Driving into the city centre with Ianto, Jack wondered what he'd been thinking in his suggestion of a meeting place. The Plass? Only months after their Hub had been blown up, most literally, around him? Yeah, maybe he hadn't really thought that through.
Ianto seemed to be retreating into himself, just slightly, but Jack couldn't tell if that was from unpleasant memories, nostalgia, or concern over how his sister would take his "return." Instead of asking, Jack just reached over to stroke Ianto's knee. Ianto returned a small smile that told Jack he would be alright, eventually.
"Go with the old car park," Ianto said. "I don't think it was damaged much, and I'm comfortable there."
Jack glanced over at him to be sure, but he knew it was true. Ianto knew that car park and every single individual who leased space in it – in slightly disconcerting detail. It was once necessary to getting dead (and not) aliens into the Hub without perturbing the locals.
"Ok," Jack agreed. "So… how are we gonna handle this?" Jack had sort of figured on just "winging" it, but he thought it might be better if they have some kind of plan. That would help Ianto, anyway. Besides, Jack didn't exactly know Rhiannon like Ianto did.
"Take it like you would a Torchwood op," Ianto suggested. "Just talk with her, easy, comfortable stuff. And then go with the 'living, again' thing. If she doesn't take it well, ring me and I'll come up. She'll have to believe that."
"Ianto… Torchwood ops usually ended up with me dead, alien plasma coating some alleyway, and large batches of retcon in the water supply."
"Fair point," Ianto breathed. "Just… use your charm, Jack. But, kindly remember my sister is happily married, I suppose. And there's the fact that she's my sister and I do not need that level of creepiness in my life anyway."
Jack chuckled. "Hey, one Welshman, or woman, is enough for me." He leaned in to kiss Ianto's cheek. "Just be glad you saw me first," he winked. "Gonna be ok here?"
Ianto nodded. "I'll be around," he said, getting out of the car. "Just gonna, I dunno, reminisce, I suppose. Maybe pop in and see if anyone's bothering with the tourist office anymore."
"Ok," Jack said, pulling Ianto close as they walked out of the carpark. It was strange not going to what had been the secured entrance of the Hub like they usually did, not seeing the SUV and Ianto's Audi beside it in their designated spaces.
"Thank you for doing this," Ianto said, buttoning his jacket against the whipping bay wind. "I know it's not exactly fair, putting you on the front line, as it were."
"Fair isn't a part of it. You can't just ring her out of the blue, can you? Like you said, I've had tougher conversations over the years."
"I just don't want you to feel -"
"We're partners," Jack cut in. "We do these things for one another, together."
"In every sense of the word?"
Jack smirked. "And then some," he said, giving Ianto's hand a squeeze. "See you soon," he said before letting go and turning the corner to go find Ianto's sister where they'd agreed to meet by the rebuilt fountain. Jack kind of hoped Rhiannon would be there first, because he wasn't sure he could resist seeing if the perception filter was still operational otherwise.
Jack chuckled to himself, walking up the Plass and seeing a dark-haired woman standing by the water tower. What a way to 'meet the family,' he thought.
"Rhiannon?" Jack called out as he approached.
"Yes…. Oh. Bloody hell, he wasn't kidding."
Jack had seen that look more times than he could count. He could feel that old cheeky grin materializing out of habit.
"Sorry! Sorry…. Yes, I'm Rhiannon. You'll be Jack, then."
"That's me," Jack smiled. "It's nice to meet you, finally," he said, offering his hand.
"And you," Rhiannon said, accepting his hand. Her demeanour was much more subdued and Jack could see she was wishing Ianto had introduced them before….
"I don't know about you, but I could use some coffee," Jack said cheerfully. "Used to be a really good place up here, don't know what's changed since that bomb, though. How long do you have, anyway? I mean, before you need to pick up your kids?"
"Johnny's picking them up. That's my husband, of course. Told him I wasn't sure how long we'd be."
"Ok," Jack smiled, leading the way to the café Ianto used to go to when he wanted someone else to make a coffee for him.
The barista gave Jack a look when he ordered a Guatemalan/Vienna roast blend with two creams and a sugar. Clearly, she recognized Jack and the coffee order, but wondered where his smartly-dressed companion had been in the last months.
"How have you been?" Jack asked as they sat in the café. "Your family? Are they alright? I heard things were pretty scary here."
"You're not wrong. I didn't know what we were doing… all I knew was I had to fight for them. We're alright, though. I still have nightmares, I think we all do. I wanted to leave the estate, but there's just been no way we could manage it. But, then again, we all fought together, in a way. Don't think I'd want to be around the sort of people who would have kept quiet."
Jack nodded, understanding what she meant. "It's always easier to tell yourself to ignore it when it isn't your 'own.' But, believe me, they wouldn't have ignored it long. Things have a way of… getting to you, in the end."
"Maybe. There's something I want to ask you, and I hope this doesn't sound impolite of me, but… did you really know him? See, the thing is, my brother… well, it was almost like he went round wearing a mask most of his life. He was ashamed, I think, and he put as much distance as he could between himself and his childhood."
Again, Jack nodded. "I know that. It was more than his childhood, though. Ianto… I think he just had a very deep need for privacy. And you're right, he didn't let people in easily. It took a lot for him to trust a person with anything about himself. And it was really easy to miss his deflections."
"I felt a bit awful about it afterward, but the woman who came… Gwen, wasn't it? I think she cared for him, she really did, but… those old lies of his. It was our granddad was a tailor, Ianto idolized our grandparents."
"I know that, too," Jack said. "He told me how he used to go the cinema with his granddad, and to symphony concerts when he was a bit older. And that things weren't always so good between him and your dad."
Rhiannon was quiet for a few moments. "Both of our parents died so young. And then Ianto. It's like there's a curse on us or something."
"No such thing," Jack said quickly, reaching out to take her hand. "And like I said on the phone, I apologize for not coming to talk to you myself. I wasn't able to go anywhere for about 36 hours after, but I should have come to see you. I… I have no excuse for that, other than the fact that… when I lost him, I lost everything, the entire world."
"He loved you," Rhiannon said quietly. "He didn't say it, but I could see. I guess that's why I asked if he ever found out before… you know. The last time I saw him, at the house, I mean, he'd said he wasn't sure if things were really on between you."
Jack tried not to let the guilt smother him. Ianto was back, alive and well and they had their own home and a normal life ahead. Of course they were 'on' and he made certain Ianto knew it every single day. Now. But the weeks before he'd died….
"He wanted it to be more," Jack said, his voice toneless. "I knew that, it was pretty obvious. And it was more. For him and for me. I was just so scared to say it, so scared to admit it, to name it, because I knew… I'd been there so many times and told myself that if I just didn't fall in love, it wouldn't hurt. But I couldn't help it, I had no control over how I felt with him and… and I knew, one day, it would destroy me to lose him. I just didn't know how much it would destroy me, and how soon."
"I'm so sorry…," Rhiannon whispered, letting go of Jack's hand rather suddenly when she realized how tight she was clutching it.
Jack chanced a smile and swiped at his eyes. "Excuse me," he said, feeling a buzz in his pocket. Ianto's timing was always impeccable.
Just checking everything's OK. – I
Jack quickly texted back: Yep. Can you head back toward the carpark? I'd rather walk and talk right now, tough to do this sitting in a shop.
Got it. Going now. Thanks. – I
Jack grinned briefly at Ianto's idiosyncratic, ever-present sign-off, as if the phone didn't tell him who the message was from anyway. "Sorry," Jack said to Rhiannon. "Would you care to have a walk? It's getting a little stuffy in here."
"Thought you'd never ask!"