torchwoodteaboy | el nysa inbox;

Fine.

It's probably me.

I don't know why, it didn't work before, it shouldn't work here. Now will you please stop asking me about it?

[ Honestly. Is 5am still considered late or is it early? Because at this rate, he could really use a stronger drink.

He swings the fridge shut and moves to try and dodge around Ianto. ]

[John does use the word ‘please’ which certainly earns him points as far as Ianto is concerned but it’s too much for him to just drop.]

It... You?

[Sorry, John. He can’t just leave it there, and he’s definitelu not getting out of the way. Not without something more to go on. He’s just that kind of a man. He needs to know how, to understand, and none of it is making any sense to him just now.]

[ Ianto dogs his steps and John pulls up short in irritation, takes a slow breath as he tries to press down on the feeling before it gets the better of him. ]

Yes, Ianto, I said it's probably me. Sometimes I make things light up and do stuff.

[ Just... normally not phones. ]

[Ianto does his best not to walk into the other man when he stops, though it's difficult given how close he's already been following the other man. Stops and. Frowns. Sometimes he makes things light up?]

You... I'm sorry, you do what?

[Really all of this had just started with a phone call and now it's blown so much further out of proportion than that and if it really is as John says, Ianto feels that he's going to need more coffee for this.]

Like. Telekinesis or something? [Yes he realizes that's not the right word.]

No. Telekinesis is moving stuff, this is just... look, it's not even conscious. It's some genetic thing thing that lets me use all this stuff nobody else can use properly and then everyone comes and stands around me and says touch this John, think of where we are in the galaxy John, fly the ship John, activate the control panel John. I'm not doing it on purpose, okay?

[ Okay? He takes a steadying breath, rakes a hand through his hair and steps closer to his bed so he can grab up his phone. ]

And it shouldn't work with these things anyway, they shouldn't listen to me.

[The way that John describes it, it sounds... Pretty terrible, honestly. He stays where he is while John continues forward toward his bed, frowning slightly as he tries to wrap his mind around the ability itself and John's hangups around it as well.

He wants to ask more. Wants to ask him what he means, how he could not do such a thing on purpose, but he understands that his questions are starting to wear on him. Have been wearing on him. And he had said 'please'. It's just difficult not to ask. To leave a question unanswered, a puzzle unsolved.]

Alright. [He sounds a bit more subdued than before, but he can't help himself as the question slips out to ask:] Why shouldn't they?

They didn't before, nothing -- here did.

[ Nothing in Olympia, nothing on the Natha ship. He moves to sit on the edge of his bed, playing the phone between his hands. It jumps to life and begins flipping through things. His hands aren't touching the screen.]

It either does or it doesn't. It does if it was made with technology built by the Ancients. If it does, it resonates with me right away. Picks up what I'm thinking. If it doesn't, it probably isn't going to. I tried everything -- up there, when we were first picked up. The Natha and the Ancients aren't so different. They're not meant to interfere but sometimes they do. I thought, if they were the same I could get the ship to tell me more about what was going on.

[ It didn't. ]

[Now that the truth is out, Ianto feels a little awkward about his pushing and prodding and interrogating the other man into giving it. But really, what was so difficult about telling him? Did he honestly just expect him to accept an answer like 'well it's doing what we want' and leave it at that?

He hovers in the center of the room where he'd stopped, watching John scroll through the screen with only the use of his -- mind? Thoughts?]

But now it does. And on my mobile as well.

[It isn't really a question. More a coming together of facts, as they fit into place for him. In his defense, it is still only just after 5am and it's a lot to process that your roommate can apparently manipulate technology with his mind.

Ianto presses his lips together in a tight line, before continuing on:] Look, I... Really need some coffee to process this. Interested?

Well, it's too early for anything else.

[ The levity is not quite there, so it's hard to tell if John is actually disappointed about this or not. He takes a sip of his water and nods anyway, trying to steady himself as he sets the phone aside. ]

Sorry, for... waking you. I was...

[ Awake, already, he couldn't sleep. Was just thinking about Ianto, because he wondered if he might be awake. ]

It doesn't matter.

[Ianto waits for the other man's nod before turning back towards the kitchen and setting about making coffee. The routine of it helps, doing something familiar with his hands makes him feel more relaxed than he had, awkwardly standing about, watching John struggle with this. Because he seems to be. Struggling, that is. Although why exactly, Ianto doesn't rightly know.

He glances back over his shoulder at him at the apology, stunted though it may have been. From the time he's spent living with the other man, he's come to understand that John might not sleep very well. And it seems like the technology does what he wants it to, at least to some degree. Which means... Well, he doesn't know what exactly. That he'd wanted to talk to him?]

Don't worry about it. I should apologize myself anyway. I had thought you were having me on. I didn't mean to be short with you.

It's fine.

[ John scrubs at his face a little to wake up better, moves to push to his feet and rummages around for a t-shirt to pull on. ]

Don't -- let me keep you up, if you just wanna go back to sleep.

[ In case Ianto was just offering out of politeness. ]

[Ianto shrugs slightly, glancing back over his shoulder as John starts moving about again before turning back to the task at hand.]

I'd only be up in another few hours anyway.

[He doesn't want to say outright that he wouldn't be able to sleep now even if he tried. He's pretty sure that wouldn't sound very good, no matter how he managed to phrase it.]

It's certainly not the first early morning wake up call I've gotten, anyway. For a second, there, I thought...

