Slipping Through -- Trust Me, I'm A Fanboy
Book cover by et_muse
Title: Slipping Through
Chapter Five: Trust Me, I'm A Fanboy
Date Written: 6/23/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 3,166
Fandom: FAKE/Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Dee/Ryo, Team Torchwood
Spoilers: FAKE through to Volume 7, Torchwood up through Season 2, nods at Doctor Who 04 up through
Warnings: None
Author Notes: Still open for story titles. And this chapter is mostly explanation for those that don't know the Torchwood/Who fandom, and just some fun scenes.
Slipping Through master list found here.
The team left the boardroom at a silent signal from Jack, gathering up the manga and leaving the two wayward detectives to grieve in private.
As soon as the door closed behind Jack, Ryo and Dee wrapped their arms around each other, Dee holding Ryo tight as the half-Japanese man cried softly into his shoulder. He closed his eyes, not even trying to hide the tears coursing down his own cheeks.
"Bikky," Ryo murmured against his neck, shaking a little.
Dee nodded, dropping his head down onto Ryo's shoulder, squeezing him a little tighter. He was trying to get a grip on himself, knowing that when he finally had his little meltdown, it'd be a major one. "We're going to be okay," he murmured softly, kissing the side of his husband's head. "We're still together, and we're going to get back to our family and friends."
Ryo was slowly pulling himself together and pulled back, wiping his face gently. "We are in a place where a big blue box makes regular fuel stops," he said, giving Dee a watery smile.
Dee laughed and nodded, leaning in to kiss his husband. "We're going to get back," he repeated with a smile.
Ryo nodded. "So now we do what we have to."
"God damn it, I love you so much," the younger detective swore as he pulled his husband in for another kiss.
-----
Team Torchwood walked back into the conference room to find two very calm, very professional NYPD detectives sitting at the conference table. Their eyes were a little red around the edge, proof of how upset they'd been, but their demeanor had changed. They sat up a little straighter, and their faces had a certain confidence in them.
Jack gave a little smile as he moved back to his seat, watching as Ianto doled out another fresh round of coffee. Ryo gave a brilliant smile when he drank from his cup. "This is perfect, Ianto, thank you."
Dee nodded, drinking from his own cup. "Just the way I like it."
Ianto simply nodded, a small pleased smile on his face as he moved to his seat.
"Gentlemen, I realize that this is hard on you," Jack began, and everyone in the room turned to him. "And I promise that we'll do our best to get you back." He paused, steepling his fingers as he chose his next words carefully. "However, you both seem to know a lot about us. And, frankly, I'd like to hear more about this Torchwood show."
The team's attention shifted to the detectives, and Dee looked at Ryo. "Well, fanboy, you're up," he teased gently in Japanese, winking across the table when Toshiko giggled.
Ryo's cheeks turned a slight pink as he quickly thought about where to start. "Torchwood," he began, before pausing and looking at his coffee. "No, wait. Torchwood is a spin-off television show of a very popular British science fiction show called Doctor Who. Classic Who ran from the 1960s to 1989, there was movie in 1996, and the series was revived in 2005. It's practically imprinted into British culture now." He gave a little grin. "I used to watch it with my Dad and Grandfather, when I'd visit Scotland as a kid."
"Mother tried with me, but that was a no-go," Dee said before grinning over at the team. "It never interested me."
"Doctor Who," Ryo continued, stopping the ready question on Gwen's lips, "follows a man who calls himself the Doctor, and the Companions he picks up on his travels."
Jack's intake of breath was audible, and everyone looked over at him. His eyes were wide, and he was looking a little pale.
"The Doctor's the reason why Torchwood was founded," Owen said, his arms crossed over his chest. "He's in the charter."
"That's why Torchwood is a spin-off," Ryo answered. "The Institute arc is set up in the second season of the new Who, the Doctor meeting Queen Victoria and so on."
"Might want to be on the lookout for werewolf sightings in London in a few years, by the way," Dee added.
Ryo glared at him. "That was conjecture."
"You never can be too careful."
