Torchwood: Divergence
Book Two: Adferiad
Chapter 6
"How's the chest?" Jack asked as he and Ianto played cards across the desk in the office, the clock showing 1:00 am.
"Healed without a mark," Ianto replied, signalling that he wanted two cards from the deck as he discarded two he held.
"So, no bandages as an extra layer under the sweater," the older immortal grinned, rearranging the fan of cards in his hand. "Less to lose."
"Says the man facing me with no shirts or socks," his partner smiled back.
"Yeah?" Harkness wiggled his eyebrows and displayed his cards. "Four nines, buddy. Read 'em and strip."
"Royal flush, aces high," Ianto countered without losing his sweet little smile, laying out the run of hearts before rising from his seat. "Lose the trousers. I'll go get us some more coffee."
"You're a card shark!" Jack accused, rising to slip out of his chinos and drape them over his chair's back with the rest of his clothes.
"You're the one dealing," his partner shot back, heading for the kitchenette. "Now's your chance to stack the deck."
The American laughed, pulling all the cards back together to shuffle. They'd played strip poker before, he always dealt. Yet somehow this was the way the game went every time. Him in his skivvies – if he was lucky – and the young Welshman not minus more than his socks. This time he hadn't even managed that much.
"Maybe I should take you to Vegas," he suggested as Ianto returned with two fresh steaming cups of Jack's favourite coffee. "Long weekend, a little gambling, swanky hotel room…"
"Better yet, we have one more hand to see if you lose it all," the twenty-six-year-old across the desk stated evenly. "If I win, those come off and we see if the boss is interested in a little round of who's on top. If I lose, you get to personally remove every stitch I've got on and we'll see where it goes from there."
"I'll take that bet," the Captain laughed, shuffling and bridging the deck a few more times before dealing.
They settled to the game in anticipatory silence, gauging their hands.
"Did you give Gwen the copies you ran earlier?" Jack asked out of the blue.
"Before she left," Ianto nodded, discarding three and accepting new cards to replace them.
"Think she'll be able to read it?" Harkness wondered, exchanging two cards from his own spread.
"You did," the younger man murmured, switching out one more item in his hand. "You're the one who talked me into writing it down, remember?"
"I thought it might be therapeutic after all the trauma when the Scieron returned your memories," Jack shrugged, obviously a little uncomfortable. "And I actually couldn't get past where you quoted the 456… it was too detailed, too much like being there again."
"Which was the point of the exercise and means Gwen likely won't get far either," Ianto surmised, the grip on his cards tight enough to curve them in toward his body. "But she's got something you don't."
"A safer distance from the subject?" the Captain offered, finally disposing of two more cards and taking new ones.
"Rhys," Ianto stated simply, meeting his partner's unhappy gaze. "If she can't manage, he'll read it to her. And even if it hits him like a kick in the guts, he'll make sure she hears it all and never let on. It's the kind of fellow he is, always happy to lend a hand when she asks for it, and too proud to cry if he thinks she needs him to be strong."
"Must be a Welsh thing," Jack pointed out, his gaze now a little sad but calm as he displayed a full house of sixes and fives.
"Yes, sir," Ianto agreed quietly, simply placing his own hand face down with a nod to concede defeat. "Finish your coffee. I'll take these to the wash and meet you in the room to pay up on the wager."
He left the office with their empty cups after a moment, his partner gathering the cards together. Before shuffling them with the deck, the undying American looked at the unexposed hand. Full house, kings and queens… the real winning spread. With a sigh and sad smile, Jack put all the cards in their box, stood to collect his clothes and pushed open the bookcase door into the bedroom. He'd been planning to let his Shadow reborn lover take the reins again tonight. But the mood had changed, and now all he wanted to do was reassure them both of their usual relationship and claim his kind, considerate Changeling as his own.
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AN: Just a small bridge piece between the last chapter and the one following… which I'll be posting as well so you can ease into the next part of the story.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM