Fffc Bingo Card - Going wild

[m_findlow]

Title: Going wild
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none 
Author notes: Written for Bingo Card Prompt 54 - Animal at fffc
Summary: A nasty reaction to alien spores leaves Jack trying to tame a wild beast. 

Jack dragged Ianto onto the bridge of their ship, kicking and fighting him the whole way. ‘Please stop,’ Jack begged him, for all the good his pleading seemed to be doing. They were still a few hours away from the closest planet, and Jack couldn't wait any longer. Something was very wrong with Ianto and he needed a doctor's opinion as to what it was and what to do. 

Just a few hours ago everything had been totally fine. They'd spent the last few days touring around the local star system, somewhere neither of them had ever been, and they'd had a great time trekking around the vast canyons and camping by the lakes. But since boarding their ship and setting course for their next destination, something had gone terribly wrong. 

Jack had stepped out of the shower, calling to Ianto, asking him why he hadn't decided to join him. He was pretty sure Ianto had said yes, but then failed to make an appearance. When Jack entered their bedroom, he found Ianto on the bed on all fours, staring at him wide eyed. 

‘Oh, so that's your game, is it?’ Jack teased. He expected something kinky, but Ianto's face twisted up and he snarled menacingly at Jack. Jack was taken aback. Ianto had expressed a lot of things in the time they'd known each other but Jack had never been scared by anything Ianto did. This however did scare him in a way he couldn't explain. 

He'd tried to talk to him, reason with him, but he might as well have been dealing with a child. A nasty, vicious child. Virtually a wild animal. Something was wrong but he didn't know what. 

Jack reached over with a spare hand and activated the communication channel, keying in an emergency code for a subspace telehealth consultation. 

The doctor appeared on the ship’s computer monitors. ‘How can I help?’ 

‘It's my husband. I don't know what's wrong with him. One second he was fine and the next he was like this.’ Jack tugged Ianto closer to him as he struggled against Jack's grip, grunting and snarling at the picture of the man on the screen. ‘He just went all crazy, like a wild animal. He won't speak, doesn't seem to understand what I'm saying or have any memory of who he is. I’ve never seen anything like this and I'm worried sick. Have you ever seen something like this?’ 

The doctor leaned closer to the telescreen. ‘Any fever or rash?’ 

‘I don't think so. He isn't hot.’ Jack struggled to peer down the top of Ianto's shirt, from which he'd already torn a few buttons making it easier for Jack in that respect at least. ‘No rash that I can see.’

‘Which sector of space did you say you were in, again?’

‘Delta nine six omega.’ 

‘Ah. I see. And where are you humans from originally?’ 

‘Earth.’ 

‘Yes, I thought so. Somewhere in this timeline I presume.’ 

‘Yeah. Well, I mean, yes, only um, well my timeline is a little more unusual. I've lived on Earth most of my life but I'm not from there originally. Ex time agent.’ 

The doctor nodded thoughtfully, taking in the information. ‘Mmm. It's quite common, what your husband has, considering where you're from. It really isn't as well publicised as it should be, but the atmosphere around some of the planets in that sector is heavily laced with a naturally occurring compound which has the unfortunate effect in humans of creating a massive hormonal imbalance. So much so that their testosterone goes quite off the charts, throwing them into a neural tailspin which results in precisely the sort of animalistic behaviour you've described.’ 

‘But why not me then? Why was I not affected?’ 

‘Modified genetic hormonal compensation,’ the doctor said, as if that explained everything. ‘Over time, humans have evolved to better protect themselves from introduced imbalances. Your body is effectively going into overdrive to produce counteracting hormones. Your husband doesn’t have the same advanced evolutionary makeup.’ 

‘And the cure?’ 

‘Only time. However I would suggest putting him just to some sort of isolation.’

‘I thought it wasn't contagious, or at least that I wasn't affected?’

‘It's merely for his own good. Because he's cognitively impaired. He's as likely to stick a finger into a live power socket just to see what happens. It's for his own safety to keep him away from anything he might hurt himself with. Just until the hormones come back into balance again.’ 

‘And how long is that? 

‘Forty eight paracycles, give or take.’ 

Jack groaned. ‘Two days? Isn't there anything we can do to speed this up?’ 

‘The compound is absorbed into the blood. As the blood cells die and regenerate, the compound will die with them. It's just a waiting game, I'm afraid. But not to worry. There's no lasting harm.’ 

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He supposed it could have been a lot worse. ‘Okay, I'll make sure he has twenty four paracycle supervision.’ He thanked the doctor and ended the call. 

He turned around and found Ianto gone. Bugger! He was supposed to be keeping an eye on him and he'd escaped already! 

‘Ianto!’ He ran from the bridge and down the hall. Their ship was vast and he was immediately worried, but he didn't have to look far. There was a trail or torn clothing leading him around the corner where Ianto lay in wait for him. If he'd struggled against Jack before, now was a different story. Naked and with an unmistakable physical interest on display, he eyed Jack hungrily before pouncing on him, tearing at his own clothes. 

Jack let him play rough, forced quickly into sexual submission. For one thing, Ianto was at least supervised, and for another, if what the doctor said was true and Ianto was acting solely on base instincts, Jack could think of far worse things to have to endure than a bit of overloaded testosterone-based, animalistic urges.