Ianto and Lisa were walking down the long rows of shelves in the storage room, amazed at the amount of alien technology stored there. Parts of spaceships, helmets, whole robots (deactivated, of course) and a variety of other items they didn't know the purpose of.
"Some of these boxes are really dirty." Lisa brushed her blazer.
"It's just dust," Ianto explained, looking around. He enjoyed exploring these storage rooms. They reminded him of the archives at Cardiff Museum, where he had worked for a few months the year before. He smiled. Come to think of it, this storeroom was the exact opposite of the one in Cardiff. Archiving the secrets of the future instead of the past.
Lisa coughed as she opened a cardboard box sitting there for a long time, as the layers of dust on the lid indicated. After a glance, she closed it and pushed it back into place.
"Maybe we should focus on more recent items," she frowned, but then a cheeky expression crossed her face. "I can already see us spending hours cleaning everything. With a duster and an apron!" She giggled, clearly enjoying herself despite the dust.
He loved the sound of her voice when she laughed.
"You're friends with Adi?" Ianto asked, changing the subject. So far, they'd only discussed what kind of items they wanted for the party, but he couldn't pass up the chance to learn more about this fascinating woman.
"Yes! Adi's been so kind to me. She's been a great help in settling me in since I started this job. Working here is so exciting!"
Ianto smiled. "It's something, isn't it?"
"Oh yes, it's an absolute dream job! Torchwood is so progressive. I mean, look at Yvonne. She's doing an amazing job running the Institute. I really look up to her. I'm so grateful that she's given me the opportunity to work here. It feels like anything is possible if you work hard enough, no matter who you are or where you come from, you know?" Lisa praised.
Ianto nodded. He knew what she meant. He had always wanted to work in a skyscraper like the Torchwood Tower, but as a child, growing up on a council estate in the suburbs of Cardiff, it had seemed so far away. Wearing a suit and tie still felt strange at times, but he knew his work was valued. He felt seen. Just some of the many reasons he enjoyed working for Torchwood, even though he was still at odds with a big city like London.
"I know, I'm kind of privileged," Lisa continued, "because my parents have money and everything. But they fully expected me to become a doctor, a lawyer, or to marry some rich guy. When I told them I wanted to go into research or join the space programme, they thought I was crazy." She rolled her eyes.
Ianto marvelled at the way her whole face lit up as she spoke.
"Space programme?" he asked.
"Yes, absolutely! I always wanted to be an astronaut and go to the moon! Completely ignoring that no one has gone to the moon lately," she laughed. "But with Torchwood? Anything is possible!"
They continued along the shelves, trying to get to know each other better.
"What about you?" Lisa inquired.
"What about me?"
"What did you dream of becoming as a child?" Lisa looked at him, and he felt his skin tingle under her gaze.
"Me?" he asked, surprised as his cheeks heated up.
She laughed again. "Don't be embarrassed! Just tell!"
"Oh, just boy stuff," he replied sheepishly. "I wanted to be a secret agent like James Bond or a space pirate. Stuff like that."
She looked at him with a wrinkled nose.
"I told you, it's just boy stuff," he said defensively, a little disappointed.
"James Bond is so backwards and full of toxic masculinity," she shook her head. "But I'd take a space pirate any day."
She winked at him.
Her joking attitude didn't help; Ianto felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Lisa was way out of his league; why did he think showing his geeky side was a good idea? He should have kept his mouth shut.
"Wow, this is better than Disneyland!" Lisa suddenly squealed and ran to one of the taller shelves at the back of the room.
She put on a big alien helmet, and Ianto had to stifle a laugh at how ridiculous it looked on her slender frame. Her breath became ragged as she said, "Luke, I'm your father," and theatrically extended her hand to Ianto.
He stared at her for a moment before laughing with delight.
"You... you like Star Wars?" he stammered. Despite working for Torchwood, which dealt with aliens and the unexplained daily, his colleagues had little interest in fantasy or science fiction. Torchwood often reminded him more of a bureaucratic administration than fearless alien hunters.
Lisa took off the helmet and smiled.
"Sure! Well, I'm more into Star Trek, but Star Wars is pretty good too."
He looked at her with bright eyes. Lisa was amazing. But that didn't mean he could ignore her last comment. He frowned and looked at her in mock exasperation.
Her demeanour faltered. "Did I say something wrong?"
"Pretty good too?"
"Yeah?"
"How can you call Star Wars just pretty good?" he burst out. "Honestly - Darth Vader! Stormtroopers, Jedi, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Chewbacca. The Falcon! Space battles! The eternal struggle between good and evil! It's the greatest science fiction saga of all time!"
