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gracie_musicaTitle: Different Sort of Science
Chapter Seventeen: Kick In The Head
Date Written: 9/18/08
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1,558
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Slight Jack/Ianto, John Hart, Gwen, Rhys, Toshiko, Owen, Martha, Donna, the Doctor
Spoilers: Doctor Who up through Season 04, Torchwood up through 02
Warnings: AU like whoa
Author's Notes: Thanks so much to my gorgeous betas![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
totally4ryo and katestamps. Title's from the Dean Martin song Ain't That A Kick In The Head.
Previous chapters found here.
Book cover byet_muse
"You people and your quaint little categories."
-- Captain Jack Harkness, Day One
For the weeks after Ianto's Primary was revealed, he hid in his room. After Lisa, everyone had flocked around him, supporting him.
How were they supposed to support someone they had inadvertently manipulated?
Toshiko was his only visitor, the angel. She would come in for a few hours a day, bearing food to make sure he ate. They'd talk about the latest House gossip while they ate, who was in love with whom, who got chewed out in class for being a cheeky brat, what room got blown up. After, she'd send him to the bathhouse with fresh clothing; while he was gone, Tosh would let the maids in to clean up his room and change the linens. When he came back to his room, clean and feeling a bit better, they'd sit up for a bit longer together. Sometimes they'd work on alchemy lessons, but most times Tosh would tell stories from her home country of Japan, a place far away across the ocean, nearly at the edge of the world. He fell asleep to her voice more than once.
However, despite Toshiko's unfailing kindness and help, it was John Hart that managed to break Ianto out of his depression.
Ianto never slept with his door locked, a conditioning he'd picked up from early-morning lessons from Jack. After getting rolled out of bed far too early, he'd locked the door before turning in at night. Jack had probably awoken the entire House banging and hollering for Ianto at the top of his lungs.
Hart burst into the room, slamming the door behind him hard enough that it rattled in the frame. "All right. I've had quite enough. I'm supposed to be a teacher for fuck's sake, so get that arse out of bed so I can do some work."
In response, Ianto pulled the covers over his head.
"Fine. We can do it the hard way."
Ianto's world shifted as the bedding was yanked out from underneath him. He tumbled off the mattress, the linens providing feeble padding against the hard floor. He had to struggle to his feet, fighting the clinging bedclothing. It ended up wrapped around his shoulders like robes. "What the -- "
"It occurs to me," Hart said, cutting off Ianto's ready rant, "that you're one of these Pleaser Mages. So you'll do whatever I want you to do."
"That's the general idea," Ianto replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Then start living up to your name," Hart told him, grabbing his crotch. Ianto felt his entire face turn bright red, and the Wind Mage stuck his tongue out lewdly. "On your knees, Eye Candy."
Ianto had to fight down the urge to pummel him with a candlestick. "Fuck you, Hart!"
"That's the general idea."
"Never."
"Really?" Hart's grin took a wolfish turn. "So you do have a choice in what -- and who -- you do."
"Of course I d -- " Ianto stopped mid-word. "Oh."
"Oh," Hart repeated sarcastically. "Now. Class. Move it."
-----
He had to struggle in his lessons. It was terrifying and frustrating and fantastic.
Without his teachers' assumptions that he was a prodigy and would save them certain doom (not really, but it sounded good), all his supposed Primary powers diminished. He did have a knack for Earth magic, which was a pleasant surprise. Ianto really did like his lessons with the Doctor, and being outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Everyone agreed that it was a strong secondary.
Through Earth magic he managed to get a fledgling grasp of the other elements, mostly weather magic when he combined Water and Air. Hart and Rhys decided to encourage it and started holding joint classes where Rhys taught and Hart tried to 'tempt' Ianto into his bed again. It wasn't serious, although Ianto bet if he gave Hart the time of day, Hart would be up for it. And it did make for enough of a distraction that any expectations Hart had over his element were ignored.
Alchemy and Healing had both practical and magic elements, so he fell behind the least in those disciplines. A lot of alchemy was close to cooking, the right amounts of this and that coupled with a little jolt of magic had amazing results. Tosh demoted him back to his former position of assistant, which mostly meant that he would hand her things to make her latest project blow up.
