Fic: Making Up Takes Two
Title: Making Up Takes Two
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada
Summary: After a stupid argument gets out of hand, Jack and Ianto retreat to their favourite places to do some serious thinking.
Word Count: 2702
Written For: My genprompt_bingo square ‘Heights And Depths’.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
It had been such a stupid argument, centred around whose turn it was to pick up the dry cleaning, but somehow, perhaps because they were both feeling tired and stressed, it had ended up getting completely out of hand. Both of them had vented their frustrations and grievances, saying a lot of things they didn’t really mean, as well as a few things they did. Eventually, with neither of them able to gain the upper hand, and both of them tired of shouting themselves hoarse, they’d stormed off in opposite directions, each wanting to lick their emotional wounds and wallow in some justified self-pity over having such an unsympathetic lover.
Jack, being Jack, had left the Hub and made a beeline for the highest rooftop Cardiff had to offer, where he could sulk in solitude high above his adopted city for as long as he wanted, even if that meant staying there all night. Ianto, following his own natural instincts, had sought refuge in his own hideaway of choice, the depths of the archives, where none of the other team members were likely to follow him and he could mope in private.
Truth be told, he felt like an idiot, which was only fair since he’d probably been acting like one too. He couldn’t even remember most of what he’d yelled at Jack, although he did distinctly remember telling him that if all he wanted was a maid to do everything for him then he should hire one instead of expecting to have everything done for him for free, and Jack yelling back that maybe he would, because at least a maid wouldn’t complain all the time, or try to shift responsibility onto someone else, namely him.
It wasn’t so much that Ianto minded doing things for the man he loved, but sometimes he felt taken for granted when Jack just assumed that if he left things lying around then Ianto would pick up after him. Which of course, being the tidy person he was, Ianto inevitably did. “So I suppose that makes it my fault he does it in the first place,” Ianto muttered to himself. “If I didn’t keep letting him get away with it, maybe he wouldn’t keep doing it.”
Up on his rooftop, Jack was thinking hard too. Moving in with Ianto had been a dream come true, but now when they were at home they always seemed to be arguing, which they’d hardly ever done before they’d started living together officially. What had gone wrong, who was to blame, and how could he fix it? He didn’t want to lose Ianto, couldn’t begin to imagine life without his Welshman. The first month living together in Ianto’s little house had been so wonderful, but now it was all falling apart. Did Ianto regret asking him to move in? Should he move out again, go back to the way things had been before?
Jack looked down at the people scurrying along the streets, so far below him they looked like little ants. From up here it was easy to imagine that everything was fine, and nobody had a care in the world, but how many of those people had their own problems? All of them, most likely; few people were lucky enough to drift through life with everything going their way all the time. Of course, few of them had to battle aliens and worry about saving the world on top of dealing with the ordinary, everyday worries of family, job, health, and paying the bills. Ianto, on the other hand…
He worked all day at Torchwood, keeping the place tidy, making sure everyone was fed, fixing anything that got broken, doing the filing, reorganising the archives, and going out on as many retrievals as anyone on the team. Then when his workday finally ended, he got to go home, do laundry and shopping, clean the house, wash the dishes… And what did Jack do? Work late and come home expecting to be fed and looked after. He dropped clothes on the floor, left dirty dishes in the sink, ‘forgot’ to put the trash out when it was his turn, and never helped with the cleaning. Ianto must feel like he was working two jobs, one of them unpaid; no wonder he got so annoyed at being left to do everything. Maybe hiring a maid wouldn’t be such a bad idea at that; it would take some of the pressure off Ianto and allow him to have some time for himself.
Down in the silence of the archives, Ianto busied himself with filing a stack of recent reports he hadn’t had time to put away yet. There was always so much to do, and for every item he crossed off his list it seemed like he added at least two more. He’d long since given up on the idea of ever reaching the bottom; when he was gone and someone new took his place, the list would still be there, and just as long. There were still areas of the archives waiting for him to have the time to sort and catalogue their contents, there were still cabinets full of files to be scanned into the computers, there were still things that needed fixing and light bulbs that needed replacing. Then tonight he’d get home after another long day and have to pick up after Jack, change the sheets, do laundry, provide dinner, and wash the dishes… He’d get to sleep about one in the morning if he was lucky, then get up at six to start all over again. Why did Jack have to be so messy all the time?
