Fics
Notes: I got voted out of jack_ianto_las this week, so I decided to post all of the fics I wrote for this round.
Disclaimer: I do not own and am not making money from this.
Title:Lie to Me
Rating: pg
Warnings: None
Summary: Sometimes Ianto wondered how long they would have to keep lying before they were comfortable with the truth.
Prompt: The right time to lie. 0 votes for or against
It was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be something that was neat and tidy and could be filed away cleanly at the end of the day. This thing, whatever it was, didn’t have a name or rules or strings. It wasn’t supposed to have, at any rate.
Ianto wondered when exactly things had changed. Then he wondered if things had really changed at all, or if the no strings business had been a lie from the start. There had been a lot of lies in this arrangement he and Jack had, and that would hardly be the greatest.
It might be the one that threw Ianto the most.
In the beginning he had known what they were doing -shagging, where they were going -nowhere, and how it would end -messily and very possibly in his own demise. But somewhere along the way, the path had shifted and they had ended up somewhere completely different. Ianto wasn’t entirely sure where it was they ended up, but it involved another toothbrush sharing space on his bathroom sink, keeping those disgusting cheese puff things Jack loved stocked in the kitchen, and waking up together more often than not.
Time was he could read Jack like a book. He would see the anger or fondness or lust in those blue eyes and know what was to come. Now though, there was something that looked an awful lot like love shining in Jack’s eyes. It made Ianto’s stomach knot and his eyes skitter off to the vicinity of Jack’s ear, unable to match the intensity of the gaze. The words were never said aloud. They never made any promises or declarations. They both pretended that the feelings weren’t there, that love was in no way a part of the equation. Sometimes Ianto wondered just how long they would have to keep lying before they were comfortable with the truth.
Title:I Wrote You a Poem
Rating: pg-13
Warnings: Title is from “My Blue Heart” by Micah Schnabel
Summary: Ianto’s world doesn’t stop.
Prompt: Valentine’s Day. 0 votes for or against
Jack had been gone for weeks now, and Ianto just knew that he wasn’t coming back. Ianto wouldn’t blame him if he had run away, not after the team’s betrayal, but that wasn’t what it was. He saw Jack’s face when he heard that sound that haunted Ianto’s nightmares; saw the look on Jack’s face as he raced toward the blue box that would take him away from all this. No, Jack Harkness was not running away, he was running towards something. Something that looked like hope and love and a little bit of fear. Jack ran towards his doctor -the Doctor- and Ianto couldn’t think of a single reason why Jack would return to this job, this place, this time -these people.
Ah, who was he kidding? He couldn’t think of any reasons why Jack would give up having the whole universe at his fingertips and come back to him on this primitive little backwater. What’s more, though, was that it felt so incredibly selfish for Ianto to want him to. He’d seen that look of pure elation when Jack heard the sound of the TARDIS. Who was he to ask Jack to give up something that made him so happy?
Ianto had known from the start that whatever it was they had would end. Ianto knew it wasn’t smart, and it certainly wasn’t intentional, but somewhere along the way, he had still lost his heart to Captain Jack Harkness. Somehow though, despite the pain of the inevitable abandonment, Ianto couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Certainly he was hurt, disappointed, and a bit angry that Jack had up and left without so much as a word, but he wasn’t surprised, and he wasn’t crushed. He could move on from this. He would move on from this.
Jack may not be there anymore, but his mission still was. He had spent over a century dedicated to the task of protecting the planet, being Earth’s defender, her hero. Ianto could take up that mantle, and do his best to protect this planet, this city, this team. It was like a love letter to Jack.
He felt the analogy especially apt as he spent his Valentine’s Day lying on the cold metal table in the med bay, Owen placing even stitches along the gash in his side and grumbling about how idiotic teaboys ought to know that immortality was not a sexually transmitted condition.
Despite the wound, and perhaps in part due to the pain killers Owen had injected him with, Ianto was feeling pretty good. The adrenaline rush of danger, and the mental rush of simply knowing that he was doing the right thing had him riding high. Their unwelcome visitors were on their way, the city went on unknowing the danger it had been in, and, thanks to one Ianto Jones, archivist, Tosh was safe and whole -and fretting above him beside an anxious looking Gwen. That brought him down a little.
