Archive of Our Own

The moment the large metal door rolled aside to reveal the interior of the Hub, Ianto was hit with a wall of cold.

"What the hell – " Ianto muttered, his breath coming out in fog.

Pulling his jacket close, Ianto made his way into the main Hub, checking the environmental controls at Tosh's work station. As usual, he was the first to arrive in the morning, and Jack was currently nowhere to be seen.

"Zero degrees Celsius?" A few quick keystrokes revealed that the controls were, well, frozen, and the temperature could not be changed.

Ianto rubbed his hands together and blew into them, trying to keep them warm, wishing he had his winter coat with him. Of course, no one in their right mind would be wearing one right now seeing as they were in the middle of a rather localised Rift related heat wave, and if the befuddled weather forecasters were to be believed, temperatures were supposed to hit a nice and balmy 32 degrees Celsius today. According to Tosh's predictions, it was probably only around 28 degrees.

"Jack?" Ianto called out as he made his way to Jack's office.

There was no reply. The manhole cover on the floor was opened. Ianto took a look inside. The bed was empty, even the dark coloured duvet that covered it was missing. Ianto took the few steps down to Jack's private quarters, knowing he could probably find a spare coat or two in the cupboard. Ianto was starting to shiver and if he intend to wander down into the bowels of the Hub in search of the environmental controls and Jack, he'd need something to keep him from freezing to death.

He managed to find one of Jack's spare greatcoats and immediately put it on, buttoning it up to the top, feeling instantly warmer with the insulation of the wool. Now armoured against the cold, Ianto climbed back up the ladder and back into Jack's office.

Heading to Jack's computer, Ianto called up the internal communications.

"Jack?"

"Ianto?" came the reply, much to Ianto's relief.

"Where are you? And why is it so cold down here?"

"Down in environmental controls. I'm trying to figure out how this damn thing works. The circuits must've fried from a power surge last night, it's stuck at zero degrees and I can't get anything to work." Jack sounded frustrated.

"Come on back up then, I'll give Tosh a ring and see if she can come in a bit earlier to fix it. And I probably should tell the team to bring their winter coats."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll be right up."

The kettle had just started to boil when Ianto spotted Jack making his way up the stairs from the lower levels. Jack was dressed in his pyjama bottoms, his boots haphazardly pulled on and unlaced, coat, like Ianto, was buttoned up to the top, and on top of that, he had the duvet with him which he'd pulled over his head and was holding it close in the front like a cloak.

"Don't you dare laugh. It's minus five degrees down there!" Jack said crankily.

"I'm not laughing," Ianto protested, eyes not leaving Jack as the other man made his way towards Ianto. "I'm making you some coffee which I'm sure will warm you right up."

"Good. I've spent the last two hours trying to fix the damn air conditioner and I'm freezing!" And as if to prove his point, Jack extended his free hand and grasps Ianto's left hand.

"Jesus!" Ianto almost jerk his hand back in reflex. Jack's hand was cold. Instead, he held onto Jack's hand, and with his right hand, started rubbing some warmth back.

"You're wearing my coat." Jack commented.

"If you'd called me this morning, I would've brought my own. I had to find something before I froze to death. I could ask Gwen to pop by my place to fetch mine."

"No, that's fine. You look good in it." Jack's face was half hidden by the duvet, but Ianto could see the smile.

"Thanks," he replied.

"Come here," Before Ianto could protest, he was being swallowed up by the duvet and found himself in Jack's embrace. "Nice and warm."

Ianto chuckled. It was a little warmer. "The coffee doesn't make itself, you know."

"It can wait." Jack said, drawing Ianto in for a kiss that went on for a while.

"Coffee." Ianto murmured against Jack's lips.

Kiss.

"Waits."

Kiss.

"For."

Kiss.

"No one."

Kiss.

"You're rating coffee above me?"

It was dark within the cocoon of the duvet, the only light coming in from the gap from edge of the bedding where it wasn't quite large enough to cover two grown men, but Ianto could still see the look of mock disbelief on Jack's face.

Ianto couldn't help but smile. "Go shower and get changed. Tosh will be here in a bit, I'm not quite sure she can handle seeing you like that."

"She's a strong girl, she can take it. I'm not letting my warm and comfy Ianto go yet." As if to prove his point, Jack held on to Ianto tighter.

Ianto rested his chin on Jack's shoulder, stifling the urge to giggle at Jack's antics.

"You're laughing at me now, aren't you?"

"No," Ianto denied.

"I know you are."

"I'm not. I swear," Ianto insisted, but a traitorous giggle finally broke free.

Jack let out a dramatic sigh. "And now you're lying to me."

Ianto stifled his giggles once more, lifting his head to look at Jack. "Not laughing at you," he said as seriously as he could manage. "But your warm and comfy Ianto really needs to make the coffee, and my adorable and cold Jack should really listen to Ianto and go take a hot shower and change."

A genuine smile appeared on Jack's face. "You think I'm adorable?"

Ianto shook his head indulgently. "I don't know what's gotten into you this morning, but yeah, you're adorable." Ianto finished his sentence by placing a kiss on the tip of Jack's nose. "Now, go get that shower and change. Tosh'll be here in a few minutes. The coffee will be ready when you are."

"Ok," Jack agreed, finally letting go of Ianto, but not before he stole another kiss.

Ianto watched as Jack dragged his bedding across the Hub before disappearing back into his office. A happy and playful Jack was a rare occurrence, and Ianto hoped Jack's good mood would last, if anyone deserves some happiness in their life, it was Jack.

Turning his attention away from Jack, Ianto went back to making his coffee, smiling to himself. When the metal door rolled opened a few minutes later, Toshiko was cursing up a blue streak in Japanese as she hurried to her computer station to determine the problem.

THE END