On the other hand, Jack had Torchwood to run and the safety of the entire population of Cardiff weighing on his shoulders. Being the head of Torchwood was a heavy burden to carry, especially when people got hurt or killed. The whole team knew it wasn’t possible to save everyone all the time, and they all did the best they could to keep casualties to a minimum, but it was always Jack who had to make the hard decisions about when and who to sacrifice for the greater good. It was a responsibility Ianto didn’t envy his lover one bit.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have come down on him so hard,” he mused. “I should probably apologise for being so snappy lately. Maybe I could hire a cleaner for a few hours a week to keep the house straight. It’s not as if I can’t afford it.”
Up on his rooftop, Jack sighed heavily and turned his back on the view, making his way to the emergency staircase and trudging downwards, ignoring the lift. The exercise wouldn’t hurt him, and it would give him a bit longer to figure out what to say to Ianto when he saw him. He’d start off with an apology for whatever he’d said during their latest argument, even though he couldn’t remember most of it. Then he’d promise to help out around the house in future instead of leaving it all to Ianto. After that he’d broach the subject of maybe hiring someone to help out… He knew Ianto could be a bit territorial, and he liked things done just so; not many people could match his exacting standards, but he shouldn’t have to work so hard all the time, not only at work but also at home. Efficient though he was, he still needed time for himself, to rest and do the things he enjoyed. Jack intended to make sure he got that, no matter what it took.
Ianto slotted the last file into the correct place and closed the filing cabinet drawer. There were plenty of other things needing to be done in the archives, but for the moment they’d have to wait, and if the rest of the team wanted anything, they were going to have to wait as well because he needed to talk to Jack. Arguments didn’t just go away by themselves; someone had to make the first move to patch things up. He knew where Jack went when he was angry or upset, so Ianto decided he’d just go and find him, maybe take a peace offering. It couldn’t hurt.
Heading straight for the Hub’s small kitchen area, Ianto whipped up some of his best coffee and filled a flask, then went to his secret hiding place and got out the Red Velvet cupcake he’d bought himself that morning on his way into work, intending to have it with his mid-afternoon coffee. This was one sacrifice Ianto was willing, even happy, to make for the sake of his and Jack’s relationship; he knew Jack loved these particular cupcakes too, and Ianto could always buy himself another one later.
Before the others could say anything, he’d snatched up his coat and slipped out through the cog door. They’d probably think he was just on his way to fetch lunch anyway. Maybe he should set up a rota for the lunch run instead of always doing it himself. Then again, it did mean he could count on getting exactly what he wanted, and anyway, a breath of fresh air, not to mention a brief respite from the chaos that often reigned in the Hub, was never a bad thing. Maybe a rota for washing the dishes, or cleaning up the work area, would be a better idea.
He was halfway across the Plas when he spotted Jack approaching from the opposite direction. In truth, it was impossible to miss him; he was always an impressive sight with his coat swirling around his legs, but the huge bunch of colourful flowers he was carrying made him stand out even more than he usually did. Even from this distance, Ianto could see Lilies, Carnations, Gerberas, and several garishly coloured sunflowers in the bouquet. There were times Ianto wondered if his lover might be colourblind, or maybe he was just attracted to anything bright. He certainly never seemed to give any thought to whether or not colours clashed. Perhaps fifty-first century vision saw colours differently…
Half-hidden behind the massive bunch of flowers he’d bought for Ianto, Jack was having to be a bit careful that he didn’t bump into anyone. It wouldn’t do to ruin his gift before he could even present it to his lover. He was starting to wonder if maybe he’d overdone it a bit though. Would there be a big enough vase at the Hub? Perhaps something a bit smaller might have been a better idea. He hadn’t really taken into account the problems he might encounter getting his purchase back to the Hub either; just trying to see past the flowers was proving somewhat difficult. When Ianto suddenly appeared right in front of him, Jack was a bit taken aback.
“Ianto! I was just coming to find you!”
“So was I. That is, I was on my way to find you.”
“You were? Has there been an alert?” Jack glanced at his wrist strap, wondering why he hadn’t heard anything.
