And So It Begins... Again: Part 2 (9/10)
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: A familiar face turns up in Cardiff...
[ The 'And So It Begins... Again' Saga ]
Disclaimer: Torchwood belongs to Russel T. Davies ftw - I'm just having a play
Author's Note: Whoop, good day! I have a free ticket to go see McFly tomorow, which I'm psyched about, and my social life is on the good atm! Yaaay =] I hope you all like the chapter! I know I do =] There's something spontaneous (read: gratuitous) towards the end, but it's allowed I think =]
---
Chapter 9
The next morning was much more like Jack remembered their first night sleeping in Ianto’s flat. He woke up yawning, refreshed after a peaceful and empty night’s sleep.
Keeping his eyes closed, he’d flexed his back to make sure it was healed and he was glad to find that there was nothing more than a very light bruising left.
Smiling to himself, he’d rolled over, expecting to see Ianto gone, but was surprised to see the young man splayed out on his front, an arm hanging out from under the covers. Jack poked Ianto gently in the back of his shoulder and had to bite back a laugh as Ianto groaned in protest and attempted to bat Jack’s hand away.
Curious, Jack poked him again, a little harder. Again, Ianto groaned at him, but this time, he attempted to roll away from the source of the disturbance. He settled on the other side of the bed, facing Jack.
As he rolled, he pulled the duvet with him and Jack felt cold air slip over his bare legs and shivered a little. Frowning at Ianto’s now peaceful body, he leaned forwards maliciously and blew gently on his lover’s nose. He heard another groan of protest and Ianto rolled over again.
This time, there was a shortage of mattress underneath him and as Ianto rolled, he fell to the floor, hitting his head off the bedside table with a sickening thwack.
Jack nervously crawled across the bed and peered over the edge. He couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him as he saw the tangle of the dark brown duvet and Ianto’s pale limbs.
He was tempted to poke it with his foot to see if Ianto was still alive, but found that he didn’t need to as heard a steady stream of semi-coherent swearing coming from under the covers. He retreated a little as Ianto pulled himself from the duvet and stumbled into the bathroom, rubbing the back of his head and wincing as he flicked the light on.
Jack just sat, cross legged, and watched Ianto splash his face with cold water gushing from the tap. He filled the basin up and plunged his entire head under the surface. Jack watched the morning ritual with a confused expression on his face, which soon turned to anxiety. His breath caught in his throat as the seconds ticked by. It had been almost a minute.
Finally, with a loud gasp and a couple of coughs, Ianto surfaced, flicking his head up and causing water to fly off in an arc over his head. He stood leaning on the basin and staring into the mirror as he caught his breath. After a few more minutes, he reached behind him for a hand towel and buried his face into the soft white material, heading back into the bedroom.
He stood beside the bed and rubbed his hair vigorously before dropping the towel around his neck and reaching forward to grab Jack’s hand and drag him through to the kitchen.
“You’re not very talkative, are you?” Jack prodded him in the back, his voice extremely amused. Ianto just grunted, dropped his hand and went to the fridge. He retrieved the large carton of orange juice from it and opened it, gulping down what must’ve been half the contents before closing it and putting it back.
He shuffled over to the kettle and flicked it on before sinking onto a stool and leaning forwards until his forehead was resting on the counter.
Jack chuckled and moved around behind him, running a finger lightly over the pronounced ridge of the young man’s spine. Ianto twitched and his head smacked off the tiled surface beneath it. He groaned and moved a hand to his forehead, sitting up slowly and twisting to glare accusingly at Jack.
“Sorry…” He took the young man’s hand away and kissed the red patch on his head, wrapping his arms around him and holding him close. He couldn’t stop the little smile that came when Ianto rested his head on Jack’s chest, the feeling was just too nice. “I’m really sorry, I should’ve thought.”
Ianto made several noises that sounded like: “Yeah, you should’ve.”, “Just tired.” And “Don’t worry about it.”
Jack smiled and stroked the back of Ianto’s head gently, careful to avoid applying too much pressure to the bump from earlier. He looked around the living area as he did so. His eyes didn’t move far before they fell on a pile of washed, dried and folded clothes that could have belonged to him. He pushed Ianto back and looked down at him. Ianto’s eyes met his with an earnest expression in them.
