Binding part 2 of 2
May. 8th, 2010 08:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
czarina_kitty
Title: Binding part 2 of 2
Author: czarina_kitty
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairing: Ianto Jones/Jack Harkness, Owen, Toshiko, Suzie, Gwen, the Doctor
Rating: R
Warnings: swearing, character death (canon)
Prompt: Torchwood, Jack/Ianto, Post-Cyberwoman. On the surface Jack is all comfort and forgiveness. However it's all a carefully constructed plan to tie Ianto to him as he doesn't take to being betrayed and being made to look a fool at all well. A long fic is preferred and no sexual relationship between them prior to Cyberwoman.
Summary: Jack wants Ianto, every piece of him.
Disclaimer: I do not own, or make money from the use of, these characters.
Notes: Written for the open/amnesty round at dark_fest. The prompt, coupled with a quote from Cyberwoman that I always thought hinted at something else, lead to this.
Spoilers: Yes. All of series 1 & 2, plus COE.
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t shoot you right now.” The others have all left. Jack sent them home as soon as the threat was contained, better to play the outraged and furious boss for an audience of one.
Jack presses the gun to the back of Ianto’s head and is pleased at the shiver it elicits. He watches the blood congeal on the floor and wonders just how sore Ianto must be after kneeling on the hard concrete for so long.
“You need me to find the other body.”
“What?” Jack goes for the slightly hysterical and unbelieving tone, but Ianto remains calm, frighteningly calm.
“The cybernetics expert. She tried to…upgrade him. I hid the body. You need me to find him.” Of course, Ianto doesn’t know that all Jack really needs to do to find the body is to check the CCTV, he still doesn’t know about the hidden cameras.
Jack cocks the weapon in his hand before snarling, “I said give me a good reason not to shoot you, not one more reason to.”
“I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.” Jack knows this is true. He hadn’t meant for any of this to happen, but he had to have known it might.
“What you meant to happen doesn’t matter. People did get hurt and two people died. If that thing had gotten out of this base…” Jack realizes that, in this moment, he is too tired and too scared to think clearly. The situation had escalated further than he had intended, and he had almost lost control. Jack is hurt. Not physically, but that would have been easier to deal with. He heals quickly from physical injuries, but the emotional pain lasts forever. The sense of betrayal is almost overwhelming, he had always expected that Ianto would confess at some point, he had allowed himself to fantasize that Ianto would see the error of his ways and choose Jack over her damaged remains. But Ianto had been loyal to her to the bitter end.
If Jack is honest with himself, the guilt is almost as bad. He could have stopped this all before anyone got hurt. He has no qualms over the cybernetics expert’s death, which could almost be seen as a plus, but the pizza delivery girl was an innocent. Jack had not counted on being killed himself, on having Ianto knocked out, or on Toshiko being smarter than the lockdown system. Jack needs to calm down if he is going to have any chance of making this work.
“I loved her,” Ianto says, barely a whisper. And that pushes Jack over the edge.
“Get out,” he orders, the words hissed between clenched teeth.
“Jack, sir, I…”
“I said get out.”
“I just thought…”
“What?” Jack asks, allowing the volume of his voice to rise. “What did you think, Ianto? Did you think that because you manipulated and flirted your way into this job you can manipulate and flirt your way out of this? Get out. Go home. Stay there.”
And Ianto does just that, giving Jack his full obedience.
**
“Jack? What are you going to do about Ianto?” The question is expected, just not from Owen. But, Jack considers, this may just be the opening he needs to make this work, to convince everyone that keeping Ianto around is an honorable and merciful decision. Making everyone, including Ianto, see this as a grand and noble gesture, rather than as a simple exchange of Ianto’s life for his loyalty.
“I haven’t decided,” Jack replies, motioning for Owen to sit. “He can’t come back here, so that really only leaves two options.”
“Why can’t he come back?” Owen asks, leaning forward in his chair. “We’ve all made mistakes, Jack, but you have forgiven us and taken us back.”
