As If By Magic
Jul. 31st, 2007 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
laliginFandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1531
Summary: Jack and Tosh return to the Hub with an unusual collection of objects...
Prompt: Jantolution Challenge 5 - Prompt: Harry Potter
A/N: Now with added sequel! Easy Way Out, from Jantolution Challenge 6.
As If By Magic
Jack reached past Tosh to make space for the box on her desk, and she smiled her thanks at him before setting it down and sitting, clearly eager to investigate the objects it contained.
“You finally found something, then?” Owen asked sarcastically, and Tosh shot him an annoyed look, then did her best to ignore him while she started getting the objects out of the box.
Jack, with one hand on the back of Tosh’s chair, told Owen, “We investigated the report. It was just a bit of gang warfare. Lots of fireworks and the like, but no alien involvement. We confiscated this lot and left them to it. Kinda took the wind out of their sails a bit.”
He smiled as Ianto appeared with coffee for them all, and told Tosh, “Just run the basic tests and then let Ianto put them in the archives,” as he took his mug and headed for his office. Winking slyly at Ianto, he added, “And then you can all go home for the night.”
Ianto rolled his eyes to himself at Jack’s lack of subtlety, gave Tosh and Owen their drinks (received with gratitude and without, respectively) and then paused to tidy up the coffee tables in front of the couch, listening with half an ear to Owen and Tosh bickering behind him.
“Seriously, though,” he heard Owen asking. “Who’d you get that lot off? A load of Harry Potter nuts, or what?”
Glancing back, he saw Tosh trying to run tests on what looked suspiciously like a small collection of wands, and telling Owen, “Don’t be silly. They were using these like sparklers. There must be something inside the wooden casing to make them react like that…”
“You were seeing things,” Owen said flatly. “You said there were fireworks, so you saw sparks from them. Unless you’re going as nutty as Jack. Or maybe you just need your eyes tested again.”
Tosh glared at him for a few moments, as he sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee, swivelling from side to side and smirking at her.
“I know what I saw, Owen,” she told him. “And these –” and she snatched up one of the wands and waved it expressively “– were definitely sparking!”
A few golden sparkles sputtered out of the wand’s tip and faded in the air, and Ianto froze, even as Tosh said, “There! I told you so!” and Owen snorted, “Yeah, real spectacular.”
Tosh ignored him and inspected the wand more closely, muttering to herself, “Now, how did that work?”
“What’s next?” Owen asked. “You going to start wearing cloaks and trying to get broomsticks to fly?”
“Yes, Owen, that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Tosh snapped. “Because of course I believe that Harry Potter is in fact a biography, and I’ll be able to do magic if I just wave this stick around and yell Expelliarmus!”
Owen jumped and swore, dropping his coffee cup as she pointed the wand at him. Leaping to his feet, he cursed again at the splashes of hot coffee all down his trousers, and glared at Tosh when she started giggling.
Before Owen could lose his temper, Ianto swept in, picking up the cup from where it had rolled, the handle broken off, and telling Owen, “Perhaps you should go home. You’re not going to get any more work done tonight, and you should really get changed out of those.”
“You just want us out of the way so you and Jack can –”
“Maybe,” Ianto said, smiling blandly. “Do I take it that means you’re turning down the offer of an early finish?”
Owen grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and took off without another word, leaving Ianto to make a start on mopping up the coffee, telling Tosh (without even looking at her), “You should get home as well. I’ll take care of those, don’t worry.”
“I haven’t run the tests on all of them,” Tosh protested, and he shot a smile at her, saying, “Do a blanket scan for energy readings. If you get nothing, will you let me file them?”
Tosh hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed, “Alright. Jack did say they’re not alien…”
“They’re not,” Ianto assured her. “And you needn’t worry about missing anything. Torchwood One did every conceivable test on their set and came up blank.”
“You didn’t say they’d already been examined,” Tosh accused him, and quickly completed the scan. As Ianto had expected, she got no readings, and proceeded to pack everything back into the box, asking him, “You’re sure you’re alright with these?”
