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Who: John Sheppard & Ianto Jones
What: I Held My Tongue For Like 30 Minutes What More Do You Want?
When: Backdated to the, 24th/25th of May?
Where: Leaving main Wyver for Khalo
Warning(s): Weird Tension, fyrra use

John's best lead for the whole thing is going to be Khalo, but they can at least meander through the main hub first so Ianto can get a drink before he collapses on the floor. He can explain it once Ianto is a little more alert. John is benevolent enough to suggest this without letting on it's mostly for Ianto's sake, even though they both know it is. It's fine, though, he knows the theoretical timeline they're working on -- and since the the whole altar thing was a bust (probably he should mention that, too) this is more firefighting than anything.

He waves off another kid trying to get suspiciously close to him and his bag, mouths scram as he waits for Ianto to get his drink (which, no doubt, he won't enjoy as much as his own fancy coffee) and skims his phone again. It's heating up enough that his jacket is stowed in his bag, and he eyes Ianto idly wondering if he's put on any sunblock. His own arms are getting browner every minute, and he probably has tan lines.

"So," he says, stowing his phone and squinting up at the sky thoughtfully. Clear so far, it's only going to get hotter then. "Your boyfriend seemed in a good mood."

Ultra smooth. Nailed it.

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"I can't," he says, the words brutally honest. He can't think like that. He can't imagine taking a holiday in the place where he knows there are bandits hiding out, if even allegedly. He can't imagine how he might be able to get himself to relax enough for a date if he could be out there doing something to stop it all. He's already ruined his chances once already because he couldn't turn it off, and he and Jim aren't even working towards the same goals here. He'd never forgive himself for it.

"Look, it's just. Extra incentive to make sure that we get this right, yeah?" he adds, attempting to soften his words. He knows that mentioning the sunblock was probably John's attempt to steer away from the conversation, but he had to get that out. And now that it was...

Ianto bends to unzip his bag, where he's stowed away all the things from the leather shop. Digging for a moment before producing the bottle of his sunscreen and the leather canteens. "Here," he says, holding one of them out to the other man. "For you. I figure we should probably get these filled somehow as well, yeah? It wouldn't hurt to have more water on hand." He sets his own on the ground next to his bag and begins liberally applying the sunblock to his arms and neck, starting out where he can at least see to get to.

Edited (clarification) 2018-06-07 11:53 (UTC)

Can't what, John wonders, because that can't felt pretty sweeping. Felt like it encompassed more than just asking or enjoying something. He watches Ianto warily for a long moment, studying his expression, then takes a breath as he finally holds out something to him. He blinks, squints as he takes the canteen and hesitates.

"Not sure if the running water is safe here," he says after a moment, since it's tropical and doesn't... look like they necessarily have complex sanitation systems here. His eyes rove over the other man a long moment as he applies sunblock, then he drops his back off his shoulders again and begins to put the canteen away -- checks through the rest of the contents and idly pushes up the short sleeves of his t-shirt to check if he's getting bad tan lines.

“Maybe not,” Ianto allows. “But it’s always good to have a backup.” Maybe they’ll find somewhere to fill it later? Don’t knock his gift, John. It is useful, once it can be put to its purpose.

He keeps on applying his sunblock the best he can but without being able to see what he’s doing, it is difficult. He does his best to get his face without getting anything in his eyes and he hopes he hasn’t missed anything. The back of his neck is another story and he glances at the other man as he pauses in his struggles.

“Do you need any of this?” he asks, watching as the other man examines his own tan lines. A little jealous of the fact that he doesn’t seem to have to worry about the sun much at all.

He's not knocking it exactly, just making sure Ianto doesn't make himself ill. The question makes him look up, though, and John frowns in thought at Ianto again.

"Put some on this morning," he says, then squints and begins to gesture vaguely. "You've got... streaks."

This is why he offered to put it on for you, Ianto. So you didn't get it everywhere.

