Title: The First Date
By: Anduria Trianys
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fictional universes or characters. I'm just borrowing them temporarily for a bit of a laugh.
Summary: Jack and Ianto's first date. Set after 'Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang', but before 'Sleeper'. It's VERY sweet and fluffy Jack/Ianto.

***

"By the way...was that a yes?"

"Yes...yes."

Jack had told him to wait in the tourist office at half past six that night. Ianto had no idea why, but he sincerely hoped that this 'date' wouldn't consist of a takeaway pizza and an evening of watching the day's events on the CCTV, followed by a round of 'random shagging' on the sofa. Jack had done that once before.

Okay, so the 'random shag' on the sofa might not be too bad - it was Jack, of course it wouldn't be - but still, it wouldn't exactly be an orthodox date. But then again, Captain Jack Harkness was anything but orthodox.

But, given the way that Jack had been since the 'Captain John Hart incident' (or, as Owen called it 'Why we Hide Poodles'), Ianto wasn't sure that anything would surprise him. Jack was suddenly starting to jump at small noises - even the sound of a drop of water could unnerve him - and he had also, unbelievably, almost completely stopped flirting with everything that moved. He would still come out with the odd innuendo, but it seemed as though his heart wasn't quite in it any more.

Nevertheless, Ianto was excited about tonight. He was nervous, yes, but excited. Jack had sent him home early, with instructions to 'freshen up' and then come back and wait for him. Ianto wasn't sure what was going on, but the she shy smile on Jack's face had driven any questions out of his mind.

'Freshening up', however, had proved harder than he'd thought. Once he'd arrived back home, Ianto had spent ten minutes staring at the blank wall in front of him and wondering what on earth he was going to do.

He had dated, of course he had - but he'd never been on a date with Jack, not a real proper date anyway. Sure, they'd gone out together and done things together - usually each other, really - but those couldn't really be counted as dates. They would just walk to the nearest takeaway - pizza, fish and chips or whatever - and then wander down the street as they ate, talking about nothing - or gone to the pub for a few drinks. It was companionable and certainly a lot of fun, but dating? Ianto wasn't sure.

"What's he going to expect?" he murmured as he quickly flicked a bit of nonexistent dust off his dark purple shirt. "How does one act on a date with Captain Jack Harkness, the man who will flirt with anything that's got a pulse?" He knew he was being ridiculous, but nerves were making his head spin. "Oh, God...what am I going to do?" Suddenly, the craziest and most random thought came to him. "Maybe I should have worn a dress!"

"Now, that's something I'd love to see," said an amused voice in front of him.

Ianto jumped, sending magazines flying all over the floor. He was about to reach for his gun, when his vision cleared and he saw that it was only Jack - wearing black trousers and an emerald green dress shirt. Oh, and his greatcoat, but he always wore that.

But there was something strange as well. It wasn't the pale yellow daffodil in his buttonhole, or the purple iris that he calmly slipped into Ianto's buttonhole - though those were certainly different. No, it was the way that his hands trembled slightly as he fixed the iris in question and gently ran his finger over one of the petals.

"Jack, are you okay?" asked Ianto cautiously. "You're shaking a bit."

There it was again; that shy little smile that hardly anyone saw. "I'm fine," said Jack, giving the younger man a small kiss on the forehead.

Ianto blinked in surprise, not so much at the gesture, but at what he had just realised. That smile told him more than any words could. Jack was happy...but he was nervous. That smile said that he was actually just as nervous as Ianto was himself.

"Come on," he said, smiling. "Where are you taking me?"

Jack gave him a full-blown grin. "Oh, you'll see," he said. Taking Ianto's hand, he led him out of the tourist office ("I've always wanted to pick you up from work!") and outside, where Ianto gasped in shock when he saw a hay cart pulled by a brown horse parked in front of him. Extending his hand, Jack helped him into the cart and settled him down in the soft hay before sitting himself behind the horse. He flashed Ianto another small smile before he started to drive.

Ianto had been round Cardiff Bay at night before, but never like this. Suddenly, he was seeing it all through new eyes; it was beautiful. He started to say as much, but stopped when he realised that Jack had, barely a moment before, started to sing very quietly. He craned his neck to listen closer to him and barely managed to choke back a gasp.

"Ar lan y môr mae rhosys chochion
Ar lan y môr mae lilis gwynion
Ar lan y môr mae 'nghariad inne
Yn cysgu'r nos a choddi'r bore."

Looking around, Ianto suddenly noticed that the cart was strewn, not only with hay, but with rose petals and a few lilies. Along with the whispers of the water beside them, he couldn't imagine anything more beautiful in his life.

Jack, however, looked a little embarrassed when he noticed that he'd been caught. "I don't know the rest of the words or the translation of the song," he whispered before suddenly changing course towards the vales. "I mean, I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with red roses and beautiful lilies, but that's about all I could really guess at. You know, the Welsh language isn't really my strong point."

Ianto was a little surprised, but he hid it well. "It was beautiful," he whispered.

Jack eventually stopped beside a wooded glade. "Wait here," he whispered, before fiddling underneath the driver's seat and disappearing. He was only gone for a few minutes, however, and then he lifted Ianto onto the ground. "Do you trust me?"

Ianto frowned. "I don't know why, but yes. I trust you."

"Good. Close your eyes." Ianto did so, but not without looking a little nervous. "Don't worry; I'm right here. I've got you." Taking Ianto's hand, Jack led him into the clearing and sat him down on the grass. "Open your eyes."

