'CAUSE LIGHT AND SHADOW GO TOGETHER
Romance, bit of Hurt/Comfort, bit of Angst
Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper
Words: 3912
One morning, Ianto wakes up covered with bruises and scratches and with a blood stain next to him. And no memory of the last night.
...
Jack was sitting in his office trying to complete the file on the alien spaceship wreck that had come through the Rift and had kept the team busy the last couple of days - bits and pieces shattered all over Cardiff -, as his phone started ringing. He yawned - last night had been an all-nighter for him, and he'd only got about two hours of sleep because he'd dozed off in his office chair.
Now, Jack mindlessly reached into his pocket and shot a short glance at the phone screen. His face brightened as he read Ianto's name, and he answered the call with a wide smile on his face. "Good Morning, Sleeping Beauty. Tell me that you're still in bed, just woke up and called me only to tell me about that weird dream you had, including both of us in some situations that are definitely not safe for work...", he started in a light-hearted tone.
It was Ianto's weekend off (on Jack's order and with lots of complaints on the side of the welsh man). The Captain had sent him home early the previous day and told him not to come in for the rest of the week - but knowing his lover, Ianto was already up, bored, and about to bug Jack to let him come to the Hub.
Not this time.
"Jack... you need to come over to my place...", Jack heard the hoarse voice on the other end of the line saying. He sat up straight in his chair, immediately alarmed.
"Ianto? Are you alright?"
"Please... can't tell over the phone... please..."
Jack's heart started beating faster, and he was already on his feet, grabbing his coat and storming out of his office. "There in a minute. Hang on, yeah? Are you okay?"
"I'm- I don't know-"
"Ianto?" Jack clutched the phone in his hand out of worry.
"I'm... I'm okay - just hurry, yeah?"
OoO
Jack opened the throttle as he raced through the city on his way to Ianto's flat. He rushed up the stairs, unlocked the front door and called Ianto's name. The answer came from the bedroom - "I'm here, Jack" - the Captain pushed the door open and entered the room.
He found (rather to his surprise) that Ianto was, in fact, still in bed. He sat with his blanket wrapped around him, knees pulled close to his body, and looked at Jack out of wide opened eyes that mirrored both confusion and fear.
Ianto was the first thing Jack noticed. The second was the dark stain that stood out on the beige carpet next to his bed. Blood, he immediately realised in the back of his mind. It's blood. The Captain stood in his place frozen for a second, eyes wandering quickly from Ianto to the stain and back. "What happened?"
Ianto shrugged his shoulders in a gesture of despair. "I don't know. That's the problem."
"What do you mean, you don't know?", Jack asked, narrowing his eyes and moving closer, careful not to step on the stain.
"I - don't - know!", Ianto repeated slowly and let the blanket drop off his shoulders. Jack sat down by his side and gasped as he looked at his lover - Ianto was naked except for his pants, and his body was covered with bruises and scratches. "Ianto-", he whispered and carefully brushed over the young man's blessures with his finger tips. "Where- where did you get those from?" Ianto hadn't been out in the field with Torchwood for a week (and even if he had been, and even if he had been injured, Jack would have known, of course), and yet he looked like he had been into a fight.
"I don't know. They were there when I woke up this morning", Ianto responded and bit his lip.
Jack's frown deepened. "But... there must be something... what do you remember - you must remember something..."
Ianto shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I remember going to bed last night. And then waking up like this. That's it."
"Then we're going to find out. Don't worry." Carefully, Jack drew his lover close. Ianto winced a little, and the Captain's heart sank. It made him ache to see the young man injured like this, and he gently started kissing his bruises and stroking his neck. "Silly question, I know - but how do you feel?", he asked in a soft voice, raising his gaze.
Ianto snorted and smiled a half-smile. "All bruised and battered, I guess. Bit of a headache. But mostly... just confused."
"What did you do yesterday night? Anything special?"
The welsh man shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing, really. Watched a Bond movie, the one that was on Telly, Roger Moore... didn't even make it to the end. I was tired, I think I doze off a few times... You called, remember? Saying you'd stay in the Hub for the night... I think I went to bed after that."
"Hmmm." Jack shook his head. "This is really strange. Something must have happened. I didn't have you in for sleepwalking. Would've noticed that by now, wouldn't I?" He smiled and caressed Ianto's face.
The young man looked at him wide-eyed. There was a hint of fear in his expression, even though he tried to hide it. "This- this really... um, it scares me, Jack. How can I not know... how can I have forgotten what happened - something did happen, and I reckon..." Ianto glanced down at the stain on the floor. "... it wasn't something good."
Jack cleared his throat, trying to focus. "I- I think the best thing to do is for you to get some rest. It's your weekend off anyway. Tonight, I'll stay up and watch over you, alright? See if anything happens."
