Pairing: Jack/OMC, Jack/?, Jack/Ianto eventually, het and slash
Rating: NC-17 (betaed)
Summary: He left Jack on the game station. Abandoned. But then…he came back…different. An AU look on what happens if things happened differently. Doctor Who 'verse with Torchwood later on. Be sure to read the warnings.
Warnings: Please read each chapter's individual warnings. Some parts down the road may briefly mention non-con, abuse, and/or violence. Dark in the beginning. Please note there are some dark thoughts as my boys are broken…for now. Each chapter will be labeled for your convenience.
Author's Notes: Please note this is an AU that will cross over DW to TW season one. I'm probably spoiling my own story, but it will eventually be Janto. There's a bit of a journey first. I hope you enjoy. I'm working on this and intend to post regularly every other day. And again, I always believe in happy endings. So without further ado…
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Warning For This Chapter: mentions past non-con/dubious consent, minor (very minor) het, verbal and mental abuse.
Prologue + Ch , Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 11
Two days later…
Ianto didn't lift his head off the table. He knew by the snickers and the approaching smell of salty fish and chips that Lisa's co-workers from upstairs had invaded his arcadia again. He had hoped by making himself scarce, he could avoid the potential torment Lisa's friends were fond of. It was bad enough he was getting bombarded with emails in his interoffice account.
"Over here!" Bugger, he and Lisa had been spotted.
"Snogged any new aliens lately?" Wonderful, Lorrie was here. Ianto could hear his girlfriend get up, greet Lorrie with a peck on the cheek and the table he was so desperately hiding his red face on was moved out a bit more to accommodate the latest arrival.
"Is he here? Is he here? I want details!" Oh no, Elisa, too.
The table creaked as it was moved some more.
He wasn't looking. No, he would rather starve and permanently glue his forehead to the table. It was a rather nice table.
Lisa kissed the back of his head. Abigail from upstairs had told Craig from Optics who in turn told Singh, who promptly told Lisa to get her bloke to Medical and have samples taken. Lisa was not only not mad, but thrilled Ianto was getting bold enough to…well…do things.
Heat rose up Ianto's face, thinking about the things he did and almost did.
"Is he ever going to look up?"
Brilliant, good ole Frederick was here, too.
"Oi! Keptain!" Frederick tossed a plastic spoon to his head.
Ianto made a phone gesture with his hand, thumb and pinky out; he held it over his right ear.
"Hullo," Ianto said wearily, not looking up. "Ianto Jones is not here right now. He is currently being humiliated into a puddle under his desk. He will get back to you when he can find what's left of his dignity. Or you can leave a message with his wonderfully understanding yet fairly psychotic girlfriend Lisa Hallett."
Lisa's chuckle teased his right ear. "Oh, get up, love. Your lunch's here."
Heaving a sigh, Ianto raised his head and begrudgingly accepted the paper sack with his lunch while Lisa poured the coffee for everyone. He gave them all, who were much too focused on passing around the malt vinegar and splitting the chips, a wary eye before he relaxed.
Frederick popped a chip in his mouth before looking up. He furrowed his bushy brows, leaned forward and lowered his voice.
"So seriously, what was snogging Captain Hotness like?"
The others snickered and Lisa, giggling helplessly, looped an arm around his before he could escape.
"Frederick's just winding you up." Lisa pulled until he sat back down. "You have to admit, it's a bit outrageous."
"I thought we were being under attack when Abigail called me and Patty," Lorrie confided as she reached over to dip her chip in some dressing. "She thought the director was going to have a stroke!"
Ianto stared at Lorrie in dismay. "Patty knows? Wonderful, that means all of Xenobiology knows!"
Lisa giggled behind her hand. "Don't forget Medical. Or Rift Research."
"What?"
Frederick snorted. "Who knew Dr. Singh was such a gossip?" he mused, turning the fried cod in his hand before taking a generous bite.
