Fic: The Oncoming Storm (Slash, AU, Janto 29/40 Act 2/6)
Author: d8rkmessngr
Pairing: Jack/OMC, Jack/?, Jack/Ianto eventually, het and slash
Rating: NC-17 (betaed)
Summary: He left Jack on the game station. Abandoned. But then…he came back…different. An AU look on what happens if things happened differently. Doctor Who 'verse with Torchwood later on. Be sure to read the warnings.
Warnings: Please read each chapter's individual warnings. Some parts down the road may briefly mention non-con, abuse, and/or violence. Dark in the beginning. Please note there are some dark thoughts as my boys are broken…for now. Each chapter will be labeled for your convenience.
Author's Notes: Please note this is an AU that will cross over DW to TW season one. I'm probably spoiling my own story, but it will eventually be Janto. There's a bit of a journey first. I hope you enjoy. I'm working on this and intend to post regularly every other day. And again, I always believe in happy endings. So without further ado…
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Warning For This Chapter: The slash part of the story here. SMUT. Dark, suicide themes. You were warned. :)
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to TW's "Out of Time" and mentions events shown in "Adam" and "Adrift"
Prologue + Ch , Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18. Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29 Act 1/6
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 29 "Out of Time"
Act II
Two days later…
The bewildered little boy stood there by the lamppost and had cringed when Jack approached. Jack had escaped Gwen and Tosh's decorating frenzy-Owen wisely hid in his area when the girls began looping lights around all the railings-and had been wandering the shops all evening, Tosh's name on a slip of paper clutched in his glove, his mind a total blank when he caught sight of the child.
Blonde, pale grey eyes behind a floppy, golden fringe, the child couldn't have been more than seven, maybe younger. He was ignored, as shoppers were too busy with holiday shopping on the Plass to be bothered with a sniffling child clinging to a lamppost.
The lost look in his eyes however, was familiar and beckoned memories decades of life couldn't bury. Jack knew the boy's hand must have held a larger one before, trusting that hand to keep him safe.
Jack crouched down to eye-level. "Are you alright?" Jack asked gently.
The boy nodded bravely, sniffed loudly then slowly shook his head.
"Who were you with?" It was clear the boy was taught to be cautious. Jack kept his distance in order to not alarm the kid. "We can find a PC for you."
The child just sniffed again and hugged the lamppost tighter.
"Mother?" A little shake. "Father?" Tears this time, but still a no. "Big brother?"
It was confirmed with a little whimper and Jack's throat tightened. He tentatively patted the thin shoulder and apparently it was all he needed to assure him of Jack's sincerity. The child flung himself against Jack, arms around his neck, a quivering small mass, hiccupping and sobbing.
"Jack?"
Ianto's voice was tentative but calm when he drew near, but the surprise was clear in his eyes. He stood there in his dark wool coat and red scarf, his face pink from the winter chill, several bags clutched in his fist. Jack smiled up gratefully at him.
"Seems his older brother is lost," Jack murmured. He pulled back and wiped the chubby cheek with the edge of his greatcoat's sleeve.
"Ah," Ianto said, catching on. He pretended to sigh. "Older brothers can be so silly, always getting lost. People should tie string around their ankles like sheep."
Sure enough, the child gave a watery giggle.
Jack lifted up the boy's chin with a finger until overly bright eyes stared back at him.
"I was a big brother," Jack lowered his voice as if confiding to him. "I was always walking into doors, tripping…"
The answering timid smile was reassuring. The boy shuffled closer. Encouraged, Jack continued.
"I even walked right into a tree once! I didn't see it!"
"Trees are big," the boy shyly pointed out.
Jack smiled kindly at him. "See? Older brothers can even get lost, too. We'll find him." He patted the small back when the boy pressed closer, little fists to his eyes.
"Sammy!"
The tiny jerk told Jack there was no need to search. Jack dipped his head. "Stupid brother?"
Sammy gave a little nod and a tentative smile.
A man, not much younger than Ianto's age when they first met, jogged up to them. He wore an annoyed yet panicked look, his stride hurried and direct, the bags he was carrying flapped madly against him. He gave Ianto and Jack a wary glance as he stopped short of his little brother.
"Who the fuck are you?" the young man demanded of Jack before he directed his attention to the little boy.
"Sammy, you alright? These men bothering you?"
It was only the sincere concern in the brother's voice that spared him a good thrashing from Jack and from Ianto apparently because Jack could see the other man visibly bristling out of the corner of his eye.
"You were lost," Sammy said reproachfully, still reluctant to pry himself away from Jack.
The youth relaxed after his eyes scanned Sammy and determined the boy was unharmed. He reached over impatiently. "Come on, mum's waiting for-"
"Ianto," Jack said, scooping up the boy and with a little, "Whee" and a swing that made the child giggle, set him down in front of Ianto. "I think Sammy's thirsty. Wasn't that a hot chocolate shop over there?"
Understanding dawned and Ianto smiled pleasantly down at the boy. "Let's get something for you and your brother, hm?" He extended out his hand, letting the child lead him away. Ianto looked over his shoulder, lips pursed as they crossed the boardwalk.
The older brother jutted out his chin. Narrowed eyes stared suspiciously at Jack. "Look, mate, you did your good deed of the day, we do-urk!" His grey eyes bulged when Jack grabbed him by the collar with a fist.
"You let go of his hand, didn't you?" Jack hissed.
The youth sputtered. "M-me? N-no, I held on! H-he…Get off me! What's your problem, you freak?" Rebellion flared and the young man shoved at him.
Jack gripped him on the left shoulder, at the junction where it met his neck. He squeezed.
The young man squeaked and his knees shook. He stared at Jack, aghast.
