Jack entered the Hub with Ianto and once again was greeted by the sound of two vampires shouting at each other. Like so often during the last few days, Spike and Angel were at each other's throat. This was getting silly.
They had encountered Angel three days ago, helped him fight off some demons. When he explained that he had followed an evil wizard to Cardiff who was conjuring demons left and right, they had joined forces to find the guy more quickly. But since that day, Angel and Spike were constantly fighting and bickering. They were even worse than Spike and John together, at least those two relieved some of the tension between them with sex - which usually led to at least a short period of quiet for the rest of the team.
With Angel, though, Spike was just fighting, pushing his buttons, exploding when Angel shot back. They couldn't even keep quiet when out on a mission - which lead to them alerting the wizard of their approach and gave him time to vanish again. This really had to end if they ever wanted to catch that guy.
Jack shook his head and glanced at Ianto who rolled his eyes. "They need someone to smack some sense into them," Jack said with determination.
"And who should that someone be?" Ianto asked with an arched eyebrow. "I bet you have someone in mind." His voice dripped with sarcasm.
Jack just laughed. "Of course I do. I've been around for quite some time, I have learned a thing or two about how to punish unruly guys - even if they are vampires."
Ianto grinned back at him. "As long as the constant fighting stops, go ahead." He turned away to the kitchen, then glanced back over his shoulder. "Have fun, but take them somewhere where I can watch on CCTV."
Jack laughed again. "I'll make sure you have a good view." He pulled Ianto close and kissed him until they both were breathless. They were interrupted by the sound of something heavy falling, shattering. "Guess I'd better check on them before they destroy the place."
Ianto gave him a quick hug, then pushed him in the direction of the fighting sounds. "Then hurry up." With that, he turned away and went into the kitchen to get some coffee.
Jack turned away as well and made his way to Spike and Angel - it wasn't hard to find them, he just had to follow the sound of insults yelled at each other and punches landing followed by grunts of pain. When he entered the room that was Angel's guest quarters, Jack stopped dead in the door. The furniture was mostly broken, everything that could be thrown had been flung across the room, and it looked as if a tornado had destroyed the place.
The two vampires were standing in the middle of the chaos, kicking and punching at each other, both covered in bruises and bleeding already. Spike's coat was somewhere on the ground, his shirt was torn and Angel's clothes didn't look any better. It definitely was time to stop them.
"Spike! Angel!" Jack didn't exactly yell, but his voice obviously got through to them, they froze in mid movement and turned to him. It looked almost comical, Jack had to fight to keep a straight face. "That's it, I've had enough of your antics. You've already managed to scare Gwen off, she won't come to the Hub unless strictly necessary. Now you're destroying the place and by the looks of it you're trying to kill each other. And don't even get me started on you jeopardizing our mission with your constant fighting and putting everyone in danger." He let his gaze wander from one of them to the other, disapproval written all over his face. "This will stop now! And since you don't seem to be able to behave like grown ups, I won't treat you as such."
He glanced around the room and quickly decided that he had to get them out of here, the chaos was way too distracting. And he needed a bit of time to think about how exactly he'd punish them, he hadn't even had time to make a plan yet. "We'll talk about the state of this room later, for now you'll follow me and face the consequences of your behaviour - and I don't want to hear a word from either of you unless I give you permission to talk, do we understand each other?"
Angel just glared at him, but Spike looked slightly embarrassed, especially when he had mentioned endangering the rest of the team. "Yes, Jack," he mumbled and his eyes didn't meet Jack's.
"Angel?" Jack prompted.
"What, you think I'm going to let you punish me like a little kid?" Angel crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"I expect you to do exactly what I tell you to and not ask any questions. And yes, I will punish you - in a way that will hopefully get through your thick vampire skulls and keep you from destroying the place even further." Jack glared at Angel. "And if you won't let me do that, you can pack your stuff - if it's still in one piece - and leave right now. I'm not going to allow you to damage my team any further, are we clear?"
Angel still glared at him, then glanced at Spike who was studying his boots. "Spike, you're not going along with this, are you?" he asked incredulously.