“This is different. He kept that…thing hidden. He put all of us in danger and he got two people killed.”
“Is that really what bothers you?” Owen asks. “Or is it that he loved her? That he loved her so much he was willing to risk everything for her? That he was loyal to her to the end?”
“Owen, why are you of all people defending him?” Jack asks. He knows, but wants to make sure that Owen knows as well.
“Do you really have to ask?” Owen replies. “That could have been me. That could have been any of us.” Yes, Jack thinks, all of you have your secrets
“For a little while there, I was jealous,” Owen admits. “I was fucking jealous that he got the chance to fight for her. He got the chance to kill the thing responsible for this. You know I never got that chance with Katie. And you know what the worst part is? He wasted that chance, he couldn’t do it. He may not regret that now, but he will. One day he’s going to recognize what he did and he’s going to know that he lost the one chance he had to avenge her, to avenge every one he lost at Canary Warf. No one should have to live with that, Jack.”
“So what do you want me to do, Owen?” Jack asks, leaning forward, hands splayed on the desk top. “Put him out of his misery? Take away all of his guilt? Let him just forget everything? The good and the bad? Or should I kill him? Make sure he never betrays anyone again?”
“No. Jack, I want you to save him,” Owen replies quietly. “Just like you did with me. Just like you did with all of us. He’ll never get another chance to save her, but you can give him the chance to save others. Help him. Train him. Make him a full member of the team.”
**
“What is it Toshiko?” Jack asks without looking up from the paperwork he is pretending to read.
“What are you going to do about Ianto?” Tosh asks quietly from the doorway.
“I haven’t decided, but you know I don’t have many options,” Jack says.
“What is it about this, about him?” Tosh asks, moving into the office unbidden and sitting across from him. She’s getting braver, Jack notes, willing to question him and assert herself. Interesting timing, possibly useful. “We’ve all made mistakes, poor choices, but you’ve never threatened any of us like that. You’ve always forgiven us.”
“I thought I knew him,” Jack says. “I thought he trusted me. But he hid this from me. I never noticed and he didn’t trust me enough to ask for help.”
“Well, you can’t really blame him for that, can you?” Tosh asks. “It’s not like any of us ever gave him a reason to trust us. And you know why he didn’t tell you. He knew it would end with her dead by your hand. Why would he come to you, knowing that?”
“I don’t think I can ever trust him,” Jack states simply.
“I’m sure he feels the same about you, about all of us. He didn’t trust us, but none of us cared enough to notice.” Not exactly true, Jack thinks, I noticed. But this is so much better than confronting him early on would have been.
“Do you think I don’t know that?”
“I’m sure you do know. And that’s what you’re really mad about,” Tosh says, a note of annoyance creeping into her voice before she softens her tone. “Jack, you can use him here. I’m not sure in all of this if you noticed, but he’s brilliant. He knows more about computers, engineering, alien tech, medicine, really everything than any of us ever suspected. He’s wasted making coffee and running errands. You can find a way to channel that, use it for the good of the world, it’ll be worth the time and effort.”
“Toshiko,…” Jack starts before he is interrupted.
“Jack, you took a chance with me. You saved me in every sense of the word. I hope you don’t regret it,” she says, the old insecurity coming back.
Jack softens his voice, ducking his head slightly to catch her line of sight. “I don’t regret anything about you. I never have, not for a minute, and I never will”
“Then do the same for him. Give him the same chance you gave me. Please.”
**
“Gwen, are you here to have a go at me about Ianto, too?” Jack asks with feigned casualness.
“No,” she says, never leaving the doorway. “You’ll do what you need to do now that you know what he’s capable of.”
“What do you mean?” Of everyone, he had figured Gwen would be the most in favor of forgiving Ianto and bringing his back. Jack had expected her to be the first one questioning his intentions, not the dissenting opinion.
“He’s young and he was in love. I can’t think of anything more dangerous.”
**
“Good evening, sir. I’ve been expecting you,” Ianto says with forced cheer, opening the door of his flat to allow Jack entrance.