Ianto stopped as he noticed her smile widen. "What?"
She laughed. "Oh my God, you're so passionate! I love that! And I know how that feels, I grew up with Star Trek! I'm very passionate about it myself!"
Lisa Hallett loved Star Trek. Ianto Jones was buzzing inside.
"So ... a Trekkie, huh? Your favourite series and your favourite character?" he asked her. Just to make sure she wasn't pulling his leg.
"I guess all of them," she said after thinking for a few seconds. "But mostly Voyager, I watched all the episodes on the telly. And I think it shaped me into who I am today. Janeway is great. And I like Tuvok."
"Who on earth likes Tuvok!" exclaimed Ianto with a chuckle, causing Lisa to roll her eyes.
"I bet you like Seven of Nine," she shot back.
"Of course," Ianto replied.
"Men," Lisa groaned. "So predictable."
Ianto just smiled at her and waited for her to change her mind. This was fun.
"Okay, okay, you're right," she finally admitted. "She is amazing. Sure, she's been built up as a sex symbol, but she's gone above and beyond to become one of the most complex characters in Star Trek history. Who doesn't like Seven of Nine?"
They both laughed and continued the conversation as they continued to search the storage room for useful knick-knacks to use as party decorations.
About an hour later, they were still talking as a pile of helmets, empty weapons, stuffed creatures and even parts of an escape pod piled up near the exit door.
"I've seen all three original films," she said proudly. "Not only the prequels. It just sometimes feels like those films have so much potential, and yet they lack good character development. You know what I mean? Take Padme, for example. I like her. Kind of. I don't like her progression. She's supposed to be a senator! And for some reason, all she does is exist as Anakin's love interest. It's so disappointing!"
"Well, that's... true to some extent, I suppose, but you know her story is already set in stone and can't be changed," Ianto said defensively.
"But it's still disappointing," she insisted.
"Fair enough," Ianto said.
She was the first woman he'd met who'd seen the films and was open to a deeper discussion about them. He'd always assumed it was a guy thing.
"Have you seen the first three films in their original form?"
"What do you mean? I saw them at the movies," she said, unsure where this was going.
"That was the special edition," Ianto clarified.
"I know. What's wrong with that? They just improved the CGI," Lisa shrugged.
"But for what? Why try to improve things that are already perfect? They mostly used really bad-looking CGI aliens where none were needed. Nothing beats the original. I actually have the VHS tapes."
He couldn't keep the pride out of his voice.
She stared at him, eyes wide. "You have not!"
"Sure, I do," he said smugly. Then it hit him like a bolt of lightning. An opening. "Maybe... we could watch it together sometime?" he asked, his voice turning shy.
She looked at him, a small smile on her lips.
"We could."
He stared at her, speechless.
"Maybe Sunday, after the party?" she suggested.
Her eyes were serious, Ianto realised. She wasn't joking.
Before he could answer, they heard a crash at the other end of the storeroom and turned towards a corner full of cardboard boxes.
"What was that?" Ianto wondered, suddenly fully alert.
"I don't know," said Lisa, but her curiosity was piqued. "Let's find out!"
She began to move closer to the sound.
"Be careful," Ianto whispered.
There was nothing to be seen under all the junk on the floor. As they moved the boxes away, one by one, something shuffled across the floor. It sounded like tiny legs on concrete.
Lisa suddenly grinned.
"I know what it is," she said softly. "We've been looking for it all morning! That's why I was so late for the meeting!"
"What is it?"
"It is a unicorn dragon. It escaped from its cage while I was doing a scientific experiment. I took my eyes off the little bugger for just a few minutes, and it was gone!" She shook her head in displeasure. "We can't let it run free."
"A dragon? Can it breathe fire?"
She giggled. "Not really. It's just smoke coming out of its nostrils, but it's unique. This is the only specimen we have. I'm sure it's hungry by now."
They continued to remove more of the cartons until only a few remained.
"It's got to be here somewhere," Ianto muttered. "But where?"
"I don't know."
Both fell silent, listening intently.
There was a tiny sneeze, and a puff of smoke rose from behind one of the boxes further away.
They smiled at each other.
Ianto emptied a wastepaper basket and signalled for Lisa to circle the rest of the boxes. When she finally got behind the little creature, she coughed softly, and the dragon squeaked in surprise, running straight into the bin Ianto had set out for him.
When he looked inside, he saw the dragon sitting at the bottom, pressed against the wall and shivering.
