Fic: Heartless (Part 1)
Title: Heartless
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Pairings/Characters: Jack/Ianto; some Owen, Gwen & Tosh
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Nothing beyond the obvious, and probably a lot less than that.
Summary: There are ghosts everywhere.
Notes: Part 1 of ... 3(? Most likely.) More to come, anyhow.
A mighty crash of metal on concrete halted the pterodactyl's screeching for thirty-two blessed seconds. An instant later, her incessant yawking began anew, in concert with the human voices rising outside of his office.
"What'd you do that for?"
"Me? Why did you put a bloody great alien sword on top of a pile of books, then? Who does that?"
"Well anyone with eyes in her head would notice such a bloody great sword, you'd think, and maybe manage not to walk into it!"
Ianto's head appeared around the door.
"Jack?"
Jack glared up at him with exhaustion in his eyes. "What is it now?"
Stepping gingerly into the room, Ianto met his gaze with a sympathetic smile that utterly failed to help the throbbing in Jack's left temple. The pterodactyl swooped by outside, squealing. "It's just that Owen and Gwen are at each other's throats again," he said. "Maybe you should -" SQUAWK!
"Maybe I should what?" Jack snapped.
"Well, maybe, say something?" Ianto murmured, his voice almost drowned out by another ear-splitting YAWK as the pterodactyl flopped into a computer station outside and wheeled upwards again.
"They're adults. Let them sort it out."
"Only they've not let up for two days now, and they won't listen to me, of course." The pterodactyl squawked by again. "Can you just tell them -"
Abruptly, Jack rose and strode past Ianto, out of the office, into the Hub. Gwen stood brandishing a terrifying - if slightly dented - five-foot sword at Owen, who was gamely chucking books at her and swearing for all he was worth. Trapped at her workstation behind them, Tosh pretended unsuccessfully that they weren't there and peered intently at her computer screen. At Jack's shoulder, Ianto murmured, "You see, they just keep at it. I've tried -"
"ALRIGHT!" Jack roared. The four members of Torchwood turned to look at him, mouths agape. "That's enough! Gwen, put the sword down. That's got a trans-dermal grip. If you hold onto it for another seven seconds, you'll never be able to let go." The sword clanged to the floor. Owen guffawed. "Owen, don't leave bloody great alien swords lying around."
"I was just - " Owen began.
"And do NOT," Jack interrupted, "bother me with this bullshit again. That goes for you, too, Ianto. If they want to behave like children, let them, but I don't need an office tattle-tale. Tosh!" From her computer, Toshiko stared at Jack with wide eyes. "Well, Tosh ... you keep doing what you're doing. And all of you -" With a great flapping of leathery wings, the pterodactyl skimmed the top of their heads, cried out again, and crashed into the glass wall of Jack's office. Dazed, she flapped off once more, squealing her displeasure. "ALL OF YOU," Jack continued over the noise, "figure out some way to SHUT that damn thing UP!" Reaching behind him through his open office door, he grabbed his coat and strode out of the Hub, past the shocked faces of his teammates.
As the great door rolled to behind him, Owen began, "I still think any dizzy twerp should be able to notice a huge fucking sword lying there on a table..."
***
Jack strode quickly through the lunchtime crowds thronging the streets of Cardiff, despite the light rain falling and the chill in the air. Instinctively, he headed up the steps to a raised pedestrian mall, as always seeking higher ground. He shook his head and slowed his steps. What was he walking towards? He could keep climbing forever, he could stand all night atop the tallest buildings in the city - could and did - had, in fact, spent most of last night gazing across the city from a particularly windy forty-third-story balcony, and what had it gotten him? Cheeks burned by the wind and a pounding headache from the lack of sleep. No matter how much he willed it, desired it, ached for it, Jack had to accept it: the Doctor wasn't coming back.
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, overcome by memories so tangible they threatened to make him swoon. Strong fingers grasping his. The corner of a mouth turned up in a smirk, a shared joke in the middle of chaos. Battered leather, grey eyes so strange and yet achingly familiar. The anger and the longing was always barely under the surface ... Prodded by a passerby, Jack shook himself out of the memories and looked around him. This was real. This was now. The Doctor was - was who knows where, and who knows when. Let him go, Jack told himself, knowing that he couldn't. Not yet.
People surged around him. Jack watched uniformed schoolchildren, men in grey and black and blue suits, a mass of humanity surging and darting, heads down, through the rain. So many places to go, he thought. His gaze fell on a young woman across the street, her red hair a beacon in the cloudy afternoon light. She moved tentatively, her slow pace catching Jack's eye in the crowd of rushing figures. The woman stepped delicately and gently put out a hand to catch the rain. Jack smiled as she tilted her head back, letting the drops fall on her closed eyelids, reminding himself that even here, alone, like this woman, there were small moments to be savored. He chuckled to himself.
