Title: How did I get here with you
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.

Summary: Ianto's back in Cardiff, but what about Jack?
Note: This is a sequel to Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts, so you'd probably have to read it to understand this.
Again, a huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!


"What the hell did you put in these?" Jack complained, as he carried yet another packing case upstairs. After an hour of getting Ianto's things to the new flat and carrying boxes around, he wasn't so sure about having agreed to come over and help anymore. Then again, he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to stick around at Ianto's for more than a few hours. Because nowadays they talked, they actually talked. In fact they seemed to have talked more in the last two weeks than they had during the whole year before Jack had run off with the Doctor. They mostly talked about random things, happily avoiding the topic they should talk about. Which was long overdue. Jack felt like as long as he didn't talk about it, he could pretend it didn't exist, and he bet that Ianto's excuse was similar. Still, he knew they had to at some point.

"You could just look at the sign on the box." Ianto replied from the bottom of the staircase.

"It's hard enough to get upstairs when I'm able to see where I'm going, thank you very much."

Putting the box, that, as he found out, contained books and DVDs, down in Ianto's still empty living room, Jack looked around. The flat wasn't particularly big, but there was enough space to have lots of room for yourself, or even a second occupant, and it was very different from his former apartment. Jack hadn't been there very often. Only a few times during Ianto's suspension after what happened with Lisa, and another time after the Cannibals, but from what he remembered, it had always been a quite dark, depressing place. It hadn't existed for him to actually live in it. He had mainly kept his things there and maybe once a week slept in his scarcely used bed, but nothing else. This one was different. The rooms were filled with sunlight that shone through large windows and the walls were painted in a light yellow tone, making it look warm and comfortable. It seemed like a place where someone would actually want to stay. Which was good, Jack decided. He wouldn't want Ianto to spend so much time at the Hub if he came back. Another part of him however hoped that this was not a sign that Ianto didn't want to come back at all. That he wanted to live a normal life and therefore furnished his flat properly.

He frowned, then shrugged the thought off and exited the flat again, leaning over the railing and watching Ianto as he moved more boxes to the bottom of the stairs where he'd let Jack carry them upstairs, before he went downstairs himself.

Jack had just reached the ground floor, when a door next to them opened and a young woman stepped outside. She couldn't be older than 20, probably a student; squeezed between the large staircase and several storerooms, the flat had to be tiny, dark and therefore pretty cheap.

Her look followed Jack as he descended from the stairs, then fixed on Ianto.

"You're the one moving in?" she asked, finally.

"That's me. Ianto Jones."

"Tracy." She turned to Jack. "And you are?"

Jack smiled. "Captain Jack Harkness." he said, shaking her hand and winking at her.

"Stop it!"

For a moment, Jack just stared at Ianto, then burst out laughing.

"What?"

"Private joke." Jack explained, trying to stifle his laughter, and failing hopelessly.

Ianto shook his head in mock despair. "Always the same..."

Tracy looked at them with a bemused smile on her face, soon to be replaced by a big grin. "So, are you..." she asked, the expression on her face completing the question.

Ianto blushed and cleared his throat. "We should really get these boxes inside, it's supposed to start raining again..." His voice trailed off, and so did he, heading for the front door, which closed behind him.

Jack stopped laughing. "Excuse me." He gave Tracy an apologetic smile and followed the Welshman outside.

He found Ianto by the SUV, fiddling with the rope that had kept everything in place.

"You didn't say no."

Ianto didn't turn around. "Would it have made a difference?" He grabbed another box.

Jack looked at him for what seemed like several minutes, then dropped his gaze to the floor. "Probably not." he shrugged and watched Ianto as he walked back to the house.

Fighting his instinct, he stayed where he was. Looked like now was a good time to stop pretending.

~*~

Except for two homicidal Weevils, the Rift stayed silent the next day, which gave Jack the opportunity to invite Ianto for a drink. As expected, Ianto said yes and they met up at a small pub in the centre of Cardiff.

Before Abbadon, Jack could have never imagined sitting in a bar with Ianto wearing casual clothes, and just talking, no matter whether it was about something serious or just a chance to relax and get away from the Hub for a while. And yet, here he was; sipping at his water and staring into space.

Ianto was sat opposite him, finding a great interest in watching his hands. They had done this before, going to a bar, that is, but they both knew what this was about.

Jack decided to approach the topic carefully.

"So... what did you actually do while you were gone? You never said."

Ianto looked up for a moment, then went back to inspecting his hands.

"I worked with some kind of special-ops team. Lead them, actually. It was quite similar to Torchwood, only without the anti-alien attitude."

He held up a hand when Jack opened his mouth to argue. "I know it has changed since you took over Torchwood Three, but originally, that's what Torchwood was for. Protect Earth from aliens, or rather get rid of anything that might be the slightest threat. I've read all the case files, you know."

"I know. That's why I didn't really want to join when they first offered me the job. But are you serious, you lead a team?"

The surprised tone in Jack's voice made Ianto smirk. "Yup. It was quite interesting, being in charge. But it's not really my thing, even though it does have its advantages."

Jack raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh really?"

"Definitely. You wouldn't believe how many people try to seduce you when you're in such a position. Not that I'm complaining." He grinned. "Don't look at me like that, I'm joking. Just because New Earth is so different I don't have to have changed. I'm still the same person. Still have the same opinions, the same thoughts about this place...and these people." For the first time that day, he looked Jack straight in the eye. However, he didn't say anything else.

Running a hand through his hair, Jack examined Ianto's expression, like he hoped to find an answer to his unspoken questions. But even though the Welshman now showed more emotions than he had before New Earth, Ianto was still capable of not letting too much sip through.

"Where does that leave us?" Jack asked. In all honesty, he was pretty scared of the answer. Because he had no idea what Ianto's response would be. He cared for Ianto, more than he'd like to, because he knew what the consequences were: he'd loose him eventually, but he couldn't help himself. He'd realized that when he had seen him in the Houses of Parliament where he had just wanted to wrap his arms around Ianto and make up for whatever had happened to him, to them. But it hadn't worked out like he had planned and now he simply didn't know what to make of this. Something was going on with Ianto, but he couldn't tell whether it was good or bad. And that was driving him insane.

"I don't really know. Sometimes I just want to give it all up because it's not worth it, but then I think about it and I realize that I..."

Whatever he realized, Ianto didn't get the chance to say it as Jack's mobile started beeping, much to the annoyance of the people around them.

Ianto paused when he saw the Captain frown.

"What is it?"

"I gave the others the evening off and set the Rift alarm to my mobile in case there's an emergency... and looks like we got one. Sorry." He actually looked like he regretted it, a fact that made Ianto smile to himself.

"That's okay. Where?"

Jack checked his mobile again.

"Just around the corner. I parked the SUV right next to the building, so it might not even take very long. Do you think you can wait a bit?" he asked, standing up and grabbing his coat that he'd thrown over the back of his chair.

Ianto stood up as well. "I'm coming with you."

Jack paused. "No you're not."

"I am. I spent the last couple of months hunting aliens on my own, I think I'm quite capable of holding a gun. Now come on, there are a lot of people running around in this area, that'll just complicate things. Even if you can manage whatever came through on your own, you might want to have someone around to distribute retcon."

With that, Ianto walked past Jack and headed for the SUV, knowing that the team kept various guns in the back. Jack just stared at him for a while, before he realized what he was supposed to be doing, and followed the Welshman.

"But you're not taking any risks. If it's just one, leave it to me."

"As long as you're not planning to kill yourself again," Ianto replied while loading his gun and locking the SUV up.

"That wasn't on my to-do list for today."

"Good."

Using Jack's mobile to trace the rift energy, they disappeared into the street at the back of the building. Luckily, there didn't seem to be anyone else around and Jack could only hope that it would stay that way. One of the first things you learned when you worked at Torchwood was that being in the wrong place at the wrong time could be deadly.

