Opportunities/One door closes...and a window opens (5/?)

[madbottoms]

Title: Opportunities/One door closes...and a window opens (5/?)

Rating: PG – I think. There is talk of sex and some ‘adult’ moments but nothing explicit. My son watches TV with more gratuitous moments than this story. It’s the smarm you need to worry about

Genre: AU! No aliens but some familiar names may still be used

Characters: Jack, Ianto, Estelle

Summary: The holiday season is coming up and Ianto Jones is stuck without a job, with very little money and not too many prospects. So when he is offered a job for two weeks, he readily accepts. But this new job may become complicated when he realises that the man who broke his heart years before is the grandson of his new employer.

A/N: So, here we are for Ianto’s driving test, a little discussion, and another surprise for Jack.

Chapter Five

 

Ianto would have told him to get bent, except he knew some practice behind the wheel would be a very good idea—and he figured if he could drive safely with a very frustrated Jack riding shotgun, then he wouldn’t be putting Estelle into any danger at all. And if Jack’s backseat driving got too unbearable, he mused, he would just slam the passenger side door into a tree somewhere and walk home.

 

‘Watch out for that truck,’ Jack said, and Ianto pulled his attention back to the road.

 

Estelle’s car was small and light, and as the afternoon waned and the traffic grew heavier the packed-down snow which remained on the streets grew ever more slippery. But, after a false start to two, Ianto’s confidence grew, despite the silent and glowering passenger.

 

Maybe Estelle had been right after all, he thought, and driving a car—like riding a bike—was a skill that never quite vanished from the subconscious. If it didn’t bother him to have Jack either issuing instructions or seething not quite so silently, then he could handle normal traffic along with Estelle’s chatter with no trouble at all.

 

‘Well?’ he said finally, after a solid hour of negotiating everything narrow alleys to motorways. ‘Since I haven’t smashed either you or the car, and you haven’t grabbed for the steering wheel or brake in the last thirty minutes, I’m going to assume that I passed and I can take you back to Estelle’s house.’

 

‘Not quite. Parallel park in front of the cafe up there.’

 

‘Parallel park? Seriously?’

 

Jack’s level look said that he would have to do or else, so Ianto sighed and after only one slight miscalculation, he was quite proud of the result. ‘Good enough?’

 

‘Shut the car off. Let’s have a coffee.’

 

‘I’m honoured at the invitation, but—’

 

‘Don’t be. This is the only way we can talk without Gran interrupting.’

 

‘We’ve been driving around for an hour,’ Ianto protested, ‘and you haven’t said a word—except for barking out instructions—the whole time. So why should I—’

 

‘I wasn’t going to risk taking your attention from the road. Come on.’ He slammed the door and kicked at the wad of snow and ice which had built up behind the front wheel. ‘Looks like this thing could stand some new tyres. Would you like coffee, tea or something sweeter like hot chocolate?’

 

He settled for tea and refused a piece of cake to go with it. Jack surveyed him over his mug of coffee and said, ‘Alright, what’s really going on here? How did this all happen?’

 

Ianto sighed. ‘I didn’t stalk your grandmother, if that’s what you’re suggesting. It just happened that it was my table she chose at the union, you know. It’s also the last day before the holidays, so a lot of the kids who work there have already gone home for the holidays.’

 

He waited for Jack to ask him why he wasn’t going home for Christmas. But he didn’t.

 

‘Look,’ Ianto said, ‘I’ll tell you exactly what happened. Mrs Harper left because she had an appointment of some sort, and Estelle stayed to finish her coffee. I cleared the dessert dishes, she wished me Merry Christmas, then she got up from the table and started to sway. I helped her back in her chair and offered to find a doctor. She said no, but would I sit with her for a minute, so I did. Then when she felt better she asked if I’d walk her out to her car. When I realised she was planning to drive herself home, I offered to get her a cab, and—’

 

‘She offered you a job? Just like that?’

 

‘She’s not quite that fast a worker,’ Ianto admitted. ‘It took at least another ten minutes.’

 

‘Why?’

 

‘Ask her. How should I know why she offered me a job.’

 

‘I will. But what I really want to know is why you accepted it.’

 

‘Because I need a job—’

 

‘But why do need a job? You were the hotshot math whiz of the entire campus—why aren’t you a CFO at some big corporation by now?’

