Fic: Time After Time (Torchwood Jack/Ianto PG)
Title: Time After Time
Author: magikalrhiannon
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Spoilers: up to Season 2 Episode 1 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Doctor Who The Sound Of Drums & The Last Of The Timelords.
Summary: Jack and Ianto talk after Jack's return from TYTNW.
Word Count: 2668
Disclaimer: All rights belong to BBC and Russell T Davies. I'm just finger-painting in someone else's masterpiece. No infringement intended.
Notes: For kajmere, cuz she owns me. I completely blame this one on the shoulders of John Barrowman and his delicious voice. *shakes fist* BARROWMAN!
Jack stared at the ceiling and sighed. He couldn't sleep. Even the monotonous ticking of the clock on the wall did nothing to help lull him into dreams. The bed seemed so empty when it was just him in it. He'd been used to Ianto sleeping in it. He remembered those snatches of happiness, after Susie, after the cannibals. Ianto came to him, shy but willing. Jack showed him what it was like to be with a man, to pleasure and accept pleasure.
To share a bed. To sleep in the same bed. To wake up in the same bed. Well. There didn't need to be a bed either, Jack remembered as his eyes settled on the ladder to his room.
But that was before.
Before the Doctor, before the Master. Before the year that never was. Before time changed for him. Yet another secret that he'll have to keep. A year for him was only three months for his team.
Three months was enough to change everything.
Owen was more defensive of the two women in his team, more accepting of Ianto. No longer was Ianto tolerated, but an accepted equal. Gwen had flourished as a leader, though her confidence sometimes bordered on arrogance. Tosh, though, Tosh had blossomed, at least in the workplace. No longer timid, she now put Owen in his place, even telling Gwen to sit down and shut up.
And Ianto... Ianto had finally been accepted as a field agent and not just an office boy. Probably out of necessity than anything else, granted, but Ianto had shown everyone that he capable of more than coffee and filing.
Of course, Jack already knew that.
They were finally exactly what he knew they could be. A cohesive team. It only took him leaving to make it happen.
Now he was on the outside looking in.
Gwen had accepted Rhys' proposal of marriage. Well. As explosive as the sex would be, they would kill each other inside of a week. It was probably a good thing. It still hurt. Jack couldn't deny, deep inside, that there was a part of him that had used her memory, the thought of returning to her arms as a way of getting through the torture that the Master impugned.
Ianto though... Ianto was the one whose image continually came to mind in the dark, when the pain got too much. It was Ianto's name on his lips when he gasped violently back to life, frantically looking around for the Welshman who had started to worm his way under Jack's skin. When Jack realised that Ianto's face appeared more than Gwen's, he resolved to ask the unassuming Welshman on a date, should he return to Cardiff.
He only hoped that Ianto would accept. He'd said yes, but... well nothing had come of it.
Of course, he couldn't help himself from asking Gwen if there was a chance - just in case. Now that he knew she had chosen Rhys, he knew that he was right to pursue Ianto.
Jack sighed again and got up. He wasn't going to get anymore sleep. He showered in the adjoining bathroom and dressed in pants and a white undershirt, and left his braces hanging - after all, no one else would be there yet.
When he climbed up into his office, he noticed the kitchen light was on. He frowned, and headed up there to investigate.
He leaned on the door frame, relaxed when he saw the suited back of his archivist. “It's a little early to be filing, isn't it?” Jack asked, his hands in his pants pockets.
Ianto jumped and turned around. “Sir! I-What are you doing up?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Jack looked at his wrist-strap. “It's three in the morning, Ianto.”
Ianto shrugged and looked at the floor before he turned back to the coffee machine. “It's my turn to monitor the rift.” He selected a second mug and placed it next to his on the counter.
“I'm back now. I can do that.”
Ianto nodded. “Yes, sir.” He poured them a cup of coffee each and handed Jack his blue and white striped mug. “I'll just go and do some work then. Leave you to it.” He looked as it he was going to say something else, but shut his mouth, gave Jack a small smile, picked up his own mug and headed down to the main Hub, disappearing into the bowels of the headquarters to the archives.
Jack turned and watched him leave, leaning on the railing as he sipped his coffee. Jack sighed when Ianto disappeared from view.
~*~
Jack wandered down to the archives an hour later, and watched from the shadows as Ianto stood there staring at an open file.
“Ianto?”
Again, Ianto jumped, and immediately scrambled to close the file. “Sir. Anything I can help you with?” He shoved the file back in the drawer and pushed it closed. He turned to face Jack.
“You looked lost in thought.”
Ianto looked back at the filing cabinet. “Oh. It was... nothing. It was nothing. I thought...”
“You thought?” Jack prompted, walking closer and leaned on the filing cabinets.
“N-nothing.” Ianto shook his head. “It was nothing.” He offered a sad smile. “So. How are you finding it, sir? Being back and all?”
Jack turned so his back was against the cabinets and crossed his feet, getting comfortable, “I... would say it's like I never left. To a certain extent.”
Ianto frowned. “To what extent?”
“Well, it's just... it's...” Jack blew out a breath. “It's nothing.”
Ianto nodded. “Yep.”
Jack glanced at him sideways. “While I was away... you uh... you didn't...?” he started to ask. Ianto raised an eyebrow at him. “Not that it's any of my business,” Jack rushed on. “I was just... curious.”
“Torchwood doesn't exactly leave a lot of spare time for … extracurricular activities, sir,” Ianto said, not really answering the question.
“Gwen manages.”
Ianto turned and picked up a file. “Gwen's made a lot of sacrifices over the last few months, sir. Quite frankly, we were all astounded when she walked in with the rock on her finger. Any other man would have walked away by now.”
“She's something else.”
Ianto looked up, a sad, knowing look on his face. “Yes. She is.”
“Ianto, you know-” Jack was interrupted by the rift alarm echoing through the hallways. “Damn it.”
Ianto went over to his computer and clicked on a few keys. “I'll call the team.”
“I'll get the SUV.”
They ran up the stairs, conversation forgotten.
~*~
That night, there was a weevil alert just as Jack had given everyone the okay to go. Ianto said he would stay with Jack. Owen clapped him on the shoulder with a cheery thanks and practically ran out. Gwen skipped out after him, yelling over her shoulder about a meeting with a wedding planner. Tosh volunteered to man the computers and direct them from the Hub.
Jack and Ianto climbed into the SUV and Jack followed Tosh's instructions on where the alert was pointing them to. Armed with the Weevil spray and their firearms, Jack and Ianto fell out of the SUV and looked at the rows of warehouses and alleys.
“You go that way, I'll head this way,” Jack instructed, “and be careful!”
“Right.” Ianto pulled out both his spray and his gun and took off at a run, Tosh in his ear. Jack watched him, then started his own chase when Tosh's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Ianto chased two weevils back to the sewers before Tosh's hysterical calls alerted him to a problem with Jack. His lack of breath didn't stop him from sprinting back in Jack's direction, frantically searching for his boss. He found him on the ground in a back alley, a weevil crouched over him, feasting on him. Ianto, enraged, shot the weevil point blank, killing him. He didn't care, though Jack would be furious with him when he gasped back to life.
Collapsing to his knees, Ianto started to cry as he cradled Jack's head in his lap. He's covered in blood, Jack's intestines are everywhere from where the weevil was feasting, and Ianto can't help but be covered in it too as he tried to make Jack comfortable while he waited for Jack to recover.
Miraculously, Jack's stomach mended and Jack gasped violently back to life, his eyes feral as he tried to focus on his surroundings.
“Ianto?! Ianto!”
“Jack, Jack, I'm here. It's okay! You're okay!”
“Ianto! You're here?” Jack asked, confused. “Why are you here? You're never here. Are you a trick? Is he tricking me?”
