Chapter 14
Nine days later…
John was becoming extremely frustrated. Every day, for the past week, he'd been thinking about how he could prove to Nick that he was serious and, two days earlier, had realised that he would have to take him on a proper date. They had been out for drinks on several occasions and even had lunch together the previous day, but those could hardly count as proper dates.
The trouble was it had been so long since he'd had a proper date that he didn't know what to do. He'd had some ideas, but none of them had felt good enough and he didn't dare ask Ianto, knowing that the man was still angry with him for the Flat Holm incident. He couldn't even ask Jack for help – it went against fifty-first century dating customs.
"You look like you're trying to solve a very difficult equation and the answer's right there on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't get it out." Gwen had come up from the cells and was now watching him in amusement.
John snorted. "Something like that," he muttered.
Gwen chuckled. "I thought so." She raised her voice. "Andie, get up here!" Moments later, the blonde girl came up beside her. "It looks like Vera here could do with some help."
Andie tilted her head towards the table. "What's this?" She picked up one of the books that John had been looking at. "The Lonely Planet Guide to Wales…and it's open at restaurants and bars in Cardiff!" She smiled. "So…you're going to wine and dine him then, are you?"
"What?" exclaimed John, completely caught off guard.
Gwen sat down on his other side. "Oh, come on, we're not stupid; any fool can see that you've been interested in Nick ever since he got here."
John sighed. "What do I do?"
"Well…there's the usual things," mused Gwen. "You know…on our first date, Rhys turned up on my doorstep with a red rose and a bottle of wine and he took me to this beautiful restaurant; you know, candles, romantic music and – what?" She noticed that both John and Andie were staring at her with something akin to horror.
Andie rolled her eyes. "Gwen, I'm sure that was lovely for you and Rhys, but this is John and Nick we're talking about here. I don't think that's really their kind of thing."
John shivered. "No, far too traditional, too…twenty-first century," he answered. "And I think Nick would probably run away screaming if I did that on a first date."
Gwen looked offended. "Okay, well…you come up with a better idea."
"Why don't you just keep dinner simple?" suggested Andie. "I mean, if you're going by your dating customs, you'll have something pretty good planned for later, right?"
"Well, yeah," answered John. "I know one part of what I'm going to do next. It's just where to take him for dinner that's difficult, because I don't know –"
Andie waved her hand at him. "Well, you're lucky there," she said, "because I do." Bending over, she shuffled through the papers cluttering John's desk, occasionally grumbling at the mess. Finally, and with a crow of triumph, she picked up a handful of crumpled sheets which had been forgotten at the bottom of the pile. "Take him here," she said. "I overheard him talking about it to Ianto the other day – he said it looked like a really nice place."
John raised his eyebrow slightly. "Looks nice…and I've not had a good Indian in a while."
"So…you're going to take him there tonight?"
There was a long pause. "Yeah," John decided. "I am."
With a cheerful squeal, Andie leapt to her feet. She waited for a moment, listening to John call the restaurant and then turned towards the autopsy bay. "Oi, Nick!"
There was a loud crash, a curse and then Nick's auburn head appeared. "Yeah?" he asked, looking rather frustrated.
"You and him, eight o'clock reservations," said Andie, pointing at John.
"If that's okay with you," added John. Really, he had no idea why he was so embarrassed – Andie's feisty nature was one of the things that he found so endearing about her.
Nick's mouth twitched. "Eight o'clock would be fine," he said, before disappearing. "And tidy that desk up first!" he suddenly shouted back, but with a hint of laughter in his voice.
John smiled. It seemed like Jack had been right – he really was the wife.
~*~
7:15pm, that evening…
"You're taking Nick out on a date," stated Ianto. Jack was stood beside the cog door, waiting for his partner, but at the same time watching the exchange.
"Yes, I am." John reached for his coat, but was stopped when Ianto caught his wrist. He was much gentler than the last time he'd done that, but the hard look was back in his eyes.
"It's no secret that I tried to warn Nick off you," he said. "And, while I can't make his decisions for him, I can tell you this now – I meant what I said before. If you ever hurt him, I'llmake you suffer so much you'll wish you were never born. And then I will Retcon you back to your childhood." With those words, he let go of John's wrist, span on his heel and followed Jack out of the door.