“I’ll be fine,” Ianto assured her, and ushered her towards the door.
Waving as she went, she paused to call, “Gwen said she’d be back tomorrow. Says she’s well enough again.”
“As long as she is,” Ianto sighed. “We don’t want to catch her cold, after all.”
Tosh grinned, and blew him a kiss before leaving, making him laugh before he turned back to pick up the box and take it down to the deep archives, mentally working through a selection of labels and descriptions he could attach to the set to make it appear boring enough that future generations of Torchwood employees would never even bother opening the drawers.
He was just settling the last wand into its new home when he heard Jack approaching. He glanced over one shoulder to smile at him, and was a little surprised when Jack got close enough to wrap his arms around him, but only tucked one arm around Ianto’s waist, reaching out with his other hand to pluck the wand from Ianto’s grip, and asking, “How did you know Tosh wouldn’t find anything?”
“I said,” Ianto shrugged, trying to get the wand back, with no success. “Torchwood One did tests…”
“Liar,” Jack murmured by his ear, making Ianto wriggle uncomfortably. Jack wouldn’t let him go, though, and after a momentary pause he sighed, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” and felt Jack smile against his neck, breathing, “Try me.”
“Wands don’t have a detectable power signature when they’re not in use,” Ianto said swiftly, and it was Jack’s turn to pause.
“Wands?” he asked eventually. “I thought the others were just joking about that?”
Ianto tried again to get the last wand back, but Jack pulled it out of his reach, so he said, “They were joking. Sir.”
At that, Jack let go of him and stepped back. Ianto turned to face him, meeting an intrigued expression. He hesitated, considering Jack for a few seconds, and then took a deep breath, put his hands on his hips, and said, “Alright. Fine. J. K. Rowling didn’t make everything up. She fictionalised an existing underground society to see if the rest of the world was ready to accept us yet.”
Jack blinked at him, mouth silently framing the word, “Us?” and Ianto held his gaze unwaveringly.
“I joined Torchwood,” he continued softly, “to make sure they didn’t stumble across us before we were ready. Or at least, they didn’t remember it if they did.”
“You retconned your bosses?” Jack asked, grinning a little, and Ianto couldn’t help the half-smile that crept onto his lips as he retorted, “I don’t need retcon.”
“You’re telling me you can do magic?” Jack said, sounding more than a little amused. “Mister Jones, I think you have a lot of explaining to do.”
Ianto held out his hand for the wand again, saying, “In good time. We’re not coming out of hiding just yet, though we were pleased by the response of the majority to Harry Potter.”
“It’s just the groups that swore it was devil-worshipping that bother you,” Jack said dryly, and Ianto smiled, but nodded.
“I’m willing to believe you,” Jack assured him, “but I’d like to see proof. And I want you to swear you’re not going to try and make me forget all this.”
“I promise,” Ianto said easily, and Jack finally handed him the wand. Ianto paused briefly, considering his next move, idly saying, “I was going to tell you eventually. I just had to make sure I could trust you first, and you do like to make that difficult.”
Jack shrugged wordlessly, and Ianto smiled, still toying with the wand and saying, “I think Tosh has some powers we missed, by the way. Contrary to popular opinion, we can’t catch everyone who develops magic.”
“You’re stalling,” Jack said mildly, folding his arms, and Ianto pulled a face at him, then held out a hand and said, “Fine. You want proof? Give me your hand.”
Jack willingly took hold of his hand, Ianto made a complicated gesture with the wand, and they vanished from the Archives with a crack. They appeared in Jack’s quarters a split second later and Jack stumbled as they landed, though he managed to stay on his feet.
“Not bad,” Ianto said approvingly, and Jack glanced around, then tugged on his hand to pull him closer, saying, “Not bad yourself. Just what else can you do with that wand of yours?”
