Title: The Simple Things
Fandom: Torchwood
Chapter: 2/?
Rating: T
Summary: Ianto gets a second chance at life after dying in Jack's arms but what will he choose to change?
Author's note: This is written by the brilliant BrookeSCW, I couldn't have put it down on paper without you! Thanks for all the help! Hope you all enjoy! Please make us both happy and review so we know we are doing something right!

The next day Ianto was in a room, which he could only describe as the largest PE hall he had ever seen, and it was full of gym equipment that made up the biggest assault course. There was a stern looking woman in a black army type uniform, with a red cap standing at the front of the gym.
'Now everyone team up and complete the separate assault courses.' Ianto looked around everyone had seemed to grab someone else pretty quickly, now there was only one person, she was medium height, dark skinned and quiet attractive Ianto noted to himself. He strolled up to her 'Hiya my name is Ianto.' He said shyly.
'Lisa'
'Nice to meet you, do you want to team up for this?'
'Yeah, but can you go first, I've got a banging headache.'
'Late night was it?' Lisa grimaced not wanting the conversation 'Sure I will go first' he said being the gentleman that he was.

TW

'Well done Jones' said the woman who was earlier standing at the front of the hall 'You will make a good field agent. Hallet, hmm your organisational skills are the only reason you were even put in for this, and today proved you are not field agent material. Jones, Hallet see you at Torchwood London.'
'Well done, field agent, you must be proud'
'Just a little, and well done for getting into Torchwood as well'
'Hmm, not as higher level as I wanted, anyway got to go, maybe see you around.'
'Yeah maybe' Ianto watched as Lisa turned and left without a backward glance. Ianto had a feeling he wouldn't be seeing Lisa around.

TW

Six months later was Torchwood's annual masked ball, this was a ball where all Torchwood one, two and three were invited, but not Torchwood four, no-one knew where that was. Everyone was made to dress up, and you could only get out of going if you were facing death, which rarely happened, even for Torchwood.
Half an hour before the start of the ball Ianto was standing in front of the mirror, making sure nothing was out of place. He was wearing black skin-tight, pantaloon type trousers, a white Fairlawn shirt with an open collar, showing a small amount of chest and a regency brocade coat with black boots that finished just below the knee.
'Knock knock' Ianto laughed to himself 'Come in Jimmy.'

Jimmy was Ianto flat mate; they had being living in the same flat since Ianto had started at Torchwood. Jimmy's old flat mate had died out on the field, he was very upset about the death and originally he was very reluctant to have a new flat mate, but because the flat belonged to Torchwood, and what Torchwood says, goes. Ianto had a feeling that Jimmy and his old flat mate were more than just flat mates. Jimmy handed Ianto a red masquerade mask with golden swirls going across from one corner to another.
'Nice Jimmy, where did you get it from?'
'Now that would be telling' Jimmy winked 'so you ready?' Ianto nodded 'Good, how do I look?' Ianto looked Jimmy up and down; Jimmy had decided to go dressed as Zorro that evening and only just manage to find the outfit in time.
'You look good, now I have booked a taxi for quarter to, that is in five minutes, so you got everything you need?'
'Yes mother' said Jimmy in a mocking tone. Before Ianto could reply, a car horn signaled the Taxi was waiting, 'Come on mother, and don't forget your handbag' Ianto laughed and followed him out of the flat.

TW

The Party had been going on for a good two hours now and Ianto was frankly exhausted, he had spent the first hour and a half 'socialising' as Jimmy had called it. Whereas Ianto had seen it as an hour and a half of hell, because the only people Jimmy wanted to socialise with were happy couples and Ianto found it sick the way they looked at each other all loved up. He then had spent the next half an hour holding back Jimmy's Zorro cape, as he threw up in the toilet, too much to drink in a too short amount of time, plus mixing drinks was never a good idea.

Now Ianto has resting against the bar, trying to regain some energy. 'Drink?' the voice had a gentle American accent, the type that didn't annoy you.
'Yeah thanks' replied Ianto, he looked up expecting to see the bar man, but he wasn't there, in fact he was at the other end of the bar. He looked round to see who had asked, and he met the steel blue eyes of the man standing next him, he had a hundred watt grin and shiny white teeth and then he spoke and Ianto could've died.
'So, what can I get you?'
'Beer thanks, not bothered which'
'Okay' the man summoned the barman over; while he did this Ianto took a closer look at the man, he was wearing a similar outfit to Ianto except his mask was black and so was his shirt. It was all very authentic looking, like it had been kept in a wardrobe for years. Before Ianto could look any further at the man he started to talk.

'So, what is a cute arse like you doing standing on their own?' Ianto almost choked on his drink.
'Not used to getting compliments are you?' Ianto didn't say anything; he just took another sip of his beer.
'Okay, we'll start with the basics' the man sighed 'What is your name?'
Ianto turned to the man his cheeks flushing with embarrassment 'Jones, Ianto Jones. Yours?'
'Well Jones, Ianto Jones nice to meet you' he flashed his megawatt grin again 'and what is your job here at Torchwood?'
'You never said your name. Why should I tell someone my job, when I don't even know their name.
The man's grin faltered slightly 'Okay, you got me. My name is John Smith'
'Really?' Ianto questioned, John nodded. 'Okay, if you say so' not completely believing the man stood in front of him.

