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fandomweekly2025-06-15 03:53 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2025-06-15 03:53 pm
Entry tags:
[#262] NEVER TEAR US APART (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #262 - Soulmates
Title: Never tear us apart
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto was beginning to think that Jack was gone forever.
Ianto had his eyes closed as he lay on the sofa. He wasn't napping exactly, but it was a slow day and there was nothing on telly so he let it drone quietly in the background. His niece and nephew were at school, his brother in law had picked up some temporary work at a local scrapyard, and his sister was hoovering upstairs. He felt a bit like a third wheel, occupying space in their house, but it had become accepted that Ianto was as welcome to live under their roof as anyone.
He could have gone home to his old flat now that it seemed unlikely anyone was going to attempt to assassinate him, but his sister had been vehement in her demand that he stay with them for as long as he liked. Surprisingly, they didn't drive him as mad as he thought they would, and the comfort of having company twenty four hours a day was somewhat nice. He should probably get a job, he thought, and pay his way. Not that he didn't have the money saved up and was doing just that, but it was just the idea of loafing about the house all day unemployed that gnawed at him just a bit. Tomorrow, he decided, he'd start looking for something to fill his days. What that might be, he had no idea. How did you do any job after Torchwood?
He closed his eyes again, making that tomorrow's headache, until there was a loud, insistent knocking at the front door. It had a constant, slightly panicked rhythm to it so he got up and went to the door to see what the fuss was about. He slid off the latch and pulled it inward, nearly falling backwards in shock at the person standing on the threshold. Jack.
Jack gasped and his face went ashen as he came face to face with a dead man. ‘Ia… Ianto? Is it really you?’
Don’t be soft, he wanted to say. Obviously. Ianto expected that if he ever saw Jack again he'd simply throw himself at the man and sob with relief. Instead there was a small burst of anger that bubbled up out of him. ‘Where the bloody hell have you been?’
Ianto hadn't noticed the hoover stopping its whirring or the fact that he'd raised his voice. Rhiannon was suddenly calling at him, footsteps shuffling down the hall towards the door. ‘Ianto? Who's at the door?’ She was at his shoulder, coming face to face with Jack. It only took a second before she too gasped. ‘Bloody hell, is that him?’
‘Rhi…’
‘Flipping heck, Tina wasn't joking. He's proper lush.’ Then her face twisted in a scowl. ‘And where have you been, eh? Had Ianto worried sick thinking you were never coming back.’
‘Rhi,’ Ianto said, firmer this time. ‘Could you give us a minute?’
An exasperated huff. ‘Fine.’ She shuffled off back down the hallway but Ianto knew she would only be just out of sight enough that she could still hear every word.
He turned back to Jack who still looked like he'd see a ghost. ‘Ianto, I…’
‘I know. You thought I was dead. Why do you think I've been calling you every day? Every single day,’ he underscored the words. He call Jack first thing when he woke up, last thing before he went to bed, and sometimes deep in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep and all he could think about was wondering where Jack was and if he was okay. Of course Gwen had been calling too, trying to reach Jack but all their calls had gone unanswered.
‘I left with nothing more than the shirt on my back,’ he said, as if that was apology enough.
And the coat on your shoulders Ianto wanted to say, desperate to feel its heavy warmth against his skin. He pulled the door closed behind him as he stepped out onto the front step, sealing them away from prying ears.
‘If I'd thought for even a second that you were alive…’ Jack trailed off.
‘I need a walk,’ Ianto said, moving down towards the gate. He couldn't touch Jack yet though he wanted to so badly. He'd been all Ianto had thought about in the weeks and months since. Jack who meant everything to him. ‘Why now, after all this time?’
‘Gwen. I made contact with her. Wanted to say goodbye before I left and then…’
Then Gwen had dropped the bombshell news that Ianto wasn't as dead as he'd thought. She might have texted him to warn him Jack was coming, Ianto thought. One little text. “Found Jack. He's on his way to yours right now. Completely freaked out. Gwen.” Hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye to Ianto, find out where he was buried and lay flowers.
Jack grabbed his elbow, forcing him to look at Jack. ‘When you died, the whole world ended.’
‘No it didn’t. It went on without me.’ The world looked like it was on a path to ending, but Ianto’s death hadn’t changed that. Jack had stopped it from ending.
Jack's steely blue gaze bore into him. ‘Ianto, do you believe in love at first sight?’
Ianto gave a bitter laugh. ‘No, and neither do you. You can barely say the word love.’ Ianto had given him everything and Jack had given almost nothing in return. It didn’t stop Ianto believing he’d never find anyone like Jack again, but that wasn't the same thing.
Jack’s arms were suddenly all around him, squeezing him tight. He instinctively melded into the familiar contours of Jack's body. He'd dreamt of nothing else for months. Jack here, right where he belonged in the place in Ianto's heart that had room for nothing else.
Jack's cheek pressed wetly against his, tears spilling out as he continued to grip Ianto tight, as if he might slip away once more. ‘I never said it because I just assumed you always knew.’
