Title: Memories Are Made Of This
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: FRAO
Chapter: 1/?
Summary: Jack had two years of his memories stolen by the Time Agency. How does Ianto Jones factor into the former con-man's past?
Spoilers: Doctor Who: The Empty Child & The Doctor Dances (1x09&1x10), Army of Ghosts & Doomsday (2x12&2x13). Torchwood: All up to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2x01). Also, slight for Fragments (2x12).
Warning: Not for Gwen fans.
Author's note: This story is a major AU. Many of the 'canon' events will happen as they do in the show, only with slight adjustments to fit the story arc. Also, as there is no real mention of what the Time Agency actually is, this is my spin on things.
This begins six months before the events of Army of Ghosts & Doomsday.

x

In all his years of working for Torchwood, Jack had never understood why Torchwood London felt the need to advertise their presence in the city with a huge tower in the middle of Canary Wharf. As far as Jack was concerned, they were just asking for trouble. Although, as long as they kept the trouble to themselves and as far from Cardiff as possible, he couldn’t bring himself to care too much.

Yvonne Hartman, director of the Torchwood London branch, had given him a firm briefing the instant he had walked through their large revolving doors. With a tone most headmistresses would kill for, she instructed him to stay well within the designated areas and to not go wandering off on his own. And of course, under no circumstances was he actually allowed to touch any of the alien artefacts they had accumulated.

Not that he could touch any of the items even if he wanted to. Not when he was in the archives buried deep in the bowels of Torchwood Tower, with no way of finding his way out without assistance and only becoming more and more lost by the second.

At the end of a very long corridor, Jack could see a dim light emitting from a small room. With a small smile of triumph he stalked towards it, hoping whoever was there could help him.

The plaque on the door read ‘Head of Research’ so Jack figured this person must know there way around better than him. Of course, when Jack tried to open the door, he found that it was locked.

“Great,” he drawled to himself, trying to see through the small window; only then realising that the light was actually a security light and not an indication of anyone’s presence in the room.

The communicator Yvonne had given him beeped irritatingly in his hand and, even though he was tempted to ignore it, Jack knew there was no way he could do so and not have half of Torchwood’s armed staff looking for him within seconds.

“Yeah?” he sighed, bringing the device up to his mouth so she could hear him clearly.

“Captain Harkness, we have the files you requested,” Yvonne’s voice crackled through the radio waves, sounding just fake and false as it had when she greeted him earlier that day.

“I’m on my way,” he murmured, cutting off the communication once more. He had hoped to find the information himself, because he just knew there was no way Yvonne would give him everything he asked for.

She would have, no doubt, already checked through the paperwork to ensure that nothing in there would be of any real use to him or his team. Yvonne was firm in her belief that Torchwood London was the best institute in the country and Jack knew she would stop at nothing to make sure they kept that position.

He just hoped he could find his way out of the archives on his own.

x

The sky over Cardiff bay was dark and dreary as Jack stepped out of the Tourist Office, tugging his coat further around his body. He had a feeling it was going to rain soon and he hated when it rained. It always made him feel gloomy and cold; not to mention it made the weevils come out from the sewers, which just meant more work.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw a young man standing in front of him, wearing a pair of torn jeans and a loose shirt which was unfastened at the collar, offering him teasing glimpses of the body underneath.

Jack offered him a tight smile when the man didn’t say anything and brushed past him, heading on his way down the jetty towards the Plass.

“Will?”

Jack spun around so fast he nearly fell over and he stared at the other man. “What did you just call me?”

The man looked at him, frowning deeply as he studied Jack’s face. He made the Time Agent feel uncomfortable; something about him didn’t sit right with Jack but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was exactly.

Suddenly a smile flashed over his face, washing away all remnants of confusion. “Sorry,” the younger man apologised, shaking his head. “Thought you were someone else. My mistake.”

x

Jack was talking into his blue-tooth headset as he drove through the city, giving instructions to the members of his team who were still back at the Hub. “Toshiko, see if you can decode those hieroglyphics.”

“Already on it,” Tosh assured him, making him smile. He looked how he didn’t even need to ask her to do things; she always used her initiative and did things on her own.

“Owen, take a cross section of that paramedics brain. Check against the list of any chemical agents.”