From across the street, the woman looked into Jack's eyes and stretched her hand to him. Almost unconsciously he stepped towards her.
A moment later, she was gone.
***
"What do you mean, gone?" Tosh asked.
Jack shrugged. "Just - gone. Not there."
"And?"
"And, well, it was weird. That's all. It's like those scenes in the movies, where two people lock eyes across a street, then a truck drives by, and suddenly one of them is gone."
"And did it?" Tosh asked.
"Did what, what?"
"Did a truck drive by?"
"No," Jack answered. "It was just strange."
Gwen marched over and flopped into a chair next to Tosh. "Okay," she said, tossing a folder of computer printouts onto the table next to the open pizza box. "Oddly enough, there's not a lot of information out there about the behavioral quirks of prehistoric reptiles. But as near as I can figure, she's upset." Gwen reached for a slice of pizza and leaned back in the chair.
Jack glanced at the pterodactyl, perched moodily across the room, mercifully quiet. "Upset? About what, extinction? Because I had a good long talk with her about that a while ago."
"It's the rift," Gwen said through a mouthful of pizza. "It's ... upsetting her. There's a lot of activity lately and she seems to be picking up on it."
"What sort of activity? And what's 'lately'?" Tosh asked, as Owen appeared and reached over her shoulder for the pizza box. "Dunno," he said, deliberately sitting as far from Gwen as possible. "Not crawly-things-coming-through-the-rift activity. Just ... little spikes and dips on the instruments. Across the board. For the last day, day and a half. The weevils are feeling it, too. They're all moody."
"Great," Jack groaned. "Moody weevils. That's all we need."
***
The computer blinked balefully at her. Tosh sighed and rolled her neck, staring at the legion of sums parading across the screen. She'd been at it for hours and she was no closer to understanding what was happening with the rift than when she started. At least the pterodactyl finally shut up, she thought, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe it was the rain.
Her eyes snapped open as the computer shrilled out a warning beep and alert messages appeared on the screen. "Guys!" Tosh called, her eyes on the computer. "Guys! It's spiking! Something's happening!" She glanced over her shoulder for Ianto or Gwen, seeing no one. Suddenly, her skin prickled and she turned, slowly, towards the center of the room.
A red-haired woman stood, staring at Tosh. "Jack?" she asked, in a quiet voice.
"What the - Who are you?" Tosh stammered. "How did you get in here?" The woman's eyes stayed on Tosh, calm and level. "Jack," she repeated. Tosh glared. "Tell me who you are. Now." Alerted by the computer's warning bleeps, Owen and Ianto skidded into the room behind the woman, who slowly turned her head and fixed her eyes on Ianto's.
"I'm looking for Jack," she said, softly. "Jack Harkness." She turned back to Tosh. " He needs to find me - please don't." Still gazing at Tosh, she raised her hand towards Owen, his gun drawn, behind her. The woman turned to him. "I need to find Jack."
"Who needs to find Jack?" Jack called, striding into the room. His three teammates glanced at him. "She does - " Owen said, turning back to the empty center of the room. Suddenly quiet, Tosh's computer resumed regurgitating its strings of sums as if nothing had happened.
"Tosh does?" Jack asked. "And you're pointing a gun at her why?"
"Not Tosh! There was a woman. Here. Looking for you!" Owen lowered the gun and looked about the room in frustration. "She was here. But now she's -"
"Gone." Tosh met Jack's startled gaze.
"What do you mean, gone?" Jack asked carefully.
***
He's exhausted, Ianto thought, watching Jack pace the darkened Hub. He hasn't slept in days.
"Tell me again what she said," Jack asked.
He's been walking the city. All night. For weeks. Ianto sighed. "She asked for you. She said, 'I'm looking for Jack Harkness. He needs to find me.' And then Owen pulled his gun and she asked him not to and you came in and she disappeared."
"Disappeared how? Did you see her disappear?"
"No one did. We all looked away. Jack. Sit down. You've been pacing for hours. We're not going to figure this out tonight."
"If it was an alien the instruments would have ... a ghost? It wouldn't be the first one. Do we have a ghost?" Jack muttered to himself. Ianto stood and crossed the room, standing in his path, forcing Jack to stop and look at him.
"Jack. Please. Everyone's gone, we're not going to sort this out tonight." Gently he put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Everyone left," Ianto repeated, slowly. "And if you're not going to sleep, you at least need to relax." Jack opened his mouth to protest. The younger man slid his hand to Jack's cheek and looked him in the eyes. "You need. To. Relax." Jack held his gaze. Slowly, his right eyebrow arched and the corners of his mouth curled devilishly. He put his hand over Ianto's.
