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"How about… painting?"

"Overrated" Ianto muttered as he moved around the store, his eyes roaming the art supplies "And I did that already. Jack said my swan looked like an overfed goose."

"Oh." The shopkeeper said with shock, this man one she had come to know as good at everything. Seems like he was into self-sabotage today.

"What's this?" Ianto pointed to some bricks of something in plain plastic.

"Modelling clay" she replied, pulling out a book on the subject and she watched his eye slight up at the prospect of some research. This man loves books. That cannot be denied.

"You know, reading is a pretty good hobby in itself" she told him.

"I know. But my husband takes a month or two to read a book, me reading one in a day seems wasteful to him" Ianto sighed, also agreeing that books are good.

"Well… try this then" she said, pulling out tools and such to go with the clay, not sure if he would come back for anything or if he would find it too messy for his overly clean self.

Well.

He IS good at everything.

"Jack whittles wood… not so different, I guess. He can't really scoff at that right?" Ianto muttered as he chose most everything on offer. Why not. In for a penny … in for a pound.

Ianto read the book in an hour, cover to cover with special time taken to visualize instructions then he sat and created his first masterpiece. He cooked it in the oven and then slid the pot roast back to the middle once he fished it out, like at it dubiously but once it was cool he set about colouring it in.

He did like painting. Even if Jack deliberately made fun of it because he knew Jack's mother had been an artist and he took everyone else's work as second rate compared to hers. I mean… flowers in a vase. Flowers on the counter with a knocked over vase. A vase. A single flower. Shit like that. His mother could do flowers to death but… her cat looked like something out of a Stephen king novel man… seriously. And people? Don't get me started on her attempts he found in the garage before garbage day.

Shudderrrrrrr.

So, Ianto was trying not to step on her memory while still trying to find… wow. You know... that's not too bad.

Jack arrived for afternoon tea, as the lunch Ianto packed for him never enough. As Ianto placed the condiment tray down Jack spied the new milk jug straight away, gasping as he snatched it up "Where did you get his? It's soooo cute."

"Do you like it?"

"Like it… look at it!" Jack held up the little jug with the country scene painted on the side, the cow looking directly at him with a mouth full of grass seemed to be shrugging. The colours popped and it was amazing, especially as the cow's tail was the handle. "I love it!"

"I was wondering what pepper and salt might fit" Ianto said, watching Jak consider.

"Well… bales of hay? Or… maybe… calves. Sheep? Black for pepper, white for salt? Could have a whole farmyard" Jack laughed "But no one ever thinks of these things. A chicken for chicken salt… wow."

"A try painted green like grass, just a few flowers here and there popping up… would look cute" Ianto agreed, lighting up as he saw the rest of his week laid out.

He was going to create the hell out of his little farm.

.

.

Jack sat staring at the little sheep and blinked slowly before asking "Which is which? They have two holes each."

Ianto looked at him long and hard, then said slowly "Black is pepper, white is salt. Right?"

Jak picked one up "I guess that makes sense. Who even thinks these thing sup."

"Well, Cariad… you did" Ianto said smugly.

Jack held the little black sheep in his hand and stared at the bales of hay, cleverly disguising the toothpicks, then frowned deeper. He was trying to work this out. How did Ianto know what he meant and find something so damned… oh shit.

"Tiger? Did you make these?"

"Do you think they are silly?"

"Sill… what? NO! I love them. I mean… they are sooo cool. I mean, what's next. A couple of old tires stacked up with a lid being some flowers like one of those tire gardens outside, the mustard pot?" Jack laughed, flattening out his hand out to look at the sheep in the palm "Awww…. Look… he had little teeth in his smile. Do sheep have teeth?"

"I guess they chew grass somehow Cariad" Ianto shrugged "I thought a smiling one would be silly. The white one is serious. Was gonna give him glasses but thought that was a beat too silly."

"Yeah. A dog would be funnier. A seeing eye dog with glasses" Jack nodded, then roared with mirth at himself.

Ianto considered.

You know… that might make sense in a weird way. The sheep dog, a black and white collie with glasses on and maybe some little sneakers…ooo… Ianto was getting ideas.

Jack had no idea how much he was feeding the beast as he added "And some little crows along the fence watching things can actually be corn holders, their feet the prongs."

Ianto's eyes widened as he had not considered a fence… maybe an old broken part of a fence… grass and some flowers...hmmmm. Doubling as a napkin holder?

That night the kids sat for their evening meal, Jack eagerly watching their faces as the tray descended and eyes bugged out.

"Tadda? Which is mine?"

"Pardon?" Ianto asked with confusion.

"Which thingee is mine?" their son repeated slowly like he was thick.

Oh. Um.

"Well… they are still to come." Ianto finally said, pleased with himself as he now had a new thing to do.

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.

"Coasters" Jack said, home at lunchtime for a change, eager to see and Ianto was slightly annoyed as he was not finished painting and some were still too warm. "These are sooo cute!"

"Well, each is unique. Our son has a frog on a lily pad, our daughter has an orange geranium with a tiny ladybug, you have a squashed hedgehog and…" Ianto stopped talking as Jack started to scream with glee, the hedgehog painted and one side drying where he hadn't seen it and the tire tracks across the flattened body were soooo cool. "… and I have a flattened toadstool."

"I love them… you need more for guests. Two more at least for a set" Jack gushed happily, now looking at their daughter's yet to be finished one with only the red ladybug painted.

"Well… bugger. What do I do for guests!" Ianto huffed, not liking Jack taking over.

"A cow pat for Owen" Jack said, snorting "Maybe a worm coming out one side."

"OK… I can see that" Ianto grinned softly, OK, that made sense.

"And Toshiko… well a little Japanese water dragon all coiled up like a snake asleep, the head on top the handle to pick it up." Jack said, then swung to look at him "I am taking over. Sorry…"

"No. No, I like those ideas. Well done. Yes, you are right. I would like to entertain, and with bub, Tosh will crave some adult conversation." Ianto agreed.

"Well, she has Owen."

"And she will crave some adult conversation."

.

.

"Mine has a ladybug" their daughter Destiny gushed with delight.

"I got a froggy." Henry was equally pleased.

"Mine is roadkill… best one ever" Jack gushed "Seems criminal to place a cup on it, I want take in his little tongue poking out. So gross."

Ianto was getting the hand of this and the other two coasters for when they had a larger party were also on the go. Stetson got… a flattened hat like someone sat on it and his dear wife had a daisy.

"Haha!" Jack gushed happily "You are so talented."

And that was when Ianto knew he was a praise whore.

And didn't care.