Fic: Vizzini's Rule (2/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 2
Rating: PG-13 for this chapter
Warnings: A spot of violence
Spoilers: Cyberwoman (1x4) and Fragments (2x12)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! And all (c)'s to Chris Chibnall for dialogue from Fragments. No infringment, only worship, intended!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which Ianto Jones meets Captain Jack Harkness.
Notes: Comments and con/crit VERY much appreciated. Thanks bunches to everyone who read chapter 1! :o)
Chapter One
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Two
Ianto thought about Captain Jack Harkness. He was a bit of a legend in Torchwood. There were rumors about him on every possible topic: that there had been a ‘Captain Jack Harkness’ at Torchwood for over 100 years, that he’d murdered his entire team and gotten away with it, that he’d shag anyone and anything that crossed his path, that he was really an alien…the list went on and on. Ianto discounted all the rumors as idle speculation. Well, except the bit about shagging.
He’d seen Captain Harkness once when he was visiting London shortly after Ianto had started. He’d watched from an upper level as the Captain walked, no make that swaggered through Torchwood Tower on his way to Director Hartman’s office, grinning and flirting with just about everyone who crossed his path. Several people around Ianto had pointed him out and told him some of the more salacious rumors they had heard. Ianto only half listened. He couldn’t take his eyes off the tall figure in the billowing coat. When the Captain entered the elevator and turned to face front, Ianto would have sworn he was looking right at him. Those blue eyes, staring into him, through him. The elevator doors closed and jolted Ianto back to reality. There was no way the Captain could have seen him, no reason for him to even look at Ianto. But after that he believed the shagging rumors. The man had the gravitational pull of a small planet and Ianto could see how anyone could get caught in it.
A small sound wiped the reminiscent smile from Ianto’s face. He could hear Lisa crying softly in the next room. When he glanced at his watch he was amazed at how long he had slept. Sighing, he pulled his aching body off the bed and went to give Lisa another shot of morphine. He would finish what he had been working on before he almost burned the place down and then he would think about Captain Harkness and how to approach him.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
In the end it was really very simple.
Getting to the end, however, had been a nightmare.
Ianto and Lisa had agreed that Torchwood Three was their only option. If they couldn’t find help there in one form or another, they weren’t going to find it anywhere else. With that in mind, Ianto made plans to move Lisa to Cardiff. He found a basement flat in a sketchy part of town where he was pretty sure the neighbors wouldn’t be interested in striking up a friendship with the new boy next door. He rented a large truck and in one horrible night he moved Lisa, all the machinery and the conversion-cum-life-support equipment from London to Cardiff.
After he had Lisa settled in the flat, Ianto spent all his spare time watching Captain Harkness. He knew the secret location of Torchwood Three and found their ‘hidden base’ a little charming and very Captain Jack. He had to wait several days for his chance to intercept the Captain under the right circumstances. In the meantime he studied the team, learning all he could about them. The tall woman with long hair and the other man on the team, whom Ianto guessed was a doctor of some sort, were the two he had seen scavenging the wreckage of Torchwood Tower. The only other member of the team was a small Asian woman who appeared to be the computer guru. She was the most solitary of the team, often walking alone behind the rest when they all left the base together. Ianto decided that if he made no headway with the Captain, he would try to approach her.
One night, about a week after Ianto had arrived in Cardiff, he saw the Captain appear out of nowhere on the Plass. Ianto didn’t have time to wonder where he had come from, since the Captain took off at a run, yelling something about coordinates into his ear piece. Following at a discrete distance, Ianto saw the Captain veer off into a nearby alley and then speed up as something caught his eye.
Ianto just focused on keeping up. The Captain was running at a furious pace, chasing something or someone that Ianto could never quite see. They broke out of the buildings and were soon running through a large park. The Captain finally caught up with the figure and launched himself at it. Ianto hung back, waiting for his opening. He found a large piece of tree branch and watched the fight with a practiced eye.
His chance came when the creature rolled the Captain onto his back and went for his throat. Ianto jumped in and gave it a solid whack with the tree branch. Nothing. He hit it again and it raised its head to snarl at him. Ianto gave it a quick back hand and then moved in to grapple with it. Falling back as the thing attacked, Ianto saw that it was a weevil. Grimacing, he was trying to fight it off when the Captain came to his rescue, pulling the beast off and dragging it to the ground. He sprayed something in its eyes and straddled its chest, reaching into his coat. After quickly tying a bag over its head, the Captain injected it with a sedative and then stood and looked at Ianto who leaned nonchalantly against a tree.
