Fffc Bingo Card - Furry friends

[m_findlow]

Title: Furry friends 
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Owen, Ianto, Jack, Tosh 
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: none 
Author notes: Written for Bingo Card Prompt 30 - Hairy at fffc
Summary: Cute and cuddly has its downsides. 

Owen was standing in his medical bay, studying the notes he'd made last week when his eyes momentarily drifted up to the edge of the landing above it. ‘What do you want?’ he asked the large ball of white fur. He couldn't tell if he was addressing its face or its arse, since it looked like a robotic vacuum cleaner covered in a shag pile rug from the seventies. He just assumed it was facing him since it had come to visit him. 

The thing didn't make a sound, which Owen found equally troubling. It wasn't like a dog that would bark or a cat that would purr. It just kind of quivered a little, reminding you it was alive, before it went bounding off in search of its next round of entertainment. 

Jack had found it on one of his late night ambles, huddled behind the dumpster of a well-known Chinese restaurant. Owen had jokingly suggested it was lucky it didn't end up on the menu and since then Jack had been very defensive about it. 

Of course it hadn't been so white and so fluffy when he'd brought it in, cradling it in his arms. It had in fact been filthy and bedraggled, with bits of cabbage leaf and a radish carved into the shape of a lotus blossom stuck in its fur. Jack had given the task of bathing it to Owen and Ianto in equal portions, assuring them that it wouldn't bite, assuming one could ever find its mouth. It was under there somewhere, along with eyes, ears and four tiny little padded feet. By the time Ianto had finished giving it a blow dry and a brush - two things it seemed to enjoy immensely - it was twice the size from when it had arrived. 

Without a word spoken, the Puxl, as Jack called it, had simply been adopted as a member of the team under Jack's instruction. He didn't seem bothered by having it potter around, being curious and getting underfoot. It was low maintenance as far as he was concerned which meant that it had free reign about the hub, but often choosing the strangest places to curl up and have a kip -tangled under the coat stand in Jack's office, nestled up against the potted plants in the hot house, or on top of the fridge in the kitchenette, though God alone knew how it ever got up there, or back down for that matter. 

‘Yeah?’ Owen said, returning to his earlier question. The creature quivered again before bouncing down the steps to get him properly, doing a circuit of the area, slaloming between the cupboards and the table and then Owen. 

‘Do you have to?’ he said loudly. He cringed at the bottom of his dark blue jeans, finding them now covered in a web of white. ‘Go shed on someone else.’ 

‘Making friends again, Owen?’ Jack teased as he sauntered past, stopping to lean over the rail. The Puxl noticed Jack and went leaping back up the steps, having seemingly lost interest in Owen. 

‘I used to have a girlfriend with an ottoman like that and I hated it too,’ Owen griped. 

‘Did you ever have pets, Owen?’ 

‘No. As a rule I don't like anything I have to clean up after.’ 

‘I'm with Owen,’ Ianto said, a permanent frown on his face as he tore another sticky layer off his lint roller and passed it to Owen to use. ‘That thing is shedding fur like there's notomorrow. Every time I finally get rid of it all from my clothes, the thing decides to come over and want yet another smooch up against my leg.’ Even as he said it, the creature bounded towards him, eyeing off his nice clean trouser leg. ‘No. Shoo!’ he commanded trying to wave it away and failing as it rubbed against him affectionately. Owen couldn't help but smirk and toss the lint roller back at him. Ianto deftly caught it and sighed. ‘What's the point anymore? It only seems to take it as a challenge.’ He waved it about around his ankles, trying the fend off any more attention. 

‘You two don't know how lucky you are to have this little guy around,’ Jack told them. ‘They're quite rare these days. An endangered species.’ 

‘It'll be even more endangered if it keeps leaving its fur all over everything,’ Owen warned him. ‘Half a wonder Myfanwy hasn't clocked it as a snack.’ 

A grin broke out on Ianto's face. ‘Can you imagine the fur ball she'd hack up afterwards?’ 

‘I think it's cute,’ Tosh said, entering their conversation and reaching down to pick up the Puxl, giving it a little cuddle. 

Owen rolled his eyes. ‘No surprise there. Give a girl something cute and cuddly and everyone else becomes an arsehole in comparison.’ 

Jack turned Tosh, beaming at her. ‘Well, since these two aren't fans, why don't you keep it, Tosh?’ 

She looked up from where she'd been idly scratching behind its invisible ears. ‘What, you mean like under my desk?’ 

Jack shrugged. ‘Or take it home with you. Or both.’ 

‘Really? I could keep it at home?’ 

‘Sure. Everyone should have a pet. Ianto has Myf..’. 

‘Not a great comparison,’ their general support officer replied. ‘Playing fetch is fraught with disaster and you can't have her on your lap whilst watching telly.’ 

‘Hey, you had your chance for cute and fluffy and you poo poo-ed it,’ Jack reminded him. 

‘And my wardrobe thanks you for it,’ he replied, giving himself a final brush with the lint roller. 

‘You're sure this is okay, Jack?’ Tosh asked, sounding hopeful. 

‘I'll make it an official decree if that helps.’ 

‘I've got three boxes of cat kibble you can take home with you, Tosh. And its litter tray. One less thing I'll have to clean up after.’ 

‘Thank God Jack doesn't need a litter box,’ Owen teased. 

‘The only hair he leaves behind is in the shower plug.’