AN: I know that this has taken me a ludicrous amount of time to finish. Real life was just shit for a while. But now I'm back on track. This is now finished, and I've got more stuff in progress.

Spoilers: Children of Earth.

Part 6 – Nothing is Ever Truly Empty

Captain Jack Harkness was stood on a lonely hilltop. He had been far beyond the reaches of Earth, far beyond the reaches of that galaxy even. He'd left that behind him, many hundreds of years ago, and had never intended to return. Never wanted to look back – never wanted to see the destruction he inevitably left in his wake.

But now he had returned. It had been exactly 1000 years, and he wanted to show that he had at least kept one promise he had made over his expansive life time.

"Don't forget me." The look on the welsh man's face as he said it was heartbreaking.

"Never could." No need to worry about that.

"A thousand years time – you won't remember me." He actually believed that, actually thought I won't remember him. Even dying, in my arms, even now – he's still unsure of the love we share.

"Yes I will. I promise, I will." I'm keeping that promise. A thousand years time. And so much more.

Jack smiled sadly as he remembered the look in Ianto's eyes during that final conversation. So young, and so, so scared. It had been a thousand years and Jack had returned to Cardiff – to Ianto's home town, trying to see if he could finally gain some peace. He felt tired, he's been running for far too long. Now it was time to carry on, carry on saving the world.

But how could he do that? How could he fix the world when inside he was still broken? But he was mending, slowly. He still loved Ianto, still loved him with a passion that would freeze hell itself over, burst open the heavens and still be there after all that. He would never stop loving Ianto either. Ianto had been the one person to truly show him the wonders of the universe, he had shown Jack what to appreciate in life, how the simple, burning love of one person could make every day seem that little brighter, make every moon that little fuller, each star that little bigger. Yes, he still loved Ianto, but he had moved on. But each new lover never lasted long, there was always something in them that sent memories crashing back to the surface. The way one stroked his spine slowly, tantalisingly with their lips, the way one bit down on his hips, the way one opened their blue, blue eyes and smiled first thing in the morning.

He remembered the funeral. The way everybody had been so calm, so collected. Apparently it was something that ran in the family then. He remembered how he had been scared at first, refused to go, didn't want to see the coffin lowered into the ground, didn't want to see that final thing. He hadn't wanted to see Ianto's family, hadn't wanted to meet their accusing stares, their saddened eyes. But he had gone, and everything he feared had turned out to be untrue. Ianto's sister, Rhiannon had spotted Jack first, before anybody else did. She's walked slowly over to him, as though half expecting him to turn tail and run. Jack had still been expecting himself to do the same thing. As she approached Jack had braced himself, expecting her fists to rain down on him fast and furious, but they never did. Instead she collapsed onto Jack, and he brought his arms round her waist protectively as she cried into the collar of his greatcoat. When she was finally composed enough to speak, the only thing she ever said to Jack, during that whole day, the only sentence she had spoken was:

"I don't blame you, but I do forgive you." And it had nearly torn Jack apart.

Now, as he walked to the spot to where Ianto was buried, Jack found himself finally at peace. The headstone was still there. Jack had made sure of that – using some alien metal that was guaranteed to last for near to eternity. As long as it was still there when Jack finally died, he didn't mind. He just never wanted to see it crumble away. But as the sun shone down onto him, and the birds sang, he reminded himself that life did go on.

He sat down at the grass, cross legged, and smiled, as he remembered how Ianto had hated that. Said it made Jack look immature. Jack had always retorted by telling Ianto that he preferred to act his shoe size, not his actual age. He remembered all the other things that Ianto had been annoyed by: Starbucks coffee, Costa coffee, instant coffee. Bacon where the fat wasn't crispy, sausages that were undercooked, beans cooked in a microwave. Just little everyday things. Then there were the things hat Ianto had really, seriously disliked: drunk old men, people who looked at homeless people like they were nothing, bad manners, bad humour, people being distasteful. But Ianto had told Jack the one thing he truly hated, and that was watching Jack die, watching Jack get killed, watching Jack kill himself, and never knowing whether his luck had ran out, never knowing if he would come back.

Jack remembered the things Ianto had loved: Cheese on toast, coffee, the smell of laundry straight from the dryer, the sun rise and the sun set, laying down on grass and reading, watching pointless reality TV, watching comedy quiz shows, the way Jack would hold him close in bed, the way Jack used his pheromones to get what he wanted, the way he could use coffee to get Jack to do what he wanted, being able to wear casual clothes, walking on the beach. Just little things that everyone took for granted. Anyone who didn't work for Torchwood anyway.

Jack smiled, and reached into his bag. Even after all these years, after everything, the explosion, the mug had survived. Sure it was only half of a mug, just the handle, base and a little bit more, but it was his mug. Ianto's mug. It had contained so many different things, each time filled by Ianto, filled with love and attention to detail. And now, even though there was nothing in it, and never would be, Jack felt as though it was full to him.