Title: Never tear us apart
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto was beginning to think that Jack was gone forever.
Ianto had his eyes closed as he lay on the sofa. He wasn't napping exactly, but it was a slow day and there was nothing on telly so he let it drone quietly in the background. His niece and nephew were at school, his brother in law had picked up some temporary work at a local scrapyard, and his sister was hoovering upstairs. He felt a bit like a third wheel, occupying space in their house, but it had become accepted that Ianto was as welcome to live under their roof as anyone.
He could have gone home to his old flat now that it seemed unlikely anyone was going to attempt to assassinate him, but his sister had been vehement in her demand that he stay with them for as long as he liked. Surprisingly, they didn't drive him as mad as he thought they would, and the comfort of having company twenty four hours a day was somewhat nice. He should probably get a job, he thought, and pay his way. Not that he didn't have the money saved up and was doing just that, but it was just the idea of loafing about the house all day unemployed that gnawed at him just a bit. Tomorrow, he decided, he'd start looking for something to fill his days. What that might be, he had no idea. How did you do any job after Torchwood?
He closed his eyes again, making that tomorrow's headache, until there was a loud, insistent knocking at the front door. It had a constant, slightly panicked rhythm to it so he got up and went to the door to see what the fuss was about. He slid off the latch and pulled it inward, nearly falling backwards in shock at the person standing on the threshold. Jack.
Jack gasped and his face went ashen as he came face to face with a dead man. ‘Ia… Ianto? Is it really you?’
Don’t be soft, he wanted to say. Obviously. Ianto expected that if he ever saw Jack again he'd simply throw himself at the man and sob with relief. Instead there was a small burst of anger that bubbled up out of him. ‘Where the bloody hell have you been?’
Ianto hadn't noticed the hoover stopping its whirring or the fact that he'd raised his voice. Rhiannon was suddenly calling at him, footsteps shuffling down the hall towards the door. ‘Ianto? Who's at the door?’ She was at his shoulder, coming face to face with Jack. It only took a second before she too gasped. ‘Bloody hell, is that him?’
‘Rhi…’
‘Flipping heck, Tina wasn't joking. He's proper lush.’ Then her face twisted in a scowl. ‘And where have you been, eh? Had Ianto worried sick thinking you were never coming back.’
‘Rhi,’ Ianto said, firmer this time. ‘Could you give us a minute?’
An exasperated huff. ‘Fine.’ She shuffled off back down the hallway but Ianto knew she would only be just out of sight enough that she could still hear every word.
He turned back to Jack who still looked like he'd see a ghost. ‘Ianto, I…’
‘I know. You thought I was dead. Why do you think I've been calling you every day? Every single day,’ he underscored the words. He call Jack first thing when he woke up, last thing before he went to bed, and sometimes deep in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep and all he could think about was wondering where Jack was and if he was okay. Of course Gwen had been calling too, trying to reach Jack but all their calls had gone unanswered.
‘I left with nothing more than the shirt on my back,’ he said, as if that was apology enough.
And the coat on your shoulders Ianto wanted to say, desperate to feel its heavy warmth against his skin. He pulled the door closed behind him as he stepped out onto the front step, sealing them away from prying ears.
‘If I'd thought for even a second that you were alive…’ Jack trailed off.
‘I need a walk,’ Ianto said, moving down towards the gate. He couldn't touch Jack yet though he wanted to so badly. He'd been all Ianto had thought about in the weeks and months since. Jack who meant everything to him. ‘Why now, after all this time?’
‘Gwen. I made contact with her. Wanted to say goodbye before I left and then…’
Then Gwen had dropped the bombshell news that Ianto wasn't as dead as he'd thought. She might have texted him to warn him Jack was coming, Ianto thought. One little text. “Found Jack. He's on his way to yours right now. Completely freaked out. Gwen.” Hadn’t even bothered to say goodbye to Ianto, find out where he was buried and lay flowers.
Jack grabbed his elbow, forcing him to look at Jack. ‘When you died, the whole world ended.’
‘No it didn’t. It went on without me.’ The world looked like it was on a path to ending, but Ianto’s death hadn’t changed that. Jack had stopped it from ending.
Jack's steely blue gaze bore into him. ‘Ianto, do you believe in love at first sight?’
Ianto gave a bitter laugh. ‘No, and neither do you. You can barely say the word love.’ Ianto had given him everything and Jack had given almost nothing in return. It didn’t stop Ianto believing he’d never find anyone like Jack again, but that wasn't the same thing.
Jack’s arms were suddenly all around him, squeezing him tight. He instinctively melded into the familiar contours of Jack's body. He'd dreamt of nothing else for months. Jack here, right where he belonged in the place in Ianto's heart that had room for nothing else.
Jack's cheek pressed wetly against his, tears spilling out as he continued to grip Ianto tight, as if he might slip away once more. ‘I never said it because I just assumed you always knew.’
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This is so beautiful!