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( that was a long time. river wasn't familiar enough with the dates to know what, if any, major events he might have seen. but there were aliens, perhaps adventures-- )

That's a lot of preparation. ( for here. a lot of time to become familiar with aliens even if it wasn't entirely comfortable. how good was he at spotting them?

she was curious about what he'd seen but given torchwood's history river isn't entirely certain if she wants some of the confirmation )

How much did you see?

[He has the feeling that she's not asking about the artifacts, as much as he'd like to hope so. Ianto raises his glass to take a fortifying sip before he replies:]

Well, I was originally hired by Yvonne at Torchwood One, before Canary Wharf, so.

[He glances back up at her and the expression in his eyes is hollow. Haunted. Shuttered.]

Enough, I should think.

( oh, that's... that's certainly making things more complicated. she knows enough about the battle of canary wharf, having caught mention of it in her readings of trailing the doctor's life that she's familiar with the majority of the details )

Daleks and Cybermen.

( her hand picks up her glass again but she doesn't yet move to drink from it )

I'm sorry.

Daleks and Cybermen.

[Ianto repeats, his words soft and a little hollow as he does. It's not the first time he's mentioned these aliens to someone in this place, but it's the first time he's done so to someone who might actually understand what it means, to have survived that battle.

He nods in response to her apology, looking down into the drink in his glass as he does so, before he continues:]

I haven't worked for Jack in Cardiff for nearly as long as I worked for Yvonne in London. If you know about the history of Torchwood Three, you might end up knowing more than I do.

I don't know much about your current events.

( does she? he'll never find out as river won't tell. it's an easy way to shift a little bit off the more uncomfortable topic )

I'm-- aware of Jack, though I hadn't met him before seeing him here.

( though with someone like jack, leaving their own tales in history's wake, how could you not be familiar? )

[Ianto flicks her something of a smile at the mention of her knowing of Jack.]

So you've met him then? He certainly has gotten around a lot for only been awake for what, a week?

He has quite the reputation.

( said as of course i've met him )

Though I'd read of much of what he'd done before waking here.

[He quirks an eyebrow in response to the suggestion -- reading about him? -- before deciding that's another good reason to take a sip of his drink.]

I'm sure there's quite the list by that point. He'd already racked up quite the tally even by the time I'd started working for him.

[You know, what with him being immortal and all. A fact that Ianto had only recently learned, before Jack had run off on his escapade with the Doctor.

Still, Ianto'd always wondered why Jack's name had shown up in Torchwood records through the years. He'd thought maybe it had been a code name assigned to certain operatives, at first. Now he knows better.]

How much of it do you know?

( curious. how much would he have told someone that he worked with? river takes a far more relaxed sip of her drink, starting to relax a little after how torchwood had wound her up slightly )

[Ianto huffs out the breath of a laugh, shaking his head at the question. How much does he know? Frustratingly little, all things considered. Then again...]

Enough to make an assumption that I've only just scratched the surface.

[The same could be said regarding a great many things in Jack's history, really.]

With his past that's certainly true.

( she knows that the same is true about what is written about the doctor and the truth and would like to hope the same is true about herself )

How well can you really know a time traveller?

[He flashes her a smile that again doesn't quite meet his eyes, moving to swirl his drink in his glass as he does.]

Well, I like to think that I know him better than most. Especially with him living a rather linear life, as of late. But you're right, of course.

[He pulls a face, before taking another healthy swallow of his drink.]

I never could follow whether he was ever telling me the truth or not.

I know what you mean.

( her fingers tap her glass but she doesn't quite yet pick it back up. this works for two people she knows -- more, really )

In my experience, it's usually safer to believe that he's lying.

( because a lot of the time they had to. for safety, for spoilers. for so many other things )

[Ianto raises an eyebrow at her suggestion.]

Safer, yes. That doesn't mean that it's right.

[This is Jack Harkness that they're talking about. You wouldn't believe the sorts of things he's gotten up to in Ianto's lifetime alone.

He takes a tentative sip of his drink, watching her over the rim of his glass, before he hazards:]

"In your experience"?

( there's a sort of shrug in her expression that river refrains from making physical. it might not be right but often it was necessary )

Jack isn't the only time traveller I'm familiar with.

( especially being one herself. she takes a drink now, almost steeling herself for the conversation. he's torchwood, he'll know the name )

The Doctor.

[River may not have admitted to traveling, but mentioning the Doctor's name is all she needs to do for Ianto to make at least some connection. You don't know the Doctor without being involved in time travel at at least some level yourself. Even if it's only peripherally.]

Well. The one and only. If ever there were a time traveler to get to know, I suppose that would be the one.

[He tries to keep his voice and his expression as neutral as he can as he continues:] He does make his way around, doesn't he...

He does.

( and she can't help but sound fond as she talks about him, her eyes lighting up. all of their adventures and running... oh, they had some good times )

He's had a lot of time to.

Mmm. [Ianto hums under his breath. He's read a lot on the Doctor. As much as Torchwood has on him, at least. But it's all fairy tales, mostly. Smoke and mirrors. He's never stayed for long enough or left enough of a trail for anything substantial. Which was probably on purpose.

He glances aside at her again.]

Have you traveled with him yourself, then?

[She must have done. How else would she have gotten to know him as well as she seems to do.]

For many years.

( there's a small hum as river lets herself think over their long past. they'd been together for a while )

I was with him before I woke up.

( at least it's the last memory that she currently has )

[For years? That catches Ianto's attention. As far as Ianto's aware, no one ever travels with the Doctor for very long. For one reason or another, they seem to go their separate ways. River, though...?]

It must have been quite the adventure. For an archaeologist.

[He raises his eyebrows at her, rather pointedly.] You are an archaeologist...?

[That wasn't just a lie she'd told him because she thought he couldn't handle the time traveling bit instead?]

( she nods. she is an archaeologist and oh, those adventures-- )

It's incredible. ( her smile, if possible, turns fonder ) The stories I could tell.

( but she won't. she'll save you that particular gushing )

And getting to see some of these civilisations is very good research.

[Ianto regards her for a long moment with a critical eye. Listening to everything that she's saying. And everything that she's not.]

Several years is quite a long time to travel together. The pair of you must have become quite close.

[Is this a pointed statement? Wouldn't you like to know.]

( several years is an understatement. decades, centuries depending on perspective )

You could say that.

( she'd married the idiot though she's not broadcasting that )

As well as you can know him.

( better than most still )

[Ianto makes a soft noise in the back of throat, as if to suggest he knows exactly what she means. And he does, rather. Considering how well he knows Jack.

As well as anyone can know Jack, after all.

He takes another sip of his drink, staying quiet for a long moment before he says, quietly:]

He's up there, somewhere. You might not be able to find him, but he is. That's -- how this all works.

( her smile falls, just for a few seconds before river makes an effort to put it back, though it's one that isn't quite so natural )

I've already found him.

( multiple versions of him. river was still following each ping to a pod but she had found him. she had found him and it had hurt )

At least he's safe, so I can assume.

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