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

[parked]

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!"

Comments

[parked]

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?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

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.

[parked]

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."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"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?"

[parked]

"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."

[torchwoodteaboy]

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?"

[parked]

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."

[torchwoodteaboy]

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.

[parked]

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?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

"Right," Ianto said, trying to collect himself. His hand had gone rather limp in Sulu's hand, because he had to spend too much brainpower on figuring out exactly how he felt about all of this, figuring out the specifics of it all. "Meeting at mine, driving out to dinner, having a meal..." Ianto blinked, raising his other hand to run it through his hair, moving his hand to rest on the back of his neck as he thought about it. A date. With Sulu. As a man. Both of them being men.

"You...you'd seriously want to go out on a date with me? I mean, well. That is to say..." He blushed at Sulu, smiling slightly. "Sorry. Yes. I'd... I'd love to. I... I just. Need to be able to process the fact that you basically just asked me out, here. I'm... I haven't been asked out in a long time. Let alone... I mean..." Another thought process occurred to him.

"How? ...we're both men. Does that..." He blushed again, realizing that it was a stupid question, but asking it anyway. "How... I mean, does that matter? It's...it's the 21st century. We. We could be heckled, depending on where we go and how...ehm, unsubtle we are about the fact that we're on a d--..." Ianto said, trailing off and swallowing, before finishing, "a date. Does it...do you care? I mean. I know it's not ideal, but. Is...is that alright?" God, he was stuttering. If it didn't matter so much to him, he'd've forced himself to shut up by then.

[parked]

"Not basically - I literally asked you out." Sulu couldn't help but wear his dumbest smile at the fact that Ianto had actually said, "yes, I'd love to," and wasn't hesitating because it was him. He had to frown at the rest of Ianto's questioning, though, because that was something to worry about. Not too terribly worrisome, but it was still an issue in this era, and..

"I don't care," he said, "I don't." It was so alien to him to really imagine anyone giving them strange looks or snickering or even calling them out on it, because it just didn't happen in his timeline. He knew it could happen, in other places, but those were the areas that still needed help, still needed the Federation to push them around within the unification, even after all this time. That wasn't San Francisco.

Swallowing the embarrassment he felt at doing it, Sulu reached his free hand to grab Ianto's, despite the fact that he had to lean a little to accomplish holding both of Ianto's hands, due to the car. "Don't think a few people trying to start crap with us are going to make me uncomfortable about going out on a date with you. I'm a Starfleet officer, after all," he joked, "External conflict is normal for us." He paused, then asked, "Unless - is it going to cause you problems?" Because if it was, damn it, he would find a place that wouldn't care.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto snorted, his mouth twitching into a small smile. "I... I don't imagine that it'd cause any more problems than I already have. I mean. I get heckled enough as it is, for being a man in a well-fitting suit who knows how to color coordinate. I... I can't even go visit my sister's, where I grew up, without someone making some sort of a fairy comment. I'm... I'm used to being out and about with Jack, who flirts with everything in sight, and therefore by association, people pick the less imposing target, and well. You're not Jack, but that doesn't matter. Because you're you, and well. I...like you. So. I mean. If you don't care...I really don't either."

Ianto blushed fiercely, because sitting there holding both of his hands was putting Sulu very close to him, and well. They were talking about going on a date, and Ianto wasn't really sure that all of this was happening. Sulu, as a woman handcuffed to him, stuck shirtless and holding hands with the other in the back of his car, was asking him out on a date, and though Ianto'd initially worried about it, the worrying was turning into the feeling that his stomach was so full of helium he might float up and out of the car if he didn't hold on tight enough. So he did.

"Y-you...asked me out, Lieutenant Sulu," he said looking down at Sulu and into his eyes, which were the only thing on this girl form that were exactly the same as the male one, so Ianto found himself drawn to them as he tried to process what had just happened. "You...really just asked me out. And. And I said yes. So. ...we're. We're going on a date, then. Together. A-an actual date. ...the two of us." Okay, so Ianto was processing it a lot slower than he wanted to, but it was hard, when never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined everything that he'd woken up to this morning, and despite everything that was wrong with the day, this moment just made it worth it, because for the first time in a while, Ianto was really and truly happy. Ecstatic, even. If he were another man, he might've been bouncing in his seat. As it were, he internalized it, and thus, the stuttering and repeating things.

"I..." Ianto said, before abruptly breaking himself out of that. "When?"

