Torchwood fic "Common Shoes"
Thanks to carinas_carinae for the beta.
Common Shoes
It was the man’s suit that caught his attention first. It was impeccably tailored to fit his skinny frame. Ianto had to admire a well-made suit in today’s off-the-rack age. Next his confidence and purpose of stride made him stand out from the few tourists who milled about taking in the view of the bay. Ianto locked in the black and white CCTV feed to keep the man in sight as he strode down the boardwalk making straight for the tourist office.
The third thing Ianto noticed was that the man wore trainers instead of dress shoes. It made a tiny shiver of disgust run down his spine. Why offend such a nice suit with such common shoes?
When the man pushed open the door Ianto then saw, in turn, the blue of the suit that was a bit too bright and the purple of his shirt that was too dark for such a blue suit. The shoes, he noted with a touch of disgust, were red.
“Hello there!” The man’s cheery greeting as he sauntered in and leaned on the counter caused Ianto to snap into service mode and look up at the clean-shaven man’s openly smiling face.
“Hello, sir, how may I help you?” Perhaps the man was looking for a shop where he could purchase a replacement pair of shoes. One could hope.
“I’m looking for Captain Jack.”
Ianto did not even blink. “I know no one of that name, sir. Perhaps with more information I can help you locate him.”
The man’s grin did not waver. “Oh, you had to have seen him around; big, strapping man, teeth so white you can read by them, fond of a great flappy coat. Of course, I can’t say much about the coat, I’ve had several I’ve been rather fond of myself.” His speech was quick and clear, and faded off at the end as if he were talking to himself.
This man did know Captain Jack, at least from a distance, but something about him set Ianto on edge. “No, sir. If you know his full name, you can perhaps find him in the phone book.” Ianto pulled out the heavy tome and helpfully placed in on the counter between them. “Does he skipper a tour boat, perhaps?”
The man frowned, blinked, and peered at Ianto. Ianto did not flinch. “What’s the date?” he asked even as he picked up the newspaper from the counter.
Ianto confirmed the date printed on it. “It is today’s issue, sir. I keep one on hand as to have local movie and show times. You may have it if you wish.”
The man looked him with narrowed eyes and a smile. “Oh, you’re good. I can see why Jack keeps you around.”
“I give my employers no reason to not keep me on, sir. Though none of them are named Jack. Is there something else I can assist you with? For example, I can name you no fewer than three shops within easy walking distance where you can purchase a proper pair of shoes.”
“Proper shoes?” The man sputtered, then much to Ianto’s dismay, swung his leg up and plopped a heel down on the countertop. “These are proper shoes! None better for running and climbing! This pair has barely any wear!”
“Yes, sir. I see that. Perhaps I can ring the local constable and he can help you find your Captain James.” Ianto put his hand on the phone only to have the man take his foot down and back off.
“It’s Jack. Captain Jack.”
“Yes, sir. I do not know Jack.”
“Ha! Made you say it!” the man crowed. His mile-wide smile was back. “Come on, what is your name?”
“Jones. Ianto Jones.”
“Why does there always have to be a Jones in the mix causing trouble?” he muttered to himself. “Mr. Ianto Jones. I am looking for Captain Jack Harkness. Hits on anything that moves and many things that do not. I know he works here. So get on your phone and tell him the Doctor is in town.”
“The doctor? Are you that famous? You just look like a doctor to me. And then just a doctor of bad taste.” Ianto said coldly. He could not shake the man and was going to have to call Jack up sooner or later.
“I am famous. I am almost as famous as,” the man leaned in and whispered confidentially, “Torchwood,” the Doctor said smugly. He finally got the tiniest of twitches from his foil. “And I will overlook the remark about my taste as I’ve had hundreds of years to learn what works right.”
Ianto had glimpsed an ageless something, a deep well of pain that he’d only seen before in Jack’s sometimes haunted expression. He felt this man was no danger to him, but he did have a connection to Jack. He was spared paging Jack when the door to the HUB burst open and the man himself dashed in.
“Doctor!” The two men embraced and Ianto had to scramble to keep several postcard racks upright as they danced about.
Finally, they stopped and Jack held the man at arm’s length with his hands on his shoulders. “You haven’t changed,” Jack said, his million watt smile on full. Ianto had the feeling there was more to that statement than appeared on the surface.
Ianto watched quietly as the Doctor’s smile crumpled as he looked into Jack’s eyes. “No, but you have.”
Jack dropped his hands and looked away. “It’s nothing.”
Now it was the Doctor’s turn to approach Jack and turn his head back to look up into his eyes once more. “It’s not nothing,” the doctor breathed. Ianto tensed, ready to aid his Captain. “Two thousand years is not nothing. I can’t believe you’re older than me.”
