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[ ACTIVE / CLOSED ]

Who: John Sheppard & Ianto Jones
What: Extremely Serious Guard Dog Adoption
When: Early October
Where: Olympia
Warning(s): None!

John has what could be generously described as part of a plan.

He knows what the end looks like, it's the connecting tissue he's really missing. It's Sunday morning, and he's already been for a run and come back for a shower -- is mulling over the best way to try and steer Ianto in the right direction without being instantly overt about it. He's still in the process of making coffee, and John watches him thoughtfully as the room begins to fill with the strong scent of something freshly ground.

"You up for a trip out into Olympia today?" he tries, because maybe he'll get away with being vague. "Just some light recon. I could use a second opinion on some things."

There, space for Ianto to assume something. Like clothes, or furnishings, or something. Actually, they could probably use some of that too. He glances around the place thoughtfully, frowning as he weighs up how boring and annoying both shopping for new sheets might be.

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Ianto sets the machine to start brewing and turns to glance over his shoulder at the other man once he does. Raising an eyebrow slightly at his turn of phrase. Only a man like John would make shopping sound like a military engagement. Then again, if it's shopping he's doing, then Ianto is definitely his battle strategist.

"Yeah, alright," he says, turning to lean back against the counter. He attempts to track John's frowning around the room, trying to guess what it is in particular that he needs advising on. "Calling in the experts, are you?" he asks with the quirk of a smile as the espresso finishes brewing and Ianto reaches for it, cradling the little demitasse between his hands.

"Teamwork!" John replies, which is a semi-agreement. "I have identified some possible targets, and I'm now getting a confirmation on the correct course of action."

He moves closer to Ianto, leaning his hip against the counter-top and studying his expression as he cradles his espresso.

"We should scout out areas of Olympia we like, too. I've worked out where we can't afford, at least, but it needs narrowing down further."

He knows they can't afford to move up into the noble distract, where all the rich fancy folk are, but which part of the residential district they like best is still a thing.

The espresso isn't exactly hot, but it's not comfortable enough to drink just yet. Which means that Ianto's just in the process of blowing across it when John mentions scouting out different areas of Olympia to live in. He's just full of surprises this morning, he thinks to himself, as he considers the thought of it. But they have been leading up to this. And they'll want to move out of the starter housing some day. Maybe to somewhere that might even have a proper kitchen? A proper living room? Ianto isn't really picky but he has missed... Chairs. A sofa?

"A plan of attack," he muses aloud. "I'd. I'd like that, yeah. I haven't really given it much thought, being honest. Other than, you know." He glances at the little apartment around them. "Somewhere nicer. That we'd be able to afford, of course."

He raises his cup to blow on for a moment again, hesitating with the words on the tip of his tongue, the idea of this future venture of his still something of a pipe dream, but. He needs to have confidence in himself and not write it off without at least making the attempt.

"Maybe... We should also consider where there might be free space for an office," he hazards aloud. Glancing aside to John as he does. "While we're at it, I mean. It wouldn't make sense to find a place halfway across the city. You know. Unless that's the only choice there is."

"An office," John repeats, and rubs his chin thoughtfully -- wrinkles his nose a little. "Office might be further off, moving is already expensive, but it's worth doing some preliminary scouting so we know exactly how much it's gonna hurt. Maybe wherever we move to might have a spare room we could set up as a temporary office space. You know, stopgap kinda thing."

Something for them to begin using and setting up in until they can afford an external office. He turns to open the fridge, digs out a bottle of juice and sets it on the counter-top before nudging it closed and pulling down a glass.

"We'll need to look at set-up fees too. I figure there's probably licensing and stuff, local certs, you know."

Generally, a bunch of paperwork that will need to be done before they're anywhere near ready to open as an actual business.

Ianto nods along with everything that John lists out. It makes sense, that he'll probably have to apply for something. There isn't likely to be the same sort of requirements in this city, but that doesn't mean that Olympia would just let any person set up shop on any street corner. Not on a permanent basis, at any rate.

