"Hey, Ianto?" Jack called through the kitchen door.
"Yes?" Ianto called back from the living room.
"Can you c'mere a minute? Something I want to ask you about."
Ianto rolled his eyes and set aside the Sunday Times Mephisto puzzle. "No, I don't want one of those outdoor beds for the back garden," Ianto said, coming through the dinner room. That had been Jack's last grand idea for patio décor. Ianto had immediately vetoed it on the grounds that sleeping outdoors was always unadvisable in South Wales and that whatever else Jack might think would occur in a bed outdoors wasn't going to include him.
"Uh, yeah, no," Jack said, looking in the door, open only just enough for him to poke his head in.
Ianto was immediately suspicious. It looked an awful lot like Jack was hiding something on the other side of the door, and not just the rake he'd been clearing leaves with.
"Alright… what did you want to ask about," Ianto asked, brow raised and hands on his hips.
"Well, uh… you know, it's starting to cold out… this time of year. And I was sorta thinking, ya know, we really haven't had any, uh, 'pets' since Myfawny -"
"What are you hiding out there, Jack?" Ianto interrupted. Best to just get right to it.
Jack gave Ianto a long, big-eyed look before slowly pushing the door open and stepping in with a silver-grey tabby in one arm. Ianto's expression belied no reaction and Jack knew he'd better make his case fast.
"He's been hanging around here for the last couple weeks. He's kinda skinnier than he should be and it's cold. He's really sweet – comes right up to me all the time when I'm outside."
Ianto sighed slightly. "He could be lost, Jack."
"I don't think he is. He's not chipped and I made a few calls, nobody's been looking for a lost pet."
"He looks pretty well groomed for stray," Ianto pointed out.
"Yeah, uh… that's 'cause I took him down to the vet in town – to check for a chip and ask about any missing pets. Had them clean him up, too. He was kinda scruffy when I took him in, definitely looked 'outdoorsy', but he cleans up nice, huh? The vet said he's about three pounds underweight, but perfectly healthy other than that. No diseases or anything. Whaddaya think?"
"I'm not sure, Jack, are we really sure someone's not missing -"
"They'd have said something within the last couple weeks, and anyway, cats are really good at finding their way home. He's not a baby and he's obviously pretty smart about living on his own, but he really shouldn't have to if we can welcome him in…. I call him Sgruff," Jack said.
Just then, the cat sitting casually in Jack's arm looked up at him and gave a little half-meow of recognition.
"See! He knows his name!" Jack said with such enthusiasm.
Ianto sighed. "Yeah, alright. Hello there, Sgruff," he said, walking over to scratch behind Sgruff's ears. "Welcome to the family."
Jack stepped in and closed the door behind him, lifting Sgruff up in his arms to give him a kiss on top of his head. "See, buddy? Told you Ianto would like you!"
"Yeah, yeah," Ianto said. "We're going to need to get pet supplies in, almost immediately," he said, fetching his keys from the hook by the door.
"Nope, we're not. There's a bag in my car," Jack said smugly. "I'm learning your 'thinking ahead' trick."
"A bit of a presumption, wasn't it?"
Jack shrugged.
"Right. Well, let's get one thing clear from the beginning, Sgruff. Your mate Jack might be a big softie, but you won't get away with buttering me up!"
Jack smirked as he set Sgruff down and took his keys off their hook to bring in the supplies he'd bought that morning. "It's true, buddy, he's very stern. But if you want anything your tad doesn't want to give you, all you gotta do is tell me about it. I know how to talk to him!"