“No, nothing like that, everything’s quiet for once.” That wasn’t unheard of, but it was still unusual enough to be worth commenting on.
“Oh. That’s good. Um, here, I bought you these.” Jack thrust the huge bouquet at Ianto, who looked at it, a tad bemused.
“They’re lovely, Jack. Thank you. Um, I made you some coffee and there’s this…” He held out the flask and the bakery bag he was holding, feeling bad that his gift didn’t seem very impressive compared to Jack’s. “Uh, swap?”
It took a bit of juggling, but after a couple of false starts they managed to transfer ownership of flowers and consumables without dropping anything.
Jack opened the bag and peeped in. “Ooh, Red Velvet, my favourite!” Jack looked at Ianto, a sudden thought occurring to him. “They’re your favourite too, aren’t they? How come you didn’t get yourself one?” Then it clicked. “This IS yours, isn’t it?”
Ianto shrugged awkwardly. “Well, I was in the Hub and there wasn’t a lot of choice. I didn’t think a pile of paperwork would go down very well as an apology. The coffee’s Blue Mountain though.” Ianto only used those beans for very special occasions; the rest of the time they resided within a stasis field to keep them as fresh as the day Jack had presented him with them.
“I’m the one who should be apologising,” Jack said. “Hence the flowers. I haven’t been pulling my weight at home and I shouldn’t expect you to do everything there as well as around the Hub. You were right; I’ve been treating you like the maid, and that stops now. I’m going to hire someone, it’s not like the budget can’t stretch to it…”
At the same time, Ianto was trying to make his own apology. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’ve been horribly unfair to you lately, always snapping at you and complaining. I know how much stress you’ve been under, and I should have been more supportive instead of making things harder for you. I’m going to look into hiring someone to do the cleaning a couple of times a week, maybe the ironing too, it’s not as if I can’t afford it…”
They both trailed off, staring at each other. “Sorry,” they chorused, then laughed sheepishly.
“You were saying?” Ianto prompted.
“No, you first,” said Jack.
“Right, okay.” Ianto nodded decisively and prepared to try again. “Jack…” He paused as Jack’s words started to filter through. “Hence?” His lips quirked up in an amused smile. “You actually used ‘hence’ in a sentence?”
“I might have been reading the dictionary the other night when I couldn’t sleep,” Jack admitted, blushing slightly. “Thought it might improve my vocabulary.”
“Sure you weren’t just looking up definitions of rude words?” Ianto shook his head and quickly dragged his brain back on track. “Never mind, the thing is, you have so many responsibilities all the time, I get that when you go home you just want to relax and not be responsible for anything.”
“But that shouldn’t mean I pile all the responsibility for everything onto you,” Jack said firmly. “You already do the jobs of several people at the Hub, so when you get home the last thing you need is to have to start working again. You’re really thinking about employing a cleaner?”
“Yes, I think so, I just need to look into the various agencies and find which one has the best reputation… Wait a minute, didn’t you say something about hiring someone?”
“For the Hub,” Jack agreed. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about letting a stranger in to clean your home, but I thought maybe if I hired someone to clean up around the Hub, wash the dishes, fix things, change light bulbs, maybe even feed and care for the residents in the cells, it would lighten your workload. I thought we could interview potential candidates, and then you could have the final choice, since they’d be more or less working for you.”
Ianto considered Jack’s suggestion for a moment, finally nodding. “That sounds like a good idea,” he agreed.
“And we should discuss who does what around the house too. I should start doing my fair share.”
“Okay, we can do that. Rhi always told me there’s a period of adjustment when you move in with someone, while you get used to sharing a space and figure out how to make it work. I suppose I thought we could just skip that part because you were already spending so many nights at my place, but I guess sleeping over isn’t quite the same as living together.”
“I guess not. So, are we going to be okay d’you think?” Jack chewed his bottom lip nervously.
“We’re getting there. I think we’ll be fine once we’ve adjusted to sharing everything.”
Jack smiled. “Good, and I know just the way to get started with that.” He held up the bag and the flask he was holding. “I have coffee and a delicious cupcake here, wanna share?”
