Fic: Moonless Night
Apr. 23rd, 2026 07:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Moonless Night
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1638
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Far into the future, on a planet near the centre of earth’s galaxy, Ianto thinks about the world he was born on.
Written For: Weekend Challenge: Earth Day & Moon Joy at
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1_million_words.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Most of the time, it didn’t bother Ianto that he wasn’t on earth anymore; it had been centuries since his last visit, more than that, closer to a thousand years, and he didn’t miss his home planet much, not as a whole. He missed certain people, long since gone to their rest, and he missed Cardiff as he knew it, even missed the Hub, and the archives, that warren of rooms and tunnels filled with over a century’s worth of random junk, but earth itself? Not so much. There were far better, more harmonious, less warlike worlds out in the wider universe. Earth could still be a bit like a rebellious child, although he and Jack had done their best to teach its people to play nice with others.
Even now, hundreds of years on, it could be a bit embarrassing to admit he’d been born there. Civilised people often expected him to be a bit barbaric, an unruly savage, governed by primal instincts, and… well, he supposed he couldn’t really blame them. He was sure they’d heard plenty of horror stories about people becoming stranded on earth and being treated like monsters just because they looked a bit… different from humans. For a long time, Earth did NOT have a good reputation, although that had changed to an extent now that its people were starting to spread out among the stars.
Nevertheless, tonight he found himself missing certain aspects of the planet he’d grown up on. Standing on the balcony of the hotel room, Ianto felt a bit like the flower in Kerouac’s poem, on the cliffside, nodding at the canyon. He was so far above the planet’s surface that he couldn’t have made out much detail below even if it had been broad daylight rather than late at night. Tipping his head back, he gazed up at a sky the colour of violet ink rather than earth’s deepest indigo. It was beautiful, there was no denying that; this close to the galactic centre there were more stars in the sky than could ever be seen from the earth’s surface, making the night brighter than he’d ever seen, but tonight the sight stirred in him a strange kind of heartache.
“Ianto? Are you okay?” Jack appeared in the open doorway behind him.
“Fine, I just couldn’t sleep. The sky’s too bright.”
“You could’ve darkened the windows. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I know, but… I didn’t want to.”
“You’d rather deal with your insomnia by standing out here?”
“It’s not insomnia.” As an immortal, he didn’t need to sleep as much as he used to, so he wasn’t particularly tired. “Besides, how often do we get to see a night sky like this? We’re only here for a few days, can’t afford to waste the opportunity.” Turning to Jack, Ianto shaded his eyes from the brightness. “Just because I’m up doesn’t mean you have to be.”
“The bed feels too empty without you in it.”
Ianto snorted. “Now you know how I felt back before I became immortal, all those times you got up in the middle of the night and abandoned me.”
Jack brushed that off. “You are alright though, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Jack, I already told you. I’m fine, just enjoying the view.”
Pushing away from the doorframe, Jack wandered over to lean on the balcony railing beside his husband. “It is beautiful.”
Despite being more than a mile above the planet’s surface, there was no danger. Forcefields prevented anyone falling, and the gravity was only two thirds that of earth, so he and Jack weighed less than they would have there. In the unlikely event that the forcefields failed or were tampered with, automated rescue systems would deploy before hotel guests could fall far.
“Very beautiful. So many stars.”
“But?”
“But what?” Ianto raised an eyebrow at his husband.
“That’s what I’m asking you.” Jack studied Ianto’s face. “You look a bit… I don’t know, not exactly sad, but… wistful, perhaps.”
Ianto huffed a small laugh. “Well, perhaps. I miss night being dark, and I miss the moon.”
This planet didn’t have a moon; there was an asteroid belt, but that wasn’t the same, the asteroids were too small to see with the naked eye, and the brightness of the night sky meant any astronomical devises had to incorporate light filters for astronomers to see anything with decent clarity.
“I guess I don’t feel the same way about earth’s moon as you do,” Jack admitted. He’d never belonged to earth the way Ianto had, so he didn’t feel the pull of the world they’d left so far behind and so long ago the way his husband still did on occasion. “Boeshane had three moons, all a little smaller and at a greater distance from the planet. Most of the time we didn’t pay much attention to them. Their movements, yes, but not the moons themselves. They weren’t much to look at; even when all three were in the sky and full at the same time; they didn’t provide as much light as the half-moon on earth.”
“I remember nights in spring when the wind chased tatters of cloud across the face of the full moon, and then sometimes, they’d all be swept away and the moon would just be there, like a silver coin hanging in space, or a single big, bright eye, staring down and watching everything. There was something so friendly about it, as though it was curious about the people who populated the planet it orbited.”
Jack smiled. “You have the soul of a poet; did you know that?”
Ianto gave a disparaging snort. “Not hardly. Can’t rhyme stuff to save my life. But I think maybe there’s a bit of the moon in everyone that was born on earth, like it influenced tides inside us, and not just in the oceans. I know, that’s a weird thought, but even now, a night sky without a moon still seems subtly wrong, no matter how beautiful it might be. The lack of it upsets my own tides.” He laughed. “Now I’m getting all whimsical.” He stared up at the sky, then down at the canyon below, the gulf between this skyscraper and the one across from it. Surreptitiously, he rubbed at one eye.
