"Come Fly With Me" Chapter 24
Mar. 19th, 2011 06:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wanda1969Title: "Come Fly With Me"
Rating: Adult concepts- but not explicit this chapter.
Spoilers/Disclaimers : Torchwood, belongs to the BBC and RTD, I’m just borrowing the characters.
Summary: Torchwood characters in a story set in the glamorous world of international travel!
A/N: Sorry for the delay- I’ve been in financial year-end hell!
Chapter list: http://wanda1969.dreamwidth.org/1863.html
Chapter 24
***
If he hadn’t been told already, it had become readily apparent to Ianto on the flight back to London that Jack had told Gwen that he wasn’t ‘available’. As soon as there was a lull in the in-flight service, and he Tosh, and Martha and Suzie were in the galley, they’d been joined by Gwen.
“Has Jack ever told you he was going out with anyone?” she’d said as they finished loading the in-flight food into the heating ovens.
Raised eyebrows from Suzie. “No… but he’s pretty private about his personal life. Why?”
“Don’t know- just something he said the other night when we were playing pool. Mentioned he was seeing someone…”
“No, he’s never said anything to me,” Tosh said.
“Or me,” Martha agreed, ever so slightly peeved; she’d known Jack for several years now, and they’d been friends. She had noticed, somewhere in the back of her mind, a distance growing between the two of them in the last year. She’d put it down to her getting carried away with the rest of the crew, the new flight patterns, and the excitement of bargain hunting in the exotic markets of the Far Eastern capitals. Perhaps there was more to it than that.
Ianto elected to stay silent, but to no avail. Gwen looked over at him questioningly. “How about you? You two are always out and about, sightseeing and stuff, when we’re stopping over.”
Ianto paused as all eyes looked to him. “No… he’s never said anything to me about seeing someone…” He hoped it was only a half-lie.
“Oh,” Gwen said. She looked thoughtful. “Well, if none of us know about this, especially Ianto, it can’t be that serious…”
During the next few weeks, Gwen had brought up the subject of Jack’s private life every now and again, but, thankfully, the rest of the crew, including the temporary staff from the Torchwood ‘Casual Pool’ who had been brought in to cover for Diane after she’d left, hadn’t been able to add to her speculations. Even Owen had managed to hold his tongue, and Toshiko had privately confided in Ianto that she believed that Jack had only said that he was in a relationship to stop Gwen’s mounting attentions.
***
Jack and Ianto’s trip to Wales had soon come around, and the two men were now in Cardiff waiting to meet Rhiannon in the Hilton Hotel’s Steam° bar. Ianto had declared that the St David’s Hotel looked lifeless and anodyne after his last trip home, and they’d decided on the Hilton’s considerably more old fashioned surroundings.
Ianto sipped at his beer, and Jack could tell that he was anxious; it was clear that the imminent collision of his personal life and his family life was making him tense and edgy. As Jack attempted to reassure him, he saw Ianto suddenly look over towards the bar’s entrance.
***
Rhiannon had spent the whole week searching through her wardrobe, looking for an outfit that seemed appropriate for a trip to the Cardiff Hilton; she’d been to the bars there a couple of times before as a starter to a night out with ‘the girls’, but this was different. This was supposed to be a sedate and civilized meeting with her brother and his boyfriend. She’d eventually chosen a smock-like purple and green paisley top to go with dark leggings and knee high boots. Standing in the the Steam° Bar’s doorway, she smoothed her hands over the top as she looked around. She quickly recognised Ianto. A dark brown haired man sat beside him, his back towards her, an arm flung comfortably and confidently over the back of his chair. At this angle, all she could see was the back of the other man’s head.
She was relieved as Ianto looked up and caught her eye with a nervous smile, and quickly crossed the room as her brother stood. She reached the table, and was enveloped in an affectionate and almost relieved, familial hug. The other man- Jack- stood up, too and turned to face the siblings.
She found herself speechless as she looked over to ‘Jack’. If she’d expected a more ‘camp’ or effeminate man, she’d been wrong: he had chiselled good looks and, even fully clothed, she could tell that he had a toned physique- not overly muscular but in no way ‘weedy’. All in all, he was just about as far away from the expected homosexual stereotype that she’d anticipated as he could be.
