Fic: Avalon's Child Chapter 5/11
Title: Avalon’s Child
Fandoms: Torchwood/Merlin/Doctor Who
Pairings/Characters: Jack/Ianto, Arthur/Merlin, Gwaine/Morgana, Doctor/Donna, Mickey/Martha, Tommy/Tosh, Owen/Katie, Rhys/Gwen, John/Suzie, TARDIS, Lancelot/Guinevere, pre-Rhys/Alice, Steven, Rhiannon, Myfanwy, Aithusa and Kilgharrah, Francine, Tish, David, Mica, Estelle
Summary: The moment they tried to kill him they brought forth a wrath unlike anything seen before. The 456 were easily defeated the moment Avalon became involved but now humanity must face the consequences of actions taken and not taken. The wrath of the dragons will be known as Jack must make amends for a single thoughtless moment that ruined what he had with Ianto or he will risk losing his other half.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, Merlin or Doctor Who
Beta: milady_dragon
Written for the Dragon Big Bang Round 1
Chapter 5
As Merlin and Morgana stepped foot back on Avalon they felt the air tingle around them as she welcomed them home. Only those invited could step foot on the land of Avalon, that was why they had sent the reincarnated knights and other old friends to collect the rest.
Morgana rested a gentle hand on Merlin's arm. "Go to Arthur and your son, I will join Gwaine in waiting for the others." She could see how much Merlin longed to go check on Ianto.
His gratitude shone brightly in Merlin's eyes. "Thank you my friend." Smiling at Morgana, Merlin covered her hand with his free one and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before rushing off into the castle they called home.
"I just hope you and Arthur don't cause more damage to Ianto and Jack's fragile relationship. It's at its breaking point of words not spoken when they meant the most," Morgana whispered softly.
*****
Arthur glared at the man lying beside his son. He had thrown a fit when he found that they had placed Jack in the same bed as Ianto. He didn't want it that man anywhere near his son.
"Oi, stop with the glaring and growling. No matter how hard you try Jack's not going to suddenly combust from your glare," a snarky male voice called from the bed where he was checking over the two men.
Arthur crossed his arms over his chest and transferred his glare onto him. "I don't think I like this new version of you, Gaius. You're far more snarky and show less respect to your superiors."
"For the last time, Your Highness, it's Owen now and as much as you don't like Jack, Ianto loves him and Jack might hide it and deny it to everyone including himself but he loves Ianto just as much or maybe even more. This is Ianto's first death and they are going to need each other." A rare smile crossed Owen's face as he reached out and took the hand of the blond woman tending to Jack, "Just like I needed Katie to help me adjust to being alive and not the walking dead."
It warmed Arthur's heart to see Gaius and Alice finally get the chance they were denied in their first life. Still that didn't mean he agreed with Owen's suggestion that Jack Harkness share his son's bed. 'We're going to have a long talk when you awaken, Jack, about how you treated my son,' Arthur vowed.
Shaking his head Owen felt a swell of pity for Jack. He was in for one hell of a shovel talk from Arthur and Merlin. 'Still it might be the kick Jack needs to start treating Ianto like he should be.'
*****
The Doctor had no clue as to why the TARDIS brought him to Earth, that was until he stepped out of his ship and stared up at the sky. The Doctor blinked and blinked again at the sight of real live dragons sitting on the roof of every house and building. "Oh, this is brilliant!" It had been so long since he'd last seen a real live dragon but the rage and anger burning in those ancient eyes worried the Time Lord. Something was very wrong. 'I better find Jack; something tells me that him and his team are somehow involved.'
"Excuse me, are you the Doctor?" a female voice asked from behind him.
Whirling around, a big grin broke out on the Time Lord's face as he stared up at the beautiful white dragon. "Oh you’re brilliant!"
If dragons could blush Aithusa would be doing so right now. "Thank you for your kind words, Doctor, I have been sent to get you and your TARDIS and bring you to Avalon. Things have gone horrible wrong, magic has returned to a world that is not yet ready for it and to top it all off the Third Race has declared war on humans for the attempted murder of Prince Ifan," Aithusa informed the Doctor sadly.
