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, AGAIN- work’s been hectic... No TIA or Gwen in this one.

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

Chapter 15

***

He’d been so busy at work- and with Jack- that the beginning of November arrived without Ianto really noticing. Just like he’d failed to notice the way that a new electric toothbrush had made its way onto his bathroom shelf, and a selection of Jack’s clothes now hung in his wardrobe or were sitting in the chest of drawers next to his own. Not that he could complain; it was a similar story at Jack’s flat. The end of one of the wardrobe rails was occupied by some of his shirts and trousers, and a toothbrush and his favourite cologne sat on the cabinet in the bathroom.

In fact, Ianto was almost blissfully happy with this state of affairs, and jack didn’t seem to be in the least bit perturbed either. Every now and again he asked himself how on Earth he could be so unfazed by the situation- a situation which was probably the least likely one he’d ever thought he’d find himself in. It only took a quick look at Jack to remind him that the man was almost totally irresistible.

***

Jack sat on his sofa, laptop balanced on his knees. They’d finished a flight run to Bangkok late the night before and Jack was catching up with his e-mails, while Ianto made them a coffee with the new coffee machine which now sat on the worktop in the kitchen next to the microwave- another of Ianto’s additions to Jack’s home.

“Ianto!” Jack shouted into the kitchen.

Ianto appeared in the doorway, two steaming mugs of coffee in his hands. “Yeah?” he asked as he made his way over to the sofa.

“Mmm... thank you!” he said enthusiastically as he took the offered coffee. He took a gulp before continuing. “Just got an e-mail- it’s a friend’s birthday tonight- Sarah Jane. I’d completely lost track of time. Anyway, she’s having a few drinks and some food over at her place tonight. Nothing big, but there’ll be a few old friends there...”

“Oh...” Ianto was slightly disappointed. He’d been looking forward to a quiet Friday night in, maybe a takeaway from the new Thai place down the road, and perhaps an ‘early night’. “Of course you ought to go... I can go home, but you could always come back to mine afterwards. If you wanted to...”

Jack laughed as he put his mug down on the coffee table. “That’s not what I meant! I was kinda hoping you’d come out with me. Thought I could maybe show you off...” He grinned wonkily and raised an eyebrow.

Yet again, it was becoming a habit to be robbed of coherent responses when it came to the other man. “Oh...”

Jack leant over, steadying the laptop as he brushed his lips against Ianto’s hair. “Ianto, I’d love you to come with me- if you want to, that is? I don’t have to even tell them that we’re dating, if you don’t want me to.”

“’Course I want to come. I just thought you’d want to catch up with your friends.”

“I do, but it’d be a hell of a sight more enjoyable if you were with me. What’dya say? You’ll love them- and they will love you.”

“Ok... ok. And you might as well tell them the truth about us- they’re only going to guess anyway if they know you. But what the hell am I going to wear?” Ianto laughed.

“I’m fairly sure I saw that red shirt and my favourite black jeans in the wardrobe earlier. I’ll give Sarah Jane a call, say we’re going round, if you’re sure?”

“’’Phone her... I’d better nip out to the corner shop to get a loaf and stuff before we start getting ready, otherwise there’s nothing for breakfast.”

“We could stay at yours tonight? Sarah Jane’s place is on the other side of Ealing to you. We can call at the Tesco Extra on the way and get some bread for tomorrow, and then get her a bottle of champagne at Oddbins. That way we won’t have to get a taxi all the way back here.”

Ianto gave a smile; while he liked Jack’s place, it was in a rather soulless apartment block and had an unlived in air as if, to Jack, it had always been just a place to catch up on sleep in between work. “Right then. I’ll run a bath while you give her a call.”

Ianto reached out and squeezed Jack’s hand then headed off to the bathroom. He was sure that Jack’s conversation with Sarah Jane would be easier if he wasn’t there. Not only that, it gave him the opportunity to collect his thoughts. This would be the first time he’d met Jack’s friends, and it was going to be pretty darn obvious that they were seeing each other if he was going to be ‘shown off’- he was slightly less nervous about the evening because he knew it was also unlikely that there’d be any Torchwood colleagues there, otherwise Jack would never have suggested ‘showing him off’ in the first place.

***

“Sarah Jane, Jack here! Happy Birthday! How‘re you doing? And how’s Luke?.... That’s great!... Well you’ve probably guessed I’ve only just got your message and realised it’s your birthday... Yeah. I know I’m crap...Yeah, it’s been busy at work...”

“...Anyway, SJ. Is it still on tonight?... ‘Course I can make it... about seven thirty? I’ll be there... I was just wondering though...Is it OK if I bring a friend?... Aah, yeah, it is that kind of friend... He’s called Ianto... No, it’s Welsh... A couple of months... At work... He’s a steward. And no teasing him about it- he’s never been out with a guy before. He’s the straightest steward at the airline- or he was...”

Ianto appeared in the doorway to the hall and Jack looked over and gave a wide grin.

“...Tall, dark, handsome, blue eyes- and an accent to die for... No! You’ll meet him later- and anyway, he’s just come back into the room, so I know he’s eavesdropping!”

Ianto rolled his eyes, shaking his head indulgently, and went over to the kitchen to put the hot water on again in case Jack wanted a bath, too, instead of a shower.

“Yeah... I’d better go. I think I’m in trouble- Ianto’s been keeping me in line!... OK, we’ll see you later... ‘Bye!”

He hung up the ‘phone and looked over at the young man. “So- you’ve caught me extolling your virtues...”

“Flattered as I am, I wasn’t exactly eavesdropping, though! Now they’re going to think I’m some kind of weird nutter...”

“No, they’re not- they know me.” He replied getting up and striding over to him, settling his arms on Ianto’s biceps. He quickly kissed the button nose in front of him. “Now come and sit down for a few minutes while the water cools down a bit.”

***

Jack had spent the tube journey to Ealing giving Ianto a quick run down of the people he expected to see at the party.

John Smith- the Doctor- was a Physicist and Engineer who Jack had met when he was with the RAF. He had worked on the TARDIS, an advanced jet ‘plane, before travelling the world, often taking short term lecturing posts at various universities. Sarah Jane had worked with him years ago, before settling down to be a writer and journalist. She’d and adopted Luke, who was now at university, two years ahead of most of his contemporaries. Donna Noble was John’s latest assistant- more of a PA or secretary, as she had very little in the way of formal qualifications. Jack suspected that ‘the Doctor’ was lonely, and just needed a companion on his travels. Jack doubted that Rose Tyler would be there; she was yet another of ‘the Doctor’s protogées and assistants, until she’d met Mickey Smith, an RAF flight technician, and the two of them were working in Cote d’Ivoire last the he’d heard.

***

A bottle of Cristal was hastily packed into a gift bag, and Jack rang the doorbell at Sarah Jane’s large Victorian home. A few minutes later the door was answered by a dark haired teenage boy.

Jack surged forward to envelop him in a hug and then drew back. “Luke! Good to see you- so you managed to get back from Oxford for the party. How’s college?”

“Great, Uncle Jack- I mean, Jack,” a rather winded Luke replied, quickly dropping Jack’s informal title, as if he found it slightly childish to use it. “It’s a bit weird being away from home, but I’ve made some good friends and the course is great. And mum would have killed me if I hadn’t made it back this weekend!” He looked over Jack’s shoulder.

“Good...” Jack followed his eyes and turned to pull Ianto to his side with a hand on his waist. “Oh, and this is Ianto.”

With a friendly smile, Luke said ‘hello’ as he ushered them inside. Ianto took in the hallway; it was decorated with an eclectic mix of objects d’art and paintings from around the world, obviously from Sarah Jane’s travels.

They were shown into the sitting room. Jack spotted the ‘birthday girl’ and the teenager made his excuses and went to sit with a similarly aged dark skinned boy and an Indian girl.

“Jack! I’m so glad you could make it!” Sarah Jane Smith smiled walking over to kiss him on the cheek. “And this must be Ianto?”

“Nice to meet you,” he said holding out his hand, only to be pulled forward for a kiss on the cheek, too. She was older than Ianto had expected, in her fifties, maybe, but she still had the look of someone much younger- her eyes had sparkled happily when she’d seen Jack, and she was dressed in jeans tucked into knee length boots, with a shirt and a fitted waistcoat which showed that whatever age she was, she still had the trim figure of someone much younger. Ianto figured that it would be impolite to ask exactly which birthday this was.

As Sarah Jane let go of Ianto, Jack held out his arm, and the gift bag dangled from his hand. “Happy Birthday! I’m afraid there’s not much thought to it, but we’ve been working double shifts- I hadn’t even realised it was November.”

