Ficlet: Blizzard Conditions
Jan. 5th, 2026 05:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Blizzard Conditions
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Ianto, Jack.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 595
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Winter has arrived with a vengeance, and Jack and Ianto are freezing.
Written For: The prompt ‘Any, any, huddling for warmth’, at
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threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Winter had hit Cardiff hard, and with an unexpected suddenness, despite the city being on the coast. The abrupt change in the weather wasn’t even the result of the Rift sucking in a weather front from elsewhere, although that did happen occasionally. Unfortunately, thanks to the team being so run off their feet over the past few days, Ianto hadn’t been checking the weather forecast often enough, and now it appeared that he and Jack would have to pay a high price for his negligence.
Really, how long would it have taken him to have a quick peek at the weather app on his phone a few times a day? If he’d done that, he… still wouldn’t have had time to make the necessary preparations to survive the severe weather, because it had been all hands on deck practically twenty-four hours a day for the last week, and going to the supermarket had been put on hold indefinitely while the team had rounded up various artefacts and aliens. Ianto was regretting his lack of foresight anyway though. He should have made better preparations well in advance of winter, stocking up with all essentials, just in case. Including extra fuel for the generators.
“All the futuristic technology we’ve got, and everything that’s stashed in the archives, and we’re probably going to freeze to death because there’s a bloody blizzard blowing and the power’s gone out,” Ianto grumbled, pulling the thin blanket more tightly around them both as they huddled together in Jack’s narrow old army cot. They were still fully dressed in an effort to retain what little body heat they still had. “We should’ve tried to make it back to my place. At least there I have decent blankets, duvets, and extra socks, and I could’ve heated soup, and boiled water on the gas cooker for hot water bottles.”
“We’d never have made it across the Plas,” Jack replied, sitting up.
“Where’re you going?” Ianto grabbed frantically at his lover, trying to drag his only source of warmth back into bed with him.
“To grab a few things to help us stay warm,” Jack replied.
“An alien space heater?” Ianto’s tone was so hopeful, Jack hated to disappoint him, but…
“No, sorry, just extra covers.” He pulled another blanket from the trunk at the end of the cot; it smelled a bit of mothballs, but that couldn’t be helped, and he spread it over Ianto before scrambling up the ladder.
Ianto huddled, waiting, shivering in the sub-zero temperatures that had engulfed the Hub, as the minutes ticked by. Finally, Jack returned, wearing his coat and clutching an emergency foil blanket from the kit kept in the SUV, and an old, patched sleeping bag.
Five minutes later, they were both squeezed into the sleeping bag, covered with the blankets and Jack’s coat, with the foil blanket over everything. Both of them were still shivering, but hopeful that they would, eventually, start feeling less cold.
“Jack?” Ianto muttered, freezing cold nose pressed tightly against the side of Jack’s neck, which was marginally warmer.
“Mm?” Jack pulled the covers a little higher.
“If we survive this, as soon as the snow lets up enough and the power’s back on, we’re going out and buying some better blankets, flannel sheets, and the thickest, warmest duvet available. It’s about time you had some decent bedding down here.”
“Fine. But why not do that first thing in the morning?”
“Because I’m not leaving this sleeping bag until the bloody snow is gone! Nearly freezing to death once is more than enough.”
The End
Really, how long would it have taken him to have a quick peek at the weather app on his phone a few times a day? If he’d done that, he… still wouldn’t have had time to make the necessary preparations to survive the severe weather, because it had been all hands on deck practically twenty-four hours a day for the last week, and going to the supermarket had been put on hold indefinitely while the team had rounded up various artefacts and aliens. Ianto was regretting his lack of foresight anyway though. He should have made better preparations well in advance of winter, stocking up with all essentials, just in case. Including extra fuel for the generators.
“All the futuristic technology we’ve got, and everything that’s stashed in the archives, and we’re probably going to freeze to death because there’s a bloody blizzard blowing and the power’s gone out,” Ianto grumbled, pulling the thin blanket more tightly around them both as they huddled together in Jack’s narrow old army cot. They were still fully dressed in an effort to retain what little body heat they still had. “We should’ve tried to make it back to my place. At least there I have decent blankets, duvets, and extra socks, and I could’ve heated soup, and boiled water on the gas cooker for hot water bottles.”
“We’d never have made it across the Plas,” Jack replied, sitting up.
“Where’re you going?” Ianto grabbed frantically at his lover, trying to drag his only source of warmth back into bed with him.
“To grab a few things to help us stay warm,” Jack replied.
“An alien space heater?” Ianto’s tone was so hopeful, Jack hated to disappoint him, but…
“No, sorry, just extra covers.” He pulled another blanket from the trunk at the end of the cot; it smelled a bit of mothballs, but that couldn’t be helped, and he spread it over Ianto before scrambling up the ladder.
Ianto huddled, waiting, shivering in the sub-zero temperatures that had engulfed the Hub, as the minutes ticked by. Finally, Jack returned, wearing his coat and clutching an emergency foil blanket from the kit kept in the SUV, and an old, patched sleeping bag.
Five minutes later, they were both squeezed into the sleeping bag, covered with the blankets and Jack’s coat, with the foil blanket over everything. Both of them were still shivering, but hopeful that they would, eventually, start feeling less cold.
“Jack?” Ianto muttered, freezing cold nose pressed tightly against the side of Jack’s neck, which was marginally warmer.
“Mm?” Jack pulled the covers a little higher.
“If we survive this, as soon as the snow lets up enough and the power’s back on, we’re going out and buying some better blankets, flannel sheets, and the thickest, warmest duvet available. It’s about time you had some decent bedding down here.”
“Fine. But why not do that first thing in the morning?”
“Because I’m not leaving this sleeping bag until the bloody snow is gone! Nearly freezing to death once is more than enough.”
The End
