Love Is A Game 4: Unexpected Date
Sep. 20th, 2010 08:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
galadriel1010Title: Unexpected Date
Characters: Jack/Ianto
Genre: Romance
Rating: G
Era: KKBB
Series: Love Is A Game
Summary: Jack returns from his trip with the Doctor and starts trying to make amends
Contains:
Dedication:
Beta:
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Ianto hauled himself off the bed to open the door and found himself face to face with his least favourite person in the world, after Katie Price. He bit back a sigh, held the door at a polite but unwelcoming angle and tried to look interested. “Sir, can I help you?”
Jack wasn't trying to hide anything like Ianto was; maybe he thought it'd make him more forgiveable if he looked hurt; maybe he'd just got tired of hiding, or maybe he'd not been gone as long as he had, and he still didn't feel he needed to hide himself around Ianto. As much as he really, really hated Jack right then, he knew that he'd been the only one Jack could be like that with, and he did look like he needed it – his hands were in his trouser pockets, hair dishevelled, eyes tight with pain and slightly red. He took a deep breath and met Ianto's eyes. “What date is it?”
“June twenty third,” he supplied. “Two thousand and seven, so you've only been gone nearly three months, not... however long you think you've been gone...” he contemplated Jack's shocked expression and inability to think. “You were expecting half an hour, weren't you?”
“I... no, not half an hour,” Jack studied his face and sighed. “Not three months, though. For what it's worth, I'm sorry.”
He turned away, and Ianto had to say something, anything, to lessen some of that pain. “What do you think it's worth?”
Jack looked back at him and tried to raise one of his eyebrows in an interested manner, but it still came across as nervous and melancholy. “I think it's one of those gifts the value of which is decided by the receiver, not the giver.” His expression said that he had a feeling that it wasn't worth a lot by that definition.
And maybe Ianto was a glutton for punishment, or just too soft by half, but he couldn't leave him thinking that. “That sort of gift changes in value depending on the receiver's mood at the time.”
“It does.”
“So maybe you should buy me dinner and cheer me up?” he suggested, strangely gratified by the hopeful look in Jack's eyes. “We missed out on a few dinner nights whilst you were gone.”
Jack nodded sadly, and Ianto decided that it was longer ago for Jack than it was for him, rather than more recent. Still, the bright, brittle smile returned, and Jack held out his hand. “We'll have to play catch-up. I want to make it up to you.”
Ianto hesitated only a moment before he took the offered hand, and let Jack curl his fingers around it, just holding for a moment. He was staring at their joined hands, looking for something Ianto couldn't see, and took a while to look up. “Except that the restaurant's closed...” he sighed and squeezed Ianto's hand. “I should have let you sleep and offered you breakfast instead.”
“It might not have worked,” Ianto pointed out, “Better to strike whilst the iron's hot. They're still doing room service.”
“Yeah, but room service requires being in one of our rooms,” Jack hesitated. “I didn't think you'd... Well, connotations and all that.”
Ianto nodded his understanding. “We can eat in your room, then you can walk me back to mine after.”
To his credit, even Jack's eyebrows didn't respond to that; he just laced his fingers through Ianto's and tugged gently. “Got your key?”
“Oh... no, I'd...”
“Go and get it,” Jack released his hand and stepped back. “We don't want you getting locked out and having to stay in my room instead, do we?”
Ianto busied himself trying to find his key rather than analyse Jack's wistful tone and nodded his agreement. “I think it's a bit early for that, yet.”
When he looked around, Jack was leaning in the doorway, feet carefully outside the room and eyes fixed on a point on the floor. He seemed to notice Ianto's attention, because he looked up slowly and smiled. “Got it?”
“Yeah, I've got it,” he slid it into his pocket and came to join Jack in the doorway. “Is it far?”
Jack shook his head. “I'm just down at the end of the corridor. They didn't have many rooms close together, but I...” he swallowed hard and Ianto fell into step with him. “I didn't want to be too far away. From you, I mean... I...”
“Jack, stop,” Jack stopped completely and Ianto turned on him with a sigh. “I want to go on a date with you, yes. I want to have dinner with you tonight, as well. I'm not going to change my mind; you don't have to keep trying to persuade me.”
