Same Ianto, Different Jack
Chapter 36
by Gracefultree
A/N: Here's the next chapter. Please enjoy!
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Ianto was only half-surprised to wake up alone in the middle of the night his first night back in His Cardiff with His Jack. He glanced at his watch. 3am, the time when most of the Jacks he'd known couldn't sleep, and His Jack had been, and clearly was still, no exception. He pulled on some clothes and searched the flat, finding it empty. Jack's coat was missing from the front hall, too, meaning he'd gone out.
Following his instincts, Ianto found the roof-access and let himself out into the biting cold, glad he'd thought to bring a coat. Jack sat leaning against the far wall, his knees drawn up to his chest, staring into the darkness of space. At least he wasn't standing on the edge, as Ianto had feared. He settled himself down on the ground next to Jack.
"Want to talk about any of it?" Ianto asked after an hour of watching the stars in silence.
"You should be asleep," Jack answered, deflecting away from the question.
"So should you," Ianto countered.
Jack sighed, dropping his head to rest on his knees, the back of his head facing Ianto. He looked up ten minutes later, turning back to Ianto.
"I keep waiting for you to disappear again," he said softly.
"Not if I can help it," Ianto answered, moving closer to that their sides touched. Jack leaned against him.
"I've been waiting for you for so long. I've been hoping you'll come back for so long. Now that you're here…"
"It's unreal?" Ianto suggested. "Overwhelming?'
"Yeah," Jack agreed.
"Come back inside. I'll make something warm to drink."
"Ok."
Fifteen minutes later they were ensconced in chairs in the library, with kahlua-laced hot chocolate. Ianto watched as Jack took a sip, an expression of pleasure on his face.
"What was it about him that you loved?" Jack asked suddenly. "New Jack, I mean. What was it that drew you to him so quickly?"
Ianto paused before answering. He wondered how honest he could be without hurting Jack. He wondered if he could even lie to the man he'd spent three years desperate to get back to. "He was so sad and hurting," Ianto said, deciding that four-thirty in the morning wasn't a time to over-think his answers. "He needed someone to care about him, because New Gwen had been horrible. Controlling. Emotionally abusive, even, it seemed. He let himself be vulnerable with me. He was open with me in a way I wasn't used to."
"Yeah, vulnerable has never been my favorite…" Jack mused.
"But more than that, I was lonely and scared, too. He felt familiar. He smelled familiar. Sure, he had to learn how to be with me, but he'd have needed to re-learn that about anyone after what New Gwen put him through."
"She was really bad, huh?"
"Imagine our Gwen, that I knew back then, with fewer morals and a higher sex drive and an arrogance and entitlement that was never tempered by Rhys. She always got her own way. New Jack never stood up to her the way you did." Ianto paused. "They started sleeping together on her third day. And she held her knowledge of his immortality over his head the first few months. She threatened to out him about it, and he was already insecure enough. Then the Doctor blamed him for the Master's death, when New Jack didn't do anything, and called him wrong and meant it in a way yours didn't."
"He had a lot stacked against him," Jack said softly. "And you like taking care of people."
"You, especially."
"No, I've come to think taking care of others is a fundamental part of you," Jack said. "Lisa, me. Rhiannon said you've been like that most of your life, though. Your mother. That friend in secondary school."
"It might be part of me," Ianto mused.
"I'm going to need a lot of it," Jack admitted.
"So you've implied. And I'll do it. I told you that already."
"I was tortured for sixty years," Jack blurted out. "The 456, they came back. They took Steven right in front of me. They said it was retribution for killing their emissary. I followed them, offered my life for his. Somehow, it worked, and they sent him home."
"How did you get away?"
"John Hart. He happened by. A younger him. He didn't know me as Jack, yet, so I went by a different name. He got me out of there. He didn't know how long I'd been there, hadn't seen me die, so I lied, said it had been a few months. He wanted to shag the torture away, but I convinced him it was a bad idea."
"And he listened?"
"He'd just gotten out of rehab and wasn't back to his usual sociopathic standards," Jack explained. "I spent a few months with him, traveling, watching him turn back into the asshole I'd last seen at the Time Agency. Then he met this woman who supposedly had an Arcadian diamond," Jack trailed off.
"Ah, and he became who I first met."
"Yeah, so that's when I took off. I knew I wasn't ready to go back to Earth yet, so I wandered. I played at being the Doctor, swooping in, rescuing people, saving planets. Only I stayed to help rebuild afterwards. It was surprisingly gratifying." Ianto got out of his chair to wrap his arms around Jack and kiss his cheek. "What's that for?"
"For being you," Ianto answered. "For learning to take responsibility."
Jack smiled crookedly. "It wasn't easy."
"I daresay not."
"But I thought, what would Ianto do? How would he want me to behave? What would he suggest I do?" Jack paused. "You were with me the whole time, even if you really weren't."
"Just like you were with me," Ianto pointed out. He took Jack's empty mug. "Come back to bed. Try to sleep a little more." Jack nodded silently and followed Ianto to the kitchen where he dried the mugs after Ianto washed them, then followed him to the bedroom, stripping and joining him under the blankets.
"Ianto? I'm really happy you're back."
