Fic: The Morning After - Sequel To ‘It’s A Bag’s Life’
Oh dear, I seem to have run out of drabbles and the new prompt isn't up yet. Whatever shall I do? Oh well, maybe I'll just post a little fic instead ;)
Title: The Morning After - Sequel To ‘It’s A Bag’s Life’
Author: badly_knitted
Characters/Pairings: Ianto/Jack, Gwen, Tosh, Owen
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None at all
Warnings: I don’t think so…
Word Count: 1,119
Summary: It’s the day after the events of Fantasia, and perhaps there’s still some magic in the air.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood or any of the characters, sadly.
Gwen was a bit subdued when she arrived at the Hub the following morning, and it seemed she wasn’t the only one, though not, she suspected, for the same reason.
Scanning the Hub as she stepped through the cog door, everything was quiet and still. It looked like all the things that had accidentally become animated the previous day had returned to their normal inanimate state.
Jack and Ianto were leaning against the railing outside Jack’s office, sipping coffee and talking quietly, looking tired but content. Every so often Ianto’s eyes would stray to Jack’s coat where it hung in its usual place on the coat rack and he’d gaze at it wistfully for a moment before turning back to his lover.
Judging by how quiet it was, Owen had yet to arrive, which wasn’t surprising, especially considering the events of the previous day, but what did surprise her was the fact that Tosh, usually the first in aside from Ianto and Jack, was nowhere to be seen.
“Morning,” Gwen greeted Jack and Ianto quietly. It was rarely so blissfully peaceful in the Hub and she was reluctant to disrupt the relaxed atmosphere with unnecessary noise. Even Myfanwy was silent up in her aerie.
“Morning, Gwen,” Ianto replied. “There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen; I just made it a few minutes ago.”
“Thanks, Ianto. Looks like you two had a good night.”
“Oh yeah,” Jack grinned, “definitely one for my memoires, if I ever write them. Who knew a coat could be so innovative?”
“Considering whose coat it is, I wouldn’t have expected anything less,” Ianto smirked.
Laughing affectionately, Gwen made her way to the kitchen. She hadn’t slept much the night before and was badly in need of a pick-me-up; a cup of Ianto’s coffee would be just the thing.
OoOoOoOoO
Tosh breezed in half an hour later, a bright smile on her face, a spring in her step, and Owen’s jacket slung casually over her shoulder.
“Sorry I’m a little late,” she called out.
Jack grinned at her. “No problem, nothing much happening this morning anyway. Looks like you had as much fun last night as Ianto and I did.”
Tosh blushed. “It was a very interesting night. Let’s just say Owen’s jacket is a lot more attentive than its owner.”
“That wouldn’t be difficult,” Ianto observed. “Owen’s an idiot, it’s time he opened his eyes and saw what’s right in front of him.” He handed Tosh the fresh coffee he’d made for her.
“I think it would take a miracle for Owen to notice me. I can’t keep wasting my time waiting for something that will probably never happen, I should just get on with my life. Thank you,” she added, carefully sipping the steaming brew and sighing with pleasure. “So, it looks like everything is back to being inanimate again.”
“Yep! Well, all except for one thing. We’re not sure why, but Jack’s fern is still a lot livelier than it used to be. Not that he’s complaining, it really does give a very good scalp massage, but it’s a little strange that it didn’t return to normal when everything else did.”
“That is a bit odd. Maybe it’s because it was already a living thing when it was affected. I’d better take a look though, just to be safe.” Tosh picked up her scanner and headed up to Jack’s office to check out the fern, leaving Owen’s jacket hanging on the back of her chair.
OoOoOoOoO
Owen himself rolled in just before noon, looking a little hung over and very wary as he poked his head through the doorway to the Hub and asked, “Is it safe to come in?”
Gwen laughed. “What are you like? You’ll take on the worst aliens the Rift can throw at us, but you get scared when a few of our things come to life!”
“It’s alright for you,” Owen grumbled as he slunk through the doorway and cautiously made his way to his workstation. “Your things weren’t trying to kill you.” Spotting his jacket hanging on Tosh’s chair, he asked, “Where did you find that?”
“It was on the floor under your desk. Goodness knows how it got there. You really should take better care of your things, Owen,” she told him sternly, tossing her hair from her eyes.
Owen frowned, puzzled by something, and looked at Tosh more closely.
“There’s something different about you today, can’t put my finger on what though. Did you do something with your hair? It looks nice.”
“No, not really, just tried a new shampoo this morning,” Tosh said with a smile, “Oh, and I had a really good time with your jacket last night,” she added with a wink before turning and practically gliding over to her desk.
Owen’s mouth dropped open and he just stood there, staring, until Ianto slipped up behind him to murmur, “It’s always the quiet ones.”
Sparing Ianto a brief glance, Owen turned back to Tosh. He felt as though he were really seeing her for the first time, and he couldn’t help wondering why he’d never noticed before just how gorgeous she really was.
“So, Tosh, d’you have any plans for this evening? I was thinking, maybe we could go for a drink after work… If you want to, that is.”
Tosh smiled up at him. “I’d like that, Owen.”
“Right, great! I know this bar that does pretty good meals too.”
Jack sidled up to Ianto and said in a low voice, “Looks like Owen may finally have opened his eyes. I guess sometimes miracles do happen.”
“Certainly looks that way. She does have rather a glow to her today though, he’d have to have been blind not to notice.”
Smiling, the two men slipped away to Jack’s office, leaving their friends to plan their date in something resembling privacy. As they walked away, their voices drifted back to the others.
“So, tonight, how about you, me, the fern…?”
“No way, Harkness, you’re not corrupting an innocent fern! Besides, it might get damaged. You don’t want to be responsible for murdering it, do you?”
“I hadn’t thought about that. Okay, bad idea. Hey, I know what we could do instead though…”
As the office door closed behind them, Gwen pulled out her phone and called Rhys.
“Hey, it’s me. Looks like I might be getting out of work early again tonight. I’ll call you in a bit when I know for sure. Love you.” Smiling to herself as she hung up, she turned back to her paperwork, wishing there could be more days like this, but for now she just wanted to enjoy the rare feeling that for once, all was right with the world.
The End