Fic: Vizzini's Rule (66/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 66
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nope!
Spoilers: Season One thru Out of Time (1x10)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! All ©’s to Catherine Tregenna for dialogue and situations borrowed from Out of Time.
Summary: In which Ianto says au revoir to Jamie...
Notes: *sigh* Jamie has to go away now. *pout* But thanks so much to everyone who said they loved him! Next chapter? Jack! Is! Back! :D Enjoy!
Additional Note: All Welsh found here and proofed by the lovely and generous 42footprints.
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Sixty-Six
The rest of the night reminded Ianto of his University days. Jamie had been right about opportunities - men and women were trying to buy them drinks, get them to dance, get them to join a table all night long. They parked themselves at the bar and Sammy kept the drinks coming, offering up his opinion on the purchaser whenever they would let him. Ianto firmly believed that Jamie was the draw, but couldn’t deny he had fun being part of the center of attention. They stayed until last call which was significantly later than Ianto’s usual pub hours. Jamie, an old hand at a this sort of thing, had sobered up sufficiently to drive The Chicken back to Ianto’s flat. They collapsed into Ianto’s bed, both too exhausted to even get undressed.
When Ianto’s alarm began blaring at 6:30 the next morning, Jamie knocked it on the floor trying to find the OFF button. It finally stopped buzzing as it bounced under the bed. Ianto made a token protest, but was too sleepy to do anything. Jamie returned to his former position, curled around Ianto, and snuggled close.
Ianto finally came fully awake about an hour later. He’d been having a delicious dream about Jack and reached back to give his arse a squeeze, to see if he was up for making the dream a reality. One touch was enough for Ianto to realize that it wasn’t Jack wrapped around him. The squeeze was also apparently enough to make Jamie realize Ianto wasn’t Mark. They sprang apart, laughing at their identical horrified expressions.
“Sorry! Habit, I always -”
“No, no, it’s fine, I thought you were -”
They both laughed.
“God, what time are we meeting Mark?” Ianto asked, sitting up and scrubbing his face with both hands.
“Nine,” Jamie said through a yawn.
“Coffee,” Ianto said firmly. “You - shower. Me - coffee.”
Jamie nodded, looking blearily around the room.
“Towels behind the door, use whatever you like,” Ianto said as he slid off the bed.
“Thanks,” Jamie yawned.
“Hey!” Ianto said, snapping his fingers. “No going back to sleep.”
Jamie groaned and fell back on the bed. “Yes, mum, I’m getting up right now.” He rolled onto his side and hugged a pillow.
Ianto put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes. “Fine, ten more minutes, clamp diog.”
“Don’t you mutter Welsh at me, ya plentyn gordderch,” Jamie said as he burrowed deeper into the pillow.
“Nice. I see Mark started with the important words.”
“Mmmhmm,” Jamie hummed, already falling back to sleep.
Ianto smiled and went to make coffee.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Even with Jamie sleeping another hour and having to brush a light dusting of snow off The Chicken, they made it to Kemi’s close to on time. Mark wasn’t there yet so they ordered coffee and pastries and took a seat in the cozy shop. The view of the Plass and the Millennium Center was breathtaking with the fresh snow covering everything and glinting in the early morning sun.
Jamie was antsy as they waited. When Ianto saw him glance at his watch for the third time in five minutes he said, “He’ll be here, relax. How long has he been in Newport? You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”
Jamie flushed. That’s a new one, Ianto thought.
“He’s been gone for three weeks. I’m going crazy not seeing him. I…” Jamie looked self-conscious. “Do you want to know a secret?” he whispered.
Ianto chuckled. “Always.”
“I’m going to ask him to move in with me at New Year’s.”
“That’s fantastic, Jamie! When did you decide this?”
“I’ve been thinking about it for months, but this trip made up my mind. I absolutely hate it when one of us has to go home, I have ever since I met him.” Jamie flushed again. “But these last three weeks really hit me hard. He’s been in Newport with his mom. She’s been sick and wanted him home, which I get but I miss him. I’ve been back here to see him twice, just for the afternoon when she was feeling up to visitors, but it made me really think about things.”
Ianto smiled. He reached across the small table to give Jamie’s hand a quick squeeze. “That’s really great Jamie.” Before the moment could get too serious, Ianto wiped a fake tear from his cheek and said in dramatic tones, “My boy’s all growed up!”
