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 made a face as he tried to imagine eating fermented anything. "It sounds lovely, really," he said, sarcastically. He took another long drink of his ale as well, almost already halfway finished with the second pint. "Makes you wonder whoever came up with an idea to eat something like that. You're right, though. At least I like laverbread," he said, with a smile. He wasn't going to mention jellied eels--those were disgusting, and anyway, they were technically English, not Welsh, even if they did serve them at some places in Wales as well.

He smiled and blushed some more at Sulu's agreeing to his statement. "Well, then," he said. "I... I guess that means that I'll just have to keep picking the right drinks for you, then. To keep you coming back, and all." He played with his glass, keeping his eyes to the table. "And yeah. With the portkey, it... It should be easier to do things like this. At least, the getting here part, anyway. It can work in reverse, too, although like I said before, you'd probably have to swing by and pick me up, that way."

[parked]

Sulu kept the fact that he enjoyed Durian ice cream and ginger candies to himself, since explaining what a Durian was would definitely make him seem pretty crazy. Then again, sometimes his own family thought he was crazy, and not just for the kinds of foods he liked, so.

"I wouldn't be opposed to picking you up to take you to the ship," Sulu said mildly, smiling at Ianto even as the other avoided eye-contact. It was a little strange for Sulu, who was used to people looking him in the eyes when they talked to him, mostly because that was how it worked in Starfleet. You kept your eyes on each other, so you wouldn't miss anything. Ancient Japanese culture found it offensive, sure, but Sulu really wasn't from the 21st century, despite all the things that still "technically" applied.

"We'd just have to find you a uniform to get you so you could come around incognito. It wouldn't be too hard, actually. But," he laughed, "You can't really go out to eat on a starship." He thought it over, "Though, next time we get some shoreleave, it might be fun."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"No, you can't go out to eat on a starship," Ianto said, "but you can eat in. You have offered to take me to the recreation room and see what that's like, after all." Ianto fiddled with his napkin, eating a couple of chips and trying to plan out what he wanted to say exactly at that moment.

"You know, you wouldn't have to do anything special for me or anything, yeah? I mean. I've taken you out shopping, yes, but. I mean, we've gone over to mine and eaten soup before. It's not like that was some sort of grandiose dinner reservation or anything like that. I mean, even this place," Ianto said, motioning to the establishment around them, "is only really special because...well, of the occasion and all," he finished, blushing, embarrassed that he'd say something like that.

"Although..." he indulged himself a little bit, finally looking up at Sulu. "Did you say 'the next time you get shoreleave'? As in...inviting me to a foreign planet...that type of shoreleave?" Somehow Ianto didn't think that they stopped by the Earth in the Enterprise until they were done with their mission, which meant that... It had to be a foreign planet that Sulu was talking about, right?

[parked]

Sulu had offered to take Ianto around the Enterprise, and in all honesty, he really liked the idea. It'd be nice to show Ianto the places he'd only really seen once, and maybe to show off a little of his commanding abilities when it came to telling ensigns what to do. He always seemed to be following Ianto's lead, whether because they were in Ianto's century or his workplace, and he wanted to try his hand at being the leader one of these days.

He smiled at Ianto's question, examining a prawn with much nonchalance. "Well, yeah. I mean I thought you might like to visit one of the places we get to visit as Starfleet officers. I'll definitely have to find you some kind of uniform, though, since I can't exactly bring non-personnel onto an alien planet." He shrugged, "I mean. If you wanted to, that is."

[torchwoodteaboy]

"'If you wanted to'..." Ianto repeated, incredulously. "Are you kidding me? Of course I'd want to. I'd love to. I mean. How many times in my life am I going to get an opportunity to travel...travel the world, much less to another planet. I mean," Ianto said, shaking his head and laughing a little. "I haven't even been to America yet. To... To be able to go to another planet..."

He shook his head, really not believing that Sulu had even offered, much less the fact that he was serious about it too. "You're right about the uniform, though. I mean. I'll probably stand out as it is, with all the gaping and general disbelief of actually being there, a uniform to help blend in would be preferred. Although," he said, cocking his head and smiling at Sulu, gently though, to show that he wasn't poking fun where fun shouldn't be poked, "I'd generally prefer it if you picked a planet to show me where there wouldn't be things running around, trying to eat me. No space bears if you can help it, yeah?"

[parked]

Sulu had known from the start that Ianto would jump at the opportunity to see another planet; he'd known it from the moment he'd first shown the other man the bridge, several months ago, before a date was even an option. He grinned at Ianto's ultimatums and his concerns, almost not noticing that he was actually thinking to himself, I could really get used to this. Where the this was Ianto, and getting used to things for Sulu meant that he was thinking of something long-term. Longer than he'd thought of before this had all started.

It was a little shocking, actually, to think that so suddenly - not only that, but to not even really notice he was thinking it at first, because it just seemed so right for the situation. He chewed his lip, then realized what he was doing and smiled instead, shaking his head. "No, I promise," he said finally, "No space bears or anything. I'll keep an eye out for the perfect planet, and we can steer clear of the other officers so you won't have to hide any gaping."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto noticed the pause that Sulu gave before he answered him, but with the alcohol softening his reactions to everything, he didn't really think too much of it. "I'm intrigued as to what might make the sort of planet that you would call 'the perfect planet' for me visiting, but I'll leave all the guessing for now and just see where this takes us, yeah? I mean. The human race in the 21st century doesn't even technically know that there's other life out there, so. I have very little idea as to what another planet would even be like."

He smiled, laughing a bit. "I'd appreciate that. If we could steer clear of the other officers. I mean, as much as you can. I understand that we wouldn't be able to just wander off on our own, for the most part." He ate some more of the food on the platter. They were slowly but surely making work of the pile of it all. "It's just that. Being to another planet is going to be exciting. I. I don't think that I'll really be able to keep myself from being a complete idiot about the whole experience, really."

[parked]

"Depending on the planet, we usually get free range. Everyone has their own idea of a good time, after all." Sulu shrugged and picked up an onion ring, looking at it for a bit before munching it down. "We can do what we want, so long as it doesn't destroy anything. Some of the planets look pretty much like Earth - most don't, though." They all had healthy atmospheres for people used to Earth, though, which was a bonus. It would be awful to have vacation time and not be able to indulge yourself without a breathing apparatus.

It was nice to hear Ianto use "will" and "is going", though. It was a step up from the other man quietly questioning whether or not Sulu was telling the truth, that was for sure. It meant that the other really believed him, that he was going to take Ianto to an alien planet. ...He'd have to hide him from McCoy, probably, but still.

"I promise, I'll find the best planet to take you to," he said with a smile, looking at Ianto before biting into the onion ring in hand.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto took a leisurely swig of his ale, moving to rest his chin on his hand as he did so, cocking his head to smile at Sulu. "I don't doubt it," he said, casually. "I have it on good authority that you're actually rather fond of having me around, and I don't think that losing me to space bears would be your idea of a good time, especially after your last mishap with them."

Maybe it was the alcohol again, but Ianto didn't even realize how much more optimistic he was being in this moment, and how he was actually really looking forward to this whole planet visit thing. He understood that it might not be for a while, but he was a patient man, he could wait. He also understood in turn that Sulu was assuring him that the two of them would still be...dating? together? whatever it was that they were in however much time that took and well. It was reassuring. Ianto colored at that thought, and yet found that he really couldn't stop smiling at it either.

[parked]

"Good authority?" Sulu asked, pretending to be bemused at the comment, "I didn't know there was a good authority on me. But, whoever they are, they got it right." He grinned at Ianto and leaned back a little, gulping down some of his drink.

