Ianto Jones (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
torchwoodteaboy) wrote2010-08-08 12:39 pm
torchwoodteaboy) wrote2010-08-08 12:39 pm
Fic: Anticipation
Title: Anticipation
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Sulu (arguably)
Rating: R? for one sentence, but it's there
Pairings: Ianto/Jack, Ianto/Sulu
Word Count: 2262
Summary: Ianto waits for a phone call he really wants to come. And waits. And waits. ...and waits.
Notes: Because there is going to be a long time in between when Sulu asks Ianto out and when they actually go out. I thought I'd write something that covered the time in between. Don't know if it'll actually go this way and in fact it probably won't, but. I woke up feeling creative, and well, 3 hours, a couple episodes of a show, and a bowl and macaroni and cheese later, here this is.
Tell me what you think? ;3; Comments/reactions are encouraged and more than welcome.
Ianto was a bit of a wreck, but he'd be damned if he let anyone else find out about that fact, least of all the person who'd made him feel this way. Because, well. He was waiting for a phone call. A phone call that he had all but convinced himself would never come.
He knew that that was irrational. He knew that Sulu was just busy with Starfleet, and really, the other man had warned him of as much from the start. That one fateful day when the other had been gender bended and strapped to his arm, awkwardly sitting together in the back of his car and making his stomach feel like it was full of butterflies like some teenaged crush, Sulu'd warned him of the fact that they'd need to wait before The Date happened. Ianto just subconsciously hadn't known that they'd have to wait quite so long.
The first week after the virus was over, the first week Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto pretty much floated through life. He wasn't sure whether Gwen or Jack noticed, but they certainly didn't ask about it (however the pair of them secretly enjoyed every second of it, Jack smiling at him as he hummed to himself while making the coffee in the mornings, Gwen giggling behind his back as she noticed the unnatural but not unwelcome bounce in his step). He'd find himself daydreaming about what sort of place he should take them to, what sort of crowd would be just right for this, what sort of greeting he should give, because this was a date.
The second week after the virus was over, the second week Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto's libido embarrassingly stepped up a notch, and he spent far more hours of the day seeking Jack out in compensation for that fact. He still hadn't heard from Sulu, which was just as well, for all the time he spent imagining going further than holding hands, what sort of a kisser Sulu was, if he was attentive to his lovers, how those hands would feel on his skin... Jack's hands were only substitutes, since Ianto knew exactly how they felt as they slid down the backs of his thighs to hook under his knees as he lay spread before him across the desk, but the fact that he could have this, he could have this with two attractive, wonderful men (possibly even together, but he wasn't exactly willing to go there mentally yet) set his world on fire.
The third week after the virus was over, though, the third week Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto had started to get antsy. He'd unconsciously check the community more often than he'd used to, to make sure he wasn't missing some note or message to him, trying to spot any form of activity whatsoever. He'd taken to keeping his mobile with him more often than usual, leaving the sound on at night as he went to bed, taking it with him into the bathroom whenever he showered, holding it in his lap as he drove, so if that ring happened, that oh so anticipated phone call, he wouldn't miss it, and he'd pick it up on as few rings as he could. After the fourth excited answer of the mobile to find out that it was only Jack or Gwen, he even switched the ring tone for Sulu specifically for something distinctive that he'd recognize and know that this, this was the call. The call that, as the week drew to a close, never came.
The fourth week after the virus was over, the fourth week drawing to close on a month that Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto was sure that he'd lost his mind. It just wasn't rational. Half the time, he was convincing himself that really, any moment now, he'd get what he had so desperately been waiting for, that everything'd be fine and he should really just be planning for it anyway. The other half though, and the half that was starting to become more than just that, Ianto spent preparing himself for the worst. He hadn't heard from the man in almost a month, and so, as he sat at his desk in the tourist office, ignoring what work he should be doing, alone to his thoughts, Ianto fretted.
Maybe... Maybe something came up? Maybe there was a tricky situation with the fact that he'd basically disappeared without warning for four days for the virus, and he'd gotten in trouble for it. Maybe the Romulans or the Klingons that Sulu had mentioned a couple times before had attacked and there'd been a battle and now they'd never even see each other again, let alone date. He'd never know if something happened to the other, millions of miles away, in another universe, centuries into the future, no one else there at all to know that there he was, waiting in Cardiff in the year 2010 for news of a man that, even if he did exist in this universe, wouldn't be born until way long after Ianto himself had died. If Sulu lost his connection with the community, Ianto might never hear from him ever again. A fist tightened around his heart and he took in a deep breath to let it out, but that only slightly took the pressure off of it. He told himself he was being silly, and stood, tucking his phone safely into his pocket, Ianto made his way down to the lower levels of the Hub to make himself a coffee, his only solace in all of this. As he stood, going through the motions of working the machine, his mind wandered again.