"My problem is you are not watching out for him like you're supposed to," Jack said calmly, keeping the pressure on the nerve cluster there, still manageable under the man's thick winter coat.
"I t-told him to hold on," the youth protested. "It was crowded! He just weren't there! I held on as well I could!"
Jack's eyes burned. "I held on, too," he hissed. "I thought I had his hand, too. And you know what? You could tell yourself that forever but it won't do any good. It won't make you feel any better!"
"Jack?"
Ianto's voice came like a bucket of cold water. Jack blinked. He saw the stark fear in grey eyes before him. Numb, he turned. Ianto stood there with a cardboard carrier of hot drinks balanced in one hand. The little boy, Sammy, held a fist of Ianto's trousers. He stared up at Jack with huge, scared eyes.
Abruptly, Jack let go and the young man staggered back.
Instead of running, instead of cursing Jack, the brother stumbled a step back. He stared. "W-what happened?" the other whispered fearfully.
Jack leaned in and stared at him. "I let go."
Grey eyes drank in what Jack wouldn't and couldn't say. The young man's eyes widened and the youth nodded, gulping. He flailed back a hand frantically until Sammy's hand slipped in. It was obvious no one was going to let go anytime soon.
"Bye," Sammy managed, before he took his drink, nearly spilling it when his brother pulled him close and hurried them both away.
Jack waved until the two disappeared around the corner.
"What did you do to him?"
Jack turned back towards Ianto who made a gesture towards his neck.
"Oh. There's a cluster of nerves there." Jack shrugged. It was useful back in his days as a Time Agent. "If enough pressure is applied, it could render a person…" Jack stuck out his tongue, pretending to gag. His shoulders rose again.
Ianto stared. "So…like a Vulcan nerve pinch?"
"Huh?" Jack screwed up his face. A Vulcan what? With all those tentacles, how could they pinch?
"Good God, you're Spock to my Kirk," Ianto muttered, looking a bit freaked.
"Kirk who? Spock?" Didn't Rose mention a Spock once? Jack was getting more and more confused.
"Never mind," Ianto hastened to say. "Vague telly reference. Very vague."
Jack pursed his lips. "Oh. Okay." Maybe Tosh could look it up for him.
A cup with a cardboard sleeve floated in front of him, halting whatever Jack was going to ask. Jack blinked at Ianto, who stood there, carrier gone, his bags settled against his legs.
"Didn't look like he was thirsty anymore," Ianto explained as he took a sip of his own beverage.
Jack grunted his thanks before he took it. "Thought you went home," Jack said casually, not mentioning how dull his stomach felt when he looked up and realized Ianto had left for the evening.
"Shopping," Ianto gestured towards his bags. "We work around here, thought I might as well take advantage of the neighborhood." He arched an eyebrow at the bag by Jack's leg.
Jack grinned sheepishly. "Gwen's Secret Santa." Among other things. He'd found some chimes he thought would sound nice when a breeze blew through Flat Holm again. "I'm done now."
"Ah." Ianto blew into his cup before taking another sip. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go with me, but," Ianto shrugged. He looked faintly embarrassed. "You looked rather busy on the phone before."
Jack grimaced. "UNIT." Jack scowled. "They're asking for updated lists of all Torchwood employees. They wanted revised data to debrief whoever's going to be the new PM." The special elections to replace Harriet Jones were a short time away and as time drew closer, Whitehall and the acting director of Torchwood had been calling with increased frequency. Jack sighed as he took another sip of the thick, sweet drink.
"I figured it was something important." Ianto gave a self-conscious laugh. "Thought it best I didn't bother you with something as mundane as shopping."
It occurred to Jack as soon as Ianto said it that he wouldn't have minded being interrupted for something that mundane. The thought of walking around with Ianto doing something as ordinary as shopping didn't sound boring at all.
Jack cleared his throat before that weird thought could slip out and create more problems he wasn't willing to deal with.
"What did you buy?" Jack craned his neck and peered at the bags, but everything was already wrapped. Leave it to Ianto to be so efficient.
Ianto chuckled and toed his bags out of the way. "Just a couple of things for some young nieces and nephews. Children are always easier to shop for."
The thought of Ianto surrounded by many young kids seemed fitting yet made his throat ache. Jack's mouth crinkled as he studied the bags and recognized some of the shops' logos for children's bookshops. "Love them?"
"Of course," Ianto sounded surprised at the question. "I'm afraid I tend to spoil them rotten though." He gave a disparaging laugh. "I would like to think I'm their favorite uncle."
"I'm sure you make a great uncle," Jack told him. Ianto would make a great father, too, a snide voice inside him added.
"Thank you." Ianto flushed with the compliment. He gestured towards his wares with his cup. "Got you something, too."
Jack's brow rose high. "Did you pick out my name for the Secret Santa?"
Ianto huffed. A cloud of icy breath lingered between them. "Jack, the point to a Secret Santa is that it's a secret."
Jack's teeth flashed in a cheeky grin. "Yes, but if you got me something-"
"It wasn't because I picked your name. I didn't." Ianto didn't elaborate and just drank his hot chocolate.
Jack's eyebrows knitted.
"Course," Ianto said slowly. "You'll need to try it on." A lazy curve on his lips spread behind the hot chocolate he was sipping.
Jack's mouth twitched. "Oh?"
Ianto's shoulders lifted briefly. "Just to be sure it fits." The smile he offered sent a shiver down Jack's back.
His mouth went dry and Jack found himself in the very odd situation of not knowing what to say. Ianto's eyes held a promise in them and that unfamiliar whispering beat echoed in his chest once more.
"When would you like me to try it on?" Jack met Ianto's dark gaze with one of his own.
The smile was pure invitation. "Tonight?"
