Presence: Chapter 7
Title: Presence
Chapter: Seven
Words: 1,126
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Ianto/Gwen, eventual!Jack/Ianto
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh
Rating: T
Warnings: None
Summary: Librarian Ianto Jones' marriage is coming to an end when he notices that his wife, Gwen, may be involved with her boss, Jack Harkness. Intrigued by the man, Ianto does some research on him and finds out he's been living in Cardiff for over 100 years.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters.
Chapter 6
There was a lull in activity that afternoon leaving Owen the opportunity to roll his chair toward Gwen and ask, "Plans for tonight or did Jack shoot you down again?"
Gwen scowled in response. Earlier that day she had tried convincing Jack to go with her to dinner but he turned her down for the second time that week saying that he had business with Ianto.
"You've been with Ianto every night since he arrived," Gwen protested.
Jack smiled slightly, "Yes, well this project is quite complicated and we have lots to discuss."
"You don't have to work yourself to death because he's having trouble adjusting. Why don't you take a night off and enjoy yourself. I can guarantee I'm better company than him anyway," Gwen added while leaning closer to Jack.
"Hmm, a night out . . ." Jack mumbled to himself, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, he looked up at Gwen and remembered himself, "While that sounds lovely, I'm afraid that Torchwood protocol forbids inter-office dating. I'm sorry but I don't make the rules."
Before Gwen could try anything else, Jack was called away by Tosh who needed his help on a program, leaving Gwen once again confused as to why her advances were not working.
Not wanting to admit she had been rejected again, Gwen answered Owen, "We don't have definite plans but there's talk of dinner tonight."
To her surprise, Owen nodded his head as he replied, "That's good to hear."
Gwen hoped that would be the end of the conversation but Owen continued, "Is Ianto seeing anyone?"
Gwen flinched, remembering Jack asking the same question. Fed up with Owen's teasing, she replied, "No, Ianto's not seeing anyone."
"What about that bloke he's living with, Rhys?" Owen pressed on.
"No, Rhys is straight and so is Ianto for that matter."
Owen smirked, "Then I guess there's no harm in asking him out for a drink?"
"Since when were you interested in men?"
"I've been known to dabble from time to time, but for someone as gorgeous as Ianto, a little more than dabbling might be in order," Owen answered with a lascivious smile.
Gwen finally snapped, "When will you get it through your thick head? It's over between us! I don't care who or what you date or even if threaten to shag my husband, just leave me alone! You're acting like a pathetic child!"
Unfazed, Owen replied smugly, "In that case, I'll just go ask him out since you have plans with Jack."
Owen then stood and left a flustered Gwen. Upon entering the archives, Owen took a moment to appreciate Ianto's slim figure and graceful hands that were busing sorting files.
"Look mate, I want to apologize for what happened between Gwen and me. I'm sorry you found about it the way you did."
Ianto rolled his eyes: another apology from one of Gwen's ex-boyfriends. Since he was first and foremost a gentleman, Ianto turned and smiled, "It's alright, happens all the time."
"No, it's not alright. When I was shagging Gwen, her husband was just a hypothetical notion, an extra level of danger, but when I met you, it became real. I'm sorry that I never thought about the other person in this situation. You deserve better."
Touched by the rare show of earnest emotion from Owen, Ianto nodded his head and replied, "Thank you, I appreciate it."
While trying to feign nonchalance, Owen continued, "Listen, Gwen's busy with Jack tonight so how about we go out for a drink?"
There was a slight flinch in his face as Ianto asked, "Jack's with Gwen?"
"Yeah, they're having dinner or something," Owen answered, "Come on, it'll give us a chance to get to know each other outside of the Hub. Since you're down here most of the time I hardly get to see you."
Ianto sighed wondering why he was feeling so terrible about not seeing Jack that night. After a moment of quiet thought, he shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, we'll go somewhere after work."
It was the end of the day when Ianto sighed and stepped back from the shelf. A week's worth of work, he thought dejectedly after examining how little progress he had made. At the rate he was going, Ianto estimated it would take years to finish the project. The damp, dungeon-like conditions of the archives had him pining for the basement of the city library and he was not sure how much more he could endure of Gwen's sparring and subsequent flirting with Jack. The only thing that made the job bearable was the time he could spend alone with the Captain, slowly putting together the portrait of his complicated life. As if he had conjured the man, Ianto's thoughts were interrupted by Jack.
"I was thinking that maybe we could go out tonight. Would you like to join me for dinner?" Jack asked while leaning against a shelf. He noticed a brief moment of panic flash over Ianto's face and tried to backtrack, "We've both been working really hard this week, it'd be nice to go out and enjoy ourselves."
Remembering what Owen had told him earlier, Ianto suddenly did not like the idea of sitting through dinner with Gwen fawning over Jack. He also figured that Gwen would be none too happy as she had already warned him to keep his distance. Putting back on his unreadable face, Ianto answered, "I actually have plans tonight so you go out and have a good time."
As Ianto turned back toward the shelves, Jack staggered out of the room, shocked at the rejection.
Going on 7:00, Ianto emerged from the archives and gathered his things together. After a lingering glance at Jack's office, he left through the cog door with its new, weevil-friendly alarm. Shortly after, Owen stood up from his desk, stretching his arms, "I'm heading off," he announced.
Gwen answered teasingly, "What's the rush? Got a hot date?"
Owen leaned over and whispered, "As a matter of fact, I do . . . with Ianto."
Gwen's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as Owen smugly sauntered through the door. Sitting back in her chair, it took several minutes to realize she had Jack all to herself.
