Fic: Backstabbed - Ianto/Jack - PG13 - Torchwood
Title: Backstabbed
Author: Celebrian.
Web page: http://www.livejournal.com/users/celebrian_lotr/
http://users.insanejournal.com/_bad_wolf/
Pairing: Ianto/ Jack
Rating: PG13
Summary: Jack and Ianto talk.
Spoilers: Ep: 11 S2 Missing Scene after the end.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Warnings: Angst(ish) & Fluff?
Author’s notes: One shot. Finished.
Feedback: Is addictive and encouraging ;-)
Thanks to Beta xibalba who is a saint and reads stories about a fandom she’s only heard me rambling about and just4bri All remaining mistakes, my fault.
Glancing up from where he was working in his Captain’s office; Ianto became aware that he was no longer alone. Warily he noticed Jack taking off his coat; without saying a word. From the expression on his face, Ianto guessed Gwen had managed to find the island with the refugees; Jack’s silence said he wasn’t happy about it.
Going back to his papers, Ianto got up from Jack’s chair and put them all in a folder. “These are all done, you just need to go through them and sign. But I went through everything; there is nothing for you to worry about,” He assured.
“Isn’t there?” Jack said whilst busying himself with other things around his office; taking his waistcoat off he put it on the hanger, before he loosened the braces he was wearing so they hung down his legs.
“Nope, I checked them twice; everything’s in order,” Ianto assured looking at Jack, waiting, wondering when he was going to bring up the topic.
“Tell me something Ianto,” Jack turned to face the other and rested his hands on his hips whilst giving him a thoughtful look “how am I supposed to trust you, if after I give you a detailed list of reasons as to why I do not want someone else on the team to KNOW something, you go ahead and help them find it out?”
Ianto started to say something but Jack interrupted him, “How am I meant to tell you things, to ‘open up’ to you, when you go and do these sorts of things?” Ianto noticed Jack shaking his head before he sat at his desk.
“Jack.”
“Seriously Ianto, three times,” Jack said gravely, and looked him in the eyes. “Lisa, the day you all teamed up to open the rift, and now Gwen; causing melodrama all around. I told you this was something I didn’t want to deal with; I did not want her to know.”
“She was going to find out one way or another,” Ianto sighed deeply and his pose changed to a slightly more submissive one, in response to the scolding voice. “She is a cop; it’s all she knows how to do. Get a job like this done. She was going to drive us all insane with it unless she got what she wanted.”
“Yes, and as I told you before, she can’t have her way ALL the time. Some things are better left unknown.”
Frowning a little, Ianto cocked his head slightly to the side, whilst looking at Jack intently. “Now she knows. Sometimes it’s not enough to be told, you have to go through things to grow up. Gwen needs to have this sort of thing happen to her for her to be able to see that she can’t fix the world in the idealistic way she thinks she can. She needs to be more practical about it, like you pointed out,” He said feeling unnerved; Jack was making such a fuss about it. “It’s Gwen, you know her.”
“This conversation is NOT about Gwen.” Jack snapped and stood, placing both his hands on the desk, his fists pressing against the slightly warm wood. “It is about you. How, do I trust you? Why, should I keep on trusting you?”
“They are all important to me, I care about them all. But you, YOU are not one of them. You are my co-worker and my lover; I can understand the lines might be blurry, but this was not up for you to decide.”
Looking into Jack’s icy eyes Ianto averted his gaze before nodding once. He didn’t think he had done anything all that wrong, this was going to happen; he’d only accelerated the process. But, each and every single word coming from Jack’s mouth was like a sharp knife to his heart.
“It won’t happen again.” Ianto assured looking up.
“It better not,” Jack snapped and sat down on his chair again to start going through the files Ianto had prepared for him. “Get me some coffee please; I need it after all this, mess.”
Nodding with out saying a word Ianto left the office and headed to the coffee station, he rubbed his eyes stressfully as he prepared Jack’s coffee.
Once the mug was full he took it to the Captain’s office and placed it on the side of the desk. “Anything else you need?”
“No, not at the moment.”
Jack’s reply came out emotionless and Ianto looked at him, wishing that he would raise his head, but nothing happened, so he decided to leave and go back to his chores.
An hour or so later, Ianto headed back to the office, Jack was still buried in the papers. “What is it?” the Captain asked.
Ianto simply moved closer and rested his hand on the desk. His fingers must have drawn the other’s attention, because Jack looked up and into his eyes; the stern face was still there, but at least he was looking at him again. “I am sorry,” He said honestly, and his eyes revealed just how much he meant it. “I did not mean for you to feel I was...”
“Backstabbing me?”
“Yeah,” Ianto frowned. “I just,” he sighed deeply and leant against Jack’s desk, his fingers intertwined and he rested them on his thighs. “everyone thinks you are uncaring towards people, that all you deal with is aliens and death. They see the Hero, or the one who has to make the choices no one else will make.”
Looking at his perfectly polished shoes Ianto waited for Jack to say something, but he said nothing so he continued. “I do not understand why you don’t want them to see that you can be as compassionate as I know you can. That place might not be the Hilton, but you took them out of the vaults; they are taken care of now. I do not think it’s gloating material, but why not let someone know they are ok?”
“Their families? Do you agree with Gwen after what happened?”
“No, not their families, I don’t think ´they´ should ever know. That was a very poor move on her part. What I do not understand why you don’t let your team see that side of you,” He said quietly and looked into Jack’s eyes.
“Is it not enough that I let you see that side? Why does everyone have to see it?”
“Because the little things that Torchwood, that you, do to help people, are another credible reason to keep them motivated in their jobs. In a way, even though this was a bad experience and the results are irreversible, we do try our best… sometimes that is all people need to know from their leaders,” Ianto bit his lower lip.
He wanted to point out that he was actually proud of what Jack tried to do to help, he had wanted Gwen to shut the fuck up and stop treating Jack the way she did when it came to people because she was always assuming that she knew best when it came to human relations.
Of course he couldn’t explain that to Jack:´I wanted them to know you are better than they think you are, not because of the charm, not because of the jokes and the handsome looks, but that you -as a person- are better than even you give yourself credit for. You are good; I want them all to see that. There is some bad in there with the good, but the good is always there; only hidden sometimes… ´
“I am proud of you Jack, I am proud of how you do try to help, in your own unique way. That’s what I wanted them to see.” He rubbed his eyes and shook his head slightly, in distress. “But, you have my word it will never happen again. You ´can´ trust me.” He said, locking eyes with Jack.
“I will not slip any sort of information to anyone, not after you’ve specifically told me to let them deal with it and let it go.”
“You could always try convincing me to tell them Ianto.”
Jack’s voice was kinder now, almost back to usual, but more mellow. “You can; I listen to you, don’t I?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Ianto frowned a little and gave Jack a small smile, because he wasn’t sure if they were back on good terms. However his smile brightened when Jack snorted at him and smacked his knee playfully.
“You can talk to me; but if you do think we should tell them something that I consider we shouldn’t, then we can lock ourselves away somewhere and go at it, until either you convince me, or I end up convincing you; no innuendo intended”
Nodding Ianto rested his hands on the edge of the desk. “I should have done that, but, you are quite difficult to convince. In case you hadn’t notice you’re as difficult to convince as…“
“…a three year old would be to give up on their favourite sweets. Yes, I know, but that’s one of the reasons you like me, why we do ´fit´ together. It’s kind of like that old Oriental earth symbol, Ying and Yang? We complement each other. You cope with my temper tantrums and my constant demands in a remarkable way. If there is anyone in this place, probably on planet earth -I think- that could talk me out of something, it’s YOU. Got it? Talk to me; no more going behind my back.”
