Fic: Back, and Back, and Back a Little More (Future Optional) (6/7)
Title: Back, and Back, and Back a Little More (Future Optional) (6/7)
Author: nancybrown
Prompt: Back to the Future
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Jenny, Madame Vastra, Strax, Parker, Martha, Gwen
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, character death, mention of sexual assault, prostitution, language, and severe bending of time travel plausibility even taking all three canons into account
Spoilers: through TW: "Exit Wounds" and through DW: "The Snowmen"
Words: 32,500 (4,100 this part)
Beta: tymewyse and fide_et_spe both had a hand in making this far more comprehensible than it would have been. All remaining aspects of wtfery are mine alone.
Summary: Accidentally shot into the past by a time-travelling car, Ianto has to fix his own mistakes or he won't have a future to go back to.
AN: Written for reel_torchwood Screening 6. Also fills the Trope Bingo space: au:fusion
Disclaimer: BBC, Universal, RTD, Steven Moffat, and Robert Zemeckis own these characters and situations, and want nothing to do with this ridiculous fluff piece of faux-Victoriana.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
***
Chapter Six
***
The car was gone. "Fuck."
The word echoed in the small space.
"Watch your language," said Jack, coming from behind the bench and wiping his hands. "You swear too much."
"You're here!" He couldn't keep the shock off his face and didn't try.
"Yeah?"
"But the car's gone."
"Right. The Lysans will be here in two days. Strax and I hid it into a better location. It's ready to drive."
"Oh."
Jack came closer. "You thought I took the car?"
"I thought you both had," he confessed. "It's a time machine. I didn't think you could resist."
"I couldn't."
"What?"
"I couldn't resist. But Strax reminded me that the Doctor would kill me if I screwed up time just to find him again." He smiled, with more than a little pain. Ianto went to his side on autopilot and took his arm. "That's why I let him drive the car to the location while I burned those boxes of papers from the boot."
That was one relief. "Are you sure he hasn't stolen it?"
Jack frowned. "You don't think.... Nah, he wouldn't." He noticed Ianto's hand on his arm and pulled away. "Shouldn't you be at work?"
"Madame sent me home. And I wanted to apologise for earlier. I made a cheap joke, and you didn't deserve that."
"Thanks." They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. Jack said, "I don't know what to make of you. You say we know each other, that you know me. Fine, you're not the first person I've met out of order. There was this one archaeologist from the fifty-second century that I met for the first time so often we started keeping notes."
Ianto smiled. "You told me about her once. I remembered because it was the only story of yours that didn't involve your being naked."
"Hey, I do some of my best work naked."
"I know."
Jack didn't say anything. Instead, he drew Ianto in for a sudden kiss, his breath still as sweet as the last time he'd kissed Ianto good night. By instinct, Ianto leaned into him, nuzzling a soft place on Jack's cheek as he responded. This was a terrible idea. Jack's hand pressed against the back of Ianto's head, holding him lightly in place. They had to stop now. His own hands met at the cravat at Jack's neck, working the knot loose. Timelines. Jack kissed him harder, his lips nibbling and insisting for more contact. Possibly prison. Ianto got the knot free, to slide his hand down Jack's shirt, touching smooth skin.
Jack stroked the edge of Ianto's teeth with his tongue, and he broke the kiss. "Answers that question."
Ianto couldn't decide if he wanted to kiss Jack again or punch the satisfied smirk off his face. "What question would that be?" He hated the breathless sound of his own voice.
"You know what question." His hand moved from holding Ianto's head still to resting at the back of his neck.
"I should go. I have a place to sleep at Madame Vastra's house."
"But she sent you home. Twice, in fact."
"She's tired of having me underfoot."
"It's your job to be under her feet, but she keeps sending you to be under mine."
"Well, if I'm in your way, I'll gladly move." He went to push past Jack and somehow wound up kissing him again, tasting his breath and his mouth. Jack moved them both until they were standing against a broken old work bench that dug into Ianto's thighs. If they weren't careful, they'd rock the bench and knock over the lamp, and a fire burning out of control might be a grand metaphor for how he felt, but he wasn't keen on experiencing a real one.
He pushed Jack away. "Not here. We'll wind up burning down the shed."
"Come on," Jack said, taking his hand. Ianto expected to be taken back to Jack's shabby flat, but instead they walked through the chilly night air to a park. Jack tugged him down to the ground in a spot shaded from the wind by large topiary displays, removing his own coat as a quick blanket for the hard ground.
"You can't be serious. We'll be seen for sure."
"Unlikely. These are the private gardens of someone I know. No policemen, no curious onlookers, no lamps." Jack said the last word biting into the cord of Ianto's neck.
The night air had cooled Ianto's head and reluctantly, he pulled back again. "You should go home. I should go back to Madame's."
"It's fine," Jack insisted. "Besides, what's a little chance of public exposure if not an extra temptation?" He chuckled in his throat, bending in for more kisses.
"Something else I've heard before." He pushed Jack away with one hand, and got back to his feet.
"What is it now?"
"You. This." He waved his hand but kept his voice low. "I shouldn't have ever contacted you."
