Series Relations: Enough is Enough
Title: Enough is Enough
Fandom: TW spoilers for season 2.
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, previous Jack/Doctor, implied Tosh/Owen
Characters: Ianto and Owen, and others.
Series/Sequel: Series- Relations/ Sequel to Yeah, Right.
Summary: Ianto and Owen at breakfast and the next step.
Enough is Enough
It was breakfast time again. On Owen’s fourth day of residence at Ianto’s flat.
He didn’t go into work, but always he got up and expected a full breakfast. Ianto was seriously starting to wonder if Jack was really worth having to put up with Owen. He wasn’t being a complete arse, like he could have been, but Owen was taking every opportunity to be annoying.
The incessant questions on the Doctor hadn’t ended, in fact they’d only increased with the amount of time Ianto spent with Owen’s other father.
And that amount of time only increased too.
Jack and the Doctor were spending half their time thick as thieves and the rest bickering like petulant children. They argue over Owen and Tosh, they even argue over Gwen. He’s also pretty sure there’s been some bickering over himself, but they’re smart enough not to do that in front of him.
Mostly though, it’s Owen and Tosh. They’re both insanely possessive of those two.
Jack argues that the Doctor hasn’t even seen Owen yet, the Doctor argues Jack has had Owen all this time.
The Doctor points out that he met Toshiko first, Jack points out he’s known her longer and closer.
With Owen not present to be convinced one way or the other, they’re both working on winning Toshiko over. Only yesterday the Doctor drew Tosh into a complex conversation on Temporal Physics Theory, or practice in the alien’s case, he got her enthusiastically excited on the subject. Then Jack found them.
He immediately dragged his friend off to his office and everyone could hear their screaming as soon as the door closed.
Tosh is disgusted by the behaviour of both of them, as if she doesn’t know exactly what the both of them are up to. And as if she wasn’t entirely capable of making her own mind up. Of course, that decision will have to wait until after she’s spoken with Owen and finds out what he wants.
In regards to that, she had confronted Ianto. She knows that Ianto knows everything. Also knows that one of the reasons for that is that he does his best to control everything and everyone in and around the Hub. Therefore, he must know where Owen is.
She even accused him of hiding Owen himself.
Ianto smiled at the thought of her. Really it was a shame that he and Tosh didn’t have the right kind of chemistry. They could have easily kept the other three in line and any friends of theirs that might happen along.
Still, he kept Jack within a reasonable level of control and Toshiko could do the same with the Captain’s son. He looks at Owen, sitting across from him, and smiles.
Owen gives him a suspicious look in return, then sighs. “Ianto, why are you-”
“Looking at you funny?”
Owen smiles this time, “No, actually. I was going to ask why are you putting up with me? I mean, I know you’re ridiculously soft on my old man, well the younger of my old men, but that’s no reason to put up with my crap. Not like you need to win him over, you’ve got to admit Jack’s, well easy.”
Ianto laughs at that, but when he notices the uneasy look on Owen’s face he turns serious and leans over to touch the other man’s arm. “Owen, you are, well I thought we were friends.”
“We are, I guess. Doesn’t mean an ordinary guy’d let me away with the crap you do. And you’re right, I’m not daddy’s little boy that you have to win over-”
“That’s not what I’m trying to do, Owen. To do that, I know all I need is coffee and sweets.” Ianto smiles at him, “I still might resort to that.”
Owen smiles back, “Now?” Ianto shakes his head and Owen pouts. “You still haven’t answered my question.”
“I just… honestly, I don’t know. You’re my friend and suddenly my boyfriend’s son and well, I heard about what happened. When Jack lost you.”
“Ah, which time?”
Ianto stares at Owen in shock, “He’s done it more than once?”
“Oops? It was only really once that it was serious anyway.” Owen tries to smile reassuringly at Ianto.
Ianto however is not entirely convinced. “That’s when he dropped you down the Rift?” Owen laughs and Ianto glares, “Owen, that is not funny. You could have… well, actually the possibilities are infinite.”
Owen shakes his head. “It was a long time ago, besides I am the son of Jack and the Doctor- at the time I thought it was just a big adventure. I knew dad would find me. Eventually.”
“What do you mean by ‘eventually’?”
Owen looks guilty and drops his eyes to his breakfast. There is a strained silence for about a minute before Owen sighs and lifts his eyes to meet Ianto’s, “I just dropped dad in it, didn’t I?”
“Owen?” Ianto is getting worried, after everything he’s already heard, how bad is what Jack left out?
“Like I said, I thought it was an adventure. That’s even how I got my name.”
“Owen?”
“No, Harper. I got adopted.”
“He had a century to get you and what, he forgot?”
Owen knows that, despite his calm tone, Ianto is furious. “Ianto, mate, he just, well miscalculated. You know Jack, sucks at maths.”
