Fic: Vizzini's Rule (6/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 6
Rating: PG for this chapter
Warnings: Nope.
Spoilers: Cyberwoman (1x4) and Fragments (2x12)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which Jack and Ianto go to lunch (and the rest of the First Day).
Notes: Comments are love! :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Six
After a few moments on the computer, Ianto realized that it was identical to the Torchwood One set-up. He was able to navigate it with ease and even showed Jack a few tricks he didn’t know. Confident that he would be able to do just about anything they needed on the computers, Ianto spent the rest of the morning filling out the new hire paperwork that existed on any job - even top secret ones.
At about noon, Jack pulled Ianto up from his chair and said, “Lunchtime.” They walked out into the Hub and Jack hollered an invitation for the rest of the team to join them. Still smarting from the morning meeting, all three of them declined with varying degrees of politeness and said they were too busy. Jack grinned at that and told them they’d be at the pub if anyone changed their minds.
When Ianto passed Owen’s desk, he heard some scornful muttering from the doctor. Something about a tea-boy? Ianto thought, but decided that rising to the bait is exactly what Owen wanted him to do so he just gave him a smile as he walked by.
“Let’s take the lift,” Jack said, stepping onto a large square stone in the center of the Hub and motioning for Ianto to join him.
As he stepped up onto the slab, Ianto asked, “Lift, sir?”
Jack just smiled and flipped open his brown leather wristband. He pressed a few buttons and then the stone beneath their feet started to rise. Caught off balance, Ianto staggered and felt Jack’s strong arm steady him. “Lift,” Jack said.
They rode the lift all the way to the top of the Hub, rising alongside the water feature. Ianto found himself standing in the middle of Roald Dahl Plass in a matter of moments. He looked around in amazement. There was a small group of school-children and another larger group of tourists swarming around them, but no one seemed shocked to see them appear out of the ground.
“They can’t see us, can they?” Ianto asked.
Jack looked surprised and pleased. “Nope, good call. As long as we’re on the lift, we’re sort of out of their range of perception. We don’t use this often, but it can be handy sometimes.” Jack waited until there were several people walking close to them and then simply joined the crowd.
As they walked away, Ianto looked back at the seemingly innocuous slab of stone.
“Sir? When the platform is coming up, don’t people fall in?”
Jack just shook his head and muttered something about the Welsh under his breath.
Lunch was actually quite pleasant, much to Ianto’s surprise. More relaxed than he had ever seen him, Jack was actually fun to talk to. Ianto still couldn’t tell how much of what he said was actually true, but decided he didn’t really care. His resolution to remain professional was sorely tested during that hour. When Jack turned the charm on, he was irresistible and for some reason he felt the need to make Ianto like him. Maybe he was making up for his earlier rudeness, maybe he felt that he had to compensate for the rest of the team, maybe he just really wanted to learn about him. Ianto didn’t know. And he found that he didn’t care either.
He spent the rest of the day hauling the junk out of the back room and setting up the space as his office. It was definitely cozy, but when he had finished with the office, it was perfectly laid out and useable. He took some time to clean up the Tourist Office as well. He set up a computer at the end of the counter, straightened the piles of brochures, made a quick data base of the suppliers so he could easily request replacements for some of the more outdated fliers and then looked at his new little kingdom, satisfied.
The feeling only lasted for a moment. If this had been a real first day on a real new job, Ianto would have been entirely happy. As it was, he felt a new load of guilt layer itself on top of the one he had carried since he found Lisa in the basement of Torchwood One. He liked Jack, he liked being useful again, he even liked the rest of the team (although Owen was going to take some patience). He didn’t like the idea of deceiving them. He felt like a double agent in one of those espionage novels Lisa used to read. He knew saving her was the right thing to do, he knew that doing whatever it took to cure her was the right thing to do, but that didn’t make his deception any easier to accept. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He held still for a moment, taking deep breaths through his nose.
When it had passed, he thought ruefully that if vomiting was his body’s reaction to lying he was going to be as thin as a rail by the time this was over.
He heard the stone door in the wall swing back and turned to see Toshiko. He smiled and nodded at her, unsure what to say.
“Well, I’m taking off for the night,” she said cheerfully. “I really hope we weren’t too awful this morning. It’s just that none of us would have guessed that Jack would hire anyone else. He’s dead set against a big team for some reason.”
Ianto smiled reassuringly at her. “It was no worse than a first day anywhere, don’t you worry.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Toshiko said, “Oh good. Well, it looks really nice in here. You’ve done a lot.”
“Thanks. You have a nice evening, Toshiko,” Ianto said politely.
“Thanks, you too. See you tomorrow.” She was still smiling as she left through the front door.
No one else came through the wall, so Ianto assumed they had taken the lift or that everyone else was working late. Wanting to take a look around the Hub and see what he could of the lower levels, Ianto headed down on the service elevator. He took a quick look around and decided that cleaning up was as good a way as any to snoop. It gave him an explanation for wandering around in case anyone came back. He found some bin liners in the kitchen area and started to walk around collecting the rubbish.
“Still here?”
