Log with Ianto: The Proof is in the Pudding

[parked]

Sulu knew that this was one of those Terrible, Horrible, Rotten, No Good ideas that he was occasionally prone to having. He was grounded, after all; inviting Ianto over to prove that he wasn't just making up the things he'd been talking about was kind of pointless if you couldn't get to the car to prove any of it.

Still, he'd heard his parents leave to visit his aunt in Bakersfield, so... why not? It wasn't like they'd notice - he was really good at hiding his tracks. So, he'd invited Ianto out to prove that his universe really was all he'd said it was. It was the least he could do to prove he was seriously as awesome as he made himself out to be, after all. So, he waited in his room for the inevitable worldhopping Ianto Jones, wondering if that was too specific a place but figuring that worldhopping itself was already pretty specific an art.

Comments

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto shrugged. "It's not like me knowing that whales go extinct is going to change the future," he said. "I'm not...I dunno, going to become some sort of whale nature activist or something. Not really my cuppa, thanks," he said.

All things considered, aside from almost hitting that one pedestrian, the ride had gone a lot smoother than he'd anticipated it. He'd even forgotten to keep his death grip on the handle of the car door for some of the time. He still was more than a little relieved to be touching down on the ground again, but. Definitely not the horrible roller coaster ride that he'd been dreading it would become.

"Lunch," Ianto echoed back at him. "You're treating, so. Wherever you'd like to go, I'm fine with that. I'm not really all that picky." Well. Not too picky, at any rate.

[parked]

Sulu took a moment to undo his seatbelt and open his door, climbing out and quickly moving to the sidewalk to avoid oncoming traffic. That was the last thing he needed to do, get hit by a car. He was admittedly pretty proud that Ianto didn't seem to be as freaked out by his driving as he had been at first; he was sensitive about how well he handled flying in general, so it was good to know he wasn't just boasting for the hell of it.

"I've got a place in mind. It's mostly American food, but there're some alien dishes that you might like too. C'mon, we'll head over there."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto shrugged again at Sulu's downplaying where it was that they were headed. He quickly fought his way out of his seatbelt and out of the car, onto the sidewalk to join the other boy. He glanced back at the car, unsure as to whether...well, if it were safe to leave a convertible parked on the side of the road there like that. He'd never seen one before, and he definitely grew up in the part of town where a car like this one would be stolen in half an hour at the most, so. He was more than a little wary of just leaving it there.

"You're forgetting that I'm from Wales. I mean. Sure, we have American food, but. I'm in a foreign country. In the future. I'm pretty sure just about anywhere you take me to will be more than a little bit exciting..." he said, dryly.

[parked]

They headed down the street towards the pier, Sulu briefly touching the remote in hand to lock the car before tucking the piece of technology away. He couldn't help but stick close to Ianto, mostly because he really didn't need the other kid getting lost; that would seriously suck for the both of them, after all.

"Well, it's kind of a tacky place, and it tries sort of hard to be all old-fashioned, but it's more like a 22nd century diner than a 21st anymore." He grinned, "It's like a restaurant that pretended to be from the 1950s, then threw some things in from the 2150's when the 21st century was seriously going out of style."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"When the 21st century was going out of style?" Ianto repeated, quirking an eyebrow and not really sure he'd heard that other boy correctly, there. "And anyway, 21st century...depending on when in that century, is still in the future for me. I mean...it's only 1999," Ianto said, sounding a bit embarrassed for having to admit to that fact. He frowned.

It made him feel. Well, dated, to be from the past. Stupid. Uninformed. Feelings that he didn't particularly like. Especially because this Sulu kid was just tossing facts around so flippantly, about the 'ancient past', as he'd put it, which still was a year that Ianto hadn't even experienced yet.

[parked]

Sulu shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets, not realizing that he was being a little insensitive towards Ianto's time. He didn't think the other kid was dated or stupid, though; he couldn't know about the things Sulu knew, because they hadn't happened. That didn't make him stupid.

