FIC: WE DAREN'T GO A-HUNTING
Title: We Daren't Go A-Hunting
Author: anni_q
Recipient: kauneinsuru
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, obviously, but if you have any side pairings or past and implied pairings, please put them here.
Summary: Jack takes Ianto away from the hub on a mission to investigate possible alien sightings.
Rating: NC - 17
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or its characters, and no money is being made from this work of fiction.
Warnings: There’s a fair amount of sex - but we like that, don’t we?
Word Count: 10,000
Author's Notes: For the Stopwatch fic exchange. I didn’t fit quite everything requested in here, but I gave it my best shot.
Beta: Anonymous (many thanks to her for her patience and local information.)
Ianto peered out the window of the SUV and into the rain driven nearly horizontal by the wind. “I can barely see the road anymore. Should we pull over for a while until it lets up?”
Jack fiddled with the windshield wipers again. “Nah. We should be there pretty soon. Too late to start questioning the locals tonight, though. We’ll have to wait until morning.”
“About that, Jack. We’ve gone about as far from the rift as you can get and still be in Wales. Are we sure this isn’t just a few nutters looking for a good story to tell the tourists? There have been legends about little people and fairies for years in this area; the shops sell postcards with pictures of them.”
“Are we going to go through this again? You’ve seen the reports. Remember what happened last time we started hearing about ‘fairies?’”
“I did read the reports, which is what’s making me ask: glowing lights in the trees, revels in the forest - sounds like a lot of rubbish to me. Probably folklore embellished with a gin or two.”
“So, maybe it is. You going to complain about a little time away from the hub, just the two of us?” Jack gave Ianto a sly look.
Ianto smiled at him. “Not unless you attempt something untoward, Sir,” he answered primly.
Privately Ianto wished Jack would attempt something. Jack and Ianto had resumed their flirting weeks ago. Ianto had been trying to discreetly push things farther, but all he had to show for it were a few quick gropes here and there and one amazing kiss while the others had gone to lunch.
“Oh, believe me, when I want to do something untoward I won’t just ‘attempt’ it.” Jack smirked as he rubbed at the windshield with his bare hand. “Check the GPS for me, will you? Did I miss the turn? I can’t see a thing in this storm.”
“Nor can I, but the system says there’s a road coming up on your left just now.”
The SUV made an invigorating slide to the right with its rear wheels before completing its turn. Undisturbed, Ianto checked the GPS once again. “You should almost be right on top of it now, Jack.”
“Hope so. I can think of something I’d rather be on top of, only it’s kind of cramped in here.”
Ianto huffed in amusement. “I don’t expect that’s ever bothered you before.”
“Yeah, but the first - uh-oh.” As the “uh-oh” had corresponded exactly with a loud noise from near the left front wheel, Ianto presumed they’d hit something accidentally.
“What was it?” Ianto asked.
“Dunno. Fence post I think. With any luck that means we’re on the driveway.”
“It would have been luckier if Torchwood weren’t going to have to replace some poor farmer’s fence.”
Jack slowed the SUV to a snail’s pace until the wall of a stone building shone in the headlights.
“Honey, we’re home!” announced Jack cheerily. “One quaint, out-of-the-way rental cottage, converted from a cowshed, at your disposal.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to book a room in Betws-y-Coed at the Grand-hotel-something or other? Not that I’m complaining.”
“Renting the cottage is cheaper by the week. Aren’t you always telling me to watch the expense account? Besides, it’s more private. In case we have to…” Jack smirked and waved a hand vaguely in the air as he got out of the car. “…run some kind of tests or something.”
Run some tests, my arse. Thank God he’s finally taking some initiative. But aloud, Ianto simply said, “Ah. Of course. And how far are we from the village?”
“About twelve kilometres, give or take. Ianto, what is all this?”
“This suitcase is my clothing. The duffle is yours. Everything else is equipment from the hub. You know,” Ianto said pointedly, “in case we have to run tests, or something.” He couldn’t quite keep the smug humour out of his voice.
“Oh. Yeah. Good thinking.”
The cottage was comfortable, with a fireplace and some unexpected nooks in odd places. The master bedroom had a large king-sized bed, already turned down, and large leaded-glass windows through which nothing but the night rain was currently visible. There was a second, smaller bedroom adjoining the first by way of a large bathroom and a walk-in closet. Jack tossed his duffle on the larger bed and watched as Ianto took his own suitcase to the smaller room without comment.
“You mind doing the unpacking?” Jack asked. “I want to go see what’s in the kitchen. I’m starving.”
“Always wanting to get something in your mouth, aren’t you?” Ianto called after him. Jack gave a chuckle as he left, and a moment later Ianto heard him rifling around in the cupboards.
Ianto carefully began unpacking his clothes. When he was done with his own, he walked to the larger bedroom began on Jack’s, tsk-ing at the way Jack had packed even his shirts without folding them properly, and finally tossing Jacks shaving kit from the bottom of the duffel onto the dresser. When he’d finished, Ianto gazed at the hanging suits and shirts for a long few moments. His thoughts were interrupted as Jack came bounding gleefully back into the room.
“Look at these!” Jack waved a package at Ianto. “Orgasmic biscuits! I had no idea these were invented yet! Want to share some?”
Ianto took the package and glanced at the label before handing it back to Jack. “Jack, it says ‘organic biscuits,’ not ‘orgasmic.’”
“Oh. Still another hundred and fifty years to wait, then.” Jack looked so genuinely disgruntled about this that Ianto wanted to laugh. “Damned primitive technology. You people have no idea,” Jack added for good measure. He looked at the package for a moment more, then shrugged and reached inside for a handful of chocolate-covered wafers. “Guess I’m a little tired. Have a couple anyway?”
“No thanks. What would you do if I lost my trim figure because you plied me with chocolate-covered biscuits?”
Jack’s mouth quirked. “Shag you senseless, probably. I never could resist the way a man looks eating chocolate. Oh, and thanks for putting my clothes away.” Jack did a double take of the neatly hanging garments. “Our clothes are hanging up together.” He sounded surprised.
“There was only one closet,” Ianto said, sounding slightly defensive even to himself.
“Wasn’t complaining,” Jack assured. “Just looks…”
Like we’re playing house, Ianto thought. Yes, I noticed.
“…awfully neat for any place my clothes would be hanging,” Jack finished.
“Yes, well, I hope you can manage to keep it that way. I’m not picking up after you while we’re here.”
“Ianto, you wound me.” Jack tossed the biscuits aside and wrapped his arms around Ianto. “I’ll be good, I promise.”
Ianto laughed and put his own arms around Jack, giving the other man tacit permission to continue on and take a few liberties. “Not too good, I hope. I’ve begun to enjoy it when you’re misbehaving.”
Jack didn’t bother to answer; he just leaned in and kissed Ianto thoroughly. It was, like the other kiss, skilful and full of hints of things to come. Jack’s tongue brushed at Ianto’s lips and Ianto made a noise.
Jack broke off the kiss and gave Ianto a knowing grin. “No, not too good.” He brushed Ianto’s cheek with his thumb before giving him another quick kiss on the lips. “See you in the morning, Yan.”
And then, to Ianto’s astonishment, Jack turned around and left, closing the door to his bedroom on the way out. After all their flirting, their not so innocent touching, the innuendo in the car on the way over, and yet another spectacular kiss, Jack had left Ianto in front of the closet without so much as an invitation.
Ianto narrowed his eyes at Jack’s retreating figure, and drummed his fingers on his thigh.
“Oh, no. No you don’t,” Ianto muttered.
He gave the closed door a perfunctory knock (because even in the middle of annoyance and sexual frustration, Aunt Cadi’s chiding about manners was still in the back of his brain somewhere) before he walked right in. Jack hadn’t had time to become entirely naked yet, but he only had his briefs left to go and he looked delectable. As Ianto watched, Jack shucked the briefs, too, and gave them a vague toss toward a wicker hamper.
Ianto nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw Jack straighten up, but he held his ground.
“Just what do you think you’re playing at, Jack?” He managed to sputter out.
“What do you mean?”
Jack crossed his arms over his chest and looked affronted, but he didn’t fool Ianto. Jack was becoming aroused just by being naked in front of a fully-clothed Ianto, and Ianto didn’t believe in Jack’s ignorance for one minute. “I know you were turned on in there, and don’t pretend otherwise.”
“So?”
“SO, then you walk away from me and tell me you’ll see me in the morning. That’s hardly a pick-up line!”
“Hey, don’t blame me. You’re the one who wanted to take the other bedroom. That’s a pretty good sign we’re not sharing a bed tonight, wouldn’t you agree?”
Ianto was taken aback. “I didn’t want to presume.”
“Maybe you should presume. Then I would know I could do this.” Jack took two steps, reached over and grasped Ianto by the wrist, pulling him toward Jack until they were inches apart. Jack barely gave Ianto a split second to object before locking his mouth over Ianto’s in a way that was entirely possessive.
Ianto was caught up in the feelings of Jack’s mouth over his, the feelings of Jack’s skin under his fingers and the scent of Jack that always went straight to his groin. He gripped Jack at the waist, enamoured with the soft muscled bare skin over Jack’s ribs. Jack’s hands were under Ianto’s jacket, roving to find Ianto’s shape through his shirt.
Ianto opened his mouth a little and tried to capture Jack’s lower lip for nibbling, but Jack was a little faster and had his own agenda. There was a brief skirmish of mouths and Jack lost when Ianto captured Jack’s bottom lip. Ianto was glad for a moment that he’d won as he slid his tongue across the delicate skin he held captive, tasting Jack, a trace of salt and just a hint of chocolate from the cookies earlier. Their mouths melted together again, rubbing and tantalizing and exploring. Then Jack pulled away, breathing heavily.
“More of you,” Jack said, not hiding the lust in his eyes. “Less clothing. Why are you -” but on the word “you” he was drawn back in the game of who was going to do what to whom, because Ianto didn’t care about anything except touching Jack and getting his mouth on Jack’s again, and he surged forward to kiss Jack under the jaw. Jack gave a soft moan.
Of course, Ianto would have liked to been as undressed as Jack wanted him to be, but he didn’t want to stop kissing or touching in order to remove his clothing. Jack must have either cottoned to this or got tired of waiting, because he finally began to undress Ianto himself.
The feeling of Jack’s hands as they slipped, warm, over Ianto’s shoulders, between his jacket and his shirt, was surprisingly erotic, and it was more so when Jack’s fingers brushed Ianto’s neck taking off his tie. Ianto lowered his head to the juncture of Jack’s neck and shoulder, biting and sucking and licking to show Jack how much Ianto loved what Jack was doing to him. Somehow he managing to make another small task completely seductive Jack’s hands worked apart the buttons on Ianto’s shirt, purposefully brushing Ianto’s chest and his nipples, making Ianto gasp a little even as he grazed his teeth on Jack’s shoulder.
When Jack’s hands slid around Ianto’s thighs to cup his arse, and then worked the zip on the front of his trousers, Ianto was afraid he would lose control entirely. Jack made a little sound of disappointment as Ianto pushed Jack’s hands away.
Ianto shucked off his own trousers, taking care of his socks with a couple of short, awkward kicks. He put his arms around Jack while Jack cupped and kneaded Ianto’s buttocks through his boxers. One of Ianto’s arms went around Jack to palm the smooth skin of his back, and the other travelled downward so that Ianto could caress Jack’s backside.
The moment he did so, Jack pulled away from Ianto with a wicked gleam in his eye and knelt in front of him. Ianto barely had time to breathe “Oh, God,” before Jack had taken the waistband of Ianto’s boxers in his teeth and begun to slide them slowly off.
It wasn’t just the visual of Jack tugging with his teeth, still managing that roguish grin as he pulled, it was the light scratch of Jack’s cheek on his stomach, the nudge of his nose, and then the warm breath on Ianto’s stomach and cock as Jack pulled the silk out and down over his thighs.
“Oh, God,” Ianto breathed again, and his knees began to buckle.
Somehow Jack caught the backs of Ianto’s thighs and held him up. Ianto knew he couldn’t have stayed standing otherwise as he looked at Jack’s face, which had moved a few inches. Ianto knew what was coming and he wanted it - oh, yes, he wanted it, but he was near the point of being overwhelmed.
