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fandomweekly2025-01-26 08:33 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2025-01-26 08:33 pm
Entry tags:
[#247] UNSPOKEN (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #247- Lost for words
Title: Unspoken
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto takes a chance on an impulse.
Ianto flicked his computer screen off, calling it a night. He could hear the old radio in Jack’s office softly playing away something jazzy and sorrowful.
That old thing had lived in the office as long as anyone could remember, even Jack, but no one was entirely sure how it worked. Owen had been constantly frustrated by it, trying to tune it in to local stations to get some cheery music or the Saturday afternoon football commentary going, but no matter how much he twiddled the dials he could never find Barry Beats or Kiss FM, and had given up, disgusted when the only football he could find involved Newport County.
They guessed that the radio, and its century of proximity to the rift machine and the rift itself had somehow been affected, and that tuning it might locate a station from anywhere in time. Jack seemed to have no trouble finding music from the twenties through to the forties, and it boded well that it was playing tonight. It meant that Jack was in a calm, nostalgic kind of mood. The kind of mood that might leave him open and suggestible to things. Ianto pondered for a moment what kind of things might be possible, feeling the pull of the music and the melancholic air it gave off. Before he could change his mind, he walked over and hovered in the doorway. ‘Have you got a minute?’
Jack was leant back in his chair, eyes closed and one boot propped up on the edge of his desk before opening his eyes and smiling warmly. ‘For you? Always.’
Ianto moved across and perched on the edge of Jack's desk, making the space between them as small as possible without actually sitting in Jack's lap. ‘I need to ask you something. Something important. Actually, it's something I've been thinking about for a long time and there's never been a right time to ask you. I'm not even sure now is the right time. In fact, up until about two minutes ago I wasn't even going to ask you tonight. I don't know why, but it just feels like something I can't keep to myself any more.’
‘This sounds serious.’ Jack's voice was tinged with a slight amusement which was usually how he masked apprehension when his teammates started acting oddly.
‘It is,’ Ianto confirmed. ‘I mean, I’m serious.’ He paused, took a breath and started again. ‘We’ve been together for a while now, and I love you. I know you know that, and I know that you love me back, and I know we’ve never talked about it but…’ He sucked in another deep breath. ‘Look, I know this thing is never going to work out forever, because you’ve got forever and I don’t, but I love you. I want to marry you, Jack, and I don’t care if we only have two weeks or two years or two decades, and I don’t have a ring for you because I didn't plan on asking you, but… tonight it just… feels right. So, will you marry me?’
Ianto felt slightly dizzy from having stopped breathing whilst he was talking, or maybe it was dizzy from having said the one thing he never thought he’d say aloud. Jack had never struck him as the marrying type, or more to the point, that he’d married before and it had always ended badly. It would probably end badly for them as well, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be happy for at least a little while.
Ianto remembered to breathe again, raising his eyes to meet Jack’s, waiting for an answer that didn’t come. Jack didn't even blink; those blue eyes just seemed to stare straight through him.
‘Jack? Say something? Anything.’ He tried to read the expression on Jack's face. He'd become expert at discerning the subtext of Jack's inscrutable faces, knowing when he was mad but approachable, furious and ready to explode at the slightest provocation, or when he had something on his mind that he wasn't ready to share, or perhaps desperate to tell someone about if only they'd ask. Right now though he was completely unreadable. ‘Please,’ he begged. The silence between them was unbearable.
Ianto pushed up from the desk. ‘Sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's okay. “No” is okay. More than okay,’ he said, babbling now just to fill in the gap, giving Jack an out. He could feel his cheeks growing red with embarrassment, his lungs so tight he couldn't even breathe and so desperate to get out of there and wish he'd never come in here, wondering how he'd ever face Jack again. He’d gone too far, overstepped the invisible line that came with loving an immortal man. The faint sound of a warbling trumpet playing out a mournful note broke his heart in two, reminding him just how many years separated them.
Something grabbed his arm as he had his back turned, readying to make a quick exit. Jack's grip on his arm was incredibly tight, making it impossible to wrench free. Jack spun him around and grabbed his other elbow. The awkward silence lingered painfully until Jack reached for his cheek.
‘I love you,’ Jack whispered. ‘I never say it because I’m terrified that the whole world will come crashing down if I do.’
‘You don’t have to say it,’ Ianto replied. He knew his death would one day break Jack. Jack was a master of denial and the fragility of Ianto’s life was a subject they danced around with equal parts ignorance and mockery.
Jack’s thumb stroked back and forth. ‘I’d give you everything you ever wanted if I could.’
‘You already have,’ he said. Except this one thing; this promise for as long as they had each other. He knew if he pressed the issue, Jack would pull away from him, turning cold and unemotional.
