The Captain stood and stared at the sand for a good long while. Nothing moved. There were no sounds, no wind coming from nowhere, and no movement; just a pile of sand that spelled those two haunting words.
Remember me?
"Ianto?" Jack knew he was being foolish, hoping and thinking it might be Ianto somehow communicating with him. There was just no way… right? Ianto was dead; really, actually dead. His body was in a Torchwood freezer for God's sake.
Jack couldn't think about this right now. His head hurt from all the crying and he was dead tired. He rarely needed sleep, and when he did sleep it wasn't for long. But he suddenly felt very, very exhausted and thought it would be nice to lie down for a while.
Jack quickly swept up the sand, making sure to put all of it back into the mysterious box.
The mysterious sand in the mysterious box.
Then he went to a little hovel down below his office and lay down on the small cot with a comfy mattress. He didn't bother turning any lights off, or taking off any additional clothes. He just needed to sleep….
...XoXoXo...
"Jack?" Ianto's voice drifted into Jack's consciousness.
"It's too early…"
"You never sleep."
"I know. But I like sleeping when I know you're next to me." Jack opened his eyes, and sat up a little, looking into the eyes of his lover and smiling. Ianto gave a small smile too.
They were in Ianto's flat, in the bedroom, on the bed.
Everything was white; white bed sheets, white walls, white curtains, and a bright, celestial white light shone through the windows.
This was obviously heaven, Jack thought to himself. He remembered falling asleep at the hub. So this must be a dream? But if this was a dream, Jack decided that he never wanted to wake.
"Last night was good…" Ianto broke the silence in his usual, slightly-awkward Welshman way.
"Yes. Last night was very good." The smile stayed. Jack realized that this was a memory. This had happened before, with him and Ianto. Words left his mouth like an automated script; he had no control over what he said. It was like the memory was playing out on its own and he was just along for the ride.
"I was wondering if you wanted coffee, before… you know… before we had some more fun."
"I would never say no to your amazing coffee Ianto, you know that. But when you're giving me the choice of coffee or sex?"
"Which first?"
"Both."
Jack and Ianto had some fun while intermittently sipping coffee.
Ianto finished his coffee first, and proceeded to pleasure Jack while he finished his.
"God… Ianto… Feels good."
Ianto released Jack from his mouth just long enough to say, "Well when you're finished with your coffee, it's your turn."
"Pretty sure I'm never going to be done drinking this." Jack answered coyly as he took a purposefully loud, yet miniscule sip from his cup.
Later, they were both clinging to each other like lives depended on it. Sweaty and high on caffeine, Jack and Ianto made love, kissing and caressing and goading each other on with sweet moans of absolute pleasure.
Jack was lost. Lost in the feelings and the mix of emotions. He knew this wasn't real. He knew this was only a memory; a dream. But Gods, did it ever feel good.
He knew this was not healthy for him to indulge like this; to play with his own heart in this way. This dream would undoubtedly set his emotional recovery back nearly a decade. He didn't care.
But as he thrust in and out of Ianto, alternating between kissing him and whispering of just how good it felt, Jack suddenly felt an ominous presence in the room.
He didn't want to, but he turned his head to the right, and that's when he saw him.
A man. A painfully familiar man stood in the room with them. He too, like the rest of the room, was dressed in all white. He didn't say anything. He was just… watching.
Jack knew that this mysterious man was not part of the memory, but he may have been part of the dream.
Regardless, he kept making love to Ianto, pressing him into the mattress and eliciting pleasured noises from his kiss-bruised lips.
Jack knew that he should try to wake up, or at least try to get his own body to betray the memory playback in order to address the man staring at them; the man Ianto seemed to take no notice of.
It all ended too soon. Ianto came all over himself, and Jack inside him. It felt amazing.
Jack eventually looked to his right again; to that evil, ominous place next to the bed that seemed to emit worse and worse vibes the longer he ignored it.
The man was still standing there, almost emotionless and indifferent. He had a small smirk on his face, but it looked permanent; like that man was always smirking.
"Who are you?" Jack finally was able to speak on his own volition.
"You don't remember me, Jack?" The man's English accent scratched annoyingly on Jack's brain. It was so familiar. And yet it wasn't familiar.
"If I remembered you, why would I ask who you are?"
Ianto was long gone by now. Now it was just this man and Jack in the room. The bed was gone too. Jack was somehow dressed now. Even in his coat.
The two of them stood almost nose to nose in the pristine white room. The shorter man, the mysterious, unnamed one, still had a smirk that just about made Jack punch the guy.
The concoction of aggravated and annoyed feelings the man brought out of Jack were even more familiar than the man's face.
"I know you… but from where? When?"
The man ignored Jack's questions. "Your memories of him are strong." He nodded his head in the direction where the bed used to be, and suddenly the bed was there again. A naked Ianto sat amongst the pure white tangled sheets, giving Jack a predatory gaze. He seemed completely oblivious to the conversation going on between Jack and the familiar stranger.
"He was much more than just a shag, wasn't he, Jack?" The man's arrogant and smug voice grated on Jack's ears like nails on a chalkboard. "You know, when I first met you two… I figured he was the one infatuated with you. And he was, but you had it real bad too, didn't you? You still do."
"What do you want?" Jack was well on his way to feeling distressed and impatient.
"Just to exist, Jack. That's all I want. And you're going to help me do just that."
