fandomweekly | [#117] Forever After (Torchwood)

Theme Prompt: #117 – Happily Ever After
Title: Forever After
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG / None
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Discovering his immortality had left Jack feeling like he was doomed to a life of eternal loneliness. They Ianto Jones came into his life. Set in my Through Time and Space ‘verse.

When he’d first come to the realisation that he was doomed to live forever, ageing so slowly it would barely be noticeable even to himself, the shock had numbed Jack to the depths of his being. Forever was such an unimaginably long time; how could anyone be expected to endure the passage of millions, maybe even billions of years without losing their sanity? It would be torture, century upon century of loneliness and isolation, because his immortality would inevitably set him apart from even the most long-lived people in the universe. He could expect to be shunned by most of them, if the Doctor’s attitude towards him was any indication.

A man who was incapable of staying dead didn’t have much to look forward to beyond that endless round of death and resurrection. While everyone else developed friendships, embarked on romantic relations, perhaps raised families, and eventually grew old and died, he would just carry on, largely unchanged, but slowly withering away inside. It was hard to imagine a bleaker prospect.

Jack was still mostly human, despite having been born on another world, several thousand years in the future. He needed companionship, to interact with other people, to have friends, to love and to be loved in return. Being immortal just complicated such matters. It was necessary to hide the truth about himself, simply because most people wouldn’t understand, and those that did would seek to exploit him, just as Torchwood had in the early days.

Still, he couldn’t have avoided people even if he’d wanted to. There were his Torchwood colleagues over the years, many of whom he considered friends, and some who became lovers. There were the men he served alongside during two world wars, and the civilians he met at dances, in pubs and clubs, or on the street. He watched people pair off, and he envied them. His own relationships could never last. There could be no Happily Ever After for the only being in the universe who would outlive the stars.

Then Torchwood One fell, and Ianto Jones came into Jack’s life. Fair to say, it was lust at first sight. Ianto was pretty to look at, while his deep voice and Welsh vowels sent shivers through every inch of Jack’s body. There were a lot of ups and downs that don’t need to be rehashed, a lot of misunderstandings and betrayals, and a lot of deaths, most of them Jack’s.

Looking back, none of those things were quite as important as they seemed at the time, although all of them were perhaps necessary in their way. Cause and effect are tricky things to juggle. It’s entirely possible that if one tiny, seemingly insignificant detail had been altered, this version of Jack’s life might never have happened.

“Where to now?” he asked as they left the planet Morbeninx, having successfully reunited a family who’d been separated during the evacuation of their doomed homeworld.

“Does it matter?” Ianto asked from where he was relaxing in one of the comfy chairs set around the walls of the console room. In a minute he’d get up and make some coffee, but right now he just wanted to be off his feet. The last few days had been quite hectic. “I think we’ve earned ourselves a break, maybe somewhere with a beach. The rest of the universe isn’t going anywhere.”

“Feeling your age, are you?” Jack teased, sauntering over to join his husband, and dropping into the adjacent chair.

Ianto snorted. “Says the oldest person in the room. I feel as young as ever, but I’m not the energizer bunny. I’m tired and my feet hurt.” Kicking off his shoes, Ianto yawned and stretched. “Evacuating half a planet would tire anyone.”

“We’re not just anyone though.”

“No, we’re the immortal righters of wrong.” Ianto grinned at Jack. “I suppose I should be grateful you haven’t started dressing in Spandex and a Superman cape.”

“Now there’s an idea! We could wear masks and everything!”

‘Such attire could be provided quite easily if you should wish it,’ their TARDIS informed them.

“I think not. Jack doesn’t need to draw even more attention to himself.”

Jack pouted. “It was your idea!”

“I wasn’t suggesting you try it, quite the opposite, in fact. Of course, if you want to dress like that the next time we visit the Vegas Galaxy, I wouldn’t object.”

“I could design costumes for both of us!”

Ianto inclined his head. “You could, although I won’t promise to wear mine.”

“Spoilsport.”

“Someone has to maintain a sense of decorum around here, and it’s never going to be you.”

“But you love me anyway.” Jack had no doubts on that score.

“I do,” Ianto agreed.

“And I love you.”

“I should hope so. Coffee?”

“Have I ever said no to your coffee?”

“Not that I recall.” Levering himself out of his comfy chair, Ianto padded barefoot across to the old coffee machine, tucked away in an alcove, and set the coffee to brewing before getting two mugs out of the cupboard. Filling them with the rich, fragrant brew, he carried them back and set them on the recessed coasters set into the table’s surface.

Jack frowned. “No cookies?”

“If you want cookies, you can fetch them; I’ve done my part. You can’t expect me to do everything. The secret to a good relationship is to share responsibilities.” It wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation, and it wouldn’t be the last. As Jack trotted off to fetch the cookies, Ianto sipped his coffee and smiled to himself. There was a lot to be said for the comfort of familiarity.

“We have chocolate Hobnobs and Jaffa Cakes,” Jack said on his return, dumping everything on the table. “Help yourself. I was thinking maybe Lavellineau.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“Our next destination. It’s a lot like Hawaii, sunshine and endless sandy beaches.”

“Sounds the perfect place to unwind.”

“It is.” Jack smiled at his husband; they’d both found their Happily Ever After.

The End