Over A Coffee Cup
Yeah, I know that this is a complete deviation from the norm, but I'm rather taken with unrequited!Andy/Ianto... So please don't kill me – I just have a block on Splash that I'm fighting to get through atm...
Disclaimer: I own nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Nothing. Big fat nought.
I see him whenever they come out on their investigations. He's always one step behind the Captain, his perfectly-cut suit accentuating his lithe figure, tie and shirt colour-coordinated.
He never sees me. Nobody sees me, PC Andy; they always see Gwen bloody Cooper with her big doe eyes and gappy teeth, but to them I am invisible. Mr Invisible Man.
He'll never want me. Why would he, when he has Captain Charming wrapped around his little finger? I'm just a normal cop out on the beat, uniform too big and pay too small; what could I offer him that he doesn't already have in plenty?
But one time, I pluck up the courage to offer him a coffee, after a weevil chase that ended up in the Bay. I smile tentatively and hold out the cup, crossing my fingers behind my back and hoping that I don't make a fool of myself.
He takes it with a polite smile and takes a sip. His eyebrow quirks in surprise. "Not bad," he says, as if he had been expecting something far worse. "Ever considered working in a coffee shop?"
I laugh, hoping that I don't sound too smitten. "Couldn't leave the force."
He grins and laughs too. "Same here," he says. "I think the team would die of caffeine-deprivation if I ever left."
"Not to mention drowning in paperwork," Captain Harkness adds, coming up behind Ianto and resting a possessive hand on his shoulder. He throws me a suspicious glance, but obviously deems me no threat. They never do. "We need to get back to the Hub – Gwen says that there's some odd readings coming through from Pontypridd."
Ianto gives me a quick smile and hands back the cup. "Sorry, Andy," he says apologetically.
My heart jumps – he knows my name! – but I mask it quickly, fighting the urge to grin like a loon. "No problem," I say. "Fancy meeting up in the pub sometime?"
His eyes meet mine, and I pretend to myself that there's real regret in the jay-feather blue depths. "I don't think I can," he says carefully. "We're really short-staffed at the moment."
I nod, not trusting myself to speak with the lump stuck in my throat. Idiot. Why the hell did you suggest that?
"Nice talking to you," the Captain says with a brilliant smile that doesn't meet his eyes – they remain like cold chips of ice in his perfect face. "Ianto, we really have to go." He's taken – so watch it!
I force a smile and step back, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow me. "Oh. Okay. Right. I'll just..." I gesture weakly to the police car on the other side of the road, and scurry away, feeling their gazes burning into my back as I jump into the driver's seat and start the ignition.
I still see him, these days, out on their investigations, always one step behind the Captain, suits perfectly pressed. I just make sure he never sees me – to him, I'm invisible. There's no need to make a bigger fool of myself than I already have done.
But I won't ever forget that warm smile and our conspiratorial chat over a coffee cup.
Reviews are really nice, and help me break through the writer's block... (at least, that's what I like to tell myself!)