Title: Once They're Up
Author: Harkpad02
Word Count: 596
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
"Ianto, I'm going for a walk. I need some fresh air."
Ianto calls out to Jack as he steps onto the lift, "Do you want some company? Not much going on right now."
"Okay, sure."
The men step off the invisible lift and draw their jacket collars closer to their necks; it's a crisp, grey day in Cardiff. The Plas is fairly empty, and they stand still for a moment before Jack chooses a direction and begins to walk.
They're quiet as they walk, but Ianto looks around the street they're on and finally breaks the silence with something he's been curious about for a while. "Do the changes bother you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Cardiff. It must look incredibly different now than when you first arrived. Does it bother you?"
"Sometimes."
They wander down Stuart Street toward Adelaide, and Ianto glances at some of the restaurants and shops. "Do you have a favorite place in the city to go?" he asks.
"Do you?"
Jack is dodging the question but Ianto decides to let him get away with it and replies, "I hate to admit it, but I have a secret love for Castell Coch on quiet days."
"Bit touristy for a native, isn't it?"
"It's pretty. I like to take a book."
Jack points at a sign for an old cafe. "I used to go there with a few Torchwood agents every Thursday we had free. They still have good coffee."
"You guys had a standing gathering day?"
"Yeah. None of us were very good with planning. Torchwood isn't conducive. Picking Thursday seemed to work."
A few more minutes and they pass a bookshop. Jack stops and peers through the dusty window. "I used to know the shopkeeper. She was a fantastic dancer, so I'd take her out dancing and she'd give me a book at no charge sometimes."
"Just a book?" Ianto laughs.
Jack just nods his head and grins.
"What was the best book she gave you?" Ianto asks.
"The Unnamable, by Beckett."
Ianto raises an eyebrow."How long ago?"
"Early fifties. She died a few years ago."
"Do you want some coffee? Looks like they have a counter in there."
"Not in there," Jack says, "There's a better shop just a few doors down."
They stop and get a coffee but don't sit. They keep walking. After a few minutes, they turn down James Street, working on making a loop back to the Hub.
Jack points to another old building. "Good Italian restaurant over there."
"What's your favorite type of food?" Ianto asks.
"Finger food? No, I guess Indian might be the best ethnic food. What about you?"
"Italian."
Jack laughs and says, "I'll take you there sometime. They require bookings, though."
"A proper date again?"
"We've established that it can be done."
"Do you have a favorite restaurant?" Ianto asks.
"That French place on Hemingway Road is pretty incredible."
"You took me there; it really was amazing."
"That was a good night." Jack gives away another grin.
They turn off of James and back onto Stuart to head back to the Hub. A circle completed. The sun is coming out from behind a cloud and they finish their coffees and throw the cups away as they approach the lift again.
"Where's your favorite place in the city, Jack?" He's pushing; he can't resist.
Jack stops and looks up. "The roofs."
"They don't change, do they?"
"Not once they're up," Jack says with a smile as they step back onto the lift, and they descend back into the dim glow of the Hub.