Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Ships: Jack/Ianto
Two-shot
Warnings: Uh, angst?
Blood was everywhere. A trail of crimson droplets leading off into the distance; a path of sorts. Judging by the wetness when Jack prodded a patch, it was still fresh. Which meant the owner was close by.
Swallowing against the building lump in his throat, Jack straightened up again and followed the ominous trail until a faint whimper could be heard.
He recognised the sound and it chilled him to the bone.
Ianto.
Growing increasingly anxious, Jack sprinted across the Hub, feet slipping on a puddle of blood as he attempted to close the distance between he and his boyfriend before it was too late.
"Ianto! Hang on!"
His comms suddenly clicked on, and he could hear the whimpering more clearly now, though it did nothing to calm his mood. Panic and adrenaline were fusing together, causing him to stumble over his feet and fall, painfully, onto the concrete floor.
"Jack? I don't think I'm going to make it."
A soft gurgling noise filled Jack's ear; his heart beating so painfully now, and he is torn between vomiting violently and screaming until his lungs tear themselves apart.
"No, don't say that. Please. Ianto, you have to hold on. For me."
"I... can't."
A soft thud echoed down the line before the entire thing goes dead.
Leaving Jack totally alone.
xXx
Jerking violently awake, the Captain stared helplessly into the darkness as the images continued to haunt and flicker in front of his eyes, refusing to leave. Sweat covered every inch of Jack's skin, and the surrounding bedsheets too, but he didn't seem to notice. Nor care. Ianto's voice was still ringing in his ears, the final two words powerful enough to leave a lasting scar on him.
But it was just a dream.
Rolling over, he reached out his arm; only to touch an empty bed. The cold fabric lay beneath his fingers and he felt as though his heart had just stopped, the nausea quickly returning.
The loneliness was almost deafening, and Jack had to bite down hard on the tip of his tongue to stop himself from screaming.
Ianto wasgone.
xXx
It had been three months since Ianto's death, and Jack wasn't handling it well. Grief consumed him during the day, where every little part of Cardiff reminded the Captain of his lover; the bay, where they would sit at the water's edge and eat fish and chips, the bakery, where Ianto would fetch Jack his favourite slice of cheesecake, and most painfully, Torchwood itself, where Jack was certain that he could still smell the coffee Ianto used to make.
The memories were so heavy and suffocating that for the first time, in a very long time, Jack wanted to die. A world without Ianto was one he didn't care for, nor wanted to participate in. But how?
He was so lost in thought that he almost walked straight past the TARDIS, which despite having a broken chameleon circuit, still managed to somehow blend in. Heart skipping a beat, the Captain paused, wondering if this was his answer.
Tentatively taking a step forwards a moment later, Jack raised a hand and knocked on the door. He couldn't hear a thing from inside, but after barely thirty seconds, the door opens and he suddenly comes face to face with his old friend.
"Doctor."
"Captain."
The first thing that Jack noticed was the Doctor's lack of companion. The Time Lord was completely alone. And secondly, the look in the other's eyes. Dark as ever, but now with tinges of defeat and regret. Emotions Jack knew well. He wanted to ask what happened, but a part of him didn't care. After losing Ianto, nothing mattered to him anymore.
Tears sting the corners of his eyes, and he rubs a hasty palm over them, attempting to remove the evidence before the Doctor notices.
Which of course, he does. Straight away.
"Come inside, Jack."