“No, no, no! This is all wrong! Magic wasn’t supposed to return like this!” The Doctor mumbled under his breath as he recalled how magic truly returned to the land of man through the one and only son of King Arthur and Merlin. Along with his life mate they prepared the world and the universe to once again accept magic. This was wrong so very wrong. His gaze flew to the TARDIS. "That's why she brought me here. She sensed the disturbance in the timeline. But there's nothing I can do now, this has become a fixed point in time." Aggravated the Doctor ran his hands through his hair messing it up even more.
Aithusa nodded her head sadly. "Yes, someone or something has messed with the timelines and has screwed with Ianto and Jack's destiny."
The Doctor choked on nothing. "Jack? As in flirts with everything that moves? Jack is Prince Ianto's soul mate?" The Doctor wasn't sure if he heard her right.
At that moment the Doctor was sure he was being given the dragon's version of a raised eyebrow. "Yes, that Jack." Aithusa let out a dreamy sigh, "Oh, their love story was meant to be as legendary as Arthur and Merlin's was but instead someone messed with their happy ending." Aithusa wasn't happy about that at all; she would personally deal with whoever messed with Ianto and Jack's love story.
The Doctor gulped as he saw the anger in those cat-like eyes and was glad that he hadn't earned the dragon's wrath. "So how am I getting to Avalon? The TARDIS may be bigger on the inside but she can't fit a dragon." 'Though that would be really cool!' The Doctor was nearly giddy with excitement at the thought of a dragon as a companion.
Aithusa smiled, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth. "Do not worry about that. It has already taken care of." She looked behind the Doctor and the Time Lord followed her gaze to see a handsome young man walking towards them. "Doctor this is Tommy Brockless. He will be your guide to Avalon and you must hurry the others are getting restless." She introduced the Time Lord to the young man.
Tommy gave the Doctor a kind smile. "Hello, Doctor, I've heard so much about you."
The Doctor beamed at the younger man. "All good things I hope."
"It depends on who you ask." Tommy wasn't going to sugar-coat things for the Doctor, there were quite a few who had less than pleasant things to say about the Time Lord.
The Doctor's gaze fell. "Oh." He perked right back up, "Well I'm sure once they get to know me they'll love me."
'I very much doubt that.' Was the thought running through both Tommy and Aithusa's minds, Owen held no love for the Time Lord and Jack leaving Ianto behind to chase after the Doctor certainly didn't endure the Doctor to Arthur, Merlin or Morgana. It was clear the Doctor had a lot of work ahead of him.
As the two men talked Aithusa's gaze went to the dragons who were sitting and watching everything with knowing eyes. Avalon had worked its magic and the once dying race of had been reborn, awaiting the day they would return to the human world. Aithusa couldn't help but shiver slightly. 'I hope we can fix this mess before we are forced to take sides.'
*****
Jack gasped back to life, not on the cold and hard floor but on the softest bedding he'd ever felt but to him that didn't matter as he curled in on himself and fought the back the tears Ianto was gone and he would never know how much Jack loved him. As his fingers curled into the bedding it felt oh-so familiar Jack's head snapped up and his jaw dropped in shock as he realised he wasn't alone; lying in the bedding of gold and red was Ianto, whose chest was rising and falling.
Trembling, Jack pressed his hand against Ianto's chest and a choked sob tore itself from his lips as he felt the heartbeat beneath his fingers. "Ianto," Jack breathed out softly. He didn't hesitate as he gathered Ianto into his arms and pressed a kiss into Ianto's hair. He didn't know how this miracle happened all he knew was he had been granted another chance with Ianto. 'And this time I won't screw it up there won't be a day that Ianto doesn't know how much I love him,' Jack vowed to himself and Ianto, this time he was going to get it right.
*****
It hadn't been easy to drag Arthur and Merlin from Ianto's room. It had been Katie who pointed out the two men needed to talk alone before they bombarded bared them with the truth and before Arthur and Merlin could go all overprotective parents on Jack for hurting Ianto.
