Reassuring Constants
Jack sighed and seemed to try and shove his hands even farther down his pockets, resulting in a slouch that diminished him a bit. “Yeah, sorry,” was all he offered.
Ianto shrugged, “It’s okay. Just unusual.” Jack usually hated silence and would fill it with any sort of babble he could think of until something either happened to shut him up or until the person he was babbling at just walked away, which Ianto had often done. Not tonight. Silences marked the evening, even the nice silences like this that didn’t feel awkward, just out of place.
“Cardiff is beautiful,” Jack said suddenly, stopping at a street corner to look around.
Ianto followed his eyes, seeing only storefronts, a few cars, city buildings in the background, and a crowd of people trying to get into a nearby bar. “It is?” he asked without thinking.
Jack chuckled, “Yeah. I’ve seen a lot of cities that aren’t nearly as pretty. There’s a certain calm about this place that makes it beautiful.” He paused and then added, “Of course, I’ve not been anywhere calm for a while, so I might have a skewed perspective.”
Ianto nodded, filing away that snippet of information next to a few others inadvertently dropped tonight. Over the course of the evening he’d gathered that wherever Jack had been had been off-planet, cold, harsh, and, apparently, chaotic. Ianto was keeping a mental list. He’d never ask Jack outright, but he was determined to collect puzzle pieces if he could. “Sometimes that’s the best kind of perspective, you know,” Ianto said. “The skewed kind keeps it interesting. There was this girl in school I think I was pretty skewed about,” he said with a grin, and as Jack chuckled he added, “Certainly made her more interesting than she actually turned out to be.”
Jack nodded and smiled, “Yeah. I’ve done that a time or two.” Ianto watched as Jack looked around again. “But this place,” Jack said, “I guess I think it’s gorgeous because it’s so familiar for me. See that bar over there?” He asked, pointing across the street to a very old run-down building with a neon light outside the door at the bottom. Ianto nodded and Jack said, “Used to be a pool hall. Best martinis in town and clean, level tables fit for tournaments. We used to spend off-hours there playing and drinking martinis.”
Ianto smiled, “We, who? Torchwood?”
Jack nodded and gave a grin, “Yep. Sam and Julian and Melissa and . . . “ he paused, obviously reaching for another name and then he sighed, “Ah. Can’t remember the other two for some reason, but we used to go after we were dismissed and play for hours. It was mundane and just what we needed.” He paused. “You know what I mean.”
Ianto did. While Jack was gone he and the others had started going out to a nearby pub at least once a week. It felt good to do something mundane with people you knew very well. Ianto added this statement from Jack to another file he had in his head, the one he labeled ‘Before Us.’ So far he had Sam and Julian and Melissa and Judy and Luke - he wondered if those were the other two Jack couldn’t remember - and he had a couple of cases as well. Not much, but the start of a file. He added the pool hall and Jack being ‘dismissed’ to the list. “Yeah, sometimes the rest of us go to a pub. You should come sometime,” he said to Jack as they crossed the street.
Jack looked at him and grinned, “I’d like to. Sounds fun.”
They walked in silence again for a while as the night grew colder, slowly meandering back toward the Hub where Ianto had met Jack before dinner. Jack sighed and asked, “Do you mind if we go down to the bay, just for a bit?”
Ianto said he didn’t mind and they turned at the next street, wandering toward the water. On a hunch, Ianto pointed at another older restaurant, an Italian place that had been around since he was a kid, but he’d never been to. “Do you know that one, Jack?”
Jack looked to where he was pointing and stopped suddenly. “That one’s old,” he said quietly, and then, “Yes, I’ve been in a time or two. Had a friend who loved it there and knew the owner. We used to go and sit at the bar drinking espresso and eating brutibonni and gelato on the house. They still have good food.”
Ianto filed the friend and dessert away in his ‘Before Us’ file and asked, “Is that another place you go when takeout won’t cut it?”
Jack smiled and nodded and kept on walking.
“Do you have a favorite place in the city?” Ianto asked, feeling bold about Jack’s past for some reason.
Jack hesitated and then offered, “Tonight I love it all.”
Ianto decided not to push it. They walked in silence again and finally reached the bay, finding an empty park bench to sit down on, and they both pulled the collars of their coats up around their throats to ward off the breeze. They sat listening to the water lap against the breakers for a while.
Jack took a deep breath, seeming to savor the air, and then he looked up at the stars.
“Have you always liked the sea, Jack?” Ianto asked, recalling that he often found Jack sitting on a bench near the bay before, whenever the weather was nice enough, really.
Jack nodded, “I grew up near an ocean.”
Ianto filed away the ‘an’ in a new file, one he instantly labeled ‘Way Before Us.’
Jack continued, “It always sounds the same, no matter what sea you’re near.” He paused and then looked over at Ianto, saying, “It’s a reassuring constant.”
“Those are good to have,” Ianto replied, timidly reaching over and picking up one of Jack’s hands and gathering it into his own.
