parked | Log with Ianto & Jack: Man! I Feel Like a Woman!

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Log with Ianto & Jack: Man! I Feel Like a Woman!

There were three things Sulu always expected when he woke up: some kind of alarm, his regulation sized bed and his regulation sheets. In his line of work, those were the only safe assumptions; for all anyone knew, they could be waking up to their timer alarms or the red alert alarms, or they could wake up on the floor after an attack - but they would always wake up near it.

Being that he was not really a morning person, it took Sulu a groggy minute of groaning and half-hearted stretching to realize that his three safety blankets? They weren't there. Instead, his bed felt - bigger, really, and... manlier. Really manly. Which felt weirder than the softer sheets, the metal bracelet around his wrist and the fact that he had hair in his eyes.

...Hair in his eyes.

Oh, Jesus. He knew what that meant -

Sulu snapped to attention and sat up, only to realize that he was now straddling someone, he was a girl, and he was in his boxers. And that was it. Part of him realized he was on top of Ianto, but the rest of him then followed suit and noticed that his free hand was on Jack's chest, and this was way out of his comfort zone.

Being that he was terrible at this whole "suddenly a girl thing," Sulu could only do one thing in that moment: he shrieked and tried to fling himself off the bed, despite the fact that he was handcuffed to Ianto. "SHIT!"

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Sulu sighed, a little bit relieved. It was by no means too much for him, but he'd rather everyone in the car be happy; he hadn't been sure if Jack was going to listen to him or not, but apparently it had been worth the attempt. "Must be. I'm used to things without wheels - or other vehicles right by you that you can crash in to. But, for all I know, it could just be my poor feminine biology." He didn't sound sick or upset, that was for sure.

Ianto's smile wasn't unusual to see but, for some reason, this one made Sulu feel better than he'd thought it would. Maybe it was because Ianto was grateful instead of upset with him for taking the reins like that, or maybe it was just because they were on the same side for the first time today, hand-in-hand in the back seat of the car. He wasn't sure; he didn't care, either. He just knew that Ianto's grateful smile made his stomach twist pleasantly, in a way he hoped to feel more.

Jack made a face, thinking about it. "Well. I guess that there really aren't that many other ships to crash into, out there in space. Not usually, at any rate. I can see how you'd not really be used to vehicles that travel on the ground and all. I mean, well. I'm not sure how things work out for you, but like. I'd imagine that cars are sort of phased out, when you come from. For the most part, anyway. Unless you're looking for that vintage feel."

"Anyway, we're almost at the Hub. I guess it's alright if I take it easy from here on out. There are going to be a lot more police in this area, anyway." And he was right. A trip that should have taken them a bit of time was almost done, thanks to Jack's driving. Then again, he was the one who had chosen to drive the long way in the first place, so. "Besides, this is Ianto's car, not mine. As much as I might be into driving around some more, I don't think you'd be very happy with Sulu here getting sick all over your upholstery, would you Ianto?"

Ianto shook his head. "Hardly," he said, though in that moment, he was just playing along with the story that Sulu had fed Jack. He was going to have to thank Sulu out loud later, for it. His eyes met Jack's in the mirror. "What do you say that we keep our eyes on the road from now on, though, yeah?"

Jack grinned at Ianto in the mirror, throwing off a mock salute, before putting both hands properly on the wheel. "Yes, Mr. Jones," he said, in his best imitation of a chauffeur. Ianto rolled his eyes yet again. He was feeling better about the situation, now that Jack had calmed down his driving. He...still hadn't let go of Sulu yet, though. He wasn't sure that he wanted to. In fact, he was rather positive that he didn't.

"We have a few, but they don't handle the same as either of the cars you guys have put me in." Their turn radius, for example, was a lot finer. But Sulu didn't honestly care about the car ride, or about the differences between 21st and 23rd century cars; today, he was really just more concerned with getting to the Hub and laying low. That included figuring out how to cover for his absence, which was definitely going to be a pain. "And I promise, so long as you drive a little less sharply, there'll be no problems with Ianto's upholstery."

