laligin: (Default)
[personal profile] laligin
Yet again, blame Jantolution's challenge. ^_^

Fandom: Torchwood (whoot!)
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Word Count: 2150
Summary: Sometimes, unusual methods are called for when trying to apprehend people who have alien tech...
Prompt: Jantolution Challenge #1, Prompt - On A Date.

A/N: Now with added sequel! Plan B (Try, Try Again), from Jantolution Challenge #6.


Not Quite According to Plan

Jack shot a look at Ianto, clearly suppressing a grin.

“You mean we can’t trace him like we did Carys,” Owen sighed, and Tosh nodded, a little sadly. She started to apologise, but Jack waved that away, saying cheerfully, “That just means we’ll have to follow him on foot from the club. Owen, if you –”

“It’s a sodding gay bar, Harkness. Go yourself.”

“Fine,” Jack shrugged, giving in far too easily both to Owen’s suggestion and his own grin. He sat back in his chair, and continued, “But I can’t go alone. I’d be too busy turning down offers to keep an eye out for our man.”

The others exchanged smirks, amused by Jack’s assumption of his unfailing powers of attraction. Then all eyes snapped to Jack as he added a rather unexpected sentence.

“So Ianto, you’re my date.”

Ianto stared at him, his expression somewhat panicky – too much of the “deer-in-the-headlights” for his liking – and, as the girls tried to hold back their giggles and Owen just sat sniggering, he stammered, “I… Jack, no, I… wh… what?”

“You heard me,” Jack said, one side of his mouth quirked in amusement. “We’ll go tonight.” He tilted his head a little, giving Ianto a speculative look, and added, “You’ll have to dress a little more casually, though. Maybe something in pink.”

Owen burst into a few loud shouts of laughter, while Tosh patted Ianto’s arm and tried to offer him some consolation by saying, “I think pink would suit you.”

Ianto closed his eyes, covered his face with his hands, and sank down in his chair, as if that could help him hide his mortification.

~*~


At seven o’clock that evening, Jack called at Ianto’s house, on the outskirts of the city. He was wearing his usual clothes – blue shirt and grey braces, black trousers, and his brown jacket in favour of his coat. In other words, nothing too different from what he wore the rest of the time.

It was this that had Ianto turning to bolt back inside when he opened the door. Unfortunately for him, Jack caught his arm and pulled him back, saying, “Whoa, no running away now.”

“You look normal!” Ianto complained, pulling his arm out of Jack’s grip and self-consciously smoothing the creases out of his pale pink shirt, quite aware of the irony to be found in calling Jack’s dress sense normal, under any circumstances.

“And you look lovely,” Jack grinned at him. “Fetch your coat and let’s get going.”

Ianto sighed, went to get his jacket, and returned, locking the door behind him and following Jack to the car. Sometimes life was really unfair.

~*~


Ianto was still uncomfortable by the time they were in the club and settled in comfortable seats on the opposite side of the room to the bar. Jack fetched them drinks, and fell lazily onto the cushions beside Ianto, draping one arm along the back of the seats. Ianto tensed, and sat forward a little, reaching for his drink from the table and avoiding Jack’s eyes.

“Relax,” Jack said, a little impatiently. “You’re my boyfriend, remember?”

Ianto glanced up quickly, but Jack had twisted to look at the art on the wall behind him, so if he was smirking, Ianto couldn’t see it. He sighed, and sat back cautiously. To his faint surprise, Jack made no sarcastic remarks, but instead struck up a conversation about the similarities between aliens they’d encountered and the creations of Hollywood special effects.

Before long Ianto was offering his opinions and laughing when Jack mixed up ET and Star Wars. Somehow the conversation took off from there and went racing on through a couple of discussions about the function of items back in the Hub, a few anecdotes from Ianto’s student life, lots of funny stories from Jack, their thoughts on the psychological effects of the various alien invasions Earth had already been subject to, the reasons why people went into such strong denial when confronted with hard evidence of that kind, the general weirdness of those who did believe in aliens, and a dozen other topics besides.

By the time an hour had passed, Ianto still hadn’t finished his first drink, but he didn’t care, too busy laughing, talking and occasionally poking Jack in the side if he said anything too outrageous. Jack had on his genuine grin, arm having slid from the back of the couch to Ianto’s shoulders some time ago, and Ianto now leaning against him while they talked.

Eventually, their target walked in. Ianto tensed, the laugh dying on his lips, and muttered, “There he is,” as he went to sit up slightly. Jack’s arm tightened around his shoulders, holding him in place.

“I know,” he muttered back, raising his glass of water as if to take a drink. “I saw him come in, now relax. Don’t give the game away.”

Ianto nodded a little, and Jack sipped his drink, then put the glass down and sat back, turning to look into Ianto’s eyes and raise his hand to cradle his face. Ianto blinked at him, startled, and would have moved away if Jack hadn’t winked and slipped his bluetooth headset onto Ianto’s ear before he could do so. He turned it on, and they sat there pretending to gaze lovingly into one another’s eyes as Ianto muttered, “Tosh?”

“Ianto,” Tosh said after a second. “What’s going on?”

“He’s just arrived,” he reported back, while Jack’s fingers started idly playing with his hair a little. Unfortunately he had to settle for glaring at Jack, as he couldn’t slap his hand away, for fear of revealing them to their target. If the man knew anything about alien technology (and considering the item they knew he was in possession of, that was a fair bet) then he’d take one look at the headset and be out of town in a shot. Or possibly blast the two of them to smithereens, depending on his mood.

“We’re still not picking up any signals from the device,” Tosh told him. “Are you sure it’s him?”

“Positive,” Ianto told her, wishing Jack wasn’t smiling quite like that, fingers still toying with his hair.

“Alright,” she said, “I’ll keep an eye on the CCTV and let you know if we get anything. I’m working on the frequency inhibitor, but there’s too much background noise in the bar at the moment. You’ll have to get closer.”

Ianto blinked, and was halfway towards saying, “We’re quite close enough at the moment,” before he realised she’d meant for him and Jack to get nearer to their target. Not each other.

“Why are you blushing?” Jack asked quietly, grinning a little, and Ianto pushed his hand away at last, letting Jack take the headset with him.

Ignoring the question, he muttered, “Tosh needs us to be in closer proximity to the target,” and turned away from Jack, reaching for his drink. Jack stretched out a hand and took hold of his wrist.

“In that case,” he said softly, “we’ll need to get going. He just went out the fire exit.”

Ianto didn’t have time for a reply, as Jack got to his feet and headed for the door, dragging him along. He reflected, momentarily, that although the evening hadn’t been terrible so far, things were probably about to get a lot worse.

And he was right.

Leaving the club, they found themselves in a back alley, and Jack hurriedly put his comm on, looking left and right.

“Toshiko? Did you see which way he went?”

Ianto ran to one end of the alley, and looked out along the road. Catching a glimpse of their quarry vanishing into another back street, he called to Jack, who ran to join him. As they took off in chase, Jack said quickly, “CCTV’s gone down and it’s spreading. Tosh can’t help us any until we get the inhibitor onto him.”

“Okay,” Ianto gasped between breaths, and they rounded the other corner, racing along the narrow lane and then hesitating when they got to the end of it.

“Split up,” Jack said quickly, and headed left. Ianto went right, digging his communicator out of his pocket and putting it on as he ran. Two more corners and he was calling, “Jack, here! Back where we were then left, then right! Quickly!”

Their target looked around sharply, even though there was no way, at the other end of the alley, that he could have heard Ianto. A snarl crossed his face, and Ianto froze for a second, watching the man reach inside his coat and pull out what had to be a gun, then the man was taking aim and firing, and Ianto threw himself to one side, hitting the alley wall painfully as a visible beam of energy shot through the space he’d been occupying a moment earlier.

The man was already running again, further into the back streets, and Ianto took off in pursuit, rounding the corner and nearly losing his balance, skidding in the mud on the ground. The man stopped, turned quickly and took aim again, while Ianto automatically reached for a gun that wasn’t there. His eyes widened, and the man fired.

Jack knocked Ianto to the ground in a flying tackle, squashing all the breath out of his body and getting them both covered with mud as the energy beam seared the air above them. They both scrambled back up, and Jack snatched a tiny alien gun from the inside pocket of his jacket, firing at the same time as the other man.

This time the energy beam seemed to hit an invisible barrier, and rebounded onto their quarry even as he screamed.

Jack was as surprised as Ianto when he exploded, but ignored the flesh and bodily fluids they were both spattered with, and was still ready with the shield-gun when the glutinous alien that erupted from their target fired the gun again, roaring.

When that creature was no more than slime dripping from the walls of the alley (and their clothes) Jack lowered the shield-gun, wiped most of the gunk off his face, and went to pick up the alien technology that had survived the blast. Ianto watched him deactivate and fold away the collapsible gun, and the CCTV disruptor, and whatever the third item was, then looked down at himself, trying not to cry in disgust at the slime and mud and gore he was covered with. Still, on the positive side, the pink shirt was ruined.

~*~


Jack drove Ianto home again when they’d managed to pick most of the more solid pieces out of their hair and off their clothes. They’d cleaned up a little bit in the gents back at the club, but Ianto still felt somewhat guilty about the mess they made of the car seats. Mostly, however, he felt utterly worn out.