Healing was another Secondary for Ianto, due in large part to his Primary -- most people who came into the Healing Halls wanted to feel better now, and Ianto could oblige them. It was a form of manipulation, he knew, but it was an acceptable one.
Fire was a total wash. The Doctor said it was because he had an Earth-based Second, but Ianto suspected it had to do with the waves of guilt and pity he felt from Gwen. They'd gotten better, but Ianto knew it would take her a while to get over any supposed injury she thought she might have inflicted on him.
Lessons with Donna had taken a more defensive turn, the redheaded Time Lord pulling in various people into the lessons and letting Ianto battle their influences. At times it was a bit entertaining, but whenever she managed to snag Jack for a lesson, he wanted to go 'round the bend.
Things with Jack had been hard going for a while. It was obvious that Jack hated the idea of taking any sort of advantage of Ianto, but he was starting to push the limit. Jack carefully kept himself in check whenever Ianto was around, careful to not to let any emotion through.
It just... infuriated Ianto. It was like Jack thought Ianto couldn't handle himself. They barely talked. And sure, he had the others, but Jack he considered to be a mate. There was just this closeness, this intimacy between them that Ianto didn't have with anyone else.
He missed their friendship.
The latest session with Jack had gone over time, and Donna had left to scrounge up some food for the three of them.
Ianto rubbed the back of his neck, a little worn out. Jack's mind had been preoccupied with some melancholy today and he'd let a little bit of it slip through. Ianto had continued to press through the class because there was some sort of emotion he could focus in on.
"You're tired," Jack noticed. "I'm sor -- "
"Don't you dare apologize for doing what Donna brought you in for," Ianto cut him off.
Jack sighed but nodded.
There was a long moment of silence before Ianto burst out with, "Are you really that terrified of me? That you won't talk to me anymore?"
Jack thought for a long moment before saying, "I don't want to hurt you."
"So you've completely cut me out of your life." Ianto pursed his lips and nodded. "That's pretty reasonable."
"Ianto -- "
"No, Jack. I want you to listen to me." Ianto pointed at him. "How long have I been here? I'm no Time Lord, but I'd have to say about a year."
The corner of Jack's mouth tweaked up just a little. "A year next month, yes," he agreed.
"And it's only been what, two months since I found out about my Primary?"
"Roughly," Jack agreed again.
"So why do you suddenly have an issue with me?" Ianto smacked his hand on the table in frustration. "I've been a Pleaser Mage since I was triggered as a child. You had no issue with me until you pinned a title on my Primary!"
Jack opened and closed his mouth a few times, staring at Ianto. "You're right," he finally admitted.
"It's all right," Ianto said automatically, waving his hand. He didn't have to be a Pleaser to sense the guilt. "Just stop cutting me out, okay? I just want my mate back." Jack raised an eyebrow and Ianto laughed. "My friend," he clarified. "Trust me. I don't quite know what I'm doing, but I'll suss it out eventually."
Jack chuckled and nodded. "That's just life." He leaned over. "Forgive me for being a git?"
Ianto laughed. "Always."
They shared a smile and Ianto stood. "I'm not very hungry," he admitted. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Bright and early," Jack replied.
He met Donna at the doorway and bid her good night with a kiss on her cheek. He was closing the door when he caught Donna's voice.
"John'll be in later, he's got a bit of work left to do."
He caught Jack's smile to Donna through the crack in the door. "It's all right. I think he'll tell Death, be with you in a tick, gotta finish this bit up first."
Donna laughed and leaned over to press a kiss against his forehead. "Happy birthday, love."
Oh. Well, that explained his mood today. An orphan on his birthday. He paused for a moment. How did they know when his birthday was? Maybe it was a rough guess, Lisa had said that he'd turned up in Torchwood House as an infant. Maybe they just celebrated the day he'd been found.
Well. Either way, Jack deserved to have a proper birthday present. Maybe he could talk the seamstress into parting with some of the cloth they used to teach those royal girls embroidery on...