“Jack?” Ianto choked out. A plea for what, he wasn’t sure.
Jack made no answer, but he gripped Ianto’s thighs a little tighter and rubbed his nose and cheek into the soft curved place between Ianto’s belly and thigh before he took Ianto’s cock into the warm, wet heat of his mouth.
Ianto couldn’t think any more.
====
Ianto awoke in the morning to a sound so oddly familiar that he thought for a moment he was back at his aunt and uncle’s farm for a summer holiday. He opened his eyes, remembered where he was, and leaned over Jack’s nude form to see out the window. He discovered that there were sheep all around the cottage, everywhere but in the small, fenced front garden. Some had put their heads over the fence to nibble the flowers.
“There are sheep outside the garden,” Ianto noticed aloud to the warm body buried in the covers in front of him. He leaned closer to the glass and peered down. “Badger Face - Torddu. I believe they’re eating our landlord’s roses.”
“Mm.” Jack said sleepily. “The cottage belongs to some farmers down the road. Sheep are probably theirs.” Still not opening his eyes he wrapped one arm around Ianto’s waist. “I think you should wake me up properly so we can go interview the witnesses.”
Ianto situated one leg over Jack’s and leaned down to bite lightly on his neck. “If I woke you up properly, there’d not be time to question the villagers until afternoon.”
“Hey, if nobody’s being eaten, kidnapped, or roared at, it can wait a couple of hours.”
“So it can.” Ianto moved his hand until it was over the hardness between Jack’s legs. “Especially if there’s a crisis here that needs to be averted.”
“Mm. You’re good at averting cri- oh, God.”
“Jack?”
“No more talking. More of that.”
Ianto chuckled. “Yes, sir.”
====
Jack had to evade a number of tourists on motorbikes to get to the centre of the village. He and Ianto were to talk to a Mrs Williams, who, according to the file, was a nurse. She was happy to meet with them at a Chinese restaurant on her lunch break.
Lowri Williams was in her early forties, a little stout around the middle, and was wearing the most outrageously garish set of colours Ianto had seen outside of a circus tent. He tried not to stare at the ruffled riot of red, purple and green decorating her form, but it was difficult. Though she seemed a perfectly nice person, Ianto could not help thinking how his father, God rest his soul, would roll over in his grave if he saw the cut of her blouse.
“Mrs Williams?” Jack asked, just as if he hadn’t seen her picture in three different reports.
“That’s right,” said the woman. She offered Jack and Ianto some of the tea from the pot on her table, which Jack declined for both of them, much to Ianto’s annoyance.
For once Jack was all business, and he pulled out some ID for the woman to look at. “We’re the special investigators from Cardiff. We’ve come to ask you about your report about the, uh, revel on the hill and the elves you saw…”
Mrs Williams pursed her lips at Jack’s tone. “From Cardiff, you say?” she asked in a tone of mild disbelief, or maybe reproof. “You came from Cardiff to investigate my sighting?”
“Our agency is very interested in elves,” Jack said seriously. “Is there any information you can give us that you didn’t give to the paper?”
“There’s some government agency in Cardiff interested in elves in North Wales, is that what you’re telling me?” Mrs Williams pursed her lips and leaned across the table to look Jack up and down. She seemed wholly dubious now.
“Yes, Mrs Williams,” Ianto inserted. “We were very interested in what you thought might be going on up in the hills where you reported your incident.”
The woman seemed reassured, either by Ianto’s respectful voice or his accent. She sat back.
“Mm-hm. Well, I said it all in my report to the police and the county paper. I saw some lights - white, glowing lights - and then I saw an elf up on the hillside running toward what looked like another group of elves. Though they were a fair distance away, so it was hard to be sure.”
Ianto nodded gravely. “Certainly. And what did your elves look like, can you remember?”
“Oh, aye! I’ll remember it all my life! Little fellows, three or four feet high, maybe, with pointy ears and longish noses. Oh, and blue! All blue, and they sparkled like fairy dust.”
At this, Jack looked suddenly enlightened.
“Do you remember seeing anything else?” Ianto pressed.
“Well, the lights got brighter, and then there they were - gone! Except they left one last little chap all alone when they disappeared into the hillside, and then he ran up into the hills, too. And I never saw any again, although I looked.” Mrs Williams looked fondly into the distance, as if her memory of the “elves” was so beautiful she wanted to hold it in front of her for as long as possible.
“What about trees?” Jack asked. “Did you see any unusual plants of any kind? Walking shrubs, that sort of thing?”
“Plants? Walking? Er, no…” Mrs Williams looked at Ianto and asked him in Welsh, “Are you sure he’s quite all right?”
Ianto shrugged, and gave an apologetic smile as he tilted his head in Jack’s direction. “He’s a little…you know,” Ianto tapped his forehead and replied in the same language, “overworked.” Ianto saw Jack frown and knew that Jack had at least picked up on the gist of the conversation.
“Ah,” said Mrs Williams, nodding understandingly. She went on in English, “At any rate, if you don’t believe me you can go and ask Deborah Pritchard up at the crossroads. She’s my closest friend and we were on a day hike together when the lights came. She saw it, too, or at least most of it.”
Ianto pulled out a notebook and pen. “Thank you. We would very much like to talk to her. Address?”
“Oh, you know, about halfway up the mill road on the right. Lovely flower garden, all that. You won’t miss it, believe me.”
====
Jack seemed peeved as they walked to the car. “What was all that about my being crazy?” he demanded. “Don’t think I don’t know what you were saying.”
Ianto was secretly amused by Jacks obvious discomfiture. “Well, I had to say something. Walking shrubberies? Honestly Jack, what did you expect her to think? And I didn’t say crazy, I said overworked.”
“You didn’t have to make it sound like I was losing my mind.” Jack frowned as he glanced at Ianto.
“If you don’t say things to civilians that make it sound like you’ve lost your mind, I won’t have to.”
“Yeah, well, listen: I’m the boss and we’re on official business here, and as such it’s important that I make a good, official impression on the locals. And if I don’t, somebody just might not get another blow job tonight, got that?”
Ianto suspected that it was an empty threat, but just to be on the safe side he let the matter drop.
====
It was soon evident why Mrs Williams had said that they couldn’t miss the Pritchard house. Properly speaking, it could have been called a mansion. Ianto was surprised to see the extensive, manicured gardens so near what was really just a small tourist village, but apparently the Pritchards had been residing in the same place for many generations.
Deborah Pritchard at first glance seemed the opposite of Mrs Williams: Mrs Pritchard was thin, tall, and sleek, and her clothing, which were perfectly tailored, was understated and fashionable. Yet she had nearly the exact same story to tell, and her eyes became just as dreamy at her descriptions. Ianto suspected it was a love of folklore that had bound the two women together in such a close friendship.
Jack, possibly to make up for his inability to extract any useful data the last time, flirted shamelessly with Mrs Pritchard to gain new information. As he sat down on the couch next to her, he actually struck a pose with his head tilted and Ianto’s notebook and pen at the ready in front of him. “And what happened when you saw the lights?” Jack asked encouragingly.
“First,” Mrs Pritchard purred, leaning conspiratorially towards Jack, “we both just stopped and looked. And the lights hovered off the ground in a line; four or five lights about, oh, ten feet off the ground. And then they started to go in a circle.”
“Did they?” Jack asked, smiling radiantly at Mrs Pritchard.
“Yes,” she returned, lowering her lashes and glancing upward through them. “They were definitely going in a circle.”
Ianto rolled his eyes.
“The lights went faster and became brighter, and just when I was going to turn away because it was so bright, there was a sort of…silence flash, and then they all disappeared.”
“Silence flash?” Ianto asked.
Deborah Pritchard looked a little irritated to be reminded of Ianto’s presence. “Do you know how it is when lightning flashes in the sky, and the light is there all around and then gone? The silence was like that. All the noise stopped for a second or two, and then it was back. And after that, there was only the one little blue elf, and he ran up toward the hill. And…”
“And what?” Jack pressed.
“Oh, it’s too silly,” Deborah said, glancing up through her eyelashes again.
Jack covered Deborah’s hand. “Oh, Mrs Pritchard, I would never think you were silly.”
Deborah protested, “Oh, please, you must call me Deborah!”
Ianto rolled his eyes again, this time making an “oh, come on!” gesture with his fingers behind Deborah’s back.
Jack ignored him. “And you can call me Jack. So, Deborah, won’t you tell us what it is you saw? Believe me when I say no matter what it is it won’t sound too far-fetched to me.”
“Well…if you promise not to laugh…” Deborah began. Jack nodded earnestly and she continued, “It did seem as if there were a little tree, like blue glass, following the elf into the forest. Um, you could almost say it was, well, walking after the elf. I know it’s silly, but that’s how it looked.”
Jack sat back in satisfaction. “Not at all! Deborah, you’ve been a tremendous help. Thank you so much.” He stood as if to go.
“Oh, but Jack, do you need to leave so soon? I did have some ideas about how to catch a photo of the Little People. ”
“I’m sorry ma’am,” said Ianto, before Jack had time change his mind and decide that they could linger. “We have some more investigating to do today.”
“Oh.” Mrs Pritchard looked disappointed, then brightened. “I’ll tell you what, though: I’m having a little party here later tonight - a sort of fundraiser for the local hospital. I’d love to have you come.” She remembered to give Ianto a polite acknowledgement. “And you, too, of course, Mr Jones.” She gave Jack a winsome smile. “It’s black tie. I bet you look just delicious in formal attire. Shall I see you both around nine o’clock?”
Jack crossed the room and took the woman’s hand, looking at her eyes intently. “Thank you. I can’t promise, but we’ll come if we can. You’ve been very helpful.”
====
Ianto shook his head on the way to the SUV. “You really are shameless, Jack!”
Jack leaned over and nudged Ianto with his shoulder. “Jealous?”
“Oh, please,” Ianto said exasperatedly, turning his eyes upward once again.
“You know, if you keep rolling your eyes like that they’re going to get stuck that way,” Jack warned in a serious tone as they climbed into the car.
“Oh? And then I’d miss watching all your flirting, is that it?”
“Hey, flirting is flirting,” Jack said smoothly. “Action is…very different.” Jack laid his hand on Ianto’s thigh and let it drift towards Ianto’s crotch. “See how different action is?”
“What I see is Deborah Pritchard looking through the window at us. Not that I don’t appreciate what you’re starting, but maybe we could do without an audience.”
Jack looked like a little boy from whom a piece of candy had been withdrawn. Sulkily, he turned the keys in the ignition.
“Do you know what we’re dealing with, Jack?” Ianto asked a moment later.
“Think so. Nothing hostile, thank goodness. And I’m not going to bother with the retcon on this one. Those stories about elves and fairies have been circulating since before Torchwood was even formed, when the Sleja spaceship first came through the rift. Torchwood’s been turning a blind eye toward them - they’ve provided some interesting technology and information, and all they really needed was some space to finish the repairs on their craft. They’ve stayed here in a near-quarantine state, using something like our perception filter to hide themselves. Sounds like they finished and left.”
“It also sounds like one got left behind,” Ianto said, thinking of “the little blue fellow” that Mrs Williams said went running to the hills after the flash of light. “Why would that happen? Is the last one going to be stuck here?”
“Yeah, and that would be a problem. He’s not going to be able to survive on his own for long without his ship: the Sleja are bio-mineral creatures, and there’s no such thing as a rock-plant on this planet, so there’s nothing for him to eat. And we can’t have an ‘elf’ wandering around unsupervised. He might decide he’s hungry enough to come into the village and explore.”
“And the walking tree?” Ianto was curious about what purpose a walking shrub could serve a blue, elf-like alien.
“It’s a sort of life boat. A small piece of the mother ship breaks off, grows rapidly, becomes place to hide and hopefully a way to connect with his own kind again.”
“So he won’t starve for a while, at least,” Ianto speculated.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t need to take care of the situation ASAP. I’m not taking any chances, here. The last thing earth needs a bunch of people taking pieces off a rock-tree as a souvenir and causing the world’s first bio-mineral virus.”
“Is that possible?” Ianto asked, startled.
Jack shrugged. “Anything is possible. You ought to know.”
They drove a bit further before Jack pointed. “Look at that. What do you see?”
“Nothing…” Ianto said, following the direction of Jack’s finger.
Jack pulled the SUV off the road and over some low grass to rest by an area with a grove of trees. He pointed again. “Look right there. Now what do you see?”
Ianto shook his head. “I don’t quite…”
Jack was already outside the car and opening up the back. Ianto followed.
“Let’s see,” Jack said, rifling through. “First aid kit - we might need that if we get into a scuffle. Lots of big guns, always a good idea. Yan, where’s the transmogrifying visualizer?”
“In the small blue case, there. Jack, am I supposed to be noticing something? What do you see?”
“Nothing,” Jack answered, pulling out the blue case. “And that’s what’s making me suspicious.” He took out some instruments and put them together with skilled ease.
Ianto could follow what Jack was doing, but he’d never seen the visualizer used before. He watched as Jack slid the last piece into place.
“Watch this,” Jack said over his shoulder. He aimed the visualizer in front of him and squeezed the trigger. Immediately Ianto began to notice a shimmer in the air, and after a few moments he saw a large tree beginning to appear. As it took form, Ianto was stunned. It was as if the tree were made of transparent blue glass, or ice. The trunk was taller than either of them, and the branches jutted at artificial angles that one saw often in a child’s drawing.
“Is this the lifeboat?” Ianto asked.
“I’m guessing so,” Jack replied. “Amazing, isn’t it? Made of living rock. This baby probably grew eight feet inside of a week.” He packed the visualizer back into it’s case. “That means our little friend is around here somewhere. Why don’t you see if you can find him, Yan? Bring him back here, see if we can get him to communicate with us. I’ll guard the jeep and make sure none of the locals comes exploring.”
“Me?” exclaimed Ianto. “Why on earth should be I trying to find the alien? I don’t know anything about it. You go find the alien; I’ll stay here in case of locals.”
“I’m a better distraction if someone comes along,” Jack protested.
“Believe me, I can be plenty distracting,” assured Ianto. “And I’m not going to try and reason with some Sleck I know nothing about.”
“Sleja,” corrected Jack.
“See?” said Ianto. “I can’t even pronounce the name right.” He sat down on the back of the SUV near the hub equipment, loosened his tie and took off his jacket. He rolled up his sleeves as he looked at Jack as if surprised Jack hadn’t moved. “Off you go!” Ianto waved Jack away.
Jack put his hand on his hip. “Hey! I’m the boss!” he protested.
“Exactly so. And as such your superior knowledge and expertise should be put to its best use.”
Jack opened and closed his mouth, then stomped away with a disgruntled snort.
Jack had only been gone a few minutes when Ianto heard a snuffling in the brush. Cautiously, he reached behind him for a gun and walked to where he had heard the sound. It was getting closer and closer to the rock tree, and Ianto went closer to the noise.
“All right, Mr Rock creature, you can come out now. We’re not going to hurt you,” Ianto said out loud as convincingly as he could. Of course, he didn’t want to hurt the creature, but he was still keeping a good hold on his hand-held cannon.
Crack, snuffle, snuffle, went the bushes. Ianto crept closer, leaning over to see what was rustling.
Suddenly, a blue face with a long, narrow muzzle, pointed ears, and huge black eyes was right in front of Ianto’s nose.
“Roah - HERLEO!” roared the alien, exposing some of the biggest, sharpest teeth Ianto had ever seen.
Ianto jumped back in surprise, landing heavily against the rock tree, and the alien gave something that sounded like a yelp before turning and fleeing.
A moment later, Jack came crashing through the brush.
“Where is it?” Jack panted. “I heard it over here. Did you see it?”
“It ran off that way!” Ianto said, carefully pulling himself up from the smoothness of the alien tree. He hissed. “Jack, my back is burning. Is there something toxic on the…?”
Jack was already in motion. “Don’t touch it. Don’t touch your back or your shirt or anything that touched the alien’s food source. Come on, we need to take care of that right away.”
Ianto noticed as he followed Jack that the ground around the tree had now been littered with some sort of sparkling blue stuff. Pollen?
Jack motioned Ianto to sit on a flat rock and pulled the first aid box out of the SUV. He sat down behind Ianto and made an empathetic noise.
“You’re shirt is dissolving already. What a mess.”
Ianto could hear the med kit being opened and the soft sllf, sllf of a pair of latex gloves being donned behind him. “I think it’s safer if I just cut it off. It’s, uh, sticking to your back, Yan.” Jack retrieved the medical scissors and began cutting at the sleeves of the shirt up through the neck. “So when I pull off the shirt be ready, okay?”
“As long as I can charge Torchwood for a new one. After all, I did lose this shirt in the line of - gah! Fuck!” As the fabric came away from his flaming skin, Ianto tried to get himself under control and decided it wasn’t worth it. “Fwrch!”
“Just hang on, Yan. I’ve seen this before; it’s an allergy to bio-minerals. They’re not native to this planet, and most humans react the same way they would to a bad case of nettles.”
Ianto could feel the last remnants of the rest of his shirt being pulled away. He heard a hiss as Jack sucked air in through his teeth sympathetically. “A really, really bad case of nettles. That causes a shiny blue glitter on the skin.” Jack paused before continuing. “Luckily it’s common enough that we keep an antidote in the med kit: a sort of calamine lotion for rock-plant allergies. You know, it’s funny how you could go from one end of the galaxy to the other, and you still find -”
Ianto, feeling as though he had a large, hot iron pressing onto his back, was becoming annoyed as well as injured. “You, know Jack, I think we should take a little break at this point. Why don’t you read from a compendium of inter-galactic ailments? Even better: why don’t you radio the hub and get Tosh to send someone down with more files? Shall I -"
“Never mind, Ianto you’ve made your point. I’m getting the antidote out now.”
“Good.”
“You do that a lot, you know,” Jack added.
“Do what?”
“Make an inappropriate joke to make me feel guilty. Not that it doesn’t work.” Jack shifted. “All right, get ready. I’m pouring intergalactic goop into my hands. Take a deep breath. I’m going to rub it on your right shoulder first.”
Ianto twisted to face Jack. “Why are you warning me?” he asked suspiciously.
Jack gave a grimace. “The skin might feel a little more…intense before the antidote starts working. Just for a second or two.”
Ianto gave him a look.
“Trust me, Yan. We need to take care of this before it blisters. Turn around?”
Ianto turned away with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “Wait,” Ianto ordered abruptly. “Let me catch my breath.” Ianto made an effort to even out his breathing and concentrate on the grass in front of him before he gave a nod.
Jack didn’t hesitate to begin to smooth the cure over Ianto’s back. Ianto inhaled sharply at the sensation, but forced himself to expel the air out of his lungs very slowly. There was, as Jack had said, a moment or two of increased pain in the places where Jack touched, and then a rapid decrease. At first Ianto had to concentrate in order not to pull away, but as his discomfort lessened he began to relax.
Jack began rubbing the stuff in very thoroughly, and Ianto suspected Jack was taking more time than was strictly necessary. Well, Ianto was not objecting now that the pain was gone. He leaned a little further forward, putting his face in his hands and sighing.
“Thank you, Jack.”
“No worries. And for the record, I’m the boss. That makes me always right, right?”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Of course, Sir,” Ianto declared through his fingers.
Jack cuffed Ianto lightly on the back of the head.
“No need to be sarcastic. Now, before we go back, where did our little friend get to?”
“There, near the low scrub.”
But after an hour and a half of searching the pair had found nothing, and, just to make sure that they gave up early, the universe arranged a sudden downpour that drenched them both to the skin and made it impossible for Ianto to see anything more than five feet away.
They returned to the cottage, muddy and wet but not entirely discouraged. At least they had found where the Sleja was camped and had a fair idea of what was going on.
“I’m going to see if I can raise Tosh on the comm,” Jack said. “See what kind of help she can give us in communicating with these things. You want to hop in the shower and get that gunk off you?”
“Yes,” said Ianto fervently, a little surprised that Jack hadn’t asked to join him. Fifteen minutes later he got his answer as Jack stepped into the shower.
“Need some help washing your back?” Jack asked with a grin.
Ianto turned around with an answering smile. “I might.”
Ianto was a little surprised when Jack actually washed his back. He was less so when Jack dropped the washrag, knelt down behind him, grasped his ass and began to use his tongue in generous and creative ways before turning Ianto around and doing other things to Ianto that made his brain explode. And when Ianto had had the most mind-blowing orgasm since - well, since the night before, Jack stood again, licking his lips.
“Oh, Ianto, did you bring my tux? I thought we could go over to Deborah’s tonight. Maybe make sure we don’t need to do any more damage control. You know, double check stories from the guests and such.”
Ianto, gasping and panting against the wall of the shower, nearly on the verge of collapse, said, “What?”
“Well, you know, we could make sure that no one got curious and decided to go investigate on their own. So did you? Bring my tux?”
“Why on earth,” said Ianto when he could put two words together, “would I bring your formal clothes to an alien investigation?”
“But did you?”
“Well, yes. I like to be prepared for any possible occasion. I brought jeans and a t-shirt as well, in case you need to get dirty.”
“Hmm…” Jack murmured, nibbling Ianto’s ear. “I like the way you think.”
“I should…I’m going to go get dressed,” Ianto said breathlessly. “If we’re going, we should try not to be late.”
“I’m not worried,” Jack said. “I hear tell I’ve got pretty good timing.”
====
Leaving Jack in the shower, Ianto, still naked, walked to the living room to retrieve his tie. He blinked twice.
Jack had left puddles of water and mud from the kitchen door all the way to the bedroom. Apparently he hadn’t even bothered to take off his shoes before walking all over the cottage. Ianto struggled with himself for a moment, reminding himself that he was not going to clean up after Jack. It was no use. Ianto heaved a hefty sigh and went to the kitchen to get some rags. He returned to the living room and went down on his hands and knees to clean up the mess.
He was nearly done when he felt, rather than heard, Jack in the doorway to the bedroom.
Ianto, mustering as much dignity as was possible while naked and down on his hands and knees cleaning someone else’s muddy footprints, turned to Jack with narrowed eyes. He glanced pointedly at the floor.
Jack followed his line of vision and held up his hands in defence. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry!”
Ianto knelt up and put a fist on his hip, still clutching a muddy rag with his other hand. “Please remember, Jack, that when you track muck through the house someone has to clean it up after.”
He meant to scold, but he had a hard time remaining severe because Jack Harkness looked distractingly sexy in his tuxedo. He couldn’t recall ever having seen Jack in formal clothes before. He looked more sexy and desirable than ever. And furthermore, Jack was gazing at Ianto as if he wanted to swallow him whole.
“So stern.” Jack purred. “If I don’t remember to wipe my feet next time will you take me over your knee and spank me?”
Ianto pursed his lips, trying not to smile. “Absolutely not.” He wrenched his eyes away from sexy, elegant Jack and glanced pointedly back to the last of the mud on the floor. “But if you promise to scrape your boots and hang up your coat when you come in out of the rain, I might consider it.”
Jack grinned. “I’ll never forget again,” he vowed. After a pause he continued, “God, you’re gorgeous like that: all naked and annoyed.”
“Good. Because I think I deserve a little reward for cleaning up your mess.”
Jack crossed to Ianto, bent down, and kissed him thoroughly. “Absolutely.”
Ianto pulled away. “Much as I hate to say it, Jack, we have somewhere to be.”
“I changed my mind. Bed sounds more fun than a party. Tosh did some…I’ll explain later.” Jack took Ianto’s hand and helped him up. “Kiss me again.”
The two men moved toward each other, putting mouths to necks, to lips, to ears, to anything, while moving toward the bedroom.
Ianto had Jack’s jacket, tie, and most of his shirt off before they hit the bed.
“Fuck me,” Ianto pleaded. “Please, Jack, I want you…”
“Yes.” Jack kissed Ianto again, easing him down on the bed and stripping off the rest of his clothes.