Owen plopped down next to Tosh. "So how big of a fuss do you think Gwen threw when she came face to face with Suzie?" Oh, how Owen wished he could have been there for that meeting. Gwen had only known the Suzie that had been corrupted by the glove and not the Suzie that had been a part of their family and the one who had gotten to know Ianto when he had first arrived and treated him like a human being. "Suzie won't put up with Gwen's cow eyes at Jack or Jack's clear favouritism of his precious heart of Torchwood for long." Owen chuckled as he recalled how Suzie tore into Jack when it became clear he wanted Ianto in his bed, Suzie had been a momma bear protecting her cub.
Tosh giggled as she recalled her own memories of Suzie's version of the shovel talk to Jack as she described in great detail what she would do to Jack if he treated Ianto like one of his usual flings. "Things would have been so much different if Suzie never found that glove." Merlin and Morgana had confirmed that the glove had been created with dark magic and covered in spells to make its wearer addicted to it and a slave to its dark thoughts. That had been the start of the downfall of Torchwood Three.
A snort escaped Owen. “Damn right. Suzie would never have a problem putting Gwen in her place, something Jack had been unwilling to do. Let’s face it, Gwen always had some kind of hold on Jack and if Kilgharrah is right then we’ve all been pawns of Morgause, I just hope that Jack hasn’t messed things up so badly that they can’t be saved,” Owen grumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Tosh’s eyes flickered over to the closed doors. ‘The key to fixing the future lies with Jack and Ianto. I really hope Jack can make things right with Ianto.’ Thanks to the magic flowing through Avalon they all had a front row seat to Ianto’s declaration of love and Jack’s single word that destroyed Ianto’s heart.
*****
Jack was unsure how much time had passed as he laid there, holding Ianto and waiting for him to open those beautiful eyes. “Please wake up soon Yan.” Jack pressed a kiss into Ianto’s hair. “I need to set things right with you. I should have said it to you long before today; I should have made sure that you never once doubted my love for you. I love you Ianto Jones and I promise I will tell you that the moment you wake up,” Jack vowed.
As awareness slowly returned to his body Ianto felt a pair of familiar arms wrapped around him, Jack’s voice, which sounded off in the distance, slowly became clearer as Jack’s 'I love you' washed over him. ‘This must be a dream or I’m truly dead.’ Ianto fought the rush of tears as memories of him declaring his love for Jack only to get a ‘Don’t’ in return.
Jack felt Ianto tense in his arms and a single tear roll down his cheek. “Oh, baby, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Jack pleaded as he peppered Ianto’s face with kisses. He fought back the urge to sob. It was his fault that Ianto was hurting so badly. ‘If only I hadn’t been such a coward and hid my true feelings for Ianto.’ “Open those beautiful eyes for me, please baby wake-up so I can make this right.”
The clear pain in Jack’s voice was finally what forced Ianto to open his eyes and face the world. “Jack,” he whispered softly, unsure of what else to say as he stared at Jack and watched as his lover shed his own tears. “Why are you crying?” Ianto asked quietly as he reached up with shaky hands to wipe the tears away.
Jack shivered as he felt Ianto’s gentle fingers on his skin. “I’m crying because I hurt the single most important person in my life by letting my fears of being alone push him away and doubt his place in my heart. I should have told you everyday Ianto how much I love you. Please say it’s not too late.”
“You love me?” Ianto could hardly wrap his mind around the words he was hearing. “But I thought you were rejecting me.”
The pain in Jack's heart tripled as he realised how his reaction might have sounded to Ianto. “No, I wasn’t rejecting you! You, Ianto Jones, are my everything! You are my heart, my soul, my beginning and my ending. I was forced to see how lonely my life was without you in it, once before and it shattered my soul and I died that day." Jack shuddered as he recalled Ianto’s fate in the Year That Never Was.
Ianto looked at Jack, truly looked at his lover and saw how much pain he was in and how much he blamed himself for being unable to say the words back to Ianto when he needed to hear them. ‘But while Jack didn’t say the words he did promise me that he would remember me in a thousand years, in his own way that was Jack’s way of telling me that he loved me.’ “I love you Jack Harkness. My heart is yours for as long as you want it.”
Smiling for what felt like the first time in days Jack pressed his lips against Ianto’s, whispering, “Forever,” against the Welshman’s mouth before sealing his vow with a kiss full of love.