“Stuff it, Jones,” Jamie growled, but he was grinning as he said it. Suddenly his whole face lit up. Without turning around, Ianto knew that Mark had arrived. Jamie bolted out of his chair and threw his arms around his lover.
Ianto stood up to say hello, but had to wait a long moment before Jamie relinquished his hold on Mark. Once he’d finally let go, Jamie went to order him a coffee, leaving Ianto and Mark to shake hands.
“Good to see you again, Mark,” Ianto said. Mark looked the same as Ianto remembered. He was a few years older than them, almost as tall as Jamie with short, sort of spiky dark hair, a square jaw and cheekbones to die for. There was real affection in his warm brown eyes as he shook Ianto’s hand.
“You too, Ianto. It’s been too long.”
“Yeah,” Ianto said, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to disappear, just sort of happened.”
“And he’s promised not to do it again,” Jamie said as he sat down at the table.
“Glad to hear it,” Mark said. “What have you been up to?”
As Ianto filled Mark in on the events of the last year (well, the ones that he could share, anyway) he watched the two men. Mark kept looking over at Jamie as if to reassure himself that he was really there. Jamie, for his part, had grabbed Mark’s hand as soon as they sat down and hadn’t let go. He was watching Mark with a hungry look in his eyes that Ianto recognized. He knew he had it in his own eyes whenever he would watch Jack as he worked in the Hub, unaware of Ianto’s gaze. He’d even seen it in Jack’s eyes a few times as well and it never failed to make him melt.
Ianto sighed. He wanted this, what Mark and Jamie had together. He wanted something definable, something real. He also wanted Jack and he wasn’t sure just how to make those two wants align.
The three men enjoyed a nice long chat as they lingered over their coffees. Jamie finally admitted that they really needed to get going, or he’d be late for an afternoon meeting he’d committed to plus there was a cocktail party he had to attend for work that night. When Mark groaned, Jamie assured him that he didn’t have to come along.
Mark reached over to pull Jamie to him. “If you think I’m letting you out of my sight tonight, you’re even crazier than I thought. I missed you, babe.” He threaded his hand through Jamie’s blonde hair and pulled him closer for a soft kiss.
“Good God!” The oddly familiar voice came from behind Ianto. He glanced over his shoulder and then hurriedly turned back around as John Ellis walked past their table on his way to the counter, muttering something about queers and indecency. He also heard the word disgusting in John’s sotto voce tirade and had to grip the table edge to keep from getting up and smacking him in the mouth.
But Mark and Jamie just looked at each other and laughed. Mark leaned in for another kiss and this one was all for show with open mouths and tongues everywhere. Ianto could hear John spluttering up at the counter and had to laugh. The three of them got up and Jamie wrapped his arm around Mark’s waist, sliding his hand into the back pocket of Mark’s jeans. As they exited the store, Ianto glanced back to see John, red-faced and fuming, still staring at Mark and Jamie. Ianto wasn’t sure if John had recognized him or not. Part of him hoped that he did so Ianto would have the chance to tell him exactly what he thought later on.
Outside, the sun shone even brighter as the last few clouds disappeared. Shading their eyes against the glare from the melting snow, they made their way back to The Chicken, Mark and Jamie discussing who should drive.
Jamie unlocked the car and nodded at the extra bags in the backseat. “I was wondering where all your stuff was,” he said to Mark.
“Yeah, I had my brother drop me off by the car so I could just toss it all in.” Mark turned to Ianto and pulled him into a warm hug. “You take care of yourself and keep in touch from now on.”
“I will. It was good to see you, Mark. I hope your mum is feeling better,” Ianto said returning the hug. “And thanks for looking after this lloerig,” he joked, jerking his head at Jamie.
“Hey!” Jamie protested as Mark laughed.
“Oh, you know that one?”
“No, but I can tell it wasn’t nice from the way you said it,” Jamie pouted.
Ianto smiled and went around the car to stand in front of Jamie, his heart suddenly in his throat as he thought about saying goodbye so soon after so long. Jamie, as always, read him like an open book. He reached a hand out to Ianto’s shoulder and gave him something else to focus on.
