Same Ianto, Different Jack

Chapter 19

by Gracefultree

A/N: Last chapter was meant to be a bit of a teaser, as many of you pointed out. This one, less so, which is why I'm posting it so quickly. It's also much longer. I don't want you all to be in torment too too much. Enjoy!

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Ianto struggled to his feet, the unwieldy backpack upsetting an equilibrium already strained by travel through the Rift. He took a few deep breaths and did a quick assessment. He wasn't a Cyberman. He wasn't dead. Nothing hurt, except a pounding headache that would become a migraine very shortly if he didn't do something about it. He pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with later. He didn't have time for a migraine, not until he knew where and when he was, whether he was home to His Jack. He pulled his mobile out of his pocket to find that it still worked and had a signal, meaning the Rift hadn't fried it. Good. He'd hoped that would be the case, but hadn't really expected it, knowing his luck, the Rift's unpredictability and Torchwood's ability to fuck everything up well and good.

He brushed absently at the dirt on his knees, noting with disgust that he'd have to get his suit dry-cleaned once he found out where he was. Looking around, he recognized Bute Park. From the look of the street lamps, early twenty-first century. It was nighttime, and yet from a distance he could see a part of the park lit by floodlights. He started moving cautiously in that direction, wondering if it was a crime scene or one of their Torchwood jobs.

Jack's laughter caught his attention and he quickened his step.

Pushing through a small bit of brush, Ianto found himself on a movie or tv set of some kind. The park was full of people. Film crew, directors, assistants, everyone who would be a part of such a scene. A group of people huddled around a bank of monitors, and from the wisps of conversation he could overhear, it seemed like they were going over the most recent scene.

"More romance!" someone said loudly. "This is a love-story, remember? You see him and are intrigued. You like how he looks. You flirt with him, and he flirts right back. He's mysterious, and yet he's dangerous. He knows something he's not supposed to, and that intrigues you even more. But you can't show it."

Too many people here, Ianto decided, turning from the crowd. It wasn't Torchwood business, then.

"Gareth!" Jack shouted, running up to Ianto and taking his arm. "Who told you to change? We've got to finish this one before the street scene."

Ianto turned and met Jack's eyes. Something was off. This clearly wasn't His Jack. There was no spark, no emotional connection, no recognition in the way His Jack would know it was him. With New Jack, there had been a spark, an emotional response. What was going on? Could it be that not all Jacks felt connected to him? That he didn't feel that connection with each one? He couldn't believe it.

"You want to practice one more time before we shoot? Ok, here goes." Jack paused, took a deep breath, and transformed before Ianto's eyes into his captain, flirty and serious at the same time. "No, thank you. And you are?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in that infuriating way of his. Ianto swallowed. Was Jack wanting to replay how they met? That was the only explanation for him saying that.

"Jones. Ianto Jones," Ianto answered, taking the offered hand.

"Nice to meet you, Jones, Ianto Jones," Jack said. "Captain Jack Harkness." There was a long pause.

"And?" Jack asked, motioning with his hand.

"Um —"

"Glad I was here in time to help," Jack supplied in a very bad Welsh accent, then went on with his own part, only, this isn't how the conversation went, the night they met. "This is nothing! I had it under control." He paused again, then pulled out a sheaf of papers. "Look, I know we've been doing this for a while, and I know you're not feeling well today, but it's the last scene of the night before the SUV one, and we both want to get home. Here." He handed Ianto the papers.

Ianto glanced down at them, discovering that he held a script of some kind in his hands. On top, the words 'Torchwood, Series Two, Episode 12: Fragments' were written. The 'Captain Jack' lines were highlighted yellow, since this was Jack's copy. He read over the entire scene, noting the differences between it and the reality of what happened that night he met His Jack for the first time.

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"Thanks," Ianto said softly, dropping the branch to the ground.

"No, thank you," Jack replied, holding out his hand. "And you are?" he asked, his voice low and flirtatious, exactly what Ianto would have expected from his research into the man.

