Title - Extra Work
Author - karaokeplays_01
Rating - Erm, I'll say 12 for language and stuff
Pairing/Characters - Jack/Ianto, rest of the team + an extra
Length - 2427 words
Summary - A guest in the Hub tests Ianto's patience
Spoilers - None
A/N - Complete fluff. It's been a crappy few days so when this came to me I had to write it to try and cheer myself up.

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The large cog door rolled open to allow Ianto into the Hub along with a pile of reports he’d just finished. However,instead of being met with the usual sights of Tosh running a number of scans and calculations simultaneously, Gwen checking through police reports and Owen slacking off playing solitaire on his computer, he found Owen looking on as the girls were sat on the floor cooing over what appeared to be a ball of fur. As he looked at it, the ball of fur detached itself from the attention of Gwen and Tosh and made a run for Ianto’s legs. He managed to get out of it’s path before it collided with him, and looked up to find that Jack had appeared in the doorway of his office, a broad grin on his face.

"Jack, why the hell is there a dog in the Hub?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice as he dumped the reports on the nearest available surface.

"I went out for a walk earlier and he kept following me."

"That doesn’t explain why you would bring it in here."

"He’s a he, not an it. And he wouldn’t leave me alone. I could hardly leave him out in the cold all alone."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "He probably belongs to someone, you know." Another thought occurred to him. "Or maybe it’s an alien that’s just out to infiltrate this place."

"I’ve already checked him out. He’s 100% earth dog, no microchip and no collar, nothing to suggest anyone owns him." He sat down on the floor, pulling the dog close and looking up at Ianto. "He’s just a lonely stray..."

Ianto knew from the look in Jack’s eyes what was coming next and cut him off with a sharp "No."

"Iantooo," Jack whined.

"We’re not keeping him."

Jack’s ‘puppy dog’ expression intensified. "No!" Ianto repeated. "I don’t like dogs."

The look of horror he was met with from all four of his colleagues only served to exasperate him even more.

"But he’s so cute," Gwen said as she continued to fuss over him, Tosh nodding her agreement.

"Yes, and he’ll need feeding and walking and he’ll leave hairs and other messes everywhere and of course it’s going to be left to me to clean up after him and look after him because it’s not like any of you were planning on doing it and because I always need more things to add onto my endless ‘to do’ list. And what about all the alien tech that’s around for him to get into and cause all sorts of trouble with? Then there’s the question of whether Myfanwy will try to mate with him or eat him and I really don’t fancy cleaning up the result of either of those scenarios. He can’t stay here," he finished firmly.

He saw the looks of disappointment on the others’ faces and shook his head slightly. He was about to turn away when Jack suddenly started again.

"What about him living with us?"

Ianto thought for a second that he was joking, but one look at Jack’s face told him otherwise and he gaped slightly.

"What? No!"

The look in his lover’s eyes made him regret his sharp tone and he softened his voice before speaking again.

"I’m sorry Jack, but think about the hours we work. It’s hardly fair to leave a dog stuck at home alone for that amount of time. And I just.. I really don’t like dogs, I’m sorry."

Owen snorted. "Trust teaboy to be scared of dogs."

"I never said I was scared of them, I said I didn’t like them."

Owen was about to retort when Tosh interrupted, stopping them before they could start arguing. "What are we going to do with him then?"

"We’ll have to take him to the dog’s home I suppose," Jack said sadly. "Unless any of you want to take him?" He asked hopefully, looking around at the others.

"No thanks. It’s bad enough having to clear up after myself without adding extra work," said Owen, ignoring the look that Ianto threw him.

"I’m not allowed pets at my flat," Tosh said, equally as sadly as Jack.

"And like Ianto said, we’re all here too much to look after him. Plus Rhys is allergic to dogs anyway."

"Dog’s home it is then. Jack, don’t look like that. They’ll look after him and find him a good home, better than what any of us could offer." Ianto’s attempt at comfort didn’t work too well since Jack was still visibly saddened at the thought.

"Its a bit late to do that tonight isn’t it?" Tosh asked, looking at her watch. "God, we should all have left hours ago."

Jack glanced at his own watch before looking back at Ianto, sadness replaced by the return of his puppy dog eyes. "Iantoo, can he at least stay tonight?"

Ianto couldn’t say no to him again. Plus he wasn’t cold hearted enough to want to put the dog back on the street, no matter how much he valued the cleanliness of his home.

"Alright! One night and then we take him to the dog’s home, okay?" The movement as Jack stood up to draw Ianto into a hug meant he was unsure if he had heard anything past his initial agreement, but the quick kiss that was pressed against his mouth and the excitement in the ‘thank you’ that was muttered into his ear pushed the thought out of his mind.

Owen made retching noises at them before turning to grab his jacket from the back of his chair. He muttered a ‘bye’ and left for the night. Gwen and Tosh followed suit, pausing to fuss the dog one last time before leaving.

Ianto had busied himself with tidying up the Hub and was in the middle of gathering up coffee mugs when he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and warm lips pressed against his cheek.

"Can we go home as well now?" Jack murmured against his ear.

"No, I’m tidying up," Ianto replied, trying to hide his smile at the negative response Jack gave.

"The world won’t end because you left this place looking less than immaculate you know, and no alien will think ‘God, what a fucking dump’ as we’re dragging it in and kicking it’s ass."

"How do you know?"

Jack made an indescribable noise that clearly showed his impatience and in one movement he turned Ianto round in his arms and kissed him hard. Ianto responded automatically, bringing his arms up around Jack’s neck and kissing him back. He was just rethinking his earlier decision about not leaving yet when he felt scratches at his leg. He broke away from Jack to find the dog pawing at him, and he pulled away completely.