A voice broke the silence of the Hub, making Ianto jump. It was Jack. He had come out of his office which Ianto would have sworn was empty.
“Uh…yeah. I got the office upstairs set up and I thought I’d get a head start down here.”
Jack walked out of his office and leaned against one of the tables. “Go home, Ianto. The pizza boxes can wait until tomorrow.”
“But-”
“Go home,” Jack repeated. He walked over to Ianto and took the bag out of his hands. He twisted it shut and dropped it on the floor. He reached out to Ianto and let his hand rest on the other man’s shoulder. “I appreciate your dedication, but this isn’t one of the trial periods you offered. I’ve seen what you can do in the field, you’re already making things more livable here and you definitely know your way around the computer system. You convinced me, Ianto. I need you - we all need you here.”
Ianto smiled, ignoring the stabbing guilt in his gut. “Thank you, sir. I…I guess I’ll be heading home then.”
“Good.” Jack squeezed his shoulder once and then turned to walk back to his office. When he reached the door, he paused and looked back at Ianto. “And really - call me Jack.”
Ianto felt the now familiar flirty smile he always seemed to wear around Jack return to his lips. “I will try…sir,” he said.
Jack shook his head and continued into his office.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
When Ianto arrived home that night, he entered the flat with a sense of foreboding. He had never left Lisa alone for such a long time since Canary Wharf. He was relieved to find her awake and only in a little pain. His cocktail of sedatives and painkillers must have been the right dosage after all. They talked a little about his first day at Torchwood, but Ianto could tell she was reading through his cheerful descriptions of Owen’s rudeness and Jack’s stories and could see the misery underneath.
Ianto was an honest person at his core. He didn’t even like telling the white lies that made life so much easier. Lisa knew him well enough to know that this deception was tearing him apart.
Lisa squeezed Ianto’s hand gently. “You must be tired after all that. Please go get some sleep, Ianto. If you’ll give me my shot and turn on some quiet music, I’ll be all set for the night.” She smiled encouragingly.
Red-rimmed eyes met her. “Are you sure?” Ianto asked.
“Perfectly sure, love.”
Ianto sighed, sadness tinged with relief. Every day that passed he felt the gap between them widen. It got harder and harder to even have conversations, but under it all Ianto still loved Lisa - the ideal Lisa in his mind and the broken shell of Lisa before him. He couldn’t separate the two and as long as he felt that way, he knew he had to keep fighting no matter what the cost to himself.
After getting Lisa settled, Ianto stripped off his suit and fell into bed. He had barely pulled the covers over his head before he was sound asleep. Exhausted, he slept without dreaming.
TBC in Chapter Seven
Rating: PG for this chapter
Warnings: Nope.
Spoilers: Cyberwoman (1x4) and Fragments (2x12)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which Jack and Ianto go to lunch (and the rest of the First Day).
Notes: Comments are love! :o)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Six
After a few moments on the computer, Ianto realized that it was identical to the Torchwood One set-up. He was able to navigate it with ease and even showed Jack a few tricks he didn’t know. Confident that he would be able to do just about anything they needed on the computers, Ianto spent the rest of the morning filling out the new hire paperwork that existed on any job - even top secret ones.
At about noon, Jack pulled Ianto up from his chair and said, “Lunchtime.” They walked out into the Hub and Jack hollered an invitation for the rest of the team to join them. Still smarting from the morning meeting, all three of them declined with varying degrees of politeness and said they were too busy. Jack grinned at that and told them they’d be at the pub if anyone changed their minds.
When Ianto passed Owen’s desk, he heard some scornful muttering from the doctor. Something about a tea-boy? Ianto thought, but decided that rising to the bait is exactly what Owen wanted him to do so he just gave him a smile as he walked by.
“Let’s take the lift,” Jack said, stepping onto a large square stone in the center of the Hub and motioning for Ianto to join him.
As he stepped up onto the slab, Ianto asked, “Lift, sir?”
Jack just smiled and flipped open his brown leather wristband. He pressed a few buttons and then the stone beneath their feet started to rise. Caught off balance, Ianto staggered and felt Jack’s strong arm steady him. “Lift,” Jack said.
They rode the lift all the way to the top of the Hub, rising alongside the water feature. Ianto found himself standing in the middle of Roald Dahl Plass in a matter of moments. He looked around in amazement. There was a small group of school-children and another larger group of tourists swarming around them, but no one seemed shocked to see them appear out of the ground.
“They can’t see us, can they?” Ianto asked.
Jack looked surprised and pleased. “Nope, good call. As long as we’re on the lift, we’re sort of out of their range of perception. We don’t use this often, but it can be handy sometimes.” Jack waited until there were several people walking close to them and then simply joined the crowd.
As they walked away, Ianto looked back at the seemingly innocuous slab of stone.
“Sir? When the platform is coming up, don’t people fall in?”
Jack just shook his head and muttered something about the Welsh under his breath.
