Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"So… you found this when?" Ianto asked as he clutched the Rumba to his chest like it was a long lost child.

"We told you, when we found all that tat!" came the bored reply.

"Show me!" Ianto demanded.

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"There was a really cool bike thing I could not work out, it has like a fan for a front wheel and… it doesn't go anywhere" Hope was talking as she pushed at a large stone dividing wall. No, it looked like it had come from a museum or something and it was Ianto who paused to look at it.

"No, not that" she barked with annoyance "Over here. This is just a weird artwork that no one really likes."

"Yeah… its weird looking" Owen agreed as he squinted up at it.

"Interesting though, not Aztec, not Egyptian but clearly old… I don't get the language. Several in there… like… Jack, is this a Predator wall?" Toshiko asked, swinging to address Jack.

"No, they are more like… slashes and chevrons and stuff. No, I don't think so" Jack frowned.

"Still, not something known around here." Toshiko nodded.

"Not by you maybe" Jack said softly pausing as he caught something in the bond.

Ianto thought quite solidly "not from here."

"Not Predi but clearly it is …."

"Hey… look" Hope was annoyed now "The weird bike thing. Come on, I wanna know."

Hope gave the five foot stone artwork a solid shove and it slid along the floor to slide neatly into a piece of tat with no clear purpose, the click loud. Ianto turned to stare at it as the piece of tat made a little chirping noise like it was coming on line or something.

"Jack?"

"Hmmm?" Jack turned to look as well, his face paling as he then said ever so fucking calmly "Everyone out. Now."

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"what is it?" Ianto asked as he ran his hands over it "It sort of… vibrates."

"you hear it too?" Jack stepped closer, his own hands gong over the stonework. "Something about it… I feel… something familiar about it but… I don't know. Something from a long time ago, maybe I read it in an Agency book or something? I… I don't know."

"No… I know it too. I feel… weird. I … maybe T1? Hang on… there's something like this in the archives… the lower levels where we had… sorry… I mean… I had Lisa. Remember the room next door?" Ianto canted his head as his frown deepened "Jack… what the hell is that?"

"OK… not an Alien Sex Toy" Javk shrugged "But that noise is like running water, is there a broken pipe somewhere?"

"No, it' not water… I know that sound… what… this one… this little one… I know this emblem…" Ianto turned to look at Jack as Jack reached out to touch one of the weird symbols as well.

"See this? It's an amount. It means… it means … hang on" Jack muttered as he pushed it and they both watched with surprise as the symbol sank into the stone until it was flush.

"Huh" Ianto grunted in such a way that he sounded just like Owen. "Not good. I know this…I ... shit"

"It is just me or…"

Whatever else Jack was about to say, Ianto never caught it as the rushing water noise was suddenly more like a waterfall crashing over him and he gasped with the shock of it. Like, cold ice water and then… a moment of… nothing.

Ianto opened his eyes to find Jack in front of him with his own eyes wide, no doubt as wide as Ianto knew his own must be. Ianto let his eyes slide to one side then down at the floor by his feet and he felt his own face become as cold and still as Jack's seemed to be.

Crap.

Yeah, he knew what that was now.

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Jack was looking at Ianto as he slowly took a step back from the wall "and now I think I know why the thing was making that noise. The one at T3, in the call next to Lisa's… you know… it was like this but it was a mirror image…. Ianto?"

Ianto was staring at him with a really strange look on his face, his eyes then darting about like he didn't know where he was.

"Holdfast? What is it?" Jack asked, opening his mind to the bond so he might 'see' what Ianto could only to find…. Nothing.

"Ianto?" Jack was confused now, reaching for him but Ianto took a step back, a mask falling into place that Jack had not seen in about twenty years.

Suddenly… Jack knew what this was and he could only let his hand drop as he knew this was going to be a hard ride for both of them.

"Oh Ianto. It's OK."

"OK?" Ianto said in a high pitched laughing way "Really sir?"

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"What do you mean?" Hope demanded, her arms folded as Jack stood blocking the doorway.

"I mean, me and Tad need some time. We want to go through some of those files and I think a little time alone to de-stress is not a bad thing!" Jack folded his arms too.

"Where are you!" she demanded "You and Tad are both gone… blocking."

"Well our sexy times are few and far between these days. I want to enjoy my mate!" Jack sniffed.

"Ewwwww, preggers sex. Is that a thing?"

Jack's smile seemed to change and she wondered if he was about to go off on her about preggers sex but instead he swung to stare back inside the vault.

Shit.

"Dad? What is going on?"

"Nothing, we will both see you tomorrow" Jack said as he closed the door firmly.

Chapter Text

Ianto opened his eyes to find Jack in front of him with his own eyes wide, no doubt as wide as Ianto knew his own must be. Ianto let his eyes slide to one side then down at the floor by his feet and he felt his own face become as cold and still as Jack's seemed to be.

Crap.

Yeah, he knew what that was now.

.

.

Jack was looking at Ianto as he slowly took a step back from the wall "and now I think I know why the thing was making that noise. The one at T3, in the call next to Lisa's… you know… it was like this but it was a mirror image…. Ianto?"

Ianto was staring at him with a really strange look on his face, his eyes then darting about like he didn't know where he was.

"Holdfast? What is it?" Jack asked, opening his mind to the bond so he might 'see' what Ianto could only to find…. Nothing.

"Ianto?" Jack was confused now, reaching for him but Ianto took a step back, a mask falling into place that Jack had not seen in about twenty years.

Suddenly… Jack knew what this was and he could only let his hand drop as he knew this was going to be a hard ride for both of them.

"Oh Ianto. It's OK."

"OK?" Ianto said in a high pitched laughing way "Really sir?"

Jack thought hard and then said as gently as he could "This is many years after a major world changing event that was NOT Torchwood. You and I are still…."

Ianto's eyes had slid to a piece of tat nearby with a reflective surface, looking at his own face a dth the layer of thick dust with something akin to annoyance now. Jack sighed "Ianto, I am not messing with you. Owen is out there, I am about to go out to tell them we are going to spend some time here while we try to sort things out and get you back into the right place, time and body. OK?"

"OK?" came the choked reply as Ianto looked down at himself and gasped, his hands running over the jet black three piece suit with the burnt orange trim "Oh… oh… nice."

Typical. In the middle of a crisis he was still concerned with looking good.

"Ianto, I always knew that you wore those for me. And I appreciate it, believe me… I really appreciate your arse in those trousers" Jack leered, trying to remember how things were between them back in the day.

It was strange. He knew. He hadn't but right now, he knew. Of course, he also knew this meant Ianto was back there, currently staring at him in that predatory way while trying to work out what the hell had happened…. Before his own memories sort of appeared in his cosmos.

A paradox.

Shit, were they creating a paradox? No… if they were there would be more… their memories would be stronger? Huh? Jack tried to remember what he had been taught, what he had long since forgot and he suddenly knew when it was too.

Clarity is an amazing thing.

Fuck.

Lisa.

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"Lisa" Ianto said softly as he stared at the body at his feet, then his eyes tracked up to Jack.

Jack had never seen Ianto looking at him like that, the chin tucked in, eyes hooded and… almost like a predator. A wild animal either going to run or attack. It was very arousing and he felt conflicted now. I mean the dead Cyberwoman dead at their feet made this all seem so… wrong.

"Ianto… I…."

"Why don't you go up there and sort out the others. Gwen will need comforting and you need to change your shirt" Into said calmly, his eyes boring into Jack's in a way that…. Jack felt something in the back of his mind and with alarm he stepped back.

"Ianto?" Jack's hand slid towards his Webley and the motion seemed to amuse Ianto, his grin unsettling.

"Yes Sir… I am A Ianto. Just…" the head slowly swivelled to the side, not a bird of prey that made Jack freeze with alarm as Ianto continued to speak "Just… maybe… not the Ianto you know… yet."

"Yet."

"Yes. Don't be afraid Javic Thane, your Holdfast could never harm you."

Jack let his hand drop as he looked at Ianto closer "how long."

"Hmmmm?"

"The gap. Is it my VM? No… this is a body swap right? Bloody Hart, isn't it. I will kill him!" Jack snarled as he turned to look at the door, making sure it was closed so the others could not disturb them "Ianto, just tell me if the Doctor is involved or not."

"You are over thinking something that you have no control over. Jack… this does not concern you so let it go. Something happened that was a future cock-up… you pushed a button. OK? I seem fine so let's calm down while Future You gets over the shock of me suddenly becoming YOUR Ianto… god. He will not know what to do."

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.

"I know just what to do!" Jack said firmly "I will tell you about the scar on your arm, you broke it and the bone poked out. Your father was a monster… literally. Poppy and Nainny raised you and gave you the love and calculated sarcasm that Owen loves… Ianto. Hi. Captain Jack Harkness…. Jones."

"When am I?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Ianto demanded, then snorted as he leaned back to look down his nose at him "Right Paradox."

Jack grinned "You always were a smart cookie."

.

.

"So…. This is a fixed event now" Jack rubbed his face "And you know what is going on but can't say."

"No, good or bad, they need to fall in the place they did for me already. I can't fuck around with things, or you. Well… maybe I CAN fuck you!"

Jack felt himself grin as he said softly "You always were a smart cookie."

Chapter Text

Ianto was still trying to get over the déjà vu feeling as he walked around in the lower levels cleaning away the remains of Lisa's rampage… well… the thing pretending to be her. Wow. He had forgotten how cold it was down here, why he always liked the thick tweed suits. Damn, he missed those in the future. Mostly right now though, he missed the ability to create warmth by thought alone.

Then the klaxons started to sound in the upper level, the echo telling him the team were heading out. He wandered up to watch the chaos he once knew so well, Gwen trying to sweep her jacket off the back of her chair like Toshiko just had, only to have a sleeve catch in the arm and the entire thing yank her back like a dog on a chain.

Fuck. Don't laugh. Sorrowful. Remorseful. Don't. Laugh. At. Big. Tits… damn. Ianto turned quickly to face back down the stairs he had just walked up, trying to school his features. Silly bitch.

"Ianto! You stay here!"Owen demanded as he brushed past with a containment box like Ianto might make a run for it.

"Of course. I am on confinement" Ianto agreed with his hands sliding into his pocket, leaning against the doorframe to watch them take off to go out the door, Jack glancing back at him in a way he knew so well. He wished he could send a loving thought in the bond but knew it might just freak this Jack out.

"We mean it, behave" Gwen said as she hesitated at the door, like she thought leaving him behind might give him licence to burn the place down.

"Come on T-Boy. Pinkie promise not to leave though those blast doors while we are gone" Owen said in a syrupy sweet voce, holding out a pinkie finger.

Ianto hooked the finger with his own and said "I hereby solemnly swear that I will not go near, or pass through those blast doors while you are gone!"

"Good enough" Owen said as he raced after Jack, saying to Gwen as he shot past "Move it Gappy!"

