FIC: What Happened Before the Rug Was Pulled Out
Title: What Happened Before the Rug Was Pulled Out (Red Is My Colour Prompt for Day Twenty-three)
Author: blue_fjords
Setting: pre-series one, directly before “Everything Changes”
Rating: PG
Pairings/Characters: Suzie, Jack, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Jack/Ianto
Words: 1,170
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Jack has a worrisome argument with Suzie. Jack and Ianto have a moment.
Prompt:
We bury our love in the windsory grave
Along came the snow, that was all that remained.
But we stayed by its side as the days turned to weeks
And the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak.
“Jack, you’re not listening!” Suzie snapped.
“On the contrary, Suzie, I heard every word you said,” Jack replied calmly.
“But you didn’t listen!”
“We arguing semantics now?”
“Jack!”
Jack frowned. His second-in-command was usually even-tempered and in control of her emotions. He could remember each time she had raised her voice when talking to him (arguing with Owen didn’t count), and they were all over important, life-altering events, not something like this. Lately, though, Suzie had been snappish, her typically brusque demeanor morphing into an angry countenance that found fault with everything.
“Alright, Suzie,” he tried again. “Since it seems to be so important, let’s set up a rotating schedule for who gets to drive the SUV.”
“Oh, so now you’re just humoring me?”
To Jack’s shock, Suzie looked on the verge of tears. Over driving the SUV! Maybe he should ask Owen to do a scan for possible alien possession.
“Of course not! Whoever controls the SUV controls where Torchwood goes; it’s a very important job! We should all get a chance.”
He sounded lame and mollifying, even to his ears, but what else did Suzie want?
“I don’t need you to mollify, me, Jack! You’re not my father!”
Well, that was obvious, and a little random. Jack shifted on his feet, wishing he had followed Tosh when she had escaped the conversation, scurrying off to the Med Bay to help Owen.
“Am I boring you now, Jack?”
“Suzie - ”
“No!” She took a breath. “No,” she continued more calmly. “I need - I need to go for a walk. We’ll talk about this later,” she finished, muttering.
Jack raised his brows, and bit off a sarcastic response. Last he checked, he gave the orders around here.
Suzie tugged on her coat and turned to face him. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Jack nodded, and Suzie turned on her heel and marched off. He listened to her shoes clicking across the Hub, and the alarm blaring as the cog wheel rolled back. Nothing like a little fanfare for flouncing off in a snit.
Jack sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He hated dealing with personnel issues. He was appallingly bad at it. He had no idea what had set Suzie off. The Rift had been unusually quiet for the past two days; maybe she was bored. Maybe she was stressed in her personal life, but Jack knew Suzie. She didn’t have a personal life. Whatever the case, they’d been growing distant lately, and he didn’t know how to mend the breach.
The paperwork on the edge of his desk beckoned, though not enticingly. He sighed again, this time quite loudly, and sat back down to read an un-stimulating report on weather patterns. Perhaps it would help to clear his head.
Two hours later, Jack had made little headway, and looked up eagerly as Ianto appeared in the doorway with a tray.
“Coffee, sir?”
“Did you have to ask?”
Ianto flicked him a brief smile as he crossed the floor to Jack’s desk, eyes returning to the coffee cup. Jack frowned to himself. Ianto looked tired and preoccupied. As he came closer, Jack could see a bite mark in his lower lip, as if he had worried the flesh between his teeth for an extended time. Ianto glanced back up at him again as he settled the mug onto the desk, and the dull flush that stained his cheeks told Jack he’d been caught staring. Again. But usually Ianto didn’t react with a coy blush, his deflection of choice being a clever quip and a step back. Jack reached for his mug, which Ianto was still holding, poised, on the desk. As their fingers brushed, Jack realized that it wasn’t a coy blush after all, but rather the flush of desire, quickly stifled. Well, that wouldn’t do.
Jack carefully circled Ianto’s wrist in his hand, feeling the pulse flutter like the wings of a trapped butterfly. Jack’s other hand took control of the coffee mug and set it firmly in the middle of the desk. His eyes met Ianto’s, and again, he was surprised by what he saw. Ianto had been avoiding this moment ever since Jack hired him, rarely allowing much physical closeness and seldom looking him in the eye. Now however, his eyes clearly told Jack to hurry up and get on with it. Jack grinned slightly as he stood up and took one step closer to Ianto, still holding his wrist, and brushed his lips slowly across Ianto’s.
