I Have Seen The Rain

[mercury_pheonix]

Title: I Have Seen The Rain
Word Count: 3,185
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Ratings/Warnings: M - rated for sexual situations, consensual use of pain as self-punishment.
Spoilers: 2x10: From Out Of The Rain
Summary: Every so often, Jack needs to be looked after as well, and Ianto is willing to give him whatever it is that he needs.

A/N: Another fandom

Comments

[alt_universe_me]

Interesting take on it. I always thought Ianto was more upset about the boy, but I can see this happening too. Honestly, I haven't seen that much post footr fics, so congrats. well done!

[mercury_pheonix]

I have to say, that was my initial reaction to the episode. I have read many fics, however, in which it is Ianto being comforted following that episode, and I have a rule in which I see no point in doing something unless I do it differently - who wants to read the same thing, essentially, in different words. Looking back at the episode, I interpreted Ianto's tears at the boy's survival almost as tears of relief rather than sadness, although there is no doubt that it affected him greatly. I always thought that Jack was a character who essentially takes the blame for everything, and has to take the tough decisions, and they haunt him.

Thank you!

[alt_universe_me]

Yeah, sometimes it's hard to say who is hurt more by something. Jack and Ianto are both so broken, have lost so much, and really have no family to speak of. I think Ianto's tears were a mixture of relief and sadness. Relief that they saved him, but grief that the little boy doesn't have his parents (just like Ianto). You are right about Jack, though. He really does take the blame for everything. I feel so sad for my Jacky boy sometimes...

[scifiangel]

Wow, that painful to read, but very powerful. Jack is so full of guilt over everything. So like the Doctor in that. Well done.

[mercury_pheonix]

He's definitely not a guiltless character, but, the one thing that makes him a good person, however rough, he is always affected by that guilt, however much he tried to hide it. I always thought that he would punish himself to try and make himself feel better, and even in this he is not pristine - Ianto hates it, obviously, but it's quite a selfish need that Jack has.

Thank you!

[owensheart]

This was incredibly heartbreaking but beautiful never the less. I really felt for both on them in this.

Great writing.

[mercury_pheonix]

Thank you so much. I never intended for the darkness in it to be stark, as I feel that interweaving it with the normality actually makes it more realistic and has more impact.

Thank you!

[ca_te]

I really liked the bittersweet tone of this. Very well done.

[mercury_pheonix]

Thank you. It meant to stop at traditional Hurt/Comfort but it...veered.

[nos_tylluan]

Jack will always blame himself, no matter what - whether it be the fact that he couldn't save them all or that he wasn't able to do it faster, thus preventing more souls from being captured. Or for the simple fact that he never caught them when he was working in the circus the first time - his guilt can go back decades in that case.

It's his nature to do that, and I like the balance you struck in this, with Ianto not being happy about Jack's need but giving into him anyhow.

What I really liked in this chapter was the attention to detail - Ianto's observances about Jack's body language is spot on, and the little touches to have bring a nice physical presence to the story behind the obvious ones.

[mercury_pheonix]

Jack's lived a very long time and done some very morally questionable things. In this way, he may not be a nice person, but the guilt he feels for his actions means he is inherently a good person. And, because he doesn't actually express his emotions very often, he holds onto that guilt. As such, his need in this one-shot is actually quite selfish, as he's encouraging Ianto to do something that he doesn't want to do, but Ianto knows what he needs, however much he dislikes it.

Thank you so much. I try to make these like a snapshot into a moment of their lives, so the little details and touches (I'm actuallly heavily inspired by watching Queer as Folk US, and observing all the tiny little nuances and touches that Brain and Justin have, which are so natural you don't even really notice it) are always important to me. Thank you again!