Jack leaned back around the still open door to call to Gwen, and then he looked at Ianto and gave a soft smile. Like he was waiting for Ianto to say something.

Instead Ianto raised a hand to wriggle his fingers and Jack's grin widened.

Then he was gone.

Ianto stood pondering what to do, and then he knew. Like a sudden epiphany and he wondered if it was the Then Ianto or the Now Ianto or the Future Ianto… damn this paradox thing is nuts. Time travel sucks. What he does is remembered as what he did because he remembers it now?

Ianto decided to stop trying to understand, simply moving on instinct.

That had never failed him.

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Ianto was fiddling with a piece of tat and Jack was trying to give him space (as much as you can in a bunker), remembering what a withdrawn little thing he was back then, before he let the masks drop… so many masks.

"So. I'm preggers"

"Yeah, um… a side effect of…"

"No. don't tell me" Ianto held up a hand "Best I don't know. I might flinch or something when I get zapped by the alien gun or whatever that causes this. Timelines and fixed points and all that. Just tell me this isn't Owen's fault again."

Jack smiled softly as he saw that blustering Ianto used to do as well, hiding his insecurity behind annoyance. God, even then he was cute.

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Ianto was confidently walking along the plaz, humming to himself as he contemplated the stupidity of the tepid man who made him pinkie swear to not use the blast doors when the doors in the lower levels opened straight onto the boat docks.

All about loopholes this fella.

Ianto found himself in another store, a little mum and pop style specialty store for those yuppie pricks who fancied themselves as weekend hippies. So much healthy food that it was sickening, recopies for stuff and as he moved to the large bins near the back he knew he was inventorying the entire store.

Oooo.

Gelatine.

Ianto was lifting the huge barrel onto a trolley when the store owner approached "Excuse me sir, can I help you?"

"Me Gran and her mates have a jelly competition going in her village, told me to get all the gelatine I can find" Ianto said like he was annoyed about it.

"Well… we have it by the sack in the back, how much did you want again?"

"In the back?"

"This is a warehouse store sir, the back half is our…. Sir?"

Ianto was already shooting through the bead curtains into the back of the store with wide eyes as he saw a mass of natural recourses on offer. Stuff for jams, jellies, specialty bread. Damn. Look at that. Cute little sprinkles' shaped like stars and love hearts. Of only there was a way to… hang on.

The amount of times he said 'if only I knew then what I know now' and finally he might have a chance to use it. Ianto felt a feral grin starting as he reached out for a felt pen and started walking around the back room drawing a large T on some of the pallets.

"Sir?"

Ianto turned to face the man "Ah. My good man. I will take everything I have marked."

"I see… one or two off each stack?"

"Oh no, you don't' understand" Ianto grinned wider "All of it. The entire shipment."

"Holy shit!"

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"Is this a map?"

Jack looked over from the picnic he was setting up to find Ianto had an old faded piece of paper in his hand, the envelope it had come from had Ianto's name on it, clearly a breadcrumbs left for himself.

"Let's see that Sweetie" Jack reached for the paper and Ianto looked at him with that hidden glare Jack knew so well. "Yes. It is…. Some sort of map. I don't get it but… those coordinates on the edge of it seem familiar."

"Yes" Ianto took it back gently "I know exactly where this is."

"You do?"

"Yes" Ianto looked at him like he was nuts, "this might be found here and now but I am from when it was drawn. I am the one who did it… will do it… is doing it… well… of course I understand my own note."

Jack shrugged as he watched the man fold it and place it in his own pocket.

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.

Ianto was drawing something, Jack wanting to see but clearly he was not allowed to see. As Ianto folded it he slid it into an envelope and sealed it before adding his own name to the front.

"What's that for?" Jack asked.

"Spoilers Sweetie" Ianto muttered as he rose to move away and Jack blinked with shock at Ianto's calm answer.

"Ianto…. Listen…"

Ianto kissed him. So sudden, so fiercely. So unexpected that Jack had no chance, leaning into the embrace as Ianto laid him back on the desk he had just been using and as Ianto's hands slid inside his pants in a way he had never done before Jack could only grunt with shock, the first finger breaching with ease.

"Shut up and let me fuck you silly" Ianto whispered softly.

"You can call me silly anytime Tiger" Jack choked out before he gave in and simply…. Got fucked very nicely ta muchly.

WOW!

Some deflection!

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

Ianto knew he had to stay out of this, even as the call came though that Gwen needed her apartment cleaned. Fuck, he had forgotten about that. Little buggers.

Ianto heard the flutter of wings as he knelt in the pine needles, trying to sweep them into a little shovel and he looked up slowly to find a Mara sitting pertly on the coffee table watching him.

"Blessings be" Ianto said smoothly, sitting back on his heels as the Mara was joined by three more, one of them known to him in … well… to become known. He sat there contemplating simply passing things off but he knew that they knew. If course then knew. These little fuckers knew everything and were likely well aware that he was dabbling with time. No point trying to save Estelle, even if he could beg for her now… those things coming… the time ahead would not be something survivable for her. He knew this. Besides, Jack's sorrow at this time… sorry Cariad… is part of it. The comfort Ianto gives afterwards helps cement their bond.

Instead of pretending not to know what it is, he reached out for the cloth napkin on the side of the coffee table, left there after Rhys had pizza no doubt. Something Gwen bitches about all the time, but she refuses to let him use paper towels. So… here ya go.

Ianto did a couple of knots in the corners, turning it into a rosebud. He then offered it to the Mara he knew to be a friend.

"Ahhhhh… lovely" it hissed as it snatched up the knot to hold up "Yes. Nice."

"I am in a bit of a muddle, you are no doubt aware that I am not quite myself. I want to reassure you that I am taking no part in this, I know the Chosen One must choose, freely she must choose and no one can interfere. I am doing my own thing, I give my word." Ianto said calmly.

"Yes little one. Yes, you are… bigger on the inside" the Mara leaned in close to stare into his eyes, seeing the swirling chaos of infinity there no doubt, then it leaned back and chuckled softly "Ah, I see. Yes, off you go then."

"Thank you old father" Ianto bowed, and then sighed as the mess he was trying to clean simply… winked away. "Ah, lovely."

"More?"

And so he wasted a good half hour folding all her napkins, including some gold ones that looked fucking hideous, now different things, knotting them and creating things to please the creatures who had a weird bent about knots.

Well… he did owe them… big time.

They did give him Hope after all.

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"So, you can't tell me?"

"Sorry Ianto I can't tell you what is happening. I don't know for sure what point this is and if I overshoot I might be crossing the timelines and … we do Not want to mess with that."

"You know, it's strange. You speak to me with such… I mean… familiarity. We are clearly not at odds here, wherever this is" Ianto frowned.

"Here, this map shows where we are. This bunker is one of the bonkers you will fill with things, or maybe Other Ianto is doing that right now. He is clever… well…. You are clever" Jack gushed happily "There is another bunker though, you know… I can't tell you anything else."

"I don't know, this does me head in. Paradoxes, timeline crossing… god. If you know me this well, you know I hate not having all the facts. Tell me one thing, something you can tell me that won't make a difference… here and now. Is Owen OK? Toshi?"

Jack could not describe the feeling of pure adoration as Ianto clasped his hands together in a begging motion, his love for that couple so raw. Ianto's eyes widened and Jack knew he must feel the wave of emotion. He did not seem afraid of it.

"Yes. They are still here and they are fie. We save them… we save so many… Ianto… we prevail" Jack said softly, moving closer to hook Ianto's hips and bring them flush together "My sweet, sweet tiger. Not a wolf yet so sharp."

"Wolf?" Ianto screwed his face up, that cute little button nose wrinkling in a way that made it impossible not to kiss it.

"We are in a brave new world Ianto, and there be things bigger and badder than Lions, Tigers and Bears… oh my" Jack said and Ianto laughed at him, then blushed.

Ah.

Still so damned cute.

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Ianto was piloting the Queen Bee. One of Jack's larger barge boats from the inner docks. He had taken his time to load things, certain he had time as the team ran about like chickens with their heads cut off trying to stop the inevitable.

Might as well try to stop the rain from falling.

The Mara will win, they always win.

He swung the boat around the pier and brought it to the berth so he could tie it off and then he gave thanks for the lovely hover trolleys, and especially this big bitch that lifted the huge metal piece of kit so effortlessly from the deck of the boat to the dock, setting it onto the boards.

Ahead of him was a short walk to the doors that led to the underground bunker. One he had known a there for some time, a remnant of World War II the Bay defences, now a great place to hide some shit away.

He patted the pod affectionately and it opened obediently to allow him to start filling it with things that were perishable and would not last 20 years, not at all. But here in a stasis pod, these things would last forever if need be. The tingling at his arm made him absently scratch at it as he brushed agaimst some of the mechanics.

As he turned to leave he turned back to stare at it one more time, the feeling of weirdness strong in his gut. Swirling.

The Chula Ambulance Emergency Life Pod simply stared back.

Why not.

The nanites knew him already.

Chapter Text

Ianto stood there feeling. .. well… weird. The suit he was wearing was an old one he had loved and destroyed on a weevil hunt once… maybe will again before it all kicks off… either way he felt a bit like a fraud standing there with the box of chocolates in his hand.

The door swung open and Rhiannon looked at him with open confusion "Teddy? What the hell. You visiting the great unwashed on a work day? Not sacred someone will rub against ya?"

Ianto smiled weakly as he was let into his sister's house and as he walked along to the kitchen he resisted the urge to look up at the crawl space where… well. He DID step over the spot where Johnny had been… for a while.

Fucker.

Maybe if he kills him now he can't bring it home and… no. fixed event. Don't fuck with fixed events.

Fucker.

"What's wrong? Me cooking smells bad?" Rhiannon demanded as she turned in time to see his grimace "You always did hate your veggies."

"Just remembering Da's boots there on the hearth after a day at the docks" Ianto said smoothly as he settled at the table, the catalogue there open with a pen placed on it like she had just been looking through it. He pulled it around and looked down at the pair of slippers she had circled with the pen.

Oh god.

He had the sudden flashback to her on the ground, screaming in the moonlight with her blood black in the strange light, her feet drumming on the ground as her throat as torn out, those slippers… those. Those slippers. Ianto swallowed thickly. Shit.

"I know. Silly fluffy fuckers but you know I love me pink" she said as she placed down the mug of hot tea. She would not dare offer him coffee. Not her swill. Oh no, she knew it would go untouched, the tea itself likely only getting a few sips. Then her eyes fell on the chocolates he had placed on the corner of the table as he had sat down. "Bloody hell, it's not even me birthday ya Muppet."

Ianto did not answer, flicking through the catalogue to see a pair of trainers circled for David. Ah. Right. Shit, the little My Little Pony PJ familiar too. Ianto felt a lump in his throat, wow.