“I'm not trying to persuade you,” Jack insisted, starting walking again. “I just wanted you to know that I meant it, I came back for you.”
“I know. I know,” he repeated more quietly, realising that his first exclamation had been too loud for a hotel corridor at going on for midnight, and for Jack's strange nervousness. “It's just going to take me a while to believe that.”
“Okay,” Jack smiled brittlely and dipped his head. “I've got the time to wait.”
Ianto was taken aback by the bitterness. “You... oh, he couldn't...”
“No, nothing he could do,” Jack shook his head quickly and gestured to the next door. “This is me. Could we leave this outside the door? You can fill me in on the world of celebrity dating since I went, or something.”
He laughed in spite of himself. “Now that I really don't know, but... yeah, we can change the subject.”
Jack's room was just like Ianto's, with half of the room given over to a double bed and a desk and the other half taken up by a dining table with comfortable armchairs rather than dining chairs. His coat was hanging up in the open wardrobe, and the door to the bathroom was ajar, but apart from that the room gave the appearance of being unoccupied.
All of them apart from Jack had been able to change on arriving at the hotel, because they kept a change of clothes in the SUV for emergencies. Jack never had, despite going through more shirts than the rest of them put together (if Ianto hadn't figured out from the Archives that Jack was immortal, the terrifying amounts of blood and the destruction of his shirts would have tipped him off. Still, it had come as a shock to see him killed...) he shut that train of thought down and watched Jack cross the room to pick up the room service menu, his actions missing a lot of the easy grace that Ianto had found so captivating. He accepted the menu from Jack and sat on the edge of the bed, patting the covers next to him. “We can both look at once.”
Jack sat on the edge of the bed, not quite touching Ianto, and peered over his shoulder at the extravagant descriptions. Trying to keep his mind on food, and not on the absurdly comforting feel of Jack so close to him, Ianto ran his finger down the menu and translated the descriptions. “Fruit salad, melon, potato and ham soup, potato and leek soup, bread and pate...”
“Why don't they do sensible food?” Jack asked as his stomach rumbled. “It's midnight, we want room service, can't we just get stir-fry chicken and vegetables, or is that just too complicated for them?”
“Um... they have sweet and sour chicken, I think,” Ianto pointed it out and Jack leaned in to study it, brushing his shoulder against Ianto's. “Unfortunately,” he added to distract Jack as he moved closer to lean into Jack as well, “I'm not as fluent in garbage as I used to be.”
Jack laughed and went to pick the phone up, leaving Ianto feeling cold again. “What are you having?”
“Oh, erm, chicken makhani, thanks,” he shifted on the bed and put the menu down in his lap whilst Jack made the order. When he hung up, he turned back to Ianto and leaned on the desk, smiling at him fondly. Ianto shifted. “What?”
“No, I just...” he smiled again, mostly to himself and then looked at Ianto seriously. “I thought I'd never see you again.”
“You...”
“I didn't want that,” Jack shook his head and came to sit on the bed again. “So, anyway... celebrity dating.”
xxxxx
They stood outside Ianto's room, both feeling warm from the wine and companionship they'd shared. On impulse, Ianto leaned in and pressed his lips against Jack's, just for a second. “I could invite you in for coffee,” he suggested, as off hand as he could manage.
Jack shook his head, though, and didn't try to repeat the kiss. “I don't think that would be a good idea. You need to think about it, make sure this is what you want...”
“It is.”
“And sleep,” Jack added firmly. “You're exhausted. I'll see you for breakfast?”
Ianto nodded and stepped back, fumbling in his pocket for his key. Jack was right, he was beyond tired, and bed seemed like a wonderful idea (although a bed with Jack in it as well would have sounded even better). “It's your job to make sure that I don't sleep through breakfast, okay?”
Jack laughed and turned away. “I'll see you in the morning, Ianto.”
He smiled to himself and got the door open, then turned around. “Oh, Jack?” Jack looked over his shoulder and stopped halfway down the corridor. “Just because it's impossible to beat two and a half months late, doesn't mean you have to try for future dates.”
Jack laughed and Ianto slipped into his room, collapsing forwards onto the bed to think about the next step.
