Author's Note: So. I've not been able to write a lot of this story since my cat died a couple of years ago. As today is my tenth anniversary of joining the site, and I now have an adorable black and white kitten in my life (guess what he's called?), let's give this another go.

Merry (belated) Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Christmas Eve dawned bitterly cold, under a glassy grey sky that threatened a chill, damp feel to the day. Ianto woke early, ish, and they whiled away an hour in a slow, lethargic shag that was completely and blissfully devoid of cats. Afterwards they showered together and dressed, Jack in slacks and a Christmas jumper that had never seen taste and Ianto in jeans and a thick band hoodie, and went to flop lazily in the living room for a while, ignoring the mess from the night before.

Tosh emerged, eventually, and stepped carefully over Tybalt's determined attempts to trip her. She raised her eyebrows at them, nudged him with her foot and tried to reach one of the armchairs. "I think he's a sheepcat," she muttered when he jumped onto the chair and glared at her. "What does he want?"

"He wants feeding." Ianto dragged himself out of the sofa and scooped Tybalt up off the chair. "Not a bad idea, if I'm honest. Bacon, anyone?"

Tosh smiled up at him and nodded, and Jack followed him through to the kitchen. He grabbed the frying pan from above the hobs whilst Ianto was rummaging in the fridge for cat food and bacon, and had cracked a couple of eggs from the windowsill into a bowl before Ianto had extricated himself. "Can you pass me the milk?" he asked, holding one hand out blindly for the bacon as he rummaged through a drawer for the whisk with the other. "And do we have any tomatoes in?"

"Tomatoes…" He got the milk out and peered through the frosted plastic into the salad drawer. "No, no tomatoes. Not much of anything, really. Jack…"

"Yeah?"

"The fridge is actually worryingly empty, considering that it's Christmas Eve and we're having my family over tomorrow." He passed the milk over and closed the door again. "I have to tidy if we're getting a delivery."

Jack laughed and put the last rasher of bacon in the pan, then started whisking the eggs. "No delivery, I promise, although we will have to tidy before tomorrow. We've got to go out and do a bit of shopping, though."

Ianto dropped the can opener. "Pardon?"

"Not a lot, I promise. But you can't buy fresh fruit and veg that far in advance, and poultry should definitely be bought as soon to cooking as possible, even in this weather. And then there's…"

"Jack, it's Christmas Eve!" He gestured out of the window at his neighbour's wall. "Cardiff is going to be utter chaos, and probably sold out."

"It'll be fine," Jack promised. "I ordered everything, so we just need to pick it up. I know it's going to be busy, but you have to do it right. And you don't have to come, if you don't want to; you can tidy while I'm in town."

"It's okay, I'll come in." He picked the can opener up again and grabbed a can from the cupboard under the sink. "It's definitely just picking stuff up, not actually trying to find it?"

"I'm old fashioned, not an idiot." He turned the bacon and reached for the bread and breadknife. "Honestly, Ianto, you act like I've never done Christmas before."

"Sorry, I'm used to dealing with politicians," he pointed out. "I've learned to assume the worst. But really, couldn't you have got it delivered?"

"Where's the fun in that?" He slid the bacon onto a plate and tipped the eggs into the pan to scramble in the bacon fat. "Tybalt, get out from under my feet."

Ianto put the food down for him and wrapped his arms around Jack's waist, slipping his hands up under the jumper to plant them on bare skin. "We're going to be pressed for time to tidy and shop and cook."

"Relax," Jack scoffed. "When have my organisational skills ever let us down?"

"We don't have time for the list if we're going to get everything done."

"Cheeky." He tossed the bacon back into the pan and then slid bacon and eggs onto three slices of bread. "Tosh, do you want a coffee?"

Ianto rolled his eyes and detached himself, poking his head around the door to hear Tosh's affirmative response and then heading over to the coffee machine. "I know my purpose."

"I'm glad to hear it." Jack took the sandwiches out into the living room, and Ianto followed him not long after with the three mugs on a tray. Tybalt settled himself next to Tosh, sprawled across the sofa with his back pressed against her leg, and they ate and drank in contented silence.

Eventually, Tosh set her plate and mug aside and looked around the room sheepishly. "Sorry, we made a bit of a mess last night. I should…"

"Don't worry about it," Ianto told her. "What else is Christmas for? We'll get it sorted."

"No, really. I should help. Besides, it's not like I have anywhere else to go." She slid off the sofa and started collecting the empty bottles that had been stacked beside it. "Three pairs of hands will be quicker than two."

"Thanks Tosh." He hauled himself up and picked up the pile of pizza boxes from the coffee table. "Aren't you going to London for Christmas?"

"Not this year."

"Oh, you should have said!" Jack hadn't moved, but he leaned forwards. "Why not?"

"My brother's been out in Japan for a few months, and he's spending Christmas in Australia." She smiled to herself and shrugged. "There's only him and me left, anyway, and it gets a bit…"

"Empty?" Jack suggested.

"Yeah." She dropped the bottles into a carrier bag and avoided looking at them. "So I'm staying home, drinking wine and reading a book."

"You could come here, if you wanted," Ianto offered. "Grab some clothes and keep the spare room."

"Oh, no, I couldn't. It's your family…"

"You'd be doing me a favour, honestly." He looked over at Jack, who nodded, and back to her. "You can stick up for me when they gang up on me, and if you're in the spare room then my mum can't drink too much because she'll have to drive home. It'll be a win-win."

Tosh looked like she didn't need much persuading, and hovered behind the sofa. "If you're sure…"

"Positive. Jack always cooks for an army, even when it's just two of us, and Micah is really quiet and shy around strangers." He paused and added, "She used to be, anyway. But honestly, you're more than welcome to stay."

