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Fandomweekly Challenge 176 - In a galaxy far, far away
Title: In a galaxy far, far away
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Rhiannon
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 176 - Space at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
Summary: Ianto and his sister ponder the vastness of space from the safety of their backyard.
Ianto looked across at his sister, lounged back in her chair, staring skywards. ‘Are you cold?’ he asked, feeling a slight bite in the air that, truthfully, was quite mild for this time of year. Normally, there was no time when it was really considered appropriate to sit outside after dark. It was always cold, it just varied in degrees of coldness.
‘No,’ she replied. ‘You?’
He shrugged and raised his beer bottle to his lips again. ‘Must be that two bottles of wine we’ve drunk,’ he replied, convinced that alcohol would definitely have something to do with it.
‘Maybe,’ she agreed.
No one else was mad enough to be outside, Ianto observed, sitting in his sister's backyard in two deck chairs that belonged more on a beach in South End than they did a council estate backyard. The story went that they’d been salvaged from some stranger’s nature strip so that Johnnie and his mates could sit out in the yard when one of them wanted a fag. Now instead, they were home to siblings catching up after many months of being apart. Johnnie and the kids had retired to bed hours ago, and Jack was likewise tucked up asleep in their sometimes lived in terrace house about a mile away. He hadn’t wanted to intrude on some long overdue family bonding, leaving Ianto and his sister to drink the night away.
‘This is nice,’ Ianto remarked, leaning back in his own chair at the clear night sky. Once upon a time they’d never been close. He’d always been the disappointing little brother she hadn’t wanted, and she was the bossy, pain in the backside sister, who had to have an opinion on everything in his life. Somewhere along the way they’d both grown up, and grown closer, which was probably in no small part on account of the work he’d done. Keeping his family safe had become everything that was important to him.
‘So, tell me,’ Rhiannon said, interrupting his thoughts. ‘Which ones have you been to?’
He turned his head to look at her in confusion. ‘What?’
She switched her wine glass from left hand to right and then pointed. ‘Up there,’ she said. ‘Which ones have you and Jack visited?’
He rolled his eyes and toyed with the edge of the label on the bottle neck. ‘You do realise that we’re only looking at a tiny portion of the sky, right? The universe is infinite. And that the stars are actually suns and that you can’t visit a sun. Not without frying up and dying a horrible death.’
‘I’m not stupid, Ianto,’ she said, slurring her T’s slightly. ‘I know what stars are. I mean, where out there have you been?’
He knew what she’d meant, but it didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy teasing her about it. He didn’t get to exercise his dry sense of humour nearly as much when he was just travelling with Jack. There was only so much of Ianto’s sarcasm that Jack could take before getting grumpy and sulking off.
He nestled back in the chair a little deeper, cradling the beer bottle on his lap as he studied the night sky. ‘Um, okay,’ he finally said, pointing upwards. ‘We’ve been to that one there.’
Rhiannon tried to follow his finger and failed. ‘Where?’
‘See that star about two inches to the right of Orion’s right foot?’
‘Two inches?’ she said mockingly.
‘Relatively speaking. There’s two smaller stars just below it.’
‘Oh, yeah. I see the one you mean now.’ She tipped her wine back and took a large swallow before setting the glass on the little table beside her. ‘What was it like there?’
‘Oh, I probably shouldn't say.’
‘Ianto, don't be a tease!’
‘Massive orgy filled strip club. The whole planet,’ he added. ‘Naked the whole time we were there. Illegal to wear clothes, I think. We shagged like rabbits pretty much everyone in sight for two weeks nonstop. Ached for a month afterwards. Lucky neither of us got pregnant.’
‘Ianto!’ Even slightly sozzled, she was loudly and soberly indignant.
He laughed at her then sculled the last of his beer. ‘Only joking.’
She reached across and slapped his arm. ‘Idiot!’
‘Not that there aren’t planets out there where that would actually be true, but it wasn’t anything like that.’ He hummed quietly at the memory. ‘It was actually really beautiful. All rolling green hills and lakes and moody grey skies.’
‘Urgh,’ she groaned. ‘Anywhere in space you could go and you go to a planet that looks like a bunch of Welsh valleys?’
‘I do get homesick sometimes, you know,’ he replied. ‘Space is all well and good, but it’s no different to being on a holiday. It's fun for a while and then all you really want is to be someplace familiar and sleep in your own bed.’
She sighed. ‘I suppose you're right. Don’t think space is for me.’
He raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at her. ‘Really? You’ve never wondered what it would be like?’
‘Who’s got time for all that? I’ve got school drop offs and dirty laundry and shifts at the co-op. Space is for unattached adventurers like you.’
‘I’m attached to you,’ he reminded her. ‘And Jack. We always come back. This is home. Always.’ He paused, letting the silence hang between them for a few minutes. ‘I could show you space now, if you like.’
She snorted. ‘What?’
‘Just a quick trip,’ he said. ‘Take you up in our ship, just float above the Earth for a bit. See what it’s like yourself.’
‘Seriously? It’s half past one in the morning.’
‘There’s no time in space,’ he told her. ‘We’d be back before breakfast, promise.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Are you allowed to drive a ship drunk?’
‘I’m not drunk. Besides, who's going to pick us up?’
She gave him her own eyebrow. ‘What, no space police?’
He grinned. ‘Not around these parts. Let’s do it.’