He held very still as Owen finished up and carefully taped a bandage around the wound. Looking up at the worried faces of his two remaining teammates, Ianto forced a smile to hide the grimace as he sat up and reached for the clean shirt Gwen had been kind enough to fetch for him. “See? I’m just fine. It’s just a little scratch.” Neither of the women looked like they were buying what he was selling. “Why don’t you go on home, Gwen? I’m sure Rhys won’t be best pleased if Torchwood ruins his plans again. You too Tosh; you mentioned a date, go on.”
He watched as they each warred with the idea for a moment before giving in to his indirect request to be left alone. Gwen glanced at her watch and started. It was clearly later than she had thought. “Alright, if you’re sure?” She didn’t bother to wait for a reply, already knowing what it would be, before adding, “You feel better, Sweetheart,” and hurrying to gather her things.
Tosh lingered a moment longer, a guilty expression written on her face. She seemed to come to a conclusion and insisted, “At least let me drive you home.”
The pleading look in her eyes did him in, and Ianto caved. “Sure. Thank you, I’d appreciate that. Go on ahead, it’ll take me a few minutes, but I’ll be right there.”
She lingered just a moment longer before heading to her desk to gather her things.
It was clear that Owen was not going to give in to Ianto’s desire to be alone for a few moments while he dressed. Instead Owen waited until the alarm blared signaling the exit of their colleagues. “You don’t have to play the hero. It’s going to get you killed,” he hissed.
Ianto rolled his eyes and calmly began buttoning his shirt. “Oh, and next time I’ll just let the big, yellow, oozy thing with gigantic teeth take a piece out of Tosh, shall I?”
Owen’s tone wasn’t anywhere near as harsh as Ianto had expected when he finally replied. “Taking stupid risks isn’t going to bring him back.”
“This isn’t about that.”
Owen waited until Ianto had finished buttoning his shirt and turned around to pick up his jacket to speak again. “You don’t have anything to prove, you know.”
Ianto smiled softly to himself before putting that bland mask back on and turning to face the other man. “This isn’t about that either.”
Ianto started for the cog wheel door, and didn’t even pause when Owen called after him, “Then what is it about then?” Despite the accusation and exasperation in the voice, Ianto could also hear genuine curiosity, genuine concern. But he knew he didn’t have an answer that would satisfy the acerbic doctor.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Owen.” For a moment, Ianto thought that maybe, just maybe this was the way it was always supposed to be.
Title:Letting Go
Rating: pg
Warnings: Mentions of canon character death
Summary: Jack couldn’t let go.
Prompt: Terrible gifts. 1 vote for, 0 against
“Promise me.” His demand was met with stony silence and a stubbornly clenched jaw. He tried again, softly, imploringly, “Promise me?”
That one got a reaction. Jack sighed and his expression softened. His eyes flicked briefly up to Ianto’s face before falling back to his hands, lying folded in his lap. His response was a long time coming, an almost whispered, “I can’t.”
That downtrodden look upon the older man’s face was almost enough to make Ianto reconsider forcing the point right then. It had been a rough few days. But that was precisely his point, after all. He made his way to where Jack was sitting so dejectedly and crouched, taking the other man’s fidgeting hands in his own. He waited. It didn’t take long before those blue eyes flicked upward again, and Ianto gave a tight smile. “I need to know, Jack. Please?”
Just like that, the sadness was masked with anger and Jack was up and out of his chair like it was on fire. He neatly sidestepped Ianto and stalked his way over to the large window overlooking the base. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest, and Ianto could see the ticking in his too-tightly clenched jaw. “You just want me to give up?” he hissed through his teeth.
Ianto stood and winced as his knees creaked -too many late night weevil chases had taken their toll. Carefully, he made his way over to Jack, and, standing behind the other man, wrapped his arms around his middle. Heartened when Jack didn’t immediately pull away, Ianto then dared to rest his chin on his shoulder. With an awkward shake of his head, he replied, “No. I want you to move on.”
Jack leaned back into his embrace, placed his arms over Ianto’s, keeping him there. Ianto wasn’t sure if it was a sign that the captain was beginning to accept what he was asking, or was fighting against it.
They stood there for a few minutes, staring out into the Hub, staring at the lonely, angry, broken man below as he clattered around the med bay. “I couldn’t let him go,” Jack finally admitted.
“I know.”
“He hates me, doesn’t he?”
