galadriel1010 | Late Night Loss Chapter 19 (Reply)

Jack sighed, blissfully happy, and stroked Ianto’s side gently, relief and love filling every part of his being. The young man was sprawled across his torso with his head pillowed on his chest, where the reassuring thudding of the immortal’s heart had lulled his younger lover to sleep. Ianto’s breath tickled warm across his chest and their entwined hands, which were clasped close to Ianto’s face. Jack stretched a long, lazy finger out to stroke at kiss-swollen lips, feeling his body respond as the moist air ghosted across his hand when Ianto’s lips parted slightly. Ianto’s tongue darted out to moisten his lips and investigate the intruder and Jack withdrew the digit hurriedly, not wanting to wake his sleeping lover.

He looked young and innocent, his hair was soft, springy and sex-mussed, his face was still flushed and sweat beaded across his forehead whilst his lips curved into a soft, pouting smile. Jack’s heart swelled with a comforting wave of love and protectiveness; he would do anything for this wonderful, amazing man who was at the same time young and old beyond his years, strong and vulnerable, innocent and mature. He was bewitching, entrancing, captivating, and Jack was caught; he couldn’t get away if he’d wanted to. Sometimes Jack was scared by his total devotion to the young man, by just how much his life revolved around their being together, but that quickly passed in the security of Ianto’s arms. The thing that really, truly terrified him, the thing that kept him awake at nights, that sent him running to a lonely rooftop where he could cry his heart out to the darkness, was the thought that one day this would all be gone, everything he lived for would be gone and he would be alone with no escape…

No! He wouldn’t go there, not now, not today, not ever again. Burying his face in Ianto’s hair he promised that he wouldn’t face the future with fear ever again. They had today, they would always have today, and that would have to be enough.

Their room, in an old house in the fourth level of the city, was dark; a single torch in the street below the window and two candles in sconces on the walls shed the only light, and a slight breeze coming through the open window made the candle flames dance and set the shadows flickering and quivering. The bed and the few other pieces of furniture around the room, a chest and a desk against one wall, a bookcase and a cabinet against another, were of the same wood and style; sturdily built out of a dark, heavy wood with fine, light carvings. The bed was covered in thick, comfortable covers in a light silvery-blue colour, but they only covered the couple up to their waists as they snuggled together.

Ianto snuggled further into Jack's side and looped his arms further up across his waist, moaning slightly as he did so in protest at something, although Jack couldn't work out what. Still, the older man smiled and reached down awkwardly to pull the covers up over them more, resting his free hand on top of them on the back of Ianto's neck, rubbing gently with his thumb and playing with his hair. He let his eyes slide shut and tuned his ears in to the sounds of the city at night, few and far between, just the occasional passer by and the sound of water running in the fountain in the courtyard, and the low sound of Ianto's breathing and his heartbeat, although the immortal was sure he was just imagining that. Before very long he felt the soft tug of sleep and let it claim him, secure in the knowledge that he had Ianto again.

Ianto blinked and tried to regain his bearings, wondering for a moment how and why he was in bed with Jack when he was lost in a strange world; also why they were in bed in Middle Earth, or had it all been a very strange dream? When he raised his head slightly he could see the white stone walls of a house across the street from them and hear the sounds of the city coming to life. It must be a couple of hours after dawn at least, and although this was a quiet part of the city, his hearing had always been good and was finely tuned by his Torchwood experience to hear the slightest noise. As the memories of the last day returned to him he smiled and laid his head gently back against Jack's chest, which rose and fell with strong, steady breaths. It had all worked out, or maybe was working out. They were together again at last, facing their problem together, but they were still trapped inside a book.

There hadn’t been much talking the day before, not really. Once they’d realised they had an audience (OK, once they started caring that they had an audience. Fortunately Aragorn and Rhodwine had been amused. Mostly.) Once they started caring, anyway, they had greeted their friends and done the introductions and Aragorn had got the house prepared for them. As soon as it was ready they had fallen into the bed together and not done much sleeping. Closing his eyes he snuggled into Jack again, kissing his chest gently and placing all his trust once again in his partner. Truly he didn’t care if they got home, not right now, not here. As long as he was with Jack, as long as they were together, everything else could go to hell; he could be on the moon, as long as he had Jack he would be over the moon.

Jack woke slowly and fuzzily, aware first of a hand resting on his chest over his heart then, when he opened his eyes, of Ianto’s affectionate, piercingly blue gaze watching him. He smiled, not his matinee idol full grin, although it lit up his whole face and the whole of Ianto’s being in the same way, but a softer, warmer one, full of love and total adoration, and reached up to pull Ianto closer to him, kissing him softly on the lips, “Good morning.”

Ianto seemed to consider this comment before a stunning smile lit his face and he leaned over Jack to kiss him fiercely and passionately, trailing down his chin and down to his neck, “It is now, with you it’s a very good morning.” He reached under the covers and stroked down his lover’s body, squeezing him gently and grinning when he gasped, “We don’t have to be anywhere, do we?”

