Fic: Schmoop Bingo B3 - Winter Holiday/Festival (Jack/Ianto)
Title: Christmas Eve Kisses
Rating: R-ish
Warnings: A little sexiness, nothing graphic
Spoilers: None (in accordance with Schmoop Law Section 27 Paragraph A Subparagraph 1 - the entire team is alive - really alive not dead-alive - so nothing from Reset on ever happened)
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: schmoop_bingo Prompt B3: Winter Holiday/Festival
Notes: This one was requested by and written for rambleinblue - I hope you like it, sweetie! A gazillion thanks as always to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine! Reminder: Please don't post/link/tweet/share/etc. on another site. I appreciate your consideration for my wishes.
Christmas Eve Kisses
"No."
"Jack - "
"No!"
"It's not like it's for fun, Rhi needs - "
"I don't care, you're not doing it and that's final."
"That's final?" Ianto spluttered. "Are you even listening to yourself?"
"NO!" Jack bellowed. He paused for a second when he realised what he'd said, a wry grin replacing the scowl on his face. He stepped close to Ianto and wrapped his arms around his lover. Ianto stayed stiff for a long moment, until Jack whispered in his ear. "I can't stand the idea of you… I can't even say it."
Ianto held himself away from Jack for another second and then melted into his arms. "It's not like I'm doing it for a laugh, Jack. It's a fundraiser for the school. They need the money, if you saw what those kids have to use every day, it's not right. Rhi wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, you know that. She had someone lined up but he got sick. It's tomorrow and she just doesn't have anyone else to ask."
"Why can't Johnny do it? I think he'd jump at the chance," Jack grumbled.
"He's already running two other booths. They're short-handed, like I said. Please just… be nice about it, okay? You don't have to come or anything."
"Oh, I'll be there. If you think I'm spending Christmas Eve alone while you're off kissing random strangers in some stupid booth for money, you've got another thing coming," Jack growled.
~ * ~ *~ *~ * ~
Ianto rearranged his wine-red scarf and stomped his feet against the cold before leaning against the ledge of the kissing booth and cursing his sister for the hundredth time. He'd arrived at the carnival on time, of course, and had been immediately dispatched by Rhiannon to help unload the heavy trays for the food booths. And since he'd come alone, he'd had to do it all by himself. Jack had been called away in the wee hours of the morning by one of the Hub monitors he had forwarded to his wriststrap. He'd left Ianto with a kiss and a promise to be at the carnival before he was scheduled to start in the booth. Whatever had happened at the Hub must have been more serious than he'd thought, however, because Jack was still nowhere to be seen.
"I don't think we've met. Are you a new parent?" a chipper voice asked from across the path.
Ianto looked over at the other kissing booth. It mirrored his own - cut-outs of big red lips and signs proclaiming "Kisses!" and "1 per ticket!" and "No Tongue! Be Nice!" - except the person running this booth was a woman in a bright pink quilted jacket. Rhi had explained, with a wink that made Ianto roll his eyes, that they were hoping to cater to all tastes by having two booths.
"No," Ianto replied. "An uncle. My sister roped me into this."
"Rhiannon?" the woman asked. At Ianto's nod, she laughed. "We're both on the committee. She mentioned something about being able to find a replacement for Clyde. I'm Bethany, by the way."
"Ianto," Ianto said with a wave. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too - oops, looks like you've got customers!"
Ianto peered around his window to see a gaggle of little girls approaching his booth, his niece Mica in the lead. He grinned and rested his elbows on the ledge, peering down at them.
"Mum said I'm s'posed to give you a ticket for a kiss," Mica said in a tone of supreme suffering as the other girls watched him with wide eyes.
"Don't you want to get a kiss?" Ianto teased.
"No. I want to play the snowball toss."
Ianto smothered a grin and put on his most serious face. He motioned Mica to come closer and whispered loudly. "Well, how about I give you a kiss, just in case your mum is watching and then you can keep your ticket and do whatever you want."
Mica thought this over. "You won't tell?" she asked suspiciously.
Placing his hand over his heart, Ianto said, "I solemnly swear."
"Okay." She stepped closer and gave Ianto a kiss on his cheek and then turned her face so he could do the same. "Thanks, Uncle Ianto," she said brightly, still clutching her ticket. "Hi, Uncle Jack," she added as she turned to go and almost ran into Jack.
"Hi, Mica," Jack said, stepping to the side of the path so the little girls could file past him. "Sorry," he apologised to Ianto. "Took longer than I thought it would."