“How long were you up for?” Ianto just shrugged, yawned and climbed off the stool to make the coffees. A minute or so later, Jack took the proffered mug and enjoyed the first taste of the day. He watched Ianto shuffle off to the bedroom sleepily, drinking the coffee in his own hands.
Jack decided now would be a good time to get dressed, so he made sure the blinds were closed and pulled his trousers on, replacing Ianto’s old t-shirt with his clean undershirt and navy blue button down. He carefully slipped the suspenders on, a memory of yesterday evening flashing in his mind like a warning. He shuddered involuntarily and pulled his socks and boots on.
Moving back towards the kitchen, he finished his coffee and cobbled together some cheese on toast, placing it haphazardly on the grill and stuffing it under the flames. He watched it carefully, waiting for the precise moment when the cheese would be melted all the way through, but the bread wouldn’t be burnt.
He caught it just in time and pulled the grill pan out, sliding the food onto a plate and cutting it up. He was rather proud of himself and looked up happily to see Ianto shuffling back into the living area. He was in a different three piece suit to the day before, the jacket slung over his shoulder and the waist coat unbuttoned. He yawned again and ruffled his hair before heading over to the breakfast bar and pulling a slice of cheese on toast off the plate and taking a bite.
He looked up at Jack and gave him a thumbs up before turning away from him to pull his shoes and socks on, the toast held between his teeth. He sat up and rested his elbows on the counter, finishing the slice of toast happily before doing the waistcoat up over his magenta shirt and tightening his dark purple tie in place before shrugging on the jacket and running his fingers through his hair again.
One more yawn and he was dragging Jack out of the apartment, locking up behind them and making his way clumsily down the stairs to the car.
*
At around three in the afternoon, Ianto swung round Jack’s door and pointed to the phone on his desk.
“Jack, Line 1, someone from UNIT. Says it’s important business.” Jack nodded and silently took in the tired expression and the bags under the young man’s beautiful blue eyes. Ianto smiled briefly before leaving the office and getting back to his work. He was helping Tosh run a new system she’d designed to help make the Rift Predictor more reliable. God knows it would help them all.
Jack sighed heavily, rubbed his eyes and picked the phone up, holding the receiver to his ear as he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk as he so often did.
“How can I help you today?” Jack’s voice was dry and more than a little sarcastic. He knew exactly how this conversation was going to go. A minor employee would be following up on something that had long ago been dealt with. He really didn’t have the time for it.
“Is that any way for you to talk to your superiors?” A familiar voice drifted down the phone line to him, making his feet slip off the desk and crash to the floor, his chair jerking him upright as he stared at the opposite wall of his office in shock. The voice on the other end laughed happily and Jack could hear the wonderful smile in the following words. “Captain Jack Harkness. I never thought I’d see the day when you were lost for words!”
Jack started to grin at the mock teasing, feeling a chuckle follow it as a completely genuine happiness flooded him. “Martha Jones!”
“Jack! It’s so good to talk to you again!” She sounded a little older, but he could tell it was the same old Martha who’d fussed over him the first time she’d seen him, dead on the floor beside the TARDIS. How innocent she’d been then. The past year had changed her, true, but she was tough and sounded just as cheerful as she always had been.
“UNIT, eh? You should’ve told me you were looking for a job!” Jack was grinning to himself, feeling a strange pride for the girl, as if she’d been a long lost daughter.
“I wasn’t, that’s the thing! I was graduated from Medical School early, and scooped up by them almost straight away! I’m thinking I had a little help from you-know-who.” If they’d been facing each other, the two would’ve exchanged knowing looks. “Anyhow, the reason I’m calling is that, first off, a guy with an amazing Welsh accent called me up just now and asked if I knew you, and secondly, I’m in Cardiff for work and was wondering whether I could drop round, see what you’ve done with the place?”
Jack smiled to himself, thinking about the man the ‘amazing Welsh accent’ belonged to. He made a mental note to kiss him extra hard later on in thanks. Then he turned his attention to the second matter. He couldn’t have been more pleased to have Martha come visit the hub, and he told her that.
