torchwoodteaboy | [RL WITH SULU]

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?"

Sulu grinned and nodded, sipping at his tea. "Okay, okay. I'll make sure I warn you any time I decide we need to do something daring. It's a fair enough request, after all." And really, he was sure that when it came time to actually show Ianto around a shuttlecraft, he wasn't going to want to be doing anything daring. Being in the Enterprise was one thing; being in a shuttlecraft, something much smaller with a much more intimate view of the universe was definitely another.

"You'll like it, though," he said, as though he'd been voicing his thoughts the whole time. "It's... It's different than the Enterprise, you know, a shuttlecraft. And I can actually do more with it. It's more like what the 21st century imagines space travel to be like." He wondered if he'd be able to get them far enough out to get a good look at the Enterprise in its natural habitat; as nice as it looked even when stuck on land, Sulu was a little too proud to let Ianto's memory of the ship contain anything but deep space and the distant stars it was bound for.

Ianto liked how pleased Sulu seemed to be, talking about his ship and his flying. How happy the two things obviously made him. Of course he'd like going out in a shuttlecraft with Sulu. It meant that he could see him doing one of the things that he loved the most, and to allow Ianto to be a part of that...like hell he'd turn it down. He took another sip of the tea, almost forgetting that things were as bad as they were, that this wasn't just a normal conversation sated at his kitchen table with the other man.

"I would like that," he said, smiling softly. "I'd like that a lot. If..." He bit his lip, taking in a breath. "When all of this is over, when I'm better...you should take me flying. You know. Prove that you're not just all talk," he said, knowing that he wasn't just saying that he was good, or just saying that he'd take him, but trying to lighten the statement. Trying to keep things from getting too serious again too quickly, because he knew it was only a matter of time before Jack walked in that front door, and whatever nice mood they had here would be ruined.

Sulu put his mug down, reaching a hand over the table to rest it on top of one of Ianto's. He wasn't sure he'd be able to vocalize how much it meant to him that Ianto was trying to be as optimistic as possible in their situation, and so he hoped the gesture would be enough. He smiled and nodded. "Consider it a date, Mr. Jones. You, me, and a shuttlecraft in deep space."

He paused for a moment, and then leaned back, moving his hands to pick up his mug once more and taking a sip. Finally, he added in as casual tone as possible, "Who knows. Maybe I'll be able to figure out a way to get us a hop to San Francisco. Mine, not yours. I mean, I'm sure there's a way to hide the fact that I'm not supposed to be within the solar system, much less on Earth itself." He'd remembered suggesting it once before, way back when it had been Jack who had been ill in the hospital, and now... now seemed like a good time to bring it up again. Because unlike last time, there wasn't a need to worry about Ianto dying. He'd already done that, and he'd be beating it completely soon enough.

Ianto's eyes lit up at the mention of the shuttlecraft, and then they lit up even more when Sulu started mentioning taking him to San Francisco. Taking him to where he lived and grew up. "Oh wow," Ianto said. "San Francisco..." He remembered Sulu offering, mentioning it once before, but that was all it had been, just a mention. He hadn't expected it to be brought up again, especially not at that moment, that was for certain.

Ianto smiled, picking up his toast and taking another bite or two before responding. "I'd like that as well," he said. "Never been to America. It... It seems so big and far away. Especially that area of it. Plus..." He chuckled a little. "It'd be nice to be shown around," he said, fondly. "I don't really get to do a lot of exploring new places, in Cardiff. There's really only so much you see here before you've seen it all, and it starts to get...well. Just familiar, I guess. Too familiar, sometimes..."

Sulu grinned bashfully and nodded in understanding. He wasn't one to lead tours around his hometown, really, but he knew how it could feel to be in one place for so long that you knew where everything was. It wasn't always bad, but sometimes you needed... something more. Which had been why he'd joined Starfleet, and it was why he was here in 21st century Cardiff now. Though he knew Ianto really didn't think Cardiff was anything special.

"We can probably go anywhere, you know," he said, smiling. "All we have to do is find a world-hopper. Merlin could help us, you know? And we could go anywhere you wanted in the world, really. In both our universes, really."

Ianto ate some more of his toast, smiling and shaking his head at the idea that they could go just about anywhere in either of their universes, provided they found someone to take them. "Let's start out with places that at least one of us knows, yeah?" he said, smiling. "I... I haven't gotten out of this flat for over a month. Just going down the street to the market sounds interesting and exciting to do, and I know that it isn't." He shook his head. "We're going to have to discuss this after the novelty of things like that have worn off again, for me."

Really, they were going to have to wait until he was better, anyway, and surely the novelty would wear off once he did get better and started living a relatively normal life again. Still, though... "I will have a lot of free time, now, though. Now that Torchwood...is on hiatus," he said, struggling to find the right words before settling on those. "So...there'll be a bit more free time to do things like that, I guess," he said, with a shrug. "Still not used to the idea that I could just take a day trip to anywhere I wanted and be able to come back and sleep in my own bed at night, though. It's easy to forget that that's actually possible, yeah?"

"Don't worry," Sulu said, winking, "I'm not expecting us to head off to... I don't know, Greece, the second you're feeling better. Besides, I haven't even been to the market down the street. I think we can start out small."

It was true, too; Sulu honestly didn't mind doing the most mundane things, so long as Ianto was with him. He hadn't been lying when he had told Ianto that he would be happy with just about any kind of date they could come up with, even if it involved nothing more than television and soup. But still - the idea of being able to go with Ianto to other places, places he wanted to go that weren't Cardiff... It would be nice, he couldn't deny. Then again, maybe it was just the idea of being able to do those things that made them all so exciting.

Ianto smiled as Sulu mentioned Greece, finishing his toast and going to pick up his mug of tea, taking another sip. The endorphins or whatever it was in the tea that made people feel good drinking it, Ianto couldn't remember exactly, were certainly doing their job, and Ianto was having no trouble letting himself relax further into their conversation, not really forgetting that Jack was on his way and that things were going to change just as soon as he got there, but the rush of good feelings pushing all of that negativity to the back of his head. Yeah, he could see why Sulu had thought to bring this tea along to have.

"I'm not sure that Greece is really the first place that I'd think of going, anyway. Too much sunlight for a Welshman like me," he said, smiling slightly. "I'd probably crisp in the heat, or something. But...yeah. Starting out small, like with trips out to the market, trips into town, that sounds good to me. I promised you a movie, after all..." Hopefully, someday, he'd be able to get to one and stay awake through the whole thing enough to enjoy being there with someone else. It was amazing how much his goals and interests changed, as soon as he couldn't do anything anymore, after all. As soon as he'd found someone that didn't mind the mundane, who might actually make it enjoyable and enjoy it himself as well...

"What," Sulu asked with a grin, "They don't have sunscreen in this century?" He could tell that the tea was having a good effect on Ianto. Even though he knew that as soon as Jack showed up it would all be shot to hell for at least a little while, he couldn't help but hope that this would hold over for just a little longer. Jack was going to be impossible to deal with, and Sulu had a sinking feeling that he was going to have to step in at least once during his talk with Ianto, but for now, he could focus on Ianto and him acting as though nothing was really wrong.

Despite how silly it was to act that way, it was still nice to pretend. "But still, you're right. I think we can settle on a movie for now, and leave all the globetrotting for later on."

Ianto quirked an eyebrow. "Very funny," he said, although he was smiling a little as well. "They do have sunscreen, but there's only so much sunscreen can do for me, and I've got about an hour in the sun before I start to burn. You have noticed that the sun rarely comes out for more than an hour at a time here in Cardiff, haven't you? There is a reason why all of us Welsh are so wonderfully pale, after all, and it's not just genetics."

"So long as we don't go camping in the Beacons anytime soon, I'll be more than willing to do just about anything. Although...yeah. Starting out slow, with a movie or something, that'd probably be best. Quiet night in, and all." He shook his head, smiling. "You know, I'm pretty sure that there was a time when I thought that things like that were boring. It's different when I've got you around, though," he said, absentmindedly. "It seems more exciting, in the fact that it's all new to you."

"Fair enough," Sulu said, shaking his head, "Not that I mind. You'd probably look good with a permanent sunburn blush, but I think I'm okay with keeping you pale and Welsh." Not that he really had any choice in the matter. But still, he couldn't help but think about other places that they could go, places with less sun and surf and more... tolerable weather conditions. San Francisco continued to come to mind and he realized that really, that was the best place to go. Of course, it'd have to wait... But Sulu could be patient. There was still plenty for them to do here, in Cardiff.

He knew vaguely of Ianto's experiences when it came to camping and so he nodded, grinning a bit. He actually enjoyed camping; that outdoorsy sort of stuff was something he could do pretty well. He ducked his head a little at Ianto's comment, though, smiling at it. "Yeah, well... movies and home cooked meals and supermarkets aren't really that unfamiliar to me - they're not the same, here, but... I've missed it. Starfleet isn't really big on mundane tasks, after all. And..." And, after thinking Ianto wouldn't be around for it to happen again... He could still feel that hollow space in his ribs, even now when they were trying to restore normalcy, and it made him want those mundane things all the more.

Ianto laughed a little, shaking his head back at Sulu. "Say what you want about me looking good like that, I think I'd just look like I was sunburned, that's all. Nothing special. And you can get the same permanent blush look if we end up going somewhere cold as well. I'd much prefer having to bundle up than crisping in the sun," he said, with a shrug, "but that's probably just the Welshman in me, there."

"I'd imagine that the Enterprise didn't frequent local grocery's at all, no," he said, with a smile. And with all those mouths to feed, the replicator seemed like the best and easiest option to do that. Still. Nothing beat something cooked specifically for you. Ianto wasn't the best of cook's, but he'd lived alone enough to know his way around, and made a mental note to cook for Sulu, the next time he could. Ianto was definitely interested in the fact that Sulu missed all of those little things, though. He seemed to love his job, love the excitement, when it was exciting, the living the moment to it's fullest and all that.

"And...?" Ianto prompted, as Sulu trailed off, not really following Sulu's train of thought. He hadn't been the one to be left behind this time, after all. He knew what it was like to feel that way, had done so on multiple occasions, but it wasn't fresh in his mind at that moment, so he didn't automatically make the jump like he might have done.

Sulu didn't want to ruin the mood the tea had helped them restore, but the first thing to come to his mind was to tell Ianto just how badly he'd taken his death. How the world had stopped and he'd shut off until Jack had forced him to face it like a man - how he still could feel that part of him that'd been hurt, and how the revelation tonight had only made it more noticeable.

But he couldn't do that. Unlike Ianto's health, Sulu was sure that if he just ignored it, it would go away. It had to, because there was no reason for him to keep feeling like part of his world had disappeared. So he just shook his head and smiled quietly. "And I'll have you to do them with," he said instead. "So it'll be that much more worth it."

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