“I forgot to tell you. I rang Antony last night and he’s going to get a hold of Deborah sometime today. He practically hired her when I talked to him, so I’m sure she’ll have some good news soon.”
“Last night? When the hell did you make a call?” Ianto asked, distracted from his emotions for a moment.
Jamie grinned. “When you were chatting up that bloke in the jeans.” He turned to look at Mark. “Best arse I’ve ever seen. If I could get him for the next photo shoot we could all retire on trousers sales alone.”
Mark looked confused. “Ianto was chatting up a bloke?” he asked.
Jamie winked at him. “Oh, I have lots to tell you on the way home.” He looked at Ianto with a question written across his face.
Ianto just smiled and nodded. He was actually pleased at the thought of Jamie and Mark discussing him and Jack. The idea that someone else knew about them made Ianto strangely happy. Then Jamie grabbed him in a fierce hug and Ianto couldn’t think about anything but saying goodbye. He clung to Jamie, his face buried in the collar of Jamie’s jacket.
“Good to see you, son,” Jamie finally said in a hoarse whisper.
Ianto nodded, unable to speak. Dimly he heard the door to The Chicken shut and knew that Mark must have gotten in the car to give them a moment alone. He felt Jamie’s arms tighten around him. “Don’t disappear again, okay?”
“I promise,” Ianto managed to say.
Jamie drew back and took Ianto’s face between his hands. He dropped a kiss on each cheek. “Take care, cyfaill annwyl.”
Ianto gasped out a laugh. “You too, Jamie.” He gripped Jamie’s arms and leaned his forehead against his friend’s. “You too,” he whispered.
Jamie got in the car quickly and slammed the door. As Mark started up the engine, Ianto gave Jamie a mock salute.
Jamie rolled down the window in time to hear Ianto growl, “Smith!”
“Jones!” he growled back.
Ianto waved as the car pulled away, listening to Jamie’s laugh with a smile on his face.
TBC in Chapter Sixty-Seven
clamp diog “lazy lump”
plentyn gordderch “bastard” (or more literally, child of a concubine)
lloerig “lunatic”
cyfaill annwyl “dear friend”
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Nope!
Spoilers: Season One thru Out of Time (1x10)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! All ©’s to Catherine Tregenna for dialogue and situations borrowed from Out of Time.
Summary: In which Ianto says au revoir to Jamie...
Notes: *sigh* Jamie has to go away now. *pout* But thanks so much to everyone who said they loved him! Next chapter? Jack! Is! Back! :D Enjoy!
Additional Note: All Welsh found here and proofed by the lovely and generous 42footprints.
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Sixty-Six
The rest of the night reminded Ianto of his University days. Jamie had been right about opportunities - men and women were trying to buy them drinks, get them to dance, get them to join a table all night long. They parked themselves at the bar and Sammy kept the drinks coming, offering up his opinion on the purchaser whenever they would let him. Ianto firmly believed that Jamie was the draw, but couldn’t deny he had fun being part of the center of attention. They stayed until last call which was significantly later than Ianto’s usual pub hours. Jamie, an old hand at a this sort of thing, had sobered up sufficiently to drive The Chicken back to Ianto’s flat. They collapsed into Ianto’s bed, both too exhausted to even get undressed.
When Ianto’s alarm began blaring at 6:30 the next morning, Jamie knocked it on the floor trying to find the OFF button. It finally stopped buzzing as it bounced under the bed. Ianto made a token protest, but was too sleepy to do anything. Jamie returned to his former position, curled around Ianto, and snuggled close.
Ianto finally came fully awake about an hour later. He’d been having a delicious dream about Jack and reached back to give his arse a squeeze, to see if he was up for making the dream a reality. One touch was enough for Ianto to realize that it wasn’t Jack wrapped around him. The squeeze was also apparently enough to make Jamie realize Ianto wasn’t Mark. They sprang apart, laughing at their identical horrified expressions.
“Sorry! Habit, I always -”
“No, no, it’s fine, I thought you were -”
They both laughed.
“God, what time are we meeting Mark?” Ianto asked, sitting up and scrubbing his face with both hands.
“Nine,” Jamie said through a yawn.
“Coffee,” Ianto said firmly. “You - shower. Me - coffee.”
Jamie nodded, looking blearily around the room.
