m_findlow

Title: Haunted
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Gwen, Ianto, OCs
Author: m_findlow
Rating: M
Length: 50,847 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for spook_me 2020 Prompt - Ghost
Summary: The team investigate rumours of a haunted house in rural Wales.

‘I hate how smart you are, sometimes, you know that?’ Jack said, trying to loop his arm around Gil's. The young man deftly evaded him, transferring the large bundle of books he'd been carrying easily under one arm into a two handed cradle in front of his torso. Jack sometimes wondered if Gil loved his books more than he loved Jack.

‘Not here,’ Gil said, walking along the lawns along the front of the large whitewashed sandstone university buildings. It was a beautiful day to be out enjoying the sunshine, not a day to be stuck in some pokey, old smelling room with a pile of books that were older than Jack.

‘When we get to your study, then?’ Jack asked with a hopeful air.

‘At some point I need to finish this thesis,’ came the reply.

‘You don't need a thesis to prove something that's already fact.’ Just because the scientific community wouldn't acknowledge Gil's theories for another forty years didn't seem to make a difference. The man was becoming almost obsessive. It had been mere luck that Jack had happened by when he had, spotting Gil moving between the university library and his office.

‘Just a few minutes,’ Jack pleaded. ‘I feel like I haven't seen you in forever.’

‘I haven't felt like getting out of bed.’

‘I don't have a problem with staying in bed,’ Jack said, trying to make light of the comment. Gil was like that. He suffered from an unknown melancholy that allowed whole days to pass without him eating or sleeping. Jack knew it wasn't healthy but he let Gil have whatever space he needed. This period of depression would pass and he'd go back to being the bright, sparkling young man Jack had fallen head over heels for. The man was so handsome and had an intellect unlike any Jack had ever known. He was someone who would go places, even if he didn't yet know it.

Gil jogged up the steps with such a grace that Jack nearly tripped over his own feet trying to keep up whilst keeping his eyes locked on the man. ‘I feel good today. I want to make the most of it.’

‘You will be,’ Jack assured him. What could be better than locking the door behind them and making love right there between all those books and papers Gil loved so much?

Jack was about to follow him through the door into the tiny study as Gil dropped the pile of books on the desk and turned to face him. ‘Please, Jack. You need to stop coming here.’

Jack frowned. ‘Why?’

There was a furtive glance over his shoulder. ‘People are…’ he leaned his head closer, but not too close. ‘People are starting to think that maybe we're…’

‘We are,’ Jack whispered back. ‘And that's okay.’ It was the eighties. Things were different now. Being with a man wasn't new anymore, wasn't completely taboo.

‘They won't take me seriously if I'm labelled a queer.’

Jack tried not to get angry. It was hard when he'd come from a time and place where it was so irrelevant that it bordered on boring. He hated labels of any kind, but especially the kind they used on this planet.

Jack grit his teeth. ‘I'll stop coming here and following you around,’ he promised. It didn't feel fair. They should be able to have a coffee together or sit out on the lawns discussing the accepted, and even the unaccepted, theories of space time - even if half of what Gil said was the kind of stuff that had made Jack's head spin back in his Time Agency Academy days. He just loved that Gil made his head spin at all. Or hold hands and kiss.

Gil seemed relieved that Jack had conceded. ‘Thank you.’

‘But that means I still want to see you. You can come around to my place any time you want. Tonight. I'll make us dinner. We can share a bottle of wine.’ He knew he shouldn't offer alcohol to a man taking medication to keep his mental wellbeing in check but it felt like perhaps they should let themselves go just for one night.

‘We'll see. I really need to cross reference these notes and run a few more calculations. As soon as I'm done.’ He gave another furtive glance around the otherwise private office and then reached up on tiptoe to kiss Jack on the cheek. Jack tried for more but Gil turned his head away and began ordering his books.

‘I'll see you soon,’ Jack said, gripping the door and wishing he didn't have to leave. ‘I love you.’

Jack didn't hear from Gil for days afterwards. He assumed he was in one of his manic phases, where the excitement of having energy and enthusiasm lead him to work day and night without stopping to even notice the days flying by. He should have stopped by the university to check on him. Then he would have discovered that Gil wasn't there at all, and hadn't been since the afternoon he'd borrowed all of those books, left abandoned on the desk to gather dust. His enthusiasm had lasted mere hours before exhaustion and doubt seeped back in, leading him home to the cold vinyl of his bathroom floor where he lay for days.

If Jack had known it would be the last time he'd ever see Gil, he never would have let him shut that door in his face.

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