Ianto sniffled. “No, sir. I'm real. We were weevil hunting, remember?” Ianto brushed a bloody hand through Jack's hair soothingly.
Ianto's words made Jack remember, and he relaxed. “Yeah. Yeah, I remember.” He chuckled. “Guess I can't take on three at once.”
“No, sir.”
“I thought we were dropping the 'sir'? Didn't we talk about that?” Jack asked, sitting up, and looked down at his ruined shirt. “Great. Man, I hate it when they eat my clothes.”
“There's a spare set in the car,” Ianto said as he got to his feet. He held out a hand and helped Jack to his feet.
“Great!” Jack started to walk back down the alley but stopped when he realised that Ianto hadn't followed. He turned back. “Ianto?”
Ianto's hands were on his hips. He stared at the bloody patch on the ground. “You didn't know where you were.”
Jack slowly walked back to him. “I was a little disorientated.”
“You never used to be.”
Jack shrugged. “I dunno. Never really thought about it.”
Ianto looked at him. “You asked for me?” Jack didn't reply, just stared at him. “When you were... away... you were tortured?”
“Ianto-”
He nodded. “I know. You can't talk about it.” He bent down and picked up his weevil spray and gun that were on the ground. “But you thought about me?” he asked when he stood back up.
“Yes.” Ianto nodded. Then he gave Jack a small smile. “What?”
Ianto shook his head. “Nothing... Jack.”
“You smiled.”
He nodded. “I did.”
“Why?”
“Time after time. It's rather appropriate,” Ianto started down the alley.
Jack stared, confused. Ianto was waiting by the SUV when Jack got back there, a change of clothes in his hands. Jack shrugged out of his greatcoat and handed it to Ianto. He stripped out of the tattered remains of his shirts and pulled on the replacements. Once he hand his greatcoat back on, he looked at the bloodstains.
“Think you can get these out?” Jack asked him.
“Of course, sir.”
Jack pressed the button on his comm unit. “Tosh, we're coming back. You can head home for the night.”
“Okay Jack. Glad you're okay. See you in the morning, both of you.”
“Night Tosh,” Ianto said, and pulled his comm unit out of his ear.
“Come back to the Hub?” Jack asked quietly as he glanced sideways. “We could pick up some dinner, maybe a movie or something?”
“Is this that date you asked me about a month ago?” Ianto turned his head to look at Jack.
Jack sighed. “No. I. I've been meaning to take you to dinner. In an actual restaurant.”
“Yeah.” Ianto sounded resigned.
“If... if you're still interested, I was thinking... maybe tomorrow? If you're not busy?” Jack didn't look at Ianto. He didn't want to be let down.
“If the rift permits.”
Jack looked over. “Really?”
“You sound surprised, Jack.” Ianto turned away from the window to look at his boss.
“I guess I am a little. I mean, I … I …”
“Yep. But you came back.” Ianto resumed his study out the window.
“So... just like that, I'm forgiven?” Jack sounded skeptical.
“Well, no. It's not like everything is hunky dory, but...” Ianto sighed. “Something happened. I know it did, and before you start,” he pre-empted Jack's interruption, “I know you can't say what. For whatever stupid reason you won't tell us. Or don't want to tell us. Not that it really matters in the end. The outcome is still the same. Something happened to you and none of us can do or say anything to help or make it better. Regardless of what the others believe, you didn't stay away as long as you did because you wanted to. You were... I don't know, lost or something. That's how I like to think of it, anyway. Better than being captured and tortured like a prisoner of war, which is what I...” he stopped and cleared his throat. “I like to think that's that you were. Lost. Until you could find your way home.”
Jack pulled up the SUV in the Torchwood garage and pulled out the keys. He then got out of the car and came around to Ianto's side. He got there as Ianto opened the door and stepped out.
Jack hesitantly reached out for Ianto's waist. “I was lost,” he said meaningfully, trying to tell Ianto that he was right in his assumptions without outrightly saying it. It was the closest he could come to telling him the truth. “I was lost and looking for you.”