John sighed slightly. He knew that, even if Ianto did come to trust him again, their relationship had been irreparably damaged. He couldn't blame him; if it had been his cousin –
But he was distracted from those thoughts by a sound from Jack's office. He turned around sharply; ready to pull his gun if he had to – only to be instantly distracted by the sight before him.
The only light was coming from Jack's office, but even then, he could see Nick's slim figure as if he was standing in the sun. His bright hair was tied back at the base of his neck with thin strands floating over his face and framing his rosy cheeks. He was dressed simply in a soft dark green shirt and well-fitted navy blue jeans with a studded belt at his hips and a black leather jacket tossed around his shoulders. He also had a piece of soft black leather at his throat and, as he came closer, John saw that there was a small silver dragon hanging from it.
"Hey," he said, his Welsh tones echoing through the empty Hub.
"Hey," stammered John, his brain finally making a return to its rightful place. "You, er…wow…you look amazing." He cleared his throat. "Shall we go?"
Nick smiled, lighting up his hazel eyes as he did so. "Lead the way, Captain Sparky," he said.
~*~
8:20pm, Cardamom Indian Restaurant…
"Oooh," said John with a smile, "I know what I like the look of." He leaned over and pointed.
Nick gaped slightly. "Careful there, those things can rip your mouth to flaming shreds," he said. "You have to have a very strong tolerance of spices to take it."
John raised his eyebrow. "Oh…and you think I can't take it?" He leaned forwards, his green eyes staring into Nick's brown ones. "Or is it that you can't take it?" There was a playful glint in his eyes, but his voice was decidedly sultry.
Nick cocked his head. "Are you challenging me?"
"Are you interested?"
"Bring. It. On."
There was a long silence. Then, John leaned back and laughed out loud. "Oh, you are so going to regret this!" he said and signaled the waiter, leaning over to talk to him. When he'd finished, he turned to find Nick looking at him in astonishment. "What?"
"Nothing. I just didn't know you could speak Hindi."
John smirked a bit. "Oh, there's a lot you don't know about me."
"So I've noticed." Nick took a sip of his drink. "So…what sort of dating customs are there in the fifty-first century then? Or do they even exist?"
"Oh, they exist," answered John. "And they were the bane of my life, believe me."
"Why?"
"Because one rule is that, if you're really serious, you have to do something amazing…something that you would never do with anyone else. And you're not supposed to ask anyone for help. They can offer, but you shouldn't ask – and you've got to get there yourself in the end. Otherwise it loses a lot of the value, because it's not a personal thing."
"So that's why you didn't ask Jack for help."
"The other big rule is that you always let your partner make the first move. If you ask them out, you wait for them to make the move. It's just good manners, see."
He leaned back in his chair. "And the reason why they were such a nightmare to deal with was because I haven't played the dating game for…a long time." His voice took on a slightly wistful tone when he said those words.
Despite his increasing curiosity, Nick knew enough not to push what was obviously a sensitive subject for the other man, so he admitted, with some embarrassment, that he had never been very good at the dating game either. In fact, he'd been so bad at it, that he'd even asked Ianto's father to ask Alison out on his behalf. It worked and within minutes, they were both laughing and swapping stories of disastrous dates, passing the time merrily until their food arrived.
At that point, John sat up straight. "Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked.
"Oh believe me," answered Nick, as a wicked thought crossed his mind. "I can be up for…" he paused, drawing the sentence out, "practically anything." If he doesn't try anything now…then I'll hopefully have a better idea of whether he's serious or not. If he's really as bad as the stories said he is, he'll just go for it, dating customs or not.
To his credit, however, John's only reaction was a slight heightening of colour in his cheeks before he started to dig into the curry. His eyes widened for a split second, but then he smirked. "What's the matter?" he asked. "Are you scared?"
"Scared?" Nick snorted. "In your dreams, Captain." Without further ado, he calmly started to eat, apparently relaxing as well. The only slight hints that anything was remiss were the hot flush creeping up his face and the slight perspiration on his forehead. Occasionally, he would look up to find John trying to act in an equally relaxed manner, but the effect was ruined by the way that his pupils had dilated almost completely.
But of course, the challenge had been issued and neither man could back down now – even if it did take them almost two hours to actually finish eating. Eventually, they stepped outside.
"Wow," muttered Nick, mopping his forehead with his sleeve.
"I know," agreed John, blinking rapidly to clear the sweat out of his eyes.
They walked in a companionable silence for a short while, exchanging small smiles, until they finally hit a small street lined with trendy bars.