"Jones. Ianto Jones," Ianto supplied, shaking Jack's hand. It felt dry and firm, the best kind of handshake. Not too strong, and not too flirty. Jack did enough of that with his voice.

"Nice to meet you, Jones, Ianto Jones. Captain Jack Harkness."

"Lucky escape," Ianto commented.

"I had it under control."

"Think so? Looked pretty viscous." Ianto reached towards Jack, then stopped when Jack backed away. "You were, um, you were bleeding."

"I've had worse from shaving," Jack answered, the light in his eyes sparkling. "And it seems like you've got an injury, too. Let me look at it." Ianto frowned, but allowed Jack to examine his head by the light of a torch. Jack's touch was clinical, very different from the flirty tones he'd been using earlier. "Just a cut, I think. Want me to sterilize it?"

Ianto paused, considering the offer. He wanted to get closer to Jack, and he needed to get the job, but this wasn't exactly how he'd imagined it. Still, the thought of having Captain Jack Harkness of Torchwood infamy tending to his minor head wound was a bit thrilling. Wait until he told Lisa!

Ianto's world wavered. Lisa. Stuck in an abandoned warehouse a few miles outside the city limits, in pain, needing Ianto to do anything and everything to help her.

He accepted Jack's offer. He couldn't do anything else. Together they carried the body of the unconscious (cuffed, sedated, hooded) Weevil to the SUV, where Jack tossed it unceremoniously into the boot and went for the first aid kit. He returned with it and a bottle of water. A sealed bottle of water. Ianto knew better than to drink it, since it would be laced with retcon, but after Jack cleaned his cut, he made a show of cracking it open and taking a swig. Jack was too busy staring at his arse to notice that Ianto spit it all back into the bottle before he had a chance to swallow it. Ianto had never thought of himself as particularly attractive before, except to Lisa, but standing there in the dark with Jack Harkness, of all people, mentally undressing him, it gave him a flush of pleasure.

So much so that he didn't protest at all when Jack kissed him a moment later. He let the bottle of water fall, the contents pouring out onto the grass. Jack didn't notice and continued kissing him until Ianto's legs started shaking from the new sensations and pleasure lapping through his body. Jack's arms encircled his waist, holding him tightly, keeping him on his feet. Both men were aroused. Jack made quick work of undoing Ianto's fly, and Ianto rushed to do the same with Jack's.

"You truly are a beautiful man, Jones, Ianto Jones," Jack whispered, kissing him one last time as Ianto allowed Jack to lower him to a sitting position on the ground after a very satisfying mutual wank. "I wish I didn't have to leave you like this."

"Then don't," Ianto protested, surprising himself with the need in his voice. He wasn't supposed to need Jack. He wasn't supposed to like the sexual things they did (and would do, no doubt, as soon as he got the job) together. It was supposed to be a trick to get Jack to trust him. He never expected his body to respond so favorably to the touch of a man's hand on him. "I won't tell anyone about the Weevil." He noticed Jack's jerk of surprise at him naming the alien, though Jack tried to cover it up with another kiss.

"I'm sorry. I can't let you remember seeing it."

"It's just a Weevil," Ianto muttered, feeling genuine exhaustion strike him suddenly like a blow to the head. The adrenaline of dealing with everything, of meeting and kissing and jerking Jack off, was wearing off, and he suspected he'd pass out any moment, as if he'd actually taken the retcon. "They're a dime a dozen in Cardiff."

"And that's why you can't remember," Jack said. He pressed his lips to Ianto's forehead.

Ianto woke the next morning as dawn broke over the Bay, lying on a park bench, his head pillowed on his arm. He remembered meeting Jack, and the Weevil, and avoiding the retcon. He knew he'd have to convince Jack that as a Torchwood One employee he had training to keep from being affected by retcon, though it was a lie. He suspected Jack might not know that, though. He didn't seem to have much contact with Torchwood One.

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Ianto's own voice jolted him out of the memory.

"John! Where've you been? We're starting." A pause, then, in a puzzled voice he asked, "Who's this bloke?"

