torchwoodteaboy | [RL WITH SULU]

Still smiling gently, Sulu leaned in to kiss Ianto softly, keeping it light and brief. "No trouble at all," he said, "I'll take care of it for you. And I won't join in with Jack, promise." He shook his head at the idea; he had a feeling Jack was going to either have plenty to say or nothing to say about Ianto's situation, and if it was the former, he would be making every effort to keep Ianto from having to suffer through too much.

He stood after a minute more of just being close to Ianto, looking around for a moment before deciding that it'd be easier to pop by his cabin before he made the toast. "I'm going to head back to my cabin first, and then I'll be downstairs. I'll let you know when I'm back, so you're not wondering, all right?"

Ianto nodded. He wouldn't be really all that bothered by the other man leaving him alone for the little while, which said something about exactly how he was feeling--too tired and weary to even be afraid of the dark anymore, because he just couldn't summon enough energy to be bothered. "Yeah, alright," he said, managing a little smile back to him before sighing.

"...could you give me the phone before you go, then?" he asked. "I left the mobile on the bureau." He motioned across the room to where his mobile sat on the top of the dresser, next to his collection of keys. He'd put it there the night before, not needing it, and then he hadn't thought to get it when he'd gotten up earlier in the day, not getting any calls so not really even thinking about needing it with in reach. "I... I'll give Jack a call to come over, while you're out. Who knows where he is, it might take him a while to get here, and..." He trailed off. He didn't really know how long he was going to be able to wait, if he needed to. Better just have Jack start heading over while Sulu was out and about, he supposed, so that they both wouldn't be stuck waiting after Sulu came back.

Sulu went to the dresser and picked up Ianto's mobile, weighing it in his hand as he moved back. Really, as far as 21st century technology went, they'd gotten pretty far by this year. He brought it to Ianto, handing it over as he said, "It'll be all right, don't worry. We'll... keep him from getting too upset. I'm not going to let him make this any worse for you right now than it already is." He leaned over and kissed Ianto's forehead. "I'll only be a few minutes," he said before stepping back, sticking his hand in his pocket and pressing his fingers to the portkey.

He was then in his cabin, and he took a moment to go to the sink in his bathroom, splashing some water on his face before covering it with his hands. Okay. He could do this, and more than that, he would have to do this. He knew that if Ianto didn't get better, if this was permanent - or if this was just the beginning of the inevitable all over again - he wouldn't be able to handle it. He'd never be able to look anyone in the eye again, for being so stupid as to think this could work...

But it had worked and it would continue to work. Sulu had to be sure of that. He had to. He couldn't do this if he wasn't one hundred percent sure of himself. So, he dried off his face and went to his desk, digging out the dry purple leaves he'd kept from the last time he'd tried this particular tea out. He couldn't think of anything else to bring and so he used the portkey once more, arriving back in the hall. Before he went up to check on Ianto, he set the water to boil on the stovetop and dug around for the strainer Ianto had around somewhere. That all settled, he went upstairs, standing in the doorway of the bedroom in case Ianto wanted some privacy or was still on the phone. "Back," he said.

After Sulu portkeyed away, Ianto lay there staring up at the ceiling for a few moments. Sulu had found out. He was getting worse. He was going to have to tell Jack. They were going to go and see McCoy and see what they could do about getting him better. What if that didn't work? Sulu promised that he'd go straight the Doctor for answers. But the Doctor didn't know anything--Ianto'd already asked. The other man had been just as clueless as him, and besides, ever since that strange video post, the Doctor hadn't been around on the community. Like before, they were going to have to do this themselves, without any help of the one man with the power to just go back and fix everything.

Sighing, Ianto grabbed his mobile, pushing himself up a little to be propped up against the headboard with his pillow, feeling the smallest bit triumphant because he could still do that himself, at least. That's where the good feelings stopped, though, because...he was going to have to tell Jack. He was going to have to convince the other man to come around and not let him know that anything was the matter until he could talk to him in person, in case...in case Jack did decide to run from this. He thumbed through his contacts (even though Jack was on speed dial), finding the number he wanted and pausing, sitting there for a good moment just staring at the screen, gathering his courage. There wasn't any use waiting around, though. He had to do this, so he might as well get it over with. He hit send, and slowly brought the mobile up to his ear.

