Rise of the Champions - Chapter Seventeen
Author: Milady Dragon
"It didn't work."
Ianto's irritation and disappointment had Jack moving across the room to take his husband in his arms, holding him until the stiffness in his posture faded into acceptance. The immortal understood just what Ianto was telling him, without having to come right out and saying it.
Honestly, Jack was a little surprised. The three most powerful Wizards in the world, and they'd been unable to destroy Loki's spear. It seemed impossible, but it had obviously happened, and now they were all stuck with a weapon that really shouldn't still exist.
Eventually, Ianto sighed and stepped out of Jack's arms. "That was a titanic waste of effort," he groused. "I did manage to get Phil and Stephen keyed to the Secure Archives, give them their keys, and Stephen noticed something about that spear that I hadn't, but we just weren't able to break that thing. And now, I have a horrific headache. I can only imagine how Phil feels, since he not only expended a lot of magic, but he was also blocking out all the free-flowing Deep Ways that are down that far in the Archives."
The headache was obvious, from the pinched look around Ianto's eyes, and the slight furrowing of his brow. Myfanwy, always so good at telegraphing her Wizard's inner emotions, was drooping by his side, her usual bright eyes dull with tiredness.
"Clint will take care of him," Jack answered, "and I'll take care of you."
Ianto gave him a tired smile. "You always do."
Jack had to kiss him for that. "If only you were feeling better, I'd take care of you some other way." He grinned lasciviously, winking broadly, wanting to distract the man he loved more than anything from the pain he was in. Over-the-top flirting was always the way to go.
That had Ianto rolling his eyes, then wincing at having done it. "I should avoid anything like that until the headache is gone."
"Asking you not to roll your eyes at my ridiculousness is like asking the sun to stop shining." Which was true. Eye rolling seemed to be the barony-wide sport of Cardiff, after all. And Ianto was just so good at it. But then, he did seem to get a lot of practice in.
Now, that drew out a snort, which Jack counted as a win. "Come on," he took Ianto's hand and began to lead him up the stairs, "I'll draw you a bath and help you wash those hard to reach places."
"Not going to feel up to doing much else." Ianto came willingly, though.
"Nope, a bath and then bed. I'll also fetch you up some of those headache salts that Eirlys swears by."
"That would be lovely. And, while I'm in the bath, you can tell me what happened at the traveling show."
Jack hesitated, wondering just how much Clint would want him to tell. After all, this was all about family and, no matter how shitty that family was, it could be construed as personal.
That slight hesitation must have been noticeable, but then there wasn't anyone else in the world who knew him better than Ianto Jones. "That bad?" he inquired.
"Yeah, you could say that." Bad for Clint, but not so much for Jack himself. Which was why he wasn't sharing immediately.
He set his husband down on the bed, going into the bathing room to get the bath ready, thinking about everything that had occurred and how much he should share. It was a bit of a thorny problem, full of pitfalls, and he was glad he had a little time to himself over it. Yes, he'd been going over everything while waiting for Ianto to come home, but that had been more of a tactical exercise in working out what was next than anything else.
It didn't take long for the water to run into the tub; thank Gods for indoor plumbing. Whoever had invented it had been a genius. The hot water in their house was a Wizard invention, one which Jack took advantage of at every opportunity; there were other ways of heating the water in other homes, which required a furnace usually in the cellar of the home with the hot water, but in their home it was an enchanted metal tank just off Ianto's casting chamber.
Jack could recall how things had been before both plumbing and easily available hot water had been around, because it hadn't been all that long ago so his memories of it were still relatively fresh. He wondered what Steve thought of it all.
But it gave Jack time to come to the conclusion that, if the Elf had wanted him to keep quiet about it, he would have asked for privacy, and he hadn't done that. Besides, this was Ianto…and his husband knew how to keep a secret better than anyone.
In the end, he decided that Clint wouldn't mind, as long as he just kept it between himself and Ianto. Besides, he wanted to discuss what Barney Barton had been told by the UnEarthly Child because, whenever she made her presence known, all the hells would be breaking loose at any time and they would need to be prepared. He still had a few nightmares about the last time.
He stepped out of the bathing room and into the bedroom, smiling slightly at the sight of Ianto slumped at the foot of the bed, Myfanwy curled up next to him, both looking as exhausted as Jack had ever seen them. "Are you going to be up to starting with Sir James tomorrow?" he asked worriedly, as he helped his husband get undressed.
"We're not putting it off," Ianto averred. "Sir James had waited long enough. I don't want him in that Zero Cabinet for another day longer than necessary."
"But you're not going to be able to do much if you're this tired," the immortal retorted.
"Which is why I plan on going to sleep as soon as I'm out of the bath." Ianto wobbled a little as he headed toward the bathing room. Myfanwy curled up a little tighter on the bed, already mostly asleep.
Jack helped his husband into the large, ceramic tub that Ianto had insisted upon when the house had been built. It was large enough for two, but Jack had something to do before he joined Ianto in the warm water. "I'll be right back with those headache salts," he promised, sealing it with a soft kiss to his Wizard's forehead.
"Hurry back." Ianto sank down into the bath, sighing in relief.
