Title: Acceptance
By: clockstopper
Word Count: 1712
Rating: PG-13 because Owen swears quite a lot
Warnings/Spoilers: None, really. Pure speculation on season two on my part. Maybe vague stuff for season three of Doctor Who, the last three, but I think that's all known. Still.
Summary: Owen realizes he's wrong about Jack and Ianto.
Author's Notes: This I kind of promised to some who is cooler than I could ever be: nunshavingfun. 94 days until Vancouver!

Our brilliant Captain sends us home before the day is even over.

Before it’s even started really. We don’t even see a good spot of violence. A bunch of clean up jobs. Not even a weevil in sight.

And yeah, it’s boring to just be sitting there, Tosh checking the CCTV every five seconds for something and Gwen… well I’m not quite sure what Gwen’s gotten up to, but it’s something she’s doing pretty intently on her computer.

Personally I think its solitaire.

Ianto’s up to something as well. He’s always keeping himself busy doing god knows what. Obviously it’s important or something. He’s always got coffee ready and food so that’s something.

So it shouldn’t really come as a surprise when Jack bursts out of his office, all smiles and easy grace, and he claps his hands loudly.

“So… get out.”

Tosh looks up from the monitors, puzzled look on her face and I can’t really blame her. He’s been acting odd since he came back from wherever the hell he’d been.

Spent two good months looking for his ungrateful ass and he walks in like no time had passed at all, like he hadn’t just taken off, not so much as a word and left the women and Ianto all fluttering about stupid shit.

Really, I wonder who the fuck he thinks he is sometimes, but he’s the boss.

Gwen asks, needles him some times to the point of him actually pulling at his hair and telling her to just drop it. In which Gwen then tells him that he’s an ass and he’s the one that left and if she had known that he was going to be an ass she wouldn’t have spent so much time worrying.

He purses his lips then and I think he’d buy her a pony with the eyes she gives him.

“Out?” Tosh asks.

“Yes, out. It’s a nice day out. I’m sure there are some things you guys could be getting up to out there. Something fun I bet.”

“But we’re working.” Gwen says.

I can see that she’s minimized the solitaire.

“There’s barely an alien activity lately. It’s all just flotsam and jetsam. Go. Take advantage of the day off.”

“But what if…”

“Then I’ll page you. It’s why you’ve got those things, isn’t it? So I can call you at a moments notice. Go on. Enjoy.”

Personally, I don’t need to be told twice. The minute be bursts through his office I was out of my seat, taking of my lab coat and picking up my stuff.

“Right, well, mate, you need us… try not calling, eh. See if you can’t take care of the mess yourself first. Then, if you’re leaking entrails or something, page us.” I say.

Jack smiles like it’s what he wants to hear and the girls look shocked, but Tosh starts subtly shifting her stuff around, putting what she needs in her purse. The only one still willing to argue is Gwen, but then that is her nature.

So I pull her arm and make are way towards the lift and she’s protesting of course and Tosh is smiling sadly and pushing her glasses up and following us onto the lift. I watch as we go up, Jack smiling and waving and he looks casual, but there’s something about the way he’s standing that screams tense.

Oh well, not my problem is it.

We get out in the open and Gwen’s still protesting and I want to smack her to shut her up, but I don’t.

“Let’s grab us a pint then. On me.” I say.

She stops whining and frowns.

“You’re feeling awfully generous.”

“Yup, generous. That’s me. Now, let’s go.”

Tosh smiles and Gwen seems to admit defeat and walks. Luckily there’s a bar close by because I have a feeling we’re all gonna take this chance to get utterly shitfaced.

If we’re drunk enough when Jack makes that inevitable call, it’s possible he’ll let us get off.

Then again this is Jack.

When we get there, I order, flirt with the barmaid a bit and she’s giving me the wink slightly. I can tell by the way Gwen rolls her eyes. Of course that’s not my problem. It’s just a bit of flirting.

“You’re really going to pay? Not cheating your way out of it?” Gwen asks suspiciously.

“I’m a man of my word.” I say smiling.

This makes Tosh roll her eyes.

“Please, Owen, the last time you said you were going to pay, you’d left all your money in your other jacket, accidentally.” She says, completely with air quotes.

“I’m gonna pay this time. Promise.”

Gwen rolls her eyes.

“They check’ll come and he’ll say he forgot his wallet.”

“I will not.” I say.

I start to take out my wallet, just to prove that I have the cash and will pay when…

“Oh shit.”

