Moving On - 03/18
Title: Moving On
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: R
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. None for s3.
Summary: Lisa is gone, and Ianto is starting to move on with his life, but it isn't always as easy as it sounds.
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt and Turning Point.
Thanks to: My sister angelzbabe1989 for stepping in as beta, morbid_sparks for all of her support and idea bouncing through the writing of this, and pinkfairy727 for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
For previous chapters see Master list for this fic
Chapter Three
Tosh picked up another item from the box of unidentified items from the archives that Ianto had brought up for her to play with while things were quiet.
Ianto had been spending even more time than usual in the archives in the past several days - and Tosh knew that it was nothing to do with his admittedly strong work ethic, and everything do to with avoiding Jack.
The tension between the pair of them was running high, and the rest of the team could all feel it; Jack and Ianto not getting along threw the whole atmosphere of the Hub out of kilter.
If you weren’t familiar with their normal behaviour, it might not be immediately obvious that there was a problem; they were still perfectly civil to one another whenever Ianto made an appearance in the main area of the Hub, consummately professional in all of their necessary interactions; but to those that knew them, something was clearly not right.
They had even admitted as much to Tosh, they just hadn’t elaborated. She didn’t want to pry, but she couldn’t deny that she was intensely curious about what had happened. She could only imagine that it was something serious, as she just couldn’t see anything less ripping them apart like this - they’d been such close friends for so many months, seen each other through so much. This couldn’t just be some minor disagreement over something inconsequential.
Tosh only wished she knew some way to help; she hated seeing her two friends so uncomfortable in each others’ presence. But if neither of them approached her to talk about it, she wasn’t going to push.
She was drawn out of her contemplations by Ianto placing a new mug of coffee on the edge of the table she was working at. “Hey,” she said, stopping him before he could walk away. “How are you getting along with your great sort-out down there?”
Ianto shrugged one shoulder. “Slowly but surely,” he replied. “It’s beginning to look like there might eventually be an end in sight. How’s it coming with the latest mysteries?”
Tosh frowned and held up the item she’d removed from the box a short time before. “I’m hoping I actually manage to work out something about this one. I’ve had no luck with any of the other things from this box so far. Best as I can tell they’re just space junk.”
She had actually managed to make a tentative identification of a few of the artefacts Ianto had provided her with, which she hoped was helpful to Ianto in organising them all. It was definitely helping her - she was sure the solution to the problem she’d been having with a bug in her new prediction program would come to her if she concentrated on other things for long enough.
Ianto smiled at her but Tosh could tell his heart wasn’t in it; it didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, that might well be all that they are. I’m sure you’ll figure it out if anything actually has a use.”
He nodded slightly. “Well, I better get back to it. I was thinking the deli for lunch today, by the way, so if you have any objections, discuss them with the others and make another decision.”
Tosh nodded back at him as he turned to go finish distributing the caffeine.
Absorbed in the tests she was running on the latest artefact, Tosh barely noticed the time pass and the next thing she knew Ianto was back at her side, a paper wrapped package in his hand. “Do you want your lunch here, or are you coming up and eating in the conference room?”
She rolled her shoulders, easing out the kink she hadn’t realised was forming, and took off her glasses. “I’ll come up,” she told him, setting them down carefully at the side of her workspace. “Just give me a minute to make sure this won’t blow up on us during lunch.”
Tosh was slightly surprised when she made it up to the conference room a couple of minutes later that Ianto was actually there too, tucking into a thick sandwich. He hadn’t been eating with them for the last few days, preferring to take his lunch and go off to the tourist office or some other area of the Hub with it. She didn’t think he’d ever taken it to the archives - she knew he’d cleaned up down there but that couldn’t be hygienic - but she couldn’t be sure.
She hoped it was a positive sign that he was eating with them again, even if he was almost pointedly not looking at Jack and barely participating in the conversation. It was just so difficult to tell with Ianto; if he didn’t chose to tell you what he was feeling and struggling with, it was all but impossible to tell.
Her investigation took up the rest of the afternoon, but she did at least have the satisfaction of knowing that by the time she was even vaguely considering leaving, she had tentatively identified the artefact as some sort of futuristic educational toy for children.
She quickly wrote up a short summary note that Ianto could attach to it in the archives - the main report would be filed separately - and, double checking that she had the archive identification code correct, set the artefact aside with the others from the box.
There was only one item left in the bottom of the box. Tosh knew she shouldn’t really start working on it now - it was definitely going home time - but she couldn’t resist taking a quick look.
She picked up the last item by the chain attached and was surprised to find that it did actually have a little information written on the label hanging off it; none of the items from the box so far had had anything other than an identification code and occasionally a date and place found.
The team that had found this artefact in the 30s, however, had at least run a few scans, and noted the results on the identification tag in addition to the date and a list of the other items it had been found with. ‘Abnormal readings on routine activity scans’ didn’t tell her much, but it was better than nothing.