His thoughts were actually closely following Ianto's at this point, though he wasn't making an effort to follow them - he was assuming that there would be more dates; that there would be more to this than just a few meetings and some hand-holding. He couldn't help but assume that, though - he liked spending time with Ianto, talking with him and just being around him, so it made sense in his mind to continue making contact whenever he could.

"I just hope that we get a chance to hit up a new planet soon. I could use the vacation - you know, more than I get when I'm with you."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto rolled his eyes (gently, though, because he didn't mean it, not really), feeling that he didn't need to mention the fact that the good authority that he had on Sulu was no one else other than Sulu himself, and the comment that he'd said earlier that night about enjoying the current company.

"I hope that you get a vacation soon as well," Ianto said, playing with a chip. "God knows you need one. I mean, I don't think that your time spent sentenced to bed rest counts exactly, certainly not as a vacation." The truth of the matter was, Ianto could do with a little vacation himself. He hadn't had one in... Longer than he'd joined the community, really. "How often do you guys come upon a new planet and get shore leave to go exploring or vacationing like that, anyway?" he asked, curious.

[parked]

Sulu wasn't even sure he was very good at knowing what he wanted, but he meant it all in good humor anyway, so it hardly made much of a difference.

"Bed rest never counts as a vacation, not when you're dealing with a CMO like Dr. McCoy," Sulu laughed, shaking his head, "He knows how to make you want to get back to work, that's for sure." He frowned at the question, considering it; it wasn't nearly as often as some would think, but it wasn't something they necessarily planned on.

"It really depends. Our mission is one of exploration and discovery, so we're often in areas where we have no idea what's out there. Usually we do some preliminary scans to make sure that there's an atmosphere that we can breathe, send out an away team, check for life - those kinds of things." He grinned and winked, "Pavel and I sometimes keep an eye out for planets that might be good for a vacation to suggest them to Kirk."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto laughed along with him. "No, it didn't really count as vacation with a doctor like Owen, either. The two of them honestly sound kind of similar. Getting you better with excellent medicinal practices and tough love, as it is," he said with a fond smile. For all that he didn't get along with Owen sometimes, he had to admit that the other man had been a damned good doctor, and he probably owed his life to him more than once.

"Well, then," he responded, winking back at Sulu, "you'll just have to keep your eye out again for one that fits the bill of something you'd be interested in showing me. I don't think that your crew would mind that sort of thing, especially the other officers that were stranded with you on the last mission. Everyone could use a little vacation every now and again, surely your captain is aware of that, and all." Okay, yes. Ianto was excited about the idea of visiting a foreign planet. He couldn't help it, the very idea of it all was just... Him, Ianto Jones, from an estate house in Newport of all places, getting to travel the stars, even if it was only once and to only one place. Even still.

[parked]

"It seems like there's some kind of rule about doctors," Sulu laughed, "The head one always has to be gruff and willing to jab hyposprays in your neck as punishment." He knew that he was dating himself a bit with that remark, but it seemed far fetched that a doctor in the 21st century would use needles the way 23rd century doctors used hypos. Still, hopefully Ianto wouldn't mind.

Sulu smiled and couldn't keep the flirtatious tone out of his voice. "I'll keep watch for somewhere that will make my life more appealing. After all, I need to keep you interested; if I don't, you might just dump me." Which, Sulu suddenly realized, implied that this was more than just one date. He was expecting so much more out of this than he had previously thought, and he was starting to get a little nervous about that - what if Ianto wasn't expecting that much from it, in the end?

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto shook his head at Sulu's suggestion of him dumping him, or even having to try to keep him interested. "Really, now," Ianto said, with a smile, "you'd hardly have to even try to keep me entertained. I mean, we're, what. We're just sitting at a regular old pub in the city I live in on a Saturday night, talking to each other over dinner, and well. I'm having a great time of it," he said. And alright, yes, he might have blushed a little at that statement as well, after the fact. He hadn't realized how it would sound until he'd actually said it aloud.