He takes a tentative sip of his drink as he contemplates operating out of whatever new place they find. Wondering if that's safe, inviting unknowns into their home, even if they are clients.

"We could..." he replies, tentatively. "Maybe we should wait, though. Until we can really afford something separate. Unless we really want to advertise where we live. But it wouldn't hurt to get an idea of what's out there, or. You know. What areas we should be looking in. And yeah. One of these days I suppose I should start wrapping my mind around the paperwork as well. But -- that doesn't need to be today."

He tilts his head at the other man and offers him a smile. "You said you needed opinions?"

"You don't have to advertise it, but somewhere to put all your stuff while things are getting set up might be good."

Less the office and more, say, an office to work in when setting up the office. Emphasis important.

Still --

"But yeah," John confirms, "since you'll be living with all this too I need your opinion. Finish your coffee and let me know when you're ready to make a move."

He snags up his glass of juice and downs it, re-opens the fridge to put away the bottle again.

Ianto raises his eyebrows as he considers it. It'd be nice to have a place to keep his things, to work at home, even when he does have an office, truth be told. He takes another sip of his espresso as he considers it. Smiling softly as he thinks about John planning this, and wondering how long it had been in the works before he'd brought it forward to him.

"Just give me a few minutes to get dressed," he says, taking a few more sips of the espresso before leaving it on the counter to cool. Stepping out across the apartment to grab an outfit to change into before disappearing into the bathroom. Emerging a few minutes later (true to his word) dressed in his trousers and a shirt and waistcoat, frowning as he tries to smooth the wrinkles from his sleeves.

"Wherever we go next, I vote that it has a closet," he fusses, crossing back to the kitchen and picking his coffee back up. Cooler now, he's able to sip it much quicker.

John debates a joke about driving Ianto back into one for a long moment before deciding it's going nowhere good. Instead he finishes zipping up his jacket, drops to sit on the edge of his bed and begins pulling on his shoes.

"That much we can do," he assures him, and pull his laces tight. "You can make a list. Closet, couch, more kitchen space..."

What else. Bigger bathroom? More storage? He grabs for his other shoe and pulls it on, begins doing up the laces quickly.

"Outside space? If you're the gardening type you better speak up now."

Ianto flicks a smile at the other man, tipping back the last of his coffee before reaching into his lapel to pull out a small notepad and pen.

"Closet," he muses aloud, jotting the word down in shorthand as he does. "Couch, kitchen space..."

Maybe John was being facetious when he'd mentioned making a list, but never put it past Ianto Jones to pass up the opportunity for further organization.

He glances up at the other man at the suggestion of a space outside, rattling the idea of it about in his head before he allows himself to answer.

"Do you mean. A garden?"

Does he mean a garden...?

John finishes tying his laces and squints up at Ianto, pushing to his feet and shoving his hands into his pockets to check for his keys and wallet.

"Yes, Ianto, a garden. That's generally where gardening happens."

Right? Does... garden have some alternative meaning in Wales? He lofts an eyebrow, tilts his head toward the door in a silent question. Are they ready, or was there something else Ianto needed before they head out?

Ianto rolls his eyes at the other man's answer, moving to tuck his notepad back into his pocket and moving to cross the room and tie his own shoes on.

"I meant," he speaks up to counter, "a proper garden. You know. Rather than just. A patch of dirt by the front steps, or a planter on the back porch." He glances up at John in the middle of tying his shoes on. "There is a difference, you know. But technically you can garden in all of them."

He moves to tie his other shoe on as well as he continues to admit, a little shyly, "I've never lived anywhere with a garden, honestly. I mean. It would be nice, really. A novelty, in a way. But it's not, you know. A requirement, or anything."

"That I can't promise. Depends what we end up able to afford, it might have to be a patch of dirt to start with."

