FIC: Just a Few More Steps
Title: Just a Few More Steps (Red Is My Colour Prompt for Day Fifteen)
Author: blue_fjords
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1,200
Setting: series two, sometime between “Adam” and “Reset”
Pairings/Characters: Owen, Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Tosh, Jack/Ianto
Summary: Owen is hurt and Jack tells him stories to distract him.
Prompt:
Out from the silent portal of the hours,
When frosts are come and all the hosts put on.
Their burnished gear to march across the night
And o'er a darkened earth in splendor shine,
Slowly above the world Orion wheels
His glittering square, while on the shadowy hill
And throbbing like a sea-light through the dusk,
Great Sirius rises in his flashing blue.
-- Bliss Carman
The Winter Scene - Part II
“Come on, Owen. Just a few more steps,” Jack wheedled, tightening his hold on the other man’s waist and pulling him along.
Owen scowled up at him. “It is not just a few more steps, Harkness! Or do you think I don’t know where I am?”
Jack gritted his teeth into an approximation of a smile. “Well, you have lost a lot of blood, Owen, and let’s face it: one hill around here looks pretty much like every other one.”
Owen snorted, the sound mixing with the crunch of his feet dragging through the snow. “That kills it, Jack. You officially fail at Mr. Wales Welcome Wagon.”
Jack grinned, a genuine smile now. “Wasn’t my title, anyway. Everyone knows that’s Ianto.”
Owen smirked. “And you know that from lots of personal experience.”
“It’s a difficult job, but someone has to shag him or he’ll get cranky.”
Owen stumbled and almost tripped over his foot. His right foot, the one with the talon still firmly planted in the top, staining his boot with blood.
“Shit, Jack, I don’t need to know that!”
Jack shrugged. “You’re the one who brought up me shagging Ianto. He does this thing with his fingers - ”
“Oi!”
“What’s the matter, Owen? You’d prefer a romance sans the shagging?”
“Do we have to even talk about Tea Boy at all?”
Jack clasped his free hand over his heart with a melodramatic flair. “How can I not talk about him? I see his blue eyes burning into my soul everywhere I go! I feel his lips on my own, breathing life into my cold dark world! I feel his heartbeat under my hand when he fucks me against your desk!”
Owen stopped abruptly. “You fucking tosser, Jack Harkness! Do you really fuck against my desk?”
Jack laughed, and tugged him along again. “Not just yours, Owen.”
Owen mumbled a long string of curses under his breath, punctuated here and there with a “Jack” and “Tea Boy” and occasional “wankers.”
Jack glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Owen was moving at a steady pace again. He’d popped some painkillers for his bruised rib while they were still down in the valley. Jack was more concerned about the talon sticking out of Owen’s foot. It supposedly had a weak venom inside. In a few hours, that would be cause to fret, but for right now, it seemed to just be numbing the pain of having a great bloody talon lodged in his foot.
Jack looked back up at the sky to get his bearings. The stars were especially bright this far from the light pollution provided by Cardiff. “Okay, Owen, how about we do a truce.”
Owen raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to tell me a story with no shagging and no mention of Ianto?”
“I think you’re missing the point of the word ‘truce,’ there, Owen. I will tell you a story without shagging, but it will feature Ianto, Gwen and Tosh. Fair enough?”
“Is this some dumb ‘Cheer up, Owen, the cavalry’s on its way’ allegorical claptrap?”
“Wow, ‘allegory’ and ‘claptrap’ in the same sentence! You both astound me and insult me, Owen Harper!” Jack put on his brightest grin. “But that’s exactly what it is, so right in one!”
Owen sighed heavily. “I give up. Let’s hear your shitty little story.”
“Your vote of confidence in me is overwhelming.”
Jack cleared his throat and steadied his grip on Owen’s waist. His story really didn’t reach the lofty heights of allegory, but it was cheery enough. Ianto, Gwen and Tosh were the three brightest stars in the night sky. They were searching for their fallen companions, Owen and Sir Horace (“Horace, Jack? Really?” “Shut up, Owen, Horace is a perfectly dignified name.”). They searched for them high and low through the beautiful country of Dolphin, home to the fluffiest sheep in the universe. An evil puppeteer, Drift, sent a horrifying dragon to attack Owen and Sir Horace, but they were far too dashing, witty, brave, handsome (“Get on with it, Jack.”) to succumb to their wounds. They knew their bright stars were looking for them, and if they just climbed one more hill -
Jack ground to a halt. “Huh. ‘I see his blue eyes burning into my soul wherever I go,’” he murmured.
“Wrong story, Jack.”
