Fragments of a Shattered Life 23
Title: Fragments of a Shattered Life
Part: 23/28-ish
Rating: 18+
Warnings: Explicit violence, non-con
Genre: Angst
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Tosh, Owen
Summary: After POTW Jack's life takes a turn for the worse and he desperately needs help. A Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover. Note that this is a very dark fic.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N:
Previous Chapter here ohinyan.livejournal.com/7107.html
Chapter 23: Significant Steps
Things were calm with the rift for several days after the M'ritan robot had come through. This gave the team a chance to fully assimilate the fact of Jack's immortality. Owen had given Jack a thorough physical after his death which had shown him to be completely healthy. He had taken the chance while he was doing the examination to gently probe Jack about his past. As was usual though, Jack was not very forthcoming and Owen had given up fairly quickly.
Jack had been extremely skittish for several days after the team discovered his secret. He wanted to believe their assurances that they would not inform another agency, and their behaviour towards him did back up their promises. He also desperately hoped that, as Ianto had more time to think about it, he would stay with his initial reaction and not be repulsed by him. Ianto was the best thing that had happened to him in over a century and Jack did not want to lose him.
As the days went by Jack eventually became more confident that his friends truly accepted him for what he was and would not betray his confidence. He relaxed again and life continued as before, working in the archives and dating Ianto. Life was good.
The best thing to result from the robot incident was that Jack was no longer encumbered by the bracelets and could move about outside the hub without having to carry the portable transmitter.
* * * *
Two weeks after the robot incident, Jack and Ianto were out for dinner at their favourite Italian restaurant. Ianto was having his usual while Jack was still working his way through the menu, trying a different dish each time they went there. They also ordered a bottle of wine, though Jack drank his sparingly.
Part way through the meal Ianto pulled a box out of his pocket and said to Jack, “This is for you.”
Jack was surprised and took the box. He opened it and found an expensive looking watch. He looked at Ianto with a question in his eyes.
“It's a thank you present for saving my life,” he explained. “I'm sorry it's so long after but it took time to get it engraved.”
Jack turned the watch over and read the inscription. “To Jack, with heartfelt thanks and all my love, Ianto.”
Jack was overwhelmed, “Ianto, I don't know what to say,” he said huskily.
“It's OK you don't need to say anything,” Ianto replied. “Just wear it. After all you, you need a watch.”
Jack suddenly smiled brilliantly and agreed, “Yes, I do. Thank you Ianto.”
* * *
Over the next several weeks Jack and Ianto became even closer, spending almost all their off duty time together. They even went to a rugby match, though Jack was worried by the crowds and didn't want to repeat the experience.
One night Ianto and Tosh had been injured when subduing a group of Weevils. Owen was patching up Tosh's arm and Ianto's back and shoulder. Tosh's injury was not serious but Ianto was in a lot of pain and would not have proper use of his right shoulder or arm for several days. Owen gave him a shot of painkillers.
“You're going to need at least a week off Ianto, and you'll have to get someone over to stay with you until you can use that shoulder properly. Is there someone you can call?”
Ianto shook his head, “There's only my sister, and she wouldn't be able to leave her kids.”
“I'll do it,” Jack interjected. “There's no reason I can't stay with you and help while you recover. I'd like to help.”
* * *
And so Jack moved in to the spare room in Ianto's flat. He helped Ianto with all his domestic needs, cooking meals, washing up and even shopping for food on his own. Of course Ianto also needed help with more intimate matters such as dressing and taking showers. Jack was well used to the sight of naked men but, for the first time since the Game Station, he found himself admiring a man with new eyes. Apart from the ugly wounds marring his flesh Ianto was gorgeous. And the fact that he and Ianto were already emotionally more than friends stirred feelings in Jack that he had thought long gone.
As the end of the week approached, and Ianto recovered fast, Jack found himself feeling disappointed that he would be moving back into the Hub soon. Living in a normal home had been a new experience for him and he liked it. And he would really miss seeing Ianto so much.
On the evening before Ianto was scheduled to go back to work and Jack to move back into the hub, they were sitting together on the couch watching TV. Both had just had showers and were comfortably lounging around in bathrobes. They were kissing and stroking each others backs and sides through the bathrobes. Though they had been dating for months now things were still moving very slowly physically. They had never gone beyond relatively innocent touching, though their kisses were getting more and more passionate.
Ianto tentatively pushed the boundaries and slid his hands inside Jack's bathrobe caressing his chest.
