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Owen pulled the duvet up over his head, deciding that he wasn’t getting up. It was Sunday and unless the world was ending, he didn’t want to know. The night before had been fun. Not that he’d admit it. Going to the middle of nowhere just to set off fireworks, no aliens or people trying to kill them. Gwen had brought Rhys and though he’d been quiet at first, mostly because he was side eyeing Jack, after a couple of drinks he actually relaxed and showed why Gwen loved him. Anwen was spending the night with Gwens parents so they could actually have a few drinks. Jack hadn’t been drinking, obviously, they weren’t in the hub. Owen didn’t think of Jack as the paranoid type but he was extremely careful when it came to anything he was ingesting. Elise had regained her memories and was getting used to not being able to teleport anymore so she’d agreed to have a couple of drinks just to take the edge off so Tosh decided to stay sober so she could drive them home. Ten at night, in the middle of nowhere, sitting around a fire, watching explosives go off. It was something Owen felt like he should have done in his teenage years but never got around to. It was the type of thing you did when you thought you were indestructible and had no real responsibilities. He hadn’t thought about it the night before but in hindsight he started to wonder where Ianto had got those fireworks from. They didn’t look like the kind you could just pick up at asda. Then again this was Ianto, he could find anything given enough time.
Owen rolled over, the arm he’d been laying on completely numb. The hangover haze was starting to settle and he remembered cuddling up with Tosh on a blanket to watch the fireworks while Elise lounged across the other half of it, her head rested on Toshikos lap. He would have gladly stayed like that for hours if his legs hadn’t started to fall asleep. Just seeing those two, lit up by the multicoloured lights from the fireworks bursting above had been a feeling he wished he could bottle for bad days. He smiled to himself as he felt Elise snuggle up to his back. It had taken a while to get used to the metal arm but now it seemed so normal. The metal warmed quickly and when half asleep it was easy to forget it wasn’t technically her real arm.
“Morning.” He said, his voice like gravel.
“Sshhhh sleepy time now.”
Ianto opened one eye, blearily taking in the sight of the bunker that Jack called a bedroom. If nothing else it was dark, no matter the time of day or night. Good for the slight hangover he would be nursing all morning. As was the bottle of water that was within arms reach. Everything smelled like fireworks as he’d just dropped his clothing as close to the laundry basket as his drunken lack of equilibrium would allow. It had been a good night and the extra time he’d spent looking for decent fireworks had been completely worth it. Even if just to see Jacks eyes light up when he first opened the box. It had been a long time since he’d built a campfire, the last time he’d been camping Jack had put it together. He’d been rather proud of how it turned out. That applied to the whole night. He’d gotten the side eye treatment over lunch for even suggesting it until Elise mentioned it was something she’d never had the resources to do and it sounded like so much fun. After that Tosh and Owen were suddenly a lot more accepting of the idea, even if they’d be away from technology for a few hours. Tosh wasn’t so bad but Owen was impossible to deal with outside of his native concrete jungle habitat. That man was more like a cat than a human when it came to new things. One look and he was running for the nearest familiar place. Gwen had been easy to convince as she hadn’t had a baby free night in a while and a free fireworks show was a free fireworks show.
He yawned, immediately regretting it as the pain behind his eyes pulsed. He took a swig of water before laying back down. Chores could wait until he didn’t feel like hell. Wasn’t immortality meant to solve the whole sickness and hangovers thing? Maybe that kicked in over time, Jack hadn’t mentioned any kind of timeline but there was a lot he hadn’t mentioned until it was critically important. The hill they’d ended up on was actually owned by Torchwood. Apparently there was a large, mostly destroyed, ship buried underneath. It had crashed in the twenties and it was simply too big to move and store, so Torchwood claimed the land and covered the thing under the guise of building a bunker. As long as Torchwood held the rights to the land no one would dig it up, and it gave a huge exclusion zone so no one would be bothered by the fireworks. That and if anyone did get drunk they wouldn’t stumble into some poor sods garden. Thankfully nobody got completely wasted and did anything too stupid, though he did have to convince Jack not to roll down the hill just in case he broke something and wouldn’t be able to drive later.
He’d been a little worried about Gwen bringing Rhys along but he’d actually been a nice addition. Late in the night they’d ended up chatting about rugby for over an hour while Gwen and Jack pretended to understand what they were going on about. Well, Jack was pretending, for all he knew Gwen could have just been an extremely quiet expert. Even if they were all sitting six feet above an actual space ship it felt normal. Human. You needed to remind yourself, once in a while, that the day to day world still existed. Beyond the aliens, the rift and the strangeness the ‘real’ world still carried on regardless. It was good. It kept you grounded.
Jack nuzzled sleepily into Iantos neck and he woke, arms snaking around him and pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Morning.” Jack sighed happily. “How’s the hangover?”
“Terrible. Awful. The worst.”
“Should I make the coffee then?”
“Don’t even think of touching my coffee machine.”
“Well, if I’m going to suffer this morning without coffee, I guess I’ll have to keep you here to make up for it.”
Gwen reached over to the bedside table for the painkillers she’d left there the day before. It had been a long time since she’d had more than half a glass of wine so her alcohol tolerance had dropped, and she knew she’d be waking up with a hangover. She knocked back the pills with water then curled back up under the duvet. She hadn’t felt too cold the night before but now the November chill had permeated everything beyond the warm haven that was her bed. She could turn up the heating but that meant moving. Rolling over reminded her that she’d slipped over the night before and was sporting a tidy bruise. She’d found it hilarious at the time as Rhys had clumsily helped her up but bruises always hurt more the morning after. A smile spread across her face as memories of the night before returned, watching the fireworks, eating potatoes baked by the campfire, eating marshmallows when she was too impatient to wait for smores. It had been a good time and she’d been surprised when it was Tosh telling everyone how to make smores. Apparently she’d had a school friend who’d gotten a taste for them after a trip to America. They were good but when Gwen had been drinking she picked up a sweet tooth and lost all patience. She was sure she had looked like a squirrel more than once, pretending she had no idea where those two marshmallows went.
Opening one tired eye she saw the last few marshmallows wrapped in the bag they’d come in placed next to her shirt that she’d tossed aside. Rhys murmured in his sleep next to her so she cuddled up with him and interlaced her fingers with his. She’d done the same the night before, cuddled up watching the fireworks under a blanket, daring to take off their gloves for a little direct contact. The campfire had kept the cold at bay and she’d gotten comfortable enough to nod off for a while when Rhys and Ianto had started going on about rugby. She’d only woken up when her husband moved his hand from hers to pull the blanket a little tighter around them both. She doubted he’d even been cold, he’d probably just worried she was getting chilly. That was Rhys all over. He always put her first, no matter what. As much as her heart fluttered around Jack, as anyones would, she knew the difference between lust and love. She loved Rhys, more than she could fully express. During the fireworks show the only thing she could possibly care about was the man with his arms wrapped around her.
“Morning beautiful.” Rhys smiled, half asleep.
She smiled in return. “Morning gorgeous.”
“I don’t feel too gorgeous. I feel like I’ve been eating sand in my sleep.”
She chuckled softly, laying her head on his chest. “Same but it’s too cold to get up.”
“Give me ten minutes and I’ll throw together some breakfast. Fry up?”
“I love you.”
Tosh had woken up early, fresh as a daisy as she had been drinking juice and lemonade all night. She’d slipped out of bed and into an oversized t-shirt she kept as nightwear before padding into the kitchen, narrowly dodging the roomba on its morning sweep. She flicked the kettle on and took the mugs from the cupboard. Ginger tea for Elise to settle her stomach, black tea for herself to wake up and coffee for Owen as he was a creature of habit. He’d regret it with the heartburn he’d have before lunchtime but who was she to argue with a trained physician. She considered breakfast, nothing that smelled too strongly as she wasn’t that cruel, so that left toast or cereal. Cereal it was. She checked her email on her phone, glad to find it empty. The kettle clicked off and she filled the three mugs, a heady mix of scents filling the air with warmth. Behind her the roomba bumped into one of Owens boots, abandoned in the living room after they’d gotten back the night before. She picked it up by the laces and placed it by its partner on the shoe rack. She’d been a little nervous about being the one tasked with bringing food to the little get together, but with a little advice from one of her usual online haunts made it a little easier. She’d spent the whole morning prepping and shooing Owen out of the kitchen. He had kept trying to steal the digestive biscuits. When she’d been told about where they were planning to go part of her wanted to know more about the ship that made up the foundation of the hillside, but there wasn’t much information left. There were a few sketches and a report on file but it was apparently on fire most of the time before it was buried. That was the problem with Earths oxygen rich environment, it was great for sustaining fires. She’d been impressed with how much Ianto had set up when she’d arrived. The campfire was burning steadily and blankets had been set out and weighted so there was somewhere dry to sit. There were even small lights set up along the safest path to the site so the walk was easy. It was beautiful in its own way. Romantic. Jack had looked very excited, pointing out where the fireworks had been set up and enthusing about the fact that it was a still, dry, night. Perfect for a fireworks display. Owen hadn’t even complained that much on the way which was new. She suspected it was because of how excited Elise had been at the idea. He was a soft soul even if he’d never admit it.
