Title: Boldly going
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,203 words
Content notes: None
Author notes: Written for Challenge 396 - Bold
Summary: A teammate’s choice of wardrobe has Gwen concerned.


'Earth to Gwen,' Tosh said, leaning over to wave a hand in front of her face. 'I know a presentation on the finer points of quantum mechanics wasn't exactly exciting but…'

Gwen shook her head and realised she'd barely touched the briefing paper in front of her, let alone taken any heed of what Tosh was saying throughout the presentation. Even now she'd scarcely noticed that it had come to a conclusion and that she was the last one still sitting there in the boardroom. 'Sorry,' she apologised.

'It's okay. I'm guessing being the new leader of the team can't be easy.'

Gwen blinked and looked back at Tosh rather than the pile of unread reports. 'No, it's not that, it's just…'

'What? If you tell me Owen is still grumbling about it, I can remind him again that he was the one who gave up the job in the first place. Which, by the way, we're all kind of glad about. Not that Owen was bad in charge, just that, well, it's always an ego thing with Owen. It's a lot easier on the rest of us when he's the one grumbling about who's in charge.'

'It's not Owen,' she replied, but at least glad that everyone didn't object to her stepping in to bridge the gap between Jack having left and Owen deciding it was all too hard.

Tosh seemed perplexed by her response. 'Then what?'

Gwen's eyes drifted down to the lower floor of the hub where Ianto was slowly moving across the hub, carrying the tray of used mugs and plates to the kitchenette. She'd taken to watching them all as they worked, but Ianto in particular. 'So, you think he's okay?' she asked.

Tosh let her gaze follow Gwen's. 'Ianto? I hadn't thought about it. Well, no that's not true. Of course I've thought about it. Hard not to when you suddenly find out that he's been having a secret relationship with Jack that none of us knew about. But…' She stopped herself as she often did when she realised she was rambling. 'What's brought this on?' she asked instead, w probably wondering why Gwen was asking now, weeks after Jack had left them. 'If anything, I think he's coping pretty well. Better than I would be, anyway.'

Gwen hummed. 'That's just it, isn't it? Do we really know? Ianto didn't exactly say nothing, but he kept to himself when it suited and Gwen, and the rest of them in turn, had been unable to draw out of him the true extent of what he and Jack had been up to. How long had it been going on? How committed were they exactly? Was he really coping or just putting on a good show?

'Ianto isn't exactly the kiss and tell kind,' Tosh confessed, as if this were a revelation, taking up the chair next to Gwen as they both stared out through the boardroom windows, watching him go about his day. 'Anything specific that's bothering you?'

'I wasn't sure, but it was only when we were all sitting here just now that it hit me. He's wearing red.'

Tosh frowned at her. 'Is that significant?'

Gwen leaned forward over the table, pushing aside the sheaf of papers. 'I know you've worked here longer than I have, but have you ever seen him wear red before?'

Tosh paused to consider it. 'No.'

'Exactly. It was always blue or white or grey. Totally understated. but now it's pink, lavender, burgundy…'

'I think it's quite modern,' Tosh she, sounding as if she approved. 'He wore a lovely shade of plum the other day. Really suits him.'

'But why now?' Gwen insisted. 'Why the sudden move into bold colours just when Jack is out of the picture?' If anything, she expected him to be in some kind of mourning, choosing the most sombre and inconspicuous colours possible. Assuming one could descend into an even more monochromatic wardrobe.

'It could just be a phase,' Tosh offered.' We can all do with a freshening up of our wardrobe every now and then. God knows I don't miss those pencil skirts and heels. Do you know how many pairs of heels I broke in the space of six months? Ora lucky the pay covered my credit card bills. Not to mention Owen trying to stare at my legs when he thought I didn't know.'

You think maybe I'm reading into things too much? Not trying to overcompensate for Jack's absence? We all know what Jack is like. Sweeps in. Promises you the world…' She tugged absently at her engagement ring. 'Breaks your heart.'

'I wouldn't know much about that,' Tosh replied awkwardly, sensing perhaps they were no longer talking about Ianto. Gwen had her own reasons for feeling out of sorts that Jack had left them. What did it say about her if Ianto was coping with the absence better than she was?

'He's been through so much this last year,' Gwen said, thinking about how he'd started it in love with one person and ended up in love with another. Or was that making too broad an assumption? Was it love? Did Jack do committed relationships? He always managed to keep them at just enough distance that he didn't get involved, but not so far away that they stopped fantasising what it would be like, even just to have him steal one kiss.

Tosh leaned into their conversation, a serious expression on her face. 'Look I don't want to say that Jack leaving was a good thing but, I don't know, he seems more sure of himself now. A little bit of a confidence boost, like he doesn't have to play second fiddle to Jack anymore. He's just Ianto, part of the team. The real team, not just the guy who stays behind and makes coffee.' She paused just long enough to watch him carefully fold the tea towel and then look up, spotting them there and waving. 'It's nice to see him come out of his shell a bit. If that means a few braver wardrobe choices then I think we're okay. I don't think this is reverse psychology mourning.'

'Maybe you're right,' Gwen said. 'Maybe I am overthinking things. I just… I don't want to make the same mistakes Jack made, ignoring the warning signs that someone is not okay.' Ianto was enough of an enigma to her as it was. She didn't know what she'd do if she found out he was hiding things from them again, even if all he was hiding was his despair and loneliness.

'If he comes in one morning sporting a leather jacket, studded dog collar and a nose chain, then I think we should be worried.'

Gwen couldn't help but smirk at the mental image Tosh's words conjured up. 'I don't know,' she teased. 'You wouldn't find that a little bit hot?' Not that she'd ever thought of Ianto in those terms, but as he'd already proven, a change of wardrobe could start turning heads.

Tosh grinned back. 'I never said I wouldn't think it was hot, just that we should be worried.'

'In which case Jack should be the one who starts worrying.'