Lunch was actually quite pleasant, much to Ianto’s surprise. More relaxed than he had ever seen him, Jack was actually fun to talk to. Ianto still couldn’t tell how much of what he said was actually true, but decided he didn’t really care. His resolution to remain professional was sorely tested during that hour. When Jack turned the charm on, he was irresistible and for some reason he felt the need to make Ianto like him. Maybe he was making up for his earlier rudeness, maybe he felt that he had to compensate for the rest of the team, maybe he just really wanted to learn about him. Ianto didn’t know. And he found that he didn’t care either.
He spent the rest of the day hauling the junk out of the back room and setting up the space as his office. It was definitely cozy, but when he had finished with the office, it was perfectly laid out and useable. He took some time to clean up the Tourist Office as well. He set up a computer at the end of the counter, straightened the piles of brochures, made a quick data base of the suppliers so he could easily request replacements for some of the more outdated fliers and then looked at his new little kingdom, satisfied.
The feeling only lasted for a moment. If this had been a real first day on a real new job, Ianto would have been entirely happy. As it was, he felt a new load of guilt layer itself on top of the one he had carried since he found Lisa in the basement of Torchwood One. He liked Jack, he liked being useful again, he even liked the rest of the team (although Owen was going to take some patience). He didn’t like the idea of deceiving them. He felt like a double agent in one of those espionage novels Lisa used to read. He knew saving her was the right thing to do, he knew that doing whatever it took to cure her was the right thing to do, but that didn’t make his deception any easier to accept. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He held still for a moment, taking deep breaths through his nose.
When it had passed, he thought ruefully that if vomiting was his body’s reaction to lying he was going to be as thin as a rail by the time this was over.
He heard the stone door in the wall swing back and turned to see Toshiko. He smiled and nodded at her, unsure what to say.
“Well, I’m taking off for the night,” she said cheerfully. “I really hope we weren’t too awful this morning. It’s just that none of us would have guessed that Jack would hire anyone else. He’s dead set against a big team for some reason.”
Ianto smiled reassuringly at her. “It was no worse than a first day anywhere, don’t you worry.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Toshiko said, “Oh good. Well, it looks really nice in here. You’ve done a lot.”
“Thanks. You have a nice evening, Toshiko,” Ianto said politely.
“Thanks, you too. See you tomorrow.” She was still smiling as she left through the front door.
No one else came through the wall, so Ianto assumed they had taken the lift or that everyone else was working late. Wanting to take a look around the Hub and see what he could of the lower levels, Ianto headed down on the service elevator. He took a quick look around and decided that cleaning up was as good a way as any to snoop. It gave him an explanation for wandering around in case anyone came back. He found some bin liners in the kitchen area and started to walk around collecting the rubbish.
“Still here?”
A voice broke the silence of the Hub, making Ianto jump. It was Jack. He had come out of his office which Ianto would have sworn was empty.
“Uh…yeah. I got the office upstairs set up and I thought I’d get a head start down here.”
Jack walked out of his office and leaned against one of the tables. “Go home, Ianto. The pizza boxes can wait until tomorrow.”
“But-”
“Go home,” Jack repeated. He walked over to Ianto and took the bag out of his hands. He twisted it shut and dropped it on the floor. He reached out to Ianto and let his hand rest on the other man’s shoulder. “I appreciate your dedication, but this isn’t one of the trial periods you offered. I’ve seen what you can do in the field, you’re already making things more livable here and you definitely know your way around the computer system. You convinced me, Ianto. I need you - we all need you here.”
Ianto smiled, ignoring the stabbing guilt in his gut. “Thank you, sir. I…I guess I’ll be heading home then.”
“Good.” Jack squeezed his shoulder once and then turned to walk back to his office. When he reached the door, he paused and looked back at Ianto. “And really - call me Jack.”
Ianto felt the now familiar flirty smile he always seemed to wear around Jack return to his lips. “I will try…sir,” he said.
Jack shook his head and continued into his office.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
When Ianto arrived home that night, he entered the flat with a sense of foreboding. He had never left Lisa alone for such a long time since Canary Wharf. He was relieved to find her awake and only in a little pain. His cocktail of sedatives and painkillers must have been the right dosage after all. They talked a little about his first day at Torchwood, but Ianto could tell she was reading through his cheerful descriptions of Owen’s rudeness and Jack’s stories and could see the misery underneath.
Ianto was an honest person at his core. He didn’t even like telling the white lies that made life so much easier. Lisa knew him well enough to know that this deception was tearing him apart.
Lisa squeezed Ianto’s hand gently. “You must be tired after all that. Please go get some sleep, Ianto. If you’ll give me my shot and turn on some quiet music, I’ll be all set for the night.” She smiled encouragingly.
Red-rimmed eyes met her. “Are you sure?” Ianto asked.
“Perfectly sure, love.”
Ianto sighed, sadness tinged with relief. Every day that passed he felt the gap between them widen. It got harder and harder to even have conversations, but under it all Ianto still loved Lisa - the ideal Lisa in his mind and the broken shell of Lisa before him. He couldn’t separate the two and as long as he felt that way, he knew he had to keep fighting no matter what the cost to himself.
After getting Lisa settled, Ianto stripped off his suit and fell into bed. He had barely pulled the covers over his head before he was sound asleep. Exhausted, he slept without dreaming.
TBC in Chapter Seven