Same Ianto, Different Jack - Chapter 8
by Gracefultree
..
.
.
Ianto dozed off and on for hours, having nothing to do making him feel lazy. As lazy as one could be, trapped in a cell in an alternate universe. New Jack had provided food and coffee, but then a Rift call came through and Ianto was left behind, locked in. He briefly contemplated using his swipecard to go exploring, but decided that he'd be seen on the CCTV, and unless he could disable it, he'd be shit out of luck when New Jack got back.
So he waited. And waited. It was difficult to tell time down in the cells, but Ianto figured he'd been down there for at least six hours since the call. He finished his water and one of the energy bars, leaving two left. He dozed some more.
Heels on the hallway floor woke him. Tosh's heels, since she was lighter on her feet than Gwen. He rubbed sleep from his eyes and sat up to greet her.
"Ianto, hi. We had a pretty bad Rift flare," she explained as she started passing him a sandwich, a container of soup, more water bottles, and a cup of coffee. Last of all she passed him a pen and pad of paper. "And we're still dealing with it, so I can't stay to chat, either, so, um, sorry!" She turned and left, but then came back. "Jack says hi, by the way."
"Thanks, Tosh. Tell him hi from me. And if none of you mind, could I have a watch? Or you could put a clock on the wall over there?" Ianto motioned to the wall facing his cell. "I'd like to be able to tell time. It gets rather boring down here."
"Oh, of course. I'll talk to Jack." They smiled at each other before Tosh went back to work and Ianto sat down with his food.
More time passed. Ianto wrote a list of things he'd like, including the timepiece, and on a separate page outlined what responsibilities he would be willing to take on as a Torchwood employee in this universe while he waited to go home. He wrote a letter to His Jack. He wrote as if the pad of paper was his journal, though he didn't outline his plan for escaping. He didn't actually want to escape. He wanted to make himself invaluable to them so they would keep him around so he could be at the Hub when the proper Rift signal happened so he could go home.
The next time he heard footsteps coming down the hall to his cell, they were unmistakably New Jack's. Ianto stood, straightened his hair as much as he could without a mirror, unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt, and gathered his two lists, leaving the rest of his writing carefully hidden.
When New Jack appeared, he was dripping wet, with his entire body from his chest down to his feet covered in what looked like black ink. He was also exhausted, with large dark circles under his eyes. Ianto had rarely seen His Jack look this bad, and he was surprised that New Jack would even let himself be seen like this, let alone by a stranger. Ianto shuddered to think of the puddles of ink that would be all over the Hub floors, wherever New Jack had been. New Jack waved away anything he would have said and opened the cell door.
"Come on," he said wearily. "I need help getting this gunk off me, and Owen refused."
"He refused?" Ianto asked. "But, I'm a stranger! You haven't decided if you can trust me or not."
"Apparently he has better things to do with his time than help me." New Jack sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, thereby getting the gunk in it. He scowled at himself. "I'm not asking Tosh, and Gwen would turn it into an opportunity for sex, which I am not in the mood for right now."
"Sex? Or sex with Gwen?" Ianto heard himself wondering aloud, then bit the inside of his cheek.
"Both!" New Jack barked. "It's her fault I'm like this anyway. If she'd just listened to my orders, we would've been able to bag it and get it back here in a few hours. As it is, she disobeyed and it took most of a day and I ended up having to kill it, which wasn't fun, let me tell you, and now I'm covered in this shit!"
Ianto shoved his lists into his pocket and stepped out of the cell. "Well, let's not keep you waiting any longer, sir."
In the communal locker room, Ianto stripped to his boxers and helped Jack out of his clothing, which immediately went into the rubbish bin. Ianto was glad he hadn't been wearing his greatcoat.. They walked into the shower area to find Tosh and Gwen already there, scrubbing away at the inky stuff on themselves. Ianto sighed, realizing that this shower set-up, unlike the one at His Torchwood, didn't have those half-walls to give the illusion of privacy. Gwen's eyes lit up at seeing New Jack, then immediately darkened in anger at seeing Ianto.
"What's he doing here?" she demanded, grabbing a towel to cover herself. Tosh, meanwhile, continued washing, not giving either of the two men a second glance. She must be used to it, Ianto thought, turning on the shower head next to the one New Jack chose and turning it to spray New Jack's lower half. He watched in disgust as the stuff started streaming off New Jack's body, making dirty rivulets on the floor as it made its way to the drain.
"Ianto is helping get this shit off me," New Jack explained patiently, wetting his hair. "You've got your own to figure out, and Owen wouldn't do it."
"That's because Owen didn't get any of this on him," Tosh said from her place in between New Jack and Gewn. "And he's probably watching this whole thing on the CCTV to see if Gwen and I suddenly decide to have a go at it. He's a sick man, sometimes."
"But the pheromones .." Gwen protested.
"They don't work with this much water around," Ianto lied. "Never been able to figure out why. Makes joint showers less interesting."
New Jack laughed. Tosh giggled. Gwen stood there trying to keep a smile from her face, but eventually failed. Ianto determined that all the loose ink had washed away, so he grabbed a bottle of liquid body wash and a flannel and began washing New Jack's back. He kept the touches and movements detached and slightly clinical, so Gwen couldn't accuse him of trying to seduce New Jack. Plus, he was still wearing his shorts. He added his indifferent butler mask for increased effect.
