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As the blood drained the convulsions stopped and Jack knelt transfixed with horror as Ianto started to struggle to breathe, his motions now death throes.
Owen sat back on his heels and turned to face Jack.
"Here, pick a wrist" he said as he offered the blade, "But hurry before he is too weak to drink."
In the bathtub Ianto grunted softly, a red tear running down his face as he realised even in his drug induced haze that Owen knew.
He has recognised the monster and he knows what he is treating now.
As if watching though a lace curtain Ianto saw Owen grimace and then rise to move away without looking back at him and he also knew he had lost a good friend.
For a moment he wondered if he even wanted to heal from this.
Or should he refuse and just bleed out.
He was so tired of this existence.
"Come on Ianto, drink" Jack begged as he held his bleeding wrist to the man's mouth but it stayed firmly shut as he continued to drain in the tub "Ianto, please. Stop it, shit. Please. What about the babies?"
That did it.
Ianto reluctantly opened his mouth and Jack jammed the wrist in, watching as Ianto swallowed lazily, his eyes rolling in his head as Jack's unique flavour blissed him out more than drugs ever could someone else.
Finally he released Jack who flopped back pale and shaking from the loss of blood as well and they both sat for a while as their bodies adjusted and settled, then Ianto rose to look down at himself with disgust "Get out."
"Let me help you, you are still unsteady…" Jack reached for him and Ianto snarled, teeth elongating and giving a horrifying nightmare appearance into Jack's face as he tried to repulse him.
"No" Jack said softly, "That will not work with me Tiger."
Ianto leaned back against the wall and whimpered softly as he wiped at the blood on him with his hands and Jack sighed, reaching to turn on the shower, "Wash. I will stand here in case you slip. I promise not to touch you unless you slip, OK?"
Ianto didn't look at him but nodded as he reached for soap and Owen left the room searching for something strong to drink. The two men emerged from the bathroom to find Owen had poured them all a stiff drink and from his expression he had 'taste tested' a few times already.
They sat, Ianto staring at his glass like it might hold all the answers.
"So, you are a vampire" Owen said flatly, "Dealt with your sort before."
"Vampyre" Jack corrected, "They are what attacked at Canary Warf and killed Ianto's wife. They were not finished draining him when it all went tits up for them and they left him to die. He didn't die. Obviously."
Ianto rose and placed the glass on the table, not caring anymore. All he had were his children and he only had to survive for them. One day they would not need him anymore and then he could just…fade away I guess.
"What are you thinking?" Jack asked and Ianto waited for Owen's answer, turning to find both men were looking at him instead.
"How long I must suffer this before I can die" he said after a shrug, "I estimate maybe thirty or forty years? I can alienate my grown children by then and they will not miss me. I can go find a fucking cave or something and chain myself in, escape slowly day by day until I am dust."
"Jesus" Owen said softly as he reached for Ianto's glass and drank it as well.
"Ianto, come sit down" Jack asked.
"It all tastes like ash" Ianto said softly, "I should have never trusted you, never given in to my desire. If only I didn't know how you tasted I could have gone decades thinking these humans I once shared mortality with tasted OK. Now I taste their failures, their regrets. Ash. Ash and brimstone. I can't live like this. I hate this. I know why some killed themselves, I wish I could. Soon. When my children have grown to hate me as much as I do, then I can just….fade away, yeah?"
"Ianto please come sit here by me and stop hurting me" Jack whispered.
"Hurting you?" Ianto turned with confusion, seeing Jack's distress and he moved quickly to sit "Why? Why are you upset? This is not your fault."
"Yes it is" Jack argued, "I left you. I was so focused on Tosh and I didn't even think about your needs. I forgot. To me you are just Ianto, the Vampyre part is so secondary to my thoughts about you. Shit I could have come back, I should have come back. Driven the bloody night if I needed to. Instead I let you starve."
"Well, I don't know about either of you but I am gonna finish this bottle and sleep here on the couch. Sort your shit out" Owen muttered as he swung his feet up and placed an arm over his eyes.
Ianto rose to start cleaning, something Jack was not sure how to feel about. He had thought his place was clean but apparently it wasn't if the bin liners had anything to do with it.
And really, he didn't even know he owned furniture polish.
Huh.