Happy Fics Roundup One
When I'm feeling down, I like to put out a call for fic prompts, and I jot down quick, unbeted little ficlets in response. I like writing, I like fulfilling prompts, and I find the beta process stressful, so this tends to work as instant happy-making stress relief for me. And hopefully, people like the things I write for them, because making other people happy is like +100 in happiness points.
Anyway, I've decided to finally collect them properly and cross-post them to AO3 and such, so here they are, with only the smallest of edits.
All of the original prompts and responses can originally be found on livejournal.
***
Title: Reinterpret The Classics
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "I'd like some cute Janto with kids and/or MPreg." for
ericadawn16
Notes: I think this might be my first Torchwood kid!fic. Thus began a...trend, I guess.
Originally posted here.
"It's not my fault!" Jack protested, pulling up kid number four-hundered-and-three (or perhaps just eight) for a "flight" around the room.
"I blame you," Ianto hissed, before being dragged away by two little blondes in matching pink sweaters.
The artifact was somewhere in the building, probably upstairs in the yoga room, knowing their luck. Cardiff Sports Club was offering free childcare the same day as a small series of rift spikes opened down their street. So far Gwen and Owen had found an alien turkey baster and a yellow tire swing. Jack and Ianto had ducked into the building and followed a rift signal...right into the waiting crowd of mothers, who had simply handed over a small collection of toddlers and diapers before disappearing for the noon pilates class.
The people actually hired to watch the children were nowhere to be found.
Jack set down the red-head in the striped shirt, only to have his trousers tugged on.
"I gotta go pee." The little boy announced, looking vaguely anxious. Jack looked around for Ianto, but he was sitting in a mass of little girls, who were all listening avidly to his rendition of Cinderella. It helped that he was acting it out with a small collection of mostly-naked Barbie dolls. Jack tried to catch his eye, but Ianto was clearly ignoring him in favor of keeping the most children possible quiet the longest.
"Okay. Toilet. We can do this."
Jack hustled the little boy to the child-sized bathroom at the other end of the room. As soon as he opened the door, his rift monitor started beeping like crazy. There was a large, crystalized hexagon taking up most of the room. Jack blinked at the Syxeran Medal of Honor. Harmless, but also incredibly heavy. And blocking the toilet.
"I found it!" Jack yelled to Ianto, who was dramatically dangling Barbie over a ravine built of legos while Barbie ran to save her. This version of Cinderella might go on for a while.
The little boy shrugged. "Too late." He ran over to the group attempting to take the head off the stuffed alligator in the corner. Jack shut the door and walked toward Ianto.
"Did you hear me? I've found it. We need a cart or something to get it out."
Ianto rolled his eyes, then raised them to meet Jack's. "We can't just leave. The mother's are expecting us to watch these children."
Jack gaped at him, then looked around the room. Two little boys were throwing blocks at the window while the alligator-killers were using plastic doctor tools to stab at the poor thing. A trio of girls had found glitter paints, and were painting very carefully with their fingers. On the walls.
"Um..."
Ianto pointed to one of the little girls in his audience. "Mary needs a new diaper, and I think there might be crackers in one of the diaper bags. We'll bribe them with sugar until the parents get back."
***
Title: This is Research, After All
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "I ALWAYS want Gwen and Ianto being besties :D" for
pocky_slash
Notes: I might be obsessed with touring Cardiff. Seriously.
Originally posted here.
"So," Gwen said, as they turned the corner. "Lots of farms in Wales, then."
Ianto rolled his eyes, like he knew she would. They looked almost comically out of place - no children tagging along, no picnic basket, and Ianto in a three-piece suit.
"I liked the Celtic Village the best," Gwen continued, as Ianto checked the map. "It had benches."
"The Workman's Institute has a cinema," Ianto said, walking along the curve of the path through the trees without lifting his eyes from the guidebook.
"Brilliant!" Gwen brightened up.
They passed a group of students going in the opposite direction, complaining to each other about the heat.
"Where exactly is the castle, then?" Gwen asked casually.
Ianto pointed on the map. The complete other side of the grounds. So much for that suggestion.
"I want to see every building," Ianto explained, tracing their planned route through the collection of buildings nearby, then back by the toll-building before heading to the castle. "A lot of tourists ask about this place."
