I started rewatching Torchwood and now I've fallen headfirst back into the fandom. Here's a bit of Janto New Year's Eve fluff that just begged to be written.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood.
"Jack," Gwen asks in the wheedling voice that means she wants something, "do you think I could have the rest of the night off?"
"Plans with Rhys?" Jack asks, waggling his eyebrows teasingly.
Gwen flushes a little. "Well, it's New Year's Eve," she replies. "Rhys got us reservations to a nice restaurant, and we were hoping to see a film after."
"Well, since Torchwood ruined Christmas, I guess I should give you New Year's Eve off," Jack agrees.
Gwen frowns. "You didn't ruin Christmas," she counters, but it's weak. "It wasn't Torchwood's fault. We had to stop those aliens. We couldn't just let an invasion force arrive freely because it was a holiday."
Jack makes a face. Christmas invasions are normally in London, happening with an eerie sort of clockwork, but it was Cardiff's turn this year. At least the invasion force was small, and considering the warning Jack sent back with the one survivor, it's unlikely that more will show up.
"Take the night off, my treat," Jack tells Gwen. "Have fun with Rhys."
Gwen beams. "Thanks, Jack."
"Hey, Gwen?" Jack calls as Gwen goes to leave his office. "Is New Year's Eve traditionally a romantic holiday?"
"Well..." Gwen frowns. "For some people, yeah. Do you not celebrate it?"
"I haven't really celebrated since the new millennium," Jack replies. Gwen, of course, has no idea why. Jack doubts anyone does, except maybe Ianto, who does seem to know everything, just like he always claims.
"They say it's good luck to kiss when the clock strikes midnight," Gwen offers. She grins. "And I don't think Ianto has plans."
"Go home to Rhys," Jack scolds playfully. Gwen laughs as she leaves the office.
For the past seven years, ever since Alex shot everyone in the Hub, Jack has rung in the new year by drinking alone in his bunker. He's careful to maintain a balance between being drunk enough that he doesn't think about Alex while still staying just sober enough to be aware if there's a Rift alert. Luckily, he's never had to deal with one on New Year's Eve. He's not sure how he would manage to deal with one while at the level of intoxication he usually reaches.
But maybe he can do something different this year. If New Year's Eve is a romantic holiday, like Gwen said, then maybe Ianto is expecting him to do something to celebrate. Jack has no idea what to do, but he's certain he can figure out something.
"Jack," Owen complains the second Jack comes out of his office. "How come Gwen gets to go home early when the rest of us have to stay here?"
"Do you have plans, Owen?" Jack teases.
"Could've made them if I knew I'd have a chance of getting the night off," Owen retorts.
"I'm sure you hand can be flexible," Ianto murmurs. Tosh lets out a squeak of laughter before clamping her mouth shut.
"Take the night, then, Owen," Jack offers. "You too, Tosh. I'll man the Rift."
"What about Ianto?" Tosh asks, frowning.
"I don't think the Rift is the only thing Jack will be manning tonight," Owen mutters.
"I can still shoot your other shoulder, you know," Ianto threatens, but Jack doesn't think he's ever heard Ianto say that and actually mean it.
"Am I wrong?" Owen retorts.
Tosh grabs the back of Owen's shirt and drags him towards the door. "Thanks for the night off, Jack. Have a nice night, you two."
"I'm sure they will," Owen replies, just loud enough for Jack and Ianto to hear. Tosh pushes him through the cog door and closes it behind them.
"So." Ianto looks up at Jack, a slight smile on his lips. "It seems as if we have the Hub to ourselves."
"Let's go out," Jack replies immediately. Ianto blinks. "I can redirect all alerts to my wrist strap," Jack adds. "We can go to a restaurant or something."
Ianto looks a bit dubious. "Where were you thinking?"
"There's a new place on the Quay that's supposed to have good fish and chips," Jack offers.
Ianto arches an eyebrow. "Jack, I was the one who told you about that place."
Jack blinks. It was Ianto who told him, wasn't it? He and Tosh went together a few nights back, and Ianto recommended the restaurant to Jack. "Well, I haven't tried it yet," Jack replies stubbornly. "Should we go?"
"If you're sure we can leave the Hub," Ianto agrees.
Jack presses a few buttons on his wrist strap. "There we go," he announces. "All alerts are redirected to my wrist strap. But the Rift's been pretty quiet since Christmas. I don't think we'll have anything to deal with."
"Famous last words," Ianto mutters, but he smiles as he says it. "Shall we lock up?"
"We shall," Jack agrees, grabbing his coat from his office and making sure everything is locked up. Ianto leans down to grab his own coat and winces.
