badly_knitted (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
badly_knitted) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly2024-10-19 02:02 pm
badly_knitted) wrote in fandomweekly2024-10-19 02:02 pm
Entry tags:
[#238] Mellow Fruitfulness (Torchwood)
Theme Prompt: #238 – Apple Picking
Title: Mellow Fruitfulness
Fandom: Torchwood
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1000
Summary: It’s about time for the annual apple harvest aboard the TARDIS.
Living and travelling in their own TARDIS meant that Ianto and his husband had never needed to find a planet to settle down on, a place where they could make a home and raise a family. Their home travelled everywhere with them, and while they did occasionally choose to stay in one place for a while, just because they could, it seldom took more than a few months before they were ready to head for pastures new.
The TARDIS herself didn’t mind either way. Whenever they stopped for a while she’d root deeply and set about replenishing her supplies of raw materials which she used to grow new rooms, or to produce whatever her two travelling companions might need, anything from clothes and accessories, to furnishings, to food, although Jack and Ianto usually preferred to grow their own in the garden room, and sample the various local cuisines on whichever planet they happened to be visiting.
Back when she and Ianto had first found each other, the garden room, like so many areas inside the TARDIS, had been rather small. Nowadays, it covered many acres, including a ‘kitchen garden’ for growing fresh vegetables, a park-like area for exercising their dogs, and several orchards, growing a wide variety of fruiting trees, from plums, pears, and cherries, to peaches and apricots, orange and lemons, even grapefruit. By far the biggest orchard, however, was the one where they grew apples. There were almost a dozen varieties by now, including Egremont Russet, Cox, which amused Jack no end, and the tart-flavoured Granny Smith.
Out in the wider universe, the fruits of planet earth were hard to come by, and while there were plenty of delicious alien varieties to be had, such as gleeges, quadrifoons, and loofs, sometimes Ianto craved a taste of home. What had started out as a couple of trees had somehow grown to over a hundred, producing far more fruit than even two immortals could eat, even with stasis pods that could keep foods at peak freshness for hundreds of years, but they’d easily solved the problem of what to do with the excess. They simply toured the markets on various planets, bringing apples and other earth delicacies to a whole new, and very enthusiastic, clientele.
“Looks like our latest crop of apples are about ready for picking,” Ianto commented as he and Jack strolled through the apple orchard, Jasper the golden retriever and Bryn the border collie racing around them, playing a doggy game of tag among the trees with Jack’s new spaniel puppy, Rolo.
Jack nodded as he looked at the trees, heavily laden with apples. “They’re fruiting particularly well this year. We should get three or four bushels of fruit from each tree. Even if we keep two or three bushels of each variety for ourselves, that should still leave us with…” Jack paused, trying to mentally calculate the quantity of apples they’d have for sale, then gave up in defeat. “A lot.”
‘I estimate four hundred and seven bushels altogether,’ the TARDIS informed then. “Somewhere in excess of fifty-one thousand individual fruits. An excellent crop.’
“Which will sell out in no time. We might need to think about planting more trees if demand continues rising.”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Let’s just concentrate on harvesting what we’ve already got, shall we? It’s going to take a while with just the two of us this year.” The previous year, they’d had the willing assistance of several Tallans, who were travelling with them. But the Space Wombles, as Ianto had privately dubbed them, had returned to their homeworld a few months previously, and the two immortals hadn’t taken on any travelling companions since.
“I suppose you’re right; we shouldn’t count our apples before they’re picked.” Jack smiled wryly. “It’s a shame the dogs can’t help.”
“They’d crunch up more apples than would end up in the baskets,” Ianto pointed out. All their dogs enjoyed an occasional apple. They ate a very varied and healthy diet, just as their owners did, and it showed. Jasper and Bryn were both twelve years old and as fit and full of energy as the new pup. Space travel definitely agreed with them.
‘I will arrange the baskets and the anti-gravity carts if you are ready to begin the harvest,’ the TARDIS announced cheerfully. ‘While you pick the fruit, we can discuss where to sell this year’s crop, and how many bushels we should take to each market.’
“I guess that’s our cue to get to work,” Jack said, grinning at his husband. Not that either of them minded. Apple-picking was a pleasure because unlike the apple-pickers on earth, they didn’t have to rush. The fruit would remain perfect as it was picked, and the baskets contained stasis technology to keep them that way until they were sold. Even if they spent six weeks picking apples all day, every day, there would be no spoilage. Indeed, the TARDIS could arrange it so that within the apple orchard, almost no time passed while harvesting was underway.
It was a pleasure to pluck the apples from the trees and place them in the large wicker-effect baskets. Green, red, yellow-green, pinkish, russet… so many colours and varieties. Every so often, Ianto or Jack would pause to enjoy a freshly picked apple, biting into the sweet, juicy flesh. There was nothing to compare to homegrown fruit.
Time seemed to fly past, with frequent breaks for food, naps, and other activities, but the two men scarcely left the orchard until all the fruit was picked.
“What should we do with the proceeds this time?” Ianto asked, studying the baskets of ripe fruit. “Maybe we could find a worthy charity to donate to.”
“We could do that. Or we could buy a couple of flying unicorns.”
“You and your pets,” Ianto teased.
“We’ve got plenty of space. Anyway, we can make up our minds later. Right now, we have a market to get to, and a lot of fruit to sell.”
The End
The TARDIS herself didn’t mind either way. Whenever they stopped for a while she’d root deeply and set about replenishing her supplies of raw materials which she used to grow new rooms, or to produce whatever her two travelling companions might need, anything from clothes and accessories, to furnishings, to food, although Jack and Ianto usually preferred to grow their own in the garden room, and sample the various local cuisines on whichever planet they happened to be visiting.
Back when she and Ianto had first found each other, the garden room, like so many areas inside the TARDIS, had been rather small. Nowadays, it covered many acres, including a ‘kitchen garden’ for growing fresh vegetables, a park-like area for exercising their dogs, and several orchards, growing a wide variety of fruiting trees, from plums, pears, and cherries, to peaches and apricots, orange and lemons, even grapefruit. By far the biggest orchard, however, was the one where they grew apples. There were almost a dozen varieties by now, including Egremont Russet, Cox, which amused Jack no end, and the tart-flavoured Granny Smith.
Out in the wider universe, the fruits of planet earth were hard to come by, and while there were plenty of delicious alien varieties to be had, such as gleeges, quadrifoons, and loofs, sometimes Ianto craved a taste of home. What had started out as a couple of trees had somehow grown to over a hundred, producing far more fruit than even two immortals could eat, even with stasis pods that could keep foods at peak freshness for hundreds of years, but they’d easily solved the problem of what to do with the excess. They simply toured the markets on various planets, bringing apples and other earth delicacies to a whole new, and very enthusiastic, clientele.
“Looks like our latest crop of apples are about ready for picking,” Ianto commented as he and Jack strolled through the apple orchard, Jasper the golden retriever and Bryn the border collie racing around them, playing a doggy game of tag among the trees with Jack’s new spaniel puppy, Rolo.
Jack nodded as he looked at the trees, heavily laden with apples. “They’re fruiting particularly well this year. We should get three or four bushels of fruit from each tree. Even if we keep two or three bushels of each variety for ourselves, that should still leave us with…” Jack paused, trying to mentally calculate the quantity of apples they’d have for sale, then gave up in defeat. “A lot.”
‘I estimate four hundred and seven bushels altogether,’ the TARDIS informed then. “Somewhere in excess of fifty-one thousand individual fruits. An excellent crop.’
“Which will sell out in no time. We might need to think about planting more trees if demand continues rising.”
Ianto rolled his eyes. “Let’s just concentrate on harvesting what we’ve already got, shall we? It’s going to take a while with just the two of us this year.” The previous year, they’d had the willing assistance of several Tallans, who were travelling with them. But the Space Wombles, as Ianto had privately dubbed them, had returned to their homeworld a few months previously, and the two immortals hadn’t taken on any travelling companions since.
“I suppose you’re right; we shouldn’t count our apples before they’re picked.” Jack smiled wryly. “It’s a shame the dogs can’t help.”
“They’d crunch up more apples than would end up in the baskets,” Ianto pointed out. All their dogs enjoyed an occasional apple. They ate a very varied and healthy diet, just as their owners did, and it showed. Jasper and Bryn were both twelve years old and as fit and full of energy as the new pup. Space travel definitely agreed with them.
‘I will arrange the baskets and the anti-gravity carts if you are ready to begin the harvest,’ the TARDIS announced cheerfully. ‘While you pick the fruit, we can discuss where to sell this year’s crop, and how many bushels we should take to each market.’
“I guess that’s our cue to get to work,” Jack said, grinning at his husband. Not that either of them minded. Apple-picking was a pleasure because unlike the apple-pickers on earth, they didn’t have to rush. The fruit would remain perfect as it was picked, and the baskets contained stasis technology to keep them that way until they were sold. Even if they spent six weeks picking apples all day, every day, there would be no spoilage. Indeed, the TARDIS could arrange it so that within the apple orchard, almost no time passed while harvesting was underway.
It was a pleasure to pluck the apples from the trees and place them in the large wicker-effect baskets. Green, red, yellow-green, pinkish, russet… so many colours and varieties. Every so often, Ianto or Jack would pause to enjoy a freshly picked apple, biting into the sweet, juicy flesh. There was nothing to compare to homegrown fruit.
Time seemed to fly past, with frequent breaks for food, naps, and other activities, but the two men scarcely left the orchard until all the fruit was picked.
“What should we do with the proceeds this time?” Ianto asked, studying the baskets of ripe fruit. “Maybe we could find a worthy charity to donate to.”
“We could do that. Or we could buy a couple of flying unicorns.”
“You and your pets,” Ianto teased.
“We’ve got plenty of space. Anyway, we can make up our minds later. Right now, we have a market to get to, and a lot of fruit to sell.”
The End
no subject
no subject
If you want to catch up on the story so far, there's a Through Time and Space Master List on the sidebar of my journal.
no subject
no subject
I have a whole bunch of Master Lists on my sidebar, three separate Torchwood 'verses, plus lists for other fandoms. The main Torchwood list is the sticky post on my journal. If you get lost, just holler - I've been writing since 2010, there are a LOT of fics, lol!