He shook his head at Jack's momentary change into official driver mode, glad that the other was actually listening to the two of them holding on to each other in the back seat. Speaking of holding on - Ianto made no move to let go of Sulu's hand, and so Sulu returned the favor by continuing to hold on to him, going so far as to briefly run his thumb over Ianto's knuckles. He couldn't remember the last time something as simple as hand-holding had reduced him to such a butterfly-riddled sap, but he honestly couldn't care less. He figured that he just liked the way their hands fit together - even though his were significantly smaller than usual.

He briefly wondered if Ianto would really be so ready to grab hold of his hand if he weren't a woman, but it felt a little irrational. Even though he was in Lisa's clothing... God, but it was complicated. He put it all out of his mind and just continued to be content with holding Ianto's hand.

It said something about the situation that as soon as Sulu had put on the clothes Ianto had kept after Lisa had died, that they'd ceased to be 'Lisa's clothes' in his mind, and just simply been clothes. Sure, if he thought about it, he would remember why he'd kept them, but. Sulu wasn't Lisa, Lisa was dead, and with all of this flirting with both Jack and now Sulu, maybe... Maybe Ianto was finally moving on from her.

At the finger brushing across his knuckles, though, Ianto flushed, turning to look out the window to try and keep that fact hidden from Sulu, that a simple, innocent touch could have him blushing like a schoolgirl. He, like Sulu, wondered if the situation would be different if Sulu had woken up a man this morning. He certainly would've been a whole lot heavier, lying on top of Ianto, and oh, that was really not a thought process that Ianto wanted to think about at the moment, not holding the other man's hand. He flushed deeper, the blush going down his neck and encompassing some of his chest as well. Bloody Welsh genes...

Jack flicked his eyes back to the back again, noticing the blush and Ianto's head, turned from where it was last. "Everything alright back there?" he asked, with a grin, knowing that something was definitely up, here. It was sweet, really, to be able to watch on as it all developed. He was going to have to keep a closer eye, to see how it developed. "We're almost there. Think you two can handle it for a minute longer?" Sure enough, next light was about to bring them up to the Plass, and the garage to park the car in.

If only Ianto could be just a little more subtle when it came to his blushing. Not that Sulu could hold it against him, or that he wanted to. It was charming - not that he'd use that word aloud - to see that it actually spread so far down his chest, and it made Sulu grin a little goofily as he looked at Jack in the mirror. It was definitely reassuring to know that Jack wasn't someone who just acted like they were fine with open relationships. At least, everything Sulu had seen so far made it seem as though Jack was more entertained by Ianto's blushing than offended or jealous.

"I think we'll survive," he said nonchalantly, not about to let go of Ianto's hand just because Jack was prodding them. "Unless you're going to hop the curb and try testing pedestrian reaction times. That might give one of us a heart attack."

Jack looked back at Sulu grinning goofily at him in the rear view mirror, the effect much the same even though it was a woman grinning back at him, and at Ianto, who was obviously ignoring the fact that there was any reason to be ignoring any sort of fact in the first place, and smiled. A different kind of smile than usual. Because in that moment, the two of them, with whatever this was, it was so new, they were so young, and Jack suddenly felt a lot closer to his age than normal. It...had been a very long time since he'd been as innocent as either of them. Not to say that they were fresh spring daisies--Jack knew what sorts of things Ianto was capable of, when you got him to strip the suits and the decor--but. God, they were just so young.

"I'll try to keep my road rage against the Welsh public as a whole to a minimum. We haven't got any doctors on staff, as it is, should I frighten either of you too badly," Jack said, joking around. "Couldn't have you feinting on us either, my lady. It's been a while since I've had to use the smelling salts. I'm not sure that I even know where they are, anymore, if I even have any lying around."

