Torchwood -- Change for the World
Title: Change for the World
dwtwprompts prompt: Gift
Date Written: 3/4/08
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1,373
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: Torchwood Season 1 & 2, Doctor Who Season 3 (particularly Human Nature/Family of Blood), and mentions old skool doctor (number one!)
Warnings: Boys kissing
Author's Notes: Inspired by a set of macros over on ihazastopwatch... and by the bit in Meat where Jack has a pocketwatch. Evidence is mounting up... It's set after that infamous kiss scene in To The Last Man.
"Being here, I've seen things I never dreamt I'd see. Loved people I never would have known if I'd just stayed where I was. And I wouldn't change that for the world."
Ianto Jones looked down at Jack Harkness, his lover, his Captain, and could see the truth in his words in his eyes. And he just had to kiss him. Kiss him over and over and over, trying to pour all the love and affection and desire for him that resided within his soul, their mouths and tongues sliding against one another until time became a fuzzy, never-ending loop. All good things, however, must come to an end and he slowly pulled away, both of them a little breathless.
"Jack..." He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "I have something I want to give you."
The other man sat back a little. "What?"
Ianto smiled and reached into his inner coat pocket, pulling out a silver pocket watch. It swung on a polished double chain, also silver, as he dangled it in front of Jack. The Captain gave that boyish grin Ianto was so fond of. "Your stopwatch, Yan?"
"It's not my stopwatch." He dropped it into his lover's waiting hands. "Here."
Jack looked down at the watch, rubbing the back of it. It looked old, ancient in fact, and it felt heavy in his hands. "What sort of metal is this made of?"
Ianto just shrugged in response and twirled his finger, silently indicating for Jack to turn it over.
He gave Ianto a curious look and obediently flipped it over, looking down and blinking. He ran his fingers over the top, looking down at it in awe. Circles and spirals decorated the lid, and he slowly realized what he'd been given. "Ianto. This is--"
"--A fob watch," Ianto finished the sentence for him. "I know."
"Why... How..." Jack's mind was slowly shutting down. What the hell was going on?
"My mother gave it to me, when I was a child. My brother and sister had one as well."
"Your mother?"
"Her name was Susan. Susan Campbell. She was -- well, I guess still is -- a Time Lord." He scratched his head, thinking. "It's always so confusing, trying to figure out if she should be in past or present tense."
"Wait. Are you telling me that... You're a Time Lord?"
Ianto gave him a secret smile. "It's complicated."
"I've got a lot of time," Jack replied easily.
Ianto laughed, moving to sit properly on the corner of Jack's desk instead of just leaning against it. "I'm half-Gallifreyan. My mother's name was Susan. She was a Time Lord, and a bit like you." He smiled at the confused look on Jack's face. "She was a Companion," he explained.
"A Companion?" Jack cocked his head to the side. Even in his head, the word Companion was capitalized.
"It's a term Time Lords use when they travel. Sometimes they pick up passengers, take them along for the ride. Like you, and that Rose girl who was at Torchwood One." He paused when he saw Jack's slight flinch. Sensitive subject. "She was travelling with her grandfather, and fell in love with a human in the 22nd Century, David Campbell. She stayed with him instead of continuing her travels."
Jack was watching him. "That explains a fair bit... Your thing for stopwatches, for one." Ianto gave him another grin and a shrug, but stayed silent. "How you know more than you should. But you're human. You're genetically human. Your medical records are on file.."
"I'm human enough to fool most tests -- for now. Time Lord DNA doesn't really kick in properly until the second regeneration."
"You can regenerate too?"
"Before you ask, I'm not taking requests." He smiled when Jack laughed. "Anyway, what would have been flagged, I altered when I first joined Torchwood. This technology is nothing compared to a TARDIS."
"I know." Jack gave him a smile. "You have a TARDIS?"
"No. Mam did, but it died when I was a child. They're living, as you know, and they have their own time."
Jack nodded. Also explained Ianto's amazing technical skills. The man was a walking tech support. "So... Cardiff, 21st century? How'd you get here without a time machine?"
"How do you think, Jack? The Rift, of course. We were in Cardiff trying to see if we could try and resurrect the TARDIS and... a portal opened up. I was fifteen."
Jack swallowed. They were more alike than he'd first thought, losing their families so young. "What did you do?"
Ianto grinned. "Mam made sure we always carried our fob watch and a few pages of psychic paper. Da was a freedom fighter, so they were a little paranoid about making sure we kids could take care of ourselves. I faked enough legal documents until I could get proper copies."
Jack leaned back, studying Ianto intently. "I don't remember anything about revolutions in the 22nd Century," he murmured, not realizing he'd spoken out loud until he heard Ianto laugh. "What?"
