m-findlow.livejournal.com

Title: Off their game
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,389 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 172 - Keeping score
Summary: It's not whether you win or lose, unless you're Owen.

Ianto wheeled him across the hub, setting him in place and locking the wheels, before placing a clipboard and pen in his lap. He gave Ianto a despondent look.

'Why do I have to do this?' Jack complained. 'Can't you keep score like usual?'

'Then we won't have enough people to field two teams,' he replied.

'I can play!'

Ianto looked down at him and shook his head.

'The hub is not wheelchair friendly to begin with, and we're not playing the paralympic version. You need to rest up and let that leg heal,' he said, looking down at the heavily bandaged leg which had gotten caught in a piece of machinery. Luckily it was only mangled and not torn off completely, but it was still going to take a day or three to mend itself.

Jack pouted and gave Ianto a look of defiance that said he'd try out running Ianto in his chair, even if it killed him. Ianto wasn't having any of it.

'You're being benched Jack and that's it. End of story.'

'Benched,' Jack muttered. 'That's not nearly as fun as it sounds.'

'Here,' Ianto said, handing him his stopwatch. 'I'll even let you play with this.'

'You're full of cruel irony today, aren't you?'

Ianto just smiled and pecked him on the cheek.

'We ready?' Gwen chirped, walking across with the ball.

'Yup.'

'Alright, ladies,' Owen cried. 'It's England v Wales,' he said,  teaming up with Tosh.

'Bring it on, Owen,' Gwen smirked.

'A teaboy and an ex copper? You lot don't stand a chance.'

Jack blew the whistle to start the game, relishing at least that small modicum of power, as things got underway, pitching the ball high in the air. Owen was first to grab it, but quickly lost it after two bounces as Ianto came in and snatched it away, quickly passing it to Gwen. She lobbed it wildly in the direction of the net and whooped as it slipped through.

'What were you saying earlier, Owen?'

'Beginner's luck.'

The game was fast and furious, with plenty of ducking and weaving, quick passes and high shots. Jack was actually enjoying just watching his team having fun. They were always so busy that any kind of down time was a treat, and he realised just how close they all were, and that despite the long hours spent practically in each other's pockets, they could still spend time together without killing one another. As much as being injured sucked, and having to sit on the sidelines, just getting to watch his team in action was refreshing.

When things were starting to get predictable, the game turned dirty. Ianto tagged Tosh endlessly, being far taller than she was, whilst Gwen and Owen were engaged in their own physical battle, with Gwen bumping and jostling Owen hard to knock him off his game. Ianto came to stand and in front of Tosh, blocking her way to pass the ball to Owen, towering over her, but though she was short she managed to quickly duck around him with lightning speed, only to have Gwen intercept the pass because Owen was distracted. To make up for it, he slammed into her bodily, grabbing the ball and running up the spiral staircase.

'Hey, it's basketball, not keepings off!' Ianto yelled.

'The ref says its legal.'

'The ref hasn't said anything.'

'Well, he hasn't said its not legal,' Owen retorted.

'The ref doesn't know what he's doing.'

'Hey, I heard that,' Jack complained

'You were supposed to,' Ianto groaned.

'If you have a problem with the way I officiate, you're welcome to take over.' He prayed that with enough bad decisions, he might do just that.

'Not the point.'

'It's not my fault the ref fancies some new rules,' Owen said, dropping the ball overhead and into the net, knowing that Jack would let them get away with more, if only to keep things interesting. Ianto was always such a stickler for rules. Sometimes he wanted to shove that stupid whistle down his throat.

'It's not my fault the ref is a twat,' Ianto countered.

'That's a yellow card for dissent,' Jack announced.

'There's no cards in basketball, Jack. That's football.'

'Fine, I'm deducting points then,' Jack said, looking pleased with himself.

Ianto fixed him with a look. 'I dare you.'

Jack instantly paled, quickly putting down his pen.

'I thought the ref was meant to be impartial?' Tosh said.

The game continued on, with both sides trying to get away with whatever they could, since their new referee didn't seem to have any respect for rules, or was making them up as he went. Balls were flying everywhere, as were bodies as they chased and harrangued each other mercilessly around the hub trying to win back the ball and toss it through the net.

Gwen was looking to pass the ball high overhead to Ianto when Tosh came rushing in between them, poised to interfere. Unfortunately she was right on the edge of the metal catwalk and about to lose her balance. Ianto spotted it and quickly grabbed her instead as the ball came flying at him. Owen drove forward and grabbed it, but ended up colliding straight into them and sending them both over into the rift pool. Jack quickly blew his whistle, signaling a stop in play.

'You idiot,' said a very wet Ianto, as he was helping Tosh up. Luckily neither of them had broken anything in the fall but there would no doubt be a few bruises from the awkward landing. The rift pool wasn't overly deep, but it was a little on the filthy side.

'Wasn't my fault,' Owen replied, still clutching the ball protectively.

'Well, it wasn't anyone else's. Couldn't you see?'

Owen bristled. 'All I saw was you with your hands all over my girlfriend.'

'He grabbed my waist to stop me falling over, Owen. Though he shouldn't have bothered since you did such a spectacular job of it,' Tosh complained, looking equally sodden and displeased.

'And Ianto knows to keep his hands to himself, or to myself,' Jack added in his defense.

'I'm sorry, alright,' he said, apologising more to Tosh than to Ianto.

'Well, I think that's the game over, then,' Gwen added, passing them a small towel to dry themselves off.

'So who won?' Tosh asked.

Jack looked down at the clipboard, then looked guiltily up at the team.

'Er, I don't know.'

'What do you mean you don't know?' Gwen said.

'I kinda got distracted. I was so busy watching that I forgot to score.'

'Well, come on, you must at least have some idea which team won,' Owen said, annoyed that the afternoon might have been wasted without a result.

He looked at the four of them before answering, seeing two bedraggled teammates, and two whose only concern was who would get bragging rights.

'Pretty sure it was Gwen and Ianto,' he said, hoping that was the right answer.

Gwen immediately made faces at Owen and Ianto grinned. 'Your shout for dinner then, Owen,' Gwen ordered. 'Think I'll try out the steak tonight,' she said, knowing it was the most expensive thing on the menu.

'This thing's fucking rigged,' Owen complained. 'You only said they win because it's Teaboy's team.'

'Don't be a sore loser, Owen,' Tosh said, toweling her wet hair and hoping she didn't smell too bad, or that she might have time for a proper shower before dinner. 'If Jack says they won, then they won.'

'Gotta look after number one, Owen,' Jack said replied. 'And that was an illegal move.'

'Says who? They're clumsy is all.'

'You wanna rethink that, Owen?' Tosh asked. She'd hold this over him for days now. His chances of getting lucky tonight were getting slimmer by the minute.

'Yeah alright. Can't believe I'm saying this, but I liked it better when Ianto was referee. Jack's rules stink and he can't even score.'

'Jack has no problem scoring,' Ianto said, receiving a bemused grin from his lover. 'It's keeping score that seems to be his issue. Let's call it a draw. Jack can shout dinner.'

The grin he fell very quickly from his face.

'Hey, no fair. Is this how you treat a cripple?' he said, trying for the sympathy card.

'I think your wallet will live.'