Title: The Queen's Magicians: Guardians (Coda)
Author: Emma
Characters: Canonical Torchwood Three members… sort of.
Rating: Some chapters definitely not safe for work.
Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?
Summary: An amnesiac woman lands the team in the middle of a battle for control of one of history's greatest secrets
Author's Note: Canon calls this one Sleepers
Author's Note: Bronllys Castle http://www.castlewales.com/bronllys.html And there's even a legend about a secret passage... alas to Telgarth, not Llangorse Lake!

Part One is here. Part Two is here; Part Three is here; Part Four is here
 

They had come out of the underground passage inside Bronllys Castle's tower. The SUVs had been left at the foot of the motte, hidden from the road by an ancient stand of oaks. At Telgarth, they had rented a bright red Astra hatchback. Gwen, Andy, and Owen had driven the SUVs back to Cardiff, while Jack, Ianto, and Tosh continued on to Scotland with Beth, following her directions. They had made a straight dash for Edinburgh, keeping to the secondary roads. A few miles outside the city, Beth had them veer off down something that could only be described as a lane. Jack whooped with laughter.

“You have to be joking!”

She grinned at him. “Think about it, Captain. This is one of the best known Templar churches in the world. If they find our trail, it'll lead them here, and no matter how hard they look, they won't find anything.” She pointed at an even smaller lane leading down past the churchyard. “A few hundred yards that way.”

They had parked near a stone bridge crossing a deep chasm over the North Esk. On the other side, tumbled down walls overrun by greenery and half-hidden by large trees guarded a wrecked gatehouse. As they crossed the bridge, the glamour faded to reveal a fully operational castle with massive walls topped by modern security equipment. Several men ran out to meet them, kneeling as Beth uncovered the statue she carried.

“Talk about hiding in plain sight,” Jack said.

Beth had laughed. “The Sinclairs are very, very good at their business.” She turned to Tosh. “I hope you have time to give my people some pointers. I have a feeling we'll need some extra security for a while.”

They had stayed the night and headed back the following morning, walking out of Roslin Castle through a Templar honor guard. When they reached Cardiff they had dropped Tosh off and went straight to their flat, but they were still too pumped up to sleep.

Ianto pulled off his boots and socks and lay back on his favorite corner of the sofa with a sigh of relief. “We dodged a bullet, didn't we?”

“We probably dodged a whole battlefield's worth.” Jack poured two snifters of brandy and handed one over as he sprawled on the rug at Ianto's feet. “The appearance of God's Consort would set all the Peoples of the Book to wrangling for millennia. We need to do a great deal more growing up before we can deal with that sort of Power.”

“Especially, since...” Ianto hesitated. “I don't know how to say it.”

Jack rested his head against Ianto's knee and closed his eyes. “Any way will do.”

“The Asherah... it's like Caledfwlch.” Ianto combed his fingers through Jack's hair. “A container for Power, a... channel. That is...”

“The technical term for it is a Quintessence. An object that has been associated with a Power for so long that it has somehow absorbed some of it.”

“Yes.” He hesitated. “Can a Quintessence be alive?”

Jack sipped some of his brandy. “I don't know about alive. Sentient, yes.” He set down the snifter and shifted so he could look at Ianto. “I don't want to talk about that.”

Ianto smiled. “What shall we walk about, then? The Six Nations championship? What to get for Gwen and Rhys for their wedding present? Which lesson we want to practice tonight?”

Jack shook his head. “Wait right here.”

He jumped up and almost ran into the library. Ianto wondered idly if he would finally find out what all the whisperings and confabulations between Jack, Tosh, and Gwen had been about. They had been thick as thieves for a week. When Ianto had asked what was going on, Gwen had blithely told him it was just wedding doings. Considering how outrageous those two could get, Ianto hoped Tosh was clamping down on the more preposterous doings, or poor Rhys was in for a hell of a wedding.

He watched Jack come back into the room. Braces, shoes, and socks were gone and sleeves had been rolled up; his mouth watered at the sight. He had known Jack for three years and they had been lovers for sixteen months, and Jack could still make him drool with lust.

“You have that look,” Jack remarked.

“What look?”

Jack's grin was positively obscene. “The one that says you're stripping me naked and having your way with me.”

“Any objections?”

“Not really. But before we get to the having your way part, there's something I want to... well... ask.” The grin turned hesitant and just a little shy. “Here.”

Ianto stared at the flat, wide jewelry box Jack was offering him, heart suddenly thumping fit to burst out of his chest. He took it and opened it. Inside it there were two matching bracelets made out of hammered gold links resembling chain mail. The clasps were shaped like a shield divided into eight triangles with their points meeting at the center, alternating silver and gold. At the center, where the points met, a dragon couchant cradled a crescent moon between its front paws.

