Torchwood: Fanfic: Long haul
Jan. 12th, 2018 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
m_findlowTitle: Long haul
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 998 words
Content notes: none of
Author notes: Written for sincere's prompt "Any, any, unexpectedly having to take the train/bus/etc" at fic_promptly
Summary: Bad weather causes long delays
'Don't sulk, Jack,' Ianto said.
'I'm not sulking. I'm annoyed.'
'Same thing,' he replied, tugging on the handle of his suitcase. 'It's this or being stuck in a pokey hotel room only big enough for one.'
'Stop making that option sound so appealing,' Jack replied, grabbing his own bags, and trundling unhappily after his lover, expertly dodging the swathes of other travellers.
It was chaos. The weather had taken a sharp turn for the worse, and if the weather forecast on his phone was anything to go by, it was going to stay this way for days.
The whole airport had been shut down, flights grounded, leaving its passengers milling around the terminal. Most were on their phones trying to make alternate arrangements, or arguing with partners and family about why they'd be late. Queues at the rental car booths were a mile long, and none of them had realised yet that every company had run out of spare vehicles to hire out over an hour ago. The queues at the taxi rank outside were worse, and that was just the ones brave enough to stand out there whilst the rain and wind squalls buffeted them from three sides. Others had simply given up trying to get out or find a hotel, sleeping in hard plastic chairs or leant against their luggage.
He supposed he should be grateful. How Ianto had managed to book them tickets on a coach was nothing short of a mystery. Perhaps he'd hacked their systems, booting someone else out. It didn't sound like something Ianto would do, but who really knew.
'It's running express all the way to London,' Ianto confirmed, heading down the terminal to where the coaches were banked up. 'I would've booked connecting train tickets to Cardiff, but in these conditions, there's no knowing how much of an impact weather is going to have on the roads.'
Jack did the math in his head. 'But that's at least six hours.'
'Coaches have toilets, if that's what you're worried about,' he replied.
It wasn't, or hadn't been until he'd mentioned it. It was more the overall time factor. It should've been an hour flight, direct to Cardiff. What was he meant to do stuck on a bus for six hours, or maybe more? He knew there was a reason he hated going to these UNIT conferences. All he wanted was to get home.
They found the coach and loaded their bags into the luggage compartment, both their jackets heavily dampened by the driving rain which snuck under the bus shelter. As expected, the coach was full to the brim, though it was eerily quiet. It seemed everyone aboard had lost the will to argue and complain anymore, just thankful to be on their way.
'Window or aisle, Jack?' Ianto asked, as they squeezed down the narrow space.
It was pitch black out there, with nothing but miserable weather to see. 'Aisle,' he replied.
They settled into their respective seats and Ianto clicked his seat belt in place.
'It's a bus, Ianto,' Jack said. 'You don't have to wear the seat belts.'
'In this weather, I'm not taking any chances. If we don't get blown off the road, some other car is just as likely to slip all over the road, causing an accident.'
Heeding Ianto's sage advice, he clipped his own on as well.
Twenty minutes later the coach reluctantly pulled out into the elements, quickly gliding onto the nearest motorway.
'I'm going to get some sleep,' Ianto said. It had been a long few days and he knew he was still the better part of a day away from his own bed.
'What am I supposed to do?' Jack said.
'You'll think of something to amuse yourself, I'm sure,' Ianto replied, curling over on his side to make himself more comfortable.
Jack sat there for a while, doing nothing but listening to the rain pelting down on the roof, and watching Ianto fall asleep. This wasn't like flying, Jack thought. On a long haul flight there'd at least be food and movies to keep him entertained, breaking up the monotony.
He looked around at his fellow passengers, wondering if there was anyone he could strike up a conversation with, but everyone was either asleep like Ianto, or wearing headphones and glued to their phones. Most would probably be lucky to have enough battery to last the trip. He pulled out his own phone, finding very little on it to amuse himself. Ianto had banned him from having non work-related things on it, arguing that it wasted power and took up valuable space. He check his emails, finding nothing there but a long list of things he hadn't yet attended to. He didn't feel like doing them now either, which is why they'd been sitting there so long. He read the news online, finding nothing of particular interest, and bored by the constant stories of political mudslinging. Even the travel section wasn't nearly as enjoyable. He liked checking it out, putting together a list of places they could go for their next holiday, but without Ianto's input and opinions, it just wasn't the same. He put the phone away and checked his watch. He'd killed forty-five minutes. Great, only five and a half hours to go. What was he meant to do now?
He looked across at Ianto. Despite the pounding rain, the hum of the engine, and the slipping and swerving of the coach along the motorway, he slept peacefully. If you can't beat them, Jack thought, squirming in his seat, and wrapping an arm around him. Ianto roused himself enough to sit up and let Jack slip his other arm around him, snuggling back against him, spooning as comfortably as was possible on a bus.
Jack let out a sigh of contentment, letting his eyes slip shut. This was much better. He could cuddle Ianto for hours, and time always flew by when they had a moment alone together.
no subject
Date: 2018-01-12 10:47 pm (UTC)