"I -- oh," Ianto replies, rubbing at his face but he knows he isn't going to get all of it this way even with his best efforts. Sighing softly, he motions John towards him.

"C'mon then," he says. "If we go at this back and forth of you telling me where and me trying to get it, it's going to take all day, and one coffee only does so much for my patience. You offered to help before, didn't you? Or have I scared you off."

It's true, he did offer to help, but he also felt pretty firmly shut down on the offer. John studies Ianto for a long moment, trying to decide if it's worth saying anything, then sets down his bag again and secures it.

"Give it here, then."

The sunblock, that is. He begins smoothing out the streaks, carefully trying to make sure he's reasonably covered along his face at least then getting more on his fingers to rub along Ianto's neck and under his hair. Ianto probably goes zero to red pretty quickly, he's not exactly tan to begin with.

"Just so you're aware, t-shirts don't automatically block UV rays. It's better to put this stuff on properly before you get dressed. Especially if you're pale. Also, if your clothing moves or shifts and you haven't applied properly under it you'll get patches."

Ianto stands very still, trying not to concentrate too hard on the press of the other man's fingers on his face, or down his neck, as he continues his mission to help him be as covered as possible.

"Yes, well," he says, tracking John's movements before glancing away. "I. Was hardly functional this morning, was I?" John had heard Jim's comment about offering him toothpicks to keep his eyes open, that had hardly been an exaggeration, all things considered.

"I'm just saying, you'd do better to fix that now before you go on a long walk in this sun and wind up with little patches that rub."

He turns Ianto's head with a light touch to his jaw, rubbing in some sunblock that's caught in his hair and frowning in concentration.

"If you're going to come fight a dragon with me we can't have you starting the fight burned up already."

That's just too much of a disadvantage when they already have plenty. Be sensible, Ianto. Nobody wants sunburn and nobody wants to have to look after someone with sunburn.

Ianto moves as John directs him, a little self-conscious as the other man's gentle fingers continue to work their way around his face and neck. A little more so as he considers the fact that John is right, and that he really should think about fixing this before they're out of the jungle canopy of Wyver itself and back on the path towards Khalo.

His eyes dart uncertainly down the little side-street they've found themselves on and then back towards John. Is this entirely appropriate? Well, he supposes it isn't not. It's just sunscreen and it's hot and it's not like there's anyone else about anyway.

"No..." he answers, carefully. "I'd prefer to keep my pain levels to a minimum where I can, it's true..." He's just self-conscious about his body and the thought about undressing even this much in front of anyone else, especially to have them help him on with sunblock no doubt, has him feeling even more so. But John's right, after all. The last thing he needs is sun poisoning because he made too much of a fuss otherwise.

He moves to shrug off his overshirt, glancing aside at the other man, a slight flush coloring his cheeks despite himself because honestly, it's a bit embarrassing. "You can't blame me if we go through all of this and it happens anyway."

John steps back to give him space, lofting an eyebrow at the challenge and holding out a hand to take the over-shirt off Ianto. He'll just sling it over his shoulder while they work to save it getting dirty.

"I won't," he says, "you can blame me for missing a bit. Come on."

T-shirt too, the quicker this gets done the quicker you can put it back on and they can get walking. It's not, by all accounts, a short walk after all.

Ianto feels self-conscious about stripping in front of the other man, and self-conscious for the fact that he feels self-conscious about it. They're both men, and it's only his shirt off anyway. But he's pale and a little too thin in some places and not enough in others and he could just generally use some weight training starting oh, about six months ago if he's going to go standing about shirtless in front of men as carefree about it as John. It feels a little like the first time he undressed for Jack although he has to admit that that experience was a lot more hands-on. (And came with a greater reward in the end for that matter as well.)