“Thanks,” Ianto said, still breathing hard.
“No thank you,” the Captain replied automatically. He looked more closely at Ianto, taking him in for the first time. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, more intimate. “And you are?”
“Jones, Ianto Jones,” Ianto said, reaching out a hand as he cringed on the inside. Stupid prat, he thought, delusions of James Bond now, is it?
The other man shook hands with a little smile, “Nice to meet you Jones, Ianto Jones. Capt’n Jack Harkness.”
Trying not to betray that he already knew the Captain’s name Ianto looked down at the weevil. “Lucky escape.”
The Captain studied Ianto closely, but only said, “I had it under control.”
“You think so?” Skeptical, Ianto looked back at the Captain who laughed. “Looked pretty vicious. You’re um…uh,” Ianto reached a hand out to his neck where he’d seen the weevil take a bite out of him. The Captain leaned back out of his reach, a suspicious look on his face. “You were bleeding.”
“Had worse from shaving,” he replied.
Unable to meet those probing eyes for long, Ianto glanced down. “Looked like a weevil to me.”
There was a slight pause as the Captain stared intently at Ianto. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Ianto shot him a pitying glance. The Captain didn’t seem to know what to make of him. He ignored the look, gave himself a shake and said, “I’ll take him from here,” his voice even smoother than before. He reached down to lift the weevil easily over his shoulders. He looked at Ianto again, swaying very close as he said, “Thanks for the assistance,” before walking away.
Ianto turned to watch the Captain leave. Trying desperately to leave some sort of impression on the other man, Ianto called after him, “Anytime. By the way…love the coat.”
As soon as the Captain was out of sight, Ianto slumped against a tree, breathing hard again. He’d done it. First contact and all that. He sighed and ran his hands over his face, grimacing when he brushed the cut at his temple. He began the long walk home, thinking about the Captain and what to do next.
TBC in Chapter Three
Rating: PG-13 for this chapter
Warnings: A spot of violence
Spoilers: Cyberwoman (1x4) and Fragments (2x12)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! And all (c)'s to Chris Chibnall for dialogue from Fragments. No infringment, only worship, intended!
Summary: The origin fic continues - in which Ianto Jones meets Captain Jack Harkness.
Notes: Comments and con/crit VERY much appreciated. Thanks bunches to everyone who read chapter 1! :o)
Chapter One
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Two
Ianto thought about Captain Jack Harkness. He was a bit of a legend in Torchwood. There were rumors about him on every possible topic: that there had been a ‘Captain Jack Harkness’ at Torchwood for over 100 years, that he’d murdered his entire team and gotten away with it, that he’d shag anyone and anything that crossed his path, that he was really an alien…the list went on and on. Ianto discounted all the rumors as idle speculation. Well, except the bit about shagging.
He’d seen Captain Harkness once when he was visiting London shortly after Ianto had started. He’d watched from an upper level as the Captain walked, no make that swaggered through Torchwood Tower on his way to Director Hartman’s office, grinning and flirting with just about everyone who crossed his path. Several people around Ianto had pointed him out and told him some of the more salacious rumors they had heard. Ianto only half listened. He couldn’t take his eyes off the tall figure in the billowing coat. When the Captain entered the elevator and turned to face front, Ianto would have sworn he was looking right at him. Those blue eyes, staring into him, through him. The elevator doors closed and jolted Ianto back to reality. There was no way the Captain could have seen him, no reason for him to even look at Ianto. But after that he believed the shagging rumors. The man had the gravitational pull of a small planet and Ianto could see how anyone could get caught in it.
A small sound wiped the reminiscent smile from Ianto’s face. He could hear Lisa crying softly in the next room. When he glanced at his watch he was amazed at how long he had slept. Sighing, he pulled his aching body off the bed and went to give Lisa another shot of morphine. He would finish what he had been working on before he almost burned the place down and then he would think about Captain Harkness and how to approach him.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
In the end it was really very simple.
Getting to the end, however, had been a nightmare.