Next Chapter
Characters: Jack/Ianto
Genre: Romance
Rating: G
Era: KKBB
Series: Love Is A Game
Summary: Jack returns from his trip with the Doctor and starts trying to make amends
Contains:
Dedication:
Beta:
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurrences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.
Ianto hauled himself off the bed to open the door and found himself face to face with his least favourite person in the world, after Katie Price. He bit back a sigh, held the door at a polite but unwelcoming angle and tried to look interested. “Sir, can I help you?”
Jack wasn't trying to hide anything like Ianto was; maybe he thought it'd make him more forgiveable if he looked hurt; maybe he'd just got tired of hiding, or maybe he'd not been gone as long as he had, and he still didn't feel he needed to hide himself around Ianto. As much as he really, really hated Jack right then, he knew that he'd been the only one Jack could be like that with, and he did look like he needed it – his hands were in his trouser pockets, hair dishevelled, eyes tight with pain and slightly red. He took a deep breath and met Ianto's eyes. “What date is it?”
“June twenty third,” he supplied. “Two thousand and seven, so you've only been gone nearly three months, not... however long you think you've been gone...” he contemplated Jack's shocked expression and inability to think. “You were expecting half an hour, weren't you?”
“I... no, not half an hour,” Jack studied his face and sighed. “Not three months, though. For what it's worth, I'm sorry.”
He turned away, and Ianto had to say something, anything, to lessen some of that pain. “What do you think it's worth?”
Jack looked back at him and tried to raise one of his eyebrows in an interested manner, but it still came across as nervous and melancholy. “I think it's one of those gifts the value of which is decided by the receiver, not the giver.” His expression said that he had a feeling that it wasn't worth a lot by that definition.
And maybe Ianto was a glutton for punishment, or just too soft by half, but he couldn't leave him thinking that. “That sort of gift changes in value depending on the receiver's mood at the time.”
“It does.”
“So maybe you should buy me dinner and cheer me up?” he suggested, strangely gratified by the hopeful look in Jack's eyes. “We missed out on a few dinner nights whilst you were gone.”
Jack nodded sadly, and Ianto decided that it was longer ago for Jack than it was for him, rather than more recent. Still, the bright, brittle smile returned, and Jack held out his hand. “We'll have to play catch-up. I want to make it up to you.”
Ianto hesitated only a moment before he took the offered hand, and let Jack curl his fingers around it, just holding for a moment. He was staring at their joined hands, looking for something Ianto couldn't see, and took a while to look up. “Except that the restaurant's closed...” he sighed and squeezed Ianto's hand. “I should have let you sleep and offered you breakfast instead.”
“It might not have worked,” Ianto pointed out, “Better to strike whilst the iron's hot. They're still doing room service.”
“Yeah, but room service requires being in one of our rooms,” Jack hesitated. “I didn't think you'd... Well, connotations and all that.”
Ianto nodded his understanding. “We can eat in your room, then you can walk me back to mine after.”
To his credit, even Jack's eyebrows didn't respond to that; he just laced his fingers through Ianto's and tugged gently. “Got your key?”
“Oh... no, I'd...”
“Go and get it,” Jack released his hand and stepped back. “We don't want you getting locked out and having to stay in my room instead, do we?”
Ianto busied himself trying to find his key rather than analyse Jack's wistful tone and nodded his agreement. “I think it's a bit early for that, yet.”
When he looked around, Jack was leaning in the doorway, feet carefully outside the room and eyes fixed on a point on the floor. He seemed to notice Ianto's attention, because he looked up slowly and smiled. “Got it?”
“Yeah, I've got it,” he slid it into his pocket and came to join Jack in the doorway. “Is it far?”
Jack shook his head. “I'm just down at the end of the corridor. They didn't have many rooms close together, but I...” he swallowed hard and Ianto fell into step with him. “I didn't want to be too far away. From you, I mean... I...”
“Jack, stop,” Jack stopped completely and Ianto turned on him with a sigh. “I want to go on a date with you, yes. I want to have dinner with you tonight, as well. I'm not going to change my mind; you don't have to keep trying to persuade me.”