“Got it,” Ianto assured with a nod.
“Good. Now, you are going to make it up to me somehow; what about you prepare me some dinner? I did like that lasagna you prepared the other night…”
“That takes hours to get done,” Ianto said, giving Jack a mild frown because it was a work night and they were buried in work, but Jack’s look was telling him that home-made lasagna was going to be the only thing that would redeem him. “Right, ok. I’ll get right on it.”
He smiled and got up from the desk to go buy the ingredients to prepare the lasagna Jack had liked; he had actually prepared it at the kitchen they had not long ago equipped at the hub. Jack wasn’t keen on leaving the place; Ianto thought it made him feel safe somehow.
Like home should make anyone feel…
Looking over his shoulder, he smiled when he felt Jack’s hand catching his before he could move away from the desk; and looked into his lover’s eyes. Ianto grinned at the small tug, before he leant forward and down for a kiss; his hand cupped Jack’s cheek within his palm and his thumb brushed against the other’s cheek bone caringly.
“So you’re proud of me?”
“Hmm,” Ianto smiled to Jack’s lips and pressed his brow to the other’s, before nodding a couple times. “Damn right I am,” He said and kissed Jack again. “But if you start looking smug, from the moment I come back from shopping I will make sure to take it all back!” He said and kissing Jack again he smiled and fixed Jack’s hair over his brow. “Gotta go, before the shops close; I’ll hurry back.”
“You better,” Jack called out as he finally let Ianto go.
“Ianto,” he called out, when Ianto was past Owens work station, and he stood by the door when Ianto stopped to look back. “I do trust you,” He assured, because he did trust the Welshman, and it was in a way that he didn’t trust anyone else. Jack smiled whilst nodding, as Ianto gave him one of those private loving looks; before he turned to go to the main exit and to the shops.
That had being the sole reason why such a little betrayal had hurt as much as it had. Betrayals always hurt the most when coming from someone that you love, no matter if the betrayal is big or small. They were literally, a stab straight to the heart.
The End.
Author: Celebrian.
Web page: http://www.livejournal.com/users/celebrian_lotr/
http://users.insanejournal.com/_bad_wolf/
Pairing: Ianto/ Jack
Rating: PG13
Summary: Jack and Ianto talk.
Spoilers: Ep: 11 S2 Missing Scene after the end.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Warnings: Angst(ish) & Fluff?
Author’s notes: One shot. Finished.
Feedback: Is addictive and encouraging ;-)
Thanks to Beta xibalba who is a saint and reads stories about a fandom she’s only heard me rambling about and just4bri All remaining mistakes, my fault.
Glancing up from where he was working in his Captain’s office; Ianto became aware that he was no longer alone. Warily he noticed Jack taking off his coat; without saying a word. From the expression on his face, Ianto guessed Gwen had managed to find the island with the refugees; Jack’s silence said he wasn’t happy about it.
Going back to his papers, Ianto got up from Jack’s chair and put them all in a folder. “These are all done, you just need to go through them and sign. But I went through everything; there is nothing for you to worry about,” He assured.
“Isn’t there?” Jack said whilst busying himself with other things around his office; taking his waistcoat off he put it on the hanger, before he loosened the braces he was wearing so they hung down his legs.
“Nope, I checked them twice; everything’s in order,” Ianto assured looking at Jack, waiting, wondering when he was going to bring up the topic.
“Tell me something Ianto,” Jack turned to face the other and rested his hands on his hips whilst giving him a thoughtful look “how am I supposed to trust you, if after I give you a detailed list of reasons as to why I do not want someone else on the team to KNOW something, you go ahead and help them find it out?”
Ianto started to say something but Jack interrupted him, “How am I meant to tell you things, to ‘open up’ to you, when you go and do these sorts of things?” Ianto noticed Jack shaking his head before he sat at his desk.
“Jack.”