He was yet again scanning the gaps between houses when a faintly glowing, orange light caught his attention. Silently, he directed Ianto to follow him at a distance. Pressed against the cold stone wall, Jack crept towards the light, gun pointed at whatever was waiting for him. The light flickered, and for a moment it went completely dark. Since he couldn't be sure that the creature didn't have an especially good night vision, Jack stayed where he was. Better safe than sorry, a saying he'd never really payed attention to, but now Ianto was with him. And he'd promised not to let himself get killed. So he didn't move, until the light came back on. It was then, that Jack managed to see what it really looked like and he stopped short. It was just that, a light. A damaged lamp at the back door of some old house. But that couldn't be right. Checking his mobile again, the creature was supposed to be right on top of him. Jack was still frowning at his mobile when he heard something growl behind him, and Ianto's shout to watch out. Oh.

Jack turned around, finding himself face to face with a particularly big Weevil, and he could see several others moving behind it. He didn't even blink, but shot the Weevil in the stomach. It kept coming towards him.

"Shit!" he swore as he backed off. Apparently he was really bad at keeping his promises.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise and before he could even take in what was going on the Weevil stopped dead, quite literally, and collapsed on top of him. The weight pressed him down and within seconds, Jacks knees gave away, and he fell to the floor, hitting his head on the cold stone. Unable to move his legs, Jack turned his head. There were five other Weevils lying on the floor, their blood forming a big puddle in the middle of the street.

And above all was Ianto, dropping his gun and hurrying towards him.

"Jack! Are you okay?"

Jack groaned when Ianto pushed the creature off him. "Define okay."

"Not mortally wounded?"

"Dunno."

Ianto's expression could only be described as angry. "You're so not doing that again." He began moving his hands over Jack's body, searching for broken bones. He didn't find anything, but if any internal organs were damaged... hell, this couldn't be happening again.

"It's not that bad." With a bit of help from Ianto, Jack sat up, resting his head on Ianto's shoulder.

"Nice shot though, Yan. Six Weevils at a time, even Owen didn't manage that yet, and he's supposed to be best at it."

Ianto looked relieved. "Well, I had some practice." He paused when he felt Jack burying his face in his shoulder.

"You should go to a hospital."

"I'm fine."

"You were nearly ripped apart by a Weevil, I don't think that counts as fine."

"I'm okay! Look, I can even stand..." Jack let go of Ianto and got up. He was standing for about two seconds before his legs gave away again and he had to cling to Ianto to stop himself from falling down completely, his nails digging into the fabric of Ianto's dark red shirt.

"Or not."

"I just have to rest for a while."

Ianto couldn't argue with that. He knew that Jack healed quicker than others, but it felt kind of wrong to do nothing when he was so obviously injured. However if Jack just needed to rest, he could do that. Ignoring the smell of blood around them, Ianto held him close.

They sat there in silence, none of them knowing for how long, surrounded by blood and Weevil corpses, clinging to each other because that was all that mattered.

~*~

It was hard to tell how long they had been sitting there. Judging from how cold he was, even with Jack being so close, Ianto assumed it must have been much longer than it should have been. He wrinkled his nose. And the Weevils began to smell.

Slowly, he untangled himself from Jack. The older man didn't respond.

"Jack?"

He lifted his head a little, before yawning loudly. "Huh?"

Ianto muttered something under his breath, before pulling Jack up. He could tell that Jack was cold as well, if the slight shaking was anything to go by.

"You need to get somewhere warm," he stated, guiding Jack down the street and towards the SUV. This had really not been a good idea. Even Ianto, although he hadn't been hurt at all, felt worse after sitting there for so long. He couldn't imagine that it had helped his Captain at all.

"I can walk by myself."

"Are you sure you want to test that out?"

Jack didn't seem to be too happy with Ianto's decision, but he didn't object as the Welshman made him sit down on the passenger seat, and picked up some of the body bags in the back. It wasn't long until Ianto was back, closing the door behind him.

"Where are we going? I guess you won't take the Weevils to a hospital?"

Ianto smiled. "Not quite. We're going to the Hub. With any luck, Owen might not be completely pissed and he can make sure you'll be fine."

"Alright," Jack muttered, which seemed to be more worrying than anything else he could have said. Ianto started the SUV. They'd better get there soon.

During the drive, Jack stayed silent, looking out of the window. Either thinking about something, or just too tired to start a conversation. Yellow and orange lights zipped by, and eventually, they reached the Hub's garage. It was tiny, with just enough space for the SUV, a fact that annoyed Ianto every time he thought about it. It was only logical, though. Anything else would have cause too much attention, or at least some rumors, they were supposed to be working at a Tourist Office after all. And there were enough stories about Torchwood out there, as it was.

They were already halfway through the hidden passage when Jack stopped.

"What about the Weevils?"

"They're unlikely to attack anyone now, we can leave them in the SUV until later." He'd make sure to deal with them as soon as he knew that Jack would be alright. Until then, the Weevils would have to wait.

Softly pushing Jack forward, they continued their way towards the med bay. It had been two weeks since Ianto had last been here, but it didn't look any different. Well, maybe except for some additional pizza boxes, but most had already been there when they had come back from London.

As Jack had said, the others had long gone home or, more likely, to a pub, leaving the dark, empty Hub behind. Only Toshiko's computer was still on, running some translation program. Ianto wondered what Jack had done if he hadn't met up with Ianto. Probably no paperwork, Ianto decided. He realized that he'd rather not think about it. Jack must have been spending most nights alone in the Hub, waiting for the others to come in in the morning. Before, Ianto had always been there, but now... he shook his head, trying to get rid of his thoughts in return. It didn't really work.

The stretcher was cold, but Jack sat down, anyway. He was feeling a bit dizzy by now, looked like he'd hit his head pretty badly. Sometimes the whole immortality thing could come in quite handy, he had to admit. Under normal circumstances, it might have even be deadly, or at least enough to cause permanent damage unless he'd been really lucky. Still, if he had the chance, he'd kill himself the second he knew he wouldn't wake up again. Well, he might wait a while, if I could. He'd like to say goodbye and not just disappear like he had done before. After having seen what had happened last time, he wasn't too keen to experience that again.

"Owen's not answering his phone." Ianto had returned from the main Hub, walking down the stairs towards Jack.

"Looks like you get to play doctor after all."

Ianto raised an eyebrow at that and Jack grinned.

Picking up a penlight, Ianto walked over to Jack.

"Pupils are okay," he stated, his face only inches away from Jack's. He took hold of the older man's wrist. "Pulse is fine. And according to the scanner..." His words were cut off by Jack closing the short distance between them and kissing him deeply, his hands coming around Ianto's waist. Although he was startled at first, Ianto responded, pulling Jack towards him, kissing back eagerly. A part of him was quite surprised that he didn't find this wrong at all, more the contrary. He remembered their last kiss all too well, and it hadn't been anything like this. This felt...right. They were both panting madly when they finally broke apart, resting their foreheads against each other.

Ianto noticed that Jack struggled to get his breathing under control.

"You should rest."

"I know," Jack replied, slipping off the stretcher.

Jack's quarters were cold, and they seemed smaller than Ianto remembered. A small light bulb came to life as they entered, bathing the room in a warm light. It wasn't too comfortable, it never had been, but at the same time there were few places he felt more relaxed at. It wasn't much unlike Jack himself.

Jack's shirt landed on the floor, soon to be followed by the rest of his clothes until he was only wearing his boxers, studying the other man's face. Ianto hadn't moved at all, but watched Jack, uncertainty taking over again. He surely knew what he wanted to do. And he was pretty sure that he knew what Jack wanted, too. Stringing both together seemed to be something entirely different, though...or did it?

He barely noticed that Jack had stepped forward until the older man put his hands on his shoulders. They were, yet again, so close he could feel Jack's breath on his face.

"Stay?"

He paused for a moment.

"Alright."

And Ianto stayed.

