suddenly? Checking how much you can push 21st century people limits? How far you can go with us? I’m not Gwen and I’m not an experiment.” Despite his heated, angry words Ianto didn’t know what he felt towards Jack.
Jack’s fingers went to the back of Ianto’s head and kneaded the nerves of his neck. “You could never be an experiment.”
“You are going to get married to Gwen in less than two months…”
Jack finally pulled away from Ianto, leaving the young man enough space to breathe deeply, suddenly feeling sober and resolute on convincing Ianto. “Where have you been all night, Ianto? Have I been talking to myself? When she told me she wanted you, I realized I wanted you and I didn’t want to share you with anyone.”
“I’m not a toy, Jack.”
“Are you listening to me, Ianto? There’s no wedding. If there’s any chance you want me, it will be you and me! Just us!”
Jack’s words surprised both men. They locked their eyes to each other and waiting for something, anything to break the spell. Ianto spoke first. “I hadn’t thought of this… I don’t… I don’t know, Jack. You’re saying that…”
“I’m in love with you.” Jack said slowly and terrified he saw Ianto sagging on the floor, his leg no longer able to support him. Jack was kneeling by his side immediately pulling him in a hug. “Ianto?’
“I’m fine. It’s just my leg. Can you help me stand up?”
Leaning on Jack, they managed to move Ianto to his bedroom. Jack sat by his side and Ianto pulled him closer kissing him chastely on the lips. Ianto pulled back not giving Jack had the time to respond to the kiss.
“You’re a pervert, you know that right? You met me when I was eleven.”
Jack leaned for another kiss. “You haven’t been eleven for a long time, Yan.”
Ianto let himself enjoy the contact, the warmth, the kiss, everything he had missed since the accident and treasured the moments he spent with Jack. A little later he gently pushed him away. “Okay, Jack, you might have a point. But you need to talk to Gwen and we need to take it slowly.”
Jack knew what Ianto meant. This was going to be a different kind of relationship and the older man found himself longing for it.
“And you need to make an appointment with a doctor for your leg.”
Ianto had neglected himself and the doctor’s advice feeling the desolation of his loss. Now, for the first time after ten months he was ready to admit it and do something about it. He didn’t want to be in pain any more.
Jack made himself comfortable against the pillows and let Ianto lie down by his side feeling strangely content.
Finis
A/N: I haven't been able to write anything substantial this year so managing to finish this little story in about 3 days was a big surprise for me.
I want to dedicate it to too_beauty as a belated birthday present (happy birthday again, my friend) and to black59 and everyone else who waiting patiently for me to finish my two WIPs. I hope that now that I found my rythme it will happen soon.
Author: anastasisrick
Rating: PG 13
Warnings: thoughts about threesomes (not graphic descriptions, but a couple does have them)
Length: 3700 words
Genre: AU, hurt/comfort, friendship, romance
Spoilers: not really
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones
Pairings: Jack Harkness/Gwen Cooper, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Summary: When Jack Harkness meets again an old friend starts re evaluating his life choices. When Ianto Jones meets an old friend again he might have found a reason to fight and win over the pain and loss.
Unbeata-ed so all mistakes are mine.
Torchwood and its characters do not belong to me a.k.a. I make no money out of this.
I haven't written anything in the last ten months so please, be kind.
Second chances
February 2008
Pushing Gwen’s barbeque flavoured chips inside the bag, Jack wondered why she was asking for them. Every time, each time she ate them she had indigestion all night. Nevertheless, every time he or she went shopping she wanted them. Coming out of the supermarket, Jack checked the time. He still had some time left to wander around; the city was calm and if he were to believe Toshiko’s predictions there wasn’t going to be any rift alarm that evening. He had planned a quiet evening which he hoped to end up in a great night using the chocolate in inspirational new ways. With one last look at the chips he stepped outside. Small raindrops wetted his face. It hadn’t been raining thirty minutes ago. Wonderful Cardiff weather!
Quickening his pace he tried to reach the Range Rover faster when he saw a man stumble on the road. The bag the man held fell from his hand when he tried to remain standing, the groceries fell on the concrete. Jack stopped mid-step and stared at the guy who was just looking down at the groceries, not attempting to pick them up. He was just standing there, watching them, rubbing his left thigh with his hand. Jack took a good look at the man from where he was standing; tall, dark hair, pale like most Welsh people and really thin.