[parked]

Sulu just couldn't comprehend the idea of people... well, picking on a grown man for something as simple as a flashy suit. He didn't think it was worth pointing out the fact that he was completely confused by the whole "bigotry" thing, though, because it would either make him look like an idiot, or it would make Ianto want to explain it, which probably wouldn't do anything for either of their moods. They were both thrilled about this - Sulu was hoping, at least, that Ianto was feeling as excited as he was - and he didn't want to ruin that.

It was adorable, really, that it was taking Ianto so long to really grasp this concept of a date - then again, he had mentioned once that he and Jack didn't really date, so yeah. This was... probably new for him. Not to say it wasn't entirely new for Sulu - he'd been asked out by a man before, and it had been a good time that had led to a month-long relationship. But he'd... never been around someone who made him feel so light-headed, much less asked anybody like that out.

The question of when made Sulu scramble to respond. It needed to be soon but, God knew he had work, and after this virus, he'd probably have so much to make up for... "Uh..." He dropped his chin to his chest, shaking his head with a bashful smile before looking back up to Ianto. "I'm... not really sure. Let's... After this virus, which is probably going to be a long one, I'm... going to need to deal with Starfleet for a little while. Can I... would you be okay with me just saying 'as soon as I can possibly arrange it' for now?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto's smile softened as he watched Sulu be the bashful one, this time. He was glad that he wasn't the only one who was flustered about this sudden turn in events, and the way Sulu was reacting made something in his chest melt, as if there was one last strand of doubt that was slowly letting itself go. "Yes," he said, watching Sulu with warm eyes and a soft smile. "That's fine with me. I mean, well. I really have no idea what's coming up for me, either. I mean, for all I know, the sky could open up and the entire world could end tomorrow, or next week, or well. Sometime soon. But..." His lips quirked, and his hands twitched in Sulu's. "I hope that it doesn't. Not for a while yet, at least. Because..." He bit his lip, looking off to the side, embarrassed, before back at Sulu. "I...I'm kind of really looking forward to this, honestly. More... More than I ever would've imagined I could be."

Of course it would be annoying to have to wait. Ianto would probably dwell on it for a while, before they had a set date, and then dwell on it even more in between the time when they had a date set, but that day still hadn't come, yet. He'd probably worry about every finite detail, from where were they going to go, what kind of foods would be good, a nice restaurant would be too formal, but would a pub be enough? And yet, in that moment, those worries were all far from Ianto's mind, as was the annoyance of the wait. Because Ianto was a patient man, and he trusted Sulu to keep his word on it. It would happen when it could, and it would be a date. A proper date. Just the two of them. No Jack interrupting them, though come to think of it, he'd probably have to tell Jack about it. Speaking of Jack, a sort of sick feeling started to bubble up in Ianto's stomach, from being away from the other man for so long, but he ignored it.

"'As soon as possible' definitely works for me. I'm...just hoping that that soon isn't going to be months from now. I mean," Ianto said, with a bashful smile. "I can be patient, but. I. I'm going to start second guessing myself, if it takes too long, and well." His eyes searched Sulu's. "I don't want to do that. Not with you."

[parked]

Sulu really hoped that this universe wasn't going to doom this particular Earth to the apocalypse before their date. (He didn't want to say anything, though, because that could jinx it.) "I'm glad that you're looking forward to it too. That's reassuring." He decided that he would simply have to force his schedule to work, because - well, because he would just worry and micromanage until they got this whole thing settled, and a date picked out.

God, he could only hope that he could find a way to arrange for an evening off, where he could come out to Cardiff and see Ianto and not have to worry about the work he'd left back aboard the Enterprise. He'd make it work, though. He had to.

"Don't worry. As soon as this virus is over, I'll find out how I can make it work, and I'll let you know as soon as I have an idea, and I'll make sure it works for both of us."

It was too bad they were handcuffed together. Sulu'd like to be able to hug Ianto, or maybe just. Well, it probably wasn't polite to try and kiss a guy before a date, much less in a woman's body.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto smiled and nodded at Sulu's last sentence, and how the phrasing just made him seem so eager and excited for all of this. "Alright," Ianto said, continuing to smile at Sulu (at least he didn't seem to be blushing to hard at the moment). "I trust you. When you say things like that. I know that you're going to give it your all to figure out when we can do this. I'll... I'll do my best from this side of things, in return, then. Like...picking the right place. And. Making sure to do everything in my power to have the time off, from this side of things. I mean. I just have to talk to Jack and Gwen. I. I can't imagine it'll be that bad..." Not at the moment, he couldn't, at least. He was still on cloud 9.