"Well, I mean, if you think about it, every time goes out of style. In 1999, you don't see people wandering around in 1800's clothing, right? It's just what happens. The 21st century is a really important time for modern history," and there he was, admitting that it was still technically sort of modern, not ancient, "So there's still a lot of throwback to it around here, even now. But the 20th century, like 1999 and stuff? I don't think there's much difference between it and the early 21st century."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto supposed that that was true. At least people of this era seemed to stick with the same fashion that he'd grown up with. He wasn't sure if that was because they were going through some sort of throwback to his era, or whether after a certain point, things had mainstreamed enough to pretty much comfortably sit around the same styles for the rest of time. Of course, there were some pretty weird things that other people were wearing, so. Maybe this was just "classic", or whatever.

"A really important time for modern history..." Ianto echoed, repeating Sulu's words again. "I. Not sure what you mean by that at all, mate, but. Sounds tidy enough."

[parked]

"Sounds tidy?" Sulu repeated, giving Ianto a skeptical look. "Either way, you're going to go through it all soon enough, so I don't want to spoil it for you or anything."

They came up on the crosswalk to the bay-side, the crowds a great deal thicker here with people from all over the Federation. He could see the place he was planning on taking Ianto wasn't overfilled, which was good, so he threw his arm over Ianto's shoulder to make sure he wouldn't lose the other and began the push through the crowd as they streamed over the crosswalk. "I forgot, it can get pretty busy around here."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"Yeah," Ianto said, repeating himself, feeling silly now that he realized that was probably only something they said in the UK, possibly only in Wales. "It sounds... It sounds interesting. Cool, I guess you would say. That. Well, that I get to live through a 'really important time for modern history' and all..."

More than a bit intimidated by the amount of people there (Ianto hadn't seen this many people outside of a football game, and even that was only when it was on the television), Ianto was grateful for the other boy's arm around him, going so far as to duck in a little further against him, especially as another one of those weird Tellarite aliens almost bowled him over, crossing in the opposite direction. "There certainly are enough people here..." he remarked, trying not to sound as intimidated as he felt by the idea that...if he got lost from the other boy, he was basically screwed.

[parked]

"It'll thin out once we get to the diner," Sulu replied, shooting the Tellarite's back a nasty look despite the fact that honestly, it was expected. A little jostling around this time and in this area was sort of part of it's charm. ...Sort of.

"'Sounds tidy,' though," Sulu repeated again, grinning a bit as they finally reached the other side of the crosswalk, "I like that." The crowd was indeed thinning out a little as he led Ianto towards the diner in the two-story, wood-plank plaza, the bay dotted with sailboats and the Golden Gate bridge visible to the east. The stainless steel crab statue was an homage to the original, the one that had gotten replaced sometime in the late 22nd century almost three decades after it had been torn down. "It's a historical district," Sulu explained, pointing with his free hand down the promenade, "We're going to go to a place I know up over there."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, sticking close to Sulu still, still a little bit intimidated by the fact that there were aliens walking around on the streets with them and absolutely no one but him seemed to be surprised by this. He supposed it made sense that they weren't, if this was normal, but. He was still trying to wrap his head around the idea.

He blushed at Sulu's repeating his words. The phrase sounded a lot different, when repeated in an American accent, after all. "Ehm, thanks," he said, embarrassed by how British he got. He didn't really notice it until he was somewhere like this, where. Well, apparently, it stood out. No one else around had an accent like his, after all.

Once again, Ianto was a little bit put out that the historical district was something that he might have seen on any pier during his time, but. There were accents here and there that definitely reminded him he was anywhere but home. "So. What kind of place is it, then? Why this one specifically? Just because you've been there before, or...?" Ianto asked, curious.

[parked]

"I've been there before and I think it's a good place to go, generally. I mean, there are a lot of clubs and bars around here, but we can't get into those, and anyway, I like it. It's kind of touristy, anyway, the whole place, so if you end up looking around, nobody's going to think twice about it." There were plenty of people sightseeing, from other parts of Earth and other planets, so at least Sulu was right about that.

"As for what kind of place it is, it's more American. Kind of open, we can sit outside if you want since the weather's pretty nice. It's got a lot of Federation dishes in general, but their cheeseburgers are seriously delicious." Sulu couldn't help it - he had a thing about burgers, and some places were better than others.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto was a 15-year-old boy, and that having been said, the prospect of a good cheeseburger was a hard one to pass up. He nodded. "It sounds good to me," he said. Of course, maybe...he should eat something foreign, while he was there in the future and all. He'd have to ask Sulu to order something for him, though, having absolutely no idea what would be good and what wouldn't be, just from looking at the menu. Maybe...that would be for sides, or something, though. A real, honest-to-god American burger sounded pretty good, about then.

Ianto shrugged at the comment about sitting outside. "We...don't usually get to sit outside, in Wales," he remarked. "Usually, it's raining. And no one wants to sit or serve people out in the rain."

[parked]

"It's kind of hit-or-miss around here; we get more rain than the rest of the state, because of how close to the north-west we are, but then there are a lot of nice days, like this." He grinned a bit, catching sight of the stairs up to the little restaurant. "We can sit inside, if you want, too. It's up to you, you're the guest and everything."

Sulu realized then that he still had his arm over Ianto's shoulder and that it... wasn't really necessary now that the crowd was thinned out to a more manageable level. But it'd be awkward to just pull away, especially now that he'd noticed it, and besides, it was probably safer to not let go until they were up the stairs. He didn't want to lose the other boy, that was for sure.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto, for what it was worth, didn't even notice that Sulu's arm was still there. Well, sure, somewhere in the back of his mind, he was probably aware of the fact, but. He wanted to stick close to the other, and so. Why not, really? That having been said, he'd probably notice once Sulu removed it, but. As of that moment, not so much.

Honestly, it was rather nice out. Warm enough that Ianto might even contemplate taking his jacket off--his shirt underneath was still warm enough, after all. He wanted to sit outside, in the nice weather, but. "...would we be sitting in direct sun, then?" he asked, awkwardly. "Like, are there umbrellas, or...?" Ianto couldn't tell, from that far away.

[parked]

Sulu nodded. "Yeah, there are umbrellas." He looked like he was about to ask why, but a quick glance at Ianto made him realize that, yeah, he was sort of very fair-skinned. It was probably a bad idea to sit outside at all, but. The kid could deal with getting a sunburn, or something. It wasn't like it was a big deal, right?

Sulu kept his arm on Ianto's shoulders for the timebeing; when they got to the stairs, though, it'd only make sense to let go. Still, he did happen to know how it looked; there were absolutely no side-eyed looks at them, but it wasn't exactly a just-friends sort of thing, to be walking around with your arm around someone's shoulders. And Sulu knew he was also over-thinking it, like he did all the time, so he shoved the thoughts away and said, "I'm pretty sure you'll be okay. You're not burning yet, or anything."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto blushed bright red at knowledge that Sulu knew exactly why it was that he had been asking about the umbrellas for. He couldn't help that he was Welsh, had a typical Welsh complexion, and so he had a million times more likely to get crisped in the sun. Especially coming from a rainy month, such as Ianto had, into the brightness of the sunshine, it would be a little much.

They reached the stairs up to the restaurant and Ianto started up them, his hand on the railing absently, beside himself, when he noticed that...yeah. Sulu's hand just dropped from his shoulders, but. That meant that for the whole walk there, they'd been walking with Sulu's arm around him. And he hadn't noticed. At all.

"...yeah," he said, awkwardly. "As... As long as there's an umbrella... I should be fine..."

[parked]

Sulu was already taking on the stairs, hearing Ianto's slightly flustered tone perfectly well and rightfully assuming that he'd notice the arm move, there. He wasn't sure why it was awkward, though. He really had no idea, other than maybe it was a little bit more of a smooth move than anything he'd ever pulled in his life, and the fact that it was on a friend, well... That sucked.

"Yeah, you'll be okay," he repeated, awkward himself, "It's usually... self-seating, so you can pick a table and I'll go grab some menus, okay?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, not failing to notice the awkward tone in Sulu's voice either. "Yeah, alright. I. I can do that," he said. Shouldn't be too difficult--they were both going to be in the same restaurant, and all. Sulu was just going to get menus, it's not like he was leaving him behind or anything.

As Sulu went off to do that, Ianto took a moment to breathe properly and wrap his head around everything that was going on. He was in the future. It was just about the most exciting thing ever. He tried not to think about how he was going to have to go back home that night, and instead focused on looking for a table.

There weren't that many available--it was a busy day--but luckily, Ianto managed to find one, with an umbrella even. He pulled another chair over, blushing mightily as it meant talking to the couple with the table beside him, before sitting down. And removing his jacket. It was warm, after all, at least by Ianto's standards, and even though it meant exposing more of his skin to the sunlight, the fact that there was sunlight at all was worth it to risk the sunburn in the first place.

[parked]

It took Sulu a few minutes to wrangle a pair of menus from the staff, but a waitress finally got to him and he was able to get back to Ianto relatively quickly. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to pick the other boy out of the crowd and he made his way over to him, sitting in the chair opposite him and shoving one of the menus in his direction.

"Sorry, man, they're busier than usual. But here, um." He settled back, still feeling a little awkward from the whole thing with the arm, "Burgers are the best, but I can probably give you some other ideas if you want to try something else."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded, sliding the menu in front of him and flipping it open. He had honestly no idea what some of the choices were, but others were ridiculously familiar. He'd feel a bit silly, for ordering chips or anything at an American restaurant in the future, but. Well. A burger did sound good.

"What if..." Ianto said, deciding to state his choice that he'd made a bit earlier, as they'd been walking there. "What if I do get a burger, and... You can tell me what sort of interesting side there would be to order? That way, I'm not... Y'know, wasting the opportunity, or anything like that."

[parked]

Sulu grinned, admittedly pleased by the fact that the other boy wanted to try something unique to this time period. "Yeah, that sounds do-able." He looked over the sides. He hadn't had many of them there, granted, but he knew what they all were.

"So, hey. I told you I can fly," he said, mostly to keep a conversation going as they waited for the waitress. He didn't want to leave them in an awkward kind of silence, and boasting was the quickest way to get something moving, so...

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto raised an eyebrow at the sudden and abrupt conversation topic, but. He wasn't complaining, not really. He nodded. "You did tell me," he said, "though I'm still not sure whether I believe you. Driving a hovercar is one thing, but. Aircraft? At your age?" He said it like he wasn't 15 years old and only one year older than the other boy.

"Where'd you learn to fly any of that stuff, anyway?" he asked. Then again, the garage was huge, and with all of those different vehicles in there... For all Ianto knew, Sulu's family was probably loaded.

[parked]

"All over the place," Sulu replied, shrugging. "My dad, through organized lessons, just... picking it up as I went. That sort of thing." He'd just always been good at flying - once he got into Starfleet, he knew he'd be able to handle their space-faring stuff just as well as any of the Earth-bound crafts. That was, if he got into Starfleet. But, Sulu was cocky enough to assume he'd be able to, so long as his parents didn't disown him first.

He noticed the waitress making her rounds and decided on the alien dish he'd give Ianto a chance to try, looking up at him. "Oh yeah, uh. Do you want to try something different for a drink, or... we have Coke Classic, but I dunno about the rest of the stuff." Who knew what had been made during the last 200 years, and what was still "original" recipe?

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto has honestly no idea. He does like Coke, but then... Once again, maybe he should be trying new things? Being in a time that he would never live to himself, not even if he lived to be the oldest man in the universe. 200 years was an awfully long time.

"I... Listen, why don't. Why don't you pick something out for me? I don't really know what else there would be, besides water that is, and like. I could have water or Coke anytime I wanted, back at home." He shrugged. "Might as well...I dunno, experience the local flavor, or whatever. Being in the future and all..."