Title: The Producers: Torchwood Style
Author: LovelyxIrony
Rating: T
Summary: Accountant Ianto Jones had a perfectly normal life - until theatrical producer Jack Harkness managed to wrangle him into one of the most idiotic schemes ever.
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Chapter One:
We Can Do It
Ianto Jones, a local accountant from Whitehall and Marks for the Cardiff public, usually found his job extremely dull and frustrating due to the idiots he was sometimes forced to work for. Yet, as he walked down the streets of Cardiff frantically straightening out his clothing, he couldn't help but to feel a thrill of excitement. Ianto remembered the sudden oncoming emotion of awe as he was informed by his boss that he'd be doing some accounting for the Jack Harkness. The theatrical producer Jack Harkness, who Ianto had always somewhat hero worshiped since the first time his parents had taken him to one of the plays Harkness had produced. He still held some of that hero worship for Jack Harkness, even if the man hadn't produced a decent play in years.
Sooner than he thought possible, Ianto found himself at a door labeled Jack Harkness Theatrical Producer and felt himself staring for a few minutes, mouth slightly agape, before shaking himself. He gave the door a knock, paused, then knocked again and startled when it opened a crack. No noise indicated anyone was in the room, but Ianto entered the room cautiously anyway, holding a hand to the door. "Hello?" He called into the silent room, spotting a mess of newspapers on the couch and trying to keep himself from tidying it up. Mess was one of Ianto's pet peeves - he hated any form of clutter. Choosing to ignore it, Ianto walked further into the room. "Mr Harkness?" He drew nearer to the couch, frowning. "Mr Harkness?"
Without any warning whatsoever, the newspapers were suddenly thrown off the couch and a man surged to his feet with an expression that suggested he was ready for a fight. Ianto stared, taking a quick step back as he took in the man's appearance - spiked brown hair, bright blue eyes, and dressed in suit pants and a white undershirt. They stared at each other for a moment, and Ianto took another hasty step backwards as the other man took one forward. "Who are you?" The older man demanded, his eyes narrowing. His voice was low, but not harsh on the ears as he stared at the Welshman. "What do you want?" By this point, Ianto found himself cornered against the door, not realizing how quickly they'd both moved until he was almost nose to nose with the other. He blinked, swallowing nervously. Then, the man gave a sigh and actually looked at Ianto. Much to the Welshman's unnerve, he smirked. A dazzling, all too cunning smirk. "Well. Hello." A pause, as he obviously waited for Ianto to respond, his mouth settling in a frown when the younger man didn't. "Why don't you speak?"
By the time this had all passed, Ianto had really looked at the man and had come to a conclusion. This was surely Jack Harkness - everything about the man was exactly as Ianto had heard. He swallowed again, blinked, then gave an awkward sort of grin. "Sorry. You scared me, that's all." Ianto straightened, tugging at his tie in an attempt to straighten it and trying to will himself to relax.
Harkness' smirk was still there, his eyes nearly undressing Ianto, who felt his face flush. "Who are you?" The producer asked once more, raising an eyebrow.
"Jones, Ianto Jones. I'm an accountant and I've come here to do your books."
"Well, Jones, Ianto Jones. May I take your coat?" The man held out a hand and Ianto shrugged out of his jacket, handing it to the other and looking around the office closely. "So." The man was beside him again and the Welshman fought back a flinch, startled. "You're an accountant, hm?" All he could do was nod, glancing sideways. A moment later, he was shown the books and seated down as Harkness made his way back to the couch. Ianto flipped through the record book, frowning a bit.
He glanced up, tilting his head. "These numbers are a bit off."
"So I took a few dollars out for a party. Who cares? The show was a flop. Just move a couple of numbers around." The producer muttered from the couch, his arm over his eyes.
Ianto couldn't help the frown that crossed his lips. "That's cheating, you know. I can't do that. Plus, it's illegal."
An instant later, Harkness was beside him with that charming, odd grin back in place. "It's not cheating. It's charity. It's in your power, isn't it? You're an accountant, aren't you? The word count is part of your title." They stared at each other, and Ianto swore he could see a pout on the man's lips. He sighed, rolled his eyes, then muttered 'fine', fiddling with a few numbers before frowning.
"Amazing." Ianto muttered more to himself, not even realizing he was speaking out loud. "It's absolutely amazing. These numbers show that if a producer were to play his cards right, he could make more money with a flop than with a hit."
"What?" Harkness had suddenly sat up from where he'd placed himself back on the couch.
"What?"
"What you were saying. About the potential of a flop making more money than a hit."
"Well, it's true. Technically, a producer could make more money with a flop than with a hit."
Harkness had an odd gleam in his eyes, grinning. "Yes, but you don't say how, Jones, Ianto Jones."
And that was when things started to go horribly wrong. Ianto should've known to keep his mouth shut, but it had slipped out anyway - exactly how Harkness could get away with the entire thing. The next second, he'd found the man hysterical with glee and babbling on about something involving "their scheme". It escalated from there, Harkness trying to convince Ianto to help him in fraud. Which would, of course, never happen. After a minute of staring dumbfounded, he'd ran quickly out of the room and felt Harkness following him. The man had caught up with him, they'd caused a scene right out in public, and Ianto had taken the opportunity to run during Harkness' complete concentration on his speech trying to convince Ianto to join him. Although he hadn't missed the man's exclamation of "we can do it!" and his huge, blinding grin. He also hadn't missed Harkness' look of disappointment when Ianto had ran off with a yell of "goodbye forever!" over his shoulder.
They did say bad days only got worse.
If only Ianto had known things could only get worse from there and that Harkness wouldn't leave him be until Ianto helped him out.
So, what do you think? Keep or trash? Upcoming characters are: John Hart as Roger; Gwen as Ulla. But who do you think should play Carmen Dia and who should play Franz?
And on a second note: R&R please!