Rhiannon reached out to take the brochure from him to close and she began stacking up all the other things scattered about to make the table clean. Ianto knew it was her attempt to please him and he smiled to show he approved.

"Well, I was in the neighborhood and I just wanted to see you. I know I am an old fuddy-duddy working all the time. You know… you look like mama in that blouse." Ianto said softly.

"Mama was half me size and blonde!" she scoffed.

"Our mama was always at the sink working or at this very table clipping coupons. You have her hands" Ianto reached for one, squeezing softly as her face softened.

"Ya daft begger." She said softly squeezing his hands in return. He listened to her talk about Mica's school play coming up that he knew she would never actually take part in, to the lamenting of David's report card… again. Then she left to use the loo and he took his chance to slip into the living room, crouching down to slide one of the photo albums from the stack and slip into his jacket pocket.

It had an old faded cream cover to black pages. It held the only photos of their mama, and of them as kids. Rhiannon' wedding was in there and every damned school photo of the kids up to present day. Silly but… if he was stockpiling then these are as important as extra ammo if ya ask me.

He returned to the kitchen to find her peeling spuds. "What were ya off to?"

"Looking at the Christmas tree ornaments in the cupboard under the stairs. Look tired" Ianto replied "Was thinking, maybe you need to get some for the tree before it's time. There are some lovely antique ones over on Glenmarket" Ianto replied, handing her a wad of cash he knew she would never use for that, then he added "And those slippers… are soo cute. I can see you in them."

She lit up as she helped the bills disappear into her bra and she protested even as she snatched them, then she leaned in to kiss his cheek and his arms snaking around her in a hug no doubt surprised them both. Ianto kissed her check and then stepped back "Love you Rhi-rhi."

He left with a heavy heart and a dry mouth, clambering into the SUV to drive away quickly before she could see the hurt. She would ya know, if he showed the slightest amount of sorrow, she would sniff it out like a fucking Weevil.

Ianto drove to a sideway and pulled in, taking deep breaths as he gripped the steering wheel and tried to breathe, the crying jag totally unexpected. Bloody pregnancy hormones. OK, he's not preggers here but he can use that excuse right? Right?

Just hormones.

Once he was finished mourning the coming event he took a deep breath and looked forward as he flicked the blinker to merge back into traffic.

He still had work to do.

Ianto drove.

Chapter Text

Ianto knew from the stoop of Jack's shoulders what had happened. It was that time. He waited for Jack to come to him, quietly asking Ianto to help him clear a scene.

Sure.

Ianto drove to the little house, the pretty garden waiting for them, as was the slightly pissed off cat.

"Hi there Moses" Ianto said absently as he passed the cat, walking outside to the body still where Gwen had left her, Gwen's jacket over her face. Ianto sighed as he lifted the jacket off, looking at the lady who had held Jack's heart for a while, now breaking that little piece off in death.

Jack was beside himself, his anguish rolling off him in waves. Crashing over Ianto who could not shield as effectively as he wanted to, this time, this Ianto not competent in that, his mind not honed.

Ianto did not have words, did not need them as he knew what to do. The same thing he had done when this happened in his original timeline. He simply cleared the scene and left Jack to his grief in the little house. He did not leave him completely though, he waited for him in the Hub, the sound of the klaxons some time later signalling his arrival back.

Ianto was ready. The bathtub in Jack's private quarters filled and the bubbles heady with the scent of lavender. No roses here. Nope, not that stupid. He undressed the sullen man, pushing him to the bathtub where he knelt to scrub the man's body briskly. He knew Jack's mother had done this at times, it was something a mother does for a small child that is upset. Now, Ianto does it for his love.

After a while Jack started to weep, as expected. Ianto ignored it, moving to his feet which got a thorough clean and scrub as Jack lay there morosely. Ianto stood and undressed behind Jack who had no idea that he was about to be joined in the huge tub, Ianto startling him as he slid in to lay on top of him.

"Hello Sir."

"Ianto! I… ah…"

"Shush Boeshane Boy" Ianto whispered, his lips moving to cover Jack's and the love making was gentle, but still made the water slosh over the side a bit.

Slippery work but worth the pay off.

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.

Jack remembered the 'happy time' in the tub like it was yesterday, his grin widening as Ianto looked over at him with a disapproving frown. "I don't know what makes you smile like that, but I am sure it's something rude. Another Sex Toy memory, sir?"

"Oh Ianto… you have no idea" Jack sighed, letting a bit of his lust bleed into the air and as Ianto's eyes widened he knew he was pushing the right buttons.

Someone was getting too hot for that jacket.

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Jack was going over the invoices as they were coming in, the one thing he had learnt from Ianto's Lisa escapade was to be more careful. He was, therefore, noticing the huge increase in spending.

Mind you, Flat Holm was in the process of doing their autumn top ups as sometimes over winter the boat could not cross due to the weather. Ianto did often spend more than usual around now but this was MORE than EVER.

Jack was going to ask Ianto about it but as he stood watching Ianto going over a list, his soft hum so faint only Jack's heightened hearing could pick it up, Jack realized that it was making Ianto happy. He was busy. A busy Ianto is a content Ianto. Jack decided to let it go, after all they had the money and Flat Holm would not complain.

Right?

Jack found himself starting to hum along, the song catchy and… oh. Really? Jack recognized Moonlight Serenade. Ah. Lovely.

Gwen entered just in time to see Jack's wistful look as he was watching Ianto. Ianto who was singing as he scribbled away at something like he had not just fed his girlfriend to a furnace not so long ago. Like a psychopath or something.

Gwen knew someone was responsible for her napkins all going missing, especially the gorgeous gold ones for special occasions and the only one there alone was him. She just couldn't prove it.

"Jack? Can I have some of your time please? After all, I am actually actively working." She complained "Ianto should not even be here now he is not confined do the Hub. He IS still on active leave ya know! I should be the one at your side right now!"

"Hmmmm, Gwen's right" Ianto said distractedly as he leaned back and canted his head, that little motion so cute that Jack grinned wider as Ianto added "Go on Gwen. You go girl!"

Gwen swung to Jack and her feeling of accomplishment faded as Jack straightened from the doorframe to walk over and lean over Ianto like she wasn't there "Whatcha doing Tiger?"

"Jack!" Gwen wailed.

"So… hungry? Can I interest you in a little bite?" Jack said with a grin "Like… food… not me. I could do dessert though."

"Hmmmm. Sounds good" Ianto muttered, now picking a different pen and a highlighter. Oooo, highlighting things. An especially important list. Ianto was really happy making those.

Gwen's mouth fell open and Ianto swung from his workstation to watch, the delight in his face raw as he saw Gwen starting to get that childish pout that means she will stomp that foot soon.

"Come on Gwen, looks like Jack's busy. I would go with you but I am busy too" Owen could not help himself, gleefully adding "And you've got a man to get home to already, right?"

"Yes Gwen, his name is Rhys" Toshiko said sternly "You now, the lovely man who thinks you are his everything?"

"Well… she sure is something" Owen muttered.

Tosh rose from her chair to give Gwen a rare Toshiko Death Stare. "You don't need any one else's fella."

Owen felt his grin fade, making his way down to the med bay as he felt Toshiko's eyes on him now. Was that a dig? He thought about it and then he decided to try and find out. He went back up to find Gwen standing with her hands on her hips as she watched Jack and Ianto leave, Ianto doing the coat thing.

"So… Toots. Can I interest you in a show and dinner? I can show you anything ya want?" he tried.

"Hmmmm, sure. Sounds good" Toshiko said as she finished clicking her keyboard and she looked up at him, smiling softly. Then she added "Gwen, mind the shop. It's your turn."

"What?" Gwen squeaked with horror.

The sound of the doors closing had never been so… sarcastic.

Chapter Text

Ianto entered the store like he knew where he was going and after swiping one of the XL trolleys he did indeed head for a certain aisle. He then took a deep breath before he gently picked a display box from the shelf and placed it in the trolley. By the third box the contents were tipping slightly and he made an executive decision not to give a goddamn, now swiping the entire contents into the trolley.

"Excuse me… sir? Can I help you there?" a nervous man asked and Ianto glanced over to find the store assistant clutching the side of a shelf like he was afraid Ianto would suddenly crash the entire thing over, hulk style.

"Oh, yeah. It's fine. Just purchased a new home and I wanna stock it up" Ianto said as he now added three boxes or bog rolls to the top of the trolley.

The man with a name tag that named him STEVE continued to stare at him with confusion.

Ianto pushed the trolley towards the checkout and stood like it was no big deal while the poor packer tried valiantly to find boxes to fit everything in for him. Kid was gonna get a tip for this.

The girl at the checkout was swiping things over her scanner while staring at him with wide eyes and he found himself grinning maniacally as he said to her "My partner likes to spice it up a bit. Ya know? Some of this can be very…. Zingy in the right places."

He was quietly shocked at himself, even after all those years with Jack, even with the bond making them so more in-tune that they could be sassy sometimes… Ianto could not hide his amusement as he swaggered out of there like a fucking boss.

Jack would have giggled his arse off too.

.

.

Jack stood silently watching Ianto as he unloaded the SUV, the boxes stacking up on the hover trolley. He opened a box and picked up a bottle of mixed spice and held it up in silent question.

Ianto glanced up at him as he lifted another box and said calmly "Flat Holm needs a restock, one of the … inmates… got in the pantry and demolished it."

"Oops" Jack grinned wide as he shook the bottle "Ya know...I like to spice things up now and then"

Ianto giggled softly as Jack leered.

Twat.

"So… are you going to tell me Flat Holm is taking up farming as well?" Jack asked as he lifted the trowel from the containment crate Ianto was filling, mostly full of seeds but with some gardening tools on top "And… it needs to be contained? What, an Alien Mutant strain or something?"

Ianto leaned back and saw that Jack was trying to be funny "Yes sir. Christmas might be ruined if we didn't get all of it off the shelves before the stuffing was made."

"Ooooo, stuffing… I like a good …. stuffing too" Jack was also gleeful about this, looking down at the stuff again, then dismissing it. After all, there were books on gardening and such too. Must be for Flat Holm, what the hell else would it be.

Jack wandered off to annoy Owen.

.

.

Ianto piloted the boat to the moor and let it gently glide into the dock where he tied it up and stepped onto the dock to look around. The silence was comforting.

He started unloading the boxes as he hummed a nonsense song the kids had been humming before he left, one that seemed to be a mixture of 'We Will Rock You' and 'Who Wants to Live Forever' but it was nice to know Freddy Mercury still rocked in twenty years from this point. Shit… that man was eternal.

Ianto rolled the first lot of things into the room and then as he finished his job and relocked the large blast doors he wondered how things could come to this. How he can be so calm when the shit is going to hit the fan soon… what can he do?

Nothing.

He knew that but still… it hurt so damned much.

.

.

Things in the Future were not going as calmly.