-fin-

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 11/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven || Part Eight || Part Nine || Part Ten

The sound of people chatting away filled the Hub: Ianto had come back with them. Whether he'd stay or not, they had all missed each other and were eager to catch up on what had happened since he had disappeared. Shanks seemed a bit uncomfortable around Ianto, he didn't know him after all, even though he'd always heard good things about him. But he'd surely come around.

Jack stood a bit further away, grinning as he watched his team. He remembered doing this before, when he had come back from his travels with the Doctor, and now, finally, it seemed like the pieces fell back into place. It seemed right.

Still grinning, Jack raised his mug and took another sip, closing his eyes to completely enjoy the sensation. He had missed Ianto's coffee. There simply was nothing to replace it, a fact that worked quite well for the man himself. Someone chuckled next to him.

Opening his eyes, the Captain realized that Ianto was standing beside him.

"Like the coffee?"

Jack leaned back against the wall, eyes fixed on the Welshman. "Do you even have to ask?"

"I guess not." Ianto followed Jack's example, steadying himself at the wall, hands in his pockets. He was still wearing casuals, and god, he looked gorgeous in them. Jack loved his suits, but these jeans really suited Ianto. He couldn't wait to peel them off him. However, by the looks of it, he'd have to wait a little longer.

Ianto seemed to able to read his thoughts.

"We both know this doesn't solve everything." he stated.

"It doesn't. But it's a start, don't you think?"

Ianto smiled. "That it is."

Jack grinned in response, standing upright again. "Need help getting your old apartment back? Or are you looking for a new one?"

"Not sure yet. I do have a flat around here, but it isn't really that great, so I'll probably move. Maybe somewhere closer to the Hub." he added. "Though, of course, that depends on whether I'm staying or not."

Jack nodded, looking over to the rest of his team. Gwen was talking to Oliver, from time to time gesturing in Jack and Ianto's direction. Tosh had settled on the couch and Owen sat next to her, presumably talking about nothing in particular.

"I'd appreciate the help though, if you don't mind." Ianto said, which had Jack turning around again.

I'd love to."

Click for the Sequel!

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 10/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven || Part Eight || Part Nine



When, Jack came to life in the back of the SUV, Ianto was sitting next to him. The others had gone back inside a couple of minutes ago to explain what had happened, so he was the only one around.

He still wasn't so sure what to make of this. Ianto had thought that Jack didn't care about him anymore, if he ever had, but now Jack had died for him. He'd also thought he didn't care about Jack, but that wasn't quite true either now, was it?

On the other hand, all of this didn't explain what he'd seen and it definitely didn't make up for Jack leaving, and later hiring Shanks while Ianto was away.

Jack coughed, unconsciously clinging to Ianto's arm.

"Yan?"

"I'm here." Ianto assured him quietly.

Jack seemed to be relieved by that and let himself fall back against the folded blanket that had served as a pillow. He had to have woken up completely now, Ianto figured, but Jack didn't let go of his arm, as if he'd loose Ianto again when he did. For a moment, the Welshman considered moving Jack's hand away, but then he couldn't bring himself to do it. Jack had just saved his life and the least he could do was be a bit grateful. And he was, he just didn't know what to make of it.

"Where are the others?" Jack asked after a while.

"Briefing the Prime Minister." Ianto replied, nodding his head towards the building.

"Did they see you?"

"Yup. I think Gwen may have bruised some ribs when she hugged me..." he added, grinning. He could feel the skin stretch around his lips and wondered how long it had been since he'd last smiled. He couldn't remember.

Jack laughed softly, then looked up at Ianto. "So you're staying?"

Ianto sighed. "I don't know." he said, honestly.

"But why? Why haven't you told us you were back in the first place? It's not just because I disappeared with the Doctor, is it?"

Ianto shrugged, but didn't say anything.

"Ianto."

The Welshman shook his head. He wanted to tell Jack, but right now he felt more embarrassed than anything else. How childish would it sound if he said that he was angry because Jack had hired someone else? Suddenly, his reasons seemed a bit ridiculous. Not ridiculous enough not to count, but definitely ridiculous enough to sound stupid. He remained silent.

"Telling me can't possibly make it worse!"

"No"

"Then tell me."

Ianto turned around to face Jack, his frown replaced by anger.

"And what would it change? You've given up on me already, what difference would it make?"

Now it was Jack's turn to get angry.

"I lost you. I knew I couldn't do anything to find you, because I thought you were gone for good or that you wouldn't be the same if you came back. Because that's what happens when the Rift takes someone away. I've seen it happen! I lost you, and I couldn't do anything about it."

"Well, then you know how I felt when you ran off."

Jack sighed. "That was different. I was going to be okay...to be honest it didn't quite work out how I wanted it to, but I can't die! How bad can it get?"

"Right, and we were supposed to know all that. Where did you go anyway?"

"I found the Doctor. I told you before, I needed answers. I hoped he could fix me, or at least tell me what happened back then, but in the end he couldn't do anything. Wasn't worth it...but I didn't know."

"You could have left us a message."

"There was no time."

"So you say."

For a moment, Jack looked like he was going to burst into tears. He had just died, the Prime Minister was probably not going to give them a quiet moment for at least the next ten years and now Ianto. What the hell had happened to him?

"So you managed to get back."

"Yes."

"But you didn't tell us. Why?"

"You know, maybe you'll want to consider the consequences next time you run off. I don't owe you an answer."

"Tell me, Ianto. Please."

Ianto rolled his eyes.

"This is the reason."

"What?"

"This. You never say please. Never. Only when you really want to have something, and then you don't even mean it. You take it all as given, and when it's not there anymore you get someone else to do all that shit for you!"

Jack opened his mouth but was cut off by Ianto.

"You replaced me. Do you have any idea how it feels when you finally come back after two years and you have to find out that everyone else has moved on, including the one person you came back for? To see that you found yet another Tea Boy, like I never meant anything at all? I would have forgiven you for disappearing like that, but turns out it wouldn't even matter whether I did or not!"

"Whoa, hold on!"

"What?" Ianto snapped.

"You were gone for... two years?"

"Apparently."

Of course, Jack should have expected something like that. Timelines changed when you got taken by the Rift. You could be gone for two minutes and come back three years after you'd left. And you could grow old, while only a few months had passed on earth. Or you couldn't come back at all. It seemed like Ianto had been lucky, then. But still, two years? It was a long time. And quite obviously a very long time to get absorbed in your anger and disappointment.

"Where did the Rift take you?" Some part of Jack didn't even want to know. However, Ianto seemed to be okay - under the given circumstances, obviously - so maybe, maybe he'd been lucky. Jack mentally crossed his fingers.

"New Earth. You've probably heard of it."

Jack's face lightened up at that. "I have indeed! Do they still make those brilliant cocktails, what were they called..."

Ianto's glare shut him up.

"Ianto." His accent curled around the familiar word. "What happened to you there?"

Sometimes, Jack really hated himself for not knowing the Welshman better. He could have used that knowledge now, because Ianto's face was yet again a mask. He'd been angry, just a few minutes before, but now his expression was blank.

"I learned what life without you was. And guess what, I liked it, or I would have if I hadn't always tried to get back home. Get back to you. And I managed to find a way, after two years, only to realize that you didn't care anymore. I disappointed people who really cared about me by leaving, just like you did to us when you tried to find your Doctor. I tried to find you, I left them behind. The Doctor couldn't fix you, and you don't even want to fix me. But unlike you, I don't have anybody else to go back to!"

Ianto freed himself from Jack's hand and got up. Jack remained silent. So much for the 'can't possibly get worse' part of the conversation. Shaking his head in disbelief, Ianto went around the SUV and headed for his own car, when he, finally, heard Jack's voice behind him.

"You idiot."

Ianto spun around. Jack was following him, or at least trying, he didn't seem to have recovered that much yet. He had a serious expression on his face, although Ianto didn't miss the amusement sparkling in his eyes.

