badly_knitted (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
badly_knitted) wrote2025-07-03 05:46 pm
badly_knitted) wrote2025-07-03 05:46 pm
Entry tags:
Ficlet: Hard At Work
Title: Hard At Work
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 676
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack should be working but as far as Ianto can tell, he’s not.
Written For:
jigglygrlcarrie’s prompt ‘Any, any, “Hard at work or hardly working?”,’ at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
“What’re you up to now?” Ianto asked, entering Jack’s office with his lover’s mid-morning coffee to find Jack staring fixedly at the screen of his laptop, almost as if he was afraid to blink in case he missed something. This was not altogether uncommon, although usually when Jack was staring so intently, it meant he was watching Ianto go about his duties around the Hub, which was unlikely to be the case on this occasion, what with Ianto being right there in the flesh.
“I’m hard at work, can’t you tell?” Jack said, not bothering to look up. The way he was staring was beginning to make Ianto’s eyes water in sympathy.
“That is very often the case,” Ianto agreed, a teasing smirk tugging at his lips. “Most enjoyably, if often inconveniently so. But from where I’m standing, you’re hardly working,” he added, gesturing at the pile of paperwork in Jack’s in-box. “I put that pile there last night and you obviously haven’t touched it yet.”
“I’ll get to it later. I promise.”
“Right. And by ‘later’, you no doubt mean next month, after I’ve already had to take care of the most urgent items.” Ianto set his tray down on the corner of Jack’s desk usually left clear for that purpose.” He frowned. “You know, bidding for items of dubious, and possibly alien, provenance on ebay is usually one of my jobs. You always claim to be too busy to do it. No doubt being hard at work again.”
“Haha,” Jack said, a matching smirk of his own beginning to form; he always enjoyed indulging in such light-hearted banter with Ianto. “Don’t worry, I’m not taking over any of your responsibilities, no one can handle them as well as you do. I’ll have you know there’s nothing at all alien about this little beauty.”
“Aha, that’s what I thought! You’re not working at all, just trying to add to your collection of World War Two ephemera.”
“Why not? You’re the one who said I needed a better hobby than standing around on rooftops all night, so I’m just trying to follow your advice.”
“How long before bidding ends?”
“Thirty-nine seconds, so hush while I try to win myself a little piece of history.”
“Bid your limit in the last five seconds.”
“Yes, I know, you told me that when I was bidding on that inflatable sheep for Owen’s birthday. Here goes. Wish me luck!” The finger Jack had poised over his computer touchpad tapped lightly, entering his bid, and… “Yes!”
“I’m assuming you won your prize?”
“I did!”
“So what did you get?”
“An Elgin eight-day aircraft clock!”
“Wonderful. Does that mean you can be hard at work for eight days a week instead of only seven?”
“I’ll be hard at work around the clock for you,” Jack promised with a wink. “Hold that thought a minute while I pay.”
“Just don’t put it on the Torchwood credit card this time. I have to send an itemised account of expenditure to Her Majesty every month, and I have a hard enough time explaining some of the items I have to buy off ebay as it is.”
“My personal account only, I swear.” A few clicks dealt with payment, and Jack sat back in his chair with a satisfied smile, reaching for his coffee mug and taking a long sip.
“If you’re quite done with adding to your collection, perhaps I might interest you in doing some actual work?”
“I suppose so. Just let me finish my coffee first.”
“Excellent. When you’ve finished that lot, but not before, I’ll be in the archives. You’re not the only one who gets to be hard at work. I might need sone help with that later.”
With that, Ianto left the office as Jack shoved his laptop aside and scrabbled for his paperwork. It was surprising how easily Jack could be motivated to get his work done; all it took was the carefully phrased offer of the right kinds of rewards, and he couldn’t get things done fast enough.
The End
“I’m hard at work, can’t you tell?” Jack said, not bothering to look up. The way he was staring was beginning to make Ianto’s eyes water in sympathy.
“That is very often the case,” Ianto agreed, a teasing smirk tugging at his lips. “Most enjoyably, if often inconveniently so. But from where I’m standing, you’re hardly working,” he added, gesturing at the pile of paperwork in Jack’s in-box. “I put that pile there last night and you obviously haven’t touched it yet.”
“I’ll get to it later. I promise.”
“Right. And by ‘later’, you no doubt mean next month, after I’ve already had to take care of the most urgent items.” Ianto set his tray down on the corner of Jack’s desk usually left clear for that purpose.” He frowned. “You know, bidding for items of dubious, and possibly alien, provenance on ebay is usually one of my jobs. You always claim to be too busy to do it. No doubt being hard at work again.”
“Haha,” Jack said, a matching smirk of his own beginning to form; he always enjoyed indulging in such light-hearted banter with Ianto. “Don’t worry, I’m not taking over any of your responsibilities, no one can handle them as well as you do. I’ll have you know there’s nothing at all alien about this little beauty.”
“Aha, that’s what I thought! You’re not working at all, just trying to add to your collection of World War Two ephemera.”
“Why not? You’re the one who said I needed a better hobby than standing around on rooftops all night, so I’m just trying to follow your advice.”
“How long before bidding ends?”
“Thirty-nine seconds, so hush while I try to win myself a little piece of history.”
“Bid your limit in the last five seconds.”
“Yes, I know, you told me that when I was bidding on that inflatable sheep for Owen’s birthday. Here goes. Wish me luck!” The finger Jack had poised over his computer touchpad tapped lightly, entering his bid, and… “Yes!”
“I’m assuming you won your prize?”
“I did!”
“So what did you get?”
“An Elgin eight-day aircraft clock!”
“Wonderful. Does that mean you can be hard at work for eight days a week instead of only seven?”
“I’ll be hard at work around the clock for you,” Jack promised with a wink. “Hold that thought a minute while I pay.”
“Just don’t put it on the Torchwood credit card this time. I have to send an itemised account of expenditure to Her Majesty every month, and I have a hard enough time explaining some of the items I have to buy off ebay as it is.”
“My personal account only, I swear.” A few clicks dealt with payment, and Jack sat back in his chair with a satisfied smile, reaching for his coffee mug and taking a long sip.
“If you’re quite done with adding to your collection, perhaps I might interest you in doing some actual work?”
“I suppose so. Just let me finish my coffee first.”
“Excellent. When you’ve finished that lot, but not before, I’ll be in the archives. You’re not the only one who gets to be hard at work. I might need sone help with that later.”
With that, Ianto left the office as Jack shoved his laptop aside and scrabbled for his paperwork. It was surprising how easily Jack could be motivated to get his work done; all it took was the carefully phrased offer of the right kinds of rewards, and he couldn’t get things done fast enough.
The End
no subject
Glad Jack won the auction on his.
no subject
Thank you!