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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 6, 2009 23:57:44 GMT -5
There were a million and one reasons Jack could have offered up when he allowed Gwen to break the rules and not retcon Rhys. Hell, to be honest, Jack wasn't sure why he allowed her to get away with it. Jack could feel everyone's eyes on him, waiting for his decree. He knew what was expected, that there was no earthly reason Gwen was special.
Except... she was.
Jack, though he was loathe to admit it, needed the woman. He had ever since she had been in the right place at the right time, taking over for Suzie. The police liason he told himself, even if she had become far more than that in the passing years. She was the reason he had been able to run after the Doctor, knowing the team was going to be in capable hands. True, it hadn't been a conscious decision to put her in charge when he had followed the Doctor -- but he knew. He just knew. Gwen could threaten to quit all she wanted, but Jack knew she would find her way back to Torchwood somehow. Or, more aptly, the threat was empty. She couldn't leave, even if she wanted to. No one left here, at least, not of their own free will. The only way one left Torchwood was through death -- deaths Jack had seen far too many of over the years.
Mind still reeling from the events of the day, he left the moment Gwen did, retreating into his office to avoid everyone. He didn't want to think anymore, and even when he closed his eyes, all Jack could hear was the screams, the poor thing crying out to anyone who would listen. Sitting at his desk, head in his hands, Jack was alone with only his thoughts for company. Tonight, of all nights, he wanted to forget.
But this was his burden to bear. He was the one who would have to shoulder the consequences of what he had done: both in incinerating the creature and allowing Rhys to walk away with full knowledge of Torchwood. Right now, Jack wasn't sure which was the lesser of the two evils.
Or if he was the one to blame for everything. Maybe it was he who was the true evil around here.
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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 12, 2009 21:48:31 GMT -5
[Jack leaves the office momentarily, throwing down the gauntlet to the rest of the team before returning, sitting at his desk with his feet propped up. Waiting.]
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Post by Ianto Jones on Jun 13, 2009 1:21:16 GMT -5
//Scene change from Hub//
Ianto entered the office without knocking. This was bad.
He didn't ask if Jack had a moment. That was worse.
He sat the coffee mug he was carrying, not on the coaster, nor on some important papers on Jack's desk, but on the naked mahogany itself. Ianto had gone insane. This was serious and there was no turning back.
"Bollocks Jack! What the hell were you thinking! You let her leave with that cromagnon of a mate of hers memories intact!"
He calmed for a moment, watching for a reaction, ANY reaction then continued, "Please tell me this is some deeply fucked plan you have and that tonight we go retcon the shit out of him without Gwen's knowledge."
Ianto turned, his Welsh temper was getting the better of him and he fantasised for a moment about taking up the chunk of Galifreyan coral off the desk in front of him and bashing Jack's skull with it until it stopped growing back. "We can't let Gwen do this, Jack! It changes everything!"
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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 13, 2009 1:48:48 GMT -5
The moment the office door opened, Jack lifted his head and fixed Ianto with a level stare. He had been right, it was Ianto who would come as the group liason. Now, whether he had just left to come 'deal with the boos-man' or if he had been elected would remain to be seen. All Jack knew was that the showdown was going to be between he and his lover.
Frowning, Jack pushed himself forward enough to swipe the cup before it could damage the finish on his desk. As good as it smelled, Jack didn't take a sip but rather held the mug in his hands, waiting for Ianto to finish his tirade.
"Quite finished yet?" He asked when the other man had paused long enough to take a breath.
Sighing, Jack took a sip from the mug at long last, holding it against his chest when he lowered the mug.
"No, there isn't some plan in place. It is what it is and my decision stands." Jack shook his head. "It doesn't change anything, Ianto. I made a choice."
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Post by Ianto Jones on Jun 13, 2009 1:57:02 GMT -5
Ianto blustered, "A choice! You made a choice! To what, cock things up for the lot of us? Rhys looks like he could barely take a piss without using both hands and you expect him to keep Torchwood a secret?"