Ianto crawled over the bed and picked up Jack’s trousers off the floor, handing them to him with a mock scowl. Jack laughed and hung them neatly over a chair. When he turned back, he grinned lasciviously at Ianto, who was still on his hands and knees.
“Ianto,” Jack said, “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.” He reached down to take hold of Ianto’s hip, then took a quick bite at Ianto’s left cheek.
Ianto yelped and squirmed away, laughing, and Jack let him go, crawling onto the bed himself. He lay on his side next to Ianto and the two faced each other, suddenly becoming serious. Ianto reached out to stroke Jack’s lower lip with his thumb, and Jack smiled, capturing Ianto’s hand in his own.
“You’ve done this?” Jack asked quietly.
Ianto shook his head. “Been with a couple guys, but never got to this, no.”
Jack drew Ianto’s hand to his mouth and sucked on Ianto’s index finger for a moment or two. “I’m honoured. I’ll make it good, I promise.”
“I know you will,” Ianto reassured.
Jack let go of Ianto’s hand and scooted down to the middle of the bed, taking hold of Ianto’s hip. Ianto expected Jack to roll him over onto his stomach, but instead Jack held him firmly on his side and lay his head down next to Ianto’s cock, which was already half-hard. Jack reached out with his tongue and gave a little lick. Ianto gasped and his cock sprang to attention. Jack gave another few soft licks and a gentle suckle before he got up and moved behind Ianto.
“Move over a bit,” Jack instructed, “and hand me the lube in my saving kit.”
Obediently, Ianto moved toward the edge of the bed and fished a large bottle of lube out of the bag on the nightstand. Ianto handed Jack the bottle and started to roll onto his stomach. Jack stopped him with a hand on his hip.
“No,” Jack said from behind him. He kissed Ianto’s shoulder before he sat up. “Stay on your side, just like that. Get comfortable: we’re going to do this nice and slow.”
Ianto nodded and pulled a pillow under his head. Lazily, he began to stroke himself a little. He heard Jack draw in his breath behind him.
“Oh, yesss,” Jack whispered. “Perfect.”
Ianto heard a lid open and shut and closed his eyes. One of Jack’s hands came around to draw up Ianto’s uppermost knee, and then caressed his thigh. Jack kept petting Ianto there while his other hand, slick and slightly chill, brought it’s fingers down into the crack of Ianto’s buttocks.
Ianto squirmed in spite of himself.
“It’s going to be good, Yan,” Jack reminded him.
“I know,” Ianto murmured. “Just surprised me a little.”
Jack continued to stroke him with one hand while moving the other between rounded cheeks of his arse. “I’m just going to touch you here for a while, okay? I won’t do anything without telling you.”
Ianto chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. “I’m not a blushing virgin, Jack. I do know how this works. You had your tongue half in me earlier; I’m not nervous.”
Jack didn’t stop what he was doing, but he leaned down nearer to Ianto and whispered, “Let me tell you something, Ianto Jones: I’m going to make this so good for you that whenever you think of me, you want me to bend you over and fuck you where you stand.”
Ianto gave a low moan, and Jack continued to speak as he moved his slick fingers creatively over Ianto’s most intimate places. “I want to make this so good that you want me to fuck you over my desk, and in the SUV, and in that empty cell on the last sub-floor where it’s too dark to see and it smells like mouldy concrete. Hell, I want you to want me to throw you on the ground and fuck you when we’re out chasing Weevils, because I want you so bad that I will throw you on the ground and fuck you while we’re supposed to be chasing Weevils. So I’m going to go as slow as I want and I’m going to do whatever I need to in order to make you love having me fuck you. Right here, right now, I’m going to make this so good for you that you never forget what’s waiting for you, not even when you’re making the fucking coffee in the morning.”
Jack leaned back and here was a moment’s silence. “Well,” said Ianto, “when you put it like that…”
“Thought you’d see it my way,” Jack said smugly. “Now shut up and relax like I told you to.”
Ianto gave an amused huff. “You’re the boss.”
“Damn straight.” Jack nodded in satisfaction.
“But first come over here and kiss me,” Ianto said, shaking off Jack’s hands and rolling onto his back. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever heard anyone say in my life.”
Jack obediently returned the kiss, and Ianto felt in Jack’s body how much Jack really did want him, but Jack parted from Ianto in a few moments. He stroked Ianto’s cock a few times before he sat up again, arranging Ianto on his side in exactly the same position as before.
“Stay!” Jack commanded, popping the lube open again.
“Yes, sir,” chuckled Ianto, closing his eyes.
Once again, one hand began to stroke Ianto’s hip while the other hand, not so cold this time, reached down between Ianto’s cheeks and began stroking and massaging. Occasionally one of Jacks fingers would rub over Ianto’s opening, or circle around, or press in slightly, but then it would go back to its slow stroking again.
“Touch yourself, Ianto,” Jack whispered.
It was a little awkward with his knee drawn up, but Ianto managed.
“Good,” praised Jack. “Feel this?” He rubbed his index finger over Ianto’s opening again.
“Mm,” replied Ianto happily. “Yes…”
“It’s going inside you now, but slow. I want you to push back a little and help it along, all right?”
“Mm,” said Ianto again.
“All right?” Jack repeated insistently.
“Yes, Jack,” Ianto breathed. “Just hurry up.”
“Nope,” Jack said. “No hurrying. Here we go.” Jack begin to press inward, and Ianto suddenly felt like his whole body was concentrated at a single point.
Ianto was amazed at the sensation of Jack’s single finger sliding inside of him. It felt good, true, but it was also as if, somewhere in the back of his mind where conscious thought never rose, the primal part of his brain had a taboo about being penetrated, and it forcefully reminded him that he was being made terribly vulnerable by the act.
It was, Ianto felt, as he rocked back and Jack went farther inside, as if Jack was not only breaching his body but his emotional barriers as well. It was the most intimate thing Ianto had ever experienced, and it was that feeling, rather than simply the physical sensation, that caused Ianto’s whole body to become suffused with desire.
“Oh, God,” Ianto said. “Jack, that’s…”
“I know.” Jack leaned down, kissed Ianto’s shoulder lightly and rubbed at his thigh.
Jack began to move his finger in and out of Ianto, much more slowly than Ianto would have liked, but Jack soon picked up the pace and did something that made Ianto arch his back and yell, “Duw!”
“Isn’t it though?” said Jack, laughing. He continued to find Ianto’s prostate with beautiful accuracy.
“Oh, Jack, please - please! More!”
“I can do more,” Jack said, taking both hands away. At Ianto’s distressed mewl, Jack hastened to assure, “Just getting a more lube.” He steadied Ianto with one hand while the second hand pressed two fingers forward.
Against all Ianto’s conscious wishes he tensed at the larger invasion, and Jack’s fingers were suddenly painful.
Ianto bit his lip and said nothing about this, but Jack pulled his fingers out and the burning ceased. “It’s okay, Yan,” Jack said soothingly. “It doesn’t have to hurt. I promise it doesn’t have to hurt. Just relax.” With his free hand Jack stroked down Ianto’s side and back up again.
“It’s - I don’t mind,” Ianto said over his shoulder. “I just want-”
“Shh,” Jack said, raising his eyebrows. “My way, remember? I’ve got a desk back at the hub with your name on it.”
Jack began stretching Ianto all over again with a single digit. Ianto wasn’t sure whether he was more gratified for the patience or frustrated with the slowness, but when Jack again found the place inside Ianto that made him writhe, he forgot to care. Ianto wanted nothing but more of that: a lot more of that. When Ianto was finally gasping and pushing hard back onto Jack’s finger, he felt the gentle press of two fingers against his entrance. Ianto tried to push back onto them both, hard, but Jack took a tight grip on his hip and wouldn’t let him move much. It was excruciatingly slow, but very, very, good.
Jack began twistinghis fingers and to build up a rhythm again as he did so, touching and stroking Ianto wherever he could.
“Oh, God,” Ianto gasped. “Oh, yes. Please, Jack, Please…”
“Oh, yeah,” Jack whispered. “I want to hear that a lot. Are you ready for me, Yan? Do you want me inside you?”
“Please!” Ianto repeated. He wasn’t sure he was capable of much more coherence. “Yes, Jack, please!”
Jack lay down behind Ianto and pulled Ianto to him, aligning them both. Ianto felt the tip of Jack at his entrance, and when Jack reached around and grasped Ianto’s erection it was almost too much.
“Jack, I’m going to -”
Jack, understanding, loosened his grip and pressed forward slowly, incrementally, rocking into Ianto. Ianto understood immediately and pushed back in sync with Jack’s thrusts, marvelling at the sensation of being touched there, and then being breached there, and then being filled and oh, god, it was going to be too much - but no, it was fine, and then Jack was inside him.
Jack was inside him.
There was a stillness between them for several seconds.
“You all right, Yan?”
“It’s good,” Ianto said, amazed. “It’s perfect.” He paused. “Please, Jack,” he said in an entirely different tone than before. “Please.”
Jack chuckled against Ianto’s neck. “I will.”
Jack took Ianto’s erection more firmly and began to stroke, and Ianto put a hand over his, not so much to guide him, but because he wanted to touch Jack anywhere he could. Jack began to thrust into Ianto, slowly and without too much force, but Ianto wanted more and found that he could push back with his hips and make Jack pick up the pace.
“Ianto,” gasped Jack. “You feel so good. You’re so hot, tight, I can feel…”
Ianto lost track of what Jack was saying at that moment, because there was a wave building inside him, hot and light and good, and he wanted more, more, and he was almost there, almost there, if it was just a little harder, a little faster (and it was good, so good) then it would…
Ianto cried out wordlessly as he came, and a few seconds later, he felt Jack tense behind him and shout Ianto’s name.
Ianto lay, boneless, his mind blank, with Jack behind him. Jack kissed his neck - idly, he realized that Jack seemed to really like the back of his neck - and they stayed that way for a few minutes. Then Jack got up and went into the bathroom. Ianto heard the sound of water running and Jack returned a moment later with a warm, wet towel and cleaned the both of them. Ianto felt oddly shy about this, and it made him feel both vulnerable and cared for.
“Go to sleep if you want,” Jack whispered, lying down behind Ianto again and wrapping an arm around his waist.
“All right,” Ianto said, not needing much persuasion. “But don’t go anywhere.”
“No.”
Ianto was beginning to close his eyes, but suddenly remembered something. He looked over his shoulder. “Why didn’t we need to go to Deborah Pritchard’s party?”
Jack looked sheepish. “No reason, to, really. I just thought it would be a nice excuse to dress you up and take you out.”
“Oh. Well, that didn’t quite go as planned, did it?”
“No,” admitted Jack, “but I like the way it turned out, don’t you?”
“Oh, definitely. But you said something about Tosh, earlier?”
“Hm? Oh, Tosh pinpointed the location of the Sleja that was left behind via satellite. She ran the language converter and managed to use the hub as a relay station to send a distress call to the Sleja mother ship. They’ll be here soon to pick up their last crewmember. No harm done. We’ll stick around for a day or two and make sure our little friend gets picked up safely, and that his tree is taken away or destroyed. Tosh can track it remotely and let us know when that happens.”
Ianto was still fuzzy, but there was something obvious in Jacks explanation. “Wait a moment. So Tosh could have handled the whole thing, start to finish, from the hub? We could have gotten the same information from the villagers via email or phone. Why bother to come here at all?”
Jack didn’t answer.
“Jack? Why did we bother to come all the way out here? What purpose did it serve?”
Jack seemed embarrassed. “Give me a second. I’m trying to think of something.”
Ianto turned over and smiled at Jack. “I thought you were joking about wanting to spend a few days alone. But that was it, wasn’t it?”
“It never hurts to handle things in person,” Jack protested.
“Oh, I like the way you handle things,” Ianto said. “I like it very much. I can’t wait to get back to the hub.”
Jack eyed Ianto, confused. “Really?”
“Oh, yes, lots of paperwork waiting for you. On your desk. I’m sure I’ll have to help with that. And remote cells of the lower levels to patrol. Weevils to catch. I’m sure there’ll be lots of ‘work’ to do.”
Jack rolled over to nibble on Ianto’s shoulder, and grinned. “Ianto Jones, I like the way you think.”