Spike looked up at that and shrugged. "He's right, we're behaving like kids. And we're hurting the team, not just each other. He's the boss, he's responsible for everyone here."
Jack was surprised by Spike's easy submission even if he didn't show it. "I'm asking one last time, Angel, do we understand each other?"
Angel looked from Spike to Jack and back again, then around the room. He seemed to notice the level of destruction for the first time because he took in a sharp breath, then let it out slowly. His shoulders slumped and he almost whispered, "Yes, Jack."
"Good, then follow me." With that Jack turned around and left the room. He wasn't sure if they would really follow him, but he didn't look back to check. He couldn't afford to show any kind of weakness if he wanted this to work. If only vampires didn't move so silently. When he came past the door to John's former room, he had an idea on how to deliver an effective punishment and check on them at the same time.
"Wait here." Jack turned back and was glad to see both vampires just a few feet behind him in the corridor. Spike's eyes widened when he saw Jack open the door, he must have guessed what Jack was up to. Jack bit back a grin, then entered the room. A quick search revealed John's stash of sex toys - which included a fair number of things that could be used for a punishment as well. Jack smiled when he spotted a cane in the box, that should do the job even when the persons to be punished were vampires. He quickly closed the box again and left the room, cane in hand.
Angel and Spike looked at the cane, then at each other. Was it possible they were feeling uneasy already? Good, that would increase his chances of really getting through to them. Without another word Jack walked further down the corridor, this time sure they would follow him.
Finally he stopped in front of a storeroom that held only some old furniture - and happened to have two cameras. After all he had promised Ianto that he'd give him a chance to watch. Jack opened the door but stayed outside. "Get in." He held the door open until they were inside and Spike had turned on the lights.
The back of the room was filled with old wooden tables and chairs, covered in a thin layer of dust. The rest was empty, cold, just concrete floor and walls. Jack motioned to the back. "Grab a chair and sit, we need to talk."
Angel glanced at Spike who was already on the way to get himself a chair, then back at Jack. Jack didn't move a muscle, just met Angel's gaze - until Angel lowered his eyes and followed Spike's example. When both were sitting, Jack turned to them.
"I have been telling you for the last 3 days to stop fighting, to focus on our job, but you didn't listen. Ianto has told you as well, but you don't seem to care. Quite the opposite, your fights are getting worse, you're putting everyone in danger and are destroying Torchwood property." Spike was suddenly very interested in his boots when Jack mentioned endangering the team. "Look at me, Spike!" Spike's head came up again, but it was obvious that he didn't really want to meet Jack's eyes.
Jack continued, "You're both more than old enough to know better, and you should be able to control yourselves." He paused and looked from one to the other, both were rather uncomfortable. "So you don't leave me any other option, I have to punish you and hope I'll get through to you." He took a deep breath. "Because I really don't want to send either one of you home. But if you don't stop your constant fighting, I will have to. If I catch you fighting one more time, no matter where and no matter why, you'll both have to go."
Spike looked at him with alarm. "Jack..."
"Not a word!" Jack interrupted him before he could say anything else. "As I said, you'll both have to go. Angel, you can go to wherever you want to, because I won't work with you if you sabotage my team. And Spike, I'll suspend you for a week... You can stay at your place. After that you are more than welcome to come back, you're too important to me to lose you over this."
Spike was visibly relieved at that news.
"Now we get to your punishment, if you don't accept it it's the same consequences as another fight. I don't think I have to repeat them." Jack was pleased to see that they were both nervous now. "When I tell you to, you'll stand up, put your chairs away, then walk to this wall." He motioned to the wall to their left, next to the door. "Drop your pants and put your hands to the wall. I will decide when you have been punished enough, so don't even think about moving before I allow it." Spike was tense, but seemed to be resigned to accept his punishment, Jack wasn't quite so sure about Angel. "If you don't think I should punish you, there's the door." His left hand pointed at the door. "You only have two options. Now get up."
