Ficlet: The Big Move
Jun. 20th, 2025 06:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: The Big Move
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Jack, Ianto.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 816
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack is beginning to regret volunteering to help Ianto move into their new flat.
Written For: linky’s prompt ‘Any, any, too many books’, at
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threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
The day had finally come for Ianto to move all of his belongings into his and Jack’s new flat. Jack had been starting to think it would never happen, because Ianto had insisted on going through everything he owned, so that only the things he wanted to keep would be making the trip. As he’d told Jack, what was the point of taking a load of things to the flat that he would only have to take back out again to get rid of them? It would be a waste of time and effort, so he’d spent every spare moment over the past four weeks sorting the contents of his small flat, packing what he was keeping into boxes, and taking the rest to various charity shops in the city.
He'd disposed of vast quantities of rubbish, and piles of unwanted stuff he’d brought with him from London, mostly things that used to belong to Lisa, but even so, there were a lot of boxes to be moved, so Jack had volunteered to help. Anything to get Ianto properly moved in with him at last.
As Jack hefted the next box to put in the back of the SUV, he grunted at the weight of it, struggling to carry it down the hallway towards the door leading to the tenants’ parking area.
“What the hell have you got in here?” he demanded as Ianto passed him carrying another box. “It weighs a ton!”
Ianto glanced at Jack’s box. “Books,” he said easily, continuing out the door and loading his box into the car.
“What about all those other boxes?” Jack asked, dumping the one he was carrying onto the SUV’s tailgate and leaving it to Ianto to manoeuvre it into the boot.
“What about them?” Ianto was grateful for Jack’s help with moving, but it was clear that his lover hadn’t expected the job to take so long, or to require so many heavy boxes. Then again, Jack didn’t have much in the way of personal belongings himself, just an old steamer trunk and a wardrobe that held a few dated casual clothes, and a lot of identical trousers, shirts, and pairs of braces. Perhaps it was understandable that he didn’t realise how many possessions a normal person could accumulate over the course of a few years living in one place.
“What’s in them?” Jack was leaning against the side of the car, catching his breath. “The ones you brought down in the lift,” he added.
“Oh, those are all books too.”
“Seriously? Those are all your books?”
“Well, not all of them, there are still a few boxes upstairs.”
“And here I thought we’d mostly be moving your suits and shirts.”
“I thought it best to move the heaviest things first, while we still have the strength.”
“I suppose that’s sensible. But ten boxes of books…”
“Not ten, fourteen. I told you, there are still some upstairs.”
“Fourteen boxes of books?” Jack stared at Ianto in confusion. “What do you do with them all?”
“Read them, use them for reference, the usual things normal people do with books.”
Jack shook his head, bewildered by the whole concept. “Have you never heard of libraries?”
“Of course I have, and I make full use of the ones in Cardiff, but they don’t always have the kinds of books I need, especially for reference, so I bought copies of the ones I use the most.”
“But fourteen boxes of them? Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
“I don’t think so.” Ianto passed Jack and went to fetch another box of books, sliding it carefully into the SUV’s boot with all the others.
Watching him, Jack frowned. “You know what? You’ve got way too many books.”
Ianto spun around, a shocked expression on his face. “Jack Harkness, you wash your mouth out! How can you even say that? There’s no such thing as too many books! One of these days you’ll thank me for having the foresight to collect all these books.”
“Not when I’m likely to put my back out carrying them all,” Jack grumbled.
“Poor Jack. Maybe you should take up lifting weights to get fitter. You can start by helping me move the rest of my books.”
“Slave driver!”
“You volunteered to help. If you’ve changed your mind, I can do it all myself. Just like at the Hub.”
“Ouch!” That barb had struck home. “No, it’s fine, I said I’d help, and I will. Even if it kills me.”
“So brave of you.” Ianto had a very deft touch with sarcasm.
“You have no idea.” Shoulders slumping wearily, Jack went to get another box. “Fourteen boxes of books,” he grumbled under his breath. “How many boxes are there that aren’t books?” He faltered just before entering the building again. “On second thoughts, I don’t think I want to know. This is going to take all day!”
The End
He'd disposed of vast quantities of rubbish, and piles of unwanted stuff he’d brought with him from London, mostly things that used to belong to Lisa, but even so, there were a lot of boxes to be moved, so Jack had volunteered to help. Anything to get Ianto properly moved in with him at last.
As Jack hefted the next box to put in the back of the SUV, he grunted at the weight of it, struggling to carry it down the hallway towards the door leading to the tenants’ parking area.
“What the hell have you got in here?” he demanded as Ianto passed him carrying another box. “It weighs a ton!”
Ianto glanced at Jack’s box. “Books,” he said easily, continuing out the door and loading his box into the car.
“What about all those other boxes?” Jack asked, dumping the one he was carrying onto the SUV’s tailgate and leaving it to Ianto to manoeuvre it into the boot.
“What about them?” Ianto was grateful for Jack’s help with moving, but it was clear that his lover hadn’t expected the job to take so long, or to require so many heavy boxes. Then again, Jack didn’t have much in the way of personal belongings himself, just an old steamer trunk and a wardrobe that held a few dated casual clothes, and a lot of identical trousers, shirts, and pairs of braces. Perhaps it was understandable that he didn’t realise how many possessions a normal person could accumulate over the course of a few years living in one place.
“What’s in them?” Jack was leaning against the side of the car, catching his breath. “The ones you brought down in the lift,” he added.
“Oh, those are all books too.”
“Seriously? Those are all your books?”
“Well, not all of them, there are still a few boxes upstairs.”
“And here I thought we’d mostly be moving your suits and shirts.”
“I thought it best to move the heaviest things first, while we still have the strength.”
“I suppose that’s sensible. But ten boxes of books…”
“Not ten, fourteen. I told you, there are still some upstairs.”
“Fourteen boxes of books?” Jack stared at Ianto in confusion. “What do you do with them all?”
“Read them, use them for reference, the usual things normal people do with books.”
Jack shook his head, bewildered by the whole concept. “Have you never heard of libraries?”
“Of course I have, and I make full use of the ones in Cardiff, but they don’t always have the kinds of books I need, especially for reference, so I bought copies of the ones I use the most.”
“But fourteen boxes of them? Isn’t that a bit extreme?”
“I don’t think so.” Ianto passed Jack and went to fetch another box of books, sliding it carefully into the SUV’s boot with all the others.
Watching him, Jack frowned. “You know what? You’ve got way too many books.”
Ianto spun around, a shocked expression on his face. “Jack Harkness, you wash your mouth out! How can you even say that? There’s no such thing as too many books! One of these days you’ll thank me for having the foresight to collect all these books.”
“Not when I’m likely to put my back out carrying them all,” Jack grumbled.
“Poor Jack. Maybe you should take up lifting weights to get fitter. You can start by helping me move the rest of my books.”
“Slave driver!”
“You volunteered to help. If you’ve changed your mind, I can do it all myself. Just like at the Hub.”
“Ouch!” That barb had struck home. “No, it’s fine, I said I’d help, and I will. Even if it kills me.”
“So brave of you.” Ianto had a very deft touch with sarcasm.
“You have no idea.” Shoulders slumping wearily, Jack went to get another box. “Fourteen boxes of books,” he grumbled under his breath. “How many boxes are there that aren’t books?” He faltered just before entering the building again. “On second thoughts, I don’t think I want to know. This is going to take all day!”
The End