Chapter Seventeen: Kick In The Head
Date Written: 9/18/08
Rating: PG-13/T
Word Count: 1,558
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Characters/Pairings: Slight Jack/Ianto, John Hart, Gwen, Rhys, Toshiko, Owen, Martha, Donna, the Doctor
Spoilers: Doctor Who up through Season 04, Torchwood up through 02
Warnings: AU like whoa
Author's Notes: Thanks so much to my gorgeous betas
totally4ryo and katestamps. Title's from the Dean Martin song Ain't That A Kick In The Head.Previous chapters found here.
Book cover by
et_muse"You people and your quaint little categories."
-- Captain Jack Harkness, Day One
For the weeks after Ianto's Primary was revealed, he hid in his room. After Lisa, everyone had flocked around him, supporting him.
How were they supposed to support someone they had inadvertently manipulated?
Toshiko was his only visitor, the angel. She would come in for a few hours a day, bearing food to make sure he ate. They'd talk about the latest House gossip while they ate, who was in love with whom, who got chewed out in class for being a cheeky brat, what room got blown up. After, she'd send him to the bathhouse with fresh clothing; while he was gone, Tosh would let the maids in to clean up his room and change the linens. When he came back to his room, clean and feeling a bit better, they'd sit up for a bit longer together. Sometimes they'd work on alchemy lessons, but most times Tosh would tell stories from her home country of Japan, a place far away across the ocean, nearly at the edge of the world. He fell asleep to her voice more than once.
However, despite Toshiko's unfailing kindness and help, it was John Hart that managed to break Ianto out of his depression.
Ianto never slept with his door locked, a conditioning he'd picked up from early-morning lessons from Jack. After getting rolled out of bed far too early, he'd locked the door before turning in at night. Jack had probably awoken the entire House banging and hollering for Ianto at the top of his lungs.
Hart burst into the room, slamming the door behind him hard enough that it rattled in the frame. "All right. I've had quite enough. I'm supposed to be a teacher for fuck's sake, so get that arse out of bed so I can do some work."
In response, Ianto pulled the covers over his head.
"Fine. We can do it the hard way."
Ianto's world shifted as the bedding was yanked out from underneath him. He tumbled off the mattress, the linens providing feeble padding against the hard floor. He had to struggle to his feet, fighting the clinging bedclothing. It ended up wrapped around his shoulders like robes. "What the -- "
"It occurs to me," Hart said, cutting off Ianto's ready rant, "that you're one of these Pleaser Mages. So you'll do whatever I want you to do."
"That's the general idea," Ianto replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Then start living up to your name," Hart told him, grabbing his crotch. Ianto felt his entire face turn bright red, and the Wind Mage stuck his tongue out lewdly. "On your knees, Eye Candy."
Ianto had to fight down the urge to pummel him with a candlestick. "Fuck you, Hart!"
"That's the general idea."
"Never."
"Really?" Hart's grin took a wolfish turn. "So you do have a choice in what -- and who -- you do."
"Of course I d -- " Ianto stopped mid-word. "Oh."
"Oh," Hart repeated sarcastically. "Now. Class. Move it."
-----
He had to struggle in his lessons. It was terrifying and frustrating and fantastic.
Without his teachers' assumptions that he was a prodigy and would save them certain doom (not really, but it sounded good), all his supposed Primary powers diminished. He did have a knack for Earth magic, which was a pleasant surprise. Ianto really did like his lessons with the Doctor, and being outside in the fresh air and sunshine. Everyone agreed that it was a strong secondary.
Through Earth magic he managed to get a fledgling grasp of the other elements, mostly weather magic when he combined Water and Air. Hart and Rhys decided to encourage it and started holding joint classes where Rhys taught and Hart tried to 'tempt' Ianto into his bed again. It wasn't serious, although Ianto bet if he gave Hart the time of day, Hart would be up for it. And it did make for enough of a distraction that any expectations Hart had over his element were ignored.
Alchemy and Healing had both practical and magic elements, so he fell behind the least in those disciplines. A lot of alchemy was close to cooking, the right amounts of this and that coupled with a little jolt of magic had amazing results. Tosh demoted him back to his former position of assistant, which mostly meant that he would hand her things to make her latest project blow up.
