Life is All, Part III: Day Aleph-Null: Chapter 5

[amuly]

Title: Life is All Part III: Day ℵ0: Chapter 5
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Lois/Alonso, Gwen/Rhys, past Jack/everyone
Word Count: 1,763
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Ianto finds out what happened after he died; Jack gets his revenge for Ianto’s almost-not resurrection
Warnings: none
A/N: Just 3 weeks left in this epic saga. (Yes, 3: there will be an epilogue). Short chapter this time: sorry. Next week is going to be nice and long – there was just stuff I wanted to all be together next week, so I decided not to split it up, even though it would have given me a more even chapter length.

Previous Chapters:
Part I: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7
Part II: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7
Part III: 1, 2, 3, 4

 

            Jack was doing his best not to hover over Ianto, he really was. But he was looking something up on the Torchwood computers, and Jack wanted to know what it was. It was with a monumental effort that he spent the next five minutes away from Ianto and not looking over his shoulder.

            First he tried playing with baby Braith. And sure, babies were cute and all – but also kind of boring. It was just…she was just lying there, sleeping and looking adorable, but not even doing anything. And there was only so many times that Jack could comment on her eyes (which were closed) resembling Gwen’s, and her hair (which was just fuzz) resembling Rhys’, and her chubby cheeks as well (but then again, didn’t all babies have chubby cheeks?).

            So Jack left Gwen to stare adoringly down at the baby, and decided that maybe he could have a peek at what Mickey was doing. And if he had to pass by the workstation Ianto was at to get there, well, it was just a coincidence: not manufactured at all. And if his eyes just happened to look at the computer screen that Ianto was in front of, well, that was just…

            Okay, so Jack was spying. He gave up all pretenses, even to himself.

            It was when he finally saw the UNIT file that Ianto was reading, that Jack wanted nothing more than to stare at baby Braith for an hour, and pretend he had never seen what Ianto was looking up.

            “That’s my Steven.”

            Ianto jumped at the sound of Jack’s voice, instinctively closing out of the screen he was in and turning around to face Jack. His expression was a mixture of guilt and pity: neither emotions Jack wanted to see on Ianto’s face.

            He opened his mouth to explain, but to his surprise, Ianto stood up, placed a kiss on his cheek, and clasped a hand to his shoulder. When he pulled away, Ianto’s face was smoothed into a calm little smile, just a hint of worry beneath it. “I’m going to go check up on Rhys, I think. Ask him some more about our new cover business. Ring me if you need anything.”

            Jack watched as Ianto walked away, out the cog door that swung shut heavily behind him. A small bit of tension inside Jack suddenly snapped and faded away. He had known he would have to tell Ianto what happened after he died eventually. Ianto had taken burden out of his hands, and found out on his own.

            A small smile flickered across Jack’s face, even in the midst of the grief he still felt from Steven’s loss. That Ianto Jones was an incredible man. Jack’s smile grew wider. And he was marrying him. A surge of pride went through Jack.

            “Oh fookin’ hell! What…fuck!”

            Jack’s head snapped around at the sound of Mickey’s voice. He – and Gwen, Andy, and Martha – all rushed from their various spots around the Hub to his workstation. “What’s going on?” Gwen demanded. Guns were already being checked for ammunition and cocked as Mickey’s fingers scrambled across his keyboard.

            “Rift spike…right on top of us! Shit! Wait…” his hands flew up to his skull, gripping it tight. “It’s not even on top of us, it’s here! In the Hub!”

            “Bugger!” The exclamation came from Martha, who was standing with her gun pointed at Gwen’s office. “There! Life form!”

             All four guns were trained on Gwen’s office in an instant. For a tense moment, nobody moved. Jack’s mind worked furiously. Nobody should be able to teleport into the Hub. The technology needed to do something like that was only in the possession of two men that Jack knew of: the Doctor, and…

            “Jack! I’m so sorry.” John Hart emerged from Gwen’s office, consolatory words contradicted by his swagger and smoldering gaze. “I just heard about your loss: can’t believe your plan didn’t work to bring the old Eye…sorry, Ianto…back.”

            He glanced around, raising an eyebrow. “Still, nothing can be done, right? Where’d you drop off that Alonso bloke? Maybe a good shag’ll lighten your mood. We can take turns on him; I’ll even let you shove in first: my treat.”

            Above them, there were the sounds of someone stumbling, followed by a small squeak. Jack chanced a glance up, seeing John doing the same. Lois was up there with Alonso, hand pressed to her mouth and eyes wide. Alonso was turning beet-red, and his hand automatically reached out for Lois’.

            Jack turned his attention back to John, who had a devilish smirk on his face. “Oh, looks like he snagged himself a pretty little thing, didn’t he? Well, you can join too, sweetheart. Wanna fuck your boy with a strap-on?” He winked at Jack. “Remember the bird from the Agency? Vector calc instructor?”

            Another squeak drifted down from the catwalk, though Jack couldn’t be sure if it was from Alonso or Lois. Either way, he turned to the rest of the team. “A moment.” He made eye contact with Gwen briefly, and she nodded in understanding. He heard Andy mutter to Gwen “Who’s this pompous arse?” before he was shushed.

