A/N: Hello there. This is my first published fanfiction story. I am now at the mercy of the internet. Please be gentle (talking to internet).
Disclaimer: Torchwood belongs to RTD and BBC, I do not own any of the characters mentioned below.
"Hey Ianto, want to go out tonight?"
It was a simple enough question, and Jack expected a simple answer, preferably a 'yes'. He was not expecting the man to half ignore him as he quickly tidied up his workstation.
"Ah, well, sorry Jack, but I'm actually busy tonight…" Ianto didn't even glance in Jack's direction as he grabbed his coat off the table.
"That's ok, don't worry about it. Some other time?"
"Yeah, sure."
Jack was curious about his Archivist's distracted behaviour, and he stared at his back as he exited the Hub. It wasn't like Ianto to brush him off, especially when he was offering a date.
Jack's curiosity led him to Tosh's workstation where she had left on her computer to monitor the Rift. It only took him a couple seconds to access the CCTV that gave him a live feed of the dark parking lot beside the tourist office. Gwen was still there, standing beside her SUV.
She was digging in her purse, searching for keys by the look of it. Ianto entered the frame and quickly strode over to his car. Gwen must've said something because he looked over and moved closer. They talked for about half a minute before he waved and departed.
Gwen looked irritated about something and she stamped her foot then walked out of the frame.
Mysterious indeed. Jack absently tapped his knuckles on the desk and he tried to figure it out. The loud alarm that indicated that someone was entering the Hub grabbed Jack's attention.
Gwen stomped in with an unimpressed look on her face.
"Hey Gwen, what's up?" he called across the gap between them.
"It's the third time I've forgotten my bloody keys this week. Damn annoying!" she huffed in one breath.
Going over to her desk, a jingle indicated she had found the offending item. Jack realized this was a good opportunity to figure out his Archivist's strange behaviour.
"Hey Gwen, before you go, can I ask, did you see Ianto on the way in?" he said as innocently as possible.
"Yeah, met him in the parking lot. Why?"
"Did he mention any plans this evening?"
"Umm, yeah actually he did," she said, smiling thoughtfully, "told me he forgot to set his VCR timer to the correct time today. His program got shifted a half hour due to some TV special or something. He was in a big hurry."
Jack was speechless. That was why Ianto was busy tonight? A TV show?
"Is that all? I promised to make Rhys supper so…"
"Yeah, that's all. Thanks. Goodnight."
Gwen left and Jack sat in Tosh's chair, all alone in the darkened Hub.
"I'm lower priority than a TV show." He thought to himself woefully. "You can't give up Harkness. You'll get him next time, just wait."
Captain Jack Harkness, defeated by some unknown television show, retreated to his bunk, where he promised himself that he would find redemption.