"I. Don't worry," Ianto said, and despite the alcohol in his system, he still couldn't keep himself from sounding a little timid as he spoke. "I have a tendency to cling on to people, if they let me," he said, trying to keep his voice light, but also hinting that yes, in fact. He would rather enjoy it if, well. If this was more than just a date. More than just a handful of dates, really, which scared him a little, but there it was, and he was going to be as honest and open about this feeling as he could, considering it was in his nature to hide things from other people.

[parked]

Sulu laughed softly at that, looking away briefly at Ianto's statement. It was good that he was enjoying himself; though he imagined they always had a good time when they hung out, it was reassuring to know that in a distinctly more-than-platonic situation, they could still enjoy each other's company. "I'm glad I'm not messing up, at least."

Pausing for a moment, Sulu finally reached over and put his hand over Ianto's, looking him in the eye. "I definitely don't mind any clinging you might want to do," he said, smiling, "I'd go so far as to say I'd encourage it."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto smiled softly in response to Sulu's comment about his clinging. He turned his gaze down to their hands on the table, moving his other hand to rest on top of Sulu's, effectively trapping the other man's hand between his own. "Are you sure about that?" he asked, trying to keep his tone light, but really worried about it. Some would probably go so far as to say that Ianto was possessive of his friends and, well, whatever Jack and Sulu were to him. It. It wasn't anything he could help but do.

"I. I've been told that I can get a little... Intense, I guess you'd say," he said. That had been Lisa, actually. Right after they'd first started dating. She liked to keep separate, while they were at work. He hadn't realized that, and had sought her out every minute of spare time he'd gotten. She quickly put him in his place about that, though--never let it be known that Ianto Jones didn't follow directions. "I mean. I suppose you've already got a taste of that, what with that time I came to visit you a few weeks back, and all..."

[parked]

It only counted as trapping if Sulu didn't want it - but he did. He was glad that he hadn't overstepped whatever bounds the 21st century had on these kinds of things... or at least, none that Ianto cared about. He grinned and couldn't help but look intensely pleased about the whole thing. "I'm pretty sure," he said easily.

Sulu had noticed a degree of intensity to Ianto's emotional reactions to things, but he hadn't found them all that bad. He supposed that someday, he might find that kind of thing uncomfortable, but by then... well, likely by then, Ianto would be comfortable enough to not be so intense. "Ianto," Sulu said, "I'm in Starfleet. I can handle intense. Even if you get upset at me, you're not going to scare me away. The only reason I wouldn't like that kind of thing - it's because I don't want to ever upset you as badly as I did then."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto nodded. He understood now exactly how intense Starfleet was. Finally understood that it was up there in the same level of danger and intensity as Torchwood was. With more personnel, and better equipment, but it was still the same idea. A job where you had to keep on your toes if you wanted to be alive to see the next day and do it all over again. He got that.

He also understood that maybe, just maybe he had overreacted, before. But honestly, it had been the first time that anything had happened to make him question any of the safety or interests of the other man, and the sheer amount of possibilities, of 'what ifs', they had frightened him. "Yeah. I. I'm sorry about that time. I can't guarantee that it won't happen again, or anything like that, but. Well, now I know that there are going to be times where something similar to that occurs, so. At least I'll be ready, next time. Although."

"I can try to keep from making myself that upset at things like that, but that doesn't mean that I'll be any less happy and relieved to see you, afterwards, regardless of the circumstances," he said. It was a bit too personal of a statement to say while looking at Sulu, so he kept his eyes focused on their hands in front of them on the table.

[parked]

"Don't apologize," Sulu said, realizing he was probably repeating himself from that night but not caring, "Really, don't. Like I said, we don't usually get that kind of welcome back - not when we're single on a ship like the Enterprise." And really, despite how terrible it had made him feel, Sulu had appreciated it. He'd loved it, really, especially the kissing and making up part of the deal.

Not that he'd say that aloud, of course.

"I'll make sure to keep coming back, then," Sulu said with a smile, "So you can keep being happy and relieved. I'd hate to disappoint you, otherwise."

