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[ FINISHED/CLOSED ]

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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Ianto may want to crawl under a rock and hide but John's chatter does help. Reluctantly, he uncurls himself, reaching for the water bottle John set by him before moving to sit up and taking a few tentative sips. Glancing around the room and trying to re-orient himself as he does. They'd made it to Khalo, at least. And managed to find a room before they'd crashed, well done on their part. There are two beds in the room, though Ianto vaguely remembers preferring to stick close and the thought of it heats his cheeks a little. He takes another sip of water.

“What time is it?” he asks at last. His voice rough with sleep as he tries to take stock of himself and their situation. How long had it been since they collapsed into bed together? It’s difficult to tell, underneath the leafy shade of the canopy above them out the window. Everything is cool and dark and blissfully shady.

Good question. John glances down at his watch, then squints around them at the light levels.

"Eight PM, though I'm a little fuzzy on how we got here so I have no idea how long we slept. Or how we picked this room, for that matter. I'm hoping we paid for it."

He moves some bread and crackers to be within Ianto's reach, scanning the room again and tries to think of a neutral way to inch into discussions of what happened.

"Did I dream that this place has giant tree people?"

There we go, that's a safe topic.

Ianto lets out a huff of laughter in response to the other man's question, reaching forward to snag some of the crackers as he does.

"Unless you and I had the same dream, they were real," he answers. "Are real. I suppose they're still out there, somewhere." He makes something of a face at that thought. They're a bit terrifying to really think about, truth be told.

Taking another sip of the water to fortify himself, he continues to clarify, "Don't worry about the room. I took care of it. I'm not quite sure how long we have it for but I didn't pay that much so it's probably the next day or two." He shrugs slightly. "We can clear it up with them tomorrow. Oh."

If John doesn't remember how they got there then it's important to specify. "Unless you really can fly, be careful walking about out there. We're halfway up to the canopy -- it's a miracle we managed to get up here in the first place as it is."

"My dreams are normally a little less tame than this."

Nobody was in danger, nobody died, there wasn't even any sex. Overall, it would make for a disappointing dream in John's opinion. He reaches across to snag the bottle of water back from Ianto, frowns at the exit from the room in thought as he uncaps it and takes a sip.

"The Khali are basically fairies, right?" He squints sideways at Ianto, turning over the thought. "Think they can pixie dust us? So we can fly too, at least for a bit?"

He really, really hopes so -- in a quietly intense sort of way. John would dearly loved to have what he deems a much cooler superpower, a real superpower. ATA gene doesn't feel like a real superpower to him, even if it now seemingly works on other things.

Ianto vaguely recalls a similar conversation in the forest before, and a moment of spinning, John's arms around him and thinking that even if they couldn't, this might be the next best thing. He shoves a cracker in his mouth, chewing methodically before he offers anything in the way of a response.

"It's possible," he offers. "Maybe not pixie dust in the traditional sense, but. They might have something. We could ask around?" Or look. They hadn't had much of a chance to do that, when they first arrived, tired and disoriented as they were. "At least they have the vines set up, I suppose. God knows how they'd expect us to handle this otherwise."

He visibly brightens at that, takes another sip of the water before re-capping it and handing it back to Ianto.

"Should we find you a blue dress?"

You know, so he can be Wendy -- although the playful twitch of John's lips suggests he might not be entirely serious about this question. Ianto didn't like jokes about him being feminine before, so he probably shouldn't push this one too far either.

He takes the water back from John, watching the quirk of a smile on the other man's face, his mind continuing to play back to bits and pieces of conversations between them from earlier in the day. He has to keep reminding himself it was only just a few hours ago.

Ianto meets the other man's gaze, quirking something of an eyebrow at the suggestion before shrugging a shoulder at him in turn. "I suppose that we could," he allows the other man, watching him from over the edge of the water bottle as he raises it to his lips. Calmly taking a sip from it as he adds, "It would bring out my eyes."

Two can play at this game, John.

"It would!" John agrees, because he'd been loosely thinking that too. "And maybe your calves would see a little more sunshine, too."

Since Ianto is not regularly a shorts sort of person, and either John doesn't remember that Wendy's dress is distinctly floor length or he doesn't care and is imagining the replacement one to be less conservative.

Ianto makes something of a face at the other man, because he does remember the dress -- nightgown, he supposes it is, really -- that Wendy wears in Peter Pan, and it most certainly does not show off any part of her legs at all.

"Look, I'm not sure I'm really sure that I'd be able to pull it off, in the end," he hedges. John's rather stuck on the idea of this and he's not certain whether he's just joking about or -- what, really. "I've got the wrong shoulders for dresses, it wouldn't exactly be a flattering look."

