[Makebelieve] Fic: What Price Love - Torchwood - Jack/Ianto, ianto/Lisa - FRAO

[makebelieve archive]

Title: What Price Love
by PEJA
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: FRAO, for violence
Pairing (portrayed by):
1. Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones (John Brrowman/Gareth David-Lloyd)
2. past Ianto Jones/Lisa Hallett (Gareth David-Lloyd/Caroline Chikezie)
Summary: Loving Ianto comes at a crushing cost, but Jack is willing to
pay...whatever the price.
Warnings: OOC Ianto, angst, H/c if you can accept comfort or healing in the
form of consensual pain. previous hetero relationship...well, guess I should
mention there is tazer torture and the death of an immortal, who comes back
just as sensual as ever.(Can't keep a good sex demon down, can ya?)
Acknowlegements: This story is dedicated to Kate, who asked for Evil!Ianto.
Hope this comes close to what you want.
Spoilers: Cyberwoman, big time.
Notes: The Cyberwoman details come from the episode case notes in "The
Torchwood Archives" published by BBC Books
Prompt: All_Unwritten Prompt #947 - burn marks
Disclaimer: Torchwood belongs to Davies and the BBC.


Such a little thing. A misjudged reach across the conference table, the slip
of an immaculate cuff just high enough to betray his dark secret. The quick
tug, pulling the soft cotton back into place.  Something no one would think
to question in Ianto on first blush.  Unless of course you knew the
tell-tale signs that broadcast Ianto was in bad shape.

Jack knew them. Had been watching for them ever since Ianto had evaded his
embrace last weekend with a murmured, "I have to finish this, Jack."  This
being a stupid crossword puzzle he was doing on the internet.

Jack hadn't pressed the incident.  He'd gone through Ianto's pulling away on
several occasions since they had committed to each other so the burn marks
on Ianto's forearm didn't come as a shock. A disappointment, yes, but not a
shock. Self-mutilation was Ianto's way of coping when the guilt and grief
got hard to bear in him.

The price Jack paid for ordering and carrying out the execution of Lisa
Hallet would come next.

Make no mistake, Jack had lived too long, lived through to much not to
accept there would be a cost when he'd drawn the reluctant man into an
intimate romance.  He told himself it hadn't been intentional. He'd only
meant to take a more personal hand in the quiet man's... how had he worded
it in his archive notes for the "Cyberwoman" case? Oh yes, he'd only meant
to take more time with him, one on one, to better meet Ianto's personal and
emotional needs. Strictly professional and all that rot.

Funny how a life-weary man can deceive himself without even trying. Imagine
it. Him, Jack Harkness, wanting to spend time with a damn attractive man,
strictly professional.

He smirked self-depreciating. Which profession would that be, Jack? Gigolo
for hire?

But Jesus God....Way back at the beginning, when Ianto had commented on
Jack's natural scent being good. God, just the thought of it and Jack had
felt over the moon with wanting him.  He'd had it bad for Ianto Jones since
he'd landed full body contact in the cunning man's arms that night in the
warehouse.

And Ianto had wanted Jack as well. Jack read the desire in his eyes as
clearly as if the man had shouted it to the four winds...or broadcast it on
the 24 hour new channel.  But Ianto had resisted his own desire, had
pretended not to feel the strong pull.  Well, he had his love for Lisa to
keep him warm at night, didn't he?

Until Jack had put done to that.... with deadly accuracy.

The only mercy Jack had shown Ianto that day was to put him on indefinite
suspension, ordering him to get out and get his damn head on straight. Not
come back until he could do his job.

Jack had clamped down hard on his own emotions, stamping down his own need
to comfort Ianto. Ianto had betrayed them. Had betrayed him.  Him,
dammitall. Ianto had loved a dead woman better.

And anyway, the grieving man would not have appreciated Jack's comfort from
blood stained hands. Instead, once the rest of the team had vanished deeper
into the bowels of the hub and Ianto had finished putting the destruction
back in order, Jack had handed down his punishments, then he'd gripped
Ianto's arm in a harsh, hurtful grasp and escorted him out of the Hub in
silence.

Ianto had walked away, stiff backed, and never once looked back, leaving
Jack to wonder if the man was walking out of his life and not just taking a
break from the job.

Jack had watched Ianto walking out of his life for long after the man had
actually faded from sight. Unable to break that tenuous link until Owen had
called up to ask for orders on how to proceed with clean up.

Jack had forced himself to turn away and rejoin the remainder of his team.

He'd personally seen to the decommissioning of the cyber-conversion unit and
any other cyber-technology that had found its way into the basement storage
unit. Over-seeing that each and every part of the diabolical machine was
torn apart and melted down before deposing of it according to protocol. He'd
observed Owen during the removal of the cyber components embedded in Lisa
Hallett's body and hand-delivered them to the furnaces, disposing of them as
he had the rest of the cyber technology. Lisa's body, along with the bodies
of the pizza girl Annie Bennett and Dr. Ryoichi Tanizaki, had been slated to
be cremated, but at the last moment, Jack had decided to inter Lisa in the
on site morgue. He could at least give Ianto a place to visit his lost love.


