Title: Life is All, Part III: Day Aleph-Null
By: amuly
Pairing: Jack/Ianto, mentions of past Jack/everyone
Series: 1) Life is All, Part I: Allons-y Alonso, 2) Life is All Part II: Archival Revival
Word Count: 3,138
Rating: NC-17
Summary: After Ianto’s revival, Jack and Ianto take time to “talk”.
Warnings: ninja!angst
A/N: Ahahaha who loves my obscenely clever title? Aleph-null is the transfinite cardinal set. Aka, the infinity of countable numbers (basically). Get it?!?! B/c it’s not full infinity (Ianto isn’t immortal), but countable numbers infinity (Ianto is back!).

For a moment after the door snicked shut behind them, Jack was worried that by ‘talk’, Ianto meant actually talk. But as Jack eased himself down onto the bed and Ianto toed off his shoes, Jack realized that Ianto was just having him on. As soon as Jack was settled in Ianto rolled on top of him and kissed him soundly.

Jack melted into the kiss. It was everything, everything he needed, everything he had been missing. It was tender and sweet, but insistent and firm – in control. It was Ianto, and Jack loved him for it.

When Ianto pulled away Jack leaned forward to try and recapture his lips, stopped only by a hand on his chest. “Wait, Jack.” Jack looked up into those beautiful blue eyes and the little frown line appearing between his eyebrows. “Just let me run through the facts?”

Without hesitation Jack nodded. Ianto needed to be in control, and right now information was something Jack had and Ianto didn’t.

“What’s the date exactly?”

Jack checked his manipulator. “May twenty-fifth, twenty-ten.”

Ianto paused, mouthing the date to himself. After a moment he regained control. “How’d you do it?”

“The Doctor came,” Jack ignored Ianto’s derisive snort, though he felt the same, “Introduced me to Alonso. I thought maybe the Doctor had a plan, introducing us.” Jack let his hands come up and grip Ianto’s neck, thumbs stroking soothingly. “It’s the only reason I kept him around.”

Ianto sighed, but nodded. “It’s alright, Jack. I know…” he paused, eyes drifting away from Jack and up, as he searched for the right words. “I know who you are.”

“But…” Jack wanted to rush to reassure Ianto. Tell him he was the only one, explain how ruined he was without him. But Ianto cut him off, grinding his hips playfully down onto him.

“Do you want us to actually talk, sir, or would you rather get reacquainted in a more pleasant manner?” He arched an eyebrow, and Jack could almost cry at the sight. His Ianto.

“No, no. Sorry.” Jack pulled Ianto in for another kiss, which he returned eagerly, before continuing. “Alonso’s from a star system next door to the 456. I thought maybe the Doctor wanted me to get revenge, but when I got there, they were all dead.”

Ianto frowned. Jack could see the confusion in his eyes, and it was with a start that Jack remembered that Ianto wasn’t around for their eventual defeat. He didn’t know what Jack had done – oh, Stephen…

But Ianto was nodding his head, encouraging Jack to continue. “Then, I realized that with the antivirus and some nanogenes, I might be able to bring you back. But John…”

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “You got John involved? Well,” he leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest even as he continued to straddle Jack, “had some fun in the meantime, sir?”

Jack growled. “No. John ended up stealing the antivirus, replacing it with saline.” Jack clutched at Ianto’s face. “I didn’t realize until we had already administered the nanogenes. I thought…” he took a shaky breath, “I thought you might not come back.” Or die in my arms, all over again.

Ianto stared back at him for just a moment, eyes searching his. Then he leaned forward and kissed Jack, wrapping his strong arms around Jack’s back and pulling him close. Jack knew that it was enough for Ianto, for now. Now it was time for more important things than words.

The taste of Ianto, his wet tongue sliding in Jack’s mouth, undid Jack. It was so right, and perfect, and… “Ianto, please.” Jack’s voice cracked. He needed them to be together, skin on skin, but he couldn’t move his hands away from Ianto’s face. His fingers moved perpetually over the skin, just feeling touching caressing, anchoring himself to Ianto’s being.

Ianto – good, solid, dependable Ianto – was already pulling down the zips on their trousers and the buttons on their shirts. They parted for a second to get vests over heads and trousers off legs before they were back, clinging to each other as hands roamed the newly exposed expanses of flesh. Jack’s hips were pumping out a rhythm against Ianto, who was responding back in kind. Ianto broke the kiss first, though their hips kept moving. “How do you want…?”

Jack whimpered as he pulled Ianto back to him, peppering his face with kisses. He made a promise to himself then that before the week was out he would have kissed every square inch of Ianto’s skin – and the parts inside he could reach as well. “In me, Ianto.”

A frown appeared on his face as he glanced around. “Lube?”

Jack groaned, glancing around. “My pack. I’ll get it.” Ianto swung a leg off of Jack, and sat down patiently on the bed to wait.

For a moment, Jack didn’t want to tear his eyes away from Ianto, afraid he might…die, or vanish, or fade away as Jack woke up from this perfect dream. Ianto must have sensed his hesitation, because a lopsided grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Not going anywhere, sir. I’m here.”

With a start, Jack realized that he wouldn’t have minded it if they had just talked. He hadn’t heard that deep voice scraping over those Welsh vowels in so long, that each syllable was like a gentle caress. He nodded, before turning to his back and rummaging around for the lube. As he turned back to the bed and saw Ianto lying there, stroking his half-hard erection lazily, he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.

“Still here.”

Jack grinned, climbing up the bed to crouch before Ianto. He batted Ianto’s hands away and replaced them with his own, stroking slowly. Ianto’s eyes fluttered closed, and he hummed approvingly. Jack’s thumb reached up and lightly caressed one of those eyelids, revealing in the feel of those long lashes beneath his fingers, the way the firm skin resisted his tugging. “Are you okay? For this, I mean?”

Ianto’s eyes opened and he smiled at Jack’s concern. “Feeling better than new, really.” His hand flickered up to touch his cheek, where the cut had disappeared. “Nanogenes were quite the wonder.”

Jack slid a finger over Ianto’s cheek, feeling no trace of the cut that had marred it when he died. He pressed the tube of lubricant into Ianto’s hands, kissing him soundly before rolling over onto his back. “Will you do it?”

Ianto’s face appeared above him, still smiling. “Of course.” They didn’t always prepare the other during sex. Sometimes Jack would open himself up, or leave Ianto to his own devices as he slicked up his own cock. It was more efficient, really, if they just took care of themselves. But tonight wasn’t about efficiency. Tonight, Jack wanted to feel every inch of Ianto during every second of the night. He didn’t want to forgo a single opportunity for contact.

As Ianto’s first digit entered him, Jack breathed out slowly, eyes trained on Ianto’s face. He refused to close his eyes for even a second of this union. Ianto’s face was pulled tight in concentration as he pushed a second digit alongside the first, thrusting them in and out repeatedly. As he scissored them, Jack spread his legs wider and canted his hips up. Ianto looked Jack in the eyes, then, a familiar wicked gleam in his own. With the next thrust in, Ianto’s fingers pressed against Jack’s prostate. He moaned, hips thrusting in the air, eyes fluttering. But he didn’t let his eyes fall closed – not for a moment. He needed to see Ianto. He wasn’t going to lose another second.

Ianto pulled his fingers out, then, hands going to grip at Jack’s thighs and pull him closer to Ianto’s hips. Jack reached a hand forward to clutch at Ianto’s forearm. There was a pause as each man looked at the other. Then, Ianto was entering him with aching slowness.

It was…Jack’s mouth fell open, stretching wide in a silent scream. It was Ianto. Ianto’s face was tight with arousal, in that all-so-familiar expression. He was still for only a moment before he pulled back, entering Jack again with deliberate slowness. “How do you,” Ianto grunted as he pulled out and thrust back in, “want it?”

Jack tossed his head from side to side, hand a death-grip on Ianto’s forearm. “Any way. Any way. Just…you.” Jack groaned as Ianto seemed to understand the meaning behind his garbled words, and fell into firm, deliberate thrusts at their favorite pace.

Sweat started to bead on Ianto’s upper lip, and Jack tugged at his forearm, silently urging him down. With a grunt, Ianto changed position so that he was covering Jack, kissing him gently. Jack lapped at the sweat before plunging his tongue into Ianto’s mouth. The speed of his thrusts sped up, and Jack moaned, lifting his legs to wrap around Ianto’s back. “Yes, Ianto, yes, more…”

Then Ianto’s hands were there, squeezing Jack’s arse, lifting it to change the angle. Jack gasped as Ianto thrust against his prostate, each movement sending a spark of electricity straight to his cock. He wasn’t about to come, though: not until Ianto did.

As his thrusts sped up, Jack reveled in feeling Ianto, in paying careful attention to every minute change in expression and body. His breaths coming in shorter little puffs, warming Jack’s ear, told him that Ianto was getting close. The way Ianto’s index fingers both twitched even in their grip on Jack’s arse were another sign of his impending orgasm. But Ianto’s biggest tell was the little noise that came from the back of his throat: a sad, little throaty whine. Jack had missed that noise.

As Ianto came, Jack wrapped a hand around his cock and jerked himself to completion. He came within a couple of strokes: he had been on the edge since the moment Ianto had entered him. With another, more manly groan, Ianto pulled himself out of Jack and rolled to the side. Jack reached out and laid a hand across Ianto’s stomach, refusing to abandon contact, even for a moment as they caught their breaths.

            After a minute, Jack turned to Ianto, gazing at his sated frame. He frowned. Was Ianto… “Ianto, are you…are you okay?”

            “’M fine.”

            Jack couldn’t be positive, but he thought he heard Ianto sniff softly. He rolled over to his side of the bed, fumbling with the bedside lamp until he managed to flick it on. Rolling back over, he put one arm over Ianto and pushed himself up. Ianto’s face was wet, eyes red.

            “Ianto, what?”

            “’M fine, Jack. Sorry. Just…” Ianto smiled tightly up at Jack. “Bit overwhelming, is all. I just died a few hours ago – to me, at least – and now I’m back, with a second chance…” his voice broke, and he closed his eyes, tilting his head away from Jack. Jack reached out with his free hand and gently pushed Ianto’s chin until he was looking up at Jack again.