"You're worried about that? Don't. I was a Time Agent. I'm professionally trained not to cause ripples in the timeline. We'll be fine."
"I don't mean the timeline." He looked at Jack. This Jack had no idea what was in store. "Yes, I've slept with you in my past. That's obvious. And I want to sleep with you now."
"Also obvious." Prat.
"But if I sleep with you, and something goes wrong in two days, then what? Jack, I don't want your first time with me to be my last with you."
Jack rolled his eyes. "This again."
"Again? I haven't told you this before."
Jack picked up his coat from the ground, dusted it off, and put it back on, shivering warmth back into the heavy black fabric. "You don't want. Ever since I met you, everything has been about what you want. You want to go home. You want your time machine to work. You want two women who've shown you nothing but kindness to get together not because you think they'd enjoy each other's company, but because you want them to reset the mess you've made. You got us involved in a plague because of what you wanted. You didn't care about the people who were sick. Everything was all about you."
Ianto took a step backwards, each word a blow.
"That's not true. It's not all about me." He fumbled for his mobile. "My friends."
"Yeah. Your friends. How well are they doing in your future?" Jack stood there, angry and hurt. He hadn't been angry after, not with Toshiko cold on the medical slab where he'd carried her, not with Owen nothing more than static over the comm. He'd been cold, and silent, and broken with every death he'd spent between one day and the next, for nothing.
"They're dead." It didn't matter. He was desperate to reset the timeline, but his friends would still be dead. Owen and Toshiko, Gwen and Martha. Nothing he did mattered.
"Then it's a lot of good you're doing them, isn't it? You want to go home. I want to get back to the one place I felt was home. What do you think they want?" He didn't mean their future mutual (even if Jack didn't know that) friends.
"I don't know," he admitted. He'd spent the last few days associating with both women, and he didn't know what either really wanted.
"There's a shock."
Jack started walking in the vague direction of home. Ianto didn't know whether to follow him, or go back to his own small bed at Vastra's. Without a better plan, he followed Jack. They didn't speak for some time, a cold silence between them as they meandered down dark streets.
"I do pay attention," Ianto said after a while.
Jack didn't reply.
"I know what you want. It's my job to pay attention to what you want, and fetch it before you ask."
"Can it with the spoilers." He did slow his pace.
"I know how much you want to see the TARDIS again. I also know how much you want to know what happened to your brother."
Jack turned on him suddenly, and Ianto stumbled back. "Don't. Don't say a word about that to me." All his tells were visible, whether he knew or not. Ianto backed down.
"I know you want the Doctor to be proud of you. I also know what you really want is to be proud of yourself, and you know you're the harsher judge. I know you want to have sex with almost every person you meet, not because you're some kind of sex addict or because you're allergic to commitment, but because it's as natural as breathing is to you, and I know you want to get away from a planet and a culture that seems hell-bent on telling you that you can't."
Jack's hands were in his pockets now. He faced away from Ianto. They continued to walk. Ianto noticed the turn off he'd have to take to go back to Vastra's home. He ignored it in favour of staying with Jack.
"You want your mortality back. You want to know your life is worth something more than a two-bit con artist. You want to meet someone who can save you from yourself, and you look inside every new person you meet, hoping they'll do and being disappointed each time as they turn out to be just as self-centred and damaged as everyone else you know. The more you want them to be the right person, the more it hurts you when you accept they're not."
Ianto took Jack's arm, linking with his. "You want a one-night stand, and you want a lifetime with someone who understands you, and you want someone who understands that sometimes you want a one-night stand. But what you want most of all is someone who gets you and is enough like you to want to join in on those one-night stands."
They passed an alley. Instinct made Ianto pull back, and Jack held with him. At the far end, a man menaced a woman of very small stature, leaning against her as she trembled. Jack and Ianto exchanged glances. This was what got Ianto into trouble before, but he doubted that would stop him now. He knew for a fact it wouldn't stop Jack, because even when Jack was a fuck-up, he was still a damn hero. Ianto hated him a little for that, but he loved him far more, the bastard.
Fighting the power of that emotion was pointless, and always had been.
"Ready?" Jack whispered.
The darkness rent in two, and a deeper shadow emerged, with a long, sharp sword and a precise motion. The stranger cleaved the man's arm off, and bade his would-be victim to run.
As the shadow moved again, Ianto saw a hint of green scales.
"We should help," he said.
"No," said Jack more sensibly. "We should leave her to her work." They hung back, shadowing the girl who'd emerged from the alley at a run, escorting her without her knowledge until she let herself into one of the anonymous boardinghouses that filled this area of the city.
"I'm still angry with you," Jack said.
"Yep."
"You don't know everything I want."
"Nope." They were nearly back at the flat.
"You're smiling."
"Yes."
Their building was in sight, and together, they climbed the stairs, passing by and through the other units where the many tenants slept. Jack's flat was separated from the other ten on this floor by a thin wall that was more wallpaper than thin plaster. As soon as the door shut, Ianto removed Jack's coat and began removing the rest of his clothes.
"Hey. I told you I was still angry."
"I heard."
"And you turned me down. Several times."