"I could use a break," Jack agreed, tracing a gentle line with his fingertips across the back of Ianto's hand, down his arm, coming to rest with a palm on his chest. Ianto breathed in slowly, contentedly. The weight of Jack's hand across his heart calmed him in ways he couldn't begin to explain; he only hoped to share some of that peace with his captain. He reached up and took Jack's hand, kissing the fingertips lightly, and silently drew Jack across the empty Hub, into the Captain's glass-walled office. He stopped at the desk and turned to face Jack.
"See? No ghosts here."
Jack reached for him, drew him into a tight embrace. "There are ghosts everywhere," he murmured, searching for Ianto's lips with his own. Ianto closed his eyes as slowly, deliberately, Jack kissed him, his tongue barely parting Ianto's lips, barely teasing inside. Pulling him into a tighter embrace, Ianto kissed him harder, his hands running down Jack's body, feeling himself tense and harden at the contact between them. He reached up, fingers twining in Jack's thick dark hair, his tongue thrusting between Jack's lips, wondering why he yearned so desperately for the Captain's touch, why he wanted more and always more from Jack Harkness, why whatever he got would never be enough. Carefully, gently, Jack pulled away from the embrace and leaned back to look into Ianto's eyes.
"We both need a break, huh?" Jack asked, his fingertips lightly tracing the curve of Ianto's lips. Ianto barely nodded in response, his eyes on Jack's, his every nerve alive to the slight touch of Jack's fingers on his skin. He sighed and closed his eyes once more as Jack leaned in and kissed his neck, fingers still upon his lips. Suddenly Jack's teeth were on his skin, nipping at his neck, his ear, his shoulder. Ianto groaned and bit at Jack's fingers, capturing one between his teeth, drawing it into his mouth and sucking hard at it. He was delighted at Jack's sharp intake of breath, his sudden stillness, the unmistakable hardness he felt against his thigh as Jack pressed closer against him. Releasing his fingers, he sought Jack's mouth with his own, surprised that the urgency of his kiss was met with even more from Jack.
As they kissed, Jack willed his brain to shut off, leave him alone to enjoy this boy's sweet, honest embrace. He knew that he would never be able to give Ianto everything he wanted, to surrender entirely, to not be thinking with some corner of his mind of the one person he simply would never have. His hands clutched at the jacket of Ianto's dark suit, slipped beneath the wool and across his shirt, unconsciously searching for the twin heartbeats that he knew would not be there. Ianto's mouth on his became more insistent, he pulled him closer still, and Jack realized that his only choices were to be here, now, with this beautiful man - a man who was real and present and most definitely desired him; or to walk away, make his apologies, and spend another night staring out at the city, alone.
Jack Harkness was not one to walk away.
He backed Ianto into the desk behind him, pulling his suit jacket off of him with one practiced motion. His hips pressed against the younger man's, Jack kissed him hard until Ianto pulled away, gasping for breath. Jack grinned at him, his eyebrow raised, his cheeks flushed. He licked his lips. "Relaxing," he said, "is seriously underrated around here."
"I agree." Ianto reached out, his hand finding Jack's cock while their eyes stayed locked on one another's. "I think it should be mandatory." Slowly stroking Jack through the tight fabric of his trousers, Ianto watched his eyes narrow with pleasure. "I might even suggest that we put it into the weekly schedule." Unbuttoning Jack's trousers he slid his hand inside, finding the hot head of his cock and sliding his thumb across it's slit. "Maybe on Tuesdays." He pulled his hand away, enjoying Jack's disappointed gasp and the unconscious thrust of his hips.
Jack glared at Ianto with mock sternness. "So now you're a tease?" he complained, pinning him against the desk with his arms on either side of Ianto's body. "You're just playing with me? It's a good thing I play so well with others." Almost savagely, Jack kissed Ianto, his tongue thrusting into his mouth in time with the thrusting of his pelvis. He felt Ianto growing harder with each thrust and kissed him more deeply still.
"Jack!" Ianto managed to gasp. Pinned against the desk, he squirmed against Jack, amazed as always at the desire that flared up inside him.
"Mmmm?"
"Jack, please!"
"What? What do you want?"
"I want - " Ianto groaned against him. "I want ... you. I want you to touch me."
"Like this?" Jack's fingers were at his waistband, unbuttoning his trousers, unzipping, slipping inside. Ianto felt Jack's strong hand take hold of his cock.
