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aviv_b_artworkTITLE: Chapter 94 - The Beginning of the Ending
AUTHOR: Aviv_b
RATING: Chapter 94- PG-13 - for a few sexual references
CHARACTERS: Ianto, Jack, Team Torchwood & Friends
DISCLAIMER: Not mine; Aunty B's and RTD's
WORDS: ~ 1980
SUMMARY: The Team shares their happiness together, but there is loss as well. Jack and Ianto's relationship takes an unexpected turn.
Title is from: I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity. Gilda Radner
Ianto's Journey begins here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/1972.html
All Chapter are linked.
The years following the opening of the Museum were filled with love and joy for the members of Torchwood.
Tosh and Owen and Gwen and Rhys took turns spoiling their shared granddaughter, Kordelia. Owen especially doted on Kori and gradually was able to make some peace with the loss of Kimiyo.
Rhys Jr., now in his early forties, finally married Emma Griffiths his longtime (and according to Gwen, long suffering) girlfriend. By their first anniversary, Emma was pregnant and in the spring gave birth to a son, Rhys III. Eighteen months later, twin girls, Bethan and Tegwen were born.
With three kids in diapers, Rhys Jr. and Emma were grateful to have one set of parent’s nearby. “I’ve never changed so many diapers in one day, ever,” Rhys told his mates at the pub quiz night. “I never knew babysitting for one day could be so exhausting.”
Everyone smiled as Rhys continued to tell everyone about his grandchildren. Owen and Tosh chimed in with Kordelia’s latest exploits. She had started school and was brilliant of course.
Not to be outdone, Andy passed around some new pictures of his little boy Arwyn who was almost seven. While Andy and Arwyn’s mother hadn’t stayed together, they both were totally devoted to the little red-haired boy. “Yeah, he’s going to have the best of everything. No police work for him. Going to get a good education so he can have a posh life like you lot.” Everyone laughed at the idea of their ‘posh’ lives.
Only Ianto and Jack didn’t have stories of young children to share. But Ianto was justifyingly proud of his great-niece. Rose Davies, David and Claire’s daughter grew into an intelligent and poised woman with degrees in aeronautics and astronomy. She accepted a position at Cardiff University rather than a more prestigious offer she had in London as she didn’t want to be too far from her family, especially her great-uncle Ianto.
Jack and Owen became friends again, good naturedly teasing each other about their shared ineptitude at darts.
“Oi, you’ve missed the target entirely,” Jack told Owen.
“At least I have being drunk as an excuse. What’s yours? And don’t say you wanted to hit the barman in the bum with the dart.”
“I have to let Ianto and Rhys win at least one game, otherwise….”
“No fun for Captain Jack, when he gets home,” Owen surmised. Jack nodded.
***
The truth of Ianto and Jack's relationship was a bit different than their friends’ perceptions. Everyone was happy that they were together but assumed it was due more to comfort and familiarity than to any sort of deep attachment. But Jack and Ianto had grown to love each other with an intensity that no one, not even they themselves had expected.
When they first rekindled their relationship, Ianto was at a point in life where he was willing to accept what Jack was able to give. He felt that his best days were done and that he would never have another love like Aaron.
Jack, however, had finally realized that he was at the beginning of the long road to eternity and instead of hiding from commitment as he has done for the last hundred plus years, had thrown himself full force into making his remaining years with Ianto happy and satisfying for both of them. With Ianto’s help, he regained much of his lost empathic skills and while he would never be adept enough to form an empathic bond with Ianto, it was enough that he could sense Ianto’s smallest needs and desires.
“Come on Ianto, admit it, I still haven’t lost my touch, have I” Jack smirked. He snuggled closer to Ianto and teased his earlobe with his tongue.
Ianto sighed and pushed out. ‘Alright, your blow jobs are still out of this world. Just don’t get too smug about it.’
“And?”
‘I can’t believe we’re still behaving like horny teenagers.’
“You didn’t seem to mind when you were fucking me into the mattress earlier,” Jack laughed.
‘Oi, you started it you know.’
“And I finished it, of course.” Jack leaned over and kissed Ianto’s mouth as he watched Ianto’s eyes close with exhaustion. He continued to watch Ianto until he was sure he was sleeping peacefully. He couldn’t help but notice that Ianto’s face had a few more wrinkles than the year before and that he moved a bit slower and more deliberately than he had in the past. ‘I only wish I could grow old with you,’ Jack thought sadly as he watched his lover sleep.
Ianto and Jack did a bit of traveling mostly in the UK, but spent most of their time in either London or Cardiff. They went to London ever other month or so; the Museum Board met regularly and Ianto tried to attend as many meetings as he could. They also would stop by to see Mickey who was doing an amazing job as head of Torchwood Worldwide as well as visit Stephen and sometimes Jonathan as well.
As they drove back to London following one such meeting Jack laughed as he pointed out Jonathan’s confusion at the names of his many grandchildren. “Did you see how Kelly had to keep reminding him of the kids’ names. They must have, what, twenty grandchildren?”
Ianto nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Oh come on, you heard him… ‘Was it Megan’s or Regan’s birthday last week? And was it Kerry, Mary or Derry’s graduation we went to?’”