It rang. And rang. Ianto was convinced that he was going to get put through to voice mail before finally, Jack answered. "Hey," Jack's voice rang, on the other side of the line.

"Hey," Ianto said, biting his lip.

"What's up?" Jack asked. He...didn't sound particularly busy, which Ianto was grateful for. Still, he felt the need to ask, nonetheless.

"I, ehm. Where are you? Are you busy? There's something that I... I need you to come by for." Well. There was, technically.

"I'm out in Caerphilly, there've been some claims about the Castle that I'm investigating." Jack paused, speaking to someone else with him on the other line, explaining that he was just stepping out to take a phone call and giving Ianto time to wince at his pronunciation of the town name. "Isn't your young helmsman around?" Jack asked after a moment, and Ianto could hear the grin in his voice. "Are you really sure you want me there crashing the party?"

"Yeah," Ianto said, not even hesitating. "I... I do." He heard Sulu moving around downstairs, and was instantly grateful for the man's presence in the flat, even if he wasn't right there with him at that moment.

Jack paused, and Ianto could all but hear the wheels turning in his head. "Is there something wrong, Ianto?" he asked.

Ianto took in a breath, letting it out slowly so that his voice wouldn't shake too much while he answered. "I think it'd be better if you just came over, Jack. You...it's no hurry. I just. I need to see you."

"You're really not giving me any sort of vote of confidence there, Ianto," Jack said, firmly, the concern evident in his voice.

"Just come, Jack. If you need me to tell you to come now, then I will, but really. You know I don't usually ask for anything, so. I... I need you to be here. Soon, if possible."

Jack was silent on the other side of the line, and for a moment Ianto thought that the call had dropped, before he spoke up again. "Yeah, alright," Jack said. "I can be there in half an hour, give or take. But you're talking when I get there. You can't just say things like that and not expect me to want an explanation."

"Yeah, I know," Ianto said. He heard Sulu coming up the stairs, and quick shot a glance over to the door as he stuck his head in. "And I will. I promise. I'll see you then, yeah?"

"Yeah," Jack said. He sounded wary. Ianto wanted nothing more than to disappear right there and then. "See you then." He hung up, leaving Ianto with a dial tone on the other side. He sat there, not moving for a moment, the phone pressed against his ear, before slowly bringing it down and hanging it up. He sat there, staring at the phone in his hands for a few seconds, before speaking up to Sulu. "...I'm not so sure I can do this," he said, letting himself sound every bit as terrified about talking to Jack as he really was.

Sulu caught the goodbyes and saw the blank sort of expression on Ianto's face as he slowly hung up after Jack. He knew he'd hear the kettle from the bedroom, and so he took a moment to come and sit on the edge of the bed, taking the phone from his hands and putting it on the bedside table before taking both of Ianto's hands in his own.

"You're going to have to do this," he told Ianto honestly, not wanting to sugar coat the situation. He knew Ianto wouldn't believe him, anyway. "But I'm going to be right here for you. I'll try to keep it from being too much for you. All you have to do is let me know and I'll handle it for you, all right?" He paused, then smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure Jack will get over it. He'll have to, after all. Now... Do you want to be up here for this, or downstairs?"

Ianto raised an eyebrow at Sulu, although he was infinitely glad in that moment that the other man was there with him, that he had him there to be as kind and understanding as he was, and that although he probably wanted to scold him as much as Jack undoubtedly was going to, he was holding off and attending to him before that. He gave a little smile back to Sulu.

