m_findlow

Title: Not your average office party
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Gwen, Rhys
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 950 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Prompt - Office party at torchwood_fest
Summary: Gwen has an invitation for Rhys.

'Please, Rhys?' Gwen said, gripping him by the arm and assaulting him with those puppy dog eyes she was so good at. 'I'm sorry it's such late notice but I totally forgot to mention it. I just assumed you'd be there.'

Rhys narrowed his eyes at his wife. 'It's not exactly the office Christmas party is it?' he replied. 'Does the hub even qualify as an office?'

Gwen fixed him with a withering glare. 'It was Ianto's idea,' she explained. She had her own reservations about whether Torchwood was the sort of place that held Christmas parties, but he'd seemd so excited at the prospect of organising it that she could hardly say no. That the rift was promising to be quiet enough for them to enjoy something as normal and mundane as a Christmas party must have seemed like a red letter event. Her task had been to invite Rhys, which was to say she was to drag him there kicking and screaming if need be. It would be a small enough gathering as it was. She couldn't very well be the one who failed to bring her plus one. She had a far easier task than Jack, who had been charged with inviting Detective Swanson and that grumpy, chip on his shoulder, Detective Inspector Cutler.

'You should see the place, Rhys. Jack has gone all out with decorations around the hub. It's more like Santa's workshop than the hub.' If anything, the word "overboard" barely began to describe the state of the hub. Ianto, were it not for his inexhaustible patience, might be about to lose his mind. It was lucky he liked Christmas almost as much as Jack, and decided that for all the effort Jack went to in decorating the hub that it should be leveraged by sharing it with others. Were it not for the alien technology and the general secrecy requirement for an organisation such as theirs, she suspected he'd have opened it to the public and charged admission.

'And that's appropriate, given what you do?' Rhys queried. 'World could be about to end, but wait, there's a spot here that doesn't have enough fairy lights.'

She gave him a playful slap for the comment, not willing to admit how close to the mark he actually was. 'Jack never had anything like Christmas where he grew up. What he lacks in childhood experience he makes up for with enthusiasm.' And that was an understatement. She'd never met anyone who got as excited about Christmas as Jack. He was half Christmas elf, she was sure. No one got that excited about shops full of crazy people all clamoring for the same gifts, the ridiculous overindulgence of food, and being forced to be civil to the in-laws for hours on end. Jack at least didn't have in-laws to worry about. He had Ianto's family, if you could call them in-laws, she supposed, but that was totally different.

Rhys gave her a curious look. 'Have you mentioned to Jack that Christmas is meant to be a religious holiday? You know, birth of Christ and all that?'

'Rhys Williams, which decade did you last go to church or worry about celebrating the birth of Christ? Hmm?' If she recalled correctly, last year Rhys had been on the bandwagon of people agreeing that football should be played on Christmas day to give people something to watch, and an excuse to leave insufferable mothers-in-law early.

Rhys snorted at Gwen's literal lack of faith in him. 'Only difference is that I know if I walk into a church and get struck by lightning, chances are it isn't an act of God, but some weird alien thing.'

'You're probably right,' she admitted. It was hard to believe in Gods when there were so many totally unbelievable things she'd seen that she now had to believe in. 'So, is that a yes?' Ianto wasn't big on social events so the fact that he'd put forth this idea of having everyone connected with Torchwood catch up for food and drinks to celebrate another year of madness was charming in its own way. Or perhaps he was just feeling left out since Jack had taken charge of Christmas, organising virtually everything else of a festive nature.

'Can't really say no, can I?' Rhys replied, sighing theatrically.

Gwen bounced on the balls of her feet, kissing him and thanking him. 'Now, we've got to bring something, obviously. I was thinking a salad, or maybe some of those chocolate brownies. Oh, and there's a Kris Kringle gift to buy as well. Lucky us though, we got Ianto. He'll be easy to buy for.'

'Lucky us,' Rhys murmured.

Gwen's phone trilled in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the message from Jack. 'Gotta go, love, but we'll be done in time for the party. Why don't you pop down the shops while I'm gone and buy something for Ianto and get started on those brownies? I should be back I time to whip up a quick salad.' Her phone trilled again. 'Sorry, got to go. And actually, maybe you ought to start the salad in case I don't get back in time. I'll see you a bit later.'

She began speeding toward the door, grabbing her jacket off the back of the sofa as she zipped past it. 'And see if you can find those Santa hats in the cupboard! I know my reindeer ears are in there somewhere, but I have no idea where!' she called back. She knew she could rely on Rhys to sort it out. They hadn't been to an office party in years, but she was sure this would be fun.