Ianto smiled back. “You know what? I think that just might be the best idea you’ve had so far.”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada
Summary: After a stupid argument gets out of hand, Jack and Ianto retreat to their favourite places to do some serious thinking.
Word Count: 2702
Written For: My genprompt_bingo square ‘Heights And Depths’.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
It had been such a stupid argument, centred around whose turn it was to pick up the dry cleaning, but somehow, perhaps because they were both feeling tired and stressed, it had ended up getting completely out of hand. Both of them had vented their frustrations and grievances, saying a lot of things they didn’t really mean, as well as a few things they did. Eventually, with neither of them able to gain the upper hand, and both of them tired of shouting themselves hoarse, they’d stormed off in opposite directions, each wanting to lick their emotional wounds and wallow in some justified self-pity over having such an unsympathetic lover.
Jack, being Jack, had left the Hub and made a beeline for the highest rooftop Cardiff had to offer, where he could sulk in solitude high above his adopted city for as long as he wanted, even if that meant staying there all night. Ianto, following his own natural instincts, had sought refuge in his own hideaway of choice, the depths of the archives, where none of the other team members were likely to follow him and he could mope in private.
Truth be told, he felt like an idiot, which was only fair since he’d probably been acting like one too. He couldn’t even remember most of what he’d yelled at Jack, although he did distinctly remember telling him that if all he wanted was a maid to do everything for him then he should hire one instead of expecting to have everything done for him for free, and Jack yelling back that maybe he would, because at least a maid wouldn’t complain all the time, or try to shift responsibility onto someone else, namely him.
It wasn’t so much that Ianto minded doing things for the man he loved, but sometimes he felt taken for granted when Jack just assumed that if he left things lying around then Ianto would pick up after him. Which of course, being the tidy person he was, Ianto inevitably did. “So I suppose that makes it my fault he does it in the first place,” Ianto muttered to himself. “If I didn’t keep letting him get away with it, maybe he wouldn’t keep doing it.”
Up on his rooftop, Jack was thinking hard too. Moving in with Ianto had been a dream come true, but now when they were at home they always seemed to be arguing, which they’d hardly ever done before they’d started living together officially. What had gone wrong, who was to blame, and how could he fix it? He didn’t want to lose Ianto, couldn’t begin to imagine life without his Welshman. The first month living together in Ianto’s little house had been so wonderful, but now it was all falling apart. Did Ianto regret asking him to move in? Should he move out again, go back to the way things had been before?
Jack looked down at the people scurrying along the streets, so far below him they looked like little ants. From up here it was easy to imagine that everything was fine, and nobody had a care in the world, but how many of those people had their own problems? All of them, most likely; few people were lucky enough to drift through life with everything going their way all the time. Of course, few of them had to battle aliens and worry about saving the world on top of dealing with the ordinary, everyday worries of family, job, health, and paying the bills. Ianto, on the other hand…
He worked all day at Torchwood, keeping the place tidy, making sure everyone was fed, fixing anything that got broken, doing the filing, reorganising the archives, and going out on as many retrievals as anyone on the team. Then when his workday finally ended, he got to go home, do laundry and shopping, clean the house, wash the dishes… And what did Jack do? Work late and come home expecting to be fed and looked after. He dropped clothes on the floor, left dirty dishes in the sink, ‘forgot’ to put the trash out when it was his turn, and never helped with the cleaning. Ianto must feel like he was working two jobs, one of them unpaid; no wonder he got so annoyed at being left to do everything. Maybe hiring a maid wouldn’t be such a bad idea at that; it would take some of the pressure off Ianto and allow him to have some time for himself.
Down in the silence of the archives, Ianto busied himself with filing a stack of recent reports he hadn’t had time to put away yet. There was always so much to do, and for every item he crossed off his list it seemed like he added at least two more. He’d long since given up on the idea of ever reaching the bottom; when he was gone and someone new took his place, the list would still be there, and just as long. There were still areas of the archives waiting for him to have the time to sort and catalogue their contents, there were still cabinets full of files to be scanned into the computers, there were still things that needed fixing and light bulbs that needed replacing. Then tonight he’d get home after another long day and have to pick up after Jack, change the sheets, do laundry, provide dinner, and wash the dishes… He’d get to sleep about one in the morning if he was lucky, then get up at six to start all over again. Why did Jack have to be so messy all the time?