"Anyway," Ryo cut Dee off, turning back to the team. "Torchwood One -- or Torchwood London, whichever you call it -- and the battle of Canary Wharf figure in predominantly into 02's, the second season's, finale. Broadcast-wise, the first season of Torchwood, which follows Torchwood Three starting when Gwen Cooper falls in, started airing after that." He paused, looking over at Dee a little. Dee nodded, they'd decided on bare facts but no private details. "Jack's disappearance between Torchwood's first and second season is explained by his reappearance in Doctor Who's third season."
"Reappearance?" Tosh asked.
"Jack was a Companion of the Ninth Doctor before he was recruited into Torchwood Cardiff," Ryo said.
Four heads swiveled to look at Jack. Ianto's face was more or less impassive; either he'd known before or he had a better poker face than people gave him credit. Gwen and Owen wore twin looks of surprise, and Toshiko looked excited. Belatedly, Ryo remembered that Tosh had met Nine in Aliens of London.
"And before we go any further, I think we need to figure out just where we are," Dee jumped in, lacing his fingers together. "From the ring on Mrs. Williams' hand, I'll start with the Nostrovite. Yes, no?"
"Oh yes," Gwen said, looking down at her hand and grinning a little.
"Congratulations, by the way." Dee smiled at her. "The Electro Cinema?"
"Done that one," Owen added from his side of the table.
"Okay. Jonah Bevan?"
"Who?" Ianto asked, in perfect disinterest even as Jack's back straightened just a little.
"Never mind, got our answer," Dee said, flashing a disarming grin.
"And I believe we're through," Ryo finished, sitting back in his chair and taking a sip of his coffee.
"How many seasons are there in Doctor Who?" Jack asked.
"The BBC was in the middle of airing the fourth season when we left," Ryo said. "Oh, and that whole ATMOS system thing that's on all your cars? Get rid of 'em."
Confusion flickered over everyone's faces, and Dee leaned in. "And I got bitched at over the werewolf?"
"Hush," Ryo replied.
"Okay." Jack put his hands down on the table. "Obviously, we can't let you two too far from our sight." He grinned, but it was a hollow one. "Why don't we start with what we have? Passports, driver's licenses, anything?"
Dee reached behind him to where his jacket was hanging from his chair. "I've got my wallet and my badge, Ryo has my passport." He shot a dirty look at Ryo. "Like I'd lose it."
"You did twice when we were driving from the apartment to the airport," Ryo replied, already leaning to the side and pulling out the passports.
"Do you prefer Randy or Ryo?" Tosh asked.
"Both are fine," Ryo reassured her, laying the passports and his badge next to Dee's badge. "I'll answer to either." Two NYC driver's licenses hit the desk as well. "I've got about two hundred pounds on me," Ryo said, before looking over at Dee.
Dee nodded a little absently, frowning at his credit cards. "Guess the plastic's worthless now. I've got about a hundred."
Ianto leaned over and gathered up the passports and licenses. "I can create identities for you while you're here. We'll just use the information you know for them."
"Do it," Jack nodded at Ianto. The Welshman gave a little nod at the dismissal, gathering up some of the empty mugs before heading downstairs.
"Gwen, why don't you and Toshiko take these badges and see what computer magic you two can work?" Jack continued. "I was thinking Interpol trainees," he added as Ryo and Dee obediently handed over their badges, smiling at the girls as they followed Ianto.
"Owen, go finish prepping the medical bay, we're going to need to make sure the Rift didn't affect them in any other ways than the obvious." The doctor levered himself up out of his chair, grumbling about how he was going to quit if one of the newcomers ended up pregnant as the door slid shut behind him.
Jack studied Dee and Ryo carefully. "So. How much do you know about me? About my past?"
The husbands met each other's eyes. They'd discussed this too. "The past really isn't all that important," Dee said finally, waving his hand a little. "We all do crazy shit when we're younger."
"So more than you're letting on then," Jack conjectured, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest.
"We... cheated on how we know things about you all," Ryo replied, sipping his coffee. "It's not our place to spill your secrets."
Jack studied them long and hard, making the two detectives shift a little in their seats. Finally, though, his face split into a grin. "Come on, we need to get you two checked out."
-----
Owen was a very, extremely competent doctor. Probably one of the best doctors both Dee and Ryo had ever had, and that was factoring in every yearly physical plus every trip to the ER from chasing perps.