“I'm not trying to persuade you,” Jack insisted, starting walking again. “I just wanted you to know that I meant it, I came back for you.”
“I know. I know,” he repeated more quietly, realising that his first exclamation had been too loud for a hotel corridor at going on for midnight, and for Jack's strange nervousness. “It's just going to take me a while to believe that.”
“Okay,” Jack smiled brittlely and dipped his head. “I've got the time to wait.”
Ianto was taken aback by the bitterness. “You... oh, he couldn't...”
“No, nothing he could do,” Jack shook his head quickly and gestured to the next door. “This is me. Could we leave this outside the door? You can fill me in on the world of celebrity dating since I went, or something.”
He laughed in spite of himself. “Now that I really don't know, but... yeah, we can change the subject.”
Jack's room was just like Ianto's, with half of the room given over to a double bed and a desk and the other half taken up by a dining table with comfortable armchairs rather than dining chairs. His coat was hanging up in the open wardrobe, and the door to the bathroom was ajar, but apart from that the room gave the appearance of being unoccupied.
All of them apart from Jack had been able to change on arriving at the hotel, because they kept a change of clothes in the SUV for emergencies. Jack never had, despite going through more shirts than the rest of them put together (if Ianto hadn't figured out from the Archives that Jack was immortal, the terrifying amounts of blood and the destruction of his shirts would have tipped him off. Still, it had come as a shock to see him killed...) he shut that train of thought down and watched Jack cross the room to pick up the room service menu, his actions missing a lot of the easy grace that Ianto had found so captivating. He accepted the menu from Jack and sat on the edge of the bed, patting the covers next to him. “We can both look at once.”
Jack sat on the edge of the bed, not quite touching Ianto, and peered over his shoulder at the extravagant descriptions. Trying to keep his mind on food, and not on the absurdly comforting feel of Jack so close to him, Ianto ran his finger down the menu and translated the descriptions. “Fruit salad, melon, potato and ham soup, potato and leek soup, bread and pate...”
“Why don't they do sensible food?” Jack asked as his stomach rumbled. “It's midnight, we want room service, can't we just get stir-fry chicken and vegetables, or is that just too complicated for them?”
“Um... they have sweet and sour chicken, I think,” Ianto pointed it out and Jack leaned in to study it, brushing his shoulder against Ianto's. “Unfortunately,” he added to distract Jack as he moved closer to lean into Jack as well, “I'm not as fluent in garbage as I used to be.”
Jack laughed and went to pick the phone up, leaving Ianto feeling cold again. “What are you having?”
“Oh, erm, chicken makhani, thanks,” he shifted on the bed and put the menu down in his lap whilst Jack made the order. When he hung up, he turned back to Ianto and leaned on the desk, smiling at him fondly. Ianto shifted. “What?”
“No, I just...” he smiled again, mostly to himself and then looked at Ianto seriously. “I thought I'd never see you again.”
“You...”
“I didn't want that,” Jack shook his head and came to sit on the bed again. “So, anyway... celebrity dating.”
xxxxx
They stood outside Ianto's room, both feeling warm from the wine and companionship they'd shared. On impulse, Ianto leaned in and pressed his lips against Jack's, just for a second. “I could invite you in for coffee,” he suggested, as off hand as he could manage.
Jack shook his head, though, and didn't try to repeat the kiss. “I don't think that would be a good idea. You need to think about it, make sure this is what you want...”
“It is.”
“And sleep,” Jack added firmly. “You're exhausted. I'll see you for breakfast?”
Ianto nodded and stepped back, fumbling in his pocket for his key. Jack was right, he was beyond tired, and bed seemed like a wonderful idea (although a bed with Jack in it as well would have sounded even better). “It's your job to make sure that I don't sleep through breakfast, okay?”
Jack laughed and turned away. “I'll see you in the morning, Ianto.”
He smiled to himself and got the door open, then turned around. “Oh, Jack?” Jack looked over his shoulder and stopped halfway down the corridor. “Just because it's impossible to beat two and a half months late, doesn't mean you have to try for future dates.”
Jack laughed and Ianto slipped into his room, collapsing forwards onto the bed to think about the next step.
Next Chapter
