Yesterday Is But Today's Memory - 9/19+Interlude
Title: Yesterday Is But Today's Memory
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: R
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Takes place post 2x05 'Adam', but mentions briefly minor info from later s2 eps. AU
Summary: It wasn’t the lost days that were really giving Ianto Jones nightmares. It was the fact that ever since, he’d suddenly been having flashes from another period of his life he’d thought was lost forever - his first ten years.
Warning: Some chapters of this fic will contain material some may find offensive. To go into more detail would be spoilery for the plot, but DO NOT READ if you are easily offended.
Thanks to: My wonderful betas morbid_sparks, cazmalfoy and angelzbabe1989, who talked me into writing this, then held my hand while I worked through the plot and filled all its holes.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Nine
Given that neither Jack nor Ianto could even be quite sure that John would get the message, they had no idea when or if he might turn up.
They had requested in the message that, if was going to come, he should come to the Hub; they knew also that he if he checked the location of their transmission he could identify it as being inside the Hub, and simply follow those spatial co-ordinates to find them.
Taking all of this into consideration, they were unwilling to leave until either he arrived or it became obvious that he wasn’t coming.
They didn’t even particularly relish the idea of going to sleep - who knew what John could get up to in the Hub if he arrived while they weren’t paying attention. Under normal circumstances, there were intruder alerts that would sound the moment he arrived, but Tosh had wired the alert system into all of their mobile phones while Jack had been away - something Jack had fully embraced as a good idea on his return - so that particular alarm had been temporarily disabled.
Jack had just convinced Ianto to take an early evening nap on the sofa while he kept watch beside him when a floaty red-orange glow appeared in the middle of the Hub, next to the base of the water tower. Recognising it immediately, Jack shifted to stand up, waking Ianto where he had started to doze off on his shoulder.
Ianto startled for a second, looking around the Hub and spotting the disturbance. They were both on their feet, hand in hand and ready, when a shape materialised in the swirling light and solidified into John Hart.
The glimmer dissipated behind him as he took a step forward and grinned. “Let me guess, you changed your mind about that orgy?”
Ianto shot him a withering look. “Don’t flatter yourself. If you weren’t possibly in possession of some information very important to me, you would never have heard from either of us again.”
“Is that right, Eye Candy?” John smirked.
“That’s right,” Jack said firmly.
“So what makes you think that I have this information you’re looking for? Or that I’ll just give it to you if I do?” John swaggered over to meet them.
“You might do well to remember that, without us, you would probably be blown into little tiny pieces scattered through the Rift right now,” Ianto said scathingly. “And as to why we think you know something, we’ll get to that in due course.”
“Ooh, I’d forgotten how bossy you could be, Eye Candy. I like it.” John’s grin was almost feral as he gave Ianto a blatant once over.
Ianto glared back. “As flattering as your little nickname is, I rather prefer Ianto.”
“Alright, Ee-yan-toe,” John drawled, drawing the name out and mangling the vowels more thoroughly than Ianto had ever heard. “Why don’t you get on with telling me why you are so graciously allowing me to be here, then I’ll decide if I want to help.”
Jack and Ianto shared a look, and then gestured for John to lead to the way to the boardroom. They sat close to each other at one end of the table; John sprawled in a chair at the other.
Ianto shot an entreating look at Jack, hoping that his lover would be willing to shoulder the brunt of the storytelling; Jack knew John much better, and might be able to use that knowledge to choose the details to tell that would be most likely to ensure his help.
“Basically,” Jack started, giving Ianto a small half-smile, “Ianto isn’t actually from around here.”
John looked between them sceptically. “Could’ve fooled me. You definitely sound like you’re from around here.”
Ianto inclined his head. “Well, I have lived here for as long as I can remember, but what I remember only goes back as far as being ten years old.”
“How do you know you’re not from here then?” John asked. “And what does any of this have to do with me?”
“When he says he doesn’t remember anything before he was ten, that isn’t 100% accurate. Until a few weeks ago, he didn’t remember a thing, but since then, that’s been changing.”
Jack took a breath. “Something happened here a few weeks back; we don’t know what but that isn’t really important. What is important is that ever since, Ianto has been having flashes of memory from his childhood - flashes that make it very clear that he wasn’t living in 20th Century Cardiff.”
John shrugged. “I’m still not seeing how this relates to me.”
Ianto narrowed his eyes at him. “We’re getting to that.” Jack’s hand closed over Ianto’s and squeezed gently, giving Ianto the impetus to continue the story himself. “A lot of the moments I’ve remembered have shown me time spent in captivity of some sort, held by creatures I’ve never seen before. I have no idea how long I spent there, but I do remember some of being rescued.”
John still looked distinctly uninterested.
“You were there,” Jack said abruptly. “When Ianto was rescued, you were there, with an Agency squad.”
John sat up a little straighter at Jack’s words. “I was?”
Jack nodded. “Ianto remembered your face.”
John thought for a second. “I think I remember the raid you’re talking about, but what sort of information do you think I have?”
“Anything that might help us find out more about where and when Ianto was born.”
“Sorry,” John said, “don’t have a clue. I wasn’t involved in the processing of the victims after the initial raid.”
Jack and Ianto’s faces fell.
“I do, however,” John continued, “know where I could find out.”