She smiled back at him and nodded. "Then I'd love to. I'll need to pick up some clothes."

"That's okay, we need to pick up a goose." Jack pushed himself upright at last and headed for the kitchen. "Let's get this place tidy, then all we need to do when we get back is cook."

"'All we need to do', he says," Ianto muttered, his arms full of pizza boxes and discarded wrapping paper already. "Just a minor detail."

XxXxX

They dropped Tosh off at her apartment on their way in, and then abused their Torchwood privileges to get parked by the police station, close enough to the centre of town to be able to make a couple of trips with shopping, if they needed to. Jack insisted that they wouldn't have to, but Ianto had been shopping with him before and ignored him. The sky had cleared a little so that icy blue showed through the grey, and the watery sunshine had taken the edge off the frost that clung to the bare bushes, leaving patches of silver to underline the branches.

The crowds were sparse until they got beyond the castle and onto the high street, but then they made up for it. From side to side, the street was packed with a busy throng of people, all with their heads down into coats and scarves, loaded down with bags and parcels. Ianto let Jack lead the way through them, towards the market, and kept his hands buried in his pockets. Inside the market it was slightly less busy, but louder, as the traders' cries advertising their wares echoed off the roof. Jack wound his way through with grace born of years of practice, and stopped first at the butcher's under the balcony.

"Morgan," he called, reaching across to shake the owner's hand. "Merry Christmas."

"And a Merry Christmas to you too, Captain." He reached under the counter and pulled out a large plastic box, already full of sausages, bacon, a bag of sausage meat and a very large goose. "I was starting to think you'd forgotten."

"Not a chance," Jack laughed. "Is everything settled?"

"All sorted," Morgan confirmed. "You have a good Christmas, now. Looks like you'll be having a pretty big do."

He waved them off so he could see to his next customers, and Jack set off across the market again. Ianto followed him and eyed the bird. "You know, I think it's a good thing that Tosh is coming over."

"Will you stop it?" Jack remonstrated. "It's Christmas and, as you'll notice, I've ordered and paid for everything in advance. The presents are wrapped, the apartment's tidy and decorated, most of the cooking will get done tomorrow, and all we need to do is a bit of last minute shopping and test the mulled wine. It's all going to be perfect."

"Sorry!" He held his hands up and laughed. "I am yours to command for the rest of the day. I trust you."

"Good." They stopped in front of the greengrocer's stall, which was packed with people, and he put the box down for a moment. "Kids these days."

The greengrocer had another box for them, this one with 'HARKNESS' written on the side in marker pen, which was stuffed full and very heavy, and then Jack led the way out the other side and down into one of the arcades, where there was yet another box waiting for them. At that point, with the boxes stacked up to their chests, Ianto left him in the street to sit on the fruit and vegetables box and ploughed his way through the crowds to retrieve the car. The drizzle had started again, and the throng was starting to thin as it wound on into the afternoon – most of the stalls on the market had been bare or nearly there, as people scrambled for the things they'd forgotten or thought they could get away with leaving to the last moment. Ianto always preferred to buy in advance and freeze everything, but Jack insisted on fresh as often as he could, and Ianto would let him have his way at Christmas – if he let him in on the secret.

He chuckled to himself and turned right past the front of the castle, towards the police station in the Civic Centre. A blue and yellow Megabus had pulled up on the Kingsway and disgorged a fairly large number of passengers, most of them into the arms of waiting family and friends with whom they would be spending the next few days. They were the last of the crowds, with most of the Civic Centre already closed, and Ianto was soon back in the car and navigating Cardiff's one-way system and pedestrianized streets to try to find the one he'd left Jack in.

Jack was still right where Ianto had left him, but with a sprig of mistletoe in his hand. He held it up as Ianto approached and smirked. "Merry Christmas?"

"Merry Christmas, Jack." Ianto cupped his face and kissed him, slowly and sweetly, then reached up for the mistletoe as he pulled away. "Where did you get this? And we're not putting it up at home until Rhi's gone home."

"A bunch of teenage girls had some and wanted a kiss each, so I asked them for a sprig in exchange. On the cheek!" he added before Ianto could ask. "And they were about 17. I think."

"You're impossible." Ianto put the mistletoe on top of the meat box and hauled it up into the boot. "No wonder Mam likes you. Can you get the meat in next to this, or will it have to go on the back seat?"

"It'll go in – it's how they came…" Jack put his hands on his hips and tilted his head. "Somehow."

They got it all in, in the end, with a bit of jiggling and Tetris, and went home via Tosh's apartment to collect her. By the time they got back to their place it was raining determinedly, a soft, cold, persistent wetness that invaded everything. They were all glad of the lifts up to their floor, and Ianto pushed the box of meat across the carpet to the door rather than lift it again, partly so that he had his hands free for the keys. "There we go," he announced as it swung open. "No, cat, back in."

Tybalt jumped onto the box and let Ianto push him back into the living room on it. As soon as the door was shut behind Jack, he wound himself around all their ankles and led the way into the kitchen. Tosh laughed at him and leaned on the back of the sofa. "I think he's trying to tell us something."

"I can't imagine what." Jack dropped the fruit and veg next to the kitchen door and disappeared in there. "Mulled wine, anyone?"

"Yes please." He stacked the boxes and came to collapse on the sofa. "Now it's Christmas."

Tosh smiled down at him and ruffled his hair. "Definitely Christmas. Thank you for inviting me."

In the kitchen, Jack started singing, and Ianto grinned. "Sure about that?"

She shoved his head away and laughed. "Absolutely certain."