![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bk_forever
Title: Finding Day Surprise
Author: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif){kind=small}
badly_knitted
Characters/Pairing: Jack/Ianto, the team and Nosy
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,300
Summary: It’s Nosy’s Finding Day, everyone is preparing for the party, but they’re about to get a very unexpected surprise.
Spoilers/Warnings: Nada.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood or any of the characters. Which is sad.
A/N: For arnica, who wanted Capturing the Beast, timestamp, 5 years later to the day.
I’m a bit nervous about this one, it’s probably not what you were expecting, but it got completely out of my control and went in a rather unexpected direction. Hope you’ll like the result, it’s all Nosy’s fault!
Watching Nosy puttering happily about the Hub, Ianto smiled.
“Hard to believe it’s been exactly five years since we captured our fluffy friend. Nosy doesn’t look a day older!”
“Well,” Jack smirked, sliding his arms around Ianto’s waist from behind, “neither do you or I.”
Ianto inclined his head. “True, that’s one of the more positive aspects of being immortal.”
Jack chuckled. “I didn’t used to think there were any positive aspects, but it’s different now. I have you, and we have our very long-lived pet. So, is everything ready for Nosy’s Finding Day party?”
Ianto nodded. “The guys are just putting the finishing touches on the decorations, Gwen smuggled the cake in and Tosh helped me set the table with the rest of the food.”
“I’ve got all the gifts in my office ready to take down to the conference room, if you can lend a hand?”
Ianto chuckled. “I think I can spare a few minutes to help you. What do I get as a reward?”
“How about a massage later?”
Ianto considered the offer. “Does it come with a foot rub?”
“I think that could be arranged.”
“Deal. Let’s get going.”
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Half an hour later, with the party all ready to begin, the guest of honour was nowhere to be found, which was more than a little unusual. Ever curious, Nosy would usually be lurking nearby if anything even remotely interesting looked like it might be going on.
The entire team started searching, looking in all the places their resident Fluff could usually be found, calling Nosy’s name but getting no response at all. Finally, puzzled and concerned, they returned to the conference room, comparing notes on where they’d looked and wondering where to check next. Owen reached for a sandwich, but Ianto slapped his hand away.
“No one’s eating until the guest of honour is here,” he admonished.
Owen grumbled, but reluctantly agreed.
OoOoOoOoOoO
They never did find out what secret place Nosy had found for itself, but a short while later the Fluff suddenly appeared, slinking through the conference room door, followed by a small, fuzzy, black and purple striped version of itself. Everyone stared in amazement.
“Is that… a baby Fluff?” asked Tosh in a whisper.
“What else could it be?” Jack stepped forward to take a closer look. Nosy looked oddly smug.
“It’s a Flufflet!” Ianto declared.
Nosy hummed happily and picked its baby up, plonking it firmly on Tosh’s lap before helping itself to food from the table.
Tosh beamed happily at the Flufflet in her lap; it made squeaky little humming sounds as she petted it.
Owen huffed. “I guess that means Nosy is female after all.”
“Not necessarily,” Jack told him. “You can never really be certain with aliens.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Owen sat beside Tosh and was tickling the Flufflet’s head when Nosy appeared at their side and shoved some wet watercress in front of the baby. It immediately started eating. “Well, at least now I don’t have to ask what we should feed it.”
OoOoOoOoOoO
It wasn’t quite the party they’d planned, they ended up spending most of it laughing at the baby Fluff’s antics and playing with it among the discarded wrapping paper from their gifts. It had Nosy’s endless curiosity already and seemed quite independent, though they quickly noticed it only ate what Nosy put in front of it, probably already being taught what was good to eat. It also never strayed far from Tosh and Owen.
Knowing that Fluffs bond empathically with a chosen couple or family, Ianto smiled.
“Looks like Nosy’s chosen you two to be the Flufflet’s human family.”
Tosh was thrilled. “Thank you, Nosy. We’ll take good care of your baby, I promise. Now we just need to think of a name for it.” She looked up at Owen. “Any ideas?”
Owen looked at the Flufflet, which was trying to chase its own tail.
“How about Dizzy? ‘Cause that’s what it’s going to be if it keeps that up for long.”
Tosh laughed. “I like that! Dizzy it is then.”
Nosy hummed approval, it knew it had made the right choice. Really, it was about time those two had a Fluff of their own. Maybe now they’d stop messing about and bond with each other properly, the way its own humans already had!
It looked around at its human friends. This was a good place. Unlike the place it had come from, here there was an abundance of the substance needed for reproducing and its friends ensured there was always a plentiful supply. It had made budding a youngling so much easier and faster that the last time, the process had been completed in a matter of days instead of months. Here, it would even be possible to bud more than one new life at a time, something unheard of in the place it had come from. This youngling would surely thrive.
Nosy sniffed appreciatively as Ianto set a plate of cake in front of it, realising that he’d even been thoughtful enough to provide the nutritious substance in an easily digestible form for the youngling’s first few days. It carefully broke off a small piece of coffee cake and nudged it in front of Dizzy.
“Eat this,” it hummed in its own language, “and you will grow big and strong!”
Dizzy nibbled at the cake, giving a squeaky hum of delight at the taste and making Jack laugh.
“Looks like it will fit in well with the team, it’s already got a taste for coffee. Soon it’ll be as addicted as the rest of us.”
“Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking me to make some?” Ianto asked with a smirk.
Jack put on his best pleading expression. “Pretty please? It would go so well with this cake.”
Ianto rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. Glancing around the room, he asked, “Anyone else want coffee?”
Unsurprisingly, everyone in the room raised their hand.
“Coffees for everyone then,” he murmured as he headed towards the door, snagging Jack by the arm on his way out and almost dragging him along. “Come on, you’re helping, I can’t carry everyone’s drinks by myself, I’ll need an extra pair of hands.”
Just outside the door he paused and looked back; it was good to see everyone enjoying themselves. Jack stopped too, slipping his arm around Ianto’s shoulders.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
“Cheapskate. A penny’s worth nothing these days; make it a fiver and I might tell you.”
“I dunno, are your thoughts worth that much?” Jack teased.
“Cheeky!” Ianto elbowed him in the ribs, getting a startled “Oof” in reply. Relenting, he added, “So much has happened in the last five years, some of it good, some bad, some completely bonkers.” He turned to Jack. “I thought I knew what to expect today, I had everything planned so carefully, and then this…” He waved his hand vaguely at the crowd of happy people and the two Fluffs.
“It’s kind of reassuring that the universe can still surprise us in a good way,” Jack murmured in his ear, before pressing a kiss to Ianto’s temple.
“Yeah, I suppose it is.” Ianto smiled softly at Jack. “Come on, better make the coffee before they send out a search party.”
“Nah, they wouldn’t even notice if we didn’t come back at all.” Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. “Where do you think we’ll be five years from now?”
“Still here, and knee deep in Fluffs, probably.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Hand in hand, chatting quietly, they made their way down the corridor, heading for the kitchen. Although there was no way of knowing what the future held, they both felt secure in the knowledge that whatever happened, neither of them would be facing it alone.
The End
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 03:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 03:51 pm (UTC)I love the way she|he choose Owen and Tosh to give the baby as a way to bond them together as Jack and Ianto!
Awesome! thanks for brighten my day!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 04:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 04:50 pm (UTC)No idea what I'll be posting next week. I have several finished fics to choose from...
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 04:56 pm (UTC)Every Fluff needs a family, Nosy thinks Owen and Tosh will be suitable and the responsibility might just be what's needed for them to make their relationship official.
Thank you!
