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Fandomweekly Challenge 161 - Home at last
Title: Home at last
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Rhiannon, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 161 - Homecoming at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
Summary: Ianto never expected to see Jack again.
Ianto pressed the handwritten shopping list into his hoodie pocket as he made for the door, hearing it chime.
‘Don't forget to pick up a bottle of fizz for the fruit punch,’ his sister called out from the kitchen, where she was single-handedly trying to feed the entirety of Cardiff for the holidays. It was amazing how quickly life had descended back into normality, even if he still had days where he felt like his old life had been ripped out from under him. If tomorrow happened to be one of those days, he’d put on a brave face for the sake of his family. He'd simply be grateful they survived to celebrate Christmas; all of them, every last one of the world’s children alive and safe, his niece and nephew included.
‘I’ll grab some when I go out with Johnnie to get the beers,’ Ianto called back, padding down the hallway to answer the door. God knew when he’d become so at home at his sister’s that he was now a door answerer and not just a guest of the house.
He tugged it open and let out an involuntary gasp as he saw the man standing there in his military greatcoat, making his heart stop in his chest before it then began to pound like a drum. He wasn’t sure which of them looked more shocked to see the other. Jack, seeing his lover alive and well after being convinced he was dead nearly two months ago, or Ianto, seeing the one person he genuinely believed he was never going to see again.
‘Jack… I…’
He watched the visible lump in Jack’s throat as he swallowed it down, looking pale. ‘You’re alive.’
‘Ianto? Who is it?’ Rhiannon called out, ugg boots stomping down the hallway behind him and quickly closing in. ‘If it’s Shona, tell her she’s a bloody cow for not holding back that hommus dip at the co-op like I told her.’ She was right over his shoulder as she stopped for breath. ‘Eh, who’s this then?’ There was a beat, and then his sister put two and two together, remembering how her brother had described his handsome looking boss. ‘Oh, bloody hell. It's him, isn’t it?’
‘Rhi, could you give us a minute?’
‘The sodding bastard who just up and left you?’
‘Rhi, please!’ His voice was louder and more authoritative than he meant it to be but it had the intended effect of making her back down. ‘Just leave us for a bit. Please.’
She nodded uncharacteristically without argument. ‘Okay.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, stepping out through the front door and closing it behind him, leaving the two of them standing there in the front yard. ‘So…’ Ianto began. ‘You’re back or just passing through? Only I didn't get you a present this year.’
Jack ignored his jibe. ‘I watched you die in my arms. I thought if ever there was a time I could will myself to not come back from death…’
‘And yet you walked away just when everyone needed you most.’
Jack's jaw clenched. ‘I did what had to be done. There was nothing else here for me.’
‘I was here!’ Ianto said, feeling his voice nearly break. ‘And Gwen! You just left us.’
‘You were dead! I died that day too, only my death was the kind you have to live with, knowing you killed the person most important to you. Knowing that I was responsible for that.’
Ianto scowled. ‘Except I wasn't dead.’
‘How?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t know. No one else survived the virus so I can only assume it was something to do with you. I just woke up, in a hospital bed, and by the time I was able to get out of there…’ He heaved a sigh. ‘It was all over. The 456 was destroyed, you were gone. And so, I came back here. Didn’t know where else to go. Gwen and I tried calling you a hundred times but… if you’d just picked up the phone.’
‘I take it that’s your sister and she's not exactly my biggest fan,’ Jack said, changing the subject.
‘Can you blame her?’
‘I only came to give her my condolences and go.’
‘Oh, and you couldn’t have done that, say, two months ago? Thought you’d wait until Christmas to dredge it all back up again? Gee, thanks.’
‘Ianto…’ Jack begged.
‘She took me in when no one else would. When I… I couldn't go back to my old flat. I kept thinking they were going to come after me and finish what they’d started. Gwen and Rhys moved down to one of the safe houses on the coast, did you know? No, probably not, because you stopped caring about what happened to us.’
‘That’s not true! I always cared. I still do. I needed to make my peace with your family before I…’
‘Before you what?‘ Ianto didn't wait for an answer, it seemingly becoming obvious the moment he asked the question. ‘You’re leaving, aren't you?’
Jack shook his head vehemently. ‘No. This changes everything. You here alive. I never imagined. You don't know how much it’s killed me every single day. I…’ His eyes welled up with tears and his lips trembled, unable to get any more words out.
Ianto stepped forward and wrapped him up in his arms as Jack collapsed into a sobbing heap. His own tears pricked at the inside corners of his eyes. He thought he'd said his goodbyes all those months ago in Thames House, making sure Jack knew how much he loved him. He hadn’t been ready for death, but there was nothing he could do to change it. The universe however appeared to have other plans for him, whether it was Jack’s intervention or not. He just hadn't expected he'd have to forge that path ahead on his own. Perhaps now he wouldn’t have to.
‘It’s okay,’ he said, holding Jack tight and consoling him. ‘You’re home now.’
