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Fandomweekly Challenge 189 - Nothing changes
Title: Nothing changes
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Gwen, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: A post-CoE AU.
Author notes: Written for Challenge 189 - Anniversary at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
Summary: A lot can change in two years and yet still be more or less the same.
‘Are you sure you got the dosage right?’ Ianto asked, watching the group of tradesmen stroll by, soon to be unaware of what they’d been doing all day, working on rebuilding Torchwood's secret base beneath Roald Dahl Plass.
Gwen narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you suggesting I'm a bit rusty at calculating retcon?’
‘No. Just that, well it's been a while and… Yes, actually, that’s exactly what I'm saying.’
She gave him a playful shove. ‘If not, there’s always tomorrow, and the next three months. I’m bound to get it right by then.’ Ianto's face broke into a grin. Only he could make light of feeding amnesia drugs to several dozen workmen on a daily basis.
‘Two years to the day,’ Gwen mused. ‘Hard to believe, really.’
Ianto nodded, letting his eyes do a slow scan of the Plass. Everything looked just how it had been before it had been obliterated by the bomb planted within their ranks, leaving nothing but a huge crater in its wake where their base of operations had once been and had left them both homeless and on the run from the people who'd wanted them dead.
So much had happened in the time since. For one thing, Gwen was now a mother, having shifted her sense of priorities entirely. Then there’d been the brief period she and everyone else had thought Ianto dead. There’d been the fallout of Torchwood being gone, Jack having left thinking it had all crumbled down around his ears, only to come back and realise things had moved on without him – Gwen with her new family, Ianto having joined UNIT in London.
Of course, things weren’t going back to how they’d been. Just because Jack was rebuilding their Cardiff base didn’t mean they'd all automatically fall back into old ways, but having Torchwood to protect the planet again would be reassuring in whatever form it took.
‘Same old Cardiff,’ Ianto observed.
‘Do you miss it?’
He gave a shrug. ‘Sometimes. I still come back to visit you and Rhiannon. And now with Jack coming back here to work full time…’
Gwen didn't respond. She wasn’t sure how living part-time in two different cities was going to work out for them, let alone their relationship. She could only assume they were doing everything they could to be together without having to compromise. If someone had asked her two years ago, she’d have said Ianto would have followed Jack no matter where he went. Now it was Jack having to find a way to keep Ianto by his side. Strange that Jack chose today of all days to mark their semi-reunion, but Jack was oddly nostalgic about things like that.
Gwen followed Ianto’s gaze around the Plass. The council had tipped in just enough money to restore the place without changing it. Same concrete expanse without so much as a tree in sight, same silver tower, water trickling down it in a thin, wavering sheen, same huge flagstones surrounding it, obscuring anyone from wondering what might lay beneath it all. Gwen paused for a moment to wonder if the flagstones at the front of the water tower still held their perception filter qualities, hiding anyone who stood atop them from view.
‘Have you two finished reminiscing about your favourite alien conquests yet?’ Rhys called out, wheeling a pram towards them. Gwen beamed at Anwen looking content, but not so content that her expression read “Mummy, I've just obliterated another nappy and need changing.”
‘Not even close, Rhys,’ Gwen replied, grinning at her husband. ‘We’ll need another year to do all that.’
‘Aye, so many conquests, so little time, right?’ he said, pausing just long enough to let go of the pram with one hand and shake Ianto’s. ‘Good to see you, mate.’
‘Likewise.’
Gwen frowned. ‘Where is Jack, by the way?’
‘No idea. Said he’d meet me here. Had “things” to do,’ Ianto added, putting quotation fingers around the word.
‘Some things never change then, eh?’
‘Same old Jack Harkness. The question is, will it be the same old hub?’
‘What, you mean you don't know? I thought he'd have had you going over every detail, making sure it met your exacting specifications of what a new hub should look like.’
‘Nope. kept completely in the dark about it, and you have no idea how annoying that is.’
‘Those who don't want to come back and have me as their boss don't get a sneak peak,’ Jack said, coming up from behind them, holding a plastic carry bag. ‘Can’t have UNIT knowing all of Torchwood's secrets,’ he added, making Ianto roll his eyes at him. ‘I bought us some supplies to celebrate,’ extracting an expensive bottle of champagne, uncorking it with a loud pop!
‘Don’t you dare skimp on filling that glass, Jack Harkness,’ Gwen warned. ‘Now that I'm finally free of the breastfeeding shackles, I intend to enjoy every last drop.’
‘One extra large flute of fizz coming right up.’ He delved back into the shopping bag and pulled out a series of ridiculous foil cone-shaped hats, complete with elastic that looked too tight to fit under the chin of anyone over the age of ten. When he received three silent, disparaging looks he stuffed them back in the bag. ‘Just a suggestion,’ he said, defeated but clearly not deflated. He carried on pouring, passing around the plastic flutes as they gathered around the water tower.
‘So, here’s to us,’ Jack announced. ‘Two years on and finally breaking ground on a brand new Torchwood Three. May it last even longer than the last one.’
‘Should we still be calling it Three?’ Ianto asked. ‘I mean, it is the only Torchwood base now. Archie’s retired and…’
‘We'll find Four someday! I promise,’ Jack said, before Ianto could make comment.
‘Three it is, then.’
Jack raised a glass. ‘Back again, and not before its time, but better than ever because I’ve got you two.’
Gwen clinked her glass with Jack’s. ‘I’ll drink to that.’
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Gwen, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: A post-CoE AU.
Author notes: Written for Challenge 189 - Anniversary at
fandomweeklySummary: A lot can change in two years and yet still be more or less the same.
‘Are you sure you got the dosage right?’ Ianto asked, watching the group of tradesmen stroll by, soon to be unaware of what they’d been doing all day, working on rebuilding Torchwood's secret base beneath Roald Dahl Plass.
Gwen narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you suggesting I'm a bit rusty at calculating retcon?’
‘No. Just that, well it's been a while and… Yes, actually, that’s exactly what I'm saying.’
She gave him a playful shove. ‘If not, there’s always tomorrow, and the next three months. I’m bound to get it right by then.’ Ianto's face broke into a grin. Only he could make light of feeding amnesia drugs to several dozen workmen on a daily basis.
‘Two years to the day,’ Gwen mused. ‘Hard to believe, really.’
Ianto nodded, letting his eyes do a slow scan of the Plass. Everything looked just how it had been before it had been obliterated by the bomb planted within their ranks, leaving nothing but a huge crater in its wake where their base of operations had once been and had left them both homeless and on the run from the people who'd wanted them dead.
So much had happened in the time since. For one thing, Gwen was now a mother, having shifted her sense of priorities entirely. Then there’d been the brief period she and everyone else had thought Ianto dead. There’d been the fallout of Torchwood being gone, Jack having left thinking it had all crumbled down around his ears, only to come back and realise things had moved on without him – Gwen with her new family, Ianto having joined UNIT in London.
Of course, things weren’t going back to how they’d been. Just because Jack was rebuilding their Cardiff base didn’t mean they'd all automatically fall back into old ways, but having Torchwood to protect the planet again would be reassuring in whatever form it took.
‘Same old Cardiff,’ Ianto observed.
‘Do you miss it?’
He gave a shrug. ‘Sometimes. I still come back to visit you and Rhiannon. And now with Jack coming back here to work full time…’
Gwen didn't respond. She wasn’t sure how living part-time in two different cities was going to work out for them, let alone their relationship. She could only assume they were doing everything they could to be together without having to compromise. If someone had asked her two years ago, she’d have said Ianto would have followed Jack no matter where he went. Now it was Jack having to find a way to keep Ianto by his side. Strange that Jack chose today of all days to mark their semi-reunion, but Jack was oddly nostalgic about things like that.
Gwen followed Ianto’s gaze around the Plass. The council had tipped in just enough money to restore the place without changing it. Same concrete expanse without so much as a tree in sight, same silver tower, water trickling down it in a thin, wavering sheen, same huge flagstones surrounding it, obscuring anyone from wondering what might lay beneath it all. Gwen paused for a moment to wonder if the flagstones at the front of the water tower still held their perception filter qualities, hiding anyone who stood atop them from view.
‘Have you two finished reminiscing about your favourite alien conquests yet?’ Rhys called out, wheeling a pram towards them. Gwen beamed at Anwen looking content, but not so content that her expression read “Mummy, I've just obliterated another nappy and need changing.”
‘Not even close, Rhys,’ Gwen replied, grinning at her husband. ‘We’ll need another year to do all that.’
‘Aye, so many conquests, so little time, right?’ he said, pausing just long enough to let go of the pram with one hand and shake Ianto’s. ‘Good to see you, mate.’
‘Likewise.’
Gwen frowned. ‘Where is Jack, by the way?’
‘No idea. Said he’d meet me here. Had “things” to do,’ Ianto added, putting quotation fingers around the word.
‘Some things never change then, eh?’
‘Same old Jack Harkness. The question is, will it be the same old hub?’
‘What, you mean you don't know? I thought he'd have had you going over every detail, making sure it met your exacting specifications of what a new hub should look like.’
‘Nope. kept completely in the dark about it, and you have no idea how annoying that is.’
‘Those who don't want to come back and have me as their boss don't get a sneak peak,’ Jack said, coming up from behind them, holding a plastic carry bag. ‘Can’t have UNIT knowing all of Torchwood's secrets,’ he added, making Ianto roll his eyes at him. ‘I bought us some supplies to celebrate,’ extracting an expensive bottle of champagne, uncorking it with a loud pop!
‘Don’t you dare skimp on filling that glass, Jack Harkness,’ Gwen warned. ‘Now that I'm finally free of the breastfeeding shackles, I intend to enjoy every last drop.’
‘One extra large flute of fizz coming right up.’ He delved back into the shopping bag and pulled out a series of ridiculous foil cone-shaped hats, complete with elastic that looked too tight to fit under the chin of anyone over the age of ten. When he received three silent, disparaging looks he stuffed them back in the bag. ‘Just a suggestion,’ he said, defeated but clearly not deflated. He carried on pouring, passing around the plastic flutes as they gathered around the water tower.
‘So, here’s to us,’ Jack announced. ‘Two years on and finally breaking ground on a brand new Torchwood Three. May it last even longer than the last one.’
‘Should we still be calling it Three?’ Ianto asked. ‘I mean, it is the only Torchwood base now. Archie’s retired and…’
‘We'll find Four someday! I promise,’ Jack said, before Ianto could make comment.
‘Three it is, then.’
Jack raised a glass. ‘Back again, and not before its time, but better than ever because I’ve got you two.’
Gwen clinked her glass with Jack’s. ‘I’ll drink to that.’