Fic: Vizzini's Rule (60/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 60
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Not really
Spoilers: Season One thru Out of Time (1x10)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! All ©’s to Catherine Tregenna for dialogue and situations borrowed from Out of Time.
Summary: In which Ianto and Tosh go out for drinks and dinner...
Notes: Just a little night out between friends. Hope you likes! :)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Sixty
Tosh and Ianto managed to snag Ianto’s favorite booth at the back of the pub.
“Martini?” Ianto asked as he tossed his coat on the bench.
“Yes, please!” Tosh said with a smile. “Extra dry.”
“I remember,” Ianto said returning the smile. “Be right back.”
Ianto returned in a few minutes with their drinks and a menu. They ended up choosing the same thing as there weren’t many meatless options that night. After they’d settled in a bit, Tosh asked Ianto how things were going.
He snorted. “Swell,” he said sarcastically. “Except for the fact that I can’t seem to do anything right.”
“What? For Jack? Don’t worry about him, he’s just stressed about those people. He’ll be back to normal soon.”
“It’s not just that it’s…” Ianto paused, debating how much to tell Tosh.
“No, really,” Tosh insisted. “That’s all it is. Oh my God, you should have seen him when I first started - all charm and jokes one minute and then something would happen and he’d just,” she snapped her fingers, “switch off for days on end. You know, I started around the same time as Suzie, right? But before us? No one. No one in the Hub but him for… God, three years? Can you imagine? I always wondered why he decided then that he needed a team. Especially after what happened with the last one.”
“You know about that?” Ianto asked.
“Well, I know they all died under mysterious circumstances. Why, what do you know?” Tosh asked looking at him with curious eyes.
Ianto hesitated again, but Jack hadn’t sworn him to silence on this topic and he felt a rather juvenile need to spill a secret and figured this one was easier to explain than the fact that he was shagging the boss. “The rumors around Torchwood One were that he assassinated his entire team and got away with it.”
“Rubbish,” Tosh said sharply.
“Complete,” Ianto agreed. “He told me that Alex - he was the leader before Jack - he went crazy. He’d seen… something, Jack didn’t know what, that drove him mad and he killed the whole team before shooting himself.”
“No!”
“Right in front of Jack.”
“Oh my God!” Tosh leaned back and took a sip of her martini. “Why do you suppose he didn’t kill Jack too?”
Ianto shrugged. “He didn’t say, I don’t think he knows.”
“Wow. No wonder he keeps so much to himself. Can you imagine going through that?”
Ianto shook his head.
Tosh suddenly leaned forward and put her hand over Ianto’s. “I’m sorry, Ianto, that was a stupid thing to say. You’ve been through much worse,” she sympathized with a quick squeeze.
Ianto shook his head again. “No, not worse just… different. At least the Cybermen were, well… you know, evil aliens. They weren’t part of the team, someone you knew - they were very clearly the enemy.”
“Funny, Jack said something like that this evening before you came upstairs.”
“What?”
“He said that the problem with these travelers is that there’s no puzzle, no enemy to fight. I think that’s what’s got him so torn up right now. There’s nothing to fight and that’s what he’s best at.”
Ianto chuckled. “If he were here, he’d probably say ‘I’m a lover, not a fighter.’”
Tosh laughed as well, sliding her glass down the table to make room for their food which arrived right at that moment. As they dug in to their ‘Shepherdless Pie’, which turned out to be quite tasty despite the cutesy name, Ianto picked up the thread of conversation again.
“Speaking of lovers, whatever happened with that guy - what was his name? Garrett? Did you ever call him back?”
Tosh shook her head mournfully. “No, just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“But I thought you liked him.”
“I did. I do! But he’s just not…” Tosh paused. “Right. Not right for me, anyway.”
“You mean he’s not O-”
“Don’t you say it, Ianto Jones!” Tosh whispered fiercely, pointing her finger at him.
Ianto grinned and mimed zipping his mouth shut.
“But thank you for that,” Tosh said as she picked up her fork again. “I need reminding now and then that I should never drink tequila.” She shuddered delicately.
“You did share a lot of information that night,” Ianto laughed, remembering a very drunken evening with Tosh at his flat a few months back.
“So did you,” Tosh said with a smile.
“I did?”
