Born This Way - Chapter 14

[madbottoms]

Title: Born This Way 14

Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, John, Gray, Owen, Toshiko/Tommy, Suzie, OCs

Rating: NC-17

Warnings/Contains: Supernatural themes, character death, drug references, dub-con.

Summary: Sequel to Choices - Ianto Jones was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately-thanks to Jack Harkness. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences and suddenly Ianto’s and Jack’s happily ever after may not be so happy.

**Next part sooner rather than later... Enjoy!


14

*~*

Facing Down Your Demons

*~*

Jack

I’m going seriously stir crazy. I sit in my desk chair and prop my chin on the windowsill, staring mindlessly at the pink and gray swirling dusk and watching for the Shelby.

Where the hell is Ianto? How long can moving a bunch of books possibly take?

Less time if I help.

I jump up, slide on my flip-flops, and jog down the stairs.

Passing through the family room, I wave at Mum and Dad on the way out. “Going over to the library.”

“Oh bloody hell!” Dad yells at the TV.

“Daniel!” Mum chides, and then turns to me. “Aren’t they closed this late?”

“Ianto’s working late, moving books. I’m gonna help,” I say, edging toward the door.

“Fine, but call us if you’re going anywhere else.”

I bop out the door, slide into my car, and turn the key… and scream when an enormous auburn-haired demon phases into the seat next to me.

“Hello,” she says.

I spring from the car without shutting it down.

My instinct, obviously, is to run. But then I remember Ianto saying he wanted information. I root my feet to the ground and grope for the crucifix dangling from the chain around my neck, trying not to look as scared as I feel. I remember the damage my last crucifix did to Saxon, and hope I don’t have to use this one.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Suzantori,” she says in a soft voice, obviously trying to soothe me. She smiles. “But my friends call me Suzie.”

My heart is trying to commit suicide by throwing itself relentlessly against my rib cage. “What do you want?”

She looks at me as though she’s trying to peer right into me. “He did it for you, didn’t he?”

“Who? Did what?”

“Lucifer. He’s human.”

“I know.”

“How did he do it?”

“I…I don’t know,” I lie.

“He said someone else made him human. Who?”

“I don’t know,” I repeat.

She turns my key, shutting down the ignition, pulls it, and steps out of the car. She stretches seemingly towering over me, and an icy smile pulls at her mouth. “You’re a terrible liar.” She tosses the keys over the car to me. “Take it from a professional.”

As panic flutters through me, somewhere in the back of my mind, it’s occurring to me that Gray should be here. “I don’t know how it works.”

She steps slowly around the car. “I think you do.”

“Is that why you’re following Ianto?” Fear closes my throat, strangling the words. What am I doing? She’s not gonna tell me anything.

I back away a few steps and focus.

You don’t want Ianto.

She hesitates for a second, and her face goes slack. But then she shakes her head and looks back at me with sharp, clear eyes. “I’m going to find out.”

“He can’t tell you how it works either. He doesn’t know.”

Her eyes lock on mine. “We’ll see about that.”

I drop into a crouch as she advances toward me, ignoring my pounding heart, and try to stay focused on her mind. Go away. You don’t want Ianto. You don’t want Ianto. You don’t want Ianto.

She backs off a step, looking confused.

You don’t want Ianto, I push again.

The gun of an engine catches Suzie’s attention and she looks up, her face clearing, just as Ianto’s Shelby screeches to a stop at the curb.

Ianto flies out of the car, eyes wide, and stands beside me. “Leave him alone, Suzie.”

Suzie flashes a sharp smile at Ianto. “When I have answers.”

“For the love of all things unholy, Suzie! There’s nothing to tell.”

I breathe deep and focus on her mind again. You don’t want Ianto.

“Leave,” Ianto says.

I back off a few steps, never taking my eyes off her. She doesn’t make a move toward me, but her eyes are trained on me too, and there’s something in her expression that I can’t really read.

We turn for the house and I hold my breath as we hurry up the walk, half-expecting her to try to stop us.

Go away. You don’t want Ianto.

“See you around,” she says to our backs.

We slip into the house and close the door behind us. I lean against the wall, shaking, sure I’m gonna throw up. Kate is just coming down the stairs. Her face scrunches when she sees Ianto. “Hey, how’d you beat Charlie?”

Ianto twines his fingers in mine and shoots me a concerned glance before turning to Kate. “He was closing up when I left. I’m sure he’s right behind me.”

Mum looks up from her crossword. “That was quick.” I push away from the wall. “Yeah, Ianto just got here. Saved me the trip.” I hope she doesn’t notice the shake in my voice. “We’re going upstairs.”

She just looks at me, the meaning in that stare clear. We slip past Kate on our way up the stairs. In my room, Ianto closes the door. I think about Mum’s door rule, but don’t open it.

“What happened?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” I say.

He pulls me to him and nearly squeezes the life out of me. “Jack, when I saw you out there with her…”

I push away from him again. “I was bored. I thought if I came to the library and helped, you’d get done faster.” His eyes narrow and his lips press into a hard line.

“Where the Hell is Gray?”

“Good question.”

“This is wrong. John was wrong. Gray can’t handle this.” His words are quiet, but his eyes aren’t. A storm is brewing in those black pools.

“Stop it, Ianto. Gray’s here. I’m sure he would have done something if I was really in danger.”

“Call him,” he says, challenging me.

I step closer to him and smile my best sultry smile, which probably isn’t all that sultry, but it’s the best I got. “I don’t want him now.” I slide my hands over Ianto’s T-shirt, trying to distract him. Because, truth is, I’m pretty sure Gray’s not here.

Ianto wraps his fingers around my wrists and brings my hands to his face, where he brushes his lips over the backs of my fingers and looks hard into my eyes. “Call him.”

