Fic: The Oncoming Storm (Slash, AU, Janto 34/40 Act 1/8 Part 1)
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: violence, strong language, dark themes
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to TW's "End of Days" and mentions BBC's Captain's Blog, entry 13.
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, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 34 "End of Days"
Act I
Cardiff
Present day…
He was being swayed, rocked really. The vibrations washed under him like a slow moving river, carrying him somewhere, hopefully somewhere far away.
Jack cracked open his eyes and blinked blearily at the slim, hazy shadow to his right. His eyes felt hot, his throat hotter and with a sluggish visual sweep, Jack idly thought the vehicle looked pretty modern for an automobile in the early for-
Oh.
He wasn't there anymore. He kissed a dead man and left for yet another time that wasn't his own.
Another heavy-lidded eye blink and Jack now recognized the interior of their SUV. He was sitting up, curled slightly towards the driver’s seat, his seat set back to recline and-Jack couldn't find the energy to laugh at this one-the seatbelt was snugly crossed over his body. As if crashing through the windshield could kill him.
Someone was talking: calm, deep, and steady but it didn't seem to be directed at him.
"…still checking. Jack and I are going to scan the next few streets and see what the readings are before we head back."
Jack's eyes slid back shut because it was too tiring to try and keep them open.
"I honestly don't care how Owen is." The speaker sounded terse, snappish. "Is he still alive?" A pause and Jack could hear the buzzing of another person on a mobile earpiece. "…Well, if he's still alive, it won't be taken out of my salary then."
Jack couldn't help a barely audible snort escape. Leather squeaked as the speaker straightened.
"I really need to take these readings, Gwen. Jack and I will be back soon."
The buzzing abruptly stopped. The earpiece was tossed roughly onto the dash. It slid out of sight down to the windshield.
The vibrations melted away under him as the SUV was pulled over to a curb. Jack still didn't open his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to care. He felt wrung out, hollow, and the effort to find out where he was simply didn't give him good enough reason to climb out of this dark soup of emotions he was in. He recognized Ianto's hand reaching over and gently pulling his greatcoat collar up higher around his ears. He didn't even remember moving to the passenger seat or Ianto driving. All Jack could remember was that a ghost saluted him and he left 1941 and that ghost behind.
The interior cabin was quiet with the SUV in park. Jack just rested there, his body turned towards Ianto, and Ianto sat there, his arms outstretched, back straight and his hands rested on top of the steering wheel.
"They uh…" Ianto glanced over briefly to him before turning back to face forward again. "They think we're taking readings of the area because of the Rift being opened." Ianto nodded towards the large hand device on the dashboard. He made a humorless laugh. "Well…I am…taking readings, that is."
That's right. They had opened the Rift, Ianto shot Owen, they came back to the present, well, their present and Jack decided to have a meltdown in their garage.
Jack thought dully he should be angry, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what he needed to be angry about or if he even cared.
If Jack's continued silence bothered Ianto, it didn't show. He reached over to his left and hefted a water bottle in his hand from the cup holder that stood between them. With a quick twist, the cap was off and Ianto wordlessly extended it towards Jack.
After staring at the drink for a few moments, Jack reached for it. He was surprised to find his limbs felt leaden and sluggish. He missed his target once and Ianto leaned over a fraction more, bringing the bottle closer. Jack was grateful the younger man didn't try to offer to help him; he didn't think he could handle that small bit of unearned kindness. Not right now.
The bottle was slick with condensation and cool going down his raw throat.
"Careful," Ianto said after a moment of silence as Jack drained more than half the bottle before he finally paused to take a breath. Ianto sat there, holding the steering wheel with both hands, staring out as if he actually driving.
"You didn't tell her," Jack rasped, echoing what he said days before when Ianto was on the phone with Gwen.
Ianto's gaze flicked over to him for a second before he lowered his head to stare at the steering wheel he was grasping.
"Wasn't mine to tell," Ianto answered, his voice still, calm, as if he was just reporting the weather. "I wouldn't ever do that to you. You have to trust me on that."
Jack nodded mutely and finished the remainder of the water.
"There's more if you need it."
Shaking his head, Jack dropped the empty bottle into the cup holder slot.
They sat in silence again.
"Do you want to go back?"
Jack swallowed hard and shook his head but said, "We should go back. The others-"
"They can wait." Ianto was calm whereas Jack's insides still churned and twisted. Ianto released the steering wheel and sat back, his seat angling back a degree. He turned to lie on his right side, facing Jack.
"They can wait," Ianto repeated. He reached over and brushed his thumb under Jack's eye.
