Part Three: Future

Time travel was a curious, amazing thing. It had allowed Jack to experience times and places from long ago, to become a part of history during his years with the Time Agency and his brief months with the Doctor. He'd seen so much, learned so much more, and yet it was things like this—timey-whimey, as the Doctor liked to say—that sometimes left Jack in awe of the universe and the strange ways in which it worked.

He remembered the scene he'd just witnessed at the gazebo. Finding out that Ianto had been sleeping with his future self had been a bit of a shock, but it had also been a relief. Even though he'd written off proper relationships, Jack had spent months thinking and worrying about his relationship with Ianto. The thought of Ianto sneaking around behind his back had hurt; Jack hated the feeling of not being enough, not being good enough. That Ianto had been sneaking around with another version of himself had been a bit of an ego boost, if he was honest, but more than that, it had settled Jack's mind, as well as his heart. He'd accepted and shared his feelings with Ianto, and things had been good between them. Almost like the normal relationships he'd avoided for so long.

They'd had less than a year after that, and at times it had been difficult. But they'd had each other to lean on after Tosh and Owen had died, and they'd grown even closer. Sometimes it amazed Jack that Ianto stayed with him, and he never stopped worrying about his beloved Welshman. They'd moved in together and were happy for a summer, until an old enemy of Jack's from his days as a conman surfaced, and Ianto suffered once again for his ties to Torchwood and to Jack.

It had been their closest call yet, and Jack had been determined to send Ianto away. Yet Ianto recovered from his injuries and figured it out, and he had been livid. Jack shook his head as he remembered that particular fight—the furious shouting, the quick and hard right hook, the devastating silent treatment afterwards; then the realization that he would never be able to tell Ianto what to do, that he didn't want to lose him no matter what might come between them, and of course, the spectacular makeup sex afterward. Jack had vowed to protect Ianto as best as he could, but deep down he'd still questioned the wisdom of staying together. Torchwood was dangerous enough; he hated that being a couple put Ianto at even more risk.

They had finally settled back into their relationship and regained some measure of what they'd lost when the 456 appeared and ripped it all away. Jack closed his eyes as he pushed back the memories of one of the darkest times of his life: of being blown apart, of facing down an alien species determined to take the earth's children, of losing first Ianto and then his grandson. Yes, he had saved millions of others, but he'd lost too much and had wandered for months before he couldn't bear to stay any longer. And then he'd wandered amongst the stars for years, occasionally returning to Earth to answer her siren call, but always finding pain and heartbreak: finally shedding his immortality only to have to take it back again, losing Gwen several years later, losing everything he'd cared about on the one planet he'd called home for most of his life.

Eventually he'd stopped going back, until the day he'd been traveling on a freighter, searching for something, anything, to do with his life. It was a throw away line on a second rate newscast covering events in the Moneta system, where some sort of temporal-spatial anomaly had appeared. The newscaster had referred to it as a blip in time.

It was as if his world had exploded before him. Memories rushed in, flooding him with so many different emotions he wasn't sure what was real anymore. Had he really ever felt so much for one person? It had been well over a century since he'd left Earth, and he'd finally put most of it behind him, but those four little words - a blip in time - brought back a night he'd repressed or forgotten. Or been forced to forget.

Ianto Jones. Not just a blip in time. A special, cherished, much loved, and greatly missed partner from his last years on Earth. Jack had never forgotten Ianto Jones, and never would, not in a thousand years. But as he tried to still his racing heart in that moment of realization, he remembered one night he had forgotten—the night of Gwen Cooper's wedding.

It had been a fiasco, of course, being Gwen and Torchwood. Because Jack had been such an arse at the time, his relationship with Ianto had been sorely tested in the days and weeks leading up to the wedding. As he'd sat in that freighter, he remembered finding the love bite on Ianto's neck, being dragged outside to the gazebo, and Ianto telling him everything about Jack's future self. How could he have forgotten something so important?

Because he'd been made to forget.

Watching his past self disappear back into the hotel to clean up after Gwen's wedding, Jack bit back a sigh, hating what he had to do. Yet it had to be done: he hadn't remembered anything about the conversation at the gazebo until he'd heard those four heartbreaking words, and Ianto hadn't remembered anything about Jack's visits to him over the course of that summer and fall either. They'd retained the new feeling of intimacy and understanding, but not the specifics. So now the two men inside would have to forget as well. They would remember when it was time to remember and close the circle when the universe apparently decided the time was right.

Time was a curious, amazing thing.

Everything had changed that night for Jack and Ianto. They'd both started sharing more and holding back less, finally willing to admit (though without saying it out right and out loud) that their relationship was more than shagging and that yes, they cared. A lot. At the time, Jack had thought it was because of the wedding. He hadn't questioned it because it made sense that he and Ianto would grow closer after watching a coworker live out her happy ending. They had been really good together, until Jack had lost him nine months later to the 456.

