Challenge 783 - Unfixable
Oct. 22nd, 2023 05:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
m_findlowTitle: Unfixable
Character: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 200 words
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
Summary: Some things even Torchwood can't fix. A double drabble.
Ianto sat for a long while, just watching the flat grey ocean disappear under the bow of the boat as it swayed surely and steadily back to shore. ‘What if…’ he finally said.
Jack's hand found his shoulder and gripped it firmly, preventing him from finishing the thought. ‘Don't,’ he pleaded and Ianto clamped his jaw shut. ‘I know you mean well,’ Jack began, ‘but there's nothing you can think of that I haven't already thought a thousand times before.’
Ianto didn't quite believe that. Jack could be singularly narrow-minded.
‘They're damaged beyond belief,’ Jack said, avoiding looking at anything other than the still distant shore.
The hollow expressions from the faces of the people hidden away on Flat Holm Island still haunted Ianto, and no doubt haunted Jack every single day. How had he kept this secret for as long as he had? It trumped everything they’d ever learned about how the rift worked, and with horrific consequences.
‘They don't deserve to be locked away,’ he finally said. These were ordinary Cardiff residents, no different to him. Apparently none of them were safe.
‘The damage is done, Ianto!’ Jack snapped. ‘It can't be undone!’ he said, before storming off.
Ianto sat for a long while, just watching the flat grey ocean disappear under the bow of the boat as it swayed surely and steadily back to shore. ‘What if…’ he finally said.
Jack's hand found his shoulder and gripped it firmly, preventing him from finishing the thought. ‘Don't,’ he pleaded and Ianto clamped his jaw shut. ‘I know you mean well,’ Jack began, ‘but there's nothing you can think of that I haven't already thought a thousand times before.’
Ianto didn't quite believe that. Jack could be singularly narrow-minded.
‘They're damaged beyond belief,’ Jack said, avoiding looking at anything other than the still distant shore.
The hollow expressions from the faces of the people hidden away on Flat Holm Island still haunted Ianto, and no doubt haunted Jack every single day. How had he kept this secret for as long as he had? It trumped everything they’d ever learned about how the rift worked, and with horrific consequences.
‘They don't deserve to be locked away,’ he finally said. These were ordinary Cardiff residents, no different to him. Apparently none of them were safe.
‘The damage is done, Ianto!’ Jack snapped. ‘It can't be undone!’ he said, before storming off.
