Forgiven - 5/?
Since Ianto was actually paying attention now, the drive back to Cardiff seemed to take forever. He simply hadn’t realized how far he’d driven. He followed Jack’s SUV all the way, thankfully making faster time than normally due to Jack’s, shall we say, aggressive, driving techniques. Ianto had no time to sleep that night, and returned to his home just long enough to shower and change. He realized, standing under the shower and feeling the water like pinpricks on his tight muscles, that working for Torchwood did have one benefit. He had, due to the seemingly never-ending supply of world crises, learned to do without sleep. In fact, Ianto ruminated, he could probably function well without sleeping for two or three days. He’d have to set a limit, though. When he began hallucinating, it was time to take a nap on the Hub’s sofa.
Considering that today would hold a funeral of sorts (was it really a funeral if one was only burying a sweater?, he wondered), he settled on a classic black pinstripe suit with white shirt, matching pinstripe waistcoat and black tie. He wrangled his hair into submission, wondering yet again how Jack seemed to find it so easy (51st century hair to go along with the pheromones, Ianto grumbled, it’s probably sentient). He called Tosh, convincing her that it was safe to return to the Hub and that neither Jack nor Owen would say anything to her. Of course, he didn’t mention that he wasn’t above threatening Owen with no coffee if he did anything to upset Tosh; Ianto could handle Owen, Tosh didn’t need to worry about that. He arranged with a friend at the Kubuki exhibit (good thing about working in a Tourist information office - every event planner wants to be your friend, he chuckled), to have Tosh’s mam standing outside on the Plass at half 10. He called Tosh back, and said that Jack wanted the two of them to run some errands and that he would pick her up.
After running countless errands around Cardiff, ianto finally parked his Mini in the Tourist Center parking lot. As he corralled Tosh towards the old antique store on the other side of the Plass at half 10, claiming he needed her help on buying a part for Jack’s old gramophone, he practically pushed Tosh into her mam.
“Tosh?” the petite Asian matron asked incredulously.
“Mum?” Tosh squeeled. The two flew into each other’s arms, speaking in a rapid-fire Japanese that even the fluent Ianto was having trouble following.
“What are you doing here?” Tosh asked, her arms around her mam.
“I got a call from a lady at work. Someone entered my name into a contest. I won a free ticket to a Kubuki exhibit here in Cardiff. I have to leave tomorrow. I didn’t even know I was entered!”
Tosh stared at her mam for a moment, then turned her head to look at a sheepish Ianto. She pulled her mam into yet another tight hug and mouthed a grateful ‘Thank you’ to Ianto.
Not wanting to interrupt the reunion, but needing to tell Tosh a few important details, Ianto cleared his throat. When the two women turned back to him, Ianto bowed and greeted Tosh’s mam in Japanese.
“Hello, Mrs. Sato. My name is Ianto Jones, and I work with your daughter. Two days ago, a very good friend of ours was killed in an accident. She was especially close to Tosh. I’m planning a funeral service for this afternoon, and was wondering if you would attend. I think Tosh may want you there, and then you can spend the rest of the afternoon and night together before your plane leaves in the morning.”
\
Tosh stared at Ianto, suddenly aware of what he was doing for her. Tears came unbidden to her eyes as she asked, “How?”
Ianto chose to ignore Tosh’s quite question and continued speaking to Mrs. Sato.“Unfortunately, her body had to be sent back to her family who are quite a way from here. Instead, I arranged for a Japanese ceremony for Tosh. I thought perhaps, if it isn’t sacrilegious, that we could cremate one of her sweaters? I have the red one.” Ianto watched nervously for Tosh’s reaction.
She swallowed hard and looked away, trying to control her emotions. Tosh’s mam watched her, and chose to answer Ianto instead. “Thank you, Mr. Jones. I think that is a wonderful idea. Give us the details and we will be there. Everyone should be able to say goodbye.”
Ianto gave Mrs. Sato the details and directions to the funeral home. He offered the two the use of his Mini for the rest of the morning, though they refused. He bid the two goodbye, saying that he would meet them back at the car at noon and take them over to the funeral home. He watched as, arm around her daughter, Mrs. Sato led Tosh to a bench by the pier to talk.
The funeral went as well as any funeral could. Ianto’s friend cremated the sweater and cigarette butts without comment, and the Japanese priest Ianto had secured sang the ritual prayer. Tosh, crying silently the whole time and holding onto her mother, took the small silver urn. She asked for use of Ianto’s car for the rest of the afternoon (readily given, of course) and asked her mam to accompany her to spread the ashes in the sea. As she turned to leave the small room the ceremony was held in, she saw Jack standing in the shadows in the back, as if afraid to come closer. She slowly walked over to him and, putting one hand in his, thanked him quietly for allowing everything to happen and assured him that she would be in the next morning. With that, Mrs. Sato grabbed Tosh’s free hand and gently guided her towards the door and the bright sunlight.