“Right then, I’ll see you in a couple of hours by the water tower in the bay.” Jack said with a smile.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up. Jack sighed and managed to concentrate enough to finish the work he had left to do.
*
Two hours later, Jack was standing on the lift slab, rising towards the surface. When he reached the pavement, he stood for a moment on the perception filter and looked around. He spotted the person he was looking for straight away.
Martha Jones was standing a few feet from him and looking out at the water. She was wearing black leather biker jacket and dark jeans, a grey t-shirt underneath and a khaki messenger bag slung across her shoulders. She looked a little older, her hairstyle more suited to one of UNIT’s high flying medical officers, down with her fringe clipped back.
Still, no matter how grown up she now looked, he knew she would still be as exuberant as ever.
He stepped off the slab towards her, a huge grin plastered on his face as she turned and grinned in reply. He stepped forwards and enveloped her in a hug. He pulled away and put an arm around her shoulders, winking and steering her onto the perception filter. They chattered like school girls as the elevator sunk down into the hub, neither of them batting an eyelid as the pterodactyl swooped around them into its cave.
When the elevator reached the bottom, Jack stepped off first and held his hand out for Martha. She took it and grinned at him, putting on a posh voice as she thanked him, both of them starting to laugh as soon as she was standing on the floor.
“People!” Jack stood and faced the workstations, the other four members of Torchwood 3 looking up at him. Tosh peered around the edge of her computers; Gwen looked up from the files spread across her desk; Owen leaned on the door frame to the autopsy bay with an irritated look on his face; Ianto straightened up from leaning over a file on Tosh’s desk and smiled. They all redirected their attentions to the pretty young woman standing behind Jack. “Everyone, meet Martha Jones.”
Jack’s face had split into a grin again as they all made their way over to shake Martha’s hand and greet her.
“Martha, this is Toshiko Sato, computer genius.” He watched as Tosh leaned forwards to shake her hand, a little embarrassed about how Jack had introduced her. Martha just smiled cheerily at her, knowing precisely what the other woman must have been feeling. Jack had a way of complimenting people to the point of excruciation. She watched as Tosh scurried off to attend to a bleeping from one of her many computers.
“Next is Gwen Cooper, the conscience of Torchwood Three.” Gwen rolled her eyes and smiled at Martha, shaking her hand as well. Gwen followed Tosh back to the workstations, no doubt wanting to watch Jack’s interactions with Martha from a distance.
“Owen Harper, in charge of dissecting all things dead and alien.” Owen raised his hands to show the rubber gloves covered in some purplish blood like liquid.
“I would, but maybe you don’t want to dive straight into alien insides.” He gave her a genuine smile and nodded politely before excusing himself.
“And finally, this is Ianto Jones. Makes the best damn coffee you’ll ever have.” Ianto moved forwards to greet Martha, sharing a significant look with the young lady before moving off to Tosh’s workstation to assist in clearing up the malfunction. “He also looks good in a suit.”
“I heard that.” Ianto didn’t even look up, just calling his disapproval from across the hub. Jack smiled at Martha and lead her up to his office.
“He looks even better out of one.” Jack murmured in Martha’s ear as they climbed up the stairs, causing the young lady to grin and laugh out loud as she headed into the office in front of him.
“I heard that as well!” Ianto called again.
“How could you have heard that?” Jack looked around incredulously. He was a little dumbfounded as Ianto just looked at him sceptically and rolled his eyes.
“Go on, before I file another harassment suit.” Ianto smiled a little then and nodded gently, urging Jack to go into his office and talk to Martha. Replying with a nod, Jack smiled and turned on his heal, heading into his office. He was about to drop into his chair when he suddenly remembered something.
“Sorry, just remembered something I have to do, I’ll only be a minute.” Jack grinned and headed back out of the office, Martha following him to stand and look over the railing outside.
She watched as Jack jogged round to the Welshman and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him away from the monitor he was studying. She smiled to herself as she saw the Jack kiss the young man for a long moment before winking to him. With a feeling of satisfaction, she turned back into the office, taking a seat in the visitor’s chair.
When Jack appeared in the doorway, she just gave him a sideways look and grinned at him.