"I knew you weren't from this time. I could sense it." Ianto had leaned in close, giving an almost scary smile, his eyes dancing. "I could practically smell it on you. The aura of someone who's traveled through time and space... it changes your make-up, you see." He reached out to touch Jack's face gently. "Seeps into every bit of you. The moment I saw you, I knew you'd fallen through somehow." He blinked a little, sitting up and unconsciously fixing his tie, falling back into the safe Ianto Jack knew so well. "Anyway, I think it was another dimension as well, but I'm not sure. I haven't been able to find any records of any of Da's family tree." He shrugged. "The walls have closed."
Jack had been glancing down at the fob watch, running his fingers over the brushed metal, but his head snapped up at Ianto's last words. "What did you say?"
"The walls have closed," Ianto repeated. "If I'm originally from a different dimension, I can't go back now."
Jack looked back down at the watch, twirling it in his fingers. "So Ianto isn't your real name."
Ianto laughed. "Pot. Kettle."
Jack laughed as well, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Ianto Jones... It suits you."
Ianto leaned into Jack’s touch, kissing his wrist gently. "It was the first name I heard when I arrived. A mother was calling after her son, and I just fell in love with the name. I thought the Jones was safe." He smiled. "We name ourselves."
"So I've heard."
The two of them were quiet for a few long moments, the fob watch quietly counting the passing seconds. Finally, Jack took Ianto's hand and placed the watch into the Welshman's -- no, Time Lord's -- hand. "I can't take this."
"Why not?"
"It's-- Yan, a fob watch is basically a container for a Time Lord's soul."
Ianto let out a soft laugh and reached over to clip the chain to one of Jack's belt loops. "You already have that. Why not take the vessel too?"
Jack looked up at him, stunned speechless. He had... oh. Oh. Oh.
"If you -- if you want it, that is," Ianto said uncertainly after thirty full seconds had passed and Jack hadn't said a word, just stared at him like he'd opened his chest and showed him two beating hearts... Which he didn't have, not yet anyway. They'd show up in his second regeneration. Which would be fun to screw with Owen with, when it happened.
His words pulled the Captain out of whatever dimension he'd been in, and he watched that lecherous smile cross Jack's beautiful face. "I have a thing for Time Lords, you know," he teased. "I don't like to let them go so easily."
"I doubt I could get rid of you if I wanted, Human," Ianto teased back. "But luckily, I'm pretty fond of you."
Jack looked down at the watch, taking it into his hand. "I... The Doctor, when I saw him again, he said I was wrong."
"You're not wrong at all, Jack." Ianto slid off the desk, leaning into him. "You're so very right."
ETA: Chapter two here
dwtwprompts prompt: Gift
Date Written: 3/4/08
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1,373
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Spoilers: Torchwood Season 1 & 2, Doctor Who Season 3 (particularly Human Nature/Family of Blood), and mentions old skool doctor (number one!)
Warnings: Boys kissing
Author's Notes: Inspired by a set of macros over on ihazastopwatch... and by the bit in Meat where Jack has a pocketwatch. Evidence is mounting up... It's set after that infamous kiss scene in To The Last Man.
"Being here, I've seen things I never dreamt I'd see. Loved people I never would have known if I'd just stayed where I was. And I wouldn't change that for the world."
Ianto Jones looked down at Jack Harkness, his lover, his Captain, and could see the truth in his words in his eyes. And he just had to kiss him. Kiss him over and over and over, trying to pour all the love and affection and desire for him that resided within his soul, their mouths and tongues sliding against one another until time became a fuzzy, never-ending loop. All good things, however, must come to an end and he slowly pulled away, both of them a little breathless.
"Jack..." He took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "I have something I want to give you."
The other man sat back a little. "What?"
Ianto smiled and reached into his inner coat pocket, pulling out a silver pocket watch. It swung on a polished double chain, also silver, as he dangled it in front of Jack. The Captain gave that boyish grin Ianto was so fond of. "Your stopwatch, Yan?"
"It's not my stopwatch." He dropped it into his lover's waiting hands. "Here."
Jack looked down at the watch, rubbing the back of it. It looked old, ancient in fact, and it felt heavy in his hands. "What sort of metal is this made of?"
Ianto just shrugged in response and twirled his finger, silently indicating for Jack to turn it over.
He gave Ianto a curious look and obediently flipped it over, looking down and blinking. He ran his fingers over the top, looking down at it in awe. Circles and spirals decorated the lid, and he slowly realized what he'd been given. "Ianto. This is--"
"--A fob watch," Ianto finished the sentence for him. "I know."
"Why... How..." Jack's mind was slowly shutting down. What the hell was going on?
"My mother gave it to me, when I was a child. My brother and sister had one as well."
"Your mother?"
"Her name was Susan. Susan Campbell. She was -- well, I guess still is -- a Time Lord." He scratched his head, thinking. "It's always so confusing, trying to figure out if she should be in past or present tense."
"Wait. Are you telling me that... You're a Time Lord?"
Ianto gave him a secret smile. "It's complicated."
