Torchwood -- Torchwood Bonding Time
Title: Torchwood Bonding Time
Count the Ways Prompt: Dabbling
Date Written: 10/8/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1019
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Team Torchwood
Spoilers: Set during 02 but before Reset.
Warnings: Crack-ish
Author Notes: Beta by the lovely totally4ryo and katestamps. Inspired by ninefics's Keeping it Fictional, and written on drugs. No, seriously. You see, the reason why I haven't been writing DSoS is because I had gastric bypass on Friday. So this is a little something to hold you over while I finish up the next chapter.
After Lisa and Ianto's suspension, Brecon Beacons, Mary and Suzie, Diane and the Weevil Fight Club, and Abbadon and Jack's return from holiday, Gwen Cooper set her mind to make sure everyone got close. Proper close, not the fake-close they had been. They all had far too many secrets, and in such a tight-knit group there was absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be at least know a bit more about each other.
She'd all but announced it one day at the lunch table. Jack raised an eyebrow at her as she spoke, but hadn't given her a disapproving look. Owen had teased her about wanting all the blackmail she could on all of them. Ianto had shrugged indifferently and gone back to eating his fried rice. Tosh quietly volunteered that she didn't much like talking about personal issues.
"It won't be all that involved," Gwen reassured her, "and if you get uncomfortable, you don't have to talk about it."
"I think it's a good idea," Jack finally said. He shoveled a forkful of chow mein into his mouth before continuing. "In the army, if you talk about nothing but work, you burn out."
So it began, what Owen dubbed Torchwood Bonding Time. Whenever the Rift was quiet, they would gather in the meeting room and catch up on the never-ending piles of paperwork and chit-chat about the latest films they wanted to see or the newest book they were reading, or sometimes spin stories about their travels (Ianto had traveled quite a bit with his family as a child, Tosh had the best stories about Osaka, and Jack could paint a picture of an alien planet so vividly you could close your eyes and imagine you were there).
One particularly long day after a week-long Rift tantrum found them all silent as they worked. Tosh was figuring new calculations into her laptop, edging just a little closer towards perfecting the Rift projector program. Owen was chewing distractedly on his pen, staring at autopsy pictures of their latest find, trying to compare it to other races they'd come across to see if he could find any sort of relation. Gwen was simultaneously writing a report on the incident and coming up with a new profile for their latest alien. Jack was catching up on the bureaucratic backlog that should have been sent to Downing Street and Whitehall and the rebuilt Torchwood One and Torchwood Two days ago. Ianto was the only one not present the whole time, in with food and coffee and out with completed paperwork to process.
After a few hours, they all began to get a little stir-crazy from the sheer boredom of it all, shifting in their seats more and more frequently. So when Ianto came in with the latest round of coffee, it was Owen who pipped up, "Oi, Teaboy, Torchwood Bonding Time."
Ianto raised an eyebrow and handed Tosh her cup of coffee. "I didn't think that you'd find the personal life of a teaboy so interesting," Ianto deadpanned.
The corner of Jack's mouth tugged upwards briefly, but he didn't say anything.
"I'm that bored," Owen replied, turning to Gwen. "Hit him."
The Welshwoman laughed a little before fixing Ianto with an intent stare. "Ianto Jones... What do you do with your spare time?"
"Aside from the boss," Owen interjected.
"Hey!" Jack protested. "I can be considered a pasttime!"
"An international one," the medic shot back.
"Intergalactic, thank you," the Captain replied, not sounding one bit ashamed.
Ianto rolled his eyes at the exchange. "There's spare time within Torchwood?" he wondered aloud, sounding honestly surprised.
Toshiko giggled a little. Gwen turned a full pout on him until Ianto relented with a sigh. "I read. Watch television, movies. Sleep. Normal things."
"Oh, c'mon," Owen drawled. "You must do something else."
Ianto sighed, his entire posture screaming I'm humoring you people. "I... write a bit."