A quiet moan escaped Ianto’s lips only to be swallowed by Jack’s mouth as he gave himself over to the love Jack was so freely offering. Ianto knew there were still things he and Jack needed to talk about, like who Ianto’s true parents were and the fact the rest of their team was still alive, but that could wait until later. Ianto knew in this moment Jack need to reassure himself that Ianto was indeed alive and he could feel Jack’s need to claim him as his own.
*****
The moment the muffle moans started drifting through the closed door that was enough for Owen. “All right time to go, let’s go see if the others are back,” Owen muttered under his breath as he helped a blushing Tosh to her feet. “I want to find Katie to see if she’d tracked down our missing members and I’m sure you're eager to see if Tommy has returned to you yet.”
A genuine smile graced Tosh’s face as she thought of her lover. “I do hope he’s returned. We need to update the others. I’m glad Jack and Ianto have worked through their problems.” She knew true love when she saw it and was glad that Jack and Ianto were finally admitting their true feelings.
A wicked grin graced Owen’s face. “While I’m glad Jack and the Tea-Boy have made progress Jack still has to meet Ianto’s family and they’re not going to make it easy on him. Plus, there is still the Gwen factor. We both know Gwen still lusts after and dreams of a future with Jack even though she’s married and Jack’s with Ianto, I just don’t want to see Ianto get hurt again.” With his memories of his past life returned and being reunited with Katie, the love of his lives, Owen had softened greatly and had grown more protective of those he saw as family.
A sigh escaped Tosh’s lips. “I thought Gwen had made her choice and finally saw how much she loves Rhys; her actions won’t be tolerated by Morgana for very long.” Everyone knew how protective Morgana was of her family and it was clear she did not see Gwen as family and there would be nothing to spare her from Morgana’s wrath if she kept up her attitude.
“Come on, we better make sure Suzie or Myfanwy haven’t tried to kill Gwen yet,” Owen grumbled under his breath. He knew both of them wouldn’t put up with Gwen’s demands for answers or bossy attitude for very long.
Tosh took one last glance at the closed door, before smiling at Owen with tears in her eyes. “You do realise that at long last we're a family again, whole and safe.”
Owen’s own eyes shone with unshed tears. “Yeah, we finally are.”
Fandoms: Torchwood/Merlin/Doctor Who
Pairings/Characters: Jack/Ianto, Arthur/Merlin, Gwaine/Morgana, Doctor/Donna, Mickey/Martha, Tommy/Tosh, Owen/Katie, Rhys/Gwen, John/Suzie, TARDIS, Lancelot/Guinevere, pre-Rhys/Alice, Steven, Rhiannon, Myfanwy, Aithusa and Kilgharrah, Francine, Tish, David, Mica, Estelle
Summary: The moment they tried to kill him they brought forth a wrath unlike anything seen before. The 456 were easily defeated the moment Avalon became involved but now humanity must face the consequences of actions taken and not taken. The wrath of the dragons will be known as Jack must make amends for a single thoughtless moment that ruined what he had with Ianto or he will risk losing his other half.
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, Merlin or Doctor Who
Beta: milady_dragon
Written for the Dragon Big Bang Round 1
Chapter 5
As Merlin and Morgana stepped foot back on Avalon they felt the air tingle around them as she welcomed them home. Only those invited could step foot on the land of Avalon, that was why they had sent the reincarnated knights and other old friends to collect the rest.
Morgana rested a gentle hand on Merlin's arm. "Go to Arthur and your son, I will join Gwaine in waiting for the others." She could see how much Merlin longed to go check on Ianto.
His gratitude shone brightly in Merlin's eyes. "Thank you my friend." Smiling at Morgana, Merlin covered her hand with his free one and gave her hand a gentle squeeze before rushing off into the castle they called home.
"I just hope you and Arthur don't cause more damage to Ianto and Jack's fragile relationship. It's at its breaking point of words not spoken when they meant the most," Morgana whispered softly.
*****
Arthur glared at the man lying beside his son. He had thrown a fit when he found that they had placed Jack in the same bed as Ianto. He didn't want it that man anywhere near his son.
"Oi, stop with the glaring and growling. No matter how hard you try Jack's not going to suddenly combust from your glare," a snarky male voice called from the bed where he was checking over the two men.
