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m_findlowTitle: Beer, pizza and aliens
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Torchwood team, Rhys
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none
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Summary: Sometimes it's nice to just kick back with the team.
Jack couldn't understand why they hadn't done this sooner. Of course he knew that when it came to this job, there were no such things as days or nights off; there were only snatched moments of peace interspersed between days, weeks and months of chaos. All that same, he owed it to them to try and make some small part of their lives as normal as possible. There was already far too much that was abnormal.
Gwen had offered up her flat for the occasion, but it was clear that there wasn't room for six of them. Instead they'd opted for Owen's bachelor pad, with its large, converted warehouse-style living room. It had a sofa big enough to seat all of them with room to spare. So much so that they could all easily sprawl out, and had done so.
Rhys may have wanted them all to go to the rugby match tonight, but it was his wife that had convinced him perhaps it was more enjoyable for them to simply watch it from the comfort of the sofa. Not that Jack cared much for rugby either way. It was a strange game full of rules he didn't understand. It looked brutal and rough, yet seemed to be halted more often than not for reasons he couldn't fathom which seemed to have nothing at all to do with whichever player had just been clattered or crushed trying to carry the ball. Earth was a strange place.
They'd all been charged with bringing food and drink. Tosh brought white wine, Gwen brought red. Owen had beer by the case, Jack had brought along an expensive bottle of scotch he'd had sitting in a cupboard for nearly half a century, and Ianto had bucked the trend by bringing a charcuterie platter. As fancy as it looked, most of the rolled slices of salami and chunks of runny camembert cheese remained untouched, whilst the five pizza boxes strewn across Owen's coffee table were empty all but for a few disregarded pieces of pineapple, judiciously picked off a Jubilee Feast with the lot.
The game had been over more than two hours ago but that hadn't stopped them from carrying on drinking and laughing. Jack had managed one beer at the beginning of the evening, but had reverted to his traditional glass of water. Unlike the others, he didn't find the same buzz from winning a game of rugby, though it was apparent Owen wasn't following the Welsh side along with everyone else, earning him their wrath and mockery. Tosh and Gwen had devolved into light-hearted arguments about the relative merits of mixing drinks and whether Owen had enough in his cabinet to start mixing cocktails. Jack didn't think either of them should start mixing drinks. As for his lover, he'd lived up to his reputation as a cheap date, having enjoyed his one beer and two scotches and then curled up on the sofa, snoozing in Jack's lap. It might have been the week's worth of late nights and early mornings but it was more fun to tease him that he was a cheap drunk.
'So, what do we do now?' Tosh asked, swirling a nearly empty glass of wine in her hand.
'What, you mean apart from revelling in the sweetness of victory?' Rhys replied, taking another pull on his beer.
Owen snorted. 'You win one game and suddenly you reckon you've got the Six Nations in the bag.'
'You're outnumbered Owen, so stop sulking,' Gwen replied.
'How am I outnumbered? You, Rhys and Teaboy sleeping beauty over there. Last time I did math that was only half of us.'
Jack raised his glass. 'I'm a citizen. It's official.'
Gwen raised hers in reply. 'There you are. We have the majority.'
Owen grumbled. 'Stinking Welsh. Can we just forget the rugby? Much more fun watching you lot get pissed.'
'We could play charades,' Tosh offered. 'Or truth or dare.'
Gwen tucked her feet under her as she nestled closer to Rhys. 'Only problem being no one can tell if Jack is telling that truth or not.'
'Hey! I don't make stuff up.' Four faces gave him skeptical looks. 'Okay, so I sometimes embellish the truth. A little bit. It's mostly true. You live as long as I have, you don't bother making stuff up anymore.' Not to mention these were his closest friends. Probably the best friends he'd had in nearly a century. Lying to them now just felt like a betrayal. All he did was liven up stories with a little bit of artistic license. 'I could tell you a few good ones right now.'
'Mate, you start on anything that ends with you naked and I'm out of here,' Rhys warned him.
Owen laughed in agreement. 'That narrows it considerably. Good luck finding one now, Harkness.'
Jack didn't let the two men's caveat get him down. He still had plenty of stories to share. He was about to start one when his wrist strap began beeping. Then Tosh's phone and Gwen's starting to trill with similar alerts.
'Oh, you are joking.' Rhys said. 'First night off in bloody weeks, this is. Don't we get any bloody peace?'
Jack conceded their night was over. 'Sorry, but that's the job.' He roused the warm weight in his lap. 'Up and attem, Ianto. No time for hangovers. We've got a rift alert.'
'I'm not hungover,' he argued, sitting up and looking anything but after his nap. 'I was merely conserving energy by not having to listen to half of Owen's drivel.'
Owen scowled at him. 'Oi! Last time you get invited over. You and your fancy cheeseboard.'
'Okay team,' Jack announced, saddle up. He might not have been dressed for it, in unusually casual jeans and a sweater, but he felt no less ready. 'As fun as this had been, we've got a job to do. Rhys, don't wait up for us.'
