Title: After the cold
Author: theohsocurlyone
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Torchwood doesn't belong to me.
A/N: Set between Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang and Sleeper. Written (slightly late) for the Day Three Challenge at redismycolour.
Summary: Jack hadn't so much as touched him yet, but he'd already decided that he liked New Ianto.

***


"So," Jack called through the general clattering below him, "Good hunting?"

The four smudged and tired glares that met him from the Hub's floor were answer enough.

"Okay, never mind," Jack hastily said, holding up his hands in protest as he descended the stairs from the boardroom.

Gwen, looking decidedly worse-for-wear with her hair hanging in limp straggles either side of her face, sighed and turned to face him.

"Well, we got the Weevil down," she told him, dismantling her gun and tossing the parts on her desk with alarming abandon, "Although Owen nearly broke my leg in the process..."

"Which, I'll have you know, was 'cause I was pushing you out of the way!" Owen interrupted loudly, struggling out of his filth-crusted jacket and tossing it over a nearby chair.

"Owen then decided it would be a good idea to use some roadkill as bait." cut in Tosh, trying to rub her hands clean of grit.

"Roadkill? Do Weevils go for roadkill?" Jack asked, incredulously.

"Apparently not," replied Ianto, smoothly cutting in before Owen could protest again, "But they do like throwing it, it seems."

With all the might he possessed, Jack struggled to keep back a laugh. It was only by turning to Ianto and avoiding Owen's eyes, that he managed it.

"And what were you doing, this whole time?"

"I was..." Ianto faltered, the words dying mid-sentence. Before he could finish, Gwen spoke up.

"Ianto managed to sneak behind and zap it with the stun gun before it could turn around! It was brilliant; we didn't even see him, let alone the Weevil!"

Ianto was shaking his head before she'd even finished speaking. "It wasn't..."

"She's right, mate," Owen interrupted, moving over to clap him on the shoulder, "Good sneaking. Wish I'd thought of that."

Ianto's face flushed red, and Jack felt something inside of him stir; the same emotion that had spurred him on during their first, awkward, conversation in the office a few days before. It was a yearning to see this new part of Ianto; this sly strength and tough intuition that he hadn't seen enough of, really, before he'd been lured away by the Doctor.

Ianto had suffered as much as the rest of them, when Jack had disappeared. But, alongside, he'd grown.

Jack hadn't so much as touched him yet, but he'd already decided that he really rather liked New Ianto.

"Well, I think a trip to the showers is in order. Girls?" Owen asked, already heading off.

"Thought you'd never ask." muttered Tosh, as she and Gwen followed, leaving Jack and Ianto alone, with an uneasy silence already filling the air.

Jack cast an appraising (and, he hoped, professional) eye on Ianto, determined to break the tension. "Well, you seem pretty...unscathed."

Ianto shrugged, awkwardly. "I wasn't the one messing around with dead squirrels."

Jack laughed, open and warm, and Ianto cracked the first smile since he'd come back from the hunt. Jack edged closer, hands in his pockets, a picture of nonchalance.

"Didn't want me to come along and hunt, then?" he asked, casually.

Ianto's eyes snapped up to look at him, the flush returning. "You were busy, s-Jack. Didn't want to disturb you."

Jack nodded, not pressing the issue. He could already tell it was still habitual for them all to dash off to face the music without him. He hardly blamed them for not fully trusting him, yet, and still almost winced under the gazes of Tosh and Gwen, when he caught their eyes; looking at him as if he would run at any moment. Or (even worse), be snatched before he had time to help them again.

Ianto was rapidly rubbing his hands together as he turned away, eyes taking in the mess left behind by the other three.

"Something wrong with your hands?" asked Jack, edging closer still.

Ianto's wary and guarded face was back as he shot Jack a look. "Nothing, it was just cold outside. That's all."

"Here," Jack murmured, and before the other man could protest, took Ianto's hands in his own and rubbed them, trying to get the circulation back.

Almost imperceptibly, Ianto's breath caught, his expression losing its wariness, and for a moment, looking surprisingly naked. Jack felt that spark of emotion flare up at the sound, at the feel of Ianto's hands in his after such a long time of nothing. It was anticipation, excitement, he could already tell.

No, he thought; it was more than that. It was hope.

"Date," Jack blurted out, without thinking, "Tomorrow night at seven, at Bottelino's." He met Ianto's eyes and felt a stab of apprehension, just as he had when they'd been alone in the office. It was very difficult to get used to. "Is that...okay?"

Ianto smiled, and it was all Jack could do not kiss him right there, and forget impropriety and present company; just grab hold of Ianto's hand and run.

"That's okay," said Ianto softly, before glancing down at his hands and raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to let go, now?"

"Hmm? Oh." With a quick, risky stroke to Ianto's knuckles, Jack let go. "There you go; good as new."

Giving Jack another quick, small smile, Ianto turned away and started to clear the debris left by Gwen, Tosh and Owen, whilst Jack walked back to his office, inwardly celebrating, a grin unfurling on his face.

After a year in the dark, and the cold, he was finally being let into the warmth.

This was the start of something new.

***