Where the Road Ends
Title: Where the Road Ends
Author: crystalshard
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Warnings: Spoilers for first season and 2x09, "Something Borrowed."
Summary: You can dance, but you never know where the road will end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, it belongs to the BBC.
A/N: Written for miss_zedem. This was supposed to be fluff. Instead it ended up as a slightly angsty Jack introspective. Sorry, Z.
As Jack laid his cheek against Ianto's, he couldn't help but look back towards Gwen. There she was, happier than he'd ever seen her, with the man who loved her with all of his heart. That unalloyed love, that stability, that joy - those were all things that Torchwood - that Jack - couldn't give her. Gwen couldn't live without one or the other, not and stay herself. She needed both, and Rhys and Torchwood were in precarious balance. Jack was sometimes glad that Gwen didn't know how delicate that balance was.
Torchwood and love didn't fit together, he knew. That knowledge still didn't stop him from turning back to press the side of his face against Ianto's, his eyes open. One of them had to know where they were going on the semi-crowded dance floor.
The last time Jack had danced like this in public, he'd been in the warm clutch of the real Captain Jack Harkness. He'd closed his eyes then, knowing that the other man would die the day after their dance and wanting to hold the transient moment in his memories. But this was different - this was the twenty-first century, and no-one would give him and Ianto more than a second glance. He had no idea of Ianto's fate. It could be that the young man was destined to die the next day, or it could be that Ianto would live to see ninety.
Jack had no idea where the road they were on would lead. Oh, Torchwood he knew about, yes. But nothing about the people, nothing about the future of any of them. Including himself. Some day, inevitably, Ianto would come to the end of his road. Jack wouldn't. Jack was a fact, or so the Doctor had told him - something that would last forever, by the will of the universe and one scared, brave, loving girl.
Jack's hand tightened on Ianto's back, pulling him closer as the music played on. He might not be able to give Gwen everything she needed, but he could give something to Ianto. Gwen was the past, unavailable. She'd made her choice. Ianto was the future he had now, warm in his arms, his hand curled against Jack's chest. Ianto, who had snuck in under the radar and surprised him. Ianto, who needed meaning in his life, needed someone to care for. Jack could give him that, for as long as Ianto's road ran with his.
And maybe, someday, he'd be able to accept the silent gift that Ianto was giving him in return. Someday when it wasn't so easy to fall in love.
Slowly, Jack's eyes closed.
Author: crystalshard
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Warnings: Spoilers for first season and 2x09, "Something Borrowed."
Summary: You can dance, but you never know where the road will end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood, it belongs to the BBC.
A/N: Written for miss_zedem. This was supposed to be fluff. Instead it ended up as a slightly angsty Jack introspective. Sorry, Z.
As Jack laid his cheek against Ianto's, he couldn't help but look back towards Gwen. There she was, happier than he'd ever seen her, with the man who loved her with all of his heart. That unalloyed love, that stability, that joy - those were all things that Torchwood - that Jack - couldn't give her. Gwen couldn't live without one or the other, not and stay herself. She needed both, and Rhys and Torchwood were in precarious balance. Jack was sometimes glad that Gwen didn't know how delicate that balance was.
Torchwood and love didn't fit together, he knew. That knowledge still didn't stop him from turning back to press the side of his face against Ianto's, his eyes open. One of them had to know where they were going on the semi-crowded dance floor.
The last time Jack had danced like this in public, he'd been in the warm clutch of the real Captain Jack Harkness. He'd closed his eyes then, knowing that the other man would die the day after their dance and wanting to hold the transient moment in his memories. But this was different - this was the twenty-first century, and no-one would give him and Ianto more than a second glance. He had no idea of Ianto's fate. It could be that the young man was destined to die the next day, or it could be that Ianto would live to see ninety.
Jack had no idea where the road they were on would lead. Oh, Torchwood he knew about, yes. But nothing about the people, nothing about the future of any of them. Including himself. Some day, inevitably, Ianto would come to the end of his road. Jack wouldn't. Jack was a fact, or so the Doctor had told him - something that would last forever, by the will of the universe and one scared, brave, loving girl.
Jack's hand tightened on Ianto's back, pulling him closer as the music played on. He might not be able to give Gwen everything she needed, but he could give something to Ianto. Gwen was the past, unavailable. She'd made her choice. Ianto was the future he had now, warm in his arms, his hand curled against Jack's chest. Ianto, who had snuck in under the radar and surprised him. Ianto, who needed meaning in his life, needed someone to care for. Jack could give him that, for as long as Ianto's road ran with his.
And maybe, someday, he'd be able to accept the silent gift that Ianto was giving him in return. Someday when it wasn't so easy to fall in love.
Slowly, Jack's eyes closed.