His bedside manner, however, was shit. He was obviously not impressed by either of them, and seemed to take a sort of insane pleasure in drawing out all of their blood vial by vial.
"Owen, you're really making me feel at home," Dee complained sarcastically, jumping as Owen took yet another blood sample. "Just like I've got Emiry making sure that I'm okay."
Ryo laughed a little. "I'll kiss it better later," he reassured his husband, winking at Dee even as he idly rubbed at the bandage over his arm.
"You could do it now, I wouldn't complain," Dee replied, batting his eyes a little in tease. He honestly wouldn't mind a little cuddling, though.
And as if Ryo could read his mind, the man leaned in and pressed a kiss to his mouth, smiling softly against Dee's mouth.
"Oi, none of that!" Owen said, pulling the needle out of Dee's arm and pressing a ball of gauze down onto the vein. "Although it did keep him distracted."
"He's not the only one," Ianto deadpanned, descending the stairs with Ryo and Dee's passports and licenses. Ryo grinned at Dee as Tosh and Gwen jumped guiltily at the Welshman's words, turning back to their work.
Jack just laughed at all of them, his hands on the railing.
"Ha! Now I can run away from Doctor Harper and his evil needles," Dee joked as Ianto handed the identification over.
"Run would be appropriate," Ryo said with a grin, "since there's no way in hell I'm letting you get behind the wheel here."
"Not my fault they drive ass-backwards here!"
Four voices made noises of protest, and Ryo laughed, holding up his hands. "Easy now, he's kidding!"
Gwen and Tosh joined Jack at the railing. "We entered you into the Interpol database," the Japanese woman informed them.
"And we got you a hotel room for tonight," Gwen added. "Until we can find you some better arrangements."
"Thank you, all of you," Ryo said, taking Dee's hand and squeezing it.
"You're our responsibility," Jack said. "We'll take care of you."
"Speaking of," Dee said, frowning a little and covering his arm as Owen passed by. "Ryo and I only have the clothes on our back. Since we're not allowed to drive..."
"Ianto and I will take you out before we drop you off at the hotel," Jack said, grinning a little as the girls both grumbled a little.
"Oi, why're you taking the tea boy?" Owen asked with a frown.
"Boss' prerogative," Jack replied. He wanted to get to know these two strangers who knew all his secrets.
That and maybe he could talk Ianto into another smashing suit.
-----
The corner of Ianto's mouth quirked up as Ryo looked over at the rack of business suits along the shop's far wall for the fifth time in twenty-three minutes. Both detectives had an armful of clothing each, mostly consisting of business casual-type clothing with a few pullovers and jeans thrown in for good measure, but the lighter-haired man kept gazing wistfully over his shoulder.
Jack saw it too. "Go pick one out."
"What?" Ryo's eyes were wide, the picture of the word busted.
"Go pick out a suit," Ianto echoed. "It's obvious you want one."
Ryo gaped a little. "Oh, I can't, that's far too expensive."
Dee grinned a little, looking over at his husband before going back to looking through the rack.
"Both of you," Jack said, using his very best Captain's Orders voice, "go back there and pick out a suit each."
"And here I was thinking the only good thing to come out of losing everything was losing the suit," Dee said, looking over at Ryo.
"C'mon, c'mon," Jack said, taking their clothing and handing it over to one of the salesgirls who was hovering close by.
Ianto shooed them over towards the suits, watching as Ryo's fingers strayed towards a suit that was a bit too large for what the Welshman guessed his size to be. Dee noticed the look and grinned. "You wear suits to work, you know what it's like."
The Welshman nodded, and Jack moved up behind Ianto. "You know, maybe Ryo will feel a bit better about buying a suit if you take one home too," the Captain suggested.
"Nice try," Ianto deadpanned.
"They're nice suits," Dee said, turning the price tag of one of them and whistling.
"They are," the Welshman agreed. "But no."
"He acts like I don't have anything better to spend my money on," Jack said with a grin.
"You do save on rent," Dee agreed. "And water and electricity." He looked at the price of another before tugging gently on the fabric to test the give on it.
"Which one do you like?" Jack asked, already imagining the New Yorker in a suit of his own. The Captain was willing to bet that Dee would look even better in one than he did in those books.
