Title: What's Cooking?

Author: badly-knitted

Characters: Ianto, Jack.

Rating: G

Spoilers: Nada.

Summary: Jack has a new hobby, much to Ianto's mingled delight and concern.

Word Count: 636

Written For: My own prompt 'Vanilla cookies baking,' at fic_promptly

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

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DottyWho: Two naughty boys, in fact, but aren't they fun?

Thank you!

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OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

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Waking up, Ianto found himself alone in bed, which wasn't an unusual occurrence; whether it was something to do with Jack's 51st century genetics or his immortality, Ianto wasn't sure, but his lover typically needed less sleep than the average human, except for those times when the whole team was run ragged with nobody getting enough rest.

In winter, prising Jack out of bed took ingenuity and threats; he disliked the cold on principle, and even when he wasn't actually sleeping, preferred to burrow under the covers where it was nice and warm. The rest of the year, he was often up before dawn, finding something to keep himself busy until Ianto's alarm clock went off. Pushing back the covers, Ianto vaguely wondered what his other half was up to today.

After a quick visit to the en suite bathroom to freshen up, he opened the bedroom door and paused, nose twitching. A tantalising aroma was drifting on the air, making his mouth water. Licking his lips, he followed his nose, across the landing, down the stairs, along the hallway, and finally into the big kitchen at the back of the house. The delicious scent was even stronger there.

Unsurprisingly, Jack was there too, bustling about and humming to himself as he washed dishes in the sink.

"Good morning, Sunshine," he greeted Ianto. "Sleep well?"

"Like a log. Baking again? What is it this time?"

"I found a great recipe online for vanilla cookies so I thought I'd give it a try. Smell good, don't they?"

"Mouth-wateringly good! You do know I'm going to get fat if you keep baking like this, don't you?" While Ianto approved of Jack's latest hobby, especially as after the first couple of attempts he'd started clearing up after himself, it meant that he was eating far more sugar than was strictly good for him. "We only just finished the lemon muffins you made last Sunday."

"A few cookies won't make you fat, and anyway, I know plenty of ways to help you work off the extra calories," Jack said with a grin.

Ianto's mind drifted back to the night before. "Oh yeah!" He smiled dreamily; nights with Jack were never less than innovative. "I had no idea that was even possible."

Just then, the timer went off and Jack abandoned the washing up, hurrying to get the cookies out of the oven before they burned. The delicious aroma grew stronger as the oven door opened and without conscious thought, Ianto gravitated towards it, grabbing a spare oven glove to help Jack. A few minutes later, thirty or so vanilla cookies had been set to cool.

"Better wait a bit before trying one," Jack warned. "I wouldn't want you to burn your mouth the way I did. They're really good when they're still warm though."

"You already tried one?"

Jack nodded. "Of course! I had to test them, didn't I? Make sure they were fit for consumption. This is the second batch, they don't take long to make. The first lot are boxed up to take in to work for the others."

Ianto shook his head, amused, and plucked one of the cooling cookies off the tray, nibbling carefully at the edge. His eyes closed in bliss. "Mmmm, these are amazing!"

Jack beamed in pleasure. "We'll keep this batch just for us."

"They're not going to last long, I can tell you that right now. I bet they go really well with coffee too." Ianto headed for the coffee machine, intent on testing his theory.

"Well, when we run out I can always make some more."

Ianto sighed, halfway between pleasure and resignation. Yep, even with Jack helping him to burn off his overindulgence, Ianto just knew he was going to have to let his belt out a notch or two!

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The End