Turning Point - 39/64
Title: Turning Point
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Author's Note 2: Happy Spring Chocolate Eating Excuse Holiday Everyone!
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn'tdidn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Seeing Ianto and Gwen raise their heads from the pile of paperwork they’d been working on for the last forty minutes - most of which was, Jack was sure, fairly pointless - Jack lowered his head and pretended that he had been working on his own paperwork, and had not just been staring at them.
A shadow fell across his desk a few moments later and he looked up to smile at Ianto. “All done?”
Ianto nodded and placed the thick stack of papers neatly on the side of his desk. “They just need your signature and they can all be filed and/or sent to the relevant authorities, and Gwen will officially be a Torchwood employee. And she’s got copies of all the handbooks - which, by the way, need some serious updating. They’re even more out of date than the one I got in London.”
“Brilliant,” Jack said absently, flicking half-heartedly through the pile, noting the lines of Ianto’s neat ‘paperwork’ handwriting interspersed at random intervals with Gwen’s more loopy and flowery calligraphy.
Dropping them back to the desk, he raised his head and noted that Ianto was looking distractedly at his watch. “Somewhere you have to be?” he asked, a little teasingly.
Ianto looked straight back up to meet his gaze. “Yes, actually. There are a few flats I’ve seen up for rent that might suit me and, perhaps optimistically, I scheduled viewings for several of them late this afternoon, hoping that it might actually be quiet today.”
Jack leant back, only then recalling a conversation he’d had with Ianto late one evening the week before. “When’s the first appointment?”
Ianto glanced at his watch again. “Forty-eight minutes from now.”
Jack looked down at his desk, covered in half-completed budget forms and minor incident reports, and back up at Ianto. He knew which one he would prefer to spend his evening with. “Fancy a second opinion?”
Ianto put his hands on his hips and looked pointedly at the desk between them. “You just want to get out of finishing all this paperwork this evening.”
Jack shrugged. There was no point in denying the truth; that was part of it and he knew Ianto would be able to see right through the lie. “Well, yes, partly. But, I also just want to help you move.” He smiled winningly. “I did promise to help if you wanted, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” Ianto said, nodding. “If I wanted.”
Jack felt his heart sink. He hadn’t anticipated that Ianto might actually not want his company. While he knew it was a good sign for Ianto’s emotional state that he’d been doing so well lately and had seemed to be happy to go home when the others did, he found that he missed Ianto’s presence in the evenings. He had reached out initially to help and support the young man when he’d been struggling, but over time he had grown to depend on the friendship just as much.
And it was getting harder and harder to suppress the fledgling feelings that had been emerging for months before Lisa’s death. He knew he had to; he knew it was completely ridiculous to have any hopes that Ianto could return them, especially this soon. But he couldn’t help but want to spend time with him - as a friend, if he could be nothing more.
He sighed, lowering his eyes and almost missed it when Ianto started speaking again, “Alright, how’s this for a deal? You sign all of Gwen’s paperwork and finish off this month’s expendables budget in the next twenty minutes - before I leave - and you can come pick fault in the flats I’m looking at.”
“Deal,” said Jack immediately, reaching for his pen. Relieved, he looked back up at Ianto and saw a tinge of smug mischievousness in the younger man’s eyes. He almost protested at the obvious ploy, now that it was obvious to him, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so - not when it brought a sparkle like that to Ianto’s eyes.
“I’ll be back in twenty minutes,” Ianto said mildly, turning to leave. “Any longer and I’ll be late.”
Jack clicked the top of his pen and got to work.
“There’s barely enough room to move in this kitchen,” Jack griped quietly at the fourth flat showing, nearly two hours later, accidentally elbowing Ianto in the ribs as they both tried to squeeze into the tiny room at the same time as the agent.
“There would be plenty room if it was only me,” Ianto retorted from behind him, and there was what felt like a very deliberate nudge at his shoulder. “And the lounge more than makes up for a small kitchen. It’s not like I’m planning on any culinary masterpieces anyway.”
Jack smiled; this was a little bit more like it. Despite the fact that, compared to the dive Ianto currently called home, all of the flats they had viewed that afternoon were positively palatial, Ianto hadn’t seemed at all enthused by any of them.
“What if you suddenly decide on the spur of the moment that you want to have a dinner party?”
Ianto chuckled, practically into his ear. “If I ever have the time to throw a dinner party it would be a miracle. And if I ever express the urge to spontaneously do so, you should lock me up as I will clearly be an impostor.”
“So you like this one then?” Jack asked, twisting around in the small space and leaning back against the small length of countertop.
Ianto shrugged a little. “It’s definitely better than the others we’ve seen today, at least. And, if I want to move in the near future, I do probably have to take one of them.”
Jack noticed the estate agent’s eyes brightening at this. “So…?” he asked leadingly.
Ianto took a breath and set his shoulders, turning to look at the agent. “I’ll take it.”
Chapter Forty
Comments and concrit are loved!
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: budding Jack/Ianto, references to past Ianto/Lisa
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: If I was the one who owned Torchwood, you think I'd admit it now?
Spoilers: Some information and events from s1,2. NONE for s3.