            “Hey, hey, it’s okay. Sorry, I was just…I didn’t think.” Jack could have kicked himself. He hadn’t thought about what this would be like for Ianto – he had just been so desperate to have him back. Not that he regretted it, and he knew that Ianto didn’t either. But Ianto obviously needed some time to adjust.

            Ianto took a breath, looking like he was trying to steady himself. He managed to force a shaky grin as he looked up at Jack. “Well, for the best, all this. At least I have a chance for some better last words. ‘In a thousand years time, you won’t remember me.’? How daft is that?”

            Jack’s eyes widened. “Do…do you want to…talk, about it?” A cold lump of fear was settling in Jack’s stomach at the thought of revisiting that day.

            But Ianto was shaking his head, even as the tears continued to flow down his cheeks. “It’s fine. I’m fine. Just need a bit.”

            Jack nodded, settling down on the pillows and pulling Ianto close. Automatically Ianto pressed his face into Jack’s neck, and Jack threw a leg over Ianto’s thigh. Tears sprang into Jack’s own eyes, then. Such a little gesture and yet…this was them. This was what they did together, and now Ianto was back, and they could be ‘them’ for just a little while longer.

            Jack drifted off to sleep more quickly than he had in almost a year.

**

             “I know, Gwen. But he’s not like that.”

            Jack shifted. Ianto wasn’t in bed with him, was the first thing he noticed. He glanced at the clock: three am. In the eerie light filtering through the curtains from the street, Jack gazed around the room. The bathroom door was shut, and there was a strip of light coming out from under the door.

            “No, Gwen, I don’t want him to. … Because he’d just be saying it for me!”

            Jack frowned. Quietly, he tossed the thin bed sheets off – getting too hot for much bedding, now – and padded across the hotel room in bare feet. Settling himself next to the bathroom door, Jack listened in.

            “It was a mistake, Gwen. A stupid mistake. I should never have told him I love him: not when he can’t love me back. Of course, I suppose I can be excused for not thinking straight. I was dying, after all.”

            Figures. That was such an Ianto thing to do. He had wanted to talk about his deathbed confessional, so what did he do? Talk about something else he had said – in this case, his last words. Jack growled low in his throat. Well, if Ianto was going to be infuriatingly Ianto, then Jack was just going to have to be infuriatingly Jack.

            Without another thought, Jack flung open the bathroom door, stormed through it, and swept Ianto up into a fireman’s carry. As Ianto yelped with the indignity of the situation, Jack plucked the phone from his grasp. “Gwen?”

            “Jack!” Gwen’s voice was flustered, tired, but with just a hint of amusement.

            “Gwen, sorry to interrupt, but it seems Ianto was busy being introverted and bottling up his problems. We’re going to get busy rectifying the situation.”

            “Alright. Give my love to Ianto.”

            “Night Gwen.”

            “Night, Jack.”

            Jack flipped the phone shut and tossed it over his shoulder, ignoring where it landed. He then flipped Ianto onto the bed, taking a bit more care as to where he landed. He pointed a finger accusingly at the disgruntled man lying starkers on the bed before him. “You were worried about telling me that you loved me.”

            Ianto huffed, rolling his eyes. “Well, you were eavesdropping.”

            Jack grinned. All tenderness aside, he had missed this, too: the fighting, the arguing, the completely insubordinate nature that Ianto hid behind polite “sirs” and delicious coffee. 

            “Ianto. You said I can’t love you?”

            Ianto huffed again, glancing to the side. But beneath all the posturing, Jack could see that Ianto was terrified. “Well, you can’t.”

            It came out as no more than a whisper, but the words sent a jolt through Jack. He reached out and grabbed Ianto’s shoulder roughly. “Who are you to tell me that I can’t love you?”

            Ianto turned to face Jack, eyes blazing. “Well you can’t. You can’t, because I’m going to die, one day – die for real. For good. And you can’t love me, knowing that you’ll have to live on after that. Forever. You can’t love anyone, Jack.”

            Jack’s first instinct was to pull away, to leave, to find some rooftop to brood on. But this was Ianto, and he was going to make damn sure Ianto understood how he felt. “But I do, Ianto. I’ve told you, before.”

            But Ianto was already shaking his head. “I know, Jack. You love me. The same way you love Gwen, and Tosh, and Owen…”

            “No!”

            “Well then the same way you loved Alex. And John, and Michael, and Rob, and Julia, and the twins…”

            “No!”

            But Ianto kept going. It seemed that Jack had taken the lid off years of insecurities, and now Ianto had to get it all out. “It’s what you do, Jack. You love. You love everything and everybody, with all their horrible little idiosyncrasies and faults, and it makes you bloody Christ-like, with how much you love, but you know what it makes the rest of us, Jack?” Ianto rushed on, not giving Jack a moment to respond. “It makes us apostles. It makes us just…just another name, in the line of people Jack has loved. When you love everybody, to love one means nothing.”

Jack grabbed Ianto’s face and held it between his hands. “I love you, Ianto Jones. I need you.  More than anybody I’ve ever met. I. Need. You.” He paused, giving the words a moment to sink in. “Do you understand that, Ianto Jones? I need you. I need you because I’m not perfect, I’m not Christ-like; I’m nothing even close. I was a terrible person, once upon a time. The Doctor started me going the right way. But you, Ianto.” Jack pulled Ianto into a hug – an awkward one, considering Jack was crouching on the floor and Ianto was sitting on the bed. “You’ve made me into a better man. You were the one who reformed Flat Holm; you were the one who showed me how to be compassionate, and strong, and do what nobody else would do, just because it was right.”

Jack pulled back, still holding onto Ianto’s shoulders as he looked him the eye. “That day. That day we stood up to the 456: it was because of you.”

Ianto avoided the eye contact, opting to stare down at some undefined point on his thigh instead. “Remind me of that, next time I’m looking to be noble.”

            “Do you know why I didn’t say it?”

            Ianto’s eyes flickered up to Jack, but he just shrugged. Jack knew Ianto would follow his abrupt change in topic – he always did.

            “It was goodbye. If I said it, it would be goodbye. And I couldn’t…” He swallowed around the lump forming in his throat. “I couldn’t let it be. I had to believe that somehow you’d be okay.” Ianto nodded, eyes returning to their downcast focus. Jack pressed in, kissing Ianto softly. Their lips were still touching when Jack mumbled, “Let me love you, Ianto Jones.”

            He pressed Ianto back onto the bed, crawling on top of him, and Ianto let him. That time, as they made love, Jack took Ianto, moving inside him in smooth, powerful movements. He tried to convey in action everything that Ianto refused to believe in words. And when they collapsed, each other’s names on their lips, Jack thought maybe Ianto believed him.

            As Jack woke up that morning, the first thing he noticed was the warm body next to him, and the smell it gave off. It was a combination of male and sex and sweat he hadn’t smelled in almost a year. “Ianto,” he mumbled, slinging an arm out. It landed on the warm body, which curled instinctively into him.

            “Jack.”

            Slowly Jack opened his eyes, and was met by two beautiful blue eyes blinking sleepily up at him. “Hey.”

            “Hey.”

            Jack beamed down at Ianto, the warmth in his chest spreading quickly down to his groin. He ignored it, for the moment, instead opting to kiss Ianto on the forehead and press his nose to his hair, breathing deep. “Best night's sleep I’ve had since…”

            Ianto titled his head up and silenced him with a quick, chaste kiss. Jack didn’t even try to deepen it: Ianto hated morning breath, and categorically refused any open-mouthed kisses before teeth were brushed and mouthwash swished. As they pulled apart, Jack grinned some more. He loved knowing the young man in bed with him. He loved the comfort of Ianto knowing him, and he loved the little comfortable dances they did around each other’s idiosyncrasies.

            “What’s on the agenda for today?”

            Jack yawned, stretched, and swung his legs out of bed. He scratched his thigh as he padded over to the bathroom, intent on relieving his bladder and getting his mouth hygiene up to acceptable Ianto-standards. “Well, Lois is taking Alonso shopping for his clothes, so I figured we could go to your storage unit and get a few things out of there.” He flushed the toilet, moving over to the sink. In the mirror he saw Ianto join him, leaning on the bathroom doorframe in all his early morning, ruffled glory. “Just suits, clothes, that sort of thing. We can worry about everything else when we get you a flat.”

            Ianto nodded, running a hand across Jack’s lower back as he moved to use the toilet himself. With one quick peek at Ianto’s arse, Jack dabbed a pile of toothpaste on his brush and went to work. “It’s weird…” Ianto mumbled as he flushed the toilet. “It’s like when I first went out on my own. Have to find a flat, get a car, move all my stuff, get a job…”

            Jack spit, rinsing his mouth out and wiping it on a tissue. “Yeah, except this time you already have a job waiting for you, and someone to christen your new apartment with.” Jack waggled his eyebrows and pulled Ianto into him. “Kiss?”

            Ianto smiled, but pushed him back gently. “Mouthwash, first. And I still have to brush my teeth.”

            Jack sighed, but contented himself with smacking Ianto on the arse and eliciting a yelp and a glare before he darted back out into the bedroom. “I’m going to call Gwen,” he shouted over the running water in the sink, “And ask when we can get to the storage unit. After that, you and I can spend the day flat-hunting.”

            Jack fumbled with his phone for a moment, listening to Ianto’s eight-minute oral hygiene routine. He spent two minutes, thirty seconds brushing; three minutes flossing; one minute with the mouthwash; and one minute, thirty seconds of miscellaneous rinsing in between. Jack had found that out when he had bothered Ianto to the point of irritation while he was trying to brush his teeth. He smiled, allowing himself a moment to stare at Ianto, before shaking himself out of his reverie and dialing Gwen. 

             “Gwen Cooper, who is this?”

            “Gwen, it’s Jack.”

            “Oh. Sorry! Strange number, and all that.”

            Jack grinned at the phone. “Hey, I was wondering when someone would have the chance to take me and Ianto down to the storage unit to get some of his clothes and…” Jack’s mind briefly flickered to the personal coffee maker and box of sex toys that were in Ianto’s flat “…and…personal effects.”

            Jack could hear Gwen munching on something in the pause before her reply. “I can take you boys down after lunch, Rift willing. I’ve got a few things that need sorting first, but then I’m free.”

