Torchwood: Divergence
Book Two: Adferiad
Chapter 28
As the three friends prepared to sit down for a bit of breakfast, the whole atmosphere of the Hub seemed to grow a little lighter and more cheerful somehow. Today was shaping up to be a good day.
"Oh," Gwen began helpfully. "Lois' car is in for major repairs, Turlough's picking her up so they'll be in around 7:00 or a little after. Martha's got errands to run and promised to be in between 7:30 and 8:00, and Johnson will not be in at all yet."
"More for us," Jack smiled, then scowled. "I hope Johnson's not gonna bail on us. She's not Ianto's favourite person or mine for that matter, but she's good at the weapons work and has other expertise we could really use. I'd hate to think that she caused Torchwood so much misery two years ago, then got out of the line of fire right off the bat because of a damn Proxy Vapour. Especially before we got to see how she handled herself on the field without a bunch of subordinates to do her bidding."
"You're definitely feeling more your old self," Cooper snorted, torn between being shocked at such a callus attitude and agreeing with the assessment.
"And I hope to keep him that way," Ianto stated evenly, appearing at the table with three steaming cups on a tray. "Industrial black with a sprinkle of sugar for Jack… Chocolate topped cappuccino for Gwen, Martha's taught you a terrible habit… and plain cappuccino for me. Enjoy. Oh, nice tree topper, by the way. Keeps with the theme beautifully."
He settled on the couch between the arm and Jack's left side, sipping his morning brew with a sigh. Whatever else the day may bring, the twenty-six-year-old was simply marking time until he and his partner could be alone tonight.
"All right, boys," Gwen smiled warmly. "Dig in. Your gifts are under the tree for later, so Happy Christmas."
"Speaking of gifts," Harkness drawled, gesturing to the young Welshman beside him even as he reached for a piece of gingerbread and nodded approval of the improvised tree topper.
Ianto put his cup down and delved into the inside pocket of his jacket to pull out several business-letter sized envelopes. He took the one on the top and handed it to the former PC sitting on the other side of Jack before re-pocketing the others. Cooper opened it with an uncertain expression, remembering some of the odd things the old team had given one another. What came out of the mailer however, was a laminate ornament like the ones on the tree, this one a picture from the CCTV of her, Rhys and Ebrill as they'd come through the cog-wheel door that early morning in August only a few days past when Ianto had first come back from the dead after almost two years in Hell. It had been zoomed and trimmed to eliminate anything recognisable as the Hub, but she knew exactly the when and where. With it, was a generously loaded gift card to the big shopping mall across town, and a certified cheque in her and Rhys' names for £1,000 that said "Holiday Bonus" in the note field.
"Torchwood doesn't give bonuses," she managed breathlessly.
"No," Harkness agreed evenly. "But I do, and really should've long before now. It's not like I'm short of funds. The gift card is from Ianto and the ornament is from us both. Merry Christmas, Gwen."
"Oh…" Cooper squeaked, wide-eyed with surprise. "Okay… okay, coffee down, because you're both getting hugged breathless."
The raven-haired woman threw her arms around Jack first, squeezing for all she was worth as he laughed and hugged back. With a quick kiss on the lips, she bounced up to go around the table and repeat the process with Ianto, then returned to her former seat.
"The pair of you are just too much," she grinned, wiping tears from her eyes and carefully sliding the gifts back into their envelope. "Thank you. These are the best gifts ever. And not because of the money involved, but because they're from the two of you, and I never thought we'd ever have another Christmas together after London. That ornament just became a family heirloom, and you'd best be prepared to hear about every single thing the other gifts get used for."
"Wouldn't miss it," the Captain chuckled. "Though you can skip the nappies and wet wipes if you want to."
Gwen laughed, abandoning her spot on the couch again for a moment so she could safely slip the envelope into her purse. Back at the table, she reclaimed her cappuccino and snagged a sugary snowflake to nibble.
"Don't let me forget," Ianto suddenly spoke up, choosing one of the currant-topped tarts. "There are cubes of rosemary rubbed venison haunch in a big tub and five kilos of whole mackerel in the Autopsy Lab's cryo Unit Two that I need to thaw for the prehistoric pest tonight."
"You got Myfanwy a present?" Jack laughed, his eyes shining. "You are such a softy!"
"Must be another bad habit I picked from you," his Archivist shrugged, retrieving his hot drink from the table. "Besides, the more I can encourage the beast to eat fish and the occasional bit of deer, the fewer panicked sheep farmers there'll be when we let her fly loose."
His friends just chuckled, all of them settling to simply enjoying the breakfast treats for a while. After sampling everything and revisiting their favourites, they rewrapped the rest for their yet to arrive fellows. Ianto went back up to fetch them another round of coffee and make sure the temperature on the reserve pot wasn't too high, then they just sat and nattered.
"I hope the gift card and cheque weren't too impersonal," the young Guardian prodded with a slightly pensive look. "But I've been out of the social loop for quite some time so I was rather lost on the gift front. Plus, it made more sense to the both of us to let you and Rhys choose what you most wanted or needed for yourselves and Ebrill."
"They're bloody fantastic, they are," Cooper smiled brightly. "And the ornament's plenty for a personal touch. Though I would quite like one of you two to go with it someday."
"Be careful what you wish for," Harkness warned with a decidedly evil smile. "I think the CCTV was on in the Hothouse a couple years back when…"
"Don't you dare!" the former constable gaped. "I have an eighteen-month-old daughter who'll see that. And it's likely to scar Rhys for life."
"Don't worry," Ianto reassured evenly. "It would never get past him if I made it, so there's no chance Eb or Rhys would ever see it."
"True," their leader shrugged, snickering as he drank his coffee. "It'd go in my little lock box in the desk for private viewing."
"That sounds like a request," Gwen giggled, meeting their resident Changeling's gaze. "I'll appeal to your higher morals in regard to mine."
The young Welshman stifled a laugh, a glitter in his eyes the woman couldn't recall seeing before and wasn't sure she trusted.
"If only she knew," Jack grinned, the younger man nodding silent agreement as he took a long drink of cappuccino.
"I promise to find a family friendly picture for you," Ianto stated solemnly. "It will be quite the challenge, but I'll manage somehow."
"You are so much more twisted than I ever imagined," Cooper said with a shake of her head. "No wonder the two of you got together. One's the petrol to the other's flame."
The Scieron Guardian gave her his most innocent smile and saluted her with his cup. There was a companionable lull then, Jack sneaking another tart from under the cling wrap and breaking off a piece that he handed to the raven-haired woman beside him. The rest he halved, popping one part in his mouth before carefully feeding the remainder to the young Welshman on his left, that soft, wistful look on his face once more as Ianto accepted the offering with a tiny smile. Their teammate felt herself blush at the exchange and she struggled to focus on something else.
Time to drag the subject back to the Holiday.
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AN: Yep, the boys are definitely feeling better.
Posting Saturday and Sunday until New Year's Day… And I'll be doubling up as well as posting when I can during the week, because I really want to at least get through Christmas Eve by our own Christmas Day. Happy Holidays…
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM