Log with Ianto: Date Night

[parked]

It was strange, really, how much effort Sulu had put into preparing for this date with Ianto. His usual modus operandi was to comb back his hair a bit, throw on a tee-shirt and jeans and just, well, show up. No flowers, no chocolates, no presents, just a casual sort of attitude that usually worked wonders to make the whole situation less stressful for both parties.

But. Ianto was not part of his usual style and Sulu found himself taking twice as long getting ready as he did for anyone else. Hell, he'd even went shopping for clothes he'd never normally wear (with Gwen, who he was pretty sure enjoyed putting him through the wringer when it came to Ianto), put effort into how his hair looked, took three double-glances in the mirror - Jesus. It was only a date.

With Ianto. The guy who had this uncanny ability to make him feel like his awkward fifteen-year-old self just by grabbing his hand.

At least he had an excuse for the gift - he'd told Ianto that he'd bring him a plant, and it was Ianto's birthday present, anyway, so it wasn't like this was specifically date-related. He could still pretend to be at least a little casual about these kinds of things. You know, despite the fact that his stomach twisted into knots as soon as he called Ianto to make sure that no last-minute Torchwood business had come up.

World hopping, luckily, did nothing to mess up his hair (not that you could really mess up the generic look it always fell into when he tried to style it), nor did it cause the plant he had in hand to wither, wilt, or otherwise be destroyed. He'd gone out of his way to find a nice pot for it, something a little more futuristic than traditional terracotta, since Ianto would appreciate that more than tradition. Hopefully.

After all, this whole date was pretty traditional. Sulu even went for the front-door approach, which he hadn't done since his girlfriend in senior year of high school. He shook himself out a bit for a second, minding the plant, so he could get rid of some of the jitters he was feeling, and then rolled his eyes at his own idiocy and just went for knocking on the door, before he could get himself even more worked up than he already was.

Comments

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto lay back down on the bed, this time moving to lie down the right way rather than sideways, laughing softly back at Sulu. "Don't make me out to be the bad guy, here. It's not like I want to make you hang up, you know," he said. "I'm not trying to drive you away or anything like that." He shifted on the bed, trying to get comfortable, figuring that once he hung up, he could just put the phone on the nightstand and go to sleep right then. He had to have an early start tomorrow, as it were. He'd had to leave some things that evening to be ready for their date, and if he didn't want to be completely behind, he was going to have to put in some extra hours.

"Honestly, if I could get away with staying up for however long it takes before we run out of things to say or one of us falls asleep, I would," Ianto said quietly. "I just. I don't want to keep you up too late, especially if you've got to get up and do work tomorrow morning, is all."

[parked]

"I know, I know," Sulu said, closing his eyes and smiling because, well. There was something ridiculously great about how normal this conversation was. It was the kind of thing he'd heard his friends do in high school with their dates - hesitate to hang up, try to think of reasons to keep talking even if they were walking into a class or an arcade...

"Both of us need to get up tomorrow morning," Sulu sighed, running a hand through his hair and keeping it there, staring at his ceiling. This part was always awkward, no matter what, and it didn't help that they'd already called attention to it. "I'll probably have to get into a dogfight with Klingon warbirds, you probably are going to have to save the world from some alien force... It's going to be a really busy day." Theoretically speaking, of course. For all either of them knew, tomorrow was going to be boring as hell.

[torchwoodteaboy]

"Yeah..." Ianto said, trying to imagine what a Klingon warbird really was, and whether that was as serious a problem as it sounded like it would be, when compared to saving the world from alien forces, like Torchwood would sometimes be forced to do. He shook his mind off that train of though. Not tonight. He wasn't going to worry about that tonight, not when everything had gone so well.

"Or at least save Gwen and Jack from truckloads of paperwork," he said, thinking about what he had left to do. "And... I'll probably have to take a drive out into the countryside, to let Myfanwy stretch her wings a bit. I should...probably be at least decently rested for that." Even if he were tired, his paranoia about driving in the Beacons might keep him awake and his eyes peeled, but. It would be stupid, to work for a Top Secret organization that fought aliens, and then die in a car crash because he just couldn't let Sulu go off the phone. Aside from the fact that he really liked being alive, he really wouldn't want to do that to Sulu or Jack, something as stupid that.

[parked]

"Yeah," Sulu repeated back, smiling slightly, "Taking a pet pterodactyl out for a jog in the park isn't exactly a 'wake up and go' kind of thing, I'd bet." He wondered over that; after all, well, you couldn't exactly put a leash on Myfanwy and tell her to heel, could you? What if she decided not to come back, one of those times?

