Ficlet: Water Feature
Title: Water Feature
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: As water features go, the Rift pool leaves a lot to be desired. Ianto decides it needs cleaning up.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 164: Murky at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Seeing Ianto standing at the edge of the Rift pool, hands in pockets, staring into its depths, Jack wandered over to join him.
“Enjoying the view?”
“Hardly. Have you seen the water?”
“It would be difficult to miss from here.”
“It’s murky.”
“Murky?” Jack smirked at his lover’s choice of words.
“Dark, dirty, not clear.”
“I know what it means.” Leaning forward a little, Jack peered into the pool. “With all the rain we’ve had lately it’s hardly surprising it’s a bit dirty.”
“A bit? That’s like saying the desert is a bit sandy. Something will have to be done.”
“About the desert?”
“No, twpsyn!” Ianto rolled his eyes. “About the Rift pool! It’s disgusting, probably full of slime and algae and bacteria. If I find out Owen’s been emptying his petri dishes in it… Well, let’s just say decaf will be the least of his problems.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“About Owen or the Rift pool?”
“The pool.”
“Not sure yet, but I’ll think of something.”
OoOoOoOoO
Three days later Jack arrived back at the Hub from an early retrieval to find Ianto, wearing overalls and waders, standing in the Rift pool, scrubbing it down with a broom, draining the dirty water out, pouring in fresh, and scrubbing some more, until at last he considered the concrete basin clean enough.
Climbing out, Ianto surveyed the result and turned to Jack with a satisfied smile. “There, doesn’t that look better?”
“It’s empty.”
“That would be because I haven’t refilled it yet. The point is it’s clean.”
“You know it won’t stay that way.”
“We’ll see.”
It took most of the day for the pool to refill, but eventually it was back to its usual level. If Jack thought that would be the end of it, however, he was wrong.
The following morning, there was Ianto, throwing clumps of greenery into the water.
“What’re you doing now? I thought you wanted the water clean!”
“I do, and this pond weed should help it stay that way.”
“Pond weed?”
“It’s very good at filtering the water.”
The next few weeks saw Ianto checking the Rift pool every day, testing the water and sometimes adding things to it. Jack soon gave up asking what he was doing since all he got for replies was, “Just checking the oxygen levels”, or, “Testing the water’s PH,” whatever that meant.
On the plus side, the pond weed was flourishing and the water was still clear, so whatever Ianto was doing it seemed to be working. And then, returning to the Hub unexpectedly, Jack caught Ianto lowering something carefully into the water.
“Is that a water lily?”
Ianto shrugged. “I thought it might brighten the place up a bit.”
Several other lilies were already in place, leaves floating on the water, and then a flash of gold caught Jack’s eyes.
“Goldfish?”
“Koi Carp, actually; young ones. Lovely, aren’t they?”
“Won’t Myfanwy eat them?”
“I’ve taken precautions. Be honest, isn’t this better than a murky pool?”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: As water features go, the Rift pool leaves a lot to be desired. Ianto decides it needs cleaning up.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt 164: Murky at anythingdrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Seeing Ianto standing at the edge of the Rift pool, hands in pockets, staring into its depths, Jack wandered over to join him.
“Enjoying the view?”
“Hardly. Have you seen the water?”
“It would be difficult to miss from here.”
“It’s murky.”
“Murky?” Jack smirked at his lover’s choice of words.
“Dark, dirty, not clear.”
“I know what it means.” Leaning forward a little, Jack peered into the pool. “With all the rain we’ve had lately it’s hardly surprising it’s a bit dirty.”
“A bit? That’s like saying the desert is a bit sandy. Something will have to be done.”
“About the desert?”
“No, twpsyn!” Ianto rolled his eyes. “About the Rift pool! It’s disgusting, probably full of slime and algae and bacteria. If I find out Owen’s been emptying his petri dishes in it… Well, let’s just say decaf will be the least of his problems.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“About Owen or the Rift pool?”
“The pool.”
“Not sure yet, but I’ll think of something.”
OoOoOoOoO
Three days later Jack arrived back at the Hub from an early retrieval to find Ianto, wearing overalls and waders, standing in the Rift pool, scrubbing it down with a broom, draining the dirty water out, pouring in fresh, and scrubbing some more, until at last he considered the concrete basin clean enough.
Climbing out, Ianto surveyed the result and turned to Jack with a satisfied smile. “There, doesn’t that look better?”
“It’s empty.”
“That would be because I haven’t refilled it yet. The point is it’s clean.”
“You know it won’t stay that way.”
“We’ll see.”
It took most of the day for the pool to refill, but eventually it was back to its usual level. If Jack thought that would be the end of it, however, he was wrong.
The following morning, there was Ianto, throwing clumps of greenery into the water.
“What’re you doing now? I thought you wanted the water clean!”
“I do, and this pond weed should help it stay that way.”
“Pond weed?”
“It’s very good at filtering the water.”
The next few weeks saw Ianto checking the Rift pool every day, testing the water and sometimes adding things to it. Jack soon gave up asking what he was doing since all he got for replies was, “Just checking the oxygen levels”, or, “Testing the water’s PH,” whatever that meant.
On the plus side, the pond weed was flourishing and the water was still clear, so whatever Ianto was doing it seemed to be working. And then, returning to the Hub unexpectedly, Jack caught Ianto lowering something carefully into the water.
“Is that a water lily?”
Ianto shrugged. “I thought it might brighten the place up a bit.”
Several other lilies were already in place, leaves floating on the water, and then a flash of gold caught Jack’s eyes.
“Goldfish?”
“Koi Carp, actually; young ones. Lovely, aren’t they?”
“Won’t Myfanwy eat them?”
“I’ve taken precautions. Be honest, isn’t this better than a murky pool?”
The End