“He’ll get over it, in time.” Jack twisted just enough to shoot Ianto a look that was a mixture between skeptical and pleading. Ianto shook his head again and said firmly, “No. Look at him, Jack. I know it’s hard to let go, but don’t make me die forever too. Promise me that.”
Jack was silent. He held Ianto tighter.
Title:We’re on this Ship, and it’s Sinking
Rating: pg-13
Warnings: Mentions of canon character death
Summary: I think I need your help
Prompt: “Arrogance diminishes wisdom”. 2 votes for, 5 against
Extra notes: I went back and cleaned up the technical issues that got me voted out. I think I did, at any rate. If you find something I missed, please let me know.
Ianto lost himself for just a moment as he let the mundane routine of fixing the coffee soothe him. It had been a bad day. No, “bad” did not begin to cover it. His coworker being revealed as the murderer Cardiff police had been searching for for weeks before blowing her brains all over the Plass was so far beyond “bad.” On top of that, Lisa wasn’t doing well, and Ianto was getting desperate. Something needed to be done, and soon. It was all getting to be too much for him to bear on his own.
Ianto needed the soothing mindlessness of routine to ease his frayed nerves. He needed that moment to steel himself for the next part of the routine. Carefully, he prepared two coffees, the last of the night, to bring to Jack.
Ianto paused for a moment in the doorway of the office, taking in the dejection in Jack’s face, the bottle of scotch located at his right hand, and the flush of alcohol creeping up his throat. Of course the Captain was dwelling on the loss of Suzie. Ianto cleared his throat softly and offered the tray with the coffee. It wasn’t much, but it was what he had.
Jack grabbed both coffees and said with a forced smile, “You, Ianto Jones, are an angel.” Ianto tried not to cringe. These days he felt closer to devil than angel.
“All part of the job, sir.”
“Care to join me?” the Captain asked, waggling the liquor bottle, and not waiting for a reply before pouring generous measures into both mugs. He slid one across the desk and gestured to the chair. Ianto warred with himself for a moment before giving in and slumping down into the chair, spinning his mug slowly between his hands.
There was a long awkward pause. “I didn’t see it, Ianto,” Jack said at length. “She was right there in front of me every day, and I didn’t see it.”
“You weren’t meant to,” came the quiet reply.
“Why -why didn’t she come to me?”
“Because she didn’t want your help.” Ianto was quiet for a long moment, taking a slow draw of his spiked coffee and making a face as it burned on the way down. It was for courage, for the question he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “Would you have? Helped her, that is. Would you have helped her if she had asked?” Maybe there was hope for him, for Lisa.
Jack set his mug down carefully, leaning his elbows on his desk and cradling the warmth between his large hands. He nodded, staring down into the swirling depths of coffee as if that mug held the answers to the universe. “I would have tried,” he admitted softly.
The two men sat like that for a long moment, neither looking at the other, both lost in their own thoughts. It was again Jack who broke the silence, “I let the team drift. I let the team down.” Jack paused again, and shook his head in disappointment. “I would like to say that I missed Suzie’s odd behavior because I trusted my team, but that wasn’t it. I was so confident that I was a good enough leader, that I had picked a good enough team, and that my team was loyal enough that nothing like what she did could ever happen here. I was proud, and blind.”
Jack shifted back in his seat, pushing both coffee and liquor away. “I sat idly by as my team drifted away because I was too proud to consider that there was a problem.” He sighed loudly and ran both hands through his hair. “At least I know I don’t have to worry about you. Faithful Ianto, that’s you.”
Jack sounded so sure. It made Ianto’s stomach churn uncomfortably, even as the older man visibly relaxed.
And then, all of the guilt, the stress, the fear was just too much for Ianto. He had to do something, anything. He was desperate, and he couldn’t carry it all on his own. The desperate need to tell somebody, anybody didn’t make it any easier to actually do. Crushing fear clutched at his chest and made it difficult to breathe.
“Sir, can we -can we talk?” Ianto asked slowly, hesitantly. He took a deep breath followed by a long pull from his mug, draining the remaining coffee and scotch before looking up at Jack. “I,” deep breath, “I think I need your help.”
Jack was about to answer, when his mobile rang. Owen. The name flashed in neon contrast. “Can this wait, Ianto?”
The words hit like a physical blow. Hope of help, of understanding, was gone. He was in this on his own. Well, at least that was cleared up. Ianto carefully schooled his features, donned his blank mask and nodded curtly, “Of course, sir. Your team might need you.”