Arthur crossed his arms over his chest and transferred his glare onto him. "I don't think I like this new version of you, Gaius. You're far more snarky and show less respect to your superiors."
"For the last time, Your Highness, it's Owen now and as much as you don't like Jack, Ianto loves him and Jack might hide it and deny it to everyone including himself but he loves Ianto just as much or maybe even more. This is Ianto's first death and they are going to need each other." A rare smile crossed Owen's face as he reached out and took the hand of the blond woman tending to Jack, "Just like I needed Katie to help me adjust to being alive and not the walking dead."
It warmed Arthur's heart to see Gaius and Alice finally get the chance they were denied in their first life. Still that didn't mean he agreed with Owen's suggestion that Jack Harkness share his son's bed. 'We're going to have a long talk when you awaken, Jack, about how you treated my son,' Arthur vowed.
Shaking his head Owen felt a swell of pity for Jack. He was in for one hell of a shovel talk from Arthur and Merlin. 'Still it might be the kick Jack needs to start treating Ianto like he should be.'
*****
The Doctor had no clue as to why the TARDIS brought him to Earth, that was until he stepped out of his ship and stared up at the sky. The Doctor blinked and blinked again at the sight of real live dragons sitting on the roof of every house and building. "Oh, this is brilliant!" It had been so long since he'd last seen a real live dragon but the rage and anger burning in those ancient eyes worried the Time Lord. Something was very wrong. 'I better find Jack; something tells me that him and his team are somehow involved.'
"Excuse me, are you the Doctor?" a female voice asked from behind him.
Whirling around, a big grin broke out on the Time Lord's face as he stared up at the beautiful white dragon. "Oh you’re brilliant!"
If dragons could blush Aithusa would be doing so right now. "Thank you for your kind words, Doctor, I have been sent to get you and your TARDIS and bring you to Avalon. Things have gone horrible wrong, magic has returned to a world that is not yet ready for it and to top it all off the Third Race has declared war on humans for the attempted murder of Prince Ifan," Aithusa informed the Doctor sadly.
“No, no, no! This is all wrong! Magic wasn’t supposed to return like this!” The Doctor mumbled under his breath as he recalled how magic truly returned to the land of man through the one and only son of King Arthur and Merlin. Along with his life mate they prepared the world and the universe to once again accept magic. This was wrong so very wrong. His gaze flew to the TARDIS. "That's why she brought me here. She sensed the disturbance in the timeline. But there's nothing I can do now, this has become a fixed point in time." Aggravated the Doctor ran his hands through his hair messing it up even more.
Aithusa nodded her head sadly. "Yes, someone or something has messed with the timelines and has screwed with Ianto and Jack's destiny."
The Doctor choked on nothing. "Jack? As in flirts with everything that moves? Jack is Prince Ianto's soul mate?" The Doctor wasn't sure if he heard her right.
At that moment the Doctor was sure he was being given the dragon's version of a raised eyebrow. "Yes, that Jack." Aithusa let out a dreamy sigh, "Oh, their love story was meant to be as legendary as Arthur and Merlin's was but instead someone messed with their happy ending." Aithusa wasn't happy about that at all; she would personally deal with whoever messed with Ianto and Jack's love story.
The Doctor gulped as he saw the anger in those cat-like eyes and was glad that he hadn't earned the dragon's wrath. "So how am I getting to Avalon? The TARDIS may be bigger on the inside but she can't fit a dragon." 'Though that would be really cool!' The Doctor was nearly giddy with excitement at the thought of a dragon as a companion.
Aithusa smiled, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth. "Do not worry about that. It has already taken care of." She looked behind the Doctor and the Time Lord followed her gaze to see a handsome young man walking towards them. "Doctor this is Tommy Brockless. He will be your guide to Avalon and you must hurry the others are getting restless." She introduced the Time Lord to the young man.
Tommy gave the Doctor a kind smile. "Hello, Doctor, I've heard so much about you."
The Doctor beamed at the younger man. "All good things I hope."
"It depends on who you ask." Tommy wasn't going to sugar-coat things for the Doctor, there were quite a few who had less than pleasant things to say about the Time Lord.
The Doctor's gaze fell. "Oh." He perked right back up, "Well I'm sure once they get to know me they'll love me."