Jack looked at their hands and back up at Ianto, “Yes, they are.”
The two men sat on the bench and listened to the water for a very long time.
Ianto shrugged, “It’s okay. Just unusual.” Jack usually hated silence and would fill it with any sort of babble he could think of until something either happened to shut him up or until the person he was babbling at just walked away, which Ianto had often done. Not tonight. Silences marked the evening, even the nice silences like this that didn’t feel awkward, just out of place.
“Cardiff is beautiful,” Jack said suddenly, stopping at a street corner to look around.
Ianto followed his eyes, seeing only storefronts, a few cars, city buildings in the background, and a crowd of people trying to get into a nearby bar. “It is?” he asked without thinking.
Jack chuckled, “Yeah. I’ve seen a lot of cities that aren’t nearly as pretty. There’s a certain calm about this place that makes it beautiful.” He paused and then added, “Of course, I’ve not been anywhere calm for a while, so I might have a skewed perspective.”
Ianto nodded, filing away that snippet of information next to a few others inadvertently dropped tonight. Over the course of the evening he’d gathered that wherever Jack had been had been off-planet, cold, harsh, and, apparently, chaotic. Ianto was keeping a mental list. He’d never ask Jack outright, but he was determined to collect puzzle pieces if he could. “Sometimes that’s the best kind of perspective, you know,” Ianto said. “The skewed kind keeps it interesting. There was this girl in school I think I was pretty skewed about,” he said with a grin, and as Jack chuckled he added, “Certainly made her more interesting than she actually turned out to be.”
Jack nodded and smiled, “Yeah. I’ve done that a time or two.” Ianto watched as Jack looked around again. “But this place,” Jack said, “I guess I think it’s gorgeous because it’s so familiar for me. See that bar over there?” He asked, pointing across the street to a very old run-down building with a neon light outside the door at the bottom. Ianto nodded and Jack said, “Used to be a pool hall. Best martinis in town and clean, level tables fit for tournaments. We used to spend off-hours there playing and drinking martinis.”
Ianto smiled, “We, who? Torchwood?”
Jack nodded and gave a grin, “Yep. Sam and Julian and Melissa and . . . “ he paused, obviously reaching for another name and then he sighed, “Ah. Can’t remember the other two for some reason, but we used to go after we were dismissed and play for hours. It was mundane and just what we needed.” He paused. “You know what I mean.”
Ianto did. While Jack was gone he and the others had started going out to a nearby pub at least once a week. It felt good to do something mundane with people you knew very well. Ianto added this statement from Jack to another file he had in his head, the one he labeled ‘Before Us.’ So far he had Sam and Julian and Melissa and Judy and Luke - he wondered if those were the other two Jack couldn’t remember - and he had a couple of cases as well. Not much, but the start of a file. He added the pool hall and Jack being ‘dismissed’ to the list. “Yeah, sometimes the rest of us go to a pub. You should come sometime,” he said to Jack as they crossed the street.
Jack looked at him and grinned, “I’d like to. Sounds fun.”
They walked in silence again for a while as the night grew colder, slowly meandering back toward the Hub where Ianto had met Jack before dinner. Jack sighed and asked, “Do you mind if we go down to the bay, just for a bit?”
Ianto said he didn’t mind and they turned at the next street, wandering toward the water. On a hunch, Ianto pointed at another older restaurant, an Italian place that had been around since he was a kid, but he’d never been to. “Do you know that one, Jack?”
Jack looked to where he was pointing and stopped suddenly. “That one’s old,” he said quietly, and then, “Yes, I’ve been in a time or two. Had a friend who loved it there and knew the owner. We used to go and sit at the bar drinking espresso and eating brutibonni and gelato on the house. They still have good food.”
Ianto filed the friend and dessert away in his ‘Before Us’ file and asked, “Is that another place you go when takeout won’t cut it?”
Jack smiled and nodded and kept on walking.
“Do you have a favorite place in the city?” Ianto asked, feeling bold about Jack’s past for some reason.
Jack hesitated and then offered, “Tonight I love it all.”
Ianto decided not to push it. They walked in silence again and finally reached the bay, finding an empty park bench to sit down on, and they both pulled the collars of their coats up around their throats to ward off the breeze. They sat listening to the water lap against the breakers for a while.
Jack took a deep breath, seeming to savor the air, and then he looked up at the stars.
“Have you always liked the sea, Jack?” Ianto asked, recalling that he often found Jack sitting on a bench near the bay before, whenever the weather was nice enough, really.
Jack nodded, “I grew up near an ocean.”
Ianto filed away the ‘an’ in a new file, one he instantly labeled ‘Way Before Us.’
Jack continued, “It always sounds the same, no matter what sea you’re near.” He paused and then looked over at Ianto, saying, “It’s a reassuring constant.”
“Those are good to have,” Ianto replied, timidly reaching over and picking up one of Jack’s hands and gathering it into his own.
Jack looked at their hands and back up at Ianto, “Yes, they are.”
The two men sat on the bench and listened to the water for a very long time.