Title: Other Worlds
Author: badly-knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1056
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: It may not be the way he originally planned, but Jack has kept his promise to Ianto.
Written For: Prompt 'Any, Any, Promise,' at spring_renewal.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, or the characters. Set in my Ghost of a Chance 'Verse.
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OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
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The earth, Wales, Cardiff, the Hub… It all seemed unimaginably far away now, in time as well as in terms of physical distance. Perhaps because it was, Ianto mused. How long had his body waited in cryo storage before he was revived? He seemed to remember Jack saying it was almost a year, but his memories of that time were understandably a bit fuzzy, so it was hard to be sure.
It didn't matter though, because he was here, now, alive and well, and further from what he'd always thought of as home than he'd ever imagined being. He wasn't sure exactly where he was in relation to earth, but he supposed it didn't matter. The universe was vast, and he'd already been travelling with Jack for several months. Given enough time, he was sure he'd learn astrogation, among other handy skills, but for the moment he was content to let Jack figure out where they were and how to get where they needed to go. Jack was the one flying the ship most of the time anyway; Ianto was still very much a learner driver.
He settled into the co-pilot's seat and studied the image on the viewscreen; planets and moons filled the foreground, and far-off stars peppered the blackness beyond. "I never expected you to keep your promise, you know," he said quietly.
"Huh?" Frowning, Jack turned from the navigation computers where he was plotting a course to their next port of call. "What promise?"
"You don't remember? No, of course you don't; stupid question. It's been so much longer for you than it has for me; decades, I think I remember you saying."
Jack swung the pilot's seat around to face Ianto. "Okay, I admit it, you've lost me; I have no idea what you're talking about."
That seemed fair to Ianto, considering all the times Jack had left him completely baffled by what was supposed to be a 'simple' explanation of something to do with their cargo ship. "Welcome to my world," he commented, his smile wry.
"How about you clue me in? Or do you want me to guess?"
Folding his hands behind his head, Ianto leaned back in his surprisingly comfortable seat; it seemed to mould itself around his body, providing perfect support no matter how he was sitting. His smile softened, a faraway look on his face.
"Once upon a time…"
"Ianto!"
"Shut up; you asked. Now where was I? Once upon a time, but really not that long ago, it was a few weeks after you came back from helping the Doctor save earth and the other stolen planets. The sky was exceptionally clear, there was a new moon, and you took me up on one of your favourite roofs to look at the stars. Never as bright as they were out in the country, but with the team reduced to three people, we had to stick close to the city in case we were needed in a hurry."
"I remember that night."
Smirking, Ianto nodded. "Thought you might. Not so much for the stargazing as for what we got up to after." He winked.
"Oh yeah!" Jack grinned. "That was quite a night!"
"Anyway…" Ianto shifted in his seat, leaning forward, one arm resting on his thigh. "While we were up there, you were pointing out stars to me, telling me which ones had planets that you'd visited, what they were like… You promised me that someday, when things weren't so busy, you'd take me out among the stars, show me some of the wonders of the universe. I didn't believe you."
"Seriously? You thought I was lying?" Jack sounded offended.
"No, I knew you meant it, I just couldn't see it ever happening. Working for Torchwood…" Ianto shook his head, gestured carelessly with his free hand. "Even taking one day off required as much planning as a military campaign, to make sure the Hub was covered in case of emergencies."
"The Doctor has a time machine," Jack reminded him, not that Ianto had forgotten.
"Yes, but he only showed up when he wanted your help with something, and you have to admit his timekeeping left a lot to be desired. The chances of him turning up and whisking us off on the trip of a lifetime, then returning us to Cardiff the same day, or the next one, seemed remote, so no, I didn't expect I'd ever get to see even one alien world, but I did appreciate that you wanted to show me what's out here. It meant a lot."
"Of all the people I ever worked with, you were the one who most deserved the chance to explore the universe, the only one openminded enough to accept and appreciate the diversity of alien cultures."
"Thank you." Ianto smiled, then shrugged. "I was sure I'd run out of time before I ever got the chance, and I was right, I did. But I was wrong too, because here we are, travelling the universe, and the only thing I had to do to get here was die."
"I would have preferred if that hadn't happened," Jack said quietly. "Losing you was devastating."
"I know, and I'm sorry you had to go through that. It wasn't fun for me either. But you got me back, and you kept your promise."
"Not the way I'd originally planned though."
"That doesn't matter. We're travelling the universe, seeing other worlds, meeting other races, and instead of having to go home after a few days or weeks, we get to take our home with us." Ianto patted the console to one side of him. "With our own ship to take us anywhere we want, whenever we choose, we have plenty of time to visit all the places you wanted to show me, and a lot of others besides."
"And if you ever get tired of the travelling, we can find a planet we like and settle down for a while." Jack reached out and squeezed Ianto's hand. "That's a promise too. All that matters to me is that you're happy."
"I am, very happy. So where are we going next?"
"Verooshnia." Jack turned back to plotting a course. "You'll love it; the sea is pink and the air smells like strawberries."
Ianto smiled, leaning back in his seat again. "Sounds perfect."
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The End