What... What if Sulu didn't want to date him? What if he'd changed his mind? What if he'd realized that all Ianto had was Torchwood and Jack and a sad, lonely little flat in Grangetown, and that even if he survived the year, or the next, that's probably all that he ever would have. If he survived the year, that is, a thought that Ianto came upon more often than not, a thought which he could see pass through Gwen's eyes every time that there was a close call for him out in the field, through Jack's eyes as he woke to find the other man sitting there watching him, late at night, hours after the two had gone to bed together, as if memorizing the contours of Ianto's face should he lose him the next day, or the next, or the next... Without Sulu's rock hard optimism around to keep reassuring him that no, it just wouldn't happen, Ianto once more spiraled down that dark and winding road, even going so far as to assure himself that all of his assets should go to his sister, should something happen. What if Sulu had realized that he was a lost cause, and had just left him for it, found someone better, less tragic, in his own universe that would be far less trouble than Ianto himself.
Ianto was so involved in his thoughts that he didn't notice Jack coming out of his office, walking across the Hub to come and stand beside him, leaning on the table parallel to Ianto. Jack waited and watched him for a moment, noticing the creases on Ianto's forehead that could only mean that he was concentrating on something, with the extra shine in his eyes meaning that it obviously wasn't anything good. Definitely something worth interrupting, something that needed interrupting. "Hey," Jack said softly, but apparently not softly enough.
Ianto, upon suddenly hearing Jack's voice so close by, jumped, startled out of his thoughts as he whipped around to turn in Jack's direction, spilling hot coffee on his hand in the process. "Shit!" he said emphatically, clutching his hand as he tried to avoid getting any of it on his suit.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jack said, stepping forward to guide Ianto to the sink, turning on the cool water and directing Ianto's hand underneath it. "Here, keep it under the cold for few seconds," he instructed, though he made no move to let go of Ianto's wrist, holding it there for him.
Ianto let the cool water run over his hand, soothing the burn that really wouldn't be too bad, not with Jack's quick thinking, and couldn't help himself. The heaviness of his thoughts, the sudden pain of the burn, the scare that Jack had given him, they all compiled on themselves, bringing tears to his eyes. He knew that there was no stopping it now, and ashamed of that fact, that here was, about to cry like a toddler, shut his eyes, leaning back into Jack's chest, unable to suppress a small sob in the process.
"Hey, hey," Jack said, waiting for a few seconds before reaching to turn off the faucet and pulling Ianto close, bringing a hand to the back of Ianto's head as he held him like he knew Ianto found comforting. Ianto brought his hands up to clutch at Jack's shirt, turning his head to bury his face in Jack's collar, letting out a crying sound that damned if he wasn't embarrassed that he always made. "Shh, it's alright," Jack said, turning to kiss Ianto's hair. "There's no harm done. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I thought you'd notice I was there." He ran his fingers through Ianto's hair as the other man shuddered against him. Something else was definitely going on, and it wasn't just startling him into spilling coffee on his hand.
In true Ianto form, not once had he gone to seek out consolation from anyone, not from Sulu and certainly not from Jack, but in this moment, standing there in Jack's arms, leaking tears into Jack's collar, he realized how much he'd needed it. Realized how much he'd needed Jack, how in missing Sulu, he'd started to distance himself from the man who was right there for him as well. It was all Ianto could do right then and there to keep himself from weeping, because for one, though it would be cathartic, he wasn't sure that the situation merited it, and for another, he didn't want to scare Jack into actually inquiring what was the matter. So he stood there, clutching at Jack, internally bemoaning the fact that he was crying a wet spot into Jack's shirt that would probably leave a mark, while finding himself just in the place that he most needed to be at that moment. The weight of the relief of that realization sagged on him, and he found himself leaning into Jack.
"Hey," Jack said again, moving an arm behind Ianto's back to help support him. "It's alright. It's alright. C'mon. Let's... Let's go over to the couch. You're exhausted. When's the last time you've had a decent night's sleep?" Jack fought his brain to remember the last night he'd gone home with Ianto and seen that he'd slept, and realized it'd been 4 days ago. "Don't tell me that it's been since Monday..." Ianto shifted his head further into Jack's collar, pulling himself tighter, and that was all the indication Jack needed to know that he was right. "Shh, alright. Okay. Let's just go have a lie down, alright. You should take a nap. You've worn yourself out, Ianto. Here." He stepped back and led the other man across the Hub to the sofa with a hand to his back, pausing a moment to take off Ianto's jacket and throw it over the arm of the sofa, unbuttoning his collar a little, removing his tie for him and taking off his cuff links, leaving those on the table.
"Lie down. Get some rest. You'll feel better after you have," he said. Ianto just stood there, looking a whole lot younger than usual, his blue eyes wet with tears, his shoulders slumped because Jack had let go of him, and he wanted him back. Jack, sensing that this was going nowhere, sat down on the couch, taking Ianto by the arm, pulled him down with him, lying Ianto's head in his lap as Ianto found a way to curl into Jack's knee. It wasn't the most comfortable positioning ever, but lying there in Jack's lap, his hand working through Ianto's hair, the younger man didn't really care. It was so reminiscent of another tear-filled night that as Ianto slowly drifted off to sleep, he was almost sure he could feel the roughness of Sulu's jeans against his cheek, instead of Jack's khaki's.
Jack sat with Ianto for a long while, sat with his hand running through his hair long after he was sure that Ianto was deeply asleep. And he wondered if he'd ever know what possibly got the other man so worked up, or whether he'd be left guessing once Ianto woke, right as rain if with a bit of a crick in his neck. Jack was startled out of his own thought process by the ringing of Ianto's mobile. Trying hard not to jostle the other, he dug through his suit jacket to answer it, knowing that Ianto was dead to the world when he didn't wake even for the slightly obnoxious ring tone that he'd set for the caller. Checking the ID, Jack raised an eyebrow and flipped it open. Talk about bad timing, Jack thought.
"Hey," he said. And listened to Sulu's voice on the phone. "No. You just missed him. ...no, I mean he's asleep. ...of course I won't. He hasn't been sleeping well lately anyway. ...No, I don't know-- ...He hasn't said. ...Want me to take a message?"
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Sulu (arguably)
Rating: R? for one sentence, but it's there
Pairings: Ianto/Jack, Ianto/Sulu
Word Count: 2262
Summary: Ianto waits for a phone call he really wants to come. And waits. And waits. ...and waits.
Notes: Because there is going to be a long time in between when Sulu asks Ianto out and when they actually go out. I thought I'd write something that covered the time in between. Don't know if it'll actually go this way and in fact it probably won't, but. I woke up feeling creative, and well, 3 hours, a couple episodes of a show, and a bowl and macaroni and cheese later, here this is.
Tell me what you think? ;3; Comments/reactions are encouraged and more than welcome.
Ianto was a bit of a wreck, but he'd be damned if he let anyone else find out about that fact, least of all the person who'd made him feel this way. Because, well. He was waiting for a phone call. A phone call that he had all but convinced himself would never come.
He knew that that was irrational. He knew that Sulu was just busy with Starfleet, and really, the other man had warned him of as much from the start. That one fateful day when the other had been gender bended and strapped to his arm, awkwardly sitting together in the back of his car and making his stomach feel like it was full of butterflies like some teenaged crush, Sulu'd warned him of the fact that they'd need to wait before The Date happened. Ianto just subconsciously hadn't known that they'd have to wait quite so long.
The first week after the virus was over, the first week Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto pretty much floated through life. He wasn't sure whether Gwen or Jack noticed, but they certainly didn't ask about it (however the pair of them secretly enjoyed every second of it, Jack smiling at him as he hummed to himself while making the coffee in the mornings, Gwen giggling behind his back as she noticed the unnatural but not unwelcome bounce in his step). He'd find himself daydreaming about what sort of place he should take them to, what sort of crowd would be just right for this, what sort of greeting he should give, because this was a date.
The second week after the virus was over, the second week Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto's libido embarrassingly stepped up a notch, and he spent far more hours of the day seeking Jack out in compensation for that fact. He still hadn't heard from Sulu, which was just as well, for all the time he spent imagining going further than holding hands, what sort of a kisser Sulu was, if he was attentive to his lovers, how those hands would feel on his skin... Jack's hands were only substitutes, since Ianto knew exactly how they felt as they slid down the backs of his thighs to hook under his knees as he lay spread before him across the desk, but the fact that he could have this, he could have this with two attractive, wonderful men (possibly even together, but he wasn't exactly willing to go there mentally yet) set his world on fire.