He ignored Jack and walked on, until the inevitable hand reached for his shoulder and turned him around so that he was only centimeters away from Jack's face.

"You stupid idiot."

He should have expected it, and he should have been prepared for it, but then Jack kissed him and Ianto momentarily forgot about his plans to never cross paths with his former boss again. Jack pushed him not-so-discreetly against the side of the SUV, and Ianto responded, pulling Jack closer; holding on to him for dear life and kissing him passionately. They remained like that for a moment. However, his mind soon caught up with Ianto and he snapped out of it, shoving Jack away from him.

"Jack."

"You really don't get it, do you?"

He just stared at him.

"I didn't replace you."

Ianto laughed hollowly. "Yeah right. Shanks is just here for a visit, then?"

Jack shook his head, looking rather sad, which just added to the huge amount of confusion that was currently surging through Ianto. "He's working here, but he never replaced you. He was there before I came back, but he was, unlike you, not a full member of the team. Gwen told me what you lot were doing while I was gone." he added at Ianto's questioning look. "I didn't know what to do when I realized you were gone. So I didn't do anything. I was wrong, and I'm sorry but I never replaced you and I never gave up on you, no matter how much it might have looked like it."

Jack sighed. "I came back for you."

On to the next part!

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 9/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven || Part Eight

Jack wasn't quite sure whether he should laugh or cry and whether he should run away or go and hug his long lost friend. He settled for doing nothing, although that didn't stop his mind from bungee-jumping while he tried to wrap it around the situation. Ianto was here. Ianto. But how? And for how long? And why the hell didn't he tell them he was back?

"How..." he began, but soon realized that he had no idea what to ask so he shut up.

Ianto shrugged. "Like you care." It had been one and a half long months, too long maybe, since he had come back. He had preferred not to think about the team at all because it made him feel awful. He was sad when he remembered how life at the Hub and life with Jack had been, especially compared to the life he now had. He was angry that Jack had replaced him. Although he'd always deny it, even to himself, he felt a little disappointed that they hadn't found him. He had been hiding in plain sight but they had never noticed him, which probably meant that they didn't care enough to keep looking for him, he had decided. So even now he couldn't bring himself to care about Jack's feelings when he answered.

"Excuse me?!" Jack's voice was higher than usual, which didn't tend to happen unless he was really frightened. Right now he was terrified because he had absolutely no clue what was going on, and that didn't come in very handy when there was an alien invasion happening just an inch away.

The alien invasion... Jack grabbed his gun. He had nearly forgotten about their 'guests'. The leader of the Judoon had turned his attention back to Colonel Mace.

"Sentence: Execution." it said and raised its weapon.

"Run!" Ianto shouted. Mace ducked and avoided the laser beam. The guard behind him wasn't quite as lucky.

The rest of the team appeared behind Jack and helped the others get out through their door, while Jack fought the Judoon off long enough to make sure the last UNIT soldier was safe before he ran after Ianto and the members of the Parliament that were following him. He could hear the heavy footsteps of the Judoon behind him.

They turned around several corners, entering and exiting various doors, Jack locking each of them as soon as they were all through. Their path led them deeper and deeper in the building. Jack couldn't help but smile at the reason behind it, and the fact that it was Ianto who had thought of it: they couldn't let the Judoon get outside. For all they knew, they might as well go out there and kill everyone in their way. Hiding here was the best they could do until they got backup.

Jack slammed the last door shut behind them. They were in a large, but empty, storeroom that was lit by only a single, glaring light. The others were standing in a corner, staring at the door as if it might explode. Jack hoped it wouldn't. Ianto had turned his back to Jack, talking to the four security guards that had come with them. Jack made a step towards him, but then stopped again. There was no time. Whatever was going on, and no matter how much he needed to know, they would have to figure it out later. They had to save these people, not to mention themselves, from being killed by an army of Judoon first.

As if they had read his thoughts, there was the sound of metal against metal coming from the door, followed by a loud bang: the Judoon had reached them. There was another moment of silence, and then the lock started to glow bright red and melted. They were burning their way through. A second later, the aliens came through the door, all of them aiming at Jack.

"Whoa, guys, hold on!" Jack shouted and raised his arms.

Ianto was beside him in an instant. "What are you doing?"

Jack sighed, and lowered his voice, keeping an eye on the Judoon in front of him. "If I say I'm in charge they will kill me, but leave the others alone. Maybe this is how we can get out of this."

"You can't do that!"

"Why not?" Jack turned to look at Ianto. It still felt strange to do so. It felt a bit like Ianto wasn't really there. However, it definitely was Ianto. His Ianto. It even smelled like him. "It's not like I'm staying dead."

"Still doesn't make me feel better about it." Ianto muttered, before realizing what he had just said.

Jack's expression softened. "I thought I'd lost you. And right now this is the only thing I can do to make sure it doesn't happen again." And with that, he freed himself from the Welshman's grip and went over to the next Judoon.

"I'm in charge." he said.

There was no answer, only the bright red beam of a laser weapon, and Jack fell to the ground, dead.

The Judoon stepped back. "Case Closed." one of them stated and before anybody could even blink they retreated and were gone, leaving a group of terrified people, a dead Jack and a pale Ianto behind.

Slowly, he crouched down next to Jack

This wasn't supposed to happen.

He wasn't supposed to meet the team here. He wasn't supposed to put everyone in danger, including Jack. Jack wasn't supposed to die. And Ianto wasn't supposed to care that he did.

But he cared. Ianto had lost Jack before. After coming back, nothing had seemed to be the same again and he wasn't particularly happy with his former boss, but him being dead hadn't been his intention. It hurt to see Jack like this. The always strong, impressive and grinning man had been replaced by a lifeless figure that was nothing like him. Vulnerable, weak and that desperate look on his face. He was like this because of Ianto. He had died for Ianto.

He let out a choked sob, covering Jack up in his arms.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

On to Part Ten

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 8/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six || Part Seven

It took another four weeks for the world to end again.

Ianto had just fallen asleep on the couch in his new apartment, when his alien tech locator beeped. He groaned and reached blindly for the device. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, he scanned the data. There were two Judoon ships in orbit and they were coming closer every second. Their destination: London.

He let out a sigh. So much for his night off... Although there were lots of UNIT guys running around in London, they had never dealt with Judoon before. Torchwood Three had.

Ianto remembered the day all too well. It had started out as a normal mission. Another alien had come through the rift, they had put it in the cells and were just deciding what to do with it, when the Judoon appeared, storming in and creating a giant mess. And guess who had to clean up afterwards. According to Jack the Judoon weren't dangerous, at least they wouldn't hurt the team, they were some kind of intergalactic police. And apparently their 'visitor' had been in prison before falling through the rift. Jack had told them to just let the Judoon do their job and to stay out of the way and they wouldn't have any problems.

Except Jack didn't have an exactly clear record. Ianto had had to hide him in one of the lower sections of the Archives, trying very hard to ignore Jack hitting on him. It hadn't worked out.

Well, in the end the Judoon had disappeared - of course not before blowing a hole into the cell door. However he somehow doubted that the team had believed that he and Jack got lost in the Archives on their way back, as they explained it two hours later.

Smiling distantly at the memory, he got up. He had stopped wearing suits a while ago, so he put a pair of black jeans, a black shirt and his leather jacket on and was out of the door within 15 minutes. The drive to London would take a while and he'd probably not be there when the Judoon arrived, but knowing UNIT, he had to get there before they totally screwed things up. And they tended to do that a lot nowadays.


"Rift alarm!" Toshiko shouted in the direction of Jack's office. A minute later, the Captain hurried towards her, while Gwen and Owen appeared from the medical bay. Oliver soon followed.

"What is it?"

Tosh frowned at the screen. "Judoon."

Half an hour later, the SUV was restocked and ready to go.

Meanwhile in London, UNIT prepared an attack. It took a bit longer than usual, they had no more Torchwood after all. However, a few hours later, the weapons were loaded and the technicians only waiting for further instructions.