"Yes," he breathed. "More, Jack, please. I want - " Ianto groaned as Jack's fingers circled him, slowly, lazily drawing down his shaft. He strained against Jack's hand, but Jack pushed him back against the desk with his free arm and held him firmly there.
"What do you want?" he purred again, his blue eyes sparkling, delighting in Ianto's yearning. What utter sweetness to be so wanted, so desired. "Just tell me, and your fearless leader will make it happen."
"I want you."
"You have me. And as it happens, I have you, too." Jack's hand moved more quickly on his throbbing cock. Eyes closed, Ianto's fingers dug into Jack's back.
"Make me come, Jack," Ianto grunted, hips thrusting against Jack's, "I want to come in your hands, make me, Jack." Jack grinned and bent towards his ear. "With pleasure," he whispered, bracing his legs against Ianto's and stroking faster down the length of his cock. "That's a boy," he murmured, teeth at his neck again, free hand holding him closer, tighter against his body. Jack watched Ianto's face contort with pleasure and redoubled his effort. "Come on, that's a boy."
With a groan, Ianto came. Jack grinned at him delightedly, still gently holding his cock, watching as his eyes cleared and came to focus, once more, on his own. His senses still fogged with pleasure, Ianto reached up and placed a hand on the back of Jack's neck, pulling him into a fierce kiss. Slowly Jack pulled away, brought his hand up to his face and with satisfaction licked Ianto's come off of his own fingers. Dizzily, Ianto pushed himself away from the desk and watched Jack, whose hot, pink tongue lingered delightedly over the thick whitish liquid on his palm. "R and R, indeed," Jack said, grinning.
"Jack." Why do I want you so much? How do I let you touch me like this? And why is this all I'll ever get of you? "I'm afraid that wasn't quite relaxing for you."
"Oh, I'm pretty relaxed."
"Are you?" Ianto ran his fingers over the tight bulge in Jack's trousers, feeling him shudder with pleasure at the touch.
Jack acknowledged with a shrug, "Well, there might be some lingering tension."
Ianto smiled slightly, the briefest upward curve of the lips, the slightest glimmer of wickedness behind his eyes. How long had he known Ianto, Jack wondered idly, and in all that time had he ever seen him smile - really smile? Or laugh? Beneath him on the autopsy table, straddling him on the desk, pressed together against the wall in a shadowy corner of the cells, every time they had been together like this (and, Jack had to admit, there had been more than a few), no matter what throes of passion - no matter what Jack did to him, he just never seemed to smile. Well, Jack though, I guess I'll just have to try harder.
Fiercely, Ianto pulled him close. His thoughts interrupted, Jack gazed with pleasure into his dark eyes. Ianto's hands were once more at his waistband, his mouth inches from Jack's. He teased a finger into Jack's trousers, lightly grazing Jack's cock. "Tell me, Captain," he whispered. "Do you want me?" Jack stood, his cock throbbing at Ianto's light, deliberate touches.
"Ianto." There's a lot I should try to say, to explain to you ... Jack pushed the thoughts away, concentrated on the dark eyes, the warm strong fingers, the body inches away from his. "Yes. I want you."
With a sigh of pleasure, Ianto tugged Jack's zipper down and knelt in front of him. Jack closed his eyes as he felt Ianto's warm mouth around him, his tongue tracing the length of his shaft, teasing the head. His fingers tangled in Ianto's short hair, Jack groaned his pleasure as he felt himself grow harder in Ianto's mouth. The quick tongue, the firm hand holding him - if it was always like this, Jack thought fuzzily, then I wouldn't have to remember ... remember what? he asked himself, giving over to Ianto's sweet hot mouth and letting the gorgeous sensation overtake him.
Ianto listened with satisfaction as Jack's breathing became faster, his wordless growls growing deeper and more insistent. His hands clutched harder at Ianto's hair as he sucked at his cock, faster and harder until, with a deep moan, Jack came hotly in his mouth. I wish I could watch his face, Ianto thought, swallowing Jack's thick, salty come; or do I really want to see what's in his eyes? Suddenly Jack was kneeling beside him, kissing him deeply and holding him close in his arms. "Ianto," he said, still more animal growl than word. "I should explain to you -" Ianto shook his head.
"No, you shouldn't. You should come downstairs and get some sleep." Softly, he kissed Jack. "You should hold me. And when we get up in the morning, it should be another day." He stood, pulling Jack to his feet. "Like it always is." Together, they made their way across the empty Hub to the stairs.
The computers gave only the faintest signal as in the shadows, even her bright hair invisible in the darkness, the woman briefly appeared to watch them pass.
(Part Two.)
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Pairings/Characters: Jack/Ianto; some Owen, Gwen & Tosh
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers: Nothing beyond the obvious, and probably a lot less than that.
Summary: There are ghosts everywhere.
Notes: Part 1 of ... 3(? Most likely.) More to come, anyhow.
A mighty crash of metal on concrete halted the pterodactyl's screeching for thirty-two blessed seconds. An instant later, her incessant yawking began anew, in concert with the human voices rising outside of his office.
"What'd you do that for?"
"Me? Why did you put a bloody great alien sword on top of a pile of books, then? Who does that?"
"Well anyone with eyes in her head would notice such a bloody great sword, you'd think, and maybe manage not to walk into it!"
Ianto's head appeared around the door.
"Jack?"
Jack glared up at him with exhaustion in his eyes. "What is it now?"
Stepping gingerly into the room, Ianto met his gaze with a sympathetic smile that utterly failed to help the throbbing in Jack's left temple. The pterodactyl swooped by outside, squealing. "It's just that Owen and Gwen are at each other's throats again," he said. "Maybe you should -" SQUAWK!
"Maybe I should what?" Jack snapped.
"Well, maybe, say something?" Ianto murmured, his voice almost drowned out by another ear-splitting YAWK as the pterodactyl flopped into a computer station outside and wheeled upwards again.
"They're adults. Let them sort it out."
"Only they've not let up for two days now, and they won't listen to me, of course." The pterodactyl squawked by again. "Can you just tell them -"
Abruptly, Jack rose and strode past Ianto, out of the office, into the Hub. Gwen stood brandishing a terrifying - if slightly dented - five-foot sword at Owen, who was gamely chucking books at her and swearing for all he was worth. Trapped at her workstation behind them, Tosh pretended unsuccessfully that they weren't there and peered intently at her computer screen. At Jack's shoulder, Ianto murmured, "You see, they just keep at it. I've tried -"
"ALRIGHT!" Jack roared. The four members of Torchwood turned to look at him, mouths agape. "That's enough! Gwen, put the sword down. That's got a trans-dermal grip. If you hold onto it for another seven seconds, you'll never be able to let go." The sword clanged to the floor. Owen guffawed. "Owen, don't leave bloody great alien swords lying around."
"I was just - " Owen began.
"And do NOT," Jack interrupted, "bother me with this bullshit again. That goes for you, too, Ianto. If they want to behave like children, let them, but I don't need an office tattle-tale. Tosh!" From her computer, Toshiko stared at Jack with wide eyes. "Well, Tosh ... you keep doing what you're doing. And all of you -" With a great flapping of leathery wings, the pterodactyl skimmed the top of their heads, cried out again, and crashed into the glass wall of Jack's office. Dazed, she flapped off once more, squealing her displeasure. "ALL OF YOU," Jack continued over the noise, "figure out some way to SHUT that damn thing UP!" Reaching behind him through his open office door, he grabbed his coat and strode out of the Hub, past the shocked faces of his teammates.
As the great door rolled to behind him, Owen began, "I still think any dizzy twerp should be able to notice a huge fucking sword lying there on a table..."
***
Jack strode quickly through the lunchtime crowds thronging the streets of Cardiff, despite the light rain falling and the chill in the air. Instinctively, he headed up the steps to a raised pedestrian mall, as always seeking higher ground. He shook his head and slowed his steps. What was he walking towards? He could keep climbing forever, he could stand all night atop the tallest buildings in the city - could and did - had, in fact, spent most of last night gazing across the city from a particularly windy forty-third-story balcony, and what had it gotten him? Cheeks burned by the wind and a pounding headache from the lack of sleep. No matter how much he willed it, desired it, ached for it, Jack had to accept it: the Doctor wasn't coming back.
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, overcome by memories so tangible they threatened to make him swoon. Strong fingers grasping his. The corner of a mouth turned up in a smirk, a shared joke in the middle of chaos. Battered leather, grey eyes so strange and yet achingly familiar. The anger and the longing was always barely under the surface ... Prodded by a passerby, Jack shook himself out of the memories and looked around him. This was real. This was now. The Doctor was - was who knows where, and who knows when. Let him go, Jack told himself, knowing that he couldn't. Not yet.
People surged around him. Jack watched uniformed schoolchildren, men in grey and black and blue suits, a mass of humanity surging and darting, heads down, through the rain. So many places to go, he thought. His gaze fell on a young woman across the street, her red hair a beacon in the cloudy afternoon light. She moved tentatively, her slow pace catching Jack's eye in the crowd of rushing figures. The woman stepped delicately and gently put out a hand to catch the rain. Jack smiled as she tilted her head back, letting the drops fall on her closed eyelids, reminding himself that even here, alone, like this woman, there were small moments to be savored. He chuckled to himself.