End
Author: anni_q
Recipient: kauneinsuru
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, obviously, but if you have any side pairings or past and implied pairings, please put them here.
Summary: Jack takes Ianto away from the hub on a mission to investigate possible alien sightings.
Rating: NC - 17
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or its characters, and no money is being made from this work of fiction.
Warnings: There’s a fair amount of sex - but we like that, don’t we?
Word Count: 10,000
Author's Notes: For the Stopwatch fic exchange. I didn’t fit quite everything requested in here, but I gave it my best shot.
Beta: Anonymous (many thanks to her for her patience and local information.)
Ianto peered out the window of the SUV and into the rain driven nearly horizontal by the wind. “I can barely see the road anymore. Should we pull over for a while until it lets up?”
Jack fiddled with the windshield wipers again. “Nah. We should be there pretty soon. Too late to start questioning the locals tonight, though. We’ll have to wait until morning.”
“About that, Jack. We’ve gone about as far from the rift as you can get and still be in Wales. Are we sure this isn’t just a few nutters looking for a good story to tell the tourists? There have been legends about little people and fairies for years in this area; the shops sell postcards with pictures of them.”
“Are we going to go through this again? You’ve seen the reports. Remember what happened last time we started hearing about ‘fairies?’”
“I did read the reports, which is what’s making me ask: glowing lights in the trees, revels in the forest - sounds like a lot of rubbish to me. Probably folklore embellished with a gin or two.”
“So, maybe it is. You going to complain about a little time away from the hub, just the two of us?” Jack gave Ianto a sly look.
Ianto smiled at him. “Not unless you attempt something untoward, Sir,” he answered primly.
Privately Ianto wished Jack would attempt something. Jack and Ianto had resumed their flirting weeks ago. Ianto had been trying to discreetly push things farther, but all he had to show for it were a few quick gropes here and there and one amazing kiss while the others had gone to lunch.
“Oh, believe me, when I want to do something untoward I won’t just ‘attempt’ it.” Jack smirked as he rubbed at the windshield with his bare hand. “Check the GPS for me, will you? Did I miss the turn? I can’t see a thing in this storm.”
“Nor can I, but the system says there’s a road coming up on your left just now.”
The SUV made an invigorating slide to the right with its rear wheels before completing its turn. Undisturbed, Ianto checked the GPS once again. “You should almost be right on top of it now, Jack.”
“Hope so. I can think of something I’d rather be on top of, only it’s kind of cramped in here.”
Ianto huffed in amusement. “I don’t expect that’s ever bothered you before.”
“Yeah, but the first - uh-oh.” As the “uh-oh” had corresponded exactly with a loud noise from near the left front wheel, Ianto presumed they’d hit something accidentally.
“What was it?” Ianto asked.
“Dunno. Fence post I think. With any luck that means we’re on the driveway.”
“It would have been luckier if Torchwood weren’t going to have to replace some poor farmer’s fence.”
Jack slowed the SUV to a snail’s pace until the wall of a stone building shone in the headlights.
“Honey, we’re home!” announced Jack cheerily. “One quaint, out-of-the-way rental cottage, converted from a cowshed, at your disposal.”
“Wouldn’t it have been easier to book a room in Betws-y-Coed at the Grand-hotel-something or other? Not that I’m complaining.”
“Renting the cottage is cheaper by the week. Aren’t you always telling me to watch the expense account? Besides, it’s more private. In case we have to…” Jack smirked and waved a hand vaguely in the air as he got out of the car. “…run some kind of tests or something.”
Run some tests, my arse. Thank God he’s finally taking some initiative. But aloud, Ianto simply said, “Ah. Of course. And how far are we from the village?”
“About twelve kilometres, give or take. Ianto, what is all this?”
“This suitcase is my clothing. The duffle is yours. Everything else is equipment from the hub. You know,” Ianto said pointedly, “in case we have to run tests, or something.” He couldn’t quite keep the smug humour out of his voice.
“Oh. Yeah. Good thinking.”
The cottage was comfortable, with a fireplace and some unexpected nooks in odd places. The master bedroom had a large king-sized bed, already turned down, and large leaded-glass windows through which nothing but the night rain was currently visible. There was a second, smaller bedroom adjoining the first by way of a large bathroom and a walk-in closet. Jack tossed his duffle on the larger bed and watched as Ianto took his own suitcase to the smaller room without comment.
“You mind doing the unpacking?” Jack asked. “I want to go see what’s in the kitchen. I’m starving.”
“Always wanting to get something in your mouth, aren’t you?” Ianto called after him. Jack gave a chuckle as he left, and a moment later Ianto heard him rifling around in the cupboards.
Ianto carefully began unpacking his clothes. When he was done with his own, he walked to the larger bedroom began on Jack’s, tsk-ing at the way Jack had packed even his shirts without folding them properly, and finally tossing Jacks shaving kit from the bottom of the duffel onto the dresser. When he’d finished, Ianto gazed at the hanging suits and shirts for a long few moments. His thoughts were interrupted as Jack came bounding gleefully back into the room.
“Look at these!” Jack waved a package at Ianto. “Orgasmic biscuits! I had no idea these were invented yet! Want to share some?”
Ianto took the package and glanced at the label before handing it back to Jack. “Jack, it says ‘organic biscuits,’ not ‘orgasmic.’”
“Oh. Still another hundred and fifty years to wait, then.” Jack looked so genuinely disgruntled about this that Ianto wanted to laugh. “Damned primitive technology. You people have no idea,” Jack added for good measure. He looked at the package for a moment more, then shrugged and reached inside for a handful of chocolate-covered wafers. “Guess I’m a little tired. Have a couple anyway?”
“No thanks. What would you do if I lost my trim figure because you plied me with chocolate-covered biscuits?”
Jack’s mouth quirked. “Shag you senseless, probably. I never could resist the way a man looks eating chocolate. Oh, and thanks for putting my clothes away.” Jack did a double take of the neatly hanging garments. “Our clothes are hanging up together.” He sounded surprised.
“There was only one closet,” Ianto said, sounding slightly defensive even to himself.
“Wasn’t complaining,” Jack assured. “Just looks…”
Like we’re playing house, Ianto thought. Yes, I noticed.
“…awfully neat for any place my clothes would be hanging,” Jack finished.
“Yes, well, I hope you can manage to keep it that way. I’m not picking up after you while we’re here.”
“Ianto, you wound me.” Jack tossed the biscuits aside and wrapped his arms around Ianto. “I’ll be good, I promise.”
Ianto laughed and put his own arms around Jack, giving the other man tacit permission to continue on and take a few liberties. “Not too good, I hope. I’ve begun to enjoy it when you’re misbehaving.”
Jack didn’t bother to answer; he just leaned in and kissed Ianto thoroughly. It was, like the other kiss, skilful and full of hints of things to come. Jack’s tongue brushed at Ianto’s lips and Ianto made a noise.
Jack broke off the kiss and gave Ianto a knowing grin. “No, not too good.” He brushed Ianto’s cheek with his thumb before giving him another quick kiss on the lips. “See you in the morning, Yan.”
And then, to Ianto’s astonishment, Jack turned around and left, closing the door to his bedroom on the way out. After all their flirting, their not so innocent touching, the innuendo in the car on the way over, and yet another spectacular kiss, Jack had left Ianto in front of the closet without so much as an invitation.
Ianto narrowed his eyes at Jack’s retreating figure, and drummed his fingers on his thigh.
“Oh, no. No you don’t,” Ianto muttered.
He gave the closed door a perfunctory knock (because even in the middle of annoyance and sexual frustration, Aunt Cadi’s chiding about manners was still in the back of his brain somewhere) before he walked right in. Jack hadn’t had time to become entirely naked yet, but he only had his briefs left to go and he looked delectable. As Ianto watched, Jack shucked the briefs, too, and gave them a vague toss toward a wicker hamper.
Ianto nearly swallowed his tongue when he saw Jack straighten up, but he held his ground.
“Just what do you think you’re playing at, Jack?” He managed to sputter out.
“What do you mean?”
Jack crossed his arms over his chest and looked affronted, but he didn’t fool Ianto. Jack was becoming aroused just by being naked in front of a fully-clothed Ianto, and Ianto didn’t believe in Jack’s ignorance for one minute. “I know you were turned on in there, and don’t pretend otherwise.”
“So?”
“SO, then you walk away from me and tell me you’ll see me in the morning. That’s hardly a pick-up line!”
“Hey, don’t blame me. You’re the one who wanted to take the other bedroom. That’s a pretty good sign we’re not sharing a bed tonight, wouldn’t you agree?”
Ianto was taken aback. “I didn’t want to presume.”
“Maybe you should presume. Then I would know I could do this.” Jack took two steps, reached over and grasped Ianto by the wrist, pulling him toward Jack until they were inches apart. Jack barely gave Ianto a split second to object before locking his mouth over Ianto’s in a way that was entirely possessive.
Ianto was caught up in the feelings of Jack’s mouth over his, the feelings of Jack’s skin under his fingers and the scent of Jack that always went straight to his groin. He gripped Jack at the waist, enamoured with the soft muscled bare skin over Jack’s ribs. Jack’s hands were under Ianto’s jacket, roving to find Ianto’s shape through his shirt.
Ianto opened his mouth a little and tried to capture Jack’s lower lip for nibbling, but Jack was a little faster and had his own agenda. There was a brief skirmish of mouths and Jack lost when Ianto captured Jack’s bottom lip. Ianto was glad for a moment that he’d won as he slid his tongue across the delicate skin he held captive, tasting Jack, a trace of salt and just a hint of chocolate from the cookies earlier. Their mouths melted together again, rubbing and tantalizing and exploring. Then Jack pulled away, breathing heavily.
“More of you,” Jack said, not hiding the lust in his eyes. “Less clothing. Why are you -” but on the word “you” he was drawn back in the game of who was going to do what to whom, because Ianto didn’t care about anything except touching Jack and getting his mouth on Jack’s again, and he surged forward to kiss Jack under the jaw. Jack gave a soft moan.
Of course, Ianto would have liked to been as undressed as Jack wanted him to be, but he didn’t want to stop kissing or touching in order to remove his clothing. Jack must have either cottoned to this or got tired of waiting, because he finally began to undress Ianto himself.
The feeling of Jack’s hands as they slipped, warm, over Ianto’s shoulders, between his jacket and his shirt, was surprisingly erotic, and it was more so when Jack’s fingers brushed Ianto’s neck taking off his tie. Ianto lowered his head to the juncture of Jack’s neck and shoulder, biting and sucking and licking to show Jack how much Ianto loved what Jack was doing to him. Somehow he managing to make another small task completely seductive Jack’s hands worked apart the buttons on Ianto’s shirt, purposefully brushing Ianto’s chest and his nipples, making Ianto gasp a little even as he grazed his teeth on Jack’s shoulder.
When Jack’s hands slid around Ianto’s thighs to cup his arse, and then worked the zip on the front of his trousers, Ianto was afraid he would lose control entirely. Jack made a little sound of disappointment as Ianto pushed Jack’s hands away.
Ianto shucked off his own trousers, taking care of his socks with a couple of short, awkward kicks. He put his arms around Jack while Jack cupped and kneaded Ianto’s buttocks through his boxers. One of Ianto’s arms went around Jack to palm the smooth skin of his back, and the other travelled downward so that Ianto could caress Jack’s backside.
The moment he did so, Jack pulled away from Ianto with a wicked gleam in his eye and knelt in front of him. Ianto barely had time to breathe “Oh, God,” before Jack had taken the waistband of Ianto’s boxers in his teeth and begun to slide them slowly off.
It wasn’t just the visual of Jack tugging with his teeth, still managing that roguish grin as he pulled, it was the light scratch of Jack’s cheek on his stomach, the nudge of his nose, and then the warm breath on Ianto’s stomach and cock as Jack pulled the silk out and down over his thighs.
“Oh, God,” Ianto breathed again, and his knees began to buckle.
Somehow Jack caught the backs of Ianto’s thighs and held him up. Ianto knew he couldn’t have stayed standing otherwise as he looked at Jack’s face, which had moved a few inches. Ianto knew what was coming and he wanted it - oh, yes, he wanted it, but he was near the point of being overwhelmed.