Absentmindedly, Jack walked towards him. “Hey, you okay?” he asked the man who was still looking down seemingly lost in his thoughts.
“Yeah, yeah… I’m fine. Perfectly fine” was the reply he got, the man’s voice sounding rough and bitter. Jack bent and started picking the other man’s groceries. “You don’t have to do that.”
He looked up to meet slightly familiar blue eyes staring at him. “I know I don’t have to”. Pushing the last item -a package of coffee beans- inside the man’s bag, he straightened up. “Are you Okay?” He repeated while taking a good look of the younger man’s appearance; what moments before seemed like a slight resemblance to most Welsh men transformed into sharp recognition. “Ianto? Ianto Jones!” Jack exclaimed happily pulling the other man into one armed hug.
“Captain Harkness.” Ianto said as he returned the hug, somewhat supporting his weight on the older man’s body. Jack noticed it but said nothing. Instead he faked a grin and wondered what had happened to Ianto to seem so sad and in pain. Lat time he had seen him, he was happy and radiant.
~
Summer of 1994
Jack had an evening off work and he didn’t do what to do with either the free time or himself. It was already late afternoon, the warm humidity unbearable to him. He didn’t remember the last time he had gone for a walk wearing only a shirt. People were staring at him, which meant they weren’t from around there. Living here for so long, Jack was certain at least the natives had become used of less than modern attire.
His thoughts about finding a nice bar to spend his time watching people interact with each other were cut short when he heard fighting noises coming from an alley near by. For a moment he thought he might have to face a group of aliens on his own and mentally prepared himself for a bad beating or a painful death.
However what he came face to face was nothing extra terrestrial, but good, old fashioned school bullying; four against one as per usual, and the designated target was rather smaller than the rest of the boys. For a fleeting moment he was undecided between stepping in and saving the day or going back and letting them resolve their differences on their own. It was a hard decision to make.
Later on, sitting opposite Ianto Jones cleaning the blood from a too pale face, he knew he had made the right one.
“So, care to say why they attacked you?” He asked the kid who was approximately at his early teens if Jack was to guess. Having already asked his name, he went for more important things. The other option - that sneaked in his mind as soon as he saw Ianto’s clean face and big, blue eyes staring at him - would have been tracking down the bullies and beating the shit out of them.
Ianto shook his head negatively still shocked by both the attack and the appearance of his sudden saviour.
~
Ianto stepped away from Jack’s hug. “Captain Jack Harkness to the rescue. Again!” He said, his eyes losing some of the darkness Jack had witnessed earlier.
“Always your loyal servant.” Jack joked winking at him. He instantly sobered up. “Do you have a car?”
Ianto rubbed his thigh again and said he didn’t. “I thought I could walk for a while, you know?”
Gwen and their plans for the evening already forgotten, Jack led Ianto to his car and offered to take him home. Ianto feeling the pain intensifying by the second he had no alternative but to accept.
“How’s Rhi?” Jack smiled recalling Ianto’s fiery older sister.
~
Jack parked in front of the address number Ianto had given him and turned to look at him. The worried expression caught him in surprise. “What is it?” After the conversation, Jack had bought Ianto a hot chocolate and let the boy tell him his problems in life. Granted, Ianto was a very tacitum eleven year old but that didn’t exactly stopped Jack from asking. Of course it also meant that his questions weren’t readily answered but at least they kept Ianto preoccupied with something, namely how to not give Jack a straight answer.
Coming face to face with an older teenager, female this time, who didn’t look at all like Ianto reminded him that some people had families, especially when said people were still kids. He heard Ianto assuring his sister he was OK and from her questions he realized it wasn’t the first time Ianto had been cornered and beaten, probably by the same kids. As soon as Rhiannon made sure her baby brother was alright and not in need for a doctor he turned to Jack.
“Thank you for bringing Ianto home. I’d invite you in, but Mom’s not home...”
He shook her hand and said he had left unfinished business. He ruffled Ianto’s hair for a last time and left the kids on their own. He was certain the boy was in safe hands.