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Rhiannon, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 161 - Homecoming at
fandomweekly Summary: Ianto never expected to see Jack again.
Ianto pressed the handwritten shopping list into his hoodie pocket as he made for the door, hearing it chime.
‘Don't forget to pick up a bottle of fizz for the fruit punch,’ his sister called out from the kitchen, where she was single-handedly trying to feed the entirety of Cardiff for the holidays. It was amazing how quickly life had descended back into normality, even if he still had days where he felt like his old life had been ripped out from under him. If tomorrow happened to be one of those days, he’d put on a brave face for the sake of his family. He'd simply be grateful they survived to celebrate Christmas; all of them, every last one of the world’s children alive and safe, his niece and nephew included.
‘I’ll grab some when I go out with Johnnie to get the beers,’ Ianto called back, padding down the hallway to answer the door. God knew when he’d become so at home at his sister’s that he was now a door answerer and not just a guest of the house.
He tugged it open and let out an involuntary gasp as he saw the man standing there in his military greatcoat, making his heart stop in his chest before it then began to pound like a drum. He wasn’t sure which of them looked more shocked to see the other. Jack, seeing his lover alive and well after being convinced he was dead nearly two months ago, or Ianto, seeing the one person he genuinely believed he was never going to see again.
‘Jack… I…’
He watched the visible lump in Jack’s throat as he swallowed it down, looking pale. ‘You’re alive.’
‘Ianto? Who is it?’ Rhiannon called out, ugg boots stomping down the hallway behind him and quickly closing in. ‘If it’s Shona, tell her she’s a bloody cow for not holding back that hommus dip at the co-op like I told her.’ She was right over his shoulder as she stopped for breath. ‘Eh, who’s this then?’ There was a beat, and then his sister put two and two together, remembering how her brother had described his handsome looking boss. ‘Oh, bloody hell. It's him, isn’t it?’
‘Rhi, could you give us a minute?’
‘The sodding bastard who just up and left you?’
‘Rhi, please!’ His voice was louder and more authoritative than he meant it to be but it had the intended effect of making her back down. ‘Just leave us for a bit. Please.’
She nodded uncharacteristically without argument. ‘Okay.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, stepping out through the front door and closing it behind him, leaving the two of them standing there in the front yard. ‘So…’ Ianto began. ‘You’re back or just passing through? Only I didn't get you a present this year.’
Jack ignored his jibe. ‘I watched you die in my arms. I thought if ever there was a time I could will myself to not come back from death…’
‘And yet you walked away just when everyone needed you most.’
Jack's jaw clenched. ‘I did what had to be done. There was nothing else here for me.’
‘I was here!’ Ianto said, feeling his voice nearly break. ‘And Gwen! You just left us.’
‘You were dead! I died that day too, only my death was the kind you have to live with, knowing you killed the person most important to you. Knowing that I was responsible for that.’
Ianto scowled. ‘Except I wasn't dead.’
‘How?’
He shook his head. ‘I don’t know. No one else survived the virus so I can only assume it was something to do with you. I just woke up, in a hospital bed, and by the time I was able to get out of there…’ He heaved a sigh. ‘It was all over. The 456 was destroyed, you were gone. And so, I came back here. Didn’t know where else to go. Gwen and I tried calling you a hundred times but… if you’d just picked up the phone.’
‘I take it that’s your sister and she's not exactly my biggest fan,’ Jack said, changing the subject.
‘Can you blame her?’
‘I only came to give her my condolences and go.’
‘Oh, and you couldn’t have done that, say, two months ago? Thought you’d wait until Christmas to dredge it all back up again? Gee, thanks.’
‘Ianto…’ Jack begged.
‘She took me in when no one else would. When I… I couldn't go back to my old flat. I kept thinking they were going to come after me and finish what they’d started. Gwen and Rhys moved down to one of the safe houses on the coast, did you know? No, probably not, because you stopped caring about what happened to us.’
‘That’s not true! I always cared. I still do. I needed to make my peace with your family before I…’
‘Before you what?‘ Ianto didn't wait for an answer, it seemingly becoming obvious the moment he asked the question. ‘You’re leaving, aren't you?’
Jack shook his head vehemently. ‘No. This changes everything. You here alive. I never imagined. You don't know how much it’s killed me every single day. I…’ His eyes welled up with tears and his lips trembled, unable to get any more words out.
Ianto stepped forward and wrapped him up in his arms as Jack collapsed into a sobbing heap. His own tears pricked at the inside corners of his eyes. He thought he'd said his goodbyes all those months ago in Thames House, making sure Jack knew how much he loved him. He hadn’t been ready for death, but there was nothing he could do to change it. The universe however appeared to have other plans for him, whether it was Jack’s intervention or not. He just hadn't expected he'd have to forge that path ahead on his own. Perhaps now he wouldn’t have to.
‘It’s okay,’ he said, holding Jack tight and consoling him. ‘You’re home now.’