Ianto thanked his friend and the priest, and asked that the floral arrangements be donated to decorate the graves of some old, forgotten soldiers in a local cemetery. He finalized the details, paid his friend for the use of the crematorium, gave his appreciation to the priest, and joined Jack outside.
Jack was standing on the sidewalk, back to the building. He cleared his throat a few times. “Ianto, that was….Thank you. I think Tosh needed that.”
“I think we all needed it, Sir. I just wish Owen and Gwen could have come, but someone needs to stay at the Hub. Perhaps if they had seen Tosh’s grief, they won’t be so quick to criticize her tomorrow.”
The two stood still, watching the busy people going about their day.
“I’ll talk to them,” Jack vowed after a few minutes.
“Actually, Sir, I’d prefer to be the one to do that. Tosh said she’d protect me in the Beacons. I’d like to be able to return the favor.”
Jack watched him out of the corner of his eye and gave a small smile. “I think you already have.”
“Even so, Sir, I’d rather do it. If it comes from you, it will seem like you’re favoring Tosh and that will just make them worse. If it comes from me, it’s protecting a colleague. And besides, I can withhold the coffee. All you can withhold is the flirting… Then again, Owen may like that.”
Jack chuckled. “Alright then. But if it doesn’t work, let me know.” Ianto nodded.
“Um, Sir, if you don’t mind, I sort of lent my car out to Tosh. Could I get a lift back to the Hub?”
“Come on, then. I still want to talk to you about that mission.”
Jack and Ianto entered the SUV and headed back towards the Hub. “I hesitate to ask what you need my assistance for, Sir.”
“Oh believe me, Ianto, there’s quite a few things that would be better with your ‘assistance’.”
“How you manage to make air quotes with your driving style without crashing is beyond me, Sir. But please, the people of Cardiff prefer you focus on the road. I’ve already had to fix several of your traffic tickets. I can only hack the police database so many times, Sir,” Ianto said, rolling his eyes.
“Bullshit. You could hack them twelve times a day and they’d never know.”
“Perhaps. But after a while it’s just rude. We should let their database alone for a while. At the moment, it’s a bit like taking candy from a baby.”
“Have you ever taken candy from a baby, Ianto? Not as easy as it sounds. Especially if it’s a baby Raxocorricophalipitorian. The claws, the muscle. Like fighting a small, green Yeti,” Jack said as he parked the SUV in the garage.
Ianto raised an eyebrow. “I refuse to believe that you have ever taken candy from a Raxocorricophalipitorian baby, Sir.” Jack just grinned in response. Ianto shook his head, muttering, “I can never tell when you’re being truthful. If half the things you tell us are true, then all that waits for human in space is one giant alien orgy.”
Jack grinned again. “As a friend once said, humans go into the stars and ‘dance’. Somebody’s gotta seek out new life and civilizations!”
Ianto looked over as he unlocked the Hub’s garage entrance. “Did you really just quote Star Trek, Sir?”
Jack smirked back. “Did you really just know I quoted Star Trek? Come on, up to my office. I’ve got something to show you!”
Ianto motioned to Owen and Gwen in the autopsy bay and asked for a moment. Jack went into his office with a small smile and turned on the autopsy bay CCTV. He chuckled as Ianto, laden with two perfect coffees on a black tray, interrupted what was a very interesting snogging session on the autopsy table.
Ianto cleared his throat and watched as Gwen’s face went red with embarrassment and Owen’s face went read with anger at being interrupted.
“Whatcha want, Tea-Boy?” Owen asked harshly, taking his mug from the tray. Gwen reached for hers, her eyes never meeting Ianto’s.
“I would like to ask for a favor from the two of you,” Ianto answered slowly. Owen rasied an eyebrow, sipping his coffe, and Gwen looked confused.
Happy that the two were at least listening, Ianto began to speak. “We all know what happened with Mary and Tosh and the pendant. Whatever else we think, the simple fact is that Tosh loved her.” At this, Ianto looked to Owen. “Most of us know what it’s like to lose someone we love. I just ask that you give her the same consideration you gave me in letting me return, without the snarky comments, of course. She was betrayed by Mary, same as you.”
Gwen looked down, embarrassed again. Owen just stared at Ianto. “She read out minds! She fucking went into our heads and peeked around! How can you defend that?!”
“I was trained in psychic abilities at One. I never advanced far in it, but I do know what an intrusion it is. But this is Tosh, Owen. Do you really think she’d have done it if it wasn’t for Mary?”