“Will do,” Owen replied with his usual bored, ‘do I have to?’ tone and Jack made a mental note to tell Owen to at least try to sound interested in his work.

“Suzie, we’re going to need to drag the reservoir, see if we can find the other half of that…”

Jack slammed his foot down on the brakes when he saw someone step out into the road directly in front of him. The car slid to a stop about four feet away from the other man and Jack jumped out, slamming the car door behind him.

“Okay, what’s going on here? First this morning and now you’re stalking me in the dead of night.”

“I know who you are,” the other man said softly, giving Jack the same look he had given him earlier.

He rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. “Congratulations, most people in Cardiff do. Now if you’d move…”

The man shook his head. “No, I mean I know who you are. Will, it’s me, Ianto.”

Jack, who was making his way back to the car, spun on his heel and glared at him. “I don’t know a ‘Ianto’ and I think you’re getting confused. My name isn’t Will. Now move!”

When Ianto didn’t shift, Jack stalked back to him, getting right in his face to ensure his meaning wasn’t mistaken in any way. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is but you need to get over it right now. I want you out of this city by sunrise.”

Ianto tried to speak but Jack cut him off, “No, I don’t know you and I don’t want to. There is no place for you here, find someone else to annoy. Keep stalking me, I’ll wipe your memory, are we clear?”

“But the thing is…”

Jack cut him off again, not giving him chance to get a full sentence out. “Look, any conversation between us, no matter what the subject, is over; finished; done. Forever!” Jack jabbed a finger in the direction of the SUV. “I’m getting back behind the wheel of that car; if you’re still standing in the road, I’m gonna drive through you!”

He was three steps away from the car door when he heard Ianto call after him, his voice sounding resigned and weary. “So you’re not going to help me catch this pterodactyl, then?”

x

As they stood in the warehouse, both trying to regain their breath after managing to subdue the dinosaur, Ianto looked over at Jack who was putting the finishing touches on the knots that bound the creature.

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

Jack sighed with frustration and finished what he was doing before looking up. “How many times do I have to tell you? We haven’t met before. Ever.”

Ianto took a step closer, trying to place a hand on Jack’s arm. “Will, please…”

“Stop that! Why do you keep calling me that?”

“Because it’s your name,” Ianto pointed out in confusion.

“Yes, but you shouldn’t know. No one here knows my real name; I haven’t used that name for years, so how do could you possibly know it?”

The blood rushing in Jack’s ears almost drowned out Ianto's soft, “We’ve met before.”

Their eyes met and Jack could feel something inside of him, tugging him closer to Ianto but he pushed it aside roughly. He would deal with one problem at once, then deal with the rest later.

Ianto brought his hand up, placing his palm on Jack’s cheek. The blue eyed man had leant into the caress before he realised what he was doing. When he realised this, he quickly jerked away from Ianto, almost falling over in an attempt to distance himself.

“Will, what did they do to you?” Ianto breathed, his own eyes shining with hurt and confusion.

He couldn’t explain why, but for some reason Jack found himself stepping closer to Ianto, his legs seemingly moving of his own accord. With each step the hurt look faded less and less, and Jack found himself feeling better.

“Look,” he eventually said, “I’m not saying I trust you, or that I’ll believe what you say, but…”

“At least give me chance to explain?” Ianto pleaded, reaching out and taking Jack’s hands in his.

“I’m a Time Agent,” he began simply, pulling back the sleeve of his suit jacket and revealing a Vortex Manipulator almost identical to Jack’s. “We met at the Agency. You actually trained me, personally.”

Jack had jumped back the instant he spotted the wrist strap. Even after all this time he still didn’t trust the Agency; he felt so much anger and resentment towards them that he couldn’t help but react violently to the presence of another Time Agent.

“That’s… that’s impossible. I remember everyone I trained to be a Time Agent. You definitely weren’t one of them.”

Ianto bit his lip, his forehead crumpling in disbelief. “You didn’t train me to be a Time Agent, Will,” he whispered.

“Jack. My name is Jack.”

Their eyes met and he spoke as evenly as he could, trying to make the next words sound as convincing as possible. They were the truth, but Ianto knew there was no way he would be believed. “I’m an assassin.”

TBC