BTBD Challenge 27 - Switching off

[m_findlow]

Title: Switching off
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Colin the spider mouse
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,347 words
Content notes: Written for Challenge 27 - Channel
Summary: Jack finds out you can't always get what you want

Jack let out a contented sigh as he flopped himself down on the sofa, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and letting his head sink into the cushions behind him.

Tonight he had the house all to himself, and even though he would have preferred to share his night off with a certain handsome Welshman, there were certain perks to being the man of the house.

Ianto had drawn, in Jack's mind, the unfortunate task of running a training briefing for the dozen or so new recruits that had joined Torchwood in the last few months. Despite his earlier reluctance to extend their tightly knit team, there was only so much work five people could do, and at the rate they were going, it was going to take them five lifetimes to get through it all. Unlike Jack, the rest of them didn't have that many to offer.

No, tonight would be yet another induction into the many facets of Torchwood life; something about effective database management and research skills, he seemed to recall. As much as he loved the job, that was one very boring session he could do without a rehash. If they didn't fall asleep by the end of it, Jack had joked that they should automatically pass probation, before quickly ducking his head to avoid the hand the swiped towards it at lightning speed. He knew he shouldn't mock the work that Ianto and Tosh did. How many times had they solved a case or saved someone's bacon with some quick thinking and cross referencing? Loathe as he was to admit it, not everything could be fixed by using guns and being able to throw a well directed punch.

So tonight he was a free agent, and he was intending on making the most of it. He leaned forward and picked up the remote control off the coffee table and lounged back, flicking the television on.

At the sound of the voices, he was joined by the only other occupant of the house, Colin the spider mouse. They'd had a rocky start to their relationship, Jack having an irrational fear of all things black with more than four legs, but they had eventually found common ground in their adoration for the third occupant of their cosy little two storey house, and had even joined forces once or twice in playing pranks on the young man.

'Hey you,' Jack said, as the furry eight legged creature hopped up onto the sofa cushion, pointing his little pink nose up at Jack, whiskers twitching as he squeaked out a greeting.

'Just you and me tonight. Sound like fun?'

Colin squeaked in acquiescence.

Jack was flicking between channels, trying to settle on something to watch and coming up empty. Repeats, reality cooking shows, home shopping adverts, none of it appealing.

'Why is it that when you finally get a night off, there's absolutely nothing on?' he sighed, having rolled through every channel at least three times. Then he remembered that there was something he could watch. It was still sitting on their set top recorder, waiting for the two of them to find a free moment to curl up and watch it.

Jack grinned at Colin and held a finger against his lips. 'Our little secret,' he said in unnecessarily hushed tones.

He flicked over to the recorder and found the program, pressing play. As the titles started playing, he pushed himself up off the sofa and headed to the kitchen whilst they were running, searching for the packet of chocolate biscuits he'd spied hiding in the back of their cupboard this morning at breakfast when he'd been rifling for a new jar of raspberry jam.

When he returned to the lounge, biscuits in hand, he discovered that the show was no longer playing. Something else was on, and Colin was squeaking amusedly at it. It didn't take long to clock the man on the screen, wandering animatedly back and forth across the stage, shaking his head almost violently and occasionally making strange noises that had Colin in a fit of squeaky giggles.

Jack plonked himself back on the sofa, grabbing the remote and switching the program back on. Must've knocked it when I left the room, he thought.

After a minute or so, the program stopped again, and the funny man was back on the screen, warbling as people laughed at his antics. Colin squeaked with them, perched on top of the remote.

'Hey, I was watching that!' Jack said, staring incredulously at the furry object, and swiping back the remote, flicking over again. 'A whole sofa to sit on and you want to sit on the remote?'

Colin made a disappointed sound.

They'd been settled together for ten minutes, Jack fast becoming absorbed in the action on screen when it flicked over again, the odd man returning to the screen.

'What the?' Jack looked around, confused, until he saw Colin was sitting on the remote again.

'Get off that thing!'

Colin took no notice of him, eagerly giggling at the man on the screen again, oblivious to Jack's instructions.

Jack reached to pull the remote out from under him and Colin squeaked angrily, making it clear that he was not moving. Jack made another play for the remote, and Colin's black fur bristled menacingly, long pink tail swishing with equal fervor. His eight tiny feet clawed tightly to the sides of the device, and he growled, a sound Jack had never heard before.

He raised two eyebrows very far up his forehead. 'Seriously?' The look on Colin's face was one of determination. Jack sighed. It seemed that despite their size difference, this was one battle he wasn't going to win. As soon as his body language made it clear that the remote was no longer under threat, Colin squeaked in victory and curled up in Jack's lap, proceeding to enjoy the show. He may have looked contented, but Jack got the feeling he was keeping one sharp little eye firmly fixed on Jack's hand lest it should try again to disrupt his viewing. The man on TV was doing an impersonation of someone and Colin tittered with amusement. Jack just sighed, resigned to the fact that tonight was not going to be quite the night he'd planned.

 

When Ianto finally trudged in through the door, weary from a long night of talking, which was not his favourite thing to do, he was surprised find Jack still sitting up in their lounge room. That was until he got closer and realised that Jack had in fact fallen asleep there, their pet spider mouse curled up in his lap. They were so adorable, he was almost reluctant to wake them. Gently he shook Jack's shoulder.

'Jack?'

'Hmm?' he replied sleepily, cracking open an eyelid.

'Tough night at the office for you, was it?' Ianto joked.

'Tougher than you think.'

'I'm sure I can't imagine,' came the droll reply. 'So hard you fell asleep.'

'I didn't have much choice,' he replied, stretching arms and legs, his companion still peacefully curled up, unaware of their visitor. 'I was bored.'

'Nothing on TV?'

'Nope. I was trying to watch last week's episode of Game of Thrones, but someone here decided to play TV nazi.'

Ianto raised an eyebrow. 'You were going to watch it without me?'

'Well, no, not exactly,' Jack replied awkwardly, looking sheepish. 'I'd still have watched it with you.'

Ianto crossed his arms, slightly annoyed. 'That's not the point. You'd have seen it already.'

'Well it doesn't matter now since I didn't get to see it.'

'So what did you watch?'

Colin seems to have taking a bizarre liking to Michael McIntyre.

'Oh,' Ianto replied. He knew Jack didn't particularly find him funny or likable. He'd once said there was something about the hair that he found particularly off-putting.

'Well, I suppose it was only for an hour, at least,' Ianto conceded.

'Two,' Jack corrected him. 'And then he changed over to the plus two channel and we had to watch the whole thing all over again!'