Ianto was not totally believing Jack as he offered him a drink. Jack could not help but laugh "Come on, it's not drugged. Jesus look."

Jack took a swig and then he offered it but Ianto continued to stare at him "Like you are not immune to drugs and booze, Sir."

"God I forgot how far up our arse that stick was. Come on Holdfast, it's fine" Jack laughed.

"Holdfast… what… is that what you call me?"

"Yes. And you call me Cariad."

"Like I would ever do something that cheesy!" Ianto snorted like Jack was being silly. Then he looked around some more, looking at things "That is from T1. How did you get that?"

"I didn't" Jack replied "You did."

Ianto looked at him again "Huh?"

"You know it is rare to see you on the back foot and usually I would enjoy that but right now I … I am trying not to create a paradox by giving too much away but seriously sweetie … if you can't trust me trust yourself. Right? This is YOUR plan." Jack assured him.

"Like I will believe that" came the dry reply.

"Well… there are the letters" Jack said as he pulled out his wallet "Hang on. Here."

Ianto looked at him with open suspicion.

God how Jack loved him, suspicious fucker.

Chapter Text

Ianto was wandering past with a huge 30pound sack of grain and Jack stepped to one side to let him past, Owen playing at his desk as Ianto passed him to head to the Hover Board he had been looking for "Owen, what did you have this for?"

"Didn't. It was Gwen, whinging that her files were too heavy. If she did them on time they would not overwhelm her… but you've told her that already" Owen said with glee, watching the huge sack slam onto the Hover "Can I get coffee? Pweeeeease?"

"Sure shithead, I just need to get the other bags of grain and flower seeds" Ianto replied. "And nuts."

"OK" Owen shrugged swinging on his chair. "Ya got nuts?"

Ianto grinned as he shrugged, then replied in a silly voice "I gotta protect me nuts Owen… I am the Secret Squirrel"

Owen giggled along with him "Really? So.. not T-Boy? S-Boy? Nut Man?"

"More like.. Call me Squirrel. Secret Squirrel" Ianto waggled his eyebrows and he started to hum the theme music for James Bond as he started towards the door to go get the rest of the bags, the Hover Boar slinking in front of him like it was a fucking wraith.

"What's so fucking funny over there" Gwen roared from her workstation.

"Nothing Gwen, just minding me nuts over here" Ianto called out, Owen laughing openly now.

"Oooo did you day you have nuts?" Jack yelled as he started to trip down the stairs "Ianto? You handling nuts without me?"

"Careful, that's harassment, that is!" Ianto replied as Jack laughed and headed on down to Owen in the Med Bay.

Ianto stretched his back as he thought of the five other bags in the SUV, then he sighed "I need a feckin drink."

.

.

Ianto entered the nightclub and took a moment to drink in the beat as it bled from the dance floor up through the soles of his boots. Ahhhh… lovely. He closed his eyes and felt the sway of the music, the long since dead musicians on stage making an ungodly racket that was fan-fucking-tastic.

Then in the haze he saw something surprising.

Out on the dance floor, doing the electrocuted monkey dance… was Owen and… Toshiko was gamely joining in. HUH. Well now, he never knew that.

Then across the floor she saw him and her face flushed with alarm. He merely winked and gave a little 'Captain Jack salute' before he was gone.

This was not the place for him after all.

.

.

Ianto was standing stock still, as if stalled out.

"Ianto?" Jack asked softly, reaching for him only to have him shy away. Yeah, right. Forgot. That Ianto.

"Nothing" Ianto said nervously as his hand snaked to the back of his neck, his alarm changing to discomfort.

Whatever he had remembered/just done… it seemed to calm a little until Ianto was once again reading a file like nothing had happened.

.

.

Ianto stood looking out over the water of the Quay, leaning on the railing as seagulls squawked overhead.

"Boy, there you are!"

Ianto turned ot find his grandparents walking towards him with a confidence that belied their age and he could not help but swallow thickly. Damn, he thought Rhiannon was hard… this was worse. His Grandmama. His beloved Nainny, still so vibrant.

"Right, come on you little shit. Made us come to this godforsaken place full of… germs and… bloody people. What is it?" the old man demanded.

Ianto smiled stiltedly as he turned back to watch the birds now on the water. Keep it together. Hold on. It's OK.

"Sweetie? Are you OK?" his Nainny reached out to place her hand over his on the rail.

"Just tired" he lied "look, I called you here became I can't take the time to come to the… farm."

The old man snorted. His wife scolded. "Quiet Ifan!"

"So, do you still remember how to drive a big rig?"Ianto asked and got a nod in return "Good. I have one filled to the gunnels with stuff for the… farm. Things we need."

"Are you kidding" his grandfather spluttered "Like what?"

"Well we talked about finishing off the bunker down below and this is the time to do it. OK? I have stuff in there for that purpose, including medical supplies we might need" Ianto replied.

"Sweetie? Are you OK?" his Nainny asked with raw concern.

"Yes, I am" Ianto leaned in to kiss her cheek, revelling in her smell. Lavender. Like Rhiannon, maybe this is why Rhiannon loved it too. She took the chance to snatch the keys from him and run off, giggling like a school girl and Ianto could not help but see Nelly in her movements.

"Nainny" he yelled after her "You don't know which one it is!"

"Leave her son" Poppy said as he leaned against the railing with him "Mad cow will know, she always knows."

Ianto snorted as he tried not to show his sorrow in the moment.

"What s really going on boy?" Poppy asked softly "Is it about to go tits up?"

"Soon, it might. It might not… we are reaching midnight on the doomsday clock" Ianto turned to face him finally "Poppy… I love you."

"Stop it, you are scaring me Boy" Poppy demanded, then swung around as the sound of a large engine began to fill the car park behind them "Told ya. She's got it. Mad cow will drive it like she stole it too."

"See you soon" Ianto warned as cagily as he could "You should have a month or so to get things ready before I … visit."

Poppy stared at Ianto long and hard, then he leaned in close like he was trying to see straight into his soul. Then he said softly "Boy?"

"It's OK Poppy, I am just tied."

"Right, and the Pope is black" Poppy said as he started to walk away, his own vehicle waiting to follow the truck load of stuff back to the compound in the country.

Soon.

Ianto led his breath to and watched the birds on the water.

Fuck that had been hard.

Chapter Text

Ianto blinked as he stood there with the clipboard in his hand, the huge shipment in front of him looking like something you might send to a warzone or for disaster relief.

"What the fuck" he said as he looked around and shook his head furiously, then remembered what was going on. Right. The jumping thing. Only, he had no idea what the thought process was here, just that he had returned to a clusterfuck of madness.

And no idea how the hell he was going to pass this off as just a brain fart.

How the hell had he afforded all this?

Time to fake it 'til ya make it Jonsey.

.

.

"Hey Wolfie" Jack sighed with relief as the bond slammed home and HIS Ianto stood there with the file in his hand.

"Damn"

"What?"

"Too soon."

"Awww… you're kidding, you were gone for two days. Two whole days… like… at least ten minutes out there past the bubble wall. You know how long it takes little Isaac to pick his nose?" Jack flopped back and Ianto found himself giggling as he knew full well little Isaac was notorious for that.

"I need to go back."

"Awwwww"

"Come on Cariad… nearly done just…one nice big one, yeah?"

.

.

Ianto stood there with a feeling of complete loss, the people staring back foreign to him and the only thing he knew for sure was the gorgeous woman striding forth across his eye-line, with a gun in her hand and a mouth full of ugly she was spewing, was Hope.

He recognized the twins too, their adult selves strong and muscular like WWE wrestlers, their matching grins a testament to their bond.

It was the little Weevil, the childling that was laughing as it ran with other children in the distance that made his heart stop for a moment, the normalcy of it. Then a huge bull weevil rushed towards them with a growl of menace that had the kids fleeing…. With braying laughter. The bull scooped up the child and swung it into the air as laugher boomed from his left.

Ianto turned his head to look at the face of the man beside him, the handsome man who looked a lot like Jack but had Ianto's colouring. Then man yelled "FRANK! JANET NEEDS SHOES LOVE"

As the weevil swung to wave, the child was now back in it's feet running off while screaming 'No' as the man beside him laughed happily. Dean? Oh goddess save… Ianto looked over at the woman... oh god. Ianto's mouth went dry as he saw his own mother standing there with her beautiful blonde hair in the sunlight.

Was this Nelly?

Or someone else?

Oh shit… was he supposed to be seeing this?

Fuck me… was this about to create another paradox?

He had not jumped back… Jack had somehow jumped him forward "Ah shit. You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

.

.

"Cariad! No!" Ianto said as he looked at Jack with horror in the bunker, Jack's smile fading as he added "Back… not forward ya numpty. Darling, you turned it the wrong way. Now. Fix it… three… two…."

Jack pushed the carving into it's setting as he quickly turned it the other way and now he knew he was in trouble as Ianto glared at him silently.

"Ah… hey babe."

"Babe. Babe? Jack. What the hell did you just…."

Jack pushed again quickly, knowing he would catch hell on the rebound but also hoping that some time apart might cool the Wolfling's ire. The bond had warned him of impending scolding that might peel his skin off.

.

.

Ianto barely had time to realize what he was looking at before Toshio gave a shuddering gasp of horror.

"Move" the woman swing the shogun an Ianto looked at the stairs she was motioning towards with her head and he knew now. Fuck… he remembers this. Oh boy… do they think they have a tiger by the tail?

Aren't they in for a surprise.

.

.

"Ianto?"

OK, now Jack was not sure if he had over compensated or something… clearly he had miscalculated because this Ianto didn't seem to know him at all.

"Ianto?" he repeated.

Then the man swung to him with wild eyes, seizing him to fall into his arms, the sobbing loudly in the otherwise silent place.

Now Jack was sacred.

Where was HIS Ianto?

.

.

The plastic sheeting and weird fly strips seemed too cliché to him, Ianto was hiding amusement now as he looked at the disgusting squalor these cannibals lived in.

He knew what to do… counted it out… head butt… watch Toshiko run… wham.

Pretend to be unconscious while listening to their plans. (Hard head)

Wait for them to bring her back. God he hated this part, her fear so raw as the disgusting pig let her know his intentions.

Now Ianto was angry, he remembered this too. The fear, Owen's anger and shame at being caught, not saving Toshiko… being too weak… yeah he remembered this. Sadly.

Then he was on his feet, the sack no problem as he saw the fuckers for what they were and he felt the feral grin as he did something he knew might not be the smartest move, but the most efficient. It was only a little messing right? If the timeline is intact... just... er... tweaked?

He cast through the bond to Jack.

HERE

Tractor?

Right… he almost forgot that. The tractor… funny.

Then Ianto was moving, the meat cleaver removed from the chopping block, severing the man's hand before his gun could be raised towards the team, then swinging around to take the silly bitch's head off to bounce ever so satisfyingly across the floor, landing at Gwen's feet.