Disclaimer: I do not own and am not making money from this.
Title:Lie to Me
Rating: pg
Warnings: None
Summary: Sometimes Ianto wondered how long they would have to keep lying before they were comfortable with the truth.
Prompt: The right time to lie. 0 votes for or against
It was supposed to be easy. It was supposed to be something that was neat and tidy and could be filed away cleanly at the end of the day. This thing, whatever it was, didn’t have a name or rules or strings. It wasn’t supposed to have, at any rate.
Ianto wondered when exactly things had changed. Then he wondered if things had really changed at all, or if the no strings business had been a lie from the start. There had been a lot of lies in this arrangement he and Jack had, and that would hardly be the greatest.
It might be the one that threw Ianto the most.
In the beginning he had known what they were doing -shagging, where they were going -nowhere, and how it would end -messily and very possibly in his own demise. But somewhere along the way, the path had shifted and they had ended up somewhere completely different. Ianto wasn’t entirely sure where it was they ended up, but it involved another toothbrush sharing space on his bathroom sink, keeping those disgusting cheese puff things Jack loved stocked in the kitchen, and waking up together more often than not.
Time was he could read Jack like a book. He would see the anger or fondness or lust in those blue eyes and know what was to come. Now though, there was something that looked an awful lot like love shining in Jack’s eyes. It made Ianto’s stomach knot and his eyes skitter off to the vicinity of Jack’s ear, unable to match the intensity of the gaze. The words were never said aloud. They never made any promises or declarations. They both pretended that the feelings weren’t there, that love was in no way a part of the equation. Sometimes Ianto wondered just how long they would have to keep lying before they were comfortable with the truth.
Title:I Wrote You a Poem
Rating: pg-13
Warnings: Title is from “My Blue Heart” by Micah Schnabel
Summary: Ianto’s world doesn’t stop.
Prompt: Valentine’s Day. 0 votes for or against
Jack had been gone for weeks now, and Ianto just knew that he wasn’t coming back. Ianto wouldn’t blame him if he had run away, not after the team’s betrayal, but that wasn’t what it was. He saw Jack’s face when he heard that sound that haunted Ianto’s nightmares; saw the look on Jack’s face as he raced toward the blue box that would take him away from all this. No, Jack Harkness was not running away, he was running towards something. Something that looked like hope and love and a little bit of fear. Jack ran towards his doctor -the Doctor- and Ianto couldn’t think of a single reason why Jack would return to this job, this place, this time -these people.
Ah, who was he kidding? He couldn’t think of any reasons why Jack would give up having the whole universe at his fingertips and come back to him on this primitive little backwater. What’s more, though, was that it felt so incredibly selfish for Ianto to want him to. He’d seen that look of pure elation when Jack heard the sound of the TARDIS. Who was he to ask Jack to give up something that made him so happy?
Ianto had known from the start that whatever it was they had would end. Ianto knew it wasn’t smart, and it certainly wasn’t intentional, but somewhere along the way, he had still lost his heart to Captain Jack Harkness. Somehow though, despite the pain of the inevitable abandonment, Ianto couldn’t bring himself to regret it. Certainly he was hurt, disappointed, and a bit angry that Jack had up and left without so much as a word, but he wasn’t surprised, and he wasn’t crushed. He could move on from this. He would move on from this.
Jack may not be there anymore, but his mission still was. He had spent over a century dedicated to the task of protecting the planet, being Earth’s defender, her hero. Ianto could take up that mantle, and do his best to protect this planet, this city, this team. It was like a love letter to Jack.
He felt the analogy especially apt as he spent his Valentine’s Day lying on the cold metal table in the med bay, Owen placing even stitches along the gash in his side and grumbling about how idiotic teaboys ought to know that immortality was not a sexually transmitted condition.
Despite the wound, and perhaps in part due to the pain killers Owen had injected him with, Ianto was feeling pretty good. The adrenaline rush of danger, and the mental rush of simply knowing that he was doing the right thing had him riding high. Their unwelcome visitors were on their way, the city went on unknowing the danger it had been in, and, thanks to one Ianto Jones, archivist, Tosh was safe and whole -and fretting above him beside an anxious looking Gwen. That brought him down a little.
