m_findlow

Title: At love's mercy
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Gwen, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 419 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for ruric's prompt "any, any, I wouldn't call that a crush. It was more of a minor brain aneurism" at fic_promptly
Summary: Falling in love and going mad are similar

Gwen and Ianto quietly sipped their coffee as they watched the empty street. Stakeouts were usually boring and tedious, but after the last few weeks it was a welcome relief to just be able to sit for a few hours doing very little.

'Ianto, can I ask you something?'

The fact that she'd asked permission first, suggested that this was going to be something he wasn't going to like.

'Sure.'

'You and Jack. When did you start, I mean, when did you know,' she trailed off, and he was uncertain if it was because she didn't know how to phrase the question or because she knew she was treading into dangerous territory.

'Are you trying to asking me when did I first start having feelings for him? '

'Sort of, yeah.'

Ianto paused and sipped his coffee. He wasn't entirely sure of the answer himself. That first night in the warehouse was the easy answer, but the more he thought about it, the more he realised that those feelings had been felt for all the wrong reasons. Then he understood how to couch it to Gwen in terms she could understand.

'Do you remember your first few weeks at Torchwood? Training with Jack?'

She did. Torchwood was nothing like what she had expected in her wildest dreams, and Jack was there all the time teaching and guiding her. Weapons training she remembered the most. How she'd gotten completely caught up in the whirlwind enigma that is Jack Harkness. How he made her eyes dance and her heart race, and how she could have lost herself entirely in the moment. It had never occurred to her that someone else might have had that exact same experience.

Ianto could tell from the dreamy look on her face that she remembered it well.

'I felt like a schoolgirl with a massive crush on the hot teacher.'

Ianto grinned in spite of himself. That wasn't a bad way of describing it, he thought. Gwen had come a long way since those early days.

'Jack has that affect on people. I guess I just didn't expect to fall victim to it.'

'Did you really have a crush on him from day one?' Gwen asked, turning around in her seat to look at him straight on.

'I wouldn't call it a crush. It was more of a minor brain aneurism.'

Gwen laughed, and he laughed with her. Jack had certainly gotten into his head and under his skin, and he loved every minute of it.