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Part 1 of Ghost of A Kiss
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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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2020-11-05
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Ghost of a kiss

Summary:

Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Owen, Gwen
Rating/Warnings: PG, contains spoilers for Exit Wounds.
Summary: Part of Owen hasn’t left the Hub and he makes his presence felt.
In response to a challenge posted by Peja : Owen: The radiation has a strange effect on Owen due to his previous death and re-animation. He has died, yes, but his soul is solid and can interact with the Torchwood gang

Work Text:


Ghost of a kiss
by Lilithangel

 

Contrary to expectations Jack had never kissed Owen on the lips.  There had been brief brushes on the head and one peck on the cheek the one and only time he’d put a very drunk Owen to bed.  But never once had he shared breath with the other man.  Their relationship had never turned that way, although Jack couldn’t really say why.
 
So he didn’t know what those lips would have felt like on his.  Whether they would have been soft or dry.  Whether they would have been as passionate as the words that tumbled out of them often were.
 
There was no reason why he would immediately think of Owen then, when he felt an almost breathless brush of a kiss on his lips, but he did.
 
He had been staring out of his office to the empty desks where Owen and Tosh should be.  Remembering the banter and laughter that sometimes filled the space where now the three of them crept.  
 
There was a shift in the air in front of his face and then the kiss.  It was definitely a kiss; Jack Harkness always knew what a kiss felt like no matter how it was received.  And a sense of something else, something that made him think of Owen.
 
The second kiss was more substantial, as if believing it was Owen made it more real.  He could be going mad of course; his time underground had been filled with many hallucinations of smell and touch other than clay and mud.
 
As soon as he thought it he felt a huff of annoyance and concern that definitely felt like Owen.
 
“They already think I’m borderline,” he said out loud, “so is that you Owen?”  A much firmer kiss this time seemed to confirm his question.  “Why are you kissing me?  Not that I mind.”
 
Suddenly Owen was gone and Gwen was standing there staring at him in sympathy.
 
“I know it’s hard,” she began but he interrupted her.
 
“I wasn’t fantasising,” he said.
 
“So phantom Owen kisses you a lot does he?”
 
“Possibly,” said Ianto walking in behind her, “considering what just happened to me by the coffee machine.  Someone goosed me.”
 
Gwen looked at them both with suspicion and batted at her ear as if there was a fly.  “What makes you think it was Owen?”
 
“It felt like Owen,” Jack said and Ianto nodded.
 
“And you know how Owen kisses how?” Gwen said, swatting at her ear again.
 
“It just felt like him somehow,” Jack said, “a sort of smell or taste that wasn’t really there but was still Owen.”
 
“Well that made a lot of sense,” Gwen grumbled.
 
“So it doesn’t feel like Owen is blowing on your ear right now?” Ianto said.
 
Gwen’s eyes widened and she spun around to stare at nothing.  “What’s going on, how can it be Owen?”
 
“I don’t know,” Jack said, “but the more I thought it was him the more real it felt.”  
 
“So if we believe in him he’s going to become real?” Gwen said disbelieving.
 
Jack laughed suddenly remembering another ‘believe in fairies’ moment, knowing neither doctor would appreciate the comparison.  He felt a ghostly scrape of teeth nip at his jaw.
 
“Why did Owen kiss you?” Gwen asked suddenly.
 
“I think he chose ways that would guarantee getting our attention,” Ianto said.
 
“Now we have to figure out what it is, why he’s here and if we can communicate with him.” Jack said, mobilising them.  He received a firmer kiss for the suggestion.  “As silly as what you said might sound Gwen, I think you’re right.  We have to believe him into existence.  Ianto, I need readings from this area, see if we can pick up anything.  Gwen, talk to him.”
 
“What?”
 
“Talk to Owen, see if it makes his presence more real.  I’ll let you know if it’s working,” Jack added as he felt small puffs of air against the side of his neck.
 
Gwen looked around helplessly at the room.  “If you’re really here Owen um… we miss you and Tosh… um did you know about Tosh, is she there with you, did she move on?”
 
Jack felt sadness and frustration and knew that they weren’t just his emotions.  “He knows,” he said shortly.
 
Ianto returned with a scanner and started checking the area.  “There is something here,” he said, “it looks similar to the energy we recorded from the glove that brought him back, only different.”
 
“Different how?” Jack asked.
 
“It also looks like Rift energy,” Ianto explained.  “It’s strongest near you Jack.”
 
“Why are you kissing Jack and goosing Ianto?” Gwen said with a frown, “You’re not that way inclined, well you never seemed to be, you know… before when we you know…”
 
Jack felt a brush of a hand somewhere rather more intimate than before and resisted jumping.  “I think he was always flexible, and he’s a brat.”  The hand squeezed and he did jump.
 
“You didn’t just hire me for my brilliance now did you?”
 
“No, you’re also a stubborn bastard,” Jack said.
 
“You can hear me?” the voice was right in front of Jack.
 
“Loud and clear,” Jack said with a smile.
 
“Loud and clear what?” Gwen looked at Jack in confusion.
 
“Did you hear him?” Jack asked Ianto.
 
“I thought I heard something,” Ianto said, “and there was definitely a spike in the energy readings.”
 
“Come closer to me,” Jack said.
 
“Gwen has the psychic ability of a brick doesn’t she?”
 
“I do not,” Gwen said standing next to Jack.
 
“You’re just not that good at it,” Ianto added.
 
“I’ll show you what I’m good at,” Owen said.
 
If Jack squinted he could see the outline of Owen standing between them and he knew he was crying.  Tentatively Jack reached out but he only touched air.
 
“I can sort of touch you if I concentrate,” Owen said, “it appears I have been downgraded from zombie to ghost.  You would be amazed just how few ghosts there are around here actually, I was expecting more.”
 
“It really is you,” Gwen said through her own tears.
 
“For my sins,” Owen said, “it’s good to see you all and be heard by you.”
 
“Do you know why you’re still here?” Jack said.
 
“I changed the code to the alien autopsy bay and you don’t have the code,” Owen said, rolling his eyes, “how the bloody hell would I know?  There wasn’t any angel type bugger telling me my time wasn’t up yet or offering me a second chance that’s for sure.  My body rotted away before my eyes and I was still there.”
 
“How did you get back to us?”  Jack could see the pain in Owen’s eyes at what he had seen and the loneliness he couldn’t fix.
 
“I was thinking about you all and then I was here, you couldn’t see or hear me, but I kept trying.”
 
Jack looked up at Ianto who was studying the scanner.
 
“As far as I can judge Owen is somehow tied to the energy readings.  They seem to be quite steady now,” Ianto said.
 
“Great, once again an unknown energy signal is tying me to this place,” Owen said with a huff.  He was almost completely visible now and Gwen gave in to the urge to reach out.  “Hey,” Owen objected when Gwen’s hand poked through his body.
 
Gwen yanked her hand back.  “That is totally weird.”
 
“You’re telling me,” Owen said staring at where her hand had been.  “So what happens now?”
 
“I guess we get to keep you for a bit longer,” Jack said.
 
“I guess you do,” Owen said.
 
It was a strange existence and hard to get used to for all of them, but nobody could find it in themselves to regret his existence.  No matter how much he annoyed Ianto, perved at Gwen in the shower, and groped Jack randomly when he was bored.  He just wouldn’t have been Owen if he didn’t make his presence felt, dead or not.
 
END

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