Jack dismissed his apologies with a grin and a wave of his hand as he parked outside Ianto’s house and walked him to the door.

While Ianto, wincing, stuck his hands into his damp and slimy pockets to find his keys, Jack leaned against the front door, joking, “Thanks for a great night, Ianto. We should do this again sometime.”

“Which bit?” Ianto asked, finding his keys and busily wiping sludge off them. “The being shot at with an alien energy weapon, or the being covered in innards and god knows what else?”

“Well, I meant the date part,” Jack shrugged, “but whatever works for you.”

Ianto paused for a few moments, staring tiredly at him, then said, “Jack, you’re getting slime on my door.”

Hastily, Jack straightened up, and made a vain attempt to wipe the door clean. The greeny-brown stain that created made Ianto close his eyes, counting to ten in an effort not to lose his temper.

“Sorry,” Jack said sheepishly, and Ianto just about shrugged, too tired to do much else as he shoved the key into the lock and turned it.

“It’s fine,” he told Jack wearily. “I’ll clean it tomorrow. Right now I don’t care about anything except a hot shower.”

He saw Jack’s eyebrows go up, and stood watching until the internal battle was over and Jack managed to smile instead of leering. He was a little surprised when the smile became a touch softer, and Jack said, “Okay. I’ll get this stuff back to the Hub. See you tomorrow.”

Nodding, Ianto muttered the farewell in return, but was startled by Jack stepping closer, saying quietly, “I did enjoy most of tonight, though,” and kissing him, quickly and chastely. Then he smiled at Ianto and strolled back down the driveway.

Ianto stared after him, then called, “Jack?” and, as Jack looked back, said swiftly (before he lost his nerve), “I’m not doing anything Friday night.”

For a second they just stared at each other, then Jack grinned suddenly, and nodded.

“Okay. It’s a date.”
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(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 08:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fatchickengirl.livejournal.com
Sweet! And gooey!!!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 10:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
*laughs* Yeah. I couldn't resist. When things go wrong in Torchwood, it's usually with a messy *SPLAT*. :D Glad you liked. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 08:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] miss-zedem.livejournal.com
Awwwwww! That was so funny and so darn cute!

(and you're going to do a follow up about that date on Friday, right? Please?)

*snuggles Ianto for being adorable*

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 10:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
Why thank you kindly. *also snuggles Ianto*

(*bites lip* I am very very tempted. And you did ask so nicely...)

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] miss-zedem.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-03-04 10:19 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-03-04 11:39 am (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 08:39 pm (UTC)
misslucyjane: poetry by hafiz (Default)
From: [personal profile] misslucyjane
Awwwww! What a sweet story.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 10:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Thank you! Glad you liked.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 08:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] protoplasmica.livejournal.com
I love this story. Will there be more?

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 10:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
I'm very glad you like it. *grins and looks shifty* Um. There may be more. I'm sorely tempted...

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] tanarian.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-03-04 09:10 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-03-04 09:12 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 09:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] perian.livejournal.com
Very cute!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 10:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Thank you! Glad you liked. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 09:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mara-202.livejournal.com
Awwwww! That was really sweet! I love it. ♥

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 10:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ I'm glad. Thank you very much!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 10:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] crystalshard.livejournal.com
Ooooh. Very cute, and I enjoyed the blowing-up of the alien far too much. Loved this story, and also hoping you'll do the Friday date too :)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:25 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
*laughs* Thank you very much... *takes a tally of how many votes for a sequel there are...*

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 11:08 pm (UTC)
tau_sigma: (Default)
From: [personal profile] tau_sigma
Aww. Great; funny and sweet and decently in character, too! :) I don't think I've commented before, but I really love your fics. Hope there'll be a follow-up about Friday night? *g*

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:29 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
Thank you! For the compliments and for a first comment. ;) There may well be a sequel... I kind of can't resist. *sheepish looks* :D

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-03 11:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kephisos.livejournal.com
Awww, how cute! ♥

Friday night sequel pretty pwease? <3

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Thanks. I... er... mayhavestartedwritingasequel. *runs away*

On the hunt

Date: 2007-03-04 12:28 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mustang-bex1126.livejournal.com
Ok- now I simply must have a picture of Ianto in a pink shirt... perhaps with cleaning quotes... ~dies~ so much squee!