"I don't know if you should be asking me whether I want to be anywhere, or rather asking yourself whether or not you can get me up and down those stairs. Because...that's the only way I'm going to get there," he said, ducking his head, blushing, embarrassed, but finally willing to admit to the fact. "Although...if you think you can, it might be better if you could take me downstairs. I... This conversation with Jack might go better down there, after all." He shrugged. "It's really up to you, though," he said, "and whether you think you can do that or not."

Sulu laughed a little at that, shaking his head. "If you want to be downstairs, then I'll take you downstairs," he said with a little bit of overt determination, mostly to be funny more than out of seriousness. Still, he was sure he could carry Ianto down the stairs; after picking him up the first time and seeing just how light he was, he figured it wouldn't be too hard. He'd just have to go slow.

"It'll be easier if we can get him to have some of the tea, too," he added, before pushing the covers aside and, all pretense aside, slipped his arms under Ianto's shoulders and his knees and lifted him out of the bed with nothing more than a sharp inhalation of air. "Which I'm getting ready as we speak."

Sulu moved faster than Ianto's brain could really process, and it was all he could do not to let out a noise of surprise at how easily the other man just picked him up. He hadn't been conscious the last time Sulu'd done this, so it was sort of a first for him. Still, he couldn't keep himself from automatically wrapping his arms around Sulu's neck, holding on loosely, but enough so that he felt better than just being lofted about like that.

Ianto blushed at the fact that...he sort of liked being picked up like this, but that he'd really rather prefer it if he had the option of walking, rather than no choice in the matter whatsoever. He took a deep calming breath, and let himself trust that Sulu knew what he was doing, there. "Good luck getting Jack to drink any more tea," he said, quietly, a bit wryly. "He knows that something's up. I don't think he'll want any refreshments or anything until he gets his answers..."

Sulu couldn't really shrug in this position, and so instead he settled for a jokingly dismissive sort of tone as he moved them towards the hall. "Doesn't mean we can't try, does it?" he asked. Sulu had to admit that he really did like the way Ianto's arms felt around his neck, and made a mental note to randomly scoop Ianto up when he was healthier. He had a feeling if he did it right, he could probably get a little shout of surprise out of him, and the thought made him grin.

As they reached the top of the stairs, Sulu heard the telltale sound of a kettle starting to come to a boil, and so he tightened his grip. "Try not to flail if it feels like you're going to fall, okay?" he requested with a little laugh, though he was being serious. "I can't promise I'll be able to hold on if you do." With that, he went to tackle the stairs, holding on to Ianto firmly and taking each step slowly.

"Well, we can try alright," Ianto said. "Doesn't mean he's going to accept it by any means. Although..." He half-shrugged, a full one not really possible to do while still holding on to Sulu's neck, and he didn't dare let go. "It is the good tea. Perhaps...he won't object as much to this kind. It did make him feel better the last time he had it. And it's definitely not as bad as the ginger," he said, with a slight smile.

At Sulu's tightening of his grip on him and his request, Ianto nodded. "Yeah, alright," Ianto said. He really didn't fancy being dropped down the stairs, so of course he did as Sulu told him, not flailing about and instead lying still in Sulu's arms, going so far as to even shut his eyes and rest his head against Sulu's shoulder. He trusted that Sulu would do everything he could not to knock him out on the wall, or drop him, or trip and end up killing them both, and instead just let himself be carried. Which was hard, for someone as proud as Ianto, but. He didn't mind so much, so long as it was Sulu seeing him in his moment of weakness. He wouldn't mind Jack either, but. Jack was going to have to find out first before he had anything remotely as nice with Jack as well.

"Definitely less of an acquired taste," Sulu admitted, knowing full well that the ginger tea he swore by wasn't always the easiest thing to drink. Still, it was useful - but not as useful as the tea he was about to make for them. He didn't say much about their situation until after he found the bottom stair, too focused on the idea of not falling over to really engage in much more conversation than what they'd already had. Once he found his footing, though, he paused to shift Ianto against him, craning his neck to give Ianto's hair a brief kiss.