“Don’t be silly! I’m just happy that you could both make it.” She took the bag and led them across the room. “Get a drink- they’re here on the sideboard. And there’s some snacks in the kitchen.”

Jack took two bottles of Peroni, opened them and handed one to Ianto, who was looking around at the other guests.

“So it sounds like you’ve both been busy?” Sarah Jane said as she took a sip from her glass of white wine.

“It’s just the usual stuff, SJ. You know what it’s like- it’s just the catching up with sleep and everything else when you do get back home. Can’t complain, though,” Jack’s eyes slipped over to Ianto and he smiled. “We get to go to some interesting places. But how about you? How’s the writing?”

“Oh, that’s going well. It’s mainly travel stuff and I’ve been commissioned to help out on a few articles for The Times Science section.” She laughed. “Not my own theories, of course, I’m just helping out re-writing for the real scientisits- they’re not usually that good at conveying their ideas to readers.”

“I know what you mean- I’ll have to look out for them...” Jack was cut off by a slim dark haired man, wearing a brown pinstripe suit who bounded over and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Jack, how the devil are you?”

Jack turned to look at him. “Doc!”

This must be John Smith. Ianto was surprised that ‘The Doctor’ looked so young. His brown hair was spiked, and his friendly eyes glittered as he took in Jack’s companion.

“Doc, meet Ianto.” Jack’s fingers gently caught those of Ianto’s free hand and pulled him towards him. The gesture was not lost on Jack’s friend, or indeed Sarah Jane who’d pointedly not yet asked about the men’s relationship after her earlier telephone conversation with Jack. “Ianto, this is John, otherwise known as ‘the Doctor’. Ianto works with me at Torchwood.”

“Nice to meet you, Sir,” he said, reverting to his air steward persona and disengaging his hand and holding it out.

His hand was shaken vigorously. “Just call me John, or the Doctor- I don’t think I’m old enough for ‘Sir’ yet!”

Ianto smiled nervously. “Sorry... I kind of slipped into work mode!”

“I know the feeling, believe me! So what do you do at Torchwood?”

“I’m a flight attendant- not the most taxing of jobs, I’m afraid...”

“I don’t know about that, Ianto. Some customers can be very taxing!”

“Most of them are alright- and I’ve been working in First Class for the last four years, so apart from the odd demanding one here and there, they’re pretty much well-behaved.”

“Four years? How long have you been with TIA?”

“I’ve been with Torchwood for five years, but I only joined the International flights at the beginning of this year.” Jack caught his eye and they both smiled.

Sarah Jane drifted off to mingle with her friends, leaving the three men to talk. Jack was pleased to find out that the Doctor and Ianto got on rather well. Ianto was no scientific expert, but it turned out he’d remembered enough of his Maths and Physics A’ levels to carry on a decent conversation about some of the Doctor’s work. He was even more interested in John’s more exotic travels.

***

John Smith and Jack were stood over near the drinks. The Doctor followed Jack’s eyes as they gazed across the room settling on Sarah Jane introducing Ianto to a red head with a loud South Eastern accent.

“Ah... Donna’s arrived.”

“Mm...” John could tell that Jack wasn’t really listening.

“Is it serious, Jack?”

The question seemed to shake the other man from his thoughts.

“Serious? We’ve only been seeing each other for a couple of months, Doc.” He continued to stare across the room.

“But I think you’re serious.” Jack whipped his head round. “C’mon, Jack. I know you- you haven’t even flirted with anyone tonight!”

Jack slowly nodded his head in realisation. “...OK... I want this to work out. But... Ianto... he’s straight. I keep thinking he’s gonna wake up one morning and he’s gonna realise he’s made some kind of mistake. And you can’t fail to have noticed that he’s younger than me...”

“Mistake? I saw the way he looked at you. Are you blind? He’s as besotted as you are!”

“Oh... Do you think?”

“Gods- you are blind!”

Jack laughed, back to his old self. “I hope so, Doc, I hope so. I guess we’ll see.”

***

It wasn’t a late night out. The evening had gone well- if Jack had expected Ianto to be embarrassed at meeting his friends, he was wrong again. The young man hadn’t even been thrown by Donna who’d taken quite a shine to him. They left, Ianto having invited John, Sarah Jane and Donna round for dinner at his flat.

To Be Continued...