Fandom: Torchwood

Characters: Jack, Ianto

Author: m_findlow

Rating: PG

Length: 2,178 words

Content notes: none

Author notes: Written for Challenge 257 - Wings and Challenge 148 - Up (Bingo square)

Summary: Ianto's first flying lesson isn't quite how he imagined it.

Ianto knew there was something wrong the minute Jack told him to get in the car. He'd been promised his first real flying lesson on what was their day off, but he didn't think that Jack had left his vehicle of choice parked somewhere out in the Welsh valleys. In fact, if he wasn't very much mistaken, Jack was driving the out towards the Cardiff airfield. He was almost certain they didn't own, nor hire, any hangar space out there where they were keeping alien spacecraft. Most of them were either in the lower levels of the hub, if they were small enough, or otherwise parked up on the dark side of the moon where no one would ever find them. In typical Ianto fashion however, he held his tongue for the moment rather than ask Jack what the hell he was up to.

When Jack pulled the up beside a small and unobtrusive hangar at the end of the airfield, Ianto was doubly perplexed as Jack stepped out and shook hands with a man who was stood there waiting for him. Ianto got out of the car and watched as they slipped inside the hangar for a brief moment, discussing what seemed to be important matters, before they exited again, shaking hands once more, and watching as the man wandered off.

Jack came over and clapped his hands together excitedly. 'Okay, we're all set. Are you excited?'

'I was, but now I'm not so sure,' Ianto replied, doubts filling him which each new twist.

'You're gonna love it,' Jack promised, taking him by the hand and leading him towards the small door by the side of the hangar. He tugged Ianto inside and stood in front of the small de Havilland tiger moth biplane, beaming with pride. 'Isn't she a beauty?'

Ianto watched as Jack stepped over to the nose of the plane, opening up a flap on its side and seemingly inspecting the inner workings. The plane itself had top and bottom wings and a narrow fuselage, with basic ailerons, flaps and rudder. At the front of the nose was a slender propeller. Like Jack in his greatcoat, it looked a picture of 1940's style.

'When you said you were going to teach me how to fly, I was kind of imagining something a little more modern, even alien. You know, with fancy buttons and atuopilots and such?' This definitely wasn't what he'd had in mind. It didn't even look all that airworthy, if he was honest. The plane was almost as old as Jack, or at least old enough as made no matter. It was a complete different story to if it had been some kind of modern lear jet complete with loads of safety functions, radar, computers and all the other equipment you might need if you'd never taken control of a flying machine before.

'Nonsense,' Jack replied, brushing off his lack of enthusiasm. 'That's not flying. That's controlling. Totally different. Besides, you have to learn the old fashioned way to truly appreciate and master more modern machines.'

'Is that what you tell aliens in the far flung future? That they should go back to the dark ages to learn to fly planes that don't even exist anymore?' he quipped.

The biplane didn't look at all like the reassuring first lesson in flight he'd been hoping for. In fact the plane looked like something from a World War Two film. One with the good guys being chased by the Red Baron.

'Is it too late to change my mind?'

Jack clapped him on the shoulders, gripping them hard. 'Far too late,' he affirmed, unable to wipe the self-satisfied grin from his face. 'Now come on. The weather is good right now and we should make the most of it. You don't wanna be trying to take off during a cross wind.'

'Really not selling it,' Ianto muttered.

Jack seemed right at home with the old plane, and was no doubt eager to regale Ianto with stories about his time with the air force, flying planes over enemy territory. For now though, he kept things professional, making Ianto sit in the co-pilot seat, which ironically was the further forward of the two seats, giving him a clear view. It'll be nice to have an uninterrupted view of the ground as we going crashing into it, he thought, noting the irony.

Jack stood on the edge of the wing, leaning on the side of the open cockpit and carefully explaining to Ianto the few controls in front of him. Ianto kind of wished Jack wouldn't stand on the wing, seeing as it looked barely strong enough to take his weight. All they needed was for the wing to fall off mid-flight. It didn't take long to cover off on the basics since the plane had very few instruments, just four dials to measure airspeed, altitude, oil and engine power, two pedals to control the tail rudder and one joystick for controlling pretty much the entire flight. This was nothing like flying a spaceship he decided, and next time, should they survive this outing, he was going to be much more specific in his request.

'Okay, so you ready to go up?' Jack asked, leaning casually and looking very at ease about putting his life in Ianto's hands.

'It's not the up part that concerns me so much,' Ianto replied.

'Relax. It's your first time. You're not even doing the taking off and landing.'

'Lucky for you,' he replied, deadpan.

'I promised Phil we'd bring her back in one piece and that's exactly what we're gonna do. Besides, these little beauties were just made for training first timers. You can't do much wrong.'

Ianto begged to differ.

Jack jumped into the seat behind him, handing over a set of flying goggles whilst slipping his own on his head. He'd also recommended they both wear scarves and gloves since the air would be much colder once they were sky born. Ianto tied his scarf tight so that it wouldn't flap around, tucking the ends into his jacket, buttoned up tight to the collar, and slid the goggles in place. If nothing else, he'd be warm and able to see.

Jack checked the dials and did some pre-flight checks before testing the radio, confirming air traffic control had them scheduled. He hopped out and turned the propeller to get it going before bounding back up onto the wing and into the pilot's seat. The engine rumbled and the whole frame shook with the vibration it caused. The hangar door rolled open and Jack accelerated the plane out onto the tarmac, steering it around the first turn, before making Ianto attempt the second turn, practicing with the rudder peddles, and finally turning them onto the main runway.

A scratchy voice in both their ears cleared them for takeoff and before Ianto could protest that he'd changed his mind entirely about the whole thing, Jack was gunning the engines and speeding the little plane along the runway. Ianto saw his joystick pull back, mirroring Jack's own which he was controlling, as the plane lifted up into the sky, setting his stomach lurching behind him.

No sooner had he gotten used to the feeling of being pulled into the back of his seat as the plane climbed, then Jack pitched it right, turning them away from the airfield and into open air space as they continued to climb. Ianto gripped the edge of the cockpit, afraid he might get tumbled out of the plane altogether, despite being tightly strapped in. He'd double and triple checked his seat belt and shoulder straps. It only occurred to him now that he should have asked about parachutes and whether planes from this era had ejector seats. Spaceship next time. Definitely spaceship, he promised himself. Dying in a light plane was not how he expected to go. He'd rather be mauled by a weevil.

Jack finally leveled her off and Ianto sat back, relieved. 'Just look at that view, Ianto!'

Wind ripped through his hair and buffeted his face as he peered out over the edge at the scene below, remembering that he wasn't a huge fan of heights. Why in God's name had he thought this was a good idea? The distinct shape of the bay came into view, slate grey and reflecting the view from up above where they cruised overhead. He could make out all the familiar landmarks from the sky, the Millennium Centre, Mermaid Quay, the castle, Principality Stadium, even the old Bute docks and St David's Hotel. It really was quite something else to see them from the air. The pokey little windows on a commercial jet just didn't do the view justice. Jack banked them a couple of times over the city, letting him enjoy the view before heading further inland, taking the plane up higher as they glided over coal country.

'Your turn now, Ianto,' Jack yelled over the winds whipping past their ears. 'Take the stick.'

Ianto took it, but in a death grip, not daring to move it an inch whilst it appeared they might actually remain airborne. This was what he'd asked for after all, so he supposed it was inevitable that Jack would make sure he'd be safe the whole time. Jack was bound to take back control if things went wrong. Perhaps the lack of instruments and gadgets was itself a blessing. Far fewer things he had to worry about.

'You're gonna have to turn unless you want to end up in Scotland,' Jack called out. 'Gentle left on the stick, gentle left rudder press,' he instructed. Very carefully Ianto obeyed, feeling the plane bank. The turn went smoothly and without incident, so much so that he risked a right turn, sending them in a slow arcing S bend, just to test it out, before resuming their lefthand trajectory.

'Like riding a bike, huh?' Jack asked, the smile evident in his voice. 'Easier to learn to fly something when you can really feel what it's doing.'

That he could. The engine rumbled and buzzed, causing the whole shell to vibrate, but in a way that he was slowly getting used to. Every touch of the joystick could be felt as the plane responded to his movements. He'd expected that like a old car without power steering, that he'd have to tug hard to get it to do anything, but surprisingly, even a delicate touch elicited a response from the old moth.

Admittedly, once he realised he wasn't about to send up them into a nosedive, it actually was quite fun, even if he wasn't doing much. It rumbled around him but it didn't feel like it was about to shake apart at any moment. If it had been flying since the war, it must have been made of sterner stuff than expected. Like Jack, it was old on the inside but built to last the ages.

He could finally appreciate why Jack loving flying so much. Up here it was a different kind of freedom, away from the world, yet part of it all at the same time. It was adventure without needing to put yourself in immediate danger, and the thrill of seeing the world in a way so many people never got the chance. This was better than a spaceship in that respect, and since his first and only venture in a spaceship had been one where he didn't know what he was doing and simultaneously crashing towards Earth made it a tough comparison.

This he could actually imagine wanting to do again, and maybe even learning how to get the plane into the sky and safely back down on the ground as well. All he'd really done so far was keep it level with the occasional turn. Up and down was another matter but one he suspected Jack would be only too keen to teach him. He wasn't about to go circumnavigating the globe in this little tin can of an aircraft, but a joyride over the countryside was okay. If he could manage not to crash this, he was sure a spaceship couldn't be any harder.

'Suppose we should be heading back,' he called back to Jack, having swept across the Welsh valleys for the better part of a hour. 'You think you can navigate us home?' They were well into the beacons by now and the faint outline of the city and the Bristol Channel beyond it were no longer in view. Without a correct heading, they could end up anywhere.

'Piece of cake,' Jack replied, 'but first let's have some fun.'

'I thought we already were?'

'Well, sure. I said this was a training plane, but it was also a dogfight plane. You really haven't seen what she's capable of yet.'

Ianto froze. 'Jack, don't you-'

'Hold on to your breakfast, Ianto!' Jack took the joystick and banked it so hard that the plane spun in a wild corkscrew motion, all the while Jack hooted with glee.

'Jaaaaaaaaccccckkkk!!!!'