Flipped Upside Down

Rating: None yet, will change throughout the story (PG for now, ig)

Characters: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Toshiko, Martha, Donna Noble, John Smith (the Doctor in his tenth incarnation), Sarah Jane Smith, Luke Smith (Sarah Jane and John's son, Harriet Jones (as Ianto's grandmother), Estelle Cole (as Jack's mother), Alice (Carter in TW, Cole here) (as Estelle's youngest sister and Jack's favorite aunt), mentions Owen Harper, OCs

Character pairings: Jack & Ianto, Tosh & Martha, Donna & OC, John Smith & Sarah Jane

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the TW or DW characters, only the OCs, Torchwood and Doctor Who is owned by RTD and the BBC (cuz if I owned them, their relationship would've made more sense and Ianto would still be alive)

Notes: Not set in TW or DW, not a crossover either, just has TW and DW characters; Ianto, Jack, Tosh, Martha, and Luke are all five and haven't started school yet; a lot of the story is from Ianto's perspective; Ianto has a Welsh accent even though he moves to Scotland, Jack has a Scottish accent, not American; Ianto is shy and quiet, Jack is boisterous and outgoing (but can be shyer and quieter, especially when meeting Ianto); Jack's family lives next door to Ianto's nan; Harriet Jones was an "aunt" to all the little children in the neighborhood, even though they weren't blood-related

Summary: Ianto's mum died shortly after he was born from illness, his tad just died from pancreatic cancer, so he's going to live with his grandmother (Harriet Jones) in Scotland. Jack's father and brother Grey were killed in an RTA, he lives with his mother (Estelle) and her youngest sister (Alice) - she's his favorite aunt. Tosh, Martha, and Luke are all friends. Tosh is Donna's child, Luke is Sarah Jane and John's child, Martha is the child of an OC pair. Jack's last name is Harkness, from his dad. His mother went by her maiden name, Cole, after her husband died, and in this AU, Alice's last name is Cole too, not Carter.

***Any spelling/grammar errors when the little kids are talking are intentional***

Chapter 1 - First Meetings

Today was one of the worst days Ianto ever had. The day his mam had died was even the list and he was a baby when she died; only today topped that. His tad had died from pancreatic cancer the previous afternoon, after suffering for months, and he was now going to live with his nan Harriet Jones, in Scotland. He hated moving, it meant leaving behind his best friend Owen Harper, and everything he knew. It meant he had to make new friends and being a shy and quiet kid who kept to himself, he was not looking forward to that. And it also meant now telling his nan everything, instead of only some things on the occasional visit to her house because she's his legal guardian now. To put it mildly, he was annoyed, out of sorts, and sad.

Jack was excited - his mom informed him that Auntie Harriet's grandson was going to be living with her now, and he's the same age as Jack. That was perfect, he always loved having more friends, and he couldn't wait to meet him. He was watching from the window, and the second he saw a familiar car pull into Harriet Jones' driveway, he ran to his mother and shouted ecstatically "They're here! They're here! Can I go say hi?" His mom let him once they got out of the car, and he practically flew out of the house. "Hi Auntie Harriet! Mom said I could come say hi to you an' that you brought your granson? Can I tell him hi also? Please?"

"Hello there Jack! Sure, you can say hi, but he's sad and a bit upset since his daddy just died. So do you think you can tone down the excitement just a little?" Harriet returned his greeting.

He noticed a boy around his own height standing behind Harriet, and suddenly felt shy. He didn't know why, he's never shy, not even when meeting new people, so how come this time? The little boy was gorgeous and adorable, and though he was still young, Jack felt an attraction of sorts to him. Slowly, he made his way over and held out his hand. "Hello, I Jack Harkness. Who you? An' where you from?"

When Ianto and his nan reached her house, they had just barely gotten out of the car when they were greeted by an adorably beautiful little boy. A boy who knew his nan? Right, cuz all the neighbors knew her, he recalled. This boy was jumpy and fidgety, Ianto thought. But he liked him, and he, too, felt an attraction of sorts to his new neighbor. When Jack greeted him, he shook the other boy's hand and answered, "I Ianto Jones. I from Swansea - is in Wales."

'Woah,' thought Jack. 'He very cute an' he even sound cute! How that is possible?' "Well, now you gonna live here in Bannockburn in Scotland with Auntie Harriet?"

"Yeah, only she my nan, not my aunty, cuz she my tad's mother." Tears formed in his eyes when he mentioned his father, but he didn't want to cry in front of this boy who's very cute and could maybe be a friend. He didn't want to seem like a baby.

Jack went up to him and hugged him. "Oh Yan-Yan, I heard what happen' an' is okay to be sad an' cry."

Ianto was startled when Jack hugged him, and more so when Jack called him Yan-Yan, but he didn't object. "I don' wan' you to think I'm a baby if I crying, Jack."

"I not gonna think you a baby, Yan-Yan, an' I also know how you feeling, cuz my daddy and brother were hit by a car an' they die last year. Is okay for me to cry then, an' is okay for you to cry now."

"You did? I sorry about that. We both don' have a tad, an' that not good." He gave Jack another hug, and then, surprising everyone, kissed Jack on the cheek. "Jack, could I be your friend?"

Jack's face lit up with a huge smile. "Of course Yan-Yan! Wait, I can call you Yan-Yan, right?"

"Yeah, is fine, but only you."

"Okay. Yan-Yan - if Auntie Harriet lets, do you wanna come to my house? We could play lotsa games!" Jack wanted to cheer up his new friend, he didn't like to see Ianto sad and would do anything to see him smile.