"He hates me," he stated.

"Rubbish!"

"He does! He hates me because he loves you. God knows why, but since he seems to love you so much you can go out now and get him something to eat tonight." Ianto flashed Jack a smile and went back to clearing up, only to feel arms being wrapped around him again.

"How do you know it’s not you he wants?" Jack asked. "And I thought we were leaving."

"No, I’m tidying up," Ianto repeated. "Now go get some food and get back here else we’re never going to get home." As Jack left, Ianto turned to wag his finger at the dog. "And there had better be no more of that tonight else you’re out, cold or no cold," he said, not wanting to be interrupted every time he and Jack got too close. The collie only cocked his head and stared at him. Ianto shook his head. "I’m talking to a dog," he muttered to himself, before going back to his clearing up. Twenty minutes later, Jack had returned and Ianto was content enough with the state of the Hub for the three of them to get into the SUV and head back to Ianto’s house.

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"Can I help?

"No. Last time you almost set the place on fire."

"That wasn’t my fault, it was -"

"What the hell is that?" Ianto interrupted, heading out of the kitchen towards the noise, only to be met with the sight of a bearded collie surrounded by the remains of the bottom shelf of his bookcase.

"Jack!" he yelled. "Get this dog out of here."

"Bertie come on, stop it," Jack tried to reason with him. The dog ignored him in favour of ripping out some more pages of the book he was in the middle of destroying.

Ianto stopped for a moment. "Bertie?"

"Well he’s got to have a name."

"But... Bertie?"

"I think it suits him," Jack said affectionately.

Ianto shook his head slightly as if trying to stop his train of thought. "I- whatever! Just get him out of here. Take him for a walk or something so that I can have half an hour’s peace to make dinner."

Jack was gaping at him. "Walk? But it’s freezing out there."

"Tough. You wanted him, now you get to deal with him. Now out, the pair of you." Ianto pointedly went to open the front door, picking up Jack’s coat and handing it to him. Jack looked disgruntled but knew better than to argue with Ianto when he was in this mood and grudgingly left.

Ianto closed the door behind him and sighed as he went to clear up the ruined books and the mess from the plant that had been knocked over before heading back to the kitchen to check on their dinner.

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Jack returned with a much more subdued dog just as Ianto was serving up.

"Nicely timed," he said as he brought their plates over to the table.

"Bertie’s calmer now. And he says he’s sorry," Jack said as he washed his hands. Ianto resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Good. Just don’t bring him anywhere near me."

"But he’s so cute and lovable. How can you not like him?"

"He’s not lovable, he’s trying to make me miserable. Now can we please eat before it goes cold and I get really grouchy and force you to sleep on the sofa tonight with your bloody dog."

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A while later after the three of them had been fed and watered, Jack and Ianto were curled up on the sofa - a glass of wine each on the coffee table and Bertie at Jack’s feet - trading conversation and slow, lazy kisses. Ianto pulled back from one of these only for Jack to give him that smile that always made his breathing hitch slightly. He reached up to stroke the older man’s cheek before pulling him back down for a deeper kiss. Jack responded enthusiastically, drawing Ianto closer to him. Just at that moment Jack’s phone beeped; one of his alarms to let him know he was needed at the Hub. He drew back and muttered a ‘Fuck’ against Ianto’s lips before leaning back down and pressing a row of kisses down the younger man’s neck, biting down gently before pulling away altogether.

"Do you need me to come with you?" Ianto asked him, his breathing not quite right. Jack leered at that, only to met with a swat to his arm. "Seriously."

"No, I’ll get the others in if it’s serious enough. Someone needs to stay here and look after this one," he said gesturing towards the dog. "Besides, with you looking like that I won’t be able to keep my hands off you long enough to sort out whatever it is." He smiled affectionately and leaned in for one last kiss. "I’ll try not to be too long. Get some rest, I’m not planning on letting you sleep much tonight."

Ianto smiled and relinquished his hold on Jack, following him and seeing him out. He yawned as he closed the front door and figured he’d rest as Jack had suggested while he had the chance. He went back to his sitting room and flopped back onto the sofa, yawning again and rubbing his eyes. A small whine made him stop and take his hands from his face, only to see the dog sitting and looking at him with the exact same ‘puppy dog’ expression that Jack had given him earlier. Ianto shook his head.

"No!... You’re not coming up here... No, I’m not having dog hairs all over the sofa... Don’t look at me like that, you won’t change my mind... No, no, no, no, no!... Oh this isn’t fair, I bet you know Jack always gets his way when he looks at me like that... No!"

He was having no effect on the dog at all, who simply continued to stare at him pleadingly no matter what Ianto said to him.

"Oh.. Damn you," Ianto said softly, lying back onto the sofa and closing his eyes.

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It was well over an hour later that Jack finally managed to sort out the disturbance and get back. He unlocked the front door and closed it quietly behind him, making his way into the living room to be met with a sight that - not that he would admit it - put a rather sappy smile on his face.

Ianto was stretched out on the sofa, feet bare, no jacket or tie, and his shirt was untucked and slightly rumpled with the sleeves rolled up and the top buttons undone. He looked completely at peace as he slept, one arm trailing off the sofa and onto the floor, the other curled around the dog that lay sleeping on his chest.

His eyes flickered open as he sensed Jack watching him, and he smiled sleepily before looking down at the dog on top of him. He uncurled his arm and stroked the soft fur on his back before draping his arm back across him and letting his head fall back down.

There was a short pause.

"Iantooo," Jack whined.

"I’ll think about it," he muttered before closing his eyes again.

Current Location: home
Current Mood: blah
Current Music: we are scientists