Fic: Vizzini's Rule (77/105)
Title: Vizzini's Rule, Chapter 77
Rating: R
Warnings: Just Owen’s naughty mouth
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!
Summary: In which Ianto returns from a long weekend off…
Notes: This is the start of Combat, morning of actually (takes a bit to get to the action of the episode but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless). It’s January and that means beginning of a new quarter and that means it’s time for an oil change. :D
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Seventy-Seven
This year is shaping up to be a good one, Ianto thought as he unlocked the door to the Tourist Office in the third week of January. He’d had a wonderful Christmas with Jack, followed by a very pleasant New Year’s Eve with the entire Torchwood team. Of course, Gwen had left early to join Rhys at a party and Owen hadn’t shown up at all, but Tosh, Ianto and Jack had fun drinking champagne and watching the city’s fireworks from the top of the Millennium Center.
And the past weekend he had taken a few days off to spend some time with Jamie and Mark to help celebrate their plans to move in together. Jamie told him Mark was thrilled at the idea and admitted that he’d been thinking of asking Jamie the same question. Ianto was happy for them both and heartily approved of their plans to find a new place that would truly be theirs instead of just cramming into one of their current flats. He shared some of his horror stories about moving in to Lisa’s place over several bottles of wine one night. Ianto frowned a little at the memory as he booted up his computer. That night hadn’t ended so well. The wine had made him maudlin and he had spent a good portion of the night crying on Jamie’s shoulder after Mark had excused himself and gone to bed. It had helped, though, Ianto thought to himself. Talking about her with Jamie had been right. Ianto felt as if he’d finally put Lisa completely behind him once and for all.
His calendar chimed, jolting him out of his bittersweet reverie. Ianto glanced at the screen and grinned. The SUV was due for its quarterly service call from UNIT. And, unless Jack had carried through on his threat to call UNIT directly, that meant Brendan was heading his way at that very moment. Ianto’s grin widened as he sorted through his emails and found one from Brendan:
To Mr. Jones, Torchwood:
Dear Sir, ;)
Scheduled to be at TW on Tuesday. Plan to leave early to be there 10ish. Lunch?
Hope so,
:) Cpl Brendan Spenser, UNIT
He didn’t bother to reply since Brendan would be on the road already. He just sent a quick email to the team to let them know the SUV was off limits that morning unless there was an emergency. The bell on the front door jingled as he finished the email and pressed send. He glanced up to see Owen striding through the office to the false wall. Ianto was surprised to see him. His attendance had been spotty at best since Christmas and the whole Diane Incident.
Owen turned to glare at Ianto. “You gonna open this up or what?” he snarled.
“Sorry,” Ianto said mildly as he moved to press the blue button behind the counter.
The wall began to swing open, but Owen didn’t step through. He stood there for a moment with his head bowed and then muttered, “Fuck this,” and walked back to the outside door. He paused with his hand on the door knob and then yanked it open, still muttering under his breath. Ianto jumped when it slammed shut.
Shaking his head, Ianto gathered up some files for Jack and headed downstairs. He thought about Owen as he rode the elevator to the Hub. He’d returned to work after Boxing Day like everyone else, but he’d only stayed long enough to type up his report on the whereabouts of Diane Holmes. Ianto remembered Owen snatching the papers off the printer and then stalking into Jack’s office to slam them down on his desk. Jack had glanced at the report and then looked up at his enraged medic. But before Jack could speak, Owen had bolted from his office and from the Hub. Ianto was sure he’d seen tears streaming down Owen’s face as he brushed past him, but he never mentioned it to anyone. He was sure Owen wouldn’t appreciate it.
Ianto sighed. He felt sorry for Owen but wasn’t sure how to approach him, or even if he should. It’s not like I can say, ‘I know how you feel’ because thank God, I don’t. It’s not like Diane died, she was there one minute and gone the next. And she chose to leave him… I can’t even imagine how awful that must be.
He shook his head and put Owen out of his mind. He headed over to the coffee machine and set a fresh pot to brew. As soon as the smell of French Roast started to waft through the Hub, Jack appeared in the doorway to his office.
“Ianto!” he called across the Hub. He jogged over to the stairs and grinned up at his lover. “You’re back,” he said happily. “How was London?”
Ianto filled two cups and made his way carefully down the stairs. Jack took both cups, set them on the nearest workstation and pulled Ianto into his arms. After a very long and satisfying kiss, Jack said, “Well? Did you boys have fun?”
Ianto rolled his eyes at the word ‘boys’ and then smiled. “Yes, thank you for the time off.”
“Oh please,” Jack huffed. “You’re entitled to some vacation, Yan. Luckily the rift was quiet and nobody went near your archives as instructed. Oh, but we have been drinking Gwen’s coffee for the last four days, so there might be some penance to be done for that.” Jack shuddered theatrically.