"Well let's see what they want." Colonel Mace said through gritted teeth.

~*~

The habitants of London had seen a lot of weird things during the last few years. That spaceship, crashing into Big Ben and what turned out to be a fake alien. Another spaceship hovering over London, before leaving again, apparently without causing them any harm. Then the ghosts and metal creatures who were just everywhere - not just in London, but the whole world. Although everybody knew it had started in England's Capital City. It had all ended with that battle in the Canary Wharf Tower. What exactly happened in there wasn't more than a rumor, but many had lost relatives and friends, with no idea how and why. And nobody in the government ever told them what was going on. At some point, they just got used to it. Of course, nobody was very happy when the Christmas Star arrived or the hospital disappeared. But it became part of their every-day life. Only few actually believed that the Titanic had been flying over the city, but even if they did, it wouldn't make a difference. Some said these were mass-hallucinations, others explained that London was haunted, but most simply accepted it. As a result, many didn't even bat an eyelid when five Judoon ships appeared in the sky and landed in the center of London.

They began to panic a few minutes later, though, when the aliens abandoned their ships, only to head for the Houses of Parliament. The people inside started to feel a little uncomfortable.

"30 more minutes if we don't end up in a traffic jam." Oliver stated.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Don't we have emergency lights?"

"Yes, but they're at the Hub."

"Great."

A silver car zipped past them. Jack only saw the driver from the corner of his eye, but he could have sworn that he had seen him before. He groaned in frustration and turned his attention back to the road, avoiding a small red car in front of them. Maybe Gwen was right, and he really started imagining things.

"What is it now, Harkness?"

"Nothing."

35 minutes later, the SUV reached its destination. They were greeted by a single security guard. According to him, everyone else was inside: the Judoon had arrived shortly before the team. They were currently talking to Colonel Mace, he explained. Apparently someone here had committed a crime against intergalactic law two years ago and would now have to bear the consequences.

Jack swore under his breath. "This isn't going to end well." he said, before entering the building and running towards the nearest staircase to find Colonel Mace. The team just stood there for a moment, before hurrying after their Captain.

It didn't take long until Jack got some security guard to tell him where exactly the Judoon had gone off to, and was led through the maze of corridors towards one of the main conference rooms. He knew how the Judoon dealt with problems, no matter if it was the theft of something unimportant and banal or mass-murder: execution. And they weren't afraid to execute everyone who had something to do with the crime when they couldn't find the person in charge. He was not going to let that happen.

Voices came floating towards him from a room at the far end of the corridor. The doors were closed, but he could hear the unmistakable voice of a Judoon, probably the leader.

"...shall be executed for the destruction of a Sycorax ship. Who is in charge of this facility?"

Jack sped up. He couldn't hear anything else from the room, but it was sound proof after all. Still, this being Colonel Mace, who knew what they were up to. If they denied to have anything to do with the destruction... he didn't want to find out what consequences that would have. And they did have something to do with the destruction. Well, kind of. It might have been Torchwood One who had destroyed the Sycorax on Christmas Eve, but Harriet Jones had ordered to fire. However, she wasn't in charge any more. Which left them with the current Prime Minister and the Parliament. And nothing Mace said would convince them otherwise.

"If there is no-one in charge, you are all guilty." the Judoon said as Jack reached the door. He pulled it open and stormed into the room.

He opened his mouth to tell them to stop, but stopped dead when the door on the other side of the room came crashing down and a very familiar person stepped through, gun drawn and not looking particularly happy.

He closed his mouth and stared. Even the Judoon paused, and looked where the noise had come from. For a moment, there was complete silence. Then, recovering the ability to speak, Jack took another step towards the figure, not quite believing what he saw.

"Ianto?"

"Jack?"

On to Part Nine

Yet again, thanks to cowboyhd for the icon!

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 7/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five || Part Six

Mr Turner was just walking around the corner of the factory he was working in when he heard a weird noise. It seemed to come from a few meters to his left, but nothing was there.

He shrugged and walked on. Then the noise was there again. It sounded a bit like a wounded animal, maybe a dog? Being the curious type, Turner crept forwards. It was beginning to get dark, but he could make out a large garbage container. There was a shuffling sound.
He had nearly reached the container, when he felt someone grip his shoulder. Turning around he realized that there was a man, dressed in a black three-piece suit, standing right behind him. He winced, but before he could even say a word, the man's hand moved to cover his mouth.

"Don't make a sound." he whispered, puncturing every single syllable. Then he just looked at him. Turner started. The man had, for the lack of a better word, the strangest blue eyes he had ever seen. There was an expression of pure determination in them; and Turner just knew that whatever was behind those eyes, it was nothing good, but it wasn't as dangerous as the man in front of him. People say the eyes are the windows to one's soul. Turner was by no means a specialist, but there seemed to be so much more about this man than you could ever guess if you saw him walk down the street, or even if you met him a few times, because even though the most obvious seemed to seep through, the blinds behind those windows were firmly closed.

At some point he realized that the other man probably wanted a reply. He nodded slowly, tearing his eyes away from the stranger who appeared to have only waited for his response. Before he could even blink, he had pulled out a gun from out of nowhere, let go of him and disappeared behind the garbage container.

Taken aback, Turner moved backwards until he hit the wall. A cry came from behind the container. Then another shot, and another scream, but he didn't dare to check on the other man.

Suddenly something appeared in the direction of the main street. At first he thought it was another man, but then he saw the face. Or what should have been a face, but here in the dark it was hard to make anything out. Still, it couldn't be human. It looked in fact like some wild animal, stuffed in leather clothes and walking upright. It came towards him.

Slowly, Turner backed up, keeping an eye on the creature. Not his best decision of the day. He had been walking towards the garbage container and a groan behind him made him aware of yet another creature going in his direction. There was a wall to his left, the first creature in front of him, the second behind him and although there was an entrance to the factory to his right, he knew it wouldn't help much. He had locked it up only 15 minutes ago, and he wasn't going to have the time to unlock it again before the creatures reached him. Whatever they were - they might even be very friendly, backfired genetic experiments or something and might not hurt him at all, but he didn't exactly feel like testing that out.

"Fuck."

He was just calculating the risk of actually attacking the creatures, when a loud bang made him duck instinctively. The creature behind him fell to the floor, dead. Turner spun around. The suit-man was back, quite obviously annoyed. He could spot several bodies on the floor behind him, before he was thrust against the metal container, the taste of blood in his mouth. His sight blurred for a moment.

Next thing he knew was that the man was standing in front of him again, the prior fury and determination replaced by a look of concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Turner closed his eyes for a second, hoping that the world would stop spinning. It did, eventually, and he nodded. "I think so." Leaning back against the cold metal, he surveyed the other man's clothes. He frowned at the dark red blood stains on the man's shirt.

"You're bleeding." he pointed out.

The suit-man just shook his head. "I'm fine. Not so sure about you though. You may be concussed. If you want some advice, go to a doctor and have this looked at. Could be bad."

Turner wanted to protest, and had already opened his mouth, however the screeching of car tyres stopped him. A black SUV drove around the corner, came to a sudden halt and several people got out.

The other man cursed under his breath.

"Who are they then?"

When Turner got no response, he turned to face the man, only to realize that he was gone.

On to Part Eight

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 6/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four || Part Five

Not my favorite part of this series, but (if i may say so) it'll get better again *ducks and hides behind fic*


Ianto was woken by someone shouting at him. It took a while before his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight. Finally, he could make out the form of a small, but furious woman. The Welshman groaned. Okay, maybe breaking down and sleeping in a backyard wasn't such a good idea after all.

Muttering an apology, Ianto turned his back to her. The woman didn't stop yelling at him, but Ianto was already on his way out of the yard and down the street before she could start threatening to call the police.

Wandering through the streets of Cardiff, Ianto wasn't so sure what to do. He hadn't yet had the time to really think about what had happened. But as long as he didn't, he could hardly make any decisions as to what would happen next.