Re: On the hunt

Date: 2007-03-04 11:30 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Heh. *considers the joys of Photoshop* I'll have a go, but no promises. ;) *revives you* You need more lives than Jack if you're going to die at Ianto-pretty. ^_^

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 01:32 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dragenphly.livejournal.com
Muahahahaha! No more pink shirt!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:31 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
E-exactly! That, at least, makes Ianto happy. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 02:36 am (UTC)
ext_29272: (Default)
From: [identity profile] sunnyrea.livejournal.com
Loved it. Very cute and nicely intertwined in a mission. And I liked the alien goo! heehe

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Thank you very much! Very glad you liked the mission aspect - that struck me as funnier than a normal date (and how normal does Torchwood ever get?) and I'm a sucker for comedy. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 10:10 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] spastasmagoria.livejournal.com
next time, Jack hasta "dress up," though ;) I insist ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
*waves a magic wand* Your wish is my command! ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 10:16 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] schizojuc.livejournal.com
Cute date story! I second the call for more!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
Thanke! Lots of people want more, and who am I to refuse the public? :D

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:27 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] crowson75.livejournal.com
That was sweet and funny and very shexay. You do need to write the second date *nods* - for like, closure or something.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 11:38 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Hee! Thank you kindly. I think I will have to.

By the way: icon love! Mind if I nab it for a friend of mine? :D

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] crowson75.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-03-04 12:52 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-03-04 01:08 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] crowson75.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-03-04 01:10 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 01:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] arcane-author.livejournal.com
Aw, very sweet. :)

I think I'm becoming a slight sucker for Jack/Ianto fics, lol! Though I don't plan on writing them.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 04:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
Thank you! ^_^ I blame Jantolution entirely for my recent tendency towards Jack/Ianto fics. I was trying to be reasonably impartial before that... Honest. ;)

And there's plenty of people who write J/I, so we'll let you off with that. If you write something else instead that'd be even better... *subtle hints* ^_^

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 06:11 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] prologi.livejournal.com
Seventeen different flavours of awesome. :D I do like the messy splats.

Also, about that sequel-or-something? *tempts*. I'll give you cookies. :D

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-04 06:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
Wow. Seventeen flavours? Thank you very much! ^_^ Glad you like.

*is drawn towards cookies, zombie-like* Fair exchange...

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-05 12:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] coldsnap.livejournal.com
This is really cute. Undercover missions and alien guts - what I imagine would be a usual date with Jack Harkness!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-05 03:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
Quite probably. (Ah, the trials and hardships of dating leaders of alien-fighting organisations...) ^_^ Glad you like!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-11 05:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] no-eden.livejournal.com
This fic got a big, loud, "Awwwwwwwwwww" out of me. Fluff at it's fluffiest. :)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-03-11 01:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
Heehee. ^_^ Glad you like - and good reaction, for me, that's what Jantolution is for!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-08-08 05:52 am (UTC)
From: (Anonymous)
Just what I needed a nice sweet Jack/Ianto story.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-08-08 11:23 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
:) Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. ^_^

(no subject)

Date: 2007-08-29 06:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jadesfire2808.livejournal.com
Messy and fun! Really nicely done :)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-09-07 07:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Thank you most kindly! I'm glad you liked it. :D I remember it being quite a lot of fun to write.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-08-30 12:08 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] invisible-lift.livejournal.com
That was fun, Jack tricking Ianto out of his suit. Just the sort of thing he'd do, the bastard. ;)

(no subject)

Date: 2007-09-09 07:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
:D Jack likes to see what variety of outfits Ianto can wear. Or not wear, as the case may be... ;) Glad you liked, thanke!

(no subject)

Date: 2007-09-07 03:02 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kb-twilight.livejournal.com
Love.

Still, on the positive side, the pink shirt was ruined.

and

“Well, I meant the date part,” Jack shrugged, “but whatever works for you.”

You had me laughing and the end was sweet.

(no subject)

Date: 2007-09-09 07:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
^_^ Yay! I do like making people laugh, and I'm very glad you enjoye it! Thank you. :)

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] dserene1.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-09-11 11:23 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com - Date: 2007-09-12 02:07 pm (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

Date: 2008-02-27 02:13 pm (UTC)
ext_3970: (Default)
From: [identity profile] pinkfairy727.livejournal.com
This made me laugh - especially the bit about the pink shirt ;c)

(no subject)

Date: 2008-02-27 02:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
See, this was written back in the day, before Ianto decided that actually he'd wear a pink shirt on a regular basis... I swear Jack bought him a dozen for Christmas, just to annoy him, and he's being contrary by wearing them. ;)

Hee. Again, glad you liked, thanke most kindly!

(no subject)

Date: 2008-03-23 12:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] thrace-adams.livejournal.com
Aww, sweet and syrupy and delicious :)

(no subject)

Date: 2008-03-24 09:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] laligin.livejournal.com
:D Glad you enjoyed it. Thanke kindly. ;)
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