            Jack checked his watch, then grinned. Eight am. Plenty of time before Gwen was coming to pick them up, then. Jack rushed into the bathroom and grabbed at the mouthwash, swishing it until Ianto nodded in approval. He spit, rinsed his mouth out twice (another bit of Ianto oral hygiene directions) then turned to smile at him with a broad grin.

            “Kisses?”

            Ianto pulled him in for a sloppy kiss in response. Jack moaned, reaching up and griping Ianto’s head, reacquainting himself with Ianto’s taste, and tongue, and lips. Ianto bit down on his bottom lip, eliciting another moan from Jack, before he pulled away. “What did Gwen say?”

            Jack didn’t let Ianto leave his arms, instead dropping his hands to Ianto’s waist and peppering light kisses along Ianto’s jaw. “She said,” kiss, “we’d go today,” kiss, “but not until,” kiss, “after lunch.” Jack pulled away, wicked glint in his eyes. “So we have hours of time to…fill.”

            Ianto looked like he was trying to suppress a grin, but failing miserably. “I suppose there’s nothing we could do to help out? Make ourselves useful?”

            Jack shook his head, leaning in to pepper Ianto’s face with more kisses. “Nothing at all. Suppose you’ll just have to make yourself useful from the comfort of this hotel room.”

            Ianto pulled away, finally succeeding in escaping Jack’s arms and lips. “Shame, that.” He wrinkled up his nose. “Suppose I should take a shower, then.”

            Jack blinked at the abrupt change in topic, watching as Ianto wandered over to turn the shower faucet on. He leaned over – giving Jack a beautiful view of his arse – and reached for something, before walking back to Jack. He pressed a small bottle into his hand and raised an eyebrow. “I personally think we should take full advantage of all the amenities the hotel offers.”

            Jack opened his hand to look down at the bottle. It was oil-based lubricant. “Oh. Oh.” Jack looked back up at Ianto, who was looking thoroughly pleased with himself.

            “Care to join me, Jack? It would be more efficient.”

            Jack swallowed. Hard. Oh, the way that man managed to wrap his tongue around words, making every one of them sound like pure sex. The only response Jack could manage was slamming his mouth into Ianto’s and pushing him back to the shower. They stepped in together, mouths not leaving each other, until Jack went to uncap the lubricant.

            “Wait, Jack.” Ianto pulled away. Jack frowned. Ianto was doing an awful lot of pulling away, this morning. Then again, Jack himself was being rather needy, this morning. Ianto wiped a hand down his face, water droplets clinging to his eyelashes. “Shower, actual shower, first. I really do need one.” His nose wrinkled again. “And it wouldn’t do you harm to wash up, either.”

            Jack considered that. It had been a while since his last real shower. Back on the transport ship had been the last time, and that was over a week ago. So, reluctantly Jack set down the bottle of lubricant and picked up the little box of soap the hotel provided. He unwrapped it, passing the soap to Ianto and throwing the box out of the shower.

            Ianto immediately turned Jack around and started washing his back. A whimper escaped Jack’s throat as he felt Ianto’s sure hands methodically lathering every inch of him. He even squatted down and did Jack’s thighs and calves, as Jack focused on restraining himself from thrusting his arse backwards and begging him to just get on with it.

            With a tap to his foot, Ianto signaled for Jack to turn around. He obliged, and Ianto and the soap made their way back up Jack’s body. Jack let a hand come to rest on Ianto’s shoulder as the young man concentrated on his task. He couldn’t tell if it was the temperature of the water or his state of arousal that was making a flush spread down Ianto’s neck and to his chest, but judging by the semi that Ianto was already sporting, it was more the latter than the former. 

            Ianto stood up, paying careful attention to Jack’s cock and balls. Jack twitched involuntarily as Ianto rubbed the soap over his perineum and back, but Ianto just shook his head and kissed him lightly. “Not yet,” he murmured against Jack’s lips.

            Once Jack was finished Ianto passed the soap over to him and turned around, hands pressed up against the shower wall. Jack started forward, but just as he laid a hand on Ianto’s shoulder, the young man turned around and glared. “And stay on task, Jack.”

            Jack grinned, snaking one hand to pinch Ianto’s arse before soaping up his back. It earned him another glare, but Jack could see Ianto’s cock twitch at the contact. Jack lathered Ianto up in the same careful manner Ianto had, if perhaps slightly more quickly. When he dropped down to his knees to wash Ianto’s thighs and calves, he couldn’t help himself. His tongue darted out and licked at the water droplets trickling down the crack of Ianto’s arse.

            “Jack! Washing up!”

            Jack groaned. “Just a little, Ianto.” He pulled apart Ianto’s pert cheeks and stuck his tongue in, lapping at the furled entrance in front of him. Ianto moaned, hips pressing backwards.

            “No, Jack…”

            Jack licked again, more firmly. He pressed his tongue against the entranceway, not quite firm enough to press in. He heard Ianto’s breath hitch above him, and finally, after a pause:

            “Just a little.”

            Jack grinned, wasting no time in pressing his tongue forward and breaching that tight hole. Ianto groaned and pressed back, both hands still firmly splayed on the tile wall in front of him. Jack worked his tongue in and out of Ianto, pausing in his rhythm to give the outer skin a firm lick, or swirl his tongue around the inside ring of muscles. Too soon, Ianto was reaching back, pushing Jack away.

            “Alright, enough, Jack.”

            Jack hopped to his feet, thoroughly pleased with himself. He turned Ianto around to kiss him, hands straying over Ianto’s torso and continuing with the wash. “Good?”

            Ianto kissed him back for a second, but then shook his head. “Hair. Hair, then…”

            Jack reached for the shampoo so fast he knocked it off its little shelf. Ianto laughed as they scrambled around on the floor of the shower, arses in the air, to try and pick it up. Jack flicked water out of his eyes and looked over at him. His heart caught in his chest at the sound of that laugh, at the sight of that smiling face, completely relaxed and carefree.

            Finally succeeding in grabbing the shampoo, Ianto straightened, gesturing to Jack. “Come on. Faster we get hair washed…”

            “I know, I know,” he grumbled. His grumbling quickly turned into a sigh of contentment as Ianto scrubbed strong fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp. “Mm. Can we shower like this every day?”

            “Not with our job.” Behind him, Ianto was rinsing his hair carefully, keeping one hand cupped over Jack’s forehead so as not to let any soap run down into his eyes. Jack had a brief flash of Ianto as a father, tending patiently to a pile of squirming kids. He pushed the image aside.

            Ianto handed the bottle over to Jack, and it was his turn to wash Ianto’s hair. He did it carefully, massaging Ianto’s scalp until the younger man was a pile of gooey contentment pressed against his chest. “Mm.”

            Jack shook Ianto teasingly. “No falling asleep.”

            Against his front, Ianto mock-yawned and snuggled into Jack’s chest. “Oops. Tired me out. Think I’ll go back to bed now. Sorry, sir.”

            Jack snatched for the bottle of lubricant, waving it in front of Ianto’s face. “Iaaantoo…” he sing-songed. “Come on.” When Ianto persisted on faking sleep, Jack pressed his lips to Ianto’s ear, and whispered, “I need you to fuck me, Ianto.” He nuzzled at the side of Ianto’s face and nipped at his earlobe before releasing it and whispering again: “I need you inside of me, fucking me hard, pounding me into the tile, your hot cock deep, deep – mmph!”

            Ianto had apparently decided that it was no longer prudent of him to pretend to sleep, and pressed into Jack, snogging him soundly. There was a moment of fumbling as Jack passed Ianto the lube and turned himself around, pressing his hands against the cool tiles. But then Ianto was curled around his back, hands stroking over Jack’s nipples.

            “Ianto…Ianto, come on…”

            Ianto was teasing him: nipping at his neck, pinching his nipples, grinding his hard cock into Jack’s crack. Jack pushed back, urging Ianto on. Then Ianto’s hot breath was at his ear, whispering a single word that went straight to Jack’s cock. “Beg.”

             What little self-restraint Jack had left – if any – snapped, and a litany of supplications burst forth from his mouth. “Please, please Ianto. I have to feel you inside me. Please fuck me, Ianto. I’ll do anything you want, if you just fuck me into the wall, please…”

            Two of Ianto’s fingers pressed inside him, lube coating him well in spite of the water still beating down on them. Jack instantly relaxed himself, and Ianto took note of it, pulling his fingers out for a moment before adding a third. He pressed in quickly, probing until Jack felt a spark go through him as Ianto found his prostate. “Don’t, Ianto. Can’t…”

            Ianto obediently pulled his fingers away from the spot, finishing up preparing him with a few quick spreads of his fingers. 

            “Good?” He mumbled, pressing a kiss to Jack’s neck. Jack nodded, craning his neck back to meet Ianto’s lips. As they kissed, Ianto thrust in, causing Jack to gasp into his mouth. Ianto pulled back and thrust back in, grunting. “Tight, Jack. You comfortable?”

            Jack nodded. Ianto had prepared him enough, and there wasn’t any pain. Just the fullness of Ianto inside of him, pressing in further and further. “Ah, Ianto…” Jack lifted one leg, resting it on the ledge of the tub. With the new position, Ianto was able to drive in deeper on the next thrust, pressing against that perfect bundle of nerves inside Jack and setting his body on fire. “There!” he gasped.

            Ianto’s fingers slipped on his hips as he thrust, coming back up and leaving indentations in the wet skin as he tried to hold on. Jack’s palms were cold against the tiles: a marked contrast to every other inch of his body that felt too hot. His stomach quivered and cock twitched as Ianto’s relentless thrusts brought him closer to the edge.

“Ianto, please…”

One hand left Jack’s hips and reached around, taking him firmly in hand and stroking. Jack let his head fall back, coming to rest on Ianto’s shoulder. His eyes were closed against the rain from the shower, and so it came as a surprise when he felt Ianto’s warm, wet lips press down against his. He gasped, body tensing as he came, come splattering over Ianto’s fingers and onto the tile wall.

Ianto grunted, but held on for a few more strokes. Jack moaned at the overstimulation, pressing his hips back against Ianto to try and bring him to completion. With a whimpering cry, Ianto thrust one last time inside Jack, come filling him.