Yesterday had been...unexpected, to say the least. All of it. He hadn't expected to see his fears confirmed. But here he was. Back home, only that this wasn't home anymore, not how he had left it. He had been replaced, and they had given up on him. Scared to loose Shanks while Ianto was back and they hadn't even noticed.

At some point, Ianto ended up at one of the gravel beaches, overlooking the sea. He wasn't that far from the tourist office. Some part of him hoped that Jack would come around the corner and spot him here; but Jack didn't. Nobody did, in fact. It was, yet again, chucking it down and even though everyone here was used to that amount of rain, going to the beach didn't seem to be on anyone's to-do list.

Drowning in grey tears, Cardiff looked like the Undercity of New New York on one of its worse days. But who cared about what it looked like? Ianto had come back for the people here. For Jack, Gwen, Tosh and even for Owen. For the pizza delivery girl that was often so soaked that he had offered her to drive her home; for his next-door neighbor, a middle-aged woman who had invited him to dinner God knew how many times because he had helped her with her shopping. He'd never actually taken her up on that offer - working for Torchwood made that impossible and, to be honest, in this case he was quite grateful for it, but that was not the point. People needed him, even those that didn't know him, but who he had saved from aliens and those he could save from aliens if he just got the chance.

And he needed them just as much. He had learned that after Jack's departure. You can't just hold on to one person, because if they leave you, you're all alone. That hadn't stopped him from drawing back from the others back then, but spending two years in a whole new world had taught him a few lessons.

People needed him, Jack needed him. Ianto had believed in that. Now that he had seen Oliver, he wasn't so sure. Of course, it hadn't been so difficult to see that Jack had some kind of kink for young, welsh, suit-wearing men. However he had always thought that he had been at least a bit special. Now it looked like he was wrong. Apparently he was in fact so average that Jack had had no problem finding a proper replacement for him, and who was he to argue with that, Oliver was a good man. He was probably alright, and a good addition to the team. Maybe he could give Jack a reason to stay, something that Ianto hadn't been able to do.

Torchwood didn't need Ianto Jones. However, Ianto Jones didn't need Torchwood either.

Ianto had always wanted to be independent from people. It hadn't worked out quite as well as he'd hoped. It had been okay until Canary Wharf, but then there had been Lisa. Afterwards he'd had to gain the team's trust, and later it had been Jack. Even on New Earth, there had been Marc.

Although Marc was different. Ianto didn't have to clean up after him and make sure he was alright. It had been more the other way around actually. Marc had cared, or was going to care, about him, but they hadn't been dependent on each other. At least he hoped so. Suddenly, Ianto felt guilty about leaving Marc just like that. The man had deserved more. But Ianto, selfish as ever, had had to run away, back to other selfish people who had moved on. Well, if they had, Ianto could as well.

Because Ianto had come back for the people here, even if he wasn't with Torchwood anymore, he was going to protect them. He had more experience than anyone in Torchwood by now - except Jack, of course. He could board a space ship that was quite obviously a trap and come out without a scratch. He could calm an 8-year old down and get the right information on the monster that had killed his parents and he could look after himself, didn't have to look out for anyone else.

He could save these people on his own.

~*~

Owen was just putting his things away, when Jack came into the medical bay.

"How is he?"

The doctor didn't turn around as he went to his laptop and opened Oliver's file. "He'll live."

"Did he wake up?" Jack asked, frowning at his unconscious employee.

"Just for a minute. He was pretty confused though. Looks like he got a bump to the head, he kept saying that someone rescued him. Poor sod. But he'll get around."

Jack's frown deepened. "You mean there was someone with him?"

"No. We were there, Jack. Just us and that thing. Plus, Tosh ran a check when he said that someone else had been there. The creature was killed by a bullet from Olivers gun. No mix-ups there."

Owen turned around and patted Jacks shoulder. "Make sure you give him another sedative when he wakes up, will you? I'm off."

Jack nodded, though he wasn't really paying attention. Somehow, he couldn't get the image of the street out of his head. Oliver lying in a puddle of his own blood, the creature beside him; and a shadow, moving away. He had looked so much like him. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time that he imagined seeing him. It was ridiculous.

"Are you alright?"

Gwen was leaning over the railing.

"Sure. It's just that Oliver says there was someone else in the alley. And I think I saw something, too. But it's impossible."

"Why?"

"I think I saw Ianto."

Gwen sighed. Sometimes she really wasn't sure what to do with Jack. He had changed since he'd gone away, and somehow it didn't seem to be because of something that had happened while he was traveling with the Doctor. Now he tended to be distant, lost in thought - sometimes so much that he saw things that weren't really there. Only out of the corner of his eyes, and even he didn't know whether he'd seen it or not, but it didn't stop.

"Jack," she began, then paused for a second to think. "I know you miss him. But he's gone. For all we know he could be dead. And even if he is alive somewhere, how would he get back? I know it's hard to accept, but you have to let him go."

"I know." Jack said, before disappearing in his office.

Gwen shook her head. "Knowing doesn't make you do it." she muttered.

On to Part Seven

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 5/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One || Part Two || Part Three || Part Four

The silence was disrupted when a black SUV drove around the corner of Black Avenue, a street located at the far end of Cardiff, away from the public eye. Apparently the best place to hide, at least in the alien's point of view. Too bad for them then, that Torchwood didn't just have a rift predictor, but a means to trace rift energy in general. Only few aliens escaped them, although they quite frequently managed to injure the team before being caught.

The SUV pulled up at the far end of the road and the team got out. It wasn't too hard to recognize Jack since he was wearing his greatcoat. Gwen and Owen followed him, the latter talking to someone, probably Tosh, over his comm.

He was already halfway out of his hiding place when someone else got out of the car. It was too dark to see his face, but he unmistakably belonged to the team, hurrying to catch up with his coworkers.

After checking that there wasn't anyone else around, Ianto leapt out of his hideout and followed them.

The team split up after a while, Jack and Gwen went to the left, Owen to the right and the stranger stayed on the main road. He seemed to be confident, his eyes searching the front gardens, the shadows between houses and, strangely, the sky. Ianto paused for a moment.
He wanted to see Jack again, after all he was the main reason why Ianto had come back. It had been hard enough not to run towards him when he'd first realized that his Captain was back, but he had to stop himself from coming closer just for now. According to a newspaper, Ianto had been gone for three months - which was nothing compared to the two years he had spent on another planet, further away from home than he'd ever want to be again. But still, three months weren't nothing. He couldn't just walk into the Hub and hope that everything would come back to normal within a day, or a week. No, he had to find out how the team was doing before that. Ianto couldn't really explain it. After all, he had wanted to come back so badly, and now he wasn't sure what to do. At least it seemed like everyone was alright. Gwen and Owen were okay, arguing as always. Jack looked exactly like the last time he had seen him, though that wasn't much of a surprise. Tosh seemed to be fine as well, he had seen her going to Starbucks yesterday.

However there was that one thing he hadn't been prepared for. Somehow he had never expected Jack to hire someone in Ianto's absence. Of course, it must have been harder to keep the Hub running without him, but he knew Jack. The Captain did everything to hold on to his team. He didn't let them go. That was why he had forgiven them after Abbadon. So why would he hire someone else?

Well, now was the best time to find it out, Ianto decided, he could see Jack afterwards. In fact, he'd probably reveal himself after this. Ianto followed the blond man down the street, keeping to the shadows. He was good at this, and the other man didn't seem to notice him as he observed his surroundings.

Suddenly a high-pitched scream came from above and before he knew what was happening a huge, bat-like creature appeared out of thin air, launching into the young man and throwing him to the ground. The blond yelled in surprise and dropped his gun. Not a good idea.

Before he could get up, the creature attacked again and this time it wasn't so interested in pushing him around. Ianto didn't have to hear his scream to know he had been hurt. The pavement turned a dark shade of red.