Chapter: Seven
Words: 1,126
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Ianto/Gwen, eventual!Jack/Ianto
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Gwen, Owen, Tosh
Rating: T
Warnings: None
Summary: Librarian Ianto Jones' marriage is coming to an end when he notices that his wife, Gwen, may be involved with her boss, Jack Harkness. Intrigued by the man, Ianto does some research on him and finds out he's been living in Cardiff for over 100 years.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters.
Chapter 6
There was a lull in activity that afternoon leaving Owen the opportunity to roll his chair toward Gwen and ask, "Plans for tonight or did Jack shoot you down again?"
Gwen scowled in response. Earlier that day she had tried convincing Jack to go with her to dinner but he turned her down for the second time that week saying that he had business with Ianto.
"You've been with Ianto every night since he arrived," Gwen protested.
Jack smiled slightly, "Yes, well this project is quite complicated and we have lots to discuss."
"You don't have to work yourself to death because he's having trouble adjusting. Why don't you take a night off and enjoy yourself. I can guarantee I'm better company than him anyway," Gwen added while leaning closer to Jack.
"Hmm, a night out . . ." Jack mumbled to himself, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Suddenly, he looked up at Gwen and remembered himself, "While that sounds lovely, I'm afraid that Torchwood protocol forbids inter-office dating. I'm sorry but I don't make the rules."
Before Gwen could try anything else, Jack was called away by Tosh who needed his help on a program, leaving Gwen once again confused as to why her advances were not working.
Not wanting to admit she had been rejected again, Gwen answered Owen, "We don't have definite plans but there's talk of dinner tonight."
To her surprise, Owen nodded his head as he replied, "That's good to hear."
Gwen hoped that would be the end of the conversation but Owen continued, "Is Ianto seeing anyone?"
Gwen flinched, remembering Jack asking the same question. Fed up with Owen's teasing, she replied, "No, Ianto's not seeing anyone."
"What about that bloke he's living with, Rhys?" Owen pressed on.
"No, Rhys is straight and so is Ianto for that matter."
Owen smirked, "Then I guess there's no harm in asking him out for a drink?"
"Since when were you interested in men?"
"I've been known to dabble from time to time, but for someone as gorgeous as Ianto, a little more than dabbling might be in order," Owen answered with a lascivious smile.
Gwen finally snapped, "When will you get it through your thick head? It's over between us! I don't care who or what you date or even if threaten to shag my husband, just leave me alone! You're acting like a pathetic child!"
Unfazed, Owen replied smugly, "In that case, I'll just go ask him out since you have plans with Jack."
Owen then stood and left a flustered Gwen. Upon entering the archives, Owen took a moment to appreciate Ianto's slim figure and graceful hands that were busing sorting files.
"Look mate, I want to apologize for what happened between Gwen and me. I'm sorry you found about it the way you did."
Ianto rolled his eyes: another apology from one of Gwen's ex-boyfriends. Since he was first and foremost a gentleman, Ianto turned and smiled, "It's alright, happens all the time."
"No, it's not alright. When I was shagging Gwen, her husband was just a hypothetical notion, an extra level of danger, but when I met you, it became real. I'm sorry that I never thought about the other person in this situation. You deserve better."
Touched by the rare show of earnest emotion from Owen, Ianto nodded his head and replied, "Thank you, I appreciate it."
While trying to feign nonchalance, Owen continued, "Listen, Gwen's busy with Jack tonight so how about we go out for a drink?"
There was a slight flinch in his face as Ianto asked, "Jack's with Gwen?"
"Yeah, they're having dinner or something," Owen answered, "Come on, it'll give us a chance to get to know each other outside of the Hub. Since you're down here most of the time I hardly get to see you."
Ianto sighed wondering why he was feeling so terrible about not seeing Jack that night. After a moment of quiet thought, he shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, we'll go somewhere after work."
It was the end of the day when Ianto sighed and stepped back from the shelf. A week's worth of work, he thought dejectedly after examining how little progress he had made. At the rate he was going, Ianto estimated it would take years to finish the project. The damp, dungeon-like conditions of the archives had him pining for the basement of the city library and he was not sure how much more he could endure of Gwen's sparring and subsequent flirting with Jack. The only thing that made the job bearable was the time he could spend alone with the Captain, slowly putting together the portrait of his complicated life. As if he had conjured the man, Ianto's thoughts were interrupted by Jack.
"I was thinking that maybe we could go out tonight. Would you like to join me for dinner?" Jack asked while leaning against a shelf. He noticed a brief moment of panic flash over Ianto's face and tried to backtrack, "We've both been working really hard this week, it'd be nice to go out and enjoy ourselves."
Remembering what Owen had told him earlier, Ianto suddenly did not like the idea of sitting through dinner with Gwen fawning over Jack. He also figured that Gwen would be none too happy as she had already warned him to keep his distance. Putting back on his unreadable face, Ianto answered, "I actually have plans tonight so you go out and have a good time."
As Ianto turned back toward the shelves, Jack staggered out of the room, shocked at the rejection.
Going on 7:00, Ianto emerged from the archives and gathered his things together. After a lingering glance at Jack's office, he left through the cog door with its new, weevil-friendly alarm. Shortly after, Owen stood up from his desk, stretching his arms, "I'm heading off," he announced.
Gwen answered teasingly, "What's the rush? Got a hot date?"
Owen leaned over and whispered, "As a matter of fact, I do . . . with Ianto."
Gwen's eyes nearly bulged out of her head as Owen smugly sauntered through the door. Sitting back in her chair, it took several minutes to realize she had Jack all to herself.