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fandomweekly2026-06-08 07:55 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fandomweekly2026-06-08 07:55 pm
Entry tags:
[#301] TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE (TORCHWOOD)
Theme Prompt: #301 - Lost in the woods
Title: Two head are better than one
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Jack thought he’d have help, but he’s managed to strike up an argument instead.
Jack watched the torchlight bounce off the trees, illuminating bars of vertical timber in a sea of blackness. Finding anything out here would be nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps they should have waited for daybreak, but when you didn’t know what had come through the rift, there was no taking chances. Come rain, hail or shine, Torchwood would be there.
‘All alone out here, Ianto. Just you and me.’
There was a loud slap! as the silence was broken. ‘We're not alone. There's bugs,’ Ianto complained, slapping his neck again and cringing as his hand came away with a small speck of blood and a whole lot of squished bug guts. ‘I hate bugs.’
‘Why are you so grumpy tonight?’
‘Grumpy? Me? Oh, I don't know. Could it be because you haven't stopped hassling me the entire way here?’
Jack felt the words hit him like a bug slap. ‘Hassling you?’
‘Yes! Why can't I meet your family? When are you going to tell them about us? Why do you think the entire world will come crashing down around you if they know?’
‘It's a fair point,’ Jack conceded. ‘You've literally seen what it takes for the entire world to come crashing down around us. Why is it so hard just to tell your family that you're dating someone? It's easy.’
Ianto stopped, turning the torch on Jack and almost blinding him with its beam. ‘Fine! If it's so easy and you always have all the answers to absolutely bloody everything, then you don't need me. Go tell them yourself. And while you're at it, go find this bloody thing yourself, too!’ Ianto’s torchlight swung off and he crunched angrily away, heading back in the direction of the SUV, a ball of light slowly disappearing into a speck in the forest, darkness swallowing him whole.
Jack heaved a sigh. Why did Ianto always have to be so sensitive? Stupid twenty-first century earthlings and their stupid twenty-first century hang-ups! They weren't even in a cross-species relationship! This was nothing. All he wanted was to finally be introduced to Ianto's family and put all the secrecy behind them.
He sighed again. At some point tonight he was going to have to meet Ianto half-way and apologise for his fifty-first century liberal views. Right now though, he needed to find their alien object, which would have been a lot easier if he'd been carrying more than just a small penlight torch, having let Ianto take the lead with his large floodlight torch, lighting their path through the dense woodland. Now he could scarcely see more than a few feet from where he was stood. This was what you got for letting someone else do all the legwork. To go back the mile or more to the SUV to retrieve the torch was pointless. He was out here now, getting closer and closer to the last known position before their systems had lost aerial tracking as it fell through the sky.
Jack fought his way in limited light. There were thick tree roots snaking out underfoot, along with plenty of uneven ground, and nothing else out of place that signalled an alien artefact.
This was hopeless. He was never going to find it in this dense forest in the middle of the night. He accepted that they’d have to come back in the morning to resume their search. Then just as he moved to turn away, he caught a going of something strange, brassy and metallic. Bingo! With a gloved hand he picked it up and slipped it into a sterile snap lock bag.
He flicked his small torch around as he turned on his heel, beginning the task of picking his way back to the car and his grumpy boyfriend. He walked for about five minutes before he started to get a strange feeling. As dark as it had been, the woods around him seemed unrecognisable, the trees unfamiliar and foreboding. He strained his ears for the stream that they'd kept on their left the entire way. It should have been just off to the right now. He moved in that direction but there was no running water of any kind. Had he gone too far in the wrong direction?
He popped the penlight between his teeth and used his free hand to lift the flap on his wrist strap, working on pinpointing his location and marking out a route back to the car. His vortex manipulator failed to triangulate his position. The screen was fuzzy and unable to give him a readout.
Jack tapped his earpiece. ‘Ianto, I'm having trouble getting a GPS signal. Can you give the SUV’s locator beacon a boost?’ Nothing. Not even a huff of breath on the other end of the line. He must have taken his earpiece out so that he didn't have to listen to Jack's arguments whilst he sulked in the car, waiting for him to come back. Great.
He tried his wrist strap again. No signal, which was weird, because on any other day, he could have used it to flag down a passing star cruiser that was barely going to brush the edges of the Milky Way as it zipped by at hyperspeed. Tonight though, nothing.
Don't panic. Panic only got you in more trouble. Something stung at his neck. Ianto was right. He wasn't alone out here. Damn bugs. What to do now, though? He didn't want to make things worse.
‘Jack! Jack!’
The voice was faint but Jack felt his heart skip a beat. ‘Ianto!’ He waited until a light began to bounce between the shadows, finally landing on him. ‘Ianto! Boy are you a sight for sore eyes!’
‘I was tracking your signal and then twenty minutes ago it went dark. I got worried.’
Jack frowned and then pulled the bag from his pocket. Could that be it? ‘Any chance you know the way back without technology?’
