wanda1969

Title: "Come Fly With Me"
Rating: PG this chapter?

Spoilers/Disclaimers : Torchwood, belongs to the BBC and RTD, I’m just borrowing the characters- I own nothing here, nor do I make any money! So please don't prosecute!
Summary: Torchwood characters in a story set in the glamorous world of international travel! Fluffy, romantic and cheesy in the extreme, I suspect!

A/N: Sorry for the delay- work’s been hectic... Also there is to be a racier chapter 13a, but it will be posted out of order, as soon as I can get it finished. Oh, and Gwen’s very ‘Gwen-like’ in this, so be prepared for what some people might call minor (in my view) ‘bashing’. Typos a go-go, I suspect.

Chapter list: http://wanda1969.dreamwidth.org/1863.html

Chapter 14

***

Over the next few weeks Jack and Ianto increasingly spent more and more time with each other. At work, most of that time together was spent with the rest of the crew, their professional façades in place, neither of them ready to take the step of revealing their new relationship to their colleagues. Away from work, and the seemingly never ending, lonely stopovers where they both slept alone, they made the most of their time back at home, where they were all but inseparable.

Ianto had managed to successfully deflect all of Tosh’s questions about his ‘mystery woman’, while Jack had dissembled whenever his co-pilot tried to probe deeper into the reasons for his new found and ‘bloody irritating’ (as Owen put it) chirpiness. Jack had been a bit taken aback at Owen’s comment- he’d always considered himself to be fairly damned ‘chirpy’ anyway.

***

They were in Jakarta, and Ianto had finally visited the small street-side restaurant that Jack had recommended all those months ago, when he’d just joined the crew. It had been even better than Jack described, and the two men finished their meal and returned to their hotel in old Batavia; sadly it wasn’t for a romantic night in. Instead they were meeting up for more team drinks in the bar.

It was always enjoyable and fun when the crew met up, but recently, in the back of his mind, Ianto had begun to view these nights out, a little selfishly, as just something else which meant that he spent even less time with the man who had quickly, in some ways, started to be one of the most important people in his life. He accepted that they weren’t able to share their nights together when they were away; it was hard, though, acknowledging that they often had to cut short their meals and evenings out while they were on flight duty. Ianto sometimes wondered how they’d ever gotten away with their- he now realised- intimate tête-à-têtes. Now the two of them were ‘dating’ it all seemed so obvious, even if he himself had failed to notice at the time. It was just lucky that the rest of the team didn’t show any interest in sightseeing, or the local street cafés and restaurants that the couple preferred to visit.

Still, it was still great to catch up with Tosh and the rest of the crew, and when he and Jack had got back from their meal the whole team was gathered around two large bar tables. He spotted a space next to Toshiko, and made his way over to the chair at her side. The group’s conversation was peppered with the odd piece of gossip and what they’d all got up to that day. Eventually, he excused himself to go to the loo.

When he returned he still found his place next to Tosh, but, as he looked around he noticed that Owen and Diane were now sitting together at the far end of the table, a little away from the rest, and Owen was listening keenly to the latest news on her flying lessons. Beth had gone back to her room, leaving Martha, Suzie and Emma huddled together still gossiping away about the most recent Torchwood news- Samantha Peters, who was a hostess with one of the Middle East crews had resigned suddenly, without any explanation; there were rumours that she had been having an affair with someone at the airline, and they were busily theorising about exactly who that someone could be.

Ianto slid into his seat next to Tosh, deftly avoiding being dragged into their discussion. He quickly looked over towards Jack; as he thought, Gwen had taken the seat vacated by Owen, and she was talking away- probably either about her fiancé and wedding, or life on the charter flights, if his own experience of talking Gwen was anything to go by. Recently, she’d started to seek Jack out, taking the opportunity to sit next to him whenever that opportunity presented itself. Conversely, he’d noticed that Owen was spending more and more time talking to Diane. In fact, when he thought about it, he was sure that Owen and Gwen were no longer seeing each other. They rarely left nights out like this within minutes of each other, and they didn’t none too subtly arrive at, or leave, their shifts at more or less the same time. And now the Welshwoman was sitting closer to Jack than was necessary for a work’s trip out. Her hand briefly rested on his knee as she leant further towards him, laughing wide eyed and loudly at whatever was being said.

“Gwen’s really taking an interest in Jack these days...” Tosh said interrupting Ianto’s thoughts.

“Mm... I guess so,” he replied and turned to look at her.

“I think it’s over between her and Owen- they haven’t been coming into work together any more. And you’ve seen the way she reacts when he talks to Diane.”