Healing was another Secondary for Ianto, due in large part to his Primary -- most people who came into the Healing Halls wanted to feel better now, and Ianto could oblige them. It was a form of manipulation, he knew, but it was an acceptable one.
Fire was a total wash. The Doctor said it was because he had an Earth-based Second, but Ianto suspected it had to do with the waves of guilt and pity he felt from Gwen. They'd gotten better, but Ianto knew it would take her a while to get over any supposed injury she thought she might have inflicted on him.
Lessons with Donna had taken a more defensive turn, the redheaded Time Lord pulling in various people into the lessons and letting Ianto battle their influences. At times it was a bit entertaining, but whenever she managed to snag Jack for a lesson, he wanted to go 'round the bend.
Things with Jack had been hard going for a while. It was obvious that Jack hated the idea of taking any sort of advantage of Ianto, but he was starting to push the limit. Jack carefully kept himself in check whenever Ianto was around, careful to not to let any emotion through.
It just... infuriated Ianto. It was like Jack thought Ianto couldn't handle himself. They barely talked. And sure, he had the others, but Jack he considered to be a mate. There was just this closeness, this intimacy between them that Ianto didn't have with anyone else.
He missed their friendship.
The latest session with Jack had gone over time, and Donna had left to scrounge up some food for the three of them.
Ianto rubbed the back of his neck, a little worn out. Jack's mind had been preoccupied with some melancholy today and he'd let a little bit of it slip through. Ianto had continued to press through the class because there was some sort of emotion he could focus in on.
"You're tired," Jack noticed. "I'm sor -- "
"Don't you dare apologize for doing what Donna brought you in for," Ianto cut him off.
Jack sighed but nodded.
There was a long moment of silence before Ianto burst out with, "Are you really that terrified of me? That you won't talk to me anymore?"
Jack thought for a long moment before saying, "I don't want to hurt you."
"So you've completely cut me out of your life." Ianto pursed his lips and nodded. "That's pretty reasonable."
"Ianto -- "
"No, Jack. I want you to listen to me." Ianto pointed at him. "How long have I been here? I'm no Time Lord, but I'd have to say about a year."
The corner of Jack's mouth tweaked up just a little. "A year next month, yes," he agreed.
"And it's only been what, two months since I found out about my Primary?"
"Roughly," Jack agreed again.
"So why do you suddenly have an issue with me?" Ianto smacked his hand on the table in frustration. "I've been a Pleaser Mage since I was triggered as a child. You had no issue with me until you pinned a title on my Primary!"
Jack opened and closed his mouth a few times, staring at Ianto. "You're right," he finally admitted.
"It's all right," Ianto said automatically, waving his hand. He didn't have to be a Pleaser to sense the guilt. "Just stop cutting me out, okay? I just want my mate back." Jack raised an eyebrow and Ianto laughed. "My friend," he clarified. "Trust me. I don't quite know what I'm doing, but I'll suss it out eventually."
Jack chuckled and nodded. "That's just life." He leaned over. "Forgive me for being a git?"
Ianto laughed. "Always."
They shared a smile and Ianto stood. "I'm not very hungry," he admitted. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Bright and early," Jack replied.
He met Donna at the doorway and bid her good night with a kiss on her cheek. He was closing the door when he caught Donna's voice.
"John'll be in later, he's got a bit of work left to do."
He caught Jack's smile to Donna through the crack in the door. "It's all right. I think he'll tell Death, be with you in a tick, gotta finish this bit up first."
Donna laughed and leaned over to press a kiss against his forehead. "Happy birthday, love."
Oh. Well, that explained his mood today. An orphan on his birthday. He paused for a moment. How did they know when his birthday was? Maybe it was a rough guess, Lisa had said that he'd turned up in Torchwood House as an infant. Maybe they just celebrated the day he'd been found.
Well. Either way, Jack deserved to have a proper birthday present. Maybe he could talk the seamstress into parting with some of the cloth they used to teach those royal girls embroidery on...
