Deviations from the Norm -- There's No Reasoning With An Unreasonable Person
Title: Deviations from the Norm
Chapter Nine: There's No Reasoning With An Unreasonable Person
dwtwprompts prompt: Agendas
Date Written: 6/6/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1,781
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, team (mentioned) random OCs.
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Insipred by this news story, which set my bisexual blood a'boiling. Set a few years after their wedding.
1/?: De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum Dicendum Est
2/?: It's Like Battle, But Harder
3.1/?: I'll Know It When I See It
3.2/?: Some Cupid Kills With Arrows, Some With Traps
3.3/?: Keeping Up With The Joneses
3.4/?: Speak Low, If You Speak Love
3.5/?: Shall I Never See a Bachelor of Threescore Again?
4/?: Paint By Numbers
5/?: There's No Place That Far
6/?: Its Eyes Are For The Stars
7/?: Up In The Sky...
8/?: If I Say It Enough, I'll Eventually Believe It
Sometimes, Jack and Ianto were so vastly different that it made Ianto wonder how they'd managed to get together.
The most obvious way was the way Jack was openly affectionate while Ianto preferred to be more discreet. The others in the team thought that it was that Jack was more of an extrovert while Ianto was an introvert, but Ianto knew better. Jack was just as much of an introvert as Ianto was, but he was more like the Doctor -- all talk, no substance.
Jack, however, was rather handsy, always had been (and probably always would be). Ianto had figured it was just a Jack thing until he'd been to the 51st century with the Doctor and realized that it was just growing up in the 51st century. Sex was fun, and it wasn't taken as seriously as it was back in Ianto's time. Afterwards, Jack's outrageous behavior didn't seem so outrageous.
So when they were out together as a couple, whenever Jack's lips found his cheek or whenever an arm sneaked around his waist, Ianto just smiled and enjoyed it. Occasionally, Ianto had to smack a stray hand that was venturing a little too widely in public, but otherwise they behaved themselves.
There was the odd stare, of course. Jack only recognized the stare of their admirers, but Ianto felt the stares of the others a bit more keenly. More specifically, they pissed him off. Jack, too, had his enraged moments over the narrow-mindedness of the 21st century, but Ianto let the fury quietly simmer.
He understood where they were coming from, he did. There were people who thought that he and Jack walking down the street while holding hands was a lewd act, that he and Jack were waging some sort of bizarre war, recruiting others to the 'gay agenda'. They saw them and formed an opinion and wrote them off, simply because they were two men in love.
It was infuriating.
So when a random person decided to impose her beliefs on them, Jack realized that the result had probably been long in coming.
They'd managed to get out of the Hub at a decent time today, a bit ahead of their dinner reservation. They'd stayed out and watched the bay for a bit, enjoying the fresh air and being outside instead of cooped up under the Plass. It was a cool out, not cold enough for Ianto to grab his overcoat, but the wind had a little bit of a bite to it. Jack had moved back behind Ianto as the younger man leaned against the railing, sliding his arms out of the sleeves and wrapping them around Ianto's waist. He leaned in and rested his chin on Ianto's shoulder, smiling a little as they listened to the water, off together in their own little world.
Their peaceful little utopia was broken by the sound of someone clearing their throat. They both looked over at the noise to find a woman with three children standing a few meters away, eating sweets and watching the birds fly overhead. The woman was oh-so covertly watching them. Jack felt the anger start to flare within Ianto and he carefully smoothed a hand across the younger man's belly, trying to calm him down. "Just ignore her, Yan," he murmured into his ear, turning his attention back to the water.
Ianto turned back to the water as well. Jack leaned in and kissed his ear gently.
The woman cleared her throat again, and Jack didn't even look over at her. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.
Ianto, however, had had enough. "Are we bothering you?"
"Don't," Jack said softly, but he knew it was useless. The glove had been thrown, and Ianto was far too stubborn to back down on an issue like this.
"Actually yes, you are," the woman replied, putting a hand on her hip. "There are children about, how do you propose I explain -- that! -- to them?"
The three children were running about the Plass, chasing some birds, not paying any attention to their mother or to Jack and Ianto.
"Oh, you mean you'd actually have to be a parent?" The sarcasm was heavy in Ianto's voice, and completely missed by the woman. She turned a great shade of red, stammering as her mouth raced to keep up with her brain.
"What -- what does that mean?!"
Jack tightened his grasp on Ianto. The younger immortal was so mad that he was shaking in Jack's arms. Ah, the passion of the young. "What it means is that you'd have to actually think outside your little glass box and give them the idea that love comes in many different forms."
