The Domestication of Jack Harkness

Jan 01, 2013 10:36

Title: The Domestication of Jack Harkness
Author: iantojjackh
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Characters: Jack and Ianto
Rating: PG
Summary: Jack plays nurse while Ianto is under the weather. Nurse uniform not included. 
Warnings: None
Contains: Some snot
Setting/Time: Some glorious AU world where Ianto, Owen and Tosh are still alive.
Beta: timelordshines
Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a while
A/N: Written for the prompt: H/C Jack/Ianto. Ianto is injured/ill/whatever. Jack comforts for torchwood_fest winter exchange


The Domestication of Jack Harkness

*sneeze*

*sniffle*

*cough*

"Here's your coffee, sir." Ianto's voice squeaked like a mouse. His eyes were glassy and a thin sheen of sweat covered his forehead. His body felt like a lorry had hit him and subsequently rolled over him several times.

"Is everything okay?" Jack could not miss the extreme paleness and slow movements of the man who could usually come in, place a cup of coffee on the desk and be on his way out before anyone noticed. Today Ianto's pace resembled that of someone three times his age.

"Everything is fine. Why wouldn't it be?" Ianto stifled a sneeze as he slowly shuffled toward the door.

"Hold up, Ianto." Jack ordered, tasting the coffee brought to him. It was off and most importantly it was ice cold. "Come here," he beckoned with his finger.

"Is this going to take long?" Ianto huffed with annoyance, rolling his eyes to add to his displeasure. "I have a lot of work to do in the archives." And by a lot of work Ianto meant he had a long nap to take.

Jack reached out and touched Ianto's cheek. His hand jumped back surprised at how warm it felt. Was Ianto sick? Jack felt bad that he hadn’t noticed earlier. The first clue should have been when Ianto refused to let Jack stay over last night and the Welshman only does that when Jack has done something wrong and Jack was positive he had been on his best behaviour for a long time "You are really hot."

An exasperated sigh pushed from the obviously ill man's lips, "I don't think this is the time or place to be hitting on me, sir."

"There is never a wrong time or place for that," Jack retorted with a big grin. "Are you running a fever?" He clarified what he had really meant.

"I don't think so, but it is a little warm in here. Can I go now? The archives are not going to fix themselves." Ianto took several steps towards the door before the world began to spin faster than a top and he had to hold onto the chair to keep from falling.

'Stubborn bastard,' Jack mused to himself. "Let Owen be the judge of that." He was not going take no for an answer. Jack slid an arm around Ianto's waist watching as the other man winced. "What's wrong?" he asked, his face full of concern.

"Every muscle aches," Ianto knew there was no point in hiding it anymore. He took the handkerchief from his pocket and loudly blew his nose.

"Every muscle?" Jack asked suggestively and quickly ran his eyes up and down Ianto's form, taking a moment to appreciate its beauty.

Ianto huffed indignantly and rolled his eyes. "Time and place, Jack."

"You have the flu, don't you?"

"Probably."

"You are getting examined by Owen and then I'm taking you home." Jack left no room for argument as he supported the fatigued man with an arm around his waist.

Ianto shook his head vigorously to try and clear it and to protest being examined by Owen. It only succeeding in making himself even more dizzy, causing him to fall into Jack. "There’s too much work to be done. No time to stay at home,” he refused to lose time at work to illness.

"Are you turning down an opportunity to have me take care of you?”

"Yes," Ianto nodded. Last time Jack offered his services like this, Ianto ended up doing all the work and pulled a muscle in his back and was in bed for three days.

"Come on. This time will be different. I promise, Ianto." Jack frowned at the lack of faith Ianto had in him.

Ianto just sneezed and used his handkerchief to blow his nose. "I love you Jack, but no. I don't want to end up in A&E with something broken or worse." The sentiment was sweet, but with Jack the harder he tried to be domestic the more disastrous the results.

"Let's get you to Owen," Jack used his hip to prod the stubborn Welshman to get moving again.

Ianto grumbled something under his breath in Welsh that was rude and bordering on the insulting.

"Hey, I'm trying help. No need to get nasty," Jack took the insult to heart, but cut Ianto some slack because he was not feeling well.

"What's wrong with tea-boy?" Owen asked as the two men approached with Ianto somehow managing to look angry whilst also looking like he was about to pass out.

"The flu," Jack answered and earned an eye roll from Ianto. 'And he's very cranky,' he mouthed to Owen.

"Shirt off, Jones!" Owen ordered his patient and watched Ianto undress the upper half of his body. If Ianto hadn’t looked so rough he would have got the rectal thermometer out just to see the look on his face.

"Thirty-nine degrees." Owen made a face and continued his examination, asking Ianto what his symptoms were. "You've don't have the flu. It's a mild case of pneumonia. If you feel as bad as you look, why didn't you stay at home?"

"Too much work to do. No time to stay home," Ianto whined and rubbed his tired eyes that felt as if they were on fire.

"So you came in to infect us with your cooties?"

"Cooties? What are you, five? I didn't feel like I had been hit by a lorry several times until an about hour ago." Ianto shivered. It felt like he had been thrown into an ice bath while his head was held over a pit of lava.

"Whatever. You need to take a few days off and stay in bed and I don't mean Jack's definition of staying in bed. I mean get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids."

