Fic: When You Wish…
Title: When You Wish…
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, his TARDIS.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto has been searching for Jack for months now, but he’s no closer to finding his lover than he was at the start.
Word Count: 1192
Written For: Prompt 190 - Wish at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
A/N: Set in my ‘Through Time and Space’ ‘Verse.
Another world, another spaceport, another shantytown where another illicit black market operated. It had its differences, but in the end it was the same as all the others: shabby, dirty, but still somehow thriving in the shadows, largely ignored by the local authorities who knew if they raided the place, it would be a waste of time and effort. Everyone would simply scatter like vermin, following escape routes only they knew to hiding places only they could find.
Ianto was growing accustomed to such places, had earned the respect of the people who made their living selling things that had come into their possession by less than honest means, and trading their services for currency and favours. His own reputation had been growing steadily over the past ten or so earth months; he’d been an outsider when he’d started out, but now they thought of him as one of their own. He belonged, and those who called him friend would defend him to their last breath. They might be criminals, according to the various law enforcement agencies, but they had their own code of honour, and they looked out for each other.
As he strolled among the makeshift stalls and ragged tarps spread out to display the sellers’ wares, several people called out greetings that he replied to with a grin and a few choice words of his own, mostly good-natured insults. He smiled to himself as he considered how much his definition of the word People had changed since he’d left earth.
There were dozens of beings from at least twenty different worlds selling and buying here, and he was the only human. Some were basically humanoid, others were more like giant insects, sentient birds, or reptiles. Skin colours were many and varied, as were the colours and styles of clothing. Some folk had fur, or feathers, or scales, multiple arms, or other appendages like tentacles, extra legs, eyes on stalks, antennae instead of ears… Instead of a nose, one had a flexible proboscis similar to an elephant’s trunk, although considerably shorter. By now Ianto was so used to their strangeness that he scarcely noticed, except to mark those he wasn’t familiar with for later investigation. It was wise to find out as much as he could about the various races and individuals he encountered.
Dressed as Des Llewellyn, the name he used among the less than law-abiding rogues the black markets catered to, Ianto browsed the stalls, haggling hard and making the occasional purchase, things that he or his TARDIS either thought might be useful or liked the look of. He chatted amiably to the people he knew, more cautiously to those who were strangers, but all the time he was looking for one person in particular, and as always, the result weas the same.
Just like on every other world Ianto had visited, Jack was nowhere to be found, and none of the people he asked had any information that might prove helpful. It was depressing, but not particularly surprising; Ianto had known almost from the start that finding his lover wouldn’t be easy, understood that no matter how hard he searched it could take years, even centuries, to track him down, but he wasn’t about to give up hope. He had eternity ahead of him, and so did Jack; however long it took, eventually they would run into each other. He had to believe that, otherwise what was the point of even trying?
Stowing his final purchase in the worn canvas bag slung over his shoulder, Ianto drifted away from the open area where the market had set up and into the maze of alleyways beyond. He walked steadily, unhurried but with purpose, alert and cautious because you could never be sure what might be lurking in the shadows. In that respect, it was a lot like walking through the alleys of Cardiff, but instead of Weevils, he had to watch out for the kinds of criminals who were shunned even by the black marketeers.
He didn’t encounter any trouble; his reputation was such that few would dare mess with him these days, and anyway, his TARDIS, who was a constant presence in the back of his mind, was able to detect potential danger and direct him around it. Before long, he reached the far edge of the town that surrounded the spaceport, emerging from the derelict and abandoned buildings at its outermost edge onto a stretch of wasteland, where even older buildings had long since been demolished.
He didn’t stop there, nor did he turn back. After about a hundred yards, the scattered remnants of buildings gave way to smoother ground, covered in a short, tough, blue-green mosslike plant. By now he was walking uphill, away from the spaceport and its attendant township, nestled at the bottom of the valley. He strode on through a hazy violet dusk as the planet’s sun slowly vanished below the horizon somewhere behind him, reaching the top of the hill just before the light faded away completely. There he settled himself, leaning his back against the solid trunk of a tree that hadn’t been there until a few minutes ago: his TARDIS, in her favourite form.
‘Why did you wish to come up here?’ she asked him, quietly curious.
“To breathe some fresh air,” Ianto murmured. “You’re lucky you have no sense of smell, because it positively reeked back there. Anyway, I overheard someone earlier today talking about a meteor shower tonight. Since we’re here, I thought it might be worth taking a look. It’s supposed to be quite impressive.” He fell silent, watching the sky, and sure enough, as the night grew darker, he saw a shooting star sweep across the blackness, almost too fast for his eyes to follow. It was followed by another, and another, until there were so many, they lit up the night in a dazzling display.
‘It is beautiful,’ the TARDIS whispered.
“Yes, it is. You know, back on earth people used to think that if you wished on a shooting star, your wish would come true.”
‘That is superstition. A falling star is merely a meteorite; as such, it can have no influence over wishes.’
Ianto laughed. “I know, and I’m not superstitious, but it’s still a nice thought, so maybe I’ll make a wish anyway. What harm can it do?”
‘I believe there is an earth saying, “Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it.” That sounds like a contradiction.’
“Not really. The phrasing of a wish needs to be carefully thought out. Imagine wishing for a million pounds, and you get it, but only because the person you love the most dies suddenly and leaves it to you in their will.”
‘Ah, I see. To get what you wish for might mean losing something equally precious.’
“Exactly.” Nevertheless, Ianto still made his wish on every star that fell that night, hoping and praying that he might find Jack soon, safe and well. If fate was being particularly generous, perhaps they’d be happily reunited for the rest of eternity, never having to part again. That was something worth wishing for.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, his TARDIS.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto has been searching for Jack for months now, but he’s no closer to finding his lover than he was at the start.
Word Count: 1192
Written For: Prompt 190 - Wish at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
A/N: Set in my ‘Through Time and Space’ ‘Verse.
Another world, another spaceport, another shantytown where another illicit black market operated. It had its differences, but in the end it was the same as all the others: shabby, dirty, but still somehow thriving in the shadows, largely ignored by the local authorities who knew if they raided the place, it would be a waste of time and effort. Everyone would simply scatter like vermin, following escape routes only they knew to hiding places only they could find.
Ianto was growing accustomed to such places, had earned the respect of the people who made their living selling things that had come into their possession by less than honest means, and trading their services for currency and favours. His own reputation had been growing steadily over the past ten or so earth months; he’d been an outsider when he’d started out, but now they thought of him as one of their own. He belonged, and those who called him friend would defend him to their last breath. They might be criminals, according to the various law enforcement agencies, but they had their own code of honour, and they looked out for each other.
As he strolled among the makeshift stalls and ragged tarps spread out to display the sellers’ wares, several people called out greetings that he replied to with a grin and a few choice words of his own, mostly good-natured insults. He smiled to himself as he considered how much his definition of the word People had changed since he’d left earth.
There were dozens of beings from at least twenty different worlds selling and buying here, and he was the only human. Some were basically humanoid, others were more like giant insects, sentient birds, or reptiles. Skin colours were many and varied, as were the colours and styles of clothing. Some folk had fur, or feathers, or scales, multiple arms, or other appendages like tentacles, extra legs, eyes on stalks, antennae instead of ears… Instead of a nose, one had a flexible proboscis similar to an elephant’s trunk, although considerably shorter. By now Ianto was so used to their strangeness that he scarcely noticed, except to mark those he wasn’t familiar with for later investigation. It was wise to find out as much as he could about the various races and individuals he encountered.
Dressed as Des Llewellyn, the name he used among the less than law-abiding rogues the black markets catered to, Ianto browsed the stalls, haggling hard and making the occasional purchase, things that he or his TARDIS either thought might be useful or liked the look of. He chatted amiably to the people he knew, more cautiously to those who were strangers, but all the time he was looking for one person in particular, and as always, the result weas the same.
Just like on every other world Ianto had visited, Jack was nowhere to be found, and none of the people he asked had any information that might prove helpful. It was depressing, but not particularly surprising; Ianto had known almost from the start that finding his lover wouldn’t be easy, understood that no matter how hard he searched it could take years, even centuries, to track him down, but he wasn’t about to give up hope. He had eternity ahead of him, and so did Jack; however long it took, eventually they would run into each other. He had to believe that, otherwise what was the point of even trying?
Stowing his final purchase in the worn canvas bag slung over his shoulder, Ianto drifted away from the open area where the market had set up and into the maze of alleyways beyond. He walked steadily, unhurried but with purpose, alert and cautious because you could never be sure what might be lurking in the shadows. In that respect, it was a lot like walking through the alleys of Cardiff, but instead of Weevils, he had to watch out for the kinds of criminals who were shunned even by the black marketeers.
He didn’t encounter any trouble; his reputation was such that few would dare mess with him these days, and anyway, his TARDIS, who was a constant presence in the back of his mind, was able to detect potential danger and direct him around it. Before long, he reached the far edge of the town that surrounded the spaceport, emerging from the derelict and abandoned buildings at its outermost edge onto a stretch of wasteland, where even older buildings had long since been demolished.
He didn’t stop there, nor did he turn back. After about a hundred yards, the scattered remnants of buildings gave way to smoother ground, covered in a short, tough, blue-green mosslike plant. By now he was walking uphill, away from the spaceport and its attendant township, nestled at the bottom of the valley. He strode on through a hazy violet dusk as the planet’s sun slowly vanished below the horizon somewhere behind him, reaching the top of the hill just before the light faded away completely. There he settled himself, leaning his back against the solid trunk of a tree that hadn’t been there until a few minutes ago: his TARDIS, in her favourite form.
‘Why did you wish to come up here?’ she asked him, quietly curious.
“To breathe some fresh air,” Ianto murmured. “You’re lucky you have no sense of smell, because it positively reeked back there. Anyway, I overheard someone earlier today talking about a meteor shower tonight. Since we’re here, I thought it might be worth taking a look. It’s supposed to be quite impressive.” He fell silent, watching the sky, and sure enough, as the night grew darker, he saw a shooting star sweep across the blackness, almost too fast for his eyes to follow. It was followed by another, and another, until there were so many, they lit up the night in a dazzling display.
‘It is beautiful,’ the TARDIS whispered.
“Yes, it is. You know, back on earth people used to think that if you wished on a shooting star, your wish would come true.”
‘That is superstition. A falling star is merely a meteorite; as such, it can have no influence over wishes.’
Ianto laughed. “I know, and I’m not superstitious, but it’s still a nice thought, so maybe I’ll make a wish anyway. What harm can it do?”
‘I believe there is an earth saying, “Be careful what you wish for, because you might get it.” That sounds like a contradiction.’
“Not really. The phrasing of a wish needs to be carefully thought out. Imagine wishing for a million pounds, and you get it, but only because the person you love the most dies suddenly and leaves it to you in their will.”
‘Ah, I see. To get what you wish for might mean losing something equally precious.’
“Exactly.” Nevertheless, Ianto still made his wish on every star that fell that night, hoping and praying that he might find Jack soon, safe and well. If fate was being particularly generous, perhaps they’d be happily reunited for the rest of eternity, never having to part again. That was something worth wishing for.
The End