"We'll...we'll find a time. It'll work out. We'll make it work out," Ianto said, not so much repeating after Sulu as he was reassuring himself. He blushed. Unbeknown to either of them, they were both thinking something around the same lines. Ianto would like to hug Sulu, or well, maybe even kiss him in that moment, but. There was something in the fact that Sulu was still a woman that made him stop, because well. Ianto wanted this to be done right, and if he had to wait for that, well then. He supposed that he'd just have to wait. As it were, he gently squeezed Sulu's hands in his own, smiling. "I...I guess we can finally do that pub thing that we've been discussing on and off for the past while, then, yeah?"

[parked]

Sulu wondered how Jack and Gwen would respond to the fact that Ianto was going out with him, and that was why he needed time off. He realized suddenly that he should probably tell Jack before Ianto did, to make sure that Jack was all right with this. He didn't want to step on the other man's toes, or annoy him in any way. It would be counter-productive, especially if they went beyond one date.

And wasn't that a thought? He wondered if Ianto would put up with this sort of thing more than once. Another date, a handful of them, who knew how many of them? And if Ianto wanted that after he had to deal with one, then... then that would be good. Excellent, even. He found himself hoping for the second and third dates, which might've been jumping the gun a little, but he couldn't help himself.

Sulu's thought process was really going nowhere, so he shook his head with a smile and loosened his hold on Ianto's freed hand, though he didn't pull away. "Yeah, pretty much. I'll even use an umbrella if it rains this time, so we won't get turned away at any doors."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto chuckled at that. "Yeah, good idea. Though if you forget one, it's not like you'll be outside for very long to get wet enough. Not if you jump to just outside my place, that is. I mean, if you wanted to walk from the Plass, well. Then an umbrella definitely might be a good idea. That is..." Ianto trailed off, blushing. "That is, if we plan to meet at mine. I mean, we could meet there, but then I'd have to give you the location, and..." And then the only time that they saw each other was in public, which would affect the way that they had to act around each other for the whole night, and Ianto didn't want to have those boundaries on them. He...he wanted to let what happened happen, without worrying about what other people thought about it, and the only way to ensure that was to have some time, well, in private.

Ianto's stomach lurched again. Damn this virus, he really didn't want to have to get up and go deal with Torchwood business like he knew he was going to have to should they go down and find Jack. He wanted to stay sitting there with Sulu, talking about their date of all things, fighting himself not to lean over and kiss the other right then, do something. He didn't want to break this moment, so he did everything he could to hide the fact that the virus needed them to find Jack pretty soon, not think about the fact that he'd just get worse, not using his logic like he normally would, because he was still on an emotional high from being asked out. He tried to keep his grip on Sulu's hands the same, his breathing steady, and hoped against all hopes that he wasn't paling in front of the other, because that was the only sign that something was up that he had very little control over. "We'll meet at mine, and I can drive. It'll..." he paused for a second, another wave passing over him, but he fought through it, "it'll give me an excuse not to get too smashed while we're out..."

[parked]

Ianto's attempts to hide his nausea went over fairly well at first. Sulu was too busy trying to figure out what to do when it came to showing up at Ianto's place. He wanted that - to be able to see Ianto away from everything else first, so they weren't having an awkward public meeting. He realized suddenly that this was going to be a little awkward at first, despite the fact that... that they'd practically been on dates before. Never official, and always as friends, but the situation was always roughly the same. They'd talk about whatever came up, they'd joke and they'd just enjoy each other's company. Which was what they were going to do this time, too - only this time, there wouldn't be any doubt about what they were doing.

Ianto's pause made Sulu look at him much more clearly than he had when he had been thinking. He frowned, giving his hands a squeeze. "Hey, are you... the virus is acting up, isn't it?" He wished that it wouldn't, but it didn't seem like they had much of a say in the matter.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto's forehead creased in disappointment for the fact that Sulu had noticed he was starting to lag, and in the fact that he was lagging in the first place. His eyes saddened, dropping down before turning them to look back up at Sulu. "If...if I told you that I was fine, you wouldn't believe me anyway, now would you?" he asked, with such a look of defeat across his face.

