Chapter Note: Due to content restrictions the second half of this chapter will be posted on my dreamwidth account of the same pen name.
It took Jack and Ianto little over an hour to locate the proper piece of tech. If it hadn't been for the small row over Jack's misfiling and the quick hand job to make up for it, it would have been closer to half an hour. To Fish, it looked like a very small kettlebell, but more angular - like a cone with a handle really. Other than some lights along the handle, there was nothing else adorning the outside. Jack set it down on top of Fish's worktable with a grim expression on his face. Fish could smell the sex wafting down off of him and eyed the device, hoping Jack had washed his hands thoroughly before handling it.
"I knew it was too good to be true. It's broken," Jack said with a sigh.
"You tried to set it off in the Hub?!" Fish shouted. He tried to bat Jack's hands away from the device. "Are you mad?! Do you know how much equipment you could've fried, Jack!?"
"As if! I just tried to turn it on," Jack said. He twisted the handle towards Fish. "See? No lights."
"Well, fat lot of good that's going to do us," Fish said, sitting down. "Where's the file that went with this thing?"
"Ianto's looking but I don't think we have any documents," Jack said, tapping the top.
"C'mere, gorgeous, let's dance," Fish said as he examined the outer casing. Along the flat base, he saw a small notch. He slipped his tool into it and twisted his wrist. Nothing.
"Do you mind getting Henry for me, Jack?" he asked, still peering into the device.
"Why?"
"I need someone with steady hands to help me," Fish said.
"I can help you, Fish," Jack said, stepping forward.
Fish waved him away. "Not with those sausages you're not. Henry's fingers are slimmer. Just tell him I need him to help me with the tech."
Jack backed away and went off in search of Fish's lover. Things were still unsettled between them and Fish hated it. This definitely counted as their first major row as a couple. There'd been a few raised voices and a few disagreements while Fish had been in Vancouver and a few more since Henry had moved to Cardiff but they were nothing compared to this.
Yesterday, Henry had walked straight over to him and, in the commanding tone that Fish hated so much, declared that he was going to be seeing to Miranda's care. Before Fish could even get a word in edgewise, Henry had turned on his heel and headed for the east stairs. Fish had gone after him, grabbing his arm and forcing Henry to face him. The disagreement had begun as a few angry whispers but then exploded into shouting with Fish storming off in one direction and Henry in the other while the rest of the team had looked on awkwardly.
Thus had begun the silence. Neither of them had spoken with each other the rest of the day nor after they'd gone home. The two of them had gotten ready for bed, awkwardly moving around each other in the small flat. Fish had been so angry, he'd gone to sleep on the sofa. Henry, equally angry, had slammed the bedroom door. That morning, the two of them had continued their stony silence. As always, Henry had prepared breakfast and Fish had cleaned up but they hadn't said a single word to each other and they hadn't all the way to the Hub.
For Henry, the silence seemed angry but for Fish it had become awkward. Having slept and calmed down, Fish was beginning to feel a bit foolish. Again, he was realising that his greatest fault was rearing its head. Angry at the situation, Fish had taken his displeasure out on Henry. Yes, Henry could have handled his end better but the idea of Fish being angry at Henry for endangering himself was hypocrisy. Ever since they'd arrived at the Hub, Fish had been trying to work out how to apologise, or at the very least get Henry to talk to him. Now, he was now frantically trying to work something out but a polite throat clear behind him interrupted his thoughts.
"Jack said you required my assistance, Joe?" he asked, stiffly.
"Yeah. Usually I have Evie help me with things like this but…" he shrugged. "Your fingers are longer and slimmer than Jack's."
Henry looked uncomfortable. "I'm sure Gwen or Doctor Jones-"
"They aren't immortal," Fish interrupted. "When I tinker with sort of thing, as few lives need to be endangered as possible."
Henry eyed the alien device and nodded, stepping towards the table.
"I need you to do exactly as I tell you and nothing else," Fish said, pointing at the device in front of him.
Henry peered down into the device. "I understand."
Fish pointed at the device. "I need you to lift this straight upwards. I'm going to try and remove the base from underneath. If I'm successful, do not let go of the handle. Hold it steady."
Henry nodded and grasped the handle. He held it up in the air and Fish knelt down beneath it.
"Okay, I'm going to see if this will turn. When I push up, try to keep it still."
Fish pushed upwards on the flat surface and twisted. Nothing. He twisted in the other direction and it was the anti-clockwise twist that did it. The circular base began to move.
"Don't move, Henry," Fish said as he twisted. He felt the base come free from the top. "Okay, now, together we're going to move it back to the table. Follow my lead and when it's down on the mat, don't let go."
The two men carefully set the piece of tech onto the mat on Fish's worktable. Henry held onto the handle.
"I need you to lift the casing upwards. If you encounter any resistance, stop but don't let go," Fish said. "If you manage to get the case up completely, just lay it down next to rest of it."
Henry nodded and Fish backed away from the worktable a few meters. Henry pulled upwards and the sloped section of the cone and the handle pulled away, leaving the cone shaped innards on Fish's mat. The casing came completely free and Henry set it down on another mat.
Once Henry let go, he slowly let out the breath he was holding. "Is it dangerous, Joe?"
Fish stepped back towards the table. "I don't know. There are inherent problems with taking apart a piece of equipment when you've no idea how it was assembled. I don't know how delicate the circuitry is or what would have happened if we'd moved it too quickly or bumped it or-"
"I understand, Joe," Henry said, tersely, holding up his hand to stop Fish's rambling. He turned and went to step away but Fish grabbed his arm. "Do you require any more assistance?"