Jack tore himself away and clamped an arm around Ianto’s shoulders. “I guess you’ve met my assistant. My main man, Ianto.” Jack’s smile was back, even if it seemed a bit fragile around the edges. “Ianto, why didn’t you tell me I had company? Lucky I peeked in on you and saw him on the monitors.”
The Doctor gave Jack the smallest of looks to tell him they’d talk it over later and nodded to Ianto. “He’s a good one. I couldn’t get him to crack. I was about to take the sonic screwdriver to the door back there.”
Jack laughed. “Remember that time on Marlon when that woofnash took the TARDIS key and we had to open, what, about 30 doors to get it back?”
“More like 42! And at the end the power ran down so you were just kicking them open?”
“Then the last room had a trap and it killed me?”
Ianto raised an eyebrow, watching the give and take between them, smiling to see Jack having such a good time, when it suddenly hit him: this was the man Jack had run off to be with. This was the one Jack had always seemed to be watching for.
Their escalating conversation about wilder and more improbable happenings had degenerated into single words and sound effects when Ianto interrupted. “Will you say good-bye this time, Jack?”
Both men stopped and looked at him. Ianto stood straight and did his best not to appear shaken.
It was the Doctor who spoke first. “Jack has got rubbish manners, hasn’t he?”
Jack swallowed. “You’re one to talk. You leave companions scattered all across time and space without a by your leave,” he joked without feeling.
Ianto turned on Jack. “Will you? Are you just going to pack up and leave Gwen and me all alone to rebuild? Because I won’t wait again. I will pack up the last three years of my life, write a fake diary and Retcon you gone!”
Tears swam in Jack’s eyes. “Oh, Ianto. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? I’ve never heard that from you before,” Ianto gritted. “Are you sorry you’re leaving? Sorry you left? Sorry I love you? Sorry I don’t know a damn thing about you apart from what a freak you are?”
Jack dropped his head. “Sorry… Sorry I’m such a boob.”
“Oh! I never thought I’d hear that! Do you have it on tape somewhere so I can play it on a loop?” Ianto glared at the Doctor who had hopped up to sit on the counter. The Doctor held up his hands in surrender, then mimed locking his lips.
“Ianto,” Jack said quietly, drawing Ianto’s attention back to him. “I… I know there is a lot I’ve not told you. It’s because… I’m selfish and I wanted to be able to be with you without knowing... that you knew. With you I could be someone whose life was simple, normal.” Jack cupped Ianto’s cheek. “With you, I have to worry about expense accounts and keeping the paperwork neat. I’m the boss and you’re the tea boy. I’m a 21st century man dating a younger, hot 21st century man.”
Neither noticed that the Doctor was humming a Berlin song that had raunchy lyrics.
Ianto’s expression had softened. “But Jack…” Ianto glanced at the Doctor who waggled his fingers at him in a childish wave. “He’s come to take you away again, hasn’t he?”
“No,” Jack said. “Well, I don’t know, but I’m not going with him. I have a feeling that somewhere down the line I’ll see him again because the Doctor is a man you can’t be rid of. But,” Jack put both his hands on Ianto’s face and looked him in the eye, “I am not going anywhere with him.” Jack pulled Ianto in for a kiss that lasted until the Doctor jumped off the counter.
“So you won’t even go down to that corner shop that had the brilliant chips? Okay, then.”
The Doctor opened the door and was surprised when it was Ianto called him back. “Wait.” He pulled Jack’s hand from down his pants and pushed him away. “It’s lunch time and… and you’ve apparently come a long way.” Ianto straightened his coat as Jack stared at him with his mouth open. “Go have a nice lunch and a long talk, looks like you both could use it. Jack, bring me the #3 special with extra pickle and come back prepared to talk.”
Jack nodded dumbly.
“How do you know he won’t run off with me after all?” the Doctor asked.
“He hugged you, yet never put his hands below your waist. A nd he could never spend that much time with a man with common shoes. Plus, he said he wouldn’t.” Ianto smiled. “Oh, and here’s a coupon.”
The Doctor laughed and took the slip of paper. “I’ll meet you at the Chip Ship in ten, Jack. Nice meeting you, Ianto. I like your suit! You can add to your list that I’d never have him back anyway!” he said and was gone.
“Well, sir,” Ianto said, but got no further.
It was more like twenty minutes than ten, but the Doctor’s humor wasn’t dampened. The two talked long past the shop’s closing, and neither was aware when the tall Welshman paused across the street and studied the two with their heads bent in conversation.
Ianto pulled his coat closer against the cool wind from the bay and headed home. Somehow, he knew that Jack would come back from his meeting a little stronger, and that his missed lunch could easily be turned into dinner at a fancy restaurant.
