And So It Begins... Again: Part 2 (3B/10)
Title: Part 2 - As The Sun Rises
Rating: 15
Characters/Pairings: Team; Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: S1, 2x01
Warnings: Mild violence; M/M relations; Angst
Summary: Jack puts himself in Ianto's shoes to track him down...
[ The 'And So It Begins... Again' Saga ]
Disclaimer: Torchwood belongs to Russel T. Davies ftw - I'm just having a play
Author's Note: Second part of my chapter for Abby (cos I love her and she's awesome and she'll like this... I hope). Not much else to say! I hope you guys like it!
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CHAPTER 3B
Jack asked Tosh to track his mobile phone and car, but both showed their locations to be the hub. He looked towards his office and saw Ianto’s jacket hanging over the back of his desk chair and knew that both the car keys and the phone were in the pockets.
Next was a check of CCTV in and around his apartment building. No luck. Then there were the bars and restaurants that Ianto liked, but again, there was no sign of him. Jack was starting to get worried, though he refused to show the true extent of it to the others.
Ianto had now been missing for almost two hours, and he had no idea how to find him.
With a sigh, he walked slowly back to his office think carefully about where he would go if he didn’t want to be found. His first thought was to go into the middle of Cardiff and have a coffee at some café that was tucked away down a side street. Then he remembered that he was pretending to be Ianto and revised what he would consider appealing. Quiet, solace… Somewhere without lots of people.
He suddenly jumped up from his chair and slipped his great coat on, leaving his office and running through the corridors and out of the Tourist Office. He’d ignored his teams yells and questions, they could be answered later.
As he emerged into the open air, he found he’d forgotten how early the sun was going down at the moment. He also found he was pleasantly surprised to find that the sky was a soft blue, streaked with orange and pink, the edges of the clouds tinged with purple and blood red. Why didn’t he leave the hub more often?
Shaking his head sharply, he remembered just what he was looking for.
His first port of call was to look around the bay, checking the benches and the steps. As he’d suspected, there was no sign of Ianto so, setting his mind on his next destination, he travelled around to the pier that jutted right out into the water, benches lining the middle and facing outwards for the occupants to enjoy the cityscape.
He walked steadily along the wooden planks, his back hunched a little against the cold wind that was buffeting him gently. He passed numerous couples, deep in conversation or kissing each other gently, enjoying each other’s company whilst the sun sent a paint box of colours flooding across the open space above them.
There was a small pang of loneliness in his stomach as he wondered why he’d never come out here with Ianto instead of hiding away in the hub. It was a beautiful scene and Jack smiled to himself as he remembered that no other planet in the entire universe had sunsets as spectacular as this.
He was about three quarters of the way down the long pier when he spotted the figure he’d been searching for.
Ianto was sitting on a bench, hunched over with his back to the wind, the collar of his black wool coat pulled up to protect his neck. He must’ve grabbed it from the Tourist Office as he’d left.
As Jack got closer, he was surprised to see a cigarette resting between his fingers as he stared out at the turbulent water. Jack watched in fascination as he lifted it to his lips and took a long, luxurious drag and exhaled the smoke with the technique of someone who’d had experience in the area. The grey shadow curled up and away from his lips, manipulated into artistic swirls.
Ianto didn’t look up as Jack moved to sit next to him, continuing to look out over the water, bringing the cigarette to his lips again. Jack watched as the ash fell lightly from the end and was swept away by the wind. Ianto sighed heavily and dropped the cigarette to the floor and crushing it beneath the toe of a highly polished black shoe.
“I’m sorry, Jack.” Ianto was the first to break the silence, but when Jack turned to look at him, he saw that his gaze was still fixed somewhere over the water, his voice soft and distant.
“What’re you sorry for? You were perfectly right. Maybe not the best way of expressing it though.” Jack laughed a little, trying to engage the young man in the conversation, trying to draw the almost scary gaze away from it’s interest.
Ianto’s head didn’t move.
“No. I was out of line, I shouldn’t have yelled like that.” They remained silent for a while, Jack watching the unchanging expression on Ianto’s face the entire time. He was beginning to wonder whether the wind had frozen him in place when he dropped his eyes to the floor and clasped his hands together. When he spoke again, his voice back to its usual tone and strength. “I don’t know what came over me, sir. It won’t happen again.”
Jack was slightly taken aback by his formality.
“Ianto, I’m not here as your boss.” He watched as Ianto’s eyes softened a little as he looked up, looking straight into Jack’s, smiling sadly in reply. “What’s going on with you, Ianto?”
Jack sat back and placed his arms on the back of the bench, crossing his legs and watching Ianto patiently, a slight frown on his face. The young man sighed heavily again and sat back as well, leaning his head on Jack’s arm and looking up at the colourful sky.
They stayed like that for a while, Jack unsure as to whether Ianto was going to divulge anything about his behaviour. He wasn’t really expecting him to, but he was glad when Ianto sighed again and began to speak.
