



I wished to have a word with you… about Jack. About… you and Jack.’
Ianto made a tiny, awkward noise.
Agnes leant forward, smiling. ‘Am I correct in understanding that there is an intimacy between the two of you?’
Ianto nodded, looking as if he’d like to hide under a rock.
‘No doubt one initiated by Harkness,’ said Agnes soothingly. ‘There is nothing to blame yourself for. You certainly wouldn’t be the first member of Torchwood to be corrupted by the Captain’s reprehensible morals. Sometimes I wonder if that man is incapable of forming a platonic friendship. He has all the swordsmanship of a Frenchie. It’s common knowledge that the men of that country would seduce a table with an attractively turned leg. I rather fear the furniture of Torchwood is similarly prey to that man’s depravities. But no matter. I do not concern myself with the despoiling of desking. As far as I’m concerned, he can slake his lusts on all manner of inanimate objects. No, rather it’s perishable goods… it is you I am worried about.’
She laid a hand on Ianto’s and met his shrinking eye.
‘Do you have feelings for Captain Harkness, Mr Jones?’
‘Yes,’ said Ianto simply.
‘You should be aware…’ Agnes coughed. ‘Well, it’s just that I have known several of the Captain’s companions. I’ve even met a fair few of them. My point is that those close to Harkness tend to die. He just isn’t aware that his invulnerability doesn’t extend to those he loves.’
‘I know,’ said Ianto quietly.
Agnes looked at him, hard. ‘Well, I understand. It’s entirely your choice. But I must warn you there’s only one outcome. And I am sorry for you.’
‘I see,’ said Ianto, tightly. ‘Thank you.’
And they sat quietly for a while, while the empty radio hissed away.
"“Deep in the Torchwood Hub were many things hidden away for the good of humanity. There were cells, there were vaults, and then there were storehouses. There were bunkers, there were chambers, and then there were the Schrodinger Cubes. And, finally, there was a very tightly locked door labelled Weapons.
‘Right,’ said Rhys as Jack spun a submarine-style wheel and tapped away at a keypad. ‘What’s that?’
‘Entry coder,’ sighed Jack. ‘Not even Ianto has the algorithm to this. This stuff is verboten.’”
“He went deep into the darkest recesses of the Hub, past the cells, past the vaults, past all the other storage areas, until he came to the small, tightly locked door labelled ‘Weapons’. He spun the submarine-style wheel, and quickly tapped at the keypad, entering the code that he wasn’t supposed to know.
Click! The door opened, and he walked into the large, dimly lit warehouse. He knew what he was looking for, and headed straight for one particular compartment. He took out a large, sinister-looking alien device which couldn’t have been more obviously a gun if it had had ‘THIS IS A GUN’ painted on it, in blood. Ianto switched it on. It whirred and hummed alarmingly, sounding like a nuclear reactor firing up.
‘Nice.’
He left the warehouse and locked the door again. He moved on to the armoury, and sorted through the various guns and knives, deciding which ones would be the most useful, which ones didn’t pack enough of a punch, which ones would slow him down. He packed several of them into a large rucksack, and secreted the rest in his clothing, making sure they didn’t stick out too obviously.
He walked back into the main area of the Hub, calling out to Jack as he carefully placed the rucksack and alien gun down.
‘Don’t feel bad that I worked out the code for the weapons warehouse. You did a fantastic job of keeping it secret, honestly, you really did. Took me ages and ages. It’s no reflection on you at all. It’s just that I’m very crafty.’”
Ianto’s worst ever birthday party had included a food fight.
Watching drunken, rowing parents throw trifle at each other in a screaming fury while he gathered his friends to him, shielding as many as possible from being hit by a stray pickled onion. He never ever wanted to see that much mess covering so many people again.
"They parked in the next-door bay, where a large metal egg lay on its side. Leaning against it were Gwen and a man in neatly old fashioned clothes. They were sharing a plate of sandwiches.
Gwen waved as they drew up.
Agnes rushed from the van, pecked Gwen quickly on the cheek, and then hugged George Herbert Sanderson tightly. Gwen ran over to Rhys and grabbed him before he even made it out of the van.
‘Aw,’ Jack smiled and turned to Ianto, but found him throwing up behind a sand dune. Jack went and patted him on the shoulder.
‘Never let me drink rum again,’ Ianto wailed.
‘Don’t worry, I won’t.’ Jack rubbed his hair, and then, cradling him in his arms, walked him back to the others. ‘This,’ he said to the beach in general, ‘is a great spot for a picnic. Let’s bunk off. It’s going to be a lovely day.’
And then it started to rain.
"When Jack spoke, his voice was little more than a whisper. ‘If I count to ten and open my eyes, will that woman still be here?’
‘I’m afraid so,’ said Ianto quietly.
‘Lie to me.’
‘She will most certainly be gone, yes.’
‘I don’t pay you enough.’
"