Shopping Spree - Follows ‘Dragon’s Treasure’
Title: Shopping Spree - Follows ‘ Dragon’s Treasure’
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Herman.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1255
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack has been shopping, but what has he bought?
Written For: Prompt ‘Any, Any, gemstones,’ at spring_renewal.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
“What’s in the bag?” Ianto asked, approaching his lover’s desk and setting his tray on the space at the end that was always left clear, if at all possible, to facilitate coffee deliveries.
Jack was rummaging through the brown paper sack that he’d been carrying when he arrived back at the Hub a few minutes ago following a mysterious errand. It was mysterious because when there were errands to be run, Ianto was the one usually saddled with running them.
Looking up, Jack grinned; he looked pleased with himself. “Shut the door and I’ll show you.”
Ianto raised an enquiring eyebrow but did as Jack asked. “Okay, the door’s shut.” His second eyebrow joined the first as he turned back to see Jack lowering the blinds blocking the main Hub from view. “What could possibly be in that bag that requires such secrecy?” He ambled back to the desk and stood there, hands in his trouser pockets. “If it’s something kinky from your favourite shop, maybe we should send the rest of the team home.”
“Huh?” Jack frowned in puzzlement. “Why would you think it was something kinky?”
“How about because I know you? Plus, you went out on some mystery errand, came back with something in a plain brown bag, and now you’re closing the blinds. What else am I supposed to think?”
Jack tutted playfully. “It’s nothing like that. Wherever did you get such a dirty mind, Mister Jones?”
“Most likely from you. I’ve been thoroughly, and I must say very enjoyably, corrupted over the past few years.”
“Willingly too, as I recall.” Jack’s smirk was nothing short of filthy.
“Be that as it may, I think we’re getting a bit off topic. I still want to know what’s in the bag.”
“There’s a new shop just opened in town; I spotted it a couple of days ago when we were chasing that Weevil just off Queen Street. It’s sort of New Age-y, so I looked it up online, just to make sure, and I was right, they have a pretty good selection.”
“Well, that’s nice. A good selection of what, exactly?”
Jack turned away to peep through the blinds, then turned back to Ianto, leaning across his desk to whisper, “Gemstones!”
“Ah, I see.” Now all the secrecy was starting to make sense; Jack had been out buying some more treasures for Herman’s hoard and didn’t want the dragon to see them yet. It was far more satisfying for Herman if he got to hunt for them, just the kind of mental stimulation that a growing dragon needed to keep him from growing bored or lazy. “Well, do I get to see?”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Jack opened the bag and started taking things out of it, setting them on his blotter. “Mostly they stock the polished kind, but they have some raw pieces too. I got amethyst, rose quartz, clear quartz, calcite in blue, green, and orange, fluorite, and this one’s orbicular jasper. It’s not sparkly like the others, but it looked interesting. Not sure what Herman will think of it, but if he doesn’t like it, I thought you could have it as a paperweight.”
Ianto hefted the chunk of rock in one hand. “It’s certainly heavy enough, and it is rather attractive.”
“Mm,” Jack agreed. “It has lots of orbicules.”
“What?”
“The round spots.” Jack pointed.
Ianto snorted. “Orbicules? Is that even a real word?”
“It should be. I mean, it’s orbicular jasper so the spots have to be the orbicules. It makes sense.”
“To you, maybe.”
“Anyway, I got a few of the tumbled stones too, and next time I go in, I might get a couple of garnets. The ones they had in stock were a bit too small, Herman would’ve had trouble picking them up, but Julie said she’s got some bigger ones on order, carnelians too. Herman will like those; they’re orange, like him.”
“Orange stones for an orange dragon; how very appropriate.”
“That’s what I thought. Anyway, I’m going to keep these locked in my desk, and just put one or two out every few days for Herman to find. That should keep him happy. It’ll save me having to order everything online, and we’ll be supporting a local business too.”
“Very noble of you, I’m sure.” Ianto smirked at his lover. “You just don’t like having to wait for things to arrive. No patience.”
“I have plenty of patience!” Jack protested. “But there’s a lot to be said for being able to get a good look at what I’m buying before I pay for it. You saw those peridots I got a couple of weeks ago; they were miniscule, Hermon could have inhaled them!” He’d given them to Tosh instead, even though they weren’t the tech genius’s birthstone. “At least if I buy from a shop, I know exactly what I’m getting.”
