Title: Rules for Dating Your Boss
Author: bookwrm89
Rating: AO
Pairings: Jack/Ianto
Authors Notes: This idea came to me after reading "Ianto's Blog-Part 4" by geordie_star. Thank you to The9thDoctor for beta'ing this for me! The timing is after Adrift but before Fragments - no real spoilers, it's AU.
Summary: Jack proposes.

***

It was 4am and Jack was worried.  He was standing outside of Ianto's flat and debating whether he should use the key Ianto had given him several weeks ago.  Ianto had met up with Jeff, a old friend from school, and said he'd check-in later.  Not having heard from him, and knowing the kinds of things that had a habit of happening in Cardiff, Jack had decided to make sure everything was ok with his lover.  Besides, he was lonely. 

Making his decision, Jack unlocked the door and walked into the living room.  A grin crossed his face at the sight that greeted him.  Ianto and his friend were sprawled on the couch, passed out, with a forest of beer bottles and crisp packets littering the small table in front of them.  Some type of video game console was strung out on the floor in front of the television, which was on but showing nothing on the screen.  

Picking his way through the usually immaculate room, Jack stood next to the couch looking down at Ianto.  His face was relaxed in sleep, his mouth slightly open, snoring softly.  The jeans that covered his long legs were faded and worn in all the right places.  The shirt he was wearing was wrinkled and unbuttoned just enough to show a beaded necklace and the shadow of hair that lightly covered Ianto's firm chest.  It was times like this that reminded Jack of exactly how young Ianto actually was.  Watching him move about the Hub in his three-piece suits, confidently doing any job requested of him, it was easy to forget he was only twenty-five.

Ianto shifted slightly in his sleep, a small frown crossing his face.  Jack knew the way he was sleeping couldn't be comfortable.  He bent down and carefully lifted Ianto into his arms, smiling when Ianto snuggled into his embrace, his face nuzzling into the curve where Jack's neck met his shoulder.  He carried him down the short hallway to the bedroom, gently setting him down on the bed before unbuttoning and removing both shirt and jeans and tucking him up under the covers.  He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Ianto's forehead, smiling softly when the young man relaxed into the pillows and whispered his name.

Returning to the front room, Jack arranged Ianto's friend into a more comfortable position and covered him with a blanket.  Noticing a pad of paper with Ianto's handwriting on it tucked into the cushion where Ianto had been sleeping, Jack grabbed it before heading to the kitchen to get a couple bottles of water.  He set one bottle and some aspirin on the nightstand next to Ianto's side of the bed and then settled into the armchair Ianto had set up in the corner for when Jack couldn't sleep.  Taking a sip of his water, he glanced down at the paper he'd picked up from the couch and stifled a laugh at the title written in Ianto's untidy scrawl - 

Rules for Dating Your Boss
By Ianto Jones and Jeff Murdoch

1. Never, EVER lose the key when you have your boss handcuffed to the bed.
      Or accidentally hoover it. (and if you do, don't leave them alone to run to the chemist's to buy laxatives)

Jack muffled another laugh as he remembered the night that had inspired Ianto to write that rule.  They'd gotten rather involved in what they were doing and when the rift alarm went off, Ianto had spent a panicked 5 minutes searching for the key to the handcuffs before giving up and picking the lock with a paperclip.  Jack was continuously surprised at the hidden talents of Mr. Ianto Jones.  The comment written under the rule was in a different handwriting and Jack made a mental note to ask Ianto for the full story as it sounded intriguing.  Hoovering?  Was that a Welsh thing?  Shaking his head, he read the next rule.

 2. If their psychotic ex-boyfriend shows up, make sure the ex is aware that you won't give up without a fight. (Eye-Candy, my arse)
        Or hide in the bathroom until they punch a hole in the door. (thankfully loosening "things" up so you can find the key to the handcuffs)

Jack wondered briefly what had gone on between Ianto and John that had prompted him to write that rule before resolving to definitely ask for the story behind Jeff's comment. 

3. Try to be understanding if they take off to "explore their feelings" or "find themselves" and just hope they come back to you.
          Sometimes they don't come back.

Jack closed his eyes and said a silent thank you to the cosmos that Ianto had been understanding about him taking off with the Doctor, and that he'd been willing to take Jack back when he returned.  Jack really had no idea what he'd done to deserve such a decent, good man, but he felt lucky to have him.

4. If you're both rubbish at expressing your feelings, just shut up and kiss.
         Kissing also works when you've talked enough to know what the other person is saying, even if they don't actually say the words.

Jack smiled softly at that, remembering the night before Tommy left to go back to 1918.  That was the first time he and Ianto had made love, rather than fucked.

5. Before getting naked in the office, make sure no one else is still there.  Especially if it's your birthday and you're blindfolded.
          Or if one of your co-workers won't stop investigating a problem they've been told to leave alone.

Jack grinned at that one.  He knew Ianto had been embarrassed when Gwen caught them in the greenhouse, but the young man had hid it well, even joining in the teasing Jack had instigated about naked hide & seek.  Jack spent a few pleasant minutes remembering how much fun that game had been...maybe he should suggest playing it again.

6. Don't accept an invitation for a drink from another co-worker.  It just leads to them thinking you're a necrophiliac who's keeping your dead lover in your bed.
          I have absolutely no response about that one.

Jack knew why Ianto hadn't commented about number 6.  There's just no explaining that your boss is immortal and you once gave him such mind-blowingly fantastic sex that he'd actually died of a heart attack in your bed.  Jack's eyes still tended to glaze over remembering that night...and Ianto's still got a little wild.  Knowing your lover was immortal was one thing, being the cause of death (even temporarily) was another.  The more he read, the more Jack was looking forward to actually meeting this Jeff person.  What was it about Wales that produced such interesting and unique people?

7.  Always remember that the office supply cupboard is a perfectly acceptable place to snog your boss.
           In order to do that, your boss would have to know where the supply cupboard is located

Jack started to laugh at Ianto's comment until he realized that he really didn't know where the supply cupboard was located.  He made another mental note to ask Ianto about it in the morning.  Just the thought of Ianto surrounded by all those office supplies made him shiver in anticipation.

8.  Don't leave your diary where your boss can find it, especially if they have the curiosity of a cat and a severe lack of self-control.  (I know you're reading this, Jack)

Jack shot a guilty look over at the bed, then he shrugged and continued reading.  Ianto knew him so well.  There was only one rule left on the page, although there was space for another one under that.

9.  Never be afraid to tell your boss that you love them.
     
Jack assumed that Jeff had passed out around this time, as there were no more comments from him.  His eyes wandered back to the bed where Ianto was just a lump under the duvet, dark hair poking out from under the covers and one arm hanging off the side of the mattress.  There was another question he'd been wanting to ask Ianto lately but he wasn't sure how to go about it.  Sure they were dating, practically living together, but hearts and flowers romance wasn't exactly their thing.  Still, asking this question wasn't something you could do while wrestling a weevil into the back of the SUV.  Jack's eyes were drawn back to the blank space next to number 10 and they lit up with sudden inspiration.  He grabbed a pen and wrote something in the blank space before propping the tablet behind the bottle of water on Ianto's night table.  He quickly stripped off his clothes and crawled into the bed, drifting to sleep with a happy smile on his face.

The next morning he woke up wrapped in Ianto's arms, soft kisses raining down on his neck and shoulders, the pad of paper lying on the pillow next to him.  He read Ianto's reply, turned over and looked into the serious, slightly blood-shot, blue eyes looking back at him before he swept Ianto into his arms and lost himself in kissing the man he loved.

10. So what is the rule for when your boss asks you to marry him?

       Always say yes...

***

Next story in series - Our Wedding In Hell.