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d8rkmessngrAuthor: d8rkmessngr
Pairing: Jack/OMC, Jack/?, Jack/Ianto eventually, het and slash
Rating: NC-17 (betaed)
Summary: He left Jack on the game station. Abandoned. But then…he came back…different. An AU look on what happens if things happened differently. Doctor Who 'verse with Torchwood later on. Be sure to read the warnings.
Warnings: Please read each chapter's individual warnings. Some parts down the road may briefly mention non-con, abuse, and/or violence. Dark in the beginning. Please note there are some dark thoughts as my boys are broken…for now. Each chapter will be labeled for your convenience.
Author's Notes: Please note this is an AU that will cross over DW to TW season one. I'm probably spoiling my own story, but it will eventually be Janto. There's a bit of a journey first. I hope you enjoy. I'm working on this and intend to post regularly every other day. And again, I always believe in happy endings. So without further ado…
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Warning For This Chapter: Mentions suicide/ self harm themes. Gratuitous smut ahead.
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to TW's "Out of Time" , "Fragments" and if you really squint, "Combat"
Prologue + Ch , Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13,Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18. Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31 Act 1/5, Ch 31 Act 2/5, Ch 31 Act 3/5
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 31 "Combat"
Act IV
December 27
"…hundred and fifty pounds to Torchwood's account! He charged a hundred and fifty pounds?" Ianto sputtered. He stooped over Jack's shoulder and gaped at the emailed bank alert Jack received on his computer. "For a dress?"
"A Versace dress," Jack reiterated. "Owen has good taste." He checked the store's website and went, "Huh." Jack tilted his face up at Ianto. "Red, too. Funny, I always thought red was more your color than his."
Really? Ianto blinked, not quite sure how to respond. He looked down at his gray shirt and tried to imagine it in another color other than the whites and neutrals he'd been favoring.
Jack was smiling at him in a way that Ianto couldn't help but smile back. "Maybe a blue one?" Jack suggested. "Or this one?" He pointed to the screen.
Ianto squinted at it. "Pink?" he yelped, outraged. Ianto slapped Jack's closest shoulder.
"What?" Jack laughed, a little more easily than two days before. "I think it's a nice shirt!"
"It's pink. Not very manly." Ianto glowered at him.
"You people and your ideas on what's manly or not." Jack scoffed. He eyed him up and down. "I think you can pull off a pink shirt."
"I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered," Ianto huffed. Secretly, he enjoyed the banter; enjoyed how easily Jack smiled again even if it was still dimmer than before. Ianto just shook his head and sat gingerly on the edge of the desk. He glanced at Jack's right hand that rested on his knee and sighed at the time he spied upside down on Jack's watch. The others would be here soon. Damn.
Ianto cleared his throat and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small palm-sized box wrapped in brown paper.
"I know everyone wasn't in the mood to celebrate Boxing Day yesterday and Owen wasn't even there. I uh…" Ianto shrugged, turned Jack's hand up and dropped it into his palm. "Happy Christmas or Boxing Day or uh…" Ianto coughed awkwardly, his ears pinking.
Jack rotated the plain looking box. He shook it and quirked his eyebrow at the odd rattling sound inside.
"I thought these were for Christmas." Jack lifted up his other hand, revealing the little airplane cuffs. The tiny wings glinted under the light.
Ianto never thought he would get such pleasure from seeing someone wearing something he gave since Lisa, but the same joy blossomed in his chest.
"No, those were for courting you," Ianto murmured as he captured Jack's sleeve and studied the cuff with a critical eye. Was that a smudge?
"Courting me?" Jack echoed.
Ianto froze. Oops. Did he say that out loud? Ianto could feel his face burning. Perhaps Jack was right; apparently red was his color.
"I-I changed the reservations for everyone for New Year's Eve," Ianto stammered as he slid off the desk. "Perhaps the timing would be better for everyone then."
"You were courting me?" Jack repeated. His brow furrowed. He raised his wrist and considered the cufflinks. "That was courting?"
Ianto couldn’t help it; he bristled. "Are you criticizing my technique, Harkness?" Ianto demanded. Lisa never complained.
Jack snickered, raising his hands in surrender. "No, no. Far be it for me to criticize." Jack looked surprised, even a little embarrassed. "I don't think I've ever been courted before." Jack looked intrigued. "Does that mean you're going to get me flowers?"
"You want me to bring you posies and roses every day? Doesn't this fall in the realm of the pink shirt?" Ianto sputtered. How did this conversation even get started? "How about I just buy you a drink first?"
