Ficlet: Defining Love
Jan. 23rd, 2026 05:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Defining Love
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 694
Spoilers: First two seasons.
Summary: Jack thinks about love, and where that fits into his relationship with Ianto.
Written For:
lumiosecity’s prompt ‘Any, any, Love is best measured in what we forgive’, at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Jack had loved and been loved many times over his long life, and he wasn’t just talking about the love he felt for his parents and little brother, and the love they had for him. There had been more women, men, and even aliens of no particular gender, over the decades than he should probably be comfortable admitting to. He hadn’t been in love with all of them, some had just been a bit of fun, scratching a mutual itch, or a way to get something else he wanted, and he wasn’t proud of that, but he’d been a different man back before he met the Doctor, when he worked for the Time Agency alongside the man who now called himself John Hart.
But there HAD been people he’d loved, Estelle, Greg, and Lucia among them. He’d even been married once, and had contemplated marriage more than once since then, only to realise that he and wedded bliss weren’t exactly compatible. Most people, no matter how much he loved them, wouldn’t be able to handle the fact that he was immortal, and how long could a marriage last if he hid something so basic? Sooner or later, it would always become clear that he wasn’t ageing; that had been a large part of what had destroyed his relationship with Lucia. And now…
Now, there was Ianto Jones. Jack had tried hard not to fall for the young Welshman, but looking back, it had always been inevitable. There was just something about Ianto that had drawn Jack in, irresistibly and completely, despite Ianto’s betrayals.
Had it been love even that long ago? Jack wondered. Was that why he’d forgiven Ianto for hiding his half-converted Cyberman girlfriend in the Hub’s basement? That was a pretty major breach of trust, especially since Cyber-Lisa could have killed or converted the whole team before heading out into Cardiff and building an army to take over the world. Then again, Ianto had only protected her out of love, not because he had plans for world domination, so really, how could Jack have condemned him for protecting her? Love was a powerful force, Jack knew that from personal experience, and after everything Ianto had been through, trying to save the life of the woman he loved, misguided though it was, could hardly be called a crime.
Besides, Ianto had forgiven Jack for killing his girlfriend, for putting a gun to his head, and for almost getting him killed and eaten by cannibals, so in a way, Jack had done more that he needed to beg forgiveness for than Ianto had. Not that he HAD begged… But neither had Ianto; Jack wouldn’t have had much respect for the Welshman if he’d resorted to begging for his life. Instead, Ianto had accepted that he’d done wrong, and had calmly requested to be executed rather than retconned. Not that Jack had done either; instead, he’d given Ianto a second chance, an opportunity to make amends for his actions, and it had been working out.
Until Ianto had betrayed Jack again, this time by siding with Gwen, Owen, and Tosh to open the Rift. But Jack had forgiven him then, too, along with the rest of the team. And Ianto had forgiven Jack for abandoning the team without a word and running off with the Doctor. And then Jack had forgiven Ianto for going against his orders and handing sensitive information about Flat Holm Island to Gwen… Was love the reason he kept forgiving Ianto, and continued trusting him? Was love the reason Ianto always forgave Jack for his many screw-ups? Because Jack couldn’t claim to be perfect either.
On the face of it, their relationship was all kinds of messed up. By rights, they should probably hate each other, and yet they didn’t, couldn’t, because for the most part, despite all their thoughtlessness and errors in judgment, their intentions had been good. The road to hell, and all that…
By most people’s standards, what they had might seem like a trainwreck waiting to happen, but it was real, and it was theirs, and in the end, perhaps that was the only thing that mattered.
The End
But there HAD been people he’d loved, Estelle, Greg, and Lucia among them. He’d even been married once, and had contemplated marriage more than once since then, only to realise that he and wedded bliss weren’t exactly compatible. Most people, no matter how much he loved them, wouldn’t be able to handle the fact that he was immortal, and how long could a marriage last if he hid something so basic? Sooner or later, it would always become clear that he wasn’t ageing; that had been a large part of what had destroyed his relationship with Lucia. And now…
Now, there was Ianto Jones. Jack had tried hard not to fall for the young Welshman, but looking back, it had always been inevitable. There was just something about Ianto that had drawn Jack in, irresistibly and completely, despite Ianto’s betrayals.
Had it been love even that long ago? Jack wondered. Was that why he’d forgiven Ianto for hiding his half-converted Cyberman girlfriend in the Hub’s basement? That was a pretty major breach of trust, especially since Cyber-Lisa could have killed or converted the whole team before heading out into Cardiff and building an army to take over the world. Then again, Ianto had only protected her out of love, not because he had plans for world domination, so really, how could Jack have condemned him for protecting her? Love was a powerful force, Jack knew that from personal experience, and after everything Ianto had been through, trying to save the life of the woman he loved, misguided though it was, could hardly be called a crime.
Besides, Ianto had forgiven Jack for killing his girlfriend, for putting a gun to his head, and for almost getting him killed and eaten by cannibals, so in a way, Jack had done more that he needed to beg forgiveness for than Ianto had. Not that he HAD begged… But neither had Ianto; Jack wouldn’t have had much respect for the Welshman if he’d resorted to begging for his life. Instead, Ianto had accepted that he’d done wrong, and had calmly requested to be executed rather than retconned. Not that Jack had done either; instead, he’d given Ianto a second chance, an opportunity to make amends for his actions, and it had been working out.
Until Ianto had betrayed Jack again, this time by siding with Gwen, Owen, and Tosh to open the Rift. But Jack had forgiven him then, too, along with the rest of the team. And Ianto had forgiven Jack for abandoning the team without a word and running off with the Doctor. And then Jack had forgiven Ianto for going against his orders and handing sensitive information about Flat Holm Island to Gwen… Was love the reason he kept forgiving Ianto, and continued trusting him? Was love the reason Ianto always forgave Jack for his many screw-ups? Because Jack couldn’t claim to be perfect either.
On the face of it, their relationship was all kinds of messed up. By rights, they should probably hate each other, and yet they didn’t, couldn’t, because for the most part, despite all their thoughtlessness and errors in judgment, their intentions had been good. The road to hell, and all that…
By most people’s standards, what they had might seem like a trainwreck waiting to happen, but it was real, and it was theirs, and in the end, perhaps that was the only thing that mattered.
The End