'I very much doubt that.' Was the thought running through both Tommy and Aithusa's minds, Owen held no love for the Time Lord and Jack leaving Ianto behind to chase after the Doctor certainly didn't endure the Doctor to Arthur, Merlin or Morgana. It was clear the Doctor had a lot of work ahead of him.
As the two men talked Aithusa's gaze went to the dragons who were sitting and watching everything with knowing eyes. Avalon had worked its magic and the once dying race of had been reborn, awaiting the day they would return to the human world. Aithusa couldn't help but shiver slightly. 'I hope we can fix this mess before we are forced to take sides.'
*****
Jack gasped back to life, not on the cold and hard floor but on the softest bedding he'd ever felt but to him that didn't matter as he curled in on himself and fought the back the tears Ianto was gone and he would never know how much Jack loved him. As his fingers curled into the bedding it felt oh-so familiar Jack's head snapped up and his jaw dropped in shock as he realised he wasn't alone; lying in the bedding of gold and red was Ianto, whose chest was rising and falling.
Trembling, Jack pressed his hand against Ianto's chest and a choked sob tore itself from his lips as he felt the heartbeat beneath his fingers. "Ianto," Jack breathed out softly. He didn't hesitate as he gathered Ianto into his arms and pressed a kiss into Ianto's hair. He didn't know how this miracle happened all he knew was he had been granted another chance with Ianto. 'And this time I won't screw it up there won't be a day that Ianto doesn't know how much I love him,' Jack vowed to himself and Ianto, this time he was going to get it right.
*****
It hadn't been easy to drag Arthur and Merlin from Ianto's room. It had been Katie who pointed out the two men needed to talk alone before they bombarded bared them with the truth and before Arthur and Merlin could go all overprotective parents on Jack for hurting Ianto.
Owen plopped down next to Tosh. "So how big of a fuss do you think Gwen threw when she came face to face with Suzie?" Oh, how Owen wished he could have been there for that meeting. Gwen had only known the Suzie that had been corrupted by the glove and not the Suzie that had been a part of their family and the one who had gotten to know Ianto when he had first arrived and treated him like a human being. "Suzie won't put up with Gwen's cow eyes at Jack or Jack's clear favouritism of his precious heart of Torchwood for long." Owen chuckled as he recalled how Suzie tore into Jack when it became clear he wanted Ianto in his bed, Suzie had been a momma bear protecting her cub.
Tosh giggled as she recalled her own memories of Suzie's version of the shovel talk to Jack as she described in great detail what she would do to Jack if he treated Ianto like one of his usual flings. "Things would have been so much different if Suzie never found that glove." Merlin and Morgana had confirmed that the glove had been created with dark magic and covered in spells to make its wearer addicted to it and a slave to its dark thoughts. That had been the start of the downfall of Torchwood Three.
A snort escaped Owen. “Damn right. Suzie would never have a problem putting Gwen in her place, something Jack had been unwilling to do. Let’s face it, Gwen always had some kind of hold on Jack and if Kilgharrah is right then we’ve all been pawns of Morgause, I just hope that Jack hasn’t messed things up so badly that they can’t be saved,” Owen grumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair.
Tosh’s eyes flickered over to the closed doors. ‘The key to fixing the future lies with Jack and Ianto. I really hope Jack can make things right with Ianto.’ Thanks to the magic flowing through Avalon they all had a front row seat to Ianto’s declaration of love and Jack’s single word that destroyed Ianto’s heart.
*****
Jack was unsure how much time had passed as he laid there, holding Ianto and waiting for him to open those beautiful eyes. “Please wake up soon Yan.” Jack pressed a kiss into Ianto’s hair. “I need to set things right with you. I should have said it to you long before today; I should have made sure that you never once doubted my love for you. I love you Ianto Jones and I promise I will tell you that the moment you wake up,” Jack vowed.
As awareness slowly returned to his body Ianto felt a pair of familiar arms wrapped around him, Jack’s voice, which sounded off in the distance, slowly became clearer as Jack’s 'I love you' washed over him. ‘This must be a dream or I’m truly dead.’ Ianto fought the rush of tears as memories of him declaring his love for Jack only to get a ‘Don’t’ in return.