“Seriously Ianto, three times,” Jack said gravely, and looked him in the eyes. “Lisa, the day you all teamed up to open the rift, and now Gwen; causing melodrama all around. I told you this was something I didn’t want to deal with; I did not want her to know.”
“She was going to find out one way or another,” Ianto sighed deeply and his pose changed to a slightly more submissive one, in response to the scolding voice. “She is a cop; it’s all she knows how to do. Get a job like this done. She was going to drive us all insane with it unless she got what she wanted.”
“Yes, and as I told you before, she can’t have her way ALL the time. Some things are better left unknown.”
Frowning a little, Ianto cocked his head slightly to the side, whilst looking at Jack intently. “Now she knows. Sometimes it’s not enough to be told, you have to go through things to grow up. Gwen needs to have this sort of thing happen to her for her to be able to see that she can’t fix the world in the idealistic way she thinks she can. She needs to be more practical about it, like you pointed out,” He said feeling unnerved; Jack was making such a fuss about it. “It’s Gwen, you know her.”
“This conversation is NOT about Gwen.” Jack snapped and stood, placing both his hands on the desk, his fists pressing against the slightly warm wood. “It is about you. How, do I trust you? Why, should I keep on trusting you?”
“They are all important to me, I care about them all. But you, YOU are not one of them. You are my co-worker and my lover; I can understand the lines might be blurry, but this was not up for you to decide.”
Looking into Jack’s icy eyes Ianto averted his gaze before nodding once. He didn’t think he had done anything all that wrong, this was going to happen; he’d only accelerated the process. But, each and every single word coming from Jack’s mouth was like a sharp knife to his heart.
“It won’t happen again.” Ianto assured looking up.
“It better not,” Jack snapped and sat down on his chair again to start going through the files Ianto had prepared for him. “Get me some coffee please; I need it after all this, mess.”
Nodding with out saying a word Ianto left the office and headed to the coffee station, he rubbed his eyes stressfully as he prepared Jack’s coffee.
Once the mug was full he took it to the Captain’s office and placed it on the side of the desk. “Anything else you need?”
“No, not at the moment.”
Jack’s reply came out emotionless and Ianto looked at him, wishing that he would raise his head, but nothing happened, so he decided to leave and go back to his chores.
An hour or so later, Ianto headed back to the office, Jack was still buried in the papers. “What is it?” the Captain asked.
Ianto simply moved closer and rested his hand on the desk. His fingers must have drawn the other’s attention, because Jack looked up and into his eyes; the stern face was still there, but at least he was looking at him again. “I am sorry,” He said honestly, and his eyes revealed just how much he meant it. “I did not mean for you to feel I was...”
“Backstabbing me?”
“Yeah,” Ianto frowned. “I just,” he sighed deeply and leant against Jack’s desk, his fingers intertwined and he rested them on his thighs. “everyone thinks you are uncaring towards people, that all you deal with is aliens and death. They see the Hero, or the one who has to make the choices no one else will make.”
Looking at his perfectly polished shoes Ianto waited for Jack to say something, but he said nothing so he continued. “I do not understand why you don’t want them to see that you can be as compassionate as I know you can. That place might not be the Hilton, but you took them out of the vaults; they are taken care of now. I do not think it’s gloating material, but why not let someone know they are ok?”
“Their families? Do you agree with Gwen after what happened?”
“No, not their families, I don’t think ´they´ should ever know. That was a very poor move on her part. What I do not understand why you don’t let your team see that side of you,” He said quietly and looked into Jack’s eyes.
“Is it not enough that I let you see that side? Why does everyone have to see it?”
“Because the little things that Torchwood, that you, do to help people, are another credible reason to keep them motivated in their jobs. In a way, even though this was a bad experience and the results are irreversible, we do try our best… sometimes that is all people need to know from their leaders,” Ianto bit his lower lip.
He wanted to point out that he was actually proud of what Jack tried to do to help, he had wanted Gwen to shut the fuck up and stop treating Jack the way she did when it came to people because she was always assuming that she knew best when it came to human relations.