~
Ianto’s place wasn’t far away from the supermarket which was understandable considering Ianto’s constant rubbing of his thigh. Jack wanted to ask what had happened to him, he remembered the close friendship he had with him before Ianto decided to leave for London to study there six years earlier.
The last time Jack had talked with him was a year ago when the younger man had called him to tell him he’d move to Edinburgh after receiving a scholarship for a Master degree. And as an afterthought he told him he had met the woman of his life and was preparing to get married to her just before they left for Scotland.
Jack had received his invitation a week later, but Gwen had made special plans for that weekend and Jack had chosen her instead of his young friend’s wedding. Three days later, he got a envelope. Ianto had sent him a photograph of the couple. Both he and his wife were amazingly beautiful. Ianto tall and proud, pale and strong, and Lisa was beautiful in the cream wedding dress. Jack regretted not going to the wedding that very moment, especially after reading the inscription in the back of the photo.
“I was expecting you. I was sure you would be here.”
After saving Ianto -and making sure he wouldn’t be targeted again- Jack was a constant in Ianto’s life. He liked talking with the intelligent teenager and as Ianto was growing older, he found himself creating a special friendship with him. The man sitting next to him was seemingly broken, and Jack could see the strength and determination he admired in Ianto since he was a child lacking.
He wondered what had happened to Ianto that had reduced him to this. And Jack wasn’t thinking about the injury of his leg but about the blank look in the blue eyes. When he parked in front of the address Ianto had given him, Ianto’s voice surprised him.
“Three months ago while we were driving back to London for a business meeting we had an accident. Lisa died after two weeks in a coma. I was asked to make the choice for her. The doctors said there was no hope. Her parents wished their daughter to rest. And I… I injured my leg.” Ianto said to him in a monotone voice. “I think you were wondering what happened, weren’t you? Lisa was my wife, by the way. You’ve never met her.” That was probably Ianto’s bitter way to remind him his total dismiss of said event. The shared information took a bit longer to settle in and as Ianto was going out of the car Jack felt the sadness and the trauma Ianto had suffered. He followed the younger man in his apartment and as Ianto close the door behind them, Jack reached to him and pulled him to a hug. Initially, Ianto stood stiff in his arms, but Jack didn’t let go. When he felt the hug being returned hesitantly at first, Ianto made his grip tighter and was rewarded by the same act from Ianto. Having Ianto’s jaw on his shoulder was the most human feeling his had for the last half a decade.
He had back someone he hadn’t realized he had lost. And now he was going to keep him.
~
In the next months Ianto met Jack’s team and got a job in Torchwood three. A scientists, he found himself instantly loving Tosh and clicking in a weird brotherly bickering with Owen. He didn’t have many interests in common with Gwen, besides the Welsh nationality. However, he couldn’t help but liking her seeing her total adoration for Jack.
Jack was another thing altogether. His behaviour now wasn’t any different than that of the past, but some of the things his teenage mind couldn’t understand his mature one could; so he often found himself in the receiving end of Jack’s flirtation and while it made his cheeks burn he never gave it any attention and was certain it meant nothing.
Jack, on the other hand, found himself drawn more and more to Ianto’s sarcastic, knowledgeable, adorable and sometimes innocent self.
That innocent self was put to test when Owen and Tosh confidentially informed the newest member of their team about Jack’s and Gwen sexual escapades. Ianto convinced himself he didn’t care and in the end, he didn’t. Because both his friends were adults and if they enjoyed sharing their bed with a third person well, good for them. He pushed in the back side of his mind catalogued under “unwanted information” before he started feeling like his great-Aunt Grace who threw threats about burning in hell at everyone who was a bit more sexually adventurous than her which, if he was honest with himself it didn’t mean much.
~*~
September 2008
Ianto opened the door letting a frantic Jack to enter. Following him inside, rubbing his hand on his aching thigh, he squinted trying to see the clock and the time. It was 3.15. Ianto went to his bedroom and put on a robe before returning to his friend. Jack had stretched on the sofa; his left arm was covering his face. Ianto stood undecided by the sofa for once not knowing what to do.
“Coffee?” He finally asked. Tired, blood-shed eyes lacking their usual vibrancy stared back at him.
