“Ooh, you know what I fancy?” Jack asked as he and Ianto made their way back to the SUV following a Rift retrieval, lugging the heavy containment unit between them.

Ianto glanced sidelong at his husband. “I couldn’t even begin to guess,” he teased. After knowing Jack for so long, and being married to him for the past Eighteen years, he’d long since concluded that when Jack mentioned fancying something, he usually meant coffee, sugary food, pizza, or Ianto himself. Today, however, the good captain managed to confound him.

“Ice cream!”

“What?” Bundled up in his heavy winter overcoat, woollen hat, scarf, and gloves, Ianto was barely managing to keep from freezing in the bitterly cold wind that was howling around them, while overhead, the heavy white clouds threatened more snow to come. “Ice cream, on a day like this? Are you out of your mind? You’ll freeze to death from the inside!”

Jack pouted. “I like ice cream! Haven’t had any in ages.”

“That’s because it’s the middle of winter, twpsyn!”

“The shops sell it all year round, I saw freezers full of it last time we were at the supermarket. I should’ve bought some then, but we were in a bit of a rush.”

“That’s because we were dealing with a stray Nifflik, not doing the weekly shop.” The Nifflik, a sort of alien skunk, had been devouring onions in the produce aisle, and it had seemed wise to get it out of the shop before it found a reason to defend itself from potential threats. Decontaminating the entire store to get rid of the stench would have taken weeks.

“I meant to go back later and get some, but things got a bit busy, and I forgot.”

“And now you remember?”

With a shrug, Jack pointed towards a shop window, where an old advertisement for a particular ice cream brand was prominently displayed. “I saw that.”

“We’re not stopping for ice cream; I want to get back to the car before it starts snowing again.”

“The shop’s closed anyway. We could swing by the supermarket though, get enough for the whole team.”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “The team only want hot drinks. Unlike you, they’re not interested in anything that will make them colder than they already are. They might go for some whipped cream on their hot chocolate, but that’s about it. I’ll make us both a nice hot coffee when we get back to the Hub, how’s that?”

Jack sighed, disappointed. “Okay, but I really wanted ice cream.”

A sudden thought hit Ianto, making him stumble on the uneven, slippery pavement and almost drop his end of the containment box. “You’re not pregnant, are you?”

“What?” Jack stared at his husband in shock. “Of course not! Why would you even think that?”

“When you were pregnant with the twins, you wanted ice cream all the time.”

“With sponge cake, not on its own,” Jack reminded him. “And that was only for the first few months, then I wanted peanut butter and sardines.”

“I remember.”

“And then with Rosie, I was sniffing your shoe polish all the time, and craving fried mushrooms with raspberry jam.”

“You always have to be different with your cravings, don’t you?”

“It’s not my fault. Blame our kids!”

“It’s not their fault either. You’re sure you’re not pregnant this time?”

“Absolutely positive. I’ll even let Owen test me to prove it.”

“Then why are you craving ice cream on the coldest day we’ve had this winter?”

“It’s not a craving! Am I not allowed to fancy an ice cream for a change? It’s not like I’m demanding ice cream for every meal, just one tasty frozen treat.”

Jack looked so mournful that despite the subzero temperatures, Ianto’s heart melted. He wished the rest of him would. Seriously, he couldn’t feel his feet anymore, or his nose, and he had some doubts about his knees too. They still bent, but there was a very real possibility that they might seize up at any moment if he didn’t get into the warm soon.

“Fine. I’ll drive, and we’ll go by the supermarket so you can get yourself an ice cream.”

Jack beamed. “Yay! Thank you!”

Twenty minutes later, Jack was sitting in the passenger seat, happily eating a strawberry cornetto. He’d offered to get Ianto one as well, but Ianto had declined, saying he didn’t want to get frostbite.

“Enjoying that, are you?”

“Yep! You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“Yes I do, I’ve had ice cream before.”

Halfway back to the Hub, Jack had finished his frozen treat and was frowning.

Ianto sighed. “Now what’s wrong?”

“I’m cold.”

“Of course you are, you just ate an ice cream. People eat them in hot weather to cool off.”

“And now my head hurts.”

“Congratulations, sounds like you’ve given yourself brain freeze.”

“Is that what this is? It’s never happened to me before.”

“That’s what you get for insisting on ice cream in January.” Ianto turned the heater all the way up; it had only been on low before because Jack hadn’t wanted his ice cream to melt.

“When we get back to the Hub, maybe I should make hot chocolate to warm us up. Do you think that might unfreeze my brain?”

“I suppose it might.”

“Good.” Jack fell silent for a few minutes, then… “Damn! I should’ve got some whipped cream while I was in the supermarket.”

“We’re not going back, and that’s final!”

Jack subsided in his seat. “Whatever you say.”


The End