Jack stepped back to give them some room. Spike didn't hesitate, he was across the room to put his chair back in no time at all, then stood in front of the wall. A quick glance at Jack, then he focused his eyes on the wall, pushed his jeans down and braced himself against the concrete. Angel was still hesitantly standing beside his chair.
"Angel, time to make a decision... now." Jack's voice was still calm, but demanded obedience.
With a last glance to Spike Angel sighed, then followed the blond's example. They were quite a sight next to each other - one blond, short and wiry, the other dark haired, tall and broad shouldered. Jack enjoyed the view for a second before he moved behind them.
With two quick movements he let the cane flick forward twice, landing it sharply first across Spike's then Angel's arse. They both bit back a cry, Jack wasn't holding back the force of his blows. They were vampires after all, he knew they would heal quickly even if he should break skin. With that thought, he let the cane hit them again and again, in no particular rhythm, just careful to punish both of them equally. After a while they began to squirm and couldn't quite bite back the pained sounds any more. Jack paused for a moment and looked them over. If they had been human, he would have stopped, but he wanted this to make a lasting impression.
"Hold still unless you want to make it worse." They stilled instantly. "I'm not quite done with you yet."
The cane made contact with Angel's thighs which were already crisscrossed with welts, just like his arse - as were Spike's. Angel cried out, but didn't move this time. Neither did Spike when he received his next blow.
"That's better," Jack praised and continued to cane them.
A few especially hard blows later Spike dropped his head and let it rest on the wall between his hands. Sobs shook his back. "I'm sorry, Jack." It was barely audible, but Jack stopped. Angel didn't look much better, he just seemed to be fighting back the tears, too proud to show that much weakness.
"I really hope this got through to you." Jack sighed. His arm was heavy. "Because I don't want to send you away - and I don't want to have to repeat this." He looked them over, wanted to make sure they were okay. They were both still standing at the wall, bodies tense with pain, their entire backside down to right above their knees covered in angry red welts with a few drops of blood showing here and there. If they had been human he would feel guilty now, but he knew that by the next day there would be no trace of his punishment.
"Get dressed, have some blood and then clean up the room you destroyed. Spike, stay here tonight, I want to talk to you in the morning."
Again, Spike moved first. He didn't bother to pull up his jeans, he just turned around and looked at Jack with eyes red from crying. "I'm really sorry Jack, I haven't been thinking. Won't happen again." His gaze dropped and he intently studied his shoes.
Jack went over to Spike, put a gentle hand on his cheek. "Look at me," he said softly. "I believe you, and as far as I'm concerned we won't talk about this anymore, it's over." He placed a gentle kiss on Spike's forehead. "Now get dressed and help Angel clean the mess you've both made, I'll see you in the morning."
Spike nodded and deliberately stepped back from Jack. He looked at Angel who was still facing the wall and just about to pull his trousers up. "I guess I have to talk to someone else first." With a determined expression Spike pulled his trousers up and winced. "I really should wear clothes that are not quite so tight," he grumbled, then walked back to Angel, put a hand on his shoulder.
Glad to see them talking instead of fighting for a change Jack grinned up at the camera where Ianto was probably still watching, then left the room. He was sure it would all work out now, probably not without a few further problems, but hopefully a lot more quietly. And as soon as they found this wizard and stopped him from doing whatever it was he had planned - it definitely wasn't anything good - Angel would be gone again and Torchwood could go back to normal.
Jack smiled at that, Torchwood and normal? They had their very own definition of that word here, but it worked for them.
When he entered his office he found Ianto sitting as his desk, looking at the computer monitor with a smile. "Hey Jack." Ianto glanced at the cane. "Why did you bring that? Didn't you have enough excitement for one night?" He arched an eyebrow.
Jack laughed. "Am just going to leave it in plain view for a few days, as a reminder for anyone who even thinks about misbehaving." His grin widened. "Of course, if you want to play..."
Ianto pulled Jack close and rose to meet him in a kiss. "I always want to play, but I have something much more pleasant in mind," he murmured in Jack's ear. "Let me just shut down the CCTV feed, our resident vampires don't seem to need further supervision tonight."
The cane dropped to the floor, already forgotten, when Ianto kissed Jack again.