Fffc Bingo Card - Office space

[m_findlow]

Title: Office space 
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none 
Author notes: Written for Bingo Card Prompt 11 - Office at fffc
Summary: Ianto takes Jack's suggestion to heart and turns a simple thing into a grand project. 

‘We need to get you an office,’ Jack declared one morning as he and Ianto were sharing coffee in Jack's office, a stack of files between them on the desk which doubled as their morning briefing before the rest of the team arrived. 

Ianto smiled in a complimentary way over the rim of his coffee mug. ‘I don't need an office, Jack.’ 

‘Of course you do! You're the Director of Global Operations, the Grand Poobah of Torchwood!’ 

Ianto chuckled at the description. ‘Is that what you used to be? The Grand Poobah?’ 

‘I'm still the Captain,’ Jack reminded him. ‘I just let you do all the admin now.’ 

‘Like nothing has changed. Further proof that I don't need an office. I have a perfectly good desk from whence I can administrate my heart out.’ 

‘You always complain that you need peace and quiet to concentrate and that's why you go hide out in the archives. At least move in here with me. You can squeeze in a desk opposite mine.’ 

‘Jack, you're eighty percent of the reason I need peace and quiet. This is your office, your space. I'm not going to come in here and invade. I don't need much.’ 

‘Still doesn't feel right,’ Jack insisted. ‘How can I have you parked at that little desk over there?’ he said, thumbing over his shoulder. ‘Out in the main hub where everyone can hear you.’ 

‘I hate to break it to you, but we've always been able to hear you in here. Even when you're not yelling.’ 

‘What about the boardroom? You could use that. Nice and spacious, good view of the whole hub…’ 

‘And where would we hold our meetings?’ 

‘We could find somewhere else. Not like we lack space. The hub is huge after all. We've got loads of places we're not even using.’ 

‘Prefer if the staff didn't have to trek three miles.’ 

Jack groaned. ‘Urgh, why do you always have to be so practical all the time?’ 

Ianto grinned at him. ‘Comes with the job. That's why you made me Grand Poobah.’ 

Jack rolled his eyes at his lover. ‘Just say you'll think about it,’ he said, collecting up their mugs. 

‘I'll think about it.’ 

When Ianto arrived the next morning, having stopped off to pick up breakfast for them after Jack had pulled a night shift, all Jack could think about was the salty, buttery taste of the bacon roll as it was set on a plate in front of him. Not until he'd inhaled it did he remember their conversation from yesterday. 

‘Have you thought about my suggestion any further?’ 

‘I have,’ Ianto replied. ‘In fact, I spent last night drawing up some plans.’ He rolled out the large A3 sheet of paper meticulously outlining in pencil a layout of what appeared to be, in general shape and layout, the hub. 

‘Your idea got me thinking. This space next to your office? Obviously it doesn't make any sense to have the entry to the interrogation room in someone's office so that needs to go. We hardly ever use it. If they're hostile we keep them in the cells, and if they're not hostile, well, I think we can find somewhere a little less intimidating, don't you?’ 

‘Well, sure, but what do we do with the old interrogation room, then?’ 

‘I'm recommending we move the secure archive down there. No sense keeping it here out in the open where anyone with the right codes can get at it. We'll have double layer security, one lot to get down there and another set to open the archive, plus all our usual combination locks on crates, of course.’ 

‘Of course.’ 

‘Now,’ Ianto said, picking up Jack's lolly jar and using it to pin down one rolled up corner of his designs. ‘The kitchen will move upstairs to improve hygiene, and this space just behind the water tower is going to be concreted over, with drainage underneath so that we can utilise the space more efficiently. Desks can go here and here,’ he demonstrated with the tip of his pen, ‘and then the space next to the armory converts to a dry lab, so it can be close to the medical bay. I've got plans for two new wet labs to be installed here, one floor down. We don't really need to have ground floor access to a lab all the time so why not move them elsewhere and make them bigger, with all the equipment stored just down the hall. And everything is getting a fresh coat of pain. God only knows how long it's been since that last happened. There's almost nothing left of the last lot, and what is left could be peeled off with a fingernail.’ 

‘Okay…’ Jack said slowly, ‘but what about your office?’

‘Oh, not too much work to get it up and running. A partitioning wall here so that you have your own space, with doors and windows of course. Still want to keep my eye on you. And down here on the water tower facing side we'll just push those concrete steps out a bit, remove all these metal railings and level off the floor. We'll make the glass doors on my side match the ones on your side. Don't want to lose the sewer arch look. Of course when I say glass I mean that shatterproof material. We should replace yours whilst we're at it. Glass and Torchwood just don't mix.’ 

Jack nodded silently, feeling overwhelmed. How had Ianto found time to dream up all of this since yesterday? 

‘I can start engaging quotes this morning and have someone in here by the end of the week to start work.’ He beamed at Jack.’ You, know I'm really glad you suggested this. It's just what we need to get this place shipshape for the next hundred years. The next time those Torchwood Assessors come along they won't recognise the place.’ 

Oh, boy. Jack had gone and created a monster.