Ficlet: 51st Century Pheromones
Title: 51st Century Pheromones
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, mentions Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Fragments.
Summary: In the midst of trying to catch a Pterodactyl, Ianto becomes aware of a very appealing aroma, and it’s coming from Jack.
Word Count: 461
Written For: My own prompt ‘Torchwood, Jack/Ianto, "You smell like that naturally?",’ at
fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
A/N: Dialogue is borrowed from the episode.
Plastered up against the outside wall of an abandoned warehouse, having retreated there to avoid getting gobbled up by a rather excitable Pterodactyl, or possibly Pteranodon, he’ll have to look into that, Ianto finds himself trading quips with his hopefully soon-to-be employer. It’s a bit of an incongruous situation, considering the circumstances, some of which Captain Harkness doesn’t know about and with luck will never find out. Still, Torchwood doesn’t exactly do normal, so he just runs with it.
“Must be your aftershave.”
“Never wear any.”
“You smell like that naturally?” Ianto knows he sounds incredulous, but Harkness can’t possibly be serious, can he?
“51st century pheromones. You people have no idea.”
Ianto’s not sure whether Jack’s joking about the pheromones or not, but either way, holy fuck the man smells good enough to eat, and Ianto would blush at that thought if he weren’t already flushed with exertion. This was not something he’d anticipated, but perhaps he should have. Knowing of Harkness’s reputation, he’d been prepared to flirt with the man, and if necessary even sleep with him, but he hadn’t expected to feel so attracted to him. Hadn’t expected to like the guy either, but despite his arrogance, Harkness is proving to be good company and fun to be around; that could complicate things.
It’s too late to turn back now though, Ianto knows he’s got to see this through, whatever happens. His previous attempts to gain entry to Torchwood Three all failed, if this one goes the same way then Lisa is doomed, but so far signs are encouraging.
They catch the Pteranodon, Pterodactyl, whatever, but in trying to break the Captain’s fall, Ianto finds himself flat on the warehouse floor, Jack lying on top of him. Their lips are inches apart, and Harkness is interested, Ianto can feel his rather prominent interest and his own body is tentatively starting to reciprocate. Then Ianto spies the falling Pteranodon and rolls them clear. Wouldn’t do to get squished at this point. Suddenly he’s the one on top, looking down into blue eyes, and that tantalising aroma is stronger than ever, filling his nose, flooding his senses. He almost leans in for a kiss, wants to so badly he can taste it, but just in time he remembers why he’s doing this; Lisa. How could he have forgotten even for a second?
“I should go.”
Pulling back, he scrambles to his feet and starts to leave.
“Hey! Report for work first thing tomorrow. Like the suit, by the way.”
It’s what he wanted, a job with Torchwood, so why does he feel so bad about getting it? Because now he’ll have to betray a man he thinks he could actually fall for, and that’s a complication he could’ve done without.
The End