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fan_flashworks2018-02-17 07:23 pm
m_findlow) wrote in fan_flashworks2018-02-17 07:23 pm
Entry tags:
Torchwood: Fanfic: Slice of life
Title: Slice of life
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,557 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 218 - Slice
Summary: Ianto's weekend isn't quite how he imagined it.
Ianto felt thoroughly miffed as the bed covers were tugged out of his comfortable grip.
'It's Saturday,' Ianto groaned, trying to heave them back out of Jack's grip. All he wanted was to not have to get out of bed on his one weekend off. Since when was Jack so keen on getting out of bed?
'It's after eight am,' Jack replied, standing over him. 'How much of a lie in did you want? Besides, we've got stuff to do.'
Ianto groaned again and pulled the pillow over his face just moments before Jack tugged it back away.
'Up and attem, Ianto. Shower, then breakfast.'
Ianto was disappointed that even Jack's ordering him to the shower hadn't mean shower for two, leaving him on his own to scrub away the week's grime. It felt like he hadn't stopped for days on end, so despite having to get up, the shower felt good.
When he padded out from the bathroom though, he was surprised to find the bed made, pillows and cushions plumped, and clothes laid out on the bed for him. Since when did Jack make the bed, and weren't those clothes from the hamper that had last night still been waiting for someone to fold them and put them away? He slid open the wardrobe door and found the rest of them neatly put away. Setting aside the mystery, he dressed and brushed his hair before following the hall down to the kitchen, where he could hear the hiss of pans and the scent of smoky bacon.
'I've got scrambled eggs on,' Jack announced as he entered the kitchen, sliding a glass of orange juice in Ianto's direction. 'Did you want toast as well?'
'Just eggs is fine,' Ianto replied, not quite able to comprehend the question properly, seeing the table already set for a proper cooked breakfast.
'If you hurry, your pajamas can go in the wash with everything else,' Jack said, stirring the eggs.
'The wash?'
'Yeah, it's only just started.'
Ianto stopped in the middle of their kitchen and put his arms on his hips. 'Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Jack Harkness?'
Jack laughed and padded across the kitchen, still wearing his own t-shirt and boxers, grabbing Ianto by the waist. 'It's me. Like I said, we've got a lot to do today, and the laundry can be on whilst we're gone.'
Ianto narrowed his eyes at Jack but he seemed otherwise fine, so he let it go for the moment, determined to keep an eye out for any other strange behaviour.
Breakfast was good, and unexpected. They never had time for a cooked breakfast, and even rarer was it that Jack cooked, though he was perfectly capable. Perhaps it had been worth the semi early start. Ianto was still flipping through the newspaper. He was sipping on the last of his coffee, the only thing Jack hadn't made himself, whilst the man in question had left to shower and dress himself, when suddenly he was right behind Ianto.
'Okay, let's go,' Jack said.
'Go where?'
The supermarket was not anywhere on Ianto's list of expected places to go, though Jack made a valid point that they were out of a considerable number of things, soon filling the trolley all the way to the top with essentials. Who knew they'd gotten that far behind on their shop. It was meant to be a weekly thing, but as with all things Torchwood, nothing ever went according to plan. That they hadn't been home long enough to notice spoke volumes.
Ianto was loading the last couple of bags into the boot when Jack announced that they should stop off at the hardware store on the way home.
'Why?'
'You keep complaining the shower has a small leak at the base. We should pick up some of that silicone sealer and fix it. It's not that far away.'
In the end, Jack was right. They did need to fix the shower, and he couldn't help but grab a few other bits and pieces whilst they were there, unsure when they'd next get back here. Jack smiled when he picked up a new plastic bucket for the garden. Their last one had broken its metal handle during a freak storm that had them bailing water out of their small patio before it tried to flood the house.
'That's good thinking, Ianto,' he said, admiring the bright red bucket. 'We'll need that when we go home to clean out the gutters.'
'Clean out the...' Ianto trailed off. What the hell kind of weekend was this that Jack had planned?
Jack was quite serious about the gutters. After having patched up the shower, leaving the silicone to dry, he was already heading out to prop up the ladder against the side of the house. He clambered up it to begin filling their new bucket with piles of rotting and sodden leaves, before passing the bucket down to Ianto to add to their compost bin.
'No wonder the patio flooded,' Jack remarked. 'There was nowhere for the water to go expect straight over the top of the gutters. They're totally chock full of leaves.'
They stopped briefly for lunch, fixing ham and lettuce sandwiches before wrapping up their job and cleaning up, sweeping up the remaining mess that had descended from the roof from Jack's efforts.
'I think I'm worn out,' Ianto said, trying to figure out how he could go thirty six hours non-stop at work, but a few hours of household chores had him exhausted.
'You might be, but there's a puppy that isn't,' Jack said watching as their black labrador zipped around the yard, having tried to get under Ianto's feet all morning and chewing unhelpfully on the end of the broom. Calling him a puppy was hardly correct either. At thirty-three kilos, he was an unruly teenager, and could knock you flat on your back with very little effort.
