Fic: Shades of Friendships Chapter 5
Title: Shades of Friendship
Fandoms: Torchwood/The Avengers
Pairings/Characters: Clint/Ianto, Ianto/Tosh friendship, Ianto/Natasha friendship, Clint/Natasha friendship, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Jack/Ianto, Owen, Gwen, Natasha, fledging Jack/Ianto/Clint, Tony/Pepper, Pre-Steve/Tosh, Thor, Darcy Lewis, Jane
Summary: Bonds of friendship and love can still be forged no matter how far apart those connecting hearts maybe and then there are some bonds that no matter how much time has passed are never broken.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or the Avengers
Beta: milady_dragon
Chapter 5
Mary knew the moment she failed to read Jack Harkness's mind her plan was doomed to failure. She cast a glance at Tosh and felt her heartbreak and the confused and hurt look in Tosh's eyes. 'I really could have loved you Tosh. I do hope one day you will be able to forgive me and find the love you so rightly deserve.'
*****
Reassured by Pepper that she would keep a close eye on Tony and not allow him to blow up the world with his latest invention, Ianto figured he had earned a much needed cuddle with his boyfriend.
A cuddle Clint was more than happy to supply and Ianto wouldn't be at all surprised if Natasha found her way into their bed for a good cuddle as well. All three of them carried scars and demons that haunted their dreams and found comfort within one another. With Canary Wharf, the Cyberwoman and the cannibals Ianto barely had a peaceful night sleep but it helped to have someone there to soothe and offer a warm and comforting embrace.
But as they arrived at the Helicarrier, Ianto, Clint, and Natasha all raised an eyebrow at the excitement buzzing in the air. Something or someone had everyone acting like over-caffeinated hyper groupies.
"What the hell is going on?" Clint growled, his eyes flying to the air ducts, a quick trip in them to Fury's office might shed light on whatever was going on.
"Don't even think about it," Ianto's voice filled with warning cut through Clint's plans.
Plastering an innocent look on his face Clint turned to face Ianto but from the look on both his and Natasha's faces they weren't fooled. The innocent look faded into a pout. "You're no fun."
"Let's not get into that again. I have no desire to hear what kind of fun Ianto and you get up to, at this moment." Natasha winked at the two of them and to her delight Ianto blushed. It filled her with warmth that Ianto could still be so innocent. It proved that the horrors he'd seen hadn't completely broken him.
Natasha wasn't the only one pleased to see that Ianto could still blush. Clint loved making Ianto blush and he was pleased to be the only one to know just how far that blush went. Ideas began to form in Clint's head as he thought of the known ways he could make Ianto blush later that night in their bed.
Ianto fought the urge to roll his eyes as Clint leered at him and he knew his boyfriend was planning on making him blush a different way the moment they were alone. 'Why does everyone like seeing me blush?' Ianto recalled the look of sheer glee that shone in Jack's eyes whenever he managed to make him blush. 'If Jack and Clint ever met up I'm sure they would figure out a way to make me blush permanently.'
Ianto quickly pushed back the images of him entwined in a sweaty mess of bodies between Jack and Clint. 'I need to focus on the here and now and not something that will never be anything more than a fantasy.'
"Ianto, thank goodness you're back." A frazzled Maria Hill quickly approached them; behind her almost looking giddy was Coulson.
"Is Phil high?" Of course that was the first thing Clint had to ask. "Oww." Clint rubbed the back of his head where Natasha had slapped him.
"Thank you, Natasha." Ianto didn't need to look at Clint to know the archer was pouting. Instead Ianto kept all his focus on Maria. "What's going on Maria?"
It wasn't Maria who answered but his father. "They found him." There was no mistaking the pure giddiness in Coulson's voice.
Confused, Ianto shared a look with Clint and Natasha before raised an eyebrow and turning back to his father and Maria. Ianto was not used to seeing his father so excited. "Who?"
"The First Avenger himself, Captain America," Maria answered instead with a long suffering sigh.
"Ahh, well that makes sense." Ianto could hardly believe what he was seeing. His father was fanboying over Captain America. Of course Ianto knew full well that Captain America was his Tad's hero as well as everyone in SHIELD.