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Date: 2013-08-12 05:00 pm (UTC)Fluffs need people. Owen and Tosh will be a good family for Dizzy. Their children will inherit it, and then their children's children... Fluffs live a VERY long time! Nosy even picked colours suitable for the new family, lol! Fluffs are the ultimate in selective breeders.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 05:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 05:25 pm (UTC)Never fear, I'd never cause serious harm to Nosy. Fluffs are extremely long-lived and very resilient, so they're difficult to damage and quick to heal.
Sometimes people just need a little extra nudge to commit to each other. Nosy figured it knew just the thing
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 07:27 pm (UTC)I love how Nosy has a finding day instead of a birthday :-)
I want a baby fluff!
And I love the banter between our boys :-)
All round fluffy goodness. Well done!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 07:35 pm (UTC)Thank you, glad you liked it!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 07:45 pm (UTC)I got the Finding Day idea from reading FAKE too often, but it fits Nosy - they don't know when it was budded, or how old it is, but they know exactly when they found it!
I want a baby Fluff too - or several of them. Just imagine them playing together and getting tied in knots!
I love writing banter between the boys. Glad you think I did a good job with it!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-12 10:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 12:28 am (UTC)All I gotta say is what's been already said: OMG! BABY FLUFF!
Yay for baby fluff! Plus immortal Ianto tossed in, this made my day! I needed this since I'm going over 5 weeks with no a/c in this place.
*hugs* for such a happy happy fic. Thanks for sharing! :D
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 12:39 am (UTC)And I love that coffee is actually good for Fluffs, and am I right in saying that it also helps them reproduce? Makes me wish Ianto knew about that little detail!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 05:12 am (UTC)YAY FOR MORE FLUFF FIC!
And yay for more Fluff, period!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 11:01 am (UTC)Thank you! Glad you like the new arrival.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 11:10 am (UTC)Yep, by this time Ianto is immortal. I'll still, at some point, have to write the fic where that happens, but I'm currently buried under half a ton of plot bunnies all demanding to be written RIGHT NOW!
If Finding Day is good enough for Dee, it's good enough for Nosy. And I really do not need a plot bunny wherein Dee and Ryo turn into Fluffs...
Glad you like the Flufflet! And the fic!
There will be a new fic (not all Nosy-Verse) every week for a while as I have quite a few written, and I'm still writing =)
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 11:28 am (UTC)The team will fine out about the fine points of Fluff reproduction in a future Fluff-fic, when the Doctor will tell them, but I have a lot of other fics to write first, I'm uo to my ears in Plot Bunnies!
Thank you, I'm glad you like the new addition to the team!
I have loads of notes on Fluff reproduction and the history of the Fluff, lol!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 11:43 am (UTC)Thank you, glad you enjoyed the extra Fluff!
I'm working on more Nosy fics, as well as other fics, desperately trying to dig my way out of a pile of Plot Bunnies, so stay tuned. I'll be posting a fic a week until I run out.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 02:27 pm (UTC)Great work.
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 03:23 pm (UTC)Dizzy is happy you approve. Well, it will be as soon as Tosh untangles it. It seems to have tied itself in a knot.
Glad you enjoyed it!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 04:39 pm (UTC)I love that Nosy picked Owen and Tosh for the Flufflet and the reason behind it. It's obviously a very intelligent Fluffy. Also love the name Dizzy and the picture of them playing with it in the wrapping paper. Adorable!
Immortal!Ianto is a very good thing. Not only will Jack never be alone, but he can keep making coffee and the Fluffies can keep drinking it and multiplying. Hey! That's just like your fics, in a way. It's wonderful to see all of the new fics you're writing and it's so cute that you think you're ever going to run out of Plot Bunnies. As if!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-13 05:11 pm (UTC)Fluffs are empathic; though they share the closest empathic bond with their chosen people they feel other people's emotions too. So Nosy can feel how close Owen and Tosh have become and just thinks a Fluff of their own is what's needed to encourage them to take the final step and commit to each other completely. It's probably right!