Ianto kissed the damp skin beneath him before rolling off carefully. The salty tang was just as tongue tingling as on Lisa's glistening body. But there was something to be said about the slick taste of firm muscle, tinged in perspiration, heaving under his mouth, quivering wherever his teeth lightly grazed.
No, Ianto mused, it might have been an acquired taste before but one he suspected he would never tire of.
The quarters under Jack's office were dark, save the lurid blue light of the Rift monitors through the hatchway. It cast an ethereal hue over the rippled planes of Jack's body.
Ianto wasn't sure of the time, but he had woken up before Jack for once. He found himself with the unique opportunity to watch Jack, uninterrupted by the flinches and mutterings that usually visited Jack's often fractured sleep.
His chin propped up by his fist, Ianto laid on his right side, sandwiched once again between Jack and the wall. He had rolled off the bed once and after some fits of giggles, Jack had always made sure Ianto slept on the inside, claiming he was used to sleeping on narrow surfaces.
It was rare to observe Jack sleeping; to watch the lines and haunting shadows melt away from his face. He brushed a hand on Jack's bare left shoulder, noting that while it didn't wake him, Jack's head turned slightly towards him.
On impulse, Ianto kissed his hair for that.
Asleep, Jack looked like a different person entirely. He looked like a person who would laugh more easily, accepted joy more easily, and not as inclined to sink into fathomless depths of melancholy. Ianto couldn't help feeling like he's the only one privileged to see this.
Ianto kissed his hair again for that. Another thing he doubted he would ever tire from.
Jack opened his eyes and smiled drowsily at him. Once more, Ianto thought something stuttered inside his chest.
"I wake you?" Ianto whispered, a bit regretful that the moment was gone.
Hands absently wandered up his flank, splayed out as if to measure. Jack gave a gentle squeeze. Ianto could feel the warmth of his hand on him, a gentle brand that would probably stay on him all day. At least, he hoped so.
"You know," Jack mumbled, his eyes half-mast. "When you said I needed to try something on, I thought boxers or pants or…" Jack shrugged. His eyes opened further and a sleepy smile spread.
"Since when do I have to take off my clothes for cufflinks?" Jack fumbled for the small box by his pillow and tapped it on Ianto's nose.
The silver retro airplane cufflinks had caught Ianto's eye despite the fact he had entered the shop to look for something for Owen. Someone above must have been laughing when he drew the medic's name.
"Did I neglect to say they were cufflinks?" Ianto asked innocently. He smiled cheekily down at him. "Must have slipped my mind."
"So you really didn't get my name for the Secret Santa?" Jack mused. He rotated the box. "So why…"
Something tightened in his chest at the sight of Jack's confused little frown. Ianto ran his tongue across his lower lip. "You know, traditionally, people just say thank you, Harkness."
"Thank you," Jack said automatically before he set the little box behind him by the pillow again. He pulled Ianto to lie halfway on top of him, his lax genitals brushing against the fold of Ianto’s hip. He waggled his eyebrows at him.
"So who did you get for the Secret Santa?"
Ianto flicked at the rebel fringe of Jack's hair that stuck out. Jack laughed. It felt nice rumbling under him.
"Go back to sleep. It's still very early," Ianto told him. As usual, Jack's own internal alarm clock woke him only few hours later.
Jack's hands had been exploring spots on Ianto's skin. They paused on his lower back.
"Going home?" Jack asked nonchalantly.
Ianto yawned. "Not tonight." Ianto rested his forehead against Jack’s. "Too knackered to drive. Might end up putting my car up a tree."
"Well, that wouldn't be good," Jack joked lightly but Ianto caught a shadow receding from his eyes. "Who would make me coffee in the morning?"
Ianto scoffed but said nothing. He puzzled over what had flitted across Jack's face just before. True, Ianto often didn't stay the night. He needed to drive home, catch a few hours of true sleep, put on a fresh shirt. But Jack never asked him to stay; he just watched Ianto climb up the ladder, nodding almost patronizing when Ianto whispered to him to go back to sleep.
But if only Jack asked…
In the Ianto Jones' agenda for courting a certain Jack Harkness, Ianto had determined it should parallel Lisa. Well…not that he thought of Jack as a woman-the man was too much of firm muscle and hard planes to ever be mistaken for the female sex-but Ianto found Jack needed to be coaxed into considering this as something more than "just sex". The cufflinks was one. Surreptitiously sneaking in a few clean shirts so he didn't have to drive back to his flat was another. Although Ianto sweated about that one; it was rather brazen of him.
"Is that the only reason?" Ianto breathed softly against Jack's collarbone. It was an odd erogenous zone he'd discovered and enjoyed revisiting over and over like that ticklish spot behind Lisa's knee. Ianto swirled the tip of his tongue into the hollows created by his collarbone and-Ah! Jack gave a full body shiver that vibrated into his body as well.
"You make really good coffee," Jack babbled. He retaliated with a finger ghosting Ianto's entrance and-Ianto gave his own shiver when it dipped.
"Nice to be appreciated for my skills," Ianto gasped, arching back into Jack's finger, but damn it, Jack pulled it out.
Ianto's own hands wandered as well, squeezing, touching spots as he relived his favorite parts: Jack's inner thigh, his hip, the swell between his legs, the tender skin at the curve of his neck, the pale skin near Jack's temple that the sun hasn't quite reached. Ianto reviewed these favorite parts with his hands, his mouth when his hands were too busy cupping Jack's genitals, his legs rubbed up and down Jack's strong calves. He could feel Jack flex his foot against him.
"I thought you wanted me to go back to sleep?" Jack yawned. He hummed, his hips surging up to press into Ianto's hands. "I think I'm awake now."