"Okay, then. Do you want to be in the kitchen, or... I'm going to be making some toast for you, so maybe we should hang out in the kitchen until Jack gets here." Not to mention, it would be a safer place for them to be. If they were in the main sitting area, Jack would be more likely to reach the front door before Sulu could stop him, after all.

Ianto nodded. "Yeah, kitchen's probably the best. Better for eating, plus I can keep you company while you make the toast." He smirked a little bit. "Y'know, make sure you don't burn down my flat or anything like that. Don't think it's exactly possible, with a toaster, but then again Toshiko almost set the Hub on fire with an alien toaster, so I'm not going to take any chances here."

"Besides," he said, settling his head on Sulu's shoulder, adjusting the angle he was leaning it to make it more comfortable, "we both could probably use the company. Before Jack gets here, and well..." He sighed. "Before things inevitably get a lot more tense than they are right now." Then they'd ever be with just Sulu, Ianto guessed. "He tends to...well. He tends toward big reactions. Unless barely any reaction at all, but. Let's hope for the big one. At least that means he'll get over it..." Since Sulu had spent time with Jack while Ianto was gone, he'd know a bit better of how Jack got in moments like these. "I'm not looking forward to him being angry at me again," Ianto said, quietly.

Edited 2010-12-03 06:49 (UTC)

In all honesty, Sulu could understand the complications alien cookware could provide. He'd seen his share of strange devices that were supposed to do all sorts of things, but all he and his family ever made anything like that do was steam and possibly burn whatever they'd put in it. The fact that it was an "almost" in that situation was probably a good thing.

Moving through the flat, Sulu brought them into the kitchen and found Ianto a seat at the table, helping him sit down before cracking his knuckles as he turned to the now whistling kettle, taking it off the burner. He paused, then turned to face Ianto with a serious expression on his face. "All you have to do is tell me and I'll step in," he reiterated from before, "I'm serious. If he starts shouting and losing his temper, I'm not going to let him do anything stupid." Like throw a chair, or break something, or worst of all, run.

Once Ianto was seated down in the chair, he blushed all over again, not really minding the being carried part as much as he minded having to be put down somewhere. He watched Sulu moving about the kitchen, starting to deal with the water before turning back to him to talk. Ianto bit his lip, nodding. "Yeah, I... I'll tell you. Although. I mean, you'll be right there. I think you'll have a pretty good idea of when he's going off the deep end and when he isn't. Jack... Jack isn't subtle about these kinds of things, you know."

He sighed. "I've made him really angry before, a few times. I don't think that this'll get as bad as that..." He had a momentary flashback of Jack holding a gun to his head ('You execute her or I'll execute you both!'), but quickly brushed that away. "No," he said, shaking his head. "It definitely won't get as bad as that. But... I doubt it's going to be pretty. You've spent time with Jack. You must be at least partially aware of how...well. He's kind of like a force of nature. And sometimes that's good, and sometimes...well. It's not."

Edited 2010-12-03 07:18 (UTC)

"Yeah," Sulu acknowledged with a faintly grim expression on his face, "I've gotten that. It's all right, though, I'm... I'm not sure how he's going to take it, but I'm not above physically pinning him to the wall to keep him from trying to leave." And he really wasn't. He knew that Jack would probably want to storm off, to give himself time to cool down, but Sulu... wasn't sure Ianto would be able to handle that, really. If he'd be around long enough to handle it.

Banishing that thought from his head, Sulu resumed making tea, pulling out three mugs (just in case). He was only going to fill two, because he could really use a little pick-me-up, but if Jack decided he wanted one, then that would help.

As he set the tea to steeping, he moved on to get out some bread for toast. "You said you wanted jam on it, right?" he asked, smiling at Ianto. If he didn't think too hard about the situation, it was almost completely mundane. Almost.

He tried to imagine the other two men fighting on his behalf, Sulu having to pin Jack to the wall to keep him there, Jack fighting against him to make a break for it... He really hoped that it didn't come to that. That it didn't come to blows or pinning or Jack running away. He had absolutely no idea whether it would or not, but the simple fact that he was going to have to send Sulu after him, that he wouldn't be able to go himself, just really didn't sit right with him.