Tosh, Owen, and Gwen looked at him with interest. Jack gave a knowing smile. "Like... write like a diary?" Gwen asked.
"I keep paper records of day-to-day happenings, yes," Ianto agreed.
"God, you're such a girl," Owen swore, clearly loving every moment.
"The therapists after Canary Wharf suggested it," Ianto defended. "It's a good safety valve."
"He also writes fiction," Jack added, lifting his coffee cup. "He's really good."
"Jack," Ianto admonished.
The Captain looked up at him. "What? You are!"
"What sort of things do you write, Ianto?" Tosh asked, leaning on her elbows in interest.
"Stuffy memoirs of 19th century butlers," Owen pointed out again, and oomphed when Gwen nudged him in the ribs.
"A little bit of this and that, nothing specific," Ianto told her.
"Can I read any of your things?" Tosh asked. "If you don't mind, that is."
"Oh, it's nothing much to read," Ianto defended, an almost undetectable blush crossing his cheeks. "Just some scribbles, really."
Tosh and Gwen turned on the pouts in an attempt to get Ianto to relent.
"It's probably gay erotica," Owen theorized. "With science fiction influences."
"Well, it's not like he doesn't have the notes for it," Jack told him.
Ianto rolled his eyes again.
-----
A week later, Toshiko came home from work to find a package waiting for her, propped up against her door. It was a nice sized-box, and deceptively heavy. She took it inside and flipped through the rest of her post before opening it.
Inside were five books, including three she already owned but hadn't been able to find the time to read yet, a history on Cardiff and two novels that family members had recommended. On the front of one of the ones she'd never read before was a Post-It note, the script in Ianto's neat hand.
Tosh,
This one is all Jack's fault. He begged until I wrote it to amuse him, then the bastard sent it to a publisher behind my back.
If you tell Owen or Gwen, I'll kill you.
--Ianto
She pulled the sticky note off the cover and looked down at the dust jacket. After a few moments, she burst into giggles.
It was gay sci-fi erotica.
Count the Ways Prompt: Dabbling
Date Written: 10/8/08
Rating: PG/K+
Word Count: 1019
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Team Torchwood
Spoilers: Set during 02 but before Reset.
Warnings: Crack-ish
Author Notes: Beta by the lovely totally4ryo and katestamps. Inspired by ninefics's Keeping it Fictional, and written on drugs. No, seriously. You see, the reason why I haven't been writing DSoS is because I had gastric bypass on Friday. So this is a little something to hold you over while I finish up the next chapter.
After Lisa and Ianto's suspension, Brecon Beacons, Mary and Suzie, Diane and the Weevil Fight Club, and Abbadon and Jack's return from holiday, Gwen Cooper set her mind to make sure everyone got close. Proper close, not the fake-close they had been. They all had far too many secrets, and in such a tight-knit group there was absolutely no reason why they shouldn't be at least know a bit more about each other.
She'd all but announced it one day at the lunch table. Jack raised an eyebrow at her as she spoke, but hadn't given her a disapproving look. Owen had teased her about wanting all the blackmail she could on all of them. Ianto had shrugged indifferently and gone back to eating his fried rice. Tosh quietly volunteered that she didn't much like talking about personal issues.
"It won't be all that involved," Gwen reassured her, "and if you get uncomfortable, you don't have to talk about it."
"I think it's a good idea," Jack finally said. He shoveled a forkful of chow mein into his mouth before continuing. "In the army, if you talk about nothing but work, you burn out."
So it began, what Owen dubbed Torchwood Bonding Time. Whenever the Rift was quiet, they would gather in the meeting room and catch up on the never-ending piles of paperwork and chit-chat about the latest films they wanted to see or the newest book they were reading, or sometimes spin stories about their travels (Ianto had traveled quite a bit with his family as a child, Tosh had the best stories about Osaka, and Jack could paint a picture of an alien planet so vividly you could close your eyes and imagine you were there).