“Mmmhmm and there was one piece that I’ve been meaning to ask you about. I remembered it a few weeks ago, don’t recall what jogged my memory, but it’s never seemed the right time to ask.”
“Oh God, what did I say?” Ianto asked with real trepidation.
“You didn’t say much, but you did say that you finally understood all the fuss over sex.”
Ianto flushed beet red. “I said what!?”
“That was it. Or at least that’s all I can remember. I think we had just finished the bottle. Yes, yes that’s right because you insisted on eating all the leftover limes because you didn’t want them to go bad.”
“God, I do remember that part,” Ianto moaned, the very thought of limes still made him queasy.
“So my question is this - who made you understand all the fuss and are you still seeing her?”
Ianto took a deep breath and stared at his plate. “It’s not a her.”
Tosh didn’t reply. Ianto kept staring at his plate, dreading the moment when he would have to look up. He was sweating and he could feel his heart racing under his suit jacket. Tosh still didn’t speak, but he felt the point of her shoe bump gently against his shin. He glanced up.
Tosh smiled at him. “Okay, are you still seeing him?”
Relief washed over Ianto and he smiled back. “Sort of.”
“What’s his name? What’s he like?”
“I… he’s…”
“Oh my God, is it that cute mechanic from UNIT?”
“Brendan? No, it’s not him and I’m not going to tell you anything else.”
“Why not?”
“Because… because it’s complicated and he’s being an arse right now and I… I don’t even know what to tell you,” Ianto finished lamely.
Tosh laughed and wiped her mouth with her napkin, reaching for her glass. She took another sip of her drink and observed, “You are so not a girl.”
“Thank you,” Ianto said primly.
“Just tell me this, then,” Tosh leaned over the table to cover Ianto’s hand with hers again. “Does he make you happy? You know, when he’s not being an arse?”
Ianto considered for a moment, thinking back over his last three months with Jack. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, he really does.”
Tosh smiled. “Then I love him already.” She sat back against the booth and added, “So does that mean the cute mechanic from UNIT is straight?”
Ianto laughed out loud and went to get another round of drinks.
TBC in Chapter Sixty-One
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Not really
Spoilers: Season One thru Out of Time (1x10)
Disclaimer: Torchwood and all its wonderfulness belong to Russell T. Davies and the Mighty Beeb. Just goofin' around! All ©’s to Catherine Tregenna for dialogue and situations borrowed from Out of Time.
Summary: In which Ianto and Tosh go out for drinks and dinner...
Notes: Just a little night out between friends. Hope you likes! :)
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Sixty
Tosh and Ianto managed to snag Ianto’s favorite booth at the back of the pub.
“Martini?” Ianto asked as he tossed his coat on the bench.
“Yes, please!” Tosh said with a smile. “Extra dry.”
“I remember,” Ianto said returning the smile. “Be right back.”
Ianto returned in a few minutes with their drinks and a menu. They ended up choosing the same thing as there weren’t many meatless options that night. After they’d settled in a bit, Tosh asked Ianto how things were going.
He snorted. “Swell,” he said sarcastically. “Except for the fact that I can’t seem to do anything right.”
“What? For Jack? Don’t worry about him, he’s just stressed about those people. He’ll be back to normal soon.”
“It’s not just that it’s…” Ianto paused, debating how much to tell Tosh.
“No, really,” Tosh insisted. “That’s all it is. Oh my God, you should have seen him when I first started - all charm and jokes one minute and then something would happen and he’d just,” she snapped her fingers, “switch off for days on end. You know, I started around the same time as Suzie, right? But before us? No one. No one in the Hub but him for… God, three years? Can you imagine? I always wondered why he decided then that he needed a team. Especially after what happened with the last one.”
“You know about that?” Ianto asked.
“Well, I know they all died under mysterious circumstances. Why, what do you know?” Tosh asked looking at him with curious eyes.
Ianto hesitated again, but Jack hadn’t sworn him to silence on this topic and he felt a rather juvenile need to spill a secret and figured this one was easier to explain than the fact that he was shagging the boss. “The rumors around Torchwood One were that he assassinated his entire team and got away with it.”
“Rubbish,” Tosh said sharply.
“Complete,” Ianto agreed. “He told me that Alex - he was the leader before Jack - he went crazy. He’d seen… something, Jack didn’t know what, that drove him mad and he killed the whole team before shooting himself.”
