Same Ianto, Different Jack
Chapter 5
by Gracefultree
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"Tosh tells me you have powerful pheromones," New Jack declared, walking up to the glass many hours later. "She said not to come near you."
"Is that why they sent Owen to get you? Because he's dead and won't react?"
New Jack nodded and scratched the back of his neck. Ianto could see a bruise on his cheek, probably where Gwen had punched him. "Gwen says that the only reason she hasn't left me is because I was under the influence of alien pheromones."
Ianto grunted, trying to keep from smiling. He failed. "Didn't tell them it was your pheromones they were reading on the sensors, did you?"
New Jack shrugged. "Our little secret."
Ianto smirked. I can use this, he thought. "What time is it?"
"3am."
"Ah, the witching hour. You always seem to wake up about now."
"Yep," New Jack said, popping the p.
"Anyone else in the building?"
"Nope."
"So if Tosh says to stay away, what are you doing here all by yourself? You could get ensnared by my pheromones again." Ianto pointed out. He stepped off the slab and walked towards the glass, settling gracefully onto the ground in front of it. He leaned his side against the glass. New Jack inched forward, so that he mirrored Ianto's pose on the other side, facing him, so they could see each other's faces.
"You interest me," New Jack said simply. "You're intriguing."
"It what way?" Ianto asked. He shivered a little and rubbed his arms to try to get warmer.
"Are you cold? I can get something," Jack offered.
"Socks would be grand, and maybe a blanket? Doesn't have to be anything fancy." New Jack bounded away. "And food!" Ianto shouted after him. New Jack returned ten minutes later with a pair of thick socks and a blanket from his own bed. He sent them through the food slot, then added a bottle of water and a few energy bars. "Thank you," Ianto murmured. He gratefully drank the water and tore into the energy bars, the first food and drink since he'd arrived. The blanket smelled like New Jack.
"I'd offer you coffee, but all we have is instant, and something tells me you'd rather go without than drink instant."
"You're right," Ianto confirmed. They sat in companionable silence.
"How did I compare to your Jack?" new Jack blurted out of nowhere.
Ianto chuckled. "It's always amazing with you."
"That didn't answer my question."
"How was it for you?" Ianto retorted.
"Best I've had in years," New Jack said softly, almost sadly. "Gwen's feisty, and always up for a shag, but she's not - I don't know, there's something missing."
"Like a dick?" Ianto offered sarcastically.
"Maybe. Maybe it's more that that, though."
"How did you two get together?"
"Her fourth day, I was training her in the shooting range..."
"One thing lead to another," Ianto supplied.
"She broke up with Rhys, and before I knew what was happening, we were living together."
"Shit."
"Yeah. It was really weird. Almost like there was alien interference, but I had Owen check me over, and there was nothing suspicious. It gets worse, though. After John died - you know him, right? John Ellis? He was in your universe?"
"I remember. You sat in the car with him while he died. You came back to the Hub and I cleaned you up and we had sex for six hours straight. It was the first night you asked me to stay with you afterwards." Ianto smiled sadly. "It was the first time I felt like you truly trusted me after Lisa."
New Jack grunted. "I needed a man that night, so I went out. Didn't tell Gwen where I was going because she was so busy with Emma and I needed the time. And it's not like we ever talked about being exclusive, but... She saw me leaving a pub with someone. The next day she confronted me about it in the middle of staff meeting."
"Ouch."
"Owen told her to leave me alone, 'a man like Jack has needs', while Tosh just sat there quietly, not saying anything. Gwen demanded I be faithful if I wanted to be with her." Ianto sensed something from New Jack, some resignation to his fate that Ianto didn't like. He raised a hand and pressed it against the glass. New Jack raised his to press against it on the other side. "I was so overwhelmed by everything, so messed up in my head, still so sad about losing John, that I said ok. You should've seen the look on Owen's face! She wouldn't sleep with me for a week, though, and I really needed it..."
"I know how calming sex can be for you," Ianto said. "That was a rough week. I don't think you let me go home for eight days, except when we went out and picked up that couple. That was fun. But Gwen should know that, too. She should know that you can't be confined to one lover unless you really make that choice on your own, without pressure."
New Jack snorted. "Yeah, tell me about it. You know me better than she does, and I just met you!"
"We'll, I've been in a -" Ianto paused. He evaluated the situation again. "I've been in a relationship with you for a long time, now," he finally admitted. An advantage of being with New Jack was that he could actually give a name to what he had with His Jack in a way His Jack would never accept.
"When Tosh and I were thrown back into 1941 and the real Jack Harkness started coming on to me, well, let's just say that I opened his eyes to a lot of things," New Jack said. "God, I needed that shag!"
"You never told Gwen," Ianto stated.
"No, and Tosh didn't, either."
"She's a loyal friend." He paused. "My Jack only kissed him."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Even though we weren't exclusive by any means, he preferred if I was there most of the time. I don't think he had time, either."
"I made the time," New Jack said. "First time with anyone but Gwen in far too long, and he was scared and brand new to the idea, let alone the process. I probably spent more time relaxing him than actually fucking him, but, hey, who was I to complain?"
After a few minutes, Ianto sighed and lowered his hand. "How did you end up engaged?"
"When I was on the Valiant, I created this image of Gwen to help me get through. She was kind, and calm, and nurturing, and not overbearing, and not stubborn. I forgot who she really was, so I asked her to marry me when I came back. I decided that I could deal with spending the rest of her life with just her. It wouldn't be so long, after all, and it wouldn't be the first time I buried a wife. I mean, she's a Torchwood agent! They all die young, except me." New Jack paused, looked at Ianto. "Had a shag with my old Time Agency partner when the team wasn't looking. Those cheekbones of his do it to me every time."
"I would've killed you myself if you'd done that," Ianto murmured. "You'd just gotten back. Gwen was engaged to Rhys, which upset you, and then you asked me out on an actual date. I was feeling pretty insecure about you right about then."
"I'm not generally a man who inspires confidence in my lovers," Jack muttered to himself. "I'm too selfish, most of the time."
"Yeah," Ianto agreed. "But My Jack was learning. He wants to be better for me, I think. He'd never admit it, but I can see it happening."
"You're not judging me for all this?"
"Well, for one thing, you're not him. Close, but not the same man. It sounds like you're trying to convince yourself that it's ok to be miserable. What are you atoning for? What debt are you trying to balance out on your soul by doing this?"
"There's too much to say, too much to pick just one thing."
"That's why you live for today," Ianto suggested. "But your past haunts you." He drew in a deep breath. "My Jack started confiding in me after he came back. I think it's helped him. I could help you, while I'm here, be that sounding board."
"You're a kind man, Ianto Jones," New Jack whispered. "I guess, I guess I still feel bad for all the people who've died because I turned a blind eye to their struggles."
"But you're doing good, too," Ianto exclaimed, rising to his knees so he could face New Jack directly. "You do so much for people! You have Tosh set up bugs to take money from those mega corporations you hate and give it to things like hospitals and orphans. You created Flat Holm! That takes a lot of effort and patience."
"You know about Flat Holm?" New Jack demanded, surprised, jerking to his feet and distancing himself from the glass and Ianto. "No one's supposed to know about that! How did you find out?"
"You told me."
"I wouldn't do something like that!"
"You did," Ianto said firmly. "The week after John Ellis died. I took care of everything while you were away."
"You're lying!"
"No, Jack, I'm not. I promised after Lisa that I'd never lie to you again, and that includes a you from another universe. I'm not lying."
"Why? Why would you give me the same loyalty you give him?" New Jack demanded.
"Because I love him. And you're him, sort of. It's enough for me. I know I'll grow to love you, in time."
New Jack turned tail and ran.