Jack did one more swerve across traffic, accelerating more than he should have to make it through to the garage ahead of a car that normal people would have just waited to cross after. He stopped the car outside the door. "Shit," he said. No wriststrap. Someone'd have to do it the manual way, and since Ianto would obviously not be paraded around in the center of town, where people might actually recognize him, that responsibility fell on him. "I'll be right back," Jack said, shifting into park and clambering out, going up to the door itself. Never mind that it was what every other Torchwood agent had to do, Jack was supposed to be able to get in without it. Damned virus. He was going to be really happy once he got his wriststrap back, that was for sure.

Edited 2010-07-29 06:24 (UTC)

Sulu made a face, mostly for show, and laughed. "Wouldn't be any worse than if I fainted on bridge. Then it'd be a hypo, and I'm not really big on McCoy jabbing me in the neck with one of those things." Not that he couldn't take it like a man (figuratively speaking) when he needed to. Still, it was nice of Jack to actually tone down his driving, and he'd have to actually thank him when they finally got parked and out of the damned car.

When Jack slid out of the car to go manually open the garage, Sulu turned to Ianto and smiled at him. "Sorry about goading Jack on at first. I didn't mean to make it harder for you or anything." He felt a little silly for having done it; after all, he knew that Ianto wasn't fond of insane car-rides, and he should have figured Jack's driving went above and beyond the realm of comfort.

Ianto shrugged. Alright, yes, so Jack's driving had put him a little on edge about the whole thing, and Sulu's goading him on had made Jack a little more reckless than he usually was when Ianto was in the car. But...it hadn't been that bad. Sulu'd noticed that he'd gotten a little paler and tenser than normal, after all, and had done what he could to help. It was more than Jack did, a lot of the time. "That's alright. I understand. Everyone needs their little bit of adventure every now and again. I just...I wish that these sorts of things didn't effect me as much as they did, yeah? I mean. It's just a car ride. I. I should be better about it all. It has been over a year, since then."

He really was glad for Sulu noticing things, though. Ianto thought about mentioning it, and then decided that he really had nothing to lose, after all. "I... Thank you for noticing that all, there, though. Jack, he... He gets carried away with these things, and well. Sometimes he forgets. I'm not even sure that he remembers at this moment why I'd be so nervous about his driving. So. Yeah." Ianto squeezed Sulu's hand, which he still had a hold of--and why not? They were attached at the wrist anyway, they were already practically there as it was. Ianto smiled a little, shaking his head, amused and a little embarrassed about it all. "Even when you're a woman, you're still looking out for me."

It could have been a year or ten years, as far as Sulu was concerned; no matter how long it had been, Sulu wouldn't want to make him suffer for it. Some things just stuck with you a lot longer than other things, and it happened that Ianto's car accident was one of those things. It felt strange to think that; even he had a limit to his patience, and he knew plenty of times where he'd gotten exasperated over someone's irrational fears or anxieties, and plenty of times where he had to shove his own fears aside in order to get the job done. But for some reason, when it came to Ianto, he just couldn't imagine ever feeling exasperated or annoyed about it.

More than that, like Ianto had said - he'd noticed the subtle changes in Ianto's expression and posture, even though they had been fairly subtle. Sulu was by no means an unperceptive guy, but it wasn't as though he often paid attention to the expressions of people around him when he was being entertained by something. And Jack's driving definitely took up most of his attention - and yet, he'd managed to catch on to Ianto's discomfort. Even stranger, he'd been able to place it quicker than he normally would have.

He wasn't sure what it meant, if it meant anything. Maybe he just spent so much of his effort on checking on Ianto, seeing how he felt (and, more importantly, caring about how he felt), that it was finally starting to pay off. It was a little eerie, actually - or just bizarre. Unusual was probably the right word.