Oh yes, Ianto remembered this place.

The Wolf howled as he took his revenge.

He must have looked terrifying with blood on his face, his teeth bared as he rampaged.

A tiny tweak or three.

Chapter Text

"It's OK" Jack said for the umpteenth time, cradling Ianto as he shook and muttered about a body, a fox crying and then nothing.

"They took the SUV, Gwen had found a body and Owen left the keys in the SUV like a twat, they ran over the tent" Ianto sobbed. "they had snuck off for a little tryst, think we don't know."

Fuck. Jack felt the blood drain from his face as he now knew where his beloved had jumped to and for once he would have preferred to take the scolding he had just tried to side-step. But… what now? He can't jump this one back, time is time… equal. Right?

Jack replayed that day in his head, step by step. They were still sweeping the village if his timing was right, the handsome man in casual clothes and his hair messy was still so damned gorgeous as he stalked around the kill room in a way he had never seen before… fuck it all. No, of course he hadn't. Jack took the opportunity to instead comfort the younger version he first fell I love with, even if he could not admit it back there. It started with cuddling, a kiss here and there before Jack found himself peeling Ianto's clothing back to make love to him.

Clearly this was not how their relationship used to be, Ianto trying out with alarm and pleasure as Jack was more gentle than your average playmate, truly he showed Ianto that he loved him.

After, as he lay cuddling the man as he slept, Jack scolded himself yet again for not loving him sooner, for being a colossal prick back before the Shit Hit the Fan. Holy hell… he wasted so much time. So much time to love him. He sighed as he leaned back and touched the tablet before remembering it was set for de-snap.

Ianto opened his eyes to stare up at him from his arms "Cariad? Are we naked?"

.

.

Jack had been sideswiped by the Welshman/Wolfling and not only had he felt the full force of their bond, he also saw the future and what it could give him. Past Jack contemplated things.

Ianto has shielded well but he has also been careful to allow a certain amount through. And to be perfectly honest… the sex had been mind-blowing. Seriously, Ianto had done things… such thing… some he hadn't even known he liked but damn… yeah he liked. This was a huge learning curve. A huge one.

Ianto had been telling him the truth. Things were going to change. And it was time to get ready.

.

.

. . "So… now you are pissed I sent you there? But if I hadn't…" Jack, don't try to change this to something else.

"You knew what you did, why you did a snap back too fucking far!" Ianto snarled "the cannibals? The bloody cannibals?"

"You..."Jack pointed a finger at him "you… fucked me. You… is it still cheating when it's still me?"

"I don't know Jack, you tell me." Ianto folded his arms "You fucked me too!"

"Yeah well.. I love you."

"Ditto."

"Um so… what now?" Jack asked after he was sure he was not in the doghouse.

"Now you send me back"

"What? No, I just got you back!" Jack wailed "And as much as I loved younger you.. this is the man I love."

"So stop whinging and send me back to a better spot Cariad" Ianto sighed softly "come on. After the fairies while the team was taking a week off, we had things routed through Archie."

"Hang on" Jack swung to glare at him "How long are we talking? Not the entire fucking week… one week in here? That will be… at least a couple of hours out there right? Come on… A week without you?"

"Stop whinging" Ianto scolded "If you did this right the first time we wouldn't be here now. So… not a week."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just three or four days."

"Awwww."

"Come on.. let's have some fun first, since I am naked ya know" Ianto relented, reaching for the dick that seemed always to be ready for action and Jack's face lit up as Ianto rolled to straddle him, the baby bump so sweetly rubbing against Jack's stomach. Ianto was right. It did help. . . Ianto stood there with his heart pounding, sighing as he knew that had been unfair to scold him. But at the same time, it still held true. If Jack had sent him correctly.. still. Not fair. Jack was trying.

.

.

Ianto looked around and felt immediate relief.

Jack had jumped him into an empty Hub, the rubbish bag in his hand silly now. He looked around and then up, finding the Captain leaning over the railing looking at him

"Ianto? You OK? You've sort of.. stalled out."

"Sorry sir… hungry. Want some food?"

"Owen's up here, get something for all of us" Jack disappeared back over the railing and Ianto grumbled to himself, and then knew he was being unfair again. To make this work… he might just need Owen. And besides…. Fish and chips.

Oh god… REAL fish and chips.

He dreamed about that meal.

Chapter Text

Ianto was in one of his favorite places. A car boot sale. A cruisey afternoon where there was an entire car park full of stalls, tat and most importantly... untraceable shit.

This is where he found what he had hoped to, old cardboard boxes under a table of pillowslips and old doilies. Four large boxes full of them, making him smile as he crouched and pulled them out into the light.

"You got a missus into that'?" the man asked as he moved around the table to watch him pluck through the old paper dressmaker's patterns. "There's everything there from baby christening gowns to old man dressing gowns! My mother was into that, I have no idea how old they are. She used to own a haberdashery store ya see."

"Oh I do see" Ianto nodded sagely "these are perfect. Anything else?"

"Well, her sewing machine, over-locker and all these bloody ribbons and these cards of lace and clips or whatever they are."

"Lovely. And all these hand sewn things, she had a talent" Ianto nodded "I'll take them."

"Which ones?"

"Everything… look… here is five thousand pounds. Take off, leave this to me to pack up." Ianto thrust the large wad of cash at the man who gaped.

"Fuck me, are ya mad?"

"No, just a realist. You can't take it with you and clearly you need it more than me. Go on… unload the rest of it here and bugger off. I will bring my SUV around and fill it" Ianto said with a wave of his hand, now glad he had raided Jack's secret stash of money.

As always… the Captain never noticed.

.

.

"I did know, ya know"

"Huh?" Ianto glanced over at him with confusion as he rose from the box of crystals "knew what?"

"That you took money from me sometimes. I did know, even before I knew about Lisa. I know you needed it but after… I knew you still took handfuls sometimes. I didn't question you because you always seemed happier once you'd spent it. I know some went to your sister but now… I know other things." Jack explained softly.

"You knew… and still didn't shoot me" Ianto said, then smiled wanly "We really are naff at communicating with one another, aren't we Sir."

"Not always Tiggy…not always, I Have faith. Like I said, I can't say how far we are in the future but see we are together still. I still…. I still love you" Jack says gently and he watched Ianto's eyes widen.

Man... things he should have said long ago.

.

.

"Good morning mother" Ianto called as he entered the little out of the way store and the elderly Japanese lady who shuffled out answered him in rapid fire Japanese, which he seemed to know and understand well.

"And did you get them?"

"Yes boy, here. Why so many? Gonna make a lake of it?"

Ianto laughed as he accepted the Tea bricks. Cubes of dried tea, compacted and pressed into these dried offerings. Ianto smiled as he saw the large bag full, leaning to kiss her check and assure her that she was a goddess.

He left the elderly lady with her hand to her cheek and a soft smile on her lips.

And him with his tea… of course.

.

.

"Wow… closing down sale?"

"Yeah, me missus is preggers with number four and we did agree to move up north ot her family if we got too many kids to control" the man snorted as he leaned against the large tractor "I know it's a lot of money but this was a good business, until that bloody conglomerate down the road opened up with the easy-pay options. By the time everyone realizes the hidden costs in those contracts it will be too late to back out. I give up, not worth the stress of it all"

"Well… these four earth movers are monsters, the tractor you are leaning against and if I can… can I get that huger industrial lawn mower? My partner will have a fucking cow the size of the moon when it's unveiled." Ianto pointed oa a lawnmower that was the size of a van and the man cackled as he nodded and agreed to a fair price.

Ianto would have given him more.

.

.

"So, this is the whole list?"

"Yes Mister Jones" the voice modular warbled as the little deformed Blowfish meekly bowed before the intimidating Torchwood Agent that had saved him from a fight he knew he wound never had won. Not only that… he had returned him to his father the King Fish and told the old man HE was the one who won the fight. He owned him big time.

"Wow… Golp… you have extras?"

"They came as a set" the fish said with glee as he saw Ianto's delight in the crystals.

"Consider us even!" Ianto said as he picked up the large box, turning to leave "And buddy? Time to get out of this pool… the sharks that are circling in the shadows are about to turn into megs soon."

"Gonna get bad?"

"End of days, bad my friend."

The fish head bobbed, believing his friend.

By tonight, the blowfish gang will have vacated this verse.

Ianto was not a liar.

.

.

"These crystals… what are they for?" Ianto asked, not really expecting an answer. His youthful interest so painfully earnest, the older Ianto more reserved, even if happy.

"Those are for one of Toshiko's things… like her time bubble." Jack said carefully as he returned them in their correct order, their worth for a new settlement not something to be overlooked.

"Ah. So… we know that works" Ianto grinned as Jack again saw the younger version he first fell in love with.

It was getting easier to talk to him, be with him and Jack was not sure if that was a good thing or not.

Chapter Text

Ianto Knew he didn't have much time but this was important, sliding into Toshiko's apartment felt sleazy somehow but needs must. He was on his knees feeling under her bed for the box she had told him she had under there once, when his eyes slid to her refrigerator.

Damn.

These lists are just never bloody ending.

Ianto left her apartment with the box covered in jade paper and little red dragons, along with a supermarket bag with Tupperware. She might notice them gone, might think she ate the food and then forgot… who knows. All he knew was, he had to make the right calls and get smarter with his time usage.

The longer you hold a time bubble, the larger the pop.

.

.

"God I love these" Owen said around a mouthful of chips "My favorite EVER chippie, this place. I dream of it when we have to go to bloody London and eat their swill now."

Ianto nodded, sure the other parcel he had ordered for later that night would be ready on time.

Time.

Ticking.

.

.

Jack was talking through his mouthful of Chinese, a hand reaching or the pizza as Ianto tried not to scold. He was watching the way Jack rolled a dim sum into one of the pizza slices, groaning as it went into his gob.

A commercial pizza oven would have been good. Hmmm.

Check.

Then Ianto knew there were other things, so many, too many… god. He had to get this right, time ticking and now he felt the push.

.

.

"Come on you bitch, get it right" he hissed as he placed another plate of food into the replicator, pushing the button and then holding his breath.

Nothing.

"Fuck, yeah whoops" he muttered, pulling a garbage bag from the Hub over to tip the scrapings from plates into the chute. Forgot that part. Opps. It needs fuel.

Then it pinged and he opened the door of the huge microwave style thing, the plate of Chinese perfect.

He tried it.

Yep.

HA!

Shame that big one over there doesn't work, that could probably create food for a family of four.

Sigh.

.

.

Ianto stood looking at all the cream cakes and yummies with sorrow knowing the replicator had a limited memory for it's menu and he had to be careful. The team's favorites, he had to be strong. But all these yummy things.

He purchased a cream horn and sat on the quay, watching the sea gulls swoop and dive as he enjoyed the yummy pastry.