"Obviously," Ianto said archly when he felt velvet hardening to something throbbing hot in his grasp.
Despite enjoying watching Jack sleep, Ianto found he enjoyed watching Jack like this more. Jack thrusting into his pumping hand, his mouth lush from Ianto nibbling his lower lip, his neck stretched in a contradiction of swan grace and strength when cords bunched as he threw back his head.
Ianto's name never sounded so…so…just so much more when Jack groaned out his name. Ianto never thought hearing his name called out by a deep baritone voice could bring such ripples down his spine, yet his fingers trembled when he heard Jack cry out his name like it was God himself. And then when Jack grinned wickedly, his arms wrapped around his shoulders to roll him onto his back, Ianto was very certain he liked Jack awake more.
There was that alien tempo again. It beat against his ears like a light kiss to his cheek. It coaxed him to wake; it promised him something other than the darkness and the ugly truth of his existence.
Jack stirred awake just as Ianto levered off him. He felt Ianto's lips on his brow before the other man got off the bed, his warmth painfully absent before it was replaced by the careful tucking of the afghan around his body. Jack kept his eyes closed and listened to Ianto pad quietly into the bathroom.
The muted shower in the dark sounded forlorn. Jack opened his eyes and stared at the hatchway above him. He watched the blue light shimmer like the ocean under the moonlight and thought how he would pass the rest of the night. Asking Ianto to stay the night was at the tip of his tongue, but he knew he couldn't ask. It would have too much meaning and cost behind the request. And if Ianto said yes, Jack knew it wouldn't be the last time. And he couldn't do that to Ianto.
"Going home?" Jack asked as casual as he could when Ianto emerged. He watched the slim shadow pause by his wardrobe. He laced his fingers behind his head.
Ianto's frown was audible in the dark. "Home? Why do you keep asking that? No, I thought I would get the office open soon."
Jack furrowed his brow. "So early?"
Ianto emerged out of the shadows, his hair damp from the shower, a new shirt unbuttoned and hanging open, trousers from before, a dotted royal blue tie dangling around his neck.
"Early?" Ianto echoed. He sat down on the edge of the bed to do his cuffs. Ianto glanced over and smiled in a quiet way as if he was thinking of something funny he'd prefer to keep to himself.
"Jack, it's a quarter after seven." Ianto dipped his head, kissed Jack’s shoulder and straightened.
Astounded, Jack fumbled for his watch and squinted at the dark face. Sure enough, it was the next day. Jack gawked at it.
"You've slept all night." Ianto looked pleased for some reason. "I don't know if I should be happy for you or insulted that you were able to sleep around me."
Not sure about the first part, Jack offered him a leer. "You wore me out." It was amusing to see Ianto blush.
"Yes, well…" Ianto scratched his jaw with a finger. He wore a sheepish, shy smile Jack found adorable. Ianto then turned and leaned back over Jack's legs.
"Too early for a question?"
Jack tsked. "Only if you answer one of mine first."
Ianto raised an eyebrow.
There were parts of him still tingling in the afterglow of Ianto's touch. "Where," Jack gestured towards his upper thighs. "Did you learn to do that?"
"Hm?"
Jack smirked, his fingers slyly wrapping around the thigh closest to him and pressed where he knew the artery thumped under ironed wool trousers.
Ianto's eyes widened. His ears pinked. "Ah…that. I uh…" A coy smile and smoky eyes looked Jock's way.
"I had a very good teacher." Ianto hummed, his fingers grazing the afghan that covered Jack.
Let's hear it for higher education, Jack thought with a daze as he could feel those elegant, talented fingers dance over the parts of him that still vibrated from Ianto's coy touch in the dark. "You were a fast learner."
"Mm, thank you very much. Can I have my question now?"
Jack blinked. He looked at Ianto, waiting.
"I was a big brother?" Ianto repeated from yesterday.
Damn, Jack had hoped that Ianto hadn't hear that part. Jack waved a hand in the air. "Oh. That. In the future, I mean."
"No, I distinctly heard you say was."
Because I screwed up and you only become a big brother once, Jack thought, his throat working.
A hand settled on his blanketed thigh. Ianto's expression was serious.
"Sorry," Ianto uttered somberly. "Perhaps I should have asked a different question."
Jack offered him a shaky smile. "Telling you who I got for Secret Santa would have been easier," he admitted. Ianto's hand was a comforting weight on his leg.
"I…I lost him…when we were young." Jack paused. What was he doing? He hadn't planned on saying anything.
Ianto looked just as surprised. His expression softened, his hand now stroking the blanket and Jack's leg underneath.
"You never forgave yourself." Ianto didn't say he was sorry. He didn't offer empty, pointless sympathies. Somehow, it made hearing the hard truth of loss easier.
"No." Jack sighed. He stared up at Ianto in wonder. "I never told anyone." Well, almost, and not willingly. The only other one who knew was because they were stuck together for five years. That was the last time he was ever going to touch Brehamian brandy ever again.
The confession made Ianto's eyes a bit brighter. He smiled, lowering his eyes.
"Thank you," Ianto murmured, his lips hovering over Jack's mouth before he pressed them lightly to his.
"For what?" Jack whispered as he stared at Ianto's mouth.
Ianto's sad smile shone in the dark. Jack could see himself in his eyes.
"For telling me." Another kiss, this time to his brow and Ianto rose to his feet. His fingers expertly finished up his buttons and his tie. "A little breakfast?" he asked as he smoothed his hands over his suit jacket.
Jack blinked at the spot by the ladder where Ianto was before. What was Ianto thanking him for?
Wait, was that a new shirt?
Act III & IV
Additional Notes: Many thanks to soullessminion for betaing this chapter. And trtmx for her magic trick that saved my sanity! LOL.