"Everything okay?" Ianto asked.
Jack nodded and leant against the kissing booth window. "Can I have a kiss?"
Ianto leant forward as well. "Do you have a ticket?"
Jack grinned and pulled out a string of tickets that was as long as he was tall.
"Jack!" Ianto exclaimed. "How much did you spend?"
"Enough that I can keep you busy kissing me all afternoon."
Ianto groaned. "You're ridiculous," he complained, but his smile belied any real annoyance. "I can't just turn people away, the point is to take in as many tickets as possible."
"I get that," Jack said. "I have a plan," he added with a devious smile. "Now, can I get a kiss?" he asked again, tearing off a ticket.
Ianto took the little green stub and dropped it in his box. He leant forward and gave Jack a peck on the lips. "There."
"Mmm. Worth every penny."
"You're a nutter," Ianto said, shaking his head.
Jack grinned. "Your nutter."
Ianto laughed and then shooed Jack out of the way as a pair of teenage girls approached the booth.
"It's one ticket, right?" the taller girl asked while her friend giggled.
"Yep," Ianto said taking the green stub and leaning forward.
"Hey, girls, I'll give you a ticket back if you don't take a kiss," Jack offered.
The tall girl looked over a Jack and then back at Ianto. "Two tickets," she countered. Her friend gasped and elbowed her in the ribs. "What?" she asked. "He's really cute."
"Yes, he is," Jack said with his most charming smile. "Here's two." He tore a couple of tickets off his roll.
"I was gonna kiss him, too," the shorter girl piped up.
"Same deal," Jack said. "Hand over your ticket and I'll give you two back."
"Jack," Ianto scolded even as he took the girl's ticket.
"What? You wanted to raise money, we're raising money. And I won't get cranky. Everybody wins," he said with a wink.
The tall girl gave them an appraising look and then said to Jack. "I'll give you the two tickets back if you kiss him," she said daringly.
Her friend gasped again, but looked on interestedly.
"A lass after my own heart," Jack said with an admiring grin. He turned to Ianto. "Well?" he asked.
"Fine, just this once, but the tickets go in the box." Ianto took the green stubs and leant forward to give Jack a smacking kiss on the lips, turning when he was finished to raise an eyebrow at the two girls who giggled and headed off to another booth. "Did I mention that you're ridiculous?"
Jack just grinned.
For the next few hours, Jack managed to bribe almost all of Ianto's kissing booth customers into leaving un-kissed. Ianto was allowed to kiss the very young and the very old without interference, but anyone else got hit with the full-on-Harkness charm and ended up leaving the booth with a slightly dazed expression and one of Jack's tickets in their hand. Whenever the flow of people slowed, Jack would spend his tickets kissing Ianto himself - quick kisses, soft lingering kisses, Eskimo kisses, butterfly kisses - they even broke the booth's "no tongue" rule a few times when they were sure no one was looking.
Finally, Ianto's turn in the booth was up. When Rhiannon came over, tugging along his replacement, Ianto could have kissed her - no ticket required. Jack's plan to keep him from kissing anyone else had worked like a charm, but the hours of kissing and talking and laughing with Jack had been such a tease that Ianto wasn't sure he would be able to walk properly. He was deeply grateful that he'd pulled on his long coat that morning, stepping out from behind the booth would have been tremendously embarrassing without it.
"Thanks again, Ianto," Rhi said breathlessly. "Mikey's got the last shift, he's - wow! That's a lot of tickets," she added admiringly as she looked into his box. "Happy Christmas to the school! Surprised your lips haven't fallen off."
Ianto flushed slightly and gave Jack a sheepish grin. "All for a good cause, right?" he said lightly as Jack chuckled.
Rhiannon gave him a sharp look but didn't say anything. "Well, you're free. Thanks again. We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
Leaning in to give Rhi a quick peck on the cheek, Ianto nodded. "I'll be around for tea, once all the Siôn Corn excitement has worn off. You're doing taffy after tea, right?"
Rhi nodded and then paused, glancing uncomfortably at Jack. "You know, you're always welcome, too, Jack."
Looking surprised, Jack nodded. While he tagged along when Ianto took the kids to the cinema or other fun afternoon outings, he'd never really spent much time with the whole family. He finally found his voice, speaking up as Ianto's hand slipped into his. "I'd like that, thanks."
"Good, well… I won't say Happy Christmas then, I'll save it for tomorrow."
