Torchwood: Fanfic: Filling the silence

[m_findlow]

Title: Filling the silence
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 892 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for oneill's prompt "Any, any, the game of silence" at fic_promptly
Summary: Jack doesn't like abiding by rules; he prefers to make new ones

'It's just not the done thing, Jack,' Ianto said, expertly weaving his way through the mass ocean of people, extracting his oyster card and tapping it against the barriers, letting himself through.

'What do you mean it’s not the done thing?' Jack asked, fumbling with his own card, but thankfully not dropping it, letting himself through.

'The tube has rules.'

'Since when?'

'Since forever,' Ianto replied, looking up and confirming what platform their connecting train was departing from. He might have been a little out of practice, the latest train timetables not exactly memorised the way they had been when he’d worked in London full time, but it was like riding a bike. It all came back to you once you just got on with it. Provided nothing catastrophic happened, they should make it to their destination with plenty of time to spare. Plus, there was a coffee shop nearby their destination that he intended taking Jack to. There was no way the pair of them were attending a UNIT conference unarmed, and forced suffer their poor excuse for coffee.

'Haven't you ever travelled on the tube before?' Ianto asked.

'I always drive or take a cab when I have to come to London. I even took the double decker bus once.'

'Jack Harkness took the bus?' Ianto teased. 'Whatever is the universe coming to? I never even owned a car when I lived here. We got the tube everywhere.'

As they marched through the busy terminal, Jack shoved his hands in his pockets. 'So, what are these immutable laws?'

Ianto wanted to laugh. On their previous train, Jack must have broken them all. 'Well, for starters you keep to yourself. You don't make eye contact with anyone else, and you definitely don’t try to start up a conversation with someone you don’t know.'

'He was cute,' Jack argued, remembering the attractive blond student whose backpack had accidentally jostled them.

'That’s not the point,' Ianto replied, acutely aware that it was very much a problem. Jack flirting with other men was not something he encouraged.

'Fine,' Jack huffed, following tide of people down the escalator. 'But I can still talk to you, right?'

Ianto grimaced. 'It would be better if you didn’t. In fact, it would be better if you made no noise at all.'

Jack thought that was stupid. Most people had headphones stuck in their ears anyway. They wouldn’t even be able to hear them. These twenty-first century humans were so prudish.

'You also shouldn’t take a seat,' Ianto continued, 'and you should stay clear of the doorway, and if you can’t, you get off at each stop to let everyone else out before getting back on.'

'What if there’s no room to get back on?' Jack asked.

'Then you wait for the next train.'

'That’s stupid.'

Ianto smiled. 'That’s London. Besides, everyone always manages to cram together somehow.'

Jack blew out a long breath. He was about to speak when the PA system blared overhead, announcing the time of the next train arrival. 'So, you’re saying that if someone has their hand pressed up against my butt, I’m not allowed to turn around and strike up a conversation with them?'

'Definitely not.'

Jack's hair ruffled in the breeze as the train sped its way out through the tunnel, forcing the air trapped inside to gust through the station, whipping around the waiting passengers. Considering how many people were packed onto the platform with them, Jack wasn’t sure how they’d all fit. He’d been some busy places in the universe, but the crush of inner city London always amazed and perplexed him.

By the time it was finally their time to board, the train resembled a sardine can, with all of its passengers crammed in tight. The pair of them were stuck squashed somewhere in the middle of the pile, unable to reach any handrails or overhead loops, simply kept in place by the swell of other passengers.

As the train doors beeped a warning and closed, pulling out of the station, Jack sighed. Twenty minutes of excruciating abiding by Ianto’s ridiculous rules about train travel etiquette. He thought maybe they could carry on their conversation in hushed whispers, but as he glanced directly at his lover, Ianto’s baleful gaze dared him to open his mouth and attempt it. It said, "if you value your life, you’ll keep your mouth shut". This whole game of silence was killing him.

Instead, Jack slipped his arms around Ianto’s waist, if for no other reason than he had a lack of other places to put his arms. Then the idea hit him. Ianto might not let him talk, but there were other things he could do with his mouth to pass the time that Ianto hadn’t strictly ruled out. Ianto’s face was practically pressed against his own anyway. Without hesitating, Jack closed the narrow gap and kissed him. He expected Ianto to recoil but there was simply nowhere for him to go.

Ianto was caught completely by surprise by Jack’s actions. This was definitely not on the list of acceptable train behaviour but there was little he could do to stop him, so he simply kissed back. They were keeping themselves to themselves after all, which was very much the point. And it would keep Jack quiet. Perhaps everyone else wouldn’t mind after all.

Comments

[bk_forever]

I miss travelling by tube, it was always fun, and never as crowded as it probaly is these days. Sure, there were times we had to stand, but I was an old hand and didn't need to hold on to anything. School trips were fun because the other kids weren't used to tube travel and coudn't keep their balance. Mum was a Londoner, all her family lived there, so we visited two or three times a year and went everywhere by tube. There's nothing else quite like it =)

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

I've been a daily train traveler for more than fifteen years now, first to attend uni and now to work. I'm still not a huge fan of being crushed into express services, and prefer to wait for a stopping all stations service. Since I don't work right in the heart of heart city but rather one of the outer suburbs, the express services are always packed by the time they reach my stop. Sometimes they're so bad you can't even get on them! I like to be able to have a spot to sit so I can read or write, and it's only about a five minute difference to stop all stations so it's worth the extra wait. :)

[bk_forever]

I can definitely understand that! Being crushed is no fun.