Yesterday Is But Today's Memory - 8/19+Interlude
Title: Yesterday Is But Today's Memory
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: R
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Takes place post 2x05 'Adam', but mentions briefly minor info from later s2 eps. AU
Summary: It wasn’t the lost days that were really giving Ianto Jones nightmares. It was the fact that ever since, he’d suddenly been having flashes from another period of his life he’d thought was lost forever - his first ten years.
Warning: Some chapters of this fic will contain material some may find offensive. To go into more detail would be spoilery for the plot, but DO NOT READ if you are easily offended.
Thanks to: My wonderful betas morbid_sparks, cazmalfoy and angelzbabe1989, who talked me into writing this, then held my hand while I worked through the plot and filled all its holes.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Eight
Jack pulled back a little and stared at Ianto in shock. “Are you serious?” he cried.
“Absolutely.” Ianto’s expression backed up the words.
“But… but…” Jack’s eyes cast around the vast room as if he would find the words he was looking for written on the walls. “You hate him! I know you do. I was, well, I was watching you rather closely at the time he was here, and I’m pretty sure I recognised the look in your eyes.”
Ianto nodded. “I don’t deny it, I’m a long way from being his biggest fan, but, in this instance, he could be helpful.”
The doubtful look didn’t leave Jack’s eyes. “I’m not sure our definition of helpful and his definition of helpful even bear any passing resemblance to each other.” He brought his hands up to hold Ianto’s shoulders and looked at him intently. “He tried to kill us all the last time he was here, if you remember. Hell, he did kill me.”
“He didn’t actually make any real attempts on my life, come to think of it,” Ianto said quietly, “although that’s rather beside the point. He was there. He’s the only one we actually know who might have a chance of being able to tell us anything more about what really happened that day.”
Jack took a deep breath. “In theory, as long as he isn’t out of range, I could leave him a message on his wriststrap using mine, just like he did when he first got here.”
The hope this response brought to Ianto’s eyes was unmistakeable. “Really?”
Jack nodded. “The broken part shouldn’t affect its communications ability, although it might mean the range is even more limited. I don’t know, to be honest.”
“How limited is limited?” Ianto asked.
“It was never officially documented,” Jack replied, “but even when it was in top working order - before I left the Agency - I never managed to get it working more than 12 galaxies and 6 millennia apart. And you had to be in the same time period at the very least for it to give you near-instantaneous messaging.”
“But you could try?” Ianto checked.
“I could, but are you really sure you want me to?”
Ianto looked down at the floor they were sitting on for a moment. “If there’s even a chance he might help me find out a little more about where I came from before I ended up in Cardiff, I want to take it.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “It’s killing me not knowing anything, which is strange, because for years and years I haven’t cared, and then suddenly I’m having these visions and I really, really, need to know.” His eyes burned into Jack’s fervently.
Jack sighed. “Alright then.”
“Yeah?” Ianto’s eyebrows lifted in a combination of doubt, surprise and hope.
“I’m not completely convinced that it’s a good idea for Cardiff to get him back here, given what I remember about him, but you’re right, he might know something - or know where he can get some pertinent information if he doesn’t.” He brought one hand up from Ianto’s shoulder to cup the younger man’s cheek tenderly. “It’s important to you, so I’ll give it a try.”
Their eyes remained locked on each other for a long, intense moment before Ianto surged forward and, wrapping his arms tightly around Jack’s shoulders, captured Jack’s lips in a passionate kiss, burning with gratitude and affection. Jack snaked an arm around Ianto’s waist to pull him closer still and sank into the sensations of Ianto’s soft lips crashing into his own again and again.
“Thank you,” Ianto whispered hotly when he eventually pulled back. “Thank you for agreeing to do this for me.”
The corners of Jack’s eyes crinkled as he smiled softly. “Don’t you know by now that there isn’t much of anything I wouldn’t do for you?” He tilted his head to one side. “It may not prove to be wise, but it’s true.”
They waited until the rest of the team had gone for the day to even start figuring out how best to phrase the message they would try to send, let alone actually trying to send it. It took half an hour of rewrites and scribbled-out phrases to finally settle on something they were happy with.
Ianto re-entered Jack’s office with coffee to find him sitting at his desk, fiddling with his wriststrap and frowning.
“Something wrong?”
Jack looked up and shook his head. “No, no. Just… I haven’t actually tried to do this in over a hundred years. Just taking me a moment to remember how to select where I want to send a message to. I remember how to record the message, at least.”
Ianto set two mugs in the centre of the desk and walked around it to perch on the edge, looking down at Jack. “Does it save received messages somewhere after you view them?”
Jack nodded up at him. “Yes… why?”
“I’m assuming then that it also saves details about the sender of the messages.”
Jack nodded again, comprehension beginning to dawn in his eyes.
“So you could use those details to reply to.”
Jack smiled. “Ianto, have I ever mentioned that you’re a genius?”
