Title: Innovative
By: Anduria Trianys
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Note: This was a challenge from a friend to do Jack's viewpoint on the concept of being 'innovative'. I've always found Jack very hard to write, much harder than Ianto, so this was quite a tricky one to do. I'm not entirely sure if it works, but it was still fun.
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: Post 2x06, Reset. Jack thinks about Ianto.

***

'Innovative…bordering on the avant-garde,' was what Ianto said to Martha when she asked him about our…to use his word 'dabbling'.

Don't tell anyone this – well, like you are, you're me – but I actually had to go to an online dictionary and look up the word innovative when I heard that comment. Gwen, Owen and Toshiko would never let me hear the end of it if he found out. Ianto would probably get a bit of a giggle out of it too. Strangely, that doesn't bother me so much. Although, I am slightly peeved that he referred to us as 'dabbling'. I thought I'd brought him out of his shell a bit more than that, but he's still a little shy, bless him.

Anyway, when I was on the Internet, this is what I found:

"The classic definitions of innovation/innovative include: the process of making improvements by introducing something new, the act of introducing something new: something newly introduced, the introduction of something new."

So…Ianto thinks I'm improving something by introducing something new, does he? Well, that's certainly interesting, given that he's the one who's introduced most of the…unusual ideas into our relationship (I mean, I never thought there were so many things you could do with a stopwatch; kept us going for four hours!), but…well.

Am I innovative, though? Well, he certainly seems to think so, judging by his reaction when Martha spoke to him. That's flattering, whatever I thought of his 'dabbling' comment. It's nice that he thinks my moves are original and interesting.

But really…I can't help but think that he's the innovative one. I mean, he knows how to do things that I've never seen before in my life – yes, in all the years I've been around, I have never seen some of the things he's taught me. Yes, I may be the one who shows him all the new positions in the bedroom, but…he's the one who makes it more fun and more exciting for me. I haven't felt like this in so long…not since…probably not since Estelle.

Yes, Ianto is definitely the innovative one, because he has made what we have so much better, by refusing to let me take him for granted. I know I hurt him when I left the way I did (and, Ianto, if you're reading this, I am still working on making it up to you), but he took me back. But he only took me back after I'd proved myself…after I'd shown him that I was serious…that I am serious. Before, it was really comfort we were after, but I didn't realise how strong his feelings were for me until after Abaddon. And then the Doctor turned up and…well, it all flew out of my mind. Now, I wish I'd been able to talk to him beforehand, rather than just kissing him in front of the entire team. What he must have thought after that…well, I'm not exactly proud of myself.

But when I returned, he didn't automatically welcome me back with open arms and, to be honest, I would almost have been disappointed if he had. It would have been too easy to slip back into the old ways and it wasn't what I wanted, no matter how flirtatious I may have been initially. He wasn't having any of it – and I respect him for that. He made it very clear that he's not going to let me mess him about again.

But he's taught me what it really means to be in a relationship with someone, after so long. It's not all about the physical side; there's another side to it…a side which I'd almost lost touch with and he brought back to me. There's the emotional side too, which is even more important than being physical. If you don't talk to your partner, then everything else becomes meaningless. He showed me that, gradually, but I didn't really understand it until I came back after being tortured for a year.

But after I told him what had happened, I realised that this was what gave us meaning. We've both seen things that we never dreamt we'd see and things we hoped we never would see. Really, Ianto was as alone as I was, but he realised it when I didn't. I was too busy waiting for the Doctor that I didn't see what I had until I thought I'd lost it.

I think he understands me, I really do. When I broke down and cried in front of him before I ended up telling him about the Master, he didn't try and stop me and he didn't ask questions, he just let me rant. I think he realised I needed to let it out. After I'd finished, he just took my hand, kissed me on the forehead and sat with me for the rest of the night and well into the early hours of the morning.

After that, I felt…relief; a feeling I haven't felt for so long now – and he did that for me. He gave me meaning again…just as he said I gave him meaning again. I only wish it hadn't taken me so long to realise that; if I'd seen how much he meant to me then, what we had could have been so much better. I mean, the sex was amazing, but…oh, I don't know how to explain it. I guess, in hindsight, it just felt like there could have been more, but at the time I couldn't see it. At the time, I didn't think he did either, but, looking back, I was so wrong. He needed me and I let him down. When I was away, I promised myself that, if I ever managed to get back, I wouldn't make that mistake again.

And, of course, he didn't let me make that mistake again. It would have been all too easy to fall into each other's arms, but I knew that this time, I had to prove that I was in it for the long haul. And I'm trying to do that, I really am. I just don't always know how.

Yes, Ianto is the one who's truly innovative. He took what we had before and made it better by making me work for it…and giving us the meaning we have now. I don't know if I'll ever be able to thank him enough for that.

Ianto stared at the words on the page, wondering if it was possible for his smile to grow any brighter.

"You gave me meaning again," he whispered, "I just wanted to give you some back."

He wasn't sure, but he thought he heard Jack murmur softly in reply.

***