Outside space in cities tends to be priced pretty high in his experience. John doubts Olympia is any different in that respect, but they can always look. Especially if Ianto would actually like that. He slowly steps closer as Ianto laces his shoes, studying him in thought.

"Guess we need to put the list in priority order too, in case we can't get everything on it."

Which is more important? Temporary office space to use, or a garden?

Ianto straightens from tying his shoes on and reaches for a pair of gloves in the bag by his bed. Black cotton, he thinks they make him look like a butler but he supposes they're not too inconspicuous. And they help with the people on the street, while they're out and about.

"Well, I'm not going to throw a tantrum if I can't grow tomatoes," he teases as he rises to join the other man. "So let's probably put the garden further down the list, unless we can think of some other reason why we might need one."

He raises an eyebrow at John, tilting his head at the door in question of whether he's ready to go himself, before asking aloud, "What about you? What would you be looking for in a new place yourself?"

"A bigger bed."

It's a good starting point, he's sticking to it. That, and honestly? John's requirements are pretty low. He doesn't know what else he wants, because he's really thinking in terms of needs. He's got most everything he needs to survive. Fancy places are nice but he wouldn't strictly mind staying in the one they have.

Moving to the door at the cue he checks his pockets one last time before opening it, holding it open for Ianto.

"More storage," he adds, because that's just functionally useful for stuff in general.

A bigger bed. Ianto likes the sound of that and he turns to flick a smile at John as he walks through the door beside him, demonstrating as much.

Of course the question flickers though his mind a second later and he shoves his hands in his pockets in the attempt to seem nonchalant. Even if there's more weight to the answer than he would like to pretend.

"How many bedrooms would we be looking for?" Considering they’d be moving on from a studio setup it’s not that off-hand of a question after all.

How many bedrooms? John scrunches his face in thought, pulling the door closed behind them and beginning to walk -- hands still pushed into his pockets.

"Two, maybe? Could use the second as your temporary office day to day unless we have a guest or one of us gets sick. Or we get sick of each other, you know. Seems a safe minimum."

Only one seems like it's asking for trouble -- harder to avoid each other and sleep well, and no space for a guest.

"Might not be able to afford more yet," he adds, "unless they're all box rooms."

The perils of being on a limited wage. Compromises will have to be made in more than a few places, but at the same time he's sure they can find somewhere an overall improvement on what they have now.

Ianto flicks John a smile as something warms deep within him at the other man's answer. Sharing a bedroom by necessity is different than sharing one by choice. It makes sense to have a second room in case -- yes, perhaps they might have guests, or if perhaps one of them gets sick and needs the space. Or perhaps if they get in an argument and need the space as well (they've fought before, it's not that far outside the realm of possibility). But to plan for it is... Nice. A bigger bed. One to share. Together.

"Sounds lovely," he says, turning back to glance ahead of them so he doesn't embarrass himself too much in the moment. Collecting himself for a moment before deciding instead to go back to the list of things they'd be looking for.

"Maybe we'd have enough space for a microwave this time," he wonders aloud. You know. So not everything needs to be heated up on the stovetop. Although there's an idea -- "Or a real oven?"

"Real oven would be good time. Why not aim for both? Microwave and real oven!"

Oh, the luxury! John grins, steering his way through the little streets.

"So, two bedrooms, bigger kitchen with preferably a real oven and space for a microwave. Some kinda storage for clothes -- preferably a closet to hang stuff, a couch or space for one..."

What else?

"Possible outside space, but that's not necessarily a deal breaker. You fussy about bathrooms?"

Does Ianto have a preference when it comes to a bath or shower? Does he particularly hate something about their current one?

Ianto throws the other man a sideways glance at the question. Are you honestly asking Ianto Jones whether he's fussy about something? Is the sky blue? Ianto isn't even ashamed to admit the truth at this point.