Tosh took the tea bags from two of the mugs and threw them in the little bin they kept for compostable waste. It had been Elises idea. She was a stickler for recycling and sustainability. The three mugs left a trail of steam as she walked quietly back to the bedroom. There was a bundle of duvet where her partners had been not so long before and she suspected they were still under there somewhere. She placed the mugs down on the bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed.
“Are you awake?” She asked softly.
The bundle shifted a little in response.
“I brought tea and coffee.”
Owens voice, slightly muffled and very gravelly, drifted from under the thick fabric. “Are you holding them?”
“No, I put them down, wh-” She squealed and laughed as she was pulled under the duvet and was cuddled between the two residents of the duvet tent. “The hang over can’t be too bad if you’re both this energetic.”
“It is.”
“But Tosh hugs fix everything.” Elise giggled.
Jack finally decided he should probably get up, shower and find some kind of breakfast. He’d been awake for an hour and a half so at this point he was just being lazy. It was just difficult to get up when he had Ianto all to himself. The usual Sunday morning problem. Ianto had promised to make coffee while Jack was showering so there was that to look forward to. The hot water running over his face helped wash away the low feeling he always got after sleeping. He hadn’t had a nice night out that didn’t end in alien nonsense in a while and it was refreshing. Setting off fireworks had been a highlight, even if he had to wear earplugs to keep the shakes at bay. He could handle gunfire but explosions still frayed his nerves more than he’d like. They were beautiful though. The sky filled with multitudes of colours and Ianto giving him that smile. It was a specific smile, innocent and content, that he really had to work for. It was so rare but every bit worth it. That smile could make him weak at the knees and he wanted to take every opportunity to see it. Maybe it was because Ianto hadn’t immediately fallen for his charms or the fact that he was so unflinchingly loyal but Jack couldn’t help but love him. He’d loved many people over his long life. His team, friends, family. But there were certain people that he could never let go, people who he’d gladly walk through hell barefoot for, who he’d give up everything just to have one more day with them for. Ianto Jones was one of those people.
Sat together under the clear nights sky, millions of stars drifting above, warmed by the fire he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. He’d happily sat and just listened to Ianto and Rhys talk about rugby of all things and he’d been at peace. His team were happy and safe and the world was quiet. He’d spent a stretch of the afternoon telling Rhys stories, and everyone but they’d heard a few of them before, of past exploits. He always modified them to take out any time he’d died, preferring to talk about some daring escape or close call instead of the painful truth. Owen had joined in with the tale of the bay alligator. It had been a twenty one foot long beast of a creature that had taken to attacking boats for the tasty human contents. It certainly wasn’t a native resident of Earth. Owen had been there when Jack had started waving his arms, urging the creature to try and eat him. Of course Owen had said he was out of his mind and tried to drag him away but he hadn’t been dissuaded. Just as Owen was sure he was about to see his boss devoured by the beast Jack had revealed his plan, throwing a grenade down its open throat. He’d been dragged into the water just before the alligator burst into a shower of meat and scales. Owen had been one step from diving in when Jack had breached the red water. He’d laughed as he’d been told he was out of his damn mind and he suspected the young doctor still wholeheartedly believed that. Maybe he was right. He’d certainly done enough over his long life that would be considered ‘crazy’, but what was life without a little excitement? Boring and intolerable, that’s what it was.
He turned to see a towel being held out for him as he switched off the shower.
“Thanks.” He smiled, taking the warm fabric.
Ianto nodded. “Coffee’s ready upstairs.”
“I’ll be up in a second.”
“Dressed.”
“Do I have to be?”