Ianto looked up from the page to meet the blue-gray eyes of his double.

"Who're you?" they demanded in unison.

Jack, beside them, burst out laughing. "Gareth, did Russell put you up to this?" he demanded. "Because of that prank I pulled two days ago? Do you have a twin you've never mentioned before?"

Ianto and not-Ianto turned and looked at Jack with twin frowns.

"I don't know what you're talking about," not-Ianto said, crossing his arms over his chest. Ianto noticed that he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt along with a studded leather belt. His chest was outlined nicely. Sexy, even if he was thinking about himself. His alternate self. Whatever.

Clearly, being with both His Jack and New Jack had twisted something inside him if he was able to look at his doppleganger and think about sex.

"Jack, this is all a bit weird," Ianto said, though he regretted it almost as soon as the words passed his lips. Both men looked at him strangely.

"Who are you, really?" Jack asked, his entire focus on Ianto, though it wasn't the intense look of his captain. Rather, it was the look of a confused man who had a mystery to solve.

"Ianto Jones," he answered.

Jack giggled. He actually giggled. In a very non-Jack kind of way. Then he grabbed not-Ianto's arm. "You have to admit, he really does look like you," he said to not-Ianto, pointing at Ianto's face with his free hand.

"And that looks exactly like the suit I wore in 'Cyberwoman,'" not-Ianto added.

Ianto had a sinking feeling in his gut. Had he come to a universe where he and Jack were fictional characters played by actors who looked just like them? Had he discovered a reality where Torchwood didn't actually exist? When he went to the Plass later, would he find it just a square, with no secret base underneath? The prospect terrified him. If there was no Torchwood, did that mean there was no Rift? How would he get home? How would he get back to His Jack?

Because much as the man in front of him looked like Jack, now that he was paying better attention, he could tell he wasn't actually Jack. He didn't talk like him, for one. And he didn't smell like him, either. He couldn't smell Jack's pheromones at all. Could this New New Jack have different pheromones? Not as well-developed? If he were a 21st Century actor playing Jack, he wouldn't have Jack's pheromones.

In the background, Ianto heard the crew muttering to themselves, and the words '999' and 'crazy fan' stood out in his ears. He had to come up with a plan very quickly if he didn't want to end up in a psychiatric hospital in a world that wasn't his. He swallowed back his fear about not having a way home and turned on a facade that might just help him get through this.

Sporting a huge grin, Ianto lifted his hands to point at both men. "Ha! Got you!" he exclaimed, changing the pitch of his voice to mimic excitement. "I wasn't sure it would work, you know. My mates all tell me I look just like you, and I had the day off work, so I wanted to see if I could, you know, slip in and pretend to be you." He grabbed each of their hands to shake enthusiastically with both hands, one after the other. "It's such a pleasure to meet you! An honor! I'm really sorry about the confusion. I just wasn't thinking. I mean, that you thought I was him…" he said to not-Jack, who might be named John, he realized. "And it just seemed so perfect to be Ianto…" He trailed off deliberately.

"Well, no harm done," not-Ianto (Gareth?) answered, his stance relaxing slightly. "They say everyone has a doppelgänger somewhere in the world, don't they? Never thought I'd meet mine."

"I know! It's crazy. But everyone always said…" Ianto trailed off, looking from one to the other of them. He smiled even more. "Look, I'm really sorry. I'll leave you alone. I didn't mean to cause any trouble with your shoot." He turned away, then paused, as if he'd just thought of something. He fished his mobile out of his pocket. "Do you think I could get a picture? To show my mates that I actually did it? That I actually met you?"

The two men shared a look, then turned as one to Ianto.

"Sure thing," John said. "How about I get one with both of you, then one with all three of us?"

"Wow! That would be great! Thanks so much!"

"Gareth, go stand over there next to — What's your name, anyway?"

"Avery," Ianto said without pause, remembering a mate from university who'd loved geeking out about science fiction tv shows. "Avery Jones," he added, deciding it would be easier with his own last name, as common as it was.