[He trails off awkwardly, before doing his best to salvage his words.] Well. There'll be no chasing aliens on the agenda today, at least, I hope.

In my experience, you can never rule it out entirely.

[ he moves into the kitchen and leans up against a wall, watching Ianto fuss with the coffee. ]

I can head out and get us something to eat once the shops open. Or, if you want we could just... go somewhere, see what they have.

[ Does Olympia have the equivalent of Denny's? There's gotta be some hole in the wall place that's open at weird hours serving junk. ]

[Ah. No, he doesn't suppose he can. Especially not given the fact that they are on an alien planet in the first place. He glances up at John as he joins him in the kitchen before turning back to the press in front of him. On the counter in front of him, John will probably notice the stopwatch laid out. It's just as effective as any phone timer, really, and there's a sort of rustic charm to using it as well.

Really, this would go a lot faster if he had an espresso machine. He looks between the water he's put on the little hot pad of a range they've got, and back to the press he's already put coffee into and then replies:]

We. Could go out? Though I'd better stop this now if you don't want to wait for it to finish first.

No, no, it's fine you -- finish that. It's too early for most places anyway, and -- I'm sure your coffee is better.

[ A little flattery has always helped, in John's experience, especially in bouncing away concern. It's distracting, like an easy smile -- thought John's smile has a hint of strain to it right now. He's tired, and this has all been more that he'd normally want at 5am. ]

[Oh. That's. The first time John has really complimented his coffee in such a way, and Ianto preens a little in response to it.]

Yeah. Alright. It'll just take a minute more for this water to get to a boil then.

[And then the time that the coffee will need to brew, but that's another story. John doesn't need to hear all that. The question is -- how to fill the silence between then and now instead.

He glances aside at the other man, hands braced on the counter before him for a moment before he hazards:]

I. Really don't mind. Waking me up. If you need to, you know. You can, yeah?

[ Oh we're back to personal discussions again.

John shifts uncomfortably, hands braced against the wall behind his back and expression pinched into an unhappy sort of squint. Like he was going for a sardonic smile but didn't have the will to finish it. His eyes flick everywhere but Ianto. ]

It's fine. I haven't slept easy in a while, no need to spread it around.

Edited 2018-05-13 17:12 (UTC)

[Ianto studies the other man’s uncomfortable shifting and wonders just how long ‘a while’ is. It’s really not the sort of habit that one just randomly develops after all. Ianto knows that fact personally, after all.]

It’s not a problem. Honestly.

[But he won’t push it. The water boils and he turns back to the coffee, busting himself with preparing the grounds and pouring it in. Awkwardly searching for something else to say before he accidentally starts in on another uncomfortable topic again.]

[ Isn't it?

John tilts his unhappy squint up at Ianto, still a little hunched over as he leans against the wall. ]

Maybe not for you.

[ It's a problem for him. His eyes flick down to his feet again, trying to seek out some kind of answer. ]

These things all come as a package deal with deployment. Repression, denial, emotional problems, lack of sleep. Too many things you can't talk about. That's what makes us all the best and brightest. Integrity, service, excellence.

[Ianto nods quietly, watching the other man's expression as he replies before turning back to the coffee. Stirring it before adding the coffee and starting his stopwatch. He stands and watches the coffee, listening to the stopwatch tick as he gathers his thoughts. Unable to tell exactly whether the other man is serious or not.

He wants to ask him more questions about his life. But he knows he's already intruded on his privacy enough for one day. The stopwatch ticks on for a moment in the midst of their silence.]

For what it's worth. You don't have to have entered into the service for all of that. Sometimes it has a way of finding you no matter who you are. [And on that note...]

I. Had a pet, back at the Hub you know. I'm thinking of asking them if there was a chance they might have saved her too. [There we are. Hopefully he can salvage this conversation, no matter how much of a jump that might have been.]

A pet?

[ John lifts his eyes and studies Ianto, steadily taking in his expression and body language. It's a deflection, he can tell that easily. For both their sake, he supposes. I's probably for the best, considering how the conversation had stumbled along. ]

Like a dog?

[ Or a cat? What else would you have as an office pet? Something caged, like a... hamster? Lizard? Lizards are cool. ]

[Ianto offers him the flicker of a smile. He's trying. For John's sake, as much as his own. He could probably have kept going with his awkward line of questioning if he really wanted to. But he won't.]

She's a pterodactyl actually. Or a pteranodon. I don't really know which is technically correct, the latter I suppose.

[So. Kind of like a lizard, in a way?]

[ A... what?

His expression smooths out in a slow display of surprise for a moment, then furrows in confusion.]

A dinosaur?

[ Just. To be clear. That he's thinking of the same... pterodactyl. Pteranodon. Situation. ]

Mmm.

[He makes a soft noise in agreement with the question as he checks his stopwatch for the timer.]

There's a rift in space and time that goes through the center of Cardiff. I think I said that already. Anyway, sometimes people and things come throughout. Like dinosaurs. We were lucky Myfanwy is as agreeable as she is. You know, for a sense of the word. Things might have gone a lot differently if she had been something else. We certainly wouldn't have kept her as a pet, at any rate.

[ Myfanwy.

Came through a rift in Cardiff.

He squints again, trying to process this. ]

... How agreeable?

[ She's... still... a dinosaur after all. Can you train a dinosaur? Aren't they... big? How big is a Pteranodon for that matter, he doesn't think he knows compared to a person. ]

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