The sounds of their panting overwhelmed even the sounds of the running water, and they stilled, coming back down to themselves. Jack brought his leg down from the edge of the tub carefully as Ianto pulled out, but not away. Jack let one of his hands fall down from the wall of the shower to caress Ianto’s flank. He finally patted it decisively, turning around and kissing Ianto’s swollen lips. “Good?”

Ianto laughed shakily. “Great.” A shiver went through him, and Ianto glared over Jack’s shoulder at the shower. “Cold, now. Come on.”

Jack turned around and shut the faucets, stopping the stream of rapidly cooling water. He moved quickly to step out of the shower before Ianto, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around himself, then reaching for another one and holding it out for Ianto. He shot Jack a look as he stepped out of the shower, but allowed Jack to wrap him up in the towel and kiss him on the top of his wet head.

“You’re treating me like glass,” he pointed out.

Jack waved the comment aside, dragging Ianto back out into the hotel room proper and over to the bed. He opened the closet door and was pleased to find two complimentary dressing gowns in there, and took them off their hangers for himself and Ianto. “I don’t let glass fuck me,” he said as he reached the bed. Ianto turned a brilliant shade of red at that, and Jack winked. “Bad experience.”

As Jack settled down on the bed and crawled under the duvet, Ianto opened his mouth to broach the subject again. Jack silenced him with a firm kiss. “Just indulge me, okay? Just for a little while.”

Ianto’s expression softened, and he finally nodded his assent. “So,” he said, changing the subject, “Gwen said after lunch?”

Jack nodded. “And it’s only,” he checked his watch, “nine o’clock.” A wicked leer crossed his face. “What could we do until lunch?”

Ianto groaned and fell back against the pillows.

**

             One delicious room-service lunch and after-lunch blowjob later, Ianto and Jack were dressed and heading down to the hotel lobby. They stood out front, peering through the traffic for Gwen.

            As they waited, Alonso and Lois jogged up the steps of the hotel, laughing together.

            “You mean, there are actual aliens that look like that?”

            Alonso shrugged. “How was I supposed to know that ‘cactus’ couldn’t speak? I got along fine with someone that looked like his cousin!”

            The two erupted into a fit of giggles again, ending abruptly as they caught sight of Jack and Ianto. Lois’ eyes flickered between Jack, Ianto, and Alonso, before finally settling on Alonso. “I’ll just, take these upstairs?” She lifted the multitudes of shopping bags in her hands. Alonso nodded distractedly, eyes flickering to Jack like he wanted to say something, and avoiding Ianto as much as he could.

            “You and Lois seem to be getting along well.” Jack arched an eyebrow.

            Alonso blushed profusely. “She’s nice. Helped me find all sorts of clothes fit for this planet.”

            Jack nodded, watching Ianto out of the corner of his eyes. He could see a muscle in his jaw jumping, faintly. Jack found it downright cute. Of course, Jack also knew he had to diffuse the situation quickly. “That’s good. We’re waiting for Gwen. So…” Jack widened his eyes at Alonso, who took the hint and started to walk past them.

            “Sounds good. Alright. I’ll just…Lois…” and with that, Alonso disappeared through the revolving doors of the hotel.

            “Awfully meek, isn’t he?”

            Jack knew that attempt-at-casual tone of Ianto’s all too well. He quirked an eyebrow at him, and was met by a quirked eyebrow in response. He grinned, just a bit, at the situation. “Come on, Ianto. Cut the kid some slack.”

            Ianto shoved his hands into his trousers, clearly pouting. “Just don’t see why you had to go get yourself a companion. Not even a year dead and you’ve gone and…”

            “Ianto!” Jack sighed. “The only reason I kept him around in the first place was because I thought he could help me get you back! Otherwise, he would have been a one-night shag.”

            “I suppose that’s meant to make me feel better about the whole thing?”

            Jack sighed again. He could tell that Ianto was half-joking, but it was the part of him that was half-serious that Jack worried over. He gripped Ianto by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes. “It was you I was thinking of the whole time: you’re the reason I made Alonso take me to the 456 home world, you’re the reason I kept him around to get the antivirus and the nanogenes, you’re the reason why I bothered talking to John at all, in order for him to fix my Vortex Manipulator. It’s only you, Ianto. Always.”

            Big, blue eyes stared into Jack’s balefully, before Ianto nodded. “It’s alright Jack. I know.” They leaned in and kissed, Jack trying to make sure Ianto understood how he felt – even what he couldn’t express in words.

            “Oi! You two!”

            They broke apart, Jack grinning as Gwen waved to them from her car. “Come on! I’ve only got two hours before the program is predicting a spike over in Splott.”

            Jack strode forward, Ianto falling into place a step behind. It was supremely comforting, feeling Ianto’s presence behind him, always ready as “support”: whatever kind of support his old job title might entail.

            Gwen greeted them through the rear-view mirror, eyes crinkling up as they landed on Ianto. “How are you, Ianto? Everything working okay?”

            Ianto rolled his eyes. “Perfectly fine. As Jack has made sure to test.”

            Gwen pointed a finger back over the seat. “Don’t go wearing him out, Jack. Poor thing’s just been through an ordeal.”

            Jack and Ianto shared a look. “Ordeal”. That was one way of putting it.

            Gwen chatted happily with the two of them as she whisked them across town, to the block of storage units that Torchwood had rented out forever. She told them about how Torchwood was doing, how Mickey had – to everyone’s surprise, even Martha’s – managed to improve upon Tosh’s old Rift-predictor program. The accuracy of the predictions lead to more concrete hours for the team as a whole, turning the whole thing into a much more manageable job. Of course, the Rift still spat out incredible things that the team had to deal with, but the varying experience between the lot of them made them quite capable of handling most things.

            “And now with Alonso, we have someone with extensive experience with alien worlds and cultures. I imagine he might be able to help out on some of the tech, too: perhaps not the computers, but the engineering, what with his experience on space ships and all.”

            Ianto coughed rather dramatically, and Jack had to rest a placating hand on his thigh. “That’s an…interesting thought, Gwen. We’ll have to see how he does in the field.” Jack shot Ianto a reproachful look that said behave. Ianto just widened his eyes innocently. Jack snogged Ianto, just for good measure.

            Finally they pulled up to the unit, Ianto hopping out of the car first. He blinked as he looked at his storage unit. “It’s…you used one of the smaller ones.”

            Jack saw Gwen wince, glancing between the two of them before smiling apologetically. “I…you really didn’t have all that much, Ianto. Dear. We didn’t need any more space than this.”

            Ianto swallowed thickly. His eyes flickered to Jack’s before staring resolutely ahead. “I guess that’s…yeah.” He watched as Gwen unlocked the unit. “Who packed me up, then?”

            Jack’s heart froze in his chest. He stared at Gwen, who had stilled and not turned around. After a moment’s pause, Gwen finally said: “I did. Rhys helped, with the heavier stuff. Bed and the like.”

            Jack tried to look away, but Ianto had already turned to him and locked eyes. “Where were you?”

            Jack took a breath. Before he could answer, Gwen butted in. “He was gone.” With a jerk she pushed the heavy doors up, until they continued their slide automatically. The loud clanging of the metal interrupted any further conversation. Ianto and Jack both sucked in a gasp at the sight before them: the entirety of Ianto Jones’ life, packed away in Torchwood-issue boxes.

            Jack took a step forward, first. “Gwen, why don’t you go to the left, we’ll go to the right. We’re looking for some clothes, and…” he glanced over at Ianto, “I was thinking we could get the coffee maker out, too?”

            Ianto, having apparently gotten over the shock of seeing his life packed away, smiled shakily over at Jack. “Sure.”

            Gwen did as instructed, turning down one aisle of boxes while Jack and Ianto started down the other, As they walked, glancing through boxes as they went, Ianto hissed: “I can’t believe you didn’t pack up my things.”

            Jack shrugged, not eager to have this conversation. “I was…upset. I couldn’t stand to be around anything that reminded me of you.” Jack decided that now wasn’t the best time to try and explain to Ianto about Stephen, and everything else that had happened.

            “Could have done it to protect my privacy, at least!” Ianto nudged Jack, and he turned around. Ianto was holding open a box, and as Jack peered in, he grinned. Glancing up at Ianto, Jack noted that he was less than amused. “Rhys or Gwen packed this up, Jack!”

            Jack shrugged, unembarrassed. “We had a healthy sex life. What’s there to be ashamed of?”

            Ianto dug a hand into the box, removing it with lacy red panties dangling from one finger. He raised an eyebrow.

            Jack just grinned. “I stand by my earlier opinion.”

            Ianto sighed, closing the box back up. As he made to continue forward, Jack stopped him. “Hey, why don’t you…”

            “We’re supposed to be finding me clothes to wear in public. Not fetish-wear.” In spite of his protests, Jack was happy to see Ianto take the box and tuck it under one arm. 

            “Found the coffee-maker!” Gwen’s voice reached them through piles of boxes. “How you boys doing?”

            Jack opened his mouth, grinning wildly at Ianto. He wasn’t really going to tell Gwen what was in the box, but it was fun to see Ianto squirm. “Nothing over here, yet!” he finally said. Ianto nodded approvingly at him.

            Five minutes later, Ianto let out a triumphant cry. “Ties! And belts! The rest of it must be…aha!”

            Ianto stood on tiptoes, reaching past a pile of boxers for a long, hanging bag. He unzipped it, grinned, and pulled out a suit to show Jack.

            “The cute suit!” Jack bounded over and kissed Ianto, smacking their lips loudly.

            Gwen appeared from around a pile of boxes to their left, craning her neck. “Found the clothes?”

            “Yup.” Ianto was zipping up the bag, smiling smugly to himself. “Here, Gwen. We’ll need some help with all of these.”

            Jack passed the box he was holding – his and Ianto’s special clothing – to Gwen first. “You can start with this.”

            Ianto’s eyes widened and expression looked panicked, but Gwen just nodded and bounded off in the direction of the car. “Jack, if she opens that…”

            Jack took the bag from Ianto and picked up another box filled with clothes. “Like you said: she had to have packed them away in the first place.”

            Ianto groaned, but turned back to the boxes of clothing as Jack followed Gwen out to the car.