"Well I don't know about your shoulders," John admits, "but the suits are a better look on you. Not that I've seen the dress in person, but --"

He shrugs, breaks up a piece of cracker to eat. The suits are a good look to begin with, and he's not really into the cross-dressing thing so he can imagine that it's overall a better look. That's close enough, right?

Ianto regards the other man carefully, taking another sip of the water as he studies him. A better look than what? The dress? Or in general? Had that been an attempt at a compliment? Should he take it as such?

He reaches for another cracker, playing with it between his fingers as he thinks. It's not as though he had been fishing for compliments, after all. But after all the talk on the walk over about his eyes and his hands, it does leave him wondering. The walk over leaves him wondering about a lot of things, truth be told. The top of the list being whether he should really take anything he’s saying here seriously at all. Then again, why shouldn’t he? It’s all rather confusing, for as fuzzy as he feels.

"More's the pity that it's been so damned hot lately, then," he replies at last. "Just the thought of suiting up in this weather is enough to make me sweat. You may just get your wish yet." You know, to see more of his skin and all. Or was it his legs specifically he was after? He holds the water bottle out to John again, in case he wants it back. "At least we don’t have to worry about the sun under all these trees."

"You can still burn in the shade, the question is how much sunlight actually makes it through the canopy."

They should really take a proper look outside soon. He takes back the water bottle, uncaps it again and takes another sip.

"How you holding up?"

His initial reply hadn't really told John anything much, so he's hoping the water and food are helping. You know, and that Ianto isn't secretly still feeling spinny or nauseous or something. He seems fine, though, maybe a little slowed down still? Mostly fine. Good enough to make jokes, which is a hopeful sign.

Ianto really wants to argue that he's not this delicate flower that John seems to think he is, but he does burn as easily in the sun as the other man is implying, and he really has been having a difficult time of it the past few days staying up on his hydration and his blood sugar. That on top of the knock on the head it's probably only through John's fussing and sheer force of will alone that he didn't accidentally pass out on the other man at some point or another. But still. It's embarrassing, and under normal circumstances he should be able to hold his own.

"I'm fine," he mumbles, glancing aside at the other man and knowing won't be enough for him before forcing himself to elaborate. "It's too hot, and I. Could really use a shower by now. But I'll be fine. Water is helping." He reaches up to run a hand through his hair, massaging the back of his neck before he suggests, "We might want more than bread and crackers to get us through the night. If you feel like taking a look around? Sounds like the village is still up and about." When do fairies sleep, he wonders to himself, and puts the thought aside for now.

"I think I remember there being a big pool thing, maybe you can have a swim to cool off. They don't seem like the complex plumbing type."

More than rainwater collection type, with some minimal piping to funnel it. He re-caps the bottle, holds it back towards Ianto and considers his shoes thoughtfully where he dropped them on the floor.

"Swimming does sound nice, actually."

Since John feels clammy too. Maybe they should both take a swim. He drops his eyes further down to his own t-shirt with frown, plucks at the front of it and sniffs thoughtfully. Yeah. Probably he should take a swim and... maybe rinse his t-shirt out? It'd probably dry out on its own, eventually.

He takes the bottle back from him and takes another sip from it, contemplating the idea of it as he watches John subtly sniff at himself. His lips quirking slightly at the frown on his face as he does.

"No, I don't suppose that they are," he agrees. He vaguely remembers the pool, but he's never been very fond of large bodies of water, and he has to wonder just how big it is. How deep. Swimming...

"You'd come too then, yeah?" he asks. Hoping he doesn't sound too apprehensive about the idea. He hadn't really remembered the pool until John mentioned it. He still doesn't, really. It's all a bit of a blur.

"Seems like a good idea unless there are showers after all. I could probably do with getting clean too."

He snags another cracker and eases himself off the bed finally, holding it in his mouth and stretching out a little before biting off a section. Carefully manoeuvring toward the exit he peers out the room and down at the village below.

"Huh," he says softly, because it... still does look amazing. The whole village feels like it belongs in some wild fantasy movie, giant tree people and all. He takes another bite of cracker and tries to stop his heart racing in both excitement and nerves as he watches the Khali flit around.

Edited (wrong icon) 2018-06-16 14:20 (UTC)

"Given they've built their living spaces in the trees themselves, somehow I doubt that," Ianto says. Watching John for a moment as he stands and stretches before bending to fetch his shoes and lace them on again.

