We've got tonight...
Jul. 3rd, 2010 11:32 pmTitle: We’ve got tonight...
Author: zazajb
Rating: NC-17, M/M, occasional language
Pairings: Characters: Jack/Ianto, mentions of team
Spoilers: set between TW series 2 and 3, implied character death, not explicit
Summary: “...it’s what we do, Jack – it’s dangerous...”
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters - just like to dabble with them from time to time... words 2030
X-posted Jantolution & jackxianto
A/N For Iolo1234 who kept her birthday a closely guarded secret... J
We’ve got tonight...
Ianto whimpered. It hurt...it really hurt...no, it really fucking hurt..! He bit down hard on his bottom lip, tasting the coppery tang of blood. That didn’t help. He struggled to get up, shoving ineffectually against the dead weight of the now deceased, very large weevil pressing him into the ground.
Giving up moving for the moment, he began a top to toe inventory of his battered body, checking for damage – as best he could without the luxury of using his hands as they were trapped under him and the blasted weevil!
His head hurt where he’d smacked it against the tree, he was sure there was blood there too from the branch he’d attempted to impale himself on...his face was most definitely damaged from the rolling over across the stones and other forest floor debris...hopefully nothing that would scar... His neck was torn and he could feel the warmth of the blood as it trickled down inside his collar – that was probably a nasty wound but not life threatening or he’d be light headed from the blood loss by now... He paused anxiously, checking...was he light headed at all? Would he know if he was..? He rolled his eyes, amused despite his predicament, if he could consider all this with such dispassion, then that surely proved he was not bleeding to death...well, not in a hurry at any rate!
He continued his considerations down to his chest. He breathed in. It. Hurt. Like. Hell! So, broken ribs then, he concluded...nice one! He shifted his hips minutely. That seemed ok, apart from the uncomfortable roughness of stones and twigs and God knows what he was laying on... He moved his legs as far as he was able. One was bent under him and was throbbing painfully...hopefully that was just in protest at the unnatural angle it was forced to reside in...with a bit of luck that would go numb soon... The other leg seemed ok, although he remembered a ripping sound and a sharp pain just before he’d hit the deck, so that indicated some superficial damage, well he hoped it was superficial...he checked again...no, still not light headed...
All in all he appeared to be in one piece...more or less...
He closed his eyes as the thudding in his head got louder and the floor shook...that wasn’t in his head. No, please, not another weevil... His heart leapt as he heard Jack’s voice shouting...the slight quavering at the end of every shout indicating he was panicked...
“Jack!” he shuddered involuntarily as his broken ribs protested at the sudden influx of air into his lungs and it came out as a strangled gasp worthy of a pubescent boy rather than a shout... He gritted his teeth and tried again, managing a cry of some description – loud enough for Jack to hear at any rate as the thundering changed direction and headed towards him.
Seconds later the dead weevil was slung off him unceremoniously and Jack flung himself to the ground, scooping the Welshman into his arms and kissing him hard, relief evident on his face. Ianto gasped as pain shot through him, even as he kissed back...before hissing as Jack pulled him closer and his injured ribs insisted on being listened to.
Jack loosened his hold instantly. “What is it?” his eyes anxious, taking in the young man’s damaged appearance for the first time...
“Ribs broken...” he whispered, “...head...neck...hell, Jack, it all hurts..! What happened..?” his eyes narrowed, “...you died...” statement rather than a question.
Jack nodded. “I was pulling the hood over the one I’d sedated when this,” he indicated the crumpled heap of dead weevil, “got me from behind. I went over and broke my neck as I landed. I don’t think it even took a bite out of me...must’ve heard you...where’s the other one..?” He glanced around in the gloom, unable to make out anything resembling another, hopefully, soundly sedated alien amongst the shadows.
Ianto pointed vaguely to the left. “Between a couple of trees over there somewhere... I heard the other one coming so I was trying to get round behind it, only I tripped over a bloody tree root and I’d just managed to get to my feet when it flew at me and we bounced off a couple of trees before we hit the deck and rolled around a bit while it tried to rip my throat out and I tried to get my gun out...in the end we both managed a bit, but my gun won! Trouble was I was pinned under it...and that’s where you came in...” He managed a tiny smile as Jack kissed him softly.
“Can you stand..?”
“Yeah, I think...” he let out a squawk as his body protested against moving, his damaged parts clamouring for attention simultaneously... He leant heavily on his Captain who wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him stumble painfully towards the SUV that seemed much farther away than when they’d parked it! Hissing and muttering some very bad language in Welsh under his breath they finally made it and Ianto slumped gratefully in the passenger seat, his head throbbing and a weariness spreading over him that extended from the roots of his hair downwards, merging with the multitude of his other aches and pains.
Jack pressed a gentle kiss to his lips and turned away, trudging back to collect the bodies of the two other weevils to add to the one already in the boot.
Ianto closed his eyes.
The next thing he knew they were in the underground car park at the hub and Jack was shaking him gently. “Hey, Yan, we’re back...need you to wake up for me now...” he grinned wickedly, “or I could carry you like a girl...”