Ianto started to protest, knowing what taking a few days off meant. The hub would be declared a hazardous zone and it would take him double the amount of days he was out to get the place back into order.

"That is doctor's orders and Jack can back me up and make that boss' order as well. Though sometimes I wonder if you are the boss of him. Go home. Take something for the fever and sleep. I'll write you a script for some cough medicine and an antibiotic." Owen saw that Ianto looked like he would not make it home alone and gestured toward Jack.

"I'll take Ianto home," Jack said before Owen had to ask. "And I'll make sure he goes straight to bed."

"I'm not a child."

"But you are acting like one," Jack had no qualms about calling Ianto out for his behaviour. Being sick was no excuse. "I'm taking the next few days off as well. Only call me if and when the world is ending."

Ianto was annoyed, but he did not have the energy to put up a fight. "If you insist. Just don't blame me when you get sick." He slowly got redressed, every movement hurt as if his muscles were being stretched beyond their normal limits.

Half an hour later the couple arrived at Ianto's flat with an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air that been there since they left the hub.

"Do you want me to make you some tea?" Jack asked.

"Sure. Okay," Ianto shrugged as he shuffled over toward the couch, sighing with relief as it felt like heaven to be comforted by its welcoming softness.

"Or not," Jack laughed as he heard snoring from the living room just as he was about to turn on the electric kettle. He emptied the water and went over to couch to make Ianto comfortable.

Ianto had already removed his jacket and tie, but left his shoes on. Jack made quick work of them before he headed to the bedroom to grab a pillow and blanket.

"There you go," Jack whispered to the snoring man as he slid the pillow under Ianto's head and covered him with the blanket. "I'll be back in a little while," he kissed the burning forehead of his lover and frowned. Jack did not like to see his loved ones suffer.

Jack quickly scribbled a note, telling Ianto he had gone to the shops to get supplies for the next couple of days and left it on the table in front of the couch were Ianto was sleeping.

Two hours later Jack returned after his shopping rounds to find Ianto sitting at the kitchen counter asleep. Ianto had changed out of his suit and into a pair of pyjama bottoms and a hoodie.

Jack quickly put away the stuff he had bought, leaving out the soup and medicine "Hey, you hungry?" He asked in a whisper, putting his hand on the small of Ianto's back and saying the words against his ear.

"A little," Ianto yawned which lead to a coughing fit and him leaning against Jack in order to sit up straight. Maybe this time having Jack play nurse would not be such a bad thing. "Thanks, Jack."

"For what?" Jack asked, kissing the top of Ianto's head. "There is no place I'd rather be." It was the truth. Over the last few years since getting involved with Ianto, Jack found himself enjoying the quiet moments away from work. His life did not solely have to revolve around Torchwood and the moment the door closed on Ianto's flat, it had become an unspoken rule that work was never mentioned unless it came looking for them.

"I'm sure there are more exciting things than taking care of a sick person." Ianto reached for the tissue and blew his nose. He knew he was quite the sight with a red, runny nose, puffy eyes, skin paler than a white sheet and hair that looked like it had not seen a comb in weeks.

"But this where you are." Jack relished the smile his words brought to Ianto's face. "How about you get into bed and I'll bring your soup."

"Toss in a massage and you've got yourself a deal," Ianto sighed. It seemed like his nap on the couch made every muscle cry out louder for some kind of relief.

"Ok, it’s a deal. Now march that sexy ass of yours off to bed right now," Jack ordered playfully and pinched Ianto's backside to get him moving.

Ianto yelped as he jumped off the stool and pretended to scowl at his ass being pinched. "Yes, sir," he played along and added a suggestive eyebrow wiggle before making his way to the bedroom.

Several massages later, meals fed to him, movies watched and showers together, Jack had not once tried to make a move beyond the few kisses that Ianto was the one to initiate. Granted the kisses were short and ended with Ianto coughing until he was red faced and lightheaded.

It was some time in the middle of the third day and the couple was watching a tearjerker movie, curled up on the couch when Ianto was hit with a sudden realization and it caused him to burst out laughing in the middle of a very sad scene.

Jack was confused by the sudden outburst and felt Ianto's forehead to make sure his fever had not come back. "Okay, what gives?" He finally asked.

"We've done it, haven't we?" Ianto had an amused smirk in his face. It was one of those things that both had fought hard to prevent, but it ended up happening anyway. He shifted so that he could face the man who had managed to sneak into every essence of his being.

"Done what?" At first Jack was confused, but a moment later he knew exactly what the man whom he still found sexy as hell even in this state meant. That should have been his first clue; still finding Ianto irresistible with his red runny nose, sleep in the corner of his bloodshot eyes, sweat soaked hair, basically looking like shit. "I think we have," he laughed as well, placing a kiss on the tip of Ianto's raw nose. Being able to read the other's mind was another sign. Then there was the fact that he had spent the better part of three days taking care of his sick boyfriend and did not expect anything in return.

Ianto rolled his eyes and chuckled, "Is this going to be my mark on history? The one who domesticated Jack Harkness?" Even as corny as it sounded, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It was an idea that Ianto liked very much. Perhaps it was possible to have a normal life inside Torchwood.

The next words out of Jack's mouth stunned him almost as much as they stunned Ianto. "Marry me Ianto Jones?"

To be continued???

fanfic, ianto, hc-bingo, jack, fluff, janto

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