Torchwood: Fanfic: White Noise

[m_findlow]

Title: White noise
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 425 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for m_findlow's prompt "Any, any, the place is too quiet without him/her around" at fic_promptly
Summary: You don't know what you've got til it's gone

At first Jack being gone had really hurt him. They'd finally been getting somewhere with this fledgling relationship they had going on, and then Jack had just upped and left. Taken his creepy hand in the jar and run off with that Doctor of his.

Slowly he'd gotten used to the idea that perhaps he didn't mean quite so much to Jack as he'd thought, and that there was even a good chance Jack might not come back at all. As the pain of Ianto's sudden loss slowly faded into the background, it was a new loss that he felt keenly around the hub. It was the sound of Jack that he missed.

Truth was, the place just wasn't the same without Jack there. Without being completely aware of it, Jack's presence permeated everywhere, becoming the white noise soundtrack to Ianto's daily routine. It wasn't until Jack was gone that he realised rarely a moment went by when he couldn't hear Jack around the hub. His voice was forever floating around them, issuing orders, telling jokes, laughing, always the sound of laughter. And when that wasn't the case, the sound of Jack continued to drift by. He liked to whistle, to hum, and even to sing on the odd occasion, but always with a tune in his head that had to be shared. Jack had eclectic taste in music, so it was always a surprise to discover what new tune had inspired his thought process.

The sound of Jack on the phone, yelling at whoever was unfortunate enough to be on the other end of the line, warmed Ianto's heart to hear. That or the grumbling when things weren't going so well for him; the recipient giving just as good as they got.

Even the sound of his heavy boots pounding across the hub, clanking along the catwalks, or echoing through the corridors was noticeably absent.

Whilst the rest of the team continued to chat, to wind each other up, get on each other's nerves, and to tease, taunt or otherwise debate their latest case, it still felt as if a pall had descended over the hub without Jack there, like all the fun and vibrancy had melted away, leaving just the most fundamental mechanics of their daily working lives.

For all the times Jack had been the source of irritation, when Ianto would have loved to just tie Jack up somewhere to stop him wandering, and gag his incessant chatter, there was nothing Ianto wouldn't give to have him rattling around the hub once more.

Comments

[bk_forever]

Jack's so full of life it's not surprising his presence is missed so much by Ianto, who's always worked longer hours in the Hub than the others. It must seem dreadfully quiet and empty without him. *pets Ianto* Noisy Jack will be back soon.