Part One
"Ianto!" Gwen called, hurrying to catch up as he walked along the quay. He had hoped for a quiet half hour to himself; he certainly didn't need to go out for coffee and pastries, as it was rather cold and grey, but he'd felt the need for fresh air. And sugar. And caffeine, preferably with a fancy whip cream design on top. It had been a slow, almost boring morning, underlined with an oppressive feeling of anticipation in the Hub that was making him anxious. Holding back a sigh, he turned and waited for her.
"Something come up?" he asked. "End of the world starting before lunch today?"
"No, I thought you might like some company," she replied.
He nodded knowingly. "You want to talk."
She laughed and took his elbow. He didn't mind too much, as long as she didn't badger him about something, most likely his personal life. "You know me well," she said. "So, do you have any plans for tonight?" And there it was, Gwen Cooper sticking her nose in where it shouldn't be; he held back a grimace and shook his head.
"Just work," he replied. "Why, are you asking me out?"
"Sorry, I'm a married woman now," she laughed. "Although I'd invite you out with us if I thought you'd actually want to spend New Year's Eve with Banana Boat."
"Good call," he said with a wink. "I think I'll take my chances with the Weevils."
"Sometimes I'd prefer them too," she said, pulling a face. "But it'll be fine. We haven't seen him since the wedding."
"Oh, did he get himself arrested in Majorca this time?" Ianto suggested, referring to mess the man had got himself into with Spanish police before Gwen's wedding. She squeezed his arm.
"No, and be nice. Tosh said the Rift should be quiet for the next twenty-four hours, so Jack officially gave us all the night off, and tomorrow too unless something comes up. Maybe you could do something."
The hint was obvious, that he could do something with Jack. He ignored it. "Yes, I could use a night off to clean the flat, sort my laundry, and reorganize my sock drawer. You know, start the new year right."
"That's not what I meant," she said, shaking her head. "And honestly, I'm don't know whether you're joking or not." He shrugged but with a small smile, and she continued. "I meant maybe you could do something with Jack." He raised his eyebrows and smirked this time. "Not that, I mean go out and celebrate New Year's Eve. On a date. Like normal couples."
"We're not a couple," Ianto pointed out, and continued before she could protest, since she'd already tried to pry the details about him and Jack from Ianto several times since the wedding. "Nor are we particularly normal. Besides, it's a bit late to book anything even if I wanted to. All the good restaurants will be full."
"You can find something," she insisted. "Have Jack pull some strings, or Tosh work some computer magic."
"That's cheating," Ianto said. "And Jack already has plans, so someone needs to mind the Hub."
"Wait, what?" she said, looking startled. "What do you mean, he has plans? Doing what?"
"Don't know, didn't ask," Ianto replied shortly. It was how they handled most things in their pseudo-relationship: by not talking about it. Denial was a powerful tool in maintaining any sort of sanity in their uniquely dysfunctional situation.
"Come on, you must know what he's doing. He should be spending New Year's Eve with you!"
"It's just another night, Gwen," he said. He wished she would stop pointing out something he'd been trying not to think about for days. Yes, they went out on dates, and yes, he would have liked to go out with Jack and actually do something for New Year's Eve that didn't involve work, but they hadn't talked about it, preferring to ignore it as they usually did. As the date loomed nearer, Ianto hadn't known how to bring it up; now it was New Year's Eve, Jack had plans, and Ianto was alone.
"It's a chance to end one year and start the next properly," Gwen said. "Why don't you want to celebrate? Especially with Jack?"
"Because good riddance to this year and why would I want to welcome another one of the same?" he asked. She looked so startled that he felt bad, so he tried to explain. "It's only that...well, it wasn't a particularly good year, was it, what with Jack leaving us for months, my mother dying, Owen... And we're Torchwood, so what's the point of looking forward to another year of the same?" He wasn't sure if it was his sour mood speaking, or if he really felt that way; he hadn't given it much thought, always pushing it aside because most of the time he refused to think about the future.
Gwen frowned. "Ianto, you don't think Jack is—"
He cut her off. "No, not that, I'm saying in general. Who knows what will happen. For all we know, this could be the year it all ends."
She dropped her arm from his and tucked her hands into her pocket. "You're awfully depressing sometimes, you know that?"
"Just pragmatic," he replied.