The third week after the virus was over, though, the third week Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto had started to get antsy. He'd unconsciously check the community more often than he'd used to, to make sure he wasn't missing some note or message to him, trying to spot any form of activity whatsoever. He'd taken to keeping his mobile with him more often than usual, leaving the sound on at night as he went to bed, taking it with him into the bathroom whenever he showered, holding it in his lap as he drove, so if that ring happened, that oh so anticipated phone call, he wouldn't miss it, and he'd pick it up on as few rings as he could. After the fourth excited answer of the mobile to find out that it was only Jack or Gwen, he even switched the ring tone for Sulu specifically for something distinctive that he'd recognize and know that this, this was the call. The call that, as the week drew to a close, never came.
The fourth week after the virus was over, the fourth week drawing to close on a month that Ianto didn't hear from Sulu, Ianto was sure that he'd lost his mind. It just wasn't rational. Half the time, he was convincing himself that really, any moment now, he'd get what he had so desperately been waiting for, that everything'd be fine and he should really just be planning for it anyway. The other half though, and the half that was starting to become more than just that, Ianto spent preparing himself for the worst. He hadn't heard from the man in almost a month, and so, as he sat at his desk in the tourist office, ignoring what work he should be doing, alone to his thoughts, Ianto fretted.
Maybe... Maybe something came up? Maybe there was a tricky situation with the fact that he'd basically disappeared without warning for four days for the virus, and he'd gotten in trouble for it. Maybe the Romulans or the Klingons that Sulu had mentioned a couple times before had attacked and there'd been a battle and now they'd never even see each other again, let alone date. He'd never know if something happened to the other, millions of miles away, in another universe, centuries into the future, no one else there at all to know that there he was, waiting in Cardiff in the year 2010 for news of a man that, even if he did exist in this universe, wouldn't be born until way long after Ianto himself had died. If Sulu lost his connection with the community, Ianto might never hear from him ever again. A fist tightened around his heart and he took in a deep breath to let it out, but that only slightly took the pressure off of it. He told himself he was being silly, and stood, tucking his phone safely into his pocket, Ianto made his way down to the lower levels of the Hub to make himself a coffee, his only solace in all of this. As he stood, going through the motions of working the machine, his mind wandered again.
What... What if Sulu didn't want to date him? What if he'd changed his mind? What if he'd realized that all Ianto had was Torchwood and Jack and a sad, lonely little flat in Grangetown, and that even if he survived the year, or the next, that's probably all that he ever would have. If he survived the year, that is, a thought that Ianto came upon more often than not, a thought which he could see pass through Gwen's eyes every time that there was a close call for him out in the field, through Jack's eyes as he woke to find the other man sitting there watching him, late at night, hours after the two had gone to bed together, as if memorizing the contours of Ianto's face should he lose him the next day, or the next, or the next... Without Sulu's rock hard optimism around to keep reassuring him that no, it just wouldn't happen, Ianto once more spiraled down that dark and winding road, even going so far as to assure himself that all of his assets should go to his sister, should something happen. What if Sulu had realized that he was a lost cause, and had just left him for it, found someone better, less tragic, in his own universe that would be far less trouble than Ianto himself.
Ianto was so involved in his thoughts that he didn't notice Jack coming out of his office, walking across the Hub to come and stand beside him, leaning on the table parallel to Ianto. Jack waited and watched him for a moment, noticing the creases on Ianto's forehead that could only mean that he was concentrating on something, with the extra shine in his eyes meaning that it obviously wasn't anything good. Definitely something worth interrupting, something that needed interrupting. "Hey," Jack said softly, but apparently not softly enough.
Ianto, upon suddenly hearing Jack's voice so close by, jumped, startled out of his thoughts as he whipped around to turn in Jack's direction, spilling hot coffee on his hand in the process. "Shit!" he said emphatically, clutching his hand as he tried to avoid getting any of it on his suit.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Jack said, stepping forward to guide Ianto to the sink, turning on the cool water and directing Ianto's hand underneath it. "Here, keep it under the cold for few seconds," he instructed, though he made no move to let go of Ianto's wrist, holding it there for him.
Ianto let the cool water run over his hand, soothing the burn that really wouldn't be too bad, not with Jack's quick thinking, and couldn't help himself. The heaviness of his thoughts, the sudden pain of the burn, the scare that Jack had given him, they all compiled on themselves, bringing tears to his eyes. He knew that there was no stopping it now, and ashamed of that fact, that here was, about to cry like a toddler, shut his eyes, leaning back into Jack's chest, unable to suppress a small sob in the process.
