Fandom: Torchwood

Characters: Owen, Ianto

Author: m_findlow

Rating: PG

Length: 1,515 words

Content notes: none

Author notes: Written for Challenge 357 - Amnesty & Challenge 55 - Bruise

Summary: Owen and Ianto are a little worse for wear.


'I've never been so glad to see your apartment,' Ianto said as he and Owen trudged up the three floors worth of steps to reach the warehouse loft.

'Stupid weevil,' Owen muttered as he tried to jet the key I the lock. His vision blurred and he missed the hole several times before Ianto took the keys from him and opened the door in one swift motion. 'I don't need you here,' Owen complained, trying and failing to usher Ianto back out the door.

Ianto held firm. 'You're the one who made the concussion protocols. You get to live by your own words.'

'It was just a bit of a knock to the head,' Owen replied, waving away any approaching fussing that Ianto was about to dole out to him.

Ianto gave a judicial sniff around the apartment, noting the odour of abandoned clothes in need of a wash, and something else he could only describe as "one night stand". Sadly these days he knew that aroma all too well. 'You were unconscious for at least three minutes. That's a bit more than a knock to the head.'

Owen stomped through the living room. 'Yeah, alright, so I was a bit out of it.'

'Exactly,' Ianto said, feeling justified in his decision to put his foot down and not only drive Owen home, but also insist on staying overnight to make sure he was okay. Owen couldn't be trusted to monitor his own wellbeing, and he'd be useless at helping himself if he lost consciousness thanks to a brain bleed or a cracked skull. 'You don't have a lot of options, anyway. Gwen's got Rhys at home, and Tosh…'

'What about Tosh?' Owen asked, looking at him curiously.

'Nevermind,' Ianto said, dismissing the question. If Owen was too oblivious to notice that Tosh had a massive crush on him and would kill for a night staying over to keep an eye on Owen then he didn't deserve it. Not that Ianto was particularly looking forward to the prospect. A night on his own couch with a bottle of scotch and some paracetamol would have been better. Wallowing was a sort best enjoyed alone.

Owen reached behind his head and touched the swelling that was forming there. 'It was a real conker. Reckon I might need some ice for the back of my head,' he finally said.

Ianto rolled his eyes, unsurprised that Owen was already taking advantage of him. 'Just the back?' he asked. 'Have you seen your face?' He took a wild guess where Owen's bathroom was, tugging open the cupboards and searching for supplies but finding none. 'Where's your first aid kit?'

'Don't have one,' came Owen's reply.

Ianto poked his head back out and narrowed his eyes at Owen. 'You're a doctor and you don't even keep a first aid kit at home?'

'Do you have a fancy coffee machine at home?'

There was another eye roll. 'No.'

'Then stop being such a hypocrite.'

Ianto sighed, then moved back towards the kitchen, tugging open the freezer and seeing what he could find. He hoped that Owen was like him, keeping a stash of bags of frozen vegetables to hand, which were inevitably used for just such occasions more than they were for tossing into a rushed shepherd's pie.

'Jesus,' Owen said, lowering his head and inspecting the damage in the reflective surface of the kitchen splash back. 'He did a number on me. I don't even remember that one,' he said, fingering the large bruise forming between cheekbone and eye socket.

Ianto found two packets of peas and a steak, pulling them out and wrapping each in a tea towel before handing them over to his team mate.

'Cheers,' Owen said, hissing as the steak towel was pressed against the lump on the back of his head. 'Guess this means I'm stuck with you tonight, huh?'

'Guess so,' Ianto said, beginning to take off his jacket to inspect it for damage. After this evening's tussle, it was bound to be beyond repair. He growled under his breath. He never used to go through suits this quickly before when he'd been largely relegated to staying behind at the hub. Owen caught the way he winced as he manouvered his body, trying to remove his arm from the sleeve.

'What was that?'

'What?'

'That face you pulled when you took off your jacket.'

'Nothing,' Ianto said, feigning ignorance.

'Get your arse over here,' Owen demanded, pointing to the spot in front of him as he set the makeshift cold pack on the bench. 'Shirt off.'

'Do I have to?' He played up the whiny three year old tone of voice, hoping it would put Owen off playing medic. They both knew how to wear each other down with annoying petulance, but Ianto didn't have the energy to go toe to toe with Owen tonight.

'Doctor's orders. You were the one who insisted I follow them. Now, shirt off.'

Ianto groaned at being caught out, tugging his tie knot loose and slowly unbuttoning his shirt, trying not to make any more facial faux pas, though the occasional lifting of his arm pulled the side of his torso in a rather painful way.

'Well done, you,' Owen muttered, getting his first good look at Ianto's purpling torso. 'And you reckon I got it bad,' he said. 'How the hell did you manage that?'

'Well, after you went down for the count, someone had to deal with the weevil. I might have gotten smacked into a brick wall first, though.' He could still remember those panicky few seconds when it had knocked all the air out of him making him unable to breathe, but that had quickly been overcome by the need to avoid himself from being torn limb from limb.

Owen grabbed one of the loose packets of peas and shoved it at Ianto, but not before it had met his exposed bruised torso, earning a high-pitched yelp from the Welshman. Ianto scowled at him, snatching it and wrapping it back in its towel before reapplying it, lessening the impact of the sudden cold. 'Thanks,' he grumbled.

Owen flopped onto his sofa with a groan, using the second pea of peas as a pillow and the steak applied to his cheek. Ianto gingerly eased himself down on the opposite end, tucking his ice pack under his arm against his side, pulling his shirt back around it and leaning his head back and sighing with tired relief.

'Bloody fine pair we make,' Owen said, letting his eyes fall shut.

Ianto hummed in agreement. 'Jack always makes it look easy.'

'Yeah, but he gets clubbed and clawed and then tomorrow he's back to normal.'

Ianto nodded. 'True.' For once they both would have been happy for Jack to have been here, taking a pounding instead of them, but as it was, he wasn't. He hadn't been for a long while now. Torchwood was just the four of them. And they were doing the best they could. They'd assumed the pair of them could take down a single weevil. It just so happened that he'd been the biggest and most aggressive weevil any of them had ever encountered. Small wonder the pair of them came off second best before finally getting enough sedative into the beast to move him and put him well away from any residential area. The outlet pipes heading towards Barry were a good spot for the worst of weevilkind to reside.

'D'you reckon he's ever coming back?' Owen asked, eyes still shut and asking the question as if he were merely asking Ianto what tomorrow's weather might be. They'd grown closer since Jack had left them, but it was still a long way from brotherly love between the two of them. It was just them. Neither of them liked getting too close to anyone.

Ianto winced, moving the packet of peas to a new sore spot that had made itself known whilst he'd been sitting there, semi shirtless in Owen's apartment. 'I dunno.' They'd all pondered that question to death, so much so that he was sick of thinking about it. Or just thinking about Jack making him feel sick.

'He bloody better,' Owen said, adding an "ow" as he readjusted his ice pack. 'One more weevil encounter like that and I'll kill him.'

Ianto let his own eyes fall shut, feeling equally sorry and sore, and not a little bit ready to let Jack have what for, having left them in this situation. Every bruise they earned was going to earn Jack one in return, and no amount of kissing was going to make it better. 'Promises, promises. Ow,' he added, squirming to try and find a more comfortable spot for napping and babysitting.

'What are you complaining about?' Owen groaned, his face hidden beneath his ice pack. 'You're not the one on concussion watch.'

'Thought you said you were fine. I've got more bruises than you.'

Owen snorted. 'Didn't know it was a competition.'

Ianto smirked. 'Gives us something to pass the time.'