Ficlet: Breaking Point
Title: Breaking Point
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Ianto’s been taken for granted for far too long and he’s reached breaking point.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Prompt #391: (It’s) Taken For Granted at slashthedrabble.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Ianto does everything around the Hub that nobody else can be arsed to do, all the cleaning and repairs, all the cataloguing and filing, all the feeding of residents, both temporary and permanent, including the team.
He runs errands, does the shopping, orders supplies, gets clothes dry-cleaned as if he’s the fucking maid service, and what does he get for all his hard work? Nothing.
Well, he gets paid of course, but that’s not the point. Half of what he does isn’t even in his job description, the rest of the team just seem to assume that he’ll do it all if they just leave things long enough. They take him for granted and that has to stop. His workload is at least twice the size of anyone else’s. At the end of the day he’s frazzled, but while everyone else gets to go home, he still has more jobs to do.
And then there’s Jack.
Ianto loves Jack, there’s no question of that, and he enjoys what they get up to together after hours, but while Jack can get by on very little sleep, Ianto can’t. He’s bone-tired and all he wants to do is go to bed, alone, but Jack has that look, the one that says ‘I want to shag you all night long.’
“Not tonight, Jack, I’m too tired, I need sleep.”
“But…”
“No, Jack! Everyone here takes me for granted, expecting me to do as much fieldwork as they do AND take care of the Hub, the archives, all our current guests, and then when I eventually finish all of that, YOU want sex! I can’t survive on two hours of sleep a night, I’m not immortal, I’m human, and I’m fucking done in!”
Jack looks stricken. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?”
Ianto sighs. “Because I didn’t want to make a fuss. We all work hard….”
“But none as hard as you. You’re right, you do the jobs of at least four people, and I can’t remember the last time you had a day off.”
“Neither can I.”
“So, you’re taking the whole weekend off, I want you to go home and rest, catch up on your beauty sleep. I’ll make sure the others stay out of the archives, but I’ll set up a rota for cleaning up and feeding the residents. It’s about time we all pulled our weight instead of leaving everything to you.” Jack walks over to hug Ianto. “I’m sorry, I promise I’ll be a better boss, and a better boyfriend, in future. Grab your stuff and I’ll drive you home.”
Ianto leans his head on Jack’s shoulder and breathes in his distinctive fragrance. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I don’t tell you enough how much I appreciate everything you do for me, and for the team, but we’ve taken advantage of you for too long.”
“I don’t mind you taking advantage of me,” Ianto smiles, “just as long as you let me sleep sometimes.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
The End