And an impetus to getting Ianto to return to the Hub, if the need arose.

Jack shook his head, thinking back, amazed at how far an infatuated man
would go to convince himself he was doing everything for the good of the job
and not for the pleasures he anticipated in exploring the lean Welshman's
virgin body.

His first visit to Ianto's home had been a week to the day after Lisa'a
death. The man he'd found was the direct opposite of the Ianto Jones Jack
was familiar with, sporting a week's worth of beard, his neatly trimmed hair
sprawled over his head like a spent hooker after a night of debauchery.  The
stink of brandy flowed off him in waves. And unwashed body.

Jack should have expected it, but this was Ianto. Sweet, mild-mannered
Ianto.

The first blow, to his jaw sent him reeling backwards. Ianto may have been
drunker than God, but he was blinded by his grief. His righteous fury. He
pressed the attack, hurling himself at a still staggered Jack.

Jack didn't have time to think, only to react. To defend himself.

In the end, Ianto went down hard, knocking his head. Blackness claimed him,
ending the conflict.

Being a gentle man by nature, Ianto's rage bled out of him as Jack tenderly
lifted him and put him to bed, then stayed with him, caring for him over the
next few days, leaving only a fragile, grieving man behind.  A man who could
no more resist the tender attention than stop breathing.  Who slowly stopped
cringing away from Jack's touch and began to respond with shy, nervous
acceptance.

Now, thinking on the burns Ianto had tried to hide, Jack made a quick call
and arranged for a delivery to be made to the tourist center. That done he
unlocked his top drawer and found a certain key he'd taped to the inside
desktop.  Pocketing the key, he left his office and headed for a room known
only to him and Ianto.

It was time once more to pay the price of loving Ianto Jones.

^^^^

Ianto watched the florist delivery van roll to a stop in front of the
tourist center. A scowl pulled his brows low over stormy blue eyes when the
man hopped out with a small box in hand. His hands fisted as the grinning
delivery boy set the box on the counter and tipped his hat before bouncing
merrily on his way again.

His lips thinned as he lifted the lid and drew out the single black rose.

Jack's invitation.  Telling Ianto he was waiting for him below.

Sighing, he lifted the rose to his lips and pressed a kiss to the sober
petals. He rounded the counter, locking the door and turning the open sign
round to read closed.  He pulled down the beige shade and went to join his
hated, much loved lover.

^^^^

Jack had his back to the door when Ianto entered the candle lit dungeon.  He
stayed that way even though his instantly tensed body telegraphed that he
knew Ianto had come in and silently closed the heavy door behind him.

Ianto padded half-way across the room, then stopped.  His cold gaze
slithered over Jack's waiting form.

"Strip."

The command was soft, almost tender, but there was an acid bite of murderous
hatred just under the pleasantly spoken command.

Jack kept his back to Ianto as he obeyed. He had been in this room often
enough to know what was to come, but his love for Ianto would not allow fear
to force his pleas to escape.  He'd not shame himself asking mercy.

This was about Ianto. About Ianto's need to purge the rage burning inside
himself at both of them. Jack understood, even though it broke his heart,
that he had been the reason behind Ianto's suffering.  And Ianto was worth
the price demanded to heal that hurt.

Besides, dying only hurt for a little while and the make-up sex was
...beyond amazing.

Naked, Jack drifted to his knees, his head bowed in total submission.
Waiting for Ianto to make the next move.

Ianto stood his ground, staring at Jack in silence for several heavily laden
moments, stretching Jack's agitated nerves to the limit and beyond as he
drew time out.  Jack could not control the wave after wave of shudders that
rippled through him. Could not restrain the flinch of awareness as suddenly
Ianto moved on silent feet behind him, closing in, backing away only to
close in again, sometimes so close he could feel the heat of Ianto's passing
on his quivering sensitized skin.

Still Ianto gave no sign of his inclinations and anxiety built higher in
Jack, leaving him wary....uncertain what would happen next. Jack wanted to
scream at him to get on with the punishments. To end the agony of wondering,
but he did not. This was Ianto's playtime. Ianto would do what he would do,
and Jack would allow it to spin out on his lover's timetable.

It was the price they paid for loving each other.

"You killed her, Jack."

The words were a whisper in Jack's ear.  He trembled at the hatred, the
disgust in those soft words.

"Then seduced me." He whispered into Jack's other ear. Jack could feel the
whisper of Ianto's breath on his skin.  "And I went willingly...eagerly into
your arms." He spoke from above, soft as a summer breeze, bitter as a cosh
with a boulder to the head. "Like a whore."

"Never a whore," Jack blurted.

Ianto hit him in the back with a tazer.  Jack's body collapsed on the floor,
twitching as the currents rode through him.

Until, finally, Ianto finally broke the charge.  "You will not speak," Ianto
told him as Jack got shakily back on his knees.

Ianto walked around and hunkered down before him. He tilted his head, icy
blue eyes studying Jack's face intently. "Why do you invite me hurt you like
this, my Jack?"  He smiled, but it never touched his diamond hard eyes.
"Why, when you can have anyone? Why me?"

