Torchwood -- Perfect Tens
Title: Perfect Tens
horizonssing Challenge: Day Seven
Count the Ways prompt: Protective!Jack
Date Written: 7/12/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1,000 on the dot!
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Team, Doctor
Spoilers: Up through Doctor Who 03 and Torchwood 02
Warnings: None (besides a little knocking on the 4th wall)
Author Notes: The prompt for Day Seven was two lines from the song Summer in the City by The Lovin' Spoonful. Lyrics can be found here.
Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop
-- Summer in the City
The Lovin' Spoonful
Some days, Jack's life fit in such a perfect symmetry that he was convinced that the world was plotted out like some sort of bad sci-fi novel, or maybe a television program.
Today, the world was fitting into groups of ten. A nice, round, appreciated number, but the novelty was beginning to wear thin.
At ten o'clock in the morning, on the dot, they had gotten a signal on the Rift detector. Ten past, the team trudged out to discover that the SUV has a flat and they were forced to split into two groups and take their own cars.
Ten to noon found Owen Harper's (very, very nice and very, very expensive) automobile bottom up in Cardiff Bay. Jack still hadn't figured out how that one happened, but he was reasonably sure it wasn't his fault.
Ianto had to run out of the Hub ten minutes before the afternoon staff meeting because the coffee machine went on the fritz. The Welshman had tried to pin the blame on everyone else in the team as he set their commercial coffee orders at each place, but no one had fessed up. Not that they would anyway, for fear of being put on permanent decaf.
Ten after five had found his lover's talented tongue in his mouth. That had been rather enjoyable, until the Prime Minister called ten minutes later, interrupting Jack in the middle of his very important task of trying to seduce Ianto Jones down into his quarters. Bloody politicians.
Now here they were -- well, he was -- at ten o'clock at night, taking the emergency stairway up to the roof of Ianto's apartment complex. Ten landings. Ten steps per flight. All of them separating him from Ianto, who was facing down potentially hostile aliens on the roof.
And he should have been up there ten minutes ago, when Ianto's mobile signal cut out.
Jack pulled his Webley out as he rushed up the stairs, fingers wrapped around the handle, trying to keep his hand from shaking from the adrenaline and sheer fear running through his body. If anything had happened to Ianto, if he was...
He kicked the roof entrance door open so hard it snapped the rusted door stop in half and slammed against the wall it was hinged to, Webley up as he took in the scene before him. A very familiar blue box was sitting in the corner, his lover and the Doctor -- tenth regeneration, Jack remembered with exasperation -- were staring at him, wide-eyed from the ruckus he'd created. Ten little balls of silvery gold light were floating around them.
"Jack!" The Doctor frowned at the gun, but broke out into a brilliant grin once the Captain holstered it. "I understand that our little friends have been giving you trouble today."
"The Doctor was telling me that they're from Gallifrey," Ianto explained, holding out a hand. Three little lights flitted down onto the Welshman's hand, the light fading enough to reveal little fairy-like creatures. For one frightening instant Jack's mind flashed to the Mara-fairies, but the Doctor was smiling.
Jack trusted the Doctor enough to put his Ianto in the Time Lord's hands.
"We called them something else, but the closest human translation for them would be Faturni." He gave another one of his trademark grins. "It's where the Latin fatus comes from."
"Fate," Ianto said, laughing as they began playing with his fingertips. "All the tens today." He waved his free hand. "Ten Faturni."
"I thought the Time Lords weren't allowed to interfere," Jack taunted the Doctor.
"Sometimes we had to," the alien defended, crossing his arms. "They're beings of Time and Space as well, they like to slip out and make mischief."
"What are you going to do with them?" Ianto asked taking his gaze off the little Faturni fairies to glance at the Doctor.
"Might keep them on the TARDIS," he replied, shrugging. "She'll like the attention and they can keep each other in check."
Ianto nodded, laughing and looking his age instead of ten years older when the other seven balls of light swooped down around him, tugging at his dress shirt. "They seem to like you," the Doctor commented with a grin. "Would you mind setting them up in the TARDIS?"
"Oh, can I?" The archivist's excitement was evident in his voice and the Time Lord nodded. The TARDIS' doors popped open as Ianto neared her, and he laughed delightedly as entered the spacecraft.
Jack crossed his arms. "No."
"But he's clever!" the Doctor protested. "And he's got experience and you know he'd enjoy it -- "
"No." The Time Lord's face fell and Jack sighed. "I know you miss Martha. But she made her choice. Ianto, he's... he's mine, Doctor."
The Doctor's expression changed from one of disappointment to mischievous. "Well, well, the insatiable Jack Harkness finally domesticated. Never thought I'd see the day."
"I'm not letting him go, Doctor, not even with you," Jack said with finality.
"I think I can make that decision for myself, Captain," came the quite Welsh voice. Both men turned to Ianto, who stepped out the TARDIS and carefully closed the wooden door behind him, patting the wood carefully.
The Doctor grinned a little, feeling a wash of love coming form the TARDIS at the gesture. He'd be the perfect Companion. Ianto stepped between the two men, hands causally in his pockets. "Well Mr. Jones?" the Time Lord asked. "See the wonders of the universe firsthand?"
Jack opened his mouth to argue, but closed it after a moment. Ianto turned to look at him, cocking his head to the side. "No arguments?" his lover teased softly.
"Stay," he said softly. "Please."
Ianto looked at him for a long moment before turning back to the Doctor. "The next time you're in Cardiff, do stop by sir."
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, I will, Mr. Jones," he said, watching as Jack stepped forward and put a possessive arm around Ianto's waist. "I definitely will."
horizonssing Challenge: Day Seven
Count the Ways prompt: Protective!Jack
Date Written: 7/12/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1,000 on the dot!
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Team, Doctor
Spoilers: Up through Doctor Who 03 and Torchwood 02
Warnings: None (besides a little knocking on the 4th wall)
Author Notes: The prompt for Day Seven was two lines from the song Summer in the City by The Lovin' Spoonful. Lyrics can be found here.
Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop
-- Summer in the City
The Lovin' Spoonful
Some days, Jack's life fit in such a perfect symmetry that he was convinced that the world was plotted out like some sort of bad sci-fi novel, or maybe a television program.
Today, the world was fitting into groups of ten. A nice, round, appreciated number, but the novelty was beginning to wear thin.
At ten o'clock in the morning, on the dot, they had gotten a signal on the Rift detector. Ten past, the team trudged out to discover that the SUV has a flat and they were forced to split into two groups and take their own cars.
Ten to noon found Owen Harper's (very, very nice and very, very expensive) automobile bottom up in Cardiff Bay. Jack still hadn't figured out how that one happened, but he was reasonably sure it wasn't his fault.
Ianto had to run out of the Hub ten minutes before the afternoon staff meeting because the coffee machine went on the fritz. The Welshman had tried to pin the blame on everyone else in the team as he set their commercial coffee orders at each place, but no one had fessed up. Not that they would anyway, for fear of being put on permanent decaf.
Ten after five had found his lover's talented tongue in his mouth. That had been rather enjoyable, until the Prime Minister called ten minutes later, interrupting Jack in the middle of his very important task of trying to seduce Ianto Jones down into his quarters. Bloody politicians.
Now here they were -- well, he was -- at ten o'clock at night, taking the emergency stairway up to the roof of Ianto's apartment complex. Ten landings. Ten steps per flight. All of them separating him from Ianto, who was facing down potentially hostile aliens on the roof.
And he should have been up there ten minutes ago, when Ianto's mobile signal cut out.
Jack pulled his Webley out as he rushed up the stairs, fingers wrapped around the handle, trying to keep his hand from shaking from the adrenaline and sheer fear running through his body. If anything had happened to Ianto, if he was...
He kicked the roof entrance door open so hard it snapped the rusted door stop in half and slammed against the wall it was hinged to, Webley up as he took in the scene before him. A very familiar blue box was sitting in the corner, his lover and the Doctor -- tenth regeneration, Jack remembered with exasperation -- were staring at him, wide-eyed from the ruckus he'd created. Ten little balls of silvery gold light were floating around them.
"Jack!" The Doctor frowned at the gun, but broke out into a brilliant grin once the Captain holstered it. "I understand that our little friends have been giving you trouble today."
"The Doctor was telling me that they're from Gallifrey," Ianto explained, holding out a hand. Three little lights flitted down onto the Welshman's hand, the light fading enough to reveal little fairy-like creatures. For one frightening instant Jack's mind flashed to the Mara-fairies, but the Doctor was smiling.
Jack trusted the Doctor enough to put his Ianto in the Time Lord's hands.
"We called them something else, but the closest human translation for them would be Faturni." He gave another one of his trademark grins. "It's where the Latin fatus comes from."
"Fate," Ianto said, laughing as they began playing with his fingertips. "All the tens today." He waved his free hand. "Ten Faturni."
"I thought the Time Lords weren't allowed to interfere," Jack taunted the Doctor.
"Sometimes we had to," the alien defended, crossing his arms. "They're beings of Time and Space as well, they like to slip out and make mischief."
"What are you going to do with them?" Ianto asked taking his gaze off the little Faturni fairies to glance at the Doctor.
"Might keep them on the TARDIS," he replied, shrugging. "She'll like the attention and they can keep each other in check."
Ianto nodded, laughing and looking his age instead of ten years older when the other seven balls of light swooped down around him, tugging at his dress shirt. "They seem to like you," the Doctor commented with a grin. "Would you mind setting them up in the TARDIS?"
"Oh, can I?" The archivist's excitement was evident in his voice and the Time Lord nodded. The TARDIS' doors popped open as Ianto neared her, and he laughed delightedly as entered the spacecraft.
Jack crossed his arms. "No."
"But he's clever!" the Doctor protested. "And he's got experience and you know he'd enjoy it -- "
"No." The Time Lord's face fell and Jack sighed. "I know you miss Martha. But she made her choice. Ianto, he's... he's mine, Doctor."
The Doctor's expression changed from one of disappointment to mischievous. "Well, well, the insatiable Jack Harkness finally domesticated. Never thought I'd see the day."
"I'm not letting him go, Doctor, not even with you," Jack said with finality.
"I think I can make that decision for myself, Captain," came the quite Welsh voice. Both men turned to Ianto, who stepped out the TARDIS and carefully closed the wooden door behind him, patting the wood carefully.
The Doctor grinned a little, feeling a wash of love coming form the TARDIS at the gesture. He'd be the perfect Companion. Ianto stepped between the two men, hands causally in his pockets. "Well Mr. Jones?" the Time Lord asked. "See the wonders of the universe firsthand?"
Jack opened his mouth to argue, but closed it after a moment. Ianto turned to look at him, cocking his head to the side. "No arguments?" his lover teased softly.
"Stay," he said softly. "Please."
Ianto looked at him for a long moment before turning back to the Doctor. "The next time you're in Cardiff, do stop by sir."
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, I will, Mr. Jones," he said, watching as Jack stepped forward and put a possessive arm around Ianto's waist. "I definitely will."