"You're just flaunting your sexuality. It's lewd!" the woman snorted.
"Really? I'm flaunting? You're straight, right?" Jack winced a little. He so hated labels. "Well, you're flaunting it too, since you have three children running around as proof of your sexuality."
The woman gasped, unsure of what to say. Jack pulled back a little to look at Ianto. "I never thought of it that way," he said, trying to break the tension with a little humor.
It didn't work the way he'd intended. "How dare you!" she spat out, taking a step closer and pointing a finger at him. There were people in the Plass staring now, watching the drama unfold. "You will never be a parent so don't you dare assume about me!"
Jack took a step back, pulling Ianto with him. Getting into a proper altercation with a woman half their size would not go over well with the police department, Torchwood badges or no.
Ianto was so mad that he didn't notice Jack pulling him away. He was going to be so embarrassed later when he realized how easily his self-control had become undone by one narrow-minded woman. "How dare you assume about me! I've got a child, and she's got more understanding in her little head than you'll ever have!"
It was the first time he'd ever said the words aloud, claimed Emiko as his daughter. Even when it was just the two of them, Ianto insisted on referring to her as his niece.
And now Jack was mad. She'd taken something away from his Ianto and tarnished it, forced him into something he still wasn't quite ready for.
"Ianto, just drop it," he said, tugging him towards the peace and quiet of the Information Booth. There were far too many people staring for them to slip onto the Invisible Lift. "She's a stupid and narrow-minded, and arguing with her will be a pointless waste of perfectly good Welsh air."
Even when he was furious, Ianto could still recognize logic. That still didn't stop him from yelling over his shoulder, in what they all knew was a completely immature move, "I hope one of your kids is gay!"
It was the little things that made Jack realize just how young Ianto was.
He ushered Ianto into the Booth, leaving his husband's side to go around the desk and press the lock down button. Hopefully there would be no nasty alien incursion and he would have a few hours to calm Ianto down.
He felt Ianto's hands at his shoulders and before he knew it his greatcoat was on the floor and that talented mouth was on the back of his neck and licking right there. Part of Jack's mind knew that this was probably not the best thing, that Ianto probably felt like he had some point to prove. He shouldn't take advantage of the situation.
Then one of Ianto's hands strayed down to the fly of his pants and Jack told the little nagging voice to bugger off. Ianto needed some sort of release for all that anger before he gave himself a stroke.
Besides, angry sex with Ianto was always really, really hot.
Afterwards, Jack laid flat on his back on the floor and looked up at the ceiling and knew his body would be complaining about this in a few more minutes, the warm weight of Ianto's naked body pressed against his side and their clothes thrown every which way. Ianto's hand was resting over Jack's heart, his face buried in the older immortal's neck. "I'm sorry," he murmured finally. "I made an ass of myself."
"Yeah, well, happens to the best of us," Jack said, turning his head to press a kiss into the mass of dark hair.
Big blue eyes met Jack's own, oozing guilt. "She just... I hate that I feel like I have to defend myself. So my soul mate's a man. It shouldn't be a big deal."
Jack laughed and tucked Ianto's head under his chin. "When I first became a Time Agent, I had a mission to go back to America in the 1950s, when it was illegal to be gay. We'd had our classes about cultural sensitivity but you know me, I can't help myself." He felt more than heard Ianto's quiet chuckle and continued. "So I'm working a lead, got this guy who we think may have seen something he shouldn't have, and I flirt with him." Flirting had always been Jack's bread and butter, so he hadn't even thought about it. "Turns out he was a complete homophobe. Calls me a faggot."
The younger man pulled back to look at him. "What did you do?"
"Well, first it took me a minute to figure out that I'd been insulted, I'd never been criticized on my choice of lovers before. When I figured it out though, I broke his nose."
Ianto laughed a little, and Jack reached up to touch his face. "But it doesn't matter how many noses you break, or how many women you scream at. Humans are very hard to convince when they think they're right. You just have to learn how to ignore it, let it roll off you."
"I know, but it's just..." Ianto cast his gaze around the room, as if the right word or phrase would come popping out of the stacks of tourist pamphlets.
"I know, love." Jack smiled and pulled him down again. "So how about the next time someone pisses you off, you tell me and I'll just give you a hair-curling kiss that will make them want to join the evil Gay campaign of making the world a more fabulous place." Ianto laughed and Jack smiled, curling his fingers underneath Ianto's chin to tip his face up. "How does that sound?"
"Sounds perfect," Ianto replied, his eyelids closing halfway so he could watch Jack through those gorgeous eyelashes, "but I think we just might need some more practice first."