“Towels behind the door, use whatever you like,” Ianto said as he slid off the bed.
“Thanks,” Jamie yawned.
“Hey!” Ianto said, snapping his fingers. “No going back to sleep.”
Jamie groaned and fell back on the bed. “Yes, mum, I’m getting up right now.” He rolled onto his side and hugged a pillow.
Ianto put his hands on his hips and rolled his eyes. “Fine, ten more minutes, clamp diog.”
“Don’t you mutter Welsh at me, ya plentyn gordderch,” Jamie said as he burrowed deeper into the pillow.
“Nice. I see Mark started with the important words.”
“Mmmhmm,” Jamie hummed, already falling back to sleep.
Ianto smiled and went to make coffee.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Even with Jamie sleeping another hour and having to brush a light dusting of snow off The Chicken, they made it to Kemi’s close to on time. Mark wasn’t there yet so they ordered coffee and pastries and took a seat in the cozy shop. The view of the Plass and the Millennium Center was breathtaking with the fresh snow covering everything and glinting in the early morning sun.
Jamie was antsy as they waited. When Ianto saw him glance at his watch for the third time in five minutes he said, “He’ll be here, relax. How long has he been in Newport? You look like you’re about to jump out of your skin.”
Jamie flushed. That’s a new one, Ianto thought.
“He’s been gone for three weeks. I’m going crazy not seeing him. I…” Jamie looked self-conscious. “Do you want to know a secret?” he whispered.
Ianto chuckled. “Always.”
“I’m going to ask him to move in with me at New Year’s.”
“That’s fantastic, Jamie! When did you decide this?”
“I’ve been thinking about it for months, but this trip made up my mind. I absolutely hate it when one of us has to go home, I have ever since I met him.” Jamie flushed again. “But these last three weeks really hit me hard. He’s been in Newport with his mom. She’s been sick and wanted him home, which I get but I miss him. I’ve been back here to see him twice, just for the afternoon when she was feeling up to visitors, but it made me really think about things.”
Ianto smiled. He reached across the small table to give Jamie’s hand a quick squeeze. “That’s really great Jamie.” Before the moment could get too serious, Ianto wiped a fake tear from his cheek and said in dramatic tones, “My boy’s all growed up!”
“Stuff it, Jones,” Jamie growled, but he was grinning as he said it. Suddenly his whole face lit up. Without turning around, Ianto knew that Mark had arrived. Jamie bolted out of his chair and threw his arms around his lover.
Ianto stood up to say hello, but had to wait a long moment before Jamie relinquished his hold on Mark. Once he’d finally let go, Jamie went to order him a coffee, leaving Ianto and Mark to shake hands.
“Good to see you again, Mark,” Ianto said. Mark looked the same as Ianto remembered. He was a few years older than them, almost as tall as Jamie with short, sort of spiky dark hair, a square jaw and cheekbones to die for. There was real affection in his warm brown eyes as he shook Ianto’s hand.
“You too, Ianto. It’s been too long.”
“Yeah,” Ianto said, running a hand through his hair. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to disappear, just sort of happened.”
“And he’s promised not to do it again,” Jamie said as he sat down at the table.
“Glad to hear it,” Mark said. “What have you been up to?”
As Ianto filled Mark in on the events of the last year (well, the ones that he could share, anyway) he watched the two men. Mark kept looking over at Jamie as if to reassure himself that he was really there. Jamie, for his part, had grabbed Mark’s hand as soon as they sat down and hadn’t let go. He was watching Mark with a hungry look in his eyes that Ianto recognized. He knew he had it in his own eyes whenever he would watch Jack as he worked in the Hub, unaware of Ianto’s gaze. He’d even seen it in Jack’s eyes a few times as well and it never failed to make him melt.
Ianto sighed. He wanted this, what Mark and Jamie had together. He wanted something definable, something real. He also wanted Jack and he wasn’t sure just how to make those two wants align.
The three men enjoyed a nice long chat as they lingered over their coffees. Jamie finally admitted that they really needed to get going, or he’d be late for an afternoon meeting he’d committed to plus there was a cocktail party he had to attend for work that night. When Mark groaned, Jamie assured him that he didn’t have to come along.