Ianto lost all interest in his food and dropped his head in his hands. If all of Medical knew, that was practically half of Torchwood, already.
"Does anyone not know?"
"Archives," Elisa piped up, shrugging. "Nothing ever happens down here. No gossip to share."
Ianto stared down at the table, his fists in his hair. It was the same table he’d sat on, Harkness close and solid against him, his face tilted up when Ianto had kissed him, his groin rubbing against Harkness and he knew in another minute, he would have been hum—
"Blimey," Frederick sounded awed. "I didn't think he got out in the sun enough to be able to turn that color!"
Ianto groaned. "I am never ever leaving this floor again! I am sleeping in the vaults!"
"It's not that bad," Lisa patted his arm.
Ianto turned his head a little to look at her, incredulous. "They are calling me Captain Kirk in the cafeteria!" And Harkness wasn't even an alien. "I didn't go into that elevator to kiss him. He kissed me!" Argh, Ianto flushed again. He couldn't stop thinking about it.
"Well, obviously," Elisa retorted. "You were just standing there!"
"Exactly! I—wait, how did you know I was just standing there?"
Elisa gave him a cheeky grin before lifting up her iPod.
Lorrie perked up. "Oh, share!" She leaned closer to Elisa and peered over her shoulder. She whistled, looked up and rated Ianto with a thumbs up.
"There's video?" Where was a thermal carbon disintegrator when you needed one?
Elisa gave him a duh look. "Huh, yeah? CCTV in the elevator?"
Ianto looked up fearfully towards the ceiling. The cameras weren't pointed near the spaces. He dropped his gaze and jerked when he realized someone else was looking over Elisa's shoulder, her eyes wide, her hand over her red mouth shaped in a little "O".
"Lisa?"
His girlfriend gave him a guilty look before pulling back. She grinned, full teeth as she wiggled behind Frederick and Lorrie's seats to sit back down next to Ianto.
Ianto scowled at her, softening when she dipped a chip in the malt and gave it to him.
"What was he saying to you?" Lorrie sat back down and munched on a pickle.
"What?" Ianto sputtered when Elisa flipped the iPod around to show him a blue hued video of…well…that.
"Oh, you," Lisa scolded, swatting towards Elisa.
"He was saying something to you," Lorrie persisted, her fingers rapping the table impatiently. "Weren't you paying attention?"
"I wouldn't," Elisa snickered.
Ianto groaned. His shoulders slumped.
"He was thanking me for the coffee," Ianto mumbled. He colored, remembering how Harkness' hands felt on his face.
"Ey? Your coffee?" Frederick looked down at his cup with a frown. He took a long sip, closing his eyes, tasting it like a fine wine. Frederick's eyes flew open.
"That is bloody good coffee." Frederick spread his arms wide and grinned broadly. "Come here, Jones!"
The girls laughed. Ianto tossed a mayo packet at him.
The lights flickered before Frederick could retaliate. Ianto blinked up in surprise.
"Your department, Hallett. This happened this morning, too," Frederick growled. He gestured with a piece of fish. "Your Dr. Singh has been wrecking Nuclear with all those new experiments!"
Lisa shrugged, glancing over to Ianto. "Not us. Maybe the MX-CR?" She tapped the table, thinking. "They've been more active lately."
"Keep this up and Whitehall will shut Torchwood down, not just MX-CR." Lorrie scowled. "I thought they didn't want us tapping the grid again for MX-CR? They're harping about the Middle East and oil and then we go sucking up half the seaboard—"
"I don't think we're tapping the grid," Lisa interrupted as she liberally covered her fish with ketchup then grinned at Ianto, because she knew how he felt about it. "I think we're using our own power."
"We build a few windmills no one told me about?" Frederick remarked as he wiped his chip across Lisa's fish. "Cripes, I don’t know how you can eat it like that, Hallett."
"Maybe the Doctor's giving us the juice?" Elisa suggested.
"That ruddy little police box?" Frederick snorted. "Doubtful."