After taking a few pictures with Gareth, then with Gareth and John, Ianto felt like he could leave. The two actors had other ideas, however. He was cajoled into kissing Gareth for a picture, then John, then both him and Gareth were to kiss John on the cheek at the same time.

"All's fun where Captain Jack's concerned," John declared happily, falling into his role.

"Really, John, how many strangers must I kiss for this part?" Gareth asked, though he didn't seem all that upset. "I'm straight," he whispered to Ianto. "My girlfriend isn't sure what to think about me becoming a big gay icon."

"Well, it's just a job, isn't it?" Ianto asked hesitantly, hoping he was saying the right thing. "I mean, lots of gay actors play straight people, and have to kiss them, and no one comments on it."

"Huh, never thought about it that way," Gareth mused. "John, as you know, is gayer than gay. What about you?"

"I'm bi," Ianto said, shrugging, not wanting to get into a conversation about His Jack and New Jack and Lisa and how he hated labels about sexuality almost as much as His Jack did. "But I'd really like to find someone like Captain Jack," he added. "You know, like he is with Ianto when the cameras aren't shooting."

"Why don't we go sneak up on Russell?" John asked conspiratorially, rejoining them. "You know, you pretend to be Gareth and tell him you've rethought the whole scene and you think that if Jack and Ianto don't kiss in the park, it won't be believable."

"They already don't kiss in the warehouse!" Gareth exclaimed. "No one would believe they kiss in the park and not in the warehouse."

"Oh, I'm not sure," Ianto muttered. "What if Jack gave him reton to make him forget the kiss?" he asked, thinking of Jack trying to do that to him when they met.

The two actors grinned. "Brilliant!" Gareth said. He pointed towards a man in a striped shirt and jeans, with large headphones hanging around his neck. "That's Russell, the show runner."

"If I do this," Ianto said, tilting his head to the side, an idea striking him. "Can I get your autographs, too? My buddies at work would never believe it! They'd tell me I photoshopped the pictures."

"Sure," John said for them both. "Where do you work?"

"Coffee shop," Ianto said, thinking of the first thing that came to mind. "There's a reason I like Ianto so much!" He pulled his diary out of his bag and the two actors signed their names on the blank page he opened it to.

To Avery, thanks for the excitement and laughs. John Barrowman

To my double from another world: may you find your own Captain Jack. Gareth David-Lloyd

Ianto thanked them and returned the diary to his bag, accepting his mobile from John, who'd gotten it back from the crew member he ordered to take the pictures. He set his bag down next to a tree and moved towards the man named Russell, the two actors staying close, but out of sight. Several crew members stopped what they were doing to watch. Apparently, John and Gareth were known for playing pranks on the set, John especially, if the murmurs around him were to be believed. He stopped next to Russell and cleared his throat.

"Russell, I've been thinking," he started, noting that the man turned to him with an open expression. "What if Ianto and Jack kissed in the park? Then Jack retconned him? Make the drama more intense when they don't kiss in the warehouse," he added, remembering what Gareth said a few minutes earlier about a scene he hadn't read. "The fans might really go for it."

"The fans," Russell said, his voice amused. "…Want to see the two of you naked, having sex. Have you seen the fanfiction out there? Could you deal with that?"

Ianto grinned. "Sure. Anything for the fans, right?"

"Really? Two days ago you were upset you accidentally touched John's knob during that greenhouse scene. What's changed?"

"I'm a different man," Ianto replied, still grinning and giving a wink he learned from His Jack.

Russell gave him a very strange look, before John and Gareth stumbled over, holding on to each other for support, unable to suppress their laughter any longer. John clapped Ianto on the back.

"Isn't he great, Russell? He looks just like Gareth!"

"Sounds like me, too," Gareth added. "Except about the being ok being naked having sex with John thing."

Ianto gave John a once-over, appreciating the detail of his costume and how closely it resembled His Jack's usual outfit. "I'd do it. I'd definitely be willing to do it." John grinned and winked.

"Just don't tell Scott," he replied with a practiced Jack-esque leer. Ianto smiled and pretended he understood.