“Really?” Jack asks, a little confused by the comment.
“Well, no,” Ianto admits. “I hoped you thought I was important enough for you to come yourself, but I didn’t actually expect you would. I thought you might send Owen.”
“Why would I send Owen?” Jack asks.
“Makes sense,” Ianto says with a shrug. “He’s the most qualified to administer Retcon. Or a lethal injection.”
“You think that’s why I’m here? To erase your memories? To execute you?” Jack has made a decision, but Ianto doesn’t know that.
“I really haven’t left you with any other options,” Ianto states calmly. He clearly still expects Jack to follow the rules, to enforce Torchwood policy.
“You’re taking this awfully well,” Jack notes, flopping down onto the couch in the lounge.
“I’ve always known it was a possibility,” says Ianto flatly, still standing in the doorway. “Sometimes I think I almost wanted it to come to this, just for it all to be over.”
“So, which option are you hoping for?” Jack asks lightly.
“Doesn’t really matter, does it? I don’t think the condemned man is usually offered the choice.”
“What if there was a third option?” Jack asks. “One that let you both live and keep your memories?”
“Is there?” Ianto asks, a shade of hope in his voice, finally moving into the room and sitting on the opposite end of the couch.
“Take some time off,” Jack suggests. “Think about things. Grieve. Finish unpacking. Then come back to us, as a full member of the team this time. Use all that knowledge and all those skills to help people.”
“I don’t know…”
“Ianto, do it all in Lisa’s honor, don’t let her death mean nothing. Don’t let them win.” Jack hopes he’s not overdoing the speech and overplaying the moment, but if he is Ianto does not seem to notice.
“I’m not sure what to say,” replies Ianto. “Why would you let me back in after what I’ve done?”
“Because you’re a good man and you deserve a second chance. Everyone does.” Because if I forgive you for this, you’ll be obligated to stay, he doesn’t say.
“What about the others? Will they accept me back?” Ianto asks.
“You might be surprised,” Jack tells him with the first honest smile of the conversation. “This was their idea. Or at least it was Owen and Toshiko’s idea. Gwen thinks you’re too dangerous to let back in.”
“She just wants me out of the way so she can shag you,” Ianto says before realizing what he has said and blushing furiously.
“Quite possibly,” Jack replies with a smirk. Definitely some potential there, he thinks. One more piece of Ianto that Jack can collect.
“I don’t know, sir,” Ianto says, voice soft. “Maybe I don’t deserve another chance. What I did was…unforgivable. I don’t see how anyone could ever get past this. I’m not sure I can get past this.”
“Ianto, do you know how Toshiko and Owen were recruited to Torchwood?” Jack asks.
“No. I never asked, they never said. Not really my business.”
“If they came to see you, would you talk to them? Listen to what they have to say?” Let them be the ones to do the work of bringing you back.
“I think so,” Ianto says. “Yes. But again, I have to ask, why would they?”
“You have more in common with them than you know,” Jack says softly. He owns them as surely as he will own Ianto.
“I doubt that, somehow,” Ianto replies.
“I’ll ask them to come round,” Jack says, heading for the door. “Listen to what they say before you decide. Think about it. I don’t need an answer right away. Take your time, consider your options. I hope you’ll choose to come back to us, but I’ll understand if you don’t.” Jack can always Retcon him and drag him back, if it comes to that. Ianto owes him his future, after all.
**********
When Ianto does return to work, he continues to arrive early and stay late. Jack isn’t sure why Ianto is in so early, but he takes it as a positive sign. Without Lisa to care for, Ianto certainly doesn’t need the extra time to finish his work, so this could mean one of a few things. Ianto could be here to try to spend extra time with Jack. Maybe his flat is too depressing to stay in any more than necessary. Or he feels obligated to keep this schedule. And if he feels obligated then Jack isn’t being as subtle about the whole thing as he thinks he is. There’s only one way to find out.
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“Neither should you.”
Jack definitely has Ianto’s attention.