“No, I mean I can see Ianto from here.”
Owen looked up, and followed Jack’s gaze. Sure enough, towering like a Colossus at the top of the next bare hill, stood one Ianto Jones.
“Finally!” Owen breathed out, as Ianto turned and yelled down the hill at someone out of their sight. Gwen appeared next, and she and Ianto ran down the hill and up the next one to Jack and Owen.
“Jack! Owen! Are you okay?” Gwen called, eyes widening as she took in the sight of Owen’s talon-ed foot.
“We’re absolutely spiffing, Gwen, how are you?” Owen answered, oozing sarcasm. He smiled then to take the sting out of his words, and she snorted, lips quirking into an answering smile in spite of herself.
Ianto crossed to Owen’s other side, and he and Jack formed a chair with their hands to carry Owen. “Tosh is bringing the SUV up to the other side of the next hill; there’s an access road,” he said.
Owen grunted. “Good.”
Gwen ran ahead of them, widening the path, and called back over her shoulder, “So I take it you vanquished that dragon-thing?”
“Owen was incredibly brave. It was inspiring; I’m composing an ode to him even now,” Jack answered her.
Gwen laughed delightedly.
They made it to the bottom of the next hill as Tosh pulled up, and Jack and Ianto gently helped Owen into the backseat. Tosh gave up the driver’s seat, saying she’d fit better in the back with Gwen and Owen, and Jack tossed Ianto the keys. Before he could get in the car, though, Jack pulled him into an embrace and kissed him long and deep, tasting his breath, feeling his hair between his fingers, smelling his sweat and cologne. He didn’t stop until he heard Gwen’s catcall from the SUV, and regretfully pulled away.
Ianto looked at the ground, and then back up at him through his dark lashes. “What was that for?”
Jack grinned. “Your lips breathe life into my cold dark world.”
Ianto smiled back at him. “Okay, Jack,” he opened the car door. “Come on, get in the car; let’s get Owen back and the talon out of that foot.”
Owen was quiet for almost the entire ride back to Cardiff. Gwen and Tosh had dozed off on either side of him as they approached the city limits. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ianto, I need to ask you a very serious question, mate.”
Ianto glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
“Alright Owen. What’s your question?”
Owen took a deep breath. “You don’t ever shag Jack against my desk, do you?”
Ianto raised a brow. “All the time.”
Author: blue_fjords
Rating: PG-13
Words: 1,200
Setting: series two, sometime between “Adam” and “Reset”
Pairings/Characters: Owen, Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Tosh, Jack/Ianto
Summary: Owen is hurt and Jack tells him stories to distract him.
Prompt:
Out from the silent portal of the hours,
When frosts are come and all the hosts put on.
Their burnished gear to march across the night
And o'er a darkened earth in splendor shine,
Slowly above the world Orion wheels
His glittering square, while on the shadowy hill
And throbbing like a sea-light through the dusk,
Great Sirius rises in his flashing blue.
-- Bliss Carman
The Winter Scene - Part II
“Come on, Owen. Just a few more steps,” Jack wheedled, tightening his hold on the other man’s waist and pulling him along.
Owen scowled up at him. “It is not just a few more steps, Harkness! Or do you think I don’t know where I am?”
Jack gritted his teeth into an approximation of a smile. “Well, you have lost a lot of blood, Owen, and let’s face it: one hill around here looks pretty much like every other one.”
Owen snorted, the sound mixing with the crunch of his feet dragging through the snow. “That kills it, Jack. You officially fail at Mr. Wales Welcome Wagon.”
Jack grinned, a genuine smile now. “Wasn’t my title, anyway. Everyone knows that’s Ianto.”
Owen smirked. “And you know that from lots of personal experience.”
“It’s a difficult job, but someone has to shag him or he’ll get cranky.”
Owen stumbled and almost tripped over his foot. His right foot, the one with the talon still firmly planted in the top, staining his boot with blood.
“Shit, Jack, I don’t need to know that!”
Jack shrugged. “You’re the one who brought up me shagging Ianto. He does this thing with his fingers - ”
“Oi!”
“What’s the matter, Owen? You’d prefer a romance sans the shagging?”
“Do we have to even talk about Tea Boy at all?”
Jack clasped his free hand over his heart with a melodramatic flair. “How can I not talk about him? I see his blue eyes burning into my soul everywhere I go! I feel his lips on my own, breathing life into my cold dark world! I feel his heartbeat under my hand when he fucks me against your desk!”
Owen stopped abruptly. “You fucking tosser, Jack Harkness! Do you really fuck against my desk?”