"I did." He had Jack's cravat gone and his shirt open. He raked his nails across skin. Jack neither helped nor hindered him, but he did gasp delightfully when Ianto bit softly at his pectoral muscle.
"What if I said I don't want you now?"
"I'd stop, have one at the wrist myself, then go to sleep. So please tell me if you don't want me." His hands were busy with the intricacies of Jack's flies. Fucking Victorian clothes, how did they work?
"You said you didn't want my first to be your last."
"I don't. So we'd best have two or three goes before I leave, shouldn't we?"
Jack said nothing, but for the third time tonight, he led Ianto to press him against a convenient surface. This time it was his bed, and this time, Ianto didn't object, even when the neighbours complained about the noise.
***
He appeared for work early, a smile in his step and breakfast very nearly not burnt when he brought it to Madame's bedroom on a tray.
"Good morning," she said, gratefully accepting her first infusion of tea in its dainty cup.
"Good morning, ma'am."
"You seem happy."
"Yes, ma'am. Just pleased to have such a bright day." Tomorrow would be the attack. Today, he was pleasantly tired, and proud of himself in the way he so rarely could be when he left Jack dead asleep after wearing him out in bed.
"And how are your friends?"
"I haven't spoken to them this morning. If you'd like, I can ask Jenny and Strax to call on you later."
"No need. I am sure I will see them again."
"Ma'am, what do you think of Miss Jenny?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm eager to know your opinion." He didn't hold much hope, not after Jenny had so thoroughly disregarded Vastra. "She's a lovely young woman, don't you think?"
"Mm. I have such trouble telling humans apart. She seems very taken with you." Her face looked less than pleased.
"Oh. Yes. She and I talked yesterday about that. She thought we had developed an understanding, and I had to tell her that wasn't the case."
"Because of your relationship with the prostitute?"
Ianto blinked, stunned. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
"Was I indiscreet? I know humans are so odd about their mating. But you live with him, and you came in here this morning reeking of his scent. I'd hoped you weren't playing on that nice girl's affections."
"No, ma'am. She is my friend, and I like her, but as you indicated," he coughed, "my interests are elsewhere at the moment."
"Ah."
"Do you like her, ma'am?"
It was Vastra's turn to be startled. "Mr. Jones, you are presuming."
"Sorry, ma'am. Only, she is very sweet, with a kind and brave heart, and she's charming. Don't you agree?"
Vastra's face went sad. She set aside her tray, and sat up. She wore a long dressing gown, demure as any lady, and suddenly he was aware of her as an old thing, someone who had lived for millions of years. He wondered how lonely she must be.
Ianto knelt in front of her, fetching her slippers and meeting her eyes. "Madame, what do you want?"
"My red gown, I think."
"Of course. But I meant, what do you want from your life? I know you hunt the streets at night, helping the helpless. You want justice, and you want to show mercy to those who receive no mercy from their lives."
She blinked at him slowly, inspecting him. "You were in the alley last night."
"We both were. You seemed to have the situation covered."
"What I want," she said, "is someone to have my back when I fight. That man got up and tried to club me with his own arm. Idiot."
"Oh. Sorry. Yes, we should have stayed to help."
"Yes, you should have." She watched him as he sorted through the gowns in her wardrobe. "I also want servants who know how to serve. Your cookery leaves much to be desired."
He smiled. "Jack tells me that all the time."
"If I told you I wouldn't be averse to a pretty young lass around the house, would you be shocked?"
He glanced down at himself. "You told me I reek of male prostitute. What do you think, ma'am?"
She stood, accepting the red gown he handed to her. "I think you should invite her to tea this afternoon, as my guest."
***
Jenny was busy organising their flat slash clinic slash secret hideout when she heard the carriage outside. Quickly, she shoved three sharp pins into her hair and checked that her blade was strapped to her forearm. Carriages were difficult pickings, but she'd take what she could. Strax was off at the shops replenishing his supplies, although he wasn't much for robbery regardless.
Her conscience bothered her on these occasions, but only just. She'd been turned out of good work more than once because of her strange unwillingness to permit a master's wandering hands or a mistress's birch switch anywhere near her. Turned out without references, finding a new position had been difficult. After the third try, with nothing more to show for it than a police record and a now former employer with a broken nose, she'd decided plucking pigeons was a better life. The Doctor had come to her rescue during her first attempted robbery, unbeknownst to him. After that, her goals had shifted: steal what she could from those what could afford it, give it to them as didn't have anything. Strax became her ally, doing his own part to stitch up the poor souls who crawled onto their doorstep. They'd had a brief discussion when they'd received the invitation to Madame Vastra's house. Robbing the lady blind would be bad business and easy to trace, but she doubtless wouldn't miss the silver that had found its way up Jenny's sleeves as she'd helped Ianto clean.
A carriage, showing up in front of their digs? That was asking for a quick nab.
To her surprise when she stepped outside, the carriage was Madame Vastra's. Behind it, she could see the regulars lining up, examining exactly where they'd latch on and which part of the genteel driver they'd cut open. She waved to him, then gestured them away with the signal: leave this one alone, there'll be trouble otherwise.
"Miss Jenny," said Parker, stepping down from his box. "I was sent to fetch you." He opened the door.
"Oh." She looked around, wondering if she ought to pretend to get her hat or similar, but she was wearing her hat and ready to travel. "Thank you," she managed, taking his hand to climb inside.
***
The first indication that things were going awry came as Ianto heard an explosion outside. He ran to the window, but was thrown back when another blasted the glass, cutting him.
"Fuck," he said, then shouted, "Madame!" He hurried to find her. He wasn't surprised to discover the damage to the hothouse where she climbed to her feet in streaming sunlight, now choking with smoke. "Are you hurt?"
"I'll live. You're injured."
He wiped his face with his sleeve, and came back with blood. Not much. He'd inspect the damage later. He was due for more scars. "What's happening?"
"God only knows." Together they stepped outside. To Ianto's horror, four tiny ships zoomed past them, streaking through the sky.
"It's the Lysans."
"Who?"
"They're aliens, ma'am. They were set to invade, but they're early."
"You know this how?"
"I'm from the future. I know things. Get back inside, ma'am. You're in danger out here."
Vastra stayed where she stood. "If my city is facing an invasion, I must protect her people. Fetch my swords."
Swords against an invading army? "I don't suppose you happen to have a laser cannon as well?"
"Swords, Mr. Jones. I'd been hoping to teach you their basic use. Am I right in assuming you've never touched one?"
He reached into his suit, where his holster stayed under his suit jacket. "I have my own weapon. I only have a few bullets."
"Which is why a sword is more useful. Hurry."
Together, they ran back inside to gather weapons.
***
Jack looked up at the first explosion over the city. He'd awakened alone, and spent a while alone in his bed, wondering what he'd got himself into with this handsome young man who seemed to know every erogenous cell on Jack's body. He'd assumed they'd had a tumble or two in the future, because he did get around to sleeping with most people he knew. Ianto'd been right on that. But Ianto had been right in far more ways, as though he'd made an intensive study of every kink and interest Jack had. A few shags wouldn't explain how well he'd known where to touch Jack, nor for precisely how long and when to back away so as to stir him up further until they'd both collapsed in an intoxicated puddle.
Interesting, and far more dangerous to know about his future than time cars and mobile phones.
The second explosion saw him out of bed and half-dressed. If the Lysans were here early, that meant the whole plan was in jeopardy. He was coming to enjoy the prospect of having Ianto around long-term, but he had a bad feeling that if this didn't work, Ianto not only wouldn't stay with him, but he'd never have been here.
Time travel. Feh. There were days Jack wished he'd never sucked off that Time Agency recruiter to get an interview.
***
Strax's head bobbed up as soon as the explosion sounded. He grinned, dropping his purchases to the ground.
"Mr. Strax," said the apothecary, who continued to believe Strax was from some foreign country and as such spoke to him slowly and loudly despite the fact that Strax had a better command of English than he did. "Are you all right?"
"Better!" He lifted his purchases again, because sixpence was sixpence. "Hold these for me. Should I die in glorious battle, send them to Jenny Flint, care of the usual address. A tip for your trouble." Strax handed the apothecary a coin.
Then he shouted "Sontar-HA!" and ran off in hopes of dying in combat.
***
Madame Vastra stepped out onto the thrumming streets which were full of frightened apes. The Doctor had shown her the beauty of these savage creatures, drawing her out of the depths of her grief for her lost sisters and into a noble fight. She longed for companionship, but each time she thought she'd found a friend, she was wrong. The sweet-faced maids she hired vanished after a few short days. Parker told her they ran off, frightened of her, and indeed they'd all trembled just at the sight of her.
The callow youth at her side now, barely able to hold his sword by the proper end, had been an interesting mystery, one now solved. Although a traveller from the future might make her a fine companion, he had no interest in remaining here. That Sontaran had piqued her interest, and his perky assistant distractingly so. Vastra rarely thought of apes as anything other than friends; she'd be as likely to consider wedding a greyhound as she would a man. Yet and still, she could not deny the entrancing pull of soft limbs and a firm bosom that reminded her so of the comfort of piling into a warm bed with her sisters.
She shook her head. To business, and then she could send round for Jenny. Perhaps this woman wouldn't run away.
"Tell me what you know of these Lysans."
"Not much. Jack's the expert. He said something about salt water."
"Then let us make our way to the river."
***
The coach rattled through the streets as the buildings shook with another explosion. Jenny, jostled to and fro in her seat, scrambled to the window for a better look. "What's going on?"
"No idea," said the driver.
From her new vantage point, she saw the street they were on, recognised a part of the city that was not anywhere near Vastra's fine house. "Where did you say we were going?"
"Mr. Jones said he'd meet you at our destination. He needs your help with this situation."
She sat back, paying closer attention to their route and to the commotion outside. The summons had come before the first explosion. Had Ianto known about it? She wondered, and wondered more at the hurried pace of the driver.
They reached a secluded spot near the docks and came to a halt. The horse panted from the exertion, but Parker didn't stop to rub the poor creature down before opening the door for her.
"Where are we?"
A hand grabbed her upper arm with such force she knew the fingers would leave bruises. "Somewhere no-one will hear you."
