I don't own Torchwood or its characters.
If you've read my other Torchwood story, this has nothing to do with it. It's set…somewhere before the Reset episode in Season 2. After my CoE fix-it story, I plan on completely ignoring CoE. It was a very good season, but I'm too hooked on my favorite couple to acknowledge it quite yet. I'm not knocking it as a season, just…living in denial. Don't judge me! :P
Alright, a few warnings. This chapter doesn't contain much that would deserve an M rating, but later chapters will. I tend to write some violent scenes into my stories, as I'm rather a sick puppy who enjoys beating the crap out of her favorite characters.
Last but not least. Please review, good or bad! Reviews motivate me, so if you'd like to read more, please please please review. Feel free to tell me off for missing something, either way, I'd love to hear what you think. Alright, on to the story!
TW
Ianto pulled his shirt on, buttoning it quickly. Jack was laying on the bed, watching him in awe. Ianto wore so many layers of clothing, and every time Jack watched him dress, he was shocked at how quickly and efficiently he could dress himself. It would've taken Jack an hour to look that…orderly. Ianto ran his fingers through his still-damp hair. Jack watched as he straightened his tie and buttoned one of the buttons on his jacket, quickly running his hands over his suit, looking down to make sure everything was in order. Ianto had moved some of his things into Jack's "cellar", as Ianto liked to call it. Jack had raised his eyebrow when he'd seen Ianto first bring in the small bag of personal items and the garment bag containing a couple suits. "Shut up, Jack," he'd snapped. "I'm tired of waking up an hour early just to go home and change." Jack had chuckled, secretly pleased that Ianto had felt comfortable enough with him to perform such a small but important step in any relationship.
Jack sat up, reaching towards Ianto, grabbing his arm. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Ianto's face held a tiny bit of humor. "What is that, sir?" Jack always liked it when he called him sir.
"Got dressed so…" Jack growled. He moved to stand, and Ianto laughed, quickly climbing up the ladder, just avoiding Jack's hands.
He called down the entrance. "The others will be here soon, Jack." His voice changed, becoming the Ianto he was outside of Jack's bedroom. "I assume you'd like coffee at the meeting, sir?" He could see Jack's defeated face at the bottom of the ladder looking up at him, and cracked a smile.
Jack mumbled to himself, heading towards the shower. "I'd better have some hot water left!" he shouted towards the cellar entrance. He was rewarded with Ianto's reply. "You can punish me later, sir!" Jack smiled. He wouldn't mind a cold shower, then.
TW
Ianto walked into the conference room, carrying a tray laden with coffees. Jack hadn't arrived yet, and the three Torchwood members stopped talking immediately when Ianto opened the door.
He hesitated, knowing something was up, but began passing out coffees, realizing that they'd tell him whenever they felt like it. Tosh, surprisingly, was the first to pluck up her courage. "Ianto, we've got a question for you." Ianto raised his eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. That was all the encouragement she needed. "So…you're the only one of us that's ever been down the hatch in Jack's office. What's it like?"
"Before you go getting any ideas, we want to know what's down there, NOT what you do down there," Owen jumped in.
Ianto looked extremely serious as he pulled out his chair to sit, but they could see the twinkle in his eye. "Sorry, classified I'm afraid."
The two girls groaned and Owen sipped on his coffee uncaringly. Jack pushed the door open, his coat billowing behind him as he strode over to his spot at the head of the table. "Alright, let's get this over with. Updates everyone?"
The team proceeded to go over all their discoveries this week. Ianto listened attentively, even when Gwen threw in her contributions, building them up to make them seem more than they actually were. They weren't exactly the best of friends, and Ianto had a feeling it had to do with her feelings for Jack. He didn't understand her. She was engaged to Rhys, had cheated on him with Owen, and now she was jealous of Ianto's relationship with Jack. He brought himself away from his thoughts, and back to the people around the table. They were all staring at him.
Gwen resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Your turn," she stated simply. Ianto cringed. He hated when she did this to him. She would purposely pick weeks when he'd spent all his time as the Tea Boy or manning the Tourist Information office to single him out, knowing he had nothing to contribute other than hours on end, cleaning up their messes and feeding them. Unappreciated house-wife came to mind.
They were still staring at him. "Working on a new coffee blend." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. Tosh looked excited, and Owen rolled his eyes. Gwen smirked, and Jack nudged his foot underneath the table. It was meant to comfort Ianto, but he just turned crimson. Jack quickly dismissed the meeting, and everyone headed out towards their work areas. Ianto grabbed his tray and cleared the mess they'd left on the table, on the verge of losing his calm, collected exterior.
