A/N - I haven't had time to work on my main stories, but I was listening to some music when inspiration struck. This is my first one-shot in a while and I don't clearly remember Doomsday but hopefully this isn't too bad. And yes, it's another Ianto-thinking-about-slash-remembering-Lisa-and-Torchwood-London.
Disclaimer - I do not own Torchwood or Mona Lisa by the All-American Rejects. If I did, I would be rich and famous, Ianto would be alive, and I wouldn't need to go to college.
Mona Lisa
It had been two weeks since the whole fiasco with Lisa. Ianto had spent the time at home, locked away from the world. It was the last night before the young man had to go back to work and he decided to spend it the same way he did with the past few nights: remembering the Lisa he had fallen in love with.
So, Ianto dimmed the lights in his bare apartment, grabbed a glass and a bottle of wine, and put in a mixed CD of some of his favorite songs. The man then sat down on his couch, took a sip of his drink and closed his eyes while the first song started to play.
Here's another pity and there's another chance
Try to learn a lesson but you can't
Ianto remembered how he first met Lisa. He was only a week into his new job at Torchwood London and most of his time had been spent in the archives. However, that day he had been told to bring certain items up for re-examination or something, he hadn't really paid attention.
He had just gotten off the lift, his arms laden with many different things, when someone bumped into the lad, causing him to drop everything. Of course, that was when the woman who asked (more like ordered) for the stuff walked out. She got really mad and threatened his job.
Lisa, who had witnessed the entire thing from her desk, took pity on the poor boy and went to talk to her boss. A few minutes later, she reappeared and helped Ianto pick up the last of the items and told him that she got him another chance. Lisa went on to tell him he better learn to watch himself when he's walking in here and, with a wink, moved back to her desk.
Ianto said a quiet "thank you" after she left him. Unfortunately, he never seemed to learn that lesson, and almost lost his job several times due to his "butterfingers" – regardless of the fact that other people were knocking into him.
If we can burn a city in futures and in past
Without a change our lives will never last
Cause we're going fast
The next thing Ianto remembered was the Battle of Canary Warf. The Welshman shuddered. Absolutely everyone was in a panic. There were Cybermen and Daleks everywhere. Things were on fire; smoke filled the halls; people were screaming; cries of "Delete! Delete!" and "Exterminate" could be heard.
Ianto had been on the twelfth floor when everything went wrong. Once he had realized what was taking place, he had started searching frantically for Lisa, shouting her name til his throat was raw.
All he could think about was that his and Lisa's lives were going to end and he wondered if this could be it for the human race.
You can sit beside me when the world comes down
If it doesn't matter then just turn around
We don't need our bags and we can just leave town
You can sit beside me when the world comes down
Ianto had finally found her, half-converted and barely alive. With one of those bursts of super-human strength, he was able to pry the pieces of metal holding his love to the table and pull her off. Half-carrying, half-dragging Lisa, Ianto went to leave the room when a shower of sparks made him stop. Fire and sounds of metal stomping made the boy freeze.
By then, tears of fear and frustration were making their way down his face. Terrified, Ianto forced his body to move them into a dark corner of the room. The young man slid to the floor and held Lisa's almost lifeless body in his shaking arms. He pulled her close and silently cried into her hair, believing it to be the end.
Ianto had then wished fervently that he had agreed when Lisa suggested the two of them go out of town for a break.
What can we do better and when will we know how?
A man says from a sidewalk to a crowd
If we can change the weather if you wanted it yourself
But if you can't I guess we all need help
Yeah I need help
He sat there, with his half-converted girlfriend in his arms, for what felt like hours. His mind kept racing. Ianto had a vague idea of what caused all of this; being pretty much invisible to his peers had its advantages. He had heard talk of a sphere and the ghosts.
The Welshman wondered what they, Torchwood, could have done to better prevent this sort of thing from happening but doubted that they could've ever figured out how. Suddenly that crazy old man he passed on his way to work every day that spoke of the end of the world didn't seem so crazy after all.
But Ianto had heard that the Doctor was here and helping. He sure hoped so because they, the human race, certainly needed help. He needed help, or better yet, Lisa needed help.
You can sit beside me when the world comes down
If it doesn't matter then just turn around
We don't need our bags and we can just leave town
You can sit beside me when the world comes down
Then, as quickly as it all started, everything stopped. There had been a strange noise and an odd wind for a minute, then nothing. No screams; no cries; no "Delete"-s; no "Exterminate"-s; no metal footsteps; no smoke; absolutely nothing.
It took another half an hour (or so) for Ianto to dare stand up and peek out the door. The hallway was empty and eerily silent. Heart pounding, the Welshman picked Lisa up and carried her down the hall to the emergency stairs. Checking to see if it was clear (it was), he carefully started making his way down.
It took over an hour, but Ianto had successfully gotten Lisa out of the building and back to their place. Trying to think of what to do to help her, as she was somehow still alive, Ianto paced. Finally, something clicked in his mind. He remembered hearing some former co-workers whispering about their distaste for Torchwood 3 in Cardiff and its leader, Jack Harkness.
He then formed a plan.
We say, yeah we do
All the lies, the truth
All I need is next to me
Ianto's plan had worked after a few tries. Lisa was safe inside the Hub. Now all he had to do was say the right things to Jack and do what was expected, like be a near-invisible butler and wear those suits the Captain liked.
While so many things the lad had said were lies, others, in a way, had been the truth. But as long as he could sneak off to sit next to Lisa, he had all he ever needed and nothing else mattered.
Yeah we're going fast.
But then the Cyberman took complete control of her and everything was ruined.
You can sit beside me when the world comes down
If it doesn't matter then just turn around
You be the queen and I'll be your clown
You can sit beside me when the world comes down Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmm You can sit beside me when the world comes
You can sit beside me when the world comes down
After the team had pelted the pizza girl's body with bullets, Ianto had pulled the body of his Lisa into his arms and let the tears fall once again, bringing him back to the disaster that first took her from him. He had silently begged her forgiveness for everything and told her that she would never be replaced. And he remembered. He remembered all the good times; he remembered treating her like a queen; he could always make her smile and laugh no matter what; he had promised that they would be together forever.
When the song ended, Ianto brought his empty hand to his face and found it wet with tears. With a sigh, he sat upright and set the empty glass on the table while the next song started. Suddenly, there was a set of three heavy knocks on the door, startling the man.
Standing up and drying his face, Ianto walked slowly to the door. He paused to take a deep breath to calm down before finally opening the door to see Jack.
"Ianto, I wanted to talk to you before…"
When the Captain trailed off, Ianto cursed himself. The older man must have spied his red eyes and the dark circles underneath. The Welshman realized he must look awful since Jack had such a sad, pitying expression on his face.
Ianto flinched and took an involuntary step back when Jack stepped inside. So much for one last quiet, reflective night before Torchwood became his life again.