Jack and Rhiannon smiled hesitantly at one another until Ianto patted Rhi on the shoulder and murmured a goodbye before leading Jack away.
"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, stopping suddenly.
"What?"
Jack groaned. "If we're going to your sister's house on Christmas, I'll need to bring gifts."
Chuckling, Ianto nodded. "Still have any tickets? You could win them a giant stuffed tortoise," he suggested pointing at a nearby booth.
But Jack shook his head and led them to the car park. "Nah, I have plans for those tickets. I'll just pick up some flowers or chocolates or something. Does Johnny drink whisky?"
"I would imagine so," Ianto said vaguely, referring to Johnny's drinking habits. He was much more focused on the first thing Jack had said. "Plans?"
"Hmm?"
"You said you had plans for the rest of your tickets," Ianto prompted.
"Oh, yeah," Jack said. He unlocked the SUV with the remote as they approached, but instead of opening the door for Ianto, he hustled him up against it and held him there with his own body. "I'm gonna spend all night redeeming them," Jack said, kissing Ianto's temple. "Every - " A kiss on his earlobe. "Single - " A kiss on his eyelid. "Last - " A kiss on the tip of his nose. "One." A kiss on the corner of his mouth.
Ianto moaned and turned his head just enough to capture Jack's lips with his own. He pushed forward a bit as his mouth opened under Jack's only to be shoved back against the SUV with a force that made him groan happily. Jack took his mouth with a single-minded focus that stole Ianto's breath and any resolve he had about avoiding public displays. Their hips ground together and Ianto could feel Jack's heat and hardness even through the layers of coats and trousers separating them. He wound his arms around Jack's neck and pulled him closer.
After a long moment filled with nothing but lips and tongues and hands, Jack raised his head and looked up. Ianto followed his gaze and smiled. It was snowing. Big, fat, white flakes fell around them, glistening for a precious instant in the late afternoon light before melting away.
"Happy Christmas Eve, Jack," Ianto said softly as he kissed a snowflake that had landed on Jack's cheek.
Jack smiled. "Happy Christmas Eve, Ianto. Let's go home."
~ * ~ finis ~ * ~
*Siôn Corn - a Welsh name for Santa Claus
Rating: R-ish
Warnings: A little sexiness, nothing graphic
Spoilers: None (in accordance with Schmoop Law Section 27 Paragraph A Subparagraph 1 - the entire team is alive - really alive not dead-alive - so nothing from Reset on ever happened)
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to the Mighty Beeb and He Who Must Not Be Named. No infringement, only worship intended!
Summary: schmoop_bingo Prompt B3: Winter Holiday/Festival
Notes: This one was requested by and written for rambleinblue - I hope you like it, sweetie! A gazillion thanks as always to my amazing beta and wonderful friend thrace_adams for all the help and support; any mistakes are mine! Reminder: Please don't post/link/tweet/share/etc. on another site. I appreciate your consideration for my wishes.
Christmas Eve Kisses
"No."
"Jack - "
"No!"
"It's not like it's for fun, Rhi needs - "
"I don't care, you're not doing it and that's final."
"That's final?" Ianto spluttered. "Are you even listening to yourself?"
"NO!" Jack bellowed. He paused for a second when he realised what he'd said, a wry grin replacing the scowl on his face. He stepped close to Ianto and wrapped his arms around his lover. Ianto stayed stiff for a long moment, until Jack whispered in his ear. "I can't stand the idea of you… I can't even say it."
Ianto held himself away from Jack for another second and then melted into his arms. "It's not like I'm doing it for a laugh, Jack. It's a fundraiser for the school. They need the money, if you saw what those kids have to use every day, it's not right. Rhi wouldn't ask if it wasn't important, you know that. She had someone lined up but he got sick. It's tomorrow and she just doesn't have anyone else to ask."
"Why can't Johnny do it? I think he'd jump at the chance," Jack grumbled.
"He's already running two other booths. They're short-handed, like I said. Please just… be nice about it, okay? You don't have to come or anything."
"Oh, I'll be there. If you think I'm spending Christmas Eve alone while you're off kissing random strangers in some stupid booth for money, you've got another thing coming," Jack growled.
