Fic: Too Charming
Title: Too Charming
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Rhiannon, Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Rhiannon can’t help worrying about her brother, especially since his boyfriend is such a charmer.
Word Count: 1140
Written For: Prompt 196 - Trust at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
If you loved someone, you should be able to trust them; that was just natural expectation. Anyone you loved should care enough not to want to hurt you in any way, and if they didn’t, then they obviously couldn’t love you as much as they claimed to.
Admittedly, Rhiannon hadn’t always been as confident in her husband’s fidelity as she might have liked, but that was more her own insecurities showing than anything Johnny had done. After all, he wasn’t exactly blessed with movie star good looks; he’d never been the hottest boy in town, even before he’d developed a beer belly.
If she were honest with herself, he was homely at best, and not at all the sort of man attractive women would throw themselves at. He wasn’t rich, influential, or powerful, he didn’t even have much in the way of muscles, despite working in construction, so she figured he wasn’t too likely to stray, if only through the lack of opportunities. He was a good man though, and a great dad, a bit rough around the edges maybe, but his heart was in the right place, and even now he looked at her as if he couldn’t quite believe she’d agreed to marry him. Why, only last week he’d been going on about what a lucky bastard he was to have such a sexy wife. Okay, so he’d been plastered at the time, but she’d still appreciated the sentiment.
Her brother’s bloke, on the other hand…
It wasn’t that she didn’t like Jack, but he really did look like a movie star, or a male model with a taste for retro fashions. He was slick and charming, with his too wide and too white smile, always getting right up in people’s personal space, and then there was the flirting! He didn’t even confine that to the most attractive men and women, he literally flirted with almost everyone he met, regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity. She’d even seen him flirt with a group of nuns! The only people safe from him were children, and she thanked God every day that there were at least some lines he wouldn’t cross. She never had to worry about him being around her kids. Everyone else, though…
How did Ianto cope? If Jack was her man…
Yes, it shamed her to admit it, but even though she was a happily married woman, not to mention a mother, her mind HAD gone there a time or two. She’d never act on those thoughts, obviously, but she was only human, and anyone who said they didn’t occasionally fantasise about someone other than their partner, whether a celebrity or an acquaintance, was either lying or had no imagination.
Anyway, that was beside the point. If she was involved with such a charmer, she’d be constantly wondering where he was, what he was doing, and who he was doing it with. In short, it would drive her mad with suspicion and jealousy, and yet Ianto claimed it didn’t bother him.
“How can it NOT bother you?” she asked one day while her brother was helping her with the dishes after a family dinner. Johnny was watching the evening news, and Jack was outside, playing with the kids.
“That depends. What exactly are we talking about?” Ianto put away the plate he’d been drying.
“Jack.”
“Ah, of course. What about Jack?”
“The flirting, what else? He’s such a charmer, and he goes around hitting on practically everyone he meets! He even flirts with me! Drives Johnny up the wall, although he’ll never say a word about it to Jack. He’s afraid Jack will think he’s fishing for attention.”
“Jack doesn’t hit on other people, Rhi. Like you said, he flirts, but there’s a world of difference between flirting with someone and trying to seduce them. The flirting and touching are just Jack’s way of communicating. Where he grew up, everyone was much more tactile, touch was like part of the language, and that’s a hard habit to break. As for the flirting, there’s nothing wrong with complimenting people and making them feel good about themselves. Jack spreads sunshine everywhere he goes, it’s one of the things I love about him.”
“But doesn’t it worry you?”
“Why would it?”
“What if the flirting isn’t as innocent as he pretends? How do you ever know for sure?”
“Jack isn’t pretending anything. Yes, occasionally someone reads more into his flirting than he intends, but if that happens, he lets them down gently, unless they’re being obnoxious about it, in which case he takes a firmer approach, often with the judicious application of Retcon. But contrary to what some people seem to think, he’s perfectly capable of being in a committed, monogamous relationship, and we’re very happy together.”
“I don’t know. I mean look at him, he’s the best-looking man in the whole of Cardiff! He could have anyone he wants, but he’s with you!”
“So you think I’m not good enough for him? Thanks a lot.”
“I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just, if I was dating someone that handsome, I’d be scared to let him out of my sight in case he realised he could do better.”
“You should probably stop there, before you dig yourself in any deeper.” Ianto was trying hard not to laugh. “It’s a good thing I don’t take offence easily.”
Pouring the dishwater away, Rhi picked up the towel and swatted at her brother with it. “Twpsyn!”
Ianto dodged out of her way, chuckling, before turning serious once more. “I trust Jack completely, Rhi. I trust him because I know him. He’s far from perfect, he can be childish, petty, infuriating, stubborn, messy, and thoughtless, sometimes all at the same time, and there are days when I feel like strangling him, but one thing he’s not is unfaithful. He’ll cheat at every game ever invented, but he won’t cheat on someone he’s in a relationship with, and he never makes promises he doesn’t intend to keep.”
“Well, I just hope he never proves you wrong, because if he ever breaks your heart, I swear I’ll kill him myself.”
“Now that would be interesting.”
Ianto still seemed more amused than anything else, and Rhiannon shook her head in exasperation. She was trying to protect her baby brother, why couldn’t he see that? He treated all her concerns like a joke!
Then again, he wasn’t a baby anymore; he was an adult with a mind of his own. Maybe he didn’t need her protection, but that wasn’t going to keep her from worrying; it was what big sisters did, and as the only sister Ianto had, she felt entitled to have the last word.