***
Chapter Seven
Author: nancybrown
Prompt: Back to the Future
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Jenny, Madame Vastra, Strax, Parker, Martha, Gwen
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, character death, mention of sexual assault, prostitution, language, and severe bending of time travel plausibility even taking all three canons into account
Spoilers: through TW: "Exit Wounds" and through DW: "The Snowmen"
Words: 32,500 (4,100 this part)
Beta: tymewyse and fide_et_spe both had a hand in making this far more comprehensible than it would have been. All remaining aspects of wtfery are mine alone.
Summary: Accidentally shot into the past by a time-travelling car, Ianto has to fix his own mistakes or he won't have a future to go back to.
AN: Written for reel_torchwood Screening 6. Also fills the Trope Bingo space: au:fusion
Disclaimer: BBC, Universal, RTD, Steven Moffat, and Robert Zemeckis own these characters and situations, and want nothing to do with this ridiculous fluff piece of faux-Victoriana.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
***
Chapter Six
***
The car was gone. "Fuck."
The word echoed in the small space.
"Watch your language," said Jack, coming from behind the bench and wiping his hands. "You swear too much."
"You're here!" He couldn't keep the shock off his face and didn't try.
"Yeah?"
"But the car's gone."
"Right. The Lysans will be here in two days. Strax and I hid it into a better location. It's ready to drive."
"Oh."
Jack came closer. "You thought I took the car?"
"I thought you both had," he confessed. "It's a time machine. I didn't think you could resist."
"I couldn't."
"What?"
"I couldn't resist. But Strax reminded me that the Doctor would kill me if I screwed up time just to find him again." He smiled, with more than a little pain. Ianto went to his side on autopilot and took his arm. "That's why I let him drive the car to the location while I burned those boxes of papers from the boot."
That was one relief. "Are you sure he hasn't stolen it?"
Jack frowned. "You don't think.... Nah, he wouldn't." He noticed Ianto's hand on his arm and pulled away. "Shouldn't you be at work?"
"Madame sent me home. And I wanted to apologise for earlier. I made a cheap joke, and you didn't deserve that."
"Thanks." They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. Jack said, "I don't know what to make of you. You say we know each other, that you know me. Fine, you're not the first person I've met out of order. There was this one archaeologist from the fifty-second century that I met for the first time so often we started keeping notes."
Ianto smiled. "You told me about her once. I remembered because it was the only story of yours that didn't involve your being naked."
"Hey, I do some of my best work naked."
"I know."
Jack didn't say anything. Instead, he drew Ianto in for a sudden kiss, his breath still as sweet as the last time he'd kissed Ianto good night. By instinct, Ianto leaned into him, nuzzling a soft place on Jack's cheek as he responded. This was a terrible idea. Jack's hand pressed against the back of Ianto's head, holding him lightly in place. They had to stop now. His own hands met at the cravat at Jack's neck, working the knot loose. Timelines. Jack kissed him harder, his lips nibbling and insisting for more contact. Possibly prison. Ianto got the knot free, to slide his hand down Jack's shirt, touching smooth skin.
Jack stroked the edge of Ianto's teeth with his tongue, and he broke the kiss. "Answers that question."
Ianto couldn't decide if he wanted to kiss Jack again or punch the satisfied smirk off his face. "What question would that be?" He hated the breathless sound of his own voice.
"You know what question." His hand moved from holding Ianto's head still to resting at the back of his neck.
"I should go. I have a place to sleep at Madame Vastra's house."
"But she sent you home. Twice, in fact."
"She's tired of having me underfoot."
"It's your job to be under her feet, but she keeps sending you to be under mine."
"Well, if I'm in your way, I'll gladly move." He went to push past Jack and somehow wound up kissing him again, tasting his breath and his mouth. Jack moved them both until they were standing against a broken old work bench that dug into Ianto's thighs. If they weren't careful, they'd rock the bench and knock over the lamp, and a fire burning out of control might be a grand metaphor for how he felt, but he wasn't keen on experiencing a real one.
He pushed Jack away. "Not here. We'll wind up burning down the shed."
"Come on," Jack said, taking his hand. Ianto expected to be taken back to Jack's shabby flat, but instead they walked through the chilly night air to a park. Jack tugged him down to the ground in a spot shaded from the wind by large topiary displays, removing his own coat as a quick blanket for the hard ground.
"You can't be serious. We'll be seen for sure."
"Unlikely. These are the private gardens of someone I know. No policemen, no curious onlookers, no lamps." Jack said the last word biting into the cord of Ianto's neck.
The night air had cooled Ianto's head and reluctantly, he pulled back again. "You should go home. I should go back to Madame's."
"It's fine," Jack insisted. "Besides, what's a little chance of public exposure if not an extra temptation?" He chuckled in his throat, bending in for more kisses.
"Something else I've heard before." He pushed Jack away with one hand, and got back to his feet.
"What is it now?"
"You. This." He waved his hand but kept his voice low. "I shouldn't have ever contacted you."
"You're worried about that? Don't. I was a Time Agent. I'm professionally trained not to cause ripples in the timeline. We'll be fine."