He expected Ianto to protest as he usually would; the greater was his surprise when the welsh man nodded in agreement. A shiver ran through the Captain's body as he realised how terrified and startled Ianto was.
"Right, then... um, I...what- what should we do?" God, sometimes Jack was so glad that around Ianto, he could let his guard down, he could ask him for advice, he didn't have to be the leader that he'd never wanted to be.
Ianto sighed and leaned his head against Jack's shoulder. "We need to get back to the Hub, and-"
"The Hub?"
"Well, I'm not staying here all day, Jack."
"You're right... and Owen can give you a full medical. Good."
"And also... we need to get a sample of this-", Ianto murmured and pointed at the blood stain next to his bed. They both went silent for a moment, and Jack's eyes wandered over Ianto's bruised body and back to the stain. Ianto had some bad scratches. Surely he had bled. The smudge on the carpet though... "I... need to make sure that this is- my blood", Ianto added quietly. He sounded as doubtful as Jack's thoughts were.
What if it isn't?
Jack let out a heavy sigh. "Okay, I'll take care of this. You get dressed. And don't worry, okay? We'll sort this out. It's all going to be fine."
Ianto snorted. "As you say, Sir."
oOo
"Nope. Can't find anything. Except for the scratches and bruises - only minor injuries here, should heal up in a few days - there seems to be nothing wrong with you. Also found nothing in your systems, no drugs or Retcon...", Owen said as he'd finished his medical examination of Ianto.
Grumbling a roughly repressed "Finally", the welsh man hopped off the table he'd been sitting on for his check up and put his shirt and jacket back on. With his suit on, all his bruises and scratches were hidden, and he looked just the usual - but his movements were somewhat hasty, and his look was like haunted, token of the state he was in.
Jack stepped up behind him and laid a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "What about the blood sample?", he asked Owen.
"Yeah, give it a minute, Jack. As soon as I know, I'll tell you", the doctor grunted.
Ianto shifted and shrugged the Captain's hand off his shoulder. Clearing his throat, he said: "Well, now that I'm here, I can just as well carry on cataloging that spaceship junk. I'll be down in the Archives, then."
"What? No, you should get some rest until we know more", Jack protested.
"You heard Owen; I'm fine. I'm better off working - you know that, Jack." It was unusual for Ianto to contradict with him in front of the rest of the team - for now though, the Captain let the welsh man wander off without further comment. He's probably right. He certainly won't be sitting around nice and quiet.
oOo
About an hour later, Jack was sitting in his office when Owen rushed in. "Jack!"
"Owen! You got the blood analysed?"
The doctor nodded. "You better get Ianto."
Jack felt his heart beating faster in his chest as he stood up to go down to the Archives. He called a few times for the welsh man, making his way through the narrow corridors between high shelves, stuffed with alien artefacts and files that dated back a long way. He found Ianto in a darkened corner, a piece of alien metal in his hand, motionless staring down at it.
"Ianto?"
The young man jerked a little and raised his glance at Jack, as if he'd been somewhere else with his mind. "Yes, Sir?"
"Owen's got the results of the blood sample."
"Is it-?"
"He didn't say. Wanted me to get you first."
"Oh. Hm. That could mean it's- well, let's go."
Ianto put the piece of metal down and turned to move past Jack and lead the way, but the Captain held him back and drew him close for a kiss. He felt Ianto, stiffened at first, relax under his grip, and as they pulled away, the welsh man had a small smile on his lips.
"Now let's go", Jack breathed softly and took his lover's hand. Ianto squeezed it tightly and nodded.
Owen awaited them in the medical bay; Gwen and Tosh were upstairs, leaning on the railing and looking down to them. Jack stood close to Ianto; he crossed his arms in front of his chest, narrowing his eyes at Owen, and nodded. "Go on, then."
"You won't like it", Owen announced and cleared his throat. "It's blood, it's human blood, it's a man's blood - it's not Ianto's blood."
Jack's heart sank and his eyes shot to Ianto. The young man had lowered his glance and started breathing heavily. Upstairs, he heard Tosh and Gwen shifting. It was silent for a few moments, then Ianto started speaking in a croaky voice: "So... uhm... what- what does that... what-?"
"How can that be?", Tosh interupted, followed by Gwen: "What the fuck is going on?"
Jack raised his hands - "Everyone stay calm", he said in a firm voice, cutting them off. "Okay, I don't want to hear anyone of you panicking or speculating, you got that? Owen - run that sample through all the databases we have, maybe we get lucky and find a match. Tosh, I want you to look through the CCTV footage from around Ianto's flat of tonight, see if you find anything. Ianto, Gwen - go back to Ianto's place. Maybe we missed something this morning. And ask the neighbours if they noticed anything strange. Go!"
oOo
They spent the next couple of hours trying to shine some light into the mystery of what had happened, but none of them were particulary successful. Owen didn't find a match for the blood sample; Tosh watched the CCTV footage within a close radius of Ianto's flat - but she didn't see anything out of the ordinary, let alone Ianto. Ianto and Gwen invented a burglary and asked his neighbours about strange noises or events past night, but, of course, nobody had heard or seen anything here as well.