Ianto was perfectly prepared to keep on pretending for as long as he could, but the fact that Sulu had noticed kind of defeated that point, and as another wave of general sickness swept over him, stronger than before, he shut his eyes and breathed deep, sighing. "Yeah," he said, "it's the virus. I... I wish it weren't. God, I wish it weren't, but. We're...we're probably going to have to go track Jack down." He'd already pushed it further than he should have, should have gone to try and find Jack as soon as the feeling had started, but. He couldn't regret that at all. Not when even though his stomach was starting to twist itself into one big, horrible cramp, he still felt like smiling.

[parked]

Sulu sighed and nodded. He tilted his head to rest it against Ianto's shoulder briefly before moving away, still holding his hands. "You're right, I wouldn't. But - it's okay. We'll go find Jack." He smiled as encouragingly as he could, considering their moment was passing at warp speed and there was nothing he could do to salvage it at this point. They would get it back, though. Sulu would do what he could to get this back.

"I bet he's probably gotten in to trouble, anyway. And... I'm sure there'll be other chances for us to talk during this." After all, Jack seemed prone to disappearing on them. They'd be able to sit back and discuss this date idea more thoroughly, he was sure of it.

[torchwoodteaboy]

"He probably has," Ianto said, trying to keep up with the conversation. "I mean, knowing Jack, he might be...stashing the uniform somewhere to see if he can somehow keep it for later use, or something like that. Put it into a special container used only for the dangerous archives, or. Y'know."

"But, yeah. I'm... I'm sure we'll get some more time. I mean. The... The day isn't close to being over yet, or. Or anything." Ianto tried to convince himself that there would be another chance for them to talk. For all he knew, they could even send Jack away, or volunteer themselves to check on things in the archives, or the cells or. Unfortunately, the disappointment of the moment ending and the fact that he was progressively feeling worse and worse was doing nothing to aid his optimism.

"I... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I. If I could. If I could hold on for longer I would, I really would. But." He swallowed, leaning forward involuntarily, his stomach starting to roll as well as just cramp up. "I. I'm really not feeling so great anymore. We. We better find Jack now. I. I really don't want to make things any worse by vomiting on you..."

[parked]

Sulu put his free hand on Ianto's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Don't worry. I don't want you vomiting on me either," he joked sympathetically. "It's okay. Don't apologize for something you can't control."

As lightly as he was treating it, Sulu was honestly pained to see Ianto feeling so sick. He wished he could do something for him, to make it less painful, but he wasn't the one who was supposed to be connected to Ianto; that was Jack. It was disheartening, sure, but right now, all he wanted was to help Ianto find the other man, and keep him close until Ianto felt one-hundred percent again. Sulu put all thoughts of the viruses as allegories and instead just nudged Ianto towards the door of the car. "Let's go find Jack. I'll be right here for you to lean on, if you need it, all right?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

"Right," Ianto said, letting go of Sulu's with his free hand to help himself shift along the car seat towards the open door, pulling Sulu's hand out with him, and hoping that Sulu would follow along with it. Standing up, he stood aside to allow Sulu to climb out after him, leaning against the car, closing his eyes as he was hit with a large wave of vertigo from standing up too quickly. After taking a moment, breathing deeply, he felt the world straighten itself out and he opened his eyes to look down at Sulu.

"D'you really think you can support me?" he asked, smiling sheepishly down at Sulu. If they took too much time, there was a distinct possibility that Sulu might end up carrying him, after all. "I mean. There's a real chance that I might have to take you up on that offer, and well. I'm suddenly a lot bigger than you. And. I trust that the normal you could drag me along with no problem, but. If I pass out on you... We might be stuck there." While it was an amusing image, it probably wouldn't be so amusing in that moment. Especially since there was no way of calling Jack, and Sulu would really be stuck dragging Ianto the rest of the way, if he even could in this form.

"N-not that I plan on doing that, of course!" Ianto said quickly. "S' just that... It could happen." He thought about it some more, before the stomach roll and another small wave of vertigo hit him, and he was suddenly very afraid of that possibility. "Y'know, maybe. Maybe we should really get a move on," he said, paling.

[parked]

Sulu eased himself out of the car, following Ianto as he moved, and went so far as to close the door once they were settled. It hurt him a little to see Ianto so disoriented and sick, especially since there wasn't anything he could do to help him. The question, too, put him for a loop, because he hadn't thought about the physical difference between his usual body and his new, female one. Could he support Ianto?

He wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. He nodded as reassuringly as he could. "Yeah, I think I can. I'd rather try. But - let's try to find Jack before we have to resort to me holding you up. Come on." He held Ianto's hand and gently pulled him, just so he knew that Sulu was ready to help him anywhere.