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fan_flashworks2023-03-10 09:35 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fan_flashworks2023-03-10 09:35 pm
Entry tags:
Torchwood: Fanfic: Scuttlebutt
Title: Scuttlebutt
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,558 words
Content notes: Spoilers for BigFinish audioplay “Before the Fall”
Author notes: Written for Challenge 400 - Did you hear that?
Summary: Getting the gossip isn’t nearly as fun as being the subject of it.
‘Ah, here he is’, Guleraana remarked, watching as Ianto approached the reception desk with both of their coffees in hand. It was a morning ritual for both of them – for Ianto, an excuse to gather intelligence from the office gossip, and for Guleraana, known to everyone simply as “Gee”, to get a free coffee that tasted a whole lot better than anything they were selling in the surrounding Canary Wharf cafes. ‘You're late.’
‘I'm not late,’ he huffed, setting down the insulated cup just behind the front counter whereupon it was quickly snatched up. ‘I was busy in a briefing with Rachael.’
‘Ah…’ came the slow hum as Gee savoured the coffee, which in Ianto's opinion, was always excellent, even when he was rushed. ‘So, you're still talking then?’ Her eyes raised up over the cup to study his reaction.
‘Talking?’ If he sounded confused it was because he in fact was confused. ‘Of course we're talking. Why wouldn't we be?’
‘Well, seeing as how you're all broken up now…’ There was a pregnant pause as she waited for him to confirm the fact.
Ianto was taken aback, nearly dropping his own coffee. ‘How did you hear about that?’ Please don't say Rachael had sent a memo to everyone advising of their updated status. It sounded like the sort of thing she might do, now that he thought about it. She was big on memos setting out Torchwood's new edicts, but surely that didn't include him. That was the kind of humiliation he could do without.
It was one thing to tease Guleraana for being the office gossip and knowing everything – since she vetted everyone who came through the door of Torchwood Tower, otherwise known to the general public as Walters and Hunt, and the silly password they used, asking to see Mr Sands (whoever he might have been in a previous incarnation) – but it was all together something else when she knew stuff about him that he hadn't made public. He liked gossip, he just didn't like being the subject of it. It made the coffee in his hand suddenly taste sour and unpalatable.
Guleraana looked smug. ‘I know everything that goes on around here,’ she replied. ‘Except one thing. Who broke it off? Was it you? It's the sort of gentlemanly thing you'd do. Didn’t want to assume though.’
Ianto squirmed at the inquisition. ‘It was mutual.’ Then Gee gave him the eye. ‘Okay, so it was Rachael's idea, but we both agreed to it. It makes sense, doesn't it?’ It was one thing when Rachael had been the newbie and it was Ianto showing her the ropes. Now she'd swept right past him with her brilliance, stepped in when it was discovered that Yvonne was a bad egg and had gone on the run, leaving Torchwood One leaderless. That is, until Rachael Allen had stepped up to the plate. Being in a relationship with the boss just didn't quite feel right.
No, that was a lie. He'd been happy to carry on but Rachael had made it clear that there could be no favouritism, no skewed opinions or perceptions of bias – not that he knew what he did that could count as receiving a biased response – but perhaps it was for the best. They'd only been on a couple of dates and slept together a few times. They were hardly on the road to being married. Married to the job perhaps, but not to each other. Still, there was a little bit of him that was going to miss how simple things had been before Yvonne had gone and messed it all up. Rachael had been an unexpected development, but not one that he was opposed to. It was nice having something to look forward to after work that was more than just the usual social drinks at the pub with his co-workers. Everyone knew that he and Rachael were a thing now, or at least they had been. Apparently everyone else knew that too now.
‘Do you want to know what else I heard?’ Guleraana asked.
It was such a teasing hook that he couldn't resist wanting to know. ‘Oh, go on.’ Anything that might cheer him up. Any gossip that wasn't about him had to be better.
‘Lisa went on a date with Gary last night.’
Ianto sputtered through a mouthful of coffee, barely managing to keep it from passing his lips and spraying Torchwood's receptionist. ‘Gary? As in Gary from accounts?’ Ianto didn't fancy himself much but Gary was in a whole other category of lifelong bachelor, or so he'd thought. Nice guy, but maybe a little bit too nerdy, even by Torchwood standards. No one should be that enamoured with ageing receivables and cheques arriving in the post.
Guleraana scowled at him, leaving a pouting pink lipstick stain on the lid of her coffee cup. Now don't you go being all high and mighty. I know you had a bit of a crush on her but you were dating Rachael. You can't expect her to hang around hoping that it was going to go south, can you?’
‘Well, it has.’ He sounded petulant saying it but that was how he now felt. He'd never fancied one girl and had another latch onto him at the same time. Things like that just didn't happen to him. He'd had a crush on Lisa for ages and Gee was probably the only one who knew it. He'd just never picked up enough courage to ask her out. Asking girls anything that wasn't work related always got him in a tangle of tongue that wasn't the kind he might hope for. He hadn't even done much to instigate his relationship with Rachael. She'd made all the moves and he'd just gone along with it. Not that he hadn’t wanted to. It was just a bit of a surprise. Normally you didn't corner and kiss someone straight after having obliterated an alien with your gun. Then again, things worked differently at Torchwood.
‘It was only a first date,’ Gee said, trying to sound vaguely sympathetic. ‘You can always hope it doesn't last,’ she replied. ‘We all know Gary's a bit… well, not as bonkers as Pippa, but you know what I mean.’
‘No one is as bonkers as Pippa,’ he replied, glad of someone else to talk about. ‘She tried to read my aura the other day. Said I was going to come into some good fortune or some such. Should've known she'd be completely wrong as always.’ He didn't think counting himself and single and without prospects to be any kind of good fortune.
‘Don't go blaming Pippa for this.’
‘I'm not. I just…’ he heaved a sigh. Just once it'd be nice if things would work out for him. Find a nice girl, settle down… It was never going to happen, he realised. Not with all the hours they were all working. Even Gee was pulling overtime. That was also part of Rachael's new regime. They were building up to something big and even Ianto, with his direct line to the boss, wasn't sure what it was. Rachael didn't read him in on everything and that seemed to be nothing to do with keeping him at a professional distance. That was something else and he couldn't put his finger on it. Still, he took a long swallow of his coffee as he considered the problem, Rachael probably knew best.
Guleraana reached out and placed a hand on his arm. ‘I could always spread rumours about Gary, if you like,’ she offered.
‘Don't you dare.’ Someone – somehow – would find out he’d started them and then Lisa would think he was a real twat, and a nasty one at that.
Gee threw her hands up. ‘Alright! Just a suggestion. Just me trying to help. You're a nice guy, Ianto. I'm sure things will work out in the end. Even if it isn’t with Rachael.’
‘Don't go starting any more talk about me either while you're at it,’ he warned her, just in case she got any ideas about pitching him as Torchwood’s most eligible bachelor. ‘I liked it better when you only told me things about other people.’
‘And if people ask about you and Rachael?’ She asked it as if it were inevitable, and that this was his one opportunity to set the record straight for when the grapevine really got itself going.
He cringed. Thinking about other people talking about him made him feel queasy. “Did you hear Jones got dumped by that boss? Bet he was a lousy shag. Maybe he's gay. Dressed like that, I mean, wouldn't you say so?” He flushed pink at that last thought. He was most definitely only into girls!
‘We’re taking things slow until the dust settles,’ he replied.
Guleraana peered at him with squinted eyes. ‘Is that the official line?’
He tried not to appear ruffled. ‘It is as far as you're concerned. You did say you wanted to help, didn’t you?’
Guleraana tapped her nose. ‘Our little secret then.’ She lifted her coffee cup and clinked it against his.