Jack had used the time to prepare whatever they had on mind tests - mostly alien artefacts that they used every now and then for their investigations. However, his hopes of delving into Ianto's subconscience and retrieve the memory of last night were shattered as well and the tests brought no other news than that Ianto apparantly had a secret obsession with cute animal videos.
At one point Ianto suggested they'd try the mind probe that they last had used on Beth, the sleeper agent of Cell 114, but Jack cut him off immediately. "No! We're not at that point yet!"
"I thought you said it's not dangerous, as long as I don't have extremely high blood pressure", the welsh man snapped back.
"The least it will do, is bring you pain. And I won't let that happen. I won't treat you like an alien or a criminal suspect!"
"Jack, in my bedroom there's the blood of a stranger - mind you, I rather feel like a criminal suspect!"
"Good thing then that I make the decisions here. And I don't want to hear of this again!", Jack growled and turned away before Ianto could respond.
After they'd done all Jack could think off without any new insights whatsoever, the Captain sent the team home early. He orderd Gwen to come in later for the night shift - there had been a bit of rift activity the whole day, supposedly more bits of that alien ship - and told Owen to be on standby tonight, in case something would happen with Ianto again. The doctor grunted and grimaced in his familiar fashion, but Jack could see the worry in his eyes. They all shared the same concern for Ianto.
After he had sent them all off, the Captain looked around for his lover. He's probably down in the Archives again. Jack sighed, but he decided to leave him alone. The whole day, Ianto had been the centre of attention. And he hated that. So if he needs some time alone...
He was proven wrong as he returned to his office - Ianto was there, slumped in his chair and glancing up as the Captain entered. A weak smile hushed over his face. He looked exhausted.
"Hey", Jack murmured and stepped closer, sitting down on the edge of his desk; their usual positions reversed.
"Hey", Ianto responded. His smile widened a bit as he gazed at Jack.
"How do you feel?"
The young man shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Don't know. Terrified. By... myself. By what I might have done-"
"Hey! We don't know yet if you 'have done' anything!"
"That's it, Jack - we don't know." Ianto shook his head and rubbed his hand over his face. "I don't understand this. Why - how does something like that happen? How can I not remember anything? Give me an alien everyday..."
Jack chuckled and reached down to take Ianto's hand. The younger man entwined their fingers and then slowly came to his feet. He leaned against Jack, resting his head on the Captain's shoulder, and Jack held him firmly, his free hand caressing Ianto's back. It was one of those quiet moments they both cherished so much, a brief pause from the rest of the world where they found strength in one another.
oOo
The smell of freshly brewed coffee made Jack look up from his book and inhale deeply. He watched Ianto, changed and dressed in pyjamas bottoms, entering the living room and putting a big cup of coffee on the coffee table in front of him. Then the welsh man joined him on the sofa, wrapped his arms around Jack and pressed a gentle kiss on his neck.
The Captain grinned and let his hands slide over Ianto's bare chest. Ianto moved slightly backwards and quietly signed Jack to turn around. The older man raised one eyebrow curiously as he followed the lead, and moaned in delight as Ianto started massaging his shoulders. "Ha, look at this. I'm getting spoiled", he mumbled with a joyful chuckle.
"You certainly deserve it, Sir", Ianto responded. Jack felt his breath against his neck and shivered in pleasure.
"That so?", he murmured and closed his eyes, sighing happily.
"You shouldn't have to do this tonight."
"Oh, I'm fine, don't worry 'bout me", Jack shrugged, slightly unpleased that they were having this discussion again.
"You didn't get any sleep last night!"
"Hey, but I did. A couple of hours, at least. Sort of. And it's not about me, so, yeah, I am fine!"
"Alright, alright", Ianto gave in with a laugh. "I'm not trying to stop you. God knows, I couldn't if I wanted to, you stubborn idiot. But you deserve at least my best coffee and a massage."
Jack smirked, relaxing again under the movements of Ianto's talented hands. "Won't argue against that."
"Oh, and when we're finished here...", Jack felt Ianto's lips on his neck, moving up to gently bite his earlobe, "You can do with me whatever you want, Captain."
Jack's excitement grew with the hard-on in his pants. He groaned. "Why, Mr. Jones, you're giving me ideas..."
oOo
It took a while until Ianto finally fell asleep. After some wild sex that had made them both forget everything for a while, he'd lain in Jack's arms and started worrying all over again - "I don't know what I fear more - that something happens tonight or that nothing happens." Jack hadn't answered and just continued holding and rocking Ianto. The welsh man's exhaustion thanks to the fuss of the day had helped that he had fallen asleep at last.
