Torchwood: Fanfic: Neatly sorted

[m_findlow]

Title: Neatly sorted
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 826 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for m_findlow's prompt "Any, any," I don't live here. You don't need to fold my clothes."" at fic_promptly
Summary: Ianto's latest behaviour brings matters to a head.

Jack still felt kind of strange, showering in a bathroom that wasn't his. None of this was his, but somehow he'd seemed to have inherited some small space here. There was a toothbrush, towels and a place for spare toiletries. It said "please use me". He supposed that if he spent the night at Ianto's flat, the least he could do was offer him bathroom facilities. It would have been a bit weird if he'd had to go to work to shower and dress.

He stepped out from under the hot stream of water, making sure not to drip any on the floor, nor steam up the mirror. He didn't want to irk Ianto's sensibilities. He might let him use the bathroom, but not if it was left in a state akin to a war zone.

He tied the towel around his hips, unsure if it was right to leave the bathroom totally naked. There were so many little things he never consciously thought about, that he wanted to make sure he didn't offend or upset. Ianto could put up with a lot of things, and had done so, but Jack wasn't going to jeopardise whatever this was on account of some poor etiquette.

Stepping out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, he found the bed already neatly made, pillows and cushions plumped and set in place as if no one had slept there just half an hour ago, nor had energetic morning sex between those sheets. On second thoughts, Ianto had probably changed the sheets altogether, replacing them with crisp new ones that he'd spent hours ironing.

What he didn't expect to see was Ianto standing there, still looking deliciously disheveled in his boxers and t-shirt, hair mussed and out of place, folding laundry and putting it away in the cupboard. Not just his laundry, but Jack's as well.

'Ianto, I appreciate the effort, but I don't live here. You don't need to fold my clothes.'

He looked up and absently made another fold in the woolen sweater, like he'd been caught out doing something naughty.

'Well,' he said, 'they were clean. You thought I'd just hand you a hamper full of scrunched up clean laundry and say "here you go"?' He set the folded sweater back in the hamper, adding to the neat pile underneath it.

'Did you fold my shirts as well?'

'Don't be ridiculous. I ironed them and put them in the cupboard.'

'Oh,' Jack said. 'Is that where they live now?'

'Well, you're here... sometimes. You'll need clean clothes.'

Jack wasn't sure what Ianto was implying. Was Ianto suggesting he move in?

'So, my clothes live here?'

'And you... I mean, if you want to, that is. Or just... You know... Whenever you want. Or you can take them back,' he said, hurriedly opening the sliding cupboard door, revealing the foot or so of rack that now had all of Jack's shirts and pants hanging on it. 'I shouldn't presume.'

Jack stepped across and put a hand on his arm. 'Ianto, it's fine. I actually didn't think you'd want me here. Not on a regular basis, I mean.'

'Oh,' he replied.

'Don't get me wrong,' Jack quickly added. 'I like spending the night. I like waking up and finding you there. I just didn't think you'd want me hanging around, messing up the place.'

A quizzical look passed over his features. 'Are you planning on messing up the place?'

'Not intentionally, no. But it's me we're talking about.'

'I know. You make a mess. I clean it up.'

'At work,' Jack replied.

'Jack, let's be adult about this. You can come here and stay the night and slip out in the morning like a bad one night stand, or you can keep a few things here when you feel like having some company, or you can take your whole bloody wardrobe and move in. I don't care. Just tell me if you plan on getting bored of me.'

Well, that was direct, Jack thought.

'I will never get bored of you, Ianto Jones. I just don't think anyone has ever folded my laundry.'

'Be fair,' Ianto replied. 'I don't think anyone has ever done your laundry. It's a bloody nightmare some days. Folding it is the least of my worries, and if left to your own devices, you'd never fold anything.'

Okay, that much was probably true, he admitted to himself.

'Thank you,' Jack said, knowing it wasn't the laundry he was thanking Ianto for.

'Now,' Ianto said, 'are you going to stand there all day with nothing but a towel wrapped around you or are you getting dressed? You've got all these nice clean, neatly folded clothes to choose from.'

'I thought I was dressed,' Jack grinned, teasing the edge of Ianto's t-shirt with his fingers. 'Overdressed, actually.'

'Not for work you're not. Now go get dressed before I change my mind about the suitability of your current attire.'

Comments

[bk_forever]

And just like that, they're living together. Mostly. ;)

Jack better quit while he's ahead.

[jo02]

Lol, such a good wife :)