Title: Silent Night
Author:jovialien
Pairings: Ianto/Jack
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Ratings: PG 13
Warnings: Spoilers for S1 Out of Time. Fluff.
Disclaimer: I don't own these boys. I'm just having fun.
Summary: Ianto has his own Christmas traditions and he holds on to them tightly. But sometimes things change.

Ianto had gotten used to having disrupted Christmases since he started working at Torchwood. There had been the year the sycorax had appeared, causing Yvonne to drag everyone in – and then watch in horror as a third of the staff ended up on the roof.

Then there had been the Christmas with all their guests coming through the rift. That had been hard. No sooner had they sorted that, dispatching that young girl to London than a great big star had appeared over the city. It had been a rough Christmas. His first without Lisa, his first with Jack and a man committing suicide in his car. Not exactly the sort of Christmas they make movies about.

Then there was the great big ship bearing down on Buckingham Palace. There had been a few tense phone calls that day.

So in all this uncertainty Ianto knew the day itself was likely to be a complete washout so he never made too much fuss over the dinner. He never worried if the veg wasn’t quite fresh enough – the odds were the turkey would only make it into sandwiches anyway.

But the presents, those he took his time over. He selected them with care, choosing the paper carefully and ribbons and bows. He didn’t have many people to buy for but he always went for quality. The best paper. The nicest ribbon. He would stock up and then, one quiet evening when the world was content to take care of itself for a bit, he would put on some Christmas music and settle himself down at the table, sharp scissors, sellotape and a long drink to hand. And he would wrap. He had done it on his own every year ever since joining Torchwood. He had never used to be worried but with so much of his life out of his control he had become a little obsessive about the things he could make perfect. Lisa hadn’t objected, she had hated wrapping presents, and as for Jack...

He had just finished wrapping Jack’s present when a knock at the door made him look up. Sighing he turned the music down and padded over to the door, opening it and smiling bemusedly at the sight. “Fancy a carol?” Jack Harkness grinned at him, his coat flecked with rain rather than snow and not a song sheet in sight but he was carrying a bottle of wine and that was a good start.

“You want to sing for me?” Ianto leaned against the doorway, not letting him in straight away. “Go on then.” Jack grinned cheekily and took a deep breath before starting to sing loudly, opera style.

“We three Kings of Leicester Square, wearing ladies underwear-“ Grinning in embarrassment Ianto yanked Jack into the flat quickly, knowing all too well how the song continued. Closing the door behind him he rolled his eyes as Jack headed over to the table, shedding his coat as he went and draping it over the couch. Ianto picked it up behind him and hung it up properly by the door. “Oooo pressies!” Jack instantly began picking up the wrapped gifts and shaking them. “Which one’s mine? Did you get me one? Do I need to buy batteries?” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as Ianto retrieved the parcel from his hands, placing it safely back on the table.

“Is there a reason you decided to come over? I thought we had agreed to have a quiet night in tonight. Alone.” Jack nodded and wandered through to the kitchen. Ianto could hear him rooting around in the drawers and was unsurprised when he heard the sound of a cork being pulled out and wine glasses clinking together. So much for his quiet night. Jack came back in and handed him a glass of wine, grinning still as he took a sip from his own.

“I thought you might want a hand with the present wrapping. It doesn’t seem fair to leave you here all alone with such a chore, I thought you might like some company.” Ianto chuckled and gave in, taking his seat at the table with good grace as Jack turned the music back up again and sat beside him. “Classic Christmas songs, always the best. You can’t beat a bit of Bing at Christmas. Course it’s not the same as seeing him live but it’s still better than some of that modern rubbish.” Ianto placed his wine safely out the way and got back to work.

Jack insisted on helping, holding the paper in place whilst Ianto taped it (holding his finger there too long more than once and getting himself stuck to the present too), helping curl and tie the ribbons (which ended up too loose around the parcel, decidedly springy at one end and straight in the middle) and accidentally adding red wine splashes to the holly berries on the paper.

The presents were a mess. The bows were lopsided, the ribbons were wonky, the labels had misspellings where he had had too much wine and the sellotape had bubbles and fingerprints on it. But he didn’t care. He had always wrapped the presents alone and they had been perfect. But tonight he had started a new tradition. Wrapping with Jack. Yes it took three times as long and the presents were not exactly catalogue standard but he didn’t care. It was fun.

And surely that was what Christmas was all about.