"I don't mean the timeline." He looked at Jack. This Jack had no idea what was in store. "Yes, I've slept with you in my past. That's obvious. And I want to sleep with you now."
"Also obvious." Prat.
"But if I sleep with you, and something goes wrong in two days, then what? Jack, I don't want your first time with me to be my last with you."
Jack rolled his eyes. "This again."
"Again? I haven't told you this before."
Jack picked up his coat from the ground, dusted it off, and put it back on, shivering warmth back into the heavy black fabric. "You don't want. Ever since I met you, everything has been about what you want. You want to go home. You want your time machine to work. You want two women who've shown you nothing but kindness to get together not because you think they'd enjoy each other's company, but because you want them to reset the mess you've made. You got us involved in a plague because of what you wanted. You didn't care about the people who were sick. Everything was all about you."
Ianto took a step backwards, each word a blow.
"That's not true. It's not all about me." He fumbled for his mobile. "My friends."
"Yeah. Your friends. How well are they doing in your future?" Jack stood there, angry and hurt. He hadn't been angry after, not with Toshiko cold on the medical slab where he'd carried her, not with Owen nothing more than static over the comm. He'd been cold, and silent, and broken with every death he'd spent between one day and the next, for nothing.
"They're dead." It didn't matter. He was desperate to reset the timeline, but his friends would still be dead. Owen and Toshiko, Gwen and Martha. Nothing he did mattered.
"Then it's a lot of good you're doing them, isn't it? You want to go home. I want to get back to the one place I felt was home. What do you think they want?" He didn't mean their future mutual (even if Jack didn't know that) friends.
"I don't know," he admitted. He'd spent the last few days associating with both women, and he didn't know what either really wanted.
"There's a shock."
Jack started walking in the vague direction of home. Ianto didn't know whether to follow him, or go back to his own small bed at Vastra's. Without a better plan, he followed Jack. They didn't speak for some time, a cold silence between them as they meandered down dark streets.
"I do pay attention," Ianto said after a while.
Jack didn't reply.
"I know what you want. It's my job to pay attention to what you want, and fetch it before you ask."
"Can it with the spoilers." He did slow his pace.
"I know how much you want to see the TARDIS again. I also know how much you want to know what happened to your brother."
Jack turned on him suddenly, and Ianto stumbled back. "Don't. Don't say a word about that to me." All his tells were visible, whether he knew or not. Ianto backed down.
"I know you want the Doctor to be proud of you. I also know what you really want is to be proud of yourself, and you know you're the harsher judge. I know you want to have sex with almost every person you meet, not because you're some kind of sex addict or because you're allergic to commitment, but because it's as natural as breathing is to you, and I know you want to get away from a planet and a culture that seems hell-bent on telling you that you can't."
Jack's hands were in his pockets now. He faced away from Ianto. They continued to walk. Ianto noticed the turn off he'd have to take to go back to Vastra's home. He ignored it in favour of staying with Jack.
"You want your mortality back. You want to know your life is worth something more than a two-bit con artist. You want to meet someone who can save you from yourself, and you look inside every new person you meet, hoping they'll do and being disappointed each time as they turn out to be just as self-centred and damaged as everyone else you know. The more you want them to be the right person, the more it hurts you when you accept they're not."
Ianto took Jack's arm, linking with his. "You want a one-night stand, and you want a lifetime with someone who understands you, and you want someone who understands that sometimes you want a one-night stand. But what you want most of all is someone who gets you and is enough like you to want to join in on those one-night stands."
They passed an alley. Instinct made Ianto pull back, and Jack held with him. At the far end, a man menaced a woman of very small stature, leaning against her as she trembled. Jack and Ianto exchanged glances. This was what got Ianto into trouble before, but he doubted that would stop him now. He knew for a fact it wouldn't stop Jack, because even when Jack was a fuck-up, he was still a damn hero. Ianto hated him a little for that, but he loved him far more, the bastard.
Fighting the power of that emotion was pointless, and always had been.
"Ready?" Jack whispered.
The darkness rent in two, and a deeper shadow emerged, with a long, sharp sword and a precise motion. The stranger cleaved the man's arm off, and bade his would-be victim to run.
As the shadow moved again, Ianto saw a hint of green scales.
"We should help," he said.
"No," said Jack more sensibly. "We should leave her to her work." They hung back, shadowing the girl who'd emerged from the alley at a run, escorting her without her knowledge until she let herself into one of the anonymous boardinghouses that filled this area of the city.
"I'm still angry with you," Jack said.
"Yep."
"You don't know everything I want."
"Nope." They were nearly back at the flat.
"You're smiling."
"Yes."
Their building was in sight, and together, they climbed the stairs, passing by and through the other units where the many tenants slept. Jack's flat was separated from the other ten on this floor by a thin wall that was more wallpaper than thin plaster. As soon as the door shut, Ianto removed Jack's coat and began removing the rest of his clothes.
"Hey. I told you I was still angry."
"I heard."
"And you turned me down. Several times."
"I did." He had Jack's cravat gone and his shirt open. He raked his nails across skin. Jack neither helped nor hindered him, but he did gasp delightfully when Ianto bit softly at his pectoral muscle.
