verasteine: Rational (PG-13)
Title: Rational
Author: verasteine
Challenge: fear
Rating: T (PG-13)
Spoilers: none
Warnings: none
Summary: Jack discovers Ianto's afraid of something late one night (couldn't put it better, sorry!)
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: they are not mine, I make no money of them, and intend no infringement.
A/N: this is the result of walking home one miserable Sunday night in the rain and dark. It's a classic, I know, but I couldn't resist. Also, I wanted Ianto to have a good reason for his fear. I should warn this is completely and utterly fluffy. Enjoy!
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Something woke him and he didn't know what. As he looked around Ianto's darkened bedroom, with the alarm clock on the nightstand blinking back 2.37 in red digits, he heard a faint rumble in the distance. A bright light lit up the world beyond the curtains, and allowed Jack a second's illumination to see Ianto lying curled up, his back to him, on the other side of the bed. Then the thunderclaps struck, rattling the panes in the window frames and drowning out the clattering sound of rain. Ianto shuddered in his sleep.
Jack, surprised at this reaction, shifted closer to his lover and reached out with one arm, sliding it around Ianto's waist. His lover didn't move at the touch, still very much asleep. A moment later, another clap of thunder, and the same startled reaction from Ianto. A second after that, Ianto spoke. "Jack?"
Jack tugged him a little closer to his chest, no longer afraid to wake him. "You okay?" he asked softly into the dark.
"Yeah," Ianto replied sleepily, feeling rigid against him. "What's --?" He broke off as another rumble sounded, followed by a loud crash of thunder, shivering unconsciously again.
Jack was surprised at the reaction; they'd spent so long together and he hadn't known this about Ianto. But then again, they spent most of their nights at the hub, too far underground for the sound of thunder to penetrate. However, after their date tonight, it had seemed natural for them to come back here, to Ianto's flat. Jack ran a soothing hand over Ianto's stomach. "Are you afraid of thunder storms?" he asked neutrally.
Ianto stiffened in his arms for a different reason. "I'm fine," he replied, his voice tense.
Jack shifted a little closer, laying his head against Ianto's, his mouth near Ianto's ear. "It's nothing to be embarrassed about," he assured his lover. "We're all afraid of something."
"It's nothing, Jack," Ianto said, but the tension didn't leave his body.
"Okay," Jack agreed finally, sensing he couldn't change the young man's mind. He pressed his lips against Ianto's skin and just resolved to hold him close until the thunder storm drifted over. Before he could finish the thought, another flash of lightning lit up the bedroom, followed by a clap of thunder so quickly that Jack was sure the storm had to be right above them. Ianto trembled explosively in his arms, teeth chattering, his breathing twice the normal rate. Jack shifted his hand and felt Ianto's heart thundering in his chest. He tightened his grip on Ianto's body and rubbed his fingers across Ianto skin in what he hoped was a relaxing pattern. It took a full minute of listening to the staccato pattering of the rain against the window panes and the street tarmac before Ianto relaxed a measure in his arms.
Another minute passed before he spoke. "I know it's not rational."
Grateful he was sharing at last, Jack replied lightly, "I wouldn't say it is the world's most irrational fear, Ianto."
"We're indoors, this building is not the highest in the vicinity, and the electricity wires in this flat are all earthed. The chances of something going wrong are infinitesimally small."
Something in Ianto's tone, and the precision of his answer, made Jack ask the question. "So if it's not rational, why are you afraid?"
Ianto shifted a little in his arms, tensed as another flash of lightning lit up the room, but nothing followed. "Not all buildings are like that." The thunder rumbled in the far distance, and Ianto shivered a little. He continued, "I was twelve. I didn't think anything could happen, I wasn't afraid of thunder storms. I dozed off in bed listening to it, and then woke up to people screaming, and smoke, and my mam yelling at me to get out of bed." Another shudder ran through his frame, one that was not precipitated by thunderclap. Jack kissed his skin again and waited him out. "The house was on fire, the lightning strike had set fire to the electric furnace in the front room. We had to pass it on our way out, and I could hear it roaring and crackling behind the wall... it was so hot, with smoke everywhere..." At last, Ianto shifted in Jack's arms until he could look at him, although the minimal light in the room didn't really allow for much eye contact. Jack shifted as well and reached out to run fingers through Ianto's hair. Ianto said, "The fire brigade came, they put it out. The damage wasn't too severe. But I've never slept through a thunder storm again."
Jack stilled his fingers and tried to look Ianto in the eye as much as he could in the dim light. "It's not an irrational fear, Ianto."
His lover was silent beside him. After a few minutes, a bright flash coupled with a loud clap of thunder rattled the window panes once more. Ianto shuddered and shivered, and without thinking Jack reached out and pulled him into his arms. Ianto buried his face against Jack's chest as Jack rubbed his back and said softly, "Hush, it's okay, I've got you."
After about thirty seconds, Ianto pulled away slightly, and Jack let him go. "That must have struck something."
As if on cue, sirens rang out over Cardiff. "I think it did," Jack replied. "The emergency services will deal with it."
"Someone's life will never be the same."
It sounded morbid, coming from Ianto. "It's not that bad," Jack answered soothingly.
"I know," Ianto admitted, and he sounded a little embarrassed. "But it's terrifying."
"That it is," Jack agreed. "But don't be afraid of it, don't feel like you need to hide it. I'm here for you, for the big and the small things."
A more distant rumble of thunder had Ianto shiver slightly, and Jack simply rolled him back into his arms. "Hold me, Jack," Ianto whispered against his skin, and Jack was only too happy to comply.
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finis