“Last night, we were talking about my work load - about how it changed since you left and then came back.” He stopped for a moment, considering his words a little. “I realised that no one ever said that I had to put in all those extra hours every week, that I had to drop everything I was doing because someone wanted a drink or something to eat. The bit that made me most angry - with myself - was that you used to point that out to me, you used to make me stop. I just never listened. I never had any reason to.”
Ianto had moved one of his hands to rest on Jack’s knee as his story came to a natural lull. Jack moved his free hand to his knee as well and stroked the back of Ianto’s hand gently.
“I just thought today that I’d earned myself a break, a half hour to sit down and put my feet up whilst you all got on with some work. I tried to take a time out eleven times today. Every single time I sat down, someone called me away for a coffee, or because they’d run out of biros or post-its or something equally trivial. No one seemed to realise that they were disturbing me…” He trailed off a little at that. His voice wasn’t angry, it wasn’t harsh or sceptical. He just sounded confused and a little lost. Jack felt a pang of sympathy clutch at his insides.
How could he have not noticed?
The guilt that throbbed in his stomach faded a little as Ianto turned his head and pulled Jack into a kiss with a gentle touch to his cheek. It was a kiss that gave Jack an insight into Ianto’s frame of mind.
He felt lost and inadequate, he needed comfort and he needed to know that Jack needed him there. Jack was more than happy to oblige and kissed the young man hard in return, his tongue running smoothly along his teeth and lips, trying to convey his emotions as much as he could, willing Ianto to believe how much he wanted him.
Ianto tasted of coffee and cigarettes and it was strangely intoxicating. Jack decided that he could happily spend hours on end just exploring Ianto in such an innocent way.
By the time they pulled away from each other, the colours had left the sky and it was just the one shade of blue, darkening by the minute. Jack looked up and saw the first of the stars glinting in the open space above him, realising something that made him smile. Looking back down at Ianto, he moved his arm from behind his shoulders, grasping the young man’s hand in his.
“From now on, you’re going to be allowed to sit down an read in my office whenever you want. Just come in, kick me out and lock the door. I promise that no one will disturb you unless there’s another apocalypse coming. I’m sure we can all manage without coffee for an hour every so often.” Jack smiled and squeezed Ianto’s hand, his heart jumping as he saw Ianto grin back at him.
“What if I don’t want to kick you out?” The suggestion glittered in his eyes and Jack chuckled.
He never worked out how he managed to get to his feet as Ianto stood up and pulled him back towards the city. They walked along the wooden board walk hand in hand and Jack felt like he was finally at a point in his life where he was happy. Little did he know that Ianto was feeling exactly the same.
---
TBC - I hope you liked it Abby, and thanks for reading everyone =]
Chapter 4
Rating: 15
Characters/Pairings: Team; Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: S1, 2x01
Warnings: Mild violence; M/M relations; Angst
Summary: Jack puts himself in Ianto's shoes to track him down...
[ The 'And So It Begins... Again' Saga ]
Disclaimer: Torchwood belongs to Russel T. Davies ftw - I'm just having a play
Author's Note: Second part of my chapter for Abby (cos I love her and she's awesome and she'll like this... I hope). Not much else to say! I hope you guys like it!
---
CHAPTER 3B
Jack asked Tosh to track his mobile phone and car, but both showed their locations to be the hub. He looked towards his office and saw Ianto’s jacket hanging over the back of his desk chair and knew that both the car keys and the phone were in the pockets.
Next was a check of CCTV in and around his apartment building. No luck. Then there were the bars and restaurants that Ianto liked, but again, there was no sign of him. Jack was starting to get worried, though he refused to show the true extent of it to the others.
Ianto had now been missing for almost two hours, and he had no idea how to find him.
With a sigh, he walked slowly back to his office think carefully about where he would go if he didn’t want to be found. His first thought was to go into the middle of Cardiff and have a coffee at some café that was tucked away down a side street. Then he remembered that he was pretending to be Ianto and revised what he would consider appealing. Quiet, solace… Somewhere without lots of people.
He suddenly jumped up from his chair and slipped his great coat on, leaving his office and running through the corridors and out of the Tourist Office. He’d ignored his teams yells and questions, they could be answered later.
As he emerged into the open air, he found he’d forgotten how early the sun was going down at the moment. He also found he was pleasantly surprised to find that the sky was a soft blue, streaked with orange and pink, the edges of the clouds tinged with purple and blood red. Why didn’t he leave the hub more often?
Shaking his head sharply, he remembered just what he was looking for.
His first port of call was to look around the bay, checking the benches and the steps. As he’d suspected, there was no sign of Ianto so, setting his mind on his next destination, he travelled around to the pier that jutted right out into the water, benches lining the middle and facing outwards for the occupants to enjoy the cityscape.
He walked steadily along the wooden planks, his back hunched a little against the cold wind that was buffeting him gently. He passed numerous couples, deep in conversation or kissing each other gently, enjoying each other’s company whilst the sun sent a paint box of colours flooding across the open space above them.
There was a small pang of loneliness in his stomach as he wondered why he’d never come out here with Ianto instead of hiding away in the hub. It was a beautiful scene and Jack smiled to himself as he remembered that no other planet in the entire universe had sunsets as spectacular as this.
