m_findlow

Title: Rock a bye
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 771 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for m_findlow's prompt "Any, any, motion inside a moving car" at fic_promptly
Summary: Jack is left with nothing but his own company on the long drive home

Jack smiled in the darkness. The only thing better than reaching the end of a long day where nobody died and the planet was once again safe for the night, was getting to enjoy that success with someone he loved.

They were still quite a few hours from home, having been seconded to London to help UNIT deal with a particularly nasty alien that had spawned from what was meant to be an inert looking black box. Unfortunately they'd not been able to prevent the alien from self destruction, shattering itself into twelve million tiny fragments and dust, but at least no one from UNIT had gotten hurt. He had to hand it to them, they were better trained than he'd presumed in a crisis, and accorded themselves well in the circumstances.

Having filed their reports with UNIT's commanding officer, and making sure that their clothes had been appropriately disinfected for the remaining dust particles, none of which they wanted to be accidentally bringing back to Cardiff in case they should again decide to spawn into new life forms, they jumped back into their car and were off on their way home.

It was bitterly cold outside and even with the de-mister on, the windows were fogging up notoriously, making the road treacherous to drive, even with the bright lights. Luckily at this late hour there was very little traffic, which left them with far less chance of accidentally being sideswiped by another motorist who might also be struggling in the conditions.

Inside the car it was warm, but not overly so, just enough to keep the windows clear without making it stuffy. The last thing Jack wanted was to be nodding off at the wheel because the inside of the car was too warm.

The same couldn't be said for his companion however. Ianto was fast asleep. Jack spared a sideways glance at his lover. He was still bundled up in his thick coat, with the collar pulled up high, his charcoal grey scarf tucked neatly inside its folds. His head was slumped against the collar and scarf, off to the right, leaning into it as if it were a pillow. He looked just about as cosy sleeping upright as he did curled up in bed.

They'd had a long day, but they weren't overly tired. It was, Jack had come to learn, less about tired, and more about the soothing motion of the car, that rocked his lover to sleep. Even for all his madcap driving, Ianto could still manage to let the gentle swaying of the vehicle lull him into a deep sleep. Jack found it adorable, slowly watching as Ianto grew silent, the feeling of the car purring along, a low thrumming that was constant and hypnotic, eyes struggling to stay open and eventually falling shut altogether, oblivious to the passing lights and the blur of traffic.

Jack eased his foot off the accelerator a touch. There was no rush to get home now, and he didn't want any sudden movement in the car to disturb Ianto from sleep, taking the bends in the motorway long and slow, and gently turning into corners on the local streets as they neared home. Ianto always complained that Jack was reckless behind the wheel, but he never got to appreciate just how smoothly Jack could keep the car moving because he was always ready far into the land of dreams by the time Jack let those particular skills out of his bag. Ianto would never fully appreciate it, but he could appreciate it by the extra hour or two of sleep that would leave him feeling refreshed come the next morning.

By the time he'd sidled up by the curb and finally turned the engine off, it was a tough choice as to whether to wake him or just leave him there to stay the night. In the end, the bitter winds outside made the decision for him. The car would be freezing by the morning once was heating was off. He gently slipped a hand in between the folds of coat and scarf to clutch his face. It was so warm and snug, he couldn't blame him for falling asleep inside it.

'Ianto,' he almost whispered.

'Hmm,'

'Wake up, gorgeous.'

'Not asleep,' he mumbled.

Jack chuckled. 'Yeah, you were. Come on, I've got a nice warm bed upstairs waiting for you, with a nice warm lover you can snuggle against.'

He wouldn't be able to quite rock Ianto to sleep the way the SUV could, but he didn't think he'd need much encouragement to coax him back to sleep.