Fic: The Sea After a Storm (92/?)
Title: The Sea After a Storm, Chapter 92
Rating: R
Warnings: Nothing really, just can't be bothered to mess with the rating
Spoilers: Season Two thru A Day in the Death (2x08)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Jamie has some good advice for Ianto, if only he'll listen...
Notes: Things are starting to turn around - for the boys and for me. I got a new job! :) You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support and beta work; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Ninety-Two
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: Ianto ran to Jamie in London when things took a turn for the worse with Jack...
"Apologising doesn't necessarily mean admitting you were wrong."
Ianto stopped defending himself and sat there for a moment with his jaw hanging open in surprise. He realised he must look something like Gwen often did and shut his mouth with a click. Jamie gave him a knowing look and left the room with his box.
Ianto thought hard for a long moment about what Jamie had said. Is this fixable without one of us backing down? Ianto wracked his brain but didn't see how it was possible. "What do you mean?" he blurted out when Jamie came back into the room and set down a new box.
"It's pretty simple, really, you just have to decide which is more important - your relationship or winning." Jamie put air quotes around the word 'winning' which made Ianto feel suddenly very small minded.
"It's not that I want to win," he muttered, turning back to the Christmas tree. "I just feel like Jack should... I mean, the point I was trying to make was valid."
Jamie was quiet for a second. "Is it possible Jack has a valid point as well?"
It was Ianto's turn to be silent. He hung several more ornaments on the tree before he turned to face Jamie. "Maybe," he reluctantly admitted.
Jamie reached out and put his arm around Ianto's shoulders. "Look, I know it's hard to get past the schoolyard 'say you're sorry' mentality. None of this is black and white, anything involving feelings never is. But 'I'm sorry' can be pretty powerful and it doesn't have to mean 'I was wrong, you were right' - you can be sorry for things you said, you can be sorry for losing your temper and work on communicating better to make your valid points and listen to Jack's once you're all done with the yelling."
"How do you know I lost my temper?" Ianto asked, narrowing his eyes at Jamie who laughed and squeezed his shoulders in a one-armed hug.
"I know you well, son. You've got a slow burn, I'll give you that, but when you're pushed far enough... BOOM! And I have a feeling Jack could try the patience of a saint."
Ianto chuckled and leant into Jamie's embrace. "So what do I do next?" he asked in a small voice, feeling very lost.
"Well, are you ready to talk to him right this minute?" Jamie asked.
Ianto shook his head vehemently.
"Then you stay here when we go to Newport. Take some time to plan out a strategy for approaching Jack, think about what's really important and what you need him to hear from you. Mark and I'll be back by the weekend, you stick around for our New Year's Eve party, connect with some old friends, make some new ones, and then head home to make a fresh start."
"It sounds so simple," Ianto observed. He pulled away from Jamie and began unwrapping another ornament.
"Now, Jones," Jamie said gravely. "Just because it's not complicated, doesn't mean it's easy."
"Now you sound like a fortune cookie!" Ianto chucked an obviously hand-made crocheted Santa ornament at Jamie's head.
"Ooh, Chinese food! I'll ring Mark and ask him to get some take away for dinner," Jamie said as he caught the Santa Claus and hung him on the tree.
Ianto smiled.
He felt a faint glimmer of hope for the first time in weeks.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Ianto spent his time alone between Christmas and New Year's doing a lot of thinking. After Mark and Jamie left on Christmas Eve, Ianto had pulled on his coat and walked around London until midnight, heading home with throngs of churchgoers who had just finished their Christmas Eve services. Other than his traditional call to his sister and a flurry of frantic texts to Tosh (who assured him that, while the news of a flying replica of the RMS Titanic buzzing Buckingham Palace was indeed true, everything was under control), Ianto didn't speak to anyone on Christmas Day. He couldn't help but compare this year to last as he finished a bottle of wine alone in Jamie's flat.
Last year he'd spent the entire holiday with Jack at his flat, other than the night Jack had taken him to see the surprise meteor shower that wasn't really a meteor shower at all. Ianto struggled to remember the name of the race of aliens who'd been testing their gravity weapons, but came up blank.