John grinned once again, 'So what is your job here at Torchwood?' Ianto raised his eyebrow slightly, this guy was not going to give up, so Ianto gave in 'I'm a field agent, the dirty work basically, you?' he asked. John didn't answer straight away; it was like he was trying to weigh up whether to say or not, 'I just run a small department, nothing major'
Ianto accepted that was all he was going to get out of this "John Smith" character. He took another swig of his beer, god it tasted awful, but what else do you aspect from Torchwood.
'You enjoying that?' the man indicated to the bottle in Ianto's hand, all Ianto did was grimaced in reply. The man laughed, a full belly laugh. 'Come on, let's dance'
Ianto shook his head vigorously 'No way, I don't dance'
'And why is that?' John questioned
'Because I have two left feet' Ianto partially lied, true he did have two left feet but there was another reason and no way in hell was he going to say the true reason to anyone.
'So what? Come on, just one dance, what harm will it do?' Ianto thought for a moment, everyone was already pissed to the moon and back, so would they notice his bad dancing?
'Okay you win, but just one dance, right?'
'Right. ' The man smiled.

He offered his hand to Ianto, who took it and was dragged out on to the dance floor. As they arrived on the dance floor a song was just starting. It was Ianto's favourite and he knew every word.
John went to put his hand on Ianto's back but he flinched and shrunk away. John looked hurt so Ianto gave him a small tentative smile and nod when asked if he was ok. Ianto took John's hands and placed them on his hips and placed his own on the man's shoulders. They started to dance slowly to the music.

You do something to me, something deep inside
I'm hanging on the wire for a love I'll never find
You do something wonderful then chase it all away
Mixing my emotions that throws me back again
Hanging on the wire, I'm waiting for the change
I'm dancing through the fire, just to catch a flame an' feel real again

John sneaked a look at Ianto and smiled, Ianto was singing along quietly, but didn't say anything. Just carried on dancing.

You do something to me somewhere deep inside
I'm hoping to get close to a peace I cannot find
Dancing through the fire just to catch a flame
Just to get close to, just close enough
To tell you that...

Ianto stole a glance at John, he had his eyes closed, well it looked like it, but it was hard to tell when someone was wearing a mask. John looked like he was remembering a different time, a different place.

You do something to me something deep inside.

John and Ianto turned to look at each other as the song finished, 'Do you want to sit down?'
'No, maybe one more song' he smiled softly; John chuckled slightly as Ianto slowly closer to him and carried on dancing.

TW

They ended up dancing for three more songs, and by the third Ianto was all hot and bothered, so he made an excuse to John and went to walk through the gardens of the hotel. He rested on a bench and looked up at the clear London night sky, very peaceful. 'Hey, I wondered where you had wandered off to' the voice made Ianto jump; he turned to see John standing there, hands on hips.
'Sorry didn't mean to make you jump, you alright?' he asked sensing Ianto's unease
'Yeah yeah, I'm alright, just needed some fresh air'
'I didn't scare you off then with my amazing dancing skills' Ianto laughed 'Hey! I wasn't that bad.'
'No I guess you weren't' he smiled and moved over slightly so John could sit down.
'So Jones, Ianto Jones tell me about yourself.'
'Only if you do the same' John nodded.
For the next few hours that is exactly what they did, talk. They talked about themselves, their likes and dislikes, but never their work. After a few hours they went for a walk around the gardens, stopping by a giant water fountain.

It was a beautiful night, a beautiful scene. John slowly caressed Ianto's cheek, he moved his hands around to the back of Ianto's head and slowly untied the ribbon that was keeping Ianto's mask in place. The mask fell to the ground, revealing Ianto's face fully, 'Gorgeous' John whispered, he then brought Ianto's face closer to his and took Ianto's lips in his own, he was about to pull away when Ianto started to kiss back. The kiss was full of passion and lust. Ianto broke the kiss, and went to take John's mask off, but he stopped him, John gave Ianto a chaste kiss on the lips, turned and walked away.
Ianto stood there in shock; he had just had the best kiss of his life and the guy just walked away. He wasn't even sure why he had been flirting with the guy, let alone kiss him, he wasn't into guys, but there had been something in the back of his mind which told to do it, just a little voice. As Ianto turned to leave he felt the silent tears running down his face and the heavy feeling of loss in his heart that he couldn't place.

TW

As the years went by Ianto slowly tried to forget about the masked stranger, he almost did. He worked happily with the Torchwood team, seeing things he never dreamed he would see, he almost had a wife and a child but then everything started to change at Torchwood One. They had started the ghost shifts. During this time Ianto's field agent job had been cut down to just finding and catching minor aliens, weevils mainly. He had seen the leader of Torchwood Two march out of Yvonne's office shortly after the ghost shift started, shouting he wanted nothing to do with it. Ianto then later heard the leader of Torchwood Three had done the same.