Without knowing what he was doing, Ianto ran towards the blond. Which was really stupid, since he was unarmed. The only things he had with him were in fact his rift predictor, the key to an apartment that didn't even exist yet and his wallet.

That didn't stop the Welshman though. He knelt beside the injured man. The flapping of wings announced another attack. Ianto grabbed the gun, quickly checked on the other man and stopped dead.

The blond's eyes were half-closed, a painful expression on his face and he was terrified. He looked so much like the last time Ianto had seen him that he felt like he was back in London. Back at the Battle of Canary Wharf. Cybermen all around, screams, blood. Ianto, who desperately tried to find Lisa. And then there was Oliver, lying on the cold stone floor, scared to death, probably dying for real. Ianto hadn't really known him, he'd only seen him a few times. There were quite a few people working at Canary Wharf after all. But he had saved Olivers life that day.

And here it was again. The horror and the smell of blood and Ianto nearly lost it there. The sharp pain in his shoulder reminded him of the danger he was still in, though. He rolled over, just in time to avoid the creature as it darted towards them. His eyes were closed, but he shot anyway. Three, four, five times. It went quiet.

Slowly, Ianto opened his eyes again. The black heap next to him indicated that he had actually hit the creature. Usually, Ianto would have been proud of himself, you didn't get this lucky everyday, but he was too busy trying not break down to think about anything but how to breathe properly. The memories of Canary Wharf were too overwhelming. Of course, it had got much better over the last years, but he never really got over it. And who could? He was lucky that he hadn't ended up in a psychiatry ward like so many others.

A muffled sound next to him brought Ianto back to reality. Shanks was still bleeding, dying maybe, and Ianto had nearly forgotten about him.

"Hold on there." he murmured. A few precise and well-trained movements later, and it looked like Oliver would make it through. He had a bad flesh wound, but it would stop bleeding soon. Not to mention that the rest of the team was still around. They'd help.

The team... Ianto studied the other man's face again. So this was who they had replaced him with. Another Canary Wharf survivor. A welsh Canary Wharf survivor. Wearing a well-fitted suit and, judging from his earlier reaction, not so experienced in the field. The new Tea Boy. And he was so much like the Ianto Jones Jack remembered.

Ianto stepped back. Oliver was slowly drifting into unconsciousness, but he could hardly stop that now. The others would find him and get him safely back to the Hub.

They were not going to find Ianto.

The Welshman turned around when he heard shouts from behind. Realizing that they must have finally noticed that something was wrong, he got up and once again disappeared in the shadows.

He could only hear the desperate tone in Jack's voice as he yelled Olivers name, before he fled the scene, running away into the night and eventually coming to a halt in a corner, sobbing quietly while the memories of Canary Wharf and something else washed over him.

On to Part 6

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 4/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

A very short part, hope you like it anyway - part five will be much longer :]

When, one day, Marc woke up in an empty apartment, he wasn't too troubled. Ianto tended to go to work early, especially when there was an emergency and he usually didn't have time to say goodbye. He'd come home eventually, and that was what counted.
Not that it meant as much to him as it did to Marc, but you couldn't have everything. Life would be extremely boring if you could.

Marc had the day off, so he put his clothes on, grabbed some money and left the flat. The small building was located somewhere between the Lower Levels and the actual city of New New York. He preferred it to the glamorous penthouses 'up there', though it took a bit longer to reach the more well known parts of the city. He didn't mind though - strolling through the crowded streets and small parks, hidden from the people living and working in the Higher Levels, was his idea of a nice morning. He had taken Ianto here a couple of times, and the other man had enjoyed it; amazed by the fact that there were beautiful plants, small patches of grass and actual trees right under the dirt and metal above. It seemed like a hidden paradise.

Hours later, Marc returned to the apartment. He hadn't eaten anything all day and practically ran to the kitchen, only to find a note, quite obviously in Ianto's handwriting, lying on the counter.
Ianto never left messages.
Slowly, the young man walked towards the counter and picked it up. The message was short.

Rift. Way back, I think. No time.
Thank you - for everything. I really do appreciate it.
Love, Ianto.

Marc stared at it, not quite believing what he saw. Part of him hoped that Ianto was right and part of him hoped he wasn't, because it'd mean that he would never see him again - that he wouldn't come home at the end of the day. The biggest part of him was angry that he had missed his chance to say goodbye.

On the other side of the city, a tall, slender figure ran towards a fragile-looking railing. He didn't stop to think, but climbed over the railing. Beneath him, waves crashed against the metallic walls of New New York. It was a long, long way down. He took a deep breath.

And jumped.

On to Part Five

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 3/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing!

Part One
Part Two

It was one month, two weeks and five days after Ianto had fallen into the Rift, and Jack Harkness sat in his office, pretending to write some old mission reports. He wasn't sure why; the Hub was empty. Gwen had gone home several hours ago, soon followed by Owen and Shanks. Tosh had stayed a little longer, making Jack some coffee as she seemed to be the only one whose coffee wasn't going to poison anyone; and making sure that he was okay, before leaving as well. That had been two hours ago, and Jack hadn't moved since.

Torchwood Three hadn't been the same since he'd come back. At some point, Gwen and Owen had forgiven him for disappearing without even leaving a note behind, but it just wasn't the same. Something was missing - or someone.
A full coffee mug being placed on his desk, when Jack wanted to get up and ask Ianto to make him some more, like he could read his thoughts. No questions asked, while Gwen constantly wanted to know just everything he couldn't tell her. The fact that he wasn't alone at the Hub when everyone else had gone home.
Ianto had always been there. At first for reasons Jack had had to find out the hard way, but later, he just stuck around. Company that Jack desperately needed. And he had to admit that he had taken advantage of that far too often.
Ianto had never stopped him. Now Jack wondered how he could have been so blind.

~*~

On New Earth, days became weeks, weeks became months and months became years. Well, one year and a half.

The days were a bit shorter than normal, but that didn't stop it from being like eternity for Ianto. He had soon realized that his knowledge from the 21st century could come in quite handy. The old regulations had been forgotten over the centuries, and some of them were much better than the new ones. It didn't take too long until Ianto was leading some kind of Special-Ops team that, in fact, was quite similar to Torchwood Three. Well, without having to retcon everyone they came across, which made things a lot easier. Then again, the aliens they had to fight were a lot more dangerous. Back in Cardiff, most aliens had come through the rift by accident. Here, they came on purpose, sometimes determined to destroy everything in their path, sometimes to take over the whole planet. The usual, really.

Still, Ianto refused to call it 'settling down'. He was not going to give up. Some day, he would go back home. He just had to wait and find something to do in the meantime.

Ianto had found a very good friend in Marc. Another thing he liked about New Earth: the lack of secrecy. Of course everyone knew about aliens and possible attacks, so he didn't have to keep his work secret. He might not share every little detail, but he didn't have to lie to Marc and he was quite happy about that.

It had started to rain two days ago, and for all they knew it might not stop until next week. Which wouldn't stop Marc and Ianto from going out that weekend. Mainly because Marc had this tiny force shield that stopped the rain just a few inches above their heads, so they didn't get wet. It was still terribly cold but neither could be bothered by it as they stumbled towards Marc's apartment.

"So, this Jack of yours," Marc babbled, his voice raised over the sound of the falling rain. He'd had a few more drinks than he should, while Ianto was just a bit tipsy, nevertheless unsuccessfully trying to walk in a straight line. "What happened to him?"

Ianto stared at him for a moment, but he was far too tired and far too annoyed with himself to care.
"He disappeared. Didn't say a word, simply went away." he stifled a yawn. "Just when you think you know somebody they walk out on you. Same old life."

Marc looked at him, wide-eyed. "Did you try to find him?"

"Yeah, but I had no luck. That's just him. If he doesn't want to be found, you can search for an eternity and never find him."

"Maybe he just needs time. He'll probably come back at some point. I know I would." Marc said, now clinging to Ianto as he avoided a particularly big puddle.

