Torchwood: Fanfic: A quick snip

[m_findlow]

Title: A quick snip
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 814 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for juliet316's prompt "Torchwood, Jack/Ianto, Ianto cuts Jack's hair" at fic_promptly
Summary: Sometimes you have to fend for yourself out in the depths of space.

'Sit still,' Ianto said, letting out a vexed breath.

'I am sitting still,' Jack argued.

'No, you're not. And if you don't sit still, I won't be held responsible for the state your hair ends up in.'

Jack huffed and tried his best to sit as still as humanly possible. 'I don't know why we have to do this.'

'Of course you do,' Ianto replied, adjusting the towel around Jack's shoulders. 'If your hair gets any longer, you're not going to be able to see.'

'It's not that bad. You exaggerate.'

'Jack, I can't even see half your face for the floppy hair covering it. Last night I thought I was kissing Cousin It.'

Jack pulled a face. 'My hair isn't floppy. It just needs a little tszujing.'

'Tzsujing?' Ianto said. 'That's a thing?'

'I am the master of tszuj.'

'And right now I'm the master of scissors, so just sit there and stay still,' Ianto said, grabbing a lock of hair and snipping with the scissors.

'Are you even qualified to do that?' Jack said, watching his lover in the mirror as small chunks of his hair went fluttering to the floor beneath the chair.

'Probably not,' Ianto confessed, 'but it's been months since we were last anywhere that did more than supply fuel and food, and I can't take it anymore. You'd think these waystations out in space would be better provisioned,' he said, thinking how useful it would be to have basic services like tailoring, cobblers and hairdressing. What did everyone else who travelled the universe do? Looking at how long and lanky Jack's hair had gotten, it was more than he could bear without taking action. How hard could it be to cut a bit of hair, anyway?

'Do I get to do yours?' Jack asked, sounding rather hopeful.

'No.' He trusted himself just fine with a pair of scissors, but he didn't think he'd let Jack anywhere near his own hair. Besides, it was less of a scissor job and more an electric trimmer. They had one somewhere in one of the many boxes of stuff he'd packed so very long ago. Once he tracked it down, he was sure he'd be able to sort himself out in the mirror. It annoyed him how long it was getting, going all curly. Jack liked it a little bit on the long side. 'More of it to curl my fingers through,' he argued. Another few months though and he'd probably look rastafarian, God help them.

'Don't you dare cut out whole chunks,' Jack warned.

'As if I'd do that,' Ianto said. 'I'm the one that has to stand next to you. If you look like a twat, so do I.'

'Just wanted to put that out there,' he said, watching more hair fall. 'Is it really that bad?' He knew it was getting a little long, but more and more of it seemed to be hitting the floor as Ianto's scissors went snip, snip, snip.

'It'll be fine,' Ianto replied, running a comb through it and checking the back looked okay. If he wasn't as good as he thought, better to start with the back than the front. Now that he had a bit more confidence, he was sure it'd be okay.

He combed the front and Jack blew upwards.

'Stop it. If it's crooked, it'll be your fault.'

'It tickles.'

'Told you it was long,' he said, combing it back down again. 'So many grey hairs, too.'

Jack spun at that and Ianto quickly pulled the scissors away, before he accidentally poked Jack in the eye with them.

'Liar,' Jack said, giving him a challenging stare.

'Am I?' Ianto teased back. 'Lucky I'm here to cut them off, then.'

Jack pouted and slumped back in the chair as Ianto went back to work, shortening the front and the sides. 'I never used to get this kind attitude from my old hairdresser back in Cardiff.'

'Your old hairdresser wasn't sleeping with you. At least I hope not.'

'Nah. He only liked the ladies. Fancy that. A straight hairdresser. Even resisted my impossible charms.'

'Huh,' Ianto said, tidying up the part of Jack's hair that would naturally flop slightly to the left, leaving it just a little bit longer than the rest. He liked running his hands through that bit. It was a bit of a lopsided part, where the hair curled across his forehead, making him look very devil may care. Once he was done he ruffled Jack's head playfully with the towel, purposefully messing it up so that Jack would have to brush it back into place, noting how much better it was now that it was a manageable length.

'What? No blow dry? No pedicure?' Jack asked.

'This isn't a full service salon.'

'Disappointing,' Jack replied. 'I've become accustomed to getting the full service.'

'Maybe later,' Ianto promised.

Comments

[bk_forever]

*laughs" I guess a lot of alien races don't even have hair so they wouldn't necessarily think to provide barber services for hairy people. Good thing Ianto knows everything!

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

It won't be the world's best haircut but it'll do to save Jack from running into things because he can't see properly.