Ianto's fingers gripped the lapels of his greatcoat. “You will find me. Time after time. And if you fall, I will catch you, Jack. I'll always be waiting.”
“Ianto...” Jack said as he stared into his eyes, looking for something, anything, to tell him that this was a lie, a trick, yet another dream and he was back on The Valiant, but he wasn't. Ianto was here, he was real. Jack lowered his head and captured Ianto's mouth in a deep kiss. Jack's arms wrapped around Ianto, gathered him in and held him closer, to make sure he didn't disappear, couldn't leave, couldn't flee and leave him empty, desperate and wanting. Ianto's hands curled into Jack's coat, his arms crushed between them. He opened up to Jack, his tongue welcoming Jack's with a wet, warm push against his. Jack moaned and lost himself in Ianto.
Chests heaved against each other when their kiss broke, and Jack rested his forehead against Ianto's, his eyes closed. Please... please don't go yet. Don't leave me alone yet. Stay. Stay with me.
“We should order in some pizza,” Ianto said softly. “They'll close soon.”
Jack's mouth widened from a smile into a grin. “Delivery?”
“You read my mind.” Ianto pulled out his cell phone. “The usual, sir?” Jack rose an eyebrow. “Jack,” Ianto corrected himself.
“Yeah, whatever you want.”
Ianto placed the order, while Jack waited. When it was done, Jack held out his hand. “Mr Jones, would you accompany me inside my … no-so-humble abode?”
Ianto laughed and took Jack's hand. “You know, I think we can consider this a first date,” Ianto said as Jack led him inside. “Well, after I get cleaned up.” He looked down at the bloodstained suit he was wearing.
“Really?” Jack asked, disbelieving. “Weevil hunting, dying on you, pizza delivery, and a DVD? Yeah, I sound like a real prince charming.”
Ianto grinned. “Exactly. Means no one else will be lining up to take what's mine.”
Jack smirked. “Oh I am yours, Mr Jones,” Jack said as he pulled Ianto into his arms when they reached the main area of the Hub.
Author: magikalrhiannon
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Spoilers: up to Season 2 Episode 1 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Doctor Who The Sound Of Drums & The Last Of The Timelords.
Summary: Jack and Ianto talk after Jack's return from TYTNW.
Word Count: 2668
Disclaimer: All rights belong to BBC and Russell T Davies. I'm just finger-painting in someone else's masterpiece. No infringement intended.
Notes: For kajmere, cuz she owns me. I completely blame this one on the shoulders of John Barrowman and his delicious voice. *shakes fist* BARROWMAN!
Jack stared at the ceiling and sighed. He couldn't sleep. Even the monotonous ticking of the clock on the wall did nothing to help lull him into dreams. The bed seemed so empty when it was just him in it. He'd been used to Ianto sleeping in it. He remembered those snatches of happiness, after Susie, after the cannibals. Ianto came to him, shy but willing. Jack showed him what it was like to be with a man, to pleasure and accept pleasure.
To share a bed. To sleep in the same bed. To wake up in the same bed. Well. There didn't need to be a bed either, Jack remembered as his eyes settled on the ladder to his room.
But that was before.
Before the Doctor, before the Master. Before the year that never was. Before time changed for him. Yet another secret that he'll have to keep. A year for him was only three months for his team.
Three months was enough to change everything.
Owen was more defensive of the two women in his team, more accepting of Ianto. No longer was Ianto tolerated, but an accepted equal. Gwen had flourished as a leader, though her confidence sometimes bordered on arrogance. Tosh, though, Tosh had blossomed, at least in the workplace. No longer timid, she now put Owen in his place, even telling Gwen to sit down and shut up.
And Ianto... Ianto had finally been accepted as a field agent and not just an office boy. Probably out of necessity than anything else, granted, but Ianto had shown everyone that he capable of more than coffee and filing.
Of course, Jack already knew that.
They were finally exactly what he knew they could be. A cohesive team. It only took him leaving to make it happen.