Ianto quickly interrupted her thoughts. “Rhi,” he gestured. “This is Jack. Jack, meet Rhiannon.”
Rhiannon smiled widely, and Jack held out his hand, his own broad smile vying with hers.
“Hi,” she said and broke into an even more expansive grin.
“Nice to meet you at last, Rhiannon. I can tell you’re Ianto’s sister,” he replied with a wink, and fixed her with dazzlingly deep blue eyes. He shook her hand vigorously. “Now, why don’t you and Ianto sit down, and I’ll get us some drinks? What would you like?”
“Oh, thank you. A dry white wine, please.”
“No problem. Same again, Ianto?” Ianto gave a nod and Jack grinned again, catching his eye as he turned towards the bar. “Back in a minute.”
As she sank into one of the chairs around the table, Rhiannon watched his retreating form. “Jesus, Ianto! I know you said he was handsome but he’s… he’s bloody gorgeous! God… if I was a bloke I’d turn gay for that one…” she said, still staring admiringly at Jack leaning against the bar as he ordered.
“Rhi… I’m not…”
She finally tore her eyes away from the other man and looked to her brother who seemed mildly embarrassed by her outburst. “Oh, I know, Ianto. It’s just… a figure of speech.”
He ‘Mmm-d’ and reached for his beer.
“But he is good looking! He could be a movie star…”
“God! Don’t say that to him- his head may swell and we’ll never get him out through the door…” he laughed.
“He could, though… and he seems nice enough, too. Not at all what I was expecting- I thought he’d be more… you know…”
“Gay?” His expression was bland, but his eyebrows did all the questioning.
“No! Well… yes, I guess…”
Ianto looked towards the ceiling, but Rhiannon detected an amused expression.
“He’s coming back! Change the subject!”
“I’m pretty sure he’ll be expecting us to be talking about him, Rhi. My sister’s just met her brother’s boyfriend, for want of a better word.”
Jack approached the table, setting Rhiannon’s glass of wine and Ianto’s bottle of beer down. She watched as he squeezed past Ianto and towards his seat, and she noticed him place his hand gently on her brother’s shoulder as he lowered himself into his chair.
Less than an hour later, Rhiannon had been completely won over by the charismatic pilot. The occasional fond glances that passed between him and her brother spoke volumes. Every now and again, when Rhiannon suspected that Jack thought she wasn’t looking, he’d reach out a hand to offer a comforting or reassuring touch to Ianto’s arm, imperceptible to the casual viewer.
“Well, I’m afraid I need to go to the loo,” Jack announced and stood up. He walked across the room and ordered another round of drinks as passed the bar.
As soon as he was out of earshot Rhiannon spoke up. “Mam’ll love him… he’s… perfect…”
“Apart from being a man…”
“Ianto, you’re talking like this is Victorian times. Mam’s not as old fashioned as you think- she’s only in her fifties, for God’s sake! She was a kid in the 60s and 70s… I really don’t think you need to worry that much- and when she meets him…”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Oh, God… the Jack Harkness Fan Club… I’m not sure whether I’m more disturbed by the fact that Mam’ll ‘love him’, or that I might be thrown out of the house!”
“You’re not going to be thrown out of the house…”
“Well, I guess we’ll see…” he sighed and lent forward to cradle his head in his hands in a rather dramatic fashion.
Jack returned to the table with another round of drinks, only to find Ianto looking a little stressed, now resting his head against his hand as he leant against the arm of the chair. He placed the drinks on the table, and gently ran his hand against the back of Ianto’s neck, giving a quick look towards Rhiannon . “Hey. What’s up?”
“Just thinking about seeing Mam tomorrow…” Ianto murmured.
Jack gave a light squeeze before his hand fell away to his shoulder and then was gone. “It won’t be as bad as you think, Ianto. Your mum loves you…”
“I’ve told him that-she’s not some weird kind of bigot,” Rhiannon joined in and looked over to her brother. “You know that…”
“Yeah… Yes, I know that. But it doesn’t make it any easier.” He paused and sat upright, forcing a small smile, and got to his feet. “Right, my turn to go for a pee, now.”
