Anythingdrabble Challenge 217 - Being neighbourly

[m_findlow]

Title: Being neighbourly
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Word Count: 500 words
Rating: PG
Notes: Written for Challenge 217 - Lonesome at anythingdrabble. Spoilers for Big Finish audioplay "Serenity"
Summary: Ianto is having second thoughts about their double lives at Serenity Plaza.


'Ianto Jones, what is that sad face for?' Jack asked, seeing Ianto standing there just staring out of his kitchen window, the dishes in the sink forgotten as he stared off into space.

Ianto blinked and looked at him. 'I was just thinking.'

'I can see that. What about?'

'Serenity Plaza.'

Jack wanted to shake his head. Once second Ianto had been itching to get out of there and now he was regretting not being there by the sounds of things. 'I thought you'd be glad to be home, back in your old apartment.' Jack kept his tone light and a little wary, as if sensing there might be an argument forthcoming about their continued living arrangements now that they didn't have to pretend to be some happily married couple.

'Oh, I am glad, believe me,' he replied. 'I never thought I'd be so happy to hear people trawling through Grangetown apartment building dumpsters at three in the morning.'

Jack smirked. 'Oh yeah, because I know how much you love being woken by the sound of broken bottles.'

Ianto gave him a wan smile. 'Actually, I was thinking about Vanessa from number twelve.'

'Vanessa?' Ianto hadn't exactly been her biggest fan, though she had certainly made the Serenity Plaza neighbourhood more entertaining from Jack's perspective.

'I just can't help thinking about how we should have been nicer to her.'

Jack shrugged off the guilt. 'She's dead now. I don't think she's going to be lecturing us anytime soon.'

Ianto turned on him, face looking serious and sad. 'But that's just it, isn't it? We thought she was just some crazy, sex obsessed woman who was desperate for a three way with us. Turns out she was just really lonely and in need of some company. And we killed her.'

'We didn't kill her,' Jack reminded him. 'The alien sleepers from Cell 114 converted her. She wasn't Vanessa anymore. There was nothing we could have done to stop that. It was lucky we didn't end up converted, ourselves.'

Ianto sighed. 'I suppose so. But… we never even invited her round for tea. Never even knew she'd been married. We just assumed she was some batty old spinster.' He sighed again. 'Have we been doing this job too long? Forgotten to actually care about people's lives?'

Jack stepped forward. 'We care. Sometimes too much. We're willing to sacrifice our own lives just to save those people whose lives we're too busy to get to know. It doesn't make us bad people. As for Vanessa… maybe we could have been friendlier. Or maybe she just wanted to look at us and remember how happy she'd been when she was married.'

'I hope I don't ever get old and lonesome like that. Living alone without a friend in the world, ignored and looked down upon.'

Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist. 'No chance of that, Ianto Jones.'

Ianto sighed. 'You're probably right. If this job doesn't kill me, living with you definitely will.'

Comments

[jo02]

Oh Ianto, don't joke about things like that.