Actually, Ianto thought. It was bigger than it looked. "Where is our guest these days?" Ianto was surprised to hear the edge in his own voice. Everyone seemed smitten, especially the director.
"Saw him give my people a talk yesterday," Frederick said, puffing up at the word "my people". It had gotten so busy they’d finally given him his own team. "He's been going around like a traveling university, that mate."
"Spoke on my floor with the director," Lorrie agreed, her fingers still hammering that annoying pace. Ianto bit back a sharp word. "Had them all gob-smacked in the end. I think they all want to bear his children now."
Lisa frowned. "Isn't your department mostly male, Lore?"
"Exactly."
"Good Lord, another gay alien," groaned Frederick.
"I don't think they're gay." Oops, Ianto spoke out before he could think against it.
Elisa nodded thoughtfully, to Ianto's surprise. "I think he's right."
Frederick sputtered. "You joking?" He gestured towards Ianto with a plastic fork. "What about Captain Hotness molesting Kirk here?"
"He wasn't molesting me!" Ianto bristled. Frederick waved him off with a "Yeah, yeah." Actually, if Ianto was to think about it, there had been mutual molesting going on.
But Ianto was trying real hard not to think about it.
Elisa leaned towards the center of the table. Everyone followed suit. "I heard Margaret heard Lydia tell Abigail that she saw the director coming out of her office looking absolutely frazzled!"
Lisa shared a puzzled look with Ianto. "So?" Lisa hushed.
Elisa paused, savoring the expectant looks huddled around her. "Well, guess who came stumbling out of the room ten minutes later just as wrecked?"
Lorrie's eyes rounded. "No," she exhaled. "Harkness?"
Ianto felt an odd twist in his stomach. "It could be anything," he said weakly.
Frederick grunted, sitting back. "Mark saw him and the Doctor in the MX-CR chamber. Twice."
"Again," Ianto dropped to his seat, his mouth dry. "Could be anything."
Elisa nibbled on a chip. "True." She brightened. "Patty said she was going to check the CCTV servers! Oh! I bet there's video!"
The lights went out completely only to come back on a minute later.
"Not if this keeps up," Frederick said wryly.
"Bollocks," Elisa sighed.
Two days later…
The lights flickered then steadied. Ianto frowned, getting up on a stool and tapping the fixture but it didn't even blink.
Ianto made a mental note to get flashlights distributed to everyone in the archives. It would not be a good place to be trapped in the dark even if Ianto knew the place by heart; too many things to trip or break an arm over.
The file cabinet "Gu" glided shut with a simple push of his shoulder. Ianto finished cleaning his area, musing as he swept crumbs off the desk, and washed the mugs. Lisa had snuck downstairs before to make up for the lunch date she’d missed yesterday. Whatever was going on in the MX-CR chambers, it was keeping Lisa's floor busy with the overflow.
Ianto fingered the transfer application his HR coordinator had sent down this morning; a request to move to the science departments, already pre-stamped by the director herself. He didn't know why he hadn't told Lisa yet.
Ianto sat on the edge of the table and stared at the cabinets. Then, with a quick check in both directions, Ianto pulled out the sepia tone photo from his pocket. He'd found a plastic slip for it and now it gleamed glossily under its shield.
Harkness stared back, still in his 1909 period attire, his hair slicked back and looking very much the captain of the Lahore troop train. Ianto rubbed his thumb above Harkness' head and decided that he much preferred the captain without so much product in his hair. The short strands slipped through his fingers nicely, thick and remarkably warm like they held a life of their—
Ianto slammed the photo face down on the desk.
What was he doing? Ianto grimaced and absently shook his sore hand.
It was a kiss. Okay, it was a great kiss. No, he was lying to himself, they were both great.
Ianto pulled at the knot by his collar.
So it was a kiss by a man. Not much different to kissing Lisa, except one was a wonderful, patient girl in London, the other was a time traveler possibly from the future, shagging everyone he met—
His mouth soured. No, Ianto knew what Elisa’d said, but he just couldn't believe it.