One particularly long day after a week-long Rift tantrum found them all silent as they worked. Tosh was figuring new calculations into her laptop, edging just a little closer towards perfecting the Rift projector program. Owen was chewing distractedly on his pen, staring at autopsy pictures of their latest find, trying to compare it to other races they'd come across to see if he could find any sort of relation. Gwen was simultaneously writing a report on the incident and coming up with a new profile for their latest alien. Jack was catching up on the bureaucratic backlog that should have been sent to Downing Street and Whitehall and the rebuilt Torchwood One and Torchwood Two days ago. Ianto was the only one not present the whole time, in with food and coffee and out with completed paperwork to process.
After a few hours, they all began to get a little stir-crazy from the sheer boredom of it all, shifting in their seats more and more frequently. So when Ianto came in with the latest round of coffee, it was Owen who pipped up, "Oi, Teaboy, Torchwood Bonding Time."
Ianto raised an eyebrow and handed Tosh her cup of coffee. "I didn't think that you'd find the personal life of a teaboy so interesting," Ianto deadpanned.
The corner of Jack's mouth tugged upwards briefly, but he didn't say anything.
"I'm that bored," Owen replied, turning to Gwen. "Hit him."
The Welshwoman laughed a little before fixing Ianto with an intent stare. "Ianto Jones... What do you do with your spare time?"
"Aside from the boss," Owen interjected.
"Hey!" Jack protested. "I can be considered a pasttime!"
"An international one," the medic shot back.
"Intergalactic, thank you," the Captain replied, not sounding one bit ashamed.
Ianto rolled his eyes at the exchange. "There's spare time within Torchwood?" he wondered aloud, sounding honestly surprised.
Toshiko giggled a little. Gwen turned a full pout on him until Ianto relented with a sigh. "I read. Watch television, movies. Sleep. Normal things."
"Oh, c'mon," Owen drawled. "You must do something else."
Ianto sighed, his entire posture screaming I'm humoring you people. "I... write a bit."
Tosh, Owen, and Gwen looked at him with interest. Jack gave a knowing smile. "Like... write like a diary?" Gwen asked.
"I keep paper records of day-to-day happenings, yes," Ianto agreed.
"God, you're such a girl," Owen swore, clearly loving every moment.
"The therapists after Canary Wharf suggested it," Ianto defended. "It's a good safety valve."
"He also writes fiction," Jack added, lifting his coffee cup. "He's really good."
"Jack," Ianto admonished.
The Captain looked up at him. "What? You are!"
"What sort of things do you write, Ianto?" Tosh asked, leaning on her elbows in interest.
"Stuffy memoirs of 19th century butlers," Owen pointed out again, and oomphed when Gwen nudged him in the ribs.
"A little bit of this and that, nothing specific," Ianto told her.
"Can I read any of your things?" Tosh asked. "If you don't mind, that is."
"Oh, it's nothing much to read," Ianto defended, an almost undetectable blush crossing his cheeks. "Just some scribbles, really."
Tosh and Gwen turned on the pouts in an attempt to get Ianto to relent.
"It's probably gay erotica," Owen theorized. "With science fiction influences."
"Well, it's not like he doesn't have the notes for it," Jack told him.
Ianto rolled his eyes again.
-----
A week later, Toshiko came home from work to find a package waiting for her, propped up against her door. It was a nice sized-box, and deceptively heavy. She took it inside and flipped through the rest of her post before opening it.
Inside were five books, including three she already owned but hadn't been able to find the time to read yet, a history on Cardiff and two novels that family members had recommended. On the front of one of the ones she'd never read before was a Post-It note, the script in Ianto's neat hand.
Tosh,
This one is all Jack's fault. He begged until I wrote it to amuse him, then the bastard sent it to a publisher behind my back.
If you tell Owen or Gwen, I'll kill you.
--Ianto
She pulled the sticky note off the cover and looked down at the dust jacket. After a few moments, she burst into giggles.
It was gay sci-fi erotica.