Torchwood fic: Wanted

[bluecastle]

Title: Wanted

Rating: PG-ish
Word Count: 853
Pairings: Mostly it's just Ianto but there is some Ianto/OFC
Spoilers: Set before Ianto's Torchwood One employment.
Summary: Ianto has been searching for meaning for a long time now...

His day had not started out on a promising note. Ianto had submitted applications at a bookstore, two coffee shops, and a web design firm during his morning's job hunt, but for the most part he got a don't-call-us-we'll-call-you vibe from them all. 

 

His schoolmate Dav was working in telesales, and had tried to get him to apply there, but Ianto couldn't understand how anyone could be happy spending all day trying to get people to buy things they didn't need anyway.

 

Mostly he was just making do with his part time job at the pub, while he looked for something better to come along. He had come to London for the opportunities of the big city, but so far it was resembling the life he had left behind him a little too closely.

 

Then came a very pleasant afternoon shift at the pub chatting up a redhead named Stacia in between serving the regular customers and wiping down the bar. He stayed behind after his shift, got them a booth, and bought her several more gin and lemons. When the music got loud, he had to lean in to hear her, pushing back her curly hair to breathe his answers into her ear. The small sapphire and silver earrings that wandered up her ears caught the dim lights of the pub and Ianto couldn't help nuzzling a laughter-filled kiss behind her ear when she asked him what he liked to do for fun.

 

He had gotten them both gloriously, happily drunk. They pressed against each other in the small booth, laughing and talking, hands and fingers wandering, stealing kisses now and then, sometimes lingering for a longer, deeper taste. So Ianto had hoped for something more when she pulled him outside and shoved him into the darkened corner of a bus shelter. They kissed each other breathless with deep, wet kisses, full of tongue and teeth, sweaty backs and palms smudging the British Telecom poster on the scratched Perspex divider. The feel of Stacia's tongue ring was a new experience for him, but Ianto enjoyed exploring the sensations the metal stud provided. They were pressed together tightly, his hands roaming up her back and in her hair, while she clutched onto his belt at the small of his back, pulling him close. As Ianto was wondering what the tongue ring would feel like on other parts of his body, a bus pulled up. He hardly noticed until Stacia pulled away from him.

With a quick kiss, and a "you're gorgeous fun you are, Evan Hughes..." she hopped on the bus with a wave and a smile as it pulled away from the kerb.

Breathless with being bewitched by a girl who couldn't even be arsed to get his name right, he slumped down on the bench for a while, welcoming the cool night air on his overheated skin. Eventually he got chilly, and he headed back into the pub, sat down at the bar, and switched from pints to straight cheap whiskey.

 

It took Ianto three tries to get they key in the lock as he stumbled into his mate Huw's rundown kip. He was flat-sitting for Huw, who's band was on a tour of Sweden and Germany. The light from the streetlight outside shone through the windows as he wove carefully around the tatty furniture in his unfamiliar surroundings. He dropped his packet of fish and chips on the kitchen table, and flipped the switch on the electric kettle. He snagged the closest chair, and started in on his chips as he tried to figure out what to do with this new life of his in London.

It had been time for him to leave Cardiff. He knew that. But now that he was in London, it felt like he still couldn't figure out what he was supposed to do with his life.

 

After a couple more beers from the fridge, Ianto, still at the table, nodded off, and woke up with his head pillowed on some uneaten chips.

 

As he went to dump the leftovers in the bin, part of the newspaper ripped off and he stared down at the advertisement in his hands.

 

JUNIOR RESEARCH ASSISTANT

 

Wanted: Young, ambitious, talented, candidates who have a desire to work in an exciting, dynamic, constantly expanding research and development firm.  We provide on-the-job training and offer frequent opportunities for career advancement and international travel. Funded projects center on the various social, ethical, biological, and political impacts of emerging technologies. Requires excellent written and oral communications skills in English (mother tongue or bi-lingual). Foreign language skills highly desirable. Seeking flexible candidates with teamwork oriented personalities. If you are confident that your profile fits the above requirements and you have a passion for experiencing a new culture and business environment, please email your Curriculum Vitae to: humanres@hcclements.co.uk. Vitae may also be posted care of Human Resources at H.C. Clements, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AX.

 

And suddenly, he found what he had been searching for.

 

But he had yet to discover that getting what you want can be a terrible thing.

 

 

a/n: Basically this was an excuse to write the want ad! (Inspired by a couple of ACTUAL ads for Junior Researchers) Also, my own w(h)orld-view has H.C. Clements fronting as head-hunters for Torchwood. One didn't seem to be the kind of place to announce themselves to outsiders with flash logos and all that tat. And of course in HR speak "frequent opportunities for career advancement " means Death by Torchwood.
 

Comments

[valancy-joy.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Bunnies are fun to chase after :0)

[adjovi.livejournal.com]

Also, my own w(h)orld-view has H.C. Clements fronting as head-hunters for Torchwood.

What an awesome idea! And, what an awesome little fic. Loads of fun!

[valancy-joy.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it! Gratifying to think someone thinks 'awesome fic is awesome." *snicker*

[adjovi.livejournal.com]

awesomest awesomepants with a side of awesomesauce. *g* sorry about that!

[hab318princess.livejournal.com]

great idea and love your view on HC Clements - that makes so much sense really


(Donna had a close escape - considering Lance was in HR - sorry, geek)

[valancy-joy.livejournal.com]

I SO wanted to use Lance as the HR rep... but decided he'd been eaten/otherwise been made dead by the time Ianto came along... :0)