He remembered how heavy Harkness' head had been on his lap. He remembered how his shoulders had shaken with silent grief, misery, or something else entirely. This wasn't a man who did those things. Not happily at least.
Ianto wished he could talk to him. The cargo bay was once again sealed off and only the Doctor had been sighted these days. He turned back the photo. Idly, Ianto's finger brushed across the captain's face.
Harkness was, as many had repeated, the Doctor's companion.
Ianto's hand withdrew. And he was with Lisa. There was no problem there, then. Right?
"Absolutely none," Ianto muttered, tucking the picture back into his pocket. He ignored the application on his desk. Later.
It was dinner this time and outside the labs upstairs. Ianto nodded as he was greeted with enthusiasm for the pizza boxes he was balancing carefully. Lisa greeted him with the more sincere enthusiasm of a girlfriend.
The public area outside the labs was far airier than the archives with a view of night-time London sparkling beyond the glass windows. But it felt too open, too wide for Ianto's taste.
"Which one is the plain cheese?" Frederick's voice echoed too loudly in the vast sitting area. He batted at a drooping potted fern as he sat back in the faux black leather armchair with a steaming slice. He blew at it, his pale face flushed from the heat, before he took a bite.
"Hot," Frederick fanned his mouth.
"Serves you right," Elisa retorted. She opted to sit on the marble floor to be closer to the pizza on the low reception table. She sat on the pile of outdated literature that was stacked there. "Hurry up, I've got fifteen minutes. Where's the pineapple?"
Slices were swapped and passed around hurriedly as everyone tried to eat dinner so they could dash back to work. Ianto, feeling a little displaced, merely sorted out the drinks and utensils for everyone.
"I'm getting so sick of pizza," Lisa complained as she plucked a pepperoni slice off and dropped it on Ianto's slice. She didn't like the pepperoni; only how the cheese tasted baked with it. "I want to go home and eat there."
"What would you have made?" Lorrie mumbled as she tried to catch the stringy melted cheese with her mouth. She missed.
"Pizza," Ianto deadpanned. "She doesn't cook."
Everyone laughed. Ianto ducked a playful swat from Lisa.
"I would love to have a beer right now at least," Frederick sighed. "I think they're afraid I might wander into that bloody breach if I'm piss drunk!"
"As if you'll fit!" Lisa retorted. "That thing is barely large enough to fit a quid much less a bear like you!"
"Well if MX-CR would crank out more power instead of these power spits, it would be bigger!"
"At least we have power now!"
Ianto fidgeted uncomfortably, not quite following the conversations as they spun around him. That was the problem with the archives; any news or tidbits they did receive would be old news to Lisa and her friends.
Lisa, noticing his unease like she usually did, dropped an arm around his shoulders, still arguing good-naturedly with Frederick on who had priority over the power MX-CR was generating. Spatial breaches, void ships, shifts; the terms were volleyed back and forth.
"Can we talk about something else?" Elisa complained as she pinched a pepperoni off a slice. She waved the greasy circle at the others. "I'm sick of work! I feel like I should have brought an overnight here!"
"Why is Cryptology busy?" Ianto asked, curious. He grimaced; maybe not a polite thing to ask.
Elisa, though, forgave everyone and everything and today was no exception. "Oh you wouldn't believe the stuff coming through that spatial breach! I can't even decipher the basics yet!"
"So there is something on the other side?" Ianto felt a stir of excitement when Elisa nodded fervently. He could see why Lisa loved her department. In the back of his mind, he could also see why the captain might have been lured to travel the stars with this Doctor.
His excitement waned, thinking about Harkness. The rumors had been circling like mad. Elisa had attached little video clips that were floating around. Ianto’d just deleted them right off. Just knowing they were around gave him a leaden feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Yup. Aliens crawling out of the walls," Frederick guffawed. He picked an olive off Lorrie's slice and tossed it in his mouth like popcorn. "You may get to snog your next alien yet, Kirk."