“Jack?” Ianto choked out. A plea for what, he wasn’t sure.
Jack made no answer, but he gripped Ianto’s thighs a little tighter and rubbed his nose and cheek into the soft curved place between Ianto’s belly and thigh before he took Ianto’s cock into the warm, wet heat of his mouth.
Ianto couldn’t think any more.
====
Ianto awoke in the morning to a sound so oddly familiar that he thought for a moment he was back at his aunt and uncle’s farm for a summer holiday. He opened his eyes, remembered where he was, and leaned over Jack’s nude form to see out the window. He discovered that there were sheep all around the cottage, everywhere but in the small, fenced front garden. Some had put their heads over the fence to nibble the flowers.
“There are sheep outside the garden,” Ianto noticed aloud to the warm body buried in the covers in front of him. He leaned closer to the glass and peered down. “Badger Face - Torddu. I believe they’re eating our landlord’s roses.”
“Mm.” Jack said sleepily. “The cottage belongs to some farmers down the road. Sheep are probably theirs.” Still not opening his eyes he wrapped one arm around Ianto’s waist. “I think you should wake me up properly so we can go interview the witnesses.”
Ianto situated one leg over Jack’s and leaned down to bite lightly on his neck. “If I woke you up properly, there’d not be time to question the villagers until afternoon.”
“Hey, if nobody’s being eaten, kidnapped, or roared at, it can wait a couple of hours.”
“So it can.” Ianto moved his hand until it was over the hardness between Jack’s legs. “Especially if there’s a crisis here that needs to be averted.”
“Mm. You’re good at averting cri- oh, God.”
“Jack?”
“No more talking. More of that.”
Ianto chuckled. “Yes, sir.”
====
Jack had to evade a number of tourists on motorbikes to get to the centre of the village. He and Ianto were to talk to a Mrs Williams, who, according to the file, was a nurse. She was happy to meet with them at a Chinese restaurant on her lunch break.
Lowri Williams was in her early forties, a little stout around the middle, and was wearing the most outrageously garish set of colours Ianto had seen outside of a circus tent. He tried not to stare at the ruffled riot of red, purple and green decorating her form, but it was difficult. Though she seemed a perfectly nice person, Ianto could not help thinking how his father, God rest his soul, would roll over in his grave if he saw the cut of her blouse.
“Mrs Williams?” Jack asked, just as if he hadn’t seen her picture in three different reports.
“That’s right,” said the woman. She offered Jack and Ianto some of the tea from the pot on her table, which Jack declined for both of them, much to Ianto’s annoyance.
For once Jack was all business, and he pulled out some ID for the woman to look at. “We’re the special investigators from Cardiff. We’ve come to ask you about your report about the, uh, revel on the hill and the elves you saw…”
Mrs Williams pursed her lips at Jack’s tone. “From Cardiff, you say?” she asked in a tone of mild disbelief, or maybe reproof. “You came from Cardiff to investigate my sighting?”
“Our agency is very interested in elves,” Jack said seriously. “Is there any information you can give us that you didn’t give to the paper?”
“There’s some government agency in Cardiff interested in elves in North Wales, is that what you’re telling me?” Mrs Williams pursed her lips and leaned across the table to look Jack up and down. She seemed wholly dubious now.
“Yes, Mrs Williams,” Ianto inserted. “We were very interested in what you thought might be going on up in the hills where you reported your incident.”
The woman seemed reassured, either by Ianto’s respectful voice or his accent. She sat back.
“Mm-hm. Well, I said it all in my report to the police and the county paper. I saw some lights - white, glowing lights - and then I saw an elf up on the hillside running toward what looked like another group of elves. Though they were a fair distance away, so it was hard to be sure.”
Ianto nodded gravely. “Certainly. And what did your elves look like, can you remember?”
“Oh, aye! I’ll remember it all my life! Little fellows, three or four feet high, maybe, with pointy ears and longish noses. Oh, and blue! All blue, and they sparkled like fairy dust.”
At this, Jack looked suddenly enlightened.
“Do you remember seeing anything else?” Ianto pressed.
“Well, the lights got brighter, and then there they were - gone! Except they left one last little chap all alone when they disappeared into the hillside, and then he ran up into the hills, too. And I never saw any again, although I looked.” Mrs Williams looked fondly into the distance, as if her memory of the “elves” was so beautiful she wanted to hold it in front of her for as long as possible.
“What about trees?” Jack asked. “Did you see any unusual plants of any kind? Walking shrubs, that sort of thing?”
“Plants? Walking? Er, no…” Mrs Williams looked at Ianto and asked him in Welsh, “Are you sure he’s quite all right?”
Ianto shrugged, and gave an apologetic smile as he tilted his head in Jack’s direction. “He’s a little…you know,” Ianto tapped his forehead and replied in the same language, “overworked.” Ianto saw Jack frown and knew that Jack had at least picked up on the gist of the conversation.
“Ah,” said Mrs Williams, nodding understandingly. She went on in English, “At any rate, if you don’t believe me you can go and ask Deborah Pritchard up at the crossroads. She’s my closest friend and we were on a day hike together when the lights came. She saw it, too, or at least most of it.”
Ianto pulled out a notebook and pen. “Thank you. We would very much like to talk to her. Address?”
“Oh, you know, about halfway up the mill road on the right. Lovely flower garden, all that. You won’t miss it, believe me.”
====
Jack seemed peeved as they walked to the car. “What was all that about my being crazy?” he demanded. “Don’t think I don’t know what you were saying.”
Ianto was secretly amused by Jacks obvious discomfiture. “Well, I had to say something. Walking shrubberies? Honestly Jack, what did you expect her to think? And I didn’t say crazy, I said overworked.”
“You didn’t have to make it sound like I was losing my mind.” Jack frowned as he glanced at Ianto.
“If you don’t say things to civilians that make it sound like you’ve lost your mind, I won’t have to.”
“Yeah, well, listen: I’m the boss and we’re on official business here, and as such it’s important that I make a good, official impression on the locals. And if I don’t, somebody just might not get another blow job tonight, got that?”
Ianto suspected that it was an empty threat, but just to be on the safe side he let the matter drop.
====
It was soon evident why Mrs Williams had said that they couldn’t miss the Pritchard house. Properly speaking, it could have been called a mansion. Ianto was surprised to see the extensive, manicured gardens so near what was really just a small tourist village, but apparently the Pritchards had been residing in the same place for many generations.
Deborah Pritchard at first glance seemed the opposite of Mrs Williams: Mrs Pritchard was thin, tall, and sleek, and her clothing, which were perfectly tailored, was understated and fashionable. Yet she had nearly the exact same story to tell, and her eyes became just as dreamy at her descriptions. Ianto suspected it was a love of folklore that had bound the two women together in such a close friendship.
Jack, possibly to make up for his inability to extract any useful data the last time, flirted shamelessly with Mrs Pritchard to gain new information. As he sat down on the couch next to her, he actually struck a pose with his head tilted and Ianto’s notebook and pen at the ready in front of him. “And what happened when you saw the lights?” Jack asked encouragingly.
“First,” Mrs Pritchard purred, leaning conspiratorially towards Jack, “we both just stopped and looked. And the lights hovered off the ground in a line; four or five lights about, oh, ten feet off the ground. And then they started to go in a circle.”
“Did they?” Jack asked, smiling radiantly at Mrs Pritchard.
“Yes,” she returned, lowering her lashes and glancing upward through them. “They were definitely going in a circle.”
Ianto rolled his eyes.
“The lights went faster and became brighter, and just when I was going to turn away because it was so bright, there was a sort of…silence flash, and then they all disappeared.”
“Silence flash?” Ianto asked.
Deborah Pritchard looked a little irritated to be reminded of Ianto’s presence. “Do you know how it is when lightning flashes in the sky, and the light is there all around and then gone? The silence was like that. All the noise stopped for a second or two, and then it was back. And after that, there was only the one little blue elf, and he ran up toward the hill. And…”
“And what?” Jack pressed.
“Oh, it’s too silly,” Deborah said, glancing up through her eyelashes again.
Jack covered Deborah’s hand. “Oh, Mrs Pritchard, I would never think you were silly.”
Deborah protested, “Oh, please, you must call me Deborah!”
Ianto rolled his eyes again, this time making an “oh, come on!” gesture with his fingers behind Deborah’s back.
Jack ignored him. “And you can call me Jack. So, Deborah, won’t you tell us what it is you saw? Believe me when I say no matter what it is it won’t sound too far-fetched to me.”
“Well…if you promise not to laugh…” Deborah began. Jack nodded earnestly and she continued, “It did seem as if there were a little tree, like blue glass, following the elf into the forest. Um, you could almost say it was, well, walking after the elf. I know it’s silly, but that’s how it looked.”
Jack sat back in satisfaction. “Not at all! Deborah, you’ve been a tremendous help. Thank you so much.” He stood as if to go.
“Oh, but Jack, do you need to leave so soon? I did have some ideas about how to catch a photo of the Little People. ”
“I’m sorry ma’am,” said Ianto, before Jack had time change his mind and decide that they could linger. “We have some more investigating to do today.”
“Oh.” Mrs Pritchard looked disappointed, then brightened. “I’ll tell you what, though: I’m having a little party here later tonight - a sort of fundraiser for the local hospital. I’d love to have you come.” She remembered to give Ianto a polite acknowledgement. “And you, too, of course, Mr Jones.” She gave Jack a winsome smile. “It’s black tie. I bet you look just delicious in formal attire. Shall I see you both around nine o’clock?”
Jack crossed the room and took the woman’s hand, looking at her eyes intently. “Thank you. I can’t promise, but we’ll come if we can. You’ve been very helpful.”
====
Ianto shook his head on the way to the SUV. “You really are shameless, Jack!”
Jack leaned over and nudged Ianto with his shoulder. “Jealous?”
“Oh, please,” Ianto said exasperatedly, turning his eyes upward once again.
“You know, if you keep rolling your eyes like that they’re going to get stuck that way,” Jack warned in a serious tone as they climbed into the car.
“Oh? And then I’d miss watching all your flirting, is that it?”
“Hey, flirting is flirting,” Jack said smoothly. “Action is…very different.” Jack laid his hand on Ianto’s thigh and let it drift towards Ianto’s crotch. “See how different action is?”
“What I see is Deborah Pritchard looking through the window at us. Not that I don’t appreciate what you’re starting, but maybe we could do without an audience.”
Jack looked like a little boy from whom a piece of candy had been withdrawn. Sulkily, he turned the keys in the ignition.
“Do you know what we’re dealing with, Jack?” Ianto asked a moment later.
“Think so. Nothing hostile, thank goodness. And I’m not going to bother with the retcon on this one. Those stories about elves and fairies have been circulating since before Torchwood was even formed, when the Sleja spaceship first came through the rift. Torchwood’s been turning a blind eye toward them - they’ve provided some interesting technology and information, and all they really needed was some space to finish the repairs on their craft. They’ve stayed here in a near-quarantine state, using something like our perception filter to hide themselves. Sounds like they finished and left.”
“It also sounds like one got left behind,” Ianto said, thinking of “the little blue fellow” that Mrs Williams said went running to the hills after the flash of light. “Why would that happen? Is the last one going to be stuck here?”
“Yeah, and that would be a problem. He’s not going to be able to survive on his own for long without his ship: the Sleja are bio-mineral creatures, and there’s no such thing as a rock-plant on this planet, so there’s nothing for him to eat. And we can’t have an ‘elf’ wandering around unsupervised. He might decide he’s hungry enough to come into the village and explore.”
“And the walking tree?” Ianto was curious about what purpose a walking shrub could serve a blue, elf-like alien.
“It’s a sort of life boat. A small piece of the mother ship breaks off, grows rapidly, becomes place to hide and hopefully a way to connect with his own kind again.”
“So he won’t starve for a while, at least,” Ianto speculated.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t need to take care of the situation ASAP. I’m not taking any chances, here. The last thing earth needs a bunch of people taking pieces off a rock-tree as a souvenir and causing the world’s first bio-mineral virus.”
“Is that possible?” Ianto asked, startled.