Submitting himself to the fact that this is happening, Ianto reaches for the hem of his tshirt and tugs it off and over his head in one go, bunching it nervously in one hand once that's done. From this close up, John will probably notice a pretty nasty burn scar on his upper arm, just inside his right elbow. Healed now but it's been less than two years. There are flecks here and there on his back that may or may not be other scorch marks as well. Torchwood Tower had been burning after all, when Ianto'd managed to make his escape. And he hadn't been able to just run. Not dragging Lisa.

"Oh, I plan to," he gripes, because maybe if he keeps complaining it will keep his mind off of the fact that he's doing this in the first place.

"You can write me a whole letter of complaint if that's what you want."

He takes Ianto's t-shirt off him and slings it over his shoulder on top of the other one, squirts some of the sunscreen into his hand and hands off the bottle to Ianto before beginning to quickly work it over his shoulders.

"Trust me as the person who's been to more hot countries, alright? I'm not doing this just to try and make you uncomfortable."

Since he can tell Ianto is uncomfortable, which isn't terribly surprising. He never came across particularly confident in his own body. John can try and move quickly so it isn't lengthy torture.

"Not just," Ianto echoes, though he knows John's not doing it to make him uncomfortable at all. That's all his own fault, as he stands not knowing quite what to do with himself. Registering the press and slide of the other man's fingers against his skin. John is being gentle and considerate and Ianto honestly doesn't mind the touch so much as he minds the fact that he had to undress to do this. He tries to stand still and steady and not give any of it too much thought, but he can feel the heat rising from his skin and he knows that he's flushing slightly despite his best efforts otherwise.

He can feel an uncomfortable silence building between them, and the longer he tries not to be awkward about this the more this one grows. Doing his best not to fidget too much he can't help but turn to glance at the other man over his shoulder. Studying his face as he works. He is standing very close.

John looks up and catches Ianto's eyes, pauses a moment to try to read his expression. He's distantly aware of how warm his skin is under his hands where they've pause on his shoulders, of the play of his muscles, of how awkwardly Ianto is holding himself. it's something John has long learned to compartmentalise, though, to put away and try to ignore.

"You want me to do this all myself?" he prompts, and there's a ghost of a smile pulling at his lips he can't quite suppress.

Ianto meets John's eyes for a long moment. He watches as that smile plays across his lips. His eyes really are quite an interesting play of colors, he thinks to himself, before he forces himself to look away.

"Well, you've seen what a job I did on my own before," he replies, as lightly as he can. "Isn't that why you've taken over for me in the first place? You know, so I could blame you for any mistakes that were to happen and we could both feel better about it."

He shifts to toss the quirk of a cheeky smile over his shoulder at the other man in turn.

"That does sound about right."

He squeezes Ianto's shoulders gently, moves back in front of him to take back the sunblock and gets a little more onto his hands again before passing it back.

"But, you should still do some of this yourself before I'm reported for sexually harassing a fellow council worker with sunscreen. C'mon, before we take so long you burn anyway."

Stepping back behind him he rubs the rest of what he has into Ianto's back, trying to keep it reasonably even and his hands from lingering too long in any one place.

Maybe it's a joke. Maybe it isn't. The fact that John has said it has Ianto thinking about it, though, when he'd been doing his damnedest not to. It was just sunscreen, a necessity for someone as fair-skinned as Ianto in a place as sunny and warm as this. Until John Sheppard had to open his mouth and say that.

Ianto is aware of every press of the other man's fingers against his skin and the fact that he really doesn't mind it so much at all, when it comes down to that. He clears his throat awkwardly and puts more on his hands as well, making sure that his chest will be covered in case the collar of his shirt shifts before he caps the bottle and tosses it back towards his bag. Trying not to think about the fact that he's going to need to put more on a few hours later.

"Right, well," he says, obviously feeling a bit awkward -- there's no way of hiding it, why bother. Please give him his clothes back, John. "That's... Done for now, I suppose. Though I'm coming to think that it wouldn't be a terrible idea to invest in a parasol, if we should happen by one." No need to worry about his dignity, look what he's done to it already.