Blue eyes flew open. “Mn not a girl!” he mumbled, grasping Jack’s offered hand and climbing stiffly down to the ground, before leaning into his hold once more as they made their way down to the medical bay.
Once they were in the light, albeit the subdued lighting of the ‘night shift’ Jack winced as he took in the extent of the young man’s injuries, his heart beating faster as he realised how close he’d come to losing him tonight. He tightened his grip instinctively...protectively...as the Welshman gasped in pain...
“...sorry..!” Jack relaxed his hold, his mind still churning through endless scenarios of him finding Ianto’s dead body...no...don’t...can’t lose him...
He helped him up onto the table before sorting out soft muslin cloths, warm water, pain killers, the scanner, heaping it all onto the bed beside the young man. He handed him a glass of water and two of Owen’s kill-or-cure-all strong painkillers, watching as he swallowed them down...
“Ok, let’s get a better look at you...” he eased the jacket from his shoulders, folding it neatly, despite the fact it was probably ruined... He loosened the tie, leaving it hanging undone, before undoing his shirt buttons, carefully removing the red Welsh dragon cufflinks...he remembered going shopping with Tosh to buy them for Ianto’s birthday...a wave of grief swept over him and he caught his breath, turning to pick up one of the cloths so he could hide the tears that suddenly filled his eyes.
He wrung the cloth out in the warm water and gently cleaned Ianto’s face. He was covered with scratches and grazes but nothing that needed extra medical attention. He kissed each mark softly, stroking the young man’s cheek tenderly, before sliding off the tattered shirt so he could start cleaning the ragged wound on his neck and shoulder.
Ianto sat quietly, his eyes screwed up in pain, hissing as his body objected violently to the attention. Slowly the extent of the wound was revealed under the careful ministrations of cloth and water...it was clean and quite deep, but had missed the vital blood vessels and should heal well...but it would leave a scar... Ianto attempted a shrug at the diagnosis, grimacing as his ribs complained, “...what’s another scar...at least I’m still here...”
Jack turned away abruptly, making a show of changing the water as the myriad of scenes from earlier charged anew through his head, each more tortuous than the preceding one... He swallowed and turned back, fresh water and a fresh cloth in his hands.
He washed his chest very gently, mindful of the three broken and one fractured rib that had shown up on the scanner. He also had some contact burns to his stomach from firing his gun against his body into the weevil as it had him pinned to the floor. There was likely to be some extensive bruising coming out from that over the next day or so...
Jack pressed more light kisses to the injured areas, returning to kiss his mouth, sliding one hand behind Ianto’s neck and burying the other in his hair...jumping as the young man gave a startled yell and Jack’s fingers caught in a knotted tangle of dried blood.
Aiming a free-standing light at the back of the Welshman’s head, Jack examined the damaged area, dabbing gently with the cloth, removing tiny bits of bark and debris until the cut was revealed...it was about an inch across and was obviously the result of a close call with a tree branch...that was going to be painful for a while...he supposed Owen would have put a stitch or two in it...grief slapped him again and he bit the inside of his cheek, choking the sob that threatened to spill out of his lips. He focused on pressing light kisses around the edge of the wound as his lover let out a soft moan.
He returned to the other side of the table, cupping Ianto’s face in his hands and kissed him tenderly, feeling the young man relax against him. He flicked his tongue against those soft and sensual lips, sliding it into the Welshman’s mouth where it smooched with his own as their kiss deepened.
Jack pulled back before the need for oxygen became critical, mindful of Ianto’s broken ribs and how much it would hurt to gasp for air... He rubbed their noses together before backing away to continue his perusal of his injuries. Crouching down, he undid the young man’s laces, slipping his shoes and socks off, then rubbing his feet soothingly... Next he unbuckled his belt, undid the button and zip of his trousers and helped the Welshman slide them down, leaving him sat on the table in just his boxers.
Wringing the cloth out, Jack washed Ianto’s legs, carefully cleaning the numerous cuts and scrapes, peppering each limb with light kisses wherever there was a mark. Finally satisfied he’d identified all injuries, he pulled the young man gently into his arms and held him, stroking comforting small circles on his back as he felt him lean into the embrace...the pain killers starting their work...
“I almost lost you today...” he breathed against his lover’s ear, “...I don’t know what I’d do if...if...you know...”
“It’s what we do, Jack – it’s dangerous...I know that...and so do you – you can’t always be there to protect me...”
“But I should be...I have to be...if I want to keep you safe...I could lose you tomorrow...or the next day...
Ianto pulled back from the embrace and met Jack’s gaze – those blue grey pools were shadowed with the heavy weight of responsibility and fear of loss... He leant in to capture his Captain’s lips, feeling them soft and responsive under his...he pressed his body closer, sliding his arms around the older man’s neck as he lost himself in the kiss...
Coming up for air, a bit sooner than normal, he whispered into his ear, “...forget tomorrow...just remember that we’ve got tonight so let’s make it one to remember...Take me to bed, Jack...”
Jack kissed him hard, attempting to convey all the longing and fear and passion jumbled up in his head into the kiss... Breaking apart he helped the Welshman off the table and carefully entwined their fingers before leading him to his office and down the ladder to his bunk...they had tonight...
End