Tangerine: Chapter 9
Title: Tangerine
Chapter: Nine
Words: 1,162
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen
Pairings: Ianto/OMC, Jack/Gwen, Eventual!Jack/Ianto
Summary: AU. After Suzy dies again, Jack doesn't go to speak with Ianto.
Rating: M
Warnings: language; sex; violence
Spoilers: Season 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters
Chapter 8
Jack could barely restrain himself. Ianto was standing at the counter, preparing the morning's coffee giving Jack the chance to watch him from behind. As the young man busied himself either not noticing or ignoring Jack, the captain admired his beautiful figure before fixing his gaze on one spot in particular. What caught his eye was a small but easily identifiable love bite on the back of Ianto's neck. Jack could tell he had been with young Simon again and the two had been making out quite heavily. Although he did not frequently pay for sex, Jack knew that kissing a prostitute, let alone necking with one, was unusual.
As Jack woke from the dead the night before, he was certain he saw love in Ianto's eyes, but the young man once again slipped away. When Jack arrived at the warehouse to help Ianto with the dead creature, he found the Welshman battling a pack of three weevils that were drawn to the corpse. Before Jack could even step in, Ianto had two of them incapacitated and was working on the third. Jack joined in and took down the last one just as Ianto's clean-up crew was arriving. Before they could even step out of their lorry, Ianto had the weevils in body bags, ready for disposal.
Cleaning up alien scenes had always been a massive headache for Jack that usually involved considerable doses of retcon and/or bribing the local police; so when Ianto took over the job nobody wanted, he did not ask any questions. Since Ianto joined the team, Jack never had to cover his tracks because Ianto was quicker, more discreet, and more thorough than he ever was. Watching Ianto navigate, what could have been an epic disaster, as if he were merely ordering lunch made Jack suddenly realize just how much he relied on the young man and just how much he took him for granted.
Ianto was not kidding when he said the men would be discreet. They said nothing, made no eye contact, and loaded all the corpses within a matter of minutes. Bringing out an ultraviolet lamp, Ianto directed them to the blood stains that the men removed with a pressure washer attached to an unmarked tank. Jack was not sure what they were spraying but it was removing all traces of the blood. When they finished, Ianto took one last survey of the scene and, content that everything was ready, handed over an envelope, receiving a curt nod from the crew's leader. As they drove away, Jack glanced at his watch, amazed that the entire thing had taken less than 10 minutes.
Once everything was over, Ianto turned to look at Jack but was met with a dumbfounded stare. While normally bursting with clever one-liners and innuendos, Jack could not think of a single thing to say. Although thoughts rushed through his mind such as you're fucking amazing, where have you been all my life, I've never been so turned on, will you marry me, Jack could not manage to utter anything more than a meek thanks. Ianto flashed a tight, professional smile before retreating to his car and driving off leaving Jack with the epiphany that he was, for the first time in decades, in love.
So the next morning, Jack stood, watching Ianto in his finely tailored suit that contrasted with the red love bite he probably did not know was there. The young man possessed a perfectly groomed, butler-like persona that barely concealed an endearing vulnerability and alluring sexuality, a combination Jack found irresistible. Like so many men in love, Jack Harkness conducted himself in a clumsy almost idiotic manner when he leaned forward and clasped his lips onto Ianto's neck. To his delight the Welshman moaned softly and fell into the embrace, allowing Jack to turn him around and capture him in a passionate kiss.
The kiss did not last long as Ianto placed his hands firmly on Jack's chest and pushed him back. With a slight hitch in his voice and without making eye contact, Ianto spoke, "Please stop, Jack. I realize this is fine for you, but I can't take it anymore. Things have changed."
Jack scrambled for a response, "If this is about Gwen and I, just know that it's nothing. It didn't mean anything."
Ianto nodded sadly, "That's the problem: it never means anything to you."
Before Jack could protest, Owen shouted over the coms, "Jack! You owe me an explanation and physical exam."
Ianto took the opportunity to gather the coffee tray and slip out of the room while Jack begrudgingly headed toward the med lab. Torchwood doctors had been poking and prodding at him for over 100 years while learning absolutely nothing about what makes him come back to life. He only hoped Owen would be merciful and not experiment with ways to kill him like the others had. Although he was nosey and ran far too many tests, Owen finally concluded that he was just as confused as his predecessors as to why Jack would not stay dead.
When Owen finally finished that evening, Jack was about to go find Ianto when he received a call from Detective Swanson about an unusual crime scene. As he arrived to the rundown apartment building, Jack was escorted upstairs to view the corpse. While he inspected the body, the Detective told him about the case, "The victim's name is Dafyd Lewis, a known pimp. This flat is one of his rentboy's. We've interviewed the neighbors and gone over the CCTV to find out that Lewis had been beating the boy, hardly unusual, causing the kid to flee for most of the day. At some point, an intruder slipped in making no noise and out of view of the cameras, cut Lewis' throat, then jabbed him three times in the chest, killing him instantly. Later on, the boy came back, found the body, panicked, and then ran off but not before anonymously calling the police. We're currently trying to track him down to find out what he knows."
"Why'd he come back?"
Swanson looked up from her notes, "Pardon?"
"The boy, why'd he come back to the flat?"
Swanson sighed, "They always do. Pimps like Lewis keep a strangle hold so they're completely dependent."
Jack nodded solemnly, "Who do you think ordered the hit?"
"Oh, we're going through the people that would have motive to want him dead and we've narrowed it down to a couple hundred. As for the hitman, I think we both know who it is."
Jack stood and shook Swanson's hand, "Thanks for calling me. I'll take care of this."
As Jack left, Swanson called after, "See that you do."
