AN: Thank you for all your reviews. I am taking your wishes for more snow to arrive outside my door and therefore initiating a third snow day for me as a compliment. I don't know if I will survive another day trapped in my house, but I appreciate the fact that you are all eager to read more of this :)
Snow Forecast: It is apparently going to fall at around 3am… I'll let you know…
Please review x
After a quiet morning in the Hub with each team member in their own areas working away Ianto's re-emergence from the archives around lunchtime was a welcome distraction.
"I'm going to order food in – any preferences?" He asked as he stood in the centre of the room and looked around at each of his team-mates in turn.
"Anything but pizza. We really need to start varying our diet a bit." Tosh said as she looked up from her monitor.
Ianto smiled and nodded at the request. "I was thinking the same thing."
"Isn't there a new sandwich bar opened up on the Plass?" Gwen offered.
"Yeah I spotted that the other day. Wonder if they're open with all the snow." Tosh mused.
"I take it you'd like me to and find out?" Ianto asked as he moved towards the coat stand and pulled on his thick winter overcoat.
"Thanks Ianto. Anything remotely healthy will do – just no tuna." Gwen requested.
"Chicken salad or something similar thanks." Tosh asked.
Ianto nodded. "Owen? What can I get you?" He asked looked at the unusually quiet medic.
"I don't know. I might come along for the walk. I could do with some air." He said slipping off his stool and pulling his leather jacket on.
Ianto nodded before tapping his comms. "Jack I'm going to the new sandwich bar on the Plass – assuming its open. What can I get you?" He asked.
"I don't mind. Anything will do." Jack said simply before disconnecting from the chat.
"Right. We won't be long assuming it's open. If not, I'll use my initiative." Ianto said as he set off towards the cog door with Owen following.
"Be careful out there." Tosh called.
"No snowball fights." Gwen called.
Owen sighed as he stepped into the lift, leaning back on the wall and closing his eyes. "You'd think after all this time I'd be used to being the bad guy, in fact it's a role I usually enjoy. But when I haven't done anything wrong, and I am taking grief for something that he did to you, it's not so fun." He said sombrely as he exited the lift and walked through into the tourist information office and out onto the boardwalk at a pace that meant Ianto had to jog to catch him up.
"Could you honestly not come up with a better story behind that damned bruise on your face other than me chucking a snowball at you? If you even disregard the fact that if my snowball had caused the bruise it would have appeared a damn sight sooner, I don't really appreciate being the fall guy in this stupid lie you are running. I get the fact that you telling the girls that Jack hit you would incur a barrage of questions, but surely you who knows everything, who can spin lies that sometimes rival Jacks – you have a history of it after all – could have come up with something that didn't make me villain of the piece." Owen snarled before recoiling slightly when he realised what he'd said, and how Ianto's face had fallen as a result.
"Are you done?" Ianto asked, his ability to maintain his composure amazing Owen.
"Ianto I didn't mean to… that's not what I was meaning… I just…" Owen babbled.
"You meant it. You knew exactly what you were saying, and you meant it. I'm going to the sandwich bar. I suggest you find an alternate place for lunch." Ianto said calmly before walking away from Owen, his hands pushed deep in his pockets, his pace a little faster than usual. As he walked up the steps onto the Plass he brought his hand up to his face in an attempt to physically push back the sob that was bubbling over.
"Ianto!" Owen called from behind him, the fast paced footsteps of the Londoner sounding. The Welshman stopped in his tracks but didn't turn around. Owen reached him swiftly and rounded him, standing before him and looking at his sombre face.
"Ianto I am sorry. I didn't mean it I swear. I just…" Owen pushed his hand through his hair in frustration. "The way I feel about you… I just snapped and I'm sorry. I just don't want to be the bad guy… not this time."
Ianto let out a calming breath before he spoke. "I am sorry that I implicated you in the cause of this. I panicked and it was the first thing that came to mind. I attempted damage control with whole 'Owen the Chef' remark, but Team Torchwood has a tendency to focus on the bad rather than the good points of peoples character. Trust me, I have long standing experience being on the receiving end." He said coolly.
"Please don't do this. Please don't push me away. Not after it's taken me so long to get to this point." Owen begged.
"What do you want from me Owen? Do you want me to go back in there, call everyone into the conference room and explain to them that Jack punched me because he thinks I'm screwing you, which is something that as yet hasn't happened, but could be on the cards? Do you want that?" Ianto asked incredulously.
"You know I don't. Telling the team is not something I look forward to. Even if you take Jack out of the equation – and god I wish I could – I hardly expect Gwen and Tosh to react favourably, do you? What I want is for us to not fall out because that is exactly what he wants. He wants us to bicker and row and for us to end this before we have chance to start out and if we let that happen I will regret it for the rest of my life." Owen spoke passionately and it surprised Ianto.
"I'm not going to let that happen." Ianto murmured softly.
A small smile graced Owen's lips. "I just don't know what to do about this." He said gently.
"Lets try and make it through the rest of the day without incident. We'll keep an eye on Jack and see if we can figure out what he's thinking. Tonight we'll go back to mine and forget about Torchwood for a night. The whole night." Ianto said as he allowed his fingers to brush Owen's lightly and subtly, aware of the nearby CCTV camera and the fact that Jack might be watching them.
Owen nodded as his smile grew. "He's watching isn't here?" He said with a wry smile.
"More than likely. You'd know if I thought he wasn't." Ianto winked.
"Let's go get lunch then." Owen said turning around and heading in the direction of the sandwich bar.
"Just be glad he can't hear." Ianto said as he jogged to catch him up.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he'd bugged you or something, but I'm assuming by the fact I'm still alive that he hasn't thought of that yet." Owen replied as they reached the door of the sandwich bar and he held it open for Ianto. The Welshman couldn't help but laugh as he walked inside.
"Don't give him any ideas." He said with a smirk.