Fic: The Mathematics of Love
TITLE: The Mathematics of Love
AUTHOR: Estelle Cole
FANDOM: Torchwood
PAIRING: Jack/Ianto
RATING: PG-ish. All talk, no action.
WORD COUNT: 738
SPOILERS: Through Series 2 Episode 13, “Exit Wounds.”
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Just a nice conversation between friends.
“He’s in love with you, you know.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Jack didn’t look up from the file in front of him. Alex’s notes were in the margins of Emily’s careful typing-he’d know his scrawl and her florid writing style anywhere.
“Are you in love with him?”
Jack sighed so low in his chest that it sounded like a growl. “I fail to see, Mrs Williams, that that is any concern of yours.”
“He was in love with you before you swanned off on us last year, but now-hopelessly devoted, as the song goes.”
Jack finally looked up with a frown. “What brought this on?”
“Ianto’s gone out for takeaway and I haven’t seen you without him at your side since Tosh died. Thought I’d take advantage.”
“Take advantage to what? Meddle? One of your better skills, really, and damn the consequences.” Gwen’s hurt frown made him frown himself. “I’m sorry. I just really don’t want to talk about this.”
“All right. Fine. Just tell me you’ve talked about it with Ianto, and I’ll leave it.”
“Gwen: Not. Your. Business.”
“I beg to differ. We’re all we’ve got now. We’re all each other’s business. His whole life is here, is you, and you could shatter him with a word.”
Damned if she didn’t remind him of a Boston bull terrier that an old boyfriend had-relentless, growly, and stubborn as a brick wall. She probably drooled in her sleep, too. She wasn’t going to let this go until she got some kind of reasonable-sounding answer. This was both her best quality, and her worst. He tossed the pen to the side. “We’re fine. If he’s unhappy, he hasn’t said a thing to me about it.” His frown deepened, an unpleasant thought occurring. “He hasn’t said something to you, has he?”
Her smug smile annoyed him. “I wouldn’t betray a confidence if he had. But he hasn’t.”
“Then why are you busting my balls, here? I actually do have work to do.” He gestured to the pile of folders at his left. “Unless you want to do this.”
“No, no. I just was thinking about you, and Ianto, and we’ve seen what he can do when he’s in love. He’d step in front of a bullet for you, even knowing you’d come back and he wouldn’t.”
Jack knew that, and it scared the living bejesus out of him on a regular basis. “So what’s your point?”
“Well. I was doing a little math, and…stop laughing, I can do calculus, thank you.”
“I wasn't doubting your abilities, Gwen, just wondering what that has to do with Ianto.”
“I’m getting to that, if you’d be so courteous as to listen.” She shot him a look that made him realize she’d be a formidable mother someday-after she’d forgotten all about him. “Let’s assume for argument’s sake that you live for a million more years. Seems plausible, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Jack agreed, thinking he’d be a lot happier not to have to live past another hundred or so.
“Ianto, assuming he stays out of harm’s way and healthy, has maybe another seventy-five years, if we’re assuming we can all-well, most of us, live to around a hundred, barring illness or accident … or Torchwood.”
“Please tell me this has a point, because you’re depressing the hell out of me.”
“ If you love him, and you stay devoted to him for the rest of his life, you’d be giving up zero-point…..” She consulted a scrap of paper. “0.000075 of your life for him. Seventy-five one hundred-thousandths of your life to be with him.” She pushed the paper toward him and sat back. “What’s that worth to you, Jack?”
Everything in the whole damn universe, he thought, and picked up the tiny note. “That much, huh?” he said as lightly as he could around the lump in his throat.
The grinding of the cog door rolling back made them both look toward the young man walking in with two armfuls and a smile.
“I got the last three lagers in the cooler. Who’s up for Thai?”
Before Jack could stand, Gwen put a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to speak directly into his ear. “Either you marry that boy, or I’ll find someone who will. You don’t want to know what my bridesmaids wanted me to ask him to do.” She smiled, patted his shoulder, and headed to the kitchenette to help Ianto with his bundles.
When Jack was sure he’d wiped away the last of his tears, he joined them.
*end*
AUTHOR: Estelle Cole
FANDOM: Torchwood
PAIRING: Jack/Ianto
RATING: PG-ish. All talk, no action.
WORD COUNT: 738
SPOILERS: Through Series 2 Episode 13, “Exit Wounds.”
AUTHOR’S NOTES: Just a nice conversation between friends.
“He’s in love with you, you know.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Jack didn’t look up from the file in front of him. Alex’s notes were in the margins of Emily’s careful typing-he’d know his scrawl and her florid writing style anywhere.
“Are you in love with him?”
Jack sighed so low in his chest that it sounded like a growl. “I fail to see, Mrs Williams, that that is any concern of yours.”
“He was in love with you before you swanned off on us last year, but now-hopelessly devoted, as the song goes.”
Jack finally looked up with a frown. “What brought this on?”
“Ianto’s gone out for takeaway and I haven’t seen you without him at your side since Tosh died. Thought I’d take advantage.”
“Take advantage to what? Meddle? One of your better skills, really, and damn the consequences.” Gwen’s hurt frown made him frown himself. “I’m sorry. I just really don’t want to talk about this.”
“All right. Fine. Just tell me you’ve talked about it with Ianto, and I’ll leave it.”
“Gwen: Not. Your. Business.”
“I beg to differ. We’re all we’ve got now. We’re all each other’s business. His whole life is here, is you, and you could shatter him with a word.”
Damned if she didn’t remind him of a Boston bull terrier that an old boyfriend had-relentless, growly, and stubborn as a brick wall. She probably drooled in her sleep, too. She wasn’t going to let this go until she got some kind of reasonable-sounding answer. This was both her best quality, and her worst. He tossed the pen to the side. “We’re fine. If he’s unhappy, he hasn’t said a thing to me about it.” His frown deepened, an unpleasant thought occurring. “He hasn’t said something to you, has he?”
Her smug smile annoyed him. “I wouldn’t betray a confidence if he had. But he hasn’t.”
“Then why are you busting my balls, here? I actually do have work to do.” He gestured to the pile of folders at his left. “Unless you want to do this.”
“No, no. I just was thinking about you, and Ianto, and we’ve seen what he can do when he’s in love. He’d step in front of a bullet for you, even knowing you’d come back and he wouldn’t.”
Jack knew that, and it scared the living bejesus out of him on a regular basis. “So what’s your point?”
“Well. I was doing a little math, and…stop laughing, I can do calculus, thank you.”
“I wasn't doubting your abilities, Gwen, just wondering what that has to do with Ianto.”
“I’m getting to that, if you’d be so courteous as to listen.” She shot him a look that made him realize she’d be a formidable mother someday-after she’d forgotten all about him. “Let’s assume for argument’s sake that you live for a million more years. Seems plausible, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Jack agreed, thinking he’d be a lot happier not to have to live past another hundred or so.
“Ianto, assuming he stays out of harm’s way and healthy, has maybe another seventy-five years, if we’re assuming we can all-well, most of us, live to around a hundred, barring illness or accident … or Torchwood.”
“Please tell me this has a point, because you’re depressing the hell out of me.”
“ If you love him, and you stay devoted to him for the rest of his life, you’d be giving up zero-point…..” She consulted a scrap of paper. “0.000075 of your life for him. Seventy-five one hundred-thousandths of your life to be with him.” She pushed the paper toward him and sat back. “What’s that worth to you, Jack?”
Everything in the whole damn universe, he thought, and picked up the tiny note. “That much, huh?” he said as lightly as he could around the lump in his throat.
The grinding of the cog door rolling back made them both look toward the young man walking in with two armfuls and a smile.
“I got the last three lagers in the cooler. Who’s up for Thai?”
Before Jack could stand, Gwen put a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to speak directly into his ear. “Either you marry that boy, or I’ll find someone who will. You don’t want to know what my bridesmaids wanted me to ask him to do.” She smiled, patted his shoulder, and headed to the kitchenette to help Ianto with his bundles.
When Jack was sure he’d wiped away the last of his tears, he joined them.
*end*