“Oh yeah?” Ianto murmured as he leaned into Jack. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well,” Jack said. “I was thinking -”
The cog door rolled back to reveal Tosh and Gwen bickering amiably about a movie they’d seen.
“Later,” Jack said. They stepped away from each other and Jack muttered with a wink, “There may be a stopwatch involved, just so you’re prepared.”
“Noted, sir,” Ianto said under his breath.
Gwen caught sight of Ianto and practically screeched. “Ianto! Oh thank God you’re back, pet! I can’t make heads or tails of that bloody machine. We’ve been drinking French roasted sludge for days!”
Ianto smiled. “There’s a fresh pot up there right now, Gwen, never fear.” He grimaced as she kissed him on the cheek on her way up the stairs and then smiled at Tosh who was following her. She gave him a quick hug as she passed and asked, “Lunch?”
“Uh… tomorrow? I have plans today, Tosh, sorry.”
She smiled and nodded. “Tomorrow will be great,” she said and hurried up the stairs to get a cup of coffee.
Ianto turned to find Jack watching him. “Lunch plans?”
Ianto flushed slightly. “Yes, Corporal Spenser from UNIT will be here today to look at the SUV. We’re going to grab some lunch.” He resisted the urge to straighten his tie.
“Hmmm,” Jack said. “I was hoping you would be free today.”
“I’m sorry, Jack. Can we do lunch another day?”
“It wasn’t really lunch,” Jack grumbled.
Ianto shot a quick glance upstairs, but the girls had resumed their conversation and weren’t paying any attention. Ianto stepped closer to Jack. “What then?”
“I called a dealership and set up an appointment for us to go look at some cars. They’re going to have them all lined up and ready for you to drive. I told them price was no object and that you loved your Audi and asked them to pick a selection of cars you might like.” He grinned. “What time do you think you’ll be done with lunch? Maybe we can do it later this afternoon.”
“Jack… You didn’t have to do that,” Ianto protested.
Jack shook his head. “It’s my fault you don’t have a car and the sooner I make that right, the better. I heard you setting up that rental before you left for London and it made me get off my ass and do something about it.”
Ianto smiled and squeezed Jack’s hand. “I don’t imagine it will be too long. Brendan will need to drive back to London, so should I just come find you when I’m free?”
Jack dropped a quick kiss on Ianto’s lips. “Sounds good,” he whispered.
TBC in Chapter Seventy-Eight
Rating: R
Warnings: Just Owen’s naughty mouth
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!
Summary: In which Ianto returns from a long weekend off…
Notes: This is the start of Combat, morning of actually (takes a bit to get to the action of the episode but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless). It’s January and that means beginning of a new quarter and that means it’s time for an oil change. :D
Previous Chapters
Vizzini's Rule: Chapter Seventy-Seven
This year is shaping up to be a good one, Ianto thought as he unlocked the door to the Tourist Office in the third week of January. He’d had a wonderful Christmas with Jack, followed by a very pleasant New Year’s Eve with the entire Torchwood team. Of course, Gwen had left early to join Rhys at a party and Owen hadn’t shown up at all, but Tosh, Ianto and Jack had fun drinking champagne and watching the city’s fireworks from the top of the Millennium Center.
And the past weekend he had taken a few days off to spend some time with Jamie and Mark to help celebrate their plans to move in together. Jamie told him Mark was thrilled at the idea and admitted that he’d been thinking of asking Jamie the same question. Ianto was happy for them both and heartily approved of their plans to find a new place that would truly be theirs instead of just cramming into one of their current flats. He shared some of his horror stories about moving in to Lisa’s place over several bottles of wine one night. Ianto frowned a little at the memory as he booted up his computer. That night hadn’t ended so well. The wine had made him maudlin and he had spent a good portion of the night crying on Jamie’s shoulder after Mark had excused himself and gone to bed. It had helped, though, Ianto thought to himself. Talking about her with Jamie had been right. Ianto felt as if he’d finally put Lisa completely behind him once and for all.
His calendar chimed, jolting him out of his bittersweet reverie. Ianto glanced at the screen and grinned. The SUV was due for its quarterly service call from UNIT. And, unless Jack had carried through on his threat to call UNIT directly, that meant Brendan was heading his way at that very moment. Ianto’s grin widened as he sorted through his emails and found one from Brendan:
To Mr. Jones, Torchwood:
Dear Sir, ;)
Scheduled to be at TW on Tuesday. Plan to leave early to be there 10ish. Lunch?
Hope so,
:) Cpl Brendan Spenser, UNIT
He didn’t bother to reply since Brendan would be on the road already. He just sent a quick email to the team to let them know the SUV was off limits that morning unless there was an emergency. The bell on the front door jingled as he finished the email and pressed send. He glanced up to see Owen striding through the office to the false wall. Ianto was surprised to see him. His attendance had been spotty at best since Christmas and the whole Diane Incident.
