Weevil All Laugh At Gilded Butterflies

[aviv_b_artwork]

TITLE:  Weevil All Laugh At Gilded Butterflies   
Author: Aviv_b
RATING:  PG
CHARACTERS:  Ianto/Jack 
DISCLAIMER:  Not mine; Aunty B's and RTD's
WORDS: ~ 1032
SUMMARY: A fine autumn day, a walk in a park, what could possibly go wrong?

Written for redisourcolor Challenge 26
This picture:


All the Words: automatic, bandy, broken, shuffle, kaleidoscope and
All three phrases: "There you go again."
After enough time passed, they got used to it.
"You're being nice. You don't have to be."

A/N: I'm apparently still working through my obsession with stories about truth and lies.

They arrived at the park after sightings of a strange ape-man had been reported to the local police. After searching the grounds, Jack and Ianto stumbled upon one old, sick weevil shuffling along a gravel path. They quickly subdued the creature and stowed him in the boot of the SUV.

“It’s unusual to find one out alone this far from the rift,” Jack said as he surveyed the terrain. “I think we should make a final sweep of the area before we take off.”

Ianto was already in the driver’s seat and hesitated for a moment. “That weevil could be rogue, or something, I think I should stay with the van just in case.”

“It’s just old, maybe lost, nothing to worry about.  Come on, it’s a beautiful autumn day, take a walk with me,” Jack replied holding the door open for Ianto to exit.

Ianto sighed. “If you insist, Sir.”

“There you go again, with the Sir. What’s the matter with you today?”  Jack was truly puzzled.

He had been monitoring the rift on a predicted to be quiet Sunday when the police scanner had picked up the call. Though Jack was pretty sure it wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle, he had called Ianto to see if he wanted to come along for some weevil hunting.

“And I do actually mean weevil hunting. That’s not to say that we can’t do some of our own hunting when we’re finished.”

Ianto had readily agreed and they’d laughed and bandied innuendoes back and forth all the way to their destination. Even the sign indicating they were entering the Brecon Beacons didn’t dampen their spirits. But from the moment they had turned into the park, Ianto had become quiet, answering Jack’s attempts at conversation with short, clipped answers punctuated with ‘sir’.  Something was clearly wrong.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. Sir.”

“Fine, let’s go do our job then,” Jack said brusquely and turned to walk away.  Ianto hurried to catch up.

The men walked down a gravel path past some dilapidated wood and stone buildings. The windows had long been broken out and the whole place had the air of something sad and sinister.

“What was this, a TB sanitorium?” Jack asked.

“Mental Institution,” Ianto spat out.

“Well I bet it wasn’t a terrible place, nice grounds anyway,” Jack replied trying to ignore Ianto’s reaction.

“For a loony bin, it wasn’t half bad.”

“Ianto, don’t call it…”

“That’s what it was called, sir.  The Brecon and Radnor Counties Joint Lunatic Asylum. Later the name was changed to the Mid Wales Hospital, so much nicer for the public, still not terribly nice for the residents.  Gilding butterflies, that’s all it was.  Though, after enough time passed, they got used to it. Didn’t really have a choice, did they? ”

There were so many questions that Jack wanted to ask but he could see that Ianto was upset and angry and just a short distance from really losing his temper.  So they walked on in silence until they came to a building straddling the path.

Ianto stared at the building, a kaleidoscope of emotions playing across his face. “I can’t do this, sir, I just can’t. As he swayed on his feet, Jack caught him and gently lowered him onto the path.  He wondered which family member had been here.  Mother?  Father?

“What is it, Ianto?  How do you know about this place?”

Ianto made a noise, part laugh, part cry and shook his head. “I can’t tell you, you couldn’t possibly understand.”

“Ianto, nothing you could tell me will shock me. So you had a parent or another relative who stayed here. That’s not a crime. Mental illness isn’t anything shameful, it’s not like…”

“SHUT UP,” Ianto roared.  “Just stop, please,” Ianto said in a quieter voice. “It wasn’t my Mam or Tad that was here, it was me.”

“What? That’s impossible, I have all your records from Torchwood One. You gave me access to them after, uh, after…”

“After  Lisa. Yes, I did give you access to all their files, but they didn’t have everything.” Ianto looked at Jack with amusement.  “That’s what always gets me in trouble, I can’t bring myself to tell the truth. I always lie, it’s an automatic reaction for me.  Even when the truth would be easier, I have to create, embellish, omit or change my story.”

“I lied so much my parents took me to psychiatrist who diagnosed me as a ‘pathological liar.’ I was ten years old. He tried talk therapy and various drugs, but they did nothing to stop the lies. I was always in trouble. Mostly I was bored and way too smart for my teachers or peers. Finally, when I was sixteen, they sent me here, for aversion therapy. That’s what they called it anyway.  I’d call it mild torture. Eight weeks of living hell.”

“I tried to run away several times. This building in front of us was the entrance to the facility, staffed round the clock. I almost made it through here once or twice, but the drugs slowed me down and I got caught.  I finally figured out how to get released. I let them think I was done lying. One and two word answers. Yes sir, no sir, very good sir. Did the same thing when I got home. Had an uneventful life after that except for that one incident when I got caught shoplifting.”

Jack smiled. As a former conman, he could appreciate the need to hold back, to not reveal too much about oneself.  “Well, I have a bit of a checkered past, myself, so let’s just call it even and head home.

Ianto laughed. "Only you would say something like that. You're being nice. You don't have to be, you know. "

“I don’t, but I am. And I also know that you probably still haven’t told me the truth. And you know what. I don’t care. I trust you Ianto Jones, underneath that lying liar who lies exterior, is a loyal and brave man. I know I can count on you, right?”

“Yes sir. Absolutely.”

“Somehow, I’m not feeling reassured by that answer.”

Ianto smiled. “No, I didn’t think you would be. Sir.”