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fandomweekly2020-11-01 02:17 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2020-11-01 02:17 pm
Entry tags:
[#071] HARD TRUTHS (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #71 - Skeletons in the closet
Title: Hard truths
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: Spoilers for Season 1.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Jack's sudden departure leaves everyone having to face up to their secrets.
It was late and Ianto was tired. It wasn't that he'd done more than he usually did, but somehow it felt more exhausting. He should probably have tried to get an early night, since there was no way of knowing what tomorrow would have in store, and there was every chance now that he might be called upon to assist the rest of the team out in the field. With a man down, they weren't left with a whole lot of options even if perhaps Ianto wouldn't have been their first choice for a replacement field officer.
He'd done stuff out in the field before, perhaps not really here in Cardiff, but he'd had a few… incidents… back in London that had tested him. Nothing he'd signed up for precisely, but all experience was good experience, wasn't it? Maybe this was the chance to prove that he really was one of the team, assuming they still thought otherwise.
There was a gentle knock and Ianto hadn't realised there was anyone still here except him. ‘Still working?’ Gwen asked.
‘Still working,’ Ianto confirmed, letting several manila files drop on the desk with a quiet slap. ‘None of it goes away just because Jack-’ He bit the inside of his cheek rather than finish the sentence. Talking about Jack not being here hurt more than he cared to admit.
Gwen stepped tentatively into Ianto's little piece of fiefdom. ‘Did you know?’
‘Did I know what?’ He knew what Gwen was asking him but he wanted her to say it to him directly and not treat him like a child. Or worse, like the enemy.
‘That Jack knew the Doctor. They said that everyone who worked for Torchwood One was briefed on the Doctor.’
‘You mean that's what Owen and Tosh told you.’ They'd fobbed Gwen off through their own lack of knowledge, claiming it was all Torchwood One business.
Gwen fixed him with an assertive gaze. ‘Are they right? You knew?’
He set down his pen lest he unconsciously snap it in half. ‘No, I didn't know. I knew of the Doctor. It was impossible not to. He was the sole focus of the entire organisation. What he looked like, what he was capable of, what to do if you suspected you'd seen him.’
‘Is he dangerous?’
‘So they'd have us think. I'm not sure what to believe, myself. Except that I can't imagine Jack taking off with a man who was anything less than a good person.’ But then again, what did he really know about Jack? ‘He took that hand thing with him. That's about it.’
Gwen let out a vexed sigh, leaning against his desk. ‘That bloody hand. I swear he was obsessed with it. The two must have been connected. You really didn't know anything more?’
‘No.’ He felt a rush of anger rise up inside him and he wasn't sure if it was Gwen he was angry with for all her prodding questions, or Jack, simply for leaving them. ‘We slept together a few times. That doesn't mean I know anything about him.’ He sighed. ‘I think he preferred it that way.’
Gwen reached out a hand. ‘No. I'm sure that's not it. We all saw the way he… when he came back. That wasn't nothing. I was a little shocked, I'll be honest. I didn't realise you were… I mean, after Lisa…’
‘I didn't just come out of the closet if that's what you're getting at.’ He wasn't gay or bisexual, or whatever, he didn't think. Jack was just someone he wanted to be with. Gender really hadn't come into it.
‘Were you ever going to tell us? You and Jack?’
He chuckled with mirth. ‘Like I ever had a say in it,’ he replied bitterly. ‘He flirts and he carries on and he doesn't care about how it makes anyone else feel.’
Gwen leaned forward, coming to eye level with him. ‘If that was true don't you think we'd have already known about it? I think Jack held back because he understood this was your secret to tell.’
He snorted. ‘Not much of a secret when someone just walks straight up to you and snogs the living daylights out of you.’
‘I think we can forgive Jack for being caught up in the moment.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You can’t hide who you really are. You shouldn't have to. God knows just look at the mess Jack's left us in because of all his secrets. No one's going to think any less of you because you're in love with a man.’
He squirmed visibly. ‘Love is a strong word.’
She fingered the engagement ring on her hand. ‘It's whatever you want it to be. Just don't be afraid to grab it when it comes along.’
‘I tried that. And it ran off with a man in a time travelling police box. I don't know if you're aware, but according to Torchwood's records, he sometimes goes years without making an appearance back on Earth. And he never stays long when he does.’
‘All the more reason to go running after him before he slips away, right? No time to explain?’
He knew what she was doing, trying to justify why Jack took off without so much as a word. He wanted to believe, he just wasn't sure he could. He wanted to believe Jack might have told him some of his secrets if he'd trusted Ianto enough. If he'd loved him.
‘Jack once told me, right when I first met you all, before I even really knew what Torchwood was, that he couldn't die. That he needed the right kind of doctor to fix him. I've been thinking about it ever since. Maybe he's the doctor Jack was referring to. Maybe he only left so he could be cured. He could be back before we know it.’
‘I guess,’ Ianto conceded, hating that tangible sense of hope.
