m_findlow

Title: A stitch in time
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 879 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for m_findlow's prompt "Any, any, cloth, needle and thread" at fic_promptly
Summary: Your learn to be resourceful when you travel the universe

There were many things to get excited about traveling the universe, visiting different worlds, seeing aliens in their own cultural habitats, partaking in the local cuisine, arts and other activities, and the spectacular variety that the universe had to offer on just about every front.

There were some things however that Ianto missed, and they weren't necessarily the things he'd expected. Sure, there were certain foods that he found didn't translate well across the galaxies. No one knew what a Welsh cake was, for example, and although he had found a few similar items, they just weren't quite the same. Coffee was another thing. Earth was one of the few planets that grew exceptional coffee beans, and since Earth had yet to properly join the rest of the universe as far as trade was concerned, that made trips back to Earth essential to stock up on what was considered by both he and Jack to be a non negotiable item.

Most other things he could live with, however there were definitely some conveniences he hadn't expected to have to do without. Laundry wasn't a problem, since their small vessel had all the comforts of home, with the exception of constant running water. Most things aboard were washed sonically, and water was reserved for consumption of the dietary kind. Proper hot showers and baths had become something of a luxury for when they were situated somewhere more long term, able to take on board reserves of water that didn't need to be rationed for whoever knew how long between planets and way points. For a guy from a planet that was more than two thirds water, it took a little getting used to, and he and Jack had always had a healthy like for showers and baths, if not always in the conventional manner.

No, he could live with all those things, but it had been some of the more insignificant conveniences that had come to irk him. It was no longer a case of just popping down to the shops to get whatever you needed. Things had to be planned out in advance. That was fine. Ianto was an expert in forward planning and organisation. His problem, as usual, was Jack.

Just because they didn't work for Torchwood anymore, didn't mean they didn't have adventures all their own, and sometimes get into scrapes. Physically they would be fine, immortal as they were, but the same couldn't be said for their clothing. Jack's poor coat, and some of his other favourite things had really gone through the wringer in their travels, and the problem Ianto had was that he could no longer just send them down to the local tailor anymore to get them patched up. Whilst he'd often done minor repairs himself, and attended to Jack's coat lovingly for tears and stains, they were things he didn't always have time for, being busy saving the world from ending and all. You just had to delegate sometimes.

Now though, good luck trying to find a tailor or a dry cleaner on half the worlds they passed through. Some would have technology that could fix things in a jiffy, but most of that stuff was still off in the future. The Doctor had been very clear that the were to stick within their own timeline, at least when they were on their own, where he couldn't curb the trouble they might make. There was no one hour service when you were stuck on a way station in Sector Nine waiting for a localized solar storm to pass before heading back out on your merry way. If you wanted something done, you just had to do it yourself, and with whatever supplies were on hand at the time.

Instead, Ianto had been forced to take up the fine art of tailoring himself. Aboard their ship, he now had a small chest of supplies, cloths, needles and threads in various colour so as to be able to effect any repairs that were needed on much loved items of apparel. Sometimes it was as simple as reattaching a button that had come astray, and there had been many such occasions where buttons were lost in haste for various reasons. Other times it was needing to patch a hole worn in a pocket, fix a seam that had split, or mend a tear. There were also a lot of socks that needed darning, and for the life of him he couldn't figure out why that was. Perhaps there were aliens on board that ate the toes out of socks. It wasn't exciting work but at least it passed the hours when there was nothing else to do as they traveled through the vast emptiness of space, and the more he did, the better he got at it. Maybe one day he'd even be as good as his dad.

Whatever the case, Ianto could be assured that any trip back to Earth for coffee supplies was also going to require a trip to the local haberdashery on Queen Street, just to make sure they had enough needles and cotton to get them by. Challenging as it was to get sewing supplies halfway across the universe, it was still easier than telling Jack to be more careful.