Gwen hooked one arm through Ianto's and suppressed the urge to reach up and pat him on the head. He had decided this summer that it was his duty as a sometimes-tour-guide to actually go see some of the sites in his flyers. Gwen was along for the chance to see sunshine and castles, as Ianto had justified both of them going during work hours.
"There's a bakery on the way to the castle. It's supposed to have wonderful bread."
And hang out with Ianto, of course. Gwen smiled, and squeezed his hand.
---
"Don't look down."
"I'm absolutely not looking down." Gwen wasn't looking down. The steps were tiny and wooden and curving, she was looking at her feet.
Ianto waited for her at the top, listening intently to his digital-tour-guide-thing. "If it's clear enough, we should be able to see Castell Coch," he said, squinting at the horizon.
Gwen decided she was just fine lying on her back staring straight up into the sky. She didn't need to see the view. She did enough roof-hopping chasing after Jack.
Ianto sat down next to her. "Did you know that-"
Gwen continued watching the sky while Ianto told her the whole history of the Roman keep. Including the Green Day concert in 2002.
---
"It's another castle, Ianto."
"Caerphilly Castle is the second to largest castle in Great Britain, after Windsor. The siege engines are all working replicas."
Gwen met Ianto's eyes over his guidebook. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Really?"
---
"It's a 19th century Gothic revival castle, built on the remains of an earlier 13th century fortification.
"It's bloody gorgeous, Ianto. Hush."
(Castell Coch was something out of a fairy tale. Who cared that it was relatively modern?)
---
Gwen was very polite through the male voice choir performance and the two Welsh-language plays. She dragged Rhys along for every footie and rugby game Ianto brought in tickets for. She gamely tried every traditional dish Ianto found served somewhere, and she even climbed down the pit at the Thondda Heritage Park, even though she was pretty sure she didn't have any coal miners in her immediate heritage. So when Ianto came to her clutching a new print-out with that triumphant look in his eye, Gwen suppressed a mental sigh. At this point, she just wanted a quiet night in a pub. Ianto could drink his crappy beer and they could just relax.
"I got them!" Ianto announced. "Two weeks of negotiations, and they said that if I recommend them to any tourists calling for places to stay they'll give them a ten percent discount."
"Where?" Gwen asked, curious despite herself.
Ianto spread out the pages on her desk. "Mercure Holland House Hotel and Spa. Free night in one of their Presidential Suites and a full work-up at the spa."
Gwen gaped at the reservation, then at Ianto. He dangled her car keys in front of her. "Rift predictor says it's going to be a quiet night."
Gwen snatched her keys and pointed at Ianto. "One hour. You, me, and a hot masseuse with magic hands."
Ianto smirked slightly. "I'll see you there."
Gwen kissed him on the cheek and ran for the lift.
***
Title: Evening
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "Ianto and Jack on a date and nothing terrible or angsty happens at all." for
heddychaa
Notes: This is a real restaurant. I just can't believe I googlemaps'ed it to find how long it takes to walk to it from the Hub.
Originally posted here
It was nice, to just walk down the pier and find somewhere local and easy. No reservations, no fuss and it was really just five minutes from the Tourist Center. Ianto ordered pasta with salmon, tomato and cream, and spent most of meal stealing bits of chicken from Jack's plate. They both drank water and declined dessert. It has been a long day, but quiet, and Jack didn't fill the meal with stories and Ianto didn't make sarcastic comments.
Ianto wrapped his hands around his cappuccino - ordered more for warmth than flavor, as he wasn't planning on drinking it - and let the wave of chatter and clink of cutlery wash over him. Jack turned to look over the bay, and they watched the sun set together.
***
Title: Sometimes Jack Does Things By the Book
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "Jack, Ianto, Gwen and Rhys find an alien tentacle plant. Jack flirts with it. Rhys is scandalized. Other stuff happens (like it trying to molest Jack)." for
iceshade
Notes: Exactly what it says on the tin. Really.
Originally posted here.
"So, this is a typical night, then?"
"Shhhhh." The three of them trying to shush Rhys was probably louder than anything he could say on his own, but it was still a little frustrating to have him along on these sorts of missions anyway.
"Straight ahead," Ianto whispered, pointing for emphasis. They were following the little blinky light on Ianto's modified PDA. "Possibly sentient, it's unclear."