Mark reached over to pull Jamie to him. “If you think I’m letting you out of my sight tonight, you’re even crazier than I thought. I missed you, babe.” He threaded his hand through Jamie’s blonde hair and pulled him closer for a soft kiss.
“Good God!” The oddly familiar voice came from behind Ianto. He glanced over his shoulder and then hurriedly turned back around as John Ellis walked past their table on his way to the counter, muttering something about queers and indecency. He also heard the word disgusting in John’s sotto voce tirade and had to grip the table edge to keep from getting up and smacking him in the mouth.
But Mark and Jamie just looked at each other and laughed. Mark leaned in for another kiss and this one was all for show with open mouths and tongues everywhere. Ianto could hear John spluttering up at the counter and had to laugh. The three of them got up and Jamie wrapped his arm around Mark’s waist, sliding his hand into the back pocket of Mark’s jeans. As they exited the store, Ianto glanced back to see John, red-faced and fuming, still staring at Mark and Jamie. Ianto wasn’t sure if John had recognized him or not. Part of him hoped that he did so Ianto would have the chance to tell him exactly what he thought later on.
Outside, the sun shone even brighter as the last few clouds disappeared. Shading their eyes against the glare from the melting snow, they made their way back to The Chicken, Mark and Jamie discussing who should drive.
Jamie unlocked the car and nodded at the extra bags in the backseat. “I was wondering where all your stuff was,” he said to Mark.
“Yeah, I had my brother drop me off by the car so I could just toss it all in.” Mark turned to Ianto and pulled him into a warm hug. “You take care of yourself and keep in touch from now on.”
“I will. It was good to see you, Mark. I hope your mum is feeling better,” Ianto said returning the hug. “And thanks for looking after this lloerig,” he joked, jerking his head at Jamie.
“Hey!” Jamie protested as Mark laughed.
“Oh, you know that one?”
“No, but I can tell it wasn’t nice from the way you said it,” Jamie pouted.
Ianto smiled and went around the car to stand in front of Jamie, his heart suddenly in his throat as he thought about saying goodbye so soon after so long. Jamie, as always, read him like an open book. He reached a hand out to Ianto’s shoulder and gave him something else to focus on.
“I forgot to tell you. I rang Antony last night and he’s going to get a hold of Deborah sometime today. He practically hired her when I talked to him, so I’m sure she’ll have some good news soon.”
“Last night? When the hell did you make a call?” Ianto asked, distracted from his emotions for a moment.
Jamie grinned. “When you were chatting up that bloke in the jeans.” He turned to look at Mark. “Best arse I’ve ever seen. If I could get him for the next photo shoot we could all retire on trousers sales alone.”
Mark looked confused. “Ianto was chatting up a bloke?” he asked.
Jamie winked at him. “Oh, I have lots to tell you on the way home.” He looked at Ianto with a question written across his face.
Ianto just smiled and nodded. He was actually pleased at the thought of Jamie and Mark discussing him and Jack. The idea that someone else knew about them made Ianto strangely happy. Then Jamie grabbed him in a fierce hug and Ianto couldn’t think about anything but saying goodbye. He clung to Jamie, his face buried in the collar of Jamie’s jacket.
“Good to see you, son,” Jamie finally said in a hoarse whisper.
Ianto nodded, unable to speak. Dimly he heard the door to The Chicken shut and knew that Mark must have gotten in the car to give them a moment alone. He felt Jamie’s arms tighten around him. “Don’t disappear again, okay?”
“I promise,” Ianto managed to say.
Jamie drew back and took Ianto’s face between his hands. He dropped a kiss on each cheek. “Take care, cyfaill annwyl.”
Ianto gasped out a laugh. “You too, Jamie.” He gripped Jamie’s arms and leaned his forehead against his friend’s. “You too,” he whispered.
Jamie got in the car quickly and slammed the door. As Mark started up the engine, Ianto gave Jamie a mock salute.
Jamie rolled down the window in time to hear Ianto growl, “Smith!”
“Jones!” he growled back.
Ianto waved as the car pulled away, listening to Jamie’s laugh with a smile on his face.
TBC in Chapter Sixty-Seven
clamp diog “lazy lump”
plentyn gordderch “bastard” (or more literally, child of a concubine)
lloerig “lunatic”
cyfaill annwyl “dear friend”