"Holy shit!" gasped Nick. "I need a drink!"
John almost passed out from relief. "I thought you'd never ask!"
~*~
"So, how'd you find this place?" asked Nick, once the rush of fire from dinner had finally cooled and he felt able to speak reasonably coherently again.
"Oh, the fellow behind the bar nearly got mauled by a Weevil – was about two weeks before you joined. We…well, you know…became friends, as it were. Nice body, too."
The minute the words were out of his mouth, he cringed. Never talk about a former conquest when you're on a date! Especially when it's a first date!
Nick blushed furiously, but he was smiling. "I bet you did," he chuckled. It was a good thing he was looking around the bar at that point, because John was openly gaping at him. He thought he'd just royally put his foot in it and his date had just laughed it off! It was only when he looked a bit closer that he realised that the smile was slightly strained and that his eyes had lowered a bit.
He coughed. "He, uh, also said that if I needed a favour…I could ask him."
"Did he?"
"Yeah…and I took him up on it." With a wink at the Italian man, John stood up and walked away.
Nick sighed. He should have known better; some people would never change. Ianto had warned him that he was going to get his heart broken and he'd been right. What had he been thinking?
But before he could even think about getting up, he was surprised to hear John's voice echoing round the room. Curious, despite himself, he turned round and gasped when he saw the former Time Agent standing calmly on a small stage, microphone in hand.
"I've got to prove myself tonight," he was saying now. "And I really hope that this will go some way towards showing that, despite my past, I'm a better man now."
As the introduction to a very familiar song started up, he also started to tap his foot and swing his hips slightly, before speaking again. "This is for you, Nick Jones."
Nick couldn't stop himself; he openly gawped as John started to sing.
"We're no strangers to love.
You know the rules and so do I.
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of.
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand…"
"Oh, shit," muttered Nick. "What on earth is he doing? Doesn't he care that he looks…" but the words died in his throat. But he was hoping and praying that his natural blush covered the increasing pinkness in his face.
"Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."
John stopped for a second. "Okay, I can't lie here. We've actually only known each other for about three weeks. But I really can't be bothered to change the words."
When he heard the stunned gasps around the room, Nick couldn't help it and laughed out loud.
"We've know each other for so long.
Your hearts been aching
But you're too shy to say it.
Inside we both know what's been going on.
We know the game and we're gonna play it.
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see."
By now, John was really giving this everything that he had, and clearly loving every minute of it. Even as he chuckled, Nick couldn't resist giving a patented Jones eye-roll.
"Oh, John," he muttered, but without rancor. "What am I going to do with you?"
"Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."
A few people were staring at Nick (who was singing along) by now, but he didn't notice, because he was too busy staring at John. They locked eyes for a split second and that was when Nick knew…this was real…this was right…
"We've know each other for so long.
Your hearts been aching
But you're too shy to say it.
Inside we both know what's been going on.
We know the game and we're gonna play it.
I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling.
Gotta make you understand."
By now, much to his own surprise, Nick had started to tap his fingers to the rhythm as he started to sing even louder, ignoring the way the couple beside him cringed. He knew that he couldn't sing, but for once, he didn't care.
"Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you…"
As the applause rippled through the room, Nick smiled at him. "I didn't know you could sing."
"Yes, well…now you can add that to your list of things that you know about me," answered John with a rather raucous laugh. "Come on. There's still something else to do."
~*~
About an hour and a half later…
"Oh, John…you didn't!"
"No, I didn't." John couldn't resist the obvious, but sarcastic, response. "I was trying to decide what I could do to make tonight really special for…well, anyway, I overheard Jack teasing Ianto, something about what happened the last time he dressed up in his RAF gear."
"Too much information!"
"Sorry. Anyway, I remembered you telling me that you liked flying and you were thinking about getting your pilot's license. So, I thought to myself…well, you know…"
"Yeah, I know. I just…I don't know what to say. Except," a thought occurred to Nick and he leaned forwards and brushed his lips against John's ear, before whispering, "Ianto lent me his jeans for tonight."
"Shit," gasped John, feeling himself shiver. "You really don't make this easy for me, do you?"
"Why? Did you think I would?"
John growled. "You really are a child of the devil, you know," he said, but he was grinning. He held out one hand. "However…would you care to accompany me?"