He missed these.

And hamburgers made with processed meat, so bad for you and so full of shit… god.. the juices.

Ianto pondered things.

.

.

It was later that same night as he passed Toshiko's workstation that it suddenly occurred to him that he was going about this all wrong. He stood staring at the time bubble program in all it's imperfect glory and knew what he had to do, should have known all along. For all things there is a reason, he knew this.

Ianto felt that feral grin starting that his Jack loved to see. This Jack didn't mind it either, whistling from the walkway and calling him hither with a crooked finger.

Cheeky pirate.

Nekid Hide-n-seek?

Oooo.

.

.

"Hey did you hear about it?" Owen yelled as Ianto entered the base with his box of pastries in hand. He raised his eyebrows so Owen would elaborate on what 'IT' was. Clearly he was busting to tell someone who had time to listen.

"Another pharmacy hit overnight" Owen crowed "Third one in as many nights. I am telling ya, it's gonna get worse."

Once Ianto settled at the conference table with the tray of drinks, the box already open and being devoured. He was pleased to see a donut to one side on a plate by Jack who slid it towards him. His jelly one, saved from Gwen's fingers. Lovely. It's the small things really and this was a huge milestone in their development. Actually… Jack had become more attentive after the whole cannibal thing. Is this why?

Ianto smiled his thanks and then said out loud "What's your theory on the burgs then, bud?"

Owen looked shocked that Ianto deferred to him and lit up with glee, "I think it's either organized crime shopping to order, or it's a mercenary group. Or Dommies."

"Mercenaries?" Jack asked, now interested as well.

"Doomies?" Ianto was amused as he knew he meant Doomsday Preppers.

"Well… whoever it is, they are taking kid's stuff too. Baby medicines, baby gear and maternity shit. Someone who is building their own little hospital somewhere for families, not just soldiers right? I think… well… could be doomsday preppers with their own little village all set up somewhere in the valleys to the north. Come on, you can get lost out there."

"You know… Owen has a point" Ianto agreed sagely "If they suddenly stop as quickly as they started, it means they got what they need and are retreating. Makes sense. Yeah. Their own little world."

"Yep. Like a bubble" Owen nodded and Ianto hid his amusement as Owen was closer to the truth than he might ever realize.

"Don't be ridiculous. It will be some underworld organization, black market stuff. It's clearly domestic, best leave it to those who know what they are doing in that world" Gwen sniffed as she eyed up another cream bun "We have enough on our plate here."

And it was time to stop hitting those places.

Ianto knew that if Owen was noticing the pattern, probably the plods might too.

Just not those former ones with big tits and a gap in her teeth.

Chapter Text

"Hey"

Ianto looked up from the empty cell he was scrubbing, the Horix long since dead and in the Furnace. Ianto leaned back on his heels and smiled as he saw a welcome change, Owen seeking him out for a quiet word. Not only was he bored, he must have annoyed the others to the point where they told him to go find Ianto for something.

Ianto settled on the bunk and offered Owen a stick of gum, both men sitting there side by side looking at the pristine floor.

"So.. earlier" Ianto said gently "You started to talk about those burgs but Gwen shut it down with her usual Gappyness."

Owen started to snigger, then bellowed with mirth as he had never seen this Ianto before, liking him all the more. "You know, since the cannibal thing, you've been… better."

"You think they knocked my stick loose from my arse ya mean?"

More laughter.

"Well… what I was going to say…" Owen shifted on the bunk "What I was about to say is that whomever it is, they clearly are not medically minded."

"Why do you say that oh Obi Wan?"

"Ahhh, my little Padawan… that is the question."

Owen laid it out as Ianto sat listening and before they left for a weevil hunt Ianto paused to consider, then tweak the plan Owen had given him.

Solid though.

It really bloody was.

Owen was a good little prepper and didn't even know it.

.

.

"Hi Aunty Francine" Ianto called out as he entered the Jones household and grunted as one of the kids Francine was minding for whoever in the neighborhood that day slammed into his side, knocking him into the wall. He grinned as he kissed a little cheek and continued into the living room where he knew she would be with a jigsaw puzzle laid out on one of those huge coffee tables.

"Are you OK sweetie?" Francine asked without looking up from her work.

"I have a magazine for Martha that has an article on viral infections she might be interested in, I will pop it in her room" Ianto said as he leaned over to kiss her cheek lovingly, then took off before she could react.

She sat with her hand to her cheek and a look of shock as Ianto never showed affection to this side of the family. Come to think of it, that little one never really showed much of anything for others. Like his mother, he was such an introvert.

Ianto entered Martha's room and knew he was being a dog but also… Owen's fault right? He took a photo of her medical IDs for the hospital and then headed back down the stairs "She still out running?"

"Will be another half hour if you want to wait love" she replied.

"Nah, I just knew she likes those articles, with her doctoring thing." He smiled.

She smiled back as she watched him take off again and shook her head with wonder.

The magazine sitting where he had left it with the article on certain viruses might come in handy... with what is to come and the crudely drawn map on the back like it was there for another reason would too. She would notice. She would.

When it all goes to shit… she will remember that Torchwood symbol next to the scribble… she will know which tunnels to take.

He now knew now how she knew to come to them.

Funny right?

.

.

"M Jones, any relation to Martha?" the man asked at the infirmary as he stared at the bland faced ma in the white coat, the ID badge swinging form a lanyard around his neck said he was Doctor M Jones. A beat of staring and then the man laughed softly "Ah... an inside joke. We ask all the Joneses.. You know... she's... ah... black."

"Nope." Ianto said drolly. No humor there.

The man shrugged and stepped aside to let the young resident inside, Ianto now inside and not only choose a ambulance gurney but fill it with stuff like he was refilling an ambulance after some large job.

Once he had it filled with Defibrillators, cardiac monitors, fetal heart monitors… all the tech he could find and all the medical supplies, especially all the penicillin and antibiotics and such he could find, he then calmly exited the area, pushing the gurney with a sheet over the huge pile of contraband like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He didn't have long to wait, an ambulance screaming into the Accident and Emergency bay with a gunshot victim. As the poor young man was rushed inside with everyone shouting and working feverishly Ianto simply approached the now empty rig, pushed the gurney until it engaged and folded neatly in the back, then he closed the doors, walked around to the driver's door … got in… drove off.

He got around the corner and stopped, reaching under the seat.

Owen was right again. Their GPS was in the same place as their own SUVs. Huh. Ianto disconnected the computer and then started to drive once more, grinning as he drove towards the dock.

Best get this girl undercover as soon as possible.

Owen has been right, point by point.

All it needed was a medical resident with a pass to the drugs and supply room.

Martha would never even know she helped her cousin out.

Heh heh.

Any relation?

Dickhead.

Chapter Text

"Back again sir?"

"Last time I hope" Ianto said happily as he squared up to the UNIT dork who clearly had not yet even checked Ianto from the earlier visit. Wow. What a fuckwit. "I have a bloody shopping list here to fill today."

"Jesus wept… are you feckin kidding me? What the hell are they hunting out there… bloody predators?"

Both men roared with mirth, then Ianto said "No. Zombies?"

More laughter as the man shook his head and then waved a hand "Well, all this gear will need a large vehicle to transport. Choose from the vehicle pool and back her up, we can bang out this list before midnight change over, eh?"

"You do me a solid and I will make sure your name is in the report as part of the support crew" Ianto said with a pompous sniff "I am in charge of that ya know. Don't' wanna be out there on the moors in the middle of the feckin night with all this gear on though. Gilly suits, night vision, heat seeking shit and these smart bullets… ya know if the general public knew about these… oh god the hue and cry. Bloody girl's blouses."

"Yeah, this new model here… ya see they use the laser sights to mark the target then the bullet will fire to that spot, every time. So expensive though. Damn, they want that many? It will clean us out."

"Yes but then you can requisition more and add a few things under the radar at the bottom" Ianto winked and they both happily laughed some more.

Ianto walked the rows until he came upon a transporter similar to the one they first had so long ago. Wow. Kismet. Ianto backed it up and got out, the other man nodding like that was the correct choice.

Now security can not only patrol the entire valley in safety, they can also use the state of the art surveillance cameras and such being loaded in as well to make sure each and every entry point is monitored.

With these Z getting more aware each day, so too came an extra need for safety measures. He should have prioritized this to start with instead of cream bloody buns. Well… now they can have both if time can be on their side.

And now he knew why he was so excited to see those crystals from the Blowfish.

Now he knew exactly why his mind was whirring away in the background like a program chewing on a problem trying to break through a firewall or something.

The idea was formed and firmly in place.

He knew how to get this all to work, he just had to gather what he needed and thankfully, Toshiko was a wonderful co-pilot without even realizing it.

.

.

"What is this?"

"that is the time bubble Toshiko was working on" Jack explained as he watched the handsome man crouch to peer at it, then he added "This is why it's only been an hour tops outside for all the time we are spending in here. We will not be missed this side and Ianto is doing a good job of pretending to be you to everyone, I mean… he IS you so… Owen is the only one giving him the side eye now and then but I think that is more to do with Gwen's mutterings."

"Ah yes. Gappy" Ianto rose and faced him "I understand you hiring her as she … reminds you of someone but… if you were going to pick an ex-Heddlu officer why was it not Andy? I like Andy. We go way back."

"I know this now Tiger, back then I was woefully thick about things" Jack shrugged and to his delight Ianto let out a rare bellow of laughter that he always loved.

He had forgotten how vulnerable his mate once was Gods… how he loved him so.

.

.

Ianto stood staring at the massive area now filled with all the things he could think of, still thinking that he had forgotten something that he knew they needed. God, this was hard.

He walked outside to look over the bay, Cardiff in the distance with her lights all shining brightly. He sat on a rock and let the night envelop him, looking up at the stars he knew so well, and then he looked down and found a Mara sitting by his foot.

"Bore Da" he said softly as he reached into his pocket and removed a handkerchief, quickly knotting it and offering it.

The Mara made a noise and accepted it, then looked up at him "Wolfling, why are you here?"

Of course, this was one who knew what the score was, one that had followed him out of interest. So he explained as best he could.

"So.. you will not leave the youngling alone too much longer?"

Ianto thought he meant the unborn pup and then with surprise realized it was another "Jackson?"

"He is evolving more, he is not as accepted with his inability to… pretend to be more human to fit in."

"The problem there is that there is no such thing as normal. Why must he conform to the perceived image of those who judge us? No, my children are perfect. All perfect." Ianto said firmly and the Mara seemed satisfied with this.

And Ianto was satisfied too.

Chapter Text

Jack was up in the high gantry complaining about Myfanwy's shit all over the rafters, Owen chiming in that Tea Boy needed to get his goldilocks gloves on then. "scrub a dub dub Baaaabyyyyy"

Ianto looked up and grinned, whistling to her and as she descended he reached for the drawer with her treats.