Ianto grinned. ‘Of course. I'm not a complete twenty-first century Neanderthal.’
Title: Two head are better than one
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG.
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Jack thought he’d have help, but he’s managed to strike up an argument instead.
Jack watched the torchlight bounce off the trees, illuminating bars of vertical timber in a sea of blackness. Finding anything out here would be nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps they should have waited for daybreak, but when you didn’t know what had come through the rift, there was no taking chances. Come rain, hail or shine, Torchwood would be there.
‘All alone out here, Ianto. Just you and me.’
There was a loud slap! as the silence was broken. ‘We're not alone. There's bugs,’ Ianto complained, slapping his neck again and cringing as his hand came away with a small speck of blood and a whole lot of squished bug guts. ‘I hate bugs.’
‘Why are you so grumpy tonight?’
‘Grumpy? Me? Oh, I don't know. Could it be because you haven't stopped hassling me the entire way here?’
Jack felt the words hit him like a bug slap. ‘Hassling you?’
‘Yes! Why can't I meet your family? When are you going to tell them about us? Why do you think the entire world will come crashing down around you if they know?’
‘It's a fair point,’ Jack conceded. ‘You've literally seen what it takes for the entire world to come crashing down around us. Why is it so hard just to tell your family that you're dating someone? It's easy.’
Ianto stopped, turning the torch on Jack and almost blinding him with its beam. ‘Fine! If it's so easy and you always have all the answers to absolutely bloody everything, then you don't need me. Go tell them yourself. And while you're at it, go find this bloody thing yourself, too!’ Ianto’s torchlight swung off and he crunched angrily away, heading back in the direction of the SUV, a ball of light slowly disappearing into a speck in the forest, darkness swallowing him whole.
Jack heaved a sigh. Why did Ianto always have to be so sensitive? Stupid twenty-first century earthlings and their stupid twenty-first century hang-ups! They weren't even in a cross-species relationship! This was nothing. All he wanted was to finally be introduced to Ianto's family and put all the secrecy behind them.
He sighed again. At some point tonight he was going to have to meet Ianto half-way and apologise for his fifty-first century liberal views. Right now though, he needed to find their alien object, which would have been a lot easier if he'd been carrying more than just a small penlight torch, having let Ianto take the lead with his large floodlight torch, lighting their path through the dense woodland. Now he could scarcely see more than a few feet from where he was stood. This was what you got for letting someone else do all the legwork. To go back the mile or more to the SUV to retrieve the torch was pointless. He was out here now, getting closer and closer to the last known position before their systems had lost aerial tracking as it fell through the sky.
Jack fought his way in limited light. There were thick tree roots snaking out underfoot, along with plenty of uneven ground, and nothing else out of place that signalled an alien artefact.
This was hopeless. He was never going to find it in this dense forest in the middle of the night. He accepted that they’d have to come back in the morning to resume their search. Then just as he moved to turn away, he caught a going of something strange, brassy and metallic. Bingo! With a gloved hand he picked it up and slipped it into a sterile snap lock bag.
He flicked his small torch around as he turned on his heel, beginning the task of picking his way back to the car and his grumpy boyfriend. He walked for about five minutes before he started to get a strange feeling. As dark as it had been, the woods around him seemed unrecognisable, the trees unfamiliar and foreboding. He strained his ears for the stream that they'd kept on their left the entire way. It should have been just off to the right now. He moved in that direction but there was no running water of any kind. Had he gone too far in the wrong direction?
He popped the penlight between his teeth and used his free hand to lift the flap on his wrist strap, working on pinpointing his location and marking out a route back to the car. His vortex manipulator failed to triangulate his position. The screen was fuzzy and unable to give him a readout.
Jack tapped his earpiece. ‘Ianto, I'm having trouble getting a GPS signal. Can you give the SUV’s locator beacon a boost?’ Nothing. Not even a huff of breath on the other end of the line. He must have taken his earpiece out so that he didn't have to listen to Jack's arguments whilst he sulked in the car, waiting for him to come back. Great.
He tried his wrist strap again. No signal, which was weird, because on any other day, he could have used it to flag down a passing star cruiser that was barely going to brush the edges of the Milky Way as it zipped by at hyperspeed. Tonight though, nothing.
Don't panic. Panic only got you in more trouble. Something stung at his neck. Ianto was right. He wasn't alone out here. Damn bugs. What to do now, though? He didn't want to make things worse.
‘Jack! Jack!’
The voice was faint but Jack felt his heart skip a beat. ‘Ianto!’ He waited until a light began to bounce between the shadows, finally landing on him. ‘Ianto! Boy are you a sight for sore eyes!’
‘I was tracking your signal and then twenty minutes ago it went dark. I got worried.’
Jack frowned and then pulled the bag from his pocket. Could that be it? ‘Any chance you know the way back without technology?’
Ianto grinned. ‘Of course. I'm not a complete twenty-first century Neanderthal.’
no subject
That would be me lol I AM a 21st century Neanderthal and I have no sense of direction. This was very cute.