“There is that,” Ianto agreed.
“Next time I shop there, you should come with me. It’s only fair that you should pick out a few treasures for Herman too. I’ll pay,” Jack hurriedly added.
“Maybe I will, but it looks like you’ve got enough for the moment; we don’t want Herman’s hoard getting too big too fast.”
“I suppose not.” Jack looked at the array of crystals on his desk. “I can see why they appeal to dragons though.”
“You’re not starting a hoard of your own. There’s barely enough room for both of us in your cot as it is, without adding a load of lumpy rocks.”
“It’s too dark down there to see them at their best anyway. I could have a couple on my desk though.”
“Herman would just think they were for him and take them.”
“You’re probably right. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“So, which ones are you going to hide for your dragon first?”
“OUR dragon,” Jack said firmly. “I may have found him, but he’s yours as much as he is mine now.”
Ianto nodded, conceding the point. “Our dragon then. I do spend a lot of time with him.”
“He likes you; he’s obviously a dragon of excellent taste.”
“I wouldn’t know; I’ve never tasted him.”
Jack laughed. “Can’t say the idea appeals to me either. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, the sparklies. I was thinking clear quartz and one of the more colourful pieces, maybe this green calcite.” It was a chunky piece about the length of Jack’s thumb, and an appealing apple green.
“Seems a reasonable choice. Let me know when you want to hide them, and I’ll see to it that Herman’s elsewhere.”
“It’s a bit late today, so we’ll wait until tomorrow,” Jack decided. Gathering the crystals back into the bag, he stowed them in his bottom desk drawer, locking it securely against inquisitive dragons, then settled into his chair and picked up his coffee, draining the mug in four huge gulps. “Now, since the blinds are already closed…”
Ianto didn’t let his lover finish. “No. I have things to do, and so do you.” He leaned over the desk to kiss Jack’s pout away. “Later, when the others have gone home. Now get on with your paperwork.” He picked up the tray and Jack’s empty mug, then headed for the door.
“You’re a hard man, Ianto Jones.”
Turning back, Ianto winked. “You should know.” Then he was gone, leaving Jack laughing.
“Oh, I do.” Smiling to himself in anticipation of a fun evening ahead, Jack pulled the first item from his in-box and settled down to work.
The End
Sequel: ' Important Research'
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Herman.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1255
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack has been shopping, but what has he bought?
Written For: Prompt ‘Any, Any, gemstones,’ at spring_renewal.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
“What’s in the bag?” Ianto asked, approaching his lover’s desk and setting his tray on the space at the end that was always left clear, if at all possible, to facilitate coffee deliveries.
Jack was rummaging through the brown paper sack that he’d been carrying when he arrived back at the Hub a few minutes ago following a mysterious errand. It was mysterious because when there were errands to be run, Ianto was the one usually saddled with running them.
Looking up, Jack grinned; he looked pleased with himself. “Shut the door and I’ll show you.”
Ianto raised an enquiring eyebrow but did as Jack asked. “Okay, the door’s shut.” His second eyebrow joined the first as he turned back to see Jack lowering the blinds blocking the main Hub from view. “What could possibly be in that bag that requires such secrecy?” He ambled back to the desk and stood there, hands in his trouser pockets. “If it’s something kinky from your favourite shop, maybe we should send the rest of the team home.”
“Huh?” Jack frowned in puzzlement. “Why would you think it was something kinky?”
“How about because I know you? Plus, you went out on some mystery errand, came back with something in a plain brown bag, and now you’re closing the blinds. What else am I supposed to think?”
Jack tutted playfully. “It’s nothing like that. Wherever did you get such a dirty mind, Mister Jones?”
“Most likely from you. I’ve been thoroughly, and I must say very enjoyably, corrupted over the past few years.”
“Willingly too, as I recall.” Jack’s smirk was nothing short of filthy.
“Be that as it may, I think we’re getting a bit off topic. I still want to know what’s in the bag.”
“There’s a new shop just opened in town; I spotted it a couple of days ago when we were chasing that Weevil just off Queen Street. It’s sort of New Age-y, so I looked it up online, just to make sure, and I was right, they have a pretty good selection.”
“Well, that’s nice. A good selection of what, exactly?”
Jack turned away to peep through the blinds, then turned back to Ianto, leaning across his desk to whisper, “Gemstones!”
