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fandomweekly2024-06-08 11:34 am
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2024-06-08 11:34 am
Entry tags:
[#222] A Rare Day Off (Torchwood)
Theme Prompt: #222 – At The Beach
Title: A Rare Day Off
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: Jack persuades Ianto to skip work and spend the day at the beach.
“You know what we should do?” Jack asked, one bright and sunny summer morning.
Ianto gave his lover the side-eye. “I’m not sure I WANT to know. The last time you asked me that, we ended up almost getting arrested for trespassing. Another ten minutes and we probably would’ve been charged with public indecency.”
Predictably, Jack pouted. “How was I supposed to know the place had just had a new security system installed, complete with motion sensors? I’d been in there dozens of times without ever getting caught.”
“All I know is, if that Weevil hadn’t turned up and provided us with a good excuse for being there, we’d have had to call one of the team to bail us out.”
“Why’re we even talking about it something that happened months ago?”
“You asked if I knew what we should do today,” Ianto replied without thinking, then winced, silently berating himself for reminding Jack, who otherwise might have forgotten all about his unvoiced suggestion.
“Right! So, do you?”
“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.” Ianto mentally braced himself for another one of his lover’s ‘brilliant’ ideas.
“We should go to the beach. It’s a beautiful morning, the Rift is quiet, and everyone else gets to take an occasional day off, so it’s about time we had a turn. We deserve it, especially after all the hard work we’ve been doing lately, saving the world.”
Ianto sighed. He couldn’t deny that a day at the beach sounded tempting, but… “Jack, it’s Saturday, and this is the first really good weather we’ve had this summer. You know everyone else in South Wales has probably had exactly the same idea; by now, the beaches will be packed, it’ll be standing room only.”
“Not if we drive well out of town to one of the more remote beaches. Come on,” Jack pleaded. “It’ll be fun! When was the last time we went to the beach, any beach?”
“You mean aside from that retrieval back in April, when we had to go paddling because the Rift had dumped the bloody thing in the shallows and the tide was coming in?”
“That doesn’t count.”
“I should hope not. The water was freezing! The last time we went to a beach for pleasure would have been on holiday last year. Blue skies, white sands, turquoise seas, and you didn’t want to go in the water because you’d heard someone say they’d seen sharks.”
“Well they had!” Jack pouted some more; it was his first line of defence against unfair accusations.
“In the aquarium on the mainland, the same one we visited. Twice. Because you wanted to see the sharks!” Ianto rolled his eyes.
“I like sharks!” Jack protested. “As long as there’s a thick sheet of Perspex between them and me. They have a lot of very sharp teeth.”
“So do Weevils, and you never seem to mind risking your life dealing with them.”
“That’s different. They’re aliens, they don’t belong here, but sharks were here long before humans evolved.”
“What, you think they might be holding a grudge?”
“They might. Look, are we going to the beach or not? If we wait too long to make up our minds, we might miss the good weather.”
Ianto knew when he was beaten. “Fine, grab towels and our bathing suits, I’ll make a flask of coffee to take with us, and we can nip to the deli on our way, pick up some sandwiches or something for a picnic lunch.”
“Yay!” Jack dashed away to dig out their beach things while Ianto made for the kitchen, calling the rest of the team while the coffee was brewing and telling them he and Jack were taking the day off.
Just over an hour and a half later, Jack pulled his personal car onto the side of the road, parking it near the start of a narrow dirt track that wound among the dunes, eventually letting out onto a beach that was half sand and half shingle. It was far enough outside Cardiff that it was usually deserted aside from the occasional dog walker or person on horseback.
Today, they found several small groups of people scattered about, parents sunbathing while a few kids built sandcastles. Jack seemed vaguely disappointed, but Ianto ignored the ‘crowds’ and headed further along, past a rocky outcrop, to a spot where they were less likely to be disturbed by other beachgoers. This had been Jack’s idea, and Ianto wasn’t about to abandon it now they were here, just because of a few stray people.
Shaking out the picnic blanket, he spread it on a sandy patch in the lee of the rocks, and quickly changed into his trunks, a towel wrapped around his waist for modesty’s sake. Jack, of course, never bothered with modesty, simply stripping all his clothes off before pulling his own trunks on. He probably wouldn’t have bothered with wearing them if it hadn’t been for the fact they had company.
“Isn’t this great?” he enthused.
“One of your better ideas,” Ianto admitted, breaking out the sunscreen and beginning the task of applying it.
“Need a hand with that?”
“You can do my back.”
“Your wish is my command.” Jack grinned, grabbing the botte and tipping a generous amount of lotion into his hand. “Once you’re basted, I’m going for a swim.”
“Fine.” Ianto smirked. “You do that. Watch out for sharks.”
Jack stuck his tongue out. “There aren’t any sharks around here, not off the Welsh coast. It’s too cold for them.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Sharks don’t only exist in tropical waters.”
“I don’t care, there aren’t any here, and if there are, they can just stay out of my way. Nothing’s going to spoil our day at the beach. We can swim, and play frisbee, and maybe build a sandcastle.”