"I only wear 'em 'cause I gotta," Dee said with a laugh. "If you're going to make me pick out something, can it be something I want? Like on of those coats of yours?"
Ryo stepped out from the dressing room, coat jacket slung over his arm as he expertly looped a tie around his neck. The jacket and pants were a beautiful caramel color, with a waistcoat that patterned various vertical stripes in varying shades of chocolate brown. The button up oxford shirt underneath was striped as well, stripes in coffee and tan. He was tying an olive green around his neck. The whole ensemble really should not have worked, but Ryo managed to pull it off flawlessly.
"You look good enough to eat," Jack said, grinning when Ianto nodded in agreement.
Ryo blushed at the compliment, flipping his collar down. "Thank you."
"They're right, but I think you need a fedora," Dee joked, winking at Ryo as his husband pulled on his jacket.
"You just want to roleplay," Ryo teased him back gently in Japanese. He'd obviously caught the whole conversation while he was in the dressing room.
"I'm gonna need a lot more than a coat or a hat if we're gonna roleplay, baby," Dee answered him in kind, stepping forward to help him fix the collar.
Jack looked over at Ianto, who just shrugged. The Welshman had picked up a bit of Japanese here and there over the years, but his reading abilities were better than his oral skills. Well, his oral language skills. Although he could do that thing with his tongue that Jack was convinced came from rolling those Welsh Rs...
Ryo's teasing, still in Japanese, brought him back from his fantasy. "Really now? Not even any captain and the naughty tea boy action? I've seen your fanfiction bookmarks, pervert."
"I have no idea what you're saying to him, but keep it up," Jack said with a laugh as a pretty blush spread across Dee's cheeks and the bridge of his nose.
Ryo laughed and kissed a red cheek before turning to the three-sided mirror. He fiddled with the jacket sleeves a little, rolling his shoulders and testing out the range of movement.
"Looks a little big," Jack said, blinking in surprise when Ryo swept his arms up in the unmistakable gesture of aiming a firearm. The price tag swung from one of the suit's cuffs
"Tight, actually," Dee replied, watching the way the fabric gathered across Ryo's back.
"No, it fits well," Ianto said, a practiced eye watching the detective move his arms. "If you have the seams let out a few centimeters, you'll have the give you want. I know the name of a few good tailors."
"I bet you do," Dee said with a laugh.
"It'll do for now," Ryo said, straightening and loosening his tie, checking his reflection one last time. "I'll have it altered once we figure out jobs and things like that."
"We're official Interpol trainees, we could probably get a job with the Cardiff force," Dee added, raising his eyebrows. "Inspector Laytner-MacLean."
"I kinda like the sound of that," Ryo said with a grin.
-----
Jack was on the phone with the others when Ianto climbed into the passenger seat. Jack nodded to him, pulling the phone away and hitting the speakerphone so Ianto could join the conversation.
"--their test came back clean," Owen was saying. "Major temporal fluctuation reads, of course, but two perfectly healthy male humans."
"The Rift's been quiet lately, but I've been getting odd readings since those two showed up," Tosh said. "No other visitors from what I've seen, but it's either gearing up for something big or it's coming down off of sending us Ryo and Dee."
"Where are they, by the way?" Gwen's voice chimed in.
"We've just had them settled in at St. David's," Jack told her. "Ianto set them up with room and room service until tomorrow."
"They said they had reservations at this hotel in their own world, they even got the same room," Ianto told them. "Poor blokes kept checking for their things."
"They have mobiles with all of our numbers if they need anything, and they're within walking distance," Jack added. "I told them to come in whenever they were ready tomorrow."
"Jack, what are we going to do with them?" Gwen asked.
"We're going to discuss that as soon as Ianto and I get back," Jack said, starting the SUV.
"With lunch?" Toshiko's hopeful voice made both men grin.
"With lunch," Ianto agreed.
"Oh hey, Tosh? What the heck does the word cosplay mean?" Jack asked, shifting into drive.
There was a choking sound over the speakerphone, followed by Owen's exclamation of, "Jack, stop trying to kill Tosh! One dead team member is more than enough!"
-----
And, as a little extra, here's the suit that Ryo picked out for himself!
ETA: Chapter six here