Fic: Guiding Light
Title: Guiding Light
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Out in the Brecon Beacons at night, Jack and Ianto take the opportunity to do a bit of stargazing.
Word Count: 1146
Written For: Prompt 136 - The North Star at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
The Brecon Beacons wasn’t the safest place to be after dark, mostly because the lack of convenient lighting made the uneven ground treacherous. No one would want to fall off an unseen cliff in the middle of nowhere simply because they didn’t know it was there until it was too late. Nevertheless, there was no denying that seen from out there the night sky looked more beautiful than it ever did when faded out by Cardiff’s ever-present light pollution. Twinkling stars filled the firmament as far as the eye could see in every direction, tiny, scattered jewels that in reality were massive balls of superheated plasma infinitely slowly burning themselves out in the vacuum of space.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ianto was sitting on a rock, leaning back on his elbows as he scanned the heavens for shooting stars. There weren’t likely to be any, it was the wrong time of year for a meteor shower, but there was always the slim chance he might catch a glimpse of a passing spaceship.
“Very beautiful,” Jack agreed from the darkness beside him. “Almost makes me glad we’re stuck out here.”
This hadn’t been how they’d planned on spending their evening. They’d been practically on their way out the door, intent on picking up something for dinner and having a rare lazy evening at home, when the alert came through that had them speeding out of the city to deal with lost tourists of the alien variety. They might even have made it back to Cardiff before the chippie closed if not for a couple of unfortunate errors of judgement.
At this time of year, it stayed light until past nine in the evening, and they’d arrived on scene at just after eight, hiking up into the hills where they’d sorted out their accidental visitors’ navigation issues and sent them on their way. By that time, it had been rapidly getting dark, and that was when Jack had realised he’d left his torch in the SUV. Ianto had his with him though, so all should have been well, only they’d had a bit of bad luck.
“If you hadn’t dropped my torch into that ravine, we’d be settled in front of the TV by now, eating fish and chips,” Ianto pointed out mildly.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Jack protested. “My foot slipped on a loose stone, and I had to let go of the torch to grab hold of something, otherwise I’d be at the bottom of the ravine too. It’s a long way down.”
“I wasn’t blaming you, just stating facts.” Ianto offered Jack the bag he was holding. “Trail mix? Or would you prefer an energy bar?”
Jack helped himself to a handful. “No, trail mix is fine. Thanks. Good thing you grabbed the backpack out of the boot before we came up here.”
“Never go hiking without basic supplies; that’s just common sense. Water, food, first-aid kit… there’s even a thermal blanket in case it gets chilly later.”
“Shame there isn’t a torch.”
“There was.” Ianto pointed towards the nearby ravine. “It’s down there.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Never mind, at least it’s a clear, dry night, perfect for stargazing. See over there, just above the horizon? That’s Polaris, the North Star, beloved of travellers, and one of the most useful aids to navigation at night. Find it and you know you’re facing north.”
“Not so good on cloudy nights though.” Jack shifted closer to his lover, dipping his hand into the bag of trail mix again. “A compass is better; they work in all weathers.”
“If you happen to have a compass.” Ianto flicked his gaze Jack’s way. “Which I do.”
“Of course you do.” Jack grinned, his teeth a flash of white in the faint light from the rising quarter moon.
“Never leave home without it. Who knows when the Rift might scoop me up and dump me on a distant planet?” That had actually happened to him once, but thankfully the Doctor had stumbled across him by chance on an uninhabited world somewhere in the distant future and given him a ride home.
Jack shuddered. “Don’t remind me! I’ve never been so worried in my life.” His arm snaked around Ianto as if to make sure the Rift didn’t steal him away again, even though it didn’t come out this far.
Silence fell as they munched trail mix and enjoyed the closeness. When the bag was finally empty, Ianto folded it carefully and put it in his pocket. He made a mental note to restock the emergency bag tomorrow; better make sure there were a couple of torches in it this time. Extra batteries too.