“Jack...”

“In the time I was born, it wasn't the fashion for men to wear rings, except in great occassions. Too much danger of getting a sword blade caught in it. Besides, most male couples had to be a great deal more careful. These would be more acceptable to others.”

Ianto took one of the bracelets and studied the clasp. “The triangles and the crescent moon come from your coat of arms, don't they?”

“Yes. But the lion rampant didn't seem right. I talked to a friend of mine at the Court of the Lord Lyon. He was much relieved that I had finally settled on a personal design. Gyronny of eight argent et Or, with dragon couchant vert holding a crescent Or. Something like that anyway.” He waved the heraldic details away. “I thought we could... if you wanted to...”

Ianto felt a bubble of joy burst somewhere inside. “And the dragon is for me. For Wales.” At Jack's nod, Ianto offered him the bracelet. “Put it on me.”

As Jack clasped the bracelet around his wrist, Ianto whispered. “By oak, and ash, and holly, by root, and trunk, and branch, and leaf, by flower, and fruit, and seed, I do accept you, Jack Harkness, and bind myself to you.”

The smile on Jack's face could have outshone the sun. He picked up the second bracelet and handed it to Ianto. “Would you?” As Ianto repeated his actions, Jack whispered, “By sword, and dragon, and cup, by my name and my power, by the world present and the world invisible, I do accept you, Ianto Jones, and bind myself to you.”

Overhead, thunder rolled in a clear night sky. They looked at each other, suddenly serious. Without a word, they leaned towards each other and pressed their mouths together in a chaste kiss.

“I'm not very good at the romantic stuff...”

Ianto pressed his fingertips against Jack's lips. “We don't need any more words than we've already said. We have said our vows and they were accepted and sealed. That is enough.”

He kissed Jack again, this time putting all of his carnal desire into it. By slow degrees the kiss became more and more frantic, until they were devouring each other. Jack's arms came around Ianto and pulled him closer as he let himself fall backwards until he was flat on his back on the sofa, Ianto on top of him.

“This is the having your way part, yes?”

“Hush, Jack.”

He unbuttoned Jack's shirt and buried his mouth against the base of Jack's neck, nipping and sucking across his shoulder bones, first one and then the other. He felt Jack's hands roam down his back to his buttocks, then back up to hold his head at a better angle for Jack's tongue. He let Jack control the play for a while, then pulled back.

“Hey!” Jack grumbled.

“Too many clothes, Harkness, and much too much control. I'm the one having his way, remember?”

Jack threw out his arms exhuberantly. “I'm all yours.”

“Yes, you are.”

He disposed of their clothes as fast as he could, tossing each piece aside, ignoring Jack's amusement. The man didn't understand the difference between just tossing clothes aside and... well, tossing clothes aside, but at that moment he didn't feel like taking time to explain. Pulling Jack's legs apart, he knelt between them.

“Did I mention,” Jack gasped as Ianto's hands stroked over his erection, “ you made a great decision... oh God... on this couch?”

“Hush, love. Just enjoy.”

He grabbed the small tube of lube they kept discreetly tucked under a cushion. Squeezing some onto his fingers, he worked it into Jack, breaching him gently. Jack moaned and arched upwards, wanting more. Ianto obliged, stroking in and out in a slow rhythm until Jack was babbling incoherently. Ianto loved knowing that he could bring Jack so much pleasure. He leaned down, licking at Jack's cock, then took the crown between his lips and sucked.

“Iaaaanto!”

His name, spoken like a prayer or a command, made his own cock jerk. Keeping his mouth and tongue at their appointed task, he withdrew his fingers from Jack's arse and slathered lube over himself, making sure he couldn't hurt Jack. He gave Jack's cock one last lick, then rose to position himself at Jack's opening. Jack threw his head back, a deep throaty keen exploding out of him. Ianto couldn't resist the invitation. He pushed into Jack in one smooth thrust. He felt Jack's legs wrap around his hips, and he lowered himself until he could whisper in Jack's ear.

“I love you, Jack Harkness.”

Jack turned his head, frantically searching for Ianto's mouth. After Alex's death, he had been celibate for a long time, and when he started to let himself be interested in another person, first Estelle and then Andy, he had kept a part of himself separate. He loved them, but he hadn't been in love with them. He had believed he could keep Ianto at arms' length too, but he hadn't counted on Ianto's infinite capacity to give. The more Jack took, the more he wanted, and the more he needed to give back, until he was as enmeshed as Ianto. He had given himself over completely, and now he would kill anyone who tried to sever the bonds.

He tore his lips away from the kiss so he could put words to his surrender. “I love you, Ianto Jones.”