The gem at the end of the chain glinted slightly as she rested it in the palm of her hand.
It was… inviting. Tempting. It almost felt like the shiny green stone was… calling to her. Even though the idea seemed impossible - despite everything she’d seen on the job in the last several years.
Tosh fought off the urges assaulting her brain and determinedly put the trinket down on her worktable. She couldn’t let it get to her; it would only lead to misery, she was sure of it. Look at what had happened last time.
Taking a deep breath, and pushing the little voice in her head that was telling her to pick the gem back up again to the back of her mind, she stepped away from the table. She was going home, and the artefact was staying here.
She would deal with it in the morning, and she would be careful not to get too close, not to let it get inside her head.
She climbed the steps up to the office area to collect her coat, calling out a goodbye to Jack who was looking absently thoughtful over a small stack of paperwork.
Without even realising it, her feet took her back down to her worktable, and she picked up the gem again, tugging off the archives tag and slipping the stone, chain and all, into her pocket.
The part of her brain that was still thinking clearly was screaming at her to put it back down, leave it well enough alone. There was a very good reason Jack had implemented the ‘no tech to be taken out of the Hub without permission’ rule, even if he didn’t enforce it particularly well. Or at all, unless you counted getting mad at them when he eventually discovered what had been done.
The part of her brain that was under the sway of the mysterious artefact wasn’t listening to her protestations, though, and she walked right out of the Hub with it still tucked away in her pocket, the calm on her face masking the battle within.
The whole way home, her hand kept sneaking into her pocket almost of its own volition to caress the smooth stone. The team who had discovered it in the 1930s had been right about one thing: there was something definitely not normal about this, even if you discounted the fact that it had appeared through the Rift.
The logical part of her mind, the part that was struggling hard - and failing - to regain control, wanted to turn around, go back to the Hub, and run a scan for psychic energy on it. The numbers would be - she was sure - sky high. And she suspected that it would show similarities to a few other items they had readings on already. Several of which were stored in the secure archive that only Jack knew the access code for - well, and Ianto, Tosh suspected.
But she couldn’t go back and find out for sure, because the gem - the amulet, really, if she was going to give it a more accurate name - was still in control. She wasn’t entirely sure what it wanted from her - and since when had she started attributing wants and desires to pieces of rock? - but she knew it wasn’t going to let her go until she did it.
Chapter Four
As always, comments and concrit are loved!
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: R
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. None for s3.
Summary: Lisa is gone, and Ianto is starting to move on with his life, but it isn't always as easy as it sounds.
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt and Turning Point.
Thanks to: My sister angelzbabe1989 for stepping in as beta, morbid_sparks for all of her support and idea bouncing through the writing of this, and pinkfairy727 for cheerleading even when she doesn't know what happens.
For previous chapters see Master list for this fic
Chapter Three
Tosh picked up another item from the box of unidentified items from the archives that Ianto had brought up for her to play with while things were quiet.
Ianto had been spending even more time than usual in the archives in the past several days - and Tosh knew that it was nothing to do with his admittedly strong work ethic, and everything do to with avoiding Jack.
The tension between the pair of them was running high, and the rest of the team could all feel it; Jack and Ianto not getting along threw the whole atmosphere of the Hub out of kilter.
If you weren’t familiar with their normal behaviour, it might not be immediately obvious that there was a problem; they were still perfectly civil to one another whenever Ianto made an appearance in the main area of the Hub, consummately professional in all of their necessary interactions; but to those that knew them, something was clearly not right.
They had even admitted as much to Tosh, they just hadn’t elaborated. She didn’t want to pry, but she couldn’t deny that she was intensely curious about what had happened. She could only imagine that it was something serious, as she just couldn’t see anything less ripping them apart like this - they’d been such close friends for so many months, seen each other through so much. This couldn’t just be some minor disagreement over something inconsequential.
Tosh only wished she knew some way to help; she hated seeing her two friends so uncomfortable in each others’ presence. But if neither of them approached her to talk about it, she wasn’t going to push.
She was drawn out of her contemplations by Ianto placing a new mug of coffee on the edge of the table she was working at. “Hey,” she said, stopping him before he could walk away. “How are you getting along with your great sort-out down there?”
Ianto shrugged one shoulder. “Slowly but surely,” he replied. “It’s beginning to look like there might eventually be an end in sight. How’s it coming with the latest mysteries?”
Tosh frowned and held up the item she’d removed from the box a short time before. “I’m hoping I actually manage to work out something about this one. I’ve had no luck with any of the other things from this box so far. Best as I can tell they’re just space junk.”
She had actually managed to make a tentative identification of a few of the artefacts Ianto had provided her with, which she hoped was helpful to Ianto in organising them all. It was definitely helping her - she was sure the solution to the problem she’d been having with a bug in her new prediction program would come to her if she concentrated on other things for long enough.
