m_findlow

Title: Overdone
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters/Pairings: Jack, Ianto
Word Count: 500 words
Rating: PG
Notes: Written for Prompt 3 - Deck the Halls at adventchallenge

Ianto dropped the car keys into his pocket, whistling as he crossed the car park towards the back entrance to the hub. Amazing what a good night's sleep could do for his mood. And it was coming up to Christmas. Where had this year gone, he wondered, staring up at the camera, as he heard the lock on the door click open.

Ianto stopped and just stared at the sight in front of him. He'd heard the phrase decking the halls, but this was just ridiculous. How had such a plain, boring corridor been turned into Santa's magical cavern? Every surface was adorned with tinsel and twinkling lights, flurries of fake snow piled up in drifts along the edges, baubles and mistlestoe hung at random intervals.

'I haven't even had coffee yet,' he muttered, stepping gingerly down the corridor and towards the back stairs. There were weevils to feed. Dealing with this was going to have to come later. Much later. Preferably after coffee.

When he returned from morning breakfast duties, there was unexpectedly no change to the state of the corridors. Coming back out in the the main area of the hub, he could see that it too was in a similar state. The water tower was wrapped in half a mile of flashing lights and all the gangway and railings festooned with tinsel. When the hell had Jack had time to do all of this? He knew there must have been a reason he'd been sent home last night. This had Jack's fingerprints all over it. The question that puzzled him was just how he'd managed it. And where did all of this stuff come from? He knew Jack was a hoarder and a serial buyer of all things Christmas, but there was no way they'd collected this much stuff.

'Jack!' he called out, wanting to know where the man himself was.

'Ianto!' he replied, jogging up to meet him. 'What do you think?'

'I think I'm about to have a nervous breakdown.'

'Isn't it great?' Jack said, oblivious to the comment. 'God I love Christmas!'

'But... How?'

'Okay, so it's a little bit more than I planned on, but I put in a call to The Doctor and asked him if he might pop around to help decorate, and oh boy, did he come to the party or what! Who knew he was on the inside rail with the elves.'

Ianto frowned. 'I'm still confused.'

'Elves, Ianto. From the North Pole. You shoulda seen it. There must have been two hundred of them here last night. How do you think we got so much done?'

Ianto pinched the bridge of his nose. Elves? Next thing Jack would be telling him Santa was real. He sighed. 'Okay, I'm going to get coffee. Then when I get back, you're going to explain to me how these elves are going to come back on Boxing Day to clear all of this stuff away.'

'Don't be such a grinch, Ianto. It's Christmas!'