He held very still as Owen finished up and carefully taped a bandage around the wound. Looking up at the worried faces of his two remaining teammates, Ianto forced a smile to hide the grimace as he sat up and reached for the clean shirt Gwen had been kind enough to fetch for him. “See? I’m just fine. It’s just a little scratch.” Neither of the women looked like they were buying what he was selling. “Why don’t you go on home, Gwen? I’m sure Rhys won’t be best pleased if Torchwood ruins his plans again. You too Tosh; you mentioned a date, go on.”
He watched as they each warred with the idea for a moment before giving in to his indirect request to be left alone. Gwen glanced at her watch and started. It was clearly later than she had thought. “Alright, if you’re sure?” She didn’t bother to wait for a reply, already knowing what it would be, before adding, “You feel better, Sweetheart,” and hurrying to gather her things.
Tosh lingered a moment longer, a guilty expression written on her face. She seemed to come to a conclusion and insisted, “At least let me drive you home.”
The pleading look in her eyes did him in, and Ianto caved. “Sure. Thank you, I’d appreciate that. Go on ahead, it’ll take me a few minutes, but I’ll be right there.”
She lingered just a moment longer before heading to her desk to gather her things.
It was clear that Owen was not going to give in to Ianto’s desire to be alone for a few moments while he dressed. Instead Owen waited until the alarm blared signaling the exit of their colleagues. “You don’t have to play the hero. It’s going to get you killed,” he hissed.
Ianto rolled his eyes and calmly began buttoning his shirt. “Oh, and next time I’ll just let the big, yellow, oozy thing with gigantic teeth take a piece out of Tosh, shall I?”
Owen’s tone wasn’t anywhere near as harsh as Ianto had expected when he finally replied. “Taking stupid risks isn’t going to bring him back.”
“This isn’t about that.”
Owen waited until Ianto had finished buttoning his shirt and turned around to pick up his jacket to speak again. “You don’t have anything to prove, you know.”
Ianto smiled softly to himself before putting that bland mask back on and turning to face the other man. “This isn’t about that either.”
Ianto started for the cog wheel door, and didn’t even pause when Owen called after him, “Then what is it about then?” Despite the accusation and exasperation in the voice, Ianto could also hear genuine curiosity, genuine concern. But he knew he didn’t have an answer that would satisfy the acerbic doctor.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Owen.” For a moment, Ianto thought that maybe, just maybe this was the way it was always supposed to be.
Title:Letting Go
Rating: pg
Warnings: Mentions of canon character death
Summary: Jack couldn’t let go.
Prompt: Terrible gifts. 1 vote for, 0 against
“Promise me.” His demand was met with stony silence and a stubbornly clenched jaw. He tried again, softly, imploringly, “Promise me?”
That one got a reaction. Jack sighed and his expression softened. His eyes flicked briefly up to Ianto’s face before falling back to his hands, lying folded in his lap. His response was a long time coming, an almost whispered, “I can’t.”
That downtrodden look upon the older man’s face was almost enough to make Ianto reconsider forcing the point right then. It had been a rough few days. But that was precisely his point, after all. He made his way to where Jack was sitting so dejectedly and crouched, taking the other man’s fidgeting hands in his own. He waited. It didn’t take long before those blue eyes flicked upward again, and Ianto gave a tight smile. “I need to know, Jack. Please?”
Just like that, the sadness was masked with anger and Jack was up and out of his chair like it was on fire. He neatly sidestepped Ianto and stalked his way over to the large window overlooking the base. He crossed his arms tightly across his chest, and Ianto could see the ticking in his too-tightly clenched jaw. “You just want me to give up?” he hissed through his teeth.
Ianto stood and winced as his knees creaked -too many late night weevil chases had taken their toll. Carefully, he made his way over to Jack, and, standing behind the other man, wrapped his arms around his middle. Heartened when Jack didn’t immediately pull away, Ianto then dared to rest his chin on his shoulder. With an awkward shake of his head, he replied, “No. I want you to move on.”
Jack leaned back into his embrace, placed his arms over Ianto’s, keeping him there. Ianto wasn’t sure if it was a sign that the captain was beginning to accept what he was asking, or was fighting against it.
They stood there for a few minutes, staring out into the Hub, staring at the lonely, angry, broken man below as he clattered around the med bay. “I couldn’t let him go,” Jack finally admitted.
“I know.”
“He hates me, doesn’t he?”