"I still can't believe we didn't remember that," said a voice next to him, and Jack brought his thoughts back to the present with a smile. He glanced sideways, somehow not surprised to see Ianto standing there even though he was supposed to be waiting at a nearby café, away from the wedding and the guests.

"That's because I have to go in there and Retcon them. Us," Jack said quietly, still staring at the hotel. Ianto nodded and tucked his hands into the pockets of his black peacoat. He wasn't wearing a suit, and though Jack missed it, he liked the casual look as well. Ianto had said that since he no longer worked for Torchwood and had as good as died in a suit, he didn't need to be reminded of either every day. Jack understood; he had long abandoned his World War II era greatcoat and adopted a more contemporary fashion sense, currently a long leather coat, not unlike one of the Doctors'. Ianto had been disappointed, but he'd understood that Jack had left that part of his life behind years ago. Now it was time for both of them to start a new life—together.

"I could do it, if you like," Ianto said quietly, toeing the ground. Jack shook his head.

"No, they both know I've been back in time, so they won't be too surprised if they see me. But to see you from the future…" He trailed off, the implication clear. The Ianto in the hotel knew he'd died, knew Jack had been upset enough to come back to see him; he was clever enough to figure things out if his future self appeared, not much older and bearing Retcon. He wouldn't remember, of course, because he was pragmatic enough to understand and take the Retcon, but Jack still didn't want to mess with timelines and the vague memory of seeing a man in a long leather coat after the wedding.

No, it needed to be Jack, even though he knew he was robbing both men inside of a deeper understanding of their relationship. And he was taking those nights with his future self away from Ianto as well, nights where he had reassured the Welshman of his feelings in spite of Jack's past self keeping them tucked away.

"Don't go asking about that threesome again," Ianto murmured beside him. "I'll definitely feel left out then."

"I'd suggest a foursome if I didn't think it would mess with the timelines too much," Jack chuckled. Ianto smirked at him.

"There's always more Retcon," he suggested. They eyed one another and laughed. Jack reached for Ianto's hand and pulled him close, reveling in the touch and feel of the man before him, particularly after watching their past selves come to the understanding that had originally brought them closer.

"Don't worry, I'm more than happy with just one of you," he said.

"And we're even now," Ianto pointed out. "I slept with your future self and you slept with my past self."

Jack nuzzled at the spot behind Ianto's ear where he had left a mark the night before on the other Ianto. He wasn't sure whether he'd done it because he remembered finding it, or because he'd wanted—or needed—to trigger the revelation, but either way, it had worked. His past self now had his Ianto back, and Jack had his as well. One who still shivered as Jack nipped behind and below his ear.

"Gotta love time travel," he murmured.

"I wouldn't be here without it," Ianto replied, and Jack stepped back, hearing something in Ianto's voice that worried him.

"Are you all right?" he asked, still holding Ianto's hand. "Seeing all this…you're not upset about what I did, are you?"

"Saving me from an alien virus?" Ianto asked lightly, though it sounded slightly forced. He sighed as he realized it. "No, Jack, I'm not. I've told you a dozen times, I'm not mad. I get to spend more time with you, and I get to do it seeing the galaxy. How could I be upset about that?"

Jack studied him; there was more. "What's wrong, then?"

Ianto smiled and shook his head. "It's been over a hundred years for you, and you still see right through me."

Jack kissed him. "Always did, always will. So what is it?"

Ianto inclined his head toward the hotel. "Them. Us."

"You do want that foursome!" Jack teased, and Ianto rolled his eyes. Jack had missed that almost as much as anything else about Ianto.

"I certainly do not. But I hate taking this away from them. From us. It made such a difference." He sighed, and Jack pulled him close.

"I know," he said. "But that difference will still be there. We both know how it was between us after the wedding, only we thought it was down to other things, not to all this. I'll make sure I leave that when I Retcon them. But since I didn't remember until a few months ago, and you didn't remember until I told you I'd remembered, we have to do it. They have to forget."

"I know," Ianto sighed. "Doesn't mean I have to like the idea of wiping my own memories."

"I don't like it either," Jack said, kissing him and reassuring him. "But it's better this way. They won't have doubts. Besides, we know it works out."

"They don't," Ianto whispered, his eyes slipping closed. "You spent over a hundred years alone, and I died thinking…"

He trailed off, and Jack sighed, knowing exactly what Ianto had been about to say. Ianto had almost died thinking that Jack didn't care about him. He'd confessed his love on his deathbed, but Jack had been too terrified of losing Ianto in that moment to think straight and return the sentiment. The memory had haunted him for years, as painful as the memory of Steven lying dead in his mother's arms.