He knew he'd been quiet a little longer than he should have been, and he'd been sort of staring at Ianto, so he blinked and looked down at their hands, shaking his head. "Hey, just because I look like a woman, doesn't mean I am. Other than a slight change in my hormones, I'm exactly the same as normal." Maybe that hormonal imbalance was why his stomach was filled with butterflies while their hands were tangled together. Part of him hoped that was the case, because then he could actually look Ianto in the eye after all this was over without feeling anxious and breathless - the other part of him actually liked it, and hoped it kept up.

Ianto noticed the pause in response, the way that Sulu seemed to be looking at him as he paused, and he wondered what the other was thinking about. Was it him? Ianto fought himself not to blush at that thought. Just because he was feeling like a teenager all over again with this didn't necessarily mean that Sulu did too. Still, Ianto wondered...

He wondered if he occupied Sulu's thoughts as much as Sulu seemed to occupy his. Because there were days, recently, before this virus and all, but after the jeans, after the conversation that he'd had with the other man later about the thing with the jeans and what had started then, when Ianto found his thoughts traveling to the other man. Wondering what he was doing. Whether it was interesting or not. Whether he was piloting the Enterprise, having fun with his crewmates. Wondering if he was asleep or not. Wondering...wondering if Sulu wondered about him like this, sometimes.

There were times when Ianto was outside, and he'd see a plane go by, and think of Sulu and wonder how he was, where he was, and well. Ianto knew that that was silly, because logically, Sulu wasn't in that plane, he was in a ship god knows how far from the earth in, well, a whole other universe, which was just so bloody far away. He just couldn't help himself, though, couldn't help the feeling deep in his stomach that god, this better work out, it had to work out, whatever it was. Because. Even though he didn't know what to expect out of this, what it even was, what he wanted out of it, he did know that even though he was here in Cardiff and Sulu was god knows where however many million miles away in a whole other universe, he still occupied his thoughts, and that had to mean something, didn't it?

"Yeah, I know," Ianto said. "It's still weird, though. That you're not yourself. Not bad, because." Alright, this time Ianto blushed. "I mean, girl version you...definitely isn't bad, but. You--well, that is, the real you--you're...nice too."

Sulu looked back up at Ianto at that, chewing his lip a little as he realized that Ianto was complimenting him - not just how he wore a jacket, or a pair of jeans, but him. It was... a first? Not exactly; he knew that Ianto had complimented him before, at least when it came to his personality, but it was new for Ianto to openly admit that he found Sulu attractive.

"I..." Oh, good time to become completely tongue tied. Sulu grinned bashfully, lifting his free hand to push his hair away from his face. "I'm pretty fond of my normal self too. The girl body isn't too bad, but." He shrugged. "I'll be glad to be testosterone-laden again, once this virus wears off."

He wasn't sure if he'd be glad to be rid of the cuffs, though. Testing his boundaries, he lifted up their hands, rattling the handcuff a bit, and winked. "This, though, I can live with for a while, I think."

Ianto blinked, trying to make sure he'd heard that right, mainly the 'for a while' part more than anything else. Did that mean...? Ianto had to shake himself, and not think about anything that might or might not have been implied in the phrasing of that. He certainly needed to stop thinking about the sexual uses of handcuffs, considering he knew that he'd be stuck to Sulu for god knows how much longer, days even, and considering that he also knew exactly how much he'd enjoyed the last time he and Jack had fooled around with handcuffs. He really didn't need to go there, certainly not while all of this was still going on.

Luckily for Ianto, Jack hopped back into the car at that moment, apparently having fought the garage door into submission. "Remind me never to misplace or otherwise lose my wriststrap again," Jack said, not bothering with his seatbelt as he just rolled them inside (the garage door shutting automatically behind them) and put the car into park, shutting off the ignition. He put a hand on Ianto's shoulder. "I'm just going to run down and make sure that everything's alright with the Rift and everything. Is it alright if I don't wait up for you? As much as I love the uniform, I'd kind of really like to be able to change," he said, with a shrug. He tossed the keys to Ianto. "Make sure you don't lock them in? I have absolutely no idea where you keep your spares. Take your time in getting downstairs, alright?" And with that, he was out of the car and across to the corridor leading to the main Hub.