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Rhiannon
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG.
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 176 - Space at
fandomweeklySummary: Ianto and his sister ponder the vastness of space from the safety of their backyard.
Ianto looked across at his sister, lounged back in her chair, staring skywards. ‘Are you cold?’ he asked, feeling a slight bite in the air that, truthfully, was quite mild for this time of year. Normally, there was no time when it was really considered appropriate to sit outside after dark. It was always cold, it just varied in degrees of coldness.
‘No,’ she replied. ‘You?’
He shrugged and raised his beer bottle to his lips again. ‘Must be that two bottles of wine we’ve drunk,’ he replied, convinced that alcohol would definitely have something to do with it.
‘Maybe,’ she agreed.
No one else was mad enough to be outside, Ianto observed, sitting in his sister's backyard in two deck chairs that belonged more on a beach in South End than they did a council estate backyard. The story went that they’d been salvaged from some stranger’s nature strip so that Johnnie and his mates could sit out in the yard when one of them wanted a fag. Now instead, they were home to siblings catching up after many months of being apart. Johnnie and the kids had retired to bed hours ago, and Jack was likewise tucked up asleep in their sometimes lived in terrace house about a mile away. He hadn’t wanted to intrude on some long overdue family bonding, leaving Ianto and his sister to drink the night away.
‘This is nice,’ Ianto remarked, leaning back in his own chair at the clear night sky. Once upon a time they’d never been close. He’d always been the disappointing little brother she hadn’t wanted, and she was the bossy, pain in the backside sister, who had to have an opinion on everything in his life. Somewhere along the way they’d both grown up, and grown closer, which was probably in no small part on account of the work he’d done. Keeping his family safe had become everything that was important to him.
‘So, tell me,’ Rhiannon said, interrupting his thoughts. ‘Which ones have you been to?’
He turned his head to look at her in confusion. ‘What?’
She switched her wine glass from left hand to right and then pointed. ‘Up there,’ she said. ‘Which ones have you and Jack visited?’
He rolled his eyes and toyed with the edge of the label on the bottle neck. ‘You do realise that we’re only looking at a tiny portion of the sky, right? The universe is infinite. And that the stars are actually suns and that you can’t visit a sun. Not without frying up and dying a horrible death.’
‘I’m not stupid, Ianto,’ she said, slurring her T’s slightly. ‘I know what stars are. I mean, where out there have you been?’
He knew what she’d meant, but it didn’t mean he didn’t enjoy teasing her about it. He didn’t get to exercise his dry sense of humour nearly as much when he was just travelling with Jack. There was only so much of Ianto’s sarcasm that Jack could take before getting grumpy and sulking off.
He nestled back in the chair a little deeper, cradling the beer bottle on his lap as he studied the night sky. ‘Um, okay,’ he finally said, pointing upwards. ‘We’ve been to that one there.’
Rhiannon tried to follow his finger and failed. ‘Where?’
‘See that star about two inches to the right of Orion’s right foot?’
‘Two inches?’ she said mockingly.
‘Relatively speaking. There’s two smaller stars just below it.’
‘Oh, yeah. I see the one you mean now.’ She tipped her wine back and took a large swallow before setting the glass on the little table beside her. ‘What was it like there?’
‘Oh, I probably shouldn't say.’
‘Ianto, don't be a tease!’
‘Massive orgy filled strip club. The whole planet,’ he added. ‘Naked the whole time we were there. Illegal to wear clothes, I think. We shagged like rabbits pretty much everyone in sight for two weeks nonstop. Ached for a month afterwards. Lucky neither of us got pregnant.’
‘Ianto!’ Even slightly sozzled, she was loudly and soberly indignant.
He laughed at her then sculled the last of his beer. ‘Only joking.’
She reached across and slapped his arm. ‘Idiot!’
‘Not that there aren’t planets out there where that would actually be true, but it wasn’t anything like that.’ He hummed quietly at the memory. ‘It was actually really beautiful. All rolling green hills and lakes and moody grey skies.’
‘Urgh,’ she groaned. ‘Anywhere in space you could go and you go to a planet that looks like a bunch of Welsh valleys?’
‘I do get homesick sometimes, you know,’ he replied. ‘Space is all well and good, but it’s no different to being on a holiday. It's fun for a while and then all you really want is to be someplace familiar and sleep in your own bed.’
She sighed. ‘I suppose you're right. Don’t think space is for me.’
He raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at her. ‘Really? You’ve never wondered what it would be like?’
‘Who’s got time for all that? I’ve got school drop offs and dirty laundry and shifts at the co-op. Space is for unattached adventurers like you.’
‘I’m attached to you,’ he reminded her. ‘And Jack. We always come back. This is home. Always.’ He paused, letting the silence hang between them for a few minutes. ‘I could show you space now, if you like.’
She snorted. ‘What?’
‘Just a quick trip,’ he said. ‘Take you up in our ship, just float above the Earth for a bit. See what it’s like yourself.’
‘Seriously? It’s half past one in the morning.’
‘There’s no time in space,’ he told her. ‘We’d be back before breakfast, promise.’
She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘Are you allowed to drive a ship drunk?’
‘I’m not drunk. Besides, who's going to pick us up?’
She gave him her own eyebrow. ‘What, no space police?’
He grinned. ‘Not around these parts. Let’s do it.’