When Ianto first awoke with Jack in the 23rd century, he'd been confused. Fully expecting to die in Jack's arms, he had opened his eyes to the bright lights of an alien hospital instead. Then he'd been angry. Why had Jack saved him, he asked, especially if he didn't love him? Did he feel guilty about his utter lack of regard? Was that why he'd gone back, to give himself a second chance because he'd blown it the first time? Ianto had fired question after painful question at him.

The words had stung, and it had been far from the reunion Jack had hoped for. And then there was explaining not only why, but how it had happened, which had been even more difficult than Jack had anticipated.

After Jack had heard the trigger words and regained his memories of the conversation at the gazebo, he'd realized what he had to do. He remembered all the times Ianto had gone away and how he'd been certain Ianto was with someone else, so he'd gone back to be that someone else. He'd traveled back to the past to see Ianto, spending time with him—mostly talking, although there were certainly other activities.

As he'd spent time with Ianto's past self again after a hundred years, he'd remembered more and more about what an amazing man Ianto Jones had been. And Jack had wanted that again. He'd wanted Ianto again. And so he'd decided to save him, timelines be damned. If he did it right, he wouldn't create a paradox anyway, and no one but him and Ianto would have to know. He didn't tell Ianto about spending time with his past self, not yet, but that he'd desperately missed him and wanted to be with him again, which was equally true. Ianto had been skeptical, still angry at Jack for his lack of response at Thames House, and he'd wanted to know exactly how Jack had done it.

Jack needed a decoy body, but that hadn't been hard to figure out in the future, and he'd practiced the timing with his restored vortex manipulator until he knew he could get it right. He'd then teleported into Thames House moments after he and Ianto had succumbed to the alien virus. Taking out the cameras and leaving behind the decoy body, he'd taken the unconscious and barely breathing form of Ianto Jones around his shoulders and teleported back to his current time. He'd worried that someone would notice something about the other body, but he didn't remember anything being said or done at the time so he assumed he was safe. He'd done everything he could think of to protect the timeline yet save Ianto, and it seemed to have worked.

Jack worried that something would still go wrong, and as Ianto recovered in the hospital on Monere, the Doctor had tracked them down and demanded to know what was going on. After Jack explained, the Doctor had railed a bit at about the consequences to the timelines, before acknowledging that Jack had, in fact, done very little damage with his rescue swap. However, he'd also demanded that Jack stop traveling in time if he couldn't be trusted not to change history, even threatening to disable the vortex manipulator again. Because it had taken Jack decades to just get the teleport function working, he'd reluctantly agreed. He had what he wanted, after all. After one last trip to the past to say goodbye, he would be ready to live in his present.

He'd had to explain his other trips to the past to Ianto, however, and that had not gone well. The alien virus had left Ianto weak, and he was in the hospital for weeks recovering, but it was his emotional state that had taken the biggest hit. He was still trying to understand Jack's parting words at Thames House, being presumed dead, then saved and taken out of his time. As Jack described his trips to the past, Ianto's own memories of Jack's visits had returned. He had been extremely upset and had retreated into himself, leaving Jack doubting his actions and regretting the pain he had caused.

Teleporting back to Gwen's hen night because he remembered Ianto telling him that it was the last time he'd seen Jack's future self, Jack had visited Ianto's past self one last time. Though it had been slightly awkward, given that there was another version of his Welshman waiting for him in the future, he'd left the love bite on Ianto's past self and returned to his own century, but it had been hard to come back. The man in the past clearly loved him; the man lying in the hospital bed clearly did not. Or his anger, at least, was too great for him to set aside, and Jack despaired of any sort of happy ending for either of them.

As Ianto grew stronger, however, and perhaps as he grew to know the future version of Jack better (or again, since he'd already met him in the past), Ianto gradually forgave him and came to understand, if not completely believe, that Jack hadn't gone back to Thames House because of his guilt, but because he loved Ianto and wanted to be with him. Again. They restarted their relationship, slowly but surely, beginning as soon as Ianto was well enough with dinner and the 22nd century equivalent of a movie. Ianto had been impressed, and they had tumbled into bed after, much as they had the first time.

Because neither one of them had remembered Jack's visits to the past until so much later, they realized that they must have been Retconned—and that they had to do it themselves. And so they had informed the Doctor of one more trip, to set things right once and for all with the timelines. Now all that remained was to actually administer the Retcon to their past selves and return to the future, secure with the knowledge that the timeline would continue as they remembered it.

Jack shook himself out of the memories, knowing he had to do it even though, like Ianto, he didn't want to. He laid his head on Ianto's shoulder.

"You died thinking you were just a blip in time," he said softly, finishing Ianto's unsaid thought. "You know you're not, right?"

"You came back in time to save me, Jack," Ianto replied with a chuckle. "It does make a bloke feel better about things."