Pairing: Jack/OMC, Jack/?, Jack/Ianto eventually, het and slash
Rating: NC-17 (betaed)
Summary: He left Jack on the game station. Abandoned. But then…he came back…different. An AU look on what happens if things happened differently. Doctor Who 'verse with Torchwood later on. Be sure to read the warnings.
Warnings: Please read each chapter's individual warnings. Some parts down the road may briefly mention non-con, abuse, and/or violence. Dark in the beginning. Please note there are some dark thoughts as my boys are broken…for now. Each chapter will be labeled for your convenience.
Author's Notes: Please note this is an AU that will cross over DW to TW season one. I'm probably spoiling my own story, but it will eventually be Janto. There's a bit of a journey first. I hope you enjoy. I'm working on this and intend to post regularly every other day. And again, I always believe in happy endings. So without further ado…
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Warning For This Chapter: The slash part of the story here. SMUT. Dark, suicide themes. You were warned. :)
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to TW's "Out of Time" and mentions events shown in "Adam" and "Adrift"
Prologue + Ch , Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18. Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29 Act 1/6
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 29 "Out of Time"
Act II
Two days later…
The bewildered little boy stood there by the lamppost and had cringed when Jack approached. Jack had escaped Gwen and Tosh's decorating frenzy-Owen wisely hid in his area when the girls began looping lights around all the railings-and had been wandering the shops all evening, Tosh's name on a slip of paper clutched in his glove, his mind a total blank when he caught sight of the child.
Blonde, pale grey eyes behind a floppy, golden fringe, the child couldn't have been more than seven, maybe younger. He was ignored, as shoppers were too busy with holiday shopping on the Plass to be bothered with a sniffling child clinging to a lamppost.
The lost look in his eyes however, was familiar and beckoned memories decades of life couldn't bury. Jack knew the boy's hand must have held a larger one before, trusting that hand to keep him safe.
Jack crouched down to eye-level. "Are you alright?" Jack asked gently.
The boy nodded bravely, sniffed loudly then slowly shook his head.
"Who were you with?" It was clear the boy was taught to be cautious. Jack kept his distance in order to not alarm the kid. "We can find a PC for you."
The child just sniffed again and hugged the lamppost tighter.
"Mother?" A little shake. "Father?" Tears this time, but still a no. "Big brother?"
It was confirmed with a little whimper and Jack's throat tightened. He tentatively patted the thin shoulder and apparently it was all he needed to assure him of Jack's sincerity. The child flung himself against Jack, arms around his neck, a quivering small mass, hiccupping and sobbing.
"Jack?"
Ianto's voice was tentative but calm when he drew near, but the surprise was clear in his eyes. He stood there in his dark wool coat and red scarf, his face pink from the winter chill, several bags clutched in his fist. Jack smiled up gratefully at him.
"Seems his older brother is lost," Jack murmured. He pulled back and wiped the chubby cheek with the edge of his greatcoat's sleeve.
"Ah," Ianto said, catching on. He pretended to sigh. "Older brothers can be so silly, always getting lost. People should tie string around their ankles like sheep."
Sure enough, the child gave a watery giggle.
Jack lifted up the boy's chin with a finger until overly bright eyes stared back at him.
"I was a big brother," Jack lowered his voice as if confiding to him. "I was always walking into doors, tripping…"
The answering timid smile was reassuring. The boy shuffled closer. Encouraged, Jack continued.
"I even walked right into a tree once! I didn't see it!"
"Trees are big," the boy shyly pointed out.
Jack smiled kindly at him. "See? Older brothers can even get lost, too. We'll find him." He patted the small back when the boy pressed closer, little fists to his eyes.
"Sammy!"
The tiny jerk told Jack there was no need to search. Jack dipped his head. "Stupid brother?"
Sammy gave a little nod and a tentative smile.
A man, not much younger than Ianto's age when they first met, jogged up to them. He wore an annoyed yet panicked look, his stride hurried and direct, the bags he was carrying flapped madly against him. He gave Ianto and Jack a wary glance as he stopped short of his little brother.
"Who the fuck are you?" the young man demanded of Jack before he directed his attention to the little boy.
"Sammy, you alright? These men bothering you?"
It was only the sincere concern in the brother's voice that spared him a good thrashing from Jack and from Ianto apparently because Jack could see the other man visibly bristling out of the corner of his eye.
"You were lost," Sammy said reproachfully, still reluctant to pry himself away from Jack.
The youth relaxed after his eyes scanned Sammy and determined the boy was unharmed. He reached over impatiently. "Come on, mum's waiting for-"
"Ianto," Jack said, scooping up the boy and with a little, "Whee" and a swing that made the child giggle, set him down in front of Ianto. "I think Sammy's thirsty. Wasn't that a hot chocolate shop over there?"
Understanding dawned and Ianto smiled pleasantly down at the boy. "Let's get something for you and your brother, hm?" He extended out his hand, letting the child lead him away. Ianto looked over his shoulder, lips pursed as they crossed the boardwalk.
The older brother jutted out his chin. Narrowed eyes stared suspiciously at Jack. "Look, mate, you did your good deed of the day, we do-urk!" His grey eyes bulged when Jack grabbed him by the collar with a fist.
"You let go of his hand, didn't you?" Jack hissed.
The youth sputtered. "M-me? N-no, I held on! H-he…Get off me! What's your problem, you freak?" Rebellion flared and the young man shoved at him.
Jack gripped him on the left shoulder, at the junction where it met his neck. He squeezed.
The young man squeaked and his knees shook. He stared at Jack, aghast.