"I've got a lot of time," Jack replied easily.
Ianto laughed, moving to sit properly on the corner of Jack's desk instead of just leaning against it. "I'm half-Gallifreyan. My mother's name was Susan. She was a Time Lord, and a bit like you." He smiled at the confused look on Jack's face. "She was a Companion," he explained.
"A Companion?" Jack cocked his head to the side. Even in his head, the word Companion was capitalized.
"It's a term Time Lords use when they travel. Sometimes they pick up passengers, take them along for the ride. Like you, and that Rose girl who was at Torchwood One." He paused when he saw Jack's slight flinch. Sensitive subject. "She was travelling with her grandfather, and fell in love with a human in the 22nd Century, David Campbell. She stayed with him instead of continuing her travels."
Jack was watching him. "That explains a fair bit... Your thing for stopwatches, for one." Ianto gave him another grin and a shrug, but stayed silent. "How you know more than you should. But you're human. You're genetically human. Your medical records are on file.."
"I'm human enough to fool most tests -- for now. Time Lord DNA doesn't really kick in properly until the second regeneration."
"You can regenerate too?"
"Before you ask, I'm not taking requests." He smiled when Jack laughed. "Anyway, what would have been flagged, I altered when I first joined Torchwood. This technology is nothing compared to a TARDIS."
"I know." Jack gave him a smile. "You have a TARDIS?"
"No. Mam did, but it died when I was a child. They're living, as you know, and they have their own time."
Jack nodded. Also explained Ianto's amazing technical skills. The man was a walking tech support. "So... Cardiff, 21st century? How'd you get here without a time machine?"
"How do you think, Jack? The Rift, of course. We were in Cardiff trying to see if we could try and resurrect the TARDIS and... a portal opened up. I was fifteen."
Jack swallowed. They were more alike than he'd first thought, losing their families so young. "What did you do?"
Ianto grinned. "Mam made sure we always carried our fob watch and a few pages of psychic paper. Da was a freedom fighter, so they were a little paranoid about making sure we kids could take care of ourselves. I faked enough legal documents until I could get proper copies."
Jack leaned back, studying Ianto intently. "I don't remember anything about revolutions in the 22nd Century," he murmured, not realizing he'd spoken out loud until he heard Ianto laugh. "What?"
"I knew you weren't from this time. I could sense it." Ianto had leaned in close, giving an almost scary smile, his eyes dancing. "I could practically smell it on you. The aura of someone who's traveled through time and space... it changes your make-up, you see." He reached out to touch Jack's face gently. "Seeps into every bit of you. The moment I saw you, I knew you'd fallen through somehow." He blinked a little, sitting up and unconsciously fixing his tie, falling back into the safe Ianto Jack knew so well. "Anyway, I think it was another dimension as well, but I'm not sure. I haven't been able to find any records of any of Da's family tree." He shrugged. "The walls have closed."
Jack had been glancing down at the fob watch, running his fingers over the brushed metal, but his head snapped up at Ianto's last words. "What did you say?"
"The walls have closed," Ianto repeated. "If I'm originally from a different dimension, I can't go back now."
Jack looked back down at the watch, twirling it in his fingers. "So Ianto isn't your real name."
Ianto laughed. "Pot. Kettle."
Jack laughed as well, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Ianto Jones... It suits you."
Ianto leaned into Jack’s touch, kissing his wrist gently. "It was the first name I heard when I arrived. A mother was calling after her son, and I just fell in love with the name. I thought the Jones was safe." He smiled. "We name ourselves."
"So I've heard."
The two of them were quiet for a few long moments, the fob watch quietly counting the passing seconds. Finally, Jack took Ianto's hand and placed the watch into the Welshman's -- no, Time Lord's -- hand. "I can't take this."
"Why not?"
"It's-- Yan, a fob watch is basically a container for a Time Lord's soul."
Ianto let out a soft laugh and reached over to clip the chain to one of Jack's belt loops. "You already have that. Why not take the vessel too?"
Jack looked up at him, stunned speechless. He had... oh. Oh. Oh.
"If you -- if you want it, that is," Ianto said uncertainly after thirty full seconds had passed and Jack hadn't said a word, just stared at him like he'd opened his chest and showed him two beating hearts... Which he didn't have, not yet anyway. They'd show up in his second regeneration. Which would be fun to screw with Owen with, when it happened.
His words pulled the Captain out of whatever dimension he'd been in, and he watched that lecherous smile cross Jack's beautiful face. "I have a thing for Time Lords, you know," he teased. "I don't like to let them go so easily."
"I doubt I could get rid of you if I wanted, Human," Ianto teased back. "But luckily, I'm pretty fond of you."
Jack looked down at the watch, taking it into his hand. "I... The Doctor, when I saw him again, he said I was wrong."
"You're not wrong at all, Jack." Ianto slid off the desk, leaning into him. "You're so very right."
ETA: Chapter two here