Now he was on the outside looking in.
Gwen had accepted Rhys' proposal of marriage. Well. As explosive as the sex would be, they would kill each other inside of a week. It was probably a good thing. It still hurt. Jack couldn't deny, deep inside, that there was a part of him that had used her memory, the thought of returning to her arms as a way of getting through the torture that the Master impugned.
Ianto though... Ianto was the one whose image continually came to mind in the dark, when the pain got too much. It was Ianto's name on his lips when he gasped violently back to life, frantically looking around for the Welshman who had started to worm his way under Jack's skin. When Jack realised that Ianto's face appeared more than Gwen's, he resolved to ask the unassuming Welshman on a date, should he return to Cardiff.
He only hoped that Ianto would accept. He'd said yes, but... well nothing had come of it.
Of course, he couldn't help himself from asking Gwen if there was a chance - just in case. Now that he knew she had chosen Rhys, he knew that he was right to pursue Ianto.
Jack sighed again and got up. He wasn't going to get anymore sleep. He showered in the adjoining bathroom and dressed in pants and a white undershirt, and left his braces hanging - after all, no one else would be there yet.
When he climbed up into his office, he noticed the kitchen light was on. He frowned, and headed up there to investigate.
He leaned on the door frame, relaxed when he saw the suited back of his archivist. “It's a little early to be filing, isn't it?” Jack asked, his hands in his pants pockets.
Ianto jumped and turned around. “Sir! I-What are you doing up?”
“I could ask you the same thing.” Jack looked at his wrist-strap. “It's three in the morning, Ianto.”
Ianto shrugged and looked at the floor before he turned back to the coffee machine. “It's my turn to monitor the rift.” He selected a second mug and placed it next to his on the counter.
“I'm back now. I can do that.”
Ianto nodded. “Yes, sir.” He poured them a cup of coffee each and handed Jack his blue and white striped mug. “I'll just go and do some work then. Leave you to it.” He looked as it he was going to say something else, but shut his mouth, gave Jack a small smile, picked up his own mug and headed down to the main Hub, disappearing into the bowels of the headquarters to the archives.
Jack turned and watched him leave, leaning on the railing as he sipped his coffee. Jack sighed when Ianto disappeared from view.
~*~
Jack wandered down to the archives an hour later, and watched from the shadows as Ianto stood there staring at an open file.
“Ianto?”
Again, Ianto jumped, and immediately scrambled to close the file. “Sir. Anything I can help you with?” He shoved the file back in the drawer and pushed it closed. He turned to face Jack.
“You looked lost in thought.”
Ianto looked back at the filing cabinet. “Oh. It was... nothing. It was nothing. I thought...”
“You thought?” Jack prompted, walking closer and leaned on the filing cabinets.
“N-nothing.” Ianto shook his head. “It was nothing.” He offered a sad smile. “So. How are you finding it, sir? Being back and all?”
Jack turned so his back was against the cabinets and crossed his feet, getting comfortable, “I... would say it's like I never left. To a certain extent.”
Ianto frowned. “To what extent?”
“Well, it's just... it's...” Jack blew out a breath. “It's nothing.”
Ianto nodded. “Yep.”
Jack glanced at him sideways. “While I was away... you uh... you didn't...?” he started to ask. Ianto raised an eyebrow at him. “Not that it's any of my business,” Jack rushed on. “I was just... curious.”
“Torchwood doesn't exactly leave a lot of spare time for … extracurricular activities, sir,” Ianto said, not really answering the question.
“Gwen manages.”
Ianto turned and picked up a file. “Gwen's made a lot of sacrifices over the last few months, sir. Quite frankly, we were all astounded when she walked in with the rock on her finger. Any other man would have walked away by now.”
“She's something else.”
Ianto looked up, a sad, knowing look on his face. “Yes. She is.”
“Ianto, you know-” Jack was interrupted by the rift alarm echoing through the hallways. “Damn it.”
Ianto went over to his computer and clicked on a few keys. “I'll call the team.”
