badly_knitted (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
badly_knitted) wrote2025-05-15 06:17 pm
badly_knitted) wrote2025-05-15 06:17 pm
Entry tags:
Ficlet: Categorisation
Title: Categorisation
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 799
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack surprises Ianto with a very unexpected question.
Written For:
paxilam’s prompt ‘any, any, are you my bf/gf?’, at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
“Ianto?”
“Hm?” Ianto didn’t bother looking up from the files he was sorting, because he had a lot he needed to get done and if he stopped now, he still be working at midnight. Again. “What d’you need, Jack? I’m kind of busy here.”
“I just wanted to ask you something.”
“Is it work related?”
“Not exactly, but…”
“But what?”
“Are you my boyfriend?”
The question pulled Ianto up short, because it was pretty much the last thing he ever would have expected to hear Jack say, not now, not ever. He’d long since accepted that Jack simply didn’t roll that way, and it was best just to enjoy what he’d got while it lasted, without trying to pin down exactly what it was. Jack HAD asked him out on a date, after coming back from his time with the Doctor, and although it had taken a while for them to get around to it, Torchwood being what it was, irregular hours and sudden emergencies, they’d managed several more ‘dates’ since then. Sometimes dinner, sometimes a movie or some other entertainment, never both in one evening because their luck was never going to hold out long enough to get three uninterrupted hours or more, but they’d been making the best of what time they did get away from work, and Jack had seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Ianto was, and…
Ianto’s train of thought came to an abrupt halt; Jack was staring at him with an almost anxious expression on his face, and Ianto belatedly realised he hadn’t answered the question yet.
“Didn’t think you did labels,” he managed, keeping his voice light. “You don’t like to be pigeonholed.” Which was fair enough, since there really weren’t any boxes in the twenty-first century that Jack would have fitted into. He was the wrong shape, or more accurately, he was his own unique fifty-first century shape, and none of the current labels were suitable for someone who so effortlessly defied categorisation.
“I don’t,” Jack agreed. “Not really, they’re kind of constricting, and most of them seem… I don’t know, pointless, unnecessary. But you and I… we’re something, aren’t we? And if someone asked, I wouldn’t know what to tell them. I mean, we’re dating, when we get the chance, which in this job doesn’t happen as often as we might like. That sort of indicates a boyfriend type situation, but I don’t know what you’d be comfortable with being called. We’ve never talked about it, and… well, I thought maybe we should, just so we’re on the same page. So, am I your boyfriend? Are you mine?”
“Yes, I’m yours.” The words were out before Ianto could consider them, but it was true, he WAS Jack’s, however they chose to define themselves and their relationship. “As to what we should tell anyone who asks, boyfriend is fine, or lover, or partner. I’m not really sure it matters what term we use for other people’s benefit. We’re together, and if people choose to label us one way or another, that’s up to them.”
“Just as long as they don’t call us a couple.” Jack pouted, making Ianto laugh.
“Of all the things to take offence at…”
“Just trust me, that word means something totally different where I come from, and it is NOT flattering.”
“Ah. Okay.” Ianto filed that new bit of information away; maybe he’d ask Jack for clarification at a later date. Or maybe he wouldn’t. He might be better off not knowing. “Well, whatever you prefer to describe us as is fine with me. I’ll follow your lead.” Nothing new there; he’d been doing that for so long it was second nature.
Jack beamed. “Great! I like boyfriend, I think. It’s sort of… quaint, old-fashioned.”
“Well, if it makes you happy, then that’s what we are.”
“Good. And just for the record, I’m yours too.”
Ianto smiled, a warm glow flooding through him. Suddenly he didn’t care about getting the pile of filing done tonight; it could wait until morning. “That’s good to know. It’s getting late; why don’t we shut things down here, and grab a bite to eat?”
“Are you sure? I thought you said you were busy.”
“I was, but not so busy I can’t take my boyfriend out to dinner. We both need to eat.”
“Well, if my boyfriend wants to go out, who am I to argue?” Jack held out his hand.
Abandoning his filing, Ianto twined his fingers through Jack’s. “Where d’you want to go?”
Jack squeezed Ianto’s hand. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t think I mind.”
“Same here. Let’s just see where we end up.”
Hand in hand, they headed up to the main Hub to get their coats and go in search of dinner.
The End
“Hm?” Ianto didn’t bother looking up from the files he was sorting, because he had a lot he needed to get done and if he stopped now, he still be working at midnight. Again. “What d’you need, Jack? I’m kind of busy here.”
“I just wanted to ask you something.”
“Is it work related?”
“Not exactly, but…”
“But what?”
“Are you my boyfriend?”
The question pulled Ianto up short, because it was pretty much the last thing he ever would have expected to hear Jack say, not now, not ever. He’d long since accepted that Jack simply didn’t roll that way, and it was best just to enjoy what he’d got while it lasted, without trying to pin down exactly what it was. Jack HAD asked him out on a date, after coming back from his time with the Doctor, and although it had taken a while for them to get around to it, Torchwood being what it was, irregular hours and sudden emergencies, they’d managed several more ‘dates’ since then. Sometimes dinner, sometimes a movie or some other entertainment, never both in one evening because their luck was never going to hold out long enough to get three uninterrupted hours or more, but they’d been making the best of what time they did get away from work, and Jack had seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Ianto was, and…
Ianto’s train of thought came to an abrupt halt; Jack was staring at him with an almost anxious expression on his face, and Ianto belatedly realised he hadn’t answered the question yet.
“Didn’t think you did labels,” he managed, keeping his voice light. “You don’t like to be pigeonholed.” Which was fair enough, since there really weren’t any boxes in the twenty-first century that Jack would have fitted into. He was the wrong shape, or more accurately, he was his own unique fifty-first century shape, and none of the current labels were suitable for someone who so effortlessly defied categorisation.
“I don’t,” Jack agreed. “Not really, they’re kind of constricting, and most of them seem… I don’t know, pointless, unnecessary. But you and I… we’re something, aren’t we? And if someone asked, I wouldn’t know what to tell them. I mean, we’re dating, when we get the chance, which in this job doesn’t happen as often as we might like. That sort of indicates a boyfriend type situation, but I don’t know what you’d be comfortable with being called. We’ve never talked about it, and… well, I thought maybe we should, just so we’re on the same page. So, am I your boyfriend? Are you mine?”
“Yes, I’m yours.” The words were out before Ianto could consider them, but it was true, he WAS Jack’s, however they chose to define themselves and their relationship. “As to what we should tell anyone who asks, boyfriend is fine, or lover, or partner. I’m not really sure it matters what term we use for other people’s benefit. We’re together, and if people choose to label us one way or another, that’s up to them.”
“Just as long as they don’t call us a couple.” Jack pouted, making Ianto laugh.
“Of all the things to take offence at…”
“Just trust me, that word means something totally different where I come from, and it is NOT flattering.”
“Ah. Okay.” Ianto filed that new bit of information away; maybe he’d ask Jack for clarification at a later date. Or maybe he wouldn’t. He might be better off not knowing. “Well, whatever you prefer to describe us as is fine with me. I’ll follow your lead.” Nothing new there; he’d been doing that for so long it was second nature.
Jack beamed. “Great! I like boyfriend, I think. It’s sort of… quaint, old-fashioned.”
“Well, if it makes you happy, then that’s what we are.”
“Good. And just for the record, I’m yours too.”
Ianto smiled, a warm glow flooding through him. Suddenly he didn’t care about getting the pile of filing done tonight; it could wait until morning. “That’s good to know. It’s getting late; why don’t we shut things down here, and grab a bite to eat?”
“Are you sure? I thought you said you were busy.”
“I was, but not so busy I can’t take my boyfriend out to dinner. We both need to eat.”
“Well, if my boyfriend wants to go out, who am I to argue?” Jack held out his hand.
Abandoning his filing, Ianto twined his fingers through Jack’s. “Where d’you want to go?”
Jack squeezed Ianto’s hand. “As long as I’m with you, I don’t think I mind.”
“Same here. Let’s just see where we end up.”
Hand in hand, they headed up to the main Hub to get their coats and go in search of dinner.
The End
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