“Ianto?” Jack slipped an arm around him.
“Eyelash,” Ianto replied, checking his fingers. Sure enough, the offending eyelash was clearly visible. “I knew you’d get the wrong idea. I’m not THAT sentimental about the earth and its moon.” He wrapped his own arm around Jack’s waist, giving his husband a squeeze. “That said, I think I would like to make a trip back there in the near future, take a look at the old place. It’s been too long, and it won’t be there forever. Should check up on it from time to time. I feel… a weird sort of responsibility for the old girl and her admirer.”
“We can do that. Anytime you want.”
“Maybe we could head in that direction after we leave here.” Ianto turned to Jack, their faces mere inches apart. “Could we land on the moon, d’you think? Maybe grab ourselves a few moon rocks? Then I could keep a bit of moon with me, keep my tides in check…” He laughed again. “I think maybe I have a touch of moonless madness, or maybe it’s the aftereffects of what we were drinking earlier. Or the altitude. Could be the altitude; it’s a long way down!”
Jack laughed too. “Oh yes, definitely feeling the effects of the Ambrosinnia. I shouldn’t have let you have that last glass; you may be a bit high.”
“Mm, just a bit though, enough to make me slightly giddy and nostalgic.” He smiled at Jack. “I would like to go back and visit earth though, and I wasn’t entirely joking about the moon rocks. Someday, there’ll be no more earth, no more moon, and it would be nice to have some mementoes, a tangible bit of moon to hold onto. Shame we can’t steal the whole thing, but the earth still needs it. Earth would go all wobbly without it, and that would screw up the climate completely, just when they’ve got it more or less stabilised. We can’t have that. It could spare a few bits, though.”
“If you want a bit of moon, then we’ll get you a bit of moon,” Jack promised. “The genuine article, acquired at the source. We’ll land our shuttlecraft somewhere away from the main moon bases, pop outside in spacesuits, grab a few bits, and go. No one can begrudge us that. We ran the Torchwood Institute for almost a thousand years; the least they can do is let us have a few souvenirs of what we protected while we were introducing earth to its trading partners and making sure everyone got the best deal.”
The Institute as a whole was in other hands now, but Jack and Ianto still held the titles of Honorary Directors in Chief, and no one would stop them if they ever wanted to take up the reins again. They were responsible for the majority of the trade agreements between earth and other planets, having travelled extensively as ambassadors.
“We’ve neglected earth for too long,” Ianto said, sobering up. “Too much to see and do out here.”
“You’re right,” Jack agreed. “But that’s easily fixed.”
It would take time, even with Vortex travel, to get back to the world of Ianto’s birth, but there was no mad rush. Perhaps they’d even stay for a bit when they got there, they could spare a few decades. No need to decide right now, though; they’d just play it by ear once they arrived, but for the moment, they had a moonless night to enjoy. It was too beautiful to waste.
The End
Even now, hundreds of years on, it could be a bit embarrassing to admit he’d been born there. Civilised people often expected him to be a bit barbaric, an unruly savage, governed by primal instincts, and… well, he supposed he couldn’t really blame them. He was sure they’d heard plenty of horror stories about people becoming stranded on earth and being treated like monsters just because they looked a bit… different from humans. For a long time, Earth did NOT have a good reputation, although that had changed to an extent now that its people were starting to spread out among the stars.
Nevertheless, tonight he found himself missing certain aspects of the planet he’d grown up on. Standing on the balcony of the hotel room, Ianto felt a bit like the flower in Kerouac’s poem, on the cliffside, nodding at the canyon. He was so far above the planet’s surface that he couldn’t have made out much detail below even if it had been broad daylight rather than late at night. Tipping his head back, he gazed up at a sky the colour of violet ink rather than earth’s deepest indigo. It was beautiful, there was no denying that; this close to the galactic centre there were more stars in the sky than could ever be seen from the earth’s surface, making the night brighter than he’d ever seen, but tonight the sight stirred in him a strange kind of heartache.
“Ianto? Are you okay?” Jack appeared in the open doorway behind him.
“Fine, I just couldn’t sleep. The sky’s too bright.”
“You could’ve darkened the windows. I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I know, but… I didn’t want to.”
“You’d rather deal with your insomnia by standing out here?”
“It’s not insomnia.” As an immortal, he didn’t need to sleep as much as he used to, so he wasn’t particularly tired. “Besides, how often do we get to see a night sky like this? We’re only here for a few days, can’t afford to waste the opportunity.” Turning to Jack, Ianto shaded his eyes from the brightness. “Just because I’m up doesn’t mean you have to be.”
“The bed feels too empty without you in it.”
Ianto snorted. “Now you know how I felt back before I became immortal, all those times you got up in the middle of the night and abandoned me.”
Jack brushed that off. “You are alright though, aren’t you?”
“Yes, Jack, I already told you. I’m fine, just enjoying the view.”
Pushing away from the doorframe, Jack wandered over to lean on the balcony railing beside his husband. “It is beautiful.”