Then the day came, the day when Ianto thought the world was going to end.

He had just come back from a successful weevil hunt when it started. He was in the office, filing away the report on the trip when Jimmy came running in shouting.
'They've done it! They've gone to far and the world is going to end, men in silver armor and more strange metal creatures, they are killing everyone! We've got to hide, Ianto!'
Jimmy had grabbed Ianto's arm and pulled them into a small storage cupboard. Ianto didn't know how long they were hiding in there for, but he knew it wasn't long enough.
'I am going to see if the coast is clear' said Jimmy.
'No wait a bit longer'
'Don't worry Ianto I will be fine.'

Before Ianto could stop him, Jimmy was sneaking out the door. Ianto had been waiting for just over 10 minutes when he heard 'EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!'The sound of Jimmy's scream echoed in his head and he heard the soft thump of his body hitting the floor. Ianto knew Jimmy was gone. He closed his eyes and prayed he wouldn't be found.

'Ianto, Ianto, come here boy. IANTO get your arse here now!'
Ianto was hiding in his wardrobe, hoping his dad won't find him, Ianto was hoping that he just would give in and go and lie on the sofa and fall asleep, but today it wasn't to be. Ianto hadn't meant to be late home, he really didn't. The first bus hadn't turned up and the second got stuck in traffic along the high street. He was paying for it now, he could hear his dad out side his bedroom door.
'Ianto Jones, I know where you are. You can't hide from me, little boy.' Ianto heard his bedroom door being slammed open. Then the sound of his dad's feet dragging across the floor and stopping outside the wardrobe, all Ianto could hear was heavy breathing. The wardrobe door open slowly, his dad's hand searched through the darkness for him, then he found him...

The door to the cupboard was wretched open, at first Ianto didn't want to look up, still thinking he was the 10 year old boy hiding from his father but when no pain came, he did look. He saw a tall man in trousers and blue shirt wearing a World War Two RAF coat. The man didn't speak to him just turned and shouted.
'Owen, Suzie another survivor.'
The voice was American, Ianto thought for a moment that he recognised it. But dismissed this thought immediately.
'Are they injured?' this voice was a thick London accent.
'No, don't think so'
'Well just send him down the main entrance, Tosh can have a quick look over them, Suzie and I have proper work to do'
The man in front of him just sighed and turned back to Ianto.
'Are you okay?'
Ianto just nodded, not trusting his voice to speak, 'Can you stand?'

In answer Ianto stood up but immediately his legs started shaking and he sat down again. 'Okay that answers my question, come on I will take you down to the main 'check point' I guess you could call it' the man laughed to himself he wrapped his arm around the boy's waist and he put his arm over his shoulders, both Ianto and the American made their way slowly
'So kid, what is your name?'
Ianto managed to talk this time 'Jones, Ianto Jones' the man in front stopped unexpectedly making Ianto stumble over the rubble, he turned and stared at Ianto. 'Have I got something on my face?' the man shook his head and turned back. 'So what is your name?'
'I'm Captain Jack Harkness, leader of Torchwood Three.'
'Ahh' Ianto smiled to himself, he had heard stories of the American in Torchwood three.
'What do you mean ahh?'
'Well let's just say I have heard of you.'

Jack turned his head and pouted slightly at the remark. They then arrived at the main entrance.
'Tosh another one for you.' Jack seemed to be talking to the Asian girl by the reception area, who was fiddling around with a computer, she looked up and smiled sadly and then beckoned them over. 'How many now Tosh?'
'Seven, it seems most were either killed, or converted. So who is this?'
Jack was about to speak but Ianto beat him to it 'Ianto Jones'
Tosh raised her eyebrow slightly and quickly looked over at Jack, who was pretending not to notice. 'And how old are you Ianto?'
'25'
Ianto heard a sharp intake of breath and the muttering 'Too young.'
He was roughly put into a seat and watched as the mysterious man walked off.

TW

A few hours later, the survivors were being sent home one by one. The last one was Ianto, 'So Ianto what are you going to do down?' asked Tosh as she sat down next to him holding a cup of instant coffee.
'Go back home, I guess, nothing left for me here.'
'Where is that?'
'Cardiff'
'Would you give me a minute' asked Tosh, Ianto nodded, she walked towards the rest of her team. He watched her talk to the American and saw him shake his head. She hit him on the arm and stormed back over a few minutes later 'Ianto, we are based in Cardiff, so we will give you a lift there and you can stay in one of Torchwood's Cardiff flats until you get back on your feet.'

TW

Three hours later, they had arrived in Cardiff, Jack parked the SUV outside a tall apartment building and turned to Ianto 'Go to the reception say Torchwood and they will give you a key, the apartment is fully kitted out, there are some clothes in there and food. Bye Ianto Jones'
Ianto nodded dumbly, as he was about to open the car door, when he turned to Jack and Tosh 'Thanks for everything, seeya around'
Jack just nodded and watched Ianto walk into the building. 'So are we going to Retcon him?' Owen asked.
'Not yet, let's see what he does first.'

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