Ianto's Journey - Chapter 25 - COMPLETE
Title: Ianto’s Journey - Chapter 25 - COMPLETE
Author: Timelordshines
Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness
Series Rating: 15
Words: 578 / 25351
Spoilers: S1E4, S2E12, DW-S2E12, DW-S2E13
Disclaimer: Characters belong to RTD and the BBC - I’m just borrowing them.
Written for hc_bingo prompt "Undeserved Reputation"
Author's Note: This story is now finally all posted and all chapters are linked. Phew.
Author's Note 2: Huge thanks to badly_knitted for helping me to see how to fit all the prompts into one story. Thanks also to asia27 and tardisjournal for their comments and to kul_breez for persuading me to get it all posted so she can start reading.
Start at the Prologue
Previous chapter - Chapter 24
Jack’s head shot up from his contemplation of his coffee cup and he stared at the young man sitting across the desk from him.
“You made a mistake Ianto.”
Ianto looked at him over the rim of his coffee cup, which he held in a grip that turned his knuckles white.
“But you did it for the best reason,” Jack continued, “You loved her. And in this case love truly was blind. You couldn’t see past the woman she used to be to the thing she had become.”
Ianto didn’t trust himself to say anything. He took a sip of his coffee, then struggled to swallow it past the lump in his throat.
“Everyone makes mistakes Ianto. You’re only human.”
“And you’re some kind of hero, right?” Ianto said sarcastically, knowing that he was lashing out unfairly, but not able to stop himself.
“You don’t believe that.” Jack said, taking a shaky breath before continuing. “You’ve seen my dark side, the person I have to be sometimes.”
“I’m sorry.” Ianto said quietly, hating himself for causing Jack more pain. “You’re not a monster.” Those words had been eating at him for some time, since the raw pain had dulled to a steady ache and he had been able to see that Jack was just doing what he always did, saving the planet. And now, after Jack had been forced to make the difficult decision again, giving the girl to the faeries, he could see how much it hurt the Captain every time.
Jack nodded and put down his coffee. Turning his face away from Ianto he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to reign in his emotions. He took a deep breath and dropped his hand. He opened his eyes and his gaze fell on Gwen and Tosh down in the main Hub as they made their way to the cog door. Gwen took that moment to look up at his window, quickly looking away when she saw him there.
As the alarms blared and the door closed behind them, Jack stood up from his desk and walked to the window. He put his hands in his pockets and stared out dejectedly.
“Gwen could never see me as human. All she ever sees when she looks at me is the dashing hero in the long coat running around to save the day. She never looked beyond that image, never saw me for who I am like you do. I didn’t want her to find out like this. But perhaps now she’s seen the monster she will see the man.”
As Jack spoke, the lump in Ianto’s throat got bigger. He put his cup down and bit his lip, swallowing hard. He ran a hand through his hair and stood up, pushing the chair noisily back from the desk.
Jack didn’t react to the noise, just stared out into space.
Ianto stepped around the desk to stand behind his Captain and reached out tentatively to touch his hip. Jack turned slowly and Ianto reached up to cup his face.
“I see you Jack.”
Ianto leaned in and brushed his lips gently over the other man’s. Jack opened his mouth to the touch, flicking his tongue out to taste Ianto’s lips. The Welshman parted his lips and sucked Jack’s tongue inside, deepening the kiss as they both melted into the embrace, Jack’s arms wrapping around Ianto’s waist and Ianto’s hands tangling in Jack’s soft hair.