Of course he couldn’t explain that to Jack:´I wanted them to know you are better than they think you are, not because of the charm, not because of the jokes and the handsome looks, but that you -as a person- are better than even you give yourself credit for. You are good; I want them all to see that. There is some bad in there with the good, but the good is always there; only hidden sometimes… ´
“I am proud of you Jack, I am proud of how you do try to help, in your own unique way. That’s what I wanted them to see.” He rubbed his eyes and shook his head slightly, in distress. “But, you have my word it will never happen again. You ´can´ trust me.” He said, locking eyes with Jack.
“I will not slip any sort of information to anyone, not after you’ve specifically told me to let them deal with it and let it go.”
“You could always try convincing me to tell them Ianto.”
Jack’s voice was kinder now, almost back to usual, but more mellow. “You can; I listen to you, don’t I?”
“Is that a rhetorical question?” Ianto frowned a little and gave Jack a small smile, because he wasn’t sure if they were back on good terms. However his smile brightened when Jack snorted at him and smacked his knee playfully.
“You can talk to me; but if you do think we should tell them something that I consider we shouldn’t, then we can lock ourselves away somewhere and go at it, until either you convince me, or I end up convincing you; no innuendo intended”
Nodding Ianto rested his hands on the edge of the desk. “I should have done that, but, you are quite difficult to convince. In case you hadn’t notice you’re as difficult to convince as…“
“…a three year old would be to give up on their favourite sweets. Yes, I know, but that’s one of the reasons you like me, why we do ´fit´ together. It’s kind of like that old Oriental earth symbol, Ying and Yang? We complement each other. You cope with my temper tantrums and my constant demands in a remarkable way. If there is anyone in this place, probably on planet earth -I think- that could talk me out of something, it’s YOU. Got it? Talk to me; no more going behind my back.”
“Got it,” Ianto assured with a nod.
“Good. Now, you are going to make it up to me somehow; what about you prepare me some dinner? I did like that lasagna you prepared the other night…”
“That takes hours to get done,” Ianto said, giving Jack a mild frown because it was a work night and they were buried in work, but Jack’s look was telling him that home-made lasagna was going to be the only thing that would redeem him. “Right, ok. I’ll get right on it.”
He smiled and got up from the desk to go buy the ingredients to prepare the lasagna Jack had liked; he had actually prepared it at the kitchen they had not long ago equipped at the hub. Jack wasn’t keen on leaving the place; Ianto thought it made him feel safe somehow.
Like home should make anyone feel…
Looking over his shoulder, he smiled when he felt Jack’s hand catching his before he could move away from the desk; and looked into his lover’s eyes. Ianto grinned at the small tug, before he leant forward and down for a kiss; his hand cupped Jack’s cheek within his palm and his thumb brushed against the other’s cheek bone caringly.
“So you’re proud of me?”
“Hmm,” Ianto smiled to Jack’s lips and pressed his brow to the other’s, before nodding a couple times. “Damn right I am,” He said and kissed Jack again. “But if you start looking smug, from the moment I come back from shopping I will make sure to take it all back!” He said and kissing Jack again he smiled and fixed Jack’s hair over his brow. “Gotta go, before the shops close; I’ll hurry back.”
“You better,” Jack called out as he finally let Ianto go.
“Ianto,” he called out, when Ianto was past Owens work station, and he stood by the door when Ianto stopped to look back. “I do trust you,” He assured, because he did trust the Welshman, and it was in a way that he didn’t trust anyone else. Jack smiled whilst nodding, as Ianto gave him one of those private loving looks; before he turned to go to the main exit and to the shops.
That had being the sole reason why such a little betrayal had hurt as much as it had. Betrayals always hurt the most when coming from someone that you love, no matter if the betrayal is big or small. They were literally, a stab straight to the heart.
The End.