'We should take him to the park and tire him out,' Jack said. 'It's been ages since he got a good run around.' Lately, the only running he'd done had been of the escaping kind when they arrived home late at night, slipping between their legs and disappearing down the street. Trying to find a black dog in the dark was no easy task, and the only ones getting any proper running in were the pair of them, endeavoring to capture him.
Fortunately the park was within walking distance from their house, meaning there were no battles to first get their temperamental pooch into the car, and then a second battle to coax him back out. As soon as he spotted the long expanse of green, he was tugging firmly against the leash, determined to go. Jack unclipped it and he bounded off in a streak of black. They took turns tossing the tennis ball for Buddy to run after, since half the time he refused to return the ball, meaning one or the other of the would have to chase after him. If anything, they got as much exercise as their dog did, Buddy relishing making them earn the ball back off him. Ianto tugged it back out of his mouth and threw it as far as he could before collapsing onto the grass in the afternoon sunshine. After a few moments there was a black face looking down at him and panting.
'Oh, so now you want to bring it back like you're supposed to?'
'Had enough?' Jack asked, coming over to look down at him as well.
'Yup.'
They walked back home, albeit as a slower pace than they'd headed out. Even Buddy wasn't pulling at the leash with quite the same amount of enthusiasm, their task a success. On the way, Jack called for takeout, so that it would arrive home shortly after they did.
'I'm beat,' Ianto announced as they walked in through the door, crashing on the sofa whilst they waited for their food.
'I thought you were Ianto,' Jack joked.
'Har har. What was with you today, anyway? Since when are you all domestic and house chores? This was meant to be our weekend off. The first one in absolutely ages.'
'I just thought it'd be nice to have a little slice of normal life for once. You're always complaining about how you wish our lives could be a little less crazy. Today we just did what everybody else does.'
'It's exhausting. I think I like crazy Torchwood better. That's I'm used to.'
Jack laughed. 'We did pack a fair bit into one day, I suppose. But it was worth it.'
'Worth it how?'
'Well, it just means that we got everything done that we had to do, so tomorrow we can do absolutely nothing at all. Just you and me in bed all day long.'
'What about Buddy?' Fat chance they were going to get a whole day of peace in bed with a dog that thought it owned their bed, and liked to share the space between them.
'I think he'll be left out in the yard to amuse himself,' Jack said. 'Tomorrow the only person I want to play with is you.'
Ianto nestled against Jack on the sofa and smiled. Perhaps he could get used to normality after all.
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,557 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 218 - Slice
Summary: Ianto's weekend isn't quite how he imagined it.
Ianto felt thoroughly miffed as the bed covers were tugged out of his comfortable grip.
'It's Saturday,' Ianto groaned, trying to heave them back out of Jack's grip. All he wanted was to not have to get out of bed on his one weekend off. Since when was Jack so keen on getting out of bed?
'It's after eight am,' Jack replied, standing over him. 'How much of a lie in did you want? Besides, we've got stuff to do.'
Ianto groaned again and pulled the pillow over his face just moments before Jack tugged it back away.
'Up and attem, Ianto. Shower, then breakfast.'
Ianto was disappointed that even Jack's ordering him to the shower hadn't mean shower for two, leaving him on his own to scrub away the week's grime. It felt like he hadn't stopped for days on end, so despite having to get up, the shower felt good.
When he padded out from the bathroom though, he was surprised to find the bed made, pillows and cushions plumped, and clothes laid out on the bed for him. Since when did Jack make the bed, and weren't those clothes from the hamper that had last night still been waiting for someone to fold them and put them away? He slid open the wardrobe door and found the rest of them neatly put away. Setting aside the mystery, he dressed and brushed his hair before following the hall down to the kitchen, where he could hear the hiss of pans and the scent of smoky bacon.
'I've got scrambled eggs on,' Jack announced as he entered the kitchen, sliding a glass of orange juice in Ianto's direction. 'Did you want toast as well?'
'Just eggs is fine,' Ianto replied, not quite able to comprehend the question properly, seeing the table already set for a proper cooked breakfast.
'If you hurry, your pajamas can go in the wash with everything else,' Jack said, stirring the eggs.
'The wash?'
'Yeah, it's only just started.'
Ianto stopped in the middle of their kitchen and put his arms on his hips. 'Okay, who are you and what have you done with the real Jack Harkness?'
Jack laughed and padded across the kitchen, still wearing his own t-shirt and boxers, grabbing Ianto by the waist. 'It's me. Like I said, we've got a lot to do today, and the laundry can be on whilst we're gone.'
Ianto narrowed his eyes at Jack but he seemed otherwise fine, so he let it go for the moment, determined to keep an eye out for any other strange behaviour.