“Got it all planned, have you?”
“Gotta make the most of it. Might be the only beach day we get.”
The End
Ianto gave his lover the side-eye. “I’m not sure I WANT to know. The last time you asked me that, we ended up almost getting arrested for trespassing. Another ten minutes and we probably would’ve been charged with public indecency.”
Predictably, Jack pouted. “How was I supposed to know the place had just had a new security system installed, complete with motion sensors? I’d been in there dozens of times without ever getting caught.”
“All I know is, if that Weevil hadn’t turned up and provided us with a good excuse for being there, we’d have had to call one of the team to bail us out.”
“Why’re we even talking about it something that happened months ago?”
“You asked if I knew what we should do today,” Ianto replied without thinking, then winced, silently berating himself for reminding Jack, who otherwise might have forgotten all about his unvoiced suggestion.
“Right! So, do you?”
“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to tell me.” Ianto mentally braced himself for another one of his lover’s ‘brilliant’ ideas.
“We should go to the beach. It’s a beautiful morning, the Rift is quiet, and everyone else gets to take an occasional day off, so it’s about time we had a turn. We deserve it, especially after all the hard work we’ve been doing lately, saving the world.”
Ianto sighed. He couldn’t deny that a day at the beach sounded tempting, but… “Jack, it’s Saturday, and this is the first really good weather we’ve had this summer. You know everyone else in South Wales has probably had exactly the same idea; by now, the beaches will be packed, it’ll be standing room only.”
“Not if we drive well out of town to one of the more remote beaches. Come on,” Jack pleaded. “It’ll be fun! When was the last time we went to the beach, any beach?”
“You mean aside from that retrieval back in April, when we had to go paddling because the Rift had dumped the bloody thing in the shallows and the tide was coming in?”
“That doesn’t count.”
“I should hope not. The water was freezing! The last time we went to a beach for pleasure would have been on holiday last year. Blue skies, white sands, turquoise seas, and you didn’t want to go in the water because you’d heard someone say they’d seen sharks.”
“Well they had!” Jack pouted some more; it was his first line of defence against unfair accusations.
“In the aquarium on the mainland, the same one we visited. Twice. Because you wanted to see the sharks!” Ianto rolled his eyes.
“I like sharks!” Jack protested. “As long as there’s a thick sheet of Perspex between them and me. They have a lot of very sharp teeth.”
“So do Weevils, and you never seem to mind risking your life dealing with them.”
“That’s different. They’re aliens, they don’t belong here, but sharks were here long before humans evolved.”
“What, you think they might be holding a grudge?”
“They might. Look, are we going to the beach or not? If we wait too long to make up our minds, we might miss the good weather.”
Ianto knew when he was beaten. “Fine, grab towels and our bathing suits, I’ll make a flask of coffee to take with us, and we can nip to the deli on our way, pick up some sandwiches or something for a picnic lunch.”
“Yay!” Jack dashed away to dig out their beach things while Ianto made for the kitchen, calling the rest of the team while the coffee was brewing and telling them he and Jack were taking the day off.
Just over an hour and a half later, Jack pulled his personal car onto the side of the road, parking it near the start of a narrow dirt track that wound among the dunes, eventually letting out onto a beach that was half sand and half shingle. It was far enough outside Cardiff that it was usually deserted aside from the occasional dog walker or person on horseback.
Today, they found several small groups of people scattered about, parents sunbathing while a few kids built sandcastles. Jack seemed vaguely disappointed, but Ianto ignored the ‘crowds’ and headed further along, past a rocky outcrop, to a spot where they were less likely to be disturbed by other beachgoers. This had been Jack’s idea, and Ianto wasn’t about to abandon it now they were here, just because of a few stray people.
Shaking out the picnic blanket, he spread it on a sandy patch in the lee of the rocks, and quickly changed into his trunks, a towel wrapped around his waist for modesty’s sake. Jack, of course, never bothered with modesty, simply stripping all his clothes off before pulling his own trunks on. He probably wouldn’t have bothered with wearing them if it hadn’t been for the fact they had company.
“Isn’t this great?” he enthused.
“One of your better ideas,” Ianto admitted, breaking out the sunscreen and beginning the task of applying it.
“Need a hand with that?”
“You can do my back.”
“Your wish is my command.” Jack grinned, grabbing the botte and tipping a generous amount of lotion into his hand. “Once you’re basted, I’m going for a swim.”
“Fine.” Ianto smirked. “You do that. Watch out for sharks.”
Jack stuck his tongue out. “There aren’t any sharks around here, not off the Welsh coast. It’s too cold for them.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Sharks don’t only exist in tropical waters.”
“I don’t care, there aren’t any here, and if there are, they can just stay out of my way. Nothing’s going to spoil our day at the beach. We can swim, and play frisbee, and maybe build a sandcastle.”
“Got it all planned, have you?”
“Gotta make the most of it. Might be the only beach day we get.”
The End
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