Different Kind of Magic -- Linking
Title: Different Kind of Magic
Chapter Four: Linking
Date Written: 2/15/09
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1,115
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Ianto/Jack, Doctor, Donna
Spoilers: Doctor Who up through Season 04, Torchwood up through 02, Different Sort of Science and To Days To Come
Warnings: AU like whoa.
Author's Notes: Thanks so much to my gorgeous betas totally4ryo and katestamps, who are my sounding boards, my muses, and all-around fantastic girls. For everyone who had a crummy Friday the 13th, and for my beautiful betas because I made them cry. Just a little.
Previous chapters found here.
Book cover by cjharknessgirl
"I'm much more than that. Jack needs me."
"In your dreams, Ianto. In your sad wet dreams when you're his part-time shag, maybe."
-- Ianto Jones and Owen Harper, Captain Jack Harkness
Jack smiled down at Ianto and Ianto had to laugh at the image Jack made, his tongue stuck out in concentration.
"Are you sure about this?" Ianto asked, watching his lover from the doorway.
"Positive," Jack replied, grunting a little bit as he tried to pull the painting down from the wall. Ianto crossed as well, putting his hand on the edge of the picture frame.
Long strands of crimson grass tickled the backs of his hands, the fresh, clean scent of Home-That-Was filling his nostrils, the breeze soft and lovely against his skin --
"Whoa, be careful there," Jack soothed, lifting the frame out of Ianto's hand. The view of Home-That-Was vanished instantly, leaving Ianto a little distorted and blinking. Jack smiled at him and hoisted the picture up a little, as if it was heavy in his arms. "Let's go find a spot for this."
Ianto followed him back through into his own library mindscape. It was lighter again, more wall-mounted lamps and light spilling down from the unseen ceiling. Jack would tease him a little bit about how different it had been when he'd first seen the inside of Ianto's library.
Jack shifted his grip on the picture frame again and Ianto gave him a little bit of a grin. "You know, that could be a lot lighter if you," he paused to clear his throat, "put your mind to it."
"Oh, that was bad," Jack groaned, leaning the painting up against a bare wall. "Here?"
"Yep," Ianto nodded. Jack took a deep breath and lifted the painting up again. "Now, how exactly does this work again?"
Jack grunted a little before answering, fighting with the frame. "It's something Time Lords do when they take someone to be their lifemate," he said. "It's called Linking."
"I'm not a Time Lord," Ianto pointed out.
"No," Jack agreed, biting his lower lip as he worked. "But you have a strong enough psychic mindscape that we can do this." He grinned at him over his shoulder, strained from his work but genuine. "I bet there's a drop or two of Time Lord blood in you somewhere. We need to do a little bit of Jones genealogy, I think."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Linking?" he prompted.
Jack managed to catch the wire on the back of the painting to some studs on the wall, stepping back to make sure it hung straight. "The lifemates exchange a memory they both have in common," he explained. "Most do the first time they met each other."
"I like that one," Ianto protested, looking over at him.
"Me too," Jack admitted, turning to look at him as well and smiling back. "And I thought the images of Home-That-Was would be appropriate."
Ianto turned back to the painting, watching the streaks of crimson oil swirl and sway in the invisible breeze. "I guess it's my turn?" Ianto asked, pulling a ledger off the shelf.
"If it's what you want," Jack said, arms crossed over his chest.
Ianto took one of Jack's hands as he led them back into Jack's art gallery. The young Mage opened the book and set it in the brackets where the Home-That-Was painting had been and stepped back, watching the ink drawing mirror the actions of the painting behind them.
"Perfect," he declared after a moment of inspection.
Jack laughed and wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist, pulling him in close. "Oh, you have no idea."
-----
Ianto awoke to Jack's lips on the back of his neck. He cracked one eye open to look up at Jack. "You get up far too early."
"You still have your own room," Jack pointed out in tease, a laugh ghosting over the bare skin of the nape of his neck. That warm mouth touched him again, lips moving over a shoulder blade.
"Too far to walk back to after sex," Ianto replied in a deadpan, turning a bit so that he could have a proper look at Jack. The Time Lord was sitting on the side of the bed and already dressed for morning sparring, his sword fastened around his waist.
"I don' wanna get up and get thrashed," Ianto whined, rolling his head to the side.
