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fandomweekly2021-07-03 03:11 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2021-07-03 03:11 pm
Entry tags:
[#100] Better Than Perfect (Torchwood)
Theme Prompt: #100 – One Perfect Day
Title: Better Than Perfect
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: G / None
Bonus: Yes.
Word Count: 922
Summary: A picnic in an idyllic setting is perfect to start with, but this day is about to get even better.
Looking back over his extraordinarily long life, Jack could remember countless terrible days. When the raiders had come, taking his brother and killing his father, when he’d discovered he was missing two years’ worth of memories, when the Doctor had left him alone aboard the game station… Then there’d been weeks of torture at the hands of Alice and Emily, a whole year devoted to the Master’s cruel whims, the deaths of good friends, and of long-ago lovers…
The good days should have been easier to count, there were far fewer of those. Wedding days, the births of his children, victories against overwhelming odds… Those were all days that deserved to be celebrated, and remembering them brought him joy, but had any of them ever been quite as perfect as this one?
“Penny for your thoughts? Or should that be a Galactic Credit?” Ianto teased.
“I was just trying to remember if there’s ever been a day more perfect than this one,” Jack said, smiling.
“And has there?” Ianto propped himself up on one elbow to look down into Jack’s face.
“Not that I can recall.” Gazing up at Ianto through half-closed eyes, Jack batted away the long blade of grass that was tickling his nose. “Stop that!”
Laughing, Ianto tossed the grass aside and leaned in for a kiss instead.
The sky overhead was a flawless summer blue, unmarred by the faintest wisp of cloud. The sun’s gentle warmth reached the two men even here in the dappled shade beneath the spreading branches of a massive tree, like a cross between an oak and a giant sequoia, but with leaves a good eight-inches across and shaped like Japanese fans, glossy blue-green above and silvery underneath. Paradise couldn’t have been any more perfect. Large flowers filled the air with a sweet yet delicate scent, and flying lizards whistled and chirped as they flitted about the forest and the wide-open meadow, feasting on nectar and fruit.
“I’m glad we came here,” Ianto murmured when the kiss ended.
“And I’m glad you’re here with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
“You don’t regret leaving earth again?” Cardiff had been their home for so long that uprooting themselves from all that was familiar had been a wrench for both of them, even on short trips, but this time they had no plans to return.
“We’re not needed there right now,” Ianto pointed out. “Can’t spend the rest of forever hand-holding humanity. They’d have to learn to stand on their own two feet eventually. Might as well be now. It’s about time we put our own needs first.”
“I agree.” Jack rolled over, tipping Ianto onto his back, then dipping his head to kiss the tip of a button nose.
“Get off, you daft sod!”
Jack nipped at Ianto’s nose and pulled back, grinning. “How would you feel about staying here for a few years?”
Ianto turned his head to evaluate their surroundings. “Might get a bit draughty and damp in bad weather and foraging for food might prove difficult.”
“I mean this planet, not under this tree! Maybe one of the small settlements we passed on the way out here.”
“Ah, well in that case, I think I could be persuaded.” Of all the worlds they’d visited recently, this one was the most appealing, unspoiled, with a warm climate, and picturesque settlements that blended into their surroundings. The people who’d colonised the planet a few centuries earlier were similar to humans, and several other races had also settled there. “But I thought you wanted to explore?”
“Plenty of time for that. We can’t go everywhere and see everything all at once. Got to leave a few places to visit at a later date. Besides, as nice as our spaceship is, it’s not the ideal environment for raising children.”
“No, I suppose it’s not,” Ianto agreed. Then something twigged. “Wait a minute, are you…?”
Jack grinned. “Yep! At least I’m pretty sure.” There hadn’t been children in the Harkness-Jones household for well over a century. They’d chosen to remain on earth until a couple of decades after the last of their children had passed away.
“A new home and a new family,” Ianto breathed, his eyes lighting up. What could be more perfect than that? The first branch of the family tree to be born away from earth.
Nosy roused itself from where it had been napping in the sun and hummed a sleepy question. It was less energetic than it used to be, although it still had a good few centuries ahead of it.
“Looks like we’ll be staying here for a few years,” Jack told it. “How does that suit you?”
“HUM!” Nosy radiated enthusiasm. Travelling the universe in a spaceship, exploring, and meeting new people was a lot of fun, but Nosy did often miss being outside, enjoying sunshine and fresh air, smelling the flowers, and watching the wildlife. It liked the idea of a new young one to raise as well.
“We’ll have to go house hunting, find somewhere we all like,” Ianto said thoughtfully.
“Mm,” Jack agreed, flopping back onto the blanket beside Ianto again. “We will, but not today.” Days as perfect as this one came along too rarely to waste. They had glorious weather, the remains of an excellent picnic lunch if they got peckish, and no reason to rush.
“You’re right; it can wait a few days. We’ll be busy soon enough; might as well enjoy relaxing while we can.”
Jack sighed contentedly. “My thoughts exactly.”
The End
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