ETA: Chapter ten here
Chapter Nine: There's No Reasoning With An Unreasonable Person
dwtwprompts prompt: Agendas
Date Written: 6/6/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1,781
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, team (mentioned) random OCs.
Spoilers: None
Warnings: None
Author's Notes: Insipred by this news story, which set my bisexual blood a'boiling. Set a few years after their wedding.
1/?: De Mortuis Nil Nisi Bonum Dicendum Est
2/?: It's Like Battle, But Harder
3.1/?: I'll Know It When I See It
3.2/?: Some Cupid Kills With Arrows, Some With Traps
3.3/?: Keeping Up With The Joneses
3.4/?: Speak Low, If You Speak Love
3.5/?: Shall I Never See a Bachelor of Threescore Again?
4/?: Paint By Numbers
5/?: There's No Place That Far
6/?: Its Eyes Are For The Stars
7/?: Up In The Sky...
8/?: If I Say It Enough, I'll Eventually Believe It
Sometimes, Jack and Ianto were so vastly different that it made Ianto wonder how they'd managed to get together.
The most obvious way was the way Jack was openly affectionate while Ianto preferred to be more discreet. The others in the team thought that it was that Jack was more of an extrovert while Ianto was an introvert, but Ianto knew better. Jack was just as much of an introvert as Ianto was, but he was more like the Doctor -- all talk, no substance.
Jack, however, was rather handsy, always had been (and probably always would be). Ianto had figured it was just a Jack thing until he'd been to the 51st century with the Doctor and realized that it was just growing up in the 51st century. Sex was fun, and it wasn't taken as seriously as it was back in Ianto's time. Afterwards, Jack's outrageous behavior didn't seem so outrageous.
So when they were out together as a couple, whenever Jack's lips found his cheek or whenever an arm sneaked around his waist, Ianto just smiled and enjoyed it. Occasionally, Ianto had to smack a stray hand that was venturing a little too widely in public, but otherwise they behaved themselves.
There was the odd stare, of course. Jack only recognized the stare of their admirers, but Ianto felt the stares of the others a bit more keenly. More specifically, they pissed him off. Jack, too, had his enraged moments over the narrow-mindedness of the 21st century, but Ianto let the fury quietly simmer.
He understood where they were coming from, he did. There were people who thought that he and Jack walking down the street while holding hands was a lewd act, that he and Jack were waging some sort of bizarre war, recruiting others to the 'gay agenda'. They saw them and formed an opinion and wrote them off, simply because they were two men in love.
It was infuriating.
So when a random person decided to impose her beliefs on them, Jack realized that the result had probably been long in coming.
They'd managed to get out of the Hub at a decent time today, a bit ahead of their dinner reservation. They'd stayed out and watched the bay for a bit, enjoying the fresh air and being outside instead of cooped up under the Plass. It was a cool out, not cold enough for Ianto to grab his overcoat, but the wind had a little bit of a bite to it. Jack had moved back behind Ianto as the younger man leaned against the railing, sliding his arms out of the sleeves and wrapping them around Ianto's waist. He leaned in and rested his chin on Ianto's shoulder, smiling a little as they listened to the water, off together in their own little world.
Their peaceful little utopia was broken by the sound of someone clearing their throat. They both looked over at the noise to find a woman with three children standing a few meters away, eating sweets and watching the birds fly overhead. The woman was oh-so covertly watching them. Jack felt the anger start to flare within Ianto and he carefully smoothed a hand across the younger man's belly, trying to calm him down. "Just ignore her, Yan," he murmured into his ear, turning his attention back to the water.
Ianto turned back to the water as well. Jack leaned in and kissed his ear gently.
The woman cleared her throat again, and Jack didn't even look over at her. He wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.
Ianto, however, had had enough. "Are we bothering you?"
"Don't," Jack said softly, but he knew it was useless. The glove had been thrown, and Ianto was far too stubborn to back down on an issue like this.
"Actually yes, you are," the woman replied, putting a hand on her hip. "There are children about, how do you propose I explain -- that! -- to them?"
The three children were running about the Plass, chasing some birds, not paying any attention to their mother or to Jack and Ianto.
"Oh, you mean you'd actually have to be a parent?" The sarcasm was heavy in Ianto's voice, and completely missed by the woman. She turned a great shade of red, stammering as her mouth raced to keep up with her brain.
"What -- what does that mean?!"
Jack tightened his grasp on Ianto. The younger immortal was so mad that he was shaking in Jack's arms. Ah, the passion of the young. "What it means is that you'd have to actually think outside your little glass box and give them the idea that love comes in many different forms."