"Are your ribs still hurting?" Jack asks, concerned. Stopping the Christmas invasion wasn't easy on any of them. Ianto's slight limp has gone away, but the ginger movements with his torso remain.
"Broken ribs take more than a week to heal," Ianto replies, grabbing his coat. Jack takes it from him and holds it out, letting Ianto put his arms in one at a time.
"Bit of a role reversal," Ianto remarks.
"It shouldn't always be you taking care of me," Jack replies, pulling the coat properly around Ianto's shoulders.
"I don't mind taking care of you," Ianto replies.
"And I don't mind taking care of you," Jack counters.
Ianto smiles as Jack leads him out of the Hub. They walk over to the Quay, heading to the new restaurant. When they arrive, Jack pulls out Ianto's chair for him like a proper gentleman and beams when Ianto laughs. Maybe New Year's Eve isn't such a bad holiday after all.
And then, just as they're finishing up the fish and chips, Jack's wrist strap beeps.
"Rift alert?" Ianto asks with a sigh.
"And the night was going so well," Jack replies. He checks the alert and makes a face. "It's in Splott."
"Charming," Ianto deadpans. "You can go get the SUV, I'll pay for the food. Pick me up in ten?"
"Are you sure you're okay for this?" Jack counters worriedly.
Ianto nods. "I'm fine. Get the car."
As Jack leaves, he sees Ianto flag down a passing waiter. The ensuing conversation happens after he's already outside. If Jack knows Ianto, and he likes to think that he does, the bill will be payed, with a good tip, by the time Jack gets back.
It only takes a few minutes to get back to the Hub and grab the keys to the SUV. Jack makes sure everything from the computers is redirecting properly to his wrist strap and then drives back to the restaurant. The car has everything they could possibly need, or so he hopes. If there's anything they need that's not in the car already, then they're probably doomed.
Ianto is waiting outside the restaurant and climbs into the car the second Jack pulls up. "Do we have any details on the alert?" he asks.
"Something came through, looks alive," Jack reports, turning the SUV around and driving towards Splott. "I hope it doesn't take too long."
"At least we got to finish our food," Ianto offers. "I just hope it's not another invasion. One per month is enough for me."
Jack checks the clock. It's quarter of eight right now, so as long as this Rift alert doesn't take too long, it shouldn't mess with Jack's plans too much. Not that he has much in the way of plans, but Gwen said that people kiss at midnight, so Jack intends to do that. Everything else he's making up as he goes along.
Jack is able to track down where the Rift opened fairly easily, but when they get to the spot, there's nothing there. "Are you sure something came through?" Ianto asks.
"Positive," Jack replies, scowling at his wrist strap. "And it was alive. I think it went this way." He points further down the alley.
Ianto opens up the back of the SUV and pulls out a bag. "Shall we chase it down, then?"
Jack grins as he catches the stun gun Ianto throws at him. "Let's go," he replies, and he takes off running.
Whatever came through the Rift is leaving a trail of Rift energy for Jack's wrist strap to follow. Jack hopes they catch up to it before the energy dissipates. Ianto is only a few steps behind him, his stun gun at the ready.
"Here!" Jack shouts as he turns down a narrow alleyway. At the end of it is their missing alien, blocked in by the dead end. It has four eyes that flicker nervously from Jack to Ianto, and then back to Jack again.
"Do you recognize it?" Ianto asks warily.
"No," Jack replies. He takes a step forward. "Hey," he says to the alien in a voice he hopes it finds reassuring. "I know this is all pretty confusing, but-"
The alien moves then, barreling into Ianto and shoving him to the ground. Ianto's eyes go wide with pain as the alien runs, and Jack doesn't think twice before dropping to the ground next to Ianto.
"Are you okay?" he demands.
"Just my ribs," Ianto pants. "I'll be fine, just go after it!"
Jack presses a quick kiss to Ianto forehead and then sprints after the alien. He doesn't know if it's really dangerous or just scared, but either way, he'll probably end up having to use his stun gun on it. They can deal with it tomorrow, in the Hub without the risk of innocent bystanders getting involved. For now, they just need to contain it.
Jack manages to corner the alien again within a few minutes. "It's alright," he tells it gently. "I don't want to hurt you."
The alien runs at Jack and Jack hits it with the stun gun. It drops, thankfully. There have been a few aliens that haven't been affected by the stun gun at all, and those are always the most difficult to subdue. Then comes the fun task of dragging the body back to the SUV. By the time Jack and the alien get there, Ianto is waiting.
"Ready to go?" he asks as Jack heaves the body into the back.
"Ready if you are," Jack agrees, climbing into the driver's seat. He gives Ianto a lingering kiss, then he starts the car.
They're almost back at the Hub when Jack's wrist strap beeps again. "Another one?" Ianto sighs.