“When I was a kid, dad used to bring us out here camping in the summer holidays. Mam and Rhi would disappear into the tent as soon as it got dark, but I’d sit by the fire with dad, and he’d point out the constellations to me. I thought he was amazing, he knew so much, but when I got a bit older I realised he was making it all up: The two-headed lion, the wolf with three eyes, the tree...” Ianto trailed off, chuckling at the memory of how gullible he’d been. “When I was eleven, he gave me a book on astronomy for my birthday. I read it from cover to cover, memorised all the official constellations, used to sneak out of bed on clear nights, go out in the garden, and try to find them in the sky. Um...” Scanning the sky near Polaris, he pointed. “That’s my favourite; Draco, the dragon.”
“How very patriotic.” Jack sounded amused.
“Shut up, you.” Ianto dug his elbow into Jack’s ribs.
“Ooof! No fair!”
“You asked for it!”
“I was joking! So...” Jack rubbed his side. “You still remember any others besides Draco?”
Ianto snorted. “Photographic memory, remember?”
“Right, stupid question.”
“Don’t you though? You’ve been on earth for over a century. All the time you’ve spent on rooftops, looking at the sky, I’d think you’d know the stars better than almost anyone on the planet, barring astronomers.”
Jack sighed. “I’ve seen the stars from hundreds of worlds, and they all have so many names it’s impossible to keep track. The constellations seen from earth look completely different viewed from other worlds. You couldn’t navigate by earth’s North Star on any other planet.”
“But there’d be other stars used for navigation elsewhere, wouldn’t there? Seems like that would be a pretty universal concept.”
“There are in some places, yes, but I don’t need them.”
“Let me guess; you use your wrist strap.”
His arm tightening around Ianto’s waist, Jack brushed a kiss to his lover’s temple. “Sometimes, but not anymore; all I need is you. You’re my North Star; no matter where I go in the universe, I know you’ll always guide me back home where I belong.”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Out in the Brecon Beacons at night, Jack and Ianto take the opportunity to do a bit of stargazing.
Word Count: 1146
Written For: Prompt 136 - The North Star at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
The Brecon Beacons wasn’t the safest place to be after dark, mostly because the lack of convenient lighting made the uneven ground treacherous. No one would want to fall off an unseen cliff in the middle of nowhere simply because they didn’t know it was there until it was too late. Nevertheless, there was no denying that seen from out there the night sky looked more beautiful than it ever did when faded out by Cardiff’s ever-present light pollution. Twinkling stars filled the firmament as far as the eye could see in every direction, tiny, scattered jewels that in reality were massive balls of superheated plasma infinitely slowly burning themselves out in the vacuum of space.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Ianto was sitting on a rock, leaning back on his elbows as he scanned the heavens for shooting stars. There weren’t likely to be any, it was the wrong time of year for a meteor shower, but there was always the slim chance he might catch a glimpse of a passing spaceship.
“Very beautiful,” Jack agreed from the darkness beside him. “Almost makes me glad we’re stuck out here.”
This hadn’t been how they’d planned on spending their evening. They’d been practically on their way out the door, intent on picking up something for dinner and having a rare lazy evening at home, when the alert came through that had them speeding out of the city to deal with lost tourists of the alien variety. They might even have made it back to Cardiff before the chippie closed if not for a couple of unfortunate errors of judgement.
At this time of year, it stayed light until past nine in the evening, and they’d arrived on scene at just after eight, hiking up into the hills where they’d sorted out their accidental visitors’ navigation issues and sent them on their way. By that time, it had been rapidly getting dark, and that was when Jack had realised he’d left his torch in the SUV. Ianto had his with him though, so all should have been well, only they’d had a bit of bad luck.