‘Jack I think there’s something wrong with Jonathan.’
Jack glanced at Ianto for a moment and saw that he was serious. “What…”
‘Eyes on the road please. I don’t think it’s the number of grandchildren that are confusing him. I think he’s losing his memory.’
“No, you can’t be serious. He seemed pretty coherent otherwise, ok, except for the moment when…”
‘He forgot my name? Yeah that was totally bizarre. Something’s going on. I’m going to call Stephen tomorrow. Don’t know if he’ll know or tell me anything, but I have a bad feeling about this.’
Ianto’s hunch was unfortunately correct. Stephen tried to deny knowing anything, but finally acknowledged that Jonathan and Kelly had asked him not to say anything especially to Ianto or Jack.
‘What? Don’t they trust us,’ Ianto said feeling very hurt.
“It’s not that at all,” Stephen reassured him. “They don’t want you to worry. Jonathan specifically said that he didn’t want your happiness to be diminished by his, uh… condition.”
‘Too late now, don’t you think. Please Stephen, did Jonathan have a stroke or is it…’ Ianto suddenly knew exactly what was going on.
Stephen sighed. “Yeah, it’s Alzheimer’s. Its progressing very rapidly and none of the drugs seem to be helping. He’s got maybe a year or two if he’s lucky. But please don’t let on that you know.”
After he ended the call he turned to go find Jack only to see him standing in the doorway. “Yeah, I heard.”
‘This is just the beginning isn’t it? I’m the youngest of us all, so I’m going to have to watch everyone else go first.’
“Come on. Everyone else is doing great. And since most of us are former Torchwood employees, that’s saying something isn’t it?”
Ianto nodded, but neither of them was fooled. Time was running out for everyone but Jack.
***
Jonathan died two and a half years later in the spring of 2050.
Three years later Rhiannon was next. She still lived alone on the housing estate where she raised her family, refusing David’s invitations to come and live with him and Claire and laughing when Ianto and Jack offered her one of their flats to live in. “Oh yeah, that sounds grand. I can listen to the two of you shagging yourselves silly while I lay in my own bed alone.” Rhiannon was adamant that she was just fine where she was.
“She was stubborn up until the very end,” David told Ianto at her wake. “Could barely take care of herself but refused to come live with us or move to someplace where she’d have people to help her. ‘I came to live here with your father shortly after we were married. I raised my two kids here. And I’m going to die right here in my home.’”
Ianto sighed. ‘And she did.’
The year 2056 brought more change for Ianto. A week before the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Canary Wharf Jack approached Ianto with a serious question. Ianto was sitting in their garden just enjoying the day. The sun was shinning, no rain clouds in sight, and a gentle breeze wafted through the trees.
Jack sat down in a nearby chair. “If I asked you, would you marry me?”
Ianto looked at Jack like he had grown two heads. ‘What? Are you daft? Why would we want to do that? It’s a little late to make an ‘honest man’ of me now.’
“Well maybe not marry but I brought back something for you when I returned from the year I was with the Doctor but then you were gone and with Aaron, and then the time never seemed right.”
‘Say again, I’m not following you.’
Jack groaned to himself. You’d think after knowing Ianto for fifty years this wouldn’t be so hard. “The year I was with the Doctor when you had first come to Torchwood Three, remember? I realized then that I wanted to be with you, make it up to you for leaving without telling you. I didn’t know two years had gone by and I had planned this whole big reunion thing in my mind and then…”
‘Things did not go according to plan.’
“No they didn’t. You weren’t in Cardiff anymore and were living with Aaron. Once I realized that you and Aaron were pair-bonded, I put your gift away until the time was right. I know next week is going to be hard, and I just wanted you to have this,” Jack said as he handed Ianto a small box.
Ianto opened it and was stunned to see a ring with a dark grey stone. As he looked at the stone he could see movement within and felt it warm in his hand. ‘What is it?’
Jack snorted. “I guess you could call it a 35th Century mood ring.” It reacts to the wearers body heat and is said is to have healing properties. I don’t expect you to wear it. I just wanted you to have to before it was too…”
Ianto silenced Jack’s last words by standing up and pulling Jack out of his chair for a kiss. ‘It’s perfect. You’re perfect. Everything’s perfect, OK?’ Ianto kissed Jack again. ‘I just have one question. The ring is a bit small. How am I supposed to wear it?’
“A women would wear it on her hand, but a man wears it around his neck,” Jack explained. He pulled a gold chain out of his pocket, threaded it through the ring and hung it around Ianto’s neck. “Finally where it belongs.”
Ianto smiled. He could feel the stone pulsing against his chest. And there was something comforting and reassuring to feel it there beating almost like a second heart.
They made love that night following the rhythm of the pulsing stone. It wasn’t like being in an empathic loop, but something altogether different. Ianto felt like he was floating in a dream where everything was warm and safe. And when Jack entered him and stroked him in time with the stone, he felt his orgasm building until he silently cried out Jack’s name and heard it echo through time and space and eternity.
“You will be with me always,” Jack whispered as he chased his own orgasm to its peak. Later, as Ianto smiled and began to drift off to sleep he heard Jack repeat “always” one more time.
Chapter 95 is here: http://aviv-b.livejournal.com/56606.html