---
TBC
Chapter 10
Rating: 15
Characters/Pairings: Team, ? ; Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: S1, 2x01
Warnings: Mild violence; M/M relations; Angst
Summary: A familiar face turns up in Cardiff...
[ The 'And So It Begins... Again' Saga ]
Disclaimer: Torchwood belongs to Russel T. Davies ftw - I'm just having a play
Author's Note: Whoop, good day! I have a free ticket to go see McFly tomorow, which I'm psyched about, and my social life is on the good atm! Yaaay =] I hope you all like the chapter! I know I do =] There's something spontaneous (read: gratuitous) towards the end, but it's allowed I think =]
---
Chapter 9
The next morning was much more like Jack remembered their first night sleeping in Ianto’s flat. He woke up yawning, refreshed after a peaceful and empty night’s sleep.
Keeping his eyes closed, he’d flexed his back to make sure it was healed and he was glad to find that there was nothing more than a very light bruising left.
Smiling to himself, he’d rolled over, expecting to see Ianto gone, but was surprised to see the young man splayed out on his front, an arm hanging out from under the covers. Jack poked Ianto gently in the back of his shoulder and had to bite back a laugh as Ianto groaned in protest and attempted to bat Jack’s hand away.
Curious, Jack poked him again, a little harder. Again, Ianto groaned at him, but this time, he attempted to roll away from the source of the disturbance. He settled on the other side of the bed, facing Jack.
As he rolled, he pulled the duvet with him and Jack felt cold air slip over his bare legs and shivered a little. Frowning at Ianto’s now peaceful body, he leaned forwards maliciously and blew gently on his lover’s nose. He heard another groan of protest and Ianto rolled over again.
This time, there was a shortage of mattress underneath him and as Ianto rolled, he fell to the floor, hitting his head off the bedside table with a sickening thwack.
Jack nervously crawled across the bed and peered over the edge. He couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped him as he saw the tangle of the dark brown duvet and Ianto’s pale limbs.
He was tempted to poke it with his foot to see if Ianto was still alive, but found that he didn’t need to as heard a steady stream of semi-coherent swearing coming from under the covers. He retreated a little as Ianto pulled himself from the duvet and stumbled into the bathroom, rubbing the back of his head and wincing as he flicked the light on.
Jack just sat, cross legged, and watched Ianto splash his face with cold water gushing from the tap. He filled the basin up and plunged his entire head under the surface. Jack watched the morning ritual with a confused expression on his face, which soon turned to anxiety. His breath caught in his throat as the seconds ticked by. It had been almost a minute.
Finally, with a loud gasp and a couple of coughs, Ianto surfaced, flicking his head up and causing water to fly off in an arc over his head. He stood leaning on the basin and staring into the mirror as he caught his breath. After a few more minutes, he reached behind him for a hand towel and buried his face into the soft white material, heading back into the bedroom.
He stood beside the bed and rubbed his hair vigorously before dropping the towel around his neck and reaching forward to grab Jack’s hand and drag him through to the kitchen.
“You’re not very talkative, are you?” Jack prodded him in the back, his voice extremely amused. Ianto just grunted, dropped his hand and went to the fridge. He retrieved the large carton of orange juice from it and opened it, gulping down what must’ve been half the contents before closing it and putting it back.
He shuffled over to the kettle and flicked it on before sinking onto a stool and leaning forwards until his forehead was resting on the counter.
Jack chuckled and moved around behind him, running a finger lightly over the pronounced ridge of the young man’s spine. Ianto twitched and his head smacked off the tiled surface beneath it. He groaned and moved a hand to his forehead, sitting up slowly and twisting to glare accusingly at Jack.
“Sorry…” He took the young man’s hand away and kissed the red patch on his head, wrapping his arms around him and holding him close. He couldn’t stop the little smile that came when Ianto rested his head on Jack’s chest, the feeling was just too nice. “I’m really sorry, I should’ve thought.”
Ianto made several noises that sounded like: “Yeah, you should’ve.”, “Just tired.” And “Don’t worry about it.”
Jack smiled and stroked the back of Ianto’s head gently, careful to avoid applying too much pressure to the bump from earlier. He looked around the living area as he did so. His eyes didn’t move far before they fell on a pile of washed, dried and folded clothes that could have belonged to him. He pushed Ianto back and looked down at him. Ianto’s eyes met his with an earnest expression in them.