Jack shrugged. “Anything is possible. You ought to know.”
They drove a bit further before Jack pointed. “Look at that. What do you see?”
“Nothing…” Ianto said, following the direction of Jack’s finger.
Jack pulled the SUV off the road and over some low grass to rest by an area with a grove of trees. He pointed again. “Look right there. Now what do you see?”
Ianto shook his head. “I don’t quite…”
Jack was already outside the car and opening up the back. Ianto followed.
“Let’s see,” Jack said, rifling through. “First aid kit - we might need that if we get into a scuffle. Lots of big guns, always a good idea. Yan, where’s the transmogrifying visualizer?”
“In the small blue case, there. Jack, am I supposed to be noticing something? What do you see?”
“Nothing,” Jack answered, pulling out the blue case. “And that’s what’s making me suspicious.” He took out some instruments and put them together with skilled ease.
Ianto could follow what Jack was doing, but he’d never seen the visualizer used before. He watched as Jack slid the last piece into place.
“Watch this,” Jack said over his shoulder. He aimed the visualizer in front of him and squeezed the trigger. Immediately Ianto began to notice a shimmer in the air, and after a few moments he saw a large tree beginning to appear. As it took form, Ianto was stunned. It was as if the tree were made of transparent blue glass, or ice. The trunk was taller than either of them, and the branches jutted at artificial angles that one saw often in a child’s drawing.
“Is this the lifeboat?” Ianto asked.
“I’m guessing so,” Jack replied. “Amazing, isn’t it? Made of living rock. This baby probably grew eight feet inside of a week.” He packed the visualizer back into it’s case. “That means our little friend is around here somewhere. Why don’t you see if you can find him, Yan? Bring him back here, see if we can get him to communicate with us. I’ll guard the jeep and make sure none of the locals comes exploring.”
“Me?” exclaimed Ianto. “Why on earth should be I trying to find the alien? I don’t know anything about it. You go find the alien; I’ll stay here in case of locals.”
“I’m a better distraction if someone comes along,” Jack protested.
“Believe me, I can be plenty distracting,” assured Ianto. “And I’m not going to try and reason with some Sleck I know nothing about.”
“Sleja,” corrected Jack.
“See?” said Ianto. “I can’t even pronounce the name right.” He sat down on the back of the SUV near the hub equipment, loosened his tie and took off his jacket. He rolled up his sleeves as he looked at Jack as if surprised Jack hadn’t moved. “Off you go!” Ianto waved Jack away.
Jack put his hand on his hip. “Hey! I’m the boss!” he protested.
“Exactly so. And as such your superior knowledge and expertise should be put to its best use.”
Jack opened and closed his mouth, then stomped away with a disgruntled snort.
Jack had only been gone a few minutes when Ianto heard a snuffling in the brush. Cautiously, he reached behind him for a gun and walked to where he had heard the sound. It was getting closer and closer to the rock tree, and Ianto went closer to the noise.
“All right, Mr Rock creature, you can come out now. We’re not going to hurt you,” Ianto said out loud as convincingly as he could. Of course, he didn’t want to hurt the creature, but he was still keeping a good hold on his hand-held cannon.
Crack, snuffle, snuffle, went the bushes. Ianto crept closer, leaning over to see what was rustling.
Suddenly, a blue face with a long, narrow muzzle, pointed ears, and huge black eyes was right in front of Ianto’s nose.
“Roah - HERLEO!” roared the alien, exposing some of the biggest, sharpest teeth Ianto had ever seen.
Ianto jumped back in surprise, landing heavily against the rock tree, and the alien gave something that sounded like a yelp before turning and fleeing.
A moment later, Jack came crashing through the brush.
“Where is it?” Jack panted. “I heard it over here. Did you see it?”
“It ran off that way!” Ianto said, carefully pulling himself up from the smoothness of the alien tree. He hissed. “Jack, my back is burning. Is there something toxic on the…?”
Jack was already in motion. “Don’t touch it. Don’t touch your back or your shirt or anything that touched the alien’s food source. Come on, we need to take care of that right away.”
Ianto noticed as he followed Jack that the ground around the tree had now been littered with some sort of sparkling blue stuff. Pollen?
Jack motioned Ianto to sit on a flat rock and pulled the first aid box out of the SUV. He sat down behind Ianto and made an empathetic noise.
“You’re shirt is dissolving already. What a mess.”
Ianto could hear the med kit being opened and the soft sllf, sllf of a pair of latex gloves being donned behind him. “I think it’s safer if I just cut it off. It’s, uh, sticking to your back, Yan.” Jack retrieved the medical scissors and began cutting at the sleeves of the shirt up through the neck. “So when I pull off the shirt be ready, okay?”
“As long as I can charge Torchwood for a new one. After all, I did lose this shirt in the line of - gah! Fuck!” As the fabric came away from his flaming skin, Ianto tried to get himself under control and decided it wasn’t worth it. “Fwrch!”
“Just hang on, Yan. I’ve seen this before; it’s an allergy to bio-minerals. They’re not native to this planet, and most humans react the same way they would to a bad case of nettles.”
Ianto could feel the last remnants of the rest of his shirt being pulled away. He heard a hiss as Jack sucked air in through his teeth sympathetically. “A really, really bad case of nettles. That causes a shiny blue glitter on the skin.” Jack paused before continuing. “Luckily it’s common enough that we keep an antidote in the med kit: a sort of calamine lotion for rock-plant allergies. You know, it’s funny how you could go from one end of the galaxy to the other, and you still find -”
Ianto, feeling as though he had a large, hot iron pressing onto his back, was becoming annoyed as well as injured. “You, know Jack, I think we should take a little break at this point. Why don’t you read from a compendium of inter-galactic ailments? Even better: why don’t you radio the hub and get Tosh to send someone down with more files? Shall I -"
“Never mind, Ianto you’ve made your point. I’m getting the antidote out now.”
“Good.”
“You do that a lot, you know,” Jack added.
“Do what?”
“Make an inappropriate joke to make me feel guilty. Not that it doesn’t work.” Jack shifted. “All right, get ready. I’m pouring intergalactic goop into my hands. Take a deep breath. I’m going to rub it on your right shoulder first.”
Ianto twisted to face Jack. “Why are you warning me?” he asked suspiciously.
Jack gave a grimace. “The skin might feel a little more…intense before the antidote starts working. Just for a second or two.”
Ianto gave him a look.
“Trust me, Yan. We need to take care of this before it blisters. Turn around?”
Ianto turned away with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. “Wait,” Ianto ordered abruptly. “Let me catch my breath.” Ianto made an effort to even out his breathing and concentrate on the grass in front of him before he gave a nod.
Jack didn’t hesitate to begin to smooth the cure over Ianto’s back. Ianto inhaled sharply at the sensation, but forced himself to expel the air out of his lungs very slowly. There was, as Jack had said, a moment or two of increased pain in the places where Jack touched, and then a rapid decrease. At first Ianto had to concentrate in order not to pull away, but as his discomfort lessened he began to relax.
Jack began rubbing the stuff in very thoroughly, and Ianto suspected Jack was taking more time than was strictly necessary. Well, Ianto was not objecting now that the pain was gone. He leaned a little further forward, putting his face in his hands and sighing.
“Thank you, Jack.”
“No worries. And for the record, I’m the boss. That makes me always right, right?”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Of course, Sir,” Ianto declared through his fingers.
Jack cuffed Ianto lightly on the back of the head.
“No need to be sarcastic. Now, before we go back, where did our little friend get to?”
“There, near the low scrub.”
But after an hour and a half of searching the pair had found nothing, and, just to make sure that they gave up early, the universe arranged a sudden downpour that drenched them both to the skin and made it impossible for Ianto to see anything more than five feet away.
They returned to the cottage, muddy and wet but not entirely discouraged. At least they had found where the Sleja was camped and had a fair idea of what was going on.
“I’m going to see if I can raise Tosh on the comm,” Jack said. “See what kind of help she can give us in communicating with these things. You want to hop in the shower and get that gunk off you?”
“Yes,” said Ianto fervently, a little surprised that Jack hadn’t asked to join him. Fifteen minutes later he got his answer as Jack stepped into the shower.
“Need some help washing your back?” Jack asked with a grin.
Ianto turned around with an answering smile. “I might.”
Ianto was a little surprised when Jack actually washed his back. He was less so when Jack dropped the washrag, knelt down behind him, grasped his ass and began to use his tongue in generous and creative ways before turning Ianto around and doing other things to Ianto that made his brain explode. And when Ianto had had the most mind-blowing orgasm since - well, since the night before, Jack stood again, licking his lips.
“Oh, Ianto, did you bring my tux? I thought we could go over to Deborah’s tonight. Maybe make sure we don’t need to do any more damage control. You know, double check stories from the guests and such.”
Ianto, gasping and panting against the wall of the shower, nearly on the verge of collapse, said, “What?”
“Well, you know, we could make sure that no one got curious and decided to go investigate on their own. So did you? Bring my tux?”
“Why on earth,” said Ianto when he could put two words together, “would I bring your formal clothes to an alien investigation?”
“But did you?”
“Well, yes. I like to be prepared for any possible occasion. I brought jeans and a t-shirt as well, in case you need to get dirty.”
“Hmm…” Jack murmured, nibbling Ianto’s ear. “I like the way you think.”
“I should…I’m going to go get dressed,” Ianto said breathlessly. “If we’re going, we should try not to be late.”
“I’m not worried,” Jack said. “I hear tell I’ve got pretty good timing.”
====
Leaving Jack in the shower, Ianto, still naked, walked to the living room to retrieve his tie. He blinked twice.
Jack had left puddles of water and mud from the kitchen door all the way to the bedroom. Apparently he hadn’t even bothered to take off his shoes before walking all over the cottage. Ianto struggled with himself for a moment, reminding himself that he was not going to clean up after Jack. It was no use. Ianto heaved a hefty sigh and went to the kitchen to get some rags. He returned to the living room and went down on his hands and knees to clean up the mess.
He was nearly done when he felt, rather than heard, Jack in the doorway to the bedroom.
Ianto, mustering as much dignity as was possible while naked and down on his hands and knees cleaning someone else’s muddy footprints, turned to Jack with narrowed eyes. He glanced pointedly at the floor.
Jack followed his line of vision and held up his hands in defence. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry!”
Ianto knelt up and put a fist on his hip, still clutching a muddy rag with his other hand. “Please remember, Jack, that when you track muck through the house someone has to clean it up after.”
He meant to scold, but he had a hard time remaining severe because Jack Harkness looked distractingly sexy in his tuxedo. He couldn’t recall ever having seen Jack in formal clothes before. He looked more sexy and desirable than ever. And furthermore, Jack was gazing at Ianto as if he wanted to swallow him whole.
“So stern.” Jack purred. “If I don’t remember to wipe my feet next time will you take me over your knee and spank me?”
Ianto pursed his lips, trying not to smile. “Absolutely not.” He wrenched his eyes away from sexy, elegant Jack and glanced pointedly back to the last of the mud on the floor. “But if you promise to scrape your boots and hang up your coat when you come in out of the rain, I might consider it.”
Jack grinned. “I’ll never forget again,” he vowed. After a pause he continued, “God, you’re gorgeous like that: all naked and annoyed.”
“Good. Because I think I deserve a little reward for cleaning up your mess.”
Jack crossed to Ianto, bent down, and kissed him thoroughly. “Absolutely.”
Ianto pulled away. “Much as I hate to say it, Jack, we have somewhere to be.”
“I changed my mind. Bed sounds more fun than a party. Tosh did some…I’ll explain later.” Jack took Ianto’s hand and helped him up. “Kiss me again.”
The two men moved toward each other, putting mouths to necks, to lips, to ears, to anything, while moving toward the bedroom.
Ianto had Jack’s jacket, tie, and most of his shirt off before they hit the bed.
“Fuck me,” Ianto pleaded. “Please, Jack, I want you…”
“Yes.” Jack kissed Ianto again, easing him down on the bed and stripping off the rest of his clothes.
Ianto crawled over the bed and picked up Jack’s trousers off the floor, handing them to him with a mock scowl. Jack laughed and hung them neatly over a chair. When he turned back, he grinned lasciviously at Ianto, who was still on his hands and knees.