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto could take this two ways, but he realized that, since they were on a date, he was enjoying himself too much to keep the conversation serious either. So instead he smiled back at Sulu, and joked back at him. "You'd better make sure to," he said, mock threateningly. "You don't want to disappoint a Welshman, after all. We're known to get more than a little cross, when you do."

Okay, so Ianto wouldn't be cross, if Sulu up and disappeared on him again. It'd probably take him longer to work himself up to the state he had the first time, but he'd probably do it. He didn't really react well to being left behind, after all. Didn't react well to not knowing if someone he rather cared about was safe or not. Or well, as safe as they could be, with a job like Starfleet.

"You wouldn't want a Welsh scolding, for example," he said, continuing the light messing about that he was using to cover up the darker truths of the whole situation. "We're particularly big on guilt, and I learned how to do it from the very best, as it is."

[parked]

Sulu used his free hand to cross his heart, smiling. "Promise. I hate disappointing people, especially people who are good at guilt trips." The hand that was tucked between Ianto's squeezed the hand below it; even with the light tone, and with the drinks they'd had between them, Sulu was still aware that Ianto wasn't just saying all this to be funny. There was some truth to all of it - how much, obviously, Sulu didn't know, but he was willing to find out.

"Don't worry," he said after a moment, "I'll keep coming back for you, so you don't have to use your terrible powers for evil." He winked and then reached for his glass with his free hand to finish off his drink.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto smiled, and took his hand away from atop Sulu's, though he left the other one where it rested underneath it. "That's good. If my terrible powers don't work well enough, after all, there's always the option of siccing Jack on you, and I really don't think you'd like that," Ianto said, with a smirk. "You've got a taste of his temper and attitude already, after all."

He smiled, playing with his glass with his other hand, rather than drinking from it quite just yet, turning his gaze down at the table and blushing slightly. "That's good, though. That means that I haven't scared you away with all of it. Y'know, Torchwood, and well, myself. Means that I'm doing something right in all of this." Though what that something was, Ianto didn't have the faintest idea. He was just being himself with Sulu, after all.

[parked]

Sulu's eyes widened briefly, though it was clear his shock was mostly for show, and he shook his head. "As if threatening me with you guilting me wasn't enough, now you're bringing Jack into it. Please," he said, mock-begging, "Don't let Jack yell at me."

He laughed to show that he was joking - though, in all honesty, having Jack go after him was the least pleasant thing Sulu could think of - and ducked his head a bit to keep his eyes on Ianto's face. He was starting to think he might be developing some kind of fetish for Ianto's blushes. "Yeah, you're doing something right. Probably all of it, really. But you can't think that a Starfleet officer would let a little thing like Torchwood scare him off." He looked a little proud when he said, "There's a lot more terrifying things out there, organization-wise. Some races would say the Federation is one of them, but." Those were Romulans and Klingons and other sorts of people who weren't part of the Federation to begin with. They didn't know better.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto had to laugh at Sulu's mock-begging. "Only if you behave yourself. If you behave, then there won't have to be any guilting from me or yelling from Jack or anything of the sort." He smiled at Sulu. "I don't think that there'll really be any trouble from you, though. Not really. You've behaved yourself so far, after all."

"I know there are worse organizations out there," Ianto said. "Torchwood used to be one of them. Torchwood One, that is. The branch that I used to work for, before..." Had he mentioned the fall of Torchwood One? He doubted it. It really wasn't a topic he'd want to bring up with Sulu here, though, not when they were supposed to be enjoying themselves, so he glossed over it. "Before I transferred here to Torchwood Three, that is." Which was sort of the truth.

"But no, I mean more... More the fact that I work for Torchwood, which is just as busy and as dangerous as your job is, after all. Another hoop that we have to jump through in order to finally arrange for situations like these. Or, well. Dates. That is..." Ianto blushed again, turning his eyes up to look at Sulu, "assuming you're on for more. I... I was sort of getting the impression that you were, after all."