Ianto glowered at the nuclear physicist while the others laughed. "I didn't snog anyone."
"Nope, the little green man lip-shagged you."
Elisa sputtered, coughing, as Ianto just…sputtered.
Harkness was mostly certainly not green and judging the swell he’d felt pressed hot against his hip through their trousers in the elevator, not little either. Oh hell, he had to think about that.
Lorrie shrieked happily, waving a greased stained paper napkin towards Ianto. "Lisa, I adore Ianto. He bloody blushes at everything!"
Lisa giggled, draping her arms around his neck from behind and gave him a brief squeeze. She pulled away, leaving him a lingering scent of jasmine from her shampoo and chili flakes from her dinner. "That's because he's a decent person, Lore. Not like us decrepit lot."
"Oi!" Frederick snickered as he finished his slice. "Are you being rude about me?"
"You're not as upset about this as I thought you would be," Ianto commented warily, not sure if he was frightened or disappointed.
Lisa swatted the arm closest to her. "Posh! It was clear he kissed you. Now, if it was Jaclyn Harkness who kissed you…"
Lorrie made a hissing cat sound that would have been impressive if her mouth wasn't dripping with stringy cheese. Lisa rolled her eyes but laughed.
"Precisely! Besides…" Lisa pressed up against Ianto and lowered her eyes. "I think it's quite hot to think of you as Kirk," Lisa purred. Frederick pretended to gag.
Ianto flushed but smiled in spite of himself. "Then who might you be?"
"Well, certainly not Lieutenant Uhura." Lisa made a face before she brightened. "Maybe Commander Spock?"
Frederick nearly spit out his soda. "Mister Spock?"
"Oh yes." Elisa exchanged a smirk with Lorrie. "The Vulcan and the captain? Oh, I think that's hot!"
"That show was before any of you girls!"
Lorrie pointed at Lisa. "DVD parties, Frederick. She has the whole set!"
Ianto gave Lisa a doubtful frown. "You? Spock?" He broke out into a bemused smile. "I can't see it."
"Oh please?" Elisa was plucking out all the pineapples for her and Lorrie. "Those pointy ears? Blimey, I think my heart's going into palpitations just thinking about them together!"
Frederick gawped at the cryptologist. "How could a tiny woman like you be that bloody horny?"
While Elisa got her revenge by tossing a bit of olive at him—there were always edible projectiles involved with these two—Ianto felt Lisa hug his arm.
"We don't mean anything by it," Lisa murmured, kissing the side of his mouth; it was spicy from her dinner, warm from her breath. Her eyes were warm with concern. "You know it's just harmless fun, right?"
Ianto patted her hand on his bicep and tried not to think how Harkness' mouth had tasted like coffee both times.
"Of course…you do know…" Lisa went on wickedly. "That elevator video was very hot…Captain Kirk."
Lisa burst out laughing when Ianto unexpectedly threw a pepperoni in her hair.
Ianto paused before pressing the button for the floor for the cargo bay. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and wondered if it was appropriate to offer cold pizza to a time traveler. It was never mentioned as a recommended 'don't' in Lisa's Torchwood manual on Interspecies Diplomacy. He was being hospitable, that was all.
The lights had dimmed and stayed dim for far too long. It had ended dinner abruptly and everyone had dashed off to check their readings, saying their goodbyes hurriedly over their shoulders, Lisa had slowed enough for a kiss and a regret she wouldn’t be home until late. Ianto was left to clean up; consolidate the leftover slices to one box. When he was done, the lights returned to full strength, but the labs' double doors remained firmly shut. It was back to work for everyone but him. And suddenly, Ianto didn't want to go home; not just yet.
When the doors opened, Ianto was surprised to see the entrance to cargo was left unguarded. He stood there, box in his hand, unsure.