Jack went first, pushing aside some brush and approaching the clearing. The plant was clearly alien, large and pulsating and yellow-blue. Jack tilted his head, and the tentacles waved back at him. Ianto tapped the screen on the PDA. Sentience still inconclusive.
"Well, hello there," Jack said, approaching the plant with his hands up and non-threatening.
One of the tentacles twitched at him, then poked him in the chest. Jack got his Hello-I'm-The-Captain-Jack-Harkness grin.
"Welcome to Earth. Home of humans and a few other things. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and this is my team. And Rhys."
Two of the tentacle-branches came out now, waving smaller tendrils at Jack, who took another step closer. Ianto and Gwen were standing behind him, Rhys behind Gwen.
Jack was switching languages now, his words translating across Ianto's screen.
"-eally a great place, Earth. Haven't met most non-homonid life forms yet, but they're pretty flexible here."
Ianto sighed as Jack waggled his eyebrows. The alien could probably be moved into the hothouse without too much trouble, but the artificial lights there probably weren't powerful enough to replace the sun if the plant was anything like large Earth plants.
The tentacles were poking at Jack's clothes now.
"Artificial covering for temperature derivations. And modesty. It's a human thing."
Jack started unbuttoning his shirt, and the tentacles started exploring, pulling at the cloth.
"Is he-is he stripping?" At least Rhys was whispering this time, The tentacles lifted Jack's undershirt,
"Not all aliens understand clothes, love." Gwen said absently. It was nothing she hadn't seen before.
Jack, meanwhile, was having a great time explaining human anatomy.
"...only two arms, you see, and two legs..."
The tentacles were tracing his motions now, pushing off his shirt. They kept poking his pants awkwardly, clearly confused by the difference in texture from his stomach but unable to figure out the belt.
"...different kind of clothes, see. This bit holds them up..."
"Basic large containment unit, you think?" Gwen asked, looking over his shoulder at the readouts. "We can pick up another UV light on the way home."
"Good idea," Ianto agreed.
"...shoes can come off too. See, skin feels like this nearly all over..."
"C'mon Rhys." Gwen said, pulling her stammering husband away. "We'll show you standard decontamination and transportation procedure."
"Back in five minutes, Jack." Ianto said.
Jack gave him a thumbs-up and continued first-contact procedures. "Yeah, fingers are sort of like toes, but far more tactile, see..."
Anyway, I've decided to finally collect them properly and cross-post them to AO3 and such, so here they are, with only the smallest of edits.
All of the original prompts and responses can originally be found on livejournal.
***
Title: Reinterpret The Classics
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "I'd like some cute Janto with kids and/or MPreg." for
ericadawn16
Notes: I think this might be my first Torchwood kid!fic. Thus began a...trend, I guess.
Originally posted here.
"It's not my fault!" Jack protested, pulling up kid number four-hundered-and-three (or perhaps just eight) for a "flight" around the room.
"I blame you," Ianto hissed, before being dragged away by two little blondes in matching pink sweaters.
The artifact was somewhere in the building, probably upstairs in the yoga room, knowing their luck. Cardiff Sports Club was offering free childcare the same day as a small series of rift spikes opened down their street. So far Gwen and Owen had found an alien turkey baster and a yellow tire swing. Jack and Ianto had ducked into the building and followed a rift signal...right into the waiting crowd of mothers, who had simply handed over a small collection of toddlers and diapers before disappearing for the noon pilates class.
The people actually hired to watch the children were nowhere to be found.
Jack set down the red-head in the striped shirt, only to have his trousers tugged on.
"I gotta go pee." The little boy announced, looking vaguely anxious. Jack looked around for Ianto, but he was sitting in a mass of little girls, who were all listening avidly to his rendition of Cinderella. It helped that he was acting it out with a small collection of mostly-naked Barbie dolls. Jack tried to catch his eye, but Ianto was clearly ignoring him in favor of keeping the most children possible quiet the longest.
"Okay. Toilet. We can do this."
Jack hustled the little boy to the child-sized bathroom at the other end of the room. As soon as he opened the door, his rift monitor started beeping like crazy. There was a large, crystalized hexagon taking up most of the room. Jack blinked at the Syxeran Medal of Honor. Harmless, but also incredibly heavy. And blocking the toilet.
"I found it!" Jack yelled to Ianto, who was dramatically dangling Barbie over a ravine built of legos while Barbie ran to save her. This version of Cinderella might go on for a while.