Ianto did so and his mouth dropped open as he looked around him. Jack had set up a picnic of fresh fish and chips, a bottle of champagne (wrapped in his handkerchief) with two tall glasses beside it and an enormous chocolate cake with strawberries, along with his laptop. He had also set up a small vase of flowers surrounded by candles on a small rock sat next to the rug.

"I didn't want to overwhelm you too much on our first date," stammered Jack, suddenly sounding even more nervous than he had in the office. "I've not done this for a while, you see, and I wasn't really sure if..." His voice trailed off and he bit his lip.

Ianto was still a little annoyed with Jack, but he knew that he was trying to make things right. "Jack," he said with a small smile. "I knew you wouldn't do something ordinary on our first date. You wouldn't be you if you did." He had meant it as a joke, but it had fallen flat and he knew it. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong. What I meant was -"

"Sit down," interrupted Jack, "and stop apologizing. You do that far too often as it is." He laughed slightly, but it was plain that he was a bit hurt. He waited for Ianto to follow him before he spoke again. "If anyone should be sorry, it's me. I'm not sorry I left, but I am sorry about the way I left, if that makes sense. I know you're angry with me and you've got every right to be, but please - give me a chance to try and make things right." He barely looked at the younger man as he busied himself pouring them both drinks.

"Jack," smiled Ianto, catching his face and looking straight at him, "do you honestly think I'd be here if I wasn't prepared to give you another chance? When you asked me out, I could have just told you where to shove it."

"I guess I'm lucky you're so forgiving then."

"We all make mistakes, Jack, I know that. After what I did, it would be hypocritical of me not to forgive you. But anyway - enough doom and gloom; we're out on a date, or we were last time I checked." He raised his glass and grinned.

"What are we toasting?" asked Jack.

"New beginnings," was the immediate reply.

Jack nodded and smiled; it was a genuine smile this time. "To new beginnings," he echoed, before he impulsively leaned over and kissed him.

They sat together, basking in the light of the candles as they watched A Streetcar Named Desire (Jack quietly swooning over Marlon Brando and Vivien Leigh) and ate their fish and chips. Eventually, Jack moved to cut the cake, but before the knife went the whole way through, he stopped and looked up, smiling softly again.

"Jack?" said Ianto cautiously. "Are you all right?"

"Look up," was the breathless reply. Ianto did so and exhaled deeply as he saw clusters of stars above his head shimmering over them and the light from the crescent moon bathing Jack's face, making him look ecstatic with his sparkling blue eyes. The moon was lighting his body up, but the stars were reflected in those eyes.

"Chocolate cake and strawberries under the stars," mused Jack. "I bet you never thought you'd be doing this, did you?"

"No," agreed Ianto, quite honestly. He shuffled closer to Jack and wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on his shoulder. "It's beautiful."

Jack said nothing, but, once again, he kissed him on the forehead before drawing him closer to him as a slow breeze whispered through the trees.

"So, did you have a good time tonight?" asked Jack as they stood on the steps to Ianto's house, having dropped off the cart a little while earlier.

He sounded so anxious that Ianto almost laughed. "I did," he whispered, "it was the best first date I've had in a long time. Thank you, Jack."

They stood awkwardly for a few moments, before Jack cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose I should...you know, get -"

"Unless you wanted to come in for a coffee or something," said Ianto quickly, and then blushed at his forwardness. Thankfully, it was dark, so Jack couldn't see.

Jack bit his lip. "It's not that I don't want to," he said, "it's just that...well, if we're making a new start, I want to do things right this time. Sometimes, when we were together last time, it seemed like we were always rushed and we never really took the time to be together. I don't want to make that mistake again, Ianto."

He frowned. "I want to take things slowly this time, if that's all right with you."

Ianto said nothing for a moment. There was something in Jack's voice that said what his words hadn't and at that moment he knew; Jack wasn't ready to go straight back to the way they had been before; the 'random shagging', as Ianto himself had earlier called it. In fact, at that point, he sounded almost afraid of the idea of having sex.

Jack seemed to notice this and said, "I'm just...I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm not ready for...that yet. A lot happened while I was away and I will tell you one day, but not just yet. I just need some time."

"That's fine," said Ianto instantly, his brain finally registering the right response. "I understand, Jack, I really do." He took Jack's hand. "But that doesn't mean you have to be alone. You can stay with me tonight if you want to. We don't have to do anything if you don't want to, but we'll just stay together for a while. Besides," and here he gave a small smile, "do you really think I'd let you back into my bed straight away?"

Jack, who a moment before had been close to tears, chuckled. "No, I suppose not," he admitted. "And...I really don't want to be alone," he admitted.

"Come on." Ianto pulled him inside and sat him on the sofa before dropping down beside him. "Just lean on me; I'll be right here." He waited until Jack was comfortable before drawing him into a soft embrace and kissing him gently. "Just rest," he whispered, running his hands through his hair. He looked down at Jack and was suddenly struck by how tired and worn down he looked. "Try and get some sleep, okay?"

"You'll stay?"

Ianto's heart almost broke at how vulnerable the usually strong and cheerful Captain's voice was. "I'm right here, Jack. I'm right here." He continued to stroke Jack's hair softly until the older man relaxed noticeably and his eyes fluttered shut. Flicking off the lamp beside him, he smiled to himself in the darkness.

Jack Harkness was nothing if unorthodox. But sometimes that wasn't a bad thing - such as when you'd just had the best first date you could remember.

***