 

            Jack squeezed Ianto’s arse through the beautiful pinstripe trousers. “Jack, no.”

            He nuzzled closer to Ianto, wrapping his arms around his waist and rubbing his nose against Ianto’s ear. “Come on…”

            Jack let his hands drift lower, lightly caressing the front of Ianto’s trousers. Ianto was responding, but he still shrugged Jack off and stepped away, annoyance written clearly across his face. “Jack, no. We are not christening every flat we look at.”

            Jack pouted. He had thought flat hunting with Ianto would be rather like “weevil hunting”. Unfortunately, Ianto actually wanted to look at the flats. He supposed it was rather practical of Ianto, but come on: they had the hotel room, what was the rush? They could spend some time “flat hunting” before they actually took up flat hunting. But seeing how irascible Ianto was being, Jack backed off, holding his hands palms out in defeat. “Alright, alright.”

            For a moment Jack stared around the flat, hands shoved in his pockets. “This one is nice, though.”

            Ianto hummed noncommittally, bending down to stare at something near the floorboards. Jack noticed it was an electrical outlet. He sighed. Normally he appreciated Ianto’s thoroughness, but right now, it wasn’t exactly working to his advantage.

            Ianto straightened, sweeping his eyes around the room and counting silently to himself. “So, four…” he walked past Jack, without even an accidental bump or caress. As Jack moved to follow, Ianto’s voice floated into him from the kitchen and living room. “Four more in the living room, three in the kitchen…” Before Jack had reached the bedroom door Ianto pushed past him again, moving to the master bath. “And two in here.”

            After a moment’s pause, Jack realized that Ianto was staying in the bathroom. He cautiously followed, peering through the door at Ianto. He was staring down at the sinks – both of them – a painful look on his face. Finally he noticed Jack, glancing up at him. “It’s just…” he gestured at the sinks. “Don’t think I’ll really be needing ‘his and her’ sinks in the master bath.” He sighed helplessly.

            Jack took a step forward and reached for Ianto’s hand, stroking a thumb over it reassuringly. “You know, I do plan on living with you this time around.” Ianto looked surprised and…something else, so Jack hurried on. “Can’t live back at the Hub. Gwen didn’t rebuild my old room, and all.”

            Ianto nodded. “Probably didn’t even know it was there.”

            Jack tightened his grip on Ianto’s hand, pulling him a few centimeters closer. “I can live with you, right?” He pulled the hand to his chest. “And I promise to pick up my unmentionables off the floor.”

            A curious expression flickered across Ianto’s face, before he settled on a hesitant smile. “Are you sure? Wouldn’t be any trouble, finding you a place, too. I could do all the legwork for you.”

            Jack silenced his suggestions with a wave of his free hand. “I don’t want a place separate from you.”

            Ianto, apparently intent on ignoring the seriousness of the situation, tried for one last stab at levity. “Just want me available to shag twenty-four seven.”

            Wrapping an arm around Ianto’s waist, Jack pulled him close, trapping their joined hands between their bodies. “I want you around twenty-four seven.” With that, Jack titled his head and kissed Ianto. He retuned the kiss eagerly, almost desperately.

            When they broke apart, Ianto turned quickly away, making a big scene of examining the shower and tub. Jack let him have a moment to compose himself, standing in the doorway patiently.

            “Well,” Ianto finally said, turning around. His eyes were shining, overly large grin terribly suppressed. “Between the amount of pre-installed outlets and the guest bedroom,” Ianto placed his hands on his hips, obviously trying to regain some semblance of his serious consideration persona, “and it being only a fifteen minute walk from the Hub,” he nodded. “I quite like this one.”

            Jack’s eyes widened. “This one?”

            Ianto raised both eyebrows. “Yeah.”

            With intent, Jack started forward, only to be stopped by Ianto holding out his hands. “Stop!”

            “But…” Jack whined, trying to take a step forward but being blocked. “We need to christen it…”

            Ianto shook his head. “Not until the flat is actually ours. I’ll have the estate agent draw up the papers first thing Monday morning. As soon as we sign, I’ll throw you down on the floor and ravage you.”

            Jack’s eyes widened at the thought. Mm, carpet burns…He always had a thing for carpet burns from a good round of sex. Something satisfying about them, like they stood for a job well done.

             In lieu of delicious, carpet burn-inducing sex, Jack opted to plant a big, sloppy kiss on Ianto’s lips before nodding toward the door. “What else do you have on the agenda today?”

            Jack turned around just in time to see Ianto blush and shove a list none-too-subtly into his inside jacket pocket. “Well,” they started out of the flat and down the stairs to the car park. Gwen had driven them to a car rental after they had dropped off Ianto’s boxes in the hotel. It was just until Jack and Ianto took the time to go car shopping. “I was thinking,” he hesitated, brushing his fingertips over the back of Jack’s hand. Jack took the hint and grabbed Ianto’s hand as they headed out into the bright sunlight of the car park, threading their fingers together. “And, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to….” He glanced over at Jack, who was waiting patiently for him to finish. “It’s Rhi. She’ll think I’m dead, and…”

            Jack’s eyes widened. He had forgotten about Ianto’s sister, niece, and nephew. He slid into the driver’s seat, Ianto automatically heading around to the passenger side. As Jack started up the car he looked over at Ianto. “That’s important. Come on: we can go right now.”

            “I don’t…” Ianto hesitated, then finally sighed and looked Jack in the eyes. “I don’t know if you should be there. Family matter, and all.” He blushed before speaking again. “And Rhi had just found out about…well…you and I, on the day you…the day the Hub blew up.” He squinted. “Would be bit much of a shock: her baby brother shows up, back from the dead, and he brings his…you…along with him?”

            Jack frowned slightly at Ianto’s hesitation over what to call him. They would have to get that sorted, soon. Jack pulled out of the car park and headed toward Rhiannon’s house. He was glad Ianto didn’t ask how he seemed to already know the way. “Listen, I don’t have to come in if you don’t want me to.” Ianto opened his mouth to protest, but Jack barreled straight over him. “But what are you going to tell her?” He glanced over at Ianto, who was considering carefully. “It’s just…might lend a bit more credibility, if I were there. And then I can just be your ‘boss’.”

            Jack saw Ianto wince out of the corner of his eyes. “Actually…when she asked…she said a friend saw us eating together in town.” A flush traveled down his neck, and Jack had to concentrate to stay focused on the road. “It was the night we went to see the new Bond movie, together.”

            Jack grinned. He remembered that night. They already had the dinner reservations after the movie, though after two hours of watching Daniel Craig sweat and punch guys, all they had wanted to do was get back to Ianto’s. Dinner had been…rather more exhibitionist, than Ianto might normally allow. And when they had finally gotten home – well, carpet burns were definitely high on Jack’s list of very favorite things. 

            Jack shook himself. Ianto was still speaking. “When Rhi asked about us, I said that you were my boss. Thought it might put her off. But then she played the big sister guilt card, and I had to tell her.” He sighed. “So telling her that you’re my boss won’t really help anything.”

            Jack let a hand drop down to Ianto’s thigh, rubbing it soothingly. “We’ll just give her the special ops line. Had to fake your death, something with the children, tourist office is a cover, can’t say anything else.” He shrugged. “Always worked in the past.”

            “Except with Gwen and Rhys,” Ianto murmured. But he gave up protesting and stared out of the window for the rest of the drive.

             When they pulled up to Rhiannon’s house, Ianto was tense and tight-lipped beside Jack. He waited for a moment, engine off, to see what Ianto would do. When he did nothing, Jack squeezed his thigh and leaned across the center console. “Hey,” he cupped a hand against Ianto’s chin and turned him so that they were face to face. “Let me tell her.” He kissed Ianto, then pulled back, winking. “It’ll be more ‘official’ that way.”

            Ianto smiled back at him, but it was a shaky ghost of a thing, conveying no real pleasure or confidence at all. They stepped out of the car together, Ianto adjusting his jacket, tie, and waistcoat for far longer than Jack deemed necessary. Finally they were walking up the step, until Ianto was standing, staring at his sister’s doorbell.

            Jack waited, eyeing the doorbell himself but doing and saying nothing. Two deep breaths, and Ianto’s hand shot out, pressing the button like he might change his mind in the next second.

            There was a long, tense moment while the sounds of daily life echoed loud behind the door: two children’s voices raised high and shouting, the stomp of feet down stairs, the clatter of dishes in the sink. A woman’s voice raised itself above the rest from behind the door, shouting: “Go wash up! No! Dinner’s on the table, now wash-up! Who in the hell could this…”

            The door swung open, and Ianto was standing face-to-face with his sister.

            At her wide-eyed shock, Ianto rushed to speak. “I’m not dead, Rhi. I’m alive. There was a mistake. I know, you think I’m dead, and everyone said I was, but…”

            “Ianto…” She stood stock-still, taking in her younger brother. Ianto fell silent, hovering just on the edge of speaking, as if trying to approach a skittish deer.

Jack observed the moment, feeling rather like an interloper. Still, he could try and break some of the tension. “Ma’am? I’m Captain Jack Harkness. This is your brother Ianto Jones, and he’s not dead. I can vouch for that.”

The awkward silence coiling between Ianto and Rhiannon snapped, as she turned to take Jack in. “I…of course…” she glanced over her shoulder, then stepped out onto the front step, shutting the door behind her. He expression turned harsh as she turned to Ianto. “Just what the hell is going on? They told me you were dead! In Thames house!”

            Ianto hesitated, glancing at Jack. “I…It was a secret. I work for the government. Special ops. And, with the alien incident…” he looked to Jack again for reassurance before continuing, “I had to fake my own death. It was for country.”

            A resounding smack filled the air, and it wasn’t until Ianto’s cheek started turning red that Jack even registered Rhiannon had slapped him. “What do you mean, ‘fake your own death’? You couldn’t have told me? We buried you, Ianto!” The last sentence came out as a hysterical shout, and tears started streaming down her face. “Next to mam and tad! We buried you! And now you’re just going to waltz up here, and tell me everything’s fine?”

            Ianto gasped in a breath, hand holding his cheek where Rhiannon’s finger marks were now visible in blotchy, red relief. His mouth opened and shut, eyes wide, as he struggled to find something to say.