"You were never a blip in time," Jack murmured. Then he laughed as well. "That was the trigger, you know. A blip in time. I'll have to make sure I plant that trigger in his…my…mind."

"So that when he hears it again you'll remember everything?" Ianto asked. He was still trying to catch on to the complicated implications of time travel, particularly when it came to pronouns and verb tense.

"Otherwise I'll never go back to see you, or go back to save you," Jack murmured. "And I don't want to give you up now."

Ianto kissed him, quick and chaste. "Then go and do what you have to do."

Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto and pulled him tight. "Too early. They need to Retcon the rest of the guests first, remember?"

"Right," Ianto murmured. "And whatever will we do to pass the time?"

"I can think of a few things," Jack replied with a grin.

"There's quite a list," Ianto said, and after a moment's pause they burst out laughing.

"Sorry, that was terrible," Ianto said, shaking his head.

"Hey, it's still a good line!" Jack protested.

"It's rubbish. I'm amazed it even worked."

Jack grinned. "It's those Welsh vowels," he said, and earned himself that eye roll he loved so much. "We could always deflower the honeymoon suite."

"Absolutely not!" Ianto exclaimed, sounding shocked. "You can't be serious!"

"You don't remember Gwen saying something about the room being used by the staff?" Jack teased, and Ianto's eyes went wide again. It was probably unfair, given that their memories had been tampered with that night, so Jack let him off quickly. "I'm joking, on both counts."

Ianto nodded slowly, as if catching his breath. "Right. Good. Although I appreciate the sentiment, I think another venue would be more appropriate."

"Guest cottage?" suggested Jack. When Ianto appeared skeptical, Jack pulled him close. "We've got time," he whispered. "And I booked it properly. For the entire night and everything."

The last seemed to convince Ianto, who grinned and nodded. "If you're paying," he said, and Jack laughed as he led the way. "It's nicely full circle and all that."

Jack took his hand. "A second chance where it started?"

"Exactly."

They walked quietly until they reached a small cottage nestled on the grounds, far from the main building. Jack thought about stopping at the threshold and offering some heartfelt words, but decided he'd rather go straight inside. He took out the key he'd picked up earlier, brandishing it dramatically for Ianto, opened the door, and motioned the other man inside.

Following behind him, Jack was pleased to see everything in the room was arranged exactly as he had asked, from the turndown with chocolate and flowers, to the champagne sitting chilled in a bucket, set next to a bowl of fresh fruit. All that was missing were candles and music, and Jack had packed both. Ianto stopped and stared before he walked slowly into the room, eyes wide as he let his hand slide across the king size bed, over the chilled champagne.

Jack was thrilled with Ianto's reaction; he'd worked hard to make sure everything was just right. They still had to take their own memories from their past selves, but first they would make new memories for the future. Jack had a second chance, and he was going to make the most of it and do it right.

He was determined that their night be perfect, because he hoped it would be the true beginning of a new life together. Coming up behind Ianto, Jack rested his head on the Welshman's shoulder and sighed happily, if a bit nervously.

"What's going on, Jack?" Ianto asked, turning in his arms with a raised eyebrow. Yep, perfect.

"I was thinking," Jack began, and Ianto smiled. "Maybe we could…when this is over…"

He felt Ianto chuckle against him and laughed with him before taking a breath so he could finish. "Dinner? A movie?" he asked, then placed a finger to Ianto's lips before the man could say anything about office fetishes. "The rest of our lives together?"

Ianto's eyes went wide as Jack stepped back and reached into his pocket. He'd had the box since the day he'd left earth after Ianto's death, and had been carrying it around again for months, long before he'd gone back to Thames House for Ianto. It was what he wanted now, for as long as he could have it even if it wasn't for as long as he wanted. But his was already such a long life that Jack was tired of living with regrets, with dreams he'd failed to pursue, lonely and alone for so many years. He wanted this more than anything, and he hoped Ianto did too, particularly after all they'd been through together.

Apparently struck speechless, Ianto's response was to kiss him passionately, long and hard, leaving them breathless as their hands began to scramble at clothing. Jack stopped him, wanting to relish the moment. "So is that a yes?" he asked.

Ianto took his hand, led him to the bed, and proceeded to show him without words what his answer was. And with Ianto by his side, Jack knew his future, for now, would be absolutely perfect.

Author's Note

The End! I really hope that makes sense with all the jumping around. I know it might read as a bit confusing, but I did not want the flashbacks as part of the story, I wanted this chapter to be set after Gwen's wedding, only it needed a lot of explanation to get there. Still, happy endings all around, yeah? Surprise! Or not, since it's me. I hope you enjoyed it. So many thanks to Taamar for slogging through the hot mess of tense tangling. Go read her story now! Thanks for reading!