"That's probably a good idea," Jack replied, a wandering hand sliding down Ianto's bare chest. "Sometimes lifemates have a sort of vertigo for a while, sort of a double-sensation." The hand slid up to tangle in his hair, and Ianto smiled at the touch.
"I do sort of understand that," Ianto said after a moment. "I can... sort of hear you, in the back of my mind. Like a murmur from my consciousness, in your voice."
"Corrupting influence," Jack corrected with a cheeky grin, leaning in to kiss him. The normal wash of affection Ianto felt at the action seemed amplified; he could hear Jack's blood humming in tandem with his own.
Both were reluctant when they pulled apart.
"I should go," Jack said, almost as if he was reminding himself that he had a class. "Work to do."
"Mmm, hurry back," Ianto said, rolling over and burying himself in the covers again.
Jack laughed and stood. "You're not going to be thinking dirty thoughts while I'm teaching now, are you?"
Ianto cracked one eye open. "No, but that's a good idea."
There was a moment of silence, and Ianto conjured up the image of Jack's face, flushed and sweaty and contorted in pleasure.
There was a clang as Jack's sword hit the floor. "I'm going down to tell them class is canceled. Stay right there."
-----
When Jack and Ianto finally ventured down to breakfast, the Doctor and Donna shocked Ianto by giving him a joint hug, one Time Lord on each side of his body, two pairs of arms tight around his neck.
"Uh... And good morning to you, still-drunk people?" Ianto ventured, patting both of them on the back cautiously.
Jack snickered into his breakfast.
"Oh, you make him so happy!" Donna cooed, kissing his face. "I'm thrilled for both of you!"
She released him to turn and try to smother Jack with another one of her tight hugs. The Doctor gave a gentle smile and patted Ianto's cheek affectionately.
"That obvious?" Ianto asked.
"We can tell this sort of thing," the Doctor admitted. "And Jack's never smiled so wide. You make him happy."
"I try, sir," the young man said, a note of fond exasperation in his voice as he watched Jack fight off his aunt with a butter knife.
"You do, son," the Time Lord said, kissing Ianto's forehead. It was almost like a benediction, and Ianto found himself blushing at the Doctor's blessing. "You do."
Chapter Four: Linking
Date Written: 2/15/09
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1,115
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Ianto/Jack, Doctor, Donna
Spoilers: Doctor Who up through Season 04, Torchwood up through 02, Different Sort of Science and To Days To Come
Warnings: AU like whoa.
Author's Notes: Thanks so much to my gorgeous betas totally4ryo and katestamps, who are my sounding boards, my muses, and all-around fantastic girls. For everyone who had a crummy Friday the 13th, and for my beautiful betas because I made them cry. Just a little.
Previous chapters found here.
Book cover by cjharknessgirl
"I'm much more than that. Jack needs me."
"In your dreams, Ianto. In your sad wet dreams when you're his part-time shag, maybe."
-- Ianto Jones and Owen Harper, Captain Jack Harkness
Jack smiled down at Ianto and Ianto had to laugh at the image Jack made, his tongue stuck out in concentration.
"Are you sure about this?" Ianto asked, watching his lover from the doorway.
"Positive," Jack replied, grunting a little bit as he tried to pull the painting down from the wall. Ianto crossed as well, putting his hand on the edge of the picture frame.
Long strands of crimson grass tickled the backs of his hands, the fresh, clean scent of Home-That-Was filling his nostrils, the breeze soft and lovely against his skin --
"Whoa, be careful there," Jack soothed, lifting the frame out of Ianto's hand. The view of Home-That-Was vanished instantly, leaving Ianto a little distorted and blinking. Jack smiled at him and hoisted the picture up a little, as if it was heavy in his arms. "Let's go find a spot for this."
Ianto followed him back through into his own library mindscape. It was lighter again, more wall-mounted lamps and light spilling down from the unseen ceiling. Jack would tease him a little bit about how different it had been when he'd first seen the inside of Ianto's library.
Jack shifted his grip on the picture frame again and Ianto gave him a little bit of a grin. "You know, that could be a lot lighter if you," he paused to clear his throat, "put your mind to it."
"Oh, that was bad," Jack groaned, leaning the painting up against a bare wall. "Here?"
"Yep," Ianto nodded. Jack took a deep breath and lifted the painting up again. "Now, how exactly does this work again?"