"What if I said I don't want you now?"
"I'd stop, have one at the wrist myself, then go to sleep. So please tell me if you don't want me." His hands were busy with the intricacies of Jack's flies. Fucking Victorian clothes, how did they work?
"You said you didn't want my first to be your last."
"I don't. So we'd best have two or three goes before I leave, shouldn't we?"
Jack said nothing, but for the third time tonight, he led Ianto to press him against a convenient surface. This time it was his bed, and this time, Ianto didn't object, even when the neighbours complained about the noise.
***
He appeared for work early, a smile in his step and breakfast very nearly not burnt when he brought it to Madame's bedroom on a tray.
"Good morning," she said, gratefully accepting her first infusion of tea in its dainty cup.
"Good morning, ma'am."
"You seem happy."
"Yes, ma'am. Just pleased to have such a bright day." Tomorrow would be the attack. Today, he was pleasantly tired, and proud of himself in the way he so rarely could be when he left Jack dead asleep after wearing him out in bed.
"And how are your friends?"
"I haven't spoken to them this morning. If you'd like, I can ask Jenny and Strax to call on you later."
"No need. I am sure I will see them again."
"Ma'am, what do you think of Miss Jenny?"
"What do you mean?"
"I'm eager to know your opinion." He didn't hold much hope, not after Jenny had so thoroughly disregarded Vastra. "She's a lovely young woman, don't you think?"
"Mm. I have such trouble telling humans apart. She seems very taken with you." Her face looked less than pleased.
"Oh. Yes. She and I talked yesterday about that. She thought we had developed an understanding, and I had to tell her that wasn't the case."
"Because of your relationship with the prostitute?"
Ianto blinked, stunned. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
"Was I indiscreet? I know humans are so odd about their mating. But you live with him, and you came in here this morning reeking of his scent. I'd hoped you weren't playing on that nice girl's affections."
"No, ma'am. She is my friend, and I like her, but as you indicated," he coughed, "my interests are elsewhere at the moment."
"Ah."
"Do you like her, ma'am?"
It was Vastra's turn to be startled. "Mr. Jones, you are presuming."
"Sorry, ma'am. Only, she is very sweet, with a kind and brave heart, and she's charming. Don't you agree?"
Vastra's face went sad. She set aside her tray, and sat up. She wore a long dressing gown, demure as any lady, and suddenly he was aware of her as an old thing, someone who had lived for millions of years. He wondered how lonely she must be.
Ianto knelt in front of her, fetching her slippers and meeting her eyes. "Madame, what do you want?"
"My red gown, I think."
"Of course. But I meant, what do you want from your life? I know you hunt the streets at night, helping the helpless. You want justice, and you want to show mercy to those who receive no mercy from their lives."
She blinked at him slowly, inspecting him. "You were in the alley last night."
"We both were. You seemed to have the situation covered."
"What I want," she said, "is someone to have my back when I fight. That man got up and tried to club me with his own arm. Idiot."
"Oh. Sorry. Yes, we should have stayed to help."
"Yes, you should have." She watched him as he sorted through the gowns in her wardrobe. "I also want servants who know how to serve. Your cookery leaves much to be desired."
He smiled. "Jack tells me that all the time."
"If I told you I wouldn't be averse to a pretty young lass around the house, would you be shocked?"
He glanced down at himself. "You told me I reek of male prostitute. What do you think, ma'am?"
She stood, accepting the red gown he handed to her. "I think you should invite her to tea this afternoon, as my guest."
***
Jenny was busy organising their flat slash clinic slash secret hideout when she heard the carriage outside. Quickly, she shoved three sharp pins into her hair and checked that her blade was strapped to her forearm. Carriages were difficult pickings, but she'd take what she could. Strax was off at the shops replenishing his supplies, although he wasn't much for robbery regardless.
Her conscience bothered her on these occasions, but only just. She'd been turned out of good work more than once because of her strange unwillingness to permit a master's wandering hands or a mistress's birch switch anywhere near her. Turned out without references, finding a new position had been difficult. After the third try, with nothing more to show for it than a police record and a now former employer with a broken nose, she'd decided plucking pigeons was a better life. The Doctor had come to her rescue during her first attempted robbery, unbeknownst to him. After that, her goals had shifted: steal what she could from those what could afford it, give it to them as didn't have anything. Strax became her ally, doing his own part to stitch up the poor souls who crawled onto their doorstep. They'd had a brief discussion when they'd received the invitation to Madame Vastra's house. Robbing the lady blind would be bad business and easy to trace, but she doubtless wouldn't miss the silver that had found its way up Jenny's sleeves as she'd helped Ianto clean.
A carriage, showing up in front of their digs? That was asking for a quick nab.
To her surprise when she stepped outside, the carriage was Madame Vastra's. Behind it, she could see the regulars lining up, examining exactly where they'd latch on and which part of the genteel driver they'd cut open. She waved to him, then gestured them away with the signal: leave this one alone, there'll be trouble otherwise.
"Miss Jenny," said Parker, stepping down from his box. "I was sent to fetch you." He opened the door.