Maria just rolled her eyes. "They've all been like this since the news broke. I'm ready to shoot someone," she warned with a low growl.
Having dealt with Jack, Owen and Gwen, Ianto understood her feeling all too well. "Would a cup of coffee help?" he offered.
A brief smile appeared on Maria's face. "If I didn't know Agent Barton would annoy me until I was forced to shoot him, I would marry you, Ianto. A cup of your coffee sounds heavenly."
"Aww, you would never hurt me, Maria. You love me far too much to," Clint piped up.
Maria just glared at Clint and Ianto noted that her finger twitched above her gun. Ianto couldn't help but fear that Maria just might shoot Clint this time. Seeing he needed to defuse this and fast Ianto offered his arm to Maria with his boyish smile in place. "Shall we?"
"I hate it when you give me that look. You do know you are SHIELD's secret weapon, don't you?" Maria grumbled with a smile as she took Ianto's offered arm.
Ianto smiled charmingly at Maria.
In his office Fury watched the scene with great interest. 'I knew I had made the right choice. Barton though may be a bit of a problem.'
*****
"I sent her to the sun."
Tosh felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest at Jack's statement. Her whole world was crumbling beneath her. She knew what Owen and Gwen truly thought of her. Mary, someone she had genuinely come to love had only been using her to gain access to Torchwood, and Jack, the man she saw as a father figure, had killed her.
The walls were closing in on her and she needed to get out of here. Choking back a sob Tosh backed away from the others. "I can't be here," Tosh cried before turning on her heel and fleeing the Hub.
Jack felt his heart break at the pain he had inflicted on Tosh. 'When will I stop failing those who mean the most to me? First Estelle, then Ianto and now Tosh.' Jack knew it would do more harm than good to go after Tosh now, he and the others were the last ones Tosh wanted to see at this moment. 'Besides I think I will have something else to deal with.' Jack fought the urge to run and hide in his office as he saw the rage and betrayal swimming in Owen and Gwen's eyes.
"Jack, you have to o something, Tosh reading our minds that's a huge breach of privacy. How can we trust her again?" Gwen greatly disliked the idea of Tosh poking around in her head. 'What if she overheard the fact that I'm sleeping with Owen? What if she lets spill to Rhys?' Gwen gnawed at her lower lip.
Scowling, Owen crossed his arms across his chest. "First Suzie, then Tea-Boy and now Tosh, it's true it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for." Owen did not like the idea of anyone poking about in his head.
"Maybe if we had taken the time to see how much they were suffering and silently crying out for help these things wouldn't keep happening. We failed Suzie, Ianto and Tosh. Just because they were the quiet ones didn't mean we should just treat them as dirt. Tosh ended up as a pawn in Mary's games because we failed her. We didn't take the time to include her, and some of us even destroyed months of hard work and then make it all a big joke," Jack growled as he glared at them and was pleased when a guilty look entered both Owen and Gwen's eyes.
"I'm going to be giving Tosh the next week off. She needs time to deal with being used by someone she had genuinely begun to fall in love with. And when she returns I'm expecting the two of you to treat her like the valuable teammate she is and remember that Tosh is just as human as you. You will not throw this experience back in her face. It should tell us all the state of this team if Tosh found it more easier to talk to a complete stranger instead of one of us." Satisfied he made his point Jack turned on his heel and headed for his office. He had a phone call to make.
Owen hated to admit it that Jack had a point. 'We're bloody falling apart and I wonder how long it will take until we completely shatter?' Owen didn't see what was going on with Suzie and he had been sleeping with her, he never bothered to care about Ianto until he learned what he was hiding and now he had let down and hurt the one person who still believed he was worth something. Shaking his head Owen turned away from Gwen and headed for the medical bay. He had some serious thinking to do.
Biting her lip Gwen was torn between going after Tosh and demanding to know what she had heard and pleading with her to keep quiet and barging into Jack's office and demanding to know how he could have let this happen. Or she could give into the guilt churning in her stomach and go home and see Rhys and remind herself how lucky she was to have someone in her life, that she wasn't alone in the dark not like everyone else. Decision made Gwen grabbed her bag and headed out.
