Ficlet: All Gone
Title: All Gone
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, completely unrepentant guilty party.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack suffers a devastating loss. Ianto’s not terribly sympathetic.
Word Count: 382
Written For: Challenge 9: Whole at beattheblackdog.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
“It’s all gone?” Jack asked, sounding dubious, as if he didn’t believe what Ianto was telling him. “The whole thing?”
“Yep!” Ianto agreed, looking equally bemused.
“But how?”
“Beats me. Patience and determination, I suppose.”
“That’s a lot of determination.”
“True, but then you have to remember who we’re talking about. Determination has never been lacking.”
“Good point. And you’re sure no one else was involved?”
“Positive, there was nobody else here. The whole team was out dealing with those Urfendahls, Myf was locked in her aerie to keep her from flying while her wing heals, and Nosy was back at our flat. That leaves only one possible suspect.”
“But it’s so little!”
“Size isn’t everything, Jack,” Ianto smirked. “Besides, maybe it’s like the TARDIS, bigger on the inside.”
“It would almost have to be. I weighed that pumpkin, it was just under eighteen pounds!”
“You’re the one who insisted on getting the biggest one in the shop!”
“It was perfect! Besides, I was looking forward to carving it! I had some really cool ideas.”
“Which reminds me, we’ll need to get a replacement in the morning or you won’t have your Jack O’ Lantern ready for the Halloween pumpkin carving contest.”
“There probably won’t be any good ones left now.”
“Well, maybe if you’d put yours away safely instead of leaving it where anyone could get at it…”
“I tried, but it wouldn’t go in the cupboard!”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “You could’ve put it down in our old bedroom; it hardly gets used these days.”
“Oh, sure! You try carrying an eighteen-pound pumpkin down a ladder one-handed, without dropping it!” Jack sighed and stared disconsolately at the orange smears on the kitchen table; they were all that remained of his wonderful pumpkin. “I still can’t believe that Dizzy ate the whole thing in three hours. It didn’t even leave any seeds!”
“Growing Flufflets apparently have bigger appetites than I thought,” Ianto agreed wryly.
In the shadows beneath the sofa, Dizzy sighed contentedly. That big, orange thing hadn’t been easy to get into, the outside had been a bit tough and rather chewy, but the effort had absolutely been worth it, what a delicious treat it had been. A long nap was definitely in order now though; it was completely stuffed!
The End