“Ianto,” Jack said, “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.” He reached down to take hold of Ianto’s hip, then took a quick bite at Ianto’s left cheek.
Ianto yelped and squirmed away, laughing, and Jack let him go, crawling onto the bed himself. He lay on his side next to Ianto and the two faced each other, suddenly becoming serious. Ianto reached out to stroke Jack’s lower lip with his thumb, and Jack smiled, capturing Ianto’s hand in his own.
“You’ve done this?” Jack asked quietly.
Ianto shook his head. “Been with a couple guys, but never got to this, no.”
Jack drew Ianto’s hand to his mouth and sucked on Ianto’s index finger for a moment or two. “I’m honoured. I’ll make it good, I promise.”
“I know you will,” Ianto reassured.
Jack let go of Ianto’s hand and scooted down to the middle of the bed, taking hold of Ianto’s hip. Ianto expected Jack to roll him over onto his stomach, but instead Jack held him firmly on his side and lay his head down next to Ianto’s cock, which was already half-hard. Jack reached out with his tongue and gave a little lick. Ianto gasped and his cock sprang to attention. Jack gave another few soft licks and a gentle suckle before he got up and moved behind Ianto.
“Move over a bit,” Jack instructed, “and hand me the lube in my saving kit.”
Obediently, Ianto moved toward the edge of the bed and fished a large bottle of lube out of the bag on the nightstand. Ianto handed Jack the bottle and started to roll onto his stomach. Jack stopped him with a hand on his hip.
“No,” Jack said from behind him. He kissed Ianto’s shoulder before he sat up. “Stay on your side, just like that. Get comfortable: we’re going to do this nice and slow.”
Ianto nodded and pulled a pillow under his head. Lazily, he began to stroke himself a little. He heard Jack draw in his breath behind him.
“Oh, yesss,” Jack whispered. “Perfect.”
Ianto heard a lid open and shut and closed his eyes. One of Jack’s hands came around to draw up Ianto’s uppermost knee, and then caressed his thigh. Jack kept petting Ianto there while his other hand, slick and slightly chill, brought it’s fingers down into the crack of Ianto’s buttocks.
Ianto squirmed in spite of himself.
“It’s going to be good, Yan,” Jack reminded him.
“I know,” Ianto murmured. “Just surprised me a little.”
Jack continued to stroke him with one hand while moving the other between rounded cheeks of his arse. “I’m just going to touch you here for a while, okay? I won’t do anything without telling you.”
Ianto chuckled and glanced over his shoulder. “I’m not a blushing virgin, Jack. I do know how this works. You had your tongue half in me earlier; I’m not nervous.”
Jack didn’t stop what he was doing, but he leaned down nearer to Ianto and whispered, “Let me tell you something, Ianto Jones: I’m going to make this so good for you that whenever you think of me, you want me to bend you over and fuck you where you stand.”
Ianto gave a low moan, and Jack continued to speak as he moved his slick fingers creatively over Ianto’s most intimate places. “I want to make this so good that you want me to fuck you over my desk, and in the SUV, and in that empty cell on the last sub-floor where it’s too dark to see and it smells like mouldy concrete. Hell, I want you to want me to throw you on the ground and fuck you when we’re out chasing Weevils, because I want you so bad that I will throw you on the ground and fuck you while we’re supposed to be chasing Weevils. So I’m going to go as slow as I want and I’m going to do whatever I need to in order to make you love having me fuck you. Right here, right now, I’m going to make this so good for you that you never forget what’s waiting for you, not even when you’re making the fucking coffee in the morning.”
Jack leaned back and here was a moment’s silence. “Well,” said Ianto, “when you put it like that…”
“Thought you’d see it my way,” Jack said smugly. “Now shut up and relax like I told you to.”
Ianto gave an amused huff. “You’re the boss.”
“Damn straight.” Jack nodded in satisfaction.
“But first come over here and kiss me,” Ianto said, shaking off Jack’s hands and rolling onto his back. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever heard anyone say in my life.”
Jack obediently returned the kiss, and Ianto felt in Jack’s body how much Jack really did want him, but Jack parted from Ianto in a few moments. He stroked Ianto’s cock a few times before he sat up again, arranging Ianto on his side in exactly the same position as before.
“Stay!” Jack commanded, popping the lube open again.
“Yes, sir,” chuckled Ianto, closing his eyes.
Once again, one hand began to stroke Ianto’s hip while the other hand, not so cold this time, reached down between Ianto’s cheeks and began stroking and massaging. Occasionally one of Jacks fingers would rub over Ianto’s opening, or circle around, or press in slightly, but then it would go back to its slow stroking again.
“Touch yourself, Ianto,” Jack whispered.
It was a little awkward with his knee drawn up, but Ianto managed.
“Good,” praised Jack. “Feel this?” He rubbed his index finger over Ianto’s opening again.
“Mm,” replied Ianto happily. “Yes…”
“It’s going inside you now, but slow. I want you to push back a little and help it along, all right?”
“Mm,” said Ianto again.
“All right?” Jack repeated insistently.
“Yes, Jack,” Ianto breathed. “Just hurry up.”
“Nope,” Jack said. “No hurrying. Here we go.” Jack begin to press inward, and Ianto suddenly felt like his whole body was concentrated at a single point.
Ianto was amazed at the sensation of Jack’s single finger sliding inside of him. It felt good, true, but it was also as if, somewhere in the back of his mind where conscious thought never rose, the primal part of his brain had a taboo about being penetrated, and it forcefully reminded him that he was being made terribly vulnerable by the act.
It was, Ianto felt, as he rocked back and Jack went farther inside, as if Jack was not only breaching his body but his emotional barriers as well. It was the most intimate thing Ianto had ever experienced, and it was that feeling, rather than simply the physical sensation, that caused Ianto’s whole body to become suffused with desire.
“Oh, God,” Ianto said. “Jack, that’s…”
“I know.” Jack leaned down, kissed Ianto’s shoulder lightly and rubbed at his thigh.
Jack began to move his finger in and out of Ianto, much more slowly than Ianto would have liked, but Jack soon picked up the pace and did something that made Ianto arch his back and yell, “Duw!”
“Isn’t it though?” said Jack, laughing. He continued to find Ianto’s prostate with beautiful accuracy.
“Oh, Jack, please - please! More!”
“I can do more,” Jack said, taking both hands away. At Ianto’s distressed mewl, Jack hastened to assure, “Just getting a more lube.” He steadied Ianto with one hand while the second hand pressed two fingers forward.
Against all Ianto’s conscious wishes he tensed at the larger invasion, and Jack’s fingers were suddenly painful.
Ianto bit his lip and said nothing about this, but Jack pulled his fingers out and the burning ceased. “It’s okay, Yan,” Jack said soothingly. “It doesn’t have to hurt. I promise it doesn’t have to hurt. Just relax.” With his free hand Jack stroked down Ianto’s side and back up again.
“It’s - I don’t mind,” Ianto said over his shoulder. “I just want-”
“Shh,” Jack said, raising his eyebrows. “My way, remember? I’ve got a desk back at the hub with your name on it.”
Jack began stretching Ianto all over again with a single digit. Ianto wasn’t sure whether he was more gratified for the patience or frustrated with the slowness, but when Jack again found the place inside Ianto that made him writhe, he forgot to care. Ianto wanted nothing but more of that: a lot more of that. When Ianto was finally gasping and pushing hard back onto Jack’s finger, he felt the gentle press of two fingers against his entrance. Ianto tried to push back onto them both, hard, but Jack took a tight grip on his hip and wouldn’t let him move much. It was excruciatingly slow, but very, very, good.
Jack began twistinghis fingers and to build up a rhythm again as he did so, touching and stroking Ianto wherever he could.
“Oh, God,” Ianto gasped. “Oh, yes. Please, Jack, Please…”
“Oh, yeah,” Jack whispered. “I want to hear that a lot. Are you ready for me, Yan? Do you want me inside you?”
“Please!” Ianto repeated. He wasn’t sure he was capable of much more coherence. “Yes, Jack, please!”
Jack lay down behind Ianto and pulled Ianto to him, aligning them both. Ianto felt the tip of Jack at his entrance, and when Jack reached around and grasped Ianto’s erection it was almost too much.
“Jack, I’m going to -”
Jack, understanding, loosened his grip and pressed forward slowly, incrementally, rocking into Ianto. Ianto understood immediately and pushed back in sync with Jack’s thrusts, marvelling at the sensation of being touched there, and then being breached there, and then being filled and oh, god, it was going to be too much - but no, it was fine, and then Jack was inside him.
Jack was inside him.
There was a stillness between them for several seconds.
“You all right, Yan?”
“It’s good,” Ianto said, amazed. “It’s perfect.” He paused. “Please, Jack,” he said in an entirely different tone than before. “Please.”
Jack chuckled against Ianto’s neck. “I will.”
Jack took Ianto’s erection more firmly and began to stroke, and Ianto put a hand over his, not so much to guide him, but because he wanted to touch Jack anywhere he could. Jack began to thrust into Ianto, slowly and without too much force, but Ianto wanted more and found that he could push back with his hips and make Jack pick up the pace.
“Ianto,” gasped Jack. “You feel so good. You’re so hot, tight, I can feel…”
Ianto lost track of what Jack was saying at that moment, because there was a wave building inside him, hot and light and good, and he wanted more, more, and he was almost there, almost there, if it was just a little harder, a little faster (and it was good, so good) then it would…
Ianto cried out wordlessly as he came, and a few seconds later, he felt Jack tense behind him and shout Ianto’s name.
Ianto lay, boneless, his mind blank, with Jack behind him. Jack kissed his neck - idly, he realized that Jack seemed to really like the back of his neck - and they stayed that way for a few minutes. Then Jack got up and went into the bathroom. Ianto heard the sound of water running and Jack returned a moment later with a warm, wet towel and cleaned the both of them. Ianto felt oddly shy about this, and it made him feel both vulnerable and cared for.
“Go to sleep if you want,” Jack whispered, lying down behind Ianto again and wrapping an arm around his waist.
“All right,” Ianto said, not needing much persuasion. “But don’t go anywhere.”
“No.”
Ianto was beginning to close his eyes, but suddenly remembered something. He looked over his shoulder. “Why didn’t we need to go to Deborah Pritchard’s party?”
Jack looked sheepish. “No reason, to, really. I just thought it would be a nice excuse to dress you up and take you out.”
“Oh. Well, that didn’t quite go as planned, did it?”
“No,” admitted Jack, “but I like the way it turned out, don’t you?”
“Oh, definitely. But you said something about Tosh, earlier?”
“Hm? Oh, Tosh pinpointed the location of the Sleja that was left behind via satellite. She ran the language converter and managed to use the hub as a relay station to send a distress call to the Sleja mother ship. They’ll be here soon to pick up their last crewmember. No harm done. We’ll stick around for a day or two and make sure our little friend gets picked up safely, and that his tree is taken away or destroyed. Tosh can track it remotely and let us know when that happens.”
Ianto was still fuzzy, but there was something obvious in Jacks explanation. “Wait a moment. So Tosh could have handled the whole thing, start to finish, from the hub? We could have gotten the same information from the villagers via email or phone. Why bother to come here at all?”
Jack didn’t answer.
“Jack? Why did we bother to come all the way out here? What purpose did it serve?”
Jack seemed embarrassed. “Give me a second. I’m trying to think of something.”
Ianto turned over and smiled at Jack. “I thought you were joking about wanting to spend a few days alone. But that was it, wasn’t it?”
“It never hurts to handle things in person,” Jack protested.
“Oh, I like the way you handle things,” Ianto said. “I like it very much. I can’t wait to get back to the hub.”
Jack eyed Ianto, confused. “Really?”
“Oh, yes, lots of paperwork waiting for you. On your desk. I’m sure I’ll have to help with that. And remote cells of the lower levels to patrol. Weevils to catch. I’m sure there’ll be lots of ‘work’ to do.”
Jack rolled over to nibble on Ianto’s shoulder, and grinned. “Ianto Jones, I like the way you think.”
End