Despite being more than a mile above the planet’s surface, there was no danger. Forcefields prevented anyone falling, and the gravity was only two thirds that of earth, so he and Jack weighed less than they would have there. In the unlikely event that the forcefields failed or were tampered with, automated rescue systems would deploy before hotel guests could fall far.
“Very beautiful. So many stars.”
“But?”
“But what?” Ianto raised an eyebrow at his husband.
“That’s what I’m asking you.” Jack studied Ianto’s face. “You look a bit… I don’t know, not exactly sad, but… wistful, perhaps.”
Ianto huffed a small laugh. “Well, perhaps. I miss night being dark, and I miss the moon.”
This planet didn’t have a moon; there was an asteroid belt, but that wasn’t the same, the asteroids were too small to see with the naked eye, and the brightness of the night sky meant any astronomical devises had to incorporate light filters for astronomers to see anything with decent clarity.
“I guess I don’t feel the same way about earth’s moon as you do,” Jack admitted. He’d never belonged to earth the way Ianto had, so he didn’t feel the pull of the world they’d left so far behind and so long ago the way his husband still did on occasion. “Boeshane had three moons, all a little smaller and at a greater distance from the planet. Most of the time we didn’t pay much attention to them. Their movements, yes, but not the moons themselves. They weren’t much to look at; even when all three were in the sky and full at the same time; they didn’t provide as much light as the half-moon on earth.”
“I remember nights in spring when the wind chased tatters of cloud across the face of the full moon, and then sometimes, they’d all be swept away and the moon would just be there, like a silver coin hanging in space, or a single big, bright eye, staring down and watching everything. There was something so friendly about it, as though it was curious about the people who populated the planet it orbited.”
Jack smiled. “You have the soul of a poet; did you know that?”
Ianto gave a disparaging snort. “Not hardly. Can’t rhyme stuff to save my life. But I think maybe there’s a bit of the moon in everyone that was born on earth, like it influenced tides inside us, and not just in the oceans. I know, that’s a weird thought, but even now, a night sky without a moon still seems subtly wrong, no matter how beautiful it might be. The lack of it upsets my own tides.” He laughed. “Now I’m getting all whimsical.” He stared up at the sky, then down at the canyon below, the gulf between this skyscraper and the one across from it. Surreptitiously, he rubbed at one eye.
“Ianto?” Jack slipped an arm around him.
“Eyelash,” Ianto replied, checking his fingers. Sure enough, the offending eyelash was clearly visible. “I knew you’d get the wrong idea. I’m not THAT sentimental about the earth and its moon.” He wrapped his own arm around Jack’s waist, giving his husband a squeeze. “That said, I think I would like to make a trip back there in the near future, take a look at the old place. It’s been too long, and it won’t be there forever. Should check up on it from time to time. I feel… a weird sort of responsibility for the old girl and her admirer.”
“We can do that. Anytime you want.”
“Maybe we could head in that direction after we leave here.” Ianto turned to Jack, their faces mere inches apart. “Could we land on the moon, d’you think? Maybe grab ourselves a few moon rocks? Then I could keep a bit of moon with me, keep my tides in check…” He laughed again. “I think maybe I have a touch of moonless madness, or maybe it’s the aftereffects of what we were drinking earlier. Or the altitude. Could be the altitude; it’s a long way down!”
Jack laughed too. “Oh yes, definitely feeling the effects of the Ambrosinnia. I shouldn’t have let you have that last glass; you may be a bit high.”
“Mm, just a bit though, enough to make me slightly giddy and nostalgic.” He smiled at Jack. “I would like to go back and visit earth though, and I wasn’t entirely joking about the moon rocks. Someday, there’ll be no more earth, no more moon, and it would be nice to have some mementoes, a tangible bit of moon to hold onto. Shame we can’t steal the whole thing, but the earth still needs it. Earth would go all wobbly without it, and that would screw up the climate completely, just when they’ve got it more or less stabilised. We can’t have that. It could spare a few bits, though.”
“If you want a bit of moon, then we’ll get you a bit of moon,” Jack promised. “The genuine article, acquired at the source. We’ll land our shuttlecraft somewhere away from the main moon bases, pop outside in spacesuits, grab a few bits, and go. No one can begrudge us that. We ran the Torchwood Institute for almost a thousand years; the least they can do is let us have a few souvenirs of what we protected while we were introducing earth to its trading partners and making sure everyone got the best deal.”
The Institute as a whole was in other hands now, but Jack and Ianto still held the titles of Honorary Directors in Chief, and no one would stop them if they ever wanted to take up the reins again. They were responsible for the majority of the trade agreements between earth and other planets, having travelled extensively as ambassadors.
“We’ve neglected earth for too long,” Ianto said, sobering up. “Too much to see and do out here.”
“You’re right,” Jack agreed. “But that’s easily fixed.”
It would take time, even with Vortex travel, to get back to the world of Ianto’s birth, but there was no mad rush. Perhaps they’d even stay for a bit when they got there, they could spare a few decades. No need to decide right now, though; they’d just play it by ear once they arrived, but for the moment, they had a moonless night to enjoy. It was too beautiful to waste.
The End