Must be the wine, he thought, taking another drink. He let himself drift back through the happy memories. It had been so nice just being with Jack over Christmas especially considering how awful the weeks before had been...
Ianto almost dropped his glass of wine. After we fought about that rift victim from the fifties... what was his name?
"John Ellis," Ianto said aloud to the empty room. "Maybe there is something about the holidays that makes people argue more," he muttered, pouring the last of the wine into his glass. He sighed deeply and swore again that he'd make Jack listen to him when he got back to Cardiff - no matter what.
Mark and Jamie were delayed getting back to London from Newport so it turned out to be a very good thing that Ianto was staying at the flat since he was able to sign for the alcohol and food deliveries Jamie had scheduled for the New Year's Eve party. He had set everything up and was just debating whether they would need more ice when the flat door swung open to reveal Jamie laden down with two giant bags of the stuff.
"Clear the way!" Jamie called, hauling the ice past Ianto and into the flat, depositing them in the tub in the spare bath. "Christ, those were heavy!"
"Where's Mark?" Ianto asked.
"On his way up with the bags. Oh, Ianto, thanks so much!" Jamie said, slinging his arm around Ianto's shoulders as he looked around. "I was stressing all the way here that we'd still be scrambling when people arrived. Clearly, I've forgotten what a treasure you are."
Ianto snorted and gestured to the kitchen. "Wine and beer in the fridge, vodka in the freezer, everything else is as you see it."
"Mwah!" Jamie gave Ianto a smacking kiss on the side of his head. "I'm gonna go pop in the shower. Tell Mark he can join me if he likes!"
Ianto was stacking cups when Mark appeared a second later in the open door way with the luggage. Ianto gave him a hand and passed on Jamie's message when they were back by the bedrooms, making Mark chuckle.
"Better not, if the point is to hurry," he said with a roguish wink.
They shared a laugh and went their separate ways to get ready for the party.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/120709.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Rating: R
Warnings: Nothing really, just can't be bothered to mess with the rating
Spoilers: Season Two thru A Day in the Death (2x08)
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood, Doctor Who and all their wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: In which Jamie has some good advice for Ianto, if only he'll listen...
Notes: Things are starting to turn around - for the boys and for me. I got a new job! :) You can find all the previous chapters of The Sea After a Storm here. This is a sequel to Vizzini’s Rule and To The Pain. Thanks again and forever to my amazing beta and wonderful friend
thraceadams for all the help and support and beta work; any mistakes are mine!
The Sea After a Storm: Chapter Ninety-Two
Previously on The Sea After a Storm: Ianto ran to Jamie in London when things took a turn for the worse with Jack...
"Apologising doesn't necessarily mean admitting you were wrong."
Ianto stopped defending himself and sat there for a moment with his jaw hanging open in surprise. He realised he must look something like Gwen often did and shut his mouth with a click. Jamie gave him a knowing look and left the room with his box.
Ianto thought hard for a long moment about what Jamie had said. Is this fixable without one of us backing down? Ianto wracked his brain but didn't see how it was possible. "What do you mean?" he blurted out when Jamie came back into the room and set down a new box.
"It's pretty simple, really, you just have to decide which is more important - your relationship or winning." Jamie put air quotes around the word 'winning' which made Ianto feel suddenly very small minded.
"It's not that I want to win," he muttered, turning back to the Christmas tree. "I just feel like Jack should... I mean, the point I was trying to make was valid."
Jamie was quiet for a second. "Is it possible Jack has a valid point as well?"
It was Ianto's turn to be silent. He hung several more ornaments on the tree before he turned to face Jamie. "Maybe," he reluctantly admitted.
Jamie reached out and put his arm around Ianto's shoulders. "Look, I know it's hard to get past the schoolyard 'say you're sorry' mentality. None of this is black and white, anything involving feelings never is. But 'I'm sorry' can be pretty powerful and it doesn't have to mean 'I was wrong, you were right' - you can be sorry for things you said, you can be sorry for losing your temper and work on communicating better to make your valid points and listen to Jack's once you're all done with the yelling."
"How do you know I lost my temper?" Ianto asked, narrowing his eyes at Jamie who laughed and squeezed his shoulders in a one-armed hug.