Jack held his tongue, but his love shone in his eyes.

Ianto shook his head, rocketing to his feet. "You make no sense.  You, of
all people, know how fickle my love is. How...contrived."

He could not let that idea pass.  "Not contrived."

Jack screamed raggedly as the current burnt through him again. This time
stronger. When had Ianto upped the amps?  Jack hadn't heard the clicks.

The agonies dragged on and on, his body convulsing violently, his eyes
rolling up in his head. And then, an eternity later, it was over.  The
current ceased, but not the rippling, tearing muscle contractions.

Jack writhed in pain on the floor, struggling to catch a proper breath, to
once more find his knees.  His body was against the idea, twitching to a
ghost current that pulsed with the unsteady beat of his heart.

Ianto stared coldly down on him, a bitter sneer whispering across his lips.
"Yes, my Jack, contrived." he snarled. "How else do you explain how quickly
my fickle heart would turn from Lisa to you. I thought I'd die without her.
Die, Jack. And then you... killed her and I was alone and I wanted to
die....I tried to die, but there you were to save the day like fucking
bloody Mighty Mouse....And now...I think myself in love with you. You know
that, don't you?"

Jack's gaze searched Ianto's face for some visual sign of the longing he
heard in Ianto's voice, and found none. He nodded anyway. God, yes he knew.
Knew and believed. Ianto. His Ianto loved him. And the double-edged sword of
that love occasionally reached out to destroy Ianto. When the guilt got to
be too much. When love got to feel too much like betrayal.

Ianto allowed himself a mocking smile. "Of course you do.  That's what you
wanted from the beginning. No, don't deny it. I just might forget to make
this last if you do." Ianto tapped the tazer against his lips, thoughtful.
"What happens when I forget to feel guilty about us, Jack? What then? Will
you toss me aside then?  Will you?" He nodded to himself. "Of course you
will. You toss everyone away when you're done with them, don't you? No one
can be forever for you. You don't die right.  You cheat. Even death. You
cheat." His short bark of laughter was sour. "You will forget me in the
end."

Jack forced his body to rise up so he could capture Ianto's gaze. He cradled
Ianto's face in his hands. "Never forget you, Ianto. Never forget you."

"Liar!" Ianto jerked away and hit him with the crippling current again.
"Fuck you, Jack." he rasped, not letting up this time. "Fuck you, and fuck
making this last."

Jack's screams soared in the quiet of the dungeon-like basement. Soared and
soared again until there was no air left to scream. He clutched at his
chest, feeling his heart burst inside him.

The last thing he saw as death reached out to end his agony was Ianto.

Weeping hysterically in a collapsed heap at his side.

Jack smiled. Ianto needed the tears. The tears healed him.

^^^^

Jack's ragged gasp for  first breath burned in his chest.

Strong arms wrapped around him. He sighed into the warm body holding him,
wrapped around him. Tears slipped down his cheeks. Not his, Ianto's. His
would come later. But now it was enough that he let Ianto pull him higher in
his arms. Holding him. Kissing away the fear, the ghosts of pain. Letting
him know without words that the guantlet had been run once more and the
balance had been blessedly restored. That love had conquered betrayal and
the price was, for now, paid.

He managed to twist around so he lay against Ianto's chest, smiling into
tragic, apologetic eyes. "Better, my Ianto?"  he asked through a rough
gulping gasp, knowing, but needing the words. "Do you love me again yet?"

"So many dead because of what I did. Because.."

Jack silenced him with a kiss. "What's done is done. Let it go."

"Sorry," Ianto mumbled. "So very sorry I hurt you."

"I allow it, my love," Jack brushed away Ianto's tears even as his own tears
broke and scrubbed the hurt from him. "You are my heart, Ianto. My soul.  I
would walk through hell to heal you." He eased Ianto down onto his back,
following him down so he lie on the Welshman. "Now are you ever going to
show me how much I mean to you?"

Ianto blushed prettily. He nodded, but he hardly needed to as his hands made
quick work of his own cloths....Not so easy a thing when there was an
impatient, newly re-animated and sex-crazed immortal squirming on top of a
man.

Ianto was thankful that Jack gave him plenty of practice in getting the job
done on a regular basis.


end

Would love to hear your thoughts on this piece.
Now, ask yourself, if left to my own devices, what new horrors might I come
up with to plunge my lovely characters into next? Doesn't the mere thought
make you cringe in terror?

Oh Yeah... End Notes:
Permission to archive WWOMB. Others please ask
Comm/List Written to introduce the all new Barrowmanland comm:
LJ - http://community.livejournal.com/barrowmanland
DW - http://barrowmanland.dreamwidth.org
IJ - http://asylums.insanejournal.com/barrowmanland
Author's websites:
http://peja.dreamwidth.org
http://peja.insanejournal.com
http://peja1956.livejournal.com
http://www.squidge.org/peja/cgi-bin/viewuser.php?uid=1
Author's email: makebelievearchive at gmail.com

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