From across the street, the woman looked into Jack's eyes and stretched her hand to him. Almost unconsciously he stepped towards her.
A moment later, she was gone.
***
"What do you mean, gone?" Tosh asked.
Jack shrugged. "Just - gone. Not there."
"And?"
"And, well, it was weird. That's all. It's like those scenes in the movies, where two people lock eyes across a street, then a truck drives by, and suddenly one of them is gone."
"And did it?" Tosh asked.
"Did what, what?"
"Did a truck drive by?"
"No," Jack answered. "It was just strange."
Gwen marched over and flopped into a chair next to Tosh. "Okay," she said, tossing a folder of computer printouts onto the table next to the open pizza box. "Oddly enough, there's not a lot of information out there about the behavioral quirks of prehistoric reptiles. But as near as I can figure, she's upset." Gwen reached for a slice of pizza and leaned back in the chair.
Jack glanced at the pterodactyl, perched moodily across the room, mercifully quiet. "Upset? About what, extinction? Because I had a good long talk with her about that a while ago."
"It's the rift," Gwen said through a mouthful of pizza. "It's ... upsetting her. There's a lot of activity lately and she seems to be picking up on it."
"What sort of activity? And what's 'lately'?" Tosh asked, as Owen appeared and reached over her shoulder for the pizza box. "Dunno," he said, deliberately sitting as far from Gwen as possible. "Not crawly-things-coming-through-the-rift activity. Just ... little spikes and dips on the instruments. Across the board. For the last day, day and a half. The weevils are feeling it, too. They're all moody."
"Great," Jack groaned. "Moody weevils. That's all we need."
***
The computer blinked balefully at her. Tosh sighed and rolled her neck, staring at the legion of sums parading across the screen. She'd been at it for hours and she was no closer to understanding what was happening with the rift than when she started. At least the pterodactyl finally shut up, she thought, closing her eyes and massaging her temples. Maybe it was just a fluke. Maybe it was the rain.
Her eyes snapped open as the computer shrilled out a warning beep and alert messages appeared on the screen. "Guys!" Tosh called, her eyes on the computer. "Guys! It's spiking! Something's happening!" She glanced over her shoulder for Ianto or Gwen, seeing no one. Suddenly, her skin prickled and she turned, slowly, towards the center of the room.
A red-haired woman stood, staring at Tosh. "Jack?" she asked, in a quiet voice.
"What the - Who are you?" Tosh stammered. "How did you get in here?" The woman's eyes stayed on Tosh, calm and level. "Jack," she repeated. Tosh glared. "Tell me who you are. Now." Alerted by the computer's warning bleeps, Owen and Ianto skidded into the room behind the woman, who slowly turned her head and fixed her eyes on Ianto's.
"I'm looking for Jack," she said, softly. "Jack Harkness." She turned back to Tosh. " He needs to find me - please don't." Still gazing at Tosh, she raised her hand towards Owen, his gun drawn, behind her. The woman turned to him. "I need to find Jack."
"Who needs to find Jack?" Jack called, striding into the room. His three teammates glanced at him. "She does - " Owen said, turning back to the empty center of the room. Suddenly quiet, Tosh's computer resumed regurgitating its strings of sums as if nothing had happened.
"Tosh does?" Jack asked. "And you're pointing a gun at her why?"
"Not Tosh! There was a woman. Here. Looking for you!" Owen lowered the gun and looked about the room in frustration. "She was here. But now she's -"
"Gone." Tosh met Jack's startled gaze.
"What do you mean, gone?" Jack asked carefully.
***
He's exhausted, Ianto thought, watching Jack pace the darkened Hub. He hasn't slept in days.
"Tell me again what she said," Jack asked.
He's been walking the city. All night. For weeks. Ianto sighed. "She asked for you. She said, 'I'm looking for Jack Harkness. He needs to find me.' And then Owen pulled his gun and she asked him not to and you came in and she disappeared."
"Disappeared how? Did you see her disappear?"
"No one did. We all looked away. Jack. Sit down. You've been pacing for hours. We're not going to figure this out tonight."
"If it was an alien the instruments would have ... a ghost? It wouldn't be the first one. Do we have a ghost?" Jack muttered to himself. Ianto stood and crossed the room, standing in his path, forcing Jack to stop and look at him.