Breakfast was good, and unexpected. They never had time for a cooked breakfast, and even rarer was it that Jack cooked, though he was perfectly capable. Perhaps it had been worth the semi early start. Ianto was still flipping through the newspaper. He was sipping on the last of his coffee, the only thing Jack hadn't made himself, whilst the man in question had left to shower and dress himself, when suddenly he was right behind Ianto.
'Okay, let's go,' Jack said.
'Go where?'
The supermarket was not anywhere on Ianto's list of expected places to go, though Jack made a valid point that they were out of a considerable number of things, soon filling the trolley all the way to the top with essentials. Who knew they'd gotten that far behind on their shop. It was meant to be a weekly thing, but as with all things Torchwood, nothing ever went according to plan. That they hadn't been home long enough to notice spoke volumes.
Ianto was loading the last couple of bags into the boot when Jack announced that they should stop off at the hardware store on the way home.
'Why?'
'You keep complaining the shower has a small leak at the base. We should pick up some of that silicone sealer and fix it. It's not that far away.'
In the end, Jack was right. They did need to fix the shower, and he couldn't help but grab a few other bits and pieces whilst they were there, unsure when they'd next get back here. Jack smiled when he picked up a new plastic bucket for the garden. Their last one had broken its metal handle during a freak storm that had them bailing water out of their small patio before it tried to flood the house.
'That's good thinking, Ianto,' he said, admiring the bright red bucket. 'We'll need that when we go home to clean out the gutters.'
'Clean out the...' Ianto trailed off. What the hell kind of weekend was this that Jack had planned?
Jack was quite serious about the gutters. After having patched up the shower, leaving the silicone to dry, he was already heading out to prop up the ladder against the side of the house. He clambered up it to begin filling their new bucket with piles of rotting and sodden leaves, before passing the bucket down to Ianto to add to their compost bin.
'No wonder the patio flooded,' Jack remarked. 'There was nowhere for the water to go expect straight over the top of the gutters. They're totally chock full of leaves.'
They stopped briefly for lunch, fixing ham and lettuce sandwiches before wrapping up their job and cleaning up, sweeping up the remaining mess that had descended from the roof from Jack's efforts.
'I think I'm worn out,' Ianto said, trying to figure out how he could go thirty six hours non-stop at work, but a few hours of household chores had him exhausted.
'You might be, but there's a puppy that isn't,' Jack said watching as their black labrador zipped around the yard, having tried to get under Ianto's feet all morning and chewing unhelpfully on the end of the broom. Calling him a puppy was hardly correct either. At thirty-three kilos, he was an unruly teenager, and could knock you flat on your back with very little effort.
'We should take him to the park and tire him out,' Jack said. 'It's been ages since he got a good run around.' Lately, the only running he'd done had been of the escaping kind when they arrived home late at night, slipping between their legs and disappearing down the street. Trying to find a black dog in the dark was no easy task, and the only ones getting any proper running in were the pair of them, endeavoring to capture him.
Fortunately the park was within walking distance from their house, meaning there were no battles to first get their temperamental pooch into the car, and then a second battle to coax him back out. As soon as he spotted the long expanse of green, he was tugging firmly against the leash, determined to go. Jack unclipped it and he bounded off in a streak of black. They took turns tossing the tennis ball for Buddy to run after, since half the time he refused to return the ball, meaning one or the other of the would have to chase after him. If anything, they got as much exercise as their dog did, Buddy relishing making them earn the ball back off him. Ianto tugged it back out of his mouth and threw it as far as he could before collapsing onto the grass in the afternoon sunshine. After a few moments there was a black face looking down at him and panting.
'Oh, so now you want to bring it back like you're supposed to?'
'Had enough?' Jack asked, coming over to look down at him as well.
'Yup.'
They walked back home, albeit as a slower pace than they'd headed out. Even Buddy wasn't pulling at the leash with quite the same amount of enthusiasm, their task a success. On the way, Jack called for takeout, so that it would arrive home shortly after they did.
'I'm beat,' Ianto announced as they walked in through the door, crashing on the sofa whilst they waited for their food.
'I thought you were Ianto,' Jack joked.
'Har har. What was with you today, anyway? Since when are you all domestic and house chores? This was meant to be our weekend off. The first one in absolutely ages.'
'I just thought it'd be nice to have a little slice of normal life for once. You're always complaining about how you wish our lives could be a little less crazy. Today we just did what everybody else does.'
'It's exhausting. I think I like crazy Torchwood better. That's I'm used to.'
Jack laughed. 'We did pack a fair bit into one day, I suppose. But it was worth it.'
'Worth it how?'
'Well, it just means that we got everything done that we had to do, so tomorrow we can do absolutely nothing at all. Just you and me in bed all day long.'
'What about Buddy?' Fat chance they were going to get a whole day of peace in bed with a dog that thought it owned their bed, and liked to share the space between them.
'I think he'll be left out in the yard to amuse himself,' Jack said. 'Tomorrow the only person I want to play with is you.'
Ianto nestled against Jack on the sofa and smiled. Perhaps he could get used to normality after all.
no subject
Ianto and Jack have earned their day of rest.