‘Don't you give up on him if you love him. I'm not.’
Title: Hard truths
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: Spoilers for Season 1.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Jack's sudden departure leaves everyone having to face up to their secrets.
It was late and Ianto was tired. It wasn't that he'd done more than he usually did, but somehow it felt more exhausting. He should probably have tried to get an early night, since there was no way of knowing what tomorrow would have in store, and there was every chance now that he might be called upon to assist the rest of the team out in the field. With a man down, they weren't left with a whole lot of options even if perhaps Ianto wouldn't have been their first choice for a replacement field officer.
He'd done stuff out in the field before, perhaps not really here in Cardiff, but he'd had a few… incidents… back in London that had tested him. Nothing he'd signed up for precisely, but all experience was good experience, wasn't it? Maybe this was the chance to prove that he really was one of the team, assuming they still thought otherwise.
There was a gentle knock and Ianto hadn't realised there was anyone still here except him. ‘Still working?’ Gwen asked.
‘Still working,’ Ianto confirmed, letting several manila files drop on the desk with a quiet slap. ‘None of it goes away just because Jack-’ He bit the inside of his cheek rather than finish the sentence. Talking about Jack not being here hurt more than he cared to admit.
Gwen stepped tentatively into Ianto's little piece of fiefdom. ‘Did you know?’
‘Did I know what?’ He knew what Gwen was asking him but he wanted her to say it to him directly and not treat him like a child. Or worse, like the enemy.
‘That Jack knew the Doctor. They said that everyone who worked for Torchwood One was briefed on the Doctor.’
‘You mean that's what Owen and Tosh told you.’ They'd fobbed Gwen off through their own lack of knowledge, claiming it was all Torchwood One business.
Gwen fixed him with an assertive gaze. ‘Are they right? You knew?’
He set down his pen lest he unconsciously snap it in half. ‘No, I didn't know. I knew of the Doctor. It was impossible not to. He was the sole focus of the entire organisation. What he looked like, what he was capable of, what to do if you suspected you'd seen him.’
‘Is he dangerous?’
‘So they'd have us think. I'm not sure what to believe, myself. Except that I can't imagine Jack taking off with a man who was anything less than a good person.’ But then again, what did he really know about Jack? ‘He took that hand thing with him. That's about it.’
Gwen let out a vexed sigh, leaning against his desk. ‘That bloody hand. I swear he was obsessed with it. The two must have been connected. You really didn't know anything more?’
‘No.’ He felt a rush of anger rise up inside him and he wasn't sure if it was Gwen he was angry with for all her prodding questions, or Jack, simply for leaving them. ‘We slept together a few times. That doesn't mean I know anything about him.’ He sighed. ‘I think he preferred it that way.’
Gwen reached out a hand. ‘No. I'm sure that's not it. We all saw the way he… when he came back. That wasn't nothing. I was a little shocked, I'll be honest. I didn't realise you were… I mean, after Lisa…’
‘I didn't just come out of the closet if that's what you're getting at.’ He wasn't gay or bisexual, or whatever, he didn't think. Jack was just someone he wanted to be with. Gender really hadn't come into it.
‘Were you ever going to tell us? You and Jack?’
He chuckled with mirth. ‘Like I ever had a say in it,’ he replied bitterly. ‘He flirts and he carries on and he doesn't care about how it makes anyone else feel.’
Gwen leaned forward, coming to eye level with him. ‘If that was true don't you think we'd have already known about it? I think Jack held back because he understood this was your secret to tell.’
He snorted. ‘Not much of a secret when someone just walks straight up to you and snogs the living daylights out of you.’
‘I think we can forgive Jack for being caught up in the moment.’
‘Maybe.’
‘You can’t hide who you really are. You shouldn't have to. God knows just look at the mess Jack's left us in because of all his secrets. No one's going to think any less of you because you're in love with a man.’
He squirmed visibly. ‘Love is a strong word.’
She fingered the engagement ring on her hand. ‘It's whatever you want it to be. Just don't be afraid to grab it when it comes along.’
‘I tried that. And it ran off with a man in a time travelling police box. I don't know if you're aware, but according to Torchwood's records, he sometimes goes years without making an appearance back on Earth. And he never stays long when he does.’
‘All the more reason to go running after him before he slips away, right? No time to explain?’
He knew what she was doing, trying to justify why Jack took off without so much as a word. He wanted to believe, he just wasn't sure he could. He wanted to believe Jack might have told him some of his secrets if he'd trusted Ianto enough. If he'd loved him.
‘Jack once told me, right when I first met you all, before I even really knew what Torchwood was, that he couldn't die. That he needed the right kind of doctor to fix him. I've been thinking about it ever since. Maybe he's the doctor Jack was referring to. Maybe he only left so he could be cured. He could be back before we know it.’
‘I guess,’ Ianto conceded, hating that tangible sense of hope.
‘Don't you give up on him if you love him. I'm not.’
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