“No.” The negative answer surprised Ianto. “Do you have anything made by… alcohol?” Jack knew Ianto didn’t drink, not after the accident. He also knew he had brought Ianto a bottle of old, ridiculously expensive whisky at his birthday, a couple of weeks earlier. Ianto went to the kitchen to take a glass, feeling his thigh throbbing at the movement. What he needed was to ask Jack to leave and go to his bed after drinking a pain pill, or three.
By the time Ianto got back in the living room, Jack had found the bottle, opened it and probably taken a couple of sips. “Don’t you want any?” He asked taking the glass from Ianto’s hand. Ianto shook his head and sat opposite Jack on an armchair trying to not move his leg a lot.
Jack leaned back on the sofa and petted the space next to him. “Come here, Ianto.” He said a couple of minutes later when the silence was starting to become uncomfortable. Jack was Ianto’s best friend and despite the difference he could see between Jack’s usual attitude and that night, he hesitantly rose up and sat next to Jack, who instantly looped his arm around Ianto and pulled him closer to his Jack, their sides touching, Jack’s jaw resting on Ianto’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” The younger man asked after a while. Jack took another sip of his drink and slouched back on the couch’s back.
“I’m stupid. An idiot!” Ianto was surprised to listen to that particular confession coming from Captain Jack Harkness’ lips. Ianto felt the need to reassure Jack everything will go fine without even knowing what was wrong. So he sat there waiting in case Jack wanted to share something more with him.
When Jack’s returned on Ianto’s shoulder, Ianto felt warm fingers caressing his neck. Ianto knew he and Jack were friends that the older man was seeing a brother at him to joke and have fun with. That night Jack was different and so was his touch. Ianto pulled away and asked him again what was going trying to cover up his unease. Jack staring at the wall as if it was the most intriguing art he had ever seen was mystifying.
“Gwen! She… well, she asked..” Jack turned his eyes on Ianto, his stare intense. “She made me realize something.”
Ianto just stood there. If Jack wanted to tell him he should. He was tired of asking, his thigh was throbbing and despite his willingness to help Jack any way he could this was getting way out of hand fast. And Jack kept staring at him.
“You know, I thought me and Gwen … I thought I had found in her the one who could make me happy. She’s beautiful, kind, adventurous, really sensual. It’s not often to find a woman like her at this time and place. I thought we were happy, that she was what I wanted. And I was wrong.” Jack who had returned onto examining the wall while speaking, turned his head to look at Ianto as if afraid to keep talking. “You know about my relationship with Gwen, right? How it works?”
Jack hid his face behind his hands while Ianto wondered if Jack meant the threesome rumours. “Ummm… what do you mean?” He diplomatically asked. Threesomes would never be Ianto’s cup of coffee but it wasn’t in his nature to be judgmental towards a life choice. If Jack and Gwen were happy about it who was he to criticize it? However, Jack’s next words surprised him.
“I realized I don’t like sharing.”
“Sorry, Jack but don’t you think it’s a bit late for that?” Ianto got up trying to stretch his leg, make the pain go away. He would never be able to live with this pain. He slowly went to the cabinet and took a pain pill. Washing it down with water he turned to look at Jack who hadn’t uttered a word.
“I thought I loved her. Gwen is unique, one of the kind… you all are, but I though that, you know, she could give me everything I wanted. But I didn’t know what I wanted. And what she gave me was pleasant and closer to my time. But now? Now everything comes crushing down on me…” Jack stopped talking to take a deep breath while Ianto was wondering if he had ever heard Jack revealing so many things about himself.
“I’m sure if you talk to her you’ll solve the problem… whatever that is.” Ianto’s attempt at reassuring fell of deaf ears.
“What’s the point Ianto? In the end, now that I think about it I wasn’t enough for her…so she needed others to fill the space.”
Ianto was certain that wasn’t exactly true. “I’m sure you have an agreement Jack. If you talk to her and tell her you don’t want to… be with another person she’ll understand.” He really hated this part. And the pain pill wasn’t working.
“You don’t understand!” Jack’s voice was rough and loud and Ianto was so very tired.
“Then why don’t you explain?”
“She told me to ask you if you want to join us!” Jack said unintentionally. He instantly bit his lips and let the glass on the table. Going to the kitchen, he left Ianto alone to think what he had said. By the time he got back, a bottle of water in hand, Ianto was still staring blankly in front of him. “Ianto?”
