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fandomweekly2024-05-12 12:27 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2024-05-12 12:27 pm
Entry tags:
[#220] TOO HOT TO HANDLE (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #220 - Overheated
Title: Too hot to handle
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: The SUV takes issue with being lost for so long, leaving the boys to fend for themselves.
‘Are you sure you know how to read that thing?’ Jack complained, feeling the SUV lurch and bump over every single rock. The SUV was built to be able to drive almost anywhere, but the craggy Welsh hillside, whilst not a problem for the mechanical suspension, didn't make the journey any more comfortable for its passengers. They felt their bodies being pummelled by the up and down, side to side motions.
Ianto flapped the map again, trying to refold it into a smaller size though struggling to do so on account of Jack having already rumpled it from its predictable fold lines, and also hampered by the fact that their present location may or may not be located on the small square he was currently focusing on. ‘I'm doing my best here, you know,’ he said, trying not to sound so terse. It was hard to read a map when you were being bounced around. It wouldn't even be necessary if their GPS hadn't decided to glitch because of the remoteness of their location.
‘Your best still has us lost,’ Jack replied, unable to let their predicament slide without reminding his teammate that he was disappointed. They should have been heading home by now, not still traipsing hopelessly without having even reached the spot where they thought they needed to be looking.
Ianto winced as his side of the car bumped angrily over a very large rock. ‘Your motivational speech needs work.’
‘Just find where we are.’
‘Maybe if you stop long enough for me to figure out where we are instead of just driving us further into lostness…’
Jack groaned. ‘Urgh. Fine,’ he said, certain that “lostness” was a word Ianto had simply made up, petulantly hitting the brakes and bringing their lurching to a blissful end.
Ianto let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank you. I was starting to get motion sickness from your driving.’
‘My driving? It's your directions that are to blame.’
Ianto unfolded the entire map across the dashboard, consulting it without being baited by Jack's remark. ‘Now that I can stop to have a proper look at where we might be…’ He pawed over the small print, tracing a path with his finger and consulting the elevation and topography around them. After a few minutes of Jack fidgeting loudly in his seat whilst the edge of the map covered the steering wheel and his lap, Ianto thrust a finger into it. ‘We're here.’
Jack leaned over, determined to verify Ianto's assertion but finding himself unable to tell one squiggly line from the next. ‘Okay, but where are we supposed to be?’
Ianto's finger moved a long way across the paper. ‘Here.’ He used his finger to measure the scale of distance. ‘Only about eight miles from where we should be.’
‘Great.’ It wasn't exactly close, but shouldn't take too long to get there and put their investigation back on track. Jack hit the ignition button and frowned when the engine sputtered but didn't turn over. He pressed it again, hearing a choking sound and then nothing. ‘Oh, you have got to be kidding me,’ he muttered, flinging open the door and popping the hood, waving away a face full of smoke.
‘What is it?’ Ianto asked, joining him to survey the problem.
‘Our engine has overheated.’
‘That'll be all those rocks you drove over.’
Jack narrowed his eyes at his lover. ‘You try driving around every bump.’ Mind you, Ianto probably would. He'd also be driving about five miles an hour and they'd still be miles from their destination.
Ianto fetched a half-drunk bottle of water from the car and held it out. Jack frowned. ‘What's that for?’
‘To cool the engine. Isn't that what you do? Not that I'm an expert. Spaceships and cars and whatnot are more your thing.’
Jack shrugged, twisting off the bottle top and spilling it over the engine, creating even more steam, flapping his arms to clear it away. ‘Well, that worked a treat,’ Jack said.
‘It was worth a try. How long until it's cool enough to turn over?’
Jack touched an experimental finger to it and recoiled in pain, sticking the burned tip in his mouth. ‘No time soon,’ he replied. He looked up at the perfect cloudless sky, sun beating down on an uncharacteristically warm summer day. ‘Hours at least. I wouldn't even leave the hood open. That sun is probably only going to make it worse.’
Ianto stuck his hands in his pockets, assessing their options. ‘Well, I suppose that means we're hiking the rest of the way. And back again,’ he added, before giving his shoes a judicious glance, unsure they would survive the journey. ‘From now on I'm never coming out to the countryside without dressing for days in the wilderness. I'm going to have a million blisters when we're done.’
‘You can always stay with the SUV,’ Jack said, torn between not wanting to hike endless miles on his own to investigate strange signals versus putting up with Ianto's moaning about sore feet and sweaty clothes.
Ianto tugged his jacket off and tossed it onto his seat before tugging the map out from where it was still splayed over their dashboard and snapping it into a dozen efficient new folds. ‘And let you try and find it on your own without anyone who can actually read a map? I could be sitting here waiting for days instead of hours.’
Jack slammed the hood down and flung his own coat off. ‘Challenge accepted, Mister Jones. Unlike the SUV, you and I are built tough enough to put up with a little bit of sun.’
Ianto shut his door and locked it, just in case someone stumbled across it and thought they might steal it. ‘It's not the sun that worries me, it's the miles of rocks and steep hills that will make us overheat and break down. Let's hope whatever we find doesn't result in us having to run for our lives.’