"My problem is you are not watching out for him like you're supposed to," Jack said calmly, keeping the pressure on the nerve cluster there, still manageable under the man's thick winter coat.
"I t-told him to hold on," the youth protested. "It was crowded! He just weren't there! I held on as well I could!"
Jack's eyes burned. "I held on, too," he hissed. "I thought I had his hand, too. And you know what? You could tell yourself that forever but it won't do any good. It won't make you feel any better!"
"Jack?"
Ianto's voice came like a bucket of cold water. Jack blinked. He saw the stark fear in grey eyes before him. Numb, he turned. Ianto stood there with a cardboard carrier of hot drinks balanced in one hand. The little boy, Sammy, held a fist of Ianto's trousers. He stared up at Jack with huge, scared eyes.
Abruptly, Jack let go and the young man staggered back.
Instead of running, instead of cursing Jack, the brother stumbled a step back. He stared. "W-what happened?" the other whispered fearfully.
Jack leaned in and stared at him. "I let go."
Grey eyes drank in what Jack wouldn't and couldn't say. The young man's eyes widened and the youth nodded, gulping. He flailed back a hand frantically until Sammy's hand slipped in. It was obvious no one was going to let go anytime soon.
"Bye," Sammy managed, before he took his drink, nearly spilling it when his brother pulled him close and hurried them both away.
Jack waved until the two disappeared around the corner.
"What did you do to him?"
Jack turned back towards Ianto who made a gesture towards his neck.
"Oh. There's a cluster of nerves there." Jack shrugged. It was useful back in his days as a Time Agent. "If enough pressure is applied, it could render a person…" Jack stuck out his tongue, pretending to gag. His shoulders rose again.
Ianto stared. "So…like a Vulcan nerve pinch?"
"Huh?" Jack screwed up his face. A Vulcan what? With all those tentacles, how could they pinch?
"Good God, you're Spock to my Kirk," Ianto muttered, looking a bit freaked.
"Kirk who? Spock?" Didn't Rose mention a Spock once? Jack was getting more and more confused.
"Never mind," Ianto hastened to say. "Vague telly reference. Very vague."
Jack pursed his lips. "Oh. Okay." Maybe Tosh could look it up for him.
A cup with a cardboard sleeve floated in front of him, halting whatever Jack was going to ask. Jack blinked at Ianto, who stood there, carrier gone, his bags settled against his legs.
"Didn't look like he was thirsty anymore," Ianto explained as he took a sip of his own beverage.
Jack grunted his thanks before he took it. "Thought you went home," Jack said casually, not mentioning how dull his stomach felt when he looked up and realized Ianto had left for the evening.
"Shopping," Ianto gestured towards his bags. "We work around here, thought I might as well take advantage of the neighborhood." He arched an eyebrow at the bag by Jack's leg.
Jack grinned sheepishly. "Gwen's Secret Santa." Among other things. He'd found some chimes he thought would sound nice when a breeze blew through Flat Holm again. "I'm done now."
"Ah." Ianto blew into his cup before taking another sip. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go with me, but," Ianto shrugged. He looked faintly embarrassed. "You looked rather busy on the phone before."
Jack grimaced. "UNIT." Jack scowled. "They're asking for updated lists of all Torchwood employees. They wanted revised data to debrief whoever's going to be the new PM." The special elections to replace Harriet Jones were a short time away and as time drew closer, Whitehall and the acting director of Torchwood had been calling with increased frequency. Jack sighed as he took another sip of the thick, sweet drink.
"I figured it was something important." Ianto gave a self-conscious laugh. "Thought it best I didn't bother you with something as mundane as shopping."
It occurred to Jack as soon as Ianto said it that he wouldn't have minded being interrupted for something that mundane. The thought of walking around with Ianto doing something as ordinary as shopping didn't sound boring at all.
Jack cleared his throat before that weird thought could slip out and create more problems he wasn't willing to deal with.
"What did you buy?" Jack craned his neck and peered at the bags, but everything was already wrapped. Leave it to Ianto to be so efficient.
Ianto chuckled and toed his bags out of the way. "Just a couple of things for some young nieces and nephews. Children are always easier to shop for."
The thought of Ianto surrounded by many young kids seemed fitting yet made his throat ache. Jack's mouth crinkled as he studied the bags and recognized some of the shops' logos for children's bookshops. "Love them?"
"Of course," Ianto sounded surprised at the question. "I'm afraid I tend to spoil them rotten though." He gave a disparaging laugh. "I would like to think I'm their favorite uncle."
"I'm sure you make a great uncle," Jack told him. Ianto would make a great father, too, a snide voice inside him added.
"Thank you." Ianto flushed with the compliment. He gestured towards his wares with his cup. "Got you something, too."
Jack's brow rose high. "Did you pick out my name for the Secret Santa?"
Ianto huffed. A cloud of icy breath lingered between them. "Jack, the point to a Secret Santa is that it's a secret."
Jack's teeth flashed in a cheeky grin. "Yes, but if you got me something-"
"It wasn't because I picked your name. I didn't." Ianto didn't elaborate and just drank his hot chocolate.
Jack's eyebrows knitted.
"Course," Ianto said slowly. "You'll need to try it on." A lazy curve on his lips spread behind the hot chocolate he was sipping.
Jack's mouth twitched. "Oh?"
Ianto's shoulders lifted briefly. "Just to be sure it fits." The smile he offered sent a shiver down Jack's back.
His mouth went dry and Jack found himself in the very odd situation of not knowing what to say. Ianto's eyes held a promise in them and that unfamiliar whispering beat echoed in his chest once more.
"When would you like me to try it on?" Jack met Ianto's dark gaze with one of his own.
The smile was pure invitation. "Tonight?"
