Ficlet: Side Of The Road
Title: Side Of The Road
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: There’s a storm raging overhead, making driving impossible, so Jack and Ianto are stuck at the side of the road.
Word Count: 504
Written For: My own prompt ‘Any, Any, Stuck in a car at the side of the road during a bad storm,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
“It’s really coming down!” Jack sounded awed.
“I noticed.” Ianto slumped in the driver’s seat, arms folded over his chest, eyes closed. He sounded more bored than awed. He’d been forced to pull over ten minutes ago when the road became almost impossible to see through the torrential rain and the murk. It was mid-morning on a summer day, but so dark out it might as well have been after sunset. Overhead, thunder boomed and lightning split the sky, momentarily illuminating the scene and drawing a gasp of amazement from Jack. Ianto didn’t bother to open his eyes; he’d sensibly pulled over in a convenient lay-by and the last time he’d looked the road beside them, which was on a slight incline, had looked more like a rushing river. He didn’t need to see it again to know it was probably even worse now.
“How can you just sit there with your eyes closed?”
“Quite easily, thanks for asking.”
“But you’re missing everything!”
“Jack, I’ve seen storms before, and so have you.”
“Not like this one!”
“Oh come off it! You’ve been on earth for over a century! You’ve seen more storms than I’ve had hot dinners!”
“Don’t you think they’re amazing though?” Jack had to shout over a loud rumble of thunder. Lightning flashed simultaneously; the storm must be right overhead now and Ianto just hoped the SUV wouldn’t get hit.
“Keep your hands away from any metal,” he advised. The rubber tyres should protect them as long as they didn’t do anything stupid. “You don’t want to risk getting electrocuted.” Fortunately, they were well clear of any trees out here at the edge of the Beacons.
“You have no soul, you know that?” Jack accused.
“Just because I can’t be bothered to go ‘Oooh’ and ‘Ahhh!’ at a storm?” Ianto cracked one eye open.
“It’s one of the wonders of the natural world! Back on Boeshane, storms were celebrated. All that fresh water falling from the sky was filtered and stored in underground tanks to see us through the dry season.”
“Whereas here it’ll probably just cause more flooding,” Ianto commented dryly. The sky was gradually getting lighter as the storm moved away, and the rain was slowing. Another few minutes and it might be safe to continue their journey.
“You just suck all the fun out of things,” Jack complained.
“I’m a realist. I know how much damage flooding can cause, the homes destroyed, the lives and livelihoods lost… Heavy rain tends to fill me with dread rather than delight.”
“That’s understandable I guess,” Jack said grudgingly.
“Hopefully this lot didn’t do any significant harm.” Ianto straightened in his seat and fired up the engine. “Right; let’s head back, shall we?”
“Why’re you asking me? You’re the one driving.”
Ianto put the car in gear, checked the road, which was still awash, and carefully steered out of the lay-by, following the flowing water down the hill. When it came to storms, he and Jack would just have to agree to disagree.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: There’s a storm raging overhead, making driving impossible, so Jack and Ianto are stuck at the side of the road.
Word Count: 504
Written For: My own prompt ‘Any, Any, Stuck in a car at the side of the road during a bad storm,’ at fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
“It’s really coming down!” Jack sounded awed.
“I noticed.” Ianto slumped in the driver’s seat, arms folded over his chest, eyes closed. He sounded more bored than awed. He’d been forced to pull over ten minutes ago when the road became almost impossible to see through the torrential rain and the murk. It was mid-morning on a summer day, but so dark out it might as well have been after sunset. Overhead, thunder boomed and lightning split the sky, momentarily illuminating the scene and drawing a gasp of amazement from Jack. Ianto didn’t bother to open his eyes; he’d sensibly pulled over in a convenient lay-by and the last time he’d looked the road beside them, which was on a slight incline, had looked more like a rushing river. He didn’t need to see it again to know it was probably even worse now.
“How can you just sit there with your eyes closed?”
“Quite easily, thanks for asking.”
“But you’re missing everything!”
“Jack, I’ve seen storms before, and so have you.”
“Not like this one!”
“Oh come off it! You’ve been on earth for over a century! You’ve seen more storms than I’ve had hot dinners!”
“Don’t you think they’re amazing though?” Jack had to shout over a loud rumble of thunder. Lightning flashed simultaneously; the storm must be right overhead now and Ianto just hoped the SUV wouldn’t get hit.
“Keep your hands away from any metal,” he advised. The rubber tyres should protect them as long as they didn’t do anything stupid. “You don’t want to risk getting electrocuted.” Fortunately, they were well clear of any trees out here at the edge of the Beacons.
“You have no soul, you know that?” Jack accused.
“Just because I can’t be bothered to go ‘Oooh’ and ‘Ahhh!’ at a storm?” Ianto cracked one eye open.
“It’s one of the wonders of the natural world! Back on Boeshane, storms were celebrated. All that fresh water falling from the sky was filtered and stored in underground tanks to see us through the dry season.”
“Whereas here it’ll probably just cause more flooding,” Ianto commented dryly. The sky was gradually getting lighter as the storm moved away, and the rain was slowing. Another few minutes and it might be safe to continue their journey.
“You just suck all the fun out of things,” Jack complained.
“I’m a realist. I know how much damage flooding can cause, the homes destroyed, the lives and livelihoods lost… Heavy rain tends to fill me with dread rather than delight.”
“That’s understandable I guess,” Jack said grudgingly.
“Hopefully this lot didn’t do any significant harm.” Ianto straightened in his seat and fired up the engine. “Right; let’s head back, shall we?”
“Why’re you asking me? You’re the one driving.”
Ianto put the car in gear, checked the road, which was still awash, and carefully steered out of the lay-by, following the flowing water down the hill. When it came to storms, he and Jack would just have to agree to disagree.
The End