“I'll get the SUV.”
They ran up the stairs, conversation forgotten.
~*~
That night, there was a weevil alert just as Jack had given everyone the okay to go. Ianto said he would stay with Jack. Owen clapped him on the shoulder with a cheery thanks and practically ran out. Gwen skipped out after him, yelling over her shoulder about a meeting with a wedding planner. Tosh volunteered to man the computers and direct them from the Hub.
Jack and Ianto climbed into the SUV and Jack followed Tosh's instructions on where the alert was pointing them to. Armed with the Weevil spray and their firearms, Jack and Ianto fell out of the SUV and looked at the rows of warehouses and alleys.
“You go that way, I'll head this way,” Jack instructed, “and be careful!”
“Right.” Ianto pulled out both his spray and his gun and took off at a run, Tosh in his ear. Jack watched him, then started his own chase when Tosh's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Ianto chased two weevils back to the sewers before Tosh's hysterical calls alerted him to a problem with Jack. His lack of breath didn't stop him from sprinting back in Jack's direction, frantically searching for his boss. He found him on the ground in a back alley, a weevil crouched over him, feasting on him. Ianto, enraged, shot the weevil point blank, killing him. He didn't care, though Jack would be furious with him when he gasped back to life.
Collapsing to his knees, Ianto started to cry as he cradled Jack's head in his lap. He's covered in blood, Jack's intestines are everywhere from where the weevil was feasting, and Ianto can't help but be covered in it too as he tried to make Jack comfortable while he waited for Jack to recover.
Miraculously, Jack's stomach mended and Jack gasped violently back to life, his eyes feral as he tried to focus on his surroundings.
“Ianto?! Ianto!”
“Jack, Jack, I'm here. It's okay! You're okay!”
“Ianto! You're here?” Jack asked, confused. “Why are you here? You're never here. Are you a trick? Is he tricking me?”
Ianto sniffled. “No, sir. I'm real. We were weevil hunting, remember?” Ianto brushed a bloody hand through Jack's hair soothingly.
Ianto's words made Jack remember, and he relaxed. “Yeah. Yeah, I remember.” He chuckled. “Guess I can't take on three at once.”
“No, sir.”
“I thought we were dropping the 'sir'? Didn't we talk about that?” Jack asked, sitting up, and looked down at his ruined shirt. “Great. Man, I hate it when they eat my clothes.”
“There's a spare set in the car,” Ianto said as he got to his feet. He held out a hand and helped Jack to his feet.
“Great!” Jack started to walk back down the alley but stopped when he realised that Ianto hadn't followed. He turned back. “Ianto?”
Ianto's hands were on his hips. He stared at the bloody patch on the ground. “You didn't know where you were.”
Jack slowly walked back to him. “I was a little disorientated.”
“You never used to be.”
Jack shrugged. “I dunno. Never really thought about it.”
Ianto looked at him. “You asked for me?” Jack didn't reply, just stared at him. “When you were... away... you were tortured?”
“Ianto-”
He nodded. “I know. You can't talk about it.” He bent down and picked up his weevil spray and gun that were on the ground. “But you thought about me?” he asked when he stood back up.
“Yes.” Ianto nodded. Then he gave Jack a small smile. “What?”
Ianto shook his head. “Nothing... Jack.”
“You smiled.”
He nodded. “I did.”
“Why?”
“Time after time. It's rather appropriate,” Ianto started down the alley.
Jack stared, confused. Ianto was waiting by the SUV when Jack got back there, a change of clothes in his hands. Jack shrugged out of his greatcoat and handed it to Ianto. He stripped out of the tattered remains of his shirts and pulled on the replacements. Once he hand his greatcoat back on, he looked at the bloodstains.
“Think you can get these out?” Jack asked him.
“Of course, sir.”
Jack pressed the button on his comm unit. “Tosh, we're coming back. You can head home for the night.”
“Okay Jack. Glad you're okay. See you in the morning, both of you.”
