Fic: A Torchwood Christmas
Title: A Torchwood Christmas
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Tosh, Gwen, Owen, Herman.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None.
Summary: The Torchwood team are all busy getting the Hub ready for Christmas.
Word Count: 787
Written For: The prompts ‘Gingerbread’, ‘Trimming the Tree’, ‘Hot Chocolate’, Holiday Baking’, and ‘Chestnut’ at torchwood_fest 2021.
Beta: My lovely friend smallhobbit. Thanks so much!
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood or the characters; they belong to the BBC and each other.
Christmas preparations were underway at Torchwood, and since the Rift was being unusually cooperative, everyone was able to join in. Jack was in the Hub’s newly modernised kitchen, busying himself with the Christmas baking, the rich aroma of gingerbread and other Christmas cookies mingling with the fruitier scent of homemade mince pies. Ianto was sharing the space, making hot chocolate from scratch as a special non-alcoholic festive treat; it had seemed wiser than making eggnog, or spiced wine, just in case the Rift woke up from its nap and they had to go and retrieve something.
Out in the main Hub, Christmas music was playing in the background, Gwen and Tosh singing along as they trimmed the tree, hanging baubles, arranging tinsel, and twining a long string of lights through the branches. It was a magnificent specimen, fully twelve feet tall, so Tosh was on the catwalk, decorating the top, while Gwen took care of the lower branches.
Owen claimed he was supervising, which mostly meant sitting at his workstation, occasionally shouting out instructions.
“Move that one to the left a bit, Tosh; you’re leaving a massive gap. Gwen, your tinsel’s gone droopy again; wrap the middle around a branch so it doesn’t keep sliding off.”
“Why don’t you help instead of just telling us what to do?” Gwen demanded.
“I am helping. I can see the overall effect better from here than you two can from up close. Besides, I’m busy with roasting chestnuts.”
Listening from the kitchen, Ianto frowned. Roasting chestnuts? How? Giving the hot chocolate a final stir, he filled five mugs, topping each one with a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of marshmallows, then added chocolate shavings, and set Jack’s mug within easy reach of where his lover was standing, cutting shapes from gingerbread dough. Loading the rest of the mugs on a tray, Ianto made his way out into the Hub to investigate the mystery of the roasting chestnuts.
Ah, of course. There sat Herman the dragon, gently breathing fire on the underside of an old metal baking tray, where rows of chestnuts were arrayed for cooking, their shells neatly sliced open with one of Owen’s scalpels. Torchwood’s medic was preparing another trayful for roasting, and a third was already done, set to one side so the freshly roasted chestnuts could cool to a suitable temperature for eating.
“Roasted by dragon?” Ianto asked mildly.
Owen shrugged. “Jack’s hogging the oven, and Herman doesn’t mind.”
“Rowr!” Herman agreed, gently wagging his muscular tail, and snorting out a steady streamer of flame.
“Okay then.” Ianto addressed the dragon. “Let me know when you’re finished with roasting duty, and I’ll make you a cup of tea.” He set Owen’s hot chocolate at his elbow and turned to take the girls theirs, then paused and looked back at the dragon. “Why is Herman wearing a Santa hat?”
Jack came out of the kitchen, his mug in one hand and a big plate of Christmas cookies and mince pies in the other. “It fits better,” he explained. “I couldn’t get the reindeer antlers to stay on his head; they kept falling off.”
Ianto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Right. Silly me.” He walked away without looking back again. Orange dragon, red Santa hat… Not the best colour combination, but the hat didn’t seem to be bothering Herman so there was no point making a fuss about Jack decorating their dragon. At least he hadn’t wrapped Herman in tinsel, like he’d tried to do with Myfanwy a few years back. “Time for a break from the decorating, ladies.” He offered the tray and Tosh scampered down the stairs from the catwalk to claim her mug, taking a sip and getting cream on the end of her nose.
“Oooh, this is lovely!”
Gwen joined them. “Ta, Ianto.”
Jack held up his plate of baked goodies, still warm from the oven. “Come and get ‘em while they’re hot!”
Everyone dragged chairs over to where Owen sat, presiding over the chestnuts. The second batch was done and cooling, while the ones on the first tray were ready to eat. Herman continued patiently roasting the final lot.
“Gives a whole new meaning to the old song, doesn’t it?” Jack commented as his team tucked into cookies, mince pies, and delicious chestnuts.
“I doubt anyone else roasts their chestnuts this way,” Ianto murmured, helping himself to a mince pie.
“We’re Torchwood,” Owen pointed out. “We do things our own way.”
“Yes we do.” Ianto raised his mug in a salute. “Merry Christmas, everyone!”
Herman puffed flames. “ROWR!”
Torchwood’s Christmases might be a little unorthodox, but that was unimportant. What mattered was being able to celebrate the holiday season together.
