Applicant number one - Jack/Ianto
AU fic, how Ianto started working for Torchwood three
Yvonne Hartman's showing around the leader from Torchwood three. Captain Jack Harkness, American with brown hair and a grin that shouts meet me in the supply cupboard in ten. Not that Ianto's looking. He's typing up some UFO reports they've been sent from Newcastle, and not paying attention to the way Lisa's looking at him from the other side of their room, or Jack Harkness in any way at all.
They had an argument a fortnight ago yesterday, one that had ended with Lisa walking out of his flat and leaving her key on the table by the door. She's been giving him looks over the desks ever since, but if she wanted to talk so much, she'd go over to him, right? Ianto's surprised himself with how much he doesn't miss her being with him.
"And this is Ianto Jones." He looks up and smiles at the Captain, but doesn't get even get a glance in his direction. Ianto resists the urge to roll his eyes and goes back to the report.
"Oh yeah? And what's he do?" Charming.
"The same as the other three applicants. Makes better coffee, though." Applicant. For someone who's so in touch with the staff, she should really keep up-to-date with what he had and hadn't agreed to, especially when it involved moving back to Wales and being a secretary to four people (the actual job title was long and more complicated but Ianto knew what they meant). But she was flirting with Harkness, he could see that, wanting to impress him. Shame he'd paid more attention to Stuart three desks over.
"Is that right?" That was directed at him, he could tell, and he raised his head again. "So you fancy coming back to Cardiff with me?" He felt like a puppy waiting to be adopted.
"Maybe it would be more fair to see the other two first, sir." He meets the man's eyes, and gets one of those smiles in return.
"I don't know. I like coffee. And it's always handy having someone around who looks good in a suit." Ianto laughs quietly, unsure of what else to do, feeling uneasy and hopes he's not blushing. A tea boy's job in Cardiff suddenly feels more inviting.
"Thank you, sir."
Yvonne never likes not being centre of attention, so she smiles and grabs Jack's arm, pulling him along. "Well, we'll send you a message before the end of the day, Ianto. Now this is..." Jack flashes Ianto one more grin, and leaves.
Ianto sits still behind his desk, smiling to himself, ignoring the feeling of Lisa staring at the back of his head.
Looks like he's going to Cardiff.
-
He gets an email from Yvonne an hour before he's due to leave, and twenty minutes later, he's sitting in her office, just him and Jack.
"Why didn't you hand in the application? You're qualified, been in the same position for over a year..." He doesn't make it sound like a job interview, more like just being curious about Ianto.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to leave here." I had a girlfriend who didn't like to go anywhere her Oyster card couldn't get her, he means.
"So what is it that's holding you to London?" Friends. Flat. Places he goes every day, familiarity. Lisa? He thinks of the silver key, next to the phone back home. No, not Lisa, not any more.
"Nothing, I suppose. Nothing that can't be replaced."
"No girlfriend? Boyfriend?"
"No. Just me," he answers, trying to force a smile but finds he doesn't really need to. Jack nods, looking down at the stack of paper in front of him.
"Well there's a small house about twenty minutes away from the Hub, er, base, whatever you want to call it. Bedroom, spare room, bathroom, kitchen, living room, attic... No garden though. If you don't mind staying there. You can always move, of course, but it's there for you to start with. We can get it cleaned up by... Saturday. No, everyone's... oh, I'll get Owen to do it." He pauses and looks up. "You're taking the job, right?"
He says yes before he realises what he's done, and leaves that night with a key to a house in Cardiff and instructions to clear out his flat within two days, although he's already decided to leave as soon as possible. He phones Lisa when he's driving home to tell her he's leaving, but her phone's off so he says goodbye to her voice mail instead.
Yvonne Hartman's showing around the leader from Torchwood three. Captain Jack Harkness, American with brown hair and a grin that shouts meet me in the supply cupboard in ten. Not that Ianto's looking. He's typing up some UFO reports they've been sent from Newcastle, and not paying attention to the way Lisa's looking at him from the other side of their room, or Jack Harkness in any way at all.
They had an argument a fortnight ago yesterday, one that had ended with Lisa walking out of his flat and leaving her key on the table by the door. She's been giving him looks over the desks ever since, but if she wanted to talk so much, she'd go over to him, right? Ianto's surprised himself with how much he doesn't miss her being with him.
"And this is Ianto Jones." He looks up and smiles at the Captain, but doesn't get even get a glance in his direction. Ianto resists the urge to roll his eyes and goes back to the report.
"Oh yeah? And what's he do?" Charming.
"The same as the other three applicants. Makes better coffee, though." Applicant. For someone who's so in touch with the staff, she should really keep up-to-date with what he had and hadn't agreed to, especially when it involved moving back to Wales and being a secretary to four people (the actual job title was long and more complicated but Ianto knew what they meant). But she was flirting with Harkness, he could see that, wanting to impress him. Shame he'd paid more attention to Stuart three desks over.
"Is that right?" That was directed at him, he could tell, and he raised his head again. "So you fancy coming back to Cardiff with me?" He felt like a puppy waiting to be adopted.
"Maybe it would be more fair to see the other two first, sir." He meets the man's eyes, and gets one of those smiles in return.
"I don't know. I like coffee. And it's always handy having someone around who looks good in a suit." Ianto laughs quietly, unsure of what else to do, feeling uneasy and hopes he's not blushing. A tea boy's job in Cardiff suddenly feels more inviting.
"Thank you, sir."
Yvonne never likes not being centre of attention, so she smiles and grabs Jack's arm, pulling him along. "Well, we'll send you a message before the end of the day, Ianto. Now this is..." Jack flashes Ianto one more grin, and leaves.
Ianto sits still behind his desk, smiling to himself, ignoring the feeling of Lisa staring at the back of his head.
Looks like he's going to Cardiff.
-
He gets an email from Yvonne an hour before he's due to leave, and twenty minutes later, he's sitting in her office, just him and Jack.
"Why didn't you hand in the application? You're qualified, been in the same position for over a year..." He doesn't make it sound like a job interview, more like just being curious about Ianto.
"I wasn't sure I wanted to leave here." I had a girlfriend who didn't like to go anywhere her Oyster card couldn't get her, he means.
"So what is it that's holding you to London?" Friends. Flat. Places he goes every day, familiarity. Lisa? He thinks of the silver key, next to the phone back home. No, not Lisa, not any more.
"Nothing, I suppose. Nothing that can't be replaced."
"No girlfriend? Boyfriend?"
"No. Just me," he answers, trying to force a smile but finds he doesn't really need to. Jack nods, looking down at the stack of paper in front of him.
"Well there's a small house about twenty minutes away from the Hub, er, base, whatever you want to call it. Bedroom, spare room, bathroom, kitchen, living room, attic... No garden though. If you don't mind staying there. You can always move, of course, but it's there for you to start with. We can get it cleaned up by... Saturday. No, everyone's... oh, I'll get Owen to do it." He pauses and looks up. "You're taking the job, right?"
He says yes before he realises what he's done, and leaves that night with a key to a house in Cardiff and instructions to clear out his flat within two days, although he's already decided to leave as soon as possible. He phones Lisa when he's driving home to tell her he's leaving, but her phone's off so he says goodbye to her voice mail instead.