Summary: In the aftermath of Lisa's death, Ianto is struggling to cope - and new surprises don't help matters much. Can his friends on the team at Torchwood help him carry on?
Author's Note: Sequel to Guilt.
Author's Note 2: Happy Spring Chocolate Eating Excuse Holiday Everyone!
Thanks to: My beta cazmalfoy, angelzbabe1989 for idea bouncing, and morbid_sparks for cheerleading even when she doesn'tdidn't know what happens.
Previous chapters at master list
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Seeing Ianto and Gwen raise their heads from the pile of paperwork they’d been working on for the last forty minutes - most of which was, Jack was sure, fairly pointless - Jack lowered his head and pretended that he had been working on his own paperwork, and had not just been staring at them.
A shadow fell across his desk a few moments later and he looked up to smile at Ianto. “All done?”
Ianto nodded and placed the thick stack of papers neatly on the side of his desk. “They just need your signature and they can all be filed and/or sent to the relevant authorities, and Gwen will officially be a Torchwood employee. And she’s got copies of all the handbooks - which, by the way, need some serious updating. They’re even more out of date than the one I got in London.”
“Brilliant,” Jack said absently, flicking half-heartedly through the pile, noting the lines of Ianto’s neat ‘paperwork’ handwriting interspersed at random intervals with Gwen’s more loopy and flowery calligraphy.
Dropping them back to the desk, he raised his head and noted that Ianto was looking distractedly at his watch. “Somewhere you have to be?” he asked, a little teasingly.
Ianto looked straight back up to meet his gaze. “Yes, actually. There are a few flats I’ve seen up for rent that might suit me and, perhaps optimistically, I scheduled viewings for several of them late this afternoon, hoping that it might actually be quiet today.”
Jack leant back, only then recalling a conversation he’d had with Ianto late one evening the week before. “When’s the first appointment?”
Ianto glanced at his watch again. “Forty-eight minutes from now.”
Jack looked down at his desk, covered in half-completed budget forms and minor incident reports, and back up at Ianto. He knew which one he would prefer to spend his evening with. “Fancy a second opinion?”
Ianto put his hands on his hips and looked pointedly at the desk between them. “You just want to get out of finishing all this paperwork this evening.”
Jack shrugged. There was no point in denying the truth; that was part of it and he knew Ianto would be able to see right through the lie. “Well, yes, partly. But, I also just want to help you move.” He smiled winningly. “I did promise to help if you wanted, didn’t I?”
“Yes,” Ianto said, nodding. “If I wanted.”
Jack felt his heart sink. He hadn’t anticipated that Ianto might actually not want his company. While he knew it was a good sign for Ianto’s emotional state that he’d been doing so well lately and had seemed to be happy to go home when the others did, he found that he missed Ianto’s presence in the evenings. He had reached out initially to help and support the young man when he’d been struggling, but over time he had grown to depend on the friendship just as much.
And it was getting harder and harder to suppress the fledgling feelings that had been emerging for months before Lisa’s death. He knew he had to; he knew it was completely ridiculous to have any hopes that Ianto could return them, especially this soon. But he couldn’t help but want to spend time with him - as a friend, if he could be nothing more.
He sighed, lowering his eyes and almost missed it when Ianto started speaking again, “Alright, how’s this for a deal? You sign all of Gwen’s paperwork and finish off this month’s expendables budget in the next twenty minutes - before I leave - and you can come pick fault in the flats I’m looking at.”
“Deal,” said Jack immediately, reaching for his pen. Relieved, he looked back up at Ianto and saw a tinge of smug mischievousness in the younger man’s eyes. He almost protested at the obvious ploy, now that it was obvious to him, but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so - not when it brought a sparkle like that to Ianto’s eyes.
“I’ll be back in twenty minutes,” Ianto said mildly, turning to leave. “Any longer and I’ll be late.”
Jack clicked the top of his pen and got to work.
“There’s barely enough room to move in this kitchen,” Jack griped quietly at the fourth flat showing, nearly two hours later, accidentally elbowing Ianto in the ribs as they both tried to squeeze into the tiny room at the same time as the agent.
“There would be plenty room if it was only me,” Ianto retorted from behind him, and there was what felt like a very deliberate nudge at his shoulder. “And the lounge more than makes up for a small kitchen. It’s not like I’m planning on any culinary masterpieces anyway.”
Jack smiled; this was a little bit more like it. Despite the fact that, compared to the dive Ianto currently called home, all of the flats they had viewed that afternoon were positively palatial, Ianto hadn’t seemed at all enthused by any of them.
“What if you suddenly decide on the spur of the moment that you want to have a dinner party?”
Ianto chuckled, practically into his ear. “If I ever have the time to throw a dinner party it would be a miracle. And if I ever express the urge to spontaneously do so, you should lock me up as I will clearly be an impostor.”
“So you like this one then?” Jack asked, twisting around in the small space and leaning back against the small length of countertop.
Ianto shrugged a little. “It’s definitely better than the others we’ve seen today, at least. And, if I want to move in the near future, I do probably have to take one of them.”
Jack noticed the estate agent’s eyes brightening at this. “So…?” he asked leadingly.
Ianto took a breath and set his shoulders, turning to look at the agent. “I’ll take it.”
Chapter Forty
Comments and concrit are loved!