On the other hand, Jack had Torchwood to run and the safety of the entire population of Cardiff weighing on his shoulders. Being the head of Torchwood was a heavy burden to carry, especially when people got hurt or killed. The whole team knew it wasn’t possible to save everyone all the time, and they all did the best they could to keep casualties to a minimum, but it was always Jack who had to make the hard decisions about when and who to sacrifice for the greater good. It was a responsibility Ianto didn’t envy his lover one bit.
“Perhaps I shouldn’t have come down on him so hard,” he mused. “I should probably apologise for being so snappy lately. Maybe I could hire a cleaner for a few hours a week to keep the house straight. It’s not as if I can’t afford it.”
Up on his rooftop, Jack sighed heavily and turned his back on the view, making his way to the emergency staircase and trudging downwards, ignoring the lift. The exercise wouldn’t hurt him, and it would give him a bit longer to figure out what to say to Ianto when he saw him. He’d start off with an apology for whatever he’d said during their latest argument, even though he couldn’t remember most of it. Then he’d promise to help out around the house in future instead of leaving it all to Ianto. After that he’d broach the subject of maybe hiring someone to help out… He knew Ianto could be a bit territorial, and he liked things done just so; not many people could match his exacting standards, but he shouldn’t have to work so hard all the time, not only at work but also at home. Efficient though he was, he still needed time for himself, to rest and do the things he enjoyed. Jack intended to make sure he got that, no matter what it took.
Ianto slotted the last file into the correct place and closed the filing cabinet drawer. There were plenty of other things needing to be done in the archives, but for the moment they’d have to wait, and if the rest of the team wanted anything, they were going to have to wait as well because he needed to talk to Jack. Arguments didn’t just go away by themselves; someone had to make the first move to patch things up. He knew where Jack went when he was angry or upset, so Ianto decided he’d just go and find him, maybe take a peace offering. It couldn’t hurt.
Heading straight for the Hub’s small kitchen area, Ianto whipped up some of his best coffee and filled a flask, then went to his secret hiding place and got out the Red Velvet cupcake he’d bought himself that morning on his way into work, intending to have it with his mid-afternoon coffee. This was one sacrifice Ianto was willing, even happy, to make for the sake of his and Jack’s relationship; he knew Jack loved these particular cupcakes too, and Ianto could always buy himself another one later.
Before the others could say anything, he’d snatched up his coat and slipped out through the cog door. They’d probably think he was just on his way to fetch lunch anyway. Maybe he should set up a rota for the lunch run instead of always doing it himself. Then again, it did mean he could count on getting exactly what he wanted, and anyway, a breath of fresh air, not to mention a brief respite from the chaos that often reigned in the Hub, was never a bad thing. Maybe a rota for washing the dishes, or cleaning up the work area, would be a better idea.
He was halfway across the Plas when he spotted Jack approaching from the opposite direction. In truth, it was impossible to miss him; he was always an impressive sight with his coat swirling around his legs, but the huge bunch of colourful flowers he was carrying made him stand out even more than he usually did. Even from this distance, Ianto could see Lilies, Carnations, Gerberas, and several garishly coloured sunflowers in the bouquet. There were times Ianto wondered if his lover might be colourblind, or maybe he was just attracted to anything bright. He certainly never seemed to give any thought to whether or not colours clashed. Perhaps fifty-first century vision saw colours differently…
Half-hidden behind the massive bunch of flowers he’d bought for Ianto, Jack was having to be a bit careful that he didn’t bump into anyone. It wouldn’t do to ruin his gift before he could even present it to his lover. He was starting to wonder if maybe he’d overdone it a bit though. Would there be a big enough vase at the Hub? Perhaps something a bit smaller might have been a better idea. He hadn’t really taken into account the problems he might encounter getting his purchase back to the Hub either; just trying to see past the flowers was proving somewhat difficult. When Ianto suddenly appeared right in front of him, Jack was a bit taken aback.
“Ianto! I was just coming to find you!”
“So was I. That is, I was on my way to find you.”
“You were? Has there been an alert?” Jack glanced at his wrist strap, wondering why he hadn’t heard anything.