He supposed it was more like falconry or something, rather than walking a dog. Which was... an interesting image in itself. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, realizing that he'd trailed off a little at some point. "Well, in that case, it looks like you're the one who needs the sleep. So... I can go - I should probably take a shower or something." He laughed, "I don't normally put product in to keep my hair from looking... how it normally looks, I hope you know."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto chuckled. He...was used to using things like gel or mousse to keep himself stylish, but he definitely knew that it wasn't everyone's cup of tea. "Yeah, you should wash that out," he said, with a laugh. He should too, but he'd do it in the morning. It was part of his wake-up routine, a shower. "Though I do feel honored that you'd make such an effort for me. You did look pretty sharp today..." he said, with a smile.

Oh right. They were supposed to be hanging up soon. He had to force himself to keep from changing the subject to another topic, rather than wind the conversation down. "So. I... I guess that this is goodnight, then," Ianto said, sounding really rather reluctant to be saying so even to his own ears.

[parked]

Sulu smiled softly at the compliment, closing his eyes. "I'm glad you thought so. I tried to look good for you, after all." Which was a new thing for him, really. And he'd now set himself up to be always looking as good as he had tonight. Not that he really minded; after all... well. He didn't mind trying to look good for Ianto.

"I... guess it is," he said after a minute. He could tell that Ianto was reluctant to hang up, and Sulu wasn't much better; he wanted nothing more than to stay up late talking to Ianto about nothing at all. Sulu felt a sudden tightening in his chest, and he swallowed a bit thickly. "I'll - call you tomorrow, okay? Make sure you didn't lose your pet dinosaur, or have it carry you away."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"Well. Congratulations. You more than succeeded." He laughed at the thought of Myfanwy carrying him away. "She's a handful, but I doubt that she'll do something that horrible. The worst that could happen is that she might take out a sheep or two, but. I think I've got her trained well enough not to cause any other problems..."

Ianto smiled gently at the thought of Sulu calling him the next day. He almost made a comment about how this was going to be unusual, hearing from him two days in a row, but. His heart just wasn't into poking fun at their situation right then. He honestly was looking forward to this call, now that Sulu'd proposed it. "Y-yeah..." he said, softly. "I'll... I guess I'll talk to you tomorrow, then." Lord, it was silly of him, but he really didn't want to hang up, didn't want to be the first to say goodbye.

[parked]

It was pretty obvious that Ianto was hesitating, that he was holding back, not wanting to make the last move of the night. Sulu sighed, smiling. "You're going to make me do it, aren't you?" he said quietly, but in good humor. "All right, then. Ianto Jones," he said, adopting a more self-assured tone, "I had a wonderful time with you tonight. I'll call you tomorrow, but for now, we both should get some sleep, so... Goodnight, all right?"

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto shut his eyes, smiling softly as he cradled the phone to his ear. "Likewise, Lieutenant Sulu," Ianto said lightly. "I look forward to your call, and well..." He paused. "Sleep well, alright? ...Goodnight." Much like he didn't want to make the last move of the night, Ianto didn't want to be the first one to hang up, either. He waited, listening for either Sulu to say one more thing, or for the click of the call disconnecting.

[parked]

Sulu smiled at the fact that Ianto hadn't hung up, like he was waiting for Sulu to do it. He didn't necessarily want to be the bad guy, here, but he would if Ianto was really going to hold out for him. "You sleep well too," he said, and then he was disconnecting the call before he managed to keep the conversation going any longer.

Sitting up for a moment, Sulu stared at his communicator, finding himself laughing a little at how damned giddy he felt after everything that had happened that night, that he and Ianto had gone on a date, and it had gone so well. And, with any luck, their next one - and the ones after that - would go just as well.

[torchwoodteaboy]

After Sulu ended the call, Ianto flipped his phone shut, lying there with it in his hand for a moment, eyes shut, smiling at nothing and everything at the same time. God. They'd just finished their first date, and already he had a list of dozens of others that he wanted to happen. He leaned over, putting his phone on the nightstand, setting his alarm for way too early the next morning, before sprawling back on his bed, a goofy smile that he would be damned if he'd ever let anyone else ever see plastered across his face.

God, he'd better watch himself, better be careful with the way things were going, because if he didn't, there's a chance that he might... He rolled over onto his stomach, pushing those thoughts from his mind. He could think all about that sort of thing later. For that moment, though, Ianto let himself drift off to sleep, thinking about other, future dates where maybe...maybe they wouldn't have to part ways quite so soon.