"I guess the Rift is done being quiet," Jack replies, looking at the details of the alert. "It's in Northcliffe, so we might as well drop this guy back at the Hub first, since we'll be passing it anyway."
"Is this one alive?" Ianto asks.
Jack frowns down at the alert. "Don't think so," he replies. "I can't be sure, but I think it's just some space junk."
"Then I suppose we can leave it for a few minutes while we get our alien friend into a cell," Ianto replies.
"That's what I just said we should do," Jack replies, frowning.
"And I'm just agreeing with you," Ianto replies in a placating tone. Jack has the distinct feeling he's being made fun of, but he ignores it. He'll get Ianto back later.
Jack hauls the alien into a cell while Ianto checks the details of the Rift alert. "I can't see any details on CCTV, but there doesn't seem to be any activity in the area," he tells Jack. "So no one should get to whatever came through the Rift before we do."
"Good," Jack replies. He offers Ianto his elbow. "Shall we?"
"You're ridiculous," Ianto mutters, but he takes the proffered arm and walks with Jack back to the SUV. They climb in and head to Northcliffe. Jack checks the clock surreptitiously. It's a few minutes until nine, so he should still have plenty of free time before midnight to spend with Ianto, even with this second Rift alert.
When they get to the spot in Northcliffe, all that's there is a small box. Jack picks it up, studying it with a frown.
"No idea what it is," he remarks. "Do you?" He reaches out to hand the box to Ianto, but as he's passing it over, one of them must press a button or activate something, because the box beeps and the whole world goes white.
Jack blinks into awareness a moment later. He's lying on the ground, Ianto is lying a few feet from him, and the box is on the ground again, looking perfectly innocent. He checks his wrist strap and groans.
"What is it?" Ianto asks, sitting up and rubbing his head.
"We just jumped through time," Jack replies. Ianto just sighs, as if that's a normal occasion. With Torchwood, Jack supposes it sort of is. "Not sure how long, but we didn't go far."
Ianto gingerly picks up the box. "We can check at the SUV," he replies. "Still no idea what this is?"
Jack shrugs. "Clearly some sort of time travel device, but I have no idea beyond that."
"I'll look in the Archives when we get back to the Hub," Ianto replies. "Come on, let's go."
When they reach the SUV, Ianto tucks the box away and then climbs into the passenger seat. "Oh, it's nearly midnight," he remarks. "We must just have jumped a few hours."
"Nearly midnight?" Jack repeats, his eyes going wide. Trust the Rift to ruin his plan even when he thought it was foolproof.
"Look." Ianto points at the clock on his PDA, which goes down to the millisecond. "Five seconds to go until midnight. Four, three, two, one- Mmph!"
It's probably the most inelegant kiss Jack has ever given. Ianto's eyes are wide at first, but then he relaxes into it, kissing Jack back. "What was that for?" he pants when Jack finally pulls away.
"It's midnight," Jack replies, suddenly unsure. "I thought- Gwen told me it's good luck to kiss at midnight."
Ianto blinks. "I thought you didn't celebrate New Year's Eve. That's what you said last year."
Jack has absolutely no memory of discussing New Year's Eve with Ianto at any point, but the conversation probably happened anyway and he just forgot. "I normally don't," he agrees.
"After what happened in 2000, no one could blame you," Ianto adds.
Jack huffs out a weak laugh. "I figured you'd know about that somehow," he remarks.
"I know everything, Jack," Ianto replies dismissively.
"You didn't know I was planning on having a nice New Year's Eve with you," Jack counters.
Ianto smiles softly. "I suppose I didn't," he agrees.
"Although..." Jack checks the clock again. "It's officially the new year now."
"We can still celebrate," Ianto replies with a grin. "I don't need to check the Archives immediately, and I think we might still have some champagne in the kitchen." His grin turns wicked. "And maybe some whipped cream as well."
"I like the way you think," Jack replies, kissing Ianto again. "Is it a date, then?"
"I'd say it is," Ianto agrees. "Back to the Hub?" He leans in and whispers. "We might have chocolate sauce too."
Jack practically floors the gas pedal, driving much faster than he's supposed to back towards Cardiff. "Back to the Hub," he agrees.
There are fireworks exploding over the bay, lighting the sky up with bright colors. "Happy New Year, Jack," Ianto says, leaning over to give Jack a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Happy New Year, Ianto," Jack replies with a grin. "Let's hope it's a good year."
Ianto looks out at the fireworks. "I think it will be," he decides. "I hope so, at least."
"Hey." Jack lays a hand over Ianto's. "Whatever happens, we'll face it together."
Ianto's smile is brighter than the fireworks in front of them. "Yeah," he agrees, "we will."