Something strange swept across Jack's face and he deflated a little.
Ianto stood stock-still. "What did I say?"
"What?" Jack looked perplexed but Ianto wasn't fooled. Jack sighed and laughed; it sounded strained. "Nothing. Just…déjà vu."
"Déjà vu for a time traveler usually is a dangerous thing," Ianto sighed. He settled back down on the edge of the desk. "What did I say so I know not to say it ever again?"
Jack laughed again in that odd, strangled way that made Ianto's chest ache hearing it. "Nothing. Just remembered I said that to him once. I was…I dunno…flirting and he said buy him a drink first. I told him that was too much work. He said it would be worth it."
"Huh," Ianto grunted, unable to stop himself. "Someone thought very highly of himself there."
"He was worth fighting for. At least, I had thought so," Jack sighed, suddenly looking weary.
"The Daleks," Ianto remembered. He swallowed when Jack nodded. "You fought for him. You died for him." He couldn't imagine ever risking his life for such a monster, not for the way he treated Jack.
Jack must have saw something on his face. "The Doctor…he can be compelling," Jack explained. "When I first met him and Rose, he saved London. The world, actually. He…he just loved humanity so much. He's fascinated by humans and life and the universe. You can't help but want to be there for that."
"Are we talking about the same Doctor? That doesn't sound like the Doctor I met," Ianto muttered, more under his breath but Jack heard him.
"That's not his fault. He…changed."
The fact that Jack was so quick to defend the Doctor rankled Ianto's nerves. He grunted sullenly.
"Literally, he changed," Jack stressed. "Changed his face. If it weren't for his TARDIS, I never would have recognized him." Jack tilted his head back. "Actually, I miss those big ears."
"What are you talking about?"
"Regeneration," Jack explained. "The Doctor is a Time Lord; I think the last of his kind, in fact. By my time, Time Lords were just legends. They live for a very long time and one way they cheat death is by regeneration: new face, new voice, new body."
Ianto tried to ignore the squirming in his belly. "So, he's immortal," he said numbly. "Like you."
Jack's smile was dull. "No, not like me. Time will eventually run out for him but not for me." Jack looked out into the main area. "Unless he can fix me."
"What he did in London, leaving you there, in that machine, fixed nothing," Ianto said harshly.
"He couldn't have known—"
"Nothing you're telling me describes a man who should be excused for the way he hurt you!" Ianto swallowed at the confusion on Jack's face.
"He wasn't always like that," Jack insisted. "It's because of me he's different." At Ianto's curious look, Jack shrugged, his eyes elsewhere.
"I'm a fixed point." Jack said, his eyes cloudy. "It's not natural. A Time Lord’s first instinct is to get away from things like me. Despite that, the Doctor stayed. It…it was hard for him."
Ianto stared at the top of Jack's head. He couldn't imagine it ever being that much of a chore to remain by Jack's side. Just the opposite. He folded his arms and bit his lower lip.
"This…regeneration…you said it changes the body. What about personality?"
Jack looked startled. "I…I don't know."
"Did he have all his memories?"
Frowning to himself, Jack pursed his lips. "Sometimes, he acts like he doesn't know what I'm talking about, but again, it could just be because of m—"
"It sounds more like this could be a complete change," Ianto declared before Jack could finish the thought. "How much do you know about this regeneration thing?"
Jack shrugs. "Just what he told me, which isn't much."
"Then it might very well not be your fault," Ianto pointed out. He could see Jack in deep thought. Ianto shuffled closer and reached over to Jack.
Behind him, the sirens rang, announcing the first arrival at work. Ianto sighed at the interruption.
Jack smiled ruefully. "Back to work." He rubbed a knuckle over Ianto's thigh. "Coffee?"
"Maybe I should talk to Owen about a caffeine IV drip," Ianto retorted.
"Only if I can dip biscuits in it."
Ianto snorted and hopped off the desk with regret. As he steered for the door, he paused.
"Jack?" he called. When Jack looked up questioningly, Ianto smiled and hoped his eyes reflected everything he wanted to tell him but Jack still couldn't hear.
"I think you're worth fighting for."
Jack's eyes were suspiciously bright. He nodded, his smile warmer.
Mission accomplished, Ianto left the office. He caught himself whistling as he made the coffee.
Conclusion
Additional Notes: Many thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
soullessminion for betaing this chapter. And trtmx for her magic trick that saved my sanity! LOL.
