Title: Reality Betrays Us All

Author: anastasisrick

Prompt: Hoffman

Beta: janiemc (special thanks for helping me at the last minute)

Characters/Pairings: Jack Hakrness, Ianto Jones, Jack/Ianto

Rating: PG 13

Warnings: None that I can think about. welsh_scotsman has brought into my attention that maybe there should be some warning. This is not a fairy tale, and Jack comes as a dark, manipulating man who forces Ianto do something he doesn't want to. There is no non con, but at the same time and especially the first parts are definitely NOT flowers and chocolates.

Spoilers: It's totally AU so other than making the story fit to what we know, not really

Word Count: 13300

Genre: Romance, AU (totally AU)

Disclaimer: Torchwood and its characters belongs to BBC and Russell T Davies. Hoffman isn't mine either. It belongs to Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC) & Longstone Film Productions

Notes: This story is written for reel_torchwood

Chapter I

There used to be a feeling of hope, of salvation in traveling by train. Now, as he watched the scenery changing, his heart constricted. He had absolutely no idea about what he was doing, what he was going to face in the duration of the next week.

The journey was not unfamiliar. It was five years ago when he had left Wales to go to London for his studies and only a year ago he had returned to Cardiff to work. He had started his career in the Torchwood Institute's Department in London while still being a grad student. Torchwood's responsibility as a public Institute was to catalogue, digitalize and use the country's Archives and newly published books. His talent and hard work were instantly recognized and Ianto Jones was rarely in the Institute Archives. He was asked by rich individuals to catalogue and organize their private libraries. Ianto was one of those happy persons who truly loved their work; he could lose track of time while working silently on old manuscripts in the same way that time passed him by while he digitalized information and files.

It was during his time in London that he had met his fiancée, Lisa Hallett. In the one year they'd been together, Ianto finally learnt that life was more than studying and working. He learnt how it was to care about another human being, to love and to want them to be happy.

Lisa was also working in Torchwood as a secretary to the Director. Yvonne Hartman; the Manager of the Institute was fond of the young couple and often joked about marrying them some time soon. Both Ianto and Lisa used to smile at the joke and share glances of happiness.

That life came to an end when Lisa's father died a year previously and the young woman asked Ianto to move because she couldn't stand living in London any longer. Returning to Cardiff was not an easy decision for Ianto but he made it for Lisa. He would do anything for Lisa; seeing her happy made him happy. It was as easy as that.

As a matter of fact it was because of Lisa he was now going back to London, in an attempt to protect his fiancée from an unforeseen danger. What exactly it was, Ianto didn't know. Yet! He had thought of many alternatives in the duration of the trip but had no evidence and no clue as to be certain.

Reaching into his coat pocket he pulled out the note he had found on top of his desk four days ago and read it again feeling the cold seeping through his warm clothes.

"If you want you girlfriend to stay out of prison, come and meet me at 26 Hampstead High Street. Make arrangements so as to stay away for eight days. Ignore this and Miss Hallett will end up far away from you."

There was a specific address on the back of the note and instructions to bring as many clothes Ianto thought he'd need. Shivering, Ianto put the note back in his pocket. It couldn't tell him anything he hadn't already memorized. It was typed on an old fashioned type writer so there was no handwriting for him to recognize.

Truth was Ianto had no idea what was getting himself into. His bigger fear was to find out what he was about to be asked to do and who the person behind the note was. Torchwood was often visited by outsiders despite the importance of the files they were working with. He was always previously informed and he never left anything on his desk. When a visitor wanted to see the archives one of Ianto's colleagues was with them. No outsider was admitted inside the Torchwood Institute with no supervision.

And this meant he had no idea who had left the note on his desk. He could ask but that mean putting Lisa in danger.

Ianto closed his eyes. To be here, he had lied to Lisa, to his Boss, to his colleagues and to his sister. Thankfully his Boss, Jack Harkness, had brought no rejection to his asking of days off other than a raised eyebrow and the remark that Lisa hadn't asked for vacation time.

As the train reached Waterloo station his resolve shattered. However there was nothing he could do other than follow the instructions. Lisa's life was at his hands.

And there was the extra titbit. He had no idea what Lisa could possibly have done that might put her in prison.

He took the bus and got down a few stages after his destination determined to walk back in an attempt to clear his head. And find some courage. Finally, he found the building, and took the stairs not wanting to use the lift. Looking at the note firmly attached to his hand once again, he stood in front of the door waiting for a miracle.

As he stood there he decided to take his chances and try and talk to Lisa before doing anything stupid so he turned around and started walking away from the door. But it was too late; Ianto heard the door opening and stood immobile. He slowly turned around to find himself face to face with his boss, Jack Harkness.

Ianto opened his mouth to say something, anything, but no sound came out. His brain tried to catch up with the new information but his legs were faster than his mind and he started running down the stairs listening to heavy footsteps behind him. When he reached the ground floor a hand gripped his upper arm and dragged him inside the lift.

The well known American drawl cleared the fog that clouded his thoughts. "You're not leaving, Mr. Jones. Not now that I have you here." Ianto tried to step away from his Boss just to gather his thoughts, but found himself trapped between the mirror behind him and Harkness' body in front. Warm breath tickled his sensitive skin as the other man leant closer and whispered harshly at him. "Leave now and Miss Hallett will be arrested before the end of the day."

Ianto unsuccessfully tried to put some distance between himself and the other man in an attempt to look the other man in the eyes. "Why?" He asked.

Harkness smirked before taking a step back and opening the door as they reached their destination. "All in good time, Mr Jones, all in good time. Shall we?" He asked raising his arm towards where Ianto assumed was his apartment. The younger man gulped and followed. He still had no idea what Jack Harkness wanted from him but what ever it was he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

The older man took Ianto's overnight bag from his hand and walked through the open door. He waited for Ianto to come in and seeing that Ianto was probably never going to enter on his own, Jack wrapped his arm around Ianto's waist and pulled him inside his apartment. Then he turned back and locked the door.

"The bedroom is the second door on the right…" He said as he kept walking towards the room. "And the bathroom is opposite the bedroom." Ianto followed him to a large bedroom that consisted of a double bed and other furniture he didn't really notice as his eyes were caught but the sense of someone actually living and sleeping in that room.

"How about your room?" Ianto asked weakly. Harkness just raised an eyebrow. Ianto's stomach clenched and felt droplets of sweat wetting his shirt. Taking a couple of steps out of the bedroom he looked around wondering if it was too late to leave. He had seen his Boss putting the keys inside his trousers' pocket. "Where's the bathroom, again?" He asked instead. Overpowering the military trained Jack Harkness was not an option.

Instead he locked himself in the bathroom trying to find a way out of this nightmare. After all, now he knew what Harkness wanted for him. And he wasn't willing to give it. Not even for Lisa.

He heard Jack talking from the other side of the door. "Mr. Jones, you always look great in those suits of yours, so seeing you out of one would be even better."

Not believing in what he had gotten himself into, Ianto sat on the toilet seat.

"The silence may be charming, Mr. Jones, but I much prefer listening to your lovely voice and erotic use of vowels." What the hell was the man saying? Ianto didn't know if he should take him seriously. He stood, took a deep breath and opened the tap to wash his face. It was time to face it, whatever it was.

"I'm going to prepare something for us to drink." Harkness called from outside. "Not coffee though…"