**
After Estelle, the fairies, and Jasmine, no one is speaking to Jack. Well, one person is, the last person Jack expects to understand and offer comfort at this moment. But, Ianto brings a fresh mug of coffee to Jack’s office as the others all leave without comment and it occurs to Jack that the events of the day might work in his favor here. By exhibiting pain and doubt over Jasmine, Jack might be able to draw Ianto into a discussion about Lisa, remind him that he was only alive today because of Jack’s mercy and convince him that there had been no alternatives.
“They all agree with you now,” Jack says, staring at the surface of his desk.
“Sir?” Ianto asks.
“They think I’m a monster.”
“You’re not a monster,” Ianto replies softly.
“I let innocent people get hurt,” Jack says, still not looking up.
“You didn’t have a choice,” Ianto says a little more forcefully.
“You sure about that?”
“Yep,” Ianto answers with a short nod. “Sometimes saving the world means making tough decisions. Decisions that aren’t always popular.”
Jack considers the situation for a moment before deciding that this is the moment to push for something else. “Stay with me tonight?” Jack asks with just a touch of desperation in his voice. Give me your affection is what he really means.
“Okay.”
**********
Ianto is drugged, but still in pain, his mind still processing the events of the day, the twin horrors of camping and cannibals. As Jack drives him back to the Hub after leaving everyone else off at the hospital, Ianto merely stares out the window.
“How’re you feeling, Ianto?”
“I’m fine, sir.”
Jack knows that this is a lie. A small lie, a white lie, a polite lie, but a lie none the less. He had accepted the similar lies from the others. He had not commented on their lies and had been courteous enough to pretend to believe them. But this is not something he will accept from Ianto. After recent events he insists on complete honesty from Ianto, he will accept nothing less, even if that is a one-way street.
“No, you aren’t.” The rebuke is gentle, but firm. It may be a small lie, but he knows that Ianto has a great talent for lying. He knows that what may start as a small untruth can snowball into something larger, something that might put the whole world in peril, something that he might not see coming this time. Something that he might not be able to contain.
“I just need some rest.”
A small truth to mask the larger lie, a technique Jack is fully versed in. No doubt Ianto does need rest, but he needs much more than that. There are obvious physical injures that need care, and Jack knows that there are other, less visible injuries.
“Let me take care of you.”
The psychological injuries are still being suppressed by shock, denial, and an ingrained instinct to put the needs of others before his own. But the fear, anger, guilt, and despair will come to the surface soon enough.
“I can take care of myself.” The question now is who is the lie intended for? Is Ianto lying to Jack, or is he lying to himself?
“You don’t have to. I’m not leaving you alone tonight. Toshiko told me what you did today,” Jack’s voice is soft, carefully controlled, and unaccusing. “It was either extremely noble, or it was incredibly suicidal. Toshiko’s sure it was the former and I’d really like to believe that, but I have to ask: what were you thinking?”
Jack knows that this conversation could wait, that he is taking advantage of Ianto’s weakened state by asking now. This conversation should wait. But Jack also knows that this is his best chance at getting an honest answer, when Ianto’s defenses are low. Ianto will feel no pressure to make or maintain eye contact while Jack drives, something that Jack has learned over the years makes people more comfortable in uncomfortable conversations.
There is silence in the SUV for longer than Jack expects and he begins to give up hope of Ianto ever answering. A quick glance at the passenger seat and he sees that Ianto is staring out the window, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. When Ianto does finally reply, it is barely above a whisper.
“I was scared.” The emotion is still very clear in his voice. “If you had asked me yesterday if I wanted to die, if I was ready to die, I probably would have said yes. But I wasn’t going to let anything happen to Tosh. Not when there was a chance to save her, to do something right. I wanted to show everyone that letting me come back wasn’t a mistake, I just wanted my death to mean something. But when they were…when I thought I was really about to die, I was so scared, and I realized that I do want to live. Despite everything, all the pain, I don’t want to die. Not anymore.”
