Ficlet: Raindrops
Title: Raindrops
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Cardiff has been enduring a heatwave for weeks, but at least for this one night, there’s a little relief.
Word Count: 619
Written For: mirrored_illusions’s prompt ‘Any, any, rain usually makes everything worse, but sometimes it is a heaven sent reprieve,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Cardiff had been unseasonably hot and dry for nearly three weeks and Ianto was starting to wonder why he’d ever thought this weather was so great. For the first week, everyone had been delighted, enjoying temperatures higher than any part of Britain usually saw, along with cloudless blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine. The whole of Wales and half of England had been basking.
But as one week had become two, even if everyone else was still having fun, Torchwood had started to flag. Temperatures didn’t seem to let up much even at night, and the Rift didn’t take a summer vacation. The air in the Hub felt stuffy and close despite the ventilation systems, and Ianto could almost feel himself wilting as he went about trying to keep everything running smoothly.
On the plus side, he’d perfected his iced coffee, which along with ice cream was about all that was keeping them going. Nobody felt much like eating, especially not hot food, so they nibbled fruit and salads. Not even Owen was in the mood for pizza.
Up on the surface, the grass in the parks was turning brown, floral displays were wilting, and there were notices everywhere about being careful with cigarettes and matches. Ianto didn’t think it was quite dry enough for fires, but he supposed you couldn’t be too careful. Who knew how long the heatwave might last?
Rift retrievals were a pain, chasing Weevils was a nightmare likely to result in heatstroke, and by this point Ianto was starting to think that if aliens decided to invade, he’d be inclined to let them. He just didn’t have any energy left for fighting.
Right now it was the early hours of the morning and he and Jack were out on a retrieval, Jack for once without his coat and grumbling about not having enough pockets. Ianto was only half-listening as he searched by torchlight for whatever it was they were looking for this time. To say he was lethargic would be an understatement. He’d known snails with more get up and go.
When the first wet droplet hit him, he just blinked, barely registering it; several more hit him before he began to notice that something had changed. There was a deep rumble somewhere in the distance and something splashed into his eye. He looked around, confused and disbelieving; it hardly seemed possible, but…
“Jack, is it raining?”
“Huh?” A few metres away, Jack straightened up from where he’d been checking under a parked car and turned around. By the light of the street lamps, they could both now see a peppering of dark spots on the pavement and drops of moisture trickling down the sides of cars, more joining them all the time.
“It is, it’s raining!” Ianto stepped out into the middle of the deserted street, well away from shelter, tipping his head back and spreading his arms wide as more and more raindrops pattered down around him. There was another distant rumble of thunder and the rain grew heavier; it felt wonderful.
“Never thought I’d be so happy to see rain in Cardiff,” Jack admitted, joining him.
“I know!” Ianto grinned almost giddily at his lover. “My clothes are getting all wet, I usually hate that, but right now I don’t even care! In fact I think I like it!”
Jack laughed. “Reminds me of the rainy season back on Boeshane. When it rained there, everybody came out of their houses, celebrating. Here it’s just the opposite; when it rains, people dash indoors to stay dry.”
“Not tonight though. Tomorrow it might be as hot and dry as ever, but while the rain lasts I plan to enjoy every single wonderfully wet drop!”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Cardiff has been enduring a heatwave for weeks, but at least for this one night, there’s a little relief.
Word Count: 619
Written For: mirrored_illusions’s prompt ‘Any, any, rain usually makes everything worse, but sometimes it is a heaven sent reprieve,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Cardiff had been unseasonably hot and dry for nearly three weeks and Ianto was starting to wonder why he’d ever thought this weather was so great. For the first week, everyone had been delighted, enjoying temperatures higher than any part of Britain usually saw, along with cloudless blue skies and wall-to-wall sunshine. The whole of Wales and half of England had been basking.
But as one week had become two, even if everyone else was still having fun, Torchwood had started to flag. Temperatures didn’t seem to let up much even at night, and the Rift didn’t take a summer vacation. The air in the Hub felt stuffy and close despite the ventilation systems, and Ianto could almost feel himself wilting as he went about trying to keep everything running smoothly.
On the plus side, he’d perfected his iced coffee, which along with ice cream was about all that was keeping them going. Nobody felt much like eating, especially not hot food, so they nibbled fruit and salads. Not even Owen was in the mood for pizza.
Up on the surface, the grass in the parks was turning brown, floral displays were wilting, and there were notices everywhere about being careful with cigarettes and matches. Ianto didn’t think it was quite dry enough for fires, but he supposed you couldn’t be too careful. Who knew how long the heatwave might last?
Rift retrievals were a pain, chasing Weevils was a nightmare likely to result in heatstroke, and by this point Ianto was starting to think that if aliens decided to invade, he’d be inclined to let them. He just didn’t have any energy left for fighting.
Right now it was the early hours of the morning and he and Jack were out on a retrieval, Jack for once without his coat and grumbling about not having enough pockets. Ianto was only half-listening as he searched by torchlight for whatever it was they were looking for this time. To say he was lethargic would be an understatement. He’d known snails with more get up and go.
When the first wet droplet hit him, he just blinked, barely registering it; several more hit him before he began to notice that something had changed. There was a deep rumble somewhere in the distance and something splashed into his eye. He looked around, confused and disbelieving; it hardly seemed possible, but…
“Jack, is it raining?”
“Huh?” A few metres away, Jack straightened up from where he’d been checking under a parked car and turned around. By the light of the street lamps, they could both now see a peppering of dark spots on the pavement and drops of moisture trickling down the sides of cars, more joining them all the time.
“It is, it’s raining!” Ianto stepped out into the middle of the deserted street, well away from shelter, tipping his head back and spreading his arms wide as more and more raindrops pattered down around him. There was another distant rumble of thunder and the rain grew heavier; it felt wonderful.
“Never thought I’d be so happy to see rain in Cardiff,” Jack admitted, joining him.
“I know!” Ianto grinned almost giddily at his lover. “My clothes are getting all wet, I usually hate that, but right now I don’t even care! In fact I think I like it!”
Jack laughed. “Reminds me of the rainy season back on Boeshane. When it rained there, everybody came out of their houses, celebrating. Here it’s just the opposite; when it rains, people dash indoors to stay dry.”
“Not tonight though. Tomorrow it might be as hot and dry as ever, but while the rain lasts I plan to enjoy every single wonderfully wet drop!”
The End