Title: Wrong Turn
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: FRM
Summary: Jack's attempt at spontaneity didn't exactly go as planned...
Prompt: 'Be spontaneous'.
Author's note: Inspired by John and Scott's adventure (as detailed in Anything Goes).
Spoilers: None for Torchwood - Mention of Doctor Who events in 4x4 and 4x5.

x

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon and Ianto had to admit that it did look beautiful. On any other day, he would love to lay a blanket on the green grass surrounding them and just watch the stars beginning to twinkle in the sky above. To curl up next to Jack and enjoy a quiet evening, just the two of them, no Torchwood and no Aliens.

Although, given his current mood having a picnic with Jack was probably not a good idea. Not when Ianto could readily use one of the knives to end another of his lover’s multiple lives.

The stereo was playing quietly in the background, but the tension filling the car practically drowned out any other audible sounds. Jack’s gaze was fixed firmly on the road in front of him as he focused on driving. His jaw was set and Ianto was positive he was trying to break the steering wheel, if the whiteness of his knuckles was anything to go by.

“Have you figured out which way we’re supposed to be going?” Jack demanded, his eyes never leaving the tarmac in front of the vehicle.

“No,” Ianto replied shortly, glancing down at the weathered map in his lap. “This map is wrong.”

Jack rolled his eyes and huffed, the exhaled air passing his teeth with a hiss; a sound which made Ianto want to knock every single tooth out of the Captain’s mouth with a sledgehammer.

“Did it ever occur to you that the map wasn’t wrong? That maybe the person reading it was just too stupid to look properly?”

Deep down, Ianto knew they were both stressed because it was getting dark and they didn’t know where they were, but Jack was being a prissy little child about their current situation and he was sick of it.

“Did it ever occur to you that you should have navigated yourself, since this whole idea was yours in the first place? That maybe I won’t be the best person to trust with the map since you only let me know where we were going ten minutes ago?”

“You grew up around here, I thought you would know the way.”

“Just because I’m Welsh does not mean I know my way around the whole bloody country! I’ve never even been up here before!”

“Maybe if you had SatNav in your car, like a normal person, we wouldn’t have this problem. We could have just sat back and followed the instructions.”

Ianto leant his head back and closed his eyes, trying to will his anger down. “Forgive me for not wanting to keep a navigational system that tried to kill me and actually succeeded in killing you!”

Jack reached out and snatched the map of Ianto, trying to keep one eye on the empty road in front of them as he scanned the markings on the paper. With a growl he threw the map back at Ianto, who scowled at Jack and allowed it to fall to the floor.

“Oh quit with the petulant child act, Jack! You’re a hundred and seventy-seven years old, not seven. Us being lost is no one’s fault, so stop being such an arsehole.”

They lapsed into angry silence once more and this time Ianto lasted a whole twenty minutes of winding country roads before the tension began to suffocate him again. “Pull over,” he said, his voice dangerously low.

Jack’s head snapped around and he looked at Ianto for a second, before his blue eyes darted back to the road. “I’m not pulling over.”

“Jack, for once in your life do as you’re told. Stop the car.”

As soon as Jack shut the engine off, Ianto unfastened his seat belt and made to open the door. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Ianto turned to look at his lover, his features softening before he remembered how mad he was feeling towards him. “I’m getting out of the car. I’d rather walk than spend another second in here with you.”

“It’s getting dark and there are coyotes,” Jack reminded him.

“Jack, we’re in Wales. I seriously doubt there are any coyotes.”

Jack tried to lock all the doors but Ianto was too quick for him and managed to open his door before he accomplished it. “I’ll see you later… Maybe.”

He ignored Jack’s protests and instructions to get back in the car and slammed the door, cutting of the other man’s words. The car remained still for a minute, as though Jack were trying to come to terms with what happened, until he slammed his foot on the accelerator and sped of into the growing darkness.

Sighing to himself, Ianto pulled his iPod of his pocket and began walking in the direction Jack had just driven. He hadn’t been lying to Jack, he would much rather walk somewhere than spend another second in an uncomfortable silence with the man he had been looking forward to enjoying a nice long weekend with.

Ianto had listened to ten songs when he realised he was getting closer and closer to a parked car. His parked car. In the headlights he could see Jack leaning against the boot, his arms folded across his chest and his gaze fixed on some random point in space.

As he approached, Ianto tugged out one of his headphones and realised with some surprise that the sight of Jack wasn’t making him feel violent or angry at all. Instead, he suddenly realised how much of an arsehole he had been to the other man.

Jack seemed to snap out of his gaze when he realised Ianto was approaching him and in the dim light Ianto could tell the older man was blushing bashfully. “I’m sorry,” Jack whispered, tentatively reaching out and wrapping his arms around him.

“Me too,” Ianto whispered against Jack’s shoulder, breathing in his scent. “Why’d you stop?”

He pressed his lips against the top of Ianto's head. “Because I’m an idiot and I love you…” He frowned and shook his head, “Not that I’m an idiot for loving you… I just mean…”

Ianto pressed his lips against Jack’s, silencing him with a soft kiss. “I know what you meant,” he assured him.

To say Jack was relieved would have been an understatement. A point that was proven by the small chuckle and breath of air he expelled as he hugged Ianto tighter.

Neither man moved from each other’s embrace for a while, until they were almost blinded by the white light of headlights heading in their direction.

As the car neared, the window rolled down and a large man leant out, looking at the couple questioningly. “You boys aren’t lost, are you?”

Jack nodded his head so hard Ianto was actually worried it would fall off and roll away into the darkness. He gave the man the name of the hotel they were looking for and received a laugh for his trouble.

“Did you come from Cardiff?” They both nodded and he laughed even harder. “Just follow this road for another two miles and you’ll see a sign directing you back to Cardiff. Turn left there and then take you’re first right. The hotel’s right there, you can’t miss it.”

They both rushed with their thanks, feeling more at ease than they had all night long. The man nodded his head in self-satisfaction and made to roll his window back up. “Oh, for future reference, you might want to know that if you’d stayed on the motorway and taken the sixth junction it would have taken you straight there.”

Both were laughing to themselves as they climbed back into the car and started the engine once more. As he pulled away from the kerb, Jack reached over with his left hand and grabbed Ianto's, offering him a bright smile, which was rewarded with one in return.

As Jack continued driving, Ianto reached down and picked the map up from where it was still lying on the floor. It was only then that his eyes caught something he hadn’t noticed before in the bottom corner.

“Jack?” The Captain looked over at him questioningly and he continued, “Where did you get this map from?”

“The Hub,” he stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“I think I know why we got lost. It’s dated 3116.”

Jack burst into a fit of laughter and had to struggle to keep the car on the road. “That makes more sense,” he mused. “Roads change all the time. Hell, the motorway didn’t even exist a hundred years ago.”

Ianto released Jack’s hand and reached up, running his fingers through the short hair at the back of Jack’s neck. “I’m actually looking forward to this weekend now,” he whispered, leaning over and pressing a soft kiss on Jack’s cheek, not letting the other man take his eyes off the road.

“Although, Jack?” The Captain raised an eyebrow and he continued. “Next time you decide to be spontaneous and take me away for the weekend, let me know so I can plan in advance.”