Jack smiles grimly as he considers that maybe, just maybe, he hadn’t made a such a horrible mistake by bringing Ianto on the mission. That maybe, just maybe, something good has come out of this trip after all. There really is nothing like saving someone’s life to gain their trust.
**********
“Would you like me to talk to her, sir?” Ianto asks quietly.
“I just sent her lover to the center of the sun,” Jack says in an unbelieving tone.
“I know that,” Ianto replies. “Which is why, maybe, I should talk to her first.”
“What?” Jack asks. “Afraid I’ll make things worse? Make her hate me more than she already does?” It could be dangerous to let Ianto and Toshiko talk so soon after they have both lost someone, they might figure out that Jack will always find way to keep them from becoming too independent of him. As long as they both continued making such poor decisions regarding their love lives he could easily justify his actions case by case, but together they might just see the pattern.
“She doesn’t hate you, not really,” Ianto says. “In time she’ll see it’s for the best.”
“Just like you did?”
“Just like I did.”
Jack sighs heavily, looking up to watch Myfanwy circle the water tower.
“Jack, let me talk to her. I know what it’s like to watch your boss kill your girlfriend, even if it is for the greater good. Please, she helped me after Lisa, let me help her now.”
“Okay,” Jack says with a deep sigh. “Just tell her I’m going to need that pendant. We can’t have that falling into the wrong hands.”
“What are we going to do with it?”
Jack makes a non-committal response. He has no intention of locking the pendant away or destroying it. Letting Ianto distract Tosh for a few minutes will give Jack a chance to substitute a replica that can be disposed of. The original will be useful, giving him power to see into the minds of his team members. It will give him a way to steal the last vestiges of Ianto’s privacy.
**********
Jack’s mind is elsewhere. Going over the events of the day, trying to see where it all went wrong, and trying to work out how to deal with Gwen. How to deal with the aftermath of Suzie’s resurrection and of Gwen trying to help her.
“You know, I still have that stopwatch.”
Rhys complicates things. Gwen having someone on the outside limits his options. He had known this could be a problem when he hired her, but the advantages had been far easier to see.
“So?”
She had thought she was doing the right thing--that was the worst part. She had deliberately disobeyed and had done so because she thought it was the right thing to do. She thought that he was wrong and that she knew better. This needs to be dealt with immediately.
“Think about it, lots of things you can do with a stopwatch.”
Is Ianto actually suggesting….? Is this a sincere interest? Or is this Ianto’s twisted idea of being a gentleman and offering himself up as a diversion. Preventing Jack from doing anything he might regret later with, or to, Gwen? Ianto is certainly capable of such a ploy. It wouldn’t be the first time Ianto had used flirting to deflect Jack’s attention. Either way, Jack isn’t about to turn down the offer.
“Oh yeah, I can think of a few.”
A diversion could be fun, lots of fun, and Ianto was definitely an attractive diversion. But, no, he needs to deal with Gwen. Right now. He needs to stop her before she can rationalize the situation. He needs to stop her before she thinks he approves of her actions. He needs to be sure that she will never do anything that stupid again.
“There's quite a list.”
Damn it, Gwen can wait.
“I'll send the others home early, see you in my office in ten.”
Really, she isn’t likely to challenge him like that again.
“That's ten minutes... and counting.” That’s ten minutes until Ianto finally gives Jack his body.
**********
“I saw the CCTV. You shot Owen to keep him from opening the rift,” Jack says.
“I knew you wouldn’t want us to open the rift,” Ianto replies.
“Didn’t you want me to come back?” Jack asks softly, almost hurt.
“Of course I did. But I knew that you would come back either way. Maybe not Tosh, but you would come back.”
“Either way?”
“Yes, Jack, I knew you would come back, even if you took the long way ‘round.”
“The long way?”
“I’m not stupid. I know you can’t die. You would have come back, even if you had to live through all those years again to do so.”
“I might not have. Could have had a completely different life,” Jack says.
“You’d come back. I know you would.”
Jack knows he has earned Ianto’s faith. Even if it is misplaced.