Pairing: Jack/OMC, Jack/?, Jack/Ianto eventually, het and slash
Rating: NC-17 (betaed)
Summary: He left Jack on the game station. Abandoned. But then…he came back…different. An AU look on what happens if things happened differently. Doctor Who 'verse with Torchwood later on. Be sure to read the warnings.
Warnings: Please read each chapter's individual warnings. Some parts down the road may briefly mention non-con, abuse, and/or violence. Dark in the beginning. Please note there are some dark thoughts as my boys are broken…for now. Each chapter will be labeled for your convenience.
Author's Notes: Please note this is an AU that will cross over DW to TW season one. I'm probably spoiling my own story, but it will eventually be Janto. There's a bit of a journey first. I hope you enjoy. I'm working on this and intend to post regularly every other day. And again, I always believe in happy endings. So without further ado…
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Warning For This Chapter: Mentions suicide/ self harm themes. Gratuitous smut ahead.
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to TW's "Out of Time" , "Fragments" and if you really squint, "Combat"
Prologue + Ch , Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13,Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18. Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31 Act 1/5, Ch 31 Act 2/5, Ch 31 Act 3/5
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 31 "Combat"
Act IV
December 27
"…hundred and fifty pounds to Torchwood's account! He charged a hundred and fifty pounds?" Ianto sputtered. He stooped over Jack's shoulder and gaped at the emailed bank alert Jack received on his computer. "For a dress?"
"A Versace dress," Jack reiterated. "Owen has good taste." He checked the store's website and went, "Huh." Jack tilted his face up at Ianto. "Red, too. Funny, I always thought red was more your color than his."
Really? Ianto blinked, not quite sure how to respond. He looked down at his gray shirt and tried to imagine it in another color other than the whites and neutrals he'd been favoring.
Jack was smiling at him in a way that Ianto couldn't help but smile back. "Maybe a blue one?" Jack suggested. "Or this one?" He pointed to the screen.
Ianto squinted at it. "Pink?" he yelped, outraged. Ianto slapped Jack's closest shoulder.
"What?" Jack laughed, a little more easily than two days before. "I think it's a nice shirt!"
"It's pink. Not very manly." Ianto glowered at him.
"You people and your ideas on what's manly or not." Jack scoffed. He eyed him up and down. "I think you can pull off a pink shirt."
"I don't know whether to be insulted or flattered," Ianto huffed. Secretly, he enjoyed the banter; enjoyed how easily Jack smiled again even if it was still dimmer than before. Ianto just shook his head and sat gingerly on the edge of the desk. He glanced at Jack's right hand that rested on his knee and sighed at the time he spied upside down on Jack's watch. The others would be here soon. Damn.
Ianto cleared his throat and reached into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small palm-sized box wrapped in brown paper.
"I know everyone wasn't in the mood to celebrate Boxing Day yesterday and Owen wasn't even there. I uh…" Ianto shrugged, turned Jack's hand up and dropped it into his palm. "Happy Christmas or Boxing Day or uh…" Ianto coughed awkwardly, his ears pinking.
Jack rotated the plain looking box. He shook it and quirked his eyebrow at the odd rattling sound inside.
"I thought these were for Christmas." Jack lifted up his other hand, revealing the little airplane cuffs. The tiny wings glinted under the light.
Ianto never thought he would get such pleasure from seeing someone wearing something he gave since Lisa, but the same joy blossomed in his chest.
"No, those were for courting you," Ianto murmured as he captured Jack's sleeve and studied the cuff with a critical eye. Was that a smudge?
"Courting me?" Jack echoed.
Ianto froze. Oops. Did he say that out loud? Ianto could feel his face burning. Perhaps Jack was right; apparently red was his color.
"I-I changed the reservations for everyone for New Year's Eve," Ianto stammered as he slid off the desk. "Perhaps the timing would be better for everyone then."
"You were courting me?" Jack repeated. His brow furrowed. He raised his wrist and considered the cufflinks. "That was courting?"
Ianto couldn’t help it; he bristled. "Are you criticizing my technique, Harkness?" Ianto demanded. Lisa never complained.
Jack snickered, raising his hands in surrender. "No, no. Far be it for me to criticize." Jack looked surprised, even a little embarrassed. "I don't think I've ever been courted before." Jack looked intrigued. "Does that mean you're going to get me flowers?"
"You want me to bring you posies and roses every day? Doesn't this fall in the realm of the pink shirt?" Ianto sputtered. How did this conversation even get started? "How about I just buy you a drink first?"
Something strange swept across Jack's face and he deflated a little.