Ianto laughed and ran his hands through his hair then looked out at the hub. "It's her. It's always about her isn't it? What does she have on you, Jack? Is it alien? Is it some kind of 51st century fetish for 21st century earth slags?" He turned to his lover and sneared. "Or do you just want to lay her across this desk for a shag and you aren't man enough to ask?"
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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 13, 2009 2:13:28 GMT -5
It was going to be one hell of a showdown, then, wasn't it? And Jack knew his blase stance, still sitting in his chair with his feet propped up was doing absolutely nothing to calm Ianto down either. "Yes, Ianto, I expect him to keep this a secret. Just as I expect the same from you, Gwen, Toshiko and Owen. We're not as underground as we once were. Aliens in Downing saw to that, not to mention the number of things that tend to happen here around Christmas time."
All of which could usually be linked to the Doctor. Jack, however, took the high road and refrained from mentioning the other man -- that still wasn't a good subject to bring up.
Oh that did it.
Jack's feet fell to the floor with a loud and audible whump, setting the coffee aside before it spilled, and rose to his feet, bracing his palms against the surface of his desk. "Jealous, Ianto?" he asked, his anger getting the better of him. "Because she's been here less time than you and I'll bend the rules for her and not anyone else? I do think, however, that we'll both agree that Rhys is less of a threat to Torchwood than sneaking in one's half-converted girlfriend into the basement archives, begging me for a job when what you wanted was a place to store her and try to fix things. Begged me, Ianto. Makes a man wonder if it was me, the job, or just the abilities of Torchwood you were really after."
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Post by Ianto Jones on Jun 13, 2009 2:39:26 GMT -5
Everything stopped the moment Jack brought up Lisa. Images of blood, death and metal. No one needed to endure that. No one needed to have that brought out of the depths of the dark corners of their nightmares and brandished like a toy in front of them.
Ianto always wondered about the expression "seeing red" but now his vision went crimson and his mind raged. He picked up the discarded cup and flung it against the wall with such force both men were sprayed with shattered crockery and expensive coffee. Eyes burned under dark brows as he shot the immortal a gaze to melt steel. "Cer i grafu!" He yelled in his native tongue, lunging toward the former time agent.
He said in a gutteral low voice, "You have no right to mention her! No one has that right!" He ran at Jack like a crazed bull, knocking everything out of his path in the process. All he wanted to do was to murder the bastard and keep doing it till Jack didn't come back.
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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 13, 2009 2:51:23 GMT -5
Did Jack know he had stepped over the line of propriety the moment he had mentioned Lisa? The simple answer was that he had. However, if he were faced with that same decision once more, Jack wouldn't change a thing about what he'd done or the punishment that had been enacted later. Of course, there had been a few benefits that had come from that.
The cup hit the wall, shattering just beside Jack's head and sprayed him with the remnants of coffee. "I rather liked that mug," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, brushing a few beads of coffee from his shoulder, doing nothing but smearing it across his shirt.
A hundred and some odd years of living in Cardiff and Jack still hadn't learned to speak the language. However, Jack didn't need to know any Welsh to understand the meaning behind Ianto's words. The intonation coupled with the lunging filled in any and all of the gaps Jack may have had. There would be no getting out of the way, not with the wall to his back and Ianto to his front, so Jack waited for the impact, head banging against the wall behind. Fuck.
"I have every right," Jack hissed. "I have the right because she threatened the lives of every single one of my team and she was brought into my Hub. That gives me the right, Ianto." He did, however, note that there was nothing said about Gwen. "So what is this, then?" Jack asked. "Is it jealousy that I allow Gwen to have this and consequently it means there's some deep seeded reason, else I wouldn't let Rhys go without being retconed, or are you still pissed at me for what happened with Lisa?" Jack paused, fixing Ianto with a level stare. "If you don't like it, you know where the door is."
Though it would pain him to do it, there'd be a level six dose of retcon with Ianto's name on it if he took the option to leave."
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Post by Ianto Jones on Jun 13, 2009 3:28:48 GMT -5
Ianto's lips brushed his lover's so tantalizingly close but sex was the furthest thing from his enraged mind. "You killed her Jack and I will see you burn in Hell for it."