__________
The song by Berlin is "Sex (I'm A...)"
Common Shoes
It was the man’s suit that caught his attention first. It was impeccably tailored to fit his skinny frame. Ianto had to admire a well-made suit in today’s off-the-rack age. Next his confidence and purpose of stride made him stand out from the few tourists who milled about taking in the view of the bay. Ianto locked in the black and white CCTV feed to keep the man in sight as he strode down the boardwalk making straight for the tourist office.
The third thing Ianto noticed was that the man wore trainers instead of dress shoes. It made a tiny shiver of disgust run down his spine. Why offend such a nice suit with such common shoes?
When the man pushed open the door Ianto then saw, in turn, the blue of the suit that was a bit too bright and the purple of his shirt that was too dark for such a blue suit. The shoes, he noted with a touch of disgust, were red.
“Hello there!” The man’s cheery greeting as he sauntered in and leaned on the counter caused Ianto to snap into service mode and look up at the clean-shaven man’s openly smiling face.
“Hello, sir, how may I help you?” Perhaps the man was looking for a shop where he could purchase a replacement pair of shoes. One could hope.
“I’m looking for Captain Jack.”
Ianto did not even blink. “I know no one of that name, sir. Perhaps with more information I can help you locate him.”
The man’s grin did not waver. “Oh, you had to have seen him around; big, strapping man, teeth so white you can read by them, fond of a great flappy coat. Of course, I can’t say much about the coat, I’ve had several I’ve been rather fond of myself.” His speech was quick and clear, and faded off at the end as if he were talking to himself.
This man did know Captain Jack, at least from a distance, but something about him set Ianto on edge. “No, sir. If you know his full name, you can perhaps find him in the phone book.” Ianto pulled out the heavy tome and helpfully placed in on the counter between them. “Does he skipper a tour boat, perhaps?”
The man frowned, blinked, and peered at Ianto. Ianto did not flinch. “What’s the date?” he asked even as he picked up the newspaper from the counter.
Ianto confirmed the date printed on it. “It is today’s issue, sir. I keep one on hand as to have local movie and show times. You may have it if you wish.”
The man looked him with narrowed eyes and a smile. “Oh, you’re good. I can see why Jack keeps you around.”
“I give my employers no reason to not keep me on, sir. Though none of them are named Jack. Is there something else I can assist you with? For example, I can name you no fewer than three shops within easy walking distance where you can purchase a proper pair of shoes.”
“Proper shoes?” The man sputtered, then much to Ianto’s dismay, swung his leg up and plopped a heel down on the countertop. “These are proper shoes! None better for running and climbing! This pair has barely any wear!”
“Yes, sir. I see that. Perhaps I can ring the local constable and he can help you find your Captain James.” Ianto put his hand on the phone only to have the man take his foot down and back off.
“It’s Jack. Captain Jack.”
“Yes, sir. I do not know Jack.”
“Ha! Made you say it!” the man crowed. His mile-wide smile was back. “Come on, what is your name?”
“Jones. Ianto Jones.”
“Why does there always have to be a Jones in the mix causing trouble?” he muttered to himself. “Mr. Ianto Jones. I am looking for Captain Jack Harkness. Hits on anything that moves and many things that do not. I know he works here. So get on your phone and tell him the Doctor is in town.”
“The doctor? Are you that famous? You just look like a doctor to me. And then just a doctor of bad taste.” Ianto said coldly. He could not shake the man and was going to have to call Jack up sooner or later.
“I am famous. I am almost as famous as,” the man leaned in and whispered confidentially, “Torchwood,” the Doctor said smugly. He finally got the tiniest of twitches from his foil. “And I will overlook the remark about my taste as I’ve had hundreds of years to learn what works right.”
Ianto had glimpsed an ageless something, a deep well of pain that he’d only seen before in Jack’s sometimes haunted expression. He felt this man was no danger to him, but he did have a connection to Jack. He was spared paging Jack when the door to the HUB burst open and the man himself dashed in.
“Doctor!” The two men embraced and Ianto had to scramble to keep several postcard racks upright as they danced about.
Finally, they stopped and Jack held the man at arm’s length with his hands on his shoulders. “You haven’t changed,” Jack said, his million watt smile on full. Ianto had the feeling there was more to that statement than appeared on the surface.
Ianto watched quietly as the Doctor’s smile crumpled as he looked into Jack’s eyes. “No, but you have.”
Jack dropped his hands and looked away. “It’s nothing.”
Now it was the Doctor’s turn to approach Jack and turn his head back to look up into his eyes once more. “It’s not nothing,” the doctor breathed. Ianto tensed, ready to aid his Captain. “Two thousand years is not nothing. I can’t believe you’re older than me.”