"Even if he does, I doubt I'll ever find out now."

"Ah, never give up hope, I say. You'll see, strange things happen when you least expect them." Marc grinned, before sinking to the floor and throwing up. Ianto patted him on the back, his mind wandering far away from the dark, wet alleyway.

Chapter Four

---

comments are loved and appreciated!

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 2/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: A huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing (and putting up with me for over a month now)!

Part One

Ianto had often heard people talk about the life 'out there' on other planets. Sometimes they were aliens that had come through the Rift, spending their hopefully short time on earth talking about their home. These stories fascinated the Welshman, and he'd always listen when Jack told them about his former adventures, even though his stories were mostly about sex.

Soon, Ianto realized that those stories never lived up to reality.

During the first few weeks on New Earth he refused to accept that there was no way back. Surely the humans here had to be evolved enough to have invented a time machine by now? He was disappointed. Apparently only the so-called Time Agents were able to travel in time, using some kind of Vortex Manipulator. Even for Ianto, the process was too complicated to understand. However, he knew one thing: Jack had had one of the things. Jack, of all people. Jack who could get him back. Jack who had left him, probably exploring Time and Space at this very moment, not knowing and not caring that Ianto had gone missing, never to be found. Because he wasn't lost in space, where they'd at least have a chance to get him back. No, he was lost in time. And you couldn't escape from time.

At least that was what everybody said. The first person Ianto met on New Earth was a guy called Marc. Not quite pure-blood human, but at least both his parents had been more or less human and he himself looked like someone Ianto wouldn't have noticed if he'd passed him on the street. Marc turned out to be a nice, caring guy and obviously interested in Ianto, which the latter successfully tried to ignore. He showed the young Welshman around, introduced him to important people, and made sure he'd have a proper life if he decided to settle down on the planet. Which Ianto didn't.

When the time machine theory didn't work out, he didn't give up, but searched for other options. The Rift, he though. The Rift had brought him here, so it had to be able to bring him back. Maybe not now, and maybe not the next day, but some day it had to work. It took a while until Ianto could actually meet people who knew what he was talking about and who gave him a Rift predictor. A pretty good one, to say the least.

Too good. Because if the device hadn't somehow malfunctioned, and he doubted that, there would be no Rift activities that could bring him back home during the next twelve earth-months. A year, and nobody could say for sure whether anything would happen afterwards. It was possible that it would never happen.

Hope left Ianto for a while.

During all the time the former receptionist struggled to find a way, to do something, Marc never left his side. And when Ianto finally gave in, he didn't leave either. He had offered to let Ianto stay at his apartment when he had first met him, and since Ianto had never complained, he saw no reason to change that. It was because of this, that he realized how bad Ianto felt about it all.

Sometimes, he'd wake up in the middle of the night, only to find Ianto standing on the balcony, staring into oblivion. Watching the stars and waiting, waiting for something to come and take him back home. Because he didn't belong here. He never would.

Chapter Three

I've reached the ten-pages mark now and I took that as my cue to start posting - there you go.

Title: Rooftops, Rifts and Random Acts (Part 1/11)
Author: Neyne
Rating: PG-13-ish
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or any of the characters. I just play with them.
Spoilers: Reference to the events of 'Adrift'. This is an End of Days AU though.
Summary: Something happens when Jack is away, and neither Torchwood, nor Ianto are the same afterwards.
A/N: My third Torchwood fanfic (yes, I count them), so I don't have too much experience with the fandom, but I hope this is okay. Also, a huge thank you to the9thdoctor for betaing (and putting up with me for over a month now)!



It was two months after Jack's departure and there was still no sign of him. No indication of where he'd gone, not to mention that they weren't even sure if he had left them deliberately or if he'd been kidnapped. Just nothing. He was simply gone. And for all they knew, he might never come back again.

Even Ianto had stopped searching. During the first weeks he wouldn't even leave the Hub, refusing to give up on Jack. But after going over the CCTV footage for what felt like the hundredth time, he let resignation wash over him. They hadn't found anything. It seemed like Jack had run to a random point of the plass and just disappeared. There was no trace of rift activity, only some weird readings even Toshiko couldn't understand. And even if they knew how he had left, in what way would that help them getting him back? It was senseless.
The team had ended up deciding that they wouldn't need a replacement. Even though nobody said it out loud, they all hoped their Captain would return at some point - rushing back in like nothing had happened. Because if there was one thing they were certain of, it was that they had meant at least something to Jack. He couldn't leave them like this. "He just did." Owen had said. Ianto had remained silent.

Ianto drew back from the team. They worked closely together, but in his spare time, he usually managed to get away from everyone. Gwen went back home to Rhys, Owen went to his favorite pubs and Toshiko tended to stay at the Hub, finishing some programs and keeping an eye on the rift predictor. Sometimes Ianto stayed behind when everyone else went to a pub.
But most of the time he went outside. He enjoyed walking through parks or along the bay. And on a few occasions, when Jack's absence became almost unbearable, he went on rooftops. He knew that Jack had spent many sleepless nights looking over the city. Somehow, Ianto took comfort in it. Maybe because he felt closer to his missing boss, and maybe because even though he always went there on his own, he never felt alone. He felt free.

Grey daylight shone down on Ianto Jones, the former Archivist and now full member of Team Torchwood, when it all happened. There hadn't been much to do, that day. Only a few Weevils, some spaceships that had been asked to please leave their Atmosphere and lots of spam mail. He wondered what had happened to Tosh's filter.

Owen had been in a really bad mood, and after a particularly nasty comment, Ianto had left the Hub. They would do without him for a couple of hours. And if there was an emergency, well, maybe that would teach Owen a lesson. Ianto had left his mobile and comm in the Tourist Office - mainly because he didn't want them to be able to track him here. It would be rather embarrassing if they found out that he still couldn't let Jack go.

The young Welshman was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear a strange sound coming from above, didn't feel a cold wind embrace him, until it was too late. He recognized it the second he looked up. Of course, he had seen it quite a couple of times, but he had never been this close. And, lacking of a better word to describe it... it was beautiful. Ianto couldn't understand how something so beautiful could cause so much pain. Then again, he had experienced that before. Which didn't make understanding it easier.

He didn't even have time to shout before the Rift swallowed him, leaving nothing behind but a few energy readings Tosh would pick up later. It went dark, his world collapsed and the only thing he could think of was that he'd never told Jack that-

Light. It shone through Ianto's closed eyelids. A burning planet, he thought. He'd ended up on a bloody planet on fire. It felt like it, too. But there was that sound, a voice? No, that was impossible. Surely nobody could survive under these circumstances?
Slowly, Ianto opened his eyes and realized that he was lying in the warm sunlight. No fire, in fact there seemed to be a big river or a lake or something nearby - he could hear the sound of water. For a moment he wondered whether he had been lucky and had only traveled through time, when the voice spoke again.

"Welcome on New Earth."

~


"Gwen!"

"What?!"

"Where's my coffee?"

"At Starbucks. If you want coffee, go get it yourself. I'm not the tea boy!"

Owen frowned at those last words, but then just shook his head and turned away.

"Tosh?"

"No, Owen."

"Please!"

"You're not the only one working here!"

Owen was - considering his lack of caffeine - just too willing to start an argument, and soon Gwen joined in again. Eventually, Owen muttered something under his breath and disappeared. Gwen and Toshiko went back to work. For them, everything was normal, or at least as normal as working at Torchwood could be.
Only there was one thing they didn't know: They were being watched.

Standing on the Invisible Lift - undetected by Tosh's security software - was the familiar figure of a man, dressed in a long grey coat and black trousers, staring at his friends in silence.

But although he seems to have enjoyed the little argument, he wasn't smiling. There was concern in his eyes.
He couldn't say for sure what it was, but there was something. Lingering in the blue light of the Hub. Present, but barely noticed by any of his colleagues. Something wasn't right.

Click for the second part!