Ianto stood stock-still. "What did I say?"
"What?" Jack looked perplexed but Ianto wasn't fooled. Jack sighed and laughed; it sounded strained. "Nothing. Just…déjà vu."
"Déjà vu for a time traveler usually is a dangerous thing," Ianto sighed. He settled back down on the edge of the desk. "What did I say so I know not to say it ever again?"
Jack laughed again in that odd, strangled way that made Ianto's chest ache hearing it. "Nothing. Just remembered I said that to him once. I was…I dunno…flirting and he said buy him a drink first. I told him that was too much work. He said it would be worth it."
"Huh," Ianto grunted, unable to stop himself. "Someone thought very highly of himself there."
"He was worth fighting for. At least, I had thought so," Jack sighed, suddenly looking weary.
"The Daleks," Ianto remembered. He swallowed when Jack nodded. "You fought for him. You died for him." He couldn't imagine ever risking his life for such a monster, not for the way he treated Jack.
Jack must have saw something on his face. "The Doctor…he can be compelling," Jack explained. "When I first met him and Rose, he saved London. The world, actually. He…he just loved humanity so much. He's fascinated by humans and life and the universe. You can't help but want to be there for that."
"Are we talking about the same Doctor? That doesn't sound like the Doctor I met," Ianto muttered, more under his breath but Jack heard him.
"That's not his fault. He…changed."
The fact that Jack was so quick to defend the Doctor rankled Ianto's nerves. He grunted sullenly.
"Literally, he changed," Jack stressed. "Changed his face. If it weren't for his TARDIS, I never would have recognized him." Jack tilted his head back. "Actually, I miss those big ears."
"What are you talking about?"
"Regeneration," Jack explained. "The Doctor is a Time Lord; I think the last of his kind, in fact. By my time, Time Lords were just legends. They live for a very long time and one way they cheat death is by regeneration: new face, new voice, new body."
Ianto tried to ignore the squirming in his belly. "So, he's immortal," he said numbly. "Like you."
Jack's smile was dull. "No, not like me. Time will eventually run out for him but not for me." Jack looked out into the main area. "Unless he can fix me."
"What he did in London, leaving you there, in that machine, fixed nothing," Ianto said harshly.
"He couldn't have known—"
"Nothing you're telling me describes a man who should be excused for the way he hurt you!" Ianto swallowed at the confusion on Jack's face.
"He wasn't always like that," Jack insisted. "It's because of me he's different." At Ianto's curious look, Jack shrugged, his eyes elsewhere.
"I'm a fixed point." Jack said, his eyes cloudy. "It's not natural. A Time Lord’s first instinct is to get away from things like me. Despite that, the Doctor stayed. It…it was hard for him."
Ianto stared at the top of Jack's head. He couldn't imagine it ever being that much of a chore to remain by Jack's side. Just the opposite. He folded his arms and bit his lower lip.
"This…regeneration…you said it changes the body. What about personality?"
Jack looked startled. "I…I don't know."
"Did he have all his memories?"
Frowning to himself, Jack pursed his lips. "Sometimes, he acts like he doesn't know what I'm talking about, but again, it could just be because of m—"
"It sounds more like this could be a complete change," Ianto declared before Jack could finish the thought. "How much do you know about this regeneration thing?"
Jack shrugs. "Just what he told me, which isn't much."
"Then it might very well not be your fault," Ianto pointed out. He could see Jack in deep thought. Ianto shuffled closer and reached over to Jack.
Behind him, the sirens rang, announcing the first arrival at work. Ianto sighed at the interruption.
Jack smiled ruefully. "Back to work." He rubbed a knuckle over Ianto's thigh. "Coffee?"
"Maybe I should talk to Owen about a caffeine IV drip," Ianto retorted.
"Only if I can dip biscuits in it."
Ianto snorted and hopped off the desk with regret. As he steered for the door, he paused.
"Jack?" he called. When Jack looked up questioningly, Ianto smiled and hoped his eyes reflected everything he wanted to tell him but Jack still couldn't hear.
"I think you're worth fighting for."
Jack's eyes were suspiciously bright. He nodded, his smile warmer.
Mission accomplished, Ianto left the office. He caught himself whistling as he made the coffee.
Conclusion
Additional Notes: Many thanks to
soullessminion for betaing this chapter. And trtmx for her magic trick that saved my sanity! LOL.![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 10:06 pm (UTC)And there's still a conclusion to read! Marvellous!
no subject
Date: 2008-07-10 11:07 pm (UTC)