Title: Welcome Home

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Jack, Ianto, Tosh.

Rating: PG

Spoilers: Nada.

Summary: Ianto has been away all week at a UNIT conference, but Jack has arranged a lovely surprise for his return home.

Word Count: 890

Written For: juliet316's prompt 'Author's choice, author's choice, the download,' at fic_promptly.

Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.

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"It's going to be a perfect evening," Jack told Tosh. "I've arranged everything; a tasty meal, a bottle of really good wine, and I even downloaded a movie for us to watch. Ianto is going to be so surprised when he gets home from London. All he'll have to do is take a shower, slip into something comfortable, and relax."

"Sounds lovely," Tosh said wistfully. "I wish I had someone to do things like that for me. What movie did you choose?"

"The latest version of the giant ape one. You know; Kong." Jack's watch beeped. "Oops, gotta head over to Ianto's and get dinner started if I want to have everything ready by the time he gets in. Are you sure you don't mind watching the Hub tonight?"

"I'm positive," Tosh assured him. "It'll give me the peace and quiet I need to work on my translation programme. I've had some ideas about how to increase its accuracy with non-verbal languages. Now go, pamper Ianto. I'm sure he'll need it after five long days of being waffled at by a bunch of UNIT scientists who don't have a clue what they're talking about."

"I don't know how he keeps from banging their heads together," Jack admitted. "He's got the patience of a saint. See you tomorrow! Have fun and don't work too hard." He pecked Tosh on the cheek and almost bounced up to his office to fetch his coat before leaving.

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Arriving at Ianto's small house, Jack hung up his coat and went straight to the kitchen, getting out all the food he'd bought that morning, and opening the bottle of red wine to let it breathe. He'd decided on steaks with baked potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, and baby carrots, and by the time Ianto came through the front door dinner was well underway.

"Welcome home!" Jack greeted his lover.

"What's all this?" Ianto set his suitcase down and took off his coat, hanging it beside Jack's.

"I asked Tosh to watch the Hub so I could cook you dinner; I figured you'd be tired after the conference and the long drive home."

"You're right about that." Ianto sniffed the air. "Whatever you're cooking, it smells wonderful."

"It'll be a while yet before it's done; you've got time to shower and change. When you're ready, go and make yourself comfy on the sofa and I'll dish up. I downloaded a movie for us to watch over dinner."

"Thank you, Jack. This is a lovely surprise!" Ianto kissed his lover. "I won't be long." Kicking off his shoes, he padded upstairs in socked feet, already peeling his suit jacket off. A shower and a good meal sounded heavenly.

Coming back downstairs a quarter of an hour later, dressed in jeans and a cosy sweater, Ianto went into the living room and flopped onto the sofa with a heartfelt groan of relief. The hotel he'd been staying in had been an improvement on last year's, but the bed had been rock hard and the only chair in his room had been the wooden one at the small desk under the window. His whole body welcomed the soft, squishy cushions of his sofa as they moulded themselves around him.

Jack came through from the kitchen a few minutes later with a bottle of wine. He poured two glasses, handing one to Ianto, then went back into the kitchen, returning almost immediately with a tray, which he set on his lover's lap.

Ianto's mouth watered at the sight of the meal. "This looks delicious!"

"Dig in; I'll just fetch mine and then get the telly on."

Once they were both settled comfortably, Jack picked up the remote control.

"What're we watching?" Ianto asked as he cut into his steak.

"Kong," Jack replied. "I haven't seen the new version yet. I remember enjoying the one with Fay Wray, but Owen said this one's even better." Jack clicked on, set the downloaded movie to run, and started to eat.

Ianto stared at the screen, frowning slightly; he hadn't seen the newest King Kong remake either, but this didn't look like a giant ape movie. Suddenly it clicked and he burst out laughing. "Twpsyn!" he chuckled. "This isn't King Kong, you've downloaded a documentary about Hong Kong!"

Jack looked stricken. "I have?" He watched for a couple more minutes. "Oh gods, you're right!" He turned to his lover. "I'm so sorry, Ianto! I wanted tonight to be perfect but I've messed it all up!"

Ianto shook his head, wiping away tears of laughter. "No you haven't; this is the best laugh I've had all week!"

"You don't mind?"

"Not at all. Tell you what though, why don't we skip the 'movie' and see what's on TV while we eat? Then after dinner, I'll order the King Kong movie off Amazon so we can watch it the next time we have an evening off."

Jack relaxed, picking up the remote control and starting to channel surf, looking for something he and Ianto would both enjoy. "Sounds good to me. Now eat your steak before it gets cold; there's lemon cheesecake for dessert."

Ianto smiled contentedly. "My favourite; you're spoiling me!"

"You deserve it."

Forking up another mouthful of the wonderfully tender steak, Ianto sank a little further into the cushions. It was good to be home.

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The End