Jack grunted a little before answering, fighting with the frame. "It's something Time Lords do when they take someone to be their lifemate," he said. "It's called Linking."
"I'm not a Time Lord," Ianto pointed out.
"No," Jack agreed, biting his lower lip as he worked. "But you have a strong enough psychic mindscape that we can do this." He grinned at him over his shoulder, strained from his work but genuine. "I bet there's a drop or two of Time Lord blood in you somewhere. We need to do a little bit of Jones genealogy, I think."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Linking?" he prompted.
Jack managed to catch the wire on the back of the painting to some studs on the wall, stepping back to make sure it hung straight. "The lifemates exchange a memory they both have in common," he explained. "Most do the first time they met each other."
"I like that one," Ianto protested, looking over at him.
"Me too," Jack admitted, turning to look at him as well and smiling back. "And I thought the images of Home-That-Was would be appropriate."
Ianto turned back to the painting, watching the streaks of crimson oil swirl and sway in the invisible breeze. "I guess it's my turn?" Ianto asked, pulling a ledger off the shelf.
"If it's what you want," Jack said, arms crossed over his chest.
Ianto took one of Jack's hands as he led them back into Jack's art gallery. The young Mage opened the book and set it in the brackets where the Home-That-Was painting had been and stepped back, watching the ink drawing mirror the actions of the painting behind them.
"Perfect," he declared after a moment of inspection.
Jack laughed and wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist, pulling him in close. "Oh, you have no idea."
-----
Ianto awoke to Jack's lips on the back of his neck. He cracked one eye open to look up at Jack. "You get up far too early."
"You still have your own room," Jack pointed out in tease, a laugh ghosting over the bare skin of the nape of his neck. That warm mouth touched him again, lips moving over a shoulder blade.
"Too far to walk back to after sex," Ianto replied in a deadpan, turning a bit so that he could have a proper look at Jack. The Time Lord was sitting on the side of the bed and already dressed for morning sparring, his sword fastened around his waist.
"I don' wanna get up and get thrashed," Ianto whined, rolling his head to the side.
"That's probably a good idea," Jack replied, a wandering hand sliding down Ianto's bare chest. "Sometimes lifemates have a sort of vertigo for a while, sort of a double-sensation." The hand slid up to tangle in his hair, and Ianto smiled at the touch.
"I do sort of understand that," Ianto said after a moment. "I can... sort of hear you, in the back of my mind. Like a murmur from my consciousness, in your voice."
"Corrupting influence," Jack corrected with a cheeky grin, leaning in to kiss him. The normal wash of affection Ianto felt at the action seemed amplified; he could hear Jack's blood humming in tandem with his own.
Both were reluctant when they pulled apart.
"I should go," Jack said, almost as if he was reminding himself that he had a class. "Work to do."
"Mmm, hurry back," Ianto said, rolling over and burying himself in the covers again.
Jack laughed and stood. "You're not going to be thinking dirty thoughts while I'm teaching now, are you?"
Ianto cracked one eye open. "No, but that's a good idea."
There was a moment of silence, and Ianto conjured up the image of Jack's face, flushed and sweaty and contorted in pleasure.
There was a clang as Jack's sword hit the floor. "I'm going down to tell them class is canceled. Stay right there."
-----
When Jack and Ianto finally ventured down to breakfast, the Doctor and Donna shocked Ianto by giving him a joint hug, one Time Lord on each side of his body, two pairs of arms tight around his neck.
"Uh... And good morning to you, still-drunk people?" Ianto ventured, patting both of them on the back cautiously.
Jack snickered into his breakfast.
"Oh, you make him so happy!" Donna cooed, kissing his face. "I'm thrilled for both of you!"
She released him to turn and try to smother Jack with another one of her tight hugs. The Doctor gave a gentle smile and patted Ianto's cheek affectionately.
"That obvious?" Ianto asked.
"We can tell this sort of thing," the Doctor admitted. "And Jack's never smiled so wide. You make him happy."
"I try, sir," the young man said, a note of fond exasperation in his voice as he watched Jack fight off his aunt with a butter knife.
"You do, son," the Time Lord said, kissing Ianto's forehead. It was almost like a benediction, and Ianto found himself blushing at the Doctor's blessing. "You do."