Jack flinched. He was relieved to see the thumb, when Ianto pulled it away, was dry. There was a point when Jack thought he would never stop.
"If you want to shut your eyes for a bit," Ianto whispered. "There's time."
The understanding in Ianto's eyes was too much. It made his eyes water, his gut ache, but Jack pushed it back. There had been enough tears.
"I didn't mean to put you in that position," Jack rasped.
"Hush," Ianto murmured as he did before in a soothing litany that pulled Jack to an exhausted daze when the tears ran out. "I'm glad you let me be there." Ianto appeared awed. "I know that couldn't have been easy."
It somehow felt better to have Ianto's low voice in his ear, thrumming and vibrating as constant and unhurried as when he laid his head over Ianto's chest. Jack didn't know what Ianto was saying; his syllables had simplified to sounds. It drowned the dark cloak of misery and thrum-thrum-tap-tap he could feel edging his awareness.
"I'm fine," Jack replied, more automatic than truly answering.
Ianto scoffed.
"Okay, maybe I'm not fine, maybe I'm completely fucked up and absolutely-"
"Stop." Ianto sat up in his seat. He grabbed the hand closest to him, over Jack's thigh and gripped it tight enough to hurt.
"Where is this coming from?" Ianto demanded. He shook Jack's fist urgently. "What happened over there? Jack-"
"My name's not Jack Harkness," Jack blurted out.
The hold over his fist eased but didn't completely pull away, to Jack's surprise.
Ianto blinked. "I didn't think so." When Jack jerked, Ianto's grip squeezed. Ianto gave him a wry twist of his mouth.
"Torchwood London?" Ianto reminded him. "Tosh once mentioned no records were found for a Jack Harkness for the last fifty years." He cocked his head. "Yet the records I did find didn't coincide with Torchwood's records. Like they were for two different people."
Jack tugged at his hand, but Ianto wouldn't give it back to him. "You've been checking up on me," Jack said dully. There was no point accusing.
Ianto looked up at him through his lashes. He smiled faintly. "Well…you did come out of a police box, Captain Harkness."
Jack stopped struggling. He smiled tiredly back. "I guess that would leave an impression."
"Hm, yes," Ianto returned drolly. "Plus, I'd really, really liked that coat."
Ianto held Jack's fist with both hands now.
"Last I checked," Ianto murmured as he massaged Jack's fist, coaxing it to open and relax, "I hadn't taken a vow. Why the confession?"
The lump long forgotten in Jack's stomach renewed and knotted. Jack rested his head on the seat and watched Ianto's pale fingers knead his hand like clay. He has beautiful hands, Jack noted. It reflected every fragility, every moment life had served him. Jack could feel the calluses, hard yet soft, pressing into the tendons of his hand.
"I met the real Jack Harkness." Jack sucked in his breath. "I kissed him."
The deep massaging motion stilled.
"Ah," Ianto didn't raise his head and concentrated on Jack's hand again. "I see."
Jack wished Ianto would just let go. He should let go after what Jack told him. The gentle kneading of his hand never ceased. "I stole his name, his life, his honor and took it for myself," Jack croaked.
Ianto nodded and fell silent.
The silence felt accusative. It hurt. It hurt a lot more than Jack thought anything could. But when Jack tried to pull back, Ianto's grip on his hand increased, both hands capturing his in a grip Jack normally should be able to break out of.
"Answer this question," Ianto said, never looking up. "Did you kill him for his name?"
Jack violently flinched. "No!"
Ianto raised his head and smiled tightly. "All right then." He dropped his gaze back to Jack's hand. He swept a hand over Jack's knuckles, as if inspecting an artifact.
Jack watched him, stared at the top of Ianto's head and feeling a little overwhelmed, a little undeserving of the absolution given to him.
"What was he like?"
Jack's shoulders slumped at the subdued question. He kept his gaze on Ianto.
"You deserve a man like him," Jack rasped. The better man didn't survive.
Ianto looked up and met his eyes. His face softened, his eyes a blue to which Jack has never seen.
Ianto looked both sad and happy at the same time and it was an odd combination reflected in his eyes. It was mesmerizing.
Slowly, fixed on his face, Ianto pulled Jack's hand up to his lips and very tenderly kissed each knuckle.
"There were times," Ianto said, hushed like a confession, "when I wondered how I deserved you."
Jack's eyes blurred. He raised his free hand and stroked Ianto's cheek with the back of it. Ianto didn't flinch, didn't pull away from his touch. "I was thinking the exact same thing," he croaked.