~ * ~ *~ *~ * ~
Ianto rearranged his wine-red scarf and stomped his feet against the cold before leaning against the ledge of the kissing booth and cursing his sister for the hundredth time. He'd arrived at the carnival on time, of course, and had been immediately dispatched by Rhiannon to help unload the heavy trays for the food booths. And since he'd come alone, he'd had to do it all by himself. Jack had been called away in the wee hours of the morning by one of the Hub monitors he had forwarded to his wriststrap. He'd left Ianto with a kiss and a promise to be at the carnival before he was scheduled to start in the booth. Whatever had happened at the Hub must have been more serious than he'd thought, however, because Jack was still nowhere to be seen.
"I don't think we've met. Are you a new parent?" a chipper voice asked from across the path.
Ianto looked over at the other kissing booth. It mirrored his own - cut-outs of big red lips and signs proclaiming "Kisses!" and "1 per ticket!" and "No Tongue! Be Nice!" - except the person running this booth was a woman in a bright pink quilted jacket. Rhi had explained, with a wink that made Ianto roll his eyes, that they were hoping to cater to all tastes by having two booths.
"No," Ianto replied. "An uncle. My sister roped me into this."
"Rhiannon?" the woman asked. At Ianto's nod, she laughed. "We're both on the committee. She mentioned something about being able to find a replacement for Clyde. I'm Bethany, by the way."
"Ianto," Ianto said with a wave. "Nice to meet you."
"You, too - oops, looks like you've got customers!"
Ianto peered around his window to see a gaggle of little girls approaching his booth, his niece Mica in the lead. He grinned and rested his elbows on the ledge, peering down at them.
"Mum said I'm s'posed to give you a ticket for a kiss," Mica said in a tone of supreme suffering as the other girls watched him with wide eyes.
"Don't you want to get a kiss?" Ianto teased.
"No. I want to play the snowball toss."
Ianto smothered a grin and put on his most serious face. He motioned Mica to come closer and whispered loudly. "Well, how about I give you a kiss, just in case your mum is watching and then you can keep your ticket and do whatever you want."
Mica thought this over. "You won't tell?" she asked suspiciously.
Placing his hand over his heart, Ianto said, "I solemnly swear."
"Okay." She stepped closer and gave Ianto a kiss on his cheek and then turned her face so he could do the same. "Thanks, Uncle Ianto," she said brightly, still clutching her ticket. "Hi, Uncle Jack," she added as she turned to go and almost ran into Jack.
"Hi, Mica," Jack said, stepping to the side of the path so the little girls could file past him. "Sorry," he apologised to Ianto. "Took longer than I thought it would."
"Everything okay?" Ianto asked.
Jack nodded and leant against the kissing booth window. "Can I have a kiss?"
Ianto leant forward as well. "Do you have a ticket?"
Jack grinned and pulled out a string of tickets that was as long as he was tall.
"Jack!" Ianto exclaimed. "How much did you spend?"
"Enough that I can keep you busy kissing me all afternoon."
Ianto groaned. "You're ridiculous," he complained, but his smile belied any real annoyance. "I can't just turn people away, the point is to take in as many tickets as possible."
"I get that," Jack said. "I have a plan," he added with a devious smile. "Now, can I get a kiss?" he asked again, tearing off a ticket.
Ianto took the little green stub and dropped it in his box. He leant forward and gave Jack a peck on the lips. "There."
"Mmm. Worth every penny."
"You're a nutter," Ianto said, shaking his head.
Jack grinned. "Your nutter."
Ianto laughed and then shooed Jack out of the way as a pair of teenage girls approached the booth.
"It's one ticket, right?" the taller girl asked while her friend giggled.
"Yep," Ianto said taking the green stub and leaning forward.
"Hey, girls, I'll give you a ticket back if you don't take a kiss," Jack offered.
The tall girl looked over a Jack and then back at Ianto. "Two tickets," she countered. Her friend gasped and elbowed her in the ribs. "What?" she asked. "He's really cute."
"Yes, he is," Jack said with his most charming smile. "Here's two." He tore a couple of tickets off his roll.
"I was gonna kiss him, too," the shorter girl piped up.
"Same deal," Jack said. "Hand over your ticket and I'll give you two back."
"Jack," Ianto scolded even as he took the girl's ticket.
"What? You wanted to raise money, we're raising money. And I won't get cranky. Everybody wins," he said with a wink.
The tall girl gave them an appraising look and then said to Jack. "I'll give you the two tickets back if you kiss him," she said daringly.
Her friend gasped again, but looked on interestedly.
"A lass after my own heart," Jack said with an admiring grin. He turned to Ianto. "Well?" he asked.
"Fine, just this once, but the tickets go in the box." Ianto took the green stubs and leant forward to give Jack a smacking kiss on the lips, turning when he was finished to raise an eyebrow at the two girls who giggled and headed off to another booth. "Did I mention that you're ridiculous?"
Jack just grinned.
For the next few hours, Jack managed to bribe almost all of Ianto's kissing booth customers into leaving un-kissed. Ianto was allowed to kiss the very young and the very old without interference, but anyone else got hit with the full-on-Harkness charm and ended up leaving the booth with a slightly dazed expression and one of Jack's tickets in their hand. Whenever the flow of people slowed, Jack would spend his tickets kissing Ianto himself - quick kisses, soft lingering kisses, Eskimo kisses, butterfly kisses - they even broke the booth's "no tongue" rule a few times when they were sure no one was looking.
Finally, Ianto's turn in the booth was up. When Rhiannon came over, tugging along his replacement, Ianto could have kissed her - no ticket required. Jack's plan to keep him from kissing anyone else had worked like a charm, but the hours of kissing and talking and laughing with Jack had been such a tease that Ianto wasn't sure he would be able to walk properly. He was deeply grateful that he'd pulled on his long coat that morning, stepping out from behind the booth would have been tremendously embarrassing without it.
"Thanks again, Ianto," Rhi said breathlessly. "Mikey's got the last shift, he's - wow! That's a lot of tickets," she added admiringly as she looked into his box. "Happy Christmas to the school! Surprised your lips haven't fallen off."
Ianto flushed slightly and gave Jack a sheepish grin. "All for a good cause, right?" he said lightly as Jack chuckled.
Rhiannon gave him a sharp look but didn't say anything. "Well, you're free. Thanks again. We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"
Leaning in to give Rhi a quick peck on the cheek, Ianto nodded. "I'll be around for tea, once all the Siôn Corn excitement has worn off. You're doing taffy after tea, right?"
Rhi nodded and then paused, glancing uncomfortably at Jack. "You know, you're always welcome, too, Jack."
Looking surprised, Jack nodded. While he tagged along when Ianto took the kids to the cinema or other fun afternoon outings, he'd never really spent much time with the whole family. He finally found his voice, speaking up as Ianto's hand slipped into his. "I'd like that, thanks."
"Good, well… I won't say Happy Christmas then, I'll save it for tomorrow."
Jack and Rhiannon smiled hesitantly at one another until Ianto patted Rhi on the shoulder and murmured a goodbye before leading Jack away.
"Shit!" Jack exclaimed, stopping suddenly.
"What?"
Jack groaned. "If we're going to your sister's house on Christmas, I'll need to bring gifts."
Chuckling, Ianto nodded. "Still have any tickets? You could win them a giant stuffed tortoise," he suggested pointing at a nearby booth.
But Jack shook his head and led them to the car park. "Nah, I have plans for those tickets. I'll just pick up some flowers or chocolates or something. Does Johnny drink whisky?"
"I would imagine so," Ianto said vaguely, referring to Johnny's drinking habits. He was much more focused on the first thing Jack had said. "Plans?"
"Hmm?"
"You said you had plans for the rest of your tickets," Ianto prompted.
"Oh, yeah," Jack said. He unlocked the SUV with the remote as they approached, but instead of opening the door for Ianto, he hustled him up against it and held him there with his own body. "I'm gonna spend all night redeeming them," Jack said, kissing Ianto's temple. "Every - " A kiss on his earlobe. "Single - " A kiss on his eyelid. "Last - " A kiss on the tip of his nose. "One." A kiss on the corner of his mouth.
Ianto moaned and turned his head just enough to capture Jack's lips with his own. He pushed forward a bit as his mouth opened under Jack's only to be shoved back against the SUV with a force that made him groan happily. Jack took his mouth with a single-minded focus that stole Ianto's breath and any resolve he had about avoiding public displays. Their hips ground together and Ianto could feel Jack's heat and hardness even through the layers of coats and trousers separating them. He wound his arms around Jack's neck and pulled him closer.
After a long moment filled with nothing but lips and tongues and hands, Jack raised his head and looked up. Ianto followed his gaze and smiled. It was snowing. Big, fat, white flakes fell around them, glistening for a precious instant in the late afternoon light before melting away.
"Happy Christmas Eve, Jack," Ianto said softly as he kissed a snowflake that had landed on Jack's cheek.
Jack smiled. "Happy Christmas Eve, Ianto. Let's go home."
~ * ~ finis ~ * ~
*Siôn Corn - a Welsh name for Santa Claus