Rhiannon faced Jack. “It’ll be alright, you know?” She was quiet for a moment as Jack nodded, again looking after Ianto as he left the room. “Are you serious? About Ianto, I mean?”
Jack whipped his head around and he stared at her. “I’m serious- why d’you think I’m here? I don’t think I’ve ever been any more serious in my life, Rhiannon.”
“Good, good,” she said thoughtfully. “I know him… he’s not going to want to put Mam through this just to have to tell her it’s all just… just…nothing…”
“It’s not just nothing to me- I wouldn’t have come here if it was.” For the first time since he was introduced to her, Jack looked serious and a little bit sheepish. “I worried that he didn’t feel the same way, but now I think he might be OK with it all. We’ve hardly been apart for the last six months; if this weekend goes well, I was going to ask him to move in with me. Hell! Even if it goes badly I was going to ask him if he wanted us to get a place together…” he finished, voicing hopes he hadn’t even discussed with Ianto.
Rhi found herself positively beaming. “If he’s got this far, he’s pretty committed, Jack. He doesn’t go into things like this lightly… And I know Mam’s going to be a bit surprised- I was! But she’s not going to give a toss if it’s what he really wants. And if it’s any consolation, I think she’s going to love you…”
“Thanks for your support there, Rhiannon. I guess it’s just something that he’s got to go through- it’s not easy, telling your parents something like this. People make assumptions… expect you to suddenly have an urge to start singing ‘I Am What I Am’ wearing a feather boa, or something.”
She laughed. “Well, I can’t see that happening anytime soon, at least not for Ianto…”
“Thank God for that! I’m not sure I could cope with an out and camp Ianto.” Jack was smiling again. “I kinda like him the way he is.”
“Me too.”
They spotted the subject of their conversation return to the bar, and quickly changed tack. By the time Ianto returned the table they were happily talking about some of the recent destinations that Torchwood had been flying to.
***
It was a few hours, and quite a few drinks and bar snacks, later when Ianto and Jack watched the taxi they’d arranged for Rhiannon set off towards Newport from the Hilton’s concourse.
“See- told you it would go well; you Joneses just can’t resist the Harkness charm…”
Ianto looked at him with tolerant exasperation.
As the car sped off towards Greyfriars Road, Jack turned to him with a leery smile. “Well, you do remember we’ve got a King sized bed, one of the largest baths I’ve seen for a while and a mini bar up there…” He nodded his head towards the hotel, “… and 24 hour room service…”
“Glad you reminded me,” Ianto smirked. “It would be a shame not to fully utilise the hotel’s quite considerable facilities.”
***
To be continued…
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2011-03-19 10:25 pm (UTC)I loved Rhiannon meeting Jack. It went very well indeed. Now, Jack gets to meet his mother, and Ianto is so cute when he's nervous. Can't wait to see how that goes!
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Date: 2011-03-20 08:50 am (UTC)I'm sure Tosh will understand, better than most, why Ianto's so reticent to talk about his personal life.
Thanks for reading!
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Date: 2011-03-19 10:54 pm (UTC)And Gwen is still digging. It bothers me that she thinks if he's seeing someone it can't be serious as no one else knows. Something tells me she won't give up so easily.
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Date: 2011-03-20 08:46 am (UTC)Gwen- it'll take a lot before she realises she's got no chance!
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Date: 2011-03-20 11:22 am (UTC)Trouble with Gwen, she seems so certain that any man who interests her will automatically be attracted to her. She just doesn't get that a lot of men just aren't interested.
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Date: 2011-03-19 11:10 pm (UTC)Brilliant.
*sniggers behind Gwen's back*
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Date: 2011-03-20 08:43 am (UTC)And like you say, poor Gwen's got no idea any of this is going on!
Thanks for sticking with this!
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Date: 2011-03-20 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-20 08:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-20 02:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-20 08:39 am (UTC)Gwen...Gwen... she'll eventually have her 'what the heck' moment. As it is, she's just being annoying now (as usual).
Thanks!
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Date: 2011-03-20 08:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-20 08:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-20 08:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-20 05:13 pm (UTC)