Russell, it turned out, was amenable to the scene Ianto, John and Gareth suggested, and had them do a few takes, thinking that maybe they could include it on the DVD extras when they were released. After several hours, they finished shooting for the night, having allowed Ianto to stay and watch. He made sure to do some checking online about the actors and tv show during down time.

He was amused by how similar the scene where Jack almost ran him over before they went to catch Myfanwy was to the reality of what happened. At least until they got in the car and started snogging, which wasn't a part of this particular script. Jack had figured out days before when Ianto met him outside the tourist office with coffee that Ianto was from Torchwood One and remembered the kisses and hand jobs in the park, not to mention the Weevil, and didn't seem to mind taking a few minutes away from catching a dinosaur for a repeat performance. Nor was the sex they'd had on the warehouse floor after they sedated Myfanwy in the script, Ianto discovered. He sighed, remembering that night. His Jack had laid down his coat to protect their bare skin, and even though it was Ianto's first time with a man, Jack coaxed him through it easily, and he found that fucking a man wasn't really all that different from fucking a woman. It would only be a few days before the tables were turned and he learned exactly why men liked anal sex, especially at the hands, and cock, of Captain Jack Harkness.

He wondered, as he watched the two actors, whether or not John had Jack's skills in that department and decided he probably wasn't going to find out. John, it turned out, had a partner named Scott Gill, with whom he'd been since 1992, and they weren't the kind of couple who had an open relationship, as far as anyone online knew. He didn't ask John.

With the Torchwood software from the other universe still on his mobile, PDA and laptop, Ianto created a new identity for himself as Avery Jones, getting a flat and a job at a coffee shop near the Bay. He kept his carryall packed and with him wherever he went, the Rift detector and vortex manipulator on passive scans, just in case. The Rift didn't seem to exist, but if it had dropped him off, it could take him back, Ianto assumed. He prayed for that to happen every day as he fell asleep, and spent long hours thinking of His Jack and New Jack and missing them both.

He developed a friendship with John, who came to the coffee shop with Scott a few times a month, as well as on his own, when he was in town. They chatted about Torchwood and Doctor Who, the show Torchwood supposedly spun off from. John even gave him a signed set of DVDs for both shows, with the signature of the actor currently playing the Doctor, David Tenant, as an added bonus. Ianto watched in fascination as the Doctor met Jack in World War II, reformed him, and then left him on Satellite Five. Though he knew there would be differences with his own world, that Torchwood so closely followed his reality led him to assume that a lot of what was on Doctor Who happened, also. When he got home, he would have even more of an understanding of His Jack than from what he learned from New Jack, which would help him in his relationship with His Jack.

The depiction of the Battle of Canary Wharf made him cry, for he recognized many of the actors as this universe's versions of his dead friends and colleagues. Watching the episode about his betrayal of His Jack with the Cyberman disguised as Lisa brought on a full week of nightmares that he was hard-pressed to forget during the day. The actress who played Lisa looked and sounded exactly like her, making it even more difficult for Ianto to watch. Knowing that the actress, herself was alive and well, though, helped him feel better. At least in one universe she was safe and alive and unconverted.

He added the DVD collections to his carryall for when he got home, if His Jack was interested in seeing them. He even found the early Doctor Who episodes from the sixties and seventies, showing some of the Doctor's earlier life and explaining how he and UNIT used to work together much more closely. He converted them to digital and preserved them on his laptop.

At first he was upset to learn that a number of episodes had been lost, but, again, his Torchwood software came in handy, as he was able to reconstruct them from the physical video cassettes and films he nicked from the BBC archives. He didn't let the public or BBC know about it, though, as he didn't want to alert them to his presence and to the fact that Torchwood actually existed in another universe.

Five months after he arrived, the Rift snatched him up as he was walking home, sending him hurtling through time and space, clutching his carryall, hoping the vortex manipulator's shielding would protect him a second time as he prayed that he'd find his way back to his original universe and His Jack.

He could endure any pain if it brought him home again.