Ficlet: Shocking!
Title: Shocking!
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto is shocked to realise the unthinkable is on the verge of happening.
Word Count: 500
Written Using: Prompt 264: Last at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my Ghost of a Chance ‘Verse.
Ianto got to the point as soon as he reached the flight deck. “We have a problem.”
Jack was halfway under one of the consoles, running a check on the environmental systems because the lights in the aft stairwell had developed an annoying buzz. He hadn’t been expecting company; the last time he’d seen his lover, Ianto had been busy putting their freshly laundered and pressed clothes away in their stateroom closets two decks down. Startled by the interruption, he jumped, hitting his head on the underside of the console.
“Ow!”
“Sorry. What are you doing under there anyway?”
“Fixing a loose connection.” Jack rubbed the back of his head.
“By headbutting it?” Ianto raised an eyebrow. “There have to be less painful ways.” His grin showed he was teasing.
“Funny. I only did that because I wasn’t expecting you to sneak up behind me.” Jack pulled himself upright and flopped into the co-pilot’s chair, that one being the closest. “So, you said we have a problem?”
“We do.”
“Don’t tell me, we’re out of laundry detergent.” That was a joke; laundry aboard their cargo ship was done in a sonic cleaner, since water supplies were limited and needed for drinking and cooking. Out in space, they couldn’t afford to waste a drop.
“Far worse than that.” Ianto’s expression turned serious. “We’re down to our last bag of coffee.”
Jack felt as though a bucket of cold water had just been tipped over him. “You’re sure?”
“I double and triple checked.” Ianto sank into the pilot’s seat. “I don’t know how it happened, I’m usually so careful, but we have one bag left and there’s nowhere in this sector that produces coffee.”
That was bad news indeed. “Do you think we can make it last until we finish this run?”
“If we ration ourselves to one cup each per day, we should just about make it, but after that…” Ianto trailed off, looking apologetic.
“After that we’ll still have to fly somewhere we can re-stock.”
“Mm.” Ianto nodded. “We’re docking at Vernulov Depot in a few days, we could get some havera beans there to tide us over. They’re high in caffeine even if the taste is a bit uninspiring.”
“They taste like dishwater!”
“Yes, well, if we grind them up and mix them with cocoa powder, they’ll at least be drinkable. We won’t go into caffeine withdrawal.”
“I suppose that’s our best bet.” Jack sighed. “I hate to say this, but we should probably conserve as much of our remaining coffee as we can. As soon as we get the havera beans, we should switch to those.”
Ianto nodded. “We’d better not pick up any other cargo either; we can afford to fly with empty holds for a while.”
“So as soon as we drop off the last of this load…” Jack looked at his lover enquiringly.
“You know as well as I do where the best coffee is grown.”
Jack nodded. “A trip to earth would be good.”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto is shocked to realise the unthinkable is on the verge of happening.
Word Count: 500
Written Using: Prompt 264: Last at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my Ghost of a Chance ‘Verse.
Ianto got to the point as soon as he reached the flight deck. “We have a problem.”
Jack was halfway under one of the consoles, running a check on the environmental systems because the lights in the aft stairwell had developed an annoying buzz. He hadn’t been expecting company; the last time he’d seen his lover, Ianto had been busy putting their freshly laundered and pressed clothes away in their stateroom closets two decks down. Startled by the interruption, he jumped, hitting his head on the underside of the console.
“Ow!”
“Sorry. What are you doing under there anyway?”
“Fixing a loose connection.” Jack rubbed the back of his head.
“By headbutting it?” Ianto raised an eyebrow. “There have to be less painful ways.” His grin showed he was teasing.
“Funny. I only did that because I wasn’t expecting you to sneak up behind me.” Jack pulled himself upright and flopped into the co-pilot’s chair, that one being the closest. “So, you said we have a problem?”
“We do.”
“Don’t tell me, we’re out of laundry detergent.” That was a joke; laundry aboard their cargo ship was done in a sonic cleaner, since water supplies were limited and needed for drinking and cooking. Out in space, they couldn’t afford to waste a drop.
“Far worse than that.” Ianto’s expression turned serious. “We’re down to our last bag of coffee.”
Jack felt as though a bucket of cold water had just been tipped over him. “You’re sure?”
“I double and triple checked.” Ianto sank into the pilot’s seat. “I don’t know how it happened, I’m usually so careful, but we have one bag left and there’s nowhere in this sector that produces coffee.”
That was bad news indeed. “Do you think we can make it last until we finish this run?”
“If we ration ourselves to one cup each per day, we should just about make it, but after that…” Ianto trailed off, looking apologetic.
“After that we’ll still have to fly somewhere we can re-stock.”
“Mm.” Ianto nodded. “We’re docking at Vernulov Depot in a few days, we could get some havera beans there to tide us over. They’re high in caffeine even if the taste is a bit uninspiring.”
“They taste like dishwater!”
“Yes, well, if we grind them up and mix them with cocoa powder, they’ll at least be drinkable. We won’t go into caffeine withdrawal.”
“I suppose that’s our best bet.” Jack sighed. “I hate to say this, but we should probably conserve as much of our remaining coffee as we can. As soon as we get the havera beans, we should switch to those.”
Ianto nodded. “We’d better not pick up any other cargo either; we can afford to fly with empty holds for a while.”
“So as soon as we drop off the last of this load…” Jack looked at his lover enquiringly.
“You know as well as I do where the best coffee is grown.”
Jack nodded. “A trip to earth would be good.”
The End