“No!”
“Right in front of Jack.”
“Oh my God!” Tosh leaned back and took a sip of her martini. “Why do you suppose he didn’t kill Jack too?”
Ianto shrugged. “He didn’t say, I don’t think he knows.”
“Wow. No wonder he keeps so much to himself. Can you imagine going through that?”
Ianto shook his head.
Tosh suddenly leaned forward and put her hand over Ianto’s. “I’m sorry, Ianto, that was a stupid thing to say. You’ve been through much worse,” she sympathized with a quick squeeze.
Ianto shook his head again. “No, not worse just… different. At least the Cybermen were, well… you know, evil aliens. They weren’t part of the team, someone you knew - they were very clearly the enemy.”
“Funny, Jack said something like that this evening before you came upstairs.”
“What?”
“He said that the problem with these travelers is that there’s no puzzle, no enemy to fight. I think that’s what’s got him so torn up right now. There’s nothing to fight and that’s what he’s best at.”
Ianto chuckled. “If he were here, he’d probably say ‘I’m a lover, not a fighter.’”
Tosh laughed as well, sliding her glass down the table to make room for their food which arrived right at that moment. As they dug in to their ‘Shepherdless Pie’, which turned out to be quite tasty despite the cutesy name, Ianto picked up the thread of conversation again.
“Speaking of lovers, whatever happened with that guy - what was his name? Garrett? Did you ever call him back?”
Tosh shook her head mournfully. “No, just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“But I thought you liked him.”
“I did. I do! But he’s just not…” Tosh paused. “Right. Not right for me, anyway.”
“You mean he’s not O-”
“Don’t you say it, Ianto Jones!” Tosh whispered fiercely, pointing her finger at him.
Ianto grinned and mimed zipping his mouth shut.
“But thank you for that,” Tosh said as she picked up her fork again. “I need reminding now and then that I should never drink tequila.” She shuddered delicately.
“You did share a lot of information that night,” Ianto laughed, remembering a very drunken evening with Tosh at his flat a few months back.
“So did you,” Tosh said with a smile.
“I did?”
“Mmmhmm and there was one piece that I’ve been meaning to ask you about. I remembered it a few weeks ago, don’t recall what jogged my memory, but it’s never seemed the right time to ask.”
“Oh God, what did I say?” Ianto asked with real trepidation.
“You didn’t say much, but you did say that you finally understood all the fuss over sex.”
Ianto flushed beet red. “I said what!?”
“That was it. Or at least that’s all I can remember. I think we had just finished the bottle. Yes, yes that’s right because you insisted on eating all the leftover limes because you didn’t want them to go bad.”
“God, I do remember that part,” Ianto moaned, the very thought of limes still made him queasy.
“So my question is this - who made you understand all the fuss and are you still seeing her?”
Ianto took a deep breath and stared at his plate. “It’s not a her.”
Tosh didn’t reply. Ianto kept staring at his plate, dreading the moment when he would have to look up. He was sweating and he could feel his heart racing under his suit jacket. Tosh still didn’t speak, but he felt the point of her shoe bump gently against his shin. He glanced up.
Tosh smiled at him. “Okay, are you still seeing him?”
Relief washed over Ianto and he smiled back. “Sort of.”
“What’s his name? What’s he like?”
“I… he’s…”
“Oh my God, is it that cute mechanic from UNIT?”
“Brendan? No, it’s not him and I’m not going to tell you anything else.”
“Why not?”
“Because… because it’s complicated and he’s being an arse right now and I… I don’t even know what to tell you,” Ianto finished lamely.
Tosh laughed and wiped her mouth with her napkin, reaching for her glass. She took another sip of her drink and observed, “You are so not a girl.”
“Thank you,” Ianto said primly.
“Just tell me this, then,” Tosh leaned over the table to cover Ianto’s hand with hers again. “Does he make you happy? You know, when he’s not being an arse?”
Ianto considered for a moment, thinking back over his last three months with Jack. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, he really does.”
Tosh smiled. “Then I love him already.” She sat back against the booth and added, “So does that mean the cute mechanic from UNIT is straight?”
Ianto laughed out loud and went to get another round of drinks.
TBC in Chapter Sixty-One