"Or a hat. Hat would be a good start."

He swipes a last stripe of sunscreen from Ianto's jaw before holding his t-shirt back out to him, eyes scanning him idly for any other patches he might have missed.

"Better put this back on before I faint. Have you ever had sunburn before?"

Since you're always more likely to burn in the same place. He waits until Ianto has managed to pull the t-shirt on, holds out his over-shirt afterwards then snags up his bag once both his hands are free again.

He's been doing his best but John just keeps touching him and while distracting himself with the thought of some sort of hat is a nice idea, John's fingers as they reach out and brush against the side of his face are more distracting still.

He throws the other man a look at the fainting comment, which he hopes hides some of the color that has managed to sneak its way onto his face. "If that's a comment about your delicate sensibilities..." he mutters, as he pulls the fabric up and over his head. Grateful to have it back to hide behind. Wishing it weren't so hot in this bloody city so that he could put his full suit on and hide behind that as well.

He takes his over-shirt back from John as well, shrugging it on and doing up some of the buttons so that it's not just hanging off of him, fussing with his clothes before he turns back to the other man at last. "Have I ever had a sunburn before," he repeats. "Is that a trick question. Any part of me that's seen the sun for more than fifteen minutes unguarded has had a sunburn before."

"Then we'll need to re-apply that a whole lot."

He hooks his bag up onto his shoulders and smooths out his t-shirt, pulling down his sunglasses and squinting around at the area.

"And I'm very sensitive, thank you."

Halfway true, though he definitely hides it better than Ianto. John has a whole lot of muddled emotions, they're just securely forced into a high pressure container and locked away.

"Come on, let's find you a hat and get moving. I can tell you all about the fun we're going to have on the way."

The 'fun', it turns out, is the way you get to Khalo. There's some weird local magic, John explains conversationally, which it seems can only be overcome by smoking something called fyrra. Fyrra sounds suspiciously like a familiar earth-based herb to John, but he doesn't seem overall too worried about it. He's got some food and water packed, all non-perishable stuff and water from sealed containers in case the local stuff isn't clean. It'll likely take longer than a day to get there but he has some camping stuff they can use, not quite as fancy as the carriage but enough to keep them clean and dry.

The hat, as it turns out, is a wide-brimmed woven affair with a bit of odd detailing around the brim -- not made of leather, thank god, Ianto had been worried that might be all he could find for a moment there. It nevertheless makes him feel not unlike the Crocodile Dundee, and he sincerely hopes that John won't be making any smart comments on the subject. He'd been assured it was a man's hat and that and the fact that it wasn't giving him heat stroke was really all that mattered at this point.

He turns to throw a sideways glance at the other man at the explanation of the fyrra. If Jim had known about that part, he'd certainly left it out. Not that Ianto has any particular issues with drug use, but it certainly has him raising an eyebrow.

"You're saying that the only way in is to expose ourselves to potentially mind-altering substances,” he repeats, making certain that he understands this right.

"That's what I'm saying."

John is, on the surface at least, pretty relaxed about it. He is, however, aware that Ianto may well not be. Not only because there's a chance he's either never gotten high before or had a bad reaction, but also because he may just be generally uneasy about being high around him.

"If you want to back out," he adds, "I'm fine going in alone and reporting back."

No judgement. John gets it, not everyone enjoys the weird out of control feeling. If Ianto is just going to feel weird then it's not a good time for anyone.

"John," Ianto says, giving the other man an incredulous look. "You said yourself that it could be a trap. There's no way I'm letting you go in there on your own while I wait around outside and wonder whether you're ever going to come back or not." It sounds like an absolute nightmare as far as Ianto is concerned.

"I'll manage," he reassures instead, turning back to glance at the path in front of them as they walk together, hooking his fingers in the straps of his bag as he does. "I did go to university, you know. It's hardly my first foray." Perhaps not with fyrra itself, but. He's pretty sure that John gets the picture.

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