"Jack. Please. Everyone's gone, we're not going to sort this out tonight." Gently he put his hand on Jack's shoulder. "Everyone left," Ianto repeated, slowly. "And if you're not going to sleep, you at least need to relax." Jack opened his mouth to protest. The younger man slid his hand to Jack's cheek and looked him in the eyes. "You need. To. Relax." Jack held his gaze. Slowly, his right eyebrow arched and the corners of his mouth curled devilishly. He put his hand over Ianto's.
"I could use a break," Jack agreed, tracing a gentle line with his fingertips across the back of Ianto's hand, down his arm, coming to rest with a palm on his chest. Ianto breathed in slowly, contentedly. The weight of Jack's hand across his heart calmed him in ways he couldn't begin to explain; he only hoped to share some of that peace with his captain. He reached up and took Jack's hand, kissing the fingertips lightly, and silently drew Jack across the empty Hub, into the Captain's glass-walled office. He stopped at the desk and turned to face Jack.
"See? No ghosts here."
Jack reached for him, drew him into a tight embrace. "There are ghosts everywhere," he murmured, searching for Ianto's lips with his own. Ianto closed his eyes as slowly, deliberately, Jack kissed him, his tongue barely parting Ianto's lips, barely teasing inside. Pulling him into a tighter embrace, Ianto kissed him harder, his hands running down Jack's body, feeling himself tense and harden at the contact between them. He reached up, fingers twining in Jack's thick dark hair, his tongue thrusting between Jack's lips, wondering why he yearned so desperately for the Captain's touch, why he wanted more and always more from Jack Harkness, why whatever he got would never be enough. Carefully, gently, Jack pulled away from the embrace and leaned back to look into Ianto's eyes.
"We both need a break, huh?" Jack asked, his fingertips lightly tracing the curve of Ianto's lips. Ianto barely nodded in response, his eyes on Jack's, his every nerve alive to the slight touch of Jack's fingers on his skin. He sighed and closed his eyes once more as Jack leaned in and kissed his neck, fingers still upon his lips. Suddenly Jack's teeth were on his skin, nipping at his neck, his ear, his shoulder. Ianto groaned and bit at Jack's fingers, capturing one between his teeth, drawing it into his mouth and sucking hard at it. He was delighted at Jack's sharp intake of breath, his sudden stillness, the unmistakable hardness he felt against his thigh as Jack pressed closer against him. Releasing his fingers, he sought Jack's mouth with his own, surprised that the urgency of his kiss was met with even more from Jack.
As they kissed, Jack willed his brain to shut off, leave him alone to enjoy this boy's sweet, honest embrace. He knew that he would never be able to give Ianto everything he wanted, to surrender entirely, to not be thinking with some corner of his mind of the one person he simply would never have. His hands clutched at the jacket of Ianto's dark suit, slipped beneath the wool and across his shirt, unconsciously searching for the twin heartbeats that he knew would not be there. Ianto's mouth on his became more insistent, he pulled him closer still, and Jack realized that his only choices were to be here, now, with this beautiful man - a man who was real and present and most definitely desired him; or to walk away, make his apologies, and spend another night staring out at the city, alone.
Jack Harkness was not one to walk away.
He backed Ianto into the desk behind him, pulling his suit jacket off of him with one practiced motion. His hips pressed against the younger man's, Jack kissed him hard until Ianto pulled away, gasping for breath. Jack grinned at him, his eyebrow raised, his cheeks flushed. He licked his lips. "Relaxing," he said, "is seriously underrated around here."
"I agree." Ianto reached out, his hand finding Jack's cock while their eyes stayed locked on one another's. "I think it should be mandatory." Slowly stroking Jack through the tight fabric of his trousers, Ianto watched his eyes narrow with pleasure. "I might even suggest that we put it into the weekly schedule." Unbuttoning Jack's trousers he slid his hand inside, finding the hot head of his cock and sliding his thumb across it's slit. "Maybe on Tuesdays." He pulled his hand away, enjoying Jack's disappointed gasp and the unconscious thrust of his hips.
Jack glared at Ianto with mock sternness. "So now you're a tease?" he complained, pinning him against the desk with his arms on either side of Ianto's body. "You're just playing with me? It's a good thing I play so well with others." Almost savagely, Jack kissed Ianto, his tongue thrusting into his mouth in time with the thrusting of his pelvis. He felt Ianto growing harder with each thrust and kissed him more deeply still.
"Jack!" Ianto managed to gasp. Pinned against the desk, he squirmed against Jack, amazed as always at the desire that flared up inside him.
"Mmmm?"
"Jack, please!"
"What? What do you want?"
"I want - " Ianto groaned against him. "I want ... you. I want you to touch me."
"Like this?" Jack's fingers were at his waistband, unbuttoning his trousers, unzipping, slipping inside. Ianto felt Jack's strong hand take hold of his cock.
