Hello Goodbye Hello Goodbye - Open to holycrap2hearts & te_gwas

[fitz_fortune]

It was more or less inevitable that Ianto would leave again, but somehow Fitz had been hoping that that would change now that things between them had changed. Apparently not. As he walks into the console room, the Doctor is entering coordinates and chattering as Ianto double checks that he has everything that he came on board the TARDIS with. He

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[fitz_fortune]

Fitz settles down into the chair and props his foot up on the table. When the Doctor comes back burdened with ice packs, he can't help chuckling. Seeing him setting excess ice packs on the table, Fitz can help but think what a ridiculous man the Doctor is. It's surprising that he actually gets anything done at all. He takes the pills and the water from the Doctor, but doesn't take them right away. The Doctor could be giving him anything, and even if he had good intentions, he doesn't exactly have a sparkling history with identifying dangerous substances.

When he confirms to himself that it's just Paracetamol and not something else, he takes the pills and sets the glass of water on the table, trading it for an ice pack to set on his knee.

Comfortable now, Fitz thinks on the problem of Ianto. They'll have to find him. The Doctor will be expecting him to be eager for a reunion and Fitz can't risk Ianto showing up at a crucial moment and ruining everything. No, he'll have to get him back on the TARDIS before he can make sure he never comes back. Fitz sighs. Seems this is going to be a 'two steps forward and one step back' sort of situation.

"Can we find Ianto?"

[holycrap2hearts]

As if on cue, the phone in the Doctor's pocket buzzes, signaling a reply from Ianto. Funny you should ask, it reads, we've just landed in Cardiff.

He smiles at Fitz. "Don't worry, they're in Ca--" he is cut off as his mobile buzzes and lights up again with another message. Funny strange, not funny ha-ha, followed by a set of coordinates. "They're in Cardiff, he's sent me the coordinates. I'm sure they're fine, Fitz, it'll be okay." The Doctor leans over to give Fitz a comforting kiss on the forehead before walking to the console. Maybe the old girl will give them a smoother takeoff than usual given Fitz's state, he hopes as he presses buttons and turns dials. He can't imagine being flung out of the chair will help his knee.

She doesn't, of course. It's just as bumpy as normal, but soon enough they land, and after a quick check on the readout monitor, he opens the door and starts to head out.

[fitz_fortune]

A kiss on the forehead. The sentimental fool. The Doctor can find a man across space and time, but he doesn't notice such a fundamental change in a man he's known for years? Not even his sappy sentimentality is a credit to him. Fitz rolls his eyes as the TARDIS goes through its usual bumps and jolts. A man like the Doctor doesn't deserve a ship like this.

When they land, Fitz sits for a moment before hefting himself up to follow the Doctor out. It wouldn't do to seem less than enthusiastic about meeting up with Ianto again.

[te_gwas]

The coordinates are for Roald Dahl Plass - or what was Roald Dahl Plass last time he checked, 1100 years previous. The buildings surrounding it have been built and rebuilt over that time to the point of being unrecognizable, though the plass itself is still essentially the same. Honestly, Ianto's trying not to look at anything too closely. It's creepy.

He's also trying not to think too hard about the TARDIS being in two places at once, because that's weird. Maybe he'll just try to keep one in his field of vision. When the second TARDIS begins to fade into existence, Ianto starts to jog, then breaks into a run as the door opens. The Doctor, being the first to exit, receives the brunt of Ianto's momentum in an enthusiastic hug.

What's been minutes for them has been a month of excruciating waiting for him. Not that he's happy Zagreus opened the watch, no, but it does mean going home to stay. He pulls back to say something when Fitz walks - limps out of the TARDIS.

"What happened?" he asks instead, brow creasing with concern.

[holycrap2hearts]

"Oof," the Doctor lets out when he is suddenly and unexpectedly hugged by Ianto. He responds quick enough with a hug of his own. He may have just seen Ianto minutes earlier, but now Ianto is back to stay, and that makes all the difference.

But all good hugs come to an end, and since this is a good hug, it ends. "Ah, it would seem Fitz took a rather nasty fall. Nothing some rest and a few well-placed ice packs won't solve though." He turns to face his injured friend. "You really should be more careful, Fitz. We're lucky nothing was broken.

[fitz_fortune]

"Good thing I've got enough ice packs to start the next ice age." Fitz puts on a good-natured smile, helped along by his real embarrassment. Tripping down a flight of stairs isn't smooth by any definition, and he can hardly explain it any other way.

He turns the smile on Ianto. "I met a carpet that put up a fight. It was a hell of a battle." God, Ianto looks so eager. Of course he would be, walking from his life back into the TARDIS. The TARDIS must have been the only truly exciting thing to ever happen to him. What a match for the Doctor. What a crew - dim and dull.

Fitz's eyes flicker down Ianto's torso before returning to his face. The man does have a few good qualities. It's just a pity that none of them are his personality.

[te_gwas]

Ianto's eyes flick between the Doctor and Fitz, assessing both of them. He's relieved to hear that Fitz isn't seriously injured. Assuming the Doctor got his clue, it's good to know that nothing terrible happened in the few minutes he was gone.

Fitz gets a (slightly more gentle) hug next, followed by a kiss he's been waiting a month to give. He's home, finally, finally home. He doesn't have anything but the clothes on his back and Zagreus is officially 'at large', but he's home.

"He opened the watch," he says when he finally pulls back, looking to the Doctor. Hands still resting on Fitz's waist, he positions himself so that Fitz might lean on him should he need to. "We - came here to get away from him." And... he doesn't know what to do about that loose end, which terrifies him, but that's a worry he can maybe push to the back of his mind for now.

[fitz_fortune]

Fitz doesn't lean on Ianto. Instead, he leans away slightly - not enough to displace Ianto's hands, but enough to let him know that he's capable of standing on his own. The exaggeration is working well enough to garner sympathy, but he's not an invalid.

"We were just there. He must have skedaddled."

[te_gwas]

Oh. Good thing Ianto just, uh, happened to be standing that way incidentally and wasn't actually doing it to help Fitz. Right.

"Ah. Well... good," he proclaims, uncertain if Zagreus being AWOL is actually a good thing. He could be wreaking havoc on an unsuspecting German town. But he's out of their hair for now and that's the important thing.

"Shall we, erm--?" He nods toward the TARDIS - his TARDIS, though he spares a glance over his shoulder. Future Cardiff is great and all, but after the house in Germany Ianto is bursting at the seams to run off on adventures.

[holycrap2hearts]

"Oh yes," the Doctor says brightly. "No point in standing around out here when we have all of space-time to wander." As he ushers his two companions into the TARDIS he tries not to look back at the future version of his ship. The urge to rush over and make sure she is okay too is hard to ignore, but it isn't his place to do that, not yet.

Besides, he has places to go, people to see, civilizations to save, parties to attend! "So Ianto," he says as he bounces over to the console. "Where would you like to go? You get to pick. Anywhere you'd like."

[te_gwas]

Ianto can't help but look back, if only for a moment. She'll be alright, won't she? And he can always check in on her.

When he enters the TARDIS, he stops to trail his hand down the wall in a familiar gesture. It's good to be home, better than he can describe. Something unwinds and settles in his chest, a tangle of anxiety that'd been growing for several months. He's not Ianto the Victorian anymore, not Ianto the carer, the ice cream fetcher, the inevitable delayer. He's just Ianto, the traveler.

He'd like to suggest that they stop by the house in Germany, one last time, because his watch and his diary and his - oh, well, not his guitar. But his clothes and his things are there and he doesn't like being without them. On the other hand, he's only just left. And he was promised a trip, wasn't he?

"Getrolon Twenty-Six," he decides, bracing one hand against a girder with a smile. "If you've umbrellas to spare."

[holycrap2hearts]

Oh, yes, they had decided on that, hadn't they? In all of the excitement it had slipped his mind. "You didn't forget, I see," the Doctor says with a bit of a laugh. Not, of course, that Ianto would forget, he has a very good memory after all. "Orange juice rain it is then!"

He begins fiddling with the fiddly bits on the console, but stops after a moment. Fitz. "Perhaps we ought to wait until tomorrow morning on that trip. I'm not sure Fitz is up for Getrolon Twenty-Six's terrain just yet, and I'm sure you must have had quite a taxing day as well, Ianto." He pauses. He's itching to go off on a proper adventure and he thinks Ianto might be as well, but Fitz is hurt.

"Er, is that all right with you, Ianto? Fitz?"

[fitz_fortune]

Fitz looks from one man to the other and takes in their contained enthusiasm. They both want to go. They don't care at all that he'd just fallen down a flight of stairs and was seriously injured. Even if he wasn't really that injured, it was still an insult.

"You two go." He gives them a smile to let them know it's alright. Like they'd do anything else anyway. "I'm going for a kip." And with that, he's off limping towards his bedroom. If they happen to get caught up in some ridiculous, dangerous business, all the better it is for Fitz.

The more time he has to think of a plan, the better.