Jack did hurry, racing down the stairs to the kitchen for the special salts then taking three steps at a time to get back to his husband, wondering why they were keeping it in the cabinet and not in the bathing room, where they would be easier to find…then he remembered the time that Alun, one of their grandsons, had once dumped the entire canister into the bath. Even though Alun was now an adult with his own children, it had become a habit storing it away from tiny hands and mischievous behavior.
As the salts hit the water, the scent of peppermint and ginger wafted into the air, the smell tingling his sinuses pleasantly. Ianto relaxed even more, and Jack was stripped and into the tub with him in almost record time, pushing him forward a little in order to seat himself behind his reclining husband, tugging him back into his chest and between his legs, his arms wrapping around Ianto's chest to support him.
"This is wonderful," Ianto sighed, leaning back comfortably. "Now, please tell me what happened."
"Are you sure you'll be able to stay awake?" Jack teased quietly.
"If I fall asleep, you can repeat the story once I wake up."
And so, the immortal found himself explaining everything they'd discovered during their visit to the traveling show: about Barney, the estranged brother that Clint hadn't really mentioned before, and about the prophecy that the man had been given that had brought him back into the fold, so to speak.
"And Laura agreed to get the word out," he finished.
Ianto was silent for a moment, just long enough for Jack to wonder if he really had fallen asleep. "The UnEarthly Child is always right," he finally spoke. "If she says Clint has a destiny, it wouldn't surprise me. He's neck-deep in this already, he's Phil's lover – and soon to be husband, I'm certain – and Phil is the Void Champion. He also was given a dragon by Idris, which you know automatically makes him unique in the world. If he doesn't have a special place in upcoming events I would be very surprised indeed."
That was true. Jack had to agree with his husband's reasoning, especially since he'd come to the same conclusion himself.
"Also, it seems as if she'd known we would be approaching Laura Carson for help," his Wizard continued. "She sent Barney back there for a reason, and I'm fairly certain it wasn't to torment Clint. She may speak in riddles, but there's always meaning there if you know where to look."
This was also true. Their own dealings with her had been proof of that.
"It makes me feel a little bad that Phil came with me to the Archive." Ianto's voice was getting lower, a sure sign that he was reaching the end of his endurance. "Phil should have been taking care of him, instead of Clint taking care of Phil."
"They'll take care of each other." Jack knew that for a certainty. Those two belonged together, and they would be fine in the end.
"And we also put Carson's right in the middle of this." Ianto shifted a little in the cooling water.
Jack felt guilty about that, but there had been no way of knowing just asking for the word to put out amongst the traveling shows would have had the chance of bringing Loki down on them as well, or if Loki already knew about Clint's connection to Barney Barton. It had been a way to search out Catherine and Ruby Hale, and the plan had been for whoever saw them not to engage. Now, the very act of mentioning them, if they had been involved in Loki's escape, had the possibility of putting innocents in the line of fire of one of the most dangerous Wizards to have ever existed. Loki might not have had the same level of power as their Grand Masters, but what he lacked in magic he made up with cunning.
And there was also the very real notion that asking Laura and her people to help wouldn't have mattered, in the long run. That Loki already knew about Clint's past, from the time that he had the archer under his thrall. In the end, getting Clint's estranged family involved might have been for the best, if Loki had been clued in as to his former 'puppet's' involvement with them from the beginning. That way they would perhaps get a heads' up if the crazy Wizard decided to strike, and protect the ones Clint cared for. And that included the asshole brother who'd treated him like trash.
It was why Jack said, "I think I need to go back to Carson's. To warn them, and to make sure nothing happens to anyone." He explained his thoughts on Loki being aware of Clint's connection and thinking it might be a chance for the Wizard to get at them in that direction, if and when he became aware of their friend's involvement in events.
"Take Toshiko with you," Ianto urged. "She'll watch your back."
"I might also call in a couple of allies to help." Jack thought Natasha would help and, even if she couldn't, she could put him in contact with Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter. The immortal had been impressed by the pair. Plus, the Western Lands weren't exactly Jack's territory, and having actual citizens helping out would avoid any sort of trouble, if they were discovered to be operating on foreign soil without getting permission from whatever sitting Baron was in charge of the Barony the traveling show was performing in.
Not that Jack thought there would be trouble. It was just best to be prepared for every eventuality.
"Sounds like the beginning of a new team…" Ianto's words were interrupted by a wide yawn.
"Up we get." Jack chivvied his husband up out of the bath, drying him off with one of the fluffy towels they both loved. One of the things they could agree on where the largest and softest towels possible, both men cheerfully admitted hedonists.
Ianto protested just once at Jack making him stand still while he ran over his body with the towel, but he didn't argue for long after Jack shushed him and once again reminded him that the immortal was going to take care of his tired husband. Jack loved being able to do this sort of thing for Ianto, when the Wizard had overextended himself, and wouldn't ever take no for an answer.
Jack tucked Ianto up in their bed, and he was asleep within minutes, Myfanwy curled up beside him. Jack himself wasn't tired yet, so he headed back downstairs, to make his plans on returning to the traveling show, to contact Natasha and see if she wanted to tag along and bring some friends. Hopefully, the team he would manage to scrape together would be enough to keep watch on the innocents of the show.