Title: A Plausible Answer
By: cameragirl
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG
Summary: Jack's answer to Rhys' question during 2x04- Meat.

***

You wouldn't happen to be gay, would you?

Rhys had asked the question so innocently, almost as a joke. He certainly didn't expect an answer, let alone the one he had gotten.

"Yes. Well. No. I don't know. The labels confuse me. But probably," Jack grinned as he mused over his answer, knowing that any response he'd give would end up confusing Rhys.

A gaping mouth and wide eyes had caught Jack's attention & he politely told Rhys "Eyes on the road please," He didn't fancy Gwen being pissed at him for causing a car crash with her fiancé in the car.

"So wait. What is it then?" Rhys asked again, determined to get an answer. "Do you have a boyfriend or something of that sort?"

"Yes. Well. No. I don't know. What is with these questions?" Jack was as confused as he was amused, but couldn't help wondering about the answer to the question.

"Do you currently go out with or have, you know, sex with a guy or a girl?" Rhys tried again.

"Oh, that's much simpler. Yes," Jack responded, obviously pleased with himself for being able to answer the question.

"Who then? You better not be moving in on-"

"I'm not," Jack said coolly. "Did you see the bloke in the long coat? Wearing a suit?" He waited for Rhys to nod before continuing.

"Yes, that one. He's mine."

At the end of the day, after being taken hostage and being shot at, Rhys concluded that Jack had been lying. The bloke in the suit, whose name, Rhys had remembered, was Ianto, had been taken hostage just like Rhys. However, when Gwen had offered herself at the sight of a gun being held to both of their heads, Jack had stayed back and just allowed them all to be captives until the Captain and Toshiko had been called out.

Then, after Ianto had broken free, Rhys seemed to remember Jack yelling at him to go after the men who had shot him. No words of worried concern, or even a thoughtful glance.

Jack must have been lying in the van, Rhys concluded. Those definitely were not the actions of one boyfriend to another. These were Rhys' final thoughts as he drifted off to a well-earned sleep.

But as Ianto was being washed by Jack, it certainly didn't seem that way. Jack kissed every barrel shaped bruise, cut, or scrape that was scattered over Ianto's body.

"I'm fine," Ianto said exasperatedly. He was tired and really just wanted to go to bed. But Jack had insisted on dismissing Owen and bandaging Ianto himself.

"That doesn't matter. You think you're fine. I need to check for myself," Jack argued, but obliged and led Ianto to sit on the bed. He used his towel to dry them both off and then passed a pair of boxers to Ianto.

He had been serious when he insisted on checking out Ianto's health for himself. It was one of those endearing qualities of Jack's that Ianto had gotten used to.

It didn't matter that if the end of a long mission, Jack needed to reassure both of them that they were ok. It was the habits of, what Ianto had fondly dubbed, 'New Jack.' The Jack after he returned from finding his Doctor.

Ianto had only heard bits and pieces of stories from Jack. Even Martha was only able to tell him what had happened to her whilst they were both with the Doctor.

He knew that there had been a year that was no more and he knew that Jack was being held prisoner over that time. But it was Martha who had told him of his own fate during that year. Ianto had died. In front of Jack. And Jack had never gotten over it.

At the end of the day, after a hard mission, when Jack felt the need to physically check Ianto, make sure they were both still there, Ianto was ok with that. That's when his 'New Jack' was tangible all through the night before the 'Boss Jack', the responsible Jack, resurfaced in the morning.

A light tug on his arm brought Ianto back from his thoughts. Another slightly harder tug brought him down to the mattress to fall asleep against Jack.