“Night Tosh,” Ianto said, and pulled his comm unit out of his ear.
“Come back to the Hub?” Jack asked quietly as he glanced sideways. “We could pick up some dinner, maybe a movie or something?”
“Is this that date you asked me about a month ago?” Ianto turned his head to look at Jack.
Jack sighed. “No. I. I've been meaning to take you to dinner. In an actual restaurant.”
“Yeah.” Ianto sounded resigned.
“If... if you're still interested, I was thinking... maybe tomorrow? If you're not busy?” Jack didn't look at Ianto. He didn't want to be let down.
“If the rift permits.”
Jack looked over. “Really?”
“You sound surprised, Jack.” Ianto turned away from the window to look at his boss.
“I guess I am a little. I mean, I … I …”
“Yep. But you came back.” Ianto resumed his study out the window.
“So... just like that, I'm forgiven?” Jack sounded skeptical.
“Well, no. It's not like everything is hunky dory, but...” Ianto sighed. “Something happened. I know it did, and before you start,” he pre-empted Jack's interruption, “I know you can't say what. For whatever stupid reason you won't tell us. Or don't want to tell us. Not that it really matters in the end. The outcome is still the same. Something happened to you and none of us can do or say anything to help or make it better. Regardless of what the others believe, you didn't stay away as long as you did because you wanted to. You were... I don't know, lost or something. That's how I like to think of it, anyway. Better than being captured and tortured like a prisoner of war, which is what I...” he stopped and cleared his throat. “I like to think that's that you were. Lost. Until you could find your way home.”
Jack pulled up the SUV in the Torchwood garage and pulled out the keys. He then got out of the car and came around to Ianto's side. He got there as Ianto opened the door and stepped out.
Jack hesitantly reached out for Ianto's waist. “I was lost,” he said meaningfully, trying to tell Ianto that he was right in his assumptions without outrightly saying it. It was the closest he could come to telling him the truth. “I was lost and looking for you.”
Ianto's fingers gripped the lapels of his greatcoat. “You will find me. Time after time. And if you fall, I will catch you, Jack. I'll always be waiting.”
“Ianto...” Jack said as he stared into his eyes, looking for something, anything, to tell him that this was a lie, a trick, yet another dream and he was back on The Valiant, but he wasn't. Ianto was here, he was real. Jack lowered his head and captured Ianto's mouth in a deep kiss. Jack's arms wrapped around Ianto, gathered him in and held him closer, to make sure he didn't disappear, couldn't leave, couldn't flee and leave him empty, desperate and wanting. Ianto's hands curled into Jack's coat, his arms crushed between them. He opened up to Jack, his tongue welcoming Jack's with a wet, warm push against his. Jack moaned and lost himself in Ianto.
Chests heaved against each other when their kiss broke, and Jack rested his forehead against Ianto's, his eyes closed. Please... please don't go yet. Don't leave me alone yet. Stay. Stay with me.
“We should order in some pizza,” Ianto said softly. “They'll close soon.”
Jack's mouth widened from a smile into a grin. “Delivery?”
“You read my mind.” Ianto pulled out his cell phone. “The usual, sir?” Jack rose an eyebrow. “Jack,” Ianto corrected himself.
“Yeah, whatever you want.”
Ianto placed the order, while Jack waited. When it was done, Jack held out his hand. “Mr Jones, would you accompany me inside my … no-so-humble abode?”
Ianto laughed and took Jack's hand. “You know, I think we can consider this a first date,” Ianto said as Jack led him inside. “Well, after I get cleaned up.” He looked down at the bloodstained suit he was wearing.
“Really?” Jack asked, disbelieving. “Weevil hunting, dying on you, pizza delivery, and a DVD? Yeah, I sound like a real prince charming.”
Ianto grinned. “Exactly. Means no one else will be lining up to take what's mine.”
Jack smirked. “Oh I am yours, Mr Jones,” Jack said as he pulled Ianto into his arms when they reached the main area of the Hub.