I had to make Ianto immortal, I just don't know yet how it happened. Eventually I'll have to write that episode, but it won't be for a while. It's enough fo now to know that Ianto will become immortal sometime between finding Nosy and the fifth anniversary of that very memorable day.
I'm suffering from Plot Bunny overload, they're multiplying at a quite alarming rate. I have three fics started (one is alreasdy over 4500 words) and a bunch I'm making notes for. I just hope I can get all this batch written before I run out of steam. I also have a few that are finished so I'll be posting one a week while I keep writing.
Thank you again!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-16 03:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-16 10:45 am (UTC)The Fluff is the must-have pet of the future, everybody wants them!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-16 09:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-16 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-17 01:23 am (UTC)Now I want a Flufflet! But I probably have too many cats for that to work out well... :-p
no subject
Date: 2013-08-17 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-17 10:27 am (UTC)Yes, some time in the intervening 5 years, Ianto becomes immortal. I just haven't worked out how yet.
There will be more about Fluff reproduction at a later date, if I ever get around to writing it too.
Flufflets are even more playful than fully grown Fluffs. It would probably pounce on your cats a lot, lol!
Thank you!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-17 10:30 am (UTC)Nosy decided the time was right for a Flufflet. Who am I to argue?
no subject
Date: 2013-08-20 02:00 pm (UTC)I feel that this is the end of the stories Nosy ...
I hope not!
no subject
Date: 2013-08-20 03:06 pm (UTC)There are still more stories to tell that are set before this one, and I have ideas for other Nosy stories set further in the future too. I will keep writing Nosy stories for as long as I still have ideas - that could be for a very long time!
I have another one already written, and one that I'm writing, plans for at least five others...
Thank you.
Nosy!
Date: 2013-08-29 10:05 am (UTC)Re: Nosy!
Date: 2013-08-29 11:15 am (UTC)There will be more stories about the lovable Fluff when I get around to writing them. I'm working my way through a pile of plot bunnies of all kinds at the moment while the muse is being kind, so there should be a new fic or chapter every week, hopefully until at least Christmas.
There really are some great writers in the Torchwood fandom. I've been running a Fic of the Week thing for well over a year now, posting links every Monday to a wide variety of different Torchwood fics. Click the fic of the week tag if you want to take a look. Sadly, some of the journals seem to have been deleted since I linked to them, but most of the links should still work.
Re: Nosy!
Date: 2013-08-29 11:54 pm (UTC)Re: Nosy!
Date: 2013-08-30 11:56 am (UTC)I haven't read
I'd recommend anything by
Hope you find lots more to enjoy!
no subject
Date: 2013-09-03 08:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-10-19 02:58 pm (UTC)And once and for all answering the question of how intelligent Fluffs are - at least semi-sentient.
I love that coffee is considered to be the major nutritional requirement of Fluffs. How fortunate for Nosy to be found by Torchwood's very own crack (/caffeine) dealer :D
no subject
Date: 2013-10-19 04:43 pm (UTC)Fluffs are very smart, in their own way, certainly sentient to an extent. Smarter than dogs, or even chimps since Fluffs can use simple tools, probably the equivalent of a five-year-old child I think. Of course, no Fluff has ever really had its intelligence level tested...
Yup, Fluffs can't breed without an adequate reserve of caffeine in their systems. I plan to give some background on where they come from at some point, when I get the time to write it.
Flufflets are even cuter than Fluffs! Glad you liked it!
no subject
Date: 2013-10-19 04:51 pm (UTC)My brain has been consumed by the plot-tribbles. Is it obvious?
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Date: 2013-10-19 05:31 pm (UTC)Heehee, I like the theory! He caught it from a Fluff...
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Date: 2014-02-19 03:30 am (UTC)Thank you for making me laugh and smile!
no subject
Date: 2014-02-19 03:29 pm (UTC)Thank you.