Ianto and Owen walked down the hall side by side, quietly. The meeting had ended with Tosh deciding to do more research on natural Sentinel and Guide pairs, and Gwen and Jack were monitoring the rift. By that time Ianto was nearly crawling in his skin, desperate for a long hot shower. Owen had refused to let him out of their sight, and since Jack seemed to be marginally more in control of his senses, the doctor was elected to play Ianto's babysitter.
As they got further from the main hub and Jack, Ianto could feel the peaceful feeling Jack had been projecting, he had called them warm squishy burritos and Ianto was afraid to ask, starting to disappear. He could feel Owen's emotions, and the vague ache came back.
"Yan? You ok?" Owen looked at him in concern as they entered the shower room.
Ianto shook his head. "I'm fine. We just seem to have moved out of Jack's shielding range."
"What? Oh shit! I forgot, I'm sorry." Owen took a few steps back away from him, and Ianto felt a sudden, clumsy push of warmth, tinged with anxiety.
"It's not your fault." Ianto bowed his head and slumped down on the bench. "I should be able to do this my self. I did go though basics, but well, I was a Tea Boy and archivist in training. I didn't exactly think I was going to need it."
He gave Owen a quick smile. "I forgot all my training as soon as I finished basic and started apprenticing with the older Archivists."
"Better then me." Owen muttered. "I only had a couple hours with a class when Jack dragged me up to London for a meeting. They tested me, and pretty much decided I was the psychic equivalent of a brussel sprout. They gave me a half arsed like...bubble shielding lesson thing, then left me alone till Jack was ready to go home." Owen complained.
"Bubble...that's that one where you picture like a bubble of energy around you, right?"
"Yeah. Just like close your eyes, and picture a little tiny bubble at the roof of your mouth." Owen used the tone of voice his tester had, mocking her, but Ianto felt his eyes close of their own accord.
"Now just breathe, and every time you breathe the bubble will get a little bigger, and a little bigger until it's completely surrounding you, cutting off from the outside world."
Ianto blinked as the emotions and pain dulled to nearly non-existent, he opened his eyes experimentally, staring at Owen through what looked, for all the world like an honest to god bubble. All shimmering lights and catches of rainbows. He didn't think it was supposed to be that literal
Owen continued, unaware. "Stupid class. Before yesterday, I'd write it off as a pile of-"
"It worked!" Ianto exclaimed, holding up his arm to study the soapy looking shield clinging to his arm.
"What? Really?"
Ianto nodded. "Yeah, your feelings just faded to almost nothing when I did that."
"...I didn't think it actually worked..."
"Well it does!" Ianto stood and stretched, feeling better now that other people's emotions weren't constantly in the background, and moved into the shower area and started to unbutton his shirt.
Owen started humming what sounded suspiciously like stripper music
Ianto rolled his eyes. "How are you not still a virgin?"
Owen leered. "I'm good."
Ianto gave him a doubtful look.
"Hey, you fell for it. And Jack, almighty king of the sluts."
Ianto rolled his eyes again and finished undressing, folding his dirty suit and putting it in his locker. His shield weakened slightly as a wave of lust rolled over him, but the pain seemed to diffuse, tingling against every last nerve, too light to cause hurt. He shivered.
"Owen!"
"That was not my fault!" Owen protested, and then smirked, following him to lean against the wall within view. "I'm just a man."
Ianto ignored Owen and stepped in the shower, sidestepping the spray until it became warm enough
Ianto watched Owen watch him. It wasn't like the man hadn't seen it all before, but far be it from Owen to give up any chance for a free peek. Ianto wasn't going to let it bother him.
He narrowed his eyes as Owen became far too focused, his eyes beginning to glaze over.
"Owen! Do you want your death certificate to say 'Died while perving in shower'?"
Owen shook him self and sat up straight. "What? I'm here!"
"Stay here. And keep your eyes off my package."
"Aww."
Ianto stuck his head under the spray, trying to cool his burning ears.
Ianto looked over again Owen was staring at him again, not moving. Cautiously he stepped to one side, but Owen's eyes didn't move to follow him
"Owen!" Ianto jumped out from under the hot spray and shook him. "Coc Oen, pay attention!" shaking him again, a little harder than necessary.
Owen's snapped back, looking startled. "Uh...okay this might be bad..."