Nick would later deny it, but if anyone asked him at that moment, he would have had to say that he giggled. "I'd love to." Taking John's hand, he let himself be swept off his feet and into the cabin. The windows had been freshly cleaned and (he suspected) the glass replaced so that he could see out as clearly as if the view was right in front of him.
John came and sat down next to him and leaned over to look out of the window as the plane slowly began to rise. He tensed a bit, instinctively catching Nick's hand, as he felt them level out; that was the part of flying that he always hated. The young man turned round, a hint of surprise in his face, but it quickly melted into a smile as he squeezed back and together, they watched the view before them, smiling at the shimmering lights on the roads before coming to the amber shades of Cardiff Bay at night and the now familiar silver shine of the water tower.
Somewhere over the Plass, music had started playing, but in his awestruck haze, Nick hadn't recognised it. Now, though, the words washed over him, sending shockwaves through his heart.
"Will my arms be strong enough to take you through the night?
Will my arms be strong enough to lead you to the light?
Will my arms be strong enough to dare you to seize the day?
Could it be love that gives the strength to wash our sins away?"
At the same time, he became aware of John's hand playing with his hair, gently freeing it from its tie. Slowly, he turned around and smiled at him, showing him their hands, which were still clasped from the take-off.
"This could be our song," he said with a wry chuckle.
"Are you complaining?" asked John.
Nick shook his head. "Not in a million years," he breathed and leaned in to catch John's mouth in what soon became a lingering kiss.
They didn't see the rest of the view that night.
~*~
"That was amazing," gasped Nick as they finally drove back onto the Plass. He stepped out of the car, walked a little way and then waited for John to join him. But the other man was watching him, a strange expression of shocked realization and amusement on his face.
"What?" he asked.
"You!" exclaimed John, looking rather miffed. "You called me Captain Sparky!"
Nick burst out laughing. "You've only just realised that now?"
John glared at him. "Oh, you are asking for it!" He leapt out of the car and caught the younger man round the waist and started tickling him mercilessly.
Nick squeaked in alarm. "Stop it!" he shrieked, just managing to break free and run away, even as he gasped for breath and laughed.
John growled a little. "Oh no…you're not getting away so easy!"
"You think that was easy?" exclaimed Nick as he raced out of sight and darted behind the water tower. A couple of young women watched him in amazement. "Don't worry, I'm not in trouble," he said with an easy smile. "Nope…you're only in trouble if you get caught."
"Got you!" John appeared and caught him round the waist. Nick jumped and promptly fell against the water tower. He let out an extremely unmanly shriek as the cold water soaked through his shirt (he was carrying his jacket over his arm) and leapt back against John's muscular chest.
As they gazed up at the water tower, John chuckled. "Look at that," he said, "it's after midnight."
Nick smiled slightly. "Yeah…so it is." He looked pensive for a moment and then shook himself. "Well…thank you for tonight. I…had a great time."
"So did I," answered John. "Come on, I'll drive you home." He started towards his car, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. Turning round, he saw Nick looking at him. "Hey, you okay?"
"I've not been at home," answered Nick quietly. "I've been staying at the Hub for the past week. It's just too hard to go home at the moment, even if it's just to see Estelle and Trevyn. I've just been crashing on the sofa down there."
"That can't be comfortable."
"It's fine; besides, there's not really anywhere else I can go."
John looked thoughtful. "You could stay with me," he blurted out and then, seeing the shocked look on Nick's face, he backtracked, "I don't mean…you know, I don't mean permanently…not that I wouldn't…and besides, it can't exactly be quiet down there with the lovebirds."
Nick blushed. "It isn't," he admitted. "Well…it would be nice to sleep in a proper bed again."
"I know. I saw you twisting your neck around while we were flying. Besides, I have to admit…I would really…love the company…" John finished, shifting uncomfortably.
Nick couldn't help it; he laughed out loud. "Oh, John," he said. "I love seeing this side to you. And I have to say, I could really do with some intelligent conversation. Unfortunately, that doesn't really tend to come…unlike the other participants!" He stopped short and gaped. "Did I just say that out loud?" At John's nod, he blushed harder than ever. "I'll go and get my stuff."
John smiled and watched him disappear – well, not disappear, just jump onto the lift. There had been heartache and tears along the way, but he'd finally made Nick Jones smile.
***
Next Time: When it becomes clear that Ianto is not happy with his and Nick's relationship, John introduces a new form of training to the team and Jack organizes a team-building trip – but where will he take them?