Chapter Ten
Comments and concrit welcomed - comments are love!! &hearts
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Rating: R
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Takes place post 2x05 'Adam', but mentions briefly minor info from later s2 eps. AU
Summary: It wasn’t the lost days that were really giving Ianto Jones nightmares. It was the fact that ever since, he’d suddenly been having flashes from another period of his life he’d thought was lost forever - his first ten years.
Warning: Some chapters of this fic will contain material some may find offensive. To go into more detail would be spoilery for the plot, but DO NOT READ if you are easily offended.
Thanks to: My wonderful betas morbid_sparks, cazmalfoy and angelzbabe1989, who talked me into writing this, then held my hand while I worked through the plot and filled all its holes.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Nine
Given that neither Jack nor Ianto could even be quite sure that John would get the message, they had no idea when or if he might turn up.
They had requested in the message that, if was going to come, he should come to the Hub; they knew also that he if he checked the location of their transmission he could identify it as being inside the Hub, and simply follow those spatial co-ordinates to find them.
Taking all of this into consideration, they were unwilling to leave until either he arrived or it became obvious that he wasn’t coming.
They didn’t even particularly relish the idea of going to sleep - who knew what John could get up to in the Hub if he arrived while they weren’t paying attention. Under normal circumstances, there were intruder alerts that would sound the moment he arrived, but Tosh had wired the alert system into all of their mobile phones while Jack had been away - something Jack had fully embraced as a good idea on his return - so that particular alarm had been temporarily disabled.
Jack had just convinced Ianto to take an early evening nap on the sofa while he kept watch beside him when a floaty red-orange glow appeared in the middle of the Hub, next to the base of the water tower. Recognising it immediately, Jack shifted to stand up, waking Ianto where he had started to doze off on his shoulder.
Ianto startled for a second, looking around the Hub and spotting the disturbance. They were both on their feet, hand in hand and ready, when a shape materialised in the swirling light and solidified into John Hart.
The glimmer dissipated behind him as he took a step forward and grinned. “Let me guess, you changed your mind about that orgy?”
Ianto shot him a withering look. “Don’t flatter yourself. If you weren’t possibly in possession of some information very important to me, you would never have heard from either of us again.”
“Is that right, Eye Candy?” John smirked.
“That’s right,” Jack said firmly.
“So what makes you think that I have this information you’re looking for? Or that I’ll just give it to you if I do?” John swaggered over to meet them.
“You might do well to remember that, without us, you would probably be blown into little tiny pieces scattered through the Rift right now,” Ianto said scathingly. “And as to why we think you know something, we’ll get to that in due course.”
“Ooh, I’d forgotten how bossy you could be, Eye Candy. I like it.” John’s grin was almost feral as he gave Ianto a blatant once over.
Ianto glared back. “As flattering as your little nickname is, I rather prefer Ianto.”
“Alright, Ee-yan-toe,” John drawled, drawing the name out and mangling the vowels more thoroughly than Ianto had ever heard. “Why don’t you get on with telling me why you are so graciously allowing me to be here, then I’ll decide if I want to help.”
Jack and Ianto shared a look, and then gestured for John to lead to the way to the boardroom. They sat close to each other at one end of the table; John sprawled in a chair at the other.
Ianto shot an entreating look at Jack, hoping that his lover would be willing to shoulder the brunt of the storytelling; Jack knew John much better, and might be able to use that knowledge to choose the details to tell that would be most likely to ensure his help.
“Basically,” Jack started, giving Ianto a small half-smile, “Ianto isn’t actually from around here.”
John looked between them sceptically. “Could’ve fooled me. You definitely sound like you’re from around here.”
Ianto inclined his head. “Well, I have lived here for as long as I can remember, but what I remember only goes back as far as being ten years old.”
“How do you know you’re not from here then?” John asked. “And what does any of this have to do with me?”
“When he says he doesn’t remember anything before he was ten, that isn’t 100% accurate. Until a few weeks ago, he didn’t remember a thing, but since then, that’s been changing.”
Jack took a breath. “Something happened here a few weeks back; we don’t know what but that isn’t really important. What is important is that ever since, Ianto has been having flashes of memory from his childhood - flashes that make it very clear that he wasn’t living in 20th Century Cardiff.”
John shrugged. “I’m still not seeing how this relates to me.”
Ianto narrowed his eyes at him. “We’re getting to that.” Jack’s hand closed over Ianto’s and squeezed gently, giving Ianto the impetus to continue the story himself. “A lot of the moments I’ve remembered have shown me time spent in captivity of some sort, held by creatures I’ve never seen before. I have no idea how long I spent there, but I do remember some of being rescued.”
John still looked distinctly uninterested.
“You were there,” Jack said abruptly. “When Ianto was rescued, you were there, with an Agency squad.”
John sat up a little straighter at Jack’s words. “I was?”
Jack nodded. “Ianto remembered your face.”
John thought for a second. “I think I remember the raid you’re talking about, but what sort of information do you think I have?”
“Anything that might help us find out more about where and when Ianto was born.”
“Sorry,” John said, “don’t have a clue. I wasn’t involved in the processing of the victims after the initial raid.”
Jack and Ianto’s faces fell.
“I do, however,” John continued, “know where I could find out.”
Chapter Ten
Comments and concrit welcomed - comments are love!! &hearts