A/N: Just added a bunch of content to this chapter. Enjoy! (11/2012)
Torchwood Files
Chapter 12: What is Flat Holm?
Ianto awoke to find himself sprawled naked on the couch with Jack's greatcoat covering him. His clothes had been folded haphazardly and placed on the table next to him. Sitting up, he ran his fingers through his hair and looked around for Jack.
"Jack?" he called softly. Not getting a response, he sighed and reached for his shirt. I fell asleep, Ianto thought angrily. I fell asleep and I didn't even get to blow him. Shit. Is he angry? Is that why he's not here? That I didn't return the favor? Dressed, he stepped over to the nearest workstation, Tosh's, and looked over the readouts. Hmm, interesting. Maybe him being gone has nothing to do with me, after all?
"You're awake."
Ianto turned in surprise at Jack's voice. "Yeah. You, too, it seems."
Jack shrugged. "We keep doing this, you'll find that I don't sleep much." He was fully dressed and looked like he'd had a shower.
"So," Ianto said, extending the word. "Negative Rift spike?"
Jack stepped closer. "I'm sorry?"
"There was a negative Rift spike. Is that where you were?" Jack paused by Ianto, waiting. "Emily Star," Ianto continued, pointing at the program Jack had left running. "Twenty-two years old. She's not back yet, is she?"
"You figured it out," Jack stated.
"It's not that hard when you think about it. If the Rift drops things off, why shouldn't it also take things away?"
"Questions?" Jack fell into Captain mode easily, both his voice and posture changing.
"Can I see the facility at Flat Holm?"
"Why?"
"I want to help. You shouldn't have to do it alone." They looked at each other for a few heartbeats. "And I have to see the place if I'm going to figure out how to increase their budget for the things they need most," Ianto added. "It doesn't seem like they have enough, and you shouldn't have to be stealing from Owen's stores to supply them."
Jack turned and settled onto the couch, crossing his legs and resting his arms along the back of it. "You've seen the budget reports?"
"Really, sir, your lack of faith in my abilities is insulting. Once I knew there was something to look for, it was easy enough to find. You have a pattern about how you set these things up. I was just waiting for a negative spike so I could ask you about it."
"When did you figure it out?"
"A few weeks ago."
"Which sorts of patterns are we talking about?"
"You have several bank accounts, in several countries, I might add, that are designated for helping various peoples and organizations. Flat Holm is one of them. Not counting the ones for personal use, of course."
"How many have you found?"
"Seven, and three personal ones," Ianto answered, unable to keep the pride from his voice at having found so many. He knew there had to be more, with all the time travel he assumed Jack had done and the need to have money whenever he was, but he couldn't find more than that. Still, ten was a lot compared to the one account Ianto himself had.
Jack nodded absently and chewed on a fingernail. "Huh. Tosh found nine, and that's not all of them. And all four of the personal ones."
"She's better at computers than I am."
"If I bring you in on this, Ianto, you'll need to keep it from the others. Are you prepared to do that? Only Suzie even knows the place exists, and she wants nothing to do with it."
"If that's what you need, sir," Ianto answered. "Secrets are a bit of a habit, working for Torchwood."
"Good," Jack declared, jumping to his feet. "I'll get you a copy of the pertinent files and we can go out there on Sunday, Rift willing. I'll get Suzie to mind the Hub. You'll want to wear something warm. Once you've seen the place you can decide what kind of involvement you'd like in the project."
"You gave Suzie that choice, too?"
"Yes, but it was too much for her to be a part of it. It's enough that she covers the Hub while I'm over there."
"How often do you go?"
"Once a month unless someone comes back through. It hasn't happened in a while."
"I'll just go make some coffee, shall I?" Ianto said, and Jack's smile made the room seem a little lighter all of a sudden.
"Thank you, Ianto."
"Sir?" Ianto paused. Jack turned back to him. "I want to reciprocate…"
"Tosh and Suzie should be here in an hour," Jack interrupted. He stepped forward and planted a quick kiss on Ianto's lips. "Make the coffee, get yourself cleaned up, and when they leave for the night — well, we can see what happens, yeah?"
"Yes, sir," Ianto said with a small smile.
***TW TW TW***
Ianto didn't realize he was crying until Jack's hand landed heavily on his shoulder and startled him out of the daze he was in, lost in the memories of Flat Holm and its residents. He looked up. Jack had been crying, as well, but the tears were long since dry on his face.