Chapter Nine
Comments and concrit welcomed - comments are love!! &hearts
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: R
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Takes place post 2x05 'Adam', but mentions briefly minor info from later s2 eps. AU
Summary: It wasn’t the lost days that were really giving Ianto Jones nightmares. It was the fact that ever since, he’d suddenly been having flashes from another period of his life he’d thought was lost forever - his first ten years.
Warning: Some chapters of this fic will contain material some may find offensive. To go into more detail would be spoilery for the plot, but DO NOT READ if you are easily offended.
Thanks to: My wonderful betas morbid_sparks, cazmalfoy and angelzbabe1989, who talked me into writing this, then held my hand while I worked through the plot and filled all its holes.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Eight
Jack pulled back a little and stared at Ianto in shock. “Are you serious?” he cried.
“Absolutely.” Ianto’s expression backed up the words.
“But… but…” Jack’s eyes cast around the vast room as if he would find the words he was looking for written on the walls. “You hate him! I know you do. I was, well, I was watching you rather closely at the time he was here, and I’m pretty sure I recognised the look in your eyes.”
Ianto nodded. “I don’t deny it, I’m a long way from being his biggest fan, but, in this instance, he could be helpful.”
The doubtful look didn’t leave Jack’s eyes. “I’m not sure our definition of helpful and his definition of helpful even bear any passing resemblance to each other.” He brought his hands up to hold Ianto’s shoulders and looked at him intently. “He tried to kill us all the last time he was here, if you remember. Hell, he did kill me.”
“He didn’t actually make any real attempts on my life, come to think of it,” Ianto said quietly, “although that’s rather beside the point. He was there. He’s the only one we actually know who might have a chance of being able to tell us anything more about what really happened that day.”
Jack took a deep breath. “In theory, as long as he isn’t out of range, I could leave him a message on his wriststrap using mine, just like he did when he first got here.”
The hope this response brought to Ianto’s eyes was unmistakeable. “Really?”
Jack nodded. “The broken part shouldn’t affect its communications ability, although it might mean the range is even more limited. I don’t know, to be honest.”
“How limited is limited?” Ianto asked.
“It was never officially documented,” Jack replied, “but even when it was in top working order - before I left the Agency - I never managed to get it working more than 12 galaxies and 6 millennia apart. And you had to be in the same time period at the very least for it to give you near-instantaneous messaging.”
“But you could try?” Ianto checked.
“I could, but are you really sure you want me to?”
Ianto looked down at the floor they were sitting on for a moment. “If there’s even a chance he might help me find out a little more about where I came from before I ended up in Cardiff, I want to take it.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “It’s killing me not knowing anything, which is strange, because for years and years I haven’t cared, and then suddenly I’m having these visions and I really, really, need to know.” His eyes burned into Jack’s fervently.
Jack sighed. “Alright then.”
“Yeah?” Ianto’s eyebrows lifted in a combination of doubt, surprise and hope.
“I’m not completely convinced that it’s a good idea for Cardiff to get him back here, given what I remember about him, but you’re right, he might know something - or know where he can get some pertinent information if he doesn’t.” He brought one hand up from Ianto’s shoulder to cup the younger man’s cheek tenderly. “It’s important to you, so I’ll give it a try.”
Their eyes remained locked on each other for a long, intense moment before Ianto surged forward and, wrapping his arms tightly around Jack’s shoulders, captured Jack’s lips in a passionate kiss, burning with gratitude and affection. Jack snaked an arm around Ianto’s waist to pull him closer still and sank into the sensations of Ianto’s soft lips crashing into his own again and again.
“Thank you,” Ianto whispered hotly when he eventually pulled back. “Thank you for agreeing to do this for me.”
The corners of Jack’s eyes crinkled as he smiled softly. “Don’t you know by now that there isn’t much of anything I wouldn’t do for you?” He tilted his head to one side. “It may not prove to be wise, but it’s true.”
They waited until the rest of the team had gone for the day to even start figuring out how best to phrase the message they would try to send, let alone actually trying to send it. It took half an hour of rewrites and scribbled-out phrases to finally settle on something they were happy with.
Ianto re-entered Jack’s office with coffee to find him sitting at his desk, fiddling with his wriststrap and frowning.
“Something wrong?”
Jack looked up and shook his head. “No, no. Just… I haven’t actually tried to do this in over a hundred years. Just taking me a moment to remember how to select where I want to send a message to. I remember how to record the message, at least.”
Ianto set two mugs in the centre of the desk and walked around it to perch on the edge, looking down at Jack. “Does it save received messages somewhere after you view them?”
Jack nodded up at him. “Yes… why?”
“I’m assuming then that it also saves details about the sender of the messages.”
Jack nodded again, comprehension beginning to dawn in his eyes.
“So you could use those details to reply to.”
Jack smiled. “Ianto, have I ever mentioned that you’re a genius?”
Chapter Nine
Comments and concrit welcomed - comments are love!! &hearts