"Pragmatic doesn't mean dark and hopeless," she said. "You should go out and have some fun tonight. Jack said we don't have to stick around the Hub, and that includes you. Especially if he's already got plans, the stupid prat."
He glanced at her in surprise and saw how concerned she was. In a way, she was right. If it was going to be quiet around the Hub, maybe there wasn't any reason for him to stay. And if Jack gave them the next day off, he didn't have to go home and clean either, since he'd been half serious when he'd answered Gwen; he could go out and enjoy himself, forget about Jack for the night, and clean the flat the next day. Taking her arm again, he nodded.
"You're right," he said. "Maybe this year needs a ringing farewell. My local's having a party, and most of the regulars will probably be there, so maybe I'll head over after work."
"You should," she said. "It actually sounds more fun than my night!"
It occurred to him that at least she would be with Rhys, but as he and Jack weren't really a couple, he pushed the thought aside and didn't say anything. They talked about other things and ran their errands, before returning to the Hub with the promised coffee and pastries.
While the Rift stayed quiet, the Weevils definitely didn't. Right after lunch they started getting calls about Weevils in the streets, sending everyone out to chase them back into the sewers so Cardiff could go about its merrymaking come midnight. Tosh and Ianto were driving back to the Hub after their second run when Tosh brought it up.
"So do you and Jack have any plans for tonight?" she asked, sounding nothing more than curious.
"Nope," he replied, hoping it ended there. "How about you?"
"Of course I don't have any plans with Jack," she laughed. "I figured you did!"
Ianto rolled his eyes. "I meant, are you doing anything later? For New Year's Eve?"
She turned away and faced out the window. "Owen's coming over. We're going to watch the most ridiculous sci-fi movies we can find and make fun of them all night."
Ianto smiled, glad she had plans, even if it was with Owen. "Sounds like fun. Put Independence Day on the list."
"It already is, right next to Starship Troopers," she laughed. They added a few more to the list before she stopped mid-sentence. "Hang on, you're deflecting. Why don't you have any plans for tonight?"
Ianto shrugged. "I thought about it this morning after Gwen convinced me the world wasn't going to end, but with the Weevils coming out in droves now, it might be better if someone stayed behind at the Hub."
"Ianto!" she exclaimed. "You shouldn't stay in while the rest of us go out. That's not fair."
"That's Torchwood," he replied, unable to hide the bitterness from his voice. He wasn't bitter, not exactly, but after talking with Gwen, he'd actually started to look forward to going out to the pub after dinner to ring in the new year. He'd been going for months, since he'd moved into a newer, nicer flat nearby, and had grown to enjoy the local crowd, even considering some of them friends. And though he'd joked about spending time with the Weevils instead of Banana Boat, he didn't look forward to being on call and rounding them up all night while everyone else kept their plans.
"That's still not fair," she said. "Besides, if it stays like this, we might all be working tonight."
"I hope not," Ianto murmured. "You all have something to do, after all."
She was quiet for a moment. "So were you and Jack planning to do something special tonight?"
He glanced sideways at her. "I told you, we didn't make any plans."
"Were you going to stay in? If the Weevils calm down, he could monitor the calls from your flat, you know. You don't have to stay there."
"Why does everyone assume we're doing something together tonight?" Ianto grumbled. "It's just another night."
"It's New Year's Eve," she said, looking confused. "And you're…well, you and Jack…" She trailed off, obviously unable to articulate anything about him and Jack. They kept whatever it was to themselves most of the time, but Ianto would have been hard pressed to finish the sentence himself.
"Exactly," Ianto replied, turning into the car park where they kept the SUV. "Jack already has plans, and I was going to spend the night at my local shooting pool, but someone should stay here. So it's fine."
He pulled into a parking space, but Tosh stopped him from leaving the car. "What's Jack doing?" she asked.
"I have no idea," Ianto replied, but she pierced with him one of her 'yes-you-do-so-give-it-up' looks. He sighed. "Fine. He's staying at the St. David. He did last year too, must be some sort of standing date or something."
She frowned at him. "Oh Ianto, I don't think he has another date, not on New Year's Eve. Not when he's with you."
"Tosh," Ianto started, fulling intending to protest that Jack wasn't 'with' him in any way, but she cut him off, wisely choosing not to press the Jack issue. Gwen would have pushed it, but Tosh knew when to stop.
