FIC: Torchwood - "Places"

[fajrdrako]

Title: Places
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Gwen Cooper
Challenge: theatrical_muse, challenge #235: where do you live?
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Not mine, no claims, all property of the BBC.
Notes: Cross-posted to my LJ, to theatrical_muse, and to torchwoodgwen.


Places

When she was very young, Gwen wanted to live with her grandmother. Her house smelled of baking and laundry and caring. Her books were battered and old, but as friendly as the old upholstery and the potted plants. It was a wonderful place to be.

At home, she was scolded sometimes for not cleaning up her room, or asking too many questions, or staying out too late.

Now she had a place of her own, and she had to admit she left Rhys to do too much of the housework. She just didn't have time. There was a woman who came in sometimes to clean, and Rhys didn't really mind that she couldn't do her share of laundry and dishwashing. She loved the place, with its desk for her computer, and the comfy sofa where Rhys liked to watch the nighttime soaps, and where they'd sometimes make out just because they could and there was no reason not to.

But she loved their bedroom and she loved their bed, the happiest place in Cardiff. Well... usually.

Sometimes she thought, though, that it wasn't really her place. It was their place, her and Rhys's, a carefully tended neutral ground where his music and her music met a compromise with albums they both liked. Where he might not scold when she came home late, but he couldn't hide that he hated it when she was late for supper, late for bed, or not home at all for days. At times like that, his silence spoke volumes. Sometimes his annoyance with her job made him ask questions, too many questions. It was like an interrogatin. She was the one who got angry then, needed to cool down, needed to understand his point of view. No one ever said marriage was easy. No one ever lived with anyone, without compromise.

She couldn't even complain about the hideous green vase in the closet, given to them by his mother, who had no taste at all.

In some ways, the Hub felt more like home than the flat, more like her own territory. She'd made changes while Jack was gone, put in a new Board Room, set Owen and Tosh up with the hothouse for alien and native plants, transferred some of the debris to the lower storage tunnels. She couldn't believe how big the place was. Jack had never told her; it took Ianto to show her, when she was the one in charge.

When Jack came back, he left her changes. He was casual that way. He never objected to her music, or Owen's. He didn't complain about the scattered pizza boxes, as long as Ianto took care of them. He paid little attention to when Gwen came in or left, because they all worked most of the time, and he took it for granted.

The Hub felt like home, and except for the times she and Jack disagreed and had a flaming row about it, she was happy there. It was more comfortable in its way than the flat she shared with Rhys, though it embarrassed her a little to think that. But why not? She had everything she wanted - except Rhys - right here at the Torchwood Hub.

It was a wonderful place to be.



~ ~ ~

Character: Gwen Cooper
Fandom: Doctor Who/Torchwood
Words: 544

~ ~ ~

Comments

[gypsylady.livejournal.com]

I love Gwen. And I love this.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What a wonderful thing to say - thank you!

[toraks.livejournal.com]

Ooooooo! I love that! I definitely have an affection for Gwen and you captured her well. Then again, I probably see the characters close to how you do, partially because you're my main exposure to them outside the show. But that doesn't mean I love what you've written less! ;-D

I'm afraid it parallels my life a bit too closely for comfort though -- at least the letting the hubby do most of the work at home... Oh well. The rest, not so much. I'm much more at home at home. And I share work with my hubby too. ;-)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I'm glad if my affection for Gwen has spilled over into you having a positive attitude to her. I think she's a lot of fun.

I'd let my hubby do the work at home - if only I had one! (A hubby, I mean, not a home....)

[raissad.livejournal.com]

You write these characters better than the show's writers sometimes do.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

What a nice thing to say. What a wonderful comment. Thank you!

[oursoliloquies.livejournal.com]

This made me smile. I like the optimistic twist you put on Gwen's perspective- I do love Gwen a lot and you really brought out the side of her that I like so much. Really enjoyed this!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Gwen has the kind of spirit that keeps hope alive.

Thanks for the kind words!

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

That's so sweet... so introspective and so "Gwen" of you. I know you think about Gwen's take, a lot. Natural that you should be fleshing her out in this way.

I also liked the references to the comfy sofa where sometimes they made out just because they could. Made me smile.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I think Gwen is acutally very happy in her home, and that the character has a lot of capacity for happines. (Like Jack.) But she's an independent spirit, too.

Glad you liked it!

[walkingowl.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did like it. Gwen is so complex, and the performances in the character are often so subtle. I agree -- probably quite happy in her home. And a truly independent spirit. Going back to my idea that she probably volunteered to be the coffee-fetcher for the detectives, so that she could eavesdrop on their cases, and get her face known, and all.