As the alarms blared throughout the Hub both Jack and Owen relaxed with the knowledge that at least for tonight they wouldn't have to deal with Gwen's need for answers.
*****
Fury looked at his five agents before him and gladly took the cup of coffee Ianto offered him. A very calm Maria continued to sip her coffee. For the moment Fury enjoyed the silence because he knew that at least one person was not going to like his newest orders and before Barton began stalking the air ducts above his office. "Agent Jones, as of this moment I want you working with Tony Stark and Captain Rogers. It will be your duty to help Rogers adjust to his new world."
Silence filled Fury's office for about ten seconds as everyone adjusted to his news.
"Oh hell no!" Clint wasn't letting Ianto anywhere near the man who could turn SHIELD Agents into a giddy fangirls and fanboys.
Fury glared at Clint making it clear that this was not up for debate. "Agent Barton this is not up for discussion Agent Jones is the most qualified to help Captain Rogers. Besides you will busy with Agent Coulson in New Mexico."
Ianto wanted to groan. His father and boyfriend would be on the same mission while he was back here keeping an eye on Tony, waiting for Captain Rogers to wake up while dealing with jealous SHIELD Agents. Ianto stared at Fury. "And me being the Coffee God means no one would dare to kill me for getting the assignment everyone wanted."
Instead of saying anything Fury just toasted Ianto with his cup of coffee.
Suddenly Ianto had the killer of all headaches and he knew that he was going to be a long next few weeks.
*****
Curled up on her couch Tosh hugged one of the pillows to her body. Never in her whole life had Tosh ever felt more the fool or more used. 'Oh god I'm such a bloody idiot. How could I have possibly thought that anyone could want plain, old, and boring Tosh? Mary just wanted to use me and Owen would have let Mary keep me if it meant keeping Gwen safe.' That brought a fresh wave of tears and a sob tore from her throat as she curled in on herself, wishing she was anywhere but here but more importantly she wished she had someone who truly cared about her.
*****
'How could I have missed this?' Was the question on Jack's mind as the day's events played like a broken record over and over in his mind. He couldn't find it in his heart to be angry or blame Tosh, 'she was the true victim in all this Mary played on her loneliness and vulnerability. Plus from the sounds of it Owen and Gwen will be doing the blame game on Tosh.' A frown crossed Jack's face as he recalled the CCTV footage of Owen and Gwen jumping Tosh and demanding answers from her.
Wearily Jack rubbed his temples in hopes of warding off the oncoming headache. He wasn't sure how he could help Tosh and if she would even want his help given what he did to Mary. Jack found his gaze drawn to the phone as a pair of kind blue eyes flashed before him. 'I may not be able to help but there is someone who can. I just didn't think my first time to talk to Ianto would be this way.'
*****
After Fury dismissed them Ianto found himself practically dragged by Clint to their bedroom and, as Clint pressed him against the closed door and kissed him so deeply that it robbed Ianto of his breath, Ianto could taste Clint's desperation.
Breaking the kiss Ianto cupped Clint's face with his hands. "You have nothing to fear I am yours. Captain Rogers maybe everyone else's hero but you are mine and more importantly you hold my heart. I love you Clint Barton, even when we we're apart and I was with Lisa my heart still belonged to you." Ianto knew his lover feared him falling for Steve Rogers.
Resting his forehead against Ianto's Clint felt a weight lifted off of him. "I love you too Ianto Jones." And Clint decided to show him the best way he knew how.
*****
Hours later, curled up in an exhausted heap Ianto rested his head on Clint's chest, listening to his lover's steady heartbeat, when the sound of his mobile phone ringing disturbed the peace. Knowing that Clint needed his sleep before he headed out, Ianto carefully climbed out of bed and shivered slightly as the cool air brushed against his naked body. Snatching the phone and moving into the small living room in order not to awake Clint, Ianto answered his phone. "Hello?"
There was a slight hesitation before a voice he hadn't heard in weeks came across the line. "Hello, Ianto."
Ianto felt his heart skip a beat as he whispered a soft, "Jack."
TBC...