Jack tore himself away and clamped an arm around Ianto’s shoulders. “I guess you’ve met my assistant. My main man, Ianto.” Jack’s smile was back, even if it seemed a bit fragile around the edges. “Ianto, why didn’t you tell me I had company? Lucky I peeked in on you and saw him on the monitors.”
The Doctor gave Jack the smallest of looks to tell him they’d talk it over later and nodded to Ianto. “He’s a good one. I couldn’t get him to crack. I was about to take the sonic screwdriver to the door back there.”
Jack laughed. “Remember that time on Marlon when that woofnash took the TARDIS key and we had to open, what, about 30 doors to get it back?”
“More like 42! And at the end the power ran down so you were just kicking them open?”
“Then the last room had a trap and it killed me?”
Ianto raised an eyebrow, watching the give and take between them, smiling to see Jack having such a good time, when it suddenly hit him: this was the man Jack had run off to be with. This was the one Jack had always seemed to be watching for.
Their escalating conversation about wilder and more improbable happenings had degenerated into single words and sound effects when Ianto interrupted. “Will you say good-bye this time, Jack?”
Both men stopped and looked at him. Ianto stood straight and did his best not to appear shaken.
It was the Doctor who spoke first. “Jack has got rubbish manners, hasn’t he?”
Jack swallowed. “You’re one to talk. You leave companions scattered all across time and space without a by your leave,” he joked without feeling.
Ianto turned on Jack. “Will you? Are you just going to pack up and leave Gwen and me all alone to rebuild? Because I won’t wait again. I will pack up the last three years of my life, write a fake diary and Retcon you gone!”
Tears swam in Jack’s eyes. “Oh, Ianto. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Sorry? I’ve never heard that from you before,” Ianto gritted. “Are you sorry you’re leaving? Sorry you left? Sorry I love you? Sorry I don’t know a damn thing about you apart from what a freak you are?”
Jack dropped his head. “Sorry… Sorry I’m such a boob.”
“Oh! I never thought I’d hear that! Do you have it on tape somewhere so I can play it on a loop?” Ianto glared at the Doctor who had hopped up to sit on the counter. The Doctor held up his hands in surrender, then mimed locking his lips.
“Ianto,” Jack said quietly, drawing Ianto’s attention back to him. “I… I know there is a lot I’ve not told you. It’s because… I’m selfish and I wanted to be able to be with you without knowing... that you knew. With you I could be someone whose life was simple, normal.” Jack cupped Ianto’s cheek. “With you, I have to worry about expense accounts and keeping the paperwork neat. I’m the boss and you’re the tea boy. I’m a 21st century man dating a younger, hot 21st century man.”
Neither noticed that the Doctor was humming a Berlin song that had raunchy lyrics.
Ianto’s expression had softened. “But Jack…” Ianto glanced at the Doctor who waggled his fingers at him in a childish wave. “He’s come to take you away again, hasn’t he?”
“No,” Jack said. “Well, I don’t know, but I’m not going with him. I have a feeling that somewhere down the line I’ll see him again because the Doctor is a man you can’t be rid of. But,” Jack put both his hands on Ianto’s face and looked him in the eye, “I am not going anywhere with him.” Jack pulled Ianto in for a kiss that lasted until the Doctor jumped off the counter.
“So you won’t even go down to that corner shop that had the brilliant chips? Okay, then.”
The Doctor opened the door and was surprised when it was Ianto called him back. “Wait.” He pulled Jack’s hand from down his pants and pushed him away. “It’s lunch time and… and you’ve apparently come a long way.” Ianto straightened his coat as Jack stared at him with his mouth open. “Go have a nice lunch and a long talk, looks like you both could use it. Jack, bring me the #3 special with extra pickle and come back prepared to talk.”
Jack nodded dumbly.
“How do you know he won’t run off with me after all?” the Doctor asked.
“He hugged you, yet never put his hands below your waist. A nd he could never spend that much time with a man with common shoes. Plus, he said he wouldn’t.” Ianto smiled. “Oh, and here’s a coupon.”
The Doctor laughed and took the slip of paper. “I’ll meet you at the Chip Ship in ten, Jack. Nice meeting you, Ianto. I like your suit! You can add to your list that I’d never have him back anyway!” he said and was gone.
“Well, sir,” Ianto said, but got no further.
It was more like twenty minutes than ten, but the Doctor’s humor wasn’t dampened. The two talked long past the shop’s closing, and neither was aware when the tall Welshman paused across the street and studied the two with their heads bent in conversation.
Ianto pulled his coat closer against the cool wind from the bay and headed home. Somehow, he knew that Jack would come back from his meeting a little stronger, and that his missed lunch could easily be turned into dinner at a fancy restaurant.
__________
The song by Berlin is "Sex (I'm A...)"