"Yes," he breathed. "More, Jack, please. I want - " Ianto groaned as Jack's fingers circled him, slowly, lazily drawing down his shaft. He strained against Jack's hand, but Jack pushed him back against the desk with his free arm and held him firmly there.
"What do you want?" he purred again, his blue eyes sparkling, delighting in Ianto's yearning. What utter sweetness to be so wanted, so desired. "Just tell me, and your fearless leader will make it happen."
"I want you."
"You have me. And as it happens, I have you, too." Jack's hand moved more quickly on his throbbing cock. Eyes closed, Ianto's fingers dug into Jack's back.
"Make me come, Jack," Ianto grunted, hips thrusting against Jack's, "I want to come in your hands, make me, Jack." Jack grinned and bent towards his ear. "With pleasure," he whispered, bracing his legs against Ianto's and stroking faster down the length of his cock. "That's a boy," he murmured, teeth at his neck again, free hand holding him closer, tighter against his body. Jack watched Ianto's face contort with pleasure and redoubled his effort. "Come on, that's a boy."
With a groan, Ianto came. Jack grinned at him delightedly, still gently holding his cock, watching as his eyes cleared and came to focus, once more, on his own. His senses still fogged with pleasure, Ianto reached up and placed a hand on the back of Jack's neck, pulling him into a fierce kiss. Slowly Jack pulled away, brought his hand up to his face and with satisfaction licked Ianto's come off of his own fingers. Dizzily, Ianto pushed himself away from the desk and watched Jack, whose hot, pink tongue lingered delightedly over the thick whitish liquid on his palm. "R and R, indeed," Jack said, grinning.
"Jack." Why do I want you so much? How do I let you touch me like this? And why is this all I'll ever get of you? "I'm afraid that wasn't quite relaxing for you."
"Oh, I'm pretty relaxed."
"Are you?" Ianto ran his fingers over the tight bulge in Jack's trousers, feeling him shudder with pleasure at the touch.
Jack acknowledged with a shrug, "Well, there might be some lingering tension."
Ianto smiled slightly, the briefest upward curve of the lips, the slightest glimmer of wickedness behind his eyes. How long had he known Ianto, Jack wondered idly, and in all that time had he ever seen him smile - really smile? Or laugh? Beneath him on the autopsy table, straddling him on the desk, pressed together against the wall in a shadowy corner of the cells, every time they had been together like this (and, Jack had to admit, there had been more than a few), no matter what throes of passion - no matter what Jack did to him, he just never seemed to smile. Well, Jack though, I guess I'll just have to try harder.
Fiercely, Ianto pulled him close. His thoughts interrupted, Jack gazed with pleasure into his dark eyes. Ianto's hands were once more at his waistband, his mouth inches from Jack's. He teased a finger into Jack's trousers, lightly grazing Jack's cock. "Tell me, Captain," he whispered. "Do you want me?" Jack stood, his cock throbbing at Ianto's light, deliberate touches.
"Ianto." There's a lot I should try to say, to explain to you ... Jack pushed the thoughts away, concentrated on the dark eyes, the warm strong fingers, the body inches away from his. "Yes. I want you."
With a sigh of pleasure, Ianto tugged Jack's zipper down and knelt in front of him. Jack closed his eyes as he felt Ianto's warm mouth around him, his tongue tracing the length of his shaft, teasing the head. His fingers tangled in Ianto's short hair, Jack groaned his pleasure as he felt himself grow harder in Ianto's mouth. The quick tongue, the firm hand holding him - if it was always like this, Jack thought fuzzily, then I wouldn't have to remember ... remember what? he asked himself, giving over to Ianto's sweet hot mouth and letting the gorgeous sensation overtake him.
Ianto listened with satisfaction as Jack's breathing became faster, his wordless growls growing deeper and more insistent. His hands clutched harder at Ianto's hair as he sucked at his cock, faster and harder until, with a deep moan, Jack came hotly in his mouth. I wish I could watch his face, Ianto thought, swallowing Jack's thick, salty come; or do I really want to see what's in his eyes? Suddenly Jack was kneeling beside him, kissing him deeply and holding him close in his arms. "Ianto," he said, still more animal growl than word. "I should explain to you -" Ianto shook his head.
"No, you shouldn't. You should come downstairs and get some sleep." Softly, he kissed Jack. "You should hold me. And when we get up in the morning, it should be another day." He stood, pulling Jack to his feet. "Like it always is." Together, they made their way across the empty Hub to the stairs.
The computers gave only the faintest signal as in the shadows, even her bright hair invisible in the darkness, the woman briefly appeared to watch them pass.
(Part Two.)