Jack laughed, and tugged him along again. “Not just yours, Owen.”
Owen mumbled a long string of curses under his breath, punctuated here and there with a “Jack” and “Tea Boy” and occasional “wankers.”
Jack glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Owen was moving at a steady pace again. He’d popped some painkillers for his bruised rib while they were still down in the valley. Jack was more concerned about the talon sticking out of Owen’s foot. It supposedly had a weak venom inside. In a few hours, that would be cause to fret, but for right now, it seemed to just be numbing the pain of having a great bloody talon lodged in his foot.
Jack looked back up at the sky to get his bearings. The stars were especially bright this far from the light pollution provided by Cardiff. “Okay, Owen, how about we do a truce.”
Owen raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to tell me a story with no shagging and no mention of Ianto?”
“I think you’re missing the point of the word ‘truce,’ there, Owen. I will tell you a story without shagging, but it will feature Ianto, Gwen and Tosh. Fair enough?”
“Is this some dumb ‘Cheer up, Owen, the cavalry’s on its way’ allegorical claptrap?”
“Wow, ‘allegory’ and ‘claptrap’ in the same sentence! You both astound me and insult me, Owen Harper!” Jack put on his brightest grin. “But that’s exactly what it is, so right in one!”
Owen sighed heavily. “I give up. Let’s hear your shitty little story.”
“Your vote of confidence in me is overwhelming.”
Jack cleared his throat and steadied his grip on Owen’s waist. His story really didn’t reach the lofty heights of allegory, but it was cheery enough. Ianto, Gwen and Tosh were the three brightest stars in the night sky. They were searching for their fallen companions, Owen and Sir Horace (“Horace, Jack? Really?” “Shut up, Owen, Horace is a perfectly dignified name.”). They searched for them high and low through the beautiful country of Dolphin, home to the fluffiest sheep in the universe. An evil puppeteer, Drift, sent a horrifying dragon to attack Owen and Sir Horace, but they were far too dashing, witty, brave, handsome (“Get on with it, Jack.”) to succumb to their wounds. They knew their bright stars were looking for them, and if they just climbed one more hill -
Jack ground to a halt. “Huh. ‘I see his blue eyes burning into my soul wherever I go,’” he murmured.
“Wrong story, Jack.”
“No, I mean I can see Ianto from here.”
Owen looked up, and followed Jack’s gaze. Sure enough, towering like a Colossus at the top of the next bare hill, stood one Ianto Jones.
“Finally!” Owen breathed out, as Ianto turned and yelled down the hill at someone out of their sight. Gwen appeared next, and she and Ianto ran down the hill and up the next one to Jack and Owen.
“Jack! Owen! Are you okay?” Gwen called, eyes widening as she took in the sight of Owen’s talon-ed foot.
“We’re absolutely spiffing, Gwen, how are you?” Owen answered, oozing sarcasm. He smiled then to take the sting out of his words, and she snorted, lips quirking into an answering smile in spite of herself.
Ianto crossed to Owen’s other side, and he and Jack formed a chair with their hands to carry Owen. “Tosh is bringing the SUV up to the other side of the next hill; there’s an access road,” he said.
Owen grunted. “Good.”
Gwen ran ahead of them, widening the path, and called back over her shoulder, “So I take it you vanquished that dragon-thing?”
“Owen was incredibly brave. It was inspiring; I’m composing an ode to him even now,” Jack answered her.
Gwen laughed delightedly.
They made it to the bottom of the next hill as Tosh pulled up, and Jack and Ianto gently helped Owen into the backseat. Tosh gave up the driver’s seat, saying she’d fit better in the back with Gwen and Owen, and Jack tossed Ianto the keys. Before he could get in the car, though, Jack pulled him into an embrace and kissed him long and deep, tasting his breath, feeling his hair between his fingers, smelling his sweat and cologne. He didn’t stop until he heard Gwen’s catcall from the SUV, and regretfully pulled away.
Ianto looked at the ground, and then back up at him through his dark lashes. “What was that for?”
Jack grinned. “Your lips breathe life into my cold dark world.”
Ianto smiled back at him. “Okay, Jack,” he opened the car door. “Come on, get in the car; let’s get Owen back and the talon out of that foot.”
Owen was quiet for almost the entire ride back to Cardiff. Gwen and Tosh had dozed off on either side of him as they approached the city limits. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.
“Ianto, I need to ask you a very serious question, mate.”
Ianto glanced at him in the rearview mirror.
“Alright Owen. What’s your question?”
Owen took a deep breath. “You don’t ever shag Jack against my desk, do you?”
Ianto raised a brow. “All the time.”