 

All the plans Ianto had made and the dreams he had dreamed... Ianto had thought he’d come to terms with the losses and the delays, but it wasn’t until now—when Jack Harkness asked the question in that slightly cynical tone—that he realised how much it hurt that after so long he was still marking time.

 

‘Did you get caught with your fingers in the till, or what?’

 

Ianto stiffened. ‘No. I’m still here because I had to drop out for a while. I have one more semester to go before I graduate.’

 

Jack pushed. ‘Why Ianto?’

 

‘Why should it matter to you? It’s long over with.’ Then he bit his lip and said quietly, ‘I’m still here because my dad left and we ended up with nothing, and then my mum had mental health problems and I had to drop out to help her but she just deteriorated until she passed away. That cost me my scholarships. I worked for a while, and saved up some money to come back, and I was just getting up to speed again and I got sick. It knocked me down for months. I couldn’t keep up with classes, so I had to quit again.’

 

Silence grew between them until finally, Jack said, ‘That’s nasty luck.’

 

‘Yes it was.’

 

‘But hardly anything new for you. You dropped out of that class, too. Some others, too, as I heard it.’

 

‘Noticed that, too, did you?’ Ianto said dryly. ‘I’m amazed you were paying attention.’

 

‘Damn it Ianto, I tried to talk to you, but you wouldn’t listen. You wouldn’t even stop walking down the hall, much less let me apologise. And then before I knew it you were gone—’

 

‘So what would you have said you were sorry for. Not for shagging me, I’ll bet.’

 

‘No,’ he admitted. ‘Not that.’

 

‘Then what? Getting caught? Making sure everybody in class knew you’d won your bet?’ He saw curiosity flicker in Jack’s eyes, and he took a deep breath and reminded himself that it didn’t matter anymore. The last thing he wanted to do was let him think he still cared. He’d buried those feelings long ago. ‘One-night stands happen, Jack. I was quite a little more innocent than you were, that’s true, and it annoyed the hell out of me that you’d told everyone in class I slept with you—’

 

‘I didn’t tell them.’

 

‘Oh really? Then how did they know? I don’t recall them being in your room watching.’

 

A smile tugged at the corner of Jack’s mouth. ‘Ianto, a marching band could have come through my room that night and you wouldn’t have noticed.’

 

Heat crawled up his neck and over his face. ‘The point is, it’s over. There’s nothing to be gained by dissecting what happened.’ Though at the time I’d have gladly dissected you. ‘I believe, before we got sidetracked a few minutes ago, that you were asking why I need a second job. Right now my budget’s unusually tight, so—’

 

‘Couldn’t you make more at some other kind of job, instead of working at the union?

 

‘Possibly. But waiting tables isn’t that bad. Besides, for now it’s convenient. The hours are flexible and I can work an hour here and there and fit partial shifts in between classes. If I had to commute elsewhere it would eat into my time more and working it all out I wouldn’t really make any more.’

 

‘Still, I wouldn’t think you’d had gotten in over your head financially, wizard with figures that you are.’

 

‘It’s hard to pay tuition and medical bills as well as every day bills when you’re not doing so well. It was expensive and I didn’t have much left after mum died.’

 

‘Perhaps some financial planning advice—’

 

‘There you go, problem solved,’ he said mockingly. ‘I’m sure your banker would be happy to handle my portfolio, because I’ve got about fifty pounds to my name.’ He wasn’t irritated enough to not stop and think before he went on. ‘I’d saved up enough to get me through a couple of weeks with no income—but then I was robbed last night.’

 

Jack’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Are you alright?’

 

‘Oh, yes—thanks for asking. I wasn’t there when it happened. I’d left it in my room—only I obviously didn’t hide it well enough.’ He knew he sounded bitter, and probably stupid, too. He waited for Jack to say it.

 

He didn’t. ‘Did you call the police?’

 

‘No. It wouldn’t have made much difference. It was cash and if I’m right about my suspicions, it was most likely someone else who lives in the house.’

 

‘You think your roommate robbed you?’

 

Why had he told him anything at all? But it was too late know to back out without an explanation. ‘We’re not exactly roommates,’ he said reluctantly. ‘Or even housemates. It’s more like a boarding house with individual bedrooms with communal areas, like bathrooms and kitchen. Reporting it would only make things more difficult in the future. Nothing would be safe.’

 

Jack nodded. ‘You always were pragmatic.’

 

‘You don’t have to make it sound like a disease. In some situations there aren’t any good choices, Jack. You just deal with it and go on, that’s all.’

 

He didn’t answer, but pushed his plate away as if he’d lost his appetite.

 

Puzzled by his response, Ianto went on. ‘Anyway, to get back to the point—your grandmother got that much out of me and then she went all quiet. The next thing I knew—’

 

‘She’d manufactured you a job.’

 

‘You mean she made it up from nothing? I don’t think so. If she’s going to move out of that house, she really does need help. There must be cupboards everywhere. Unless you’re planning to stick around to pack boxes...?’

 

Jack gave a little shudder.

 

Ianto went on coolly. ‘Yes, what a surprise. You’re too busy, right?’

 

‘I’ll hire a crew.’

 

‘Estelle doesn’t want a crew, she wants me.’

 

‘Maybe she thinks she does—right now.’

 

‘And what does that mean? If you’re threatening to discredit me by telling her what happened between us all those years ago I suggest you think again, because you won’t come off as Mr Pure Heart yourself. Anyway, someone will have to do the work, so why shouldn’t it be me?’

 

‘How long do you think it will take?’

 

‘I have two weeks free until school starts back.’

 

‘Surely you don’t think that job can be done in two weeks? And if you start dragging things out of the dark cupboards and then abandon her—’

 

‘Hello? What was that you were telling your grandmother earlier about not being able to have things both ways? Neither can you, mate. At any rate, I figure with two weeks Estelle will have either decided that she’s too fond of her house to leave it, or she’ll have gotten tired of everything and decided to call an auctioneer and get it over with in a hurry.’

 

Jack stared at him as if he was seeing him for the first time. ‘So in the meantime you’re just going to let her pay you for humouring her?’

 

‘I intend to do whatever she asks me to. You know, it might not be a bad plan for you to follow, too. Humouring her, I mean, instead of arguing with her all the time.’ And maybe you could see your way to cut me some slack, too. He’d probably better not hold his breath on that count.

 

He looked at his watch. ‘I don’t mean to rush you, Jack, but I have some things to do. And, since your hair hasn’t turned white yet, I’m assuming I passed your driving test.’

 

‘We’re not all the way home yet. And I’m in no hurry to get back in that tin can.’

 

‘It’s not my fault your grandmother drives a small car. If you’re used to the Jaguar I saw parked outside the house—’

 

‘Don’t even daydream about driving that car. Buy her some new tyres first thing, alright? Give me the bill for them.’ He stood up and pulled out his wallet.

 

Ianto sat still, his tea mug clutched between his hands. ‘Then you are withdrawing your objections?’

 

‘No. But since she seems set on the idea, I’m putting my objections on hold.’

 

At least he wasn’t still threatening him. Quite sensible of him. ‘Fair enough.’

 

Once back in the car, Ianto turned the radio on and hummed along with a Carol as he drove. He thought Jack looked even more like an approaching rainstorm. ‘What’s the matter?’ he asked finally. ‘You don’t like “Jingle Bells”?’

 

‘Not when it’s played on accordion and banjo, thanks. Where did you find this station?’

 

‘It was already tuned in. Why doesn’t Estelle have a Christmas tree up?’

 

‘Tradition. It goes up one week before Christmas.’

 

‘That’s tomorrow.’

 

‘Enjoy the job,’ Jack said. ‘I’d help but I’ll be at the grand opening of my third Torchwood Hub.’

 

‘So that’s what’s keeping you here.’ Ianto parked the car but didn’t cut the motor.

 

‘The grand opening of The Hub goes through the weekend.’ Jack must have noticed the car was still running because he asked, ‘Aren’t you coming in?’

 

‘No, I’m dropping you off.’

 

“Excuse me! You’re taking Gran’s car?’

 

‘She told me I could.’

 

‘You’re planning on commuting in her car? What other employee benefits have you managed to negotiate?’ he practically growled.

 

‘Not to commute exactly.’ His gloved hands tightened on the wheel, and he looked up at Jack innocently, waiting to enjoy the explosion he expected. ‘I’m just taking it today so I can load up my stuff.’ He paused for just a second to let the news sink in, then added gently, ‘Of course I need to talk to my landlady as well—to give notice that I’m moving in with Estelle.’

 

And before Jack could open his mouth, Ianto put the car in reverse and back out onto the street.