“No, nothing like that, everything’s quiet for once.” That wasn’t unheard of, but it was still unusual enough to be worth commenting on.
“Oh. That’s good. Um, here, I bought you these.” Jack thrust the huge bouquet at Ianto, who looked at it, a tad bemused.
“They’re lovely, Jack. Thank you. Um, I made you some coffee and there’s this…” He held out the flask and the bakery bag he was holding, feeling bad that his gift didn’t seem very impressive compared to Jack’s. “Uh, swap?”
It took a bit of juggling, but after a couple of false starts they managed to transfer ownership of flowers and consumables without dropping anything.
Jack opened the bag and peeped in. “Ooh, Red Velvet, my favourite!” Jack looked at Ianto, a sudden thought occurring to him. “They’re your favourite too, aren’t they? How come you didn’t get yourself one?” Then it clicked. “This IS yours, isn’t it?”
Ianto shrugged awkwardly. “Well, I was in the Hub and there wasn’t a lot of choice. I didn’t think a pile of paperwork would go down very well as an apology. The coffee’s Blue Mountain though.” Ianto only used those beans for very special occasions; the rest of the time they resided within a stasis field to keep them as fresh as the day Jack had presented him with them.
“I’m the one who should be apologising,” Jack said. “Hence the flowers. I haven’t been pulling my weight at home and I shouldn’t expect you to do everything there as well as around the Hub. You were right; I’ve been treating you like the maid, and that stops now. I’m going to hire someone, it’s not like the budget can’t stretch to it…”
At the same time, Ianto was trying to make his own apology. “I’m sorry, Jack. I’ve been horribly unfair to you lately, always snapping at you and complaining. I know how much stress you’ve been under, and I should have been more supportive instead of making things harder for you. I’m going to look into hiring someone to do the cleaning a couple of times a week, maybe the ironing too, it’s not as if I can’t afford it…”
They both trailed off, staring at each other. “Sorry,” they chorused, then laughed sheepishly.
“You were saying?” Ianto prompted.
“No, you first,” said Jack.
“Right, okay.” Ianto nodded decisively and prepared to try again. “Jack…” He paused as Jack’s words started to filter through. “Hence?” His lips quirked up in an amused smile. “You actually used ‘hence’ in a sentence?”
“I might have been reading the dictionary the other night when I couldn’t sleep,” Jack admitted, blushing slightly. “Thought it might improve my vocabulary.”
“Sure you weren’t just looking up definitions of rude words?” Ianto shook his head and quickly dragged his brain back on track. “Never mind, the thing is, you have so many responsibilities all the time, I get that when you go home you just want to relax and not be responsible for anything.”
“But that shouldn’t mean I pile all the responsibility for everything onto you,” Jack said firmly. “You already do the jobs of several people at the Hub, so when you get home the last thing you need is to have to start working again. You’re really thinking about employing a cleaner?”
“Yes, I think so, I just need to look into the various agencies and find which one has the best reputation… Wait a minute, didn’t you say something about hiring someone?”
“For the Hub,” Jack agreed. “I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about letting a stranger in to clean your home, but I thought maybe if I hired someone to clean up around the Hub, wash the dishes, fix things, change light bulbs, maybe even feed and care for the residents in the cells, it would lighten your workload. I thought we could interview potential candidates, and then you could have the final choice, since they’d be more or less working for you.”
Ianto considered Jack’s suggestion for a moment, finally nodding. “That sounds like a good idea,” he agreed.
“And we should discuss who does what around the house too. I should start doing my fair share.”
“Okay, we can do that. Rhi always told me there’s a period of adjustment when you move in with someone, while you get used to sharing a space and figure out how to make it work. I suppose I thought we could just skip that part because you were already spending so many nights at my place, but I guess sleeping over isn’t quite the same as living together.”
“I guess not. So, are we going to be okay d’you think?” Jack chewed his bottom lip nervously.
“We’re getting there. I think we’ll be fine once we’ve adjusted to sharing everything.”
Jack smiled. “Good, and I know just the way to get started with that.” He held up the bag and the flask he was holding. “I have coffee and a delicious cupcake here, wanna share?”
Ianto smiled back. “You know what? I think that just might be the best idea you’ve had so far.”
The End