            Jack stepped forward, hand brushing over Ianto’s reassuringly. “Ma’am, I’m sorry for what you had to go through, but please know that Ianto was just as upset. If he could have…”

            “You’re Jack Harkness?”

            Jack stopped. Suddenly having the full force of Rhiannon’s anger and accusation focused on him wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences. “Yes, ma’am.”

            She scoffed. “Don’t ‘ma’am’ me. You’re the one seeing my brother, aren’t you? The boss.”

            His eyes flickered over to Ianto’s, but the younger man still wasn’t pulling himself together. Jack reached up and placed a hand on Ianto’s shoulder, rubbing it in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “Yes.”

            “And you knew, didn’t you?”

            “Yes.” Jack rushed forward. “But I’m his boss. I’m supposed to know about this sort of thing. I was the one who…ordered it.” Saying it like that bruised something inside of Jack. More than what he was telling Rhiannon, he was the one who ordered Ianto’s death – his actual death. He was the reason Ianto died that day in Thames house.

            But Jack didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on that now. Rhiannon was turning her focus back to Ianto. “Is this true, Ianto? You had to fake your death in special ops? And you let your boyfriend know and not your own bloody sister?”

            Ianto, finally regaining his oral faculties, nodded. “Yeah, Rhi. I had to…fake my death. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. But they just brought me back…out of cover…yesterday. You’re the first one I came to see.”

            “Bullshit.” Rhiannon took a step back, holding her hands up in disgust. “I know when you’re lying to me, Ianto, and I can tell. You’re lying about something. This special ops job, or…” She narrowed her eyes at Jack. “Has he gotten you into some kind of trouble?”

            Jack opened his mouth indignantly in protest: “Hey! I-”

But Ianto cut him off – probably for the best. “No, Rhi! I just can’t tell you everything about my job. It’s covert.”

            Abruptly, Rhiannon stormed back to her door. “When you feel like telling me the truth, Ianto, you come back and tell me. Until then, I can’t see you again!” She turned back to Ianto, eyes red and face blotchy. “Could you quit? Stop putting your life in danger? Maybe get a desk job, instead?”

            Jack’s eyes flickered between Ianto and his sister. He certainly couldn’t fault Rhiannon for her request. It wouldn’t be too long before he asked the same of Ianto. But Ianto’s eyes turned steely, his shoulders back and determined. “No, Rhi. This is what I do. To keep you safe. To keep David and Mica safe.”

            Rhiannon held her hands out and backed away, shaking her head. “No, Ianto. You can’t bring them into this. I can’t…” she stifled a sob, “I can’t do this, Ianto. Not knowing you’re in danger – you could die. I can’t…” she turned around, still shaking her head.

Hand on the doorknob, she paused. She glanced over her shoulder one last time, eyes focusing on Jack. “And just so you know: he is rather nice looking.”

            With that, Rhiannon yanked opened the door and stormed inside, slamming it in her wake.

            Jack opened his mouth, stared at the door, turned to Ianto, the snapped it shut again. He lifted a finger to point at the door, then dropped it. Well. Huh.

            “Come on.” Ianto was already recovered, turning smartly on his heel and walking down to the car. “Let’s get back to the hotel.”

            Jack jogged after him. “Wait! Ianto! Are you…” he hesitated. But Ianto had already sequestered himself inside the car and shut the door after him, so Jack had no choice but to get in. “Ianto…” he said, as he slid into the driver’s seat, “are you alright?” Ianto was staring straight ahead, muscles in his jaw clenched in a tight knot. “Do you…do you need to…”

            Ianto nodded at the road. “Come on, Jack. Hotel. Drive.”

            With one last long look at Ianto, Jack nodded, turning the keys in the ignition and starting the car. They drove in silence back to the hotel, though Jack made a point of staring at Ianto during every red light. Ianto steadfastly refused to meet his eyes, say or do anything that might give himself away. Of course, the silence itself spoke volumes, and Jack could see the tension in Ianto’s eyes, mouth, and shoulders.

            As the door to their hotel room clicked shut, Jack turned to Ianto. “Listen, if you want to talk-”

            But suddenly Ianto was there, dragging Jack into a bruising kiss. Hands gripped at Jack’s braces and the shirt beneath, dragging him forwards into the room until Ianto’s legs bumped into the back of the bed. Then they were falling, and Jack landed with a soft grunt on top of Ianto, breaking the kiss to pull air into his lungs.

            “Ianto. If you…”

            Beneath him, Ianto’s blue eyes were staring up at him pleadingly. “Jack. Just let me.”

            Jack understood. With one last kiss he climbed off Ianto, crawling over him and up to the headboard. He sat up with his back against it and started stripping: boots first, followed by socks, then braces. By the time he was unbuttoning his shirt Ianto had crawled into his lap, licking and nipping at every piece of newly uncovered flesh. His shirt came off quickly, followed by his vest. Ianto’s fingers were occupied with his tie and waistcoat as Jack lifted his hips to yank off his trousers. The movement elicited a small gasp from Ianto in his mouth as their groins came into contact. Impatient, Ianto moved off of him and shucked off the rest of his clothing, letting it land haphazardly across the room. His lack of care just served to show how upset he was, but Jack opted not to comment on it.

            Then Ianto was on top of him, grinding their arousals together and sending sparks of electricity up Jack’s spine. He hissed at the friction: too much, with no lube and little precome to slicken their desperate rubbing. “Ianto,” Jack nipped at his lower lip in reproach. With a reluctant groan Ianto rolled off Jack and over to the nightstand, reaching for the lube they had left sitting on top.

            As he returned, Ianto’s eyes held a frantic edge. “Hands above your head. Grab the headboard.”

            With a jolt of arousal causing his cock to twitch, Jack threw his hands above his head, wrapping his fingers around the edge of the headboard. He found himself being lifted onto Ianto’s hips, and quickly wrapped his legs around his back.

            Ianto’s face was pinched in concentration as he pressed lube-covered fingers into Jack. He started out with two, scissoring and thrusting quickly. Jack winced, then forced himself to relax and rock down onto the fingers. It took a moment, but he loosened quickly. “Another.”

            Obligingly Ianto pushed another finger in, thrusting them in a steady rhythm. He glanced up at Jack’s face, eyes bright with lust and face flushed. “Ready?”

            Bearing down on the fingers, Jack concentrated. Two more thrusts and he nodded. “Good, good. Come on.”

            As Ianto entered him, blunt head of his cock breaching Jack’s tight passage, Jack knew this was more for Ianto than it was for him. Still, as Ianto’s hips and strong thighs set a brutal pace, Jack couldn’t help but gasp and moan at the feel of Ianto pushing into him, filling him. He pounded Jack roughly into the headboard, bouncing Jack against the coarse wood at his back. Jack let his head fall, knocking into the wall as Ianto thrust mercilessly into him.

Ianto was using Jack, using his body, to try and find a release for all the emotions he didn’t want to think about. And Jack let him, loving every rough thrust and jerk and bruising grip as Ianto fucked him. Their bodies quickly became covered with sweat as their arousal heightened.

            With a grunt, Ianto changed positions, leaning forward until he was grabbing hold of Jack’s hands with his own, using the extra leverage of the headboard to thrust even further inside Jack. Spikes of pleasure shook Jack with each harsh thrust in, as Ianto’s cock pushed over his prostate again and again.

            “Fuck, Ianto…”

            A breathless laugh escaped Ianto, as he leaned in to lick at sweat dripping down Jack’s clavicle. “Thought…was doing…that…sir.”

            As Ianto leaned in, Jack’s erection was trapped between their bodies. He moaned at the sensation of sweat-slicked skin gliding over him, pushing him to further arousal. “Ianto…”

             The headboard shook violently as Ianto picked up the pace, rattling the bedside lamps and wall as he continued his relentless pounding of Jack’s arse. Jack gave himself over to the pleasure, coming in ropy spurts between their stomachs as his orgasm crested and wracked every muscle in his body.

            Jack shook and cried out as Ianto continued to thrust against his prostate, sending spikes of pleasure through Jack’s already over-stimulated body. His thighs twitched and spasmed, still wrapped around Ianto’s waist, with every movement of Ianto’s hard cock over his tired prostate. A moment later and Ianto was biting down on Jack’s shoulder, fingers digging into Jack’s hands as his hips stuttered and thrust into him. Jack felt Ianto’s orgasm shudder from Ianto’s body into his as warm come filled his passage.

            He waited, breathing harsh and loud in the suddenly quiet room. Thirty seconds passed, then a minute, before Ianto’s fingers slowly began to unlock themselves from Jack’s, and his mouth slid off Jack’s shoulder. As they peeled themselves off of each other, Jack winced as Ianto pulled out of him. He immediately recovered, sliding boneless down on top of the mattress, but Ianto must have noticed, because he was there, peering down concernedly. “Jack? Are you okay?”

            Jack pulled Ianto down into a kiss in response. Tongues slid against each other lazily as saliva dripped from each other’s mouths. Jack practically purred in his post-coital lassitude, especially as Ianto relaxed into Jack’s chest. They broke apart, panting and sluggish, and Ianto pressed his face into Jack’s neck as they shifted into a more comfortable position.

            Jack’s heart skipped a beat as his arms wrapped around Ianto’s back, and Ianto’s thigh clamped down on Jack’s legs. He listened as Ianto inhaled deeply, breathing in Jack’s scent and melting just that bit more against him. This was good. This was perfect.

            “Ianto?”

            “Mm?” Ianto’s right hand was splayed on Jack’s chest, fingers rubbing random little patterns into the skin.

            “I was thinking…”

            “Oh, dear.”

            Jack smacked Ianto’s arse for that, and he yelped and squirmed pleasurably against him. Cheeky bastard. “You know, we don’t have to go straight back to work. We could…” he carefully considered how to phrase it, “take a sabbatical from active duty.”

            He felt Ianto’s head shake in the crook of his neck, and his heart plummeted just a bit. “Can’t. Too much work to do.”

            Jack pressed a kiss to Ianto’s hair, rubbing his nose against the soft curls. “They’ve gotten along well enough without us for a year. They can stand a little longer.”

            “Jack.” Ianto’s hand had stilled on Jack’s chest, and he almost regretted bringing up the subject. But he had to try. “I know what you’re trying to do. But we can’t just shirk our responsibilities.”