Fandoms: Torchwood/The Avengers
Pairings/Characters: Clint/Ianto, Ianto/Tosh friendship, Ianto/Natasha friendship, Clint/Natasha friendship, Nick Fury, Phil Coulson, Jack/Ianto, Owen, Gwen, Natasha, fledging Jack/Ianto/Clint, Tony/Pepper, Pre-Steve/Tosh, Thor, Darcy Lewis, Jane
Summary: Bonds of friendship and love can still be forged no matter how far apart those connecting hearts maybe and then there are some bonds that no matter how much time has passed are never broken.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or the Avengers
Beta: milady_dragon
Chapter 5
Mary knew the moment she failed to read Jack Harkness's mind her plan was doomed to failure. She cast a glance at Tosh and felt her heartbreak and the confused and hurt look in Tosh's eyes. 'I really could have loved you Tosh. I do hope one day you will be able to forgive me and find the love you so rightly deserve.'
*****
Reassured by Pepper that she would keep a close eye on Tony and not allow him to blow up the world with his latest invention, Ianto figured he had earned a much needed cuddle with his boyfriend.
A cuddle Clint was more than happy to supply and Ianto wouldn't be at all surprised if Natasha found her way into their bed for a good cuddle as well. All three of them carried scars and demons that haunted their dreams and found comfort within one another. With Canary Wharf, the Cyberwoman and the cannibals Ianto barely had a peaceful night sleep but it helped to have someone there to soothe and offer a warm and comforting embrace.
But as they arrived at the Helicarrier, Ianto, Clint, and Natasha all raised an eyebrow at the excitement buzzing in the air. Something or someone had everyone acting like over-caffeinated hyper groupies.
"What the hell is going on?" Clint growled, his eyes flying to the air ducts, a quick trip in them to Fury's office might shed light on whatever was going on.
"Don't even think about it," Ianto's voice filled with warning cut through Clint's plans.
Plastering an innocent look on his face Clint turned to face Ianto but from the look on both his and Natasha's faces they weren't fooled. The innocent look faded into a pout. "You're no fun."
"Let's not get into that again. I have no desire to hear what kind of fun Ianto and you get up to, at this moment." Natasha winked at the two of them and to her delight Ianto blushed. It filled her with warmth that Ianto could still be so innocent. It proved that the horrors he'd seen hadn't completely broken him.
Natasha wasn't the only one pleased to see that Ianto could still blush. Clint loved making Ianto blush and he was pleased to be the only one to know just how far that blush went. Ideas began to form in Clint's head as he thought of the known ways he could make Ianto blush later that night in their bed.
Ianto fought the urge to roll his eyes as Clint leered at him and he knew his boyfriend was planning on making him blush a different way the moment they were alone. 'Why does everyone like seeing me blush?' Ianto recalled the look of sheer glee that shone in Jack's eyes whenever he managed to make him blush. 'If Jack and Clint ever met up I'm sure they would figure out a way to make me blush permanently.'
Ianto quickly pushed back the images of him entwined in a sweaty mess of bodies between Jack and Clint. 'I need to focus on the here and now and not something that will never be anything more than a fantasy.'
"Ianto, thank goodness you're back." A frazzled Maria Hill quickly approached them; behind her almost looking giddy was Coulson.
"Is Phil high?" Of course that was the first thing Clint had to ask. "Oww." Clint rubbed the back of his head where Natasha had slapped him.
"Thank you, Natasha." Ianto didn't need to look at Clint to know the archer was pouting. Instead Ianto kept all his focus on Maria. "What's going on Maria?"
It wasn't Maria who answered but his father. "They found him." There was no mistaking the pure giddiness in Coulson's voice.
Confused, Ianto shared a look with Clint and Natasha before raised an eyebrow and turning back to his father and Maria. Ianto was not used to seeing his father so excited. "Who?"
"The First Avenger himself, Captain America," Maria answered instead with a long suffering sigh.
"Ahh, well that makes sense." Ianto could hardly believe what he was seeing. His father was fanboying over Captain America. Of course Ianto knew full well that Captain America was his Tad's hero as well as everyone in SHIELD.