“If you hadn’t dropped my torch into that ravine, we’d be settled in front of the TV by now, eating fish and chips,” Ianto pointed out mildly.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” Jack protested. “My foot slipped on a loose stone, and I had to let go of the torch to grab hold of something, otherwise I’d be at the bottom of the ravine too. It’s a long way down.”
“I wasn’t blaming you, just stating facts.” Ianto offered Jack the bag he was holding. “Trail mix? Or would you prefer an energy bar?”
Jack helped himself to a handful. “No, trail mix is fine. Thanks. Good thing you grabbed the backpack out of the boot before we came up here.”
“Never go hiking without basic supplies; that’s just common sense. Water, food, first-aid kit… there’s even a thermal blanket in case it gets chilly later.”
“Shame there isn’t a torch.”
“There was.” Ianto pointed towards the nearby ravine. “It’s down there.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Never mind, at least it’s a clear, dry night, perfect for stargazing. See over there, just above the horizon? That’s Polaris, the North Star, beloved of travellers, and one of the most useful aids to navigation at night. Find it and you know you’re facing north.”
“Not so good on cloudy nights though.” Jack shifted closer to his lover, dipping his hand into the bag of trail mix again. “A compass is better; they work in all weathers.”
“If you happen to have a compass.” Ianto flicked his gaze Jack’s way. “Which I do.”
“Of course you do.” Jack grinned, his teeth a flash of white in the faint light from the rising quarter moon.
“Never leave home without it. Who knows when the Rift might scoop me up and dump me on a distant planet?” That had actually happened to him once, but thankfully the Doctor had stumbled across him by chance on an uninhabited world somewhere in the distant future and given him a ride home.
Jack shuddered. “Don’t remind me! I’ve never been so worried in my life.” His arm snaked around Ianto as if to make sure the Rift didn’t steal him away again, even though it didn’t come out this far.
Silence fell as they munched trail mix and enjoyed the closeness. When the bag was finally empty, Ianto folded it carefully and put it in his pocket. He made a mental note to restock the emergency bag tomorrow; better make sure there were a couple of torches in it this time. Extra batteries too.
“When I was a kid, dad used to bring us out here camping in the summer holidays. Mam and Rhi would disappear into the tent as soon as it got dark, but I’d sit by the fire with dad, and he’d point out the constellations to me. I thought he was amazing, he knew so much, but when I got a bit older I realised he was making it all up: The two-headed lion, the wolf with three eyes, the tree...” Ianto trailed off, chuckling at the memory of how gullible he’d been. “When I was eleven, he gave me a book on astronomy for my birthday. I read it from cover to cover, memorised all the official constellations, used to sneak out of bed on clear nights, go out in the garden, and try to find them in the sky. Um...” Scanning the sky near Polaris, he pointed. “That’s my favourite; Draco, the dragon.”
“How very patriotic.” Jack sounded amused.
“Shut up, you.” Ianto dug his elbow into Jack’s ribs.
“Ooof! No fair!”
“You asked for it!”
“I was joking! So...” Jack rubbed his side. “You still remember any others besides Draco?”
Ianto snorted. “Photographic memory, remember?”
“Right, stupid question.”
“Don’t you though? You’ve been on earth for over a century. All the time you’ve spent on rooftops, looking at the sky, I’d think you’d know the stars better than almost anyone on the planet, barring astronomers.”
Jack sighed. “I’ve seen the stars from hundreds of worlds, and they all have so many names it’s impossible to keep track. The constellations seen from earth look completely different viewed from other worlds. You couldn’t navigate by earth’s North Star on any other planet.”
“But there’d be other stars used for navigation elsewhere, wouldn’t there? Seems like that would be a pretty universal concept.”
“There are in some places, yes, but I don’t need them.”
“Let me guess; you use your wrist strap.”
His arm tightening around Ianto’s waist, Jack brushed a kiss to his lover’s temple. “Sometimes, but not anymore; all I need is you. You’re my North Star; no matter where I go in the universe, I know you’ll always guide me back home where I belong.”
The End