Title: Too hot to handle
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: The SUV takes issue with being lost for so long, leaving the boys to fend for themselves.
‘Are you sure you know how to read that thing?’ Jack complained, feeling the SUV lurch and bump over every single rock. The SUV was built to be able to drive almost anywhere, but the craggy Welsh hillside, whilst not a problem for the mechanical suspension, didn't make the journey any more comfortable for its passengers. They felt their bodies being pummelled by the up and down, side to side motions.
Ianto flapped the map again, trying to refold it into a smaller size though struggling to do so on account of Jack having already rumpled it from its predictable fold lines, and also hampered by the fact that their present location may or may not be located on the small square he was currently focusing on. ‘I'm doing my best here, you know,’ he said, trying not to sound so terse. It was hard to read a map when you were being bounced around. It wouldn't even be necessary if their GPS hadn't decided to glitch because of the remoteness of their location.
‘Your best still has us lost,’ Jack replied, unable to let their predicament slide without reminding his teammate that he was disappointed. They should have been heading home by now, not still traipsing hopelessly without having even reached the spot where they thought they needed to be looking.
Ianto winced as his side of the car bumped angrily over a very large rock. ‘Your motivational speech needs work.’
‘Just find where we are.’
‘Maybe if you stop long enough for me to figure out where we are instead of just driving us further into lostness…’
Jack groaned. ‘Urgh. Fine,’ he said, certain that “lostness” was a word Ianto had simply made up, petulantly hitting the brakes and bringing their lurching to a blissful end.
Ianto let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank you. I was starting to get motion sickness from your driving.’
‘My driving? It's your directions that are to blame.’
Ianto unfolded the entire map across the dashboard, consulting it without being baited by Jack's remark. ‘Now that I can stop to have a proper look at where we might be…’ He pawed over the small print, tracing a path with his finger and consulting the elevation and topography around them. After a few minutes of Jack fidgeting loudly in his seat whilst the edge of the map covered the steering wheel and his lap, Ianto thrust a finger into it. ‘We're here.’
Jack leaned over, determined to verify Ianto's assertion but finding himself unable to tell one squiggly line from the next. ‘Okay, but where are we supposed to be?’
Ianto's finger moved a long way across the paper. ‘Here.’ He used his finger to measure the scale of distance. ‘Only about eight miles from where we should be.’
‘Great.’ It wasn't exactly close, but shouldn't take too long to get there and put their investigation back on track. Jack hit the ignition button and frowned when the engine sputtered but didn't turn over. He pressed it again, hearing a choking sound and then nothing. ‘Oh, you have got to be kidding me,’ he muttered, flinging open the door and popping the hood, waving away a face full of smoke.
‘What is it?’ Ianto asked, joining him to survey the problem.
‘Our engine has overheated.’
‘That'll be all those rocks you drove over.’
Jack narrowed his eyes at his lover. ‘You try driving around every bump.’ Mind you, Ianto probably would. He'd also be driving about five miles an hour and they'd still be miles from their destination.
Ianto fetched a half-drunk bottle of water from the car and held it out. Jack frowned. ‘What's that for?’
‘To cool the engine. Isn't that what you do? Not that I'm an expert. Spaceships and cars and whatnot are more your thing.’
Jack shrugged, twisting off the bottle top and spilling it over the engine, creating even more steam, flapping his arms to clear it away. ‘Well, that worked a treat,’ Jack said.
‘It was worth a try. How long until it's cool enough to turn over?’
Jack touched an experimental finger to it and recoiled in pain, sticking the burned tip in his mouth. ‘No time soon,’ he replied. He looked up at the perfect cloudless sky, sun beating down on an uncharacteristically warm summer day. ‘Hours at least. I wouldn't even leave the hood open. That sun is probably only going to make it worse.’
Ianto stuck his hands in his pockets, assessing their options. ‘Well, I suppose that means we're hiking the rest of the way. And back again,’ he added, before giving his shoes a judicious glance, unsure they would survive the journey. ‘From now on I'm never coming out to the countryside without dressing for days in the wilderness. I'm going to have a million blisters when we're done.’
‘You can always stay with the SUV,’ Jack said, torn between not wanting to hike endless miles on his own to investigate strange signals versus putting up with Ianto's moaning about sore feet and sweaty clothes.
Ianto tugged his jacket off and tossed it onto his seat before tugging the map out from where it was still splayed over their dashboard and snapping it into a dozen efficient new folds. ‘And let you try and find it on your own without anyone who can actually read a map? I could be sitting here waiting for days instead of hours.’
Jack slammed the hood down and flung his own coat off. ‘Challenge accepted, Mister Jones. Unlike the SUV, you and I are built tough enough to put up with a little bit of sun.’
Ianto shut his door and locked it, just in case someone stumbled across it and thought they might steal it. ‘It's not the sun that worries me, it's the miles of rocks and steep hills that will make us overheat and break down. Let's hope whatever we find doesn't result in us having to run for our lives.’
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