Slashthedrabble Challenge 588 - Three stupid little words

[m_findlow]

Title: Three stupid little words
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: M (language)
Length: 500 words
Content notes: Spoilers for Big Finish audioplay "Outbreak"
Author notes: Written for Challenge 588 - Madness at slashthedrabble
Summary: Ianto bemoans Jack's sudden desire to declare his undying love.

Ianto couldn't believe how unfair life could be as he paused for just a split second to catch his breath. He was accustomed to running for his life, just not usually because Jack wanted to kill him - literally, as in dead.

Who the hell created a virus that made people itch like crazy, then made them want to murder the people they loved the most? That was just sheer madness, not to mention it really didn't serve any purpose. Whoever had invented this thing must have been absolutely stark raving mad!

‘I'm coming for you, Ianto!’ came the terrifyingly threatening sound of Jack's voice, all low and growling so that Ianto knew he meant business. It was the voice he used with people who didn't deserve locking up. It was the voice he used for shooting, for strangling, for sending people into the centre of the sun. In short, you didn't want to be on the receiving end of it, not that it was a problem because you probably wouldn't live long enough to worry about it.

‘I can't wait to kill you! It's going to be so good!’

‘What the fuck?’ Ianto muttered. This was wrong on so many levels that he scarcely knew where to begin. If it weren't for the fact that he already had quite a bit on his plate, what with this virus thing spreading all across the city, the source of it unknown, the cure also a big question mark, and being locked inside the hub with a maniac who wanted him dead at all costs. Oh, and not to mention the completely batty hologram of Norton Folgate who was one part helpful, seven parts undermining. It was almost like he wanted Jack to end up killing him, like it was a spectator sport!

The worst part, however selfish it might seem, was that the only reason Jack wanted to kill him was because he loved Ianto. It was beyond cruel to think that he'd gone all this time putting up with the fact that Jack had never actually said the words, and now that he was loudly declaring them with about as much gust as a homicidal maniac could, Ianto really wished he didn't.

Jack had always avoided those three little words, as if saying them would bring forth some unimaginable disaster. He skirted around them, or said them in the joking kind of way that everybody knew wasn't meant to be sincere. Ianto didn't like to admit that it hurt, just a little. Jack clearly felt that way, as evidenced by his current murderous rampage, so what was stopping him from just saying it out loud. Ianto had said it often enough but nothing seemed about to coax Jack into making a declaration. If he lived long enough to get out of here and long enough to find a cure for the virus, he was going to have a few choice words for Jack, and “I love you” wouldn't be among them.