[RL WITH AKIHIKO AND JACK]

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto had had enough of the Hub for one night. Being cooped down in the archives working on a filing system that never seemed to go anywhere fast for the past few days had left him feeling a bit antsy, and he'd really just needed to get out and breathe fresh air for a while. Which was why when as soon as he finished the section he had been working on for the majority of that day, he had interrupted Akihiko's own work to ask him out for a coffee. Jack was nowhere to be found, but Ianto left him a note, and he felt that was as good a notice as he could give him. The Captain was probably down in one of the many training rooms or something, which meant that he'd rather not be disturbed anyway.

Which was the reason Ianto stood at the counter at a cafe a few blocks off the Plass, having left Akihiko to keep watch of their table. All that had been left was one of those little round ones with two arm chairs on either side that cafes seemed to be sporting more and more often for the people who would rather do their work at the cafe than go home and do it. Ianto had to admit that the chairs did look comfortable, but he couldn't help but feel a bit of a fool at the idea of sitting in one of the tattered old armchairs in a suit that obviously cost at least twice what the chair originally had.

"Jones, Ianto?" the woman at the counter called out, pulling him out of his train of thought, and he quickly stepped up and accepted the paper cups from her with a murmur of thanks. He headed back to Akihiko, placing the younger man's drink on the table in front of him and folding himself into his chair. "Can't guarantee it'll be the best you've had, but it's probably the best that we can buy around here so late in the evening," he said to Akihiko, cradling his own cup in his hands to warm them. "Sorry I sprung this on you so suddenly, I just needed..." He trailed off, shrugging and looking around. Truthfully, he needed something simple and normal, after a day of wading through the files of a particularly dark era of Torchwood history.

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[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto bit his lip, moving to the railing and looking down across the Hub. Myfanwy was nowhere to be seen, apparently sensing the mood in the place to be tense. "I only know what he's told me," Ianto said, after a pause. "There was an invasion of where he grew up. It was chaos. The--whatever alien it was, you had better hope that if they caught you that they'd kill you, because if they took you with them, you'd live a life of torture of the worst kind. They got to the community that Jack's family lived in, and his parents sent the two of them off running with the rest of the children, to hide in the dunes."

He lowered his head. "Gray tripped, and Jack let go of his hand. Lost him in the chaos of the attack. He says that it was the worst day of his life, and frankly, I believe it. It was a good part of the reason that Jack became a Time Agent, and set his way on the path to now, to find Gray." He shook his head. "All of this guilt and pain just because he slipped and let go of his hand. I still can't believe that Gray blames him for it, though."

[akihiko-sanada.livejournal.com]

Akihiko stared at Ianto in horror. He could understand Jack's pain, completely. And the thought that Jack lived in such guilt and pain over it twisted his stomach into knots.

He lowered his head, wrapping his arms around himself and gripping his own upper arms in his gloved hands. If his sister hated him for his own failure, if she had endured horrible torture that drove her insane and made her murder two of his friends... he would probably be drinking, too. He couldn't blame Jack for wanting to keep Gray near, wanting to make him forgive him.

"We have to do something," he said softly. "For Jack, and for Gray, too."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto's hands gripped the railing, his knuckles white. Akihiko was right, they had to do something. But what? He bitterly thought that the easiest way out of it would be to put Gray out of his misery and simply cause his cryogenics unit to malfunction. It was simple, Jack would never know it was him, and Gray wouldn't mind too much, being dead and all. But could he do it? Ianto had killed before--he'd had to, with a job like Torchwood--but to do it like this... Just because Gray was a sociopathic murderer didn't give Ianto the right to commit murder himself. And yet. Could he?

How could he even begin to suggest this to Akihiko, though? "We'll think of something," he said, nodding. "In the meantime, maybe you should just call it a day. Jack's not going to be up anytime soon, Gwen's got the day off, and I..." he motioned around the Hub, "suppose I have to clean up this mess. So unless you'd like to help...?" he trailed off. He had deliberately changed the subject, his thoughts becoming too dark for him to deal with at that moment. Truthfully, he really needed time to think about it all.