"We're back," Jack said. He lifted his hand and brushed the tears off Ianto's cheek with his thumb. "I told Suzie to go home, so we have the place to ourselves, if you want to stay." He smiled sadly. "Don't feel obligated."
Ianto nodded and climbed off the boat after Jack. "I'll stay. I don't want to go home to an empty flat right now, after seeing that."
Silently, they walked through the disused corridors of the Hub from the boat dock, both still lost in their memories and thoughts about the visit to Flat Holm and the residents there. Jack stopped suddenly at a door Ianto could've sworn he'd never seen before. Jack swiped his security card and pressed a sixteen-digit code into the keypad. The light turned green and the door slid open.
Ianto found himself in a library with several thousand books crammed onto shelves haphazardly. Looking over the titles, he realized that some of them were first editions of books over a hundred years old. They were in almost pristine condition. On another shelf was a collection of books that was clearly from the future, by the titles and materials that made the books. He pulled a physics book from the shelf and gaped at one of the diagrams.
"You coming?" Jack demanded from the far side of the room. With a guilty start, Ianto put the book back on the shelf and hurried to follow Jack down a corridor. He glanced at the closed doors on either side of the hall and came to the conclusion that this was Jack's personal area of the Hub, the one that everyone assumed existed but had never seen. All Ianto had seen up to that point was the bedroom and bathroom below Jack's office, and he knew he was one of the select few to even be allowed down there.
Jack shucked off his clothing as he walked, dropping his greatcoat over a chair in the library and leaving his boots at the door. By the time they made it to his private bathroom, he was naked, a trail of clothing along the floor behind him. He turned the tap and stepped under the spray, moaning in pleasure as the hot water beat down on his back.
Ianto glanced over his shoulder at the way they had come. He'd never noticed that door into the bathroom before, and he'd been in the room half-a-dozen times to gather Jack's clothing for the laundry.
"Perception filter," Jack explained from the shower. "Now that you've seen the door, it probably won't work for you, especially with how familiar you are with the one on the invisible lift."
"I— um— thank you for showing me." Ianto toed off his trainers and quickly removed his clothes, folding them and putting them on the toilet seat.
He stepped into the shower stall with Jack and began massaging Jack's neck and shoulders as Jack leaned against the tiles in front of him. Without thinking, he leaned forward and kissed Jack's shoulder blade. At Jack's sigh, he kissed him again, moving down his spine. Jack moaned when he kissed along his ass crack.
"You like that, sir?" Ianto asked.
"I think you can tell that I do," Jack replied with a hearty chuckle that sent shivers through Ianto's whole body.
"Hmm." Ianto settled onto one knee and spread Jack's cheeks. Before he could change his mind, he darted in and began licking, exploring. He reached around Jack's leg to stroke his erection. "You have lube?"
"Not in here, but the bed's not far."
"I'm not doing this out there," Ianto protested.
"It's not any cleaner in here, you know. It's just an illusion because of the water."
"That's not the point," Ianto muttered. Jack shifted, giving Ianto more room to work with. "Well, maybe it is…" Ianto admitted.
Jack laughed. "Do I have to remind you that I can't catch or carry anything you might be worried about?"
"That's it! I'm done," Ianto declared, slapping his hands against the tiles and standing. "Now is not the time to be having this conversation."
Jack snaked an arm around his waist, pulling him close. "On the contrary, now is exactly the time to have this conversation." He captured Ianto's lips in a long sensuous kiss. Ianto couldn't help the shudder to think of where his mouth had just been and that the captain was so cavalier about kissing him.
"Jack…"
"No, seriously, what's the difference doing it here or on the bed? Really?"
"Umm… It makes me feel better to do it here?" Ianto hazarded.
Jack sighed loudly, clearly frustrated. After a tense moment, he reached over Ianto's head for the bottle of body wash. "Use this," he muttered, handing it over. "Not as comfortable as lube, but it'll do in a pinch."
"Really?"
"I thought you said you did research?"
"Well, I noted the need for lubrication…" Ianto trailed off. Jack sighed again.
"Maybe we should call it a night. Suddenly, I'm not in the mood anymore." Jack twisted the dial, shutting off the water. "You should probably go." He stepped around Ianto and grabbed a towel. He picked up a second one and handed it over. Reluctantly, Ianto accepted it.
"I don't want to go," Ianto protested softly.
Jack turned back to him and their eyes met. "There's the couch upstairs. Do some thinking about what you want out of all of this."