"You should come over to mine," she said. "I'm sure Owen won't mind, and stuff it if he does. We can keep him from getting too morose. I have prosecco!"
He smiled, because that was their favorite drink to share together. Squeezing her hand, he nodded. "I'll think about it, but I don't want to interrupt your night. If things look good to leave, then maybe I'll stick with my original plan and have a few drinks."
"Good," she said. "Because if he's such a jerk that he didn't even ask you to join him on New Year's Eve at a posh hotel, then you should definitely go out and have a good time on your own."
"I hope the Weevils agree," Ianto replied. And he really did. He didn't want to chase Weevils while Jack did whatever he was planning on doing at one of the nicest hotels in town. On New Year's Eve. With someone else.
The Weevils didn't agree.
They had several more calls before it began to calm down. Ianto went out with Gwen, who surprisingly enough didn't badger him about his plans again. Of course, that might have been because they were too busy chasing multiple Weevils within walking distance of the Hub, and they were particularly fast and aggressive. Both of them took a few good hits, Gwen lamenting the state of her jeans, Ianto ruining yet another colored shirt. They limped back to the Hub, tired and out of breath, and threw themselves on the sofa before Owen chivvied them downstairs to clean them up.
Gwen went first and hobbled back upstairs to lie down on the sofa with an ice pack on her hip. Ianto let Owen clean the scratch on his neck; fortunately, it didn't need stitches, but he did put a rather large plaster over it, snickering when he stood back.
"Tell Harkness to be careful on that side," he said.
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Not a problem," he replied before he could stop himself. Owen snorted.
"Oh come on, you can't tell me you two aren't planning to get it on all night."
"No plans other than chasing Weevils," Ianto replied, hopping off the table. "Someone's got to make sure Cardiff is still standing for another year."
"And you two are the ones to do it?" Owen asked skeptically. "What, in between shags?"
"Jack's got plans," Ianto told him, walking away. "I wish everyone would stop assuming we're going to shag the night away. It's just another night."
"Hang on," said Owen, reaching out to snag his arm. "You're telling me Jack's going out on his own and sticking you with this place? Alone? On New Year's Eve? Because that's bullshit."
"Jack has plans, and since Gwen has plans and Tosh has plans and you have plans, I figured someone needs to stay here and protect the planet."
"Right. So you're playing the martyr tonight? Am I supposed to feel bad for you, then?"
Ianto shrugged and pulled away. "I didn't have any plans. Thought about heading to my local, that's about it."
Owen crossed his arms in front of him and frowned. "What's Jack doing if he's not doing you?"
"St. David, same as last year," Ianto replied.
"Oh, right," Owen said, nodding. "He does that every year. Has for years. Why aren't you going?"
"Because he didn't ask," Ianto snapped. "So why are you?"
"Because I'm morbidly curious," Owen replied. "Shouldn't you two be whooping it up in luxury to celebrate another glorious year with Torchwood?"
"As I told Gwen, I'm not sure what there is to celebrate," Ianto replied as he stomped up the stairs. "So if you're done, I'm going to go finish my paperwork and cross my fingers that the Weevils stay where they belong so I don't have to stick around here thinking about all the other things I could be doing."
"I can cover for you, you know," Owen called up to him. "If you wanted to—"
"It's fine, Owen," Ianto said wearily. "But thank you. Maybe if the Weevils stop running around, I'll stick with my original plan."
"Get soused at your local?" Owen suggested.
"Exactly."
"You could join me and Tosh," he offered. Ianto thought for a moment he'd stepped into an alternate universe; he shook his head and returned to his own more depressing one.
"No, you two have fun with your bad movie list. I'll be fine."
"Call if you get yourself arrested, then. We'll bail you out."
Ianto shook his head as he returned to his station. Jack and Tosh were still out on their Weevil chase. He double-checked to see if any more had popped up and was relieved to see that it was quiet; maybe that was the end of it. The Rift program was also predicting nothing for at least twenty-four hours. He hoped both the Weevils and the Rift stayed that way. Now more than anything he wanted to get out of the Hub and away from nosy coworkers constantly asking him about his plans for New Year's Eve, and in particular, his plans with Jack.
Because yes, he wanted to be with Jack, but Jack had plans, and those didn't include Ianto.
Author's Note:
A short two-shot for New Year's Eve, based on a line in the second part. Thank you for reading - conclusion on Saturday (I hope!)