Owen looked away. He seemed to be making up his mind. In truth, he’d already decided to give Tosh a break, but Owen was Owen, and Owen knew he had to keep up a façade. Play the part, act cruel, and no one will see the truth. Ianto knew about Owen’s hidden side, having seen how he related to the weevils trapped downstairs and remembering the care after the Beacons, and he knew how to play Owen’s game.
“And what if we don’t?” Owen asked harshly, albeit halfheartedly.
“Then you will have to wonder, for the rest of time, if there is enough Retcon in your coffee, pizza, and donuts to take away the past twenty years of your life.”
Owen looked down at his coffee and then looked up. He held Ianto’s eye for a moment, and was surprised to see a combination of steel and humor writ there. He nodded and elbowed Gwen. She agreed and left the autopsy bay with her shoulders slumped.
Owen looked at Ianto and raised an eyebrow. “Looks like someone finally found his balls.”
“Would you like me to find yours as well?” Ianto asked sweetly. “Perhaps Gwen would like to play with them.”
Owen just stared and Ianto before he burst out laughing. Ianto smirked and left with Owen doubled up against the autopsy bay. He decided he liked this new Ianto, the one who would fight back. He would certainly have fun pushing his buttons. When he finally got himself under control, Owen pulled out a notepad and began planning just how he was going to get Ianto back for that comment.
Once he’d seen to Owen and Gwen, Ianto made another mug of coffee and headed up to Jack’s office. The man himself was nowhere to be seen, though Ianto could hear snickering coming from the underground room below. Ianto looked over at an open file on Jack’s desk and raised his eyebrows. Surely this couldn’t be what Jack wanted his help with! There was no way he had the clearance level for this.
When Jack finally pulled himself up the ladder and into his office, he saw Ianto bending over his desk, his back to jack. Jack let out a low whistle, admiring the view he had been missing for so long. Ianto picked up the file and turned around, treating Jack to a lifted eyebrow.
“Seriously, Sir, this can’t be real. You want me to go undercover and attend a UNIT meeting? And what, break into the safehouse on these satellite photos and steal something? What is this, James Bond?”
“Hey,” Jack said, pointing a finger at Ianto. “Dashing, debonair, heroic. Where do you think they got the idea of James bond from? And besides, you won’t be doing it alone.”
Ianto sat down heavily on Jack’s sofa. He let out a long breath. “Alright then, Sir. Tell me about it. Just how do you plan to steal something from a United Nations safehouse? If I’m not mistaken, they have weapons, Sir. Very large weapons. That they aim in the direction of their enemies.”
“Here’s the deal,” Jack said, sitting next to Ianto. “The Rift gives us things, right? Technology, space junk, the occasional 1970s Jimmy Buffet a-track. It also sends weapons, though. Usually Torchwood can get the stuff before UNIT even gets there. But since London fell, we’ve been a bit distracted. A few weeks ago some tech came through and UNIT grabbed it. We need to get it back.”
“And what kind of tech is it, Sir?”
“Most of it came from a Havelon cruiser. They’re mostly personal items but some can be converted into weapons. The hair dryer, for one, can be converted into a bazooka.”
“Let me get this straight, Sir. We’re breaking into a UNIT safehouse to rescue an alien hair dryer from the evil clutches of Colonel Mace?” Jack nodded solemly.
“Right. Never let it be said that Torchwood is boring. And just so we’re clear, Sir, how do you plan on doing this, exactly? You’re not exactly unknown to UNIT, and as the one who answers your phone, e-mail, and post and coordinates all your meetings, I’m no stranger either. And why do you need me?”
“Because UNIT trusts you. They’re hosting an emergency preparedness seminar on the same grounds as the safehouse. We attend, we recon, and then we steal.”
“An emergency preparedness seminar? Won’t it seem odd that you’re attending?”
“Hey, I go to meetings!” Ianto just rolled his eyes. “Ok, fine, you normally go, but still, I gotta show my face at some point. And while I schmooze, you can do recon. Can’t trust Owen; he’d just wind up drunk at the luncheon and make a pass at a lieutenant.”
“And you won’t?” Jack just smirked.
“Go home. Take the files and review. Be here tomorrow at 7am with a bag packed. We’ll be gone for about a week.” Ianto took one last long look at Jack, trying to see if he was being truthful.
He stood up, smoothed out his jacket and waistcoat and said, “I assume, as technically the second, Owen will be in charge in your absence?”
Jack nodded, confused as to where this was going.
“I’ll notify the police, then, Sir. Perhaps some advance warning will allow them to prepare for the inevitable destruction of Cardiff.”
As Ianto turned on his heel and walked out the office, he could hear Jack laughing in the background.