**********
There had been rumors, of course. In the halls of Torchwood One and the ranks of UNIT, there had always been rumors. But, despite the string of ex-lovers and former colleagues who knew, Jack chose to pretend that his immortality was a secret. He knew that each member of his current team knew, but that they each thought they were the only one to. It made them each feel special. It made them each feel important. It let each of them think that Jack had chosen them to confide in.
Gwen had seen him die and come back even before she was hired. She had already proven she was resistant to Retcon and would not forget this little quirk of his. So, Jack had let her go on believing that she was the only one to know.
Owen, as the team doctor, had seen Jack heal far too quickly, seen him recover from fatal injuries more than once. So, Jack had let him go on believing that he was the only one to know.
Ianto spent too much time reading in the archives to not know. He had read reports going back well over 100 years involving staff who were in on Jack’s secret, seen case histories that clearly included references to Jack’s death, and files redacted to remove mentions of his death. So, Jack had let him go on believing that he was the only one to know.
Tosh for all her quiet mannerisms and social awkwardness was observant. She was simply brilliant and could easily identify patterns and inconsistencies. She had long ago figured out his secret. So, Jack had let her go on believing that she was the only one to know.
It shouldn’t have come as such a surprise to learn that, while he was gone, they had all talked. And that they had each realized that they were not as special as he allowed them to believe. That he was lying to each of them to make them feel trusted.
“I came back for you.” Even though you no longer think you need me. Even though you no longer do. You no longer depend on me, you can survive without me.
It is time to try a different tactic. Time to let Ianto lead. Time to earn back Ianto’s trust.
“All of you.” It is time to let them all lead.
**********
“I know you get lonely.”
“Going home wouldn't fix that. Being here, I've seen things I never dreamt I'd see. Loved people I never would have known if I'd just stayed where I was. And I wouldn't change that for the world.” Of course, he wouldn’t have spent a year be tortured and, Jack thinks, he would change that for almost anything.
As Ianto drifts off to sleep, curled into Jack’s embrace, he barely registers Jack whispering, “You know, if we’re going to keep doing this, we might as well just move your things in here, we could convert one of the lower levels to a proper home. No point in paying for a flat you never see anyway.”
It isn’t until the next morning that what Jack said fully sinks in. “Jack, did you ask me to move in with you?”
Jack smirks as he replies, “I think I did. So, what do you say?”
“It’s a little bit early in the…whatever this is.”
“Yeah, but you could still have your own space, if you need it. There are still plenty of extra rooms downstairs. Like I said, no point in paying for a place you never go. And having your things here would certainly make mornings easier.”
“I’ll think about it.” But Jack already knows that Ianto will give him this bit of his freedom.
********
“So, you’re just going to let Gwen walk out like that? Let her refuse to Retcon Rhys and get away with it?” Ianto asks.
“What choice do I have, Ianto? We need Gwen here. If I Retcon him she’ll quit. If I Retcon the both of them we still lose Gwen,” Jack says in a somewhat defeated tone.
“There is another option.”
“I’m not going to kill Rhys,” Jack says flatly.
“Of course not. You wouldn’t hurt Gwen’s lover, would you? You only kill anyone Tosh or I love,” Ianto snarls, storming out of the office.
“Hey!” Jack yells after him, not bothering to get up from his chair. “It isn’t like that.” But it really is. It’s just that each of them needs to be handled a little bit differently. Each of them has something different to offer. Each of them has something different for Jack to take. He’ll find Ianto later and make him forget the whole incident.
**********
“Jack,” Ianto says in the hallway just outside the boardroom. “Gwen isn’t going to let this go. She’ll find out about Flat Holm eventually.”
“I know,” Jack says.
“We can’t let her keep looking. She could hurt people along the way. She could find out that there are other secrets.”
“I know. But I can’t give in and tell her. It’ll be better in the end if it looks like I’ve tried to shield her from it. She won’t blame me for not doing better if she sees that I regret the situation. And you’re right, we can’t risk her uncovering other secrets along the way.”