Ianto’s mouth opened immediately. He kissed like he’d forgotten how, reckless and hesitant at the same time. It reminded Jack of his youth, with a force like a suckerpunch to the gut, but Jack had no intention of stopping. Kissing Ianto dredged up memory after memory: running through the sand dunes, racing towards the water with his little brother and their gang of friends, shrieking with laughter; bonfires on the beach at night, sneaking nuts from the roasting pans before they were ready, and listening with rapt attention to stories from the older kids; climbing a tree with Sashiel, the most beautiful boy in their community, and kissing him when they got to the top, just like he was kissing Ianto now.
“Jack!” Tosh’s voice called up from the Hub. “Jack, the police have reported another body we might want to check out.”
Jack reluctantly broke the kiss and stepped back, releasing Ianto’s wrist. Ianto was breathing heavily, like a long distance runner approaching the finish line. He ran his tongue across his teeth as if still tasting Jack. Jack liked to think that he was.
“Oi, Harkness!” Owen yelled up. “It’s pissing down outside, so the sooner we can leave, the sooner we’ll get back and get dried off again.”
Ianto stepped back, lifted Jack’s coat from its hook, and gently helped him slide it on. Jack paused at the doorway to his office and looked back at him. Ianto was back to looking unruffled, bland, but when he caught Jack’s eyes, he gave him a tiny smile. Jack could read smiles. There’d be more kissing later.
Jack grinned back, and joined Owen and Tosh on the main floor of the Hub. The proximity alarms sounded again as Suzie returned, color high and eyes sparkling. “I’ll grab my glove!” she announced, bordering on giddy, and dashed to her workstation.
Suzie smiled at him as they made their way to the garage, and the fist around Jack’s heart eased just a bit. She had probably just been bored after all. Up ahead of them, Owen and Tosh were arguing quietly, the usual soundtrack to Torchwood. Things were good.
And when they got back, Jack was going to cash in on that smile and take a couple more hours to kiss Ianto very thoroughly.
Author: blue_fjords
Setting: pre-series one, directly before “Everything Changes”
Rating: PG
Pairings/Characters: Suzie, Jack, Ianto, Owen, Tosh, Jack/Ianto
Words: 1,170
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: Jack has a worrisome argument with Suzie. Jack and Ianto have a moment.
Prompt:
We bury our love in the windsory grave
Along came the snow, that was all that remained.
But we stayed by its side as the days turned to weeks
And the ice kept getting thinner with every word that we'd speak.
“Jack, you’re not listening!” Suzie snapped.
“On the contrary, Suzie, I heard every word you said,” Jack replied calmly.
“But you didn’t listen!”
“We arguing semantics now?”
“Jack!”
Jack frowned. His second-in-command was usually even-tempered and in control of her emotions. He could remember each time she had raised her voice when talking to him (arguing with Owen didn’t count), and they were all over important, life-altering events, not something like this. Lately, though, Suzie had been snappish, her typically brusque demeanor morphing into an angry countenance that found fault with everything.
“Alright, Suzie,” he tried again. “Since it seems to be so important, let’s set up a rotating schedule for who gets to drive the SUV.”
“Oh, so now you’re just humoring me?”
To Jack’s shock, Suzie looked on the verge of tears. Over driving the SUV! Maybe he should ask Owen to do a scan for possible alien possession.
“Of course not! Whoever controls the SUV controls where Torchwood goes; it’s a very important job! We should all get a chance.”
He sounded lame and mollifying, even to his ears, but what else did Suzie want?
“I don’t need you to mollify, me, Jack! You’re not my father!”
Well, that was obvious, and a little random. Jack shifted on his feet, wishing he had followed Tosh when she had escaped the conversation, scurrying off to the Med Bay to help Owen.
“Am I boring you now, Jack?”
“Suzie - ”
“No!” She took a breath. “No,” she continued more calmly. “I need - I need to go for a walk. We’ll talk about this later,” she finished, muttering.
Jack raised his brows, and bit off a sarcastic response. Last he checked, he gave the orders around here.