“Yes, yes. Do you mean what I think you mean?” Ianto wasn’t certain if he was making any sense and by that point he didn’t particularly care.
Jack moved slowly towards Ianto and standing right in front of him, only inches away he responded. “Gwen asked me to ask you to share our bed for one night… or more. She didn’t specify.”
Surprised and shocked Ianto didn’t know what to say. “Me? She wants me?” How was that even possible? Ianto couldn’t understand it.
“You seem surprised.” Jack said, amusement colouring his voice for the first time that night.
“Jack you’re coming in the middle of the night, all moody and sad like I’ve never seen you before to tell me you had an argument with Gwen; you proceed with drinking half a bottle of scotch and then you say that Gwen was to have sex with me… no! With the both of us.”
“Um… I don’t really think you understand the mechanics…”
Ianto interrupted Jack’s explanation. “And I don’t really want to, thank you very much. So, now, because the pain has overtaken my leg, I’d like you to leave and go tell Gwen I refused her kind offer.” He turned around to head to his bedroom, certain that Jack would now live and really uncertain about his sleeping. A strong grip on both his arms stopped him from walking.
When Jack turned him around, Ianto lost any motivation to be cordial. He suddenly felt really angry. “What do you want, Jack?”
“You!” That was not the answer Ianto expected.
“Well, you can’t have me. So let me go!” The pain in his leg had moved up to his spine and he could feel it becoming worse by the second.
“Why?” Jack asked, leaning even closer to the aching man, their faces only a few centimeters away, his breath mingling with Ianto’s. This was way beyond any kind of previous experience Ianto had.
“What is this, Jack? Are you bored all of the suddenly? Checking how much you can push 21st century people limits? How far you can go with us? I’m not Gwen and I’m not an experiment.” Despite his heated, angry words Ianto didn’t know what he felt towards Jack.
Jack’s fingers went to the back of Ianto’s head and kneaded the nerves of his neck. “You could never be an experiment.”
“You are going to get married to Gwen in less than two months…”
Jack finally pulled away from Ianto, leaving the young man enough space to breathe deeply, suddenly feeling sober and resolute on convincing Ianto. “Where have you been all night, Ianto? Have I been talking to myself? When she told me she wanted you, I realized I wanted you and I didn’t want to share you with anyone.”
“I’m not a toy, Jack.”
“Are you listening to me, Ianto? There’s no wedding. If there’s any chance you want me, it will be you and me! Just us!”
Jack’s words surprised both men. They locked their eyes to each other and waiting for something, anything to break the spell. Ianto spoke first. “I hadn’t thought of this… I don’t… I don’t know, Jack. You’re saying that…”
“I’m in love with you.” Jack said slowly and terrified he saw Ianto sagging on the floor, his leg no longer able to support him. Jack was kneeling by his side immediately pulling him in a hug. “Ianto?’
“I’m fine. It’s just my leg. Can you help me stand up?”
Leaning on Jack, they managed to move Ianto to his bedroom. Jack sat by his side and Ianto pulled him closer kissing him chastely on the lips. Ianto pulled back not giving Jack had the time to respond to the kiss.
“You’re a pervert, you know that right? You met me when I was eleven.”
Jack leaned for another kiss. “You haven’t been eleven for a long time, Yan.”
Ianto let himself enjoy the contact, the warmth, the kiss, everything he had missed since the accident and treasured the moments he spent with Jack. A little later he gently pushed him away. “Okay, Jack, you might have a point. But you need to talk to Gwen and we need to take it slowly.”
Jack knew what Ianto meant. This was going to be a different kind of relationship and the older man found himself longing for it.
“And you need to make an appointment with a doctor for your leg.”
Ianto had neglected himself and the doctor’s advice feeling the desolation of his loss. Now, for the first time after ten months he was ready to admit it and do something about it. He didn’t want to be in pain any more.
Jack made himself comfortable against the pillows and let Ianto lie down by his side feeling strangely content.
Finis
A/N: I haven't been able to write anything substantial this year so managing to finish this little story in about 3 days was a big surprise for me.
I want to dedicate it to too_beauty as a belated birthday present (happy birthday again, my friend) and to black59 and everyone else who waiting patiently for me to finish my two WIPs. I hope that now that I found my rythme it will happen soon.