Jack paused at the door, turning to face Ianto. "Want me to talk to her?"
"Nope, not a child, Jack," was all Ianto managed to say. He heard the door close behind him, and set the tray down roughly. Most days were fine, he knew that the teasing the Torchwood team incessantly tortured him with was, in general, meant as a joke. Well, perhaps not Gwen's. But she wasn't all bad, she had her shining moments. He took a deep breath and picked up the tray, heading toward the door. It had started off as such a good day, too.
TW
Ianto had headed down to the archive room shortly after the meeting in the conference room. He spent hours down there every day, but his work never seemed to finish. Up until his arrival, Torchwood had never been very good about cataloging and storing their alien artifacts. Jack had asked him to take over the project the first day he'd arrived, and he remembered the first day he'd come down here. The room was cluttered, reminding him of the cave Aladdin found the lamp in. Random things with bits of paper attached, describing what Torchwood thought each item did. Jack kept all the truly dangerous things locked away in his office, so Ianto had no problem going through each item, one at a time, cataloging it and filing them away in the shelves and filing cabinets he had set up (by himself). Gwen's voice came over his radio and he groaned. "Ianto, there are tourists in the Information Office. Did you forget your scanner?" He slammed his clipboard down, realizing that the device that alerted him whenever someone was close to the Tourist Information office had been left upstairs.
He put his hand to his ear, switching on his earpiece. "Sorry, on my way." He was met with silence on the other end. Dashing up the stairs, taking them two at a time, he was soon on his way past Owen's station. He heard a request for coffee from Owen as he bent over some test results. "Right away," Ianto said politely. He heard similar requests from Tosh and Gwen, neither of them looking up to check on him. "No problem." He continued on up to the information office, wanting to kick himself. Why did he have to be so damned polite all the time! He walked through the beads, reaching down to straighten his suit. "May I help you?" There was a woman facing one of the pamphlet racks, casually flipping through them. She turned to face him, a smile on her lips. She appeared to be just like the other tourists who occasionally showed up. Jeans, low cut t-shirt…well, very low cut t-shirt, a hoodie zipped a little less than halfway up. If Ianto hadn't been with Jack, she'd have been just his type, he observed casually.
"You're certainly dressed up to work in a place like this." Her voice was slightly flirtatious and he couldn't help but smile at the attempt.
"Yes, well…" Bullocks, he couldn't think of anything to say. He cleared his throat. "May I help you?" he repeated, rather pathetically.
A light laugh crossed her lips and she stepped a little closer to him, within arms-length. "Sorry, didn't mean to catch you off guard." She stepped a tiny bit closer, doing her best to look alluring.
It was his turn to laugh, but it quickly died away as she took yet another step. He almost fell backward, rather undignified compared to his usual self. He was having an off-day, apparently. Her hands reached out and grabbed his suit, steadying him. "Thanks," he said quickly and did his best to step away. Her hands held him in place. She pulled him slightly closer to her, doing her best to look up at him through her lashes, trying to make him show any sign of interest. Nothing like this had happened to him in a long time and he panicked. Before he could think of something more appropriate to say, he shot out the first thing that came to his mind. "My boyfriend will be along shortly," was all he managed to stammer out.
"Shit, I had no idea," she looked shocked and immediately removed her hands from his jacket.
"Oh, it's okay. It's not like I have a sign on my forehead." He relaxed slightly. He didn't consider himself 'gay' per-say. Jack was the first man he'd ever been with, and he was fairly certain he would be the only man. Well, he supposed it didn't matter either way, just depended on the person. So what did that make him? Bi? He looked at the girl and smiled, but it probably came out as more of a grimace. He saw disappointment flash across her eyes, quickly followed by embarrassment.
"I'd better go," she stammered. Her face was bright red and she looked like she was about to break into tears from embarrassment. She turned and rushed out of the building. Ianto hesitated a moment, unsure what to do. He didn't feel right, letting her leave like that, but he wasn't sure what to say to her either. It had been a very awkward situation.
He stepped through the doorway, telling himself that if she was crying on the sidewalk, he'd kick himself. "Odd," he said as he saw her facing him about 30 feet away, a smile on her face. He heard someone move behind him, and before he could react a damp cloth was pressed over his mouth and nose, and strong arms were wrapped around his torso, holding his arms at his side. He smelled chemicals, his vision becoming more and more blurry. The last thing he saw was the woman, still standing there smiling at him. Damn good acting, he thought to himself. The world went blank.
TW
Let me know what you think, and if you're interested in the next chapter! Enjoy!