"No. Thanks, Henry," Fish said. Coward…
"You're welcome," Henry replied, stiffly. He turned and walked away again, this time glancing back at Fish for a moment. There was so much pain in that look. Fish reached out for his arm again and Henry turned.
"I…" Fish started to say. Swallow your fucking pride… He pulled Henry into his arms, kissing him deeply. He actually felt Henry sway a bit as he moaned into his mouth. When they broke apart, Fish rested his forehead against Henry's.
"I love you," Fish whispered.
"I love you too, Joe," Henry said softly, cupping his face. "Does this mean you are no longer angry with me?"
"I wasn't really angry with you. I'm just angry and I'm taking it out on you and I'm sorry," Fish admitted. It seemed like he was always apologising to Henry. "I like maths, Henry. I live my life in constants - Avogadro's number, Boltzmann, Planck, the speed of light… and you not being able to get sick."
"You promised to make an effort to cease taking your displeasure out on me," Henry said, his brow furrowing.
"I know and I'm sorry," Fish said with a sigh.
"Shh… it's already forgiven, love," Henry said, smiling, kissing Fish again. "I'm sorry as well. I could have gone about it better. I barked commands at you and I should not have done."
"Something you promised to try and stop too," Fish said, running his finger down Henry's cheek. "Too bad we don't have time for some make-up sex…"
"The best part of any disagreement," Henry laughed and backed away. "You should get to work. Let me know if you need help again."
"Yeah, I'll let you know if I need an extra set of hands," Fish said. He crouched down and started tilting his head this way and that, looking into the device. He was slowly rotating the mat it was on while he examined it. "Actually, Henry, don't go anywhere. This thing's cramped. I think I am going to need that extra set of hands."
Henry walked back over to him. "I still think Jack should hire more staff."
Fish picked up a small tool and handed it to Henry. "From what I gather… Do me a favour, Henry and touch the end of that probe to that silvery bit. It's sort of like playing operation… don't touch anything else…"
"Here, Joe?"
"Yeah. Anyway, like I was saying, from what I gather, him and Evie are always on the lookout for someone to hire. I think they might start keeping an eye on that MacDonald fellow. Hold steady a sec." Fish flipped on his equipment and began twisting dials.
"Who is 'that MacDonald fellow'?" Henry asked.
"Scottish bloke from the hospital," Fish said, glancing down at his equipment display. "You can put that down now, Henry. Thanks."
Henry laid the probe down on the table.
"I thought Mao-Lin was your physician," Henry said, looking over the alien device himself.
"Yeah but Evie's bogged down with a lot of administrative duties because she's second in command. I heard that Gwen used to be second and she couldn't wait to dump all that on someone else. If we had another doctor, it would help spread the work," Fish said with a shrug. He turned the device onto its side. "I know that Jack would like another technician."
"He's dissatisfied with your work?" Henry asked, confused.
"No, but you know I cut back on my field time," Fish said, tilting his head. He picked up the casing and started examining the inside. "He needs someone else out in the field to handle the tech. Plus, my expertise is really chemistry not engineering. I get by but a lot of this alien shite is still over my head. Henry? Hold it up like this for me? Right… thanks. This is so much easier than doing it myself."
While Henry held the casing steady, Fish was able to accomplish his work more easily.
"Perhaps you should speak with Jack about hiring you an assistant," Henry said, his fingers still on the alien device.
"He was going to offer a job to you actually," Fish said with a laugh. "Ideally, I think he wants to add another immortal to the fold no matter what their role within the team."
After shifting nervously, Henry raised his eyebrow. "I mean no offence, Joe, but I do not believe Torchwood is for me. I do not mind lending my assistance on occasion-"
"That's what Evie said and I agreed. You can ease it back down," Fish interrupted with a laugh. He stood up and gave his lover a very serious look. "If the world was ending, Henry, and the only way to save it was to put a bullet in my head… would you do it? Could you?"
The question took Henry completely aback. His eyes went wide and he stammered, "Joe…"
"See? That's why Evie didn't offer you the job. You just hesitated," Fish said. He smiled and said, more softly, "I'm flattered, no mistake. But if someone handed me a sword and told me it was you or the rest of the human race… I wouldn't bat an eyelash and swing. How I'd feel afterwards would be a different story but I'd still do it. That's Torchwood. That's who we are."
Henry reached up and cupped his lover's face. "Your valour and nobility are what I love about you, Joe."
"Says the man with the actual title," Fish teasing, rolling his eyes a bit.
"Nobility lies in action, not in name," Henry said.
"Please, don't quote Star Trek to me, Henry," Fish said, wincing. "It really weirds me out."
Henry smiled and kissed Fish gently.
"In any case, I don't think I'd get any work done if you were here… You're too distracting," Fish said. He slid his hands down Henry's back and into the back pockets of his jeans. He dipped his head, sucking on Henry's neck.
"Now that the two of you have made up, why don't you two go have fifteen minutes downstairs so that you can get to work without anymore distractions, Fish?" Jack suggested as he walked past them.
The two men leapt apart, Henry looking guilty.
"Thanks, Jack," Fish said, blushing furiously.
Smothering a grin and shaking his head, the fifty first century man headed for the east stairs. Fish started for the north stairs with Henry's hand in his but Henry remained rooted on the spot.
"Shouldn't you get back to work, Joe?" Henry asked, looking confused.
"He wasn't making a joke, Henry. He was being serious," Fish said, tugging at Henry's hand again. "C'mon, Jack just gave us fifteen minutes and you're wasting them just standing there!"