How Do You Live?
Title: When All the Stars Were Falling
Characters: Ianto, Jack, James
Rated: PG-13 ANGST MPREG AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Ianto and James bond over their pasts.
Author's Note: This has nothing to do with Iefan or Knocked Up or their stories. Starts after Exit Wounds. This is a crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean. Okay, I admit it. This is a fix-it fic for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Yay, Norrington!
Previous Chapter: Brave New World
Masterlist: http://ericadawn16.livejournal.com/140297.html
How Do You Live?
“Is he dead? Or..special,” Ianto inquired and James gave him a look, complaining, “My ears work fine.”
“He was dead for a year or so,” Jack commented, also acting as though James wasn’t there. So, the man in front of him was dead but walking and talking? No, not again, not after all the worry they’d gone through with Owen…he wasn’t doing this again. His feelings were visible because Jack continued, “He’s not dead now. Go ahead and check…pulse, breath, erection…”
Ianto rolled his eyes and James whispered, “sort of looks like a Weevil.”
“I want to hire him.”
His first instinct was to tell him what a horrible idea that was, but the last time he’d voiced that opinion was about Gwen and he had definitely been proved wrong in that regard. Except for Suzie, Jack had a knack for knowing who would work out well.
“It would be easier to keep an eye on him,” he agreed and they could sort out what he was suited for in the modern world. They'd never had this sort of situation before: not with someone so far out of his time. The only comparison would be Jack being from the 51st century and stuck in the Victorian age. It was still hard to imagine.
“What is it that your men do?” James asked with the tiniest bit of trepidation in his voice.
“We save the world,” Jack boasted with a grin.
“Descriptive,” Ianto dead-panned, sticking his hands in his trouser pockets, “We monitor alien activity on Earth and the occasional unexplained phenomena, like killer faeries.”
I’m actually glad Owen wasn’t around to hear that, he thought as soon as the last words had come out of his mouth. There was a moment where they watched for what the man would say before he nodded and in awkward manner spoke, “oh-kay.”
“Excellent!” Jack exclaimed and gripped the man’s shoulder, “First, we need to get you out of those clothes.”
The Welshman smiled at how it made James squirm a bit.
“Unless you want to stay in the same clothes you’ve been wearing for a year…” his lover continued and the new recruit understood, “Would you like to borrow mine or Ianto’s?”
My suits were not part of the deal, thought Ianto and glared at Jack when James nodded at him. Putting a hand on his buttock, he said in a low voice, “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Come on, I’ll show you where the loo and all is,” he said, leading James to another area of the Hub, “I’ll be back with a suit.”
Jack met up with him on the way, asking “How much time do we have before the others arrive?”
Ianto glanced at his watch and considered day of the week: Sunday, etc and replied, “Martha will arrive in approximately two hours and ten minutes and Gwen in three hours.”
There was a sigh from the other man before speaking, “I would have had to hire someone else anyway.”
The younger man didn’t want to think about it, but that’s another reason why he hadn’t wanted to be alone, why it hurt so much to find Jack gone. It’d been like a family and now his annoying older brother and serious older sister were gone and the more he tried to throw himself into work for distraction, the more clear that was. Jack knew what he was thinking, probably from his expression because he came closer, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his cheek. Ianto liked this new side of Jack. He was just sad how it came about.
“I’m not going to leave you unless I have to,” he uttered, “I didn’t want to leave you for so long this time, but I was promised that I would come back the same night and I thought it would be before you noticed.”
Ianto had to smile at the way Jack wanted credit for admitting the deceit, or attempted deceit. Still, there was an admission hidden in there and it would probably be the closest he’d come to the “L” word. He rubbed his thumb over his lover’s wrist and asked, “And what will you be doing while I’m dressing the new recruit?”
“Other than being incredibly jealous?” the older man replied in his usual suggestive manner, “I’m going to read up on Calypso.”
Ianto wanted to know why Jack had a sudden interest in Greek mythology, but no answer came.
************************************************************
James had overestimated his abilities. At first, the future had appeared very manageable yet now, it had taken way longer than it should have to discover that the strange metal knobs needed to be turned for the water to appear and the metal stitching on the trousers had to be undone to fit into them. Maybe Tia had been wrong. Maybe he’d been right in the first place to not trust her. All it had taken were some pretty words and he had been convinced…bloody idiot.
“Come on out!” called the young man that appeared to know Jack very well and taking a deep breath, James opened the door. Stepping out, he felt blue eyes examine everything from the coat that fit well enough to the trousers that stopped just above his ankles.
“It will do,” he pronounced, adding, “We’ll get you a better one later.”
“I don’t deserve it,” the taller man spoke, looking away.