He felt a buzzing in his pocket from his phone, guilty knowing it was probably Yvonne trying to call him. He ignored it and instead clinked coffee cups with Gee. What was one more little secret?
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,558 words
Content notes: Spoilers for BigFinish audioplay “Before the Fall”
Author notes: Written for Challenge 400 - Did you hear that?
Summary: Getting the gossip isn’t nearly as fun as being the subject of it.
‘Ah, here he is’, Guleraana remarked, watching as Ianto approached the reception desk with both of their coffees in hand. It was a morning ritual for both of them – for Ianto, an excuse to gather intelligence from the office gossip, and for Guleraana, known to everyone simply as “Gee”, to get a free coffee that tasted a whole lot better than anything they were selling in the surrounding Canary Wharf cafes. ‘You're late.’
‘I'm not late,’ he huffed, setting down the insulated cup just behind the front counter whereupon it was quickly snatched up. ‘I was busy in a briefing with Rachael.’
‘Ah…’ came the slow hum as Gee savoured the coffee, which in Ianto's opinion, was always excellent, even when he was rushed. ‘So, you're still talking then?’ Her eyes raised up over the cup to study his reaction.
‘Talking?’ If he sounded confused it was because he in fact was confused. ‘Of course we're talking. Why wouldn't we be?’
‘Well, seeing as how you're all broken up now…’ There was a pregnant pause as she waited for him to confirm the fact.
Ianto was taken aback, nearly dropping his own coffee. ‘How did you hear about that?’ Please don't say Rachael had sent a memo to everyone advising of their updated status. It sounded like the sort of thing she might do, now that he thought about it. She was big on memos setting out Torchwood's new edicts, but surely that didn't include him. That was the kind of humiliation he could do without.
It was one thing to tease Guleraana for being the office gossip and knowing everything – since she vetted everyone who came through the door of Torchwood Tower, otherwise known to the general public as Walters and Hunt, and the silly password they used, asking to see Mr Sands (whoever he might have been in a previous incarnation) – but it was all together something else when she knew stuff about him that he hadn't made public. He liked gossip, he just didn't like being the subject of it. It made the coffee in his hand suddenly taste sour and unpalatable.
Guleraana looked smug. ‘I know everything that goes on around here,’ she replied. ‘Except one thing. Who broke it off? Was it you? It's the sort of gentlemanly thing you'd do. Didn’t want to assume though.’
Ianto squirmed at the inquisition. ‘It was mutual.’ Then Gee gave him the eye. ‘Okay, so it was Rachael's idea, but we both agreed to it. It makes sense, doesn't it?’ It was one thing when Rachael had been the newbie and it was Ianto showing her the ropes. Now she'd swept right past him with her brilliance, stepped in when it was discovered that Yvonne was a bad egg and had gone on the run, leaving Torchwood One leaderless. That is, until Rachael Allen had stepped up to the plate. Being in a relationship with the boss just didn't quite feel right.
No, that was a lie. He'd been happy to carry on but Rachael had made it clear that there could be no favouritism, no skewed opinions or perceptions of bias – not that he knew what he did that could count as receiving a biased response – but perhaps it was for the best. They'd only been on a couple of dates and slept together a few times. They were hardly on the road to being married. Married to the job perhaps, but not to each other. Still, there was a little bit of him that was going to miss how simple things had been before Yvonne had gone and messed it all up. Rachael had been an unexpected development, but not one that he was opposed to. It was nice having something to look forward to after work that was more than just the usual social drinks at the pub with his co-workers. Everyone knew that he and Rachael were a thing now, or at least they had been. Apparently everyone else knew that too now.
‘Do you want to know what else I heard?’ Guleraana asked.
It was such a teasing hook that he couldn't resist wanting to know. ‘Oh, go on.’ Anything that might cheer him up. Any gossip that wasn't about him had to be better.
‘Lisa went on a date with Gary last night.’
Ianto sputtered through a mouthful of coffee, barely managing to keep it from passing his lips and spraying Torchwood's receptionist. ‘Gary? As in Gary from accounts?’ Ianto didn't fancy himself much but Gary was in a whole other category of lifelong bachelor, or so he'd thought. Nice guy, but maybe a little bit too nerdy, even by Torchwood standards. No one should be that enamoured with ageing receivables and cheques arriving in the post.
Guleraana scowled at him, leaving a pouting pink lipstick stain on the lid of her coffee cup. Now don't you go being all high and mighty. I know you had a bit of a crush on her but you were dating Rachael. You can't expect her to hang around hoping that it was going to go south, can you?’
‘Well, it has.’ He sounded petulant saying it but that was how he now felt. He'd never fancied one girl and had another latch onto him at the same time. Things like that just didn't happen to him. He'd had a crush on Lisa for ages and Gee was probably the only one who knew it. He'd just never picked up enough courage to ask her out. Asking girls anything that wasn't work related always got him in a tangle of tongue that wasn't the kind he might hope for. He hadn't even done much to instigate his relationship with Rachael. She'd made all the moves and he'd just gone along with it. Not that he hadn’t wanted to. It was just a bit of a surprise. Normally you didn't corner and kiss someone straight after having obliterated an alien with your gun. Then again, things worked differently at Torchwood.
‘It was only a first date,’ Gee said, trying to sound vaguely sympathetic. ‘You can always hope it doesn't last,’ she replied. ‘We all know Gary's a bit… well, not as bonkers as Pippa, but you know what I mean.’
‘No one is as bonkers as Pippa,’ he replied, glad of someone else to talk about. ‘She tried to read my aura the other day. Said I was going to come into some good fortune or some such. Should've known she'd be completely wrong as always.’ He didn't think counting himself and single and without prospects to be any kind of good fortune.
‘Don't go blaming Pippa for this.’
‘I'm not. I just…’ he heaved a sigh. Just once it'd be nice if things would work out for him. Find a nice girl, settle down… It was never going to happen, he realised. Not with all the hours they were all working. Even Gee was pulling overtime. That was also part of Rachael's new regime. They were building up to something big and even Ianto, with his direct line to the boss, wasn't sure what it was. Rachael didn't read him in on everything and that seemed to be nothing to do with keeping him at a professional distance. That was something else and he couldn't put his finger on it. Still, he took a long swallow of his coffee as he considered the problem, Rachael probably knew best.
Guleraana reached out and placed a hand on his arm. ‘I could always spread rumours about Gary, if you like,’ she offered.
‘Don't you dare.’ Someone – somehow – would find out he’d started them and then Lisa would think he was a real twat, and a nasty one at that.
Gee threw her hands up. ‘Alright! Just a suggestion. Just me trying to help. You're a nice guy, Ianto. I'm sure things will work out in the end. Even if it isn’t with Rachael.’
‘Don't go starting any more talk about me either while you're at it,’ he warned her, just in case she got any ideas about pitching him as Torchwood’s most eligible bachelor. ‘I liked it better when you only told me things about other people.’
‘And if people ask about you and Rachael?’ She asked it as if it were inevitable, and that this was his one opportunity to set the record straight for when the grapevine really got itself going.
He cringed. Thinking about other people talking about him made him feel queasy. “Did you hear Jones got dumped by that boss? Bet he was a lousy shag. Maybe he's gay. Dressed like that, I mean, wouldn't you say so?” He flushed pink at that last thought. He was most definitely only into girls!
‘We’re taking things slow until the dust settles,’ he replied.
Guleraana peered at him with squinted eyes. ‘Is that the official line?’
He tried not to appear ruffled. ‘It is as far as you're concerned. You did say you wanted to help, didn’t you?’
Guleraana tapped her nose. ‘Our little secret then.’ She lifted her coffee cup and clinked it against his.
He felt a buzzing in his pocket from his phone, guilty knowing it was probably Yvonne trying to call him. He ignored it and instead clinked coffee cups with Gee. What was one more little secret?
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