"Can I go, Nan? Please?" Ianto gave his grandmother the puppy-dog eyes that every toddler has perfected, but he didn't need to - she was already going to say yes. She knew Estelle loved it when Jack brought over friends, and she would be more than ecstatic for him to have a new one - especially as they already seemed to connect.

"Sure, sweetheart. Have fun! I'll come over to pick you up when it's dinner time. Jack, say hi to your mother and Alice for me, please?"

"Ok Auntie Harriet!" Tugging Ianto's hand, he pulled him to his own home. "Come on Yan-Yan, I show you my room. We gonna have fun!"

When Ianto entered Jack's house with him, he was greeted by an older woman and a relatively younger woman. Both knew that he's Harriet's grandson, and welcomed him to Scotland. He felt Jack pull his hand again impatiently as he wanted to show Ianto all his toys which they could play with.

"Mom, Alice, Auntie Harriet says hi. Now can me an' Yan-Yan go play?" He was bouncing up and down, overflowing with energy, while Ianto stood more sedately next to him, both holding each other's hand.

Estelle laughed at Jack's excitement. "Of course you may, you and Ianto go and enjoy yourselves."

Once she said that, the two boys were off like a shot, Ianto trailing a bit behind Jack so he knew where to go. The moment they reached Jack's room, he pulled Ianto in and shut the door behind them to prevent any interruptions. In Jack's room, before they started playing, he pulled Ianto into a tight hug.

"What you do that for, Jack?"

"Cuz I know you gonna be sad for a long time cuz of your daddy that he's not here anymore. An' I don' wan' you to be so sad cuz then I gonna be sad too," he told Ianto very seriously.

Ianto hugged him back. "Thank you Jack," he said quietly. Surprising Jack again, he kissed Jack once more on the cheek. "You a good friend, Jack." His face turned less serious, and he asked, "Can we play now, please?"

"Yeah, let's play!"

A few hours later, unknown to the boys, Harriet came to pick up Ianto. They were so engrossed in their game that they did not notice Estelle, Alice, and Harriet standing at the door to Jack's room. The women were reluctant to intrude on the peaceful sight, so for a few more minutes, they let the boys continue their game. All too soon, though, Alice broke the spell by alerting Ianto to the fact that his nan was here to bring him home. Jack immediately held Ianto to him and protested, Ianto also not wanting to let go of Jack either. He didn't want to leave his new friend - already it felt like he and Jack had known each other forever, and he felt a strong connection to him.

"Come on Ianto, you'll see Jack tomorrow, I promise. And maybe you'll meet the other children who live here - Toshiko, Martha, and Luke." Harriet was doing her best to placate her grandson and persuade him to come home.

Alice decided to help out as well, from the Jack-side of things. "Jack, how about this: tomorrow morning, Ianto can come back here and play, and in the afternoon you can introduce him to the other kids - it'll be a playdate. But for now, Ianto has to go home for today, okay?"

Jack gave Ianto a kiss on the cheek and one last hug, before reluctantly letting him go to his Nan. "'Night Yan-Yan. See you 'morrow."

"G'night Jack. See you 'morrow." He smiled reassuringly at his new friend before leaving with Harriet.

When she was tucking him into bed that night, Harriet asked Ianto how his day was with Jack.

"We had so much fun! We played lotsa games, he has cool cars and Legos, and we also did a little coloring. Nan, I have a question, but….but….I think is a little weird an' I dunno how to ask it so well."

"Just try your best, my little Ianto," she encouraged him.

"Okay. Um...I like Jack very much, like I know him for a long time, but I don't. An' also he likes me an' he also thinks he knows me for so long. But that's not possible. An' he said he heard Alice tell his mam that when someone meet their soulmate their heartbeat is the same an' we tried to feel each other heartbeat an' they the same. What does that mean, Nan? What's a soulmate? An' how it's possible me an' Jack know each other like this?" He managed to articulate his questions as well as a five-year-old could, and Harriet had a thoughtful look on her face as she contemplated how to answer.

"I'm not sure, give me a moment to think how to answer…. Well, a soulmate is someone who you connect to, and usually you want to spend the rest of your life with. But that's only if you meet them, and even then it's not very common that people meet their true soulmate, and even more rare with people at a very young age - like you and Jack it seems. I like to think that your grantad and I were soulmates, but sadly, he didn't live long enough for us to really figure that out. Maybe you and Jack are, and that's why you feel as if you've known each other forever. But it may be a little too early to tell, you boys are just five, after all. Let's see how your relationship continues over the years and then we'll see."

"Okay. Um, nan, I have another question. Owen told me about being gay - does this mean I'm gay? Cuz I don't really like girls either, like I never would wanna marry one, but marry a boy seems maybe weird?"

"It's not weird, sweetie, it's perfectly normal. And maybe you are gay. Again, we'll be able to tell when you get older. What Owen was doing talking with you about being gay, I don't know, and frankly, I don't think I want to. Now, enough with the questions, you've got to go to sleep. It's getting late for you to be awake." She kissed him goodnight, turned on his night-light, and left the room.

Only to return an hour later - Ianto had woken up crying, having nightmares about his tad and feeling homesick. She ran to his room and pulled him close to her, soothing him. "It was just a bad dream, Ianto. You're safe here. Ssh, it's okay, you'll be okay, Ianto." She kissed him again and laid him back down as he slipped back into a semi-uneasy sleep.