The little boy shrugged. "Too late." He ran over to the group attempting to take the head off the stuffed alligator in the corner. Jack shut the door and walked toward Ianto.
"Did you hear me? I've found it. We need a cart or something to get it out."
Ianto rolled his eyes, then raised them to meet Jack's. "We can't just leave. The mother's are expecting us to watch these children."
Jack gaped at him, then looked around the room. Two little boys were throwing blocks at the window while the alligator-killers were using plastic doctor tools to stab at the poor thing. A trio of girls had found glitter paints, and were painting very carefully with their fingers. On the walls.
"Um..."
Ianto pointed to one of the little girls in his audience. "Mary needs a new diaper, and I think there might be crackers in one of the diaper bags. We'll bribe them with sugar until the parents get back."
***
Title: This is Research, After All
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "I ALWAYS want Gwen and Ianto being besties :D" for
pocky_slash
Notes: I might be obsessed with touring Cardiff. Seriously.
Originally posted here.
"So," Gwen said, as they turned the corner. "Lots of farms in Wales, then."
Ianto rolled his eyes, like he knew she would. They looked almost comically out of place - no children tagging along, no picnic basket, and Ianto in a three-piece suit.
"I liked the Celtic Village the best," Gwen continued, as Ianto checked the map. "It had benches."
"The Workman's Institute has a cinema," Ianto said, walking along the curve of the path through the trees without lifting his eyes from the guidebook.
"Brilliant!" Gwen brightened up.
They passed a group of students going in the opposite direction, complaining to each other about the heat.
"Where exactly is the castle, then?" Gwen asked casually.
Ianto pointed on the map. The complete other side of the grounds. So much for that suggestion.
"I want to see every building," Ianto explained, tracing their planned route through the collection of buildings nearby, then back by the toll-building before heading to the castle. "A lot of tourists ask about this place."
Gwen hooked one arm through Ianto's and suppressed the urge to reach up and pat him on the head. He had decided this summer that it was his duty as a sometimes-tour-guide to actually go see some of the sites in his flyers. Gwen was along for the chance to see sunshine and castles, as Ianto had justified both of them going during work hours.
"There's a bakery on the way to the castle. It's supposed to have wonderful bread."
And hang out with Ianto, of course. Gwen smiled, and squeezed his hand.
---
"Don't look down."
"I'm absolutely not looking down." Gwen wasn't looking down. The steps were tiny and wooden and curving, she was looking at her feet.
Ianto waited for her at the top, listening intently to his digital-tour-guide-thing. "If it's clear enough, we should be able to see Castell Coch," he said, squinting at the horizon.
Gwen decided she was just fine lying on her back staring straight up into the sky. She didn't need to see the view. She did enough roof-hopping chasing after Jack.
Ianto sat down next to her. "Did you know that-"
Gwen continued watching the sky while Ianto told her the whole history of the Roman keep. Including the Green Day concert in 2002.
---
"It's another castle, Ianto."
"Caerphilly Castle is the second to largest castle in Great Britain, after Windsor. The siege engines are all working replicas."
Gwen met Ianto's eyes over his guidebook. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? "Really?"
---
"It's a 19th century Gothic revival castle, built on the remains of an earlier 13th century fortification.
"It's bloody gorgeous, Ianto. Hush."
(Castell Coch was something out of a fairy tale. Who cared that it was relatively modern?)
---
Gwen was very polite through the male voice choir performance and the two Welsh-language plays. She dragged Rhys along for every footie and rugby game Ianto brought in tickets for. She gamely tried every traditional dish Ianto found served somewhere, and she even climbed down the pit at the Thondda Heritage Park, even though she was pretty sure she didn't have any coal miners in her immediate heritage. So when Ianto came to her clutching a new print-out with that triumphant look in his eye, Gwen suppressed a mental sigh. At this point, she just wanted a quiet night in a pub. Ianto could drink his crappy beer and they could just relax.
"I got them!" Ianto announced. "Two weeks of negotiations, and they said that if I recommend them to any tourists calling for places to stay they'll give them a ten percent discount."
"Where?" Gwen asked, curious despite herself.
Ianto spread out the pages on her desk. "Mercure Holland House Hotel and Spa. Free night in one of their Presidential Suites and a full work-up at the spa."