"Don't focus on one sense." Ianto was irritated, and concerned, but his voice was calm. "Just...feel your jeans or try to use your sense of smell." Ianto kept a hand on Owen's shoulder, kneading the tense muscle. "Smell the chlorine in the water if you're going to be staring so hard. It seems like you zone more when you're too into one of your senses."
"How do you know that?" Owen was struggling to keep his eyes above Ianto's neck
Ianto shrugged.
Owen shook his head, blinked and nodded as Ianto stepped back.
"Can I finish my shower now without you going into another coma?"
"I don't know...I might have to join you for safety sake." Owen said with a playful leer. Ianto rolled his eye, something he was doing far too often lately. At least it seemed his 'Sentinels' recovered quickly.
"You know, I'm positive this is classified as sexual harassment."
"Yup! Doncha love Torchwood?"
Ianto sighed the sigh of the long suffering and ducked back under the shower, scrubbing off in record time to avoid another...what had Jack called them? Zone outs?
He stepped out, wrapped a towel around his waist, making Owen whine, and grabbed his shaving kit from his locker, walking over to the sink to shave.
The door to the locker room opened and Jack's head popped in. "Uh are you guys alright?"
"Jack? We're fine. Is something wrong?" Ianto asked Jack's reflection in the steamy mirror.
"I- I just realized you'd moved out of my shielding range." he paused and did a double take, staring at Ianto "Do you have shields?"
"Yup. I taught him." Owen said smugly.
Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Wow, I'm proud of you two. ...Owen why are you wet?"
"...Um. No reason."
"He zoned out and I had to get out of the shower to get him back." Ianto said finishing up his shaving and rinsing the shaving cream residue off.
"Tattle tail." Owen scowled.
Jack frowned at Owen in concern and ran a hand though Owen's hair, making it stand on end. "Are you ok? It wasn't like before was it?"
"I'm fine. It was only for a second." Owen grinned. "There was this drop of water on his ear, and I couldn't help it. Watched slide all the way down his body, right down to the tip of his-"
"That's quite enough Owen!"
"-Nose." Owen finished with a grin.
Jack grinned back. "Can't say I blame you then. He has a cute…nose."
Ianto swatted at Jack as he passed, on his way to his locker. "Alright out. You two go find a corner to shag in, or something. Let me get dressed in peace." Ianto said making shooing motions, his shields wavering at the lust dripping off of both men.
Both balked.
"Jack," Ianto sighed. "I haven't had a moments peace since yesterday, and you haven't had a moment alone with your boyfriend." Both men flinched at the term and Ianto grinned.
"Knowing you two, I'm shocked you're not climbing the walls from some sort of… sexual deprivation. We know what's going on now; we have a better idea of how to control it. You don't need to stay joined to the hip with me."
"But what if we want to?" Jack asked.
Ianto gave him a hard stare. The bubble he had managed to create was faltering and he could see little tears starting to form in the filmy surface. He suddenly, desperately needed to be alone.
Jack held up his hands. "Fine, fine. We'll go. But get your Bluetooth and keep it on. I want to stay in contact."
Ianto picked up the Bluetooth and put in his ear before tugging on his shirt. "You realize if you talk dirty on Torchwood comms your breaking at least three rules right?"
Jack smirked "But I'm boss."
"Behave." Ianto commanded, folding his towel carefully so that they wouldn't see his hands shake.
"Yes sir!" Jack said snapping a salute and tugged on Owen's arm.
"I'll go, but I want to know if he so much as sneeze." Owen warned pointing a finger at Ianto as he followed Jack from the locker room.
The door swung shut and Ianto sagged, rubbing his face. He wasn't used to being the center of so much attention. It was exhausting. Even during his times of being with Jack, or Owen he'd still mostly been just the tea boy. Easily ignored, moving silently in the background keeping things running smoothly.
Now he was constantly watched, listened too. Jack with hands on his shoulders, or against his leg. Staring at Ianto's chest as he listened to his heart beat. Or Owen with the constant fingers around his wrist, not even pretending to check a pulse any more. Even Tosh and Gwen with their frequent glances, and barely hidden concern.
He was nearly ready to go into hiding, were it not for some instinct screaming at him to stay near Jack and Owen.
He couldn't wait to get back into the soothing depths of the archives. None of the others went there and hopefully no one had done too much damage to his filing systems in their searches for information on sentinels.
Just a little time alone and everything would be okay.
