Ficlet: Time Apart
Title: Time Apart
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada. Set in the far future
Summary: When you have eternity together, sometimes a little time apart is a good thing.
Word Count: 300
Written For: Prompt #405: Independence at slashthedrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
They don’t need each other to make themselves feel complete, although in some indefinable sense they’re aware that they do indeed complete each other. Each is still his own man, with his own opinions, habits, positive and negative character traits; nobody’s perfect after all, and they certainly don’t agree on everything, not by a long shot. They have their fair share of arguments, and even outright fights.
There are times when they need space from each other, so they go off on their own, do their own thing, lead independent lives for hours, days, weeks, even months at a time. The passing of time hardly matters now they have all of eternity stretching out before them. What’s a few short weeks apart when they have forever? It’s hardly a drop in the ocean and besides, they know they’ll be back together again before long, with more tales of their solo adventures to regale each other with. Jack is still a consummate storyteller, and Ianto’s own skills in that area have developed over the centuries. He talks a lot more than he used to.
It’s good for their relationship to spend time apart now and again, and not just because it gives them fresh topics of conversation. The reunion sex is always mind-blowing, well worth any loneliness they might experience when hundreds of light years separate them and they can’t even keep in regular contact by radio because of the distances involved.
Jack and Ianto have learned a great deal about themselves and each other during their travels, perhaps most importantly that they can be a couple without losing their independence. No, they don’t need each other, not in the respect that they’re unable to exist and function as individuals, but they know they will always be happiest when they’re together.
The End