Maria just rolled her eyes. "They've all been like this since the news broke. I'm ready to shoot someone," she warned with a low growl.
Having dealt with Jack, Owen and Gwen, Ianto understood her feeling all too well. "Would a cup of coffee help?" he offered.
A brief smile appeared on Maria's face. "If I didn't know Agent Barton would annoy me until I was forced to shoot him, I would marry you, Ianto. A cup of your coffee sounds heavenly."
"Aww, you would never hurt me, Maria. You love me far too much to," Clint piped up.
Maria just glared at Clint and Ianto noted that her finger twitched above her gun. Ianto couldn't help but fear that Maria just might shoot Clint this time. Seeing he needed to defuse this and fast Ianto offered his arm to Maria with his boyish smile in place. "Shall we?"
"I hate it when you give me that look. You do know you are SHIELD's secret weapon, don't you?" Maria grumbled with a smile as she took Ianto's offered arm.
Ianto smiled charmingly at Maria.
In his office Fury watched the scene with great interest. 'I knew I had made the right choice. Barton though may be a bit of a problem.'
*****
"I sent her to the sun."
Tosh felt like her heart had been ripped from her chest at Jack's statement. Her whole world was crumbling beneath her. She knew what Owen and Gwen truly thought of her. Mary, someone she had genuinely come to love had only been using her to gain access to Torchwood, and Jack, the man she saw as a father figure, had killed her.
The walls were closing in on her and she needed to get out of here. Choking back a sob Tosh backed away from the others. "I can't be here," Tosh cried before turning on her heel and fleeing the Hub.
Jack felt his heart break at the pain he had inflicted on Tosh. 'When will I stop failing those who mean the most to me? First Estelle, then Ianto and now Tosh.' Jack knew it would do more harm than good to go after Tosh now, he and the others were the last ones Tosh wanted to see at this moment. 'Besides I think I will have something else to deal with.' Jack fought the urge to run and hide in his office as he saw the rage and betrayal swimming in Owen and Gwen's eyes.
"Jack, you have to o something, Tosh reading our minds that's a huge breach of privacy. How can we trust her again?" Gwen greatly disliked the idea of Tosh poking around in her head. 'What if she overheard the fact that I'm sleeping with Owen? What if she lets spill to Rhys?' Gwen gnawed at her lower lip.
Scowling, Owen crossed his arms across his chest. "First Suzie, then Tea-Boy and now Tosh, it's true it's the quiet ones you have to watch out for." Owen did not like the idea of anyone poking about in his head.
"Maybe if we had taken the time to see how much they were suffering and silently crying out for help these things wouldn't keep happening. We failed Suzie, Ianto and Tosh. Just because they were the quiet ones didn't mean we should just treat them as dirt. Tosh ended up as a pawn in Mary's games because we failed her. We didn't take the time to include her, and some of us even destroyed months of hard work and then make it all a big joke," Jack growled as he glared at them and was pleased when a guilty look entered both Owen and Gwen's eyes.
"I'm going to be giving Tosh the next week off. She needs time to deal with being used by someone she had genuinely begun to fall in love with. And when she returns I'm expecting the two of you to treat her like the valuable teammate she is and remember that Tosh is just as human as you. You will not throw this experience back in her face. It should tell us all the state of this team if Tosh found it more easier to talk to a complete stranger instead of one of us." Satisfied he made his point Jack turned on his heel and headed for his office. He had a phone call to make.
Owen hated to admit it that Jack had a point. 'We're bloody falling apart and I wonder how long it will take until we completely shatter?' Owen didn't see what was going on with Suzie and he had been sleeping with her, he never bothered to care about Ianto until he learned what he was hiding and now he had let down and hurt the one person who still believed he was worth something. Shaking his head Owen turned away from Gwen and headed for the medical bay. He had some serious thinking to do.
Biting her lip Gwen was torn between going after Tosh and demanding to know what she had heard and pleading with her to keep quiet and barging into Jack's office and demanding to know how he could have let this happen. Or she could give into the guilt churning in her stomach and go home and see Rhys and remind herself how lucky she was to have someone in her life, that she wasn't alone in the dark not like everyone else. Decision made Gwen grabbed her bag and headed out.