            “Well,” Jack strode forward, until he was face-to-face with John, “You heard about Ianto, did you?”

            John nodded, face twisted into what Jack assumed John must think was a sympathetic expression. “Yeah. Terrible thing. Guess the nanogenes didn’t take. Must have been dead too long before cryo. Listen, so, you want to get out of here…” John leaned backwards, nudging a shoulder in the direction of the rift he had just stepped through.

            Jack pretended to consider the offer. “Sounds tempting…but you know, the nanogenes did take.”

            John’s nostrils flared – his oldest tell – but he shrugged, continuing. “Huh. Guess the antivirus didn’t work, or you got the wrong one, or something. Listen, I just came from Grangoria, Jack. Grangoria. There’s aliens of six different genders just waiting in my hotel room.”

            Once again, Jack nodded, considering. “Six, huh? You’ve got one of the…” he waggled his fingers.

            John’s face broke out into a grin. “Oh, yeah. From Spragon? Absolutely. And you know what?” John lifted his hand to Jack’s shoulder, squeezing it solemnly. “With everything you’ve been through, you can have a go at the Spragonite first, alright?”

            “Tempting…” he glanced over his shoulder. Gwen’s head moved ever-so-slightly, nodding. He turned back to John. “Let me just ask someone his opinion. Ianto?”

            The cog door scraped open, and out stepped Ianto Jones, looking impeccable and beautiful in his suit. “Yes, sir?”

            Oh, Jack was so pulling up the CCTV footage of John’s face later. His mouth was literally hanging open, before he slammed it shut. His throat undulated as he swallowed convulsively. Jack smiled as Ianto drew up alongside him. “What do you think? Fancy a trip to Grangoria?”

            Ianto, as well, pretended to consider John’s proposition for a moment. “I don’t know, sir. We were going to close on the flat Monday, and I wanted to christen it and settle in for a bit before we did any traveling.”

            Jack ignored the little spark of anticipation that went through him at Ianto’s mention of “christening” their flat. Instead, he turned back to John, folding his arms over his chest. “Well, I guess that settles it. Sorry, John. You’ll just have to go without me.”

            John, to his credit, was pulling himself together quickly. “Oh, well, congrats. Glad the uh…the rumors were…” Still, John couldn’t help but stare, agape, at the young man before him. His eyes narrowed and flickered to Jack, who he stared at for a long moment. “Alright, I give. What the hell happened?”

            Jack took this as his cue to rush forward, and sock John right across the jaw. “What the hell happened?! I don’t know, John, why don't you tell me what the hell happened?!”

            John started up, but Jack was on him, grabbing a fistful of jacket and dirty undershirt as he punched him again. “What did you think, John?” Crack. Jack punched John again. Crack. And again. Crack. “Did you think I wouldn’t know it was you?” Crack, crack, crack. John’s eyes were glazing from the pain; jaw grinding sickeningly between Jack’s knuckles. It was obviously dislocated and broken. “Did you think I’d come running back to you? I’d crawl into your arms, looking for some hard, rough fuck to help me forget?”

            Jack pulled his fist back, ready to land another blow, or dozen, when a gentle hand on his bicep stopped him. He looked back, and there was Ianto, with an indiscernible expression on his face. With one last, good shove, Jack released John, letting him fall to the ground at their feet.

            To Jack’s surprise, Ianto knelt down beside John, extending a single elegant finger to push at John’s chin until he was looking him in the eyes. To the untrained eye, the gesture was gentle compared to Jack’s previous blows. But Jack knew that a single finger to a jaw that was broken and dislocated could cause searing pain to radiate from the spot. And Jack knew that Ianto knew it, too.

            “John? Are you listening?”

            A wet, guttural groan was all the response Ianto received from the man on the floor. He nodded, and continued.

            “I just have a question for you. Didn’t you realize: if Jack didn’t get to you first, I would?”

            There was a sudden flash of light, and Jack snatched Ianto back. It wasn’t until John moaned and disappeared that Jack realized Ianto had caused the sudden teleportation. “Where did you send him?”

            “Judoon home planet.”

            Jack’s eyes widened. “He’s wanted in over 10 star systems!”

            There was a twinkle in Ianto’s eyes as he arched an eyebrow, expression an imitation of ignorance. “Oh?”

            Jack grabbed Ianto’s shoulders and shook him playfully, placing a kiss to the top of his head. He glanced back at the team, who were staring at the scene as if they had just sprouted another head. Ianto coughed delicately, moving away from Jack and putting some distance between them. Rueful glances were exchanged, but in the end, Gwen just threw up her hands, muttered “Jack bloody Harkness”, and turned away. The rest of the team seemed to take this as a dismissal, and went back to their work.

            Jack glanced over at Ianto. He looked tired. “Hey, you want to go back to the hotel?”

            With a weak smile, Ianto nodded. “Yeah. Big day tomorrow, after all.”

            Jack’s eyes widened in proportion to his grin. That’s right. Tomorrow was Monday.

Want more? Chapter 6 here.

 

Comments

[amuly.livejournal.com]

Hehehe. Ianto is very law-abiding. *nods* No ulterior motives there...