“Ah, I see.” Now all the secrecy was starting to make sense; Jack had been out buying some more treasures for Herman’s hoard and didn’t want the dragon to see them yet. It was far more satisfying for Herman if he got to hunt for them, just the kind of mental stimulation that a growing dragon needed to keep him from growing bored or lazy. “Well, do I get to see?”
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Jack opened the bag and started taking things out of it, setting them on his blotter. “Mostly they stock the polished kind, but they have some raw pieces too. I got amethyst, rose quartz, clear quartz, calcite in blue, green, and orange, fluorite, and this one’s orbicular jasper. It’s not sparkly like the others, but it looked interesting. Not sure what Herman will think of it, but if he doesn’t like it, I thought you could have it as a paperweight.”
Ianto hefted the chunk of rock in one hand. “It’s certainly heavy enough, and it is rather attractive.”
“Mm,” Jack agreed. “It has lots of orbicules.”
“What?”
“The round spots.” Jack pointed.
Ianto snorted. “Orbicules? Is that even a real word?”
“It should be. I mean, it’s orbicular jasper so the spots have to be the orbicules. It makes sense.”
“To you, maybe.”
“Anyway, I got a few of the tumbled stones too, and next time I go in, I might get a couple of garnets. The ones they had in stock were a bit too small, Herman would’ve had trouble picking them up, but Julie said she’s got some bigger ones on order, carnelians too. Herman will like those; they’re orange, like him.”
“Orange stones for an orange dragon; how very appropriate.”
“That’s what I thought. Anyway, I’m going to keep these locked in my desk, and just put one or two out every few days for Herman to find. That should keep him happy. It’ll save me having to order everything online, and we’ll be supporting a local business too.”
“Very noble of you, I’m sure.” Ianto smirked at his lover. “You just don’t like having to wait for things to arrive. No patience.”
“I have plenty of patience!” Jack protested. “But there’s a lot to be said for being able to get a good look at what I’m buying before I pay for it. You saw those peridots I got a couple of weeks ago; they were miniscule, Hermon could have inhaled them!” He’d given them to Tosh instead, even though they weren’t the tech genius’s birthstone. “At least if I buy from a shop, I know exactly what I’m getting.”
“There is that,” Ianto agreed.
“Next time I shop there, you should come with me. It’s only fair that you should pick out a few treasures for Herman too. I’ll pay,” Jack hurriedly added.
“Maybe I will, but it looks like you’ve got enough for the moment; we don’t want Herman’s hoard getting too big too fast.”
“I suppose not.” Jack looked at the array of crystals on his desk. “I can see why they appeal to dragons though.”
“You’re not starting a hoard of your own. There’s barely enough room for both of us in your cot as it is, without adding a load of lumpy rocks.”
“It’s too dark down there to see them at their best anyway. I could have a couple on my desk though.”
“Herman would just think they were for him and take them.”
“You’re probably right. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“So, which ones are you going to hide for your dragon first?”
“OUR dragon,” Jack said firmly. “I may have found him, but he’s yours as much as he is mine now.”
Ianto nodded, conceding the point. “Our dragon then. I do spend a lot of time with him.”
“He likes you; he’s obviously a dragon of excellent taste.”
“I wouldn’t know; I’ve never tasted him.”
Jack laughed. “Can’t say the idea appeals to me either. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, the sparklies. I was thinking clear quartz and one of the more colourful pieces, maybe this green calcite.” It was a chunky piece about the length of Jack’s thumb, and an appealing apple green.
“Seems a reasonable choice. Let me know when you want to hide them, and I’ll see to it that Herman’s elsewhere.”
“It’s a bit late today, so we’ll wait until tomorrow,” Jack decided. Gathering the crystals back into the bag, he stowed them in his bottom desk drawer, locking it securely against inquisitive dragons, then settled into his chair and picked up his coffee, draining the mug in four huge gulps. “Now, since the blinds are already closed…”
Ianto didn’t let his lover finish. “No. I have things to do, and so do you.” He leaned over the desk to kiss Jack’s pout away. “Later, when the others have gone home. Now get on with your paperwork.” He picked up the tray and Jack’s empty mug, then headed for the door.
“You’re a hard man, Ianto Jones.”
Turning back, Ianto winked. “You should know.” Then he was gone, leaving Jack laughing.
“Oh, I do.” Smiling to himself in anticipation of a fun evening ahead, Jack pulled the first item from his in-box and settled down to work.
The End
Sequel: ' Important Research'