“What?” Gwen asks.

“I forgot my bleeding wallet.” I mutter.

Tosh giggles.

“A likely story.” Gwen says.

“I did.”

“Sure you did, Owen.”

“It’s really in the hub. I forgot to grab it because I was trying to get you out of there before you made Jack change his mind.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll pay for it and you can just pay us back.” Tosh says sensibly.

Fuck sensibly.

“No, I’ll just go back and get it. It’s just on my desk.”

“Owen, don’t be silly.” Tosh begins to say.

“No. I’m going to go get it and watch, I’ll pay.”

I stand up despite the fact that both Tosh and Gwen are telling me to sit down and that they’ll pay, but at this point it’s a matter of principles. They’ve paid, yes, but that’s because I did legitimately forget my money.

When you’re prancing about chasing after aliens, you tend to forget things like money.

So I make short work of going back to the hub and pray that Jack won’t have already scooped something up and that he won’t make me stay. Just quick in and out. In through the lobby doors and I’m only a little surprised that Ianto isn’t sitting there with that bored look on his face.

Jack gave everyone the day off. What’s to say Ianto hadn’t come up with some plans.

I get down to the hub and make it up to the work stations, almost to my desk when I hear voices.

“You want to talk about this now.”

I duck behind the desks, view of Jack’s office, but still completely out of sight for the most part. If I lean a certain way anyways.

I see them behind Jack’s desk, Ianto’s back to him and he’s sitting on the desk, suit jacket off and shirt pull out of his pants. Jack’s standing between his legs, braces pushed down and his shirt is off, but he still has the white undershirt on.

“Well, yeah.” He says.

“We were in the middle of something.”

“Yeah, sex, I know. It’s fantastic.”

“And yet you’ve stopped for a chat.” Ianto says dryly.

“I just thought you should know where I was. I mean, you deserve to know, right?”

“There’s no need to explain.”

“You’ve been avoiding me.”

“I have not.”

“Yes, you have. Really, Ianto, you don’t think I haven’t noticed. Besides that kiss when I got back…”

“It’s not as if you’ve made much of an effort either.”

Jack frowns.

“A lots gone on.”

“I know. I’ve been there for it. That’s why I said. No need to explain.”

“Clearly you’re angry.”

“I’m not angry. I know what this is, sir.”

Jack’s frown deepens. His hand goes up to touch Ianto’s face, stroking gently and all that rot.

Part time shag, I’d said and really, maybe Ianto’s starting to believe that now, what with Jack just leaving without a word. Maybe that is all they are. Maybe I’m right as always.

“Do you really?”

I can just tell that Ianto’s taking a deep breath, sighing and I can see by the way his head tilts that he’s leaning into Jack’s touch just a little bit.

“Yes.” He says.

“If you think this is just…”

“It doesn’t have to be more. It doesn’t have to be less. You want to talk… talk. Don’t feel obligated to though. Not because of me, Jack.”

“I want to tell you. That’s got to count for something.” Jack says.

He gives that charming smile, the one I know makes girls go weak at the knees and I’m pretty sure Ianto’s no exception.

“Yes, well… talking or shagging?”

“There’s nothing that says we can’t do both.”

“Hmm… so which first?”

And I can tell by the way that Jack’s touching Ianto, hasn’t stopped touching Ianto, that he really wants to shag. What man doesn’t want to shag when the opportunity strikes and that would be a bit fun to watch.

The girls would be pissed, but they’d love to hear the gossip.

“I had to see a doctor about this undying problem I have.”

“And did he fix you?”

“No, but we saved the world.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s a pretty daring adventure filled with braves souls and torture.”

I shake my head and grab my wallet. Much as I’d love to hear this, which is known because I’m not Gwen and I don’t really give a shit about where he went or what he did or who he did it with.

He’s a friend yes, but a man’s got to have some secrets and considering his biggest one is all out in the open, why not let him have this. He’s trying to make it up to us without actually saying anything, which I guess is what matters.

Gwen’ll kill me for not getting the whole story, but really, this isn’t for me to hear. Not like this. This is for Ianto’s ears and, as much as it pains me to think it, I was wrong.

They may not be in love and they may not have a real relationship, but they’re not a part time shag. Not really. There’s feelings there, I can see it and I’m a cynical bugger.

So I leave because it’s for them.

But mostly because if I have to listen to their cutesy couple shit, I may vomit.

FIN