TORCHWOOD: Facts, Exceptions and Unbroken Rules
Title: Fact, Exceptions and Unbroken Rules
Characters/Pairing: Jack and Ianto
Word Count: 399
Rating: PG
Summary: A series of facts about Torchwood, with and without exceptions.
Notes: Written for writerinadrawer round 2.03. Set pre-series, slight spoilers for "Fragments".
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its characters belong to the BBC, not me.
Fact: Everyone in Torchwood has a basic level of psychic training.
Except that all facts have exceptions. Not long ago, the exception was Torchwood Three.
These days, the rules have changed. These days, psychic training is the exception rather than the rule. These days, psychic training is limited to Jack - whose training is far better than anything Torchwood could have managed anyway - and Ianto.
Jack glances up from a pile of paperwork, studying Ianto straightening the clutter of books, papers, and old Chinese food containers littered around Jack's office. His eyes shift back down to the reports in front of him the instant Ianto turns toward him.
Fact: Torchwood One is trouble.
That's a fact Jack has never found an exception to, in a hundred and eight years with Torchwood. They never knew when to stop.
He wasn't surprised by Canary Wharf, when it happened. He was just surprised it took them that long to reach that point.
Even without looking directly at Ianto, he keeps watching him out of the corner of his eye, and at this point the room doesn't really need straightening - there are other things Ianto could be doing right now. He's just making an effort to stay close to Jack.
Fact: Ianto Jones was trained by Torchwood One.
Jack can feel him, poking around in his head, like someone fumbling through a pitch-dark closet, in a basement, at midnight, during a lunar eclipse. He can see the frustration on Ianto's face when he smacks up against a brick wall every time.
The trouble with Torchwood One's psychic training is that it never told you what to do when you come up against someone with better training - back the hell off, hopefully before they notice and do something nasty to your own mind in return. Typical Torchwood One. Forget that something might be dangerous, just keep poking it and see what happens.
Therefore:
Fact: Ianto Jones is going to be trouble.
"Looking for something?" Jack asks innocently, and Ianto jumps, dropping a book with a heavy thump on the floor. He meets Jack's eyes for just a fraction of a second, and then looks away, stooping to pick it up again.
"Oh, no, I was just... cleaning up a little."
They both know Jack wasn't talking about the papers and the books and the Chinese food.
Jack watches him, expressionless, as he walks out of the room. There's always an exception. He so wants to believe that.
Characters/Pairing: Jack and Ianto
Word Count: 399
Rating: PG
Summary: A series of facts about Torchwood, with and without exceptions.
Notes: Written for writerinadrawer round 2.03. Set pre-series, slight spoilers for "Fragments".
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its characters belong to the BBC, not me.
Fact: Everyone in Torchwood has a basic level of psychic training.
Except that all facts have exceptions. Not long ago, the exception was Torchwood Three.
These days, the rules have changed. These days, psychic training is the exception rather than the rule. These days, psychic training is limited to Jack - whose training is far better than anything Torchwood could have managed anyway - and Ianto.
Jack glances up from a pile of paperwork, studying Ianto straightening the clutter of books, papers, and old Chinese food containers littered around Jack's office. His eyes shift back down to the reports in front of him the instant Ianto turns toward him.
Fact: Torchwood One is trouble.
That's a fact Jack has never found an exception to, in a hundred and eight years with Torchwood. They never knew when to stop.
He wasn't surprised by Canary Wharf, when it happened. He was just surprised it took them that long to reach that point.
Even without looking directly at Ianto, he keeps watching him out of the corner of his eye, and at this point the room doesn't really need straightening - there are other things Ianto could be doing right now. He's just making an effort to stay close to Jack.
Fact: Ianto Jones was trained by Torchwood One.
Jack can feel him, poking around in his head, like someone fumbling through a pitch-dark closet, in a basement, at midnight, during a lunar eclipse. He can see the frustration on Ianto's face when he smacks up against a brick wall every time.
The trouble with Torchwood One's psychic training is that it never told you what to do when you come up against someone with better training - back the hell off, hopefully before they notice and do something nasty to your own mind in return. Typical Torchwood One. Forget that something might be dangerous, just keep poking it and see what happens.
Therefore:
Fact: Ianto Jones is going to be trouble.
"Looking for something?" Jack asks innocently, and Ianto jumps, dropping a book with a heavy thump on the floor. He meets Jack's eyes for just a fraction of a second, and then looks away, stooping to pick it up again.
"Oh, no, I was just... cleaning up a little."
They both know Jack wasn't talking about the papers and the books and the Chinese food.
Jack watches him, expressionless, as he walks out of the room. There's always an exception. He so wants to believe that.