Act I Part 2
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: violence, strong language, dark themes
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to TW's "End of Days" and mentions BBC's Captain's Blog, entry 13.
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, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 34 "End of Days"
Act I
Cardiff
Present day…
He was being swayed, rocked really. The vibrations washed under him like a slow moving river, carrying him somewhere, hopefully somewhere far away.
Jack cracked open his eyes and blinked blearily at the slim, hazy shadow to his right. His eyes felt hot, his throat hotter and with a sluggish visual sweep, Jack idly thought the vehicle looked pretty modern for an automobile in the early for-
Oh.
He wasn't there anymore. He kissed a dead man and left for yet another time that wasn't his own.
Another heavy-lidded eye blink and Jack now recognized the interior of their SUV. He was sitting up, curled slightly towards the driver’s seat, his seat set back to recline and-Jack couldn't find the energy to laugh at this one-the seatbelt was snugly crossed over his body. As if crashing through the windshield could kill him.
Someone was talking: calm, deep, and steady but it didn't seem to be directed at him.
"…still checking. Jack and I are going to scan the next few streets and see what the readings are before we head back."
Jack's eyes slid back shut because it was too tiring to try and keep them open.
"I honestly don't care how Owen is." The speaker sounded terse, snappish. "Is he still alive?" A pause and Jack could hear the buzzing of another person on a mobile earpiece. "…Well, if he's still alive, it won't be taken out of my salary then."
Jack couldn't help a barely audible snort escape. Leather squeaked as the speaker straightened.
"I really need to take these readings, Gwen. Jack and I will be back soon."
The buzzing abruptly stopped. The earpiece was tossed roughly onto the dash. It slid out of sight down to the windshield.
The vibrations melted away under him as the SUV was pulled over to a curb. Jack still didn't open his eyes. He couldn't bring himself to care. He felt wrung out, hollow, and the effort to find out where he was simply didn't give him good enough reason to climb out of this dark soup of emotions he was in. He recognized Ianto's hand reaching over and gently pulling his greatcoat collar up higher around his ears. He didn't even remember moving to the passenger seat or Ianto driving. All Jack could remember was that a ghost saluted him and he left 1941 and that ghost behind.
The interior cabin was quiet with the SUV in park. Jack just rested there, his body turned towards Ianto, and Ianto sat there, his arms outstretched, back straight and his hands rested on top of the steering wheel.
"They uh…" Ianto glanced over briefly to him before turning back to face forward again. "They think we're taking readings of the area because of the Rift being opened." Ianto nodded towards the large hand device on the dashboard. He made a humorless laugh. "Well…I am…taking readings, that is."
That's right. They had opened the Rift, Ianto shot Owen, they came back to the present, well, their present and Jack decided to have a meltdown in their garage.
Jack thought dully he should be angry, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember what he needed to be angry about or if he even cared.
If Jack's continued silence bothered Ianto, it didn't show. He reached over to his left and hefted a water bottle in his hand from the cup holder that stood between them. With a quick twist, the cap was off and Ianto wordlessly extended it towards Jack.
After staring at the drink for a few moments, Jack reached for it. He was surprised to find his limbs felt leaden and sluggish. He missed his target once and Ianto leaned over a fraction more, bringing the bottle closer. Jack was grateful the younger man didn't try to offer to help him; he didn't think he could handle that small bit of unearned kindness. Not right now.
The bottle was slick with condensation and cool going down his raw throat.
"Careful," Ianto said after a moment of silence as Jack drained more than half the bottle before he finally paused to take a breath. Ianto sat there, holding the steering wheel with both hands, staring out as if he actually driving.
"You didn't tell her," Jack rasped, echoing what he said days before when Ianto was on the phone with Gwen.
Ianto's gaze flicked over to him for a second before he lowered his head to stare at the steering wheel he was grasping.
"Wasn't mine to tell," Ianto answered, his voice still, calm, as if he was just reporting the weather. "I wouldn't ever do that to you. You have to trust me on that."
Jack nodded mutely and finished the remainder of the water.
"There's more if you need it."
Shaking his head, Jack dropped the empty bottle into the cup holder slot.
They sat in silence again.
"Do you want to go back?"
Jack swallowed hard and shook his head but said, "We should go back. The others-"
"They can wait." Ianto was calm whereas Jack's insides still churned and twisted. Ianto released the steering wheel and sat back, his seat angling back a degree. He turned to lie on his right side, facing Jack.
"They can wait," Ianto repeated. He reached over and brushed his thumb under Jack's eye.
Jack flinched. He was relieved to see the thumb, when Ianto pulled it away, was dry. There was a point when Jack thought he would never stop.