As the alarms blared throughout the Hub both Jack and Owen relaxed with the knowledge that at least for tonight they wouldn't have to deal with Gwen's need for answers.
*****
Fury looked at his five agents before him and gladly took the cup of coffee Ianto offered him. A very calm Maria continued to sip her coffee. For the moment Fury enjoyed the silence because he knew that at least one person was not going to like his newest orders and before Barton began stalking the air ducts above his office. "Agent Jones, as of this moment I want you working with Tony Stark and Captain Rogers. It will be your duty to help Rogers adjust to his new world."
Silence filled Fury's office for about ten seconds as everyone adjusted to his news.
"Oh hell no!" Clint wasn't letting Ianto anywhere near the man who could turn SHIELD Agents into a giddy fangirls and fanboys.
Fury glared at Clint making it clear that this was not up for debate. "Agent Barton this is not up for discussion Agent Jones is the most qualified to help Captain Rogers. Besides you will busy with Agent Coulson in New Mexico."
Ianto wanted to groan. His father and boyfriend would be on the same mission while he was back here keeping an eye on Tony, waiting for Captain Rogers to wake up while dealing with jealous SHIELD Agents. Ianto stared at Fury. "And me being the Coffee God means no one would dare to kill me for getting the assignment everyone wanted."
Instead of saying anything Fury just toasted Ianto with his cup of coffee.
Suddenly Ianto had the killer of all headaches and he knew that he was going to be a long next few weeks.
*****
Curled up on her couch Tosh hugged one of the pillows to her body. Never in her whole life had Tosh ever felt more the fool or more used. 'Oh god I'm such a bloody idiot. How could I have possibly thought that anyone could want plain, old, and boring Tosh? Mary just wanted to use me and Owen would have let Mary keep me if it meant keeping Gwen safe.' That brought a fresh wave of tears and a sob tore from her throat as she curled in on herself, wishing she was anywhere but here but more importantly she wished she had someone who truly cared about her.
*****
'How could I have missed this?' Was the question on Jack's mind as the day's events played like a broken record over and over in his mind. He couldn't find it in his heart to be angry or blame Tosh, 'she was the true victim in all this Mary played on her loneliness and vulnerability. Plus from the sounds of it Owen and Gwen will be doing the blame game on Tosh.' A frown crossed Jack's face as he recalled the CCTV footage of Owen and Gwen jumping Tosh and demanding answers from her.
Wearily Jack rubbed his temples in hopes of warding off the oncoming headache. He wasn't sure how he could help Tosh and if she would even want his help given what he did to Mary. Jack found his gaze drawn to the phone as a pair of kind blue eyes flashed before him. 'I may not be able to help but there is someone who can. I just didn't think my first time to talk to Ianto would be this way.'
*****
After Fury dismissed them Ianto found himself practically dragged by Clint to their bedroom and, as Clint pressed him against the closed door and kissed him so deeply that it robbed Ianto of his breath, Ianto could taste Clint's desperation.
Breaking the kiss Ianto cupped Clint's face with his hands. "You have nothing to fear I am yours. Captain Rogers maybe everyone else's hero but you are mine and more importantly you hold my heart. I love you Clint Barton, even when we we're apart and I was with Lisa my heart still belonged to you." Ianto knew his lover feared him falling for Steve Rogers.
Resting his forehead against Ianto's Clint felt a weight lifted off of him. "I love you too Ianto Jones." And Clint decided to show him the best way he knew how.
*****
Hours later, curled up in an exhausted heap Ianto rested his head on Clint's chest, listening to his lover's steady heartbeat, when the sound of his mobile phone ringing disturbed the peace. Knowing that Clint needed his sleep before he headed out, Ianto carefully climbed out of bed and shivered slightly as the cool air brushed against his naked body. Snatching the phone and moving into the small living room in order not to awake Clint, Ianto answered his phone. "Hello?"
There was a slight hesitation before a voice he hadn't heard in weeks came across the line. "Hello, Ianto."
Ianto felt his heart skip a beat as he whispered a soft, "Jack."
TBC...