“How long were you up for?” Ianto just shrugged, yawned and climbed off the stool to make the coffees. A minute or so later, Jack took the proffered mug and enjoyed the first taste of the day. He watched Ianto shuffle off to the bedroom sleepily, drinking the coffee in his own hands.
Jack decided now would be a good time to get dressed, so he made sure the blinds were closed and pulled his trousers on, replacing Ianto’s old t-shirt with his clean undershirt and navy blue button down. He carefully slipped the suspenders on, a memory of yesterday evening flashing in his mind like a warning. He shuddered involuntarily and pulled his socks and boots on.
Moving back towards the kitchen, he finished his coffee and cobbled together some cheese on toast, placing it haphazardly on the grill and stuffing it under the flames. He watched it carefully, waiting for the precise moment when the cheese would be melted all the way through, but the bread wouldn’t be burnt.
He caught it just in time and pulled the grill pan out, sliding the food onto a plate and cutting it up. He was rather proud of himself and looked up happily to see Ianto shuffling back into the living area. He was in a different three piece suit to the day before, the jacket slung over his shoulder and the waist coat unbuttoned. He yawned again and ruffled his hair before heading over to the breakfast bar and pulling a slice of cheese on toast off the plate and taking a bite.
He looked up at Jack and gave him a thumbs up before turning away from him to pull his shoes and socks on, the toast held between his teeth. He sat up and rested his elbows on the counter, finishing the slice of toast happily before doing the waistcoat up over his magenta shirt and tightening his dark purple tie in place before shrugging on the jacket and running his fingers through his hair again.
One more yawn and he was dragging Jack out of the apartment, locking up behind them and making his way clumsily down the stairs to the car.
*
At around three in the afternoon, Ianto swung round Jack’s door and pointed to the phone on his desk.
“Jack, Line 1, someone from UNIT. Says it’s important business.” Jack nodded and silently took in the tired expression and the bags under the young man’s beautiful blue eyes. Ianto smiled briefly before leaving the office and getting back to his work. He was helping Tosh run a new system she’d designed to help make the Rift Predictor more reliable. God knows it would help them all.
Jack sighed heavily, rubbed his eyes and picked the phone up, holding the receiver to his ear as he leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk as he so often did.
“How can I help you today?” Jack’s voice was dry and more than a little sarcastic. He knew exactly how this conversation was going to go. A minor employee would be following up on something that had long ago been dealt with. He really didn’t have the time for it.
“Is that any way for you to talk to your superiors?” A familiar voice drifted down the phone line to him, making his feet slip off the desk and crash to the floor, his chair jerking him upright as he stared at the opposite wall of his office in shock. The voice on the other end laughed happily and Jack could hear the wonderful smile in the following words. “Captain Jack Harkness. I never thought I’d see the day when you were lost for words!”
Jack started to grin at the mock teasing, feeling a chuckle follow it as a completely genuine happiness flooded him. “Martha Jones!”
“Jack! It’s so good to talk to you again!” She sounded a little older, but he could tell it was the same old Martha who’d fussed over him the first time she’d seen him, dead on the floor beside the TARDIS. How innocent she’d been then. The past year had changed her, true, but she was tough and sounded just as cheerful as she always had been.
“UNIT, eh? You should’ve told me you were looking for a job!” Jack was grinning to himself, feeling a strange pride for the girl, as if she’d been a long lost daughter.
“I wasn’t, that’s the thing! I was graduated from Medical School early, and scooped up by them almost straight away! I’m thinking I had a little help from you-know-who.” If they’d been facing each other, the two would’ve exchanged knowing looks. “Anyhow, the reason I’m calling is that, first off, a guy with an amazing Welsh accent called me up just now and asked if I knew you, and secondly, I’m in Cardiff for work and was wondering whether I could drop round, see what you’ve done with the place?”
Jack smiled to himself, thinking about the man the ‘amazing Welsh accent’ belonged to. He made a mental note to kiss him extra hard later on in thanks. Then he turned his attention to the second matter. He couldn’t have been more pleased to have Martha come visit the hub, and he told her that.