Ah. He had been remiss hadn't he. Myfanwy. How could he have forgotten about her? Relegated to Billy and then to Dean and Frank to care for outside the Domes. Shit, she is still out there doing her own thing. Ianto watched her devour the chocolate block and knew he had overlooked a natural guard dog in his arsenal against the Zs. He then looked over at the light blue whistle hanging on the wall that always brought her and knew he had to focus more.

She had been trained, he had just… forgotten? The great and mighty brain of Ianto feckin Jones had… forgotten? God, that is a poor excuse.

Ianto palmed the whistle and knew he had to make another pit-stop at the wholesalers for some cartons of chocolate blocks.

And this time, he needed to put a better tracker on his mad mare.

"OI! Tea Boy, Whatcha doing?"

"Lamenting the loss of your affection Owen, oh but for joy... you have remembered poor me!" Ianto said in a dreamy voice, clutching at invincible pearls.

Owen roared with glee then yelled "COFFEE!"

"Yes dear"

"YES PLEASE" came from more voices and he grinned as he went to comply.

Funny.

He missed this.

.

.

"So what exactly do I do here?"

"Hmmmm?" Jack looked away from the tablet he was currently caressing like a lover, the last jump not too far away now.

"In this time and place, surely you can tell me. As I say, judging from my reflection I am not much older if at all. So, it's been a couple of years or so… right?" Ianto thought he was so clever and Jack knew the real Ianto… no that's silly this is the real one, he means the NOW Ianto… would have grinned at him.

"Yes, a few years"

"So? What do I do?"

"Security mainly. You organize everyone, as is your way. You are also master of inventory. Others learn from you and all want to be you" Jack replied.

Ianto made a rude noise in his throat "Doubt it. I bet no one even knows my name."

Jack wanted to correct him but instead kept his mouth shut, the paradox thing too raw and the rules clear. Even if Retcon was going to be employed by his lesser, younger idiot self to this man who had confided in him that he was immune to it too, the less he knew the better.

"That is not the only child" Jack finally blurted out, the only thing he knew Ianto loved more than anything… maybe even him… were their pups.

"What?"

"We have more. You are a Taddy here and now. Loved, needed and oh so wanted. You love, you defend and you are fierce" Jack assured him.

Ianto tucked his chin in as he used to when considering if Jack was truthing or not and Jack found it truly endearing. There was no need for that now, the bond so strong that they shared thoughts and feelings feely, no secrets and no confusions but to see that look, that predatory look… Jack's dick twitched. HIS Ianto did this to tease.

Oh shit… he was such a horn-dog for this man in any time or place.

.

.

"You have loved and lost so many" Ianto was sitting on the edge of Jack's desk, watching him try to murderize a report late that night. "You have felt the loss of everything. Hell, you've already died a thousand deaths. If you could do it all again… what would you do different?"

Jack was surprised by this and he sat back to stare at Ianto long and hard then he smiled softly "Not a damned thing. For here? Now? Ianto I … I know fixed events are the cruelest ones and changing one would make the entire house of cards come down. Besides, I am quite happy here. Now."

"Not as happy as you will be Cariad" Ianto said softly, leaning forward "I can tell you one thing without fucking up the ley-lines of the timey wimey bullshit that is your future and my now."

"And what is that Tiger Pants?"

"I still love you. I still need you and with each heartbeat I want you"

Jack had gone still, so very still in the chair and Ianto lunged forward, seizing his face and kissing him with as much vigor as he could.

One last go around the fun house eh?

For old times sake.

Chapter Text

Jack checked his VM while he watched Ianto out the corner of his eye. The man seemed calmer now, more aware of what was happening and Jack was not sure he had finally accepted that this Paradox was going to be OK in the end.

"Right, we are ready to switch you back" Jack finally said as he reached out and with what he hoped was a great grin, he pushed the tablet.

.

.

Jack and Ianto stood staring at one another, the confusion on both their faces clear as Ianto slowly swivelled his head to the side, giving Jack the eye like a horse might. "Jack?"

"Ummmmm, maybe I used the wrong hand? Holdfast, I really…" Jack was clearly floundering as Ianto's eyes became wide.

"Jack… holy fluffy fuck balls! Are we both on the wrong side?" Ianto finally groaned, "Oh fuck me. How do we get back now? Will Past you know what to do in the future?"

"Ummmm."

.

.

"What is this place?" Jack had noticed their surroundings and was taking in the inventory of the place with that keen space pirate eye of a mandem.

"Well, near as I can tell… Owen has released a gas. I have spent the last hour or so hallucinating you were with me but… not you... future you and we talked of kids… a paradox time bubble thing… quite inventive actually but now I am aware that this is really you… I think I am in a deep vision. We are clearly I the lower levels of the Hub, this tablet is recognizable even if we are hallucinating to the point where not much else makes sense." Ianto tried to explain what he actually had been thinking for the last half hour "I think… I am in a state of deep imaginative dissociation. You've come over from the other side of the room and now you've entered my psychotic dream."

"Well we do see to have a connection, I've noticed it too. That does makes sense? Like a bond or something? We feel each other? I swear, sometimes I can hear you and it's been along time since there was another empath near me. Shit, Owen and his bloody button pushing. Do you think that's it? This is all some weird trip?" Jack liked this theory, it made more sense than the others he was trying to swallow.

Yeah, this made sense.

.

.

"Well?" Ianto folded his arms and jutted his chin out defiantly. Nothing like the man who once tucked that chin in and Jack could not help but grin at him.

"Well... right" Jack finally said as he straightened up from the wall he had been leaning on "we need to go to the tablet in the lower levels and… I can work out how to get us back Holdfast.,"

"Just like that… reverse the wave or whatnot?" Ianto snorted.

"We can give to a good try."

"Try? Try? There is no try. Do or do not!" Ianto snarled now.

"Hey, did you just make a Star Wars reference? That was the little green fella right… ag… Toda!" Jack said with glee.

"Yoda ya bloody swine! Do NOT tell Andy you got that wrong, they want to call their next son that when the threesome adopt from the next group's orphan pool!" Here's one ya might know better" Ianto stepped loser to Jack "Do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya? Punk?"

"Aww, come on, don't be like that lover. I can fix this" Jack groaned, sure he was about to get his balls removed with a rusty knife. Those pregnancy hormones seemed to have travelled too.

They went into the room where the tablet stood and Jack grimaced as he studied it and admitted the markings were different.

"No shit Sherlock" Ianto replied with an epic eye roll, "it's clearly reversed. A mirror image."

Jack stood back and squinted at the damned thing, then said softly "Oh yeah. Look at that."

Ianto revisited the face palm.

Now Jack had the central focus point he had an idea what he was doing and he started going through what he thought would be the right thing. Ianto stood listening for a while, then pointed to a little hieroglyph near the bottom by their feet "What about the UNDO button?"

"What?" Jack looked down and frowned "Does it say that?"

Ianto resisted the face palm again and got a piece of paper and a pencil, rubbing over the mark then holding it up to the light and turning the piece of paper around.

"Oh yeah. Look at that, ours doesn't have that Holdfast!"

"But that is what is says in ancient Prussian, right?"

"And it's also a rudimentary Galactic Standard and yeah… it is clearly an UNDO or fix." Jack nodded his agreement. "Wanna try?"

"Well, in the words of the Great Doctor Arsehole… when in doubt… push it" Ianto shrugged.

So they did.

.

.

"OK… I think we are sooo lucky that worked" Jack said, swinging to grin at Ianto and then his smile faded as the man staring back was a blank canvas. "Oh god… Holdfast?"

"Gotcha"

Jack gaped as his mate came through clear and strong in the bond. Clearly the shit had been shielding to punish him and now Jack could only laugh as Ianto taught him a lesson he would not forget. He almost lost him. Almost lost them.

"Cariad… I think this has to be my last jump. We are getting to damned comfortable doing it and we know the POP is still coming" Ianto warned.

"I know… and Jackson… even with us in a time bubble here... I feel him seeking you" Jack admitted.

"Then let's do this one more time with feeling" Ianto squared his shoulders "I almost have everything in place, I just want one more tweak. You know me."

"Yeah, check three times before admitting it was prefect the first one" Jack laughed, pulling him in for a kiss "Please … don't' be long. I think we just need to get this done."

"Yeah… I feel it too. We need to get this finished."

Chapter Text

Ianto stood looking at the feast on offer, the blanket on the floor of the vault old and clearly well loved, Jack smiling as he patted a spot next to him "Come on Tiger. You look exhausted."

"been a long night" Ianto admitted as he sank to the blanket and accepted the glass of juice on offer, his hand stalling before reaching the actual glass, his eyes sliding to Jack "This is… not like that one is it?"

Jack blinked with surprise, and then started to snort.

He had always suspected… now he knew.

Ianto had known all along.

.

.

Jack stood looking at the wonderful feast on offer, the brightly coloured blanket freshly removed from it's wrapping and the man sitting waiting for him was just as shiny and cute. His hair still wet from the shower he had taken after their… dabbling? No. No… it was more than that. Jack felt it deeply, his very soul shifting as it recognized a change in the cosmos.

A Bond mate.

"Cariad, come and sit here." Ianto patted a spot next to him, Jack settling to accept the glass of wine.

"Ianto, I don't fully understand any of this but… I do need to know… is it over?"

Ianto could not answer that, the pain of knowing the truth too hard, the weight too heavy for the shoulders of a man who must carry so much. Knowing he was no ready. Not yet, he was not HIS Jack either.

"This part is" Ianto finally admitted, compromising the truth. Jack stared at him long and hard, like he was trying to gauge if Ianto was telling the truth. Their bond thrumming softly. Not like the bond they have now, but it was the start. Ianto now knows it was the start of everything.

"Cannibals, can you imagine anything worse?" Jack shuddered as he buried his face in Ianto's neck.

Ianto could but he didn't say, instead he closed his mouth over Jack's and let their bodies exist as one, their souls connecting in a way that had Jack groaning as he sank into him, the Ianto pulled back and stroked his face gently. "It will be ok in the end, and remember if it's not ok…"

"It's not the end" Jack smiled as he took a sip of his wine and leaned back to watch Ianto move about getting food onto plates. As Ianto turned away Jack took the chance to slip some liquid Retcon into the glass of wine by Ianto.

It felt like dirty pool but this was a fixed event… whatever this was. They had to preserve the timeline and they had to prevent a paradox. Right?

Jack took a sip of his wine and Ianto turned back to face him, the look he was giving him told him that Ianto knew full bloody well what he had just done, his hand raising the glass to drink back in one gulp before placing it down gently.

Jack emptied his own and reached for Ianto's hand "This has been… amazing. I know it has been weird, scary and totally Torchwood and I hope whatever it is in the future that makes you come back to do… whatever it is you have been doing in the background like a programme's sub routine softly humming…. I hope… I hope that wherever you came from… we are still OK"

"I can tell you this, since there is Retcon in your glass too… we are not only OK… we are fan-fucking-tastic." Ianto replied and Jack looked at his glass with alarm, and then started to laugh.