“If we do…” He pulled him closer and kissed the hollow of his neck, “We’re not going to be there. The only place I need to be…” He kissed him again, “Right now…” And again, “Is right here, with you.”

“I love you Jack.” Ianto blurted out as the older man’s teeth scraped across his collar bone, “I love you so much.”

“Feeling’s mutual.” Jack smiled at him brilliantly again and Ianto’s world melted into Jack’s arms and eyes.

Aragorn looked up from the map spread across the table and smiled at the slightly confused and very relieved lo

oking couple approaching them across the marble floor, “Jack, Ianto, I did wonder when you’d come to find us.”

The younger man rolled his eyes but smiled affectionately at his partner to take the sting out of his words, “We’d have been here a while back if asking for directions wasn’t a completely alien concept to one person in this room.”

“Hey!” Jack let go of Ianto’s hand only briefly so that he could hold both hands up in an expression if supplication, “I thought I knew where we were going. And besides, I’m good at alien concepts.”

“Just not navigating.” Ianto pointed out without rancour, rolling his eyes and avoiding Jack’s hand teasingly with a laugh at his pout, “We did have a nice walk around the city I will admit, it was extremely pleasant. Definitely improved by the company as well.”

Jack shrugged and finally caught his hand, squeezing it gently, “OK, so we got very lost, but we made it, didn’t we?”

Aragorn cleared his throat before the ensuing mushiness could get started, smiled internally at the ‘you know already’ look that Ianto gave Jack and the glow that the captain gave him in reply, “So, gentlemen, what exactly is it that brings you up here? Not that we don’t want to, I’m just…”

“Surprised.” Eomer finished for him with a leer in their direction, “We thought you had better things to…”

“Do.” Legolas suggested with a smirk that was dirtier than Eomer’s leer, “Like…”

“Yes, thank you Legolas.” Jack sighed, “They call me Captain Innuendo at home, and you could really do with some lessons in subtlety and, maybe not tact, because what’s the fun of tact, but at least… Ianto help me out here?”

The young man snickered, “I think Jack means that we get the idea, and ellipsis can often be funnier than the actual word. Less is more sort of thing.”

“Yes, that’s what I meant. He’s better with his tongue, words I mean, than I am.”

Aragorn rolled his eyes, “Delightful and informative though this conversation is, what are you doing here?” He was both surprised and pleased to see them

“Oh, did we not say?” Jack smiled and released Ianto’s hand to wrap his arm around his waist, “We don’t belong here, we’re in the way and… we’re leaving.”

Aragorn nodded, “I suspected as much. Where will you go, where will you go?”

“We haven’t decided that yet, haven’t really talked about it.”

“There were more interesting things to do.” Ianto smiled at him and Legolas snickered

“Like each other?”

Ianto rolled his eyes and Jack’s face went carefully blank, only his eyes betraying his amusement, “You know, you’re almost getting the idea.”

Legolas pouted, and then looked around the room shiftily, “I’m the oldest person in this room, aren’t I? And I’m acting like a child.”

“No.”

“No?”

“Well I’m over two thousand years old.” Jack explained, “It’s complicated and I try to pretend it didn’t happen, but it did. So nuh, I’m older than you.”

“Yeah, but I’m crown prince of Mirkwood, so I outrank you.”

“I’m the third highest ranked official in our world.”

“Children!” Ianto laughed and grabbed Jack’s arse to shut him up, it worked very well as the captain’s eyebrows shot up into his hair, “We were thinking, maybe, of not going straight back there. Of getting around a bit.”

“Seeing the book world.” Jack was clearly deep in thought, “Maybe sci-fi, something almost us but not quite.”

“Do you have a library of sci-fi books?” Ianto asked, and was clearly surprised when they answered in the affirmative.

Jack added one more book to the pile and crouched next to it, looking up and down the pile, wary of it collapsing, “So, where do you fancy? I hear Dune’s nice at this time of year.”

Ianto snickered, “I’m Welsh Jack, I wouldn’t cope with the heat. How about I Robot? Or maybe not anything with cyborgs, come to think of it…” Jack reached up to squeeze his hand reassuringly and he smiled at him, “Sorry.”

“Ianto…” Jack stood up and sat next to him on the sofa, smiling in surprise when Ianto pulled him so that they were both lying down with Jack’s head on Ianto’s shoulder, “You know you don’t need to apologise for anything to me.”

Ianto kissed him softly and nuzzled their noses against each other, “Then thank you. For everything.”

“And thank you.” They stayed there in silence for some time, enjoying the shared warmth and the company that they had missed during their time apart. Finally Jack sighed, “Of course, there’s always the blindingly obvious.”

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking, aren’t you?”

“I suspect so.” He pulled himself upright and pulled the book from the top of the pile, the last one he’d added, but the first one he’d thought of, “You ready for this?”

“With you, I’m ready for anything.”