"Bigger," he says, automatically. "Shower, if I have to choose. Though both would be a luxury." He glances aside at the other man, quirking another smile at him and raising an eyebrow to make certain he catches his drift before repeating himself again.

"Definitely bigger."

"Didn't realise you were such a size queen. Bigger bathroom it is, shower preferable."

He steers Ianto around out of the residential distract into the beginnings of the shops, clearly with a goal in mind, and frowns in thought.

"I think you're probably pickier than me. Maybe you should just pick a top five or something within our budget and then I can look at those."

Since John really isn't as fussed about things like bathrooms or kitchens, he could live pretty much anywhere if he had to.

Having no idea where in particular they are headed, Ianto allows himself to be gently directed as John walks. Making something of a face at the other man's suggestions (size queen, really John?) but it's not a bad idea in the end. Narrowing it down for John to choose a favorite from, they're still both technically choosing together in the end, right?

"Any further requests about what I'll be looking for yourself, then?" he asks. "Location, I suppose. I can keep in mind how far you'd have to go for work. And myself. It's not as though I'd hit the ground running, with what I've got lined up." They might both be working these other jobs for a while yet, even after they've moved into a new place. Just to tie things up and make ends meet.

"Reasonable distance to work would be nice," John admits, "since I'm walking back at awkward hours in the dark."

It'd be nice to not have to walk for an hour in the dark through suspicious narrow streets, but he supposes he could if it was worth it.

"Decent size living area?" he adds, "for our new friend," and he turns to push his way into what -- on glancing around the inside -- is immediately obvious as an animal themed shop. There's rows upon rows of collars, bowls, blankets, food items. The guy behind the counter looks up from reading a magazine and closes it on seeing John, squints between him and Ianto.

"Here to see her again?" he prompts, and John shrugs in answer.

"I needed a second opinion."

Ianto registers that John is leading him into a storefront, but it doesn't click just what sort of a business it is until he glances around the room at the various items on display that he realizes it's a sort of store for pets of some sort. One that apparently actually has animals, as the man at the counter speaks up about her and John replies back in turn.

See her again. Again? Ianto turns to glance aside at the other man, his eyebrows high on his forehead, obviously taken aback. John had mentioned a pet -- a dog -- and Ianto had answered honestly that he'd be interested. But he'd not honestly been certain that John had been serious. Yet here they are, in the shop, and John's already been here before?

"Again?" he repeats aloud. It's the only thought that seems to want to escape him, even though hundreds of others are rattling around his head. Our new friend? Here to see her? Again?

The man behind the counter shrugs and vanishes through a door. There's the sound of something like metal clanging, then a scuffling sound, then he appears backing through the door again and turning. There's an excited yap, and John moves forward and crouches down.

"Heeeeeeeey, hello! Do you remember me?"

He stands up and turns, and in his arms there is a mass of excitable fur that seems to mostly be intent on licking his face.

"Hey, sshhh steady now you're going to make Ianto jealous."

John moves closer, lofting an eyebrow at Ianto, and smiles as the puppy turns and focuses her big ears on the new person. Hello, potential friend!

Here to see her again. The words echo through Ianto as he watches the man disappear through the back and return. As he watches John bend and scoop up a small bundle of fluff that licks excitedly at his face. As he turns to Ianto and smiles and she turns her attention onto him as well.

A puppy. He'd mentioned a puppy before, but now she's here in John's arms and she's precious. And he's gone to look at puppies in secret before bringing this one to Ianto's attention, that's pretty much the icing on the cake here as Ianto reaches forward and ruffles her big fluffy ears. So young they're not both even standing up yet.

"Hallo, there," he murmurs, a gentle smile spreading across his face as she licks at his hand in turn. She's only just a baby, she'll need so much attention and care, Ianto doesn't think -- but then again, he doesn't work for Torchwood anymore, he has to remind himself. And he wouldn't be doing this alone.

He glances up at John from the puppy, momentarily stunned and lost for words.

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