“Yeah. But she does fancy Jack, too. She looks at him like she looked at Owen before they got together.” Ianto wasn’t jealous of Gwen- he knew that there was nothing between the two of them. He did, however, find himself unable to understand why she behaved like this; she had a boyfriend that she professed to love- and was engaged to marry- but there she was, sitting next to him, flirting away, using every trick in her book. Jack’s tired expression reassured him. He knew he was being as insecure as a teenager, but he had to have that confirmation that he was the one that Jack wanted. He could still hardly believe that someone like Jack Harkness could possibly be attracted to him or interested in him, even if he was sure that he knew by now exactly what Jack Harkness’ interests were.

“He’s not taking her on though, is he? Look at him. She’s trying her best but he’s not really that keen...I see disappointment ahead...”

Ianto fervently and selfishly hoped so- he’d already started to formulate plans for their next leave time. “We’ll see...”

“I guess so.” Toshiko agreed. It was such a pity that Ianto had started seeing someone- she was convinced that he and Jack were probably one of the best matched couples she’d ever seen. The chemistry was there, and she wondered if either of the two men realised. It might be obvious that the pilot was eager to spend time with the other man, but she was uncertain as to whether he was as ignorant of his own feelings as Ianto was. “The trouble is, I can see all of this causing ructions. Gwen’s already starting to be a bit short with Diane. She was really giving her the brush-off on the flight in.”

“Really?” Ianto realised he’d been so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed whatever was going on.

“Yeah. And she told Diane she was setting up the trolley wrong. As if! Diane’s spent her whole working life with Torchwood. If anyone knows how to do their job, it’s her... And realistically, we all know this isn’t exactly like being a brain surgeon, or a nuclear physicist!”

Ianto laughed along with Tosh.

“You’re right. We’re all just glorified Tea Ladies. Or ‘Tea boys’,” He said with reference to Owen’s nick-name for him. “The thing I just don’t get is how much she goes on about Rhys, and then within seconds she’s chatting up Jack. Or any male crew member, as far as I can see.”

“Watch out, Ianto. You’re next on the list, then!” she joked.

He looked at her in surprise; the thought that he might ever be subjected to Gwen’s flirting had never even occurred to him. He snorted. “I hardly think so, Tosh. For a start, I’m far too boring for Gwen to be interested in me- even if it’s only to make Owen jealous. And I get the feeling that I’m nowhere near far enough up the social ladder for her.”

Toshiko looked thoughtful. “She does seem to tend to aim high. You shouldn’t run yourself down, though- you’re a good looking guy. It’s probably a good thing you’ve got a girlfriend now...” She paused, seeing her chance to wheedle even the slightest bit of information about Ianto’s secretive love life out of him. “On which subject... how are things going there...?”

“Oh, no,” he smiled and shook his head. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Miss Sato! Like I said, I’m not even sure how serious it is yet...” Ianto wondered exactly how serious his relationship with Jack was; he’d begun to think that he was quite serious already.

***

“...the furthest Rhys has ever been was Florida- there wasn’t much in the way of staff perks at my last airline. He doesn’t understand- the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen...”

Jack didn’t know quite what Gwen meant- as far as he could see, the furthest that Gwen had gone out of her way to experience foreign cultures with Torchwood was the nearest shopping centre to their hotel.

“It’s only a veneer of glamour, Gwen. We might as well be working for Virgin Rail. We just get people from A to B. Rhys sounds like a good man. You shouldn’t let your real life drift. Take a holiday- you know Torchwood’s got some pretty good staff deals. Try somewhere exotic, romantic- Mauritius, Réunion. Fiji...” He trailed off, thinking about how he’d love to take Ianto to any of those places, and more besides.

“It’s not that. Rhys...Rhys is lovely. He just doesn’t understand me...” Her arm had been resting along the back of the banquette seating, but now, bolstered by a few drinks, she reached out to lay a hand on Jack’s shoulder.

He moved to remove the hand, a thumb stroking over her fingers, finding her engagement ring. “You’re engaged, Gwen.”

“He asked me... ”

“And you said yes.”

“No one else would have me...”

Jack sensed a mixture of rejection and sadness in her voice. “Gwen, from everything you’ve told me, Rhys loves you- make sure he knows you feel the same way about him. Take that holiday- even if it’s only a week. You need to get away from work for a bit.”

She stared at him, with large doe eyes and a defeated smile that showed off the gap in her teeth. It would have been so much easier to deal with Gwen’s attentions if he’d been able to tell her that he was involved with someone else, or he wasn’t quite so distracted by the sight of that very gorgeous someone else chatting away with Toshiko at the other end of the bar tables.

***

To Be Continued...