6

Emilie was laughing, large belly laughs as she played on the floor and Jack found it a balm when getting back from his physiotherapy upstairs, her giggles so sweet and calming.

Ianto was not in the room, just the nanny who sat giggling along with the child and Jack again headed to the office but found it empty too "Where is Captain Jones?"

"Called to a meeting" the nanny said softly "Thought he would be back before you and… ah… here he is."

Ianto entered the apartment and threw his Stetson with open anger then slumped in the nearest chair to stare into space, his tail bound in some dark thread today, almost like leather straps. Jack was taken buy it, a warrior tail for sure.

"Can I ask you a question?" Jack asked as he settled next to him and Ianto grunted non-conversationally.

"The tail… how long did it take to grow?"

Ianto rolled his head to stare at Jack then reached back to finger it before answering "Almost my entire life."

"Bullshit!" Jack spluttered "The agency….."

Both men regarded one another as Jack had been about point out the Agency cuts the hair of all new recruits. OF course… Ianto was a Meatstick… born to service. Shit.

"When in basic as a small child, I was placed in the care of a man who was a Bladesinger. A true… blue haired demon bladed monster of a man who taught me self control and self awareness. My blade skills are not to be sneezed at either if I do say so meself. I embraced his words, as it is my conditioning. Assimilated and when the assignment ended I found myself… liking it. My one piece of me, my one freedom from the normal monotony of the Agency. They allowed it as there was the clause for Tails in the Cultural Rules. I felt a little thrill from pissing them off there too, I guess."

Jack grunted back at him an leaned forward "So.. that is like… a talisman?"

"Well… I have worn it in every battle and it's not got me killed yet" Ianto winked making Jack laugh as he saw the cheekiness in the man, even if he looked tired too.

"Did you walk dirt?"

"Yeah, one of the internal tunnels had a seal leak so I had to dash across a small area… just enough to make me sweat buckets" Ianto groaned.

"Damned heat… damned red dust. Gets into everything, sandblasts everything and we go through so many ports" Jack sighed. "No doubt why the emergency warning system failed."

"Oh no… someone turned it off" Ianto said, then sat bolt upright with horror as he looked away, rising to his feet as he added "Forget I said that bit. Classified, shit. I am tired… sorry."

Jack watched him … yeah… walk away with shock.

Wait. Someone caused that?

The flares… Jack sat back with a slow burn starting in his bones.

Someone killed them as surely as setting them on fire in their beds.

How did Ianto know that?

.

.

"Stupid" Ianto scolded himself as he stood in the shower, the tail loose from it's bindings and way below his waist, settling in the small of his back as he let the water wash the dust away. He watched the water running red until it was clear and then stepped out to dry himself and wrap his head in a towel.

He could not believe he told Jack that. How stupid, what a rookie mistake to get invested in … well. Ianto sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror, scolding some more for that. Showing off? Trying to gain favor? Show loyalty? What the hell was that? He had no idea and this winging it thing he was doing lately was starting to scare him.

His training, conditioning, breeding… he was not supposed to have a mind of his own, even if it did save lives on several occasions. It also pissed off the bosses to the point where they put him here to teach him some humility… even as they knew his unique tweaking might be the only thing that solves this case.

Ianto snorted as he looked at his reflection "To have humility you have to be a human. Stupid Meatstick. They are probably right… you don't even have a soul."

Ianto turned from the mirror and walked to the bed, sliding into it without bothering to remove the towel. He would sleep like that then in the morning star the task of binding the tail into a small hard warrior's knot once more.

Sort of comforting to do that, the ritual of it was soothing and made him remember his master.

.

.

"So… going to walk dirt today?" Jack asked as he looked at the white shirt Ianto was weaning with a pale blue waistcoat over it. The tail almost unnoticeable in it's brown leather sheath today. He looked like a tourist.

"Nope… would I dare wear white?" Ianto said with wide sarcastic eyes "No… a vid-meeting after breakfast where I am chewed a new arsehole for the drilling dates going over. Like I can control the bloody drill bits breaking."

"This planet is cursed" Jack said more to himself than Ianto.

"I second that" Ianto agreed.

Red Devil planet.