Office Work               

Jack Harness had a thing for offices.

Ianto teased him about it, of course, but he also indulged him.

Most often it was small things - brightly colored file folders with coordinating labels or the large-size rubber band ball (and hadn't that proved interesting).

Occasionally it was something larger - like the cubicle walls (surprisingly sturdy) or the photocopier that collated and stapled (added a whole new twist to naked hide and seek).

Sometimes, on very rare occasions, it was something else entirely...

"That's it then." The delivery man set the last package down on the counter, unsettling a stack of brochures. He waited for Ianto to sign for the delivery, looking around a bit in confusion.

"Something wrong?" Ianto asked as the man logged the delivery with a tap of his stylus, still frowning.

"You haven't seen my hat, have you? I thought..."

"Sorry, no." Ianto gave him a smile and escorted him towards the door. "Perhaps you left it in your van."

"Right. Yeah." The man didn't looked convinced but he had a schedule to keep. He nodded to Ianto and hurried away. Ianto waited in the doorway until the man reached his van and drove away.

"Now then," he said as he opened the packages and unpacked them, replenishing the racks of tourist information with the new brochures and neatly storing away the extras.

When that was done and the boxes broken down for recycling, he reached under the counter and extracted the delivery man's missing hat. Carrying it into the back room, he shifted a small cabinet on wheels and opened the closet.

"That's it then," he said as he placed the hat in the last empty space on the hat rack. It joined a motley assortment of hats from package and food delivery companies and repair shops throughout Cardiff. It had taken a lot of planning and an occasional bit of sleight-of-hand to acquire them all, but Jack always made it worth his while.

In fact... Ianto reached for the photocopier repaiman's cap. Setting it on his head at a jaunty angle, he smiled. It was about time for another round of naked hide and seek and this time, he fully intended to cheat.

::end::

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