CHARACTERS: Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness
LOCATION: Somewhere in the passenger quarters
WARNINGS: Angst, possible progression into NC-17 territory.
SUMMARY: Jack and Ianto run into each other in the passenger quarters just after everyone arrives.
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Ianto missed his suit already )
Jack stopped dead in his tracks, and when he spoke, his voice was oddly hesitant, and not at all the way he normally sounded. "...Ianto?"
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As he set about pulling his clothes back on - he would have stayed naked but god knows how long they'd be wandering around looking for the right place - he thought about maybe going to find something to eat before they settled down, but he really wasn't hungry. He just wanted to lie down with Ianto. Hold him in his arms and know that at least something was going right.
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Climbing back into his jumpsuit, Ianto took Jack's hand again, feeling vulnerable. He wasn't usually quite so touchy outside of the bedroom, but these were unusual circumstances to say the least. He kept feeling like he might fly off somewhere without Jack to ground him.
"Your place or mine?" he asked as lightly as he could.
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"Let's hope that the bed's big enough," he said, with a smile. "You and I can both fit on a cot together if we need to, but it'll probably be a lot more comfortable for both of us if we don't have to." He squeezed Ianto's hand gently, as they started towards the door. Maybe Ianto wasn't so touchy outside of the bedroom - that was usually Jack's part instead - but he wasn't really questioning it at all. He had other things on his mind, and worrying about whether Ianto cared whether they were holding hands in public or not wasn't really on the top of his list at that moment.
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As it turned out, room 007 wasn't far. They'd almost passed it on their way to the showers. It wasn't locked as far as Ianto could tell, and he opened the door to find a small but serviceable double bedroom with two single beds, two bureaus, and two closets. He frowned at the two beds, hoping no one else had planned to room there. If they had, Ianto decided with a glance at Jack, they were out of luck.
With a sudden surge of energy, Ianto moved into the room and began shoving the two beds together. He'd think about arranging everything a bit more nicely later on, but for now they just needed one big bed.
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Jack got the feeling that they both could benefit from a little down-time together, so after a moment, he lay down and immediately held his hand out for Ianto to join him. "C'mere," he said, softly.
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Quietly, as if afraid to say it out loud, he mumbled, "I died, didn't I?"
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He nodded, after a long pause. "...yeah," he said, softly, trying to keep any other hints of emotion out of his answer but failing, because he'd always had the problem of wearing his heart on his sleeve when it mattered enough. "You did. In my arms..." He bit his lip, turning his eyes to the ceiling, slightly ashamed that even after all this time he still couldn't quite say it, but fighting through it anyway. But then...why was Ianto asking him? Shouldn't he know? Jack turned his head to look at Ianto as much as he could, given their close proximity. "...don't you remember?"
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"I remember what I felt at the end," he continued, quiet again and subdued. "I knew I was dying. I know it was...them, the aliens we were saving the children from, but I can't remember how..." He took a shuddering breath, trying to recall what happened even as he cringed away from the emotions it invoked.
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"Let's start from the beginning. Where do things start to get jumpy for you? You remember that they were talking through the children, right? The aliens? 'We Are Coming' and all of that?" Jack was trying his hardest to stay emotionally distant from the whole matter, but the fact was that he couldn't remove himself enough to not be effected by what he was talking about even if he tried. The wounds were still raw, as it was.
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Ianto's breath hitched as Jack's words brought back some pieces that had eluded him. "It's hard to say where it starts... A few days, maybe a week or so. I remembered they were doing something to the children, but I didn't remember what it was until just now. I remembered what their demands were." He held onto Jack a little tighter, remembering now just how the hub blew up. It connected some of the dots, and Ianto wasn't sure he was happier for knowing why he'd had to rescue Jack.
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He was silent a long time, well aware of the tension in Jack, already regretting what he had to ask. He could leave the memory to come back on its own time, but who knew how long it would take? It wouldn't stop them from eventually having to speak of it either, and in the meantime, Ianto would be a nervous wreck. There was no help for it.
"How did I die?" His voice came out gravelly, as if it were being torn from his throat. His hands clenched in Jack's jumpsuit.
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"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered brokenly, not entirely sure what he was apologizing for. For making Jack tell him, for causing him this pain, for dying, for not being there. For nothing he could have really controlled, but he was still so very sorry for all of it.
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But Jack realized something in that moment. Ianto was there, somehow. Ianto was there with him on this ship, in this bed, by some sort of miracle or what he wasn't sure, but he wasn't about to let him go again. Not when he had him back. "Don't be," he whispered, against the other man's lips. "It isn't your fault. And it doesn't matter. I've got you back. I've got you..."
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