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Entry tags:
Waiting for the Cavalry
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Word Count: 580
Summary: The trick to dealing with booby-traps is to stay very, very calm...
A/N: Betaed by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
shadowbyrd, come to that. Thanke.
Prompt: Jantolution Challenge #16, Stress (and Relaxation)
Waiting for the Cavalry
“As long as we stay perfectly calm,” Jack said, calmly, “we’ll be fine. Just remember that. Breathe deeply. Think... think zen.”
“You’re not helping,” Ianto told him, through gritted teeth, and the counter on the table jumped up a few points.
“Calm,” Jack repeated, with a little strain in his voice, and the counter ticked over a few more numbers. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. The numbers fell again, gradually.
When Ianto did the same, the numbers fell even further.
“So,” Ianto sighed. “I hope you have a plan to get us out of this.”
“Wait for Gwen,” Jack muttered, head hanging.
“That’s the plan?”
Jack hummed agreement, still taking deep, regular breaths.
“Have you forgotten where Gwen is at the moment?” Ianto asked.
The counter on the table clicked up a couple of numbers. Ianto shot it a quick glance, and swore under his breath when it cleared 150. It clicked up a few more.
“I know,” Jack said. “But she’ll be fine. If we try to do too much you know what’ll happen.”
Ianto pressed his lips together in an effort to say nothing, and looked around the room again. The wires attached to them spread in a tangled web to the walls, floor and ceiling, and mingled with far too many extra wires on the way. If they moved from where they sat, they were bound to catch some and pull them loose, which would in turn detonate the bomb buried beneath them. They had no choice but to sit still and stay calm. Which was made all the more difficult by the knowledge that staying calm was far from optional. If they didn’t, that would also blow them to kingdom come.
The counter cleared 160.
“Stop it,” Jack warned him. “Don’t even let it get close to 180.”
“I know,” Ianto grated, and the counter clicked up. “I’m trying.”
“Not hard enough,” Jack muttered, and the counter reached 168. He winced, said, “Sorry,” and then took a deep breath and visibly relaxed.
Ianto tried to do the same, closing his eyes and shifting slightly to be a little more comfortable. He focused on his breathing, and counted slowly to five on each inhale and exhale. He tried visualising the numbers, but that only made him focus on the idea of the counter, and that narrow band of safety between 100 and 180. He could hear it clicking, but with his eyes closed he didn’t know if it was counting down, or up.
He snuck a look just as it paused at 164.
“This isn’t working,” he said flatly. “For all we know Gwen was captured while we were unconscious. If we don’t get ourselves out of this, we can’t guarantee we’ll get out at all.”
“Gwen can take care of herself. Trust her.”
Ianto sighed, and prodded at the heart rate monitors attached to his chest. “I do trust her. I also happen to trust you, and myself, and we both got caught. It doesn’t give me the utmost faith in a rescue.”
Jack adjusted the wires on the monitors attached to him too, and reached out, avoiding a few more wires on the way, to lay a hand on his shoulder. He flicked his fingertips out to brush Ianto’s neck.
“Normally I’d be more than happy to distract you, but –”
Their combined heart rate hit 175, and Jack pulled away quickly.
They both took a few deep breaths, and relaxed.
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Word Count: 580
Summary: The trick to dealing with booby-traps is to stay very, very calm...
A/N: Betaed by
shadowbyrd, come to that. Thanke.Prompt: Jantolution Challenge #16, Stress (and Relaxation)
Waiting for the Cavalry
“As long as we stay perfectly calm,” Jack said, calmly, “we’ll be fine. Just remember that. Breathe deeply. Think... think zen.”
“You’re not helping,” Ianto told him, through gritted teeth, and the counter on the table jumped up a few points.
“Calm,” Jack repeated, with a little strain in his voice, and the counter ticked over a few more numbers. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. The numbers fell again, gradually.
When Ianto did the same, the numbers fell even further.
“So,” Ianto sighed. “I hope you have a plan to get us out of this.”
“Wait for Gwen,” Jack muttered, head hanging.
“That’s the plan?”
Jack hummed agreement, still taking deep, regular breaths.
“Have you forgotten where Gwen is at the moment?” Ianto asked.
The counter on the table clicked up a couple of numbers. Ianto shot it a quick glance, and swore under his breath when it cleared 150. It clicked up a few more.
“I know,” Jack said. “But she’ll be fine. If we try to do too much you know what’ll happen.”
Ianto pressed his lips together in an effort to say nothing, and looked around the room again. The wires attached to them spread in a tangled web to the walls, floor and ceiling, and mingled with far too many extra wires on the way. If they moved from where they sat, they were bound to catch some and pull them loose, which would in turn detonate the bomb buried beneath them. They had no choice but to sit still and stay calm. Which was made all the more difficult by the knowledge that staying calm was far from optional. If they didn’t, that would also blow them to kingdom come.
The counter cleared 160.
“Stop it,” Jack warned him. “Don’t even let it get close to 180.”
“I know,” Ianto grated, and the counter clicked up. “I’m trying.”
“Not hard enough,” Jack muttered, and the counter reached 168. He winced, said, “Sorry,” and then took a deep breath and visibly relaxed.
Ianto tried to do the same, closing his eyes and shifting slightly to be a little more comfortable. He focused on his breathing, and counted slowly to five on each inhale and exhale. He tried visualising the numbers, but that only made him focus on the idea of the counter, and that narrow band of safety between 100 and 180. He could hear it clicking, but with his eyes closed he didn’t know if it was counting down, or up.
He snuck a look just as it paused at 164.
“This isn’t working,” he said flatly. “For all we know Gwen was captured while we were unconscious. If we don’t get ourselves out of this, we can’t guarantee we’ll get out at all.”
“Gwen can take care of herself. Trust her.”
Ianto sighed, and prodded at the heart rate monitors attached to his chest. “I do trust her. I also happen to trust you, and myself, and we both got caught. It doesn’t give me the utmost faith in a rescue.”
Jack adjusted the wires on the monitors attached to him too, and reached out, avoiding a few more wires on the way, to lay a hand on his shoulder. He flicked his fingertips out to brush Ianto’s neck.
“Normally I’d be more than happy to distract you, but –”
Their combined heart rate hit 175, and Jack pulled away quickly.
They both took a few deep breaths, and relaxed.
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