"Oh." She looked around, wondering if she ought to pretend to get her hat or similar, but she was wearing her hat and ready to travel. "Thank you," she managed, taking his hand to climb inside.
***
The first indication that things were going awry came as Ianto heard an explosion outside. He ran to the window, but was thrown back when another blasted the glass, cutting him.
"Fuck," he said, then shouted, "Madame!" He hurried to find her. He wasn't surprised to discover the damage to the hothouse where she climbed to her feet in streaming sunlight, now choking with smoke. "Are you hurt?"
"I'll live. You're injured."
He wiped his face with his sleeve, and came back with blood. Not much. He'd inspect the damage later. He was due for more scars. "What's happening?"
"God only knows." Together they stepped outside. To Ianto's horror, four tiny ships zoomed past them, streaking through the sky.
"It's the Lysans."
"Who?"
"They're aliens, ma'am. They were set to invade, but they're early."
"You know this how?"
"I'm from the future. I know things. Get back inside, ma'am. You're in danger out here."
Vastra stayed where she stood. "If my city is facing an invasion, I must protect her people. Fetch my swords."
Swords against an invading army? "I don't suppose you happen to have a laser cannon as well?"
"Swords, Mr. Jones. I'd been hoping to teach you their basic use. Am I right in assuming you've never touched one?"
He reached into his suit, where his holster stayed under his suit jacket. "I have my own weapon. I only have a few bullets."
"Which is why a sword is more useful. Hurry."
Together, they ran back inside to gather weapons.
***
Jack looked up at the first explosion over the city. He'd awakened alone, and spent a while alone in his bed, wondering what he'd got himself into with this handsome young man who seemed to know every erogenous cell on Jack's body. He'd assumed they'd had a tumble or two in the future, because he did get around to sleeping with most people he knew. Ianto'd been right on that. But Ianto had been right in far more ways, as though he'd made an intensive study of every kink and interest Jack had. A few shags wouldn't explain how well he'd known where to touch Jack, nor for precisely how long and when to back away so as to stir him up further until they'd both collapsed in an intoxicated puddle.
Interesting, and far more dangerous to know about his future than time cars and mobile phones.
The second explosion saw him out of bed and half-dressed. If the Lysans were here early, that meant the whole plan was in jeopardy. He was coming to enjoy the prospect of having Ianto around long-term, but he had a bad feeling that if this didn't work, Ianto not only wouldn't stay with him, but he'd never have been here.
Time travel. Feh. There were days Jack wished he'd never sucked off that Time Agency recruiter to get an interview.
***
Strax's head bobbed up as soon as the explosion sounded. He grinned, dropping his purchases to the ground.
"Mr. Strax," said the apothecary, who continued to believe Strax was from some foreign country and as such spoke to him slowly and loudly despite the fact that Strax had a better command of English than he did. "Are you all right?"
"Better!" He lifted his purchases again, because sixpence was sixpence. "Hold these for me. Should I die in glorious battle, send them to Jenny Flint, care of the usual address. A tip for your trouble." Strax handed the apothecary a coin.
Then he shouted "Sontar-HA!" and ran off in hopes of dying in combat.
***
Madame Vastra stepped out onto the thrumming streets which were full of frightened apes. The Doctor had shown her the beauty of these savage creatures, drawing her out of the depths of her grief for her lost sisters and into a noble fight. She longed for companionship, but each time she thought she'd found a friend, she was wrong. The sweet-faced maids she hired vanished after a few short days. Parker told her they ran off, frightened of her, and indeed they'd all trembled just at the sight of her.
The callow youth at her side now, barely able to hold his sword by the proper end, had been an interesting mystery, one now solved. Although a traveller from the future might make her a fine companion, he had no interest in remaining here. That Sontaran had piqued her interest, and his perky assistant distractingly so. Vastra rarely thought of apes as anything other than friends; she'd be as likely to consider wedding a greyhound as she would a man. Yet and still, she could not deny the entrancing pull of soft limbs and a firm bosom that reminded her so of the comfort of piling into a warm bed with her sisters.
She shook her head. To business, and then she could send round for Jenny. Perhaps this woman wouldn't run away.
"Tell me what you know of these Lysans."
"Not much. Jack's the expert. He said something about salt water."
"Then let us make our way to the river."
***
The coach rattled through the streets as the buildings shook with another explosion. Jenny, jostled to and fro in her seat, scrambled to the window for a better look. "What's going on?"
"No idea," said the driver.
From her new vantage point, she saw the street they were on, recognised a part of the city that was not anywhere near Vastra's fine house. "Where did you say we were going?"
"Mr. Jones said he'd meet you at our destination. He needs your help with this situation."
She sat back, paying closer attention to their route and to the commotion outside. The summons had come before the first explosion. Had Ianto known about it? She wondered, and wondered more at the hurried pace of the driver.
They reached a secluded spot near the docks and came to a halt. The horse panted from the exertion, but Parker didn't stop to rub the poor creature down before opening the door for her.
"Where are we?"
A hand grabbed her upper arm with such force she knew the fingers would leave bruises. "Somewhere no-one will hear you."
***
Chapter Seven