Torchwood: Fanfic: Up for a challenge
Sep. 7th, 2018 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Title: Up for a challenge
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 634 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for oneill's prompt "Any, any, literally the only person who cares about the upcoming corporate challenge" at fic_promptly
Summary: Sometimes you just have to be the boss and not everyone's friend.
Ianto couldn't understand it. He was so proud of his team and everything they did. Sure, they were all flawed in their own ways, but so had he been when he'd joined their ranks, no different from any of the companions he'd since had to say goodbye to. Despite that, they were dedicated to the job, clever and quick on their feet, strong-willed, and able to keep going long after they were out of energy. More than anything though, they were fiercely loyal, to him and to the work that they did. He couldn't have asked for more from them.
That was why it perplexed him now that they were so steadfastly against his latest proposal. It hadn't been his idea, but rather something that had been instigated by UNIT, their closest operating allies. It was meant to be a way to better unite their two organisations, building a competitive but friendly camaraderie. At first he was hesitant, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. There was a healthy respect between Torchwood and UNIT these days, but that didn't mean that they didn't sometimes clash heads and disagree. This however would be an opportunity for his small yet effective team to showcase their many talents. UNIT might have the military edge, but his people knew how to think outside the box, and they never gave up on anything.
'It's stupid,' Jack said as they discussed it over dinner.
'It's not stupid,' Ianto said, poking his Chinese more enthusiastically than necessary with his chopsticks, skewering a piece of carrot in the process. 'You're the one that's always saying we're better than them.'
'Because we are,' Jack said, forcing the words around the dim sum he'd shoved into his mouth whole.
'So, why not prove it, then?'
'It's corporate games. It's lame. It'll be orienteering and baton relays, trivia and carting water across the yard without a bucket.'
'You don't know that.' They were one of the two most important organisations in the world. They had a lot more resources at their disposal than Torchwood. He imagined it would be a lot more like the world's most brutal obstacle course, intertwined with a lot of very high end tech. He didn't think they'd organise anything and make it easy.
He could possibly understand Jack's own reluctance, but that he couldn't get any of the rest of the team interested threw him for a loop. It boggled the mind. Perhaps Jack had talked them all out of it. Johnson was a competitive beast, and Jez was often so laid back he was almost horizontal. Even Gwen couldn't find any enthusiasm.
'I don't think it's really our thing, pet,' Gwen said over coffee that morning.
'Why not?'
'Well, we don't really need to compete with them. They have their function, we have ours.'
'It's not competing, per se. It's a bit of fun.'
'Do you think they'll treat it as fun?'
'Probably not, but, that's not the point.'
'Then what is the point?'
After that he sighed and gave up. His usual skills of persuasion simply weren't working.
'Ianto, give it up,' Jack said, bringing him back to the present. 'Just let everyone do their jobs. We don't need some competition to know we're amazing.'
He stood up and began clearing away the containers, leaving Ianto sitting there, wondering why his team had suddenly turned on him. Whilst he was pondering it, his phone rang. What could UNIT want at this hour?
'Brigadier,' he answered, 'what can I do for you?'
'Just checking to see if we've agreed to these interagency games yet. My people are keen if yours are.'
'Oh, yes,' Ianto replied watching from afar as Jack put their dishes in the sink. 'My team can't wait.'
no subject
Date: 2018-09-08 01:45 am (UTC)You know it pains me to say so, but Gwen's reasoning is completely sound.
no subject
Date: 2018-09-10 08:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-01-25 09:37 pm (UTC)So there!
*grins*
no subject
Date: 2019-01-26 09:18 pm (UTC)