"If you want to shut your eyes for a bit," Ianto whispered. "There's time."
The understanding in Ianto's eyes was too much. It made his eyes water, his gut ache, but Jack pushed it back. There had been enough tears.
"I didn't mean to put you in that position," Jack rasped.
"Hush," Ianto murmured as he did before in a soothing litany that pulled Jack to an exhausted daze when the tears ran out. "I'm glad you let me be there." Ianto appeared awed. "I know that couldn't have been easy."
It somehow felt better to have Ianto's low voice in his ear, thrumming and vibrating as constant and unhurried as when he laid his head over Ianto's chest. Jack didn't know what Ianto was saying; his syllables had simplified to sounds. It drowned the dark cloak of misery and thrum-thrum-tap-tap he could feel edging his awareness.
"I'm fine," Jack replied, more automatic than truly answering.
Ianto scoffed.
"Okay, maybe I'm not fine, maybe I'm completely fucked up and absolutely-"
"Stop." Ianto sat up in his seat. He grabbed the hand closest to him, over Jack's thigh and gripped it tight enough to hurt.
"Where is this coming from?" Ianto demanded. He shook Jack's fist urgently. "What happened over there? Jack-"
"My name's not Jack Harkness," Jack blurted out.
The hold over his fist eased but didn't completely pull away, to Jack's surprise.
Ianto blinked. "I didn't think so." When Jack jerked, Ianto's grip squeezed. Ianto gave him a wry twist of his mouth.
"Torchwood London?" Ianto reminded him. "Tosh once mentioned no records were found for a Jack Harkness for the last fifty years." He cocked his head. "Yet the records I did find didn't coincide with Torchwood's records. Like they were for two different people."
Jack tugged at his hand, but Ianto wouldn't give it back to him. "You've been checking up on me," Jack said dully. There was no point accusing.
Ianto looked up at him through his lashes. He smiled faintly. "Well…you did come out of a police box, Captain Harkness."
Jack stopped struggling. He smiled tiredly back. "I guess that would leave an impression."
"Hm, yes," Ianto returned drolly. "Plus, I'd really, really liked that coat."
Ianto held Jack's fist with both hands now.
"Last I checked," Ianto murmured as he massaged Jack's fist, coaxing it to open and relax, "I hadn't taken a vow. Why the confession?"
The lump long forgotten in Jack's stomach renewed and knotted. Jack rested his head on the seat and watched Ianto's pale fingers knead his hand like clay. He has beautiful hands, Jack noted. It reflected every fragility, every moment life had served him. Jack could feel the calluses, hard yet soft, pressing into the tendons of his hand.
"I met the real Jack Harkness." Jack sucked in his breath. "I kissed him."
The deep massaging motion stilled.
"Ah," Ianto didn't raise his head and concentrated on Jack's hand again. "I see."
Jack wished Ianto would just let go. He should let go after what Jack told him. The gentle kneading of his hand never ceased. "I stole his name, his life, his honor and took it for myself," Jack croaked.
Ianto nodded and fell silent.
The silence felt accusative. It hurt. It hurt a lot more than Jack thought anything could. But when Jack tried to pull back, Ianto's grip on his hand increased, both hands capturing his in a grip Jack normally should be able to break out of.
"Answer this question," Ianto said, never looking up. "Did you kill him for his name?"
Jack violently flinched. "No!"
Ianto raised his head and smiled tightly. "All right then." He dropped his gaze back to Jack's hand. He swept a hand over Jack's knuckles, as if inspecting an artifact.
Jack watched him, stared at the top of Ianto's head and feeling a little overwhelmed, a little undeserving of the absolution given to him.
"What was he like?"
Jack's shoulders slumped at the subdued question. He kept his gaze on Ianto.
"You deserve a man like him," Jack rasped. The better man didn't survive.
Ianto looked up and met his eyes. His face softened, his eyes a blue to which Jack has never seen.
Ianto looked both sad and happy at the same time and it was an odd combination reflected in his eyes. It was mesmerizing.
Slowly, fixed on his face, Ianto pulled Jack's hand up to his lips and very tenderly kissed each knuckle.
"There were times," Ianto said, hushed like a confession, "when I wondered how I deserved you."
Jack's eyes blurred. He raised his free hand and stroked Ianto's cheek with the back of it. Ianto didn't flinch, didn't pull away from his touch. "I was thinking the exact same thing," he croaked.
Act I Part 2
Additional Notes: Many thanks to soullessminion for betaing this chapter. And trtmx for her magic trick that saved my sanity! LOL.