Slashthedrabble Challenge 615 - Caught in two minds

[m_findlow]

Title: Caught in two minds
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 500 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 615 - Slick at slashthedrabble
Summary: Ianto takes a tumble but that isn't what's annoyed him.


'Nothing like a little night rain to make it a pleasant evening for locating rift debris,' Ianto muttered as they got out of the SUV.

'Hasn't rained for two weeks,' Jack replied. 'That's almost a record. Gonna make the roads hellish,' he added. 'All that accumulated dirt and leaking car oil. Watch your step.'

Ianto huffed as he studied his PDA, feeling the drizzle cling and blur the PDA’s screen. 'This way,' he said, stepping out across the road, expecting Jack to fall into step. He didn't spot the rainbow slick lit by the overhead sodium glare. He slipped ungracefully to the ground. 'Sodding hell,' he cursed. 'You could've caught me.'

'Caught you? You should watch where you're going!'

'I didn't think chivalry and independence had to be mutually exclusive.'

Jack threw his hands up. 'Oh, well excuse me. Just last week you were complaining that I don't help with the dishes enough, but that you hated me calling you my boyfriend, and now you're wanting me to catch you like some damsel in distress?'

'I was not in distress! I can handle myself. I simply thought that my partner,' he paused to emphasise the word, 'might have my back. If I'd known that not wanting to go around being called someone's boyfriend meant that I had to put up with falling on my arse and potentially breaking bones, I might have reconsidered it!'

Truthfully, he was just annoyed that Jack had latched onto his Freudian slip during one of their earlier arguments, and had since taken delight in using the term as often as possible. It had slipped out before he'd thought about what it might mean. When he'd been dating girls they'd been girlfriends, and now he was dating Jack, they were… well, weren't they? Was that too official? They had been living together after all, even if it was sort of undercover work, but it wasn't like it was all an act. Most of it was quite genuine, just dialed up a few notches in public so that they'd fit in with the rest of the gratingly perfect happy neighbourhood.

'Are you okay?' Jack asked with such sincerity that it felt more like he was concerned for Ianto's general state of mind than any physical injuries sustained. He reached down a hand to help him back to his feet and Ianto took it.

'I'm fine. Stupid, clumsy… should've been watching where I stepped. And you did warn me.'

Jack shrugged off the poorly concealed attempt at an apology. 'Maybe I should've been watching where you stepped. Too much mind on the job and not enough on what else is important. And I know you can handle yourself. You keep proving it to me every single day. But… partners should have each other's backs.'

Ianto nodded silently. 'So should boyfriends.'

Jack raised an eyebrow at him. 'Boyfriends?'

Ianto nudged him sideways, unable to fight off the smirk when Jack was grinning so hopefully at him like that. 'Yeah.'