Torchwood: Divergence
Book Three: Rheoleiddiad
Chapter 56
In spite of Jack's best efforts to play "wife" on their holiday, Ianto had still done the majority of the cooking and cleaning. It had clearly proven that his culinary knowledge wasn't just random trivia after all. However, today was Valentine's Day, and the older immortal wasn't allowing it. He'd risen early to make breakfast, brought it in on a tray along with the timer brewed coffee his partner had put on the night before, and they'd enjoyed their morning meal in bed.
The Captain had formulated a plan with the house's caretaker when they'd gone to the Llewellyns' home for dinner the night before, and had been very careful to play his part all day. After the morning wash-up and a shared shower, they'd done what they had a few times already, driving to the nearest towns to look around and do a little shopping.
Over their holiday, they'd found a two-by-three metre rug for the bedroom; a thick, insanely soft, faux lynx fur thing, that was perfect in front of the fireplace because it was made of naturally non-flammable materials. Very cosy, yet functional… which really appealed to them both. There was now an antique wing chair in the room as well; along with two others just like it, a table, lamp, and dozen or so books in the library. A couple of the volumes they'd found in the boxes from the attic, including a well-worn copy of "Aesop's Fables" and a 1902 Shepherd's Almanac. They'd also added a nice hassock in the sitting room, an old-fashioned looking radio that actually housed a very modern receiver and speakers, and a matching antique walnut sleigh bed and quilt press for one of the bedrooms on the ground floor. The second bedroom down there was likely to become an entertainment room when they decided to purchase a television and stock some DVDs. And all thanks to Mr. Llewellyn loaning them his old military surplus Bedford MX 4x4.
Today though, they hadn't really been interested in buying anything, simply enjoying the time together. They'd had lunch in Pantygasseg, spent some time roaming the bookstore there and had ended up with one titled "Monsters or Myths" for its personal amusement value. The oversized hardback gave accounts of "Monsters" through the ages in Wales, running all the way up through the end of the 1980s. Since they could easily identify over half as Rift related incursions of familiar aliens, and knew the sickening truth of the tale about the "Brecon Beacons' Man-Eater", the pair had decided the colourful explanations were chuckle-worthy enough to warrant the purchase. They'd take it back to the Hub with them to entertain the team.
They'd headed for the house again in the mid-afternoon, Harkness suggesting a walk in the woods before they worried about dinner when they arrived, so they'd gone exploring the property hand-in-hand. The Captain had been very aware that the Llewellyns were currently in their home doing some very special decorating, and setting out a meal delivered by an accommodating waiter from their favourite restaurant in Cardiff. It was exactly what they'd had on the date that had eventually led the Welshman's sister to discover their relationship… their single really good time before he'd gotten cold feet and tried to push the younger man away in the time leading to it all going to hell with the 456.
It was shading into twilight when they made it back to the house, both men chilled but in fairly high spirits. They unlocked the front door, came in to hang up their coats… to find a small fire crackling in the main hearth, and wonderfully familiar scents filling the lower floor. The coats went on their pegs, and they moved into the kitchen where the table was set with chinaware they didn't own, chafing dishes were keeping the food warm, an open bottle of 1912 Reisling was airing as it chilled in a bucket of ice, and a dozen long stemmed red roses sprang from a cut glass vase along with heather and baby's breath, two pristine white roses at the arrangement's centre. There was even a packet of Lindt-LINDOR white chocolate truffles with the dark chocolate shell sitting in front of the flowers.
"Jack…" Ianto breathed, obviously very surprised and deeply touched.
The American stepped close to wrap his arms around his partner's waist from behind, kissed the side of his face and held him tight.
"Happy Saint Valentine's Day," he murmured in the Changeling's ear, thrilled by how pleased the twenty-six-year-old was with the set up. "The Llewellyns and Marcus went above and beyond in the accomplice department. This is tonnes better than I could've managed on my own."
"You did all of this for me?" Ianto whispered, sighing shakily when the older immortal nodded, then shifting to face him and return the embrace as his heart rate climbed. "Whoa… gettin' way too happy an' excited…"
"Deep breaths," Harkness coached with a smile, able to feel how fast the younger man's heart was racing and knowing from his heavier accent that he was teetering on the edge of an overload and trying not to let things build into a seizure. "Put your hand over my heart… try to match it and my breathing, yeah?"
It only took a couple of minutes for the Shadow reborn Welshman to get everything under control again, and he relaxed against his lover for a few second before pulling back to give him a solid kiss.
"This is amazing, Jack," Ianto murmured earnestly. "Thank you."
"Way overdue," the Captain insisted soberly, then smiled and shooed the young Guardian toward his seat. "I'll play waiter, you relax."
He set about pouring the wine, serving the starters, and slightly increasing the temperature of the warmer under the dessert dish. They progressed to the entrée after a time, finished the wine with the meal, then paused for Ianto to make fresh coffee before the final course.
"Great thing about this," Jack pointed out as they settled to enjoy their brandy poached pears over slices of dense custard cake. "We can save what we want for tomorrow, put all the restaurant's dishes and warming gear in their bins over in the mudroom and only have to wash the borrowed china. Marcus said he'll be by to get the bins tomorrow and run everything through their sanitizer. Less clean up for us, more time for other activities."
"I vote for a bit of slow dancing in the sitting room," his Archivist put in. "Be a shame to waste the fire's 'cosy atmosphere' after all."
"Definitely," Harkness agreed cheerfully.
The pair finished their pudding and coffee, took time to package the left-overs for the next day, got all the restaurant's items into the bins which they moved out by the front door, and washed up the dishes that obviously belonged to Mrs. Llewellyn and looked suspiciously like a wedding set. Then they moved into the sitting room, where Jack stoked the fire and Ianto found a good channel on the radio. Their evening of love and romance was only just beginning.
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AN: The boys are definitely getting the alone time they deserve.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM