he has never been so humiliated

[parked]

That virus was awful. At least it prompted me to actually go through that creepy "meme" and take stock of my life. I'm more than a little concerned that some of those prompt "fills" weren't too far off, but I'm going to erase that fact from my mind.

So, at least that answered some questions as to whether or not the next virus was going to be worse than being turned into a kid. It was.


[LOCKED TO JACK HARKNESS]
And now that all I have to deal with is my immense humiliation by your hands, Jack, I really did want to talk to you. How are you, after your visit to the hospital?
[/LOCKED]


((OOC: Strikes hackable if you feel like you want to make even more fun of Sulu.))

Comments

[parked]

Yeah, unfortunately. And once the community posts something, it never gets deleted.

You're fine now, but I can personally tell you that you didn't look like you were going to be fine when I saw you. I'm an insufferable optimist, though, so I didn't let that bother me. But Ianto's probably the biggest pessimist I've ever met, so... Why the hell shouldn't he have worried?

[51stcentury]

How am I supposed to know what I looked like, then? Its not like I saw myself like that. I was kind of otherwise preoccupied, you know?

Because he should know better. You've seen that post, so even if he hadn't told you, you know by now that it's impossible for me to die. Something happened a long time ago, and no matter how many times people off me, I keep on coming back. So. He really shouldn't have worried. I mean, I've come back every time this far, haven't I?

[parked]

But you weren't dead, this time.

[51stcentury]

No. I was in a trance. If I concentrated really hard, sometimes I could even hear what was going on around me. That didn't help much, most of the time, though. Why does it matter?

[parked]

Because you weren't dead. That means that you might not have come back. You could have been stuck like that.

Ianto really does need to worry about you, if you aren't going to think these kinds of things through.

[51stcentury]

Well, I'm not. I trust my team to get jobs done, and they pulled through for me once again, like they always do.

What is that supposed to mean, then?

[parked]

Torchwood's ability to pull you out of harm's way isn't what I'm addressing here, and you know it. I'm talking about how Ianto had no real way of knowing that you'd be all right.

It means that you need to think things through. I get that you can't die. That's great, really, it saves you a lot of worry. But shouldn't this whole thing with the phones prove to you that there are things you're still obviously affected by?

[51stcentury]

Here, look. I can die. I just come back. And dying hurts, but I come back every single time. And yes. There are things that I'm affected by. But what's the worst that could happen?

Anyway, what does this have to do with sleeping with Ianto?

[parked]

All that happened was that we ended up passing out on the couch in the room for a few hours. Of course, the virus worded it a little differently, but that's all that happened.

Look. I'm Ianto's friend, and I'd like to be yours too, so I apologize if I sound like I'm lecturing you, but I just don't want to have to see him go through something like that again. It'd be great to not see you in a hospital, either, while we're on the subject.

[51stcentury]

Really? That's all? You know, the virus made it sound a lot more exciting.

Yeah, well. It's not like I was aiming to end up in the hospital, now was I? It just worked out like that. But he saved me, him and Gwen, so. I don't see what the fuss is all about.

[parked]

You have got to be kidding me.

Don't you care about how he feels at all? Him and Gwen, since from what he told me she was nearly as upset as him.

[51stcentury]

Look. I'm sorry for making him upset and for the fact that you had to make the journey to come and sit with him for a while, really I am. But Torchwood is a dangerous job, and I'm the only one with a guarantee that I will get out of a situation alive, so I can't make any promises that it won't happen again, alright?

[parked]

And I understand that. But there's a difference between naturally dangerous and recklessly dangerous. Believe me, I know first hand that there's a difference.

But, you're the boss. I just hope that next time, you... think about what you're doing before you do it. It doesn't hurt to be a little cautious, especially when you have no idea what might happen.

[51stcentury]

What does it even matter to you? Okay, yes, you had to make a trip and probably lose some hours of free time. And Ianto was a little bit less than himself, I get that.

But why are you telling me what you think I should and shouldn't do?

[parked]

I didn't have to make the trip, and I didn't waste any time by doing so. He wasn't a little bit less than himself, either. He was a wreck, because you didn't think about how maybe things wouldn't be so easily fixed as they would be if you got... I don't know. Shot, stabbed, beheaded, any of the thousands of things that can kill a man.

So I'm telling you what I think, because I care about Ianto. I wouldn't hesitate to show up again if a similar situation arose, but that doesn't mean that I want one to.

[51stcentury]

So, what, you're like his guardian angel now or something? His fairy godmother, swooping in to make things all better with the flick of your Starfleet issued magic wand?

[parked]

No. I'm his friend.

[51stcentury]

You're an annoying bastard is what you are

[there is a pause in responding, in which Jack has a breather and goes out to brood on a rooftop for a little while, before returning with a rare apology]

Look. I'm sorry. I messed up. It was just a phone call, I was hoping that I could talk to whoever was on the other side of the line, get some information out of them. I didn't expect things to work out the way they did.

((strikes = deleted))

[parked]

Truthfully, I can understand why you did it. My crew is known for warping into a crisis situation with only sheer luck on our side, after all. It was just... very disconcerting to see Ianto like that, and to see you like that, really, even if I don't know you very well. I'm usually not one to beg for caution, so I'm sorry for how harsh this has probably come off. It just worried the ever-loving crap out of me.

[51stcentury]

Damn. I kind of vaguely remember him giving me that speech, but otherwise things are kind of fuzzy. You're not really supposed to be aware of the situation when you're in a trance, y'know? It was really that bad?

Don't mean to ask you the same question over and over again, but. I'm trying to get a feel for the situation, here. You know he'll never tell me these things. The only time I've gotten a confession like that out of him was when he thought I was unable to hear a single word he said.

[parked]

Yeah. Human faces generally don't look right without expression on them, if that makes any sense, and your eyes were open with blown pupils - it was really disconcerting.

Yeah, I figured that out pretty quickly. Honestly, though, I have a feeling if you actually sat down with him and had a conversation about this kind of thing, he'd open up pretty quick.

[51stcentury]

Well. Hopefully my mouth was closed, at least? I'd've hated to have lain there catching flies like a big blow-up doll, or something.

Then I'd have to be the one bringing the topic up, though. We're not. We're not very good at communicating to each other verbally. When there's the need, there isn't the time, and when there's the time... It's not easy to discuss these kinds of things between the two of us. But. I'm getting that you probably already got that as well.

[parked]

Yes, your mouth was closed, don't worry.

I had a hunch. You might try starting with an expensive dinner and equally expensive wine. I bet you could get something out of him if you tried.

[51stcentury]

Well. I guess that some things were still working in my favor, at least.

Yeah. Like that would work. I've eaten dinner with Ianto a million times before. Never once has he ever decided to open up to me over a carton of fried rice. What would a bottle of fancy wine do to change anything?

[parked]

The man wears nice suits. Trust me, a bottle of wine will do wonders. Takeout isn't exactly romantic, you know.