"Word of warning that will not be remembered but hopefully… felt. don't try to catch a Tiger by the tail. Sometimes the creature that swings around is not a Tiger at all" Ianto grinned.

"What?" Jack focused on him and Ianto leaned in to kiss him gently, his hand sliding the letters in to the pocket of the Great Coat that happily accepted them into it's depths.

One was addressed to Jack, the other to himself.

Even as he knew it was all for show.

You see… Ianto is immune to Retcon, always was. He tried to escape Lisa only to discover this long ago and this was all for Jack's benefit so he didn't know Ianto had this power over him.

Both men settled on the blanket, their bodies entwined like they had been a short half hour ago except not naked this time.

Jack drifted off in Ianto's arms as he led him, kissing his face gently and reluctantly lowering the now unconscious man to the blanket. Doesn't sleep my arse. That still amuses Ianto. Maybe one more kiss won't hurt, this Jack still so … Heroic and shit.

He then laid back with his head on Jack's chest and waited for the final snap.

Chapter Text

"All that time, all that time you knew and never let on" Jack shook his head with wonder.

"I couldn't tell you… I … I had no idea this could even be possible… I thought…"

"I was keeping you for that fine arse?"

Ianto grinned at him and nodded.

"I can't Retcon you anyway Ianto, this isn't your then body, this is your now body and if I Retcon you, I might harm the baby." Jack explained.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Baby? What… what baby?" Ianto blinked with confusion, looking down at himself with wide eyes.

"Kidding… god your face!" Jack roared with fake mirth as he realized he had gone too far "Oh yeah. When I wake up… back then… in order for me not to panic I will give you a code word we have been using. It is one that my Ianto used when he got there so I knew back then that it was not you in the body, but him. It will also mean you are back… like… an echo or something."

Ianto blinked slowly.

"Boeshane."

"Boeshane?"

"Yes, my home was called that."

Ianto looked at him long and hard, then said softly "A planet."

"How do you…"

"Blue Box?"

"Ah. A home… a once upon a time home" Jack reached out to cup that face he loved so much "Ianto… know that I love you. Even then… I did."

"Jack! I…. OK… ah… ditto"

"Goodbye, be safe and hurry back to me" Jack reached back behind himself to push the little emblem, giving up the one he once loved so he could welcome back the one he worshiped.

.

.

"Fuck"

Jack sat with the letter in his hand reading and re-reading as Ianto sat next to him doing the same. The letters that had appeared in Jack's hand like someone had placed them there. Damn. They had? He was immune to retcon but it did take time ot shake off.

Jack rose to his feet "How long were we out?"

"Maybe ten minutes?" Ianto offered as he started to gently fold up the blanket like it was made of spun gold. This blanket where they first connected, last connected and will always close the paradox, opening the possibly of what is to come as being…. Survivable.

Ianto had his own letter clasped in his hand and made a show of shakily putting it away, letting Jack snatch it from him to open and read angrily like Ianto had somehow done this. Then his hands dropped as he saw his own handwriting at the bottom signing it along with Ianto... just as his had been.

"What do we tell the team?" Ianto asked, trying not to look too furtive lest he give away the fact he had not been Retconned. Come to think of it… if this body had been… huh. Right, it had been. But he was immune… always had been and always shall be. Like the one opposite pretending the same, this an inside joke he had to keep to himself. Future Jack had said too much. And been too nice. Nice to know that there will come a time when they love like his eyes told him they do.

Somewhere deep down Ianto knew… he would always be immune… to many things.

"Well we know this was not a hallucinogenic episode, and we can't blame Owen so… I go… we just suck it up and move on." Ianto shrugged "Put it down to 'Bloody Torchwood' and simply record it in the archives and let it go."

"Come on Tiger" Jack said as he folded the two letters and placed them in his pocket, for the tin in his desk. "I have a little adventure in mind now you are back off suspension."

"Oh?" Ianto said dryly "Not another little village with people getting eaten… I mean disappearing? Or another paradox?"

Jack grinned as he wagged a finger at him "Nope. An Alien Toaster fell through the rift, I can see it on my VM. Come on, we will bring Owen to see him scream at the state of his kicks. Gwen will wear heels again, you know she will."

"Oh joy" Ianto said dryly as he hooked a Tablet from the desk to take with him.

Might be something in the news.

Chapter Text

For those who wanted more clarity here at the end... beginning... you know... closure of the paradox... mayyyyyybe

.

like an echo in the cosmos... the glitch in the matrix... what could this hic-up mean? Does it mean anything?

.

Jack stood looking at the wonderful feast on offer, the brightly colored blanket freshly removed from it's wrapping and the man sitting waiting for him was just as shiny and cute. His hair still wet from the shower he had taken after their… dabbling? No. No… it was more than that. Jack felt it deeply, his very soul shifting as it recognized a change in the cosmos.

A Bondmate.

"Cariad, come and sit here." Ianto patted a spot next to him, Jack settling to accept the glass of wine.

"Ianto, I don't fully understand any of this but… I do need to know… is it over?"

Ianto could not answer that, the pain of knowing the truth too hard, the weight too heavy for the shoulders of a man who must carry so much. Knowing he was no ready. Not yet, he was not HIS Jack either.

"This part is" Ianto finally admitted, compromising the truth. Jack stared at him long and hard, like he was trying to gauge if Ianto was telling the truth. Their bond thrumming softly. Not like the bond they have now, but it was the start. Ianto now knows it was the start of everything.

"Cannibals, can you imagine anything worse?" Jack shuddered as he buried his face in Ianto's neck.

Ianto could but he didn't say, instead he closed his mouth over Jack's and let their bodies exist as one, their souls connecting in a way that had Jack groaning as he sank into him, the Ianto pulled back and stroked his face gently. "It will be ok in the end, and remember if it's not ok…"

"It's not the end" Jack smiled as he took a sip of his wine and leaned back to watch Ianto move about getting food onto plates. As Ianto turned away Jack took the chance to slip some liquid Retcon into the glass of wine by Ianto.

It felt like dirty pool but this was a fixed event… whatever this was. They had to preserve the timeline and they had to prevent a paradox. Right?

Jack took a sip of his wine and Ianto turned back to face him, the look he was giving him told him that Ianto knew full bloody well what he had just done, his hand raising the glass to drink back in one gulp before placing it down gently.

Jack emptied his own and reached for Ianto's hand "This has been… amazing. I know it has been weird, scary and totally Torchwood and I hope whatever it is in the future that makes you come back to do… whatever it is you have been doing in the background like a programme's sub routine softly humming…. I hope… I hope that wherever you came from… we are still OK"

"I can tell you this, since there is Retcon in your glass too… we are not only OK… we are fan-fucking-tastic." Ianto replied and Jack looked at his glass with alarm, and then started to laugh.

"Word of warning that will not be remembered but hopefully… felt. don't try to catch a Tiger by the tail. Sometimes the creature that swings around is not a Tiger at all" Ianto grinned.

"What?" Jack focused on him and Ianto leaned in to kiss him gently, his hand sliding the letters in to the pocket of the Great Coat that happily accepted them into it's depths.

One was addressed to Jack, the other to himself.

Even as he knew it was all for show.

You see… Ianto is immune to Retcon, always was. He tried to escape Lisa only to discover this long ago and this was all for Jack's benefit so he didn't know Ianto had this power over him.

Both men settled on the blanket, their bodies entwined like they had been a short half hour ago except not naked this time.

Jack drifted off in Ianto's arms as he led him, kissing his face gently and reluctantly lowering the now unconscious man to the blanket. Doesn't sleep my arse. That still amuses Ianto. Maybe one more kiss won't hurt, this Jack still so … Heroic and shit.

He then laid back with his head on Jack's chest and waited for the final snap.

.

.

"All that time, all that time you knew and never let on" Jack shook his head with wonder.

"I couldn't tell you… I … I had no idea this could even be possible… I thought…"

"I was keeping you for that fine arse?"

Into grinned at him and nodded.

"I can't Retcon you anyway Ianto, this isn't your then body, this is your now body and if I Retcon you, I might harm the baby." Jack explained.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Baby? What… what baby?" Ianto blinked with confusion, looking down at himself with wide eyes.

"Kidding… god your face!" Jack roared with fake mirth as he realized he had gone too far "Oh yeah. When I wake up… back then… in order for me not to panic I will give you a code word we have been using. It is one that my Ianto used when he got there so I knew back then that it was not you in the body, but him. It will also mean you are back… like… an echo or something."

Ianto blinked slowly.

"Boeshane."

"Boeshane?"

"Yes, my home was called that."

Ianto looked at him long and hard, then said softly "A planet."

"How do you…"

"Blue Box?"

"Ah. A home… a once upon a time home" Jack reached out to cup that face he loved so much "Ianto… know that I love you. Even then… I did."

"Jack! I…. OK… ah… ditto"

"Goodbye, be safe and hurry back to me" Jack reached back behind himself to push the little emblem, giving up the one he once loved so he could welcome back the one he worshiped.

.

.

"Fuck"

Jack sat with the letter in his hand reading and re-reading as Ianto sat next to him doing the same.

Jack rose to his feet "How long were we out?"

"Maybe ten minutes?" Ianto offered as he started to gently fold up the blanket like it was made of spun gold. This blanket where they first connected, last connected and will always close the paradox, opening the possibly of what is to come as being…. Survivable.

Ianto had his own letter clasped in his hand and made a show of shakily putting it away, letting Jack snatch it from him to open and read angrily like Ianto had somehow done this. Then his hands dropped as he saw his own handwriting at the bottom singing it along with Ianto... just as his had been.

"What do we tell the team?" Ianto asked, trying not to look too furtive lest he give away the fact he had not been Retconned. Come to think of it… if this body had been… huh. Right, it had been. But he was immune… always had been and always shall be.

Somewhere deep down Ianto knew… he would always be immune.

To many things.

"Come on Tiger" Jack said as he folded the two letters and placed them in his pocket, for the tin in his desk. "I have a little adventure in mind now you are back off suspension."

"Oh?" Ianto said dryly "Not another little village with people getting eaten… I mean disappearing?"

Jack grinned as he wagged a finger at him "Nope. An Alien Toaster fell through the rift, I can see it on my VM. Come on, we will bring Owen to see him scream at the state of his kicks. Gwen will wear heels again, you know she will."

"Oh joy" Ianto said dryly as he hooked a Tablet from the desk to take with him.

Might be something in the news.

His hand hesitated as he blinked slowly, then with a frown he turned to follow his Captain.

Always.

.

.

And so we finish at the very beginning. The first Chapter of this verse, Chapter 1 of New Day… is where this story continues.

Bloody paradoxes.