Chapter 10
Chapter: Nine
Words: 1,162
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen
Pairings: Ianto/OMC, Jack/Gwen, Eventual!Jack/Ianto
Summary: AU. After Suzy dies again, Jack doesn't go to speak with Ianto.
Rating: M
Warnings: language; sex; violence
Spoilers: Season 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters
Chapter 8
Jack could barely restrain himself. Ianto was standing at the counter, preparing the morning's coffee giving Jack the chance to watch him from behind. As the young man busied himself either not noticing or ignoring Jack, the captain admired his beautiful figure before fixing his gaze on one spot in particular. What caught his eye was a small but easily identifiable love bite on the back of Ianto's neck. Jack could tell he had been with young Simon again and the two had been making out quite heavily. Although he did not frequently pay for sex, Jack knew that kissing a prostitute, let alone necking with one, was unusual.
As Jack woke from the dead the night before, he was certain he saw love in Ianto's eyes, but the young man once again slipped away. When Jack arrived at the warehouse to help Ianto with the dead creature, he found the Welshman battling a pack of three weevils that were drawn to the corpse. Before Jack could even step in, Ianto had two of them incapacitated and was working on the third. Jack joined in and took down the last one just as Ianto's clean-up crew was arriving. Before they could even step out of their lorry, Ianto had the weevils in body bags, ready for disposal.
Cleaning up alien scenes had always been a massive headache for Jack that usually involved considerable doses of retcon and/or bribing the local police; so when Ianto took over the job nobody wanted, he did not ask any questions. Since Ianto joined the team, Jack never had to cover his tracks because Ianto was quicker, more discreet, and more thorough than he ever was. Watching Ianto navigate, what could have been an epic disaster, as if he were merely ordering lunch made Jack suddenly realize just how much he relied on the young man and just how much he took him for granted.
Ianto was not kidding when he said the men would be discreet. They said nothing, made no eye contact, and loaded all the corpses within a matter of minutes. Bringing out an ultraviolet lamp, Ianto directed them to the blood stains that the men removed with a pressure washer attached to an unmarked tank. Jack was not sure what they were spraying but it was removing all traces of the blood. When they finished, Ianto took one last survey of the scene and, content that everything was ready, handed over an envelope, receiving a curt nod from the crew's leader. As they drove away, Jack glanced at his watch, amazed that the entire thing had taken less than 10 minutes.
Once everything was over, Ianto turned to look at Jack but was met with a dumbfounded stare. While normally bursting with clever one-liners and innuendos, Jack could not think of a single thing to say. Although thoughts rushed through his mind such as you're fucking amazing, where have you been all my life, I've never been so turned on, will you marry me, Jack could not manage to utter anything more than a meek thanks. Ianto flashed a tight, professional smile before retreating to his car and driving off leaving Jack with the epiphany that he was, for the first time in decades, in love.
So the next morning, Jack stood, watching Ianto in his finely tailored suit that contrasted with the red love bite he probably did not know was there. The young man possessed a perfectly groomed, butler-like persona that barely concealed an endearing vulnerability and alluring sexuality, a combination Jack found irresistible. Like so many men in love, Jack Harkness conducted himself in a clumsy almost idiotic manner when he leaned forward and clasped his lips onto Ianto's neck. To his delight the Welshman moaned softly and fell into the embrace, allowing Jack to turn him around and capture him in a passionate kiss.
The kiss did not last long as Ianto placed his hands firmly on Jack's chest and pushed him back. With a slight hitch in his voice and without making eye contact, Ianto spoke, "Please stop, Jack. I realize this is fine for you, but I can't take it anymore. Things have changed."
Jack scrambled for a response, "If this is about Gwen and I, just know that it's nothing. It didn't mean anything."
Ianto nodded sadly, "That's the problem: it never means anything to you."
Before Jack could protest, Owen shouted over the coms, "Jack! You owe me an explanation and physical exam."
Ianto took the opportunity to gather the coffee tray and slip out of the room while Jack begrudgingly headed toward the med lab. Torchwood doctors had been poking and prodding at him for over 100 years while learning absolutely nothing about what makes him come back to life. He only hoped Owen would be merciful and not experiment with ways to kill him like the others had. Although he was nosey and ran far too many tests, Owen finally concluded that he was just as confused as his predecessors as to why Jack would not stay dead.
When Owen finally finished that evening, Jack was about to go find Ianto when he received a call from Detective Swanson about an unusual crime scene. As he arrived to the rundown apartment building, Jack was escorted upstairs to view the corpse. While he inspected the body, the Detective told him about the case, "The victim's name is Dafyd Lewis, a known pimp. This flat is one of his rentboy's. We've interviewed the neighbors and gone over the CCTV to find out that Lewis had been beating the boy, hardly unusual, causing the kid to flee for most of the day. At some point, an intruder slipped in making no noise and out of view of the cameras, cut Lewis' throat, then jabbed him three times in the chest, killing him instantly. Later on, the boy came back, found the body, panicked, and then ran off but not before anonymously calling the police. We're currently trying to track him down to find out what he knows."
"Why'd he come back?"
Swanson looked up from her notes, "Pardon?"
"The boy, why'd he come back to the flat?"
Swanson sighed, "They always do. Pimps like Lewis keep a strangle hold so they're completely dependent."
Jack nodded solemnly, "Who do you think ordered the hit?"
"Oh, we're going through the people that would have motive to want him dead and we've narrowed it down to a couple hundred. As for the hitman, I think we both know who it is."
Jack stood and shook Swanson's hand, "Thanks for calling me. I'll take care of this."
As Jack left, Swanson called after, "See that you do."
Chapter 10