Ianto fiddled with the keys to his car, before putting them into one of his pockets. He suddenly felt very awkward again, left alone with Sulu for the umpteenth time that day. "Well..." he said, not moving other than to open his door so that there'd be air circulating into the car. "Here we are at the Hub. Jack's not going to be ready for another ten minutes or so. He...really wasn't lying about the fact that we could take our time. He's got to check the Rift monitor for any possible blip even, and that might take a bit... We...could go downstairs or just, y'know. Wait here, for a little while more?"

Sulu liked that blink. The way Ianto looked when he was taken by surprise was - well. Cute. Most of the expressions Ianto made were either endearing, charming or cute to Sulu, though; he was starting to notice this sort of pattern in his thought processes, and he wasn't sure if he should be trying to change it. He didn't want to, so he figured he should just go with it, like he was with the rest of the day.

Jack's whirlwind of commentary distracted both of them, it seemed, though when Jack left, Sulu found himself still trying to parse out what he'd said. Something about the uniform, and the Rift, and Sulu was too busy wondering whether or not it was Ianto's eyes that made Sulu's gaze so drawn to the other's face. Maybe it was his mouth - right. Handcuffs, woman, hormones; this virus was basically forcing Sulu to both acknowledge things he'd kept on a back-burner since the Jacket Incident and to return said things right back to the burners.

Sulu took a moment to regain his bearings, now that he and Ianto were actually, officially left alone for the first time that day. Jack was downstairs and would expect them when he expected them, and not come looking - probably, at least, unless the virus he was afflicted with caused him trouble. Or Ianto trouble - Sulu suddenly thought that he really didn't want to see Ianto feel sick or uneasy because of the distance, even though it was appreciated for the time-being.

He cleared his thoughts for the moment when Ianto opened the door, noting that Ianto wasn't making any move to actually leave. He was just fidgeting, asking Sulu if he wanted to wait around or just go downstairs - "No - uh. Maybe just five minutes up here," he offered, trying not to sound too keen on the idea of having time alone with Ianto for the first time that day, maybe the only time today. He leaned his head back against the headrest, fingers half-unconsciously lacing with Ianto's once more, like it was their new default position.

He wanted to ask if they should talk, if they needed to talk right now, because their already somewhat complicated situation was not being made better by this new feminine body of Sulu's. They were supposed to go out and actually talk about this whole... Incident, that was causing Ianto to worry and causing Sulu to be entirely too focused on Ianto's eyes and broad chest, which was a really nice thing to wake up to. If only he'd been himself.

"Probably not the best way to open a conversation about what we're doing, exactly, with the flirting and all," he said finally, having been silent long enough, rolling his head to look at Ianto. "This virus, I mean."

Ah, right. Talking. Ianto figured that they'd have to talk about whatever it was that they had going on between them. If he wasn't enjoying the feeling of Sulu's hand laced with his in that moment, he might've been really very embarrassed that he was actually really enjoying just holding hands with the other. He was a grown man, not a schoolboy or schoolgirl, as all of the blushing and stammering at just simple contact and presence of the other would have led other people to believe, and he really shouldn't be this flustered by something so innocent and simple. Ianto suddenly wondered why it was that the mere suggestion of things to come set his blush afire.

After all, it wasn't exactly like this was something new to him. He'd had girlfriends before, and he had Jack, so he wasn't new to flirting and well, what came after flirting. Maybe that's why he was blushing, at least partially. Because, the way things were going, it was almost as though there were no question to it. Unless one of them messed this up, or they realized somewhere soon that this was actually a really bad idea, and that they shouldn't pursue it any further, there...was the promise of something more. And the thought that he and Sulu might possibly end up going somewhere further with this was a little frightening to Ianto, and more than a little embarrassing, but more than anything, it was exciting. Exciting enough to make Ianto color like a tomato every time his thoughts started to drift in those directions.

