The wind coming from the bay was unusually harsh, but Jack had been told that Welsh weather never did anything anyone told it to do, so even calling it unusual didn't make sense. Not that he was intimately familiar with Welsh weather, or even Wales. He wasn't. He'd only been there for a day, and most of that day he'd spent in his hotel, sleeping off the jet-lag.
But he had friends who'd used to live here—here being Cardiff—and they'd sent him a list of attractions before he'd flown in.
But Jack, despite being a world traveller, was a very disorganized man. It was his friends' fault of course, and that they'd not only neglected to text him the list but had expected him to keep hold of the paper copy.
So, on an extraordinarily windy day, Jack found himself on the Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff, Wales, facing the Millennium Centre and trying with all his might to remember what else had been on the list. Sadly, this was all he could remember, but judging from the number of tourists, it was a popular place.
Jack's knowledge of popular places amounted to this: they had information about other popular places. So, like the experienced world traveller he was, Jack set off in search of the nearest tourist office or information booth.
Ten minutes of searching later, Jack found himself ambling down a staircase. He was a on a dock, right next to the water. It was beautiful but cold, and Jack pulled his coat—a vintage RAF greatcoat he'd gotten in London several years ago—tighter around himself. He took a few pictures and was just prepared to go back when something caught his eye.
At the end of the dock, built into what was probably the Plass, was a small shop. A closer look showed it to be a tourist office, an Open sign cheerily hanging in one of the windows.
Jack put his phone away and approached. The storefront was slightly bare and bleak, but the lights inside were on, letting out a warm glow, so Jack supposed it was just the secluded location that gave the office its desolate atmosphere. But he hadn't even gone inside yet. Jack shook his head and pushed the door open, listening to the soft ring of the bell and looking around.
There was a single desk near the wall, currently unoccupied but not completely empty; stacks of postcards, souvenir books, and information packets were neatly placed in strategic locations; bright but not blinding lights hung from the ceiling and unlit fairy lights decorated the windows.
"How can I help you?"
Jack turned to the source of the voice. Soft, male, and with a soft Welsh accent, its owner wearing a suit and smiling warmly at him. He was tall, around Jack's height, with short dark hair, long, neat sideburns, and blue eyes. He'd come from the side of the office, from behind a beaded curtain, and was making his way towards Jack, clearly expecting an answer.
Jack's mouth caught up to his brain when the man stopped in front of him. "Hi."
"Hello." Clearly amused, the man was still expectant and the perfect vision of polite customer service.
"Can you point me towards some points of interest? Please?" Jack rubbed the back of his head. "I had a list, but I misplaced it."
"Of course." Giving Jack another smile, the man plucked several brochures off a rack. "What sort of things did you have in mind?"
Jack shrugged. "I'm afraid I have no idea."
"First time in Wales, then?"
"Yeah." He watched as the man ruffled the papers. "Give me any exotic location, I'll explore it all I can. Asia, South America… Europe, even. But I've never known what to do with myself in the UK, you know?"
The man laughed. "I'm afraid my adventurous world traveller side has yet to be unleashed."
"Oh, you'd love it!" Jack enthused; it was his passion, after all. He didn't know the man, but he was easy to talk to, even if it was probably just pointless customer service small talk. "Well, maybe you wouldn't, but I don't think anyone can't."
"I'll take your word for it." Another smile. If Jack didn't know better, he'd say that the man was flirting. But maybe he didn't know better, and that was a very welcome thought; some people he felt like he just clicked with. "Now, what sort of thing would you like?"
"I don't know." Jack wasn't sure if he was guilty or amused. "My friends made the list for me, so I thought I'd follow it and I didn't take anything more than a small look at it before, and now I'm just lost."
The man laughed, bright and clear. "That's quite a predicament."
"I know." Jack pouted, then his face lit up. "Hey, you're Welsh!"
"That's a miraculous observation." His tone stone-dry, the man raised an amused eyebrow.
"No, not in a bad way." Jack waved his hand. "I mean that you can tell me where to go."
"That's what I was about to do."
"No, not like that. I mean personally."
A second eyebrow joined the first.
"I mean show me where I should go. You know, places you like, facts you find interesting, things you enjoy. I always like the personal aspect of travelling, but I've lost mine." Jack was flirting now, and he knew it. The man in front of him was beautiful, even in his incredulity. Jack gave his best pleading pout. "Please?"
"Yeah, alright." The man's eyes lit up and he widened his smile, losing the careful professionalism for a moment before sticking out his hand. "Ianto."
"What?"
"My name. Ianto. Ianto Jones."
"Oh." Jack grasped the offered hand. A beautiful name for a beautiful man. "Jack Harkness."
"Come on, then." Ianto beckoned him closer to the desk. "Let's find you some destinations."
Jack wasn't haunted by delusions of grandeur. He'd grown up travelling between the US and the UK, and spent the majority of his adult life doing the same. He frequented remote parts of the planet and had no permanent home. He had enough money to allow such a lifestyle, at any rate, his father having gotten much of his fortune from stocks. Jack himself wasn't a businessman, doing odd jobs to get money he didn't need.
Some would call him frivolous, and they would be right, but he had a heart of gold and an unmatched thirst for adventure that he'd picked up during his stint in the RAF, but that was neither here nor there.
He wasn't a romantic or a dreamer, not really, believing in realism most of the time. But he had eyes, and when a gorgeous man was smiling at him… well, Jack considered himself an equal opportunity fellow. He wasn't one for long-lasting romance—it wasn't practical, and it always ended in tears—but the same couldn't be said for casual hookups or even international flings.
(Never mind the fact that he dressed like a '40s film star and wanted to eventually ride out into the sunset. It just didn't happen in real life, and if he gave into the desire, he'd become blind to its impracticality).
He watched Ianto, leaned over his desk, flipping through the brochures and pointing out locations. Millennium Centre, Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff Castle, boat tours, history museums, libraries, parks, restaurants, cinemas…
Jack was used to traipsing around remote villages and rainforests, with the occasional archeological dig or ancient location. Hell, even cobblestoned European villages. Cardiff was a modern city. It had its own historical significance, of course, but he was lost. He… he needed a tour guide.
As Ianto straightened out, intending to ask him something, Jack grinned at him. "Not to insult my own intelligence, because any insult would be unfounded, but I doubt I'll be able to get around myself and get all the historical and cultural significance I'd love to get. So… d'you want to come with?"
Again, Ianto's eyebrows did an elaborate little dance before settling on an uneven, surprised position. "What?"
"You heard me. If you didn't, you would be so surprised." Jack folded his hands together. "You're nice, knowledgeable, and you seem pretty passionate about this. So how about it? Let that adventurous world traveller side of you free?"
"I…" He looked up and closed his eyes, considering the offer—or wondering if Jack was insane, which he wasn't—before looking back at Jack. "You're sure about this?"
The last time Jack had been so interested in someone, he'd been in Paris and she'd been a fan dancer. "I'm positive."
Quick note: this fic is complete... kind of. It was supposed to be a one-shot, but it's not. It's almost done, and getting beta-d, so I think I'll finish a chapter every few days. :D