"I am, too, Jack. Now try to sleep." Ianto curled himself around Jack, spooning him, pressing his chest to Jack's back. A few minutes later he heard Jack sigh. "Still thinking?" he asked.
"What are we gonna do? How are we going to fix me?"
"Time, patience, and love." Ianto kissed the back of Jack's neck. "Tell me something. Anything. Tell me about one of those planets you saved."
"A long time ago, on a planet far, far away…"
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"Ianto Jones, meet Rex Matheson," Jack said. "Rex leads the two Field Ops teams."
Ianto held out his hand. Rex, still glaring at Jack and rubbing his wrists from where he'd been shackled to the wall of the cell designated for him when he pushed Jack too far, grunted. Grudgingly, he shook Ianto's hand.
Ianto, unwilling to be intimidated by the gruff manner, returned the pressure of Rex's handshake with exactly as much force. He smiled thinly. "I've spent a long time getting back here, and your behavior left much to be desired in terms of hospitality, consideration for others, and ability to trust Jack," he said, calmly and clearly. "In fact, I have no idea why Jack keeps you around. From what I've read in the field reports, you're not nearly as good as you think you are, or as good as Bruce, and the only reason you're on top is because you can't stay dead." He used his grip to pull Rex closer so he could whisper in his ear. "I don't trust you. I'll be watching you, and if you hurt Jack again, I'll make good on my threat."
"I don't trust you, either," Rex growled, pulling his hand away. "You waltz in here, thinking you've got some kind of power because you're in Jack's bed. Well, I've been here longer than you and I understand this place a hell of a lot better than you. So you'd better watch out, because I'll be watching you, too, and Jack's lover or not, I'll hang you out to dry if you misstep."
"As long as we understand each other," Ianto replied.
Rex grunted again, glanced at Jack, and mumbled something under his breath about getting ready for the staff meeting.
"I keep him around because the King and the American President order me to keep him," Jack explained with a sigh. "Now that Torchwood's public, I don't have as much autonomy as I used to have."
"Ah, I wondered if it was something like that."
"You ready to meet everyone?"
"All forty-eight of them? Sure. I took some time last night to look over the personnel files."
"When did you have time for that?" Jack demanded. "I kept you busy the whole night!"
Ianto chuckled at the hurt expression on Jack's face and leaned forward to give him a quick kiss. "I read quickly, remember? I did it while I was cooking."
Jack chuckled. "You amaze me, Mr. Jones."
"I try my best."
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Ianto and Esther became fast friends. She reminded him of Tosh, though less jaded by life. She'd been a fugitive with Jack, and had to deal with having a disability, and would be living for a very long time, but she'd never been tortured or incarcerated the way Tosh had. She also had a relationship with one of the scientists on the research team that seemed to be good for both of them. He discovered quickly that she and her boyfriend Mitchel, Gwen, Rhys, their two children, and Jack had dinner together once a week, to which Ianto was immediately invited, of course.
Anwen Cooper-Williams and Ianto Geraint Cooper-Williams were lovely children, and Ianto was touched that they would name one of their children after him. He was even more touched to learn that he and Jack had been named their godfathers, even though he'd not been around for their births.
Ianto quickly integrated himself into Jack's Torchwood. He wasn't nearly as appalled as Jack thought he'd be by the Archives, since Minnie and her assistants had followed the guidelines he'd left for Jack in his goodbye video. Gwen's new, more mature attitude helped them quickly fall into a friendship neither had been ready for before he left, and he found that after all the other Gwens, each more horrible than the last, she was a breath of fresh air. Bruce Thomas, one of Jack's closest friends on the new, post-Miracle Day staff, took to Ianto immediately, and had a number of suggestions and observations about the Rex/Jack dynamic, as well as Jack's resurrection traumas, that helped Ianto develop a plan to rehabilitate his lover.
Over all, things were going well between him and Jack. He and Jack were spending a lot of their free time and every one of their nights together in their flat. The sex was fantastic, and Jack's nightmares were slowly getting easier. Ianto's had all but disappeared now that he was back. Jack still wandered the flat in the middle of the night. Sometimes Ianto joined him, other times he slept.
They got used to living together. Actually living together, not the quasi-living together they'd done before the Rift took Ianto. Jack remained a slob, though he was slightly better than Ianto remembered. He cleaned up after himself often, though not usually to Ianto's, admittedly high, standards. Ianto tried to let it go, since Jack was doing so much better than he really expected, knowing the man as he did. It didn't stop Ianto's explosion when he came home after a night out with his sister to find the living room trashed with take-away boxes. It didn't stop Jack from calling him some nasty names, and Ianto responding in kind. It didn't stop Ianto from kicking Jack out of the bedroom before they'd had sex to 'sleep in his own filth.' That Ianto woke to a sparkling flat and fresh pancakes helped smooth things over between them, and Jack's heroic efforts at keeping the kitchen clean while he cooked and sincere apology sparked Ianto's compassion and libido, and after a delicious breakfast that included Ianto's best coffee, the make up sex lasted so long into the workday that Gwen had to drag them in by their ears like naughty schoolboys. They'd shared shit-eating grins whenever they saw each other that day. They finished making it up to each other that night, and for once Jack was so exhausted that he slept through his 3am insomnia and didn't wake up until Ianto brought him coffee in bed the next morning.