            Jack had known Ianto would guess at his motivations, which is why he already had a convenient – and believable – excuse. “That’s not why. I need to track down John, and since I don’t want to leave you again, I figured you could come with.” He paused, letting the idea sink into Ianto’s mind for a moment. “After all, it’s your almost-not-revival that I’m avenging.”

            Ianto stayed quiet for a long time, and Jack knew he had him. Ianto would go along to keep Jack in check: make sure he didn’t do anything stupid that he might regret. And, truth be told, Jack needed him there for that very reason – not to mention the fact that Jack never wanted to let Ianto out of his sight, ever again.

            Eventually Ianto spoke up, considering each word carefully as he did. “Fine. But we’re coming straight back to Torchwood, after?”

            Jack kissed Ianto’s hair, rubbing his back soothingly. “We’ll come straight back,” he promised. And I’m locking you in the archives for the rest of your career there. Jack decided they could have that particular argument at a later date. After all, Jack had managed to get Ianto to agree to one thing today. Best not to push his luck.

             Entangled together on the bed, the two men slept straight past dinner and through the night. Upon reflection, it was this night that spoiled Jack to be unable to sleep soundly with anyone else in his bed ever again.

 

            The sunlight filtered in through the open blinds of the hotel room. Jack squinted, irrationally angry at the blinds for being open. Stupid blinds. They couldn’t have closed themselves at some point during the night, could they have?

            Still, Jack could thank the sunlight for two things. One, the early morning light had woken him before Ianto, giving Jack the opportunity to watch Ianto as he slept. Two, the light fell across Ianto’s prone figure, giving Jack a beautifully illuminated view. Ianto’s mouth was slack in sleep, hanging slightly open as his cheek and part of his lips pressed up against his pillow. His hair was ruffled, but face smooth and free of any worry lines. One hairy thigh was hanging out of the sheets, and Jack watched, amused, as the dark hairs covering it fluttered in the air from the AC.

            Slow grin spreading across his face, Jack recalled his earlier promise to himself. Shifting every so slightly, he leaned forward, pressing a small kiss to Ianto’s hair. When Ianto didn’t stir, Jack shifted his whole body lower, pressing a kiss to Ianto’s right shoulder next. He continued down Ianto’s arm, pressing light kisses in a line down it, until he had kissed every fingertip on his right hand. Still, Ianto hadn’t stirred – hadn’t even twitched a finger.

            Jack turned his attention to Ianto’s chest, peppering tiny, wet kisses across it, practically in a grid. He had told himself he’d kiss every last centimeter of Ianto, and he didn’t plan on missing one spot. When he reached Ianto’s nipple, a shiver went through the sleeping man, and Jack paused. He glanced up in time to see Ianto blinking bleary eyes and glancing down at him, before a sleepy smile spread across his face. “’Morning.”

            “’Morning.” Encouraged by a tug on his waist, Jack climbed up Ianto and pressed a closed-mouth kiss to his lips.

            Beneath him, Ianto hummed happily, shifting until Jack could feel his morning erection pressing into his hip. “Should we be getting up?”

            Jack shook his head. “Nowhere to be. Might as well have a lie-in…” He leaned down to continue kissing a pattern across Ianto’s chest. For a moment Ianto indulged him, then his hand was in Jack’s hair, pushing him away.

            “Loo first. Loo, teeth, then lie-in,” Ianto stretched, tempting Jack into kissing him some more, until he swept the sheets off of himself and sat up. “Then…” Ianto continued, arching an eyebrow at Jack, “We head back over to Torchwood. At the very least, we can use their equipment to find John. And there are a few things I want to look over.”

            Unsuccessfully suppressing a grimace, Jack started off to the bathroom. “Is there anything really that pressing? And I could probably track John with my manipulator…”

            But Ianto was already shaking his head, even as he lifted the toilet seat to relieve himself. “No, Jack. I need to see how operations are running.” Their eyes met in the mirror as Ianto washed his hands. He sighed, visibly deflating before turning around and clutching Jack’s face between both hands. “If I promise no field work during this visit, will you be less upset?”

            After a moment’s contemplation, Jack nodded. “Alright. We can head over. But after…” he waggled his eyebrows.

            Ianto returned his lascivious look. “After,” he agreed, leaning in to plant a chaste kiss on Jack’s lips. “Teeth,” he announced. “So we can have our lie-in.”

**

            Two hours – and two highly satisfied men – later, Jack and Ianto were sprawled out on the king size bed, a feast from room service spread out before them. The telly was on, but muted – Ianto would occasionally glance at the news ticker running at the bottom of the screen, but other than that they paid it little mind. Jack was busy trying to feed Ianto another slice of mango from their brunch, though both men were laughing too hard for proper aim.

            “Come on, Ianto! Open up!”

            Ianto fell to his side, mouth somewhere between opening in laughter and closing shut against the intrusive mango. “No, Ja-mmph!”

            Jack grinned as Ianto was forced to bite down on the mango, scowling even as he chewed the fruit and swallowed. But then an evil look flitted across his face, and his tongue flicked out, licking the spilt juices from his lips and chin. Jack’s eyes widened, a small moan escaping from his mouth as he watched. Ianto seized his moment of distraction, shoving a slice of cantaloupe into Jack’s open mouth.

            Jack gulped down the sizable slice of fruit in a single go, waggling his eyebrows at Ianto. “Ha! No gag reflex!”

            Ianto just rolled his eyes. “Promiscuity is not something to be proud of.”

            “Mm, but you love it.” The fruit fight quickly devolved into snogging, Jack pushing Ianto backwards onto the bed as he shoved his tongue farther into his mouth. Ianto moaned beneath him, relaxing into the kiss and pulling Jack tight to him. Their hips started to undulate – just barely – before Ianto broke the kiss and pushed Jack away.

            “No, Jack, come on. We need to get dressed, get to Torchwood…”

            “I know, I know,” Jack grumbled. With one last quick peck on the lips, Jack pushed himself up off of Ianto. He practically threw himself off the bed, trotting over to the closet for a fresh set of clothes.

            After a small detour to the loo, Ianto was next to him, picking out a fresh three-piece suit. “You know,” Ianto began, and Jack noticed he was carefully not looking at him. His tone was too forcibly casual: it sent up all sorts of alarms blaring in Jack’s mind. “The things I said that day – the day I…died – it’s unfair to you. To make you promise.”

            Fear and anger battled for control inside Jack’s chest, before he forced them both down and schooled his expression into a careful, blank mask. “Unfair?”

            “Yes. It’s just,” Ianto still wasn’t looking Jack in the eyes, as he buttoned up his shirt and rolled up the French cuffs, “A thousand years from now, you shouldn’t have to remember me. That’s ten, fifteen lifetimes. And to ask you to remember an unremarkable boy from Newport, that you spent two, three years with-”

            “Ianto!”

            The harsh tone of Jack’s voice made Ianto jump, surprising even Jack himself. But he was so angry, so hurt, to hear Ianto speak that way about himself, and about Jack. Fury almost blinded Jack, and he had to take several deep breaths before he trusted himself to move.

            Turning a single step to his side, Jack carefully placed his hands on Ianto’s shoulders. He modulated his grip, concentrating hard to make sure he wasn’t hurting Ianto. The white-hot flames of anger inside of him made it difficult to do anything clearly, but Jack needed Ianto to understand, to know how much he cared – and he wasn’t going to accomplish that by cracking his collarbone.

            “Ianto. Don’t…don’t ever say that again. You’re not insignificant. You’re not unremarkable. You are one of the kindest, smartest, most wonderful people I have ever met.” Jack stared into Ianto’s eyes, trying to communicate every confusing emotion he felt for this man before him. But Ianto’s eyes remained clouded, wary, and Jack knew he needed to say more. “I will remember you, Ianto Jones. Not because you asked me to, but because…” his voice trailed off as he stared at Ianto, and Ianto stared back.

            But why? Why would Jack remember Ianto? Why, out of all the lovers, shags, friends, and enemies, why would one Ianto Jones make Jack feel this way, make Jack completely and utterly dependent on him?

            As much as Jack hated to admit it, John had been close. Jack needed someone, even as he journeyed through the centuries alone. But it wasn’t just anyone that could fulfill that role. Alonso couldn’t: sweet as the boy might be. It was all Ianto, it was only Ianto. Ianto was...

            “I love you, Ianto Jones. I want you to always be with me. I want your sarcasm, and your wit, and your gorgeous blue eyes and beautiful Welsh voice, and wonderfully devious and sharp mind…I want everything about you, for as long as I can have you.”

            Ianto’s eyes were bright, but he still tried to deflect. “Sounds practically like a marriage proposal, Captain Harkness. Best be careful how you word things.”

            Another surge of anger went through Jack, but it was tempered quickly by overwhelming feelings of love and protectiveness. Pulling Ianto closer to him, Jack wrapped an arm around his waist. “What if it was?”

            Both men stared at each other, and Jack would be hard-pressed to say which face was more shocked. He had surprised himself with the…the proposal?! A surge of fear went through Jack, before he forced himself to focus back in on Ianto’s eyes. There was fear in them, too, but behind the fear, shining out just barely, like Ianto was afraid to even think it, was a strong measure of love and hope.

            “Thought you didn’t do labels?” Ianto pushed.

            “Screw it.” A small, crooked grin flickered across Jack’s face. Suddenly it was all so clear to Jack. He knew he had to do this: not for himself, but for Ianto. For Ianto, who was baffled by the his-and-hers sinks; for Ianto, who couldn’t believe that Jack could love him, couldn’t believe that Jack would remember him in a thousand years, much less a million, or a billion; for Ianto, who didn’t even know what to call them and their relationship to each other. Things might have been different in the 51^st century, but Jack was in love with Ianto Jones, a man born in the 20^th century and living in the 21^st. If Jack could offer him this small bit of security and happiness through a simple label, then screw it. Let Ianto have the label. Jack loved him.

             “I…” Ianto swallowed thickly, and Jack watched as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I…I’m going to die, one day, Jack. You’ll have to…keep going.”

            A small noise, not unlike a whimper, threatened to escape Jack’s throat before he swallowed it down. “I know. Which is why any time we have together should be spent together. Right?”