He was about three quarters of the way down the long pier when he spotted the figure he’d been searching for.
Ianto was sitting on a bench, hunched over with his back to the wind, the collar of his black wool coat pulled up to protect his neck. He must’ve grabbed it from the Tourist Office as he’d left.
As Jack got closer, he was surprised to see a cigarette resting between his fingers as he stared out at the turbulent water. Jack watched in fascination as he lifted it to his lips and took a long, luxurious drag and exhaled the smoke with the technique of someone who’d had experience in the area. The grey shadow curled up and away from his lips, manipulated into artistic swirls.
Ianto didn’t look up as Jack moved to sit next to him, continuing to look out over the water, bringing the cigarette to his lips again. Jack watched as the ash fell lightly from the end and was swept away by the wind. Ianto sighed heavily and dropped the cigarette to the floor and crushing it beneath the toe of a highly polished black shoe.
“I’m sorry, Jack.” Ianto was the first to break the silence, but when Jack turned to look at him, he saw that his gaze was still fixed somewhere over the water, his voice soft and distant.
“What’re you sorry for? You were perfectly right. Maybe not the best way of expressing it though.” Jack laughed a little, trying to engage the young man in the conversation, trying to draw the almost scary gaze away from it’s interest.
Ianto’s head didn’t move.
“No. I was out of line, I shouldn’t have yelled like that.” They remained silent for a while, Jack watching the unchanging expression on Ianto’s face the entire time. He was beginning to wonder whether the wind had frozen him in place when he dropped his eyes to the floor and clasped his hands together. When he spoke again, his voice back to its usual tone and strength. “I don’t know what came over me, sir. It won’t happen again.”
Jack was slightly taken aback by his formality.
“Ianto, I’m not here as your boss.” He watched as Ianto’s eyes softened a little as he looked up, looking straight into Jack’s, smiling sadly in reply. “What’s going on with you, Ianto?”
Jack sat back and placed his arms on the back of the bench, crossing his legs and watching Ianto patiently, a slight frown on his face. The young man sighed heavily again and sat back as well, leaning his head on Jack’s arm and looking up at the colourful sky.
They stayed like that for a while, Jack unsure as to whether Ianto was going to divulge anything about his behaviour. He wasn’t really expecting him to, but he was glad when Ianto sighed again and began to speak.
“Last night, we were talking about my work load - about how it changed since you left and then came back.” He stopped for a moment, considering his words a little. “I realised that no one ever said that I had to put in all those extra hours every week, that I had to drop everything I was doing because someone wanted a drink or something to eat. The bit that made me most angry - with myself - was that you used to point that out to me, you used to make me stop. I just never listened. I never had any reason to.”
Ianto had moved one of his hands to rest on Jack’s knee as his story came to a natural lull. Jack moved his free hand to his knee as well and stroked the back of Ianto’s hand gently.
“I just thought today that I’d earned myself a break, a half hour to sit down and put my feet up whilst you all got on with some work. I tried to take a time out eleven times today. Every single time I sat down, someone called me away for a coffee, or because they’d run out of biros or post-its or something equally trivial. No one seemed to realise that they were disturbing me…” He trailed off a little at that. His voice wasn’t angry, it wasn’t harsh or sceptical. He just sounded confused and a little lost. Jack felt a pang of sympathy clutch at his insides.
How could he have not noticed?
The guilt that throbbed in his stomach faded a little as Ianto turned his head and pulled Jack into a kiss with a gentle touch to his cheek. It was a kiss that gave Jack an insight into Ianto’s frame of mind.
He felt lost and inadequate, he needed comfort and he needed to know that Jack needed him there. Jack was more than happy to oblige and kissed the young man hard in return, his tongue running smoothly along his teeth and lips, trying to convey his emotions as much as he could, willing Ianto to believe how much he wanted him.
Ianto tasted of coffee and cigarettes and it was strangely intoxicating. Jack decided that he could happily spend hours on end just exploring Ianto in such an innocent way.
By the time they pulled away from each other, the colours had left the sky and it was just the one shade of blue, darkening by the minute. Jack looked up and saw the first of the stars glinting in the open space above him, realising something that made him smile. Looking back down at Ianto, he moved his arm from behind his shoulders, grasping the young man’s hand in his.
“From now on, you’re going to be allowed to sit down an read in my office whenever you want. Just come in, kick me out and lock the door. I promise that no one will disturb you unless there’s another apocalypse coming. I’m sure we can all manage without coffee for an hour every so often.” Jack smiled and squeezed Ianto’s hand, his heart jumping as he saw Ianto grin back at him.
“What if I don’t want to kick you out?” The suggestion glittered in his eyes and Jack chuckled.
He never worked out how he managed to get to his feet as Ianto stood up and pulled him back towards the city. They walked along the wooden board walk hand in hand and Jack felt like he was finally at a point in his life where he was happy. Little did he know that Ianto was feeling exactly the same.
---
TBC - I hope you liked it Abby, and thanks for reading everyone =]
Chapter 4