Suzie tugged on her coat and turned to face him. “I’ll be back in a bit.”
Jack nodded, and Suzie turned on her heel and marched off. He listened to her shoes clicking across the Hub, and the alarm blaring as the cog wheel rolled back. Nothing like a little fanfare for flouncing off in a snit.
Jack sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He hated dealing with personnel issues. He was appallingly bad at it. He had no idea what had set Suzie off. The Rift had been unusually quiet for the past two days; maybe she was bored. Maybe she was stressed in her personal life, but Jack knew Suzie. She didn’t have a personal life. Whatever the case, they’d been growing distant lately, and he didn’t know how to mend the breach.
The paperwork on the edge of his desk beckoned, though not enticingly. He sighed again, this time quite loudly, and sat back down to read an un-stimulating report on weather patterns. Perhaps it would help to clear his head.
Two hours later, Jack had made little headway, and looked up eagerly as Ianto appeared in the doorway with a tray.
“Coffee, sir?”
“Did you have to ask?”
Ianto flicked him a brief smile as he crossed the floor to Jack’s desk, eyes returning to the coffee cup. Jack frowned to himself. Ianto looked tired and preoccupied. As he came closer, Jack could see a bite mark in his lower lip, as if he had worried the flesh between his teeth for an extended time. Ianto glanced back up at him again as he settled the mug onto the desk, and the dull flush that stained his cheeks told Jack he’d been caught staring. Again. But usually Ianto didn’t react with a coy blush, his deflection of choice being a clever quip and a step back. Jack reached for his mug, which Ianto was still holding, poised, on the desk. As their fingers brushed, Jack realized that it wasn’t a coy blush after all, but rather the flush of desire, quickly stifled. Well, that wouldn’t do.
Jack carefully circled Ianto’s wrist in his hand, feeling the pulse flutter like the wings of a trapped butterfly. Jack’s other hand took control of the coffee mug and set it firmly in the middle of the desk. His eyes met Ianto’s, and again, he was surprised by what he saw. Ianto had been avoiding this moment ever since Jack hired him, rarely allowing much physical closeness and seldom looking him in the eye. Now however, his eyes clearly told Jack to hurry up and get on with it. Jack grinned slightly as he stood up and took one step closer to Ianto, still holding his wrist, and brushed his lips slowly across Ianto’s.
Ianto’s mouth opened immediately. He kissed like he’d forgotten how, reckless and hesitant at the same time. It reminded Jack of his youth, with a force like a suckerpunch to the gut, but Jack had no intention of stopping. Kissing Ianto dredged up memory after memory: running through the sand dunes, racing towards the water with his little brother and their gang of friends, shrieking with laughter; bonfires on the beach at night, sneaking nuts from the roasting pans before they were ready, and listening with rapt attention to stories from the older kids; climbing a tree with Sashiel, the most beautiful boy in their community, and kissing him when they got to the top, just like he was kissing Ianto now.
“Jack!” Tosh’s voice called up from the Hub. “Jack, the police have reported another body we might want to check out.”
Jack reluctantly broke the kiss and stepped back, releasing Ianto’s wrist. Ianto was breathing heavily, like a long distance runner approaching the finish line. He ran his tongue across his teeth as if still tasting Jack. Jack liked to think that he was.
“Oi, Harkness!” Owen yelled up. “It’s pissing down outside, so the sooner we can leave, the sooner we’ll get back and get dried off again.”
Ianto stepped back, lifted Jack’s coat from its hook, and gently helped him slide it on. Jack paused at the doorway to his office and looked back at him. Ianto was back to looking unruffled, bland, but when he caught Jack’s eyes, he gave him a tiny smile. Jack could read smiles. There’d be more kissing later.
Jack grinned back, and joined Owen and Tosh on the main floor of the Hub. The proximity alarms sounded again as Suzie returned, color high and eyes sparkling. “I’ll grab my glove!” she announced, bordering on giddy, and dashed to her workstation.
Suzie smiled at him as they made their way to the garage, and the fist around Jack’s heart eased just a bit. She had probably just been bored after all. Up ahead of them, Owen and Tosh were arguing quietly, the usual soundtrack to Torchwood. Things were good.
And when they got back, Jack was going to cash in on that smile and take a couple more hours to kiss Ianto very thoroughly.