Ianto kissed the damp skin beneath him before rolling off carefully. The salty tang was just as tongue tingling as on Lisa's glistening body. But there was something to be said about the slick taste of firm muscle, tinged in perspiration, heaving under his mouth, quivering wherever his teeth lightly grazed.
No, Ianto mused, it might have been an acquired taste before but one he suspected he would never tire of.
The quarters under Jack's office were dark, save the lurid blue light of the Rift monitors through the hatchway. It cast an ethereal hue over the rippled planes of Jack's body.
Ianto wasn't sure of the time, but he had woken up before Jack for once. He found himself with the unique opportunity to watch Jack, uninterrupted by the flinches and mutterings that usually visited Jack's often fractured sleep.
His chin propped up by his fist, Ianto laid on his right side, sandwiched once again between Jack and the wall. He had rolled off the bed once and after some fits of giggles, Jack had always made sure Ianto slept on the inside, claiming he was used to sleeping on narrow surfaces.
It was rare to observe Jack sleeping; to watch the lines and haunting shadows melt away from his face. He brushed a hand on Jack's bare left shoulder, noting that while it didn't wake him, Jack's head turned slightly towards him.
On impulse, Ianto kissed his hair for that.
Asleep, Jack looked like a different person entirely. He looked like a person who would laugh more easily, accepted joy more easily, and not as inclined to sink into fathomless depths of melancholy. Ianto couldn't help feeling like he's the only one privileged to see this.
Ianto kissed his hair again for that. Another thing he doubted he would ever tire from.
Jack opened his eyes and smiled drowsily at him. Once more, Ianto thought something stuttered inside his chest.
"I wake you?" Ianto whispered, a bit regretful that the moment was gone.
Hands absently wandered up his flank, splayed out as if to measure. Jack gave a gentle squeeze. Ianto could feel the warmth of his hand on him, a gentle brand that would probably stay on him all day. At least, he hoped so.
"You know," Jack mumbled, his eyes half-mast. "When you said I needed to try something on, I thought boxers or pants or…" Jack shrugged. His eyes opened further and a sleepy smile spread.
"Since when do I have to take off my clothes for cufflinks?" Jack fumbled for the small box by his pillow and tapped it on Ianto's nose.
The silver retro airplane cufflinks had caught Ianto's eye despite the fact he had entered the shop to look for something for Owen. Someone above must have been laughing when he drew the medic's name.
"Did I neglect to say they were cufflinks?" Ianto asked innocently. He smiled cheekily down at him. "Must have slipped my mind."
"So you really didn't get my name for the Secret Santa?" Jack mused. He rotated the box. "So why…"
Something tightened in his chest at the sight of Jack's confused little frown. Ianto ran his tongue across his lower lip. "You know, traditionally, people just say thank you, Harkness."
"Thank you," Jack said automatically before he set the little box behind him by the pillow again. He pulled Ianto to lie halfway on top of him, his lax genitals brushing against the fold of Ianto’s hip. He waggled his eyebrows at him.
"So who did you get for the Secret Santa?"
Ianto flicked at the rebel fringe of Jack's hair that stuck out. Jack laughed. It felt nice rumbling under him.
"Go back to sleep. It's still very early," Ianto told him. As usual, Jack's own internal alarm clock woke him only few hours later.
Jack's hands had been exploring spots on Ianto's skin. They paused on his lower back.
"Going home?" Jack asked nonchalantly.
Ianto yawned. "Not tonight." Ianto rested his forehead against Jack’s. "Too knackered to drive. Might end up putting my car up a tree."
"Well, that wouldn't be good," Jack joked lightly but Ianto caught a shadow receding from his eyes. "Who would make me coffee in the morning?"
Ianto scoffed but said nothing. He puzzled over what had flitted across Jack's face just before. True, Ianto often didn't stay the night. He needed to drive home, catch a few hours of true sleep, put on a fresh shirt. But Jack never asked him to stay; he just watched Ianto climb up the ladder, nodding almost patronizing when Ianto whispered to him to go back to sleep.
But if only Jack asked…
In the Ianto Jones' agenda for courting a certain Jack Harkness, Ianto had determined it should parallel Lisa. Well…not that he thought of Jack as a woman-the man was too much of firm muscle and hard planes to ever be mistaken for the female sex-but Ianto found Jack needed to be coaxed into considering this as something more than "just sex". The cufflinks was one. Surreptitiously sneaking in a few clean shirts so he didn't have to drive back to his flat was another. Although Ianto sweated about that one; it was rather brazen of him.
"Is that the only reason?" Ianto breathed softly against Jack's collarbone. It was an odd erogenous zone he'd discovered and enjoyed revisiting over and over like that ticklish spot behind Lisa's knee. Ianto swirled the tip of his tongue into the hollows created by his collarbone and-Ah! Jack gave a full body shiver that vibrated into his body as well.
"You make really good coffee," Jack babbled. He retaliated with a finger ghosting Ianto's entrance and-Ianto gave his own shiver when it dipped.
"Nice to be appreciated for my skills," Ianto gasped, arching back into Jack's finger, but damn it, Jack pulled it out.
Ianto's own hands wandered as well, squeezing, touching spots as he relived his favorite parts: Jack's inner thigh, his hip, the swell between his legs, the tender skin at the curve of his neck, the pale skin near Jack's temple that the sun hasn't quite reached. Ianto reviewed these favorite parts with his hands, his mouth when his hands were too busy cupping Jack's genitals, his legs rubbed up and down Jack's strong calves. He could feel Jack flex his foot against him.
"I thought you wanted me to go back to sleep?" Jack yawned. He hummed, his hips surging up to press into Ianto's hands. "I think I'm awake now."
"Obviously," Ianto said archly when he felt velvet hardening to something throbbing hot in his grasp.