“He just missed? Like he just dropped you? Why the hell do you- no never mind, I’m sure he just charms his way out of his responsibilities to you just like every other one he has! Well, you don’t have to worry that I’m only being nice to you for Jack’s sake. I really don’t see us surviving this.”
Ianto is surprised to have a suddenly panicked Owen clasping his arm tightly, “Don’t do that. He really cares about you, really… like totally nuts without you. He’s just…” Owen struggles for the right words.
Ianto’s pretty sure he has them, “A lousy father?”
“No! No, Ianto I love my dad. Couldn’t imagine a better one, wouldn’t want anyone else. And remember I have had another one. James Harper was a good man and a perfect father, but he wasn’t my dad and faults and stupidity and all I wouldn’t change him.”
“But… He loses you and treats you-”
“At work? Nah, that doesn’t mean anything. Well, okay, it meant something when I shot him, but we were all going through a lot back then.” Owen can tell Ianto wants to believe him, but that he’s not sure he should. He decides to try another tack, “It’s like, he’s not the best leader, he keeps secrets and lets things fester and drives us crazy and shags one of the team and fancies another and he’s way too controlling and yet, we’d all follow him to hell. And back, ‘cause he would get us back and we know that. We believe that, we believe in him.”
“That’s not the same-”
“Actually it is. In fact I pretty much just described my relationship with my dad.”
Ianto is quiet for a moment as he looks at Owen intently. “But what if… well, he… that is-”
Ianto’s stuttering makes Owen smile, he adjusts the grip he still has on Ianto’s arm, taking his hand in his own, “If you and he ever had a kid, it wouldn’t be like that.” His gentle tone gets Ianto to meet his eyes and Owen smiles broadly and takes his hand back. “Besides, dad’s nothing if not original so there’s no way he’ll drop it down the Rift.”
Ianto slaps his arm, but he does laugh.
There finish their meal in silence and as he’s tidying up Ianto speaks, “I never answered your question.” Owen frowns at him and, taking a deep breath, Ianto continues, “I put up with you because you’re a good man, deep down- very, very deep down- and with all the crap going on in your life right now, you deserve a friend and a refuge.” Owen blushes and averts his gaze. “Having said that, you’ve had enough hiding time, you’re coming to work with me today to meet your father.”
Owen’s mouth opens and closes several times before he manages to speak, “But, I’m not ready.” His voice is soft and not overly assured of his own argument.
Ianto takes a hold of both of his arms and gives them a little shake. “Do you honestly think you ever really will be?”
Owen thinks on this for a minute or so before he shakes his head. Sighing, long and drawn out, like he’s stalling, he eventually nods.
Ianto shakes his arms again, this time more in a reassuring way. “Good. Come on get dressed and we can go in together.”
Their journey to the Hub is done in complete silence, as is their progress from the Tourist Office to the Hub proper. Silent right up until they walk through the Cog door and the metal cage.
There Ianto grasps Owen’s hand, “You’ll be fine.”
He walks away from the other man just as the other occupants of the room notice Owen is finally there.
“Owen.” Jack shouts his name and runs from his office straight to his son. He grabs the younger man and hugs him tight. He holds him there for a couple of minutes and inhales deeply. “Don’t ever go away like that again, please promise me! I’ve been going out of my mind-”
“Yeah, Ja- Dad, I know Ianto said.”
Jack pulls back and frowns at his son, “But you didn’t even call.”
“I was… no, I didn’t. Sorry.”
There is cough from behind Jack, who turns to see the Doctor right behind him. Owen is now looking directly at his other father for the very first time and finds all he wants to do is run.
“Eh, hi, Owen.” The Doctor’s voice is soft, but his grin is broad and he holds out his hand to Owen.
A hand Owen stares at, his breath is stilled and he’s pretty sure everyone else’s is too as there isn’t a single sound in the room at all.
Except, Ianto. Who walks back to Owen’s side, “Oh, I forgot.” He passes Owen a small white paper bag, the action and words breaking the Hub’s stillness.
Owen frowns, but opens the bag- tom thumb drops, his favourite. He throws Ianto a broad smile and mouths a thank you at the Welshman, who has already moved back from Owen and his dads. Stuffing the sweets in his pocket, Owen steps forward and takes the Doctor’s still outstretched hand.
“Hello. I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding this, but…” He trails off, embarrassed by his own reasons.
The Doctor had been frowning from the moment Ianto spoke, quite sure he’s missed something important, but Owen is talking to him, so who cares what magic Ianto put in that bag.
“I…” He doesn’t have any words, for once the verbose Timelord is stumped, but there is something he can do.
He throws his arms around Owen and hugs him tight, “I am so very glad to meet you.”