His blue eyes bore a hole into Jack. "Yeah, I know where the door is. I also know I will wake up tomorrow with three years of my life missing and there's not a bloody thing I can do about that."
He leaned in close, taking in the pheromones of his lover. Instead of inciting the excitement of lust they usually did, they just fueled his anger more. "You're so sure of yourself but there's something you don't know, Captain Jack Harkness. Someday you'll need me to have your back and I won't be there." He smirked, "You won't know when or why but i'll just stand back and watch as you go down. That's what keeps me here! Not you and certainly not anyone else in this God forsaken cesspit! He smoothed his hand over the coffee stain on Jack's shirt and smiled.
Ianto pushed away from his lover and straightened his tie. His outward appearance was once again calm, " Do what you want with the slag and her mate, Twll tin!" He left the office with a snort and slammed the door behind him.
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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 13, 2009 11:42:26 GMT -5
They were close enough to kiss had they wanted to do so and Jack fought the reflexive urge to place a hand on Ianto's hip, the intimate touches that usually existed between them were nowhere to be found. "You already gave me this speech once, Ianto. But that it's so quick to the surface, just how long have you been harbouring it?" Through how many nights, days, or mornings that they found themselves entangled in the other's arms was this lurking behind a kiss or a caress? Not far judging by the heat in Ianto's eyes.
"Wouldn't be missing," Jack replied smoothly, "Just misplaced. And you're not the only one missing chunks of their memory either, so don't take it as a compliment."
Jack drew his lips into a thin line, waiting for Ianto's tirade to finish. He'd heard it all before, from so many different people for so many different reasons. Now, anymore, it seemed to roll off him like water off a duck's back. It didn't matter, he told himself. It just didn't matter. His face remained impassive, even if his stomach twisted uncomfortably. Truly, Jack had thought they moved passed all this. The 'individual attention' he'd shown Ianto following his suspension from the team was supposed to have fixed this.
Oh no you don't.
Only Jack could slam the door like that. Stalking across the office, his mouth twisted into a grimace hiding back rage, Jack stormed from the office, quickly catching up with Ianto. Without a word, he wrapped his hand around Ianto's bicep and bodily moved him back into his office, door slammed once more [poor thing was taking a beating today] and stood, arms crossed in front of his chest as he leaned against the still shuddering door. Ianto wasn't leaving until Jack was done with him.
"This conversation will be finished when I say it's finished," Jack replied, the catch in his voice from trying to keep his anger at bay. "Because if this is the way you really feel?" He pointed a finger in Ianto's face. "I or the rest of the team don't need you. So what is the real issue here, Ianto? That I let Gwen do something I shouldn't or that you think I'm shagging her on the side? Which is it?"
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Post by Ianto Jones on Jun 13, 2009 12:07:29 GMT -5
Ianto's dashing exit was cut short by Jacks hand on his bicep as he was lead back in the office and slammed against the door. He had only seen Jack this angry once before, after what happened with Lisa.
Spittle hit his face as Jack assured him the argument was far from over. Most of the rant was about loyalty to the team but the last phrase out of Jack's mouth stopped him.
So what is the real issue here, Ianto? That I let Gwen do something I shouldn't or that you think I'm shagging her on the side? Which is it?"
Ianto hadn't stopped to think what angered him more, the fact that Jack craved and coveted Gwen like an addict did drugs or that he treated her more than the others. "Both...neither...i don't know." He mumbled angrily looking away fom his lover. Now that he thought about it, he realized Jack treated her exactly the same.
Jack could have destroyed him at any time after Lisa attacked them. There was no reason to assume Ianto hadn't been mentally converted himself and was just trying to create more Cybermen. Jack took a calculated risk and spared him.
He turned up his eyes at Jack, not in anger, but sudden sadness. Thinking about Lisa and Canary Warf always reminded him how precious life was and love, in whatever form you find it, was not to be pissed away lightly. "I just miss her so much sometimes, Jack. Torchwood --and you--are all I have now. Nothing else makes sense and I just don't want anything to take what's left away from me too."
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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 13, 2009 23:58:06 GMT -5
There was a moment, albeit a brief one, where the anger had faded from Ianto's face. Jack wasn't sure what he had said that had caused such a sudden change in emotions, but apparently something had sunk in. Ever so slightly, Jack relaxed his stance, realising that Ianto wasn't going to lunge at him anymore. One hand still remained firmly clamped around Ianto's bicep, though the other fell to his side, watching the other man carefully as if expecting him to suddenly resume the anger and rage once more.
Still, Jack didn't risk any other bit of contact -- not yet, anyway. He did, however, wish he knew what was going on in Ianto's head. The others were easier to read and Gwen was like an open book most of the time. Ianto, though, with his stoic expressions and dead-pan way of responding tended to throw him more often than naught. For jack, though, he was wondering how his lover could hold in this much rage inside him. Truth be told, Jack had thought this had passed long ago -- that the months of attention he'd shown his lover had managed to wipe away some of the pain following Lisa. The decisions had been cut and dry for Jack -- save the team and save Cardiff. He knew it had been hard on Ianto, and had their positions been reversed, Jack knew he'd have been in the same frame of mind.
But the fact of the matter was that Jack was the leader and he had to make the decisions that would benefit all, not one. And leaving a Cyberman alive was not at all in his job description.
"I know, Ianto," Jack said at long last, lifting a hand at last to take Ianto's hand in his, rubbing his thumb across his knuckles before releasing his hand once more. "I'm not planning on taking anything away from you." He shrugged. "Besides, Owen doesn't brew as good of a cup of coffee as you do." Badly placed joke. He nodded in the direction of the others down in the main part of the Hub. "So how pissed off are they?"
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Post by Ianto Jones on Jun 14, 2009 17:48:35 GMT -5
Ianto laughed softly at Jack's kind words. "I wouldn't go trying to hold Owen's hand any time soon." He looked up at his lover's face and brushed his lips against Jack's. "I worry about Tosh. It isn't good for her to have Gwen parading her perfect life in front of her like that."
He liked having Jack's hand in his. It just felt right...calming. It was an idle threat that he would ever abandon him in his hour of need. It was way too far for that now. He leaned in again and devoured the Torchwood leader's lips. Makeup sex was always the best.
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Post by Jack Harkness on Jun 14, 2009 23:03:13 GMT -5
"Well, I don't know if I'd usually attempt to hold Owen's hand, but I'll keep that in mind for future reference," Jack replied, hiding a smile. He closed his eyes just as Ianto's lips met his own, breathing in their closeness and yet another fight averted. This was why Jack cared for Ianto though (in his own way): because there was that fire bubbling beneath the surface -- and Jack usually could bring it out in Ianto for that matter.
Jack knew full-well that Ianto would never leave Torchwood and there was a large part of Jack that could never slip him the retcon as he should. Gwen didn't have to retcon Rhys and Jack couldn't do the same to Ianto. It was justifying that to Owen or Toshiko, knowing full-well he could easily slip them the pill. Ianto leaned in a second time and this time the kiss was far from chaste. Jack's free hand cupped the back of Ianto's head, pulling the other man in and letting his lips part, and deepening the kiss. That was the other reason Jack didn't mind their fights: the sex to follow was always fantastic.
He pulled Ianto flush against himself, hips slowly rocking as he gave himself over to the kiss. No, there was nothing better than this in the world.
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Post by Ianto Jones on Jun 14, 2009 23:16:34 GMT -5
Ianto responded as he usually did in this position. He let his boss completely take over as hands and mouths found thier own way. He was so glad that Jack liked to wear braces because they made such convienient handholds to steady him while Jack kissed him breathless.
Any thoughts of why they were even fighting were were quickly forgotten in Jack's arms. He let his lover lead him over the minefield of tossed papers and broken mugs as he found himself overwhelmed by his lover's scent and his own growing lust. He hissed as Jack bit his lip passionately and ground himself seductively against his groin.
There was no doubt there were two things his lover knew how to do exceptionally well. Ianto had just experienced the first thing and now he was ready for the second.
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