"It's afraid. And so tiny," Ianto said in a low voice.
"Yeah," she agreed. "I wish I had some chocolate with me. The little bugger loves chocolate, and it usually helps to calm him down."
A second later, something inside the bin exploded, sending white powder into the air and covering Ianto's hair and suit.
"What just happened?" he coughed in surprise.
He heard Lisa laughing as he rubbed the burning white substance out of his eyes.
"Oh my God, I should have warned you," Lisa said, laughing even louder. "We're not sure why it's only coughing smoke, but we believe it can spit fire in its natural habitat. The white powder acts as its own fire extinguisher. Its back pores allow it to blow the powder in all directions, extinguishing the fire it has started if necessary. I have no idea what set it off. Probably because it is afraid."
She moved closer and brushed the white powder from Ianto's shoulders. As he shook the remnants of his mishap from his hair, some of it fell on her blouse. He mumbled an apology before falling silent.
Their heads had come very close in the turmoil, and he only now realised how close. They stared into each other's eyes, their noses just inches apart.
If he leaned forward now, he could kiss her.
He could.
But then the moment passed, and he realised he wouldn't. He cleared his throat and sat back.
Lisa seemed to have had a similar thought. She stood up quickly.
"Being captured by Torchwood is no walk in the park..., I'll fetch it's cage," she said and hurried off to her laboratory.
She returned minutes later, and they sealed the dragon back into its cage. It continued to puff smoke, and the crows produced by its tiny lungs sounded frustrated.
"What's going to happen to it?" Ianto asked.
"I will continue my experiments. We need to learn everything we can about alien life, Torchwood needs to be prepared for what's out there. Knowledge is power. You know that."
"And then it'll end up like those stuffed aliens," Ianto said, looking at some grotesque creatures they'd piled up for the party.
"I think so," Lisa said, staring sombrely at the dragon. It looked adorable with that little horn on its nose. "You still haven't answered my question."
"What question?" Ianto asked her, confused.
"Star Wars marathon. On Sunday," she reminded him.
"Seriously?" Ianto gasped. Did she want to do that? "I... like... I mean - your place, my place?"
"Actually, I still live with my parents in Kensington," she said, slightly embarrassed. "So, ummm. Maybe we should go to yours."
"Mine? I don't know. The thing is, I have a flatmate... Soren. Nice bloke, but..." Ianto rambled, his mind racing. "Maybe I can bribe him to be somewhere else or something." He pulled out his phone and made a quick call.
"Ianto, mate, what's up?" Soren's voice boomed over the phone.
"Hello, Soren. Um, could you do me a favour? I met this girl and..." Ianto started, but Soren interrupted.
"You got yourself a girlfriend?" Soren laughed. His teasing was affectionate. Despite his rough exterior, he had a soft spot for his sometimes naive flatmate. "How did you manage that?"
"Not yet. Maybe. I don't know," Ianto stammered, turning his back on Lisa and walking a few steps away. He continued in a lowered voice, "I just met her, and she wants to come over. Could you please let me have the flat this weekend? Just in case."
"What's in it for me?" Soren asked, amused.
"I don't know..." Ianto's mind raced. "Tickets to the Arsenal game?" Damn, he was hoping Guileraana could help him with that!
Soren was silent for a moment. "Really? That game has been sold out for weeks," he said, obviously impressed.
Sold out? Bloody hell, Ianto cursed inwardly. He had little interest in sports and was out of touch with football. He hoped that G would be able to help him out as he promised: "Yeah, sure, two tickets for you and a plus one of your choice."
"Plus one... haha," Soren laughed at his choice of words. "That'll impress some blokes at work when I show up with an extra ticket tomorrow. The weekend's all yours, mate. Just bring me those tickets!"
After he'd hung up, Ianto swallowed, feeling uncertain.
"What did he say?" Lisa asked when Ianto returned to her and the little dragon in the cage.
Ianto forced a smile despite his nervousness. "We've got the flat to ourselves. Plenty of time to watch all three films." And whatever else they could think of, he thought without saying it out loud.
"Brilliant!" she beamed.
She then looked at her watch. "Damn, look at the time!" It's getting late; we should take what we've got and get back upstairs."
Ianto slid his fingers carefully through the bars of the cage and stroked the little dragon. The skin felt rough to the touch. Then he let go and looked at his watch.
"You're right let's call it a day. You take the cage and I'll take care of the decorations. We have a lot to do until Saturday."
After Lisa had said goodbye and returned to her office, Ianto took out his phone.
"G? This is a matter of life and death. I need your help!"