Gwen gaped at the reservation, then at Ianto. He dangled her car keys in front of her. "Rift predictor says it's going to be a quiet night."
Gwen snatched her keys and pointed at Ianto. "One hour. You, me, and a hot masseuse with magic hands."
Ianto smirked slightly. "I'll see you there."
Gwen kissed him on the cheek and ran for the lift.
***
Title: Evening
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "Ianto and Jack on a date and nothing terrible or angsty happens at all." for
heddychaa
Notes: This is a real restaurant. I just can't believe I googlemaps'ed it to find how long it takes to walk to it from the Hub.
Originally posted here
It was nice, to just walk down the pier and find somewhere local and easy. No reservations, no fuss and it was really just five minutes from the Tourist Center. Ianto ordered pasta with salmon, tomato and cream, and spent most of meal stealing bits of chicken from Jack's plate. They both drank water and declined dessert. It has been a long day, but quiet, and Jack didn't fill the meal with stories and Ianto didn't make sarcastic comments.
Ianto wrapped his hands around his cappuccino - ordered more for warmth than flavor, as he wasn't planning on drinking it - and let the wave of chatter and clink of cutlery wash over him. Jack turned to look over the bay, and they watched the sun set together.
***
Title: Sometimes Jack Does Things By the Book
Author:
eldarwannabe
Fandom: Torchwood
Prompt: "Jack, Ianto, Gwen and Rhys find an alien tentacle plant. Jack flirts with it. Rhys is scandalized. Other stuff happens (like it trying to molest Jack)." for
iceshade
Notes: Exactly what it says on the tin. Really.
Originally posted here.
"So, this is a typical night, then?"
"Shhhhh." The three of them trying to shush Rhys was probably louder than anything he could say on his own, but it was still a little frustrating to have him along on these sorts of missions anyway.
"Straight ahead," Ianto whispered, pointing for emphasis. They were following the little blinky light on Ianto's modified PDA. "Possibly sentient, it's unclear."
Jack went first, pushing aside some brush and approaching the clearing. The plant was clearly alien, large and pulsating and yellow-blue. Jack tilted his head, and the tentacles waved back at him. Ianto tapped the screen on the PDA. Sentience still inconclusive.
"Well, hello there," Jack said, approaching the plant with his hands up and non-threatening.
One of the tentacles twitched at him, then poked him in the chest. Jack got his Hello-I'm-The-Captain-Jack-Harkness grin.
"Welcome to Earth. Home of humans and a few other things. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and this is my team. And Rhys."
Two of the tentacle-branches came out now, waving smaller tendrils at Jack, who took another step closer. Ianto and Gwen were standing behind him, Rhys behind Gwen.
Jack was switching languages now, his words translating across Ianto's screen.
"-eally a great place, Earth. Haven't met most non-homonid life forms yet, but they're pretty flexible here."
Ianto sighed as Jack waggled his eyebrows. The alien could probably be moved into the hothouse without too much trouble, but the artificial lights there probably weren't powerful enough to replace the sun if the plant was anything like large Earth plants.
The tentacles were poking at Jack's clothes now.
"Artificial covering for temperature derivations. And modesty. It's a human thing."
Jack started unbuttoning his shirt, and the tentacles started exploring, pulling at the cloth.
"Is he-is he stripping?" At least Rhys was whispering this time, The tentacles lifted Jack's undershirt,
"Not all aliens understand clothes, love." Gwen said absently. It was nothing she hadn't seen before.
Jack, meanwhile, was having a great time explaining human anatomy.
"...only two arms, you see, and two legs..."
The tentacles were tracing his motions now, pushing off his shirt. They kept poking his pants awkwardly, clearly confused by the difference in texture from his stomach but unable to figure out the belt.
"...different kind of clothes, see. This bit holds them up..."
"Basic large containment unit, you think?" Gwen asked, looking over his shoulder at the readouts. "We can pick up another UV light on the way home."
"Good idea," Ianto agreed.
"...shoes can come off too. See, skin feels like this nearly all over..."
"C'mon Rhys." Gwen said, pulling her stammering husband away. "We'll show you standard decontamination and transportation procedure."
"Back in five minutes, Jack." Ianto said.
Jack gave him a thumbs-up and continued first-contact procedures. "Yeah, fingers are sort of like toes, but far more tactile, see..."