“Right then, I’ll see you in a couple of hours by the water tower in the bay.” Jack said with a smile.
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before hanging up. Jack sighed and managed to concentrate enough to finish the work he had left to do.
*
Two hours later, Jack was standing on the lift slab, rising towards the surface. When he reached the pavement, he stood for a moment on the perception filter and looked around. He spotted the person he was looking for straight away.
Martha Jones was standing a few feet from him and looking out at the water. She was wearing black leather biker jacket and dark jeans, a grey t-shirt underneath and a khaki messenger bag slung across her shoulders. She looked a little older, her hairstyle more suited to one of UNIT’s high flying medical officers, down with her fringe clipped back.
Still, no matter how grown up she now looked, he knew she would still be as exuberant as ever.
He stepped off the slab towards her, a huge grin plastered on his face as she turned and grinned in reply. He stepped forwards and enveloped her in a hug. He pulled away and put an arm around her shoulders, winking and steering her onto the perception filter. They chattered like school girls as the elevator sunk down into the hub, neither of them batting an eyelid as the pterodactyl swooped around them into its cave.
When the elevator reached the bottom, Jack stepped off first and held his hand out for Martha. She took it and grinned at him, putting on a posh voice as she thanked him, both of them starting to laugh as soon as she was standing on the floor.
“People!” Jack stood and faced the workstations, the other four members of Torchwood 3 looking up at him. Tosh peered around the edge of her computers; Gwen looked up from the files spread across her desk; Owen leaned on the door frame to the autopsy bay with an irritated look on his face; Ianto straightened up from leaning over a file on Tosh’s desk and smiled. They all redirected their attentions to the pretty young woman standing behind Jack. “Everyone, meet Martha Jones.”
Jack’s face had split into a grin again as they all made their way over to shake Martha’s hand and greet her.
“Martha, this is Toshiko Sato, computer genius.” He watched as Tosh leaned forwards to shake her hand, a little embarrassed about how Jack had introduced her. Martha just smiled cheerily at her, knowing precisely what the other woman must have been feeling. Jack had a way of complimenting people to the point of excruciation. She watched as Tosh scurried off to attend to a bleeping from one of her many computers.
“Next is Gwen Cooper, the conscience of Torchwood Three.” Gwen rolled her eyes and smiled at Martha, shaking her hand as well. Gwen followed Tosh back to the workstations, no doubt wanting to watch Jack’s interactions with Martha from a distance.
“Owen Harper, in charge of dissecting all things dead and alien.” Owen raised his hands to show the rubber gloves covered in some purplish blood like liquid.
“I would, but maybe you don’t want to dive straight into alien insides.” He gave her a genuine smile and nodded politely before excusing himself.
“And finally, this is Ianto Jones. Makes the best damn coffee you’ll ever have.” Ianto moved forwards to greet Martha, sharing a significant look with the young lady before moving off to Tosh’s workstation to assist in clearing up the malfunction. “He also looks good in a suit.”
“I heard that.” Ianto didn’t even look up, just calling his disapproval from across the hub. Jack smiled at Martha and lead her up to his office.
“He looks even better out of one.” Jack murmured in Martha’s ear as they climbed up the stairs, causing the young lady to grin and laugh out loud as she headed into the office in front of him.
“I heard that as well!” Ianto called again.
“How could you have heard that?” Jack looked around incredulously. He was a little dumbfounded as Ianto just looked at him sceptically and rolled his eyes.
“Go on, before I file another harassment suit.” Ianto smiled a little then and nodded gently, urging Jack to go into his office and talk to Martha. Replying with a nod, Jack smiled and turned on his heal, heading into his office. He was about to drop into his chair when he suddenly remembered something.
“Sorry, just remembered something I have to do, I’ll only be a minute.” Jack grinned and headed back out of the office, Martha following him to stand and look over the railing outside.
She watched as Jack jogged round to the Welshman and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him away from the monitor he was studying. She smiled to herself as she saw the Jack kiss the young man for a long moment before winking to him. With a feeling of satisfaction, she turned back into the office, taking a seat in the visitor’s chair.
When Jack appeared in the doorway, she just gave him a sideways look and grinned at him.
---
TBC
Chapter 10