After a few calls, Ianto tentatively opened the door with a swipe of his badge on the reader. Still, no one stopped him and braver now, Ianto strode through and tried to look like he was supposed to be there.
The cargo bay was enormous; crates left still unopened—all personnel was shuffled to the renewed MX-CR project—and cast gloomy shadows across the vast wall-less space.
Ianto passed broken spaceships, something that looked like a twisted lamppost, and crates with postmarks from all corners of the world. He knew his way, identifying the stacked pyramid of boxes from Cardiff as a landmark.
His step stuttered as he drew near. What guided him before now hesitated him. What was he going to say? I was in the neighborhood?
Ianto turned on his heels to head back to the lift but stopped again. He could still feel Harkness against him, his dry face pressed against him like he was bracing against a rock in a storm. Ianto remembered his hands; on either side of him, as if he was afraid to touch, to confirm it was real, that it might all be a lie.
Harkness' hands had been cool when Ianto had pulled them in. The captain had stiffened and he'd pulled away almost immediately, his eyes wary and shuttered. It had reminded Ianto of a cornered animal backed up, caught licking a wound.
He went back the other way. Just to see if he was feeling better, Ianto told himself as he turned the corner of the manmade landmark. Ianto took a deep, steadying breath as he rounded the corner, into the taped off clearing. He stopped.
The police box was gone.
Chapter 12
Additional Notes:Many thanks to snakeling for betaing this chapter long ago. Yes, I finally finished and can start reporting! Huzzah! LOL.
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Comments
And yes, slightly fluffier than usual, but in a good way. I love your shy!Ianto. And the K/S references made me LOL.
But in the meantime, plesae keep writing cause I am addicted to this lots and lots. :)
Although, frighteniingly enough, the K/S did go around. LOL.
You have this incredible way of making me just flail.
""Hullo," Ianto said wearily, not looking up. "Ianto Jones is not here right now. He is currently being humiliated into a puddle under his desk. He will get back to you when he can find what's left of his dignity. Or you can leave a message with his wonderfully understanding yet fairly psychotic girlfriend Lisa Hallett."
LOL, kinda reminds me of his antics in Sleeper.
A few things I noticed, sine I remember you don't mind me pointing them out:
"I thought we were being under attacked..." - 'were under attack' or 'being attacked'.
"Lisa, noticing his unease like she usually do..." - 'like she usually did'
"...arguing on..." - 'arguing about'
"...and a regret she won't be home..." - 'she wouldn't be home'
"...like he was suppose to be there..." - 'supposed to be there'
That's what I picked up, along with a few places you used semicolon, where a comma would suffice, but that's not as important.
All together great chapter, and I find it interesting that Ianto seemed to be impervious to the rythm. I wonder...
And OOOOOOH! The TARDIS is gone? Where? When? Will they be back? And why was the director acting all shagged? Inquiring minds want to know.
You do a really good job with mixing plot and characterisation, you really do.
(I think it would have been cool, if the lights had blinked in a certain rythm too; you know, to spread the 'love' a bit further...)
As for Ianto being impervious. Remember, unlike the others and the Director, our Ianto never had any "quality" time with the 'Doctor'. He was just a junior researcher then.
Or he just simply doesn't like him. LOL.
As for the lights blinking...eg...that would be cool in a omg, I can't write alone in the dark creepy. LOL. But alas, no, there is another reason for it. :)
--Answer: Ianto
Please say there'll be more soon!
--Blast, am I really being that obvious?
Look, it's not MY fault. It's not like I can control this sort of thing.
B'sides, Jack's proven that he's capable of using psychic paper, and he's a total void when Tosh tries to read his mind, so clearly it's not just Time Lords.
Meanwhile, I blame you for my sudden desire for coffee and biscuits...
At least he'd get the reference...
WHERE IS MY JACK?????????
eg
Oh this is SO Ianto
wonderful writing
loving it
reading more - really should get back to work and yet strangely unable....