Jack froze for a moment and Ianto began to remove his hands. But Jack stopped him and with a smile said “It's OK I want you to.”
Ianto's answering smile lit up the room. “Tell me if you want me to stop all right ?”
They continued like this for several minutes until Ianto pulled back a little. “You know this would be a lot more comfortable on a bed.”
Jack hesitated for a moment but he trusted Ianto implicitly. He knew he wouldn't go any further than Jack was comfortable with. So he stood up, took Ianto's hand and led him into his bedroom.
Once inside Ianto gently sat Jack on the bed and pushed his robe off his shoulders to his waist. He kissed all down his chest then looked at him and asked “Is it OK if I take my robe off ?” At Jack's nod he removed it, hanging it over the back of a chair. He stood before Jack in all his naked glory.
“You're beautiful,” Jack whispered reaching out to pass his hands over Ianto's chest and back.
They lay back together on the bed and undertook a long slow exploration of each others bodies, kissing and touching as they went. Eventually Ianto took the final step and palmed Jack's erection, massaging gently. Jack reciprocating using his considerable skill to stroke Ianto into hardness and a semi-coherent state. A few minutes of this brought them both to completion, gasping out their pleasure as they came. Afterwards they cuddled up together in Jack's bed and slept.
* * * *
The next morning Ianto woke to find Jack watching him. He smiled and reached up to kiss him. “Are you OK?, he asked seriously.”
“Yes, I'm good,” Jack replied, “I feel safe with you. It was good.”
Of course Ianto could guess, from Jack's attitude towards sex, that he had been abused sexually in the past, but Jack had never admitted to it directly. He was surprised therefore when Jack continued to speak.
“You understand don't you Ianto,” Jack asked, “that there are things in my past that mean I can't be totally free with you sexually ?”
Ianto nodded and asked for confirmation of what he had guessed. “When you were a prisoner, were you raped ?”
“Yes,” Jack admitted with shame, “repeatedly, for years.”
“And did they know you couldn't die?”
“Yes.”
“Jesus,” Ianto exclaimed, “they must have put you through hell.”
“They did,” Jack confirmed. “Anyone with enough money was allowed to do anything they wanted to me. That was usually rape with physical abuse before, during and after. And I had to pretend to like it if that's what they wanted. They often killed me and even if I survived, the injuries would have taken too long to heal so the overseers just finished me off themselves.”
Jack wasn't looking at Ianto as he spoke. He had never told anyone the details of his imprisonment, not even Martha.
“There were some who weren't interested in sex. They just wanted to torture someone. They were the worst, they usually wanted to make it last as long as possible.”
It was worse than Ianto had dared to imagine. He reached over to pull Jack towards him, wanting to reassure him. “Oh Jack, I'm so sorry. But you escaped and now no one will hurt you. You know you're safe with me don't you?”
Jack didn't speak then but wrapped Ianto in a hug and buried his face in Ianto's chest. They lay locked together for several minutes, while Jack worked through his distress. Eventually he released his hold on Ianto.
“It was hell, but it's over now. I have a new life.” With that Jack reached up to capture Ianto's lips in a long drawn out kiss.
Ianto broke off the kiss eventually and said sadly to Jack, “I wish you didn't have to move back to the Hub tomorrow. I'll miss you.”
“I'll miss you too,” agreed Jack. “I don't want to leave.”
“Then don't,” cried Ianto with excitement. “Move in here with me. You don't have to stay in the Hub any more now that you've got rid of the bracelets. And I wouldn't push you into anything. You can have this room as your own.”
Jack swallowed down the lump in his throat. It was acceptance. Jack remembered all too vividly the Doctor's reaction to him working as a whore. He had feared that Ianto would be disgusted also, would consider him too used to be acceptable as a lover. But, even now that he knew the sordid details of Jack's past, Ianto wanted him to move in.
Jack thought about it for a long while, considering all the implications. Should he move in with Ianto when he could move out of the Hub into his own flat? They could still see each other but would have a buffer between them. Moving in with Ianto meant taking their relationship to a more intimate level.
Ianto was beginning to backtrack a little in the face of Jack's hesitation. “Of course, if you wanted we could help you get a place of your own ...”
He was interrupted by Jack's gentle statement, “I would be honoured to move in with you Ianto.”
And so a few days later Jack moved in to Ianto's flat, to start a new phase of his life.
Next chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/7606.html