Rhys knew he’d be missing little Anwen by the afternoon but for now it was nice to take a break from taking care of a baby. He loved his daughter with all of his heart but she had her mothers temper in the morning before breakfast. That wouldn’t be fun with a hangover. Washing up was bad enough with the sound of plates tapping against each other feeling like they were smacking him in the brain. The general nausea had gone, thankfully, and the headache was ebbing away but there was just something about the sound of ceramics and metal clattering in water that just cut right through him. Gwen was gathering the laundry in the bedroom so he had volunteered to wash up. They didn’t get to have domestic mornings often so he made a point to enjoy them when he could. He’d been shocked when he’d been invited to this little fireworks get together and at first he’d said he’d feel out of place. Then Gwen had given him the puppy dog eyes. Walking up the hill hadn’t been the most fun thing in the dark but he had a trail of small lights to follow and a campfire blazing to sit by when he got there so it turned out better than he expected. Ianto had offered to pick them up so they could both have a drink and Jack would drive them home later. Jack. He’d always been suspicious of the captain as Gwen seemed so enamoured with the flashy bastard, but the more time he was around him the more he understood. Jack really did flirt with everyone. It was just like breathing for him. It also made him a very difficult man to read, but maybe that was the point. Gwen had said he was mysterious, even after she’d told him the truth about her job, Jack was still an enigma. Ianto was a bit easier to understand. A good bloke in Rhys’ book. Didn’t seem the type to be in to other men but who was he to judge. Jack was different around him. It was subtle but given time it was noticeable. Most people would follow Jack out of either attraction or curiosity but with Ianto, Jack was doing the chasing. Sitting around that campfire it was clear that beyond the nebulous entity that was Torchwood these were all just normal people. They had lives and interests and worries beyond the world ending. He’d been a little confused when Gwen had explained Tosh, Owen and Elises relationship but they did seem happy. He’d started to enjoy himself as everyone settled down. Elise had been wandering around taking pictures with her fancy phone, Ianto had been passing out drinks and Tosh had been preparing food. It reminded him of being kid and camping in the garden with his friends, eating too much junk food and telling ghost stories. Granted the stories this time weren’t about ghosts but he suspected they were about as grounded in reality. He was certain they were pulling his leg when they said there was a crashed spaceship buried under the hill. There had to be something there with the fences and warning signs they’d driven past but a whole space ship? No chance. Then again he wouldn’t have believed there was a secret base hidden underneath a well travelled part of the city either if he hadn’t seen it for himself. He’d been entertained by the stories if nothing else. It helped that he was cuddled up with Gwen under the clear night sky. He’d be happy anywhere with her.
He placed the last plate on the draining board and tipped the water away before drying his hands.
“What’s the plan for today then?”
“Sit in and watch bad tv?” Gwen chuckled.
“Sounds good to me.”
Elise swallowed the last of her tea and placed the still warm mug aside, feeling the nausea ease. Tosh was sat up reading while Owen had dragged himself off to shower. A sliver of sunlight shone through the curtains, incredibly harsh due to the clear sky. It meant going back to sleep would be impossible so Elise grabbed her phone to look through the photos from the night before. Her phone took pretty decent low light photos so she wasn’t worried about that. She’d managed to sneakily catch a picture of Jack kissing Ianto on the cheek as he wandered past to light the next round of rockets. Other than the odd case of hand holding Ianto made sure that public displays of affection were extremely rare. He was a private kind of person which was fair but Jack was not. Their dear captain didn’t exactly share everyone else's ideas on personal space. He was the cuddly type but he did his best to respect Iantos boundaries. Elise had to admit that Jack gave top level hugs. It was like being wrapped in a blanket with a heartbeat. The next photo was of Gwen trying not to burn her hands while unwrapping a baked potato, one glove on and one off. She’d succeeded eventually. Rhys could be seen trying to help while suppressing laughter, failing at both. She’d have to send Gwen a copy because it was very cute. Next was the whole group lit up by the light of the campfire and a mix of blue and green fireworks. That had been just before she retreated to laying on Toshikos lap, the smell of the fireworks making her anxious. She wasn’t going to let bad memories spoil her night and contact made it easier to push past. The fireworks had been beautiful. She’d never had the chance to see a decent fireworks show as a kid and as an adult she’d never had time. It was part of why she’d been so excited at the prospect of the night out. The only time she’d ever sat by a campfire was when she was between housing and she wasn’t there for fun. This was different. This was comfortable and safe. Tosh hadn’t even needed to ask why Elise was suddenly being clingy. She just knew and that made a difference. She didn’t have to explain or make excuses for needing to be close. That was just Tosh all over. She was the same with Owen. No matter what Tosh knew when something was really wrong. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, she was just there and ready to help. Owen didn’t tend to notice right away but when he did you could bet your ass he wouldn’t stop until the problem was either fixed or no longer hurting you. What most people would find hard to fully understand was that Elise was the biggest fan of Tosh and Owen being together. They were good for each other and if she could be along with them then even better.
She flicked through more of the photos and landed on one she loved. It was Tosh and Owen cuddled up together, lit by the soft firelight and half hidden by the layers of coats and scarves, distracted from the fireworks by each other and the very picture of happiness. She held up her phone.
“You still haven’t chosen a picture to send to your mum. What about this one?”
Tosh looked over her book and smiled. “You took that last night?”
“Yea, that’s why I snuck away. You two were being cute.”
“You’re being cute.”
“Sooooo?”
“Fine, send that one to Jack.”