"I know you well, son. You've got a slow burn, I'll give you that, but when you're pushed far enough... BOOM! And I have a feeling Jack could try the patience of a saint."
Ianto chuckled and leant into Jamie's embrace. "So what do I do next?" he asked in a small voice, feeling very lost.
"Well, are you ready to talk to him right this minute?" Jamie asked.
Ianto shook his head vehemently.
"Then you stay here when we go to Newport. Take some time to plan out a strategy for approaching Jack, think about what's really important and what you need him to hear from you. Mark and I'll be back by the weekend, you stick around for our New Year's Eve party, connect with some old friends, make some new ones, and then head home to make a fresh start."
"It sounds so simple," Ianto observed. He pulled away from Jamie and began unwrapping another ornament.
"Now, Jones," Jamie said gravely. "Just because it's not complicated, doesn't mean it's easy."
"Now you sound like a fortune cookie!" Ianto chucked an obviously hand-made crocheted Santa ornament at Jamie's head.
"Ooh, Chinese food! I'll ring Mark and ask him to get some take away for dinner," Jamie said as he caught the Santa Claus and hung him on the tree.
Ianto smiled.
He felt a faint glimmer of hope for the first time in weeks.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Ianto spent his time alone between Christmas and New Year's doing a lot of thinking. After Mark and Jamie left on Christmas Eve, Ianto had pulled on his coat and walked around London until midnight, heading home with throngs of churchgoers who had just finished their Christmas Eve services. Other than his traditional call to his sister and a flurry of frantic texts to Tosh (who assured him that, while the news of a flying replica of the RMS Titanic buzzing Buckingham Palace was indeed true, everything was under control), Ianto didn't speak to anyone on Christmas Day. He couldn't help but compare this year to last as he finished a bottle of wine alone in Jamie's flat.
Last year he'd spent the entire holiday with Jack at his flat, other than the night Jack had taken him to see the surprise meteor shower that wasn't really a meteor shower at all. Ianto struggled to remember the name of the race of aliens who'd been testing their gravity weapons, but came up blank.
Must be the wine, he thought, taking another drink. He let himself drift back through the happy memories. It had been so nice just being with Jack over Christmas especially considering how awful the weeks before had been...
Ianto almost dropped his glass of wine. After we fought about that rift victim from the fifties... what was his name?
"John Ellis," Ianto said aloud to the empty room. "Maybe there is something about the holidays that makes people argue more," he muttered, pouring the last of the wine into his glass. He sighed deeply and swore again that he'd make Jack listen to him when he got back to Cardiff - no matter what.
Mark and Jamie were delayed getting back to London from Newport so it turned out to be a very good thing that Ianto was staying at the flat since he was able to sign for the alcohol and food deliveries Jamie had scheduled for the New Year's Eve party. He had set everything up and was just debating whether they would need more ice when the flat door swung open to reveal Jamie laden down with two giant bags of the stuff.
"Clear the way!" Jamie called, hauling the ice past Ianto and into the flat, depositing them in the tub in the spare bath. "Christ, those were heavy!"
"Where's Mark?" Ianto asked.
"On his way up with the bags. Oh, Ianto, thanks so much!" Jamie said, slinging his arm around Ianto's shoulders as he looked around. "I was stressing all the way here that we'd still be scrambling when people arrived. Clearly, I've forgotten what a treasure you are."
Ianto snorted and gestured to the kitchen. "Wine and beer in the fridge, vodka in the freezer, everything else is as you see it."
"Mwah!" Jamie gave Ianto a smacking kiss on the side of his head. "I'm gonna go pop in the shower. Tell Mark he can join me if he likes!"
Ianto was stacking cups when Mark appeared a second later in the open door way with the luggage. Ianto gave him a hand and passed on Jamie's message when they were back by the bedrooms, making Mark chuckle.
"Better not, if the point is to hurry," he said with a roguish wink.
They shared a laugh and went their separate ways to get ready for the party.
TBC...
. This entry was originally posted at http://buttononthetop.dreamwidth.org/120709.html. Please comment there using OpenID.