Three months back, Ianto found himself in one of the Torchwood SUVs watching Jack in action, only the seventh time he'd been needed on a field mission. Ianto was glad to see that Jack was generally able to let go of being in charge of each and every trip into the field, and he hadn't died once since the incident outside cell 27. This time, however, Jack's extra-terrestrial language skills were required, and Ianto had refused to remain at the Hub while Jack went out, as usual. Jack required a promise that Ianto wouldn't leave the SUV, which Ianto had given, though he knew he wouldn't stay there if Jack died, and he suspected Jack was aware of that.
Ianto listened on the comms as Jack negotiated with the aliens. They were meeting in an abandoned warehouse, of course, and from Jack's tone of voice, it didn't sound like it was going well. Bruce and his team were there with Jack, though, covering him, so Ianto didn't feel particularly worried.
When the gunfire broke out suddenly, he jumped from the car without thinking, his own gun ready in his hand. He made it inside in time to see half a dozen aliens fall under the Field Ops Team's bullets. Jack was already dead, a puddle of blood expanding around his body.
"Jack!" Ianto shouted, rushing forward. He had to get to Jack. He couldn't let him come back alone. Bruce called after him, but Ianto ignored it. He'd known that there were only six aliens, so he knew he'd be safe. It was Jack that mattered. Jack that needed support. Jack with a huge hole in his chest from an alien rifle of some kind.
Jack came back to life just as Ianto reached him but before Ianto could get his arms around him. His hand touched Jack's chest. Pain blossomed between his eyes and Jack punched him in the face, breaking his nose and dropping him to the ground. In his ear he heard Bruce shouting orders to his men to get Ianto out of there. Then Jack was on top of him, snarling like a wounded animal and hitting him. Ianto relaxed, let his whole body go limp. He opened his eye, the other already sealed shut by blood and swelling. He tried to catch Jack's eye.
"Jack," he croaked.
As Ianto watched, Jack's eyes cleared from the haze of pain and terror, becoming the brilliant blue he loved so much. Jack's eyes widened in shock and horror, seeing Ianto beaten and bloody beneath him. His gaze flickered around the warehouse in an instant, seeing the team, the dead aliens, the empty spaces, Ianto's blood on his knuckles. Jack tore the comms from his ear, and staggered to his feet. He backed away from Ianto.
"No," Jack whispered. "No, no, no, no!" Jack whirled and ran. Ianto, expecting this, was already climbing to his feet. He charged after Jack, shouting for him to stop. In his ear, Bruce called for him to stop, to let them catch Jack, to get the fuck back to the bloody SUV, but Ianto didn't listen. His real mission had just started, and he wasn't about to stop.
Despite the greatcoat ruining his aerodynamics, Jack outstripped Ianto by a huge margin, and Ianto collapsed against a wall after losing sight of Jack three turnings ahead. He struggled to catch his breath, his sides heaving. "Fuck!" he shouted at the sky. He sunk to the ground and held his head between his knees to keep the nausea of so much running pass.
"Damn, Jones, you've got some balls," a voice said above him. He looked up to see one of the soldiers walking over, offering a bottle of electrolyte-enhanced water. Harry Webb, he remembered, recognizing him. They'd never spoken beyond a few sentences here and there.
"Gotta train him out of the five-foot rule," Ianto told him, accepting the hand up and water. "I'm the only one who can."
"Still, he could've killed you."
"True, but he had three guns and a knife on him, and all he did was hit me. When's the last time he started with fists like that? When's the last time he stopped?" Ianto asked.
"Never, that I've seen," Harry answered.
"My point exactly. I've read all the field reports. I know how he usually responds. This was a huge step for him, and I think it's because I was there."
"If he'll talk to you again."
Ianto shrugged and finished his water, wiping the blood from his face with his sleeve. His nose was already feeling better. "Any injuries?"
"No, sir," Harry replied, leading the way back to the SUV that he'd taken to find Ianto. "Commander Thomas wants you to stop by medical, then he'll probably give you shit for getting in the way of the mission."
"Hmm, well, best get back, then," Ianto muttered. He'd never been on the receiving end of one of Bruce's tirades, but he'd seen a few, and they could be worse than Jack's, though less personal. Jack tended to lash out when he was upset, while Bruce kept it professional when he was dressing someone down. They climbed into the SUV and Harry turned it on. "Thanks, Harry."
Harry looked over at Ianto sharply. "Sir?"
"I'm not part of Military, Harry, call me Ianto if you want. Or Jones if you have to, but not sir. Jack or Bruce can be 'sir' all they want, but it's not my thing."
"You're a decent bloke," Harry said, smiling. "Not at all what Mr. Matheson says."
"Well, he has a grudge against me because Jack likes me better."
"Matheson's not —"
Ianto laughed, interrupting him. "Rex likes to be in charge. I outrank him. Simple as that."
"Huh."
"Yeah, now can we get going? I want to be cleared by medical and Bruce by the time Jack gets back."
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tbc