"Do you think they'd let me soak these boots in their pool?" he asks, glancing up at the other man after a moment of thought. "That is what you said I'm supposed to do with them, isn't it?"

Pushing himself up once he's done with his laces, he grabs the water bottle again and moves to stand beside the other man by the doorway. He carefully takes a step out to glance out and around, down and up and side to side to orient himself in their place in the city. It's mad, he remembers thinking, and it's still mad even now. He shakes his head as another of the little green Khali people soars by the entrance to their room, and takes a step back into the room. "Neverland indeed," he murmurs, the height honestly making him feel a little queasy at first. It had been much easier getting up there when he hadn't had the capacity to worry about how high up they really were.

"You can always ask."

He backs away from the edge and packs up his bag (he could probably leave it but... well, you never know in a strange place) then moves out into the tiny entryway and tests a vine. It... seems solid enough.

"Well, if I go first then I can break your fall if you misjudge. How's that?"

It's not that far down, it's just... the vines. You know. Ladders are better. He shoots Ianto a sardonic smile and reaches out to grab the vine, takes a last look down before beginning to carefully climb down it.

Break his fall. Right. At least John hadn't offered to catch him, Ianto thinks to himself as he watches the other man start down the vine. Knowing himself, there's no way he'll be able to make this graceful. But at least he's going to do his damnedest not to fall.

He stays where he is, watching John climb until he's sure he's made it to the bottom before crossing to grab his bag, sticking the water bottle in it as he tries to mentally fortify himself for the climb as well. It doesn't work, of course. Once he's back at the ledge, he reaches out to touch the vine before looking apprehensively down at the man below.

"I don't suppose you have any words of advice," he calls out.

John squints up at him in thought a long moment.

"Don't fall?" He settles on, followed by: "It isn't far enough to kill you. Just take it easy and don't rush."

There, good enough?

Edited (Tense) 2018-06-16 17:01 (UTC)

“Comforting...” Ianto mutters to himself, tugging on the vine slightly as he looks down at John and thinks about how much he really doesn’t want to do this. Knowing him, he’d get about halfway down before his hands would cramp up and he’d wind up breaking an arm or something. If only...

An idea comes to him, and Ianto has to admit that it’s probably not a very good one, but it’s beyter than falling and embarrassing himself otherwise. Setting his bag down at his feet he fishes through it before producing his new gloves. He’s not quite sure what leather they’re made from but they’re tough enough to be able to handle this, he’s sure. Zipping his bag back up and securing it on his back, he puts them on, reaching out for the vine again and taking a deep breath.

“Heads up!” he calls out, before taking the vine in both hands, hooking both his feet around it, and pushing off to let gravity take care of the rest of the work.

He takes a step back at the warning to give Ianto space, glances around before looking up. His eyes widen slowly as he realises how quickly Ianto is moving, and then John is stepping forward again quickly read to grab Ianto in case he doesn't slow down properly. His hands snatch out at him as soon as he's in range, face furrowed in concern and irritation in equal measure.

"Jesus, Ianto! What the hell happened to taking it easy and not rushing?"

Apparently Ianto asked for his advice and then decided to just discard it. Not that John doesn't do the same thing often enough, but still. He does so with experience to guide him! It's different. Probably.

Well. John had offered to break his fall...? In the end he does so admirably, as the theory of sliding down the vine works a lot better than the practice of it, and as Ianto suspected, he’s really not strong enough to successfully slow his descent. John’s hands reach out to catch him just in time for his feet to tangle in the vines and he breathes a sigh of relief as a potential disaster is averted. Right. Not trying that again then.

Easing his hands off the vine once he’s sure he’s not about to fall over he glances aside at the other man sheepishly. “Well, I didn’t know whether I could hold myself the whole way down, so.” It seemed like a good idea at the time...

"If you wanted to fall into my arms there are really better ways to go about it."

Seriously. He lets out a sigh and loosens his grip once he's sure Ianto is steady, glances back up at the vine with an uncertain squint then down at Ianto's gloved hands. He's trying to gauge how tough the stuff is -- did a layer of plant strip off from that?

"Next time at least try the slow way first, alright?"

Please, for the sake of his nerves.

Ianto eases himself out of John's arms, his face flushing brightly in response to his quip. He takes a few steps away from the other man, pulling off his gloves and moving to shove them in his bag.

"Alright," he says, perhaps a little more sharply than he should. "Okay. Next time I'll try things your way. Slow and easy, I've got it. Maybe you can just carry me down next time and save us both the hassle," he quips, though he's obviously flustered. Hooking his hands in the straps of his bag he starts off down the path towards the pool.

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