Now, Jack sat at Ianto's bedside, afraid that, if he'd lay down next to his lover, he would doze off as well. He spent the time alternately reading his book and watching Ianto in his sleep. He loved seeing the young man in those vulnerable moments, and he felt privileged by Ianto's trust to let him see that. Asleep, with red cheeks, ruffled hair and bare his suit, Jack could catch a glimpse of the boy - the boy that had seen too much already...
The night passed without disturbance; Ianto moved beneath his sheets every now and then, at one point mumbling Jack's name - the Captain felt a blissful shiver running through his body at that moment - and as the first grey light announced a new day, he started snoring noisily (making Jack giggle). Otherwise, nothing had happened, especially nothing that could have led to a bruised Ianto and a stranger's blood on the carpet.
About 6.30am, Gwen called. Jack answered the phone with a quick glance to his lover, glad that the ringing phone hadn't woken him up. Gwen told him that the Rift had stayed calm, nothing come through, and asked if she could go home, arguing that at least Tosh would be in soon anyway.
"Fine by me", Jack agreed. "Get some sleep; I'll call you when we need you at the Hub."
"Yeah, great. And how was your night?"
Jack peeked at Ianto, still sound and asleep. "Also calm."
"Nothing happened?"
"No."
"Hm. That's good, right? So what do you think it is, then? What happened with Ianto?"
"I really don't know."
"And that stranger - whose blood was in Ianto's bedroom - that was quite a lot, wasn't it? I'm wondering what happened to him. Must be seriously injured, at least."
Jack snorted. "Well, I start worrying about him when I know who he is and what he was doing in Ianto's flat."
"... in his bedroom... in the middle of the night", Gwen added in a teasing voice.
"Shut it, Cooper!", the Captain responded with a chuckle and an eye roll before he hung up.
Ianto woke up about two hours later. He stretched himself and yawned, and Jack put his book away to look at him with a wide grin on his face. "Morning, sunshine. How'd you sleep?"
Ianto, lying on his stomach, lifted his head languidly and blinked against the light that shone through the bedroom window. "Mhm?", he grunted and rolled himself over on his side. "Oh, Jack. Mornin'."
"Aw, look at you", Jack commented with a laugh. "All sleepy and ruffled!" He moved from his chair onto the bed, sitting down next to Ianto and running his fingers through the young man's hair.
Ianto yawned again - then suddenly stopped in his movements and stared up to Jack out of wide eyes. "Did anything happen tonight?"
The Captain shook his head. "No, you slept well through. Most exciting thing was when you started snoring."
Ianto frowned. "Oh. Okay. Quiet night, then. What now?"
Jack sighed and kissed his forehead. "Please, let's just get up, maybe have some breakfast, before you start worrying again, okay? In fact, I am a bit tired. Let's just be happy for the moment that nothing happend tonight."
oOo
Jack blinked into the dark, still half asleep. What had woken him up this time? He turned his head to squint at the shape of the man next to him.
"Ianto?", he whispered, reaching out to gently close his fingers around the younger man's wrist. "You awake?"
He didn't get an answer. With a sigh, Jack lifted his head to glance at the LED of the alarm clock on Ianto's bedside table. 2.00am. He grunted and laid back, moving closer to his lover and resting his head against his shoulder. Could still grab some sleep.
A deep, growling sound rose from Ianto's throat next to him, and this time, Jack sat up straight. "Ianto?!", he asked, his voice a tone sharper than before.
A bit of mumbling and babbling was the only response he got; then the young man turned to his side and went silent again, his chest raising and lowering evenly with his breathing. Jack fell back on his pillow with a yawn, rolling around to spoon into Ianto's back. He closed his eyes and tightend the grip around his lover. A few minutes later, he was asleep again.
.
Two weeks had passed since Ianto had woken up covered in strange bruises and scratches and with the blood of a stranger on his floor. Two weeks filled with research and tests that all led to nothing. What had happened to Ianto that night stayed a mystery. What they were doing now, was just some sort of... easing their conscience? Routine? Jack had figured after the first few days that they wouldn't find anything. He spent all the nights with Ianto - not necessarily watching over him, though he had a light sleep anyway - and not once Ianto had even woken up.
So whatever it was that had happened, it slowly faded away from them.
.
Then the next week, Martha Jones came to Torchwood to investigate the Pharm, and what followed made the team forget about the whole incident.
Only sometimes, when they were alone, Jack would look at Ianto and see - a certain sparkle in his eyes, a wicked smile on his lips... and he'd wonder what it was about Ianto Jones, some secret so deeply hidden that even the man himself didn't realise-
And then, the next moment, Ianto would look at him, the sparkle in his eyes joy and the smile on his lips sweet, and Jack would forget his thoughts, lean over and kiss him.