Ianto smiled at her but Tosh could tell his heart wasn’t in it; it didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, that might well be all that they are. I’m sure you’ll figure it out if anything actually has a use.”
He nodded slightly. “Well, I better get back to it. I was thinking the deli for lunch today, by the way, so if you have any objections, discuss them with the others and make another decision.”
Tosh nodded back at him as he turned to go finish distributing the caffeine.
Absorbed in the tests she was running on the latest artefact, Tosh barely noticed the time pass and the next thing she knew Ianto was back at her side, a paper wrapped package in his hand. “Do you want your lunch here, or are you coming up and eating in the conference room?”
She rolled her shoulders, easing out the kink she hadn’t realised was forming, and took off her glasses. “I’ll come up,” she told him, setting them down carefully at the side of her workspace. “Just give me a minute to make sure this won’t blow up on us during lunch.”
Tosh was slightly surprised when she made it up to the conference room a couple of minutes later that Ianto was actually there too, tucking into a thick sandwich. He hadn’t been eating with them for the last few days, preferring to take his lunch and go off to the tourist office or some other area of the Hub with it. She didn’t think he’d ever taken it to the archives - she knew he’d cleaned up down there but that couldn’t be hygienic - but she couldn’t be sure.
She hoped it was a positive sign that he was eating with them again, even if he was almost pointedly not looking at Jack and barely participating in the conversation. It was just so difficult to tell with Ianto; if he didn’t chose to tell you what he was feeling and struggling with, it was all but impossible to tell.
Her investigation took up the rest of the afternoon, but she did at least have the satisfaction of knowing that by the time she was even vaguely considering leaving, she had tentatively identified the artefact as some sort of futuristic educational toy for children.
She quickly wrote up a short summary note that Ianto could attach to it in the archives - the main report would be filed separately - and, double checking that she had the archive identification code correct, set the artefact aside with the others from the box.
There was only one item left in the bottom of the box. Tosh knew she shouldn’t really start working on it now - it was definitely going home time - but she couldn’t resist taking a quick look.
She picked up the last item by the chain attached and was surprised to find that it did actually have a little information written on the label hanging off it; none of the items from the box so far had had anything other than an identification code and occasionally a date and place found.
The team that had found this artefact in the 30s, however, had at least run a few scans, and noted the results on the identification tag in addition to the date and a list of the other items it had been found with. ‘Abnormal readings on routine activity scans’ didn’t tell her much, but it was better than nothing.
The gem at the end of the chain glinted slightly as she rested it in the palm of her hand.
It was… inviting. Tempting. It almost felt like the shiny green stone was… calling to her. Even though the idea seemed impossible - despite everything she’d seen on the job in the last several years.
Tosh fought off the urges assaulting her brain and determinedly put the trinket down on her worktable. She couldn’t let it get to her; it would only lead to misery, she was sure of it. Look at what had happened last time.
Taking a deep breath, and pushing the little voice in her head that was telling her to pick the gem back up again to the back of her mind, she stepped away from the table. She was going home, and the artefact was staying here.
She would deal with it in the morning, and she would be careful not to get too close, not to let it get inside her head.
She climbed the steps up to the office area to collect her coat, calling out a goodbye to Jack who was looking absently thoughtful over a small stack of paperwork.
Without even realising it, her feet took her back down to her worktable, and she picked up the gem again, tugging off the archives tag and slipping the stone, chain and all, into her pocket.
The part of her brain that was still thinking clearly was screaming at her to put it back down, leave it well enough alone. There was a very good reason Jack had implemented the ‘no tech to be taken out of the Hub without permission’ rule, even if he didn’t enforce it particularly well. Or at all, unless you counted getting mad at them when he eventually discovered what had been done.
The part of her brain that was under the sway of the mysterious artefact wasn’t listening to her protestations, though, and she walked right out of the Hub with it still tucked away in her pocket, the calm on her face masking the battle within.
The whole way home, her hand kept sneaking into her pocket almost of its own volition to caress the smooth stone. The team who had discovered it in the 1930s had been right about one thing: there was something definitely not normal about this, even if you discounted the fact that it had appeared through the Rift.
The logical part of her mind, the part that was struggling hard - and failing - to regain control, wanted to turn around, go back to the Hub, and run a scan for psychic energy on it. The numbers would be - she was sure - sky high. And she suspected that it would show similarities to a few other items they had readings on already. Several of which were stored in the secure archive that only Jack knew the access code for - well, and Ianto, Tosh suspected.
But she couldn’t go back and find out for sure, because the gem - the amulet, really, if she was going to give it a more accurate name - was still in control. She wasn’t entirely sure what it wanted from her - and since when had she started attributing wants and desires to pieces of rock? - but she knew it wasn’t going to let her go until she did it.
Chapter Four
As always, comments and concrit are loved!