Author: Seether79
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Team
Rating: PG-13??
Spoilers: General spoilers for both seasons,
Summary: "I have this dream" Ianto begun as he looked up at the woman sitting in front of him. "I'm not sure what it is… memories from a life forgotten; or just me going crazy."
Beta: lj user"the9thdoctor" at lj user"plotbunniesinc"
Author's Notes: No longer canon, since Exit Wounds aired.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood (There would be a lot more boy action if I did)
Chapter 8: Spending Time
Ianto had been back at Torchwood for three weeks now; he was surprised that the closeness he had gained with the other members of their team hadn't faded during the time he was away. He and Gwen still enjoyed each other's company, Owen and he still had their playful banter and he and Tosh were still very close. The only relationship that had changed was the one with Jack; they only talked to each other if it was work related and the occasional conversation Jack would start over what happened ended with Ianto walking out or hanging up on him.
Ianto missed Jack, he really did; but he couldn't get past what the older man had done. Back before all this happened Jack was the one Ianto would run to when he needed someone, now Jack was the one he was running from. He always knew Jack would end up breaking his heart; but he never thought he would violate his mind.
"I hate days like these." Tosh said to him as she looked around the Hub.
"Me too, leaves me too much time to think." Ianto sighed. There was nothing alien going on in the city of Cardiff today and it was starting to make him a little stir crazy.
"Maybe we could let Janet out, see who can catch her first." Owen laughed.
"Yes, and when she rips someone's throat out you can explain it their family that we were bored and thought it would be a great old time to let an alien lose on the streets." Gwen replied sarcastically.
"Spoil sport." Owen said.
"Maybe we could play a game or something." Tosh suggested.
"What, like eye spy? We're not eight Tosh." Owen told her.
"Stop being a dick." Ianto told him as he looked up at Jack's office; he couldn't see him and found himself wondering what he was doing. In the old days if they had a quiet day Ianto would be up there with him, getting all sorts of wicked things done to his body; Ianto shivered a little at the thought of it.
Owen just rolled his eyes at Ianto. "If I could drink I'd go to the pub and have a beer... being dead sucks."
"Does anyone other than dead boy want a coffee?" Ianto asked as he stood up.
"Yeah, thanks." Gwen smiled.
"That would be great." Tosh replied.
Ianto headed towards Jack's office to ask him if he would also like a coffee. He knocked on the door and walked in; Jack was sitting at his desk staring out something that was in his hands. "Would you like a coffee?"
Jack looked up at him with a surprised look across his face. "I'm fine."
Ianto watched him carefully. He could tell from the look on his face that the older man was upset about something. "Sorry to interrupt."
"You're welcome in here anytime, Ianto." Jack said to him quietly.
"Right." Ianto replied as he turned to leave. This was what it was always like between them, awkward and uncomfortable. It really saddened him that things had to come to this.
"Ianto," Jack said before he had a chance to leave. "Do you ever miss me?"
Ianto turned around to face the captain again; unsure of how to respond to the question. "I miss what we had, but then I remember that it wasn't real."
"It was real Ianto; we were real." Jack replied getting upset.
"I thought we had a relationship Jack, but relationships are equal and built on trust. We weren't real, we just went through the motions," Ianto told him before turning to leave. "I can't forgive you."
Jack watched as Ianto left, wishing there was something he could do to change things; wishing for a second chance.
XOXOXO
"Do you want to grab some dinner?" Gwen asked Ianto later on that night as they made their way towards the parking lot.
"Sounds nice. Won't Rhys be missing you?"
"He's visiting his Ma tonight, so I'm a free woman." Gwen smiled. "The Italian place around the corner is nice."
"Just what I was in the mood for." Ianto replied as he held out his arm which Gwen took with a smile. "I forget sometimes how nice it is to walk at night, the moon and stars and all that."
"It is nice; you forget to notice things when you get older. Sometimes I wish I could just be a kid again." Gwen replied.
"That would be nice." Ianto said softly; he felt Gwen squeeze his arm in comfort.
XOXO
"Here we are." Gwen said as they walked into the restaurant.
Dinner was going well; the food was wonderful and the conversation had been light and fun. Ianto hadn't smiled this much in a long time, it was nice to let go of Torchwood and Jack for a while. "You need to laugh more Gwen, it suits you."
"Same." Gwen replied. Her smile faltered when she remembered the real reason she had asked Ianto to dinner. "How is everything Ianto?"
"Good." Ianto told her as he sipped his wine. "I still have headaches and Owen has no idea how long that will last; but otherwise I'm great."
"And how are things with Jack?" she asked, hoping Ianto wouldn't get upset. His face remained neutral but that was to be expected with Ianto; the man was a master at hiding his emotions.
"Things with Jack are... odd." Ianto replied, unsure of how else to explain it. It really wasn't any of Gwen's business but he didn't have the heart to tell her off.
"Are you okay, seeing him all the time?"
"I'm getting used to it." Ianto told her. He actually found the scenario of him and Gwen having dinner and discussing Jack quite strange; after all for the longest time he was sure Jack would one day leave him for Gwen.
"You know I don't think what he did was right; I was giving him a hell of a time while you were gone, but I really do believe that Jack did what he thought was right. He cared about you too much to risk losing you." Gwen said as she sipped her wine and smiled nervously.
"I get that, I really do. But it wasn't his decision to make; that was my life he was playing around with, my life that he deleted. I can't forget that." Ianto replied.
"I know, I wouldn't be able to either. I never thought I would, but I feel sorry for him, Ianto. He misses you so much and he's so sad... I don't know" Gwen laughed lightly. "Things are so complicated and I'm not sure what's best anymore."
"That's a first." Ianto smirked.
"Shut up." Gwen laughed as she threw a piece of bread at him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up."
"That's just you, Gwen, and we love you just the way you are." Ianto told her with a smile.
"You're too nice" Gwen said with a grin.
XOXO
Ianto rolled over and groaned as his mobile continued to ring; he knew it would have to be work for someone to be calling him this late. He looked at the caller ID and sighed when he saw Jack's name. "What?"
"Ianto... Were you asleep?" Jack said.
"Yes, Jack, that's what people do at night." Ianto replied dryly as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Right, sorry." Jack said and then there was silence for a few seconds. "I shouldn't have called."
"Why did you call?" Ianto asked.
"...I don't know."
"I'm going back to sleep now, Jack" Ianto sighed.
"Please don't hang up." Jack said quickly.
"What's the point?" Ianto asked him. "We have nothing to say."
"There's plenty to say, I just wish you would believe me when I say I'm sorry and I was only doing what I thought was best."
"I get it Jack I really do, I just don't think you thought of me while you were doing it," Ianto told him. "You were being selfish. Did you even think about my family, how they would feel?"
"Better than if I had to tell them you were dead." Jack replied.
"Jack... I don't know where to go from here. Me and you, we're stuck in the same fight over and over and it's slowly killing me. You have to move on." Ianto told him hoping that Jack would understand; he couldn't do this anymore, he needed Jack to just leave him alone.
"I can't move on... I need you." Jack told him sounding slightly desperate and very un-jack.
"You're being selfish again. What about what I need?" Ianto pointed out.
"Ianto," Jack said and Ianto could hear the frustration in his voice. "Just tell me how to fix this."
"Give me space." Ianto replied simply. "That is what I need."
"Fine." Jack said before hanging up. Ianto closed his mobile and placed it back on his bed side table. He laid back down and looked up at the ceiling.
"Why are things never simple?" he whispered to himself.
TBC
A/N: Thanks to my lovely beta, thank for reading and comments are love :))