"You're just flaunting your sexuality. It's lewd!" the woman snorted.
"Really? I'm flaunting? You're straight, right?" Jack winced a little. He so hated labels. "Well, you're flaunting it too, since you have three children running around as proof of your sexuality."
The woman gasped, unsure of what to say. Jack pulled back a little to look at Ianto. "I never thought of it that way," he said, trying to break the tension with a little humor.
It didn't work the way he'd intended. "How dare you!" she spat out, taking a step closer and pointing a finger at him. There were people in the Plass staring now, watching the drama unfold. "You will never be a parent so don't you dare assume about me!"
Jack took a step back, pulling Ianto with him. Getting into a proper altercation with a woman half their size would not go over well with the police department, Torchwood badges or no.
Ianto was so mad that he didn't notice Jack pulling him away. He was going to be so embarrassed later when he realized how easily his self-control had become undone by one narrow-minded woman. "How dare you assume about me! I've got a child, and she's got more understanding in her little head than you'll ever have!"
It was the first time he'd ever said the words aloud, claimed Emiko as his daughter. Even when it was just the two of them, Ianto insisted on referring to her as his niece.
And now Jack was mad. She'd taken something away from his Ianto and tarnished it, forced him into something he still wasn't quite ready for.
"Ianto, just drop it," he said, tugging him towards the peace and quiet of the Information Booth. There were far too many people staring for them to slip onto the Invisible Lift. "She's a stupid and narrow-minded, and arguing with her will be a pointless waste of perfectly good Welsh air."
Even when he was furious, Ianto could still recognize logic. That still didn't stop him from yelling over his shoulder, in what they all knew was a completely immature move, "I hope one of your kids is gay!"
It was the little things that made Jack realize just how young Ianto was.
He ushered Ianto into the Booth, leaving his husband's side to go around the desk and press the lock down button. Hopefully there would be no nasty alien incursion and he would have a few hours to calm Ianto down.
He felt Ianto's hands at his shoulders and before he knew it his greatcoat was on the floor and that talented mouth was on the back of his neck and licking right there. Part of Jack's mind knew that this was probably not the best thing, that Ianto probably felt like he had some point to prove. He shouldn't take advantage of the situation.
Then one of Ianto's hands strayed down to the fly of his pants and Jack told the little nagging voice to bugger off. Ianto needed some sort of release for all that anger before he gave himself a stroke.
Besides, angry sex with Ianto was always really, really hot.
Afterwards, Jack laid flat on his back on the floor and looked up at the ceiling and knew his body would be complaining about this in a few more minutes, the warm weight of Ianto's naked body pressed against his side and their clothes thrown every which way. Ianto's hand was resting over Jack's heart, his face buried in the older immortal's neck. "I'm sorry," he murmured finally. "I made an ass of myself."
"Yeah, well, happens to the best of us," Jack said, turning his head to press a kiss into the mass of dark hair.
Big blue eyes met Jack's own, oozing guilt. "She just... I hate that I feel like I have to defend myself. So my soul mate's a man. It shouldn't be a big deal."
Jack laughed and tucked Ianto's head under his chin. "When I first became a Time Agent, I had a mission to go back to America in the 1950s, when it was illegal to be gay. We'd had our classes about cultural sensitivity but you know me, I can't help myself." He felt more than heard Ianto's quiet chuckle and continued. "So I'm working a lead, got this guy who we think may have seen something he shouldn't have, and I flirt with him." Flirting had always been Jack's bread and butter, so he hadn't even thought about it. "Turns out he was a complete homophobe. Calls me a faggot."
The younger man pulled back to look at him. "What did you do?"
"Well, first it took me a minute to figure out that I'd been insulted, I'd never been criticized on my choice of lovers before. When I figured it out though, I broke his nose."
Ianto laughed a little, and Jack reached up to touch his face. "But it doesn't matter how many noses you break, or how many women you scream at. Humans are very hard to convince when they think they're right. You just have to learn how to ignore it, let it roll off you."
"I know, but it's just..." Ianto cast his gaze around the room, as if the right word or phrase would come popping out of the stacks of tourist pamphlets.
"I know, love." Jack smiled and pulled him down again. "So how about the next time someone pisses you off, you tell me and I'll just give you a hair-curling kiss that will make them want to join the evil Gay campaign of making the world a more fabulous place." Ianto laughed and Jack smiled, curling his fingers underneath Ianto's chin to tip his face up. "How does that sound?"
"Sounds perfect," Ianto replied, his eyelids closing halfway so he could watch Jack through those gorgeous eyelashes, "but I think we just might need some more practice first."
ETA: Chapter ten here