Jack tossed his towel on the floor and disappeared through the door towards the library and his other rooms, leaving Ianto alone in the bathroom with a feeling of rats crawling around in his stomach from the anxiety of everything that had just happened. Before he could process his feelings, or even shove them in boxes in his head to look at later, Ianto found himself kneeling on the cold tiles vomiting violently.
***TW TW TW***
Jack sat in his favorite chair in the library and stewed for two hours before he decided to see what was going on with Ianto. His vortex manipulator hadn't told him that the cog door had been used, so he assumed Ianto was on the couch upstairs, as he'd suggested. Ordered, a part of his mind told him.
You're sulking, Harkness, admit it. You didn't want him to stop, or have qualms about it, and he did, and you over reacted. When will you get it through your thick skull that not all men in this century are comfortable with rimming? And you've barely done anything with Ianto yet! That he's even willing to try this soon should be a good sign.
He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. And now you've probably given him a complex about it. As if he needed one. He's too neat and tidy as it is. But, God, does he look good in those suits!
Jack smiled, thinking of four nights ago when Ianto had approached him after everyone had gone home and demanded to be fucked, hard, across Jack's desk. Jack had laughed as the blush spread across Ianto's cheeks and along his ears even as he made his demand, but Ianto had been waiting all day, and Jack Harkness wasn't one to say no to such a direct request. Ianto hadn't disappointed, either. It was only their second time having sex — the first being as slow and careful as Jack could manage with his own body making demands he wasn't sure Ianto was ready for, while Ianto writhed in pleasure underneath him, begging Jack to get on with it, I'm not made of glass — but Ianto made it clear that if Jack didn't do it his way this time, there would be decaf in his mug for the next week. He'd shouted his release even as he clenched down on Jack, bringing him quickly over the edge. Ianto had left for home immediately afterwards, on shaky legs, leaving Jack to clean up the mess. Jack hadn't minded.
Such a beautiful body that man has, he mused. And I'm pretty sure he's not even aware of what he does to me yet. Oh, sure, he knows I'm attracted, but does he have any idea I've been fantasizing about him for months? Ever since I first saw him that night in the park in those tight jeans?
When Jack got up to check on Ianto, having taken care of the need for release by reliving memories of their first couplings and the judicious use of his hand, he didn't expect to find Ianto curled in the fetal position on his own bed, under a pair of blankets, shivering. Jack swore under his breath and rushed over.
"Ianto, what's wrong?" he demanded. "Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
"Didn't know," Ianto answered weakly.
"This is my fault," Jack said. "I shouldn't have taken you out there when you were sick. Shit." He sat on the edge of the bed and stroked Ianto's shoulder while he pressed a few buttons on his vortex manipulator to get a sense of the real picture. "Looks like you picked something up while you were on the island. I know this strain. It'll pass in a few hours. Are you cold?"
"You think?" Ianto muttered sarcastically, burrowing deeper under the blankets.
Jack rolled his eyes and climbed into bed with Ianto, wrapping his arms around him. "Come on, stretch out against me. I have the heat to spare." Reluctantly, Ianto did so. "There, that's better, isn't it?"
Ianto ignored the question, shivering violently. "What's wrong with me?"
"Alien flu," Jack answered. "As I said, it'll pass in a few hours. You've been sick already, right? That's a good sign. You'll be fine soon. Just let me warm you up."
"Have you been naked this whole time? And you're still this warm?"
"As I said, I have heat to spare."
They lay in silence as Ianto slowly warmed up. His breathing slowed.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have freaked out about it."
"No, I'm the one who stormed off. I should've known you'd be hesitant about it. I forget how new to this you are, and I expect more than I should."
"I'll try it again, if you want," Ianto said hesitantly. "I mean, we never talked about it, but I liked it when you've it to me, and the urge just struck me, and then you seemed to like it…"
"It's ok, Ianto," Jack murmured. He kissed Ianto's forehead. "There's time. We don't have to rush and do everything the first week."
"You're sure?"
"Yeah. Just because you have a list doesn't mean we have to rush," Jack said again. "And we should talk about it when you're better. About what you want, that kind of thing. It'll be nice to draw it out, enjoy it, as we get to know each other in this way."
"Hmmm."
"Now try to sleep," Jack murmured, tightening his grip on Ianto. Without consciously deciding to, Jack began singing a lullaby his mother used to sing to him when he was sick. Ianto slipped into sleep.