Owen turned to glare at Ianto. “You gonna open this up or what?” he snarled.
“Sorry,” Ianto said mildly as he moved to press the blue button behind the counter.
The wall began to swing open, but Owen didn’t step through. He stood there for a moment with his head bowed and then muttered, “Fuck this,” and walked back to the outside door. He paused with his hand on the door knob and then yanked it open, still muttering under his breath. Ianto jumped when it slammed shut.
Shaking his head, Ianto gathered up some files for Jack and headed downstairs. He thought about Owen as he rode the elevator to the Hub. He’d returned to work after Boxing Day like everyone else, but he’d only stayed long enough to type up his report on the whereabouts of Diane Holmes. Ianto remembered Owen snatching the papers off the printer and then stalking into Jack’s office to slam them down on his desk. Jack had glanced at the report and then looked up at his enraged medic. But before Jack could speak, Owen had bolted from his office and from the Hub. Ianto was sure he’d seen tears streaming down Owen’s face as he brushed past him, but he never mentioned it to anyone. He was sure Owen wouldn’t appreciate it.
Ianto sighed. He felt sorry for Owen but wasn’t sure how to approach him, or even if he should. It’s not like I can say, ‘I know how you feel’ because thank God, I don’t. It’s not like Diane died, she was there one minute and gone the next. And she chose to leave him… I can’t even imagine how awful that must be.
He shook his head and put Owen out of his mind. He headed over to the coffee machine and set a fresh pot to brew. As soon as the smell of French Roast started to waft through the Hub, Jack appeared in the doorway to his office.
“Ianto!” he called across the Hub. He jogged over to the stairs and grinned up at his lover. “You’re back,” he said happily. “How was London?”
Ianto filled two cups and made his way carefully down the stairs. Jack took both cups, set them on the nearest workstation and pulled Ianto into his arms. After a very long and satisfying kiss, Jack said, “Well? Did you boys have fun?”
Ianto rolled his eyes at the word ‘boys’ and then smiled. “Yes, thank you for the time off.”
“Oh please,” Jack huffed. “You’re entitled to some vacation, Yan. Luckily the rift was quiet and nobody went near your archives as instructed. Oh, but we have been drinking Gwen’s coffee for the last four days, so there might be some penance to be done for that.” Jack shuddered theatrically.
“Oh yeah?” Ianto murmured as he leaned into Jack. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well,” Jack said. “I was thinking -”
The cog door rolled back to reveal Tosh and Gwen bickering amiably about a movie they’d seen.
“Later,” Jack said. They stepped away from each other and Jack muttered with a wink, “There may be a stopwatch involved, just so you’re prepared.”
“Noted, sir,” Ianto said under his breath.
Gwen caught sight of Ianto and practically screeched. “Ianto! Oh thank God you’re back, pet! I can’t make heads or tails of that bloody machine. We’ve been drinking French roasted sludge for days!”
Ianto smiled. “There’s a fresh pot up there right now, Gwen, never fear.” He grimaced as she kissed him on the cheek on her way up the stairs and then smiled at Tosh who was following her. She gave him a quick hug as she passed and asked, “Lunch?”
“Uh… tomorrow? I have plans today, Tosh, sorry.”
She smiled and nodded. “Tomorrow will be great,” she said and hurried up the stairs to get a cup of coffee.
Ianto turned to find Jack watching him. “Lunch plans?”
Ianto flushed slightly. “Yes, Corporal Spenser from UNIT will be here today to look at the SUV. We’re going to grab some lunch.” He resisted the urge to straighten his tie.
“Hmmm,” Jack said. “I was hoping you would be free today.”
“I’m sorry, Jack. Can we do lunch another day?”
“It wasn’t really lunch,” Jack grumbled.
Ianto shot a quick glance upstairs, but the girls had resumed their conversation and weren’t paying any attention. Ianto stepped closer to Jack. “What then?”
“I called a dealership and set up an appointment for us to go look at some cars. They’re going to have them all lined up and ready for you to drive. I told them price was no object and that you loved your Audi and asked them to pick a selection of cars you might like.” He grinned. “What time do you think you’ll be done with lunch? Maybe we can do it later this afternoon.”
“Jack… You didn’t have to do that,” Ianto protested.
Jack shook his head. “It’s my fault you don’t have a car and the sooner I make that right, the better. I heard you setting up that rental before you left for London and it made me get off my ass and do something about it.”
Ianto smiled and squeezed Jack’s hand. “I don’t imagine it will be too long. Brendan will need to drive back to London, so should I just come find you when I’m free?”
Jack dropped a quick kiss on Ianto’s lips. “Sounds good,” he whispered.
TBC in Chapter Seventy-Eight