"Hey, hey," Jack said, waiting for a few seconds before reaching to turn off the faucet and pulling Ianto close, bringing a hand to the back of Ianto's head as he held him like he knew Ianto found comforting. Ianto brought his hands up to clutch at Jack's shirt, turning his head to bury his face in Jack's collar, letting out a crying sound that damned if he wasn't embarrassed that he always made. "Shh, it's alright," Jack said, turning to kiss Ianto's hair. "There's no harm done. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I thought you'd notice I was there." He ran his fingers through Ianto's hair as the other man shuddered against him. Something else was definitely going on, and it wasn't just startling him into spilling coffee on his hand.
In true Ianto form, not once had he gone to seek out consolation from anyone, not from Sulu and certainly not from Jack, but in this moment, standing there in Jack's arms, leaking tears into Jack's collar, he realized how much he'd needed it. Realized how much he'd needed Jack, how in missing Sulu, he'd started to distance himself from the man who was right there for him as well. It was all Ianto could do right then and there to keep himself from weeping, because for one, though it would be cathartic, he wasn't sure that the situation merited it, and for another, he didn't want to scare Jack into actually inquiring what was the matter. So he stood there, clutching at Jack, internally bemoaning the fact that he was crying a wet spot into Jack's shirt that would probably leave a mark, while finding himself just in the place that he most needed to be at that moment. The weight of the relief of that realization sagged on him, and he found himself leaning into Jack.
"Hey," Jack said again, moving an arm behind Ianto's back to help support him. "It's alright. It's alright. C'mon. Let's... Let's go over to the couch. You're exhausted. When's the last time you've had a decent night's sleep?" Jack fought his brain to remember the last night he'd gone home with Ianto and seen that he'd slept, and realized it'd been 4 days ago. "Don't tell me that it's been since Monday..." Ianto shifted his head further into Jack's collar, pulling himself tighter, and that was all the indication Jack needed to know that he was right. "Shh, alright. Okay. Let's just go have a lie down, alright. You should take a nap. You've worn yourself out, Ianto. Here." He stepped back and led the other man across the Hub to the sofa with a hand to his back, pausing a moment to take off Ianto's jacket and throw it over the arm of the sofa, unbuttoning his collar a little, removing his tie for him and taking off his cuff links, leaving those on the table.
"Lie down. Get some rest. You'll feel better after you have," he said. Ianto just stood there, looking a whole lot younger than usual, his blue eyes wet with tears, his shoulders slumped because Jack had let go of him, and he wanted him back. Jack, sensing that this was going nowhere, sat down on the couch, taking Ianto by the arm, pulled him down with him, lying Ianto's head in his lap as Ianto found a way to curl into Jack's knee. It wasn't the most comfortable positioning ever, but lying there in Jack's lap, his hand working through Ianto's hair, the younger man didn't really care. It was so reminiscent of another tear-filled night that as Ianto slowly drifted off to sleep, he was almost sure he could feel the roughness of Sulu's jeans against his cheek, instead of Jack's khaki's.
Jack sat with Ianto for a long while, sat with his hand running through his hair long after he was sure that Ianto was deeply asleep. And he wondered if he'd ever know what possibly got the other man so worked up, or whether he'd be left guessing once Ianto woke, right as rain if with a bit of a crick in his neck. Jack was startled out of his own thought process by the ringing of Ianto's mobile. Trying hard not to jostle the other, he dug through his suit jacket to answer it, knowing that Ianto was dead to the world when he didn't wake even for the slightly obnoxious ring tone that he'd set for the caller. Checking the ID, Jack raised an eyebrow and flipped it open. Talk about bad timing, Jack thought.
"Hey," he said. And listened to Sulu's voice on the phone. "No. You just missed him. ...no, I mean he's asleep. ...of course I won't. He hasn't been sleeping well lately anyway. ...No, I don't know-- ...He hasn't said. ...Want me to take a message?"
no subject
Because of this I sort of want to make the delay related to an away mission gone awry or something. I absolutely adore this and it's so sad and sweet and :( :( :(
no subject
I'd definitely be excited to know Sulu's point of view on the matter, during all of this. Jack's going to definitely have a lot of questions for Sulu, after the fact, and Ianto's going to have more, so. Let's hope Sulu's prepared himself, if this is the way that it plays out (which, as I've said, would be awesome!). Haha, no pressure, but. Any ideas for the mission in question? :>