“Well, I hope you’re right about him. But whatever happens, just remember, I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Rhiannon, Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Rhiannon can’t help worrying about her brother, especially since his boyfriend is such a charmer.
Word Count: 1140
Written For: Prompt 196 - Trust at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
If you loved someone, you should be able to trust them; that was just natural expectation. Anyone you loved should care enough not to want to hurt you in any way, and if they didn’t, then they obviously couldn’t love you as much as they claimed to.
Admittedly, Rhiannon hadn’t always been as confident in her husband’s fidelity as she might have liked, but that was more her own insecurities showing than anything Johnny had done. After all, he wasn’t exactly blessed with movie star good looks; he’d never been the hottest boy in town, even before he’d developed a beer belly.
If she were honest with herself, he was homely at best, and not at all the sort of man attractive women would throw themselves at. He wasn’t rich, influential, or powerful, he didn’t even have much in the way of muscles, despite working in construction, so she figured he wasn’t too likely to stray, if only through the lack of opportunities. He was a good man though, and a great dad, a bit rough around the edges maybe, but his heart was in the right place, and even now he looked at her as if he couldn’t quite believe she’d agreed to marry him. Why, only last week he’d been going on about what a lucky bastard he was to have such a sexy wife. Okay, so he’d been plastered at the time, but she’d still appreciated the sentiment.
Her brother’s bloke, on the other hand…
It wasn’t that she didn’t like Jack, but he really did look like a movie star, or a male model with a taste for retro fashions. He was slick and charming, with his too wide and too white smile, always getting right up in people’s personal space, and then there was the flirting! He didn’t even confine that to the most attractive men and women, he literally flirted with almost everyone he met, regardless of gender, age, or ethnicity. She’d even seen him flirt with a group of nuns! The only people safe from him were children, and she thanked God every day that there were at least some lines he wouldn’t cross. She never had to worry about him being around her kids. Everyone else, though…
How did Ianto cope? If Jack was her man…
Yes, it shamed her to admit it, but even though she was a happily married woman, not to mention a mother, her mind HAD gone there a time or two. She’d never act on those thoughts, obviously, but she was only human, and anyone who said they didn’t occasionally fantasise about someone other than their partner, whether a celebrity or an acquaintance, was either lying or had no imagination.
Anyway, that was beside the point. If she was involved with such a charmer, she’d be constantly wondering where he was, what he was doing, and who he was doing it with. In short, it would drive her mad with suspicion and jealousy, and yet Ianto claimed it didn’t bother him.
“How can it NOT bother you?” she asked one day while her brother was helping her with the dishes after a family dinner. Johnny was watching the evening news, and Jack was outside, playing with the kids.
“That depends. What exactly are we talking about?” Ianto put away the plate he’d been drying.
“Jack.”
“Ah, of course. What about Jack?”
“The flirting, what else? He’s such a charmer, and he goes around hitting on practically everyone he meets! He even flirts with me! Drives Johnny up the wall, although he’ll never say a word about it to Jack. He’s afraid Jack will think he’s fishing for attention.”
“Jack doesn’t hit on other people, Rhi. Like you said, he flirts, but there’s a world of difference between flirting with someone and trying to seduce them. The flirting and touching are just Jack’s way of communicating. Where he grew up, everyone was much more tactile, touch was like part of the language, and that’s a hard habit to break. As for the flirting, there’s nothing wrong with complimenting people and making them feel good about themselves. Jack spreads sunshine everywhere he goes, it’s one of the things I love about him.”
“But doesn’t it worry you?”
“Why would it?”
“What if the flirting isn’t as innocent as he pretends? How do you ever know for sure?”
“Jack isn’t pretending anything. Yes, occasionally someone reads more into his flirting than he intends, but if that happens, he lets them down gently, unless they’re being obnoxious about it, in which case he takes a firmer approach, often with the judicious application of Retcon. But contrary to what some people seem to think, he’s perfectly capable of being in a committed, monogamous relationship, and we’re very happy together.”
“I don’t know. I mean look at him, he’s the best-looking man in the whole of Cardiff! He could have anyone he wants, but he’s with you!”
“So you think I’m not good enough for him? Thanks a lot.”
“I didn’t mean it like that! It’s just, if I was dating someone that handsome, I’d be scared to let him out of my sight in case he realised he could do better.”
“You should probably stop there, before you dig yourself in any deeper.” Ianto was trying hard not to laugh. “It’s a good thing I don’t take offence easily.”
Pouring the dishwater away, Rhi picked up the towel and swatted at her brother with it. “Twpsyn!”
Ianto dodged out of her way, chuckling, before turning serious once more. “I trust Jack completely, Rhi. I trust him because I know him. He’s far from perfect, he can be childish, petty, infuriating, stubborn, messy, and thoughtless, sometimes all at the same time, and there are days when I feel like strangling him, but one thing he’s not is unfaithful. He’ll cheat at every game ever invented, but he won’t cheat on someone he’s in a relationship with, and he never makes promises he doesn’t intend to keep.”
“Well, I just hope he never proves you wrong, because if he ever breaks your heart, I swear I’ll kill him myself.”
“Now that would be interesting.”
Ianto still seemed more amused than anything else, and Rhiannon shook her head in exasperation. She was trying to protect her baby brother, why couldn’t he see that? He treated all her concerns like a joke!
Then again, he wasn’t a baby anymore; he was an adult with a mind of his own. Maybe he didn’t need her protection, but that wasn’t going to keep her from worrying; it was what big sisters did, and as the only sister Ianto had, she felt entitled to have the last word.
“Well, I hope you’re right about him. But whatever happens, just remember, I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”
The End