Ianto and Lisa had agreed that Torchwood Three was their only option. If they couldn’t find help there in one form or another, they weren’t going to find it anywhere else. With that in mind, Ianto made plans to move Lisa to Cardiff. He found a basement flat in a sketchy part of town where he was pretty sure the neighbors wouldn’t be interested in striking up a friendship with the new boy next door. He rented a large truck and in one horrible night he moved Lisa, all the machinery and the conversion-cum-life-support equipment from London to Cardiff.
After he had Lisa settled in the flat, Ianto spent all his spare time watching Captain Harkness. He knew the secret location of Torchwood Three and found their ‘hidden base’ a little charming and very Captain Jack. He had to wait several days for his chance to intercept the Captain under the right circumstances. In the meantime he studied the team, learning all he could about them. The tall woman with long hair and the other man on the team, whom Ianto guessed was a doctor of some sort, were the two he had seen scavenging the wreckage of Torchwood Tower. The only other member of the team was a small Asian woman who appeared to be the computer guru. She was the most solitary of the team, often walking alone behind the rest when they all left the base together. Ianto decided that if he made no headway with the Captain, he would try to approach her.
One night, about a week after Ianto had arrived in Cardiff, he saw the Captain appear out of nowhere on the Plass. Ianto didn’t have time to wonder where he had come from, since the Captain took off at a run, yelling something about coordinates into his ear piece. Following at a discrete distance, Ianto saw the Captain veer off into a nearby alley and then speed up as something caught his eye.
Ianto just focused on keeping up. The Captain was running at a furious pace, chasing something or someone that Ianto could never quite see. They broke out of the buildings and were soon running through a large park. The Captain finally caught up with the figure and launched himself at it. Ianto hung back, waiting for his opening. He found a large piece of tree branch and watched the fight with a practiced eye.
His chance came when the creature rolled the Captain onto his back and went for his throat. Ianto jumped in and gave it a solid whack with the tree branch. Nothing. He hit it again and it raised its head to snarl at him. Ianto gave it a quick back hand and then moved in to grapple with it. Falling back as the thing attacked, Ianto saw that it was a weevil. Grimacing, he was trying to fight it off when the Captain came to his rescue, pulling the beast off and dragging it to the ground. He sprayed something in its eyes and straddled its chest, reaching into his coat. After quickly tying a bag over its head, the Captain injected it with a sedative and then stood and looked at Ianto who leaned nonchalantly against a tree.
“Thanks,” Ianto said, still breathing hard.
“No thank you,” the Captain replied automatically. He looked more closely at Ianto, taking him in for the first time. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, more intimate. “And you are?”
“Jones, Ianto Jones,” Ianto said, reaching out a hand as he cringed on the inside. Stupid prat, he thought, delusions of James Bond now, is it?
The other man shook hands with a little smile, “Nice to meet you Jones, Ianto Jones. Capt’n Jack Harkness.”
Trying not to betray that he already knew the Captain’s name Ianto looked down at the weevil. “Lucky escape.”
The Captain studied Ianto closely, but only said, “I had it under control.”
“You think so?” Skeptical, Ianto looked back at the Captain who laughed. “Looked pretty vicious. You’re um…uh,” Ianto reached a hand out to his neck where he’d seen the weevil take a bite out of him. The Captain leaned back out of his reach, a suspicious look on his face. “You were bleeding.”
“Had worse from shaving,” he replied.
Unable to meet those probing eyes for long, Ianto glanced down. “Looked like a weevil to me.”
There was a slight pause as the Captain stared intently at Ianto. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Ianto shot him a pitying glance. The Captain didn’t seem to know what to make of him. He ignored the look, gave himself a shake and said, “I’ll take him from here,” his voice even smoother than before. He reached down to lift the weevil easily over his shoulders. He looked at Ianto again, swaying very close as he said, “Thanks for the assistance,” before walking away.
Ianto turned to watch the Captain leave. Trying desperately to leave some sort of impression on the other man, Ianto called after him, “Anytime. By the way…love the coat.”
As soon as the Captain was out of sight, Ianto slumped against a tree, breathing hard again. He’d done it. First contact and all that. He sighed and ran his hands over his face, grimacing when he brushed the cut at his temple. He began the long walk home, thinking about the Captain and what to do next.
TBC in Chapter Three