“He’ll get over it, in time.” Jack twisted just enough to shoot Ianto a look that was a mixture between skeptical and pleading. Ianto shook his head again and said firmly, “No. Look at him, Jack. I know it’s hard to let go, but don’t make me die forever too. Promise me that.”
Jack was silent. He held Ianto tighter.
Title:We’re on this Ship, and it’s Sinking
Rating: pg-13
Warnings: Mentions of canon character death
Summary: I think I need your help
Prompt: “Arrogance diminishes wisdom”. 2 votes for, 5 against
Extra notes: I went back and cleaned up the technical issues that got me voted out. I think I did, at any rate. If you find something I missed, please let me know.
Ianto lost himself for just a moment as he let the mundane routine of fixing the coffee soothe him. It had been a bad day. No, “bad” did not begin to cover it. His coworker being revealed as the murderer Cardiff police had been searching for for weeks before blowing her brains all over the Plass was so far beyond “bad.” On top of that, Lisa wasn’t doing well, and Ianto was getting desperate. Something needed to be done, and soon. It was all getting to be too much for him to bear on his own.
Ianto needed the soothing mindlessness of routine to ease his frayed nerves. He needed that moment to steel himself for the next part of the routine. Carefully, he prepared two coffees, the last of the night, to bring to Jack.
Ianto paused for a moment in the doorway of the office, taking in the dejection in Jack’s face, the bottle of scotch located at his right hand, and the flush of alcohol creeping up his throat. Of course the Captain was dwelling on the loss of Suzie. Ianto cleared his throat softly and offered the tray with the coffee. It wasn’t much, but it was what he had.
Jack grabbed both coffees and said with a forced smile, “You, Ianto Jones, are an angel.” Ianto tried not to cringe. These days he felt closer to devil than angel.
“All part of the job, sir.”
“Care to join me?” the Captain asked, waggling the liquor bottle, and not waiting for a reply before pouring generous measures into both mugs. He slid one across the desk and gestured to the chair. Ianto warred with himself for a moment before giving in and slumping down into the chair, spinning his mug slowly between his hands.
There was a long awkward pause. “I didn’t see it, Ianto,” Jack said at length. “She was right there in front of me every day, and I didn’t see it.”
“You weren’t meant to,” came the quiet reply.
“Why -why didn’t she come to me?”
“Because she didn’t want your help.” Ianto was quiet for a long moment, taking a slow draw of his spiked coffee and making a face as it burned on the way down. It was for courage, for the question he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “Would you have? Helped her, that is. Would you have helped her if she had asked?” Maybe there was hope for him, for Lisa.
Jack set his mug down carefully, leaning his elbows on his desk and cradling the warmth between his large hands. He nodded, staring down into the swirling depths of coffee as if that mug held the answers to the universe. “I would have tried,” he admitted softly.
The two men sat like that for a long moment, neither looking at the other, both lost in their own thoughts. It was again Jack who broke the silence, “I let the team drift. I let the team down.” Jack paused again, and shook his head in disappointment. “I would like to say that I missed Suzie’s odd behavior because I trusted my team, but that wasn’t it. I was so confident that I was a good enough leader, that I had picked a good enough team, and that my team was loyal enough that nothing like what she did could ever happen here. I was proud, and blind.”
Jack shifted back in his seat, pushing both coffee and liquor away. “I sat idly by as my team drifted away because I was too proud to consider that there was a problem.” He sighed loudly and ran both hands through his hair. “At least I know I don’t have to worry about you. Faithful Ianto, that’s you.”
Jack sounded so sure. It made Ianto’s stomach churn uncomfortably, even as the older man visibly relaxed.
And then, all of the guilt, the stress, the fear was just too much for Ianto. He had to do something, anything. He was desperate, and he couldn’t carry it all on his own. The desperate need to tell somebody, anybody didn’t make it any easier to actually do. Crushing fear clutched at his chest and made it difficult to breathe.
“Sir, can we -can we talk?” Ianto asked slowly, hesitantly. He took a deep breath followed by a long pull from his mug, draining the remaining coffee and scotch before looking up at Jack. “I,” deep breath, “I think I need your help.”
Jack was about to answer, when his mobile rang. Owen. The name flashed in neon contrast. “Can this wait, Ianto?”
The words hit like a physical blow. Hope of help, of understanding, was gone. He was in this on his own. Well, at least that was cleared up. Ianto carefully schooled his features, donned his blank mask and nodded curtly, “Of course, sir. Your team might need you.”