“No,” I say, yanking my hands away from him. “You call him.”

“If I do it, he won’t come out of spite-or if he’s distracted. If you call him, he has no choice.”

I cross my arms and pull them tight against my chest. “Fine.”

*~*

Gray

Sitting here with Elle, it’d be easy to forget where we are-in a room full of demons. The band grinds away, its pounding rhythm shaking me to the core.

I glance over at Owen. Even though the band is playing, the bass player has him pressed up against him, his arms slung over his shoulders, swaying together and locked in a kiss. I know I should go over there and retrieve him, but with Elle this close to me on the couch, her heat making me warm all over…I’m not going anywhere. Her hand in mine feels amazing. Electric.

I slide my arm over her shoulders and pull her closer. Even in the dim lighting, there’s no mistaking the look she gives me. I twist a finger into her hair as her hand shifts to my thigh, and what I feel is totally foreign. It spreads through me, and my insides stir, along with certain parts of my outsides, until all I can think about is Elle. Everything else falls away as I reach for her face and lean in to kiss her.

And then I feel the mental tug.

Jack.

Damn!

I spring from the couch. “I have to go, Elle…sorry.”

“What?”

I grab her hand and pull her off the couch. “I have to go-right now. So do you. You can’t stay here.”

“Okay, I guess. Let me find Owen.”

“He’s over there.” I gesture to the stage as I back toward the door, feeling my grasp on my human form start to slip. “Grab him and get out of here.”

“You’re not waiting?”

“Can’t. Sorry,” I say, backing down the hallway toward the door. “Get Owen and go. Now.”

“How will you get home?”

“Don’t worry about me. Just grab Owen and go.” I hold her shocked gaze for a second longer, then I turn and run from the room before I’m forced to phase right in front of everyone. This is the risk of being visible. As a guardian, when my charge calls, I have to find him immediately, no matter what I’m in the middle of.

Once outside, I swear under my breath as I phase into Jack’s room. When I look around, Jack’s sitting on the bed and Ianto is standing near the door. And they’re both glowering at me.

“What?”

“You’re joking, right?” Ianto says. The calm in his voice is betrayed by his fists, clenching and unclenching slowly at his sides.

My eyes shoot to Jack and I step toward the bed. “Are you okay? Did something happen?”

Jack just stares at me with questioning eyes.

“Where the Hell were you?” Ianto growls.

“I was…I didn’t feel anything.” I drop my eyes from Jack’s, and an involuntary grimace pulls at my face.

“I don’t care what you ‘felt.’” Ianto’s voice is acid. I look up as his jaw tightens and his eyes narrow. “Jack was in trouble and you, the great guardian, were nowhere to be found.”

I close my eyes, feeling cold dread fill my insides. “What happened?”

“Suzie was here,” Jack says.

I lift my eyes to his, relieved. “Is that new? I thought she’s been following Ianto.”

“She was here, I wasn’t,” Ianto says, and I feel the sharp edge of his glare.

His words are like a punch to the gut. This wasn’t my deal with Suzie.

I work to keep my voice steady, and my eyes don’t leave Jack. “She came for you?”

“Sort of. She wanted to know how Ianto turned.”

Ianto’s eyes snap to his too. “That’s what she wanted? She wasn’t after you?”

“No. She was asking about you being human. She thought you did it for me, and she wanted to know how.”

Ianto turns and drops into Jack’s desk chair, elbows on his knees and head in his hands.

I move to the window and look out. Suzie stands on the sidewalk near the neighbour’s shrubs, her eyes trained on the house. She sees me looking and salutes in my direction. I glare at her and send a warning-a flash of white light. If she’s screwing with Jack, she’s no longer an ally. But as much as I hate to admit it, she’s still my best hope to get Ianto away from my brother.

I turn my glare on Ianto. “So, it seems to me that you’re the one putting Jack in danger.”

Ianto lifts his head from his hands. His face is tormented, as if he’s figured this out on his own. He looks with agonised eyes at Jack. “He’s right. Suzie wants me. If we were apart, she’d have no reason to approach you.”

Yes…just go with it, Jack.

But the panic that flashes in Jack’s eyes tells me he’s not going to.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he says. He pulls himself off the bed and moves toward Ianto.

“Jack, be reasonable-” he says, grasping his hand as he reaches him.

“You should let him go, Jack. He’s putting you in danger. Even he sees that,” I say in one last-ditch effort, but I can see it’s useless. Jack slides into his lap and wraps his arms around his neck.

“Nope. If you leave, you’re gonna have to take me with you,” he says.

Stubborn, as always.

Hope lights Ianto’s face. “Maybe that’s what we need to do-just leave. With our Shields, they shouldn’t be able to find us. We’d just have to shake them. What if we go to London? We could leave early.”

“And tell my parents what?”

“They’d buy it if you said we decided to go early. Use your Sway.”

He looks hard at Ianto. “I’m not gonna use my Sway on my parents, Ianto. And anyway, I’m not ready to go yet.”

“So, if you’re staying, and so is he-” I glare at Ianto. “-we need to figure out a way to keep Suzie away from you.”

Ianto glares right back at me. “You staying put would help. You have one job, Gray.”

He’s right. And I have to start doing it. I was an idiot to think, even for just a second, that I could have a “life.” This obsession with Elle has to stop. Getting to know her was a huge mistake. It hasn’t changed anything, except maybe to make things worse. I let her talk me into abandoning Jack. It won’t happen again.

I didn’t know it was possible for angels to get headaches, but as thoughts whir through my head in a dizzying blur, I’m pretty sure that’s what’s happening. I ease onto the edge of Jack’s bed, lean my elbows onto my knees, and pinch my forehead. “I’ll worry about Jack. You figure out what to do with Suzie.”