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Tosh, Gwen, Owen, Herman.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None.
Summary: The Torchwood team are all busy getting the Hub ready for Christmas.
Word Count: 787
Written For: The prompts ‘Gingerbread’, ‘Trimming the Tree’, ‘Hot Chocolate’, Holiday Baking’, and ‘Chestnut’ at torchwood_fest 2021.
Beta: My lovely friend smallhobbit. Thanks so much!
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood or the characters; they belong to the BBC and each other.
Christmas preparations were underway at Torchwood, and since the Rift was being unusually cooperative, everyone was able to join in. Jack was in the Hub’s newly modernised kitchen, busying himself with the Christmas baking, the rich aroma of gingerbread and other Christmas cookies mingling with the fruitier scent of homemade mince pies. Ianto was sharing the space, making hot chocolate from scratch as a special non-alcoholic festive treat; it had seemed wiser than making eggnog, or spiced wine, just in case the Rift woke up from its nap and they had to go and retrieve something.
Out in the main Hub, Christmas music was playing in the background, Gwen and Tosh singing along as they trimmed the tree, hanging baubles, arranging tinsel, and twining a long string of lights through the branches. It was a magnificent specimen, fully twelve feet tall, so Tosh was on the catwalk, decorating the top, while Gwen took care of the lower branches.
Owen claimed he was supervising, which mostly meant sitting at his workstation, occasionally shouting out instructions.
“Move that one to the left a bit, Tosh; you’re leaving a massive gap. Gwen, your tinsel’s gone droopy again; wrap the middle around a branch so it doesn’t keep sliding off.”
“Why don’t you help instead of just telling us what to do?” Gwen demanded.
“I am helping. I can see the overall effect better from here than you two can from up close. Besides, I’m busy with roasting chestnuts.”
Listening from the kitchen, Ianto frowned. Roasting chestnuts? How? Giving the hot chocolate a final stir, he filled five mugs, topping each one with a swirl of cream and a sprinkling of marshmallows, then added chocolate shavings, and set Jack’s mug within easy reach of where his lover was standing, cutting shapes from gingerbread dough. Loading the rest of the mugs on a tray, Ianto made his way out into the Hub to investigate the mystery of the roasting chestnuts.
Ah, of course. There sat Herman the dragon, gently breathing fire on the underside of an old metal baking tray, where rows of chestnuts were arrayed for cooking, their shells neatly sliced open with one of Owen’s scalpels. Torchwood’s medic was preparing another trayful for roasting, and a third was already done, set to one side so the freshly roasted chestnuts could cool to a suitable temperature for eating.
“Roasted by dragon?” Ianto asked mildly.
Owen shrugged. “Jack’s hogging the oven, and Herman doesn’t mind.”
“Rowr!” Herman agreed, gently wagging his muscular tail, and snorting out a steady streamer of flame.
“Okay then.” Ianto addressed the dragon. “Let me know when you’re finished with roasting duty, and I’ll make you a cup of tea.” He set Owen’s hot chocolate at his elbow and turned to take the girls theirs, then paused and looked back at the dragon. “Why is Herman wearing a Santa hat?”
Jack came out of the kitchen, his mug in one hand and a big plate of Christmas cookies and mince pies in the other. “It fits better,” he explained. “I couldn’t get the reindeer antlers to stay on his head; they kept falling off.”
Ianto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Right. Silly me.” He walked away without looking back again. Orange dragon, red Santa hat… Not the best colour combination, but the hat didn’t seem to be bothering Herman so there was no point making a fuss about Jack decorating their dragon. At least he hadn’t wrapped Herman in tinsel, like he’d tried to do with Myfanwy a few years back. “Time for a break from the decorating, ladies.” He offered the tray and Tosh scampered down the stairs from the catwalk to claim her mug, taking a sip and getting cream on the end of her nose.
“Oooh, this is lovely!”
Gwen joined them. “Ta, Ianto.”
Jack held up his plate of baked goodies, still warm from the oven. “Come and get ‘em while they’re hot!”
Everyone dragged chairs over to where Owen sat, presiding over the chestnuts. The second batch was done and cooling, while the ones on the first tray were ready to eat. Herman continued patiently roasting the final lot.
“Gives a whole new meaning to the old song, doesn’t it?” Jack commented as his team tucked into cookies, mince pies, and delicious chestnuts.
“I doubt anyone else roasts their chestnuts this way,” Ianto murmured, helping himself to a mince pie.
“We’re Torchwood,” Owen pointed out. “We do things our own way.”
“Yes we do.” Ianto raised his mug in a salute. “Merry Christmas, everyone!”
Herman puffed flames. “ROWR!”
Torchwood’s Christmases might be a little unorthodox, but that was unimportant. What mattered was being able to celebrate the holiday season together.
The End