"Well. I. Don't mind so much," he said, blushing pretty hard as it were. "The flirting, that is. Though, yeah. If you want me to be able to talk and, y'know, be able to communicate anything on the matter whatsoever, maybe... Maybe you should leave it until after we've said what we have to say. Because. Yeah. We should talk. Shouldn't we? This...this is the first time we've met, since...y'know. The last time you visited, after all." Okay, well. At least he was talking, communicating to Sulu, even if he wasn't making a whole lot of sense at that moment.

"Trust me," Sulu laughed, "This wasn't how I wanted to see you after all that." For one, he'd wanted to show up in that jacket again. Because Ianto had loved it, and Sulu liked making him happy - not to mention tongue-tied. And he'd sort of wanted to go to a pub with him, and drink a little, because God knew he would watch himself with Ianto around, and a few beers would help them both talk this out and figure out what the whole point of it was. If there was a point.

He hoped there was a point. He didn't want to be throwing away a perfectly amazing friendship for a few weeks of silly flirtation, only to have the whole thing go up in a puff of unimpressive smoke and leave their whole relationship so very awkward. And he felt like there was a point.

He didn't get as enthusiastic about being around people in general as he did with Ianto; he didn't usually find absolutely everything about a person interesting and God knows he didn't usually relish even the smallest gestures, like hand-holding. Even with his first girlfriend, he hadn't felt like it was such a big deal. But with Ianto's hand in his, it was like... like standing on the edge of a very tall cliff, without the terror that had started coming along with high-up places.

"I'm glad you don't mind it," he said, sounding a little distant as he tried to wrap up his thoughts and get back on track. "I know I don't." He gave Ianto's hand a squeeze, ignoring the fact that it was weird to have such small hands. "We should talk, but I'm not sure that... you know. Me being a woman, and us being in the back seat of your car, is really the best way for us to do this."

"Yeah, I suppose," Ianto said, moving to look at their hands laced together. God, but Sulu's hands really were small like this. He couldn't remember off the top of his head what size Sulu's normal, regular sized hands were, but surely they were bigger than this. Ianto wasn't sure that before this day, he'd even held hands with the other man. Walked arm-in-arm with him, yes, but not held hands. He could count on his fingers the number of occasions that he and Sulu had had any sort of physical contact with each other, and half of those were probably more for comfort than just because they could.

"Well, like you said...you're still you. Even if you are female, at the moment, that... That wouldn't change anything that you had to say, would it? Because, well. I mean. We can put off talking about things for a while yet, but. I... I don't know when the next time we both might be free and y'know, willing to talk about these things."

"Not," he said quickly, looking up to Sulu's face earnestly, to make sure that the other was aware that he was so very sincere in that moment, "that I'm not willing to talk, other times. I mean, it's just... We're here, we have the chance, and..." He squeezed Sulu's hand, shifting so that the handcuffs' chain clinked against itself slightly. "I don't have the option to run away, so. Maybe we might actually...be able to figure something out. I mean, that is. If that's alright with you. And you know, if you wouldn't mind figuring things out."

Ianto blushed. "I mean. I'm happy with, well. Whatever this is, but. I. I don't know what it is, and I. I want to figure that out. So that...that we're both on the same page, here, and that there won't be any misunderstandings, because. I..." His eyes fell away from Sulu's face once again. "I...really don't want this to have been a mistake. Because. I don't feel like it is one. If...if that makes sense to you."

Sulu knew what Ianto was getting at; he wanted to talk, and he felt like he was able to talk now, so they better do it while they could. He nodded, shifting a bit in the seat. Skirts were really not conducive to sitting on leather seats, he was finding, so he unbuckled his seatbelt (which he should have done a while ago, but he'd been distracted by his inner monologue) and shifted so that he was sitting sideways, legs folded neatly under him as he adjusted to sit facing Ianto.

"No, it doesn't change anything." He kept his eyes on Ianto's, both to be as reassuring as Ianto was being, and because he was starting to notice that he really liked looking in them. "And, no, I understand. I don't want this to be a mistake, and - I don't think it is. I don't. But I'm not sure what you want me to say, about what this all is, exactly." He frowned, raising an eyebrow, "What do you want it to be?"

Ianto's pulse and breathing sped up, and he bit his lip to keep his mouth from hanging open or anything as embarrassing as that as he tried to think of how to answer Sulu's question. What did he want it to be? Good lord, but was that a loaded question. Ianto tried to be as candid as he could in his response, because he wanted to be as honest as he could as well.

"I..." he said, shutting his eyes to collect himself a little, before turning his eyes upward to look at the roof of the car, as if gathering strength from the heavens above. "I want it. I want it to be like...what we've always had, but more. I. I don't want things to change, but at the same time, I'm not sure that I want it to...to stay the same. If that makes any sort of sense to you..."

"I...I want it to be something I look forward to, something I think of fondly, but." He swallowed. Okay, he was blushing down to his chest again. Very good, Ianto. He had to get this out, though, in this moment, where it was still opportune and fit along the theme of what Ianto was trying to get at. "I... I think that, well. More than anything, I... I want. I want...I want it to be something that you want too. If. If you do want things like that, that is. I mean. I..." There he went, getting flustered again.

Sulu'd almost wondered if he'd asked the wrong question, or if Ianto was starting to feel the effects of being separated from Jack, but he quickly recognized that upwards gaze and settled back to listen to what Ianto had to say. And what he had to say - Sulu bit his own lip and glanced away, trying to figure out how to respond to that. Because Sulu really wasn't used to this, no matter how much he acted cool and collected. He supposed he was lucky, though; he knew what Ianto wanted, now, and he knew that he wanted the same thing.

He didn't know how he should say it, so he simply went with it, opening his mouth and talking (while trying not to say anything stupid). "I get it. We go together well," he said, wincing a little at how silly that sounded but pressing on nonetheless. "We're a lot a like, and we both enjoy each other's company, and - we both want to explore it further and see how that works out. Right?" He'd been using so much pluralization, he felt compelled to add, "Because I want that. I really like you, Ianto, and more than anything, I don't want to mess this up. But I don't think this," he held up their locked hands, "is going to do that."

"No," Ianto said, shaking his head and this time Ianto was the one to run his thumb across the back of Sulu's hand, which was surprisingly soft. Perhaps a little too soft, definitely not like what Ianto'd imagine Sulu's real hands to feel like. He was a pilot and a botanist who liked to do fencing in his spare time, after all. Ianto imagined that meant he'd have harder hands than Ianto himself, not softer ones like the woman he was at the moment. "I... I don't think this is. I mean, if anything, maybe... Maybe this'll actually help matters. As. As silly as that sounds. I mean. It's got us sitting down and talking to each other, after all, yeah? And well. I really don't mind the cuffs so much, so far."

Of course, there were going to be more awkward moments than what they'd experienced, especially the longer that this virus lasted. But they'd cross those bridges when they came to them. For that moment, there was just the here and now, and the fact that Sulu...seemed to want this as much as Ianto did, which was strange for him to even think about. "Explore it further, and see how it works out," Ianto repeated slowly, trying to think about what exactly the words meant. "Yeah, I... I'd like that. I mean. Exploring it further. Although." He blushed. "I hope that it does work out. I mean. I... I trust that it won't fail. I have to. And I mean. If... If we both want it to work out, then. It... It will, right?"

"I'd like to think we'd talk even without the handcuffs," Sulu laughed, shaking his head. Still, Ianto had a point. They probably would have shuffled around the situation so much more, if they'd had that extra bit of space between them. He could only hope that their being handcuffed together wouldn't drive them both up a wall, though he sincerely doubted it.