Ianto nodded at Sulu's question, folding his hands together on his lap, feeling awkward to just sit there as Sulu did things for him. Up until that day, even though he was supposed to be resting, Ianto at least tried to help out, getting out plates or getting drinks or whatever. He knew better than to try now, though, but that didn't make sitting there any easier.

"Yeah," he said quietly, "there should be jam in the refrigerator. ...blackberry, if Jack remembered to get the right kind the last time I sent him out for groceries." Jack remembered funny things like that, though, so Ianto wasn't too worried. He wasn't much one for sentimental gestures, Jack, but it was nice that he remembered all of Ianto's favorite things, like his favorite flavor of jam, for example.

The fact that Ianto's favorite kind of jam was blackberry was... strangely fitting. It was also a little strange, really, to know that Jack - someone who sometimes seemed on his own plane - knew what kind of jam Ianto liked. He wasn't sure if he felt... bad about it, really, since Jack had probably more reason to know these sorts of things than Sulu did, but... still. It was definitely a little weird for him.

Though, Sulu had to admit that, while it was a little awkward to be doing everything while Ianto sat there, he was grateful that the other was letting him. It made him feel productive, and the fact that Ianto wasn't complaining about it didn't hurt.

Once toaster was set up, the jam on the counter and a plate pulled down, Sulu poured out two cups of the purple tea, bringing them over to the table and setting one in front of Ianto before settling himself into a chair. "If you want, I can get the sugar. But it should help you feel better, one way or another."

Ianto shook his head. "No, that's alright," he said, smiling slightly. "I think if I can take coffee straight with no sugar, I should be able to handle tea that way as well." He pulled the mug towards himself, wrapping his hands around it to seep in the warmth through the mug. He knew it was too hot do try and drink yet, but it could help his hands warm up a little, while he waited.

Now that Sulu knew the truth about how Ianto was feeling, plus the way that he'd found out, and the fact that they were sitting there quietly waiting for Jack to show up to have to spill he news all over again... It was a bit awkward. Ianto didn't really know what to do to make it better. It's not like he could just fix himself, or take back every time he'd withheld the truth to try and make Sulu or Jack feel better, and truth be told he'd probably do the same thing over if given the chance because that's just how he worked, but. He took in a breath, trying to think of something to say to fill the silence. "...do you think Doctor McCoy will mind seeing me?" he asked, the question being the first thing to come to his mind.

Sulu blinked at the question, a bit surprised by it. Certainly, he'd noticed that it was a little awkward sitting there, knowing that in a little bit a hurricane was going to be blowing through their carefully faked calm, but he hadn't really expected that question in particular to break it.

The truth was that Sulu had no doubt McCoy would see Ianto. The man wouldn't turn down someone in need of medical attention - it just didn't strike Sulu as something the man would do. And besides, Sulu would plead his case the best way he could, whenever he got the chance to ask McCoy for help. He wasn't sure how he'd do it, but he'd know when the time came.

"Of course he will," Sulu said with a smile. "He's too good a doctor to turn down a patient. Besides, you mean enough to me that to not treat you would lead to my being emotionally compromised, and I'm the best helmsman in Starfleet. They can't afford to do that to me." He'd realized about halfway through that sentence that he might be letting himself be too heavy, too serious, and so he'd played it off as best he could.

Ianto didn't miss the change in tone halfway through Sulu's last statement, how it switched a little too quickly from serious to joking to be completely smooth, but he wasn't going to push it. He nodded at what Sulu had to say, though, about McCoy not turning him down. "So...he's good then? At what he does? I mean, he must be, I just. I only met him that once, and he doesn't even remember that, now, not to mention the fact that we weren't meeting as doctor and patient, there. Is... Is there anything I should look out for, if we end up taking a trip to his sick bay?" Ianto asked.

