Torchwood: Divergence
Book One: Dychwelyd

Chapter 36

Jack and Ianto had checked into the Oak Grove Matron's with a shared overnight bag, the lady who ran the place offering them a choice of hot drinks and fresh biscuits for once they got settled. She'd shown them to the establishment's largest room up on the top floor; with its antique four-post bed covered in hand-pieced quilts, a reading area, private bath, and small balcony that looked out over the gardens behind the building. There was only one other guest in the big Victorian home at the moment, a middle-aged American woman named Meredith Bell on her "trip of a lifetime" around prime points of England, Wales, and Scotland. She was staying in a room on the ground floor, which meant no worries about what the two might get up to in the dark hours... and the cheerful proprietor had been pleased to tell them so.

So, the pair had put their clothes and "accessories for later" away in the room, taken a look at the view from the balcony, and gone down to the parlour area to sample the coffee and baked goods. The other guest had breezed in from a day of shopping, returned to the sitting room to review her itinerary before the evening meal. She'd hesitantly asked if either of them could read Welsh, had been thrilled to have Ianto teach her how to say the names of her upcoming destinations, and was happy to take his advice about which places made for better attractions where there was a choice on the schedule.

They'd been called in to dinner just before 7:00, Ianto politely holding Meredith's chair for her in the cosy room meant for twelve. She'd chatted intermittently with the two men, seeming a little shy but very excited about her trip. The meal served had been roasted lamb shanks with herbed gravy, accompanied by buttered carrots, fried potatoes, and fresh from the oven oat bread. Before dessert, Ianto had told the forty-ish brunette that her name, Meredith, was more often given to boys in Wales and had written the Welsh spelling for her on a piece of paper from the notebook he always carried in his suit coat's breast pocket. She'd found the fact intensely amusing, and been absolutely delighted with the "souvenir" he'd given her, having tucked the page carefully into a journal she was keeping. After coffee, which Jones pronounced "passable" in a whisper to his partner, and chocolate topped tarts of spiced pear and apple compote, the three guests had bid one another good night and headed for their rooms.

Jack and Ianto now mounted the stairs to the top floor, both having enjoyed the reasonably quiet meal and contemplating what to do once they were alone in the suite. Harkness opened the door for his partner, who froze at the threshold. There were now candles burning all about the room, nestled into sprays of rosemary, sage, and white roses. Red rose petals were artfully strewn among them as well as across the pillows and turned down sheets, and the door to the bath stood open to reveal more candles around the big claw-foot tub that was filled with steaming herb and petal spotted water. There were even matching thick russet coloured terry robes laid out with the bath sheets.

Harkness peered past the younger man, able to appreciate his surprise. Then he gently urged the Changeling into the room, followed him inside and closed the door.

"What exactly do you think Gwen had Rhys tell Mrs. Taylor when they made this reservation?" Ianto whispered, turning to meet the undying American's gaze.

"Don't know," the Captain shrugged, though the sparkle in his eyes said he liked the results regardless. "But I'd say this isn't the first time the Oak Grove has hosted a couple like us. She's good."

"So ..." Ianto began carefully. "Fancy a soak before bed?"

"It'd be a shame to waste all that hot water," Jack chuckled, reaching over to unclip his companion's red and black striped tie, pull it from the front of his waistcoat and carefully undo the half-Windsor knot it was in. "Don't you think?"

"Absolutely," the younger man agreed, unfastening Harkness' belt.

The game of undressing one another soon found the pair stripped of all clothing and bandages, and free to test the fragrant waters in the big tub. Jack stepped in and settled at the broader end away from the plumbing where a bath pillow buffered the vessel's edge. He offered Ianto a steadying hand as he joined him, got the Changeling to sit in front of him then eased him back to rest against his chest. The water had risen when they'd gotten in, but now lapped about an inch from the tub's rim, in no danger of overflowing.

"She's not just good, she's scary good," Ianto commented, relaxing in the pleasantly hot, lavender and herb scented water, and the older man's strong right arm. "Alien good?"

"I scanned the whole place for anything alien when we first got here," Harkness reassured, raising his left hand from the edge of the tub to show he was still wearing his wrist strap. "All clear, so I'd have to say that Mrs. Taylor just really knows her business."

"Will you do something for me?" the twenty-six-year-old sharing the hot water murmured.

"Anything," Jack replied, playfully nibbling the top edge of his partner's left ear.

"I'll admit it can do some fun things," Ianto stated quietly. "But just this once... will you please put that thing on the night table when we go to bed?"

There was a moment of silence. The partially disabled Time Agency Vortex Manipulator had always been on the immortal's arm, save for brief periods when John Hart had taken possession of it and a span after he'd been blown to bits when the Hub was destroyed. It was almost a kind of security blanket for the ageless brunette, his way of staying on top of everything around him and not something he ever willingly parted with.

"Only for you," Harkness promised, the arm he had around his lover's waist tightening slightly.

Ianto smiled and sighed, the last tiny bit of tension flowing out of his body. It was going to be a memorable night.

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AN: Things are going well so far for the boys...

Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM