Timelord!Ianto: Away 3
Aug. 6th, 2011 11:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
galadriel1010Title: Trials of a Timelord
Chapter Title: Getting Away From It 3
Challenge/Fest: LongLiveIanto Bingo
Prompt: Geographic isolation
Rating: G
Dedication: For![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
amuly, who helped me with the Latin. Thank you so much!
Summary: Jack and Ianto are enjoying their holiday, and get to explore just what their apartment contains.
Characters: Jack/Ianto
Contains:
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Ianto traced the fine silver stitching that ran through the duvet cover and watched Jack through his lashes. They had sat up talking by the fire until the first hint of light touched the horizon, and then Jack had led him to the master bedroom and they had curled together against the headboard of the enormous bed to watch the sun rise between the curtains at the end of the bed.
He'd dragged his eyes away from the pearlescent pastels to say something to Jack, only to realise that he'd fallen asleep with his head against Ianto's shoulder. The soft, relaxed smile on his face had made something inside Ianto ache with happiness, and he'd settled Jack into a more comfortable position with his head in Ianto's lap as carefully as he could and relaxed to watch the harbour come to life whilst he combed his fingers through Jack's hair.
Hours must have passed since then, because the harbour was now busy with luxury yachts, ferries and two cruise liners and the sun was riding high in the sky. His suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later by the lilting voice of the computer saying, “This is your ten o'clock alarm. Your breakfast will be with you momentarily. Would you like it leaving in the antechamber or delivering to your bed?”
Ianto looked down at Jack, who had barely stirred, and smiled fondly. “Bring it in, please.”
”Certainly, sir. Would you like some music?”
He recalled Jack telling him the night before that the computer would create a playlist from a single song selection and chose something suitable for breakfast. “Grieg, Morning.”
The heady duet of the flute and the oboe drifted through the room, and Ianto carried on stroking his fingers over Jack's hair to wake him up. Before it succeeded he heard sharply firm footsteps on the thick carpet, and had to wait for them to arrive at the side of the bed before he could see the butler from the night before and the covered tray she carried. “Good morning, sir.” She looked over him at Jack and smiled softly. “I hope you enjoyed your first night with us.”
“Very much so.” He rubbed Jack's shoulder and chuckled. “We watched the dawn; it was beautiful.”
“This hotel and this suite in particular are specifically located to provide the best possible vantage point for the sunrise and sunset,” she explained. “The restaurant you dined in last night is also oriented towards the sunrise, although very few visitors are there in time to see it.” She stepped up to the bed and presented the tray. “Will you be eating in bed, or would you like me to set it up in the sitting area?”
“We'll eat here, if he ever wakes up.” He smiled at her shyly and poked Jack, who gave a thoroughly theatrical snore. “Or I'll eat it all, I'm sure he won't complain.”
Jack was suddenly awake, blinking sleepy blue eyes up at Ianto and rubbing his cheek against the quilt over his thigh. “Are you talking about me?”
He laughed and shoved Jack away so that he could smooth the duvet out for the tray. “Thank you, we'll eat here.”
“Of course.” She laid the tray on the bed gently and Ianto reached across to collect it, deciding that the size of the bed was luxurious but impractical. Having delivered it she stepped back again and folded her gloved hands in front of her. “Do you still require the tour, sirs?”
“We do,” Jack confirmed. He'd pushed himself into a sitting position next to Ianto and leaned into him. “If you'd return for us in an hour, and have the boat prepared to visit the island after the tour.”
“Of course. Do you require anything else?”
“No, that will be all for now.” Dismissed, she bowed and left them, and Jack wrapped his arm around Ianto's shoulders, surrounding him with warmth. “Did you sleep at all?”
Ianto shrugged, as much as he could, and snuggled closer under Jack's arm. “I wasn't tired. And you looked...”
“Slack-jawed and stupid?” Jack guessed when Ianto trailed off.
“Beautiful,” he corrected. Jack's hands paused on the cover over the tray and Ianto rested his hands on top of them to remove it. “You're always smiling, even when you sleep.”
“Well, that must be because something made me happy.” He rubbed a thumb against Ianto's wrist. “I used to have nightmares – I've never been relaxed in my sleep.”
Ianto frowned and wrapped his arm around Jack's shoulders to pull him closer. “I've never known you have a nightmare, though.” He saw Jack's smile and returned it. “Must be my calming aura, I suppose.”
“Something like that.” Jack reached blindly for the tray on Ianto's lap and picked up a bundle of flaked pastry, which he held to Ianto's lips. “We have an hour to eat and change, remember.”
He opened his mouth and let Jack feed him, then selected another piece to prove that he could feed himself. “You should probably remember that too.”
They ate the breakfast of sweet pastries, sweets and fruits, washed down with a sparkling, clear juice drink that tasted faintly of melon and very much of apple. With half an hour to go before the butler returned they finished and pushed the tray to the other end of the bed – well out of the way of even their long legs – and returned to the TARDIS to raid the wardrobe. Jack disappeared behind the tall racks of clothes, leaving Ianto to trail his fingers along the row of fabric closest to him. He knew that the weather was warm and gentle, even though he'd not been outside yet, but if they were going on a boat there might be a cool breeze.
Soft, white material caught against his finger and a sleeve fell out from between the row of garish colours. He reached up to the hangers to push them apart and pulled out a crisp white linen suit. It should have been thoroughly crumbled and unwearable from the haphazard way that everything had been pushed onto the rail, but it was impossibly clean and neat.
He stepped out from between the rails not long after, dressed in the suit over a crimson shirt that matched the pocket square in the suit. A shoe rack ran up the outside of the curving staircase with every possible design and colour of shoe represented, so that it took him time and three turns before he found a suitable pair. He was sitting on the step above where he'd found them to fasten them when Jack swung around the bottom of the staircase and ascended a few steps before sitting down.
“I hope you're not planning to wear jeans,” Ianto called down to him, smothering a laugh when Jack looked around for him, unable to pinpoint where his voice had come from. “That won't do at all.”
Jack was paused with one shoe half on, and he finished fastening it with a shrug. “Too late. The residents of our deserted island paradise will just have to cope until I take them off.”
He chuckled and stood up, trailing a hand down the handrail as he descended to Jack's level. The look of astonished delight and open desire on Jack's face when he looked up and saw Ianto descending was worth a thousand sunsets, especially when he stood to greet Ianto and extended a hand to him. “You look amazing,” Jack breathed, tightening his fingers around Ianto's and pulling him down onto the ground to look at him properly. “I love the red; it looks... really good on you.”
Ianto smoothed down Jack's collar and ran his thumb across the raised pattern in the fabric. “I like the shirt,” he conceded. It was a pale blue that made Jack's eyes seem even brighter than usual. He brushed his lips against Jack's and then released him and stepped back. “But the jeans have to go.”
“Fine.” Jack sighed theatrically and unfastened his jeans, pulling them off over his shoes right there. He put his hands on his hips and mirrored Ianto's raised eyebrow. “I could go out like this.”
Ianto scooped the jeans up and swatted him with them. “Go and find some trousers”, he laughed. “It wouldn't do to cause a scandal.”
Jack pulled him in and embraced him before he disappeared between the rails again in search of trousers. Whilst he waited, Ianto folded the jeans and set them carefully on the staircase, on top of a pair of twenty-third century glittered pumps, then sat down on the step below them with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands.
It didn't take Jack long to find a pair of trousers, and he soon emerged from between the racks, although Ianto was sure it wasn't the racks he'd disappeared between, in a pair of slim fitting black trousers and with a grey jacket over his arm. He pulled the jacket on, shot his cuffs and gave Ianto a twirl. “Will I do?” he asked, not even bothering to hide the note of smugness in his tone. “Or do I have to change the shirt as well?”
“You'll do.” He reached out to neaten Jack's collars once more and found himself tugged closer and kissed firmly. His arms wound around Jack’s neck and his fingers tangled in his hair to hold him close for longer. “Kissing you is like kissing time,” he muttered against Jack’s lips, “but better.”
Jack chuckled and leaned back to look at him. “When have you kissed time? Should I be jealous?”
There was an undercurrent of worry or hurt in Jack’s voice, despite his best attempts to squash it with humour, and there was a falseness to his smile. Ianto kissed him again chastely and rubbed his cheek with the pad of his thumb. “What’s the matter? Was it something I said?”
“No... well, yes.” Jack sighed and caught Ianto’s hand, holding it against his chest. “I still sometimes feel like I’m pressuring you, like I’m pushing for more than you’re prepared to give.” He sighed and his eyes dropped to the floor. “And then you say something like that, and I wonder… if you’re with me because of what I am.” He smiled and brought his gaze back to Ianto before he could say anything, and some of his tension had been released. “I could cope with it if you were; it’s a pretty big silver lining, but…”
Ianto covered Jack’s lips with his fingers to stop him. “I love you. Not the fact I won’t lose you, or the pull of time I feel when I’m with your or even your cooking. I love you, and I get the rest as a bonus.”
The only sound and movement for a long moment was a breeze shifting through the racks of clothes, but then Jack had pulled Ianto back against him and was kissing him. His hands were warm and gentle, framing Ianto’s face, and his lips were soft but forceful as their tongues tangled together. Ianto pressed his palms against Jack’s back and spread his fingers to feel the play of powerful muscles beneath the soft fabric of the shirt.
Jack pulled back eventually, just enough to lick Ianto’s bruised lips at first and then all the way back. He was breathing more heavily than Ianto and his cheeks were flushed, but he smiled brilliantly and took Ianto’s hand. “Come on. We have an appointment.”
The butler was waiting for them on the landing when they emerged and gave them a peculiar look. She had a tablet computer out in the palm of her hand, and she tapped at the screen twice as she turned to face them. “I hope breakfast was to your satisfaction, sirs?”
“It was excellent, thank you.” Jack took back his arm from around Ianto’s waist and pulled on his jacket, and Ianto moved behind him to straighten his collar as he always did at work.
Carefully not noticing this, the butler tapped her tablet again and smiled at them. “Before we begin the tour, may I take your orders for meals for the day? We can prepare lunch for you on the boat or at the lodge on the island, and dinner can be taken on the island, on the boat on the way back or here at the hotel.”
Ianto gave Jack a shrug and smiled politely. “Surprise us,” Jack told her with a grin at Ianto’s reticence. “Something with poulo for lunch at the lodge and a spaghetti dish on the boat coming back.”
She inclined her head and tapped the instructions out on her tablet, then flipped the lid and slid it into her pocket. “Certainly, sirs. Is there anything you require taking to the island for your trip?” They shook their heads and she folded her hands together. “In that case, I will show you around the apartment and then the boat will be ready to leave.”
The apartment was impossibly luxurious. Their master bedroom, with its sitting area, en-suite bathroom, dressing room and secluded cinema area, was directly above the entertaining room. Mirroring it on the same floor was a marble-floored hall with another bedroom on either side and a hot tub at the end in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“The sun sets between the hills,” the butler explained, “making this suite the best place in the city to watch the sunset or the sunrise.”
Jack rubbed Ianto’s back and smiled at her. “The hotel is in the perfect position. And must have some clout politically.”
She smiled demurely and didn’t answer that. “If you’re ready?” They followed her downstairs and got another look at the entertaining room before she pushed open the double doors into the dining room. A long glass and chrome table stretched between a kitchen area at one end and a bar at the other end, and a cluster of low sofas and coffee tables were close to the windows. “A chef can prepare a meal for you here if you wish, or I can have the ingredients delivered if you would like to cook for yourselves. There is a panic room underneath the stairs and a temporal lock can also be placed on the dressing room in the master suite for ultimate protection.”
Ianto whipped around to stare at Jack, who promptly laughed at him. “Relax. I don’t have any enemies around here. Or at least none who’ll know I’m here.”
“That’s not comforting,” he bit back. Jack was still laughing, so Ianto wrapped both arms around his waist and squeezed slightly tighter than would be comfortable. “If we have to hide or run I’m holding you personally responsible.”
Their butler actually smiled at that, and Ianto felt disproportionately proud about it. She followed them out into the foyer and closed the dining room doors behind them. “You won’t need your keykas again until you check out. The Wandtech will control every door and every element of the apartment.” The lift doors glided open at their approach and she stepped inside just enough to indicate the control point with one elegantly extended hand. “The Wandtech relies on neurostim sensors. As you will have realised by now, you need to do nothing more than point at a receptor point and intend.”
“Cutting edge technology,” Jack murmured approvingly, turning it over in his hands. “The La Tassita must be at the forefront of technological developments.”
“We use every method we can to make our guests stays as pleasant as possible, sir.” She smiled, politely as always, and acknowledged Jack’s dismissive gesture with a bow. “The boat will be ready for you as soon as you are ready for it.”
Jack watched her go, tapping the wand against one finger. “Neurostim sensors, really?” He scoffed and sat down on the sofa in the lift with his arms stretched along the back of it and the Wandtech hanging loosely from one hand. “It’s empathic, pure and simple. Whoever’s selling it to them must want to keep tight hold of the market.”
He offered it to Ianto, but he waved it off and leaned against the window instead. “I don’t want to short it out.”
“You…” Jack’s confusion cleared and he laughed, pointing the wand at the doors to close them. “That’s why you wouldn’t give the Effe Artana a try – because you’d break it?”
“No, not break it.” He sat on the sofa next to Jack and curled closer when his arm wrapped around his shoulders. “I could have played Beethoven’s Fifth on it, though, and you might have got suspicious.”
Jack tipped Ianto’s face around so that he could kiss him and smiled. “You’re full of surprises. Speaking of which…” The doors had slid open and he pointed through them. “Surprise! Private spa.”
Ianto frowned at him and got up to stick his head through the door. It was silent but for the gentle sound of water from the pool off to his left, and a touch panel next to the lift lit up at his approach, offering him a range of services from pedicures to massages. Jack stepped up behind him and used the wand to bring up a plan of the spa. The lift was separate from it, a round shaft that went straight up the side of the building, making the spa itself an isosceles trapezium. It was symmetrical inside, with the pool and the treatment room opposite each other against the outer wall – presumably to take advantage of the view down the coast – and a sauna and changing room opposite each other further into the building. The floor was of the same white marble as the suite, but the walls were tiled in silvery-blue.
“We’ll try it later,” Jack breathed in his ear, tugging him back into the lift. “They’re waiting for us.”
“You’re paying them to wait for us,” he pointed out, although he let Jack tug him in and onto the sofa. The lift doors closed again and it plummeted downwards, past restaurants and shops between long stretches of wall. He expected it to stop in the foyer where they’d got on the day before, but it carried on through the garden, down the middle of the ornamental fountain and into the rock below. “Fascinating strata visible in the lift tunnels,” he commented lightly. “It’s amazing how different they look on a planet which has had no biological activity for most of its development.”
Jack eyed him sidelong and shook his head. “School paper?”
“Yep.” He laughed at Jack’s expression and leaned against him. “Not this planet, but I did a… you’d call it a module, on terraforming methods and the distinctive features of terraformed planets.”
The lift drifted out into a brilliantly lit cave under the cliff and Jack pushed up off the sofa with an easy, loose-limbed grace. “Your school life must have been fascinating.”
Ianto sniffed pointedly and held his head high, but he offered Jack his arm and they walked down the glass and chrome walkway to the boat together. It ran over a purple, marbled rock to begin with, and then when the rock continued dropping away under the water it stayed level, lit from below by twinkling lights, then dropped down to just above the water to where the boat waited. Ianto knew very little about boats, besides an in-depth knowledge of the Royal Yachts of the British Royal Family, but he didn’t need to know much about them to realise that this was the last word in luxury. After the apartment, he’d expected nothing less.
Their butler stood at the end of the walkway with her hands folded in front of her to greet them. She opened the gate and stepped out of their way, letting them up the steps onto the boat. “Welcome to the Stivaile Star. Everything you could need to make your day perfect if on board, and we are ready to sail when you are.”
“Well let’s go, then.” Jack flashed a grin at her and steered Ianto onto the deck, towards the main door. “We’re going to explore.”
She inclined her head in understanding once more and Ianto had a sudden realisation. He tugged on Jack’s arm to hold him back a moment longer and smiled at her. “Veneratio per mune,” he told her quietly.
“Veneratio per mune, sir,” she returned, with eyes widened slightly in surprise. A moment later she had collected herself and the surprise was gone as if it had never been there. “The trip to the island will be just under an hour.”
Jack gave up on looking between them and squeezed Ianto’s waist. “Tell the captain to take us the scenic route, will you?”
“Certainly, sir.”
They entered the first room, a luxurious room with two sofas and a dining table
that matched the apartment’s furnishings, and Jack released him to poke through the bookcase. “So what did you say to her?”
“It’s… our old school’s motto,” he admitted, blushing now he thought of Jack understanding it. “I recognised her training. Jack, the boat even has a piano!” He changed the subject and tried to distract Jack with something shiny.
“It’s a yacht, and it’s got a lot more than that.” Jack took the bait and wrapped his arms around Ianto’s waist again. “It’s got a hot tub, four staterooms, room for six crew members, a professional galley and chef, captain’s cabin, dining room and salon, two decks…Come on.” He took Ianto’s hand and led him forwards. “I’ll show you around.”
They had made their way onto the fore deck with glasses of a thick, syrupy juice drink with umbrellas in them by the time the outer islands came into sight. Ianto stirred his drink with his umbrella and reflected on the fact that lack of style never went out of fashion. Jack’s arm was around his waist, where it had come to belong, and they leaned into each other to watch the island growing larger, the sparkling light on the water and the seabirds swooping and twisting across the crests of the waves. The engine was quiet and the only soundtrack to their contemplation was the sound of the waves splashing against the boat below them and the cries of the seabirds. He dropped his umbrella back into his drink and rested his now-free hand on the back of Jack’s neck, turning to prop one hip against the rail and lean back on his arm. “It feels like we’ve been here forever,” he confessed when Jack looked at him curiously. “Like we have a whole other life here.”
Jack’s arm tightened. “We could have it. The universe is our oyster.”
He smiled and shook his head. Taking a sip of his drink he turned back to watching the island getting closer and more of the rambling lodge being revealed. “We’d get bored,” he said at last. “Better to save this for special occasions.”
“Any occasion is special when I’m with you.” He frowned when Ianto laughed. “I mean it.”
“I know you do, but it’s a bit… corny.”
“Well, fine.” He turned his attention back to the island and pulled Ianto closer with the arm around his waist. They were nearly at the dock now, turning in a calm bay so that they could disembark. A path of smooth sand between the short grass ran up to the lodge, and Ianto could see movement within the building. “Our very own island paradise,” Jack murmured softly. “Just you and me…”
“And the staff,” Ianto interjected.
Jack sighed and drained his glass, then released Ianto and turned to set it on the table. “You’re ruining all my fun today.”
He sighed and set his glass next to Jack’s so that he could wrap both arms around him. “You wouldn’t expect anything less.” He kissed Jack’s cheek, lingering to feel Jack’s smile. “Now we have a paradise to explore.”
Next chapter
Chapter Title: Getting Away From It 3
Challenge/Fest: LongLiveIanto Bingo
Prompt: Geographic isolation
Rating: G
Dedication: For
amuly, who helped me with the Latin. Thank you so much!Summary: Jack and Ianto are enjoying their holiday, and get to explore just what their apartment contains.
Characters: Jack/Ianto
Contains:
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Ianto traced the fine silver stitching that ran through the duvet cover and watched Jack through his lashes. They had sat up talking by the fire until the first hint of light touched the horizon, and then Jack had led him to the master bedroom and they had curled together against the headboard of the enormous bed to watch the sun rise between the curtains at the end of the bed.
He'd dragged his eyes away from the pearlescent pastels to say something to Jack, only to realise that he'd fallen asleep with his head against Ianto's shoulder. The soft, relaxed smile on his face had made something inside Ianto ache with happiness, and he'd settled Jack into a more comfortable position with his head in Ianto's lap as carefully as he could and relaxed to watch the harbour come to life whilst he combed his fingers through Jack's hair.
Hours must have passed since then, because the harbour was now busy with luxury yachts, ferries and two cruise liners and the sun was riding high in the sky. His suspicions were confirmed a few minutes later by the lilting voice of the computer saying, “This is your ten o'clock alarm. Your breakfast will be with you momentarily. Would you like it leaving in the antechamber or delivering to your bed?”
Ianto looked down at Jack, who had barely stirred, and smiled fondly. “Bring it in, please.”
”Certainly, sir. Would you like some music?”
He recalled Jack telling him the night before that the computer would create a playlist from a single song selection and chose something suitable for breakfast. “Grieg, Morning.”
The heady duet of the flute and the oboe drifted through the room, and Ianto carried on stroking his fingers over Jack's hair to wake him up. Before it succeeded he heard sharply firm footsteps on the thick carpet, and had to wait for them to arrive at the side of the bed before he could see the butler from the night before and the covered tray she carried. “Good morning, sir.” She looked over him at Jack and smiled softly. “I hope you enjoyed your first night with us.”
“Very much so.” He rubbed Jack's shoulder and chuckled. “We watched the dawn; it was beautiful.”
“This hotel and this suite in particular are specifically located to provide the best possible vantage point for the sunrise and sunset,” she explained. “The restaurant you dined in last night is also oriented towards the sunrise, although very few visitors are there in time to see it.” She stepped up to the bed and presented the tray. “Will you be eating in bed, or would you like me to set it up in the sitting area?”
“We'll eat here, if he ever wakes up.” He smiled at her shyly and poked Jack, who gave a thoroughly theatrical snore. “Or I'll eat it all, I'm sure he won't complain.”
Jack was suddenly awake, blinking sleepy blue eyes up at Ianto and rubbing his cheek against the quilt over his thigh. “Are you talking about me?”
He laughed and shoved Jack away so that he could smooth the duvet out for the tray. “Thank you, we'll eat here.”
“Of course.” She laid the tray on the bed gently and Ianto reached across to collect it, deciding that the size of the bed was luxurious but impractical. Having delivered it she stepped back again and folded her gloved hands in front of her. “Do you still require the tour, sirs?”
“We do,” Jack confirmed. He'd pushed himself into a sitting position next to Ianto and leaned into him. “If you'd return for us in an hour, and have the boat prepared to visit the island after the tour.”
“Of course. Do you require anything else?”
“No, that will be all for now.” Dismissed, she bowed and left them, and Jack wrapped his arm around Ianto's shoulders, surrounding him with warmth. “Did you sleep at all?”
Ianto shrugged, as much as he could, and snuggled closer under Jack's arm. “I wasn't tired. And you looked...”
“Slack-jawed and stupid?” Jack guessed when Ianto trailed off.
“Beautiful,” he corrected. Jack's hands paused on the cover over the tray and Ianto rested his hands on top of them to remove it. “You're always smiling, even when you sleep.”
“Well, that must be because something made me happy.” He rubbed a thumb against Ianto's wrist. “I used to have nightmares – I've never been relaxed in my sleep.”
Ianto frowned and wrapped his arm around Jack's shoulders to pull him closer. “I've never known you have a nightmare, though.” He saw Jack's smile and returned it. “Must be my calming aura, I suppose.”
“Something like that.” Jack reached blindly for the tray on Ianto's lap and picked up a bundle of flaked pastry, which he held to Ianto's lips. “We have an hour to eat and change, remember.”
He opened his mouth and let Jack feed him, then selected another piece to prove that he could feed himself. “You should probably remember that too.”
They ate the breakfast of sweet pastries, sweets and fruits, washed down with a sparkling, clear juice drink that tasted faintly of melon and very much of apple. With half an hour to go before the butler returned they finished and pushed the tray to the other end of the bed – well out of the way of even their long legs – and returned to the TARDIS to raid the wardrobe. Jack disappeared behind the tall racks of clothes, leaving Ianto to trail his fingers along the row of fabric closest to him. He knew that the weather was warm and gentle, even though he'd not been outside yet, but if they were going on a boat there might be a cool breeze.
Soft, white material caught against his finger and a sleeve fell out from between the row of garish colours. He reached up to the hangers to push them apart and pulled out a crisp white linen suit. It should have been thoroughly crumbled and unwearable from the haphazard way that everything had been pushed onto the rail, but it was impossibly clean and neat.
He stepped out from between the rails not long after, dressed in the suit over a crimson shirt that matched the pocket square in the suit. A shoe rack ran up the outside of the curving staircase with every possible design and colour of shoe represented, so that it took him time and three turns before he found a suitable pair. He was sitting on the step above where he'd found them to fasten them when Jack swung around the bottom of the staircase and ascended a few steps before sitting down.
“I hope you're not planning to wear jeans,” Ianto called down to him, smothering a laugh when Jack looked around for him, unable to pinpoint where his voice had come from. “That won't do at all.”
Jack was paused with one shoe half on, and he finished fastening it with a shrug. “Too late. The residents of our deserted island paradise will just have to cope until I take them off.”
He chuckled and stood up, trailing a hand down the handrail as he descended to Jack's level. The look of astonished delight and open desire on Jack's face when he looked up and saw Ianto descending was worth a thousand sunsets, especially when he stood to greet Ianto and extended a hand to him. “You look amazing,” Jack breathed, tightening his fingers around Ianto's and pulling him down onto the ground to look at him properly. “I love the red; it looks... really good on you.”
Ianto smoothed down Jack's collar and ran his thumb across the raised pattern in the fabric. “I like the shirt,” he conceded. It was a pale blue that made Jack's eyes seem even brighter than usual. He brushed his lips against Jack's and then released him and stepped back. “But the jeans have to go.”
“Fine.” Jack sighed theatrically and unfastened his jeans, pulling them off over his shoes right there. He put his hands on his hips and mirrored Ianto's raised eyebrow. “I could go out like this.”
Ianto scooped the jeans up and swatted him with them. “Go and find some trousers”, he laughed. “It wouldn't do to cause a scandal.”
Jack pulled him in and embraced him before he disappeared between the rails again in search of trousers. Whilst he waited, Ianto folded the jeans and set them carefully on the staircase, on top of a pair of twenty-third century glittered pumps, then sat down on the step below them with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands.
It didn't take Jack long to find a pair of trousers, and he soon emerged from between the racks, although Ianto was sure it wasn't the racks he'd disappeared between, in a pair of slim fitting black trousers and with a grey jacket over his arm. He pulled the jacket on, shot his cuffs and gave Ianto a twirl. “Will I do?” he asked, not even bothering to hide the note of smugness in his tone. “Or do I have to change the shirt as well?”
“You'll do.” He reached out to neaten Jack's collars once more and found himself tugged closer and kissed firmly. His arms wound around Jack’s neck and his fingers tangled in his hair to hold him close for longer. “Kissing you is like kissing time,” he muttered against Jack’s lips, “but better.”
Jack chuckled and leaned back to look at him. “When have you kissed time? Should I be jealous?”
There was an undercurrent of worry or hurt in Jack’s voice, despite his best attempts to squash it with humour, and there was a falseness to his smile. Ianto kissed him again chastely and rubbed his cheek with the pad of his thumb. “What’s the matter? Was it something I said?”
“No... well, yes.” Jack sighed and caught Ianto’s hand, holding it against his chest. “I still sometimes feel like I’m pressuring you, like I’m pushing for more than you’re prepared to give.” He sighed and his eyes dropped to the floor. “And then you say something like that, and I wonder… if you’re with me because of what I am.” He smiled and brought his gaze back to Ianto before he could say anything, and some of his tension had been released. “I could cope with it if you were; it’s a pretty big silver lining, but…”
Ianto covered Jack’s lips with his fingers to stop him. “I love you. Not the fact I won’t lose you, or the pull of time I feel when I’m with your or even your cooking. I love you, and I get the rest as a bonus.”
The only sound and movement for a long moment was a breeze shifting through the racks of clothes, but then Jack had pulled Ianto back against him and was kissing him. His hands were warm and gentle, framing Ianto’s face, and his lips were soft but forceful as their tongues tangled together. Ianto pressed his palms against Jack’s back and spread his fingers to feel the play of powerful muscles beneath the soft fabric of the shirt.
Jack pulled back eventually, just enough to lick Ianto’s bruised lips at first and then all the way back. He was breathing more heavily than Ianto and his cheeks were flushed, but he smiled brilliantly and took Ianto’s hand. “Come on. We have an appointment.”
The butler was waiting for them on the landing when they emerged and gave them a peculiar look. She had a tablet computer out in the palm of her hand, and she tapped at the screen twice as she turned to face them. “I hope breakfast was to your satisfaction, sirs?”
“It was excellent, thank you.” Jack took back his arm from around Ianto’s waist and pulled on his jacket, and Ianto moved behind him to straighten his collar as he always did at work.
Carefully not noticing this, the butler tapped her tablet again and smiled at them. “Before we begin the tour, may I take your orders for meals for the day? We can prepare lunch for you on the boat or at the lodge on the island, and dinner can be taken on the island, on the boat on the way back or here at the hotel.”
Ianto gave Jack a shrug and smiled politely. “Surprise us,” Jack told her with a grin at Ianto’s reticence. “Something with poulo for lunch at the lodge and a spaghetti dish on the boat coming back.”
She inclined her head and tapped the instructions out on her tablet, then flipped the lid and slid it into her pocket. “Certainly, sirs. Is there anything you require taking to the island for your trip?” They shook their heads and she folded her hands together. “In that case, I will show you around the apartment and then the boat will be ready to leave.”
The apartment was impossibly luxurious. Their master bedroom, with its sitting area, en-suite bathroom, dressing room and secluded cinema area, was directly above the entertaining room. Mirroring it on the same floor was a marble-floored hall with another bedroom on either side and a hot tub at the end in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.
“The sun sets between the hills,” the butler explained, “making this suite the best place in the city to watch the sunset or the sunrise.”
Jack rubbed Ianto’s back and smiled at her. “The hotel is in the perfect position. And must have some clout politically.”
She smiled demurely and didn’t answer that. “If you’re ready?” They followed her downstairs and got another look at the entertaining room before she pushed open the double doors into the dining room. A long glass and chrome table stretched between a kitchen area at one end and a bar at the other end, and a cluster of low sofas and coffee tables were close to the windows. “A chef can prepare a meal for you here if you wish, or I can have the ingredients delivered if you would like to cook for yourselves. There is a panic room underneath the stairs and a temporal lock can also be placed on the dressing room in the master suite for ultimate protection.”
Ianto whipped around to stare at Jack, who promptly laughed at him. “Relax. I don’t have any enemies around here. Or at least none who’ll know I’m here.”
“That’s not comforting,” he bit back. Jack was still laughing, so Ianto wrapped both arms around his waist and squeezed slightly tighter than would be comfortable. “If we have to hide or run I’m holding you personally responsible.”
Their butler actually smiled at that, and Ianto felt disproportionately proud about it. She followed them out into the foyer and closed the dining room doors behind them. “You won’t need your keykas again until you check out. The Wandtech will control every door and every element of the apartment.” The lift doors glided open at their approach and she stepped inside just enough to indicate the control point with one elegantly extended hand. “The Wandtech relies on neurostim sensors. As you will have realised by now, you need to do nothing more than point at a receptor point and intend.”
“Cutting edge technology,” Jack murmured approvingly, turning it over in his hands. “The La Tassita must be at the forefront of technological developments.”
“We use every method we can to make our guests stays as pleasant as possible, sir.” She smiled, politely as always, and acknowledged Jack’s dismissive gesture with a bow. “The boat will be ready for you as soon as you are ready for it.”
Jack watched her go, tapping the wand against one finger. “Neurostim sensors, really?” He scoffed and sat down on the sofa in the lift with his arms stretched along the back of it and the Wandtech hanging loosely from one hand. “It’s empathic, pure and simple. Whoever’s selling it to them must want to keep tight hold of the market.”
He offered it to Ianto, but he waved it off and leaned against the window instead. “I don’t want to short it out.”
“You…” Jack’s confusion cleared and he laughed, pointing the wand at the doors to close them. “That’s why you wouldn’t give the Effe Artana a try – because you’d break it?”
“No, not break it.” He sat on the sofa next to Jack and curled closer when his arm wrapped around his shoulders. “I could have played Beethoven’s Fifth on it, though, and you might have got suspicious.”
Jack tipped Ianto’s face around so that he could kiss him and smiled. “You’re full of surprises. Speaking of which…” The doors had slid open and he pointed through them. “Surprise! Private spa.”
Ianto frowned at him and got up to stick his head through the door. It was silent but for the gentle sound of water from the pool off to his left, and a touch panel next to the lift lit up at his approach, offering him a range of services from pedicures to massages. Jack stepped up behind him and used the wand to bring up a plan of the spa. The lift was separate from it, a round shaft that went straight up the side of the building, making the spa itself an isosceles trapezium. It was symmetrical inside, with the pool and the treatment room opposite each other against the outer wall – presumably to take advantage of the view down the coast – and a sauna and changing room opposite each other further into the building. The floor was of the same white marble as the suite, but the walls were tiled in silvery-blue.
“We’ll try it later,” Jack breathed in his ear, tugging him back into the lift. “They’re waiting for us.”
“You’re paying them to wait for us,” he pointed out, although he let Jack tug him in and onto the sofa. The lift doors closed again and it plummeted downwards, past restaurants and shops between long stretches of wall. He expected it to stop in the foyer where they’d got on the day before, but it carried on through the garden, down the middle of the ornamental fountain and into the rock below. “Fascinating strata visible in the lift tunnels,” he commented lightly. “It’s amazing how different they look on a planet which has had no biological activity for most of its development.”
Jack eyed him sidelong and shook his head. “School paper?”
“Yep.” He laughed at Jack’s expression and leaned against him. “Not this planet, but I did a… you’d call it a module, on terraforming methods and the distinctive features of terraformed planets.”
The lift drifted out into a brilliantly lit cave under the cliff and Jack pushed up off the sofa with an easy, loose-limbed grace. “Your school life must have been fascinating.”
Ianto sniffed pointedly and held his head high, but he offered Jack his arm and they walked down the glass and chrome walkway to the boat together. It ran over a purple, marbled rock to begin with, and then when the rock continued dropping away under the water it stayed level, lit from below by twinkling lights, then dropped down to just above the water to where the boat waited. Ianto knew very little about boats, besides an in-depth knowledge of the Royal Yachts of the British Royal Family, but he didn’t need to know much about them to realise that this was the last word in luxury. After the apartment, he’d expected nothing less.
Their butler stood at the end of the walkway with her hands folded in front of her to greet them. She opened the gate and stepped out of their way, letting them up the steps onto the boat. “Welcome to the Stivaile Star. Everything you could need to make your day perfect if on board, and we are ready to sail when you are.”
“Well let’s go, then.” Jack flashed a grin at her and steered Ianto onto the deck, towards the main door. “We’re going to explore.”
She inclined her head in understanding once more and Ianto had a sudden realisation. He tugged on Jack’s arm to hold him back a moment longer and smiled at her. “Veneratio per mune,” he told her quietly.
“Veneratio per mune, sir,” she returned, with eyes widened slightly in surprise. A moment later she had collected herself and the surprise was gone as if it had never been there. “The trip to the island will be just under an hour.”
Jack gave up on looking between them and squeezed Ianto’s waist. “Tell the captain to take us the scenic route, will you?”
“Certainly, sir.”
They entered the first room, a luxurious room with two sofas and a dining table
that matched the apartment’s furnishings, and Jack released him to poke through the bookcase. “So what did you say to her?”
“It’s… our old school’s motto,” he admitted, blushing now he thought of Jack understanding it. “I recognised her training. Jack, the boat even has a piano!” He changed the subject and tried to distract Jack with something shiny.
“It’s a yacht, and it’s got a lot more than that.” Jack took the bait and wrapped his arms around Ianto’s waist again. “It’s got a hot tub, four staterooms, room for six crew members, a professional galley and chef, captain’s cabin, dining room and salon, two decks…Come on.” He took Ianto’s hand and led him forwards. “I’ll show you around.”
They had made their way onto the fore deck with glasses of a thick, syrupy juice drink with umbrellas in them by the time the outer islands came into sight. Ianto stirred his drink with his umbrella and reflected on the fact that lack of style never went out of fashion. Jack’s arm was around his waist, where it had come to belong, and they leaned into each other to watch the island growing larger, the sparkling light on the water and the seabirds swooping and twisting across the crests of the waves. The engine was quiet and the only soundtrack to their contemplation was the sound of the waves splashing against the boat below them and the cries of the seabirds. He dropped his umbrella back into his drink and rested his now-free hand on the back of Jack’s neck, turning to prop one hip against the rail and lean back on his arm. “It feels like we’ve been here forever,” he confessed when Jack looked at him curiously. “Like we have a whole other life here.”
Jack’s arm tightened. “We could have it. The universe is our oyster.”
He smiled and shook his head. Taking a sip of his drink he turned back to watching the island getting closer and more of the rambling lodge being revealed. “We’d get bored,” he said at last. “Better to save this for special occasions.”
“Any occasion is special when I’m with you.” He frowned when Ianto laughed. “I mean it.”
“I know you do, but it’s a bit… corny.”
“Well, fine.” He turned his attention back to the island and pulled Ianto closer with the arm around his waist. They were nearly at the dock now, turning in a calm bay so that they could disembark. A path of smooth sand between the short grass ran up to the lodge, and Ianto could see movement within the building. “Our very own island paradise,” Jack murmured softly. “Just you and me…”
“And the staff,” Ianto interjected.
Jack sighed and drained his glass, then released Ianto and turned to set it on the table. “You’re ruining all my fun today.”
He sighed and set his glass next to Jack’s so that he could wrap both arms around him. “You wouldn’t expect anything less.” He kissed Jack’s cheek, lingering to feel Jack’s smile. “Now we have a paradise to explore.”
Next chapter
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Date: 2011-08-07 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-07 03:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-08-07 06:17 am (UTC)Ianto contra mundum.
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Date: 2011-08-08 06:40 am (UTC)And then you say something like that, and I wonder… if you’re with me because of what I am.”
Aww... Underneath that big, damn hero is a softie that needs to be loved. I liked Ianto's answer.