Title: Cutting it fine

Fandom: Torchwood

Characters: Ianto, Jack

Author: m_findlow

Rating: PG

Length: 1,110 words,

Content notes: Coda for Torchwood Yearbook story ‘Plant Life” by Trevor Baxendale.

Author notes: Written for Challenge 379 - Knife

Summary: Ianto has a close shave with an alien plant.

When Ianto cracked open his eyes, Jack could immediately tell that his brain was still fuzzy. That was possibly a good thing. In his experience, it didn’t pay to bounce back from things too quickly. That was usually an indication that what ailed you was still lurking somewhere in the background, just lying low for a bit so that you thought it was gone, whilst waiting silently and patiently to find a subtler, more insidious way of taking over.

Fuzzy was definitely a good thing on this occasion. Ianto had been so clear minded before, which was probably why no one had really taken much notice of the fact that he was becoming slowly obsessed with looking after the tiny plant that Owen had given up for dead. Ianto wasn’t exactly what Jack would have called a green thumb, or any sort of plant enthusiast for that matter, but when it came to all things that occupied the hub, there was a certain level of responsibility that Ianto felt compelled to adhere to. It was one thing to take care of everything that lived within the confines of the hub, but it was another thing entirely to be feeding it your own blood.

Iantos head turned sideways and found Jack standing by his bedside, and then realising that he was in fact, lying in a bed. A hospital bed to be exact, or at least the Torchwood equivalent. Then his gaze trailed lower down towards his forearm, which was now bandaged , making even his pale milky skin seem tanned by comparison. His eyes glazed with that hazy confusion again as he shifted his head, looking around the room.

‘Looking for this?’ Jack asked, tugging a small pen knife from his generous trouser pocket. ‘I almost missed it,’ he added, idly flicking the blade out and staring at it with a cocked head, before carefully using his index finger to push the blade back down inside its ingeniously designed casing. Must’ve fallen from your pocket during the scuffle. I did wonder for a moment how the plant was managing to suck the blood right from your veins. I mean, it had that long sucker thing that it was keeping hidden until feeding time, but it wasn’t sharp enough to pierce the skin. That required human intervention, and judging by how careful you were to conceal the cuts to your wrist under your suit jacket sleeve, it made sense that a small sharp object would be needed. Nice little piece of kit, by the way,’ Jack mused.

‘It’s Swiss,’ Ianto replied, squirming his way back to sensical cognition. ‘Thiry different functions.’

‘Yet you only needed one. It might have started out as just a few drops of blood,and then a bit more, but if we hadn’t stopped you, that plant would have eventually sucked you dry. And not too long away, either,’ he added. It had only just occurred to him that he hadn’t seen Ianto eat, drink or sleep for at least three days. Whatever grip the plant had on him wouldn't have lasted if he didn't sustain himself, in which case, it would no doubt make the most of its willing accomplice and feast on his life force before he was too weak to do anything more.

‘I don’t really remember much of it,’ Ianto confessed. ‘It all feels abit like a dream.’

‘Or a nightmare,’ Jack offered.

Ianto attempted to sit up straighter in the bed, eyes still locked on the swiss army knife that he’d used to inflict deep cuts on his own arm. ‘How did you figure it out?’

‘It’s when you said there’s more to life than coffee that I started getting worried. And before you say it, yes, I know there’s more to your skills than just making coffee, but come on. When you stop caring about the coffee I start caring about there being something very, very wrong with you.’

Ianto leaned his head back into the pillows. ‘Well, it’s nice to know that having an obsession can keep you out of trouble.’

‘More so it was obsession that got you in trouble to begin with.’

‘I didn’t…’ Ianto’s words drifted off as he could be seen visibly struggling to stitch them together with his blurry recollections of the last few days. ‘I don’t even know why I didn’t just let Owen give up on it’ he said, referring to the thing that had barely counted as a plant before it had been taken into Ianto’s dedicated care. There hadn't been so much as a leaf on the withered little stalk poking out of the pot.

Jack folded his arms as he perched himself more comfortably on the edge of the bed. ‘Some kind of telepathic influence is Owen’s theory.’

‘And it didn’t affect him because he’s brain dead?’

Jack resisted smirking at the comment. ‘Probably avoid using that turn of phrase when you see him, but yes. It was looking for someone who had an active mind that it could slowly penetrate. One little suggestive thought here, one little compulsion there…’

‘And soon you’re tearing open your veins for it with a pen knife,’ Ianto finished for him, sounding annoyed at himself for having been taken in. Jack sympathised. It could have happened to any of them, Ianto had just gotten there first. They’d gotten lucky, that was all.

Jack leaned further forward so that he could slip a comforting hand around Ianto's elbow, just above the bandages. ‘I wasn't paying attention when I should have been,’ he said. ‘You’re so diligent and dedicated with everything, I just thought…’ He shrugged. ‘It wasn’t until I…’

‘Let me guess. You got jealous that I was giving it more love and attention than I was giving you.’

Jack squirmed slightly at the choice of words. Love was such a strong descriptor. ‘Let’s just say I’ve never seen you attempt to feed me your blood to keep me alive.’

Ianto broke into a little smile at Jack’s words. ‘That’s not to say that I wouldn't. Only that the opportunity has never presented itself.’

Jack rolled his eyes in an attempt to cheapen Ianto’s response. He didn't want anyone sacrificing themselves for him, Ianto especially. He stood up and pocketed the pen knife. ‘Perhaps I’ll just hang on to this then,’ he said. ‘Just in case you get any more chivalrous ideas. Stick to opening doors.’ He turned back to face his lover as he reached the doorway. ‘And stay away from any plants while you’re at it.’

‘Better call and cancel the order for the long stemmed roses for our anniversary then,’ Ianto called back.