At the little bit of boasting that Sulu threw in there to change the tone of his statement, Ianto smiled at him little bit. "The best helmsman in Starfleet?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "You do realize you're going to have to prove that to me sometime, yeah? I've never gotten to see you fly, yet, and well. I should. Sometime. So you can prove that you're not just all talk there, yeah?" There. Mentioning future plans. That was optimistic, right? No way Sulu could become emotionally compromised so long as there was a future to talk about, right?

Sulu smiled at Ianto for that momentary burst of optimism, a real, full smile that was much more like the ones he used to give, though it was still tinged with a little melancholy. "Of course it's not all talk," he said with an overly unconcerned shrug, "And I promise, I'll see about taking one of the shuttles out and showing you what I can do with it in deep space. Now that Jim's back on the community... Well, it'll be easy."

The toast popped up and Sulu stood to get it, finding a knife to spread the jam. "And there's nobody else I'd trust myself to in a medical bay than Dr. McCoy, really. The only thing you should know about him is that he's... a little rough around the edges. He's secretly a nice guy, though, just don't let him know you know that." He brought the toast over to Ianto and set in front of him, settling back in his seat. Unfortunately, the novelty of making things the 21st century way was a little worn, but at least he had the decency to still look at least vaguely proud of himself for once again not burning the flat down.

"Oh, of course," Ianto said, repeating Sulu's words, but really, he did believe him. Sulu wasn't really one to boast about things, so if he said that he was a good pilot...well. Then he probably was. As Sulu set the toast down in front of him, Ianto reached forward to pull it closer, blushing and thanking Sulu quietly, still not quite okay with the idea of having to make other people go out of their way to do such simple things for him as making toast. It was one thing to have someone do it just because, but it was another thing entirely when he just couldn't. Ianto had never been good at being sick, and this...this was so much worse than just being sick.

"I won't tell on you," Ianto said, taking a bite of his toast, not realizing just how hungry he was until he was eating and it tasted so much better than normal jam on toast usually tasted. "I've already almost got you in trouble with him once, I don't know if I can talk him out of it again this time." Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration. "When he first came to the community, I...well. Might have let slip that you'd warned me against getting on his bad side. I'm not sure if you heard about that or not. If you didn't, I guess that means my convincing worked, and if not...sorry about that."

"...I would like to go flying with you sometime, though," Ianto said, jumping conversation points again. "Although...no tricks. Or well. Nothing too daredevil. I get enough of that riding shotgun with Jack, and I will shriek like a girl, and no, you're not allowed to do it just to hear that, Lieutenant," he said, shooting Sulu a look over his toast.

Sulu couldn't help but laugh at just about everything Ianto was saying; it was just so good to hear him making jokes and being more like his old self. His usual self. It was nice and normal and it only helped reinforce the fact that yes, things could and would get better. Right now they were at a low point, but after he talked to McCoy and asked him to help, and after they calmed Jack down from what was inevitably going to be a pretty bad reaction, things would be back to normal.

"I'm not making any promises," Sulu said with a grin, picking up his mug with both hands and taking a small drink to bolster his mood. "But I'll try not to do anything just because I would love to hear you shriek. It'd be entertaining, to say the least."

Edited 2010-12-04 01:17 (UTC)

Ianto half rolled his eyes at the other man, not bothering to pause in his eating to say anything about Sulu implying that scaring him flying around in a little space shuttle would be entertaining at all. "You do realize if you want me to go flying with you more than that one time, you're going to have to keep a handle on it and not scare me half to death, so that I'll agree to do it again later, don't you?" he asked, after a moment, pausing in eating his toast to take a drink of the tea.

The tea...wasn't bad. It might even be better than the last time that he had it, although that might just be because he needed it this time. Regardless, it did help calm him down a little. It definitely wasn't going to make him ready to talk to Jack, but. At least it'd help him calm down about it. "I'm not saying that you can't...show off, a little. I'm just. Try to warn me, if you decide to do anything fancy, yeah?"

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