“I was wondering how long it’d take you to say that,” Ianto told him, but smiled anyway.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 1531
Summary: Jack and Tosh return to the Hub with an unusual collection of objects...
Prompt: Jantolution Challenge 5 - Prompt: Harry Potter
A/N: Now with added sequel! Easy Way Out, from Jantolution Challenge 6.
As If By Magic
Jack reached past Tosh to make space for the box on her desk, and she smiled her thanks at him before setting it down and sitting, clearly eager to investigate the objects it contained.
“You finally found something, then?” Owen asked sarcastically, and Tosh shot him an annoyed look, then did her best to ignore him while she started getting the objects out of the box.
Jack, with one hand on the back of Tosh’s chair, told Owen, “We investigated the report. It was just a bit of gang warfare. Lots of fireworks and the like, but no alien involvement. We confiscated this lot and left them to it. Kinda took the wind out of their sails a bit.”
He smiled as Ianto appeared with coffee for them all, and told Tosh, “Just run the basic tests and then let Ianto put them in the archives,” as he took his mug and headed for his office. Winking slyly at Ianto, he added, “And then you can all go home for the night.”
Ianto rolled his eyes to himself at Jack’s lack of subtlety, gave Tosh and Owen their drinks (received with gratitude and without, respectively) and then paused to tidy up the coffee tables in front of the couch, listening with half an ear to Owen and Tosh bickering behind him.
“Seriously, though,” he heard Owen asking. “Who’d you get that lot off? A load of Harry Potter nuts, or what?”
Glancing back, he saw Tosh trying to run tests on what looked suspiciously like a small collection of wands, and telling Owen, “Don’t be silly. They were using these like sparklers. There must be something inside the wooden casing to make them react like that…”
“You were seeing things,” Owen said flatly. “You said there were fireworks, so you saw sparks from them. Unless you’re going as nutty as Jack. Or maybe you just need your eyes tested again.”
Tosh glared at him for a few moments, as he sat back in his chair and sipped his coffee, swivelling from side to side and smirking at her.
“I know what I saw, Owen,” she told him. “And these –” and she snatched up one of the wands and waved it expressively “– were definitely sparking!”
A few golden sparkles sputtered out of the wand’s tip and faded in the air, and Ianto froze, even as Tosh said, “There! I told you so!” and Owen snorted, “Yeah, real spectacular.”
Tosh ignored him and inspected the wand more closely, muttering to herself, “Now, how did that work?”
“What’s next?” Owen asked. “You going to start wearing cloaks and trying to get broomsticks to fly?”
“Yes, Owen, that’s exactly what I’m going to do,” Tosh snapped. “Because of course I believe that Harry Potter is in fact a biography, and I’ll be able to do magic if I just wave this stick around and yell Expelliarmus!”
Owen jumped and swore, dropping his coffee cup as she pointed the wand at him. Leaping to his feet, he cursed again at the splashes of hot coffee all down his trousers, and glared at Tosh when she started giggling.
Before Owen could lose his temper, Ianto swept in, picking up the cup from where it had rolled, the handle broken off, and telling Owen, “Perhaps you should go home. You’re not going to get any more work done tonight, and you should really get changed out of those.”
“You just want us out of the way so you and Jack can –”
“Maybe,” Ianto said, smiling blandly. “Do I take it that means you’re turning down the offer of an early finish?”
Owen grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair and took off without another word, leaving Ianto to make a start on mopping up the coffee, telling Tosh (without even looking at her), “You should get home as well. I’ll take care of those, don’t worry.”
“I haven’t run the tests on all of them,” Tosh protested, and he shot a smile at her, saying, “Do a blanket scan for energy readings. If you get nothing, will you let me file them?”
Tosh hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed, “Alright. Jack did say they’re not alien…”
“They’re not,” Ianto assured her. “And you needn’t worry about missing anything. Torchwood One did every conceivable test on their set and came up blank.”
“You didn’t say they’d already been examined,” Tosh accused him, and quickly completed the scan. As Ianto had expected, she got no readings, and proceeded to pack everything back into the box, asking him, “You’re sure you’re alright with these?”
“I’ll be fine,” Ianto assured her, and ushered her towards the door.
Waving as she went, she paused to call, “Gwen said she’d be back tomorrow. Says she’s well enough again.”
“As long as she is,” Ianto sighed. “We don’t want to catch her cold, after all.”
Tosh grinned, and blew him a kiss before leaving, making him laugh before he turned back to pick up the box and take it down to the deep archives, mentally working through a selection of labels and descriptions he could attach to the set to make it appear boring enough that future generations of Torchwood employees would never even bother opening the drawers.
He was just settling the last wand into its new home when he heard Jack approaching. He glanced over one shoulder to smile at him, and was a little surprised when Jack got close enough to wrap his arms around him, but only tucked one arm around Ianto’s waist, reaching out with his other hand to pluck the wand from Ianto’s grip, and asking, “How did you know Tosh wouldn’t find anything?”
“I said,” Ianto shrugged, trying to get the wand back, with no success. “Torchwood One did tests…”
“Liar,” Jack murmured by his ear, making Ianto wriggle uncomfortably. Jack wouldn’t let him go, though, and after a momentary pause he sighed, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” and felt Jack smile against his neck, breathing, “Try me.”
“Wands don’t have a detectable power signature when they’re not in use,” Ianto said swiftly, and it was Jack’s turn to pause.
“Wands?” he asked eventually. “I thought the others were just joking about that?”
Ianto tried again to get the last wand back, but Jack pulled it out of his reach, so he said, “They were joking. Sir.”
At that, Jack let go of him and stepped back. Ianto turned to face him, meeting an intrigued expression. He hesitated, considering Jack for a few seconds, and then took a deep breath, put his hands on his hips, and said, “Alright. Fine. J. K. Rowling didn’t make everything up. She fictionalised an existing underground society to see if the rest of the world was ready to accept us yet.”
Jack blinked at him, mouth silently framing the word, “Us?” and Ianto held his gaze unwaveringly.
“I joined Torchwood,” he continued softly, “to make sure they didn’t stumble across us before we were ready. Or at least, they didn’t remember it if they did.”
“You retconned your bosses?” Jack asked, grinning a little, and Ianto couldn’t help the half-smile that crept onto his lips as he retorted, “I don’t need retcon.”
“You’re telling me you can do magic?” Jack said, sounding more than a little amused. “Mister Jones, I think you have a lot of explaining to do.”
Ianto held out his hand for the wand again, saying, “In good time. We’re not coming out of hiding just yet, though we were pleased by the response of the majority to Harry Potter.”
“It’s just the groups that swore it was devil-worshipping that bother you,” Jack said dryly, and Ianto smiled, but nodded.
“I’m willing to believe you,” Jack assured him, “but I’d like to see proof. And I want you to swear you’re not going to try and make me forget all this.”
“I promise,” Ianto said easily, and Jack finally handed him the wand. Ianto paused briefly, considering his next move, idly saying, “I was going to tell you eventually. I just had to make sure I could trust you first, and you do like to make that difficult.”
Jack shrugged wordlessly, and Ianto smiled, still toying with the wand and saying, “I think Tosh has some powers we missed, by the way. Contrary to popular opinion, we can’t catch everyone who develops magic.”
“You’re stalling,” Jack said mildly, folding his arms, and Ianto pulled a face at him, then held out a hand and said, “Fine. You want proof? Give me your hand.”
Jack willingly took hold of his hand, Ianto made a complicated gesture with the wand, and they vanished from the Archives with a crack. They appeared in Jack’s quarters a split second later and Jack stumbled as they landed, though he managed to stay on his feet.
“Not bad,” Ianto said approvingly, and Jack glanced around, then tugged on his hand to pull him closer, saying, “Not bad yourself. Just what else can you do with that wand of yours?”
“I was wondering how long it’d take you to say that,” Ianto told him, but smiled anyway.