Ficlet: The Waiting
Title: The Waiting
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, mentions Lisa.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Cyberwoman, Captain Jack Harkness, End Of Days
Summary: Ianto has no regrets over his relationship with Jack, despite all the waiting.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt #402: Top 10 Tom Petty Song Titles: The Waiting at slashthedrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Despite everything that had happened to bring him to this point in his life, Ianto didn’t regret falling in love with Jack. After Lisa he’d doubted he’d ever be as happy as he had been with her, but now he wondered. If she’d survived the battle, or if he’d been able to restore her to full humanity, would they have lasted as a couple? When they’d been together, before that dreadful day, he’d had no doubt that she was the one he was destined to be with forever, but that had been before he’d met Jack.
Lisa had been his first love, but Ianto was certain now that Jack would be his last. What he had with Jack was different from what he’d had with Lisa. He’d been so young back then, even though it had only been a couple of years ago. His experiences had matured him as well as changing him, he wasn’t as carefree as before but he was more… content, he supposed, and more confident too.
Jack’s leaving had thrown a spanner in the works for a while, making Ianto falter just as he’d felt he was starting to regain his footing and rebuild his life. For three months he’d hovered in a sort of limbo, carrying on as if nothing had changed when in reality he’d felt like the rug had been pulled out from under him again. Losing a second lover in so short a time had been a heavy blow, and yet he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that it wasn’t the end for him and Jack, and that fragile hope had been what kept him going throughout Jack’s absence.
It hadn’t been the first time Jack had left him after all. He’d fallen through time to 1941, but he’d come back, only to sacrifice himself in order to defeat Abaddon. Then after a few days of being dead he’d revived, almost as good as new. After going through all that, he’d deserved a holiday, so Ianto hadn’t felt he had any right to complain about his lover skipping off with the Doctor, especially since he’d betrayed Jack every bit as much as the others had.
The waiting had been hard though. It always was; that never changed
Every time Jack died, Ianto found himself waiting for his lover to come back again, sitting quietly beside the broken, ravaged body, patient in his grief. Sometimes he had to wait only minutes, though they seemed to stretch out to eternity; other times it was hours, but however long, his waiting was always rewarded with a gasping breath, a clutching hand, and blue eyes opening.
Ianto smiled down at the man he loved with all his heart. “Welcome back.”
Jack’s answering smile was shaky but filled with gratitude. “Thank you.”
Ianto knew that no matter how many times he had to watch Jack die and wait for him to revive, he’d always endure it willingly, because waiting for Jack would always be worthwhile.
The End