'I won't. Just stay out of trouble, yeah?'
Jack grinned. 'Never.'
Jack couldn't understand why they hadn't done this sooner. Of course he knew that when it came to this job, there were no such things as days or nights off; there were only snatched moments of peace interspersed between days, weeks and months of chaos. All that same, he owed it to them to try and make some small part of their lives as normal as possible. There was already far too much that was abnormal.
Gwen had offered up her flat for the occasion, but it was clear that there wasn't room for six of them. Instead they'd opted for Owen's bachelor pad, with its large, converted warehouse-style living room. It had a sofa big enough to seat all of them with room to spare. So much so that they could all easily sprawl out, and had done so.
Rhys may have wanted them all to go to the rugby match tonight, but it was his wife that had convinced him perhaps it was more enjoyable for them to simply watch it from the comfort of the sofa. Not that Jack cared much for rugby either way. It was a strange game full of rules he didn't understand. It looked brutal and rough, yet seemed to be halted more often than not for reasons he couldn't fathom which seemed to have nothing at all to do with whichever player had just been clattered or crushed trying to carry the ball. Earth was a strange place.
They'd all been charged with bringing food and drink. Tosh brought white wine, Gwen brought red. Owen had beer by the case, Jack had brought along an expensive bottle of scotch he'd had sitting in a cupboard for nearly half a century, and Ianto had bucked the trend by bringing a charcuterie platter. As fancy as it looked, most of the rolled slices of salami and chunks of runny camembert cheese remained untouched, whilst the five pizza boxes strewn across Owen's coffee table were empty all but for a few disregarded pieces of pineapple, judiciously picked off a Jubilee Feast with the lot.
The game had been over more than two hours ago but that hadn't stopped them from carrying on drinking and laughing. Jack had managed one beer at the beginning of the evening, but had reverted to his traditional glass of water. Unlike the others, he didn't find the same buzz from winning a game of rugby, though it was apparent Owen wasn't following the Welsh side along with everyone else, earning him their wrath and mockery. Tosh and Gwen had devolved into light-hearted arguments about the relative merits of mixing drinks and whether Owen had enough in his cabinet to start mixing cocktails. Jack didn't think either of them should start mixing drinks. As for his lover, he'd lived up to his reputation as a cheap date, having enjoyed his one beer and two scotches and then curled up on the sofa, snoozing in Jack's lap. It might have been the week's worth of late nights and early mornings but it was more fun to tease him that he was a cheap drunk.
'So, what do we do now?' Tosh asked, swirling a nearly empty glass of wine in her hand.
'What, you mean apart from revelling in the sweetness of victory?' Rhys replied, taking another pull on his beer.
Owen snorted. 'You win one game and suddenly you reckon you've got the Six Nations in the bag.'
'You're outnumbered Owen, so stop sulking,' Gwen replied.
'How am I outnumbered? You, Rhys and Teaboy sleeping beauty over there. Last time I did math that was only half of us.'
Jack raised his glass. 'I'm a citizen. It's official.'
Gwen raised hers in reply. 'There you are. We have the majority.'
Owen grumbled. 'Stinking Welsh. Can we just forget the rugby? Much more fun watching you lot get pissed.'
'We could play charades,' Tosh offered. 'Or truth or dare.'
Gwen tucked her feet under her as she nestled closer to Rhys. 'Only problem being no one can tell if Jack is telling that truth or not.'
'Hey! I don't make stuff up.' Four faces gave him skeptical looks. 'Okay, so I sometimes embellish the truth. A little bit. It's mostly true. You live as long as I have, you don't bother making stuff up anymore.' Not to mention these were his closest friends. Probably the best friends he'd had in nearly a century. Lying to them now just felt like a betrayal. All he did was liven up stories with a little bit of artistic license. 'I could tell you a few good ones right now.'
'Mate, you start on anything that ends with you naked and I'm out of here,' Rhys warned him.
Owen laughed in agreement. 'That narrows it considerably. Good luck finding one now, Harkness.'
Jack didn't let the two men's caveat get him down. He still had plenty of stories to share. He was about to start one when his wrist strap began beeping. Then Tosh's phone and Gwen's starting to trill with similar alerts.
'Oh, you are joking.' Rhys said. 'First night off in bloody weeks, this is. Don't we get any bloody peace?'
Jack conceded their night was over. 'Sorry, but that's the job.' He roused the warm weight in his lap. 'Up and attem, Ianto. No time for hangovers. We've got a rift alert.'
'I'm not hungover,' he argued, sitting up and looking anything but after his nap. 'I was merely conserving energy by not having to listen to half of Owen's drivel.'
Owen scowled at him. 'Oi! Last time you get invited over. You and your fancy cheeseboard.'
'Okay team,' Jack announced, saddle up. He might not have been dressed for it, in unusually casual jeans and a sweater, but he felt no less ready. 'As fun as this had been, we've got a job to do. Rhys, don't wait up for us.'
'I won't. Just stay out of trouble, yeah?'
Jack grinned. 'Never.'