“So, what’s your plan then? Just leave the information around where she is sure to stumble across it,” Ianto asks.
“Sort of. You’re going to tell her,” Jack says.
“She’ll know that I’m acting on your behalf.”
“Not if it looks like you acted on your own. Not if it looks like you snuck the information to her when I wasn’t paying attention,” Jack replies reasonably.
“She’ll think I betrayed you, again, that I went behind your back,” Ianto protests.
“Yeah, she will,” says Jack. “But the important thing is that I’ll know you didn’t.” Jack will know that Ianto has truly given him everything.
**********
“I love you.”
“Don’t.” Don’t give me your heart. I bought you piece by piece until there was nothing left of you that was still your own. Except your heart. Don’t give me that.
**********
“You did what?” The level of venom in the tone is enough to cause the Doctor to recoil slightly. Obviously not the reaction he expected from Jack.
“Jack, I thought you’d be happy. You won’t be alone. I though this is what you wanted.”
“How? How did you do it?” Jack asks, anger still apparent in his tone.
“Doesn’t much matter now, does it? He’s immortal now, just like you.”
“But, why?”
“So you won’t be alone, of course,” the Timelord says as if explaining to a small child. “So you’ll have someone to share eternity with. I owed you this much, Jack.”
“No. I get that part,” says Jack. “But why him? Why Ianto?”
“He loves you, you love him.”
“And it never occurred to you that I have loved others before him and will, would, love others after him? That out of all of eternity I might have chosen someone else? It never occurred to you that he may not be the one I want to spend forever with?”
“You loved each other, that doesn’t happen everyday.”
“Maybe not, but I have all the time in the universe to wait to find love. I mean sure, he’s was pleasant diversion, a fun way to pass the time. But my one true love? I don’t think so. And now you’ve gone and made him immortal. That is so typical of you. You never asked me what I wanted, who I wanted. I’ll have him forever.”
“Oops?”
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Date: 2010-05-09 04:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-09 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-09 12:34 pm (UTC)And I liked the way you took it forward and gave us that extra kick at the end. Twisted, evil and great.
Lovely job; loved it.
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Date: 2010-05-10 02:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-10 04:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-10 09:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-10 08:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-10 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-11 09:20 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-12 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-24 10:43 am (UTC)This is a real bastard!Jack you've created here and it is absolutely awesome seeing all the romantic tropes broken into tiny pieces and crushed. I'm amazed actually how you managed to do it and make it fit canon. Starting right from the beginning with the assertion that you can't con a conman, and that Jack wasn't conned and on it went from there. What an amazing idea. Fantastic fic, but I really hate your take on Jack.
Wow. I really don't know how to cope with the way I want to congratulate you and hiss at you at the same time. I think possibly only RTD has ever given me this feeling before. Amazing.
Brilliant writing. Bravo.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-25 11:18 pm (UTC)This basically came out of the scene in Cyberwoman where Jack is taunting Lisa to buy the others time (and the fact that Jack really is a complete bastard during most of series 1). I was having a difficult time with the idea that Jack, the conman, never saw through Ianto's game and had no idea what was happening downstairs. The line about living in his basement and stealing his electricity being okay, but hurting his friends needing to stop made me think maybe he knew she was there and hadn't cared until things got out of hand. (Which reminds me, I still need an icon of Lisa with the text "Iz in yr basements stealin yr lectricitiez".) I'm not sure why this hasn't been explored by other writers, but the idea that Ianto conned Jack completely is pretty well entrenched in fandom.
I had a file full of bastard!Jack snippets that I had written here and there, some in response to other fics (particularly the romantic tropes you mentioned), some as reaction to conversations with people who watched the show but are not interested to the point of participating in fandom, and some from moments of wanting to rant over the writing of an episode. When I saw this prompt it all sort of clicked and the different pieces came together with a common theme.
Congratulations and hissing are not mutually exclusive. The point if writing is to elicit an emotional response from the reader, so...yeah, both reactions work.
no subject
Date: 2011-04-29 05:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-02-08 08:26 pm (UTC)