(Untitled)

[rowan_gods]

Above the ground, in the center of the city of Jhelbor, in a room that John has long since vacated, a twisted piece of shimmering metal and glass seems to shrink down down down until it's nothing more than a pinprick, and then the air around it explodes, and the ripples of that much magic being unmade travel out in all directions.

It's too much. Too

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[fixdpointintime]

The time disturbances were pulling away from the edge of the city. That was a good thing. In theory, it meant that they didn't have to spend all their time together any more. Jack's urges hadn't quite caught up to his new 'freedom' it seemed, because he still wanted to spend all his time around Ianto. Being away from him for any length of time made him uneasy now. In the not too distant past he would have laughed at the notion that he'd be willingly putting himself in unstable time fluctuations just to have the excuse of being close to Ianto. Not now, though. Now they were sitting in the embassy going over plans for city improvements that theoretically could have been done somewhere else because it meant that Ianto had to stay close enough for Jack to be able to hear the shiver of a smile in his voice. He liked his life this way.

And then everything was so very very wrong. Not that he hadn't felt worse. Didn't so anything to take away the terror because this time there actually was something to lose. "Ianto," Jack called, pressing one hand to his aching head and forcing the word out around the cotton in his mouth. "Ianto."

[guns_and_coffee]

"Jack," Ianto tried to say, but only managed a choking sound. He couldn't see him, couldn't focus properly on anything, but that was Jack's voice, which meant Jack was there, which meant that despite his intense nausea and disorientation things were not nearly as bad as they could be. Thank God. Gods. Whatever.

'Jack,' he tried again, mentally this time, and when he reached out for that familiar connection it was there. 'Jack.' He didn't have the control necessary to prevent flooding Jack with the relief he felt, but somehow he didn't imagine the other man would mind.

[fixdpointintime]

Jack latched on to the familiar feel of Ianto on the edge of his thoughts. He didn't even bother forming words for a response. It had been quite a while since he'd worried about hiding anything in his mind from Ianto. The relief he was getting from the other man was met in kind, along with a flood of caring and gratitude and a sense of wellness, a vanishing of worry. The situation wasn't good, that was very obvious, but he could handle it. He and Ianto would handle it. Together. Everything would be fine. 'Are you hurt?'

[guns_and_coffee]

Ianto felt like such complete shit that this took a moment to assess, but the news was good. 'No permanent damage, it seems. You?' He didn't feel any pain coming off Jack, at least nothing of a magnitude worth worrying about. Good. It'd be rather inconvenient if Ianto had to kill him in order to repair a fractured femur.

His vision was clearing, enough that he could confirm that the grey blur in his peripheral vision was the greatcoat. Ianto reached out and grasped Jack's arm, tightening his fingers around the familiar wool. There. He was there and he was all right and together they'd figure this thing out.

[fixdpointintime]

Ah, there it was. Jack curled one arm across Ianto's shoulders and pulled him forward. "I'm good." He was good and Ianto was good and look at that, he didn't appear to want to puke all over everything any more. Excellent progress. Jack let his forehead rest against Ianto's and allowed himself a few moments of quiet inactivity.

Wherever they were now, it looked and smelled and sounded so different from the city they'd been in. It even felt different. For all Jack knew the whole ordeal had happened again and they were in some sort of alternate world. Ianto could have so easily been left behind.

But he hadn't been. He was right here. Jack dug his fingertips into the charcoal grey material of the suit jacket. Right here.

[guns_and_coffee]

Ianto would have liked to stay like that, but they had work to do. Bizarre events throwing the world around them into mass confusion? Yup, that'd be a workday. "What do you reckon?" he asked, pulling away. "Sinners in the hands of an angry god? Or bystanders, I suppose, but that has less of a ring to it." The gods were almost surely involved. This was either something they'd done or something they'd wanted to prevent.

Everyone seemed all right, at least. Well, everyone except Cedric, but it seemed the alcoholic was finally making himself useful.

Wait. Was that the Rowan Tree?

"Nonlinear," he muttered, mostly to himself. "Do I get a badge now I've joined the club?"

[fixdpointintime]

Jack laughed, because there was really nothing else to do in this situation. "If we make it to tonight I'll give you something better than a badge."

Vertigo seemed to have faded, that was a good thing. Jack once again got to his feet and looked around them, at the tree and the land around it and the very obvious lack of city walls. He could see buildings, but they were low and basic and could barely be called a village. "Do you remember what Sam wrote in the journals about the Gods' conversations? What exactly did he hear?" Sadly, the man did not seem to be available to ask. They did have Cassandra, so that avenue of communication wasn't closed off completely. Good.

Jack reached down and offered Ianto a hand up, eyes still taking in their surroundings, noting the looks of surprise and slight fear they were receiving from the people ringing the tree while in the distance what sounded like a pretty good party got underway. Of everyone in their... traveling party, for lack of a better term, only Cedric appeared to be injured. Jack agreed with Ianto's assessment that Gabriel had things well in hand. Evey if he'd been able to offer assistance, he wouldn't have. This might very well have been the first time the man had done anything useful since his arrival. Jack wanted him to have as much of the experience as possible.

[guns_and_coffee]

Ianto took half a second to scowl at Jack's hand -- still not a woman, thanks -- but he took it anyway and allowed himself to be pulled up. Jack had seen him at a lot worse than nauseated and slightly wobbly in the last few months. "A broken pendulum?" Imagine that. "A... wick burning from the middle." Ianto paused, then shook his head and reached into an inner pocket of his jacket. "Here." His diary -- his private diary, not the magical one, written in Welsh for security. He always kept it with him, so he could record new information as it presented itself. Sam's entry had seemed worth preserving. Ianto flipped to the appropriate page and passed it to Jack.

[fixdpointintime]

Jack took the notebook, gave Ianto one of the soft smiles that was meant only for him, and scanned the words. Right, so, that made no sense. He read them again, trying to think as the Gods must. It was both easier and more difficult than he would have liked. "I wish Sam was here," Jack mumbled, handing the journal back to Ianto and letting his fingers linger against his. "What are you getting from these people around us?"

[guns_and_coffee]

Ianto didn't move his hand. Jack's fingers against his was the only comfort he had right now, and what had just happened was more disturbing than he cared to admit. "They're... surprised. Confused. Worried. They did this, or they think they did. The tree, the gate -- they know it's a gate -- broken? Time for a chat, I think."