Jack felt Ianto tense in his arms and a single tear roll down his cheek. “Oh, baby, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Jack pleaded as he peppered Ianto’s face with kisses. He fought back the urge to sob. It was his fault that Ianto was hurting so badly. ‘If only I hadn’t been such a coward and hid my true feelings for Ianto.’ “Open those beautiful eyes for me, please baby wake-up so I can make this right.”
The clear pain in Jack’s voice was finally what forced Ianto to open his eyes and face the world. “Jack,” he whispered softly, unsure of what else to say as he stared at Jack and watched as his lover shed his own tears. “Why are you crying?” Ianto asked quietly as he reached up with shaky hands to wipe the tears away.
Jack shivered as he felt Ianto’s gentle fingers on his skin. “I’m crying because I hurt the single most important person in my life by letting my fears of being alone push him away and doubt his place in my heart. I should have told you everyday Ianto how much I love you. Please say it’s not too late.”
“You love me?” Ianto could hardly wrap his mind around the words he was hearing. “But I thought you were rejecting me.”
The pain in Jack's heart tripled as he realised how his reaction might have sounded to Ianto. “No, I wasn’t rejecting you! You, Ianto Jones, are my everything! You are my heart, my soul, my beginning and my ending. I was forced to see how lonely my life was without you in it, once before and it shattered my soul and I died that day." Jack shuddered as he recalled Ianto’s fate in the Year That Never Was.
Ianto looked at Jack, truly looked at his lover and saw how much pain he was in and how much he blamed himself for being unable to say the words back to Ianto when he needed to hear them. ‘But while Jack didn’t say the words he did promise me that he would remember me in a thousand years, in his own way that was Jack’s way of telling me that he loved me.’ “I love you Jack Harkness. My heart is yours for as long as you want it.”
Smiling for what felt like the first time in days Jack pressed his lips against Ianto’s, whispering, “Forever,” against the Welshman’s mouth before sealing his vow with a kiss full of love.
A quiet moan escaped Ianto’s lips only to be swallowed by Jack’s mouth as he gave himself over to the love Jack was so freely offering. Ianto knew there were still things he and Jack needed to talk about, like who Ianto’s true parents were and the fact the rest of their team was still alive, but that could wait until later. Ianto knew in this moment Jack need to reassure himself that Ianto was indeed alive and he could feel Jack’s need to claim him as his own.
*****
The moment the muffle moans started drifting through the closed door that was enough for Owen. “All right time to go, let’s go see if the others are back,” Owen muttered under his breath as he helped a blushing Tosh to her feet. “I want to find Katie to see if she’d tracked down our missing members and I’m sure you're eager to see if Tommy has returned to you yet.”
A genuine smile graced Tosh’s face as she thought of her lover. “I do hope he’s returned. We need to update the others. I’m glad Jack and Ianto have worked through their problems.” She knew true love when she saw it and was glad that Jack and Ianto were finally admitting their true feelings.
A wicked grin graced Owen’s face. “While I’m glad Jack and the Tea-Boy have made progress Jack still has to meet Ianto’s family and they’re not going to make it easy on him. Plus, there is still the Gwen factor. We both know Gwen still lusts after and dreams of a future with Jack even though she’s married and Jack’s with Ianto, I just don’t want to see Ianto get hurt again.” With his memories of his past life returned and being reunited with Katie, the love of his lives, Owen had softened greatly and had grown more protective of those he saw as family.
A sigh escaped Tosh’s lips. “I thought Gwen had made her choice and finally saw how much she loves Rhys; her actions won’t be tolerated by Morgana for very long.” Everyone knew how protective Morgana was of her family and it was clear she did not see Gwen as family and there would be nothing to spare her from Morgana’s wrath if she kept up her attitude.
“Come on, we better make sure Suzie or Myfanwy haven’t tried to kill Gwen yet,” Owen grumbled under his breath. He knew both of them wouldn’t put up with Gwen’s demands for answers or bossy attitude for very long.
Tosh took one last glance at the closed door, before smiling at Owen with tears in her eyes. “You do realise that at long last we're a family again, whole and safe.”
Owen’s own eyes shone with unshed tears. “Yeah, we finally are.”