Despite enjoying watching Jack sleep, Ianto found he enjoyed watching Jack like this more. Jack thrusting into his pumping hand, his mouth lush from Ianto nibbling his lower lip, his neck stretched in a contradiction of swan grace and strength when cords bunched as he threw back his head.
Ianto's name never sounded so…so…just so much more when Jack groaned out his name. Ianto never thought hearing his name called out by a deep baritone voice could bring such ripples down his spine, yet his fingers trembled when he heard Jack cry out his name like it was God himself. And then when Jack grinned wickedly, his arms wrapped around his shoulders to roll him onto his back, Ianto was very certain he liked Jack awake more.
There was that alien tempo again. It beat against his ears like a light kiss to his cheek. It coaxed him to wake; it promised him something other than the darkness and the ugly truth of his existence.
Jack stirred awake just as Ianto levered off him. He felt Ianto's lips on his brow before the other man got off the bed, his warmth painfully absent before it was replaced by the careful tucking of the afghan around his body. Jack kept his eyes closed and listened to Ianto pad quietly into the bathroom.
The muted shower in the dark sounded forlorn. Jack opened his eyes and stared at the hatchway above him. He watched the blue light shimmer like the ocean under the moonlight and thought how he would pass the rest of the night. Asking Ianto to stay the night was at the tip of his tongue, but he knew he couldn't ask. It would have too much meaning and cost behind the request. And if Ianto said yes, Jack knew it wouldn't be the last time. And he couldn't do that to Ianto.
"Going home?" Jack asked as casual as he could when Ianto emerged. He watched the slim shadow pause by his wardrobe. He laced his fingers behind his head.
Ianto's frown was audible in the dark. "Home? Why do you keep asking that? No, I thought I would get the office open soon."
Jack furrowed his brow. "So early?"
Ianto emerged out of the shadows, his hair damp from the shower, a new shirt unbuttoned and hanging open, trousers from before, a dotted royal blue tie dangling around his neck.
"Early?" Ianto echoed. He sat down on the edge of the bed to do his cuffs. Ianto glanced over and smiled in a quiet way as if he was thinking of something funny he'd prefer to keep to himself.
"Jack, it's a quarter after seven." Ianto dipped his head, kissed Jack’s shoulder and straightened.
Astounded, Jack fumbled for his watch and squinted at the dark face. Sure enough, it was the next day. Jack gawked at it.
"You've slept all night." Ianto looked pleased for some reason. "I don't know if I should be happy for you or insulted that you were able to sleep around me."
Not sure about the first part, Jack offered him a leer. "You wore me out." It was amusing to see Ianto blush.
"Yes, well…" Ianto scratched his jaw with a finger. He wore a sheepish, shy smile Jack found adorable. Ianto then turned and leaned back over Jack's legs.
"Too early for a question?"
Jack tsked. "Only if you answer one of mine first."
Ianto raised an eyebrow.
There were parts of him still tingling in the afterglow of Ianto's touch. "Where," Jack gestured towards his upper thighs. "Did you learn to do that?"
"Hm?"
Jack smirked, his fingers slyly wrapping around the thigh closest to him and pressed where he knew the artery thumped under ironed wool trousers.
Ianto's eyes widened. His ears pinked. "Ah…that. I uh…" A coy smile and smoky eyes looked Jock's way.
"I had a very good teacher." Ianto hummed, his fingers grazing the afghan that covered Jack.
Let's hear it for higher education, Jack thought with a daze as he could feel those elegant, talented fingers dance over the parts of him that still vibrated from Ianto's coy touch in the dark. "You were a fast learner."
"Mm, thank you very much. Can I have my question now?"
Jack blinked. He looked at Ianto, waiting.
"I was a big brother?" Ianto repeated from yesterday.
Damn, Jack had hoped that Ianto hadn't hear that part. Jack waved a hand in the air. "Oh. That. In the future, I mean."
"No, I distinctly heard you say was."
Because I screwed up and you only become a big brother once, Jack thought, his throat working.
A hand settled on his blanketed thigh. Ianto's expression was serious.
"Sorry," Ianto uttered somberly. "Perhaps I should have asked a different question."
Jack offered him a shaky smile. "Telling you who I got for Secret Santa would have been easier," he admitted. Ianto's hand was a comforting weight on his leg.
"I…I lost him…when we were young." Jack paused. What was he doing? He hadn't planned on saying anything.
Ianto looked just as surprised. His expression softened, his hand now stroking the blanket and Jack's leg underneath.
"You never forgave yourself." Ianto didn't say he was sorry. He didn't offer empty, pointless sympathies. Somehow, it made hearing the hard truth of loss easier.
"No." Jack sighed. He stared up at Ianto in wonder. "I never told anyone." Well, almost, and not willingly. The only other one who knew was because they were stuck together for five years. That was the last time he was ever going to touch Brehamian brandy ever again.
The confession made Ianto's eyes a bit brighter. He smiled, lowering his eyes.
"Thank you," Ianto murmured, his lips hovering over Jack's mouth before he pressed them lightly to his.
"For what?" Jack whispered as he stared at Ianto's mouth.
Ianto's sad smile shone in the dark. Jack could see himself in his eyes.
"For telling me." Another kiss, this time to his brow and Ianto rose to his feet. His fingers expertly finished up his buttons and his tie. "A little breakfast?" he asked as he smoothed his hands over his suit jacket.
Jack blinked at the spot by the ladder where Ianto was before. What was Ianto thanking him for?
Wait, was that a new shirt?
Act III & IV
Additional Notes: Many thanks to soullessminion for betaing this chapter. And trtmx for her magic trick that saved my sanity! LOL.