Pay Rise
"Ian...!"
Jack's blue and white striped cup was placed directly in the middle of his desk.
"...to." He looked up with bafflement. "How do you do that?"
"It's a gift."
Jack leaned back in his chair, sipping from his coffee, and watched as the younger man straighten the many files on his desk. A lesser person, one not so attuned to Ianto's mannerisms would have missed it. Everything was perfectly normal until the Welshman spied one folder in particular. His eyes flared slightly in shock, tension faintly tightened his shoulders, and his hands had a barely perceivable shake to them as he lifted it up off the desk's surface.
Clutching the folder tightly to his chest, Ianto tried to make a speedy exit from the office.
"Stop!" Jack clicked his fingers twice and held out his hand for the mysterious file.
Ianto tried to appear nonchalant. "Oh, this is just a bit of admin. Nothing important. Thought I'd already filed it away."
Jack continued to hold out his palm until Ianto, with great reluctance, handed it over. With burning curiosity, he flipped open the folder and felt a stab of disappointment at its contents.
"As I said, just a bit of admin." Ianto went to take it. "Nothing to be concerned about."
Jack's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Hold up. Why are you so nervous about me seeing this week's paystubs?"
"Nervous? What makes you think I'm nervous?"
Jack snorted. "The anxious quiver in your voice perhaps." He began to study the various paystubs intently. Everything appeared to be normal until he read the last stub. "I didn't authorize a pay rise for you."
"No, sir, you didn't."
"She," Jack sputtered. "She gave you a pay rise?" He stared in disbelief at the tiny piece of paper. "But now you make more than me."
"I did point out that out to Her Majesty and she gave three valid reasons for the situation."
"And those reasons are?"
"One, you live at the Hub so do not incur the housing expenses the rest of us do. Two, you utilize the Torchwood SUV as your personal vehicle so are ineligible for a car allowance." Ianto grabbed the file and started walking to the door.
"Hold on. You said there were three reasons. What's the third?"
Ianto waited until he was standing outside of the office before he looked back over his shoulder. He was smirking devilishly. "Because she likes me better than you."