After a few minutes Tosh determined that she was clean and left the showers, sending Ianto a wink when Gwen moved from her shower to Tosh's, so she could be closer to New Jack. He nodded in return, wondering what that meant. He returned his attention to New Jack, who was looking much cleaner and much more … horny. Ianto could see the speculation behind his eyes, and it scared him.
In his own universe, there'd never really been a possibility of anything happening with Gwen, since by the time His Jack was ready to make a go for Gwen, she'd taken up with Owen, and His Jack had wanted nothing to do with that. Then he'd gotten back together with Ianto and the No Gwen rule applied. But this Jack, New Jack, had no such compunctions, and was clearly starting to fantasize about what could happen with three beautiful naked people in the showers.
Ianto handed him the flannel and went back to the lockers, telling him he'd be on the main level cleaning. New Jack protested weakly, but Gwen must have cut him off, because by the time Ianto made it to the lockers, he could hear the sounds of their wet skin sliding together and Gwen's throaty moans.
In the main Hub, Tosh and Owen were shuffling through things on their desks. Ianto shuddered at the mess they'd been able to create in such a short amount of time. He grabbed a bin liner and went to work. Because the biggest offenders were already gone, Ianto took more care in his search for rubbish. He found it rather relaxing, though Owen seemed amused and Tosh mildly curious. By the time a clean and satisfied looking New Jack joined them, Ianto had filled five bags and was in the process of straightening out the kitchen area from where he'd left it the night before.
"Ianto, these go to the incinerator?" New Jack asked, indicating the bags.
"Yes, that would be grand," he replied, pausing in surprise that he would sound so chipper with New Jack, knowing what (who) he'd just been doing. He shook his head at himself and went back to the cleaning. Maybe it was some false cheeriness to get him through without throwing something at New Jack? Like the plate in his hand...
Later, once everyone was gone except Ianto and New Jack, and all the dishes were clean and put away, Ianto took a few minutes to sit on the ratty sofa and look at what he'd been able to accomplish. The kitchen and coffeemaker were sparkling, though he still didn't have the ingredients to actually make coffee. There wasn't any rubbish on or under desks. The files, though disorganized, were stacked neatly. New Jack settled next to him and handed him a scotch.
"You've done a lot today," he said, clinking his glass against Ianto's. "Thank you."
"All part of my job, sir," Ianto replied absently.
"You didn't like me being with Gwen," New Jack stated. Ianto turned to look at him. "It was either that, or go home with her tonight. If I did that, I wouldn't be able to talk to you, and you'd be sitting down in that cell being bored."
"You've always been good at rationalization," Ianto replied, sipping the scotch. "Ah, the good stuff," he exclaimed happily.
"Are you always so good at changing the subject?"
"I've had to be," Ianto said softly. "But to answer your question; no, I didn't like it."
"I'm not him," New Jack reminded him.
"And don't I know it better than anyone?" Ianto asked himself sadly.
"Does me sleeping with her mean you won't hold me tonight?"
Ianto stared into his scotch for a long moment, weighing his choices. Intellectually, he knew he would have to start sleeping with New Jack again rather soon, but his heart wasn't quite there yet. A lot would depend on New Jack. "What do you like about being with her?"
"She's strong, feisty, always up for a shag..."
"You said all that yesterday. What else?"
"She's loyal."
"What else?"
"What is this? Twenty Questions?" New Jack demanded, slightly angry. Before Ianto could answer, Jack's mobile rang. Grumbling, he pulled it from his pocket. "Harkness."
"Baby, you said you'd come home tonight," Gwen whined on the other end of the line, loud enough that Ianto could hear every word.
"Someone has to stay at the Hub."
"Just forward the alerts to your wriststrap like you usually do. I miss you!"
"Sorry. I've got Ianto here. Can't leave."
"We're getting married in six days, Captain Harkness, and I expect you to be home at night! Have Owen watch the Hub if you're so worried. He doesn't need the sleep."
New Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. "Gwen..."
"No, don't 'Gwen' me! You've been acting really strange since that man showed up, and I need to know why. You haven't been coming home at night, you've been moody, you've been obsessed with him. What's so fascinating about him? Why do you spend hours staring at him on the CCTV? He's not even that good to look at!"
"Gwen..."
"I've always loved you, Jack, since we first met. You love me, too. We're supposed to be together. You know that. I don't want this stranger coming between us. I mean, he doesn't even know us!"
"Gwen, you don't -"
"Don't tell me I don't understand, Mister. My parents are coming up for this wedding, and I'm not going to disappoint them!"
"I thought it was just a civil ceremony at the Registrar's office!" New Jack protested. "With Tosh and Owen and no one else!"
"I am not getting married without my Mum and Dad there," Gwen told him. "Get used to it."
"But, Gwen -"
"You are going to be in big trouble if you're not here in the next twenty minutes." Gwen hung up. New Jack stared at his phone, not sure what to do. He turned to look at Ianto.
"Um..."
"Yes, I'll hold you again," Ianto said without prompting. "Come on."
Once settled in New Jack's bed, both of them dressed in boxers and t-shirts, New Jack clung to Ianto's arms around his middle. With a start, Ianto realized that he was crying.
"Jack? Jack, what's wrong?" he asked softly, rolling them over so New Jack was on his back and Ianto could lay on top of him and press their whole bodies together, knowing how physical closeness helped ground His Jack when his emotions were running high. He thumbed away the tears on New Jack's cheeks. "Jack, talk to me. Please."
New Jack just shook his head and clung to Ianto harder, eventually crying himself to sleep, despite all of Ianto's soft reassuring words and kisses.