“I used to feel that way…”
“You can’t begin to know what it feels like,” James interrupted, feeling like he was back on that ship again in the hurricane, “To be responsible for the deaths of those around you and not be able to stop it…”
“Everyone you’ve worked with, eaten with…all your friends dying around you…so much yelling…everyone has a different idea how to live, but the only one that works is to pretend that you’re a corpse like all your friends lying around you,” Ianto rasped, seeming older than his appearance, “and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do; couldn’t help them…couldn’t save her. I can still smell them burning.”
He knew the self loathing he heard in the other’s voice; recognized it the same as his own, but…
“It couldn’t have been your fault…”
“It may not have been my fault at first, but what I did afterwards,” the young man closed his eyes briefly, “I lied and manipulated and…two people died because of what I did…”
The awkward silence was broken by the various strange noises, including screeching that he hoped belong to the lizard thing. He thought no one could understand yet this man, who was younger than he and lived in the future, did understand him.
“Did she say anything to you? Jack’s daughter?” Ianto asked; his hand gripped a pocket watch tightly.
“She…said I had been redeemed and that this was my reward,” James repeated, remembering, “that I deserved better.”
A hand gripped his shoulder and he was given a small smile before the other man, spoke, “If she’s anything like her dad, I’d listen to her because Jack does seem to be right…most of the time.”
“Then, how do you live with yourself?”
Ianto pocketed the watch and his bottom lip quivered for a moment.
“I have Jack and the work…” he replied, “They let me forget sometimes.”
James could do the work aspect although after Elizabeth…he was weary of giving his heart to another.
“Let me show you something. If Jack can show you Janet, then I can show you this,” he said, inclining his head, “You’ll like it.” He followed the Welshman through the building, up stairs into a light colored room where Ianto opened a door to reveal the outside. It was overwhelming, like trudging through the Locker except full of sounds he’d never heard before. An odd feeling came over him and he found himself in the other’s arms.
“Sorry,” he apologized, the world not spinning so badly.
“Yep,” the young man acknowledged and helped him to his feet. They walked on stone through a plaza that overlooked the bay. The land and buildings were all made of strange stone, but the water…
“I was here once before, three hundred years ago…” said James and as soon as he had spoken those words aloud, he started to laugh, “three hundred years ago, I was standing here.”
His laughter continued until he turned to Ianto, “This is all real, isn’t it?”
There was a nod and the other explained, “We’re standing on Roald Dahl Plass on top of the Hub which most citizens know under a different name and those sounds you hear are mainly from cars which are a motorized vehicle."
Along the edge was a railing and James gripped it as he tried to adjust.
Size Matters
Characters: Ianto, Jack, James
Rated: PG-13 ANGST MPREG AU
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Ianto and James bond over their pasts.
Author's Note: This has nothing to do with Iefan or Knocked Up or their stories. Starts after Exit Wounds. This is a crossover with Pirates of the Caribbean. Okay, I admit it. This is a fix-it fic for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Yay, Norrington!
Previous Chapter: Brave New World
Masterlist: http://ericadawn16.livejournal.com/140297.html
How Do You Live?
“Is he dead? Or..special,” Ianto inquired and James gave him a look, complaining, “My ears work fine.”
“He was dead for a year or so,” Jack commented, also acting as though James wasn’t there. So, the man in front of him was dead but walking and talking? No, not again, not after all the worry they’d gone through with Owen…he wasn’t doing this again. His feelings were visible because Jack continued, “He’s not dead now. Go ahead and check…pulse, breath, erection…”
Ianto rolled his eyes and James whispered, “sort of looks like a Weevil.”
“I want to hire him.”
His first instinct was to tell him what a horrible idea that was, but the last time he’d voiced that opinion was about Gwen and he had definitely been proved wrong in that regard. Except for Suzie, Jack had a knack for knowing who would work out well.
“It would be easier to keep an eye on him,” he agreed and they could sort out what he was suited for in the modern world. They'd never had this sort of situation before: not with someone so far out of his time. The only comparison would be Jack being from the 51st century and stuck in the Victorian age. It was still hard to imagine.
“What is it that your men do?” James asked with the tiniest bit of trepidation in his voice.
“We save the world,” Jack boasted with a grin.
“Descriptive,” Ianto dead-panned, sticking his hands in his trouser pockets, “We monitor alien activity on Earth and the occasional unexplained phenomena, like killer faeries.”
I’m actually glad Owen wasn’t around to hear that, he thought as soon as the last words had come out of his mouth. There was a moment where they watched for what the man would say before he nodded and in awkward manner spoke, “oh-kay.”
“Excellent!” Jack exclaimed and gripped the man’s shoulder, “First, we need to get you out of those clothes.”
The Welshman smiled at how it made James squirm a bit.
“Unless you want to stay in the same clothes you’ve been wearing for a year…” his lover continued and the new recruit understood, “Would you like to borrow mine or Ianto’s?”
My suits were not part of the deal, thought Ianto and glared at Jack when James nodded at him. Putting a hand on his buttock, he said in a low voice, “I’ll make it up to you later.”
“Come on, I’ll show you where the loo and all is,” he said, leading James to another area of the Hub, “I’ll be back with a suit.”
Jack met up with him on the way, asking “How much time do we have before the others arrive?”
Ianto glanced at his watch and considered day of the week: Sunday, etc and replied, “Martha will arrive in approximately two hours and ten minutes and Gwen in three hours.”
There was a sigh from the other man before speaking, “I would have had to hire someone else anyway.”
The younger man didn’t want to think about it, but that’s another reason why he hadn’t wanted to be alone, why it hurt so much to find Jack gone. It’d been like a family and now his annoying older brother and serious older sister were gone and the more he tried to throw himself into work for distraction, the more clear that was. Jack knew what he was thinking, probably from his expression because he came closer, wrapping his arms around him and kissing his cheek. Ianto liked this new side of Jack. He was just sad how it came about.
“I’m not going to leave you unless I have to,” he uttered, “I didn’t want to leave you for so long this time, but I was promised that I would come back the same night and I thought it would be before you noticed.”
Ianto had to smile at the way Jack wanted credit for admitting the deceit, or attempted deceit. Still, there was an admission hidden in there and it would probably be the closest he’d come to the “L” word. He rubbed his thumb over his lover’s wrist and asked, “And what will you be doing while I’m dressing the new recruit?”
“Other than being incredibly jealous?” the older man replied in his usual suggestive manner, “I’m going to read up on Calypso.”
Ianto wanted to know why Jack had a sudden interest in Greek mythology, but no answer came.
************************************************************
James had overestimated his abilities. At first, the future had appeared very manageable yet now, it had taken way longer than it should have to discover that the strange metal knobs needed to be turned for the water to appear and the metal stitching on the trousers had to be undone to fit into them. Maybe Tia had been wrong. Maybe he’d been right in the first place to not trust her. All it had taken were some pretty words and he had been convinced…bloody idiot.
“Come on out!” called the young man that appeared to know Jack very well and taking a deep breath, James opened the door. Stepping out, he felt blue eyes examine everything from the coat that fit well enough to the trousers that stopped just above his ankles.
“It will do,” he pronounced, adding, “We’ll get you a better one later.”
“I don’t deserve it,” the taller man spoke, looking away.
“I used to feel that way…”
“You can’t begin to know what it feels like,” James interrupted, feeling like he was back on that ship again in the hurricane, “To be responsible for the deaths of those around you and not be able to stop it…”
“Everyone you’ve worked with, eaten with…all your friends dying around you…so much yelling…everyone has a different idea how to live, but the only one that works is to pretend that you’re a corpse like all your friends lying around you,” Ianto rasped, seeming older than his appearance, “and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do; couldn’t help them…couldn’t save her. I can still smell them burning.”
He knew the self loathing he heard in the other’s voice; recognized it the same as his own, but…
“It couldn’t have been your fault…”
“It may not have been my fault at first, but what I did afterwards,” the young man closed his eyes briefly, “I lied and manipulated and…two people died because of what I did…”
The awkward silence was broken by the various strange noises, including screeching that he hoped belong to the lizard thing. He thought no one could understand yet this man, who was younger than he and lived in the future, did understand him.
“Did she say anything to you? Jack’s daughter?” Ianto asked; his hand gripped a pocket watch tightly.
“She…said I had been redeemed and that this was my reward,” James repeated, remembering, “that I deserved better.”
A hand gripped his shoulder and he was given a small smile before the other man, spoke, “If she’s anything like her dad, I’d listen to her because Jack does seem to be right…most of the time.”
“Then, how do you live with yourself?”
Ianto pocketed the watch and his bottom lip quivered for a moment.
“I have Jack and the work…” he replied, “They let me forget sometimes.”
James could do the work aspect although after Elizabeth…he was weary of giving his heart to another.
“Let me show you something. If Jack can show you Janet, then I can show you this,” he said, inclining his head, “You’ll like it.” He followed the Welshman through the building, up stairs into a light colored room where Ianto opened a door to reveal the outside. It was overwhelming, like trudging through the Locker except full of sounds he’d never heard before. An odd feeling came over him and he found himself in the other’s arms.
“Sorry,” he apologized, the world not spinning so badly.
“Yep,” the young man acknowledged and helped him to his feet. They walked on stone through a plaza that overlooked the bay. The land and buildings were all made of strange stone, but the water…
“I was here once before, three hundred years ago…” said James and as soon as he had spoken those words aloud, he started to laugh, “three hundred years ago, I was standing here.”
His laughter continued until he turned to Ianto, “This is all real, isn’t it?”
There was a nod and the other explained, “We’re standing on Roald Dahl Plass on top of the Hub which most citizens know under a different name and those sounds you hear are mainly from cars which are a motorized vehicle."
Along the edge was a railing and James gripped it as he tried to adjust.
Size Matters