Sulu was a little surprised that Ianto was being... well, optimistic about the idea of it working out, even cautiously. But when he thought about it - he couldn't really remember Ianto being very down on himself or on the world in general since... well, since the hospital, he thought. That thrilled him a little; it made him wonder if he'd helped with that, or if Ianto had just over exaggerated how bad he could get. He sort of hoped it was the former. "Yeah," he said, smiling, "It'll work out. We'll make it work."

As confident as Ianto had been in his words, hearing Sulu repeat them back to him certainly helped a great deal. He wanted to be reassured that yes, it would work out. They'd be able to make it work out. Sulu was having a positive influence on the other man, and he only hoped he could keep going in the right direction there, with it all. And yet. A moment of doubt crept up on Ianto, even then.

"Yeah, alright," he said, before blurting out, "...how?" He looked surprised at himself that he would even ask such a question, but once it was out, he didn't really feel like taking it back. Because well, he wanted to know. How did Sulu think that they were going to be able to make it work. Especially when Ianto was still struggling with specifics and what it all meant and such. They knew that they wanted to go further, but. What was the next step.

"Sorry," Ianto apologized, coloring and turning his head to look away from Sulu. "I... I'm not expecting you to have all the answers. It's just... I have no idea what to expect from it all, right now. It's been so great, and all, but. I mean, what next? We've got this time together right now, but then afterward... I mean. What then?"

Sulu paused at that, finding himself giving it serious consideration. How was this going to work, exactly? How were they going to bring their relationship from the semi-platonic thing it was now to... well, whatever it became? He wasn't sure, and it was a little strange that he couldn't come up with some kind of answer.

He shook his head slowly, trying to think. "No, I know you're not... You know I don't know any better than you. After this, though?" That was a good question. He figured they would do what they normally did: get together under some pretense, wander around Cardiff - maybe actually go to a bar, or pub or whatever it was they had in Wales... And that gave him an idea.

"Well," he said slowly, chewing his lower lip briefly as he looked away, trying for nonchalant but coming off a little anxious. Even if he'd done this before, it was always a sort of strange moment. He looked back after a moment, finally grinning in his usual manner, "Usually, at this point, we'd go out on a date."

Ianto whipped his head up to look at Sulu, clearly very surprised with even the mere suggestion of it. He hadn't even thought about it. Namely because the only other relationship or, well, whatever it was that they had that he'd had with a man was with Jack, and well. Jack wasn't so much on the traditional relationship things. Which Ianto understood, of course, even if it was rather lonely to have to compensate for the way that Jack lived his life as an immortal when all that Ianto had was the then and there, to make the most of as he saw fit.

And, well... He did see fit. The mere idea of dating Sulu sent a chill down his spine, raising goosebumps there. This was really happening, wasn't it? "You... You'd want to date me? I mean. When you're back to yourself and everything's back to normal and such. Like... You mean... You mean a date date...?" Clearly, Ianto's brain had taken a slight vacation at the mention of anything even remotely confusing and new and brilliant, as the case was at that moment. Ianto wasn't sure how to wrap his mind around it. He supposed that it made logical sense, going with the flow of things, but. "A...a date?" he asked again, making sure that he'd heard correctly.

Sulu couldn't help but laugh at Ianto's reaction, delighted by it in ways that he couldn't really define. It was just so amazing, that he could get a guy who was usually pretty on top of things to hit such a roadblock with such a simple statement. Of course, his laugh sounded a little too much like a giggle for him to allow it to continue.

He nodded at Ianto's reiteration of his question, smiling and nodding. "Yeah. A date, when I'm not a woman. You know, I'd come to your place and. Well, you'd have to drive," he laughed, realizing that Ianto was going to have to do most of the work for this, "And pick out the place we'd go to - dinner, I guess, that's the usual thing. You know?"

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