Jack leaned in and kissed him deeply. It wasn’t a yes, but it hadn’t been a no either.
Title: Unspoken
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Ianto takes a chance on an impulse.
Ianto flicked his computer screen off, calling it a night. He could hear the old radio in Jack’s office softly playing away something jazzy and sorrowful.
That old thing had lived in the office as long as anyone could remember, even Jack, but no one was entirely sure how it worked. Owen had been constantly frustrated by it, trying to tune it in to local stations to get some cheery music or the Saturday afternoon football commentary going, but no matter how much he twiddled the dials he could never find Barry Beats or Kiss FM, and had given up, disgusted when the only football he could find involved Newport County.
They guessed that the radio, and its century of proximity to the rift machine and the rift itself had somehow been affected, and that tuning it might locate a station from anywhere in time. Jack seemed to have no trouble finding music from the twenties through to the forties, and it boded well that it was playing tonight. It meant that Jack was in a calm, nostalgic kind of mood. The kind of mood that might leave him open and suggestible to things. Ianto pondered for a moment what kind of things might be possible, feeling the pull of the music and the melancholic air it gave off. Before he could change his mind, he walked over and hovered in the doorway. ‘Have you got a minute?’
Jack was leant back in his chair, eyes closed and one boot propped up on the edge of his desk before opening his eyes and smiling warmly. ‘For you? Always.’
Ianto moved across and perched on the edge of Jack's desk, making the space between them as small as possible without actually sitting in Jack's lap. ‘I need to ask you something. Something important. Actually, it's something I've been thinking about for a long time and there's never been a right time to ask you. I'm not even sure now is the right time. In fact, up until about two minutes ago I wasn't even going to ask you tonight. I don't know why, but it just feels like something I can't keep to myself any more.’
‘This sounds serious.’ Jack's voice was tinged with a slight amusement which was usually how he masked apprehension when his teammates started acting oddly.
‘It is,’ Ianto confirmed. ‘I mean, I’m serious.’ He paused, took a breath and started again. ‘We’ve been together for a while now, and I love you. I know you know that, and I know that you love me back, and I know we’ve never talked about it but…’ He sucked in another deep breath. ‘Look, I know this thing is never going to work out forever, because you’ve got forever and I don’t, but I love you. I want to marry you, Jack, and I don’t care if we only have two weeks or two years or two decades, and I don’t have a ring for you because I didn't plan on asking you, but… tonight it just… feels right. So, will you marry me?’
Ianto felt slightly dizzy from having stopped breathing whilst he was talking, or maybe it was dizzy from having said the one thing he never thought he’d say aloud. Jack had never struck him as the marrying type, or more to the point, that he’d married before and it had always ended badly. It would probably end badly for them as well, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be happy for at least a little while.
Ianto remembered to breathe again, raising his eyes to meet Jack’s, waiting for an answer that didn’t come. Jack didn't even blink; those blue eyes just seemed to stare straight through him.
‘Jack? Say something? Anything.’ He tried to read the expression on Jack's face. He'd become expert at discerning the subtext of Jack's inscrutable faces, knowing when he was mad but approachable, furious and ready to explode at the slightest provocation, or when he had something on his mind that he wasn't ready to share, or perhaps desperate to tell someone about if only they'd ask. Right now though he was completely unreadable. ‘Please,’ he begged. The silence between them was unbearable.
Ianto pushed up from the desk. ‘Sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's okay. “No” is okay. More than okay,’ he said, babbling now just to fill in the gap, giving Jack an out. He could feel his cheeks growing red with embarrassment, his lungs so tight he couldn't even breathe and so desperate to get out of there and wish he'd never come in here, wondering how he'd ever face Jack again. He’d gone too far, overstepped the invisible line that came with loving an immortal man. The faint sound of a warbling trumpet playing out a mournful note broke his heart in two, reminding him just how many years separated them.
Something grabbed his arm as he had his back turned, readying to make a quick exit. Jack's grip on his arm was incredibly tight, making it impossible to wrench free. Jack spun him around and grabbed his other elbow. The awkward silence lingered painfully until Jack reached for his cheek.
‘I love you,’ Jack whispered. ‘I never say it because I’m terrified that the whole world will come crashing down if I do.’
‘You don’t have to say it,’ Ianto replied. He knew his death would one day break Jack. Jack was a master of denial and the fragility of Ianto’s life was a subject they danced around with equal parts ignorance and mockery.
Jack’s thumb stroked back and forth. ‘I’d give you everything you ever wanted if I could.’
‘You already have,’ he said. Except this one thing; this promise for as long as they had each other. He knew if he pressed the issue, Jack would pull away from him, turning cold and unemotional.
Jack leaned in and kissed him deeply. It wasn’t a yes, but it hadn’t been a no either.
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