            One shaking, shuddering breath later, a smile flitted across Ianto’s face. “Yeah.”

            “Is that a yes?” Jack teased, arching one eyebrow.

            Ianto matched his arched eyebrow, even as tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. “I suppose it is, Captain Harkness. You’ll make an honest woman out of me, yet.”

            The two men surged toward each other, kissing passionately. Jack pulled Ianto flush to him, wrapping strong arms around him and squeezing tight. If only he could hold on forever, have this one moment last until the end of time.

            Too soon they parted, but the look of unbridled joy in Ianto’s eyes was enough to keep Jack warm inside. The younger man took a moment, trying to compose himself, but a goofy grin kept slipping past his mask. Jack laughed, kissing him again, wanting to taste and feel the happiness pouring out of his…his fiancé. His husband-to-be. Jack practically felt giddy at the thought. So maybe the labels weren’t just for Ianto, after all.

            “Come on,” Jack squeezed Ianto’s arm. “Gotta see what they’ve done to your archives.”

            Ianto’s eyes went wide. The smile dropped from his face. “My archives?”

**

            “Oh, the archives!” Lois picked them – and Alonso, much to Ianto’s obvious displeasure – up from the hotel as soon as Jack called Gwen and let her know their plans for the day. Jack and Ianto slid into the backseat and let Alonso take the front with Lois. Jack used the opportunity to let his hands wander, though Ianto was having none of it. It seemed that Alonso’s presence put a damper on the romance between them. Jack thought it a bit unfair – after all, they had just gotten engaged.

            Lois continued to talk from the front seat. “I ended up in charge of organizing what we salvaged from the old Hub, along with all the new stuff coming in. Gwen set me up with Archie, and he had loads of back-up files that I downloaded to the new servers.”

            Ianto hummed, nodding his head as he listened. Jack stopped trying to grope at him for a moment, and instead reached for his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Ianto shot him a tight smile, which did nothing to hide his nervousness. The archives were Ianto’s home, sanctuary, child, and masterpiece, all rolled up into one. Jack could understand why the thought of someone else rebuilding them was winding him up.

            They arrived at the Hub shortly. Alonso was at Lois’ side almost before the car stopped moving, doting on her. “D’you want me to go have a look at the new item? The scanner?”

            Lois blushed, smiling at Alonso even as she ducked her head. “Yeah, that’d be…that’d be a great help. Thanks. Just ask Mickey about it – he was fiddling with it earlier.”

            “Sure thing.”

            Jack suppressed a laugh, poorly, as Alonso and Lois continued to stare at each other, smiling bashfully. Finally they both seemed to realize where they were, and they broke eye contact. Alonso raced into the Hub, while Lois turned back to Jack and Ianto – after a decent pause staring after Alonso.

            “Right. Um,” Lois’ smile fell slightly, turning more nervous the more times she glanced at Ianto. With the expressionless face Ianto was pulling, Jack couldn’t blame her.

Soothingly he placed a hand on the small of Ianto’s back, edging him forward “Archives?” he prompted Lois.

            “Archives,” she agreed, pointing a finger at the two men in confirmation. With just a moment’s hesitation, she spun around and led them into the Hub.

            Jack observed the new Hub carefully. The first time around, he hadn’t been paying too much attention: what with Ianto’s resurrection and all. It seemed a bit bigger than the last Hub, but Jack attributed the size increase to the bomb. It was a bit brighter and cleaner than it had been as well: the damp sewer walls had been spackled over, to give it a somewhat more finished feel. The iron grating and concrete that had made up the floors and stairs was replaced by a much cheerier – but still easy to clean – linoleum. All in all, a job well done by Gwen in his absence.

            The three of them passed by Mickey and Alonso, arguing in what appeared to be a tech bay. “Well, that’s just brilliant, in’it?” Mickey practically threw the small device at Alonso.

            “I’m sorry! But it really is just a sort of wrench! I used it on kids’ ships when I was little.”

            “Don’t apologize to me, space boy! Just make sure you’re around next time so I don’t have to waste my morning trying to get a wrench to scan plants.”

            As they passed, Mickey’s eyes flickered up, spotting Jack. “Hey! Captain Cheese! What are you blokes up to, today?”

            Jack grinned, leaning over the railing to the tech bay. “Ianto wanted to see how you lot were handling his archives. They were his pride and joy, you know.”

            “Oh, yeah, sure,” Mickey nodded knowingly, “Taking a look at the ‘archives’, are we?” Mickey even went so far as to use air quotes. He pointed the scanner – now, apparently, an electric wrench – at Ianto. “Gwen told me all about what you two get up to when you’re ‘weevil hunting’ or ‘tending to the plants’ or ‘consulting Ianto’s local knowledge’.”

            Jack turned around to Ianto, expression schooled for innocence. “I don’t know what that woman’s talking about, do you?”

            Ianto pretended to think for a moment, before he shook his head. “Well, you know us Welsh: always coming up with crazy stories.”

            “Oi!” Gwen bounded over to them. Jack glanced behind her: there was an office off to the side of the main Hub area, which he supposed was hers. “You know that’s a filthy lie, Ianto! We Welsh have no imagination.”

            With a friendly smack on the arm, Gwen scooped Ianto up into a bone-crushing hug. “How are you doing, today? Jack not working you too hard, is he?”

            Jack delighted in the way Ianto’s face colored at the onslaught of sexual implications. “No,” he glanced around, obviously searching for something to say. “We found a flat!” At Gwen’s shocked expression, Ianto rushed forward. “I mean…I found a flat. And, well, Jack doesn’t have anywhere to live, so…”

            Ianto received another slap on the arm from Gwen, as Jack fondly watched him struggle to explain. Gwen just shook her head, squeezing his abused arm. “It’s about time you two moved in together, after all.”

            For just a moment Jack glanced at Ianto, readying to open his mouth and tell Gwen the even better news. Ianto’s expression was both furtive and horrified, much to Jack’s amusement. They stood like that for a long moment: Jack about to speak, Ianto silently begging him not to. Finally Jack looked away, shaking his head. Ianto breathed a sigh of relief.

            Lois, unaware of the tension in the air, pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “Do you still want to see the archives? If you have other things to do, it’s alright. They’ll keep.”

            Jack watched as Ianto’s jaw set, and he tugged decisively on his waistcoat. “No: I’d like to see it now. If you don’t mind.” Gwen waved them off, and the three continued down into the lower levels of the Hub.

            These levels were less polished than the new main area, though still a sight better than the old, re-purposed caves and sewers that used to make up the lower levels of the Hub. The rock was hewn clean away, leaving smooth walls, ceilings, and floors behind. The light was crisp and clear, coming from evenly spaced light panels above their heads.

            As they traveled deeper underground, Jack noticed small tunnels breaking off from the main: some finished, some with small barricades in front of them, indicating unfinished areas, he supposed.

            Lois turned to the right, stopping in front of a sturdy door labeled “Archives.”

            Ianto raised an eyebrow. “More organized than it used to be, already.”

            Jack shrugged. “As long as you could find it, it never really mattered.”

            In front of them, the door swung open, revealing a large room. Lights flickered on as they stepped inside, bathing the room in successive strips of brightness, starting from where they were standing at the entranceway and spreading backwards. Next to him, Jack heard Ianto gasp.

            “It’s so…tidy.”

            Jack and Lois both turned to look at Ianto, who was stepping cautiously forward into the room, as if the entire thing might cave in with the wrong footfall or comment. Jack watched as Ianto peered cautiously at the rows upon rows of shelves, file folders, and boxes in front of him.

            After a moment of respectful silence, Lois waved them over to a small desk and computer. “Here’s where you can access everything, as well as run a search.”

            Ianto slipped into the chair and started typing away at the computer, eyes flickering back and forth across the screen as he clicked on different files. Jack turned apologetically to Lois. “Do you mind if he has a minute to…”

            Lois backed away. “Oh! No problem. Just give me a ring, if you need me.” With one last smile Lois backed out of the door, shutting it behind her.

            Glancing over at Ianto, Jack realized quite quickly that they were in this for a while. So he settled himself down against a wall, closing his eyes and snatching a moment’s rest as the sound of mouse and key clicks washed over him.

            Ten minutes in, Jack cracked an eye open to check on Ianto. The young man was still absorbed in his work, fingers and eyes not having stopped in their movements once. Jack decided to liven things up a bit. Knowing Ianto couldn’t see it with his back to him, Jack grinned at Ianto. “You know, I wouldn’t have told Gwen about our recent decision.”

            There was a split second’s pause before Ianto resumed his digital queries. A moment after that, he replied: “Almost scared the life out of me.”

            “That was the point.”

            The sound of keys and mouse stopped again, and this time Ianto spun around in the chair, leveling a firm glare at Jack. Grinning, Jack held his hands out in surrender.

            Jack waited as Ianto observed him steadily, before apparently coming to a decision. He slid out of the chair and walked over to Jack, before dropping himself down into Jack’s lap. Jack grinned up at him. “Everything organized?”

            With a kiss Ianto silenced him, before pulling back and nodding. “Very. Lois did a good job with what she had.”

            “That’s good,” Jack mumbled. It was hard for Jack to be interested in files and alphanumeric order when a gorgeous Welshman was sitting in his lap, evident arousal growing harder by the moment.

            “You should show more interest in filing, sir.”

            Jack hummed, trailing a line of kisses up Ianto’s neck and jaw, fingers fumbling at Ianto’s belt. He couldn’t possibly want to talk about filing now, could he?

            “After all,” Ianto’s fingers imitated Jack’s, going to his trouser to undo the zip and button, “You know what organized files do to me…”

            Oh. Jack licked his lips, glancing up at Ianto. He stared back down hungrily, eyes darkened with lust, cheeks pink with arousal. Jack scrambled with Ianto’s zip. Damn thing…just get open…

            Finally, Jack managed to get Ianto’s zip open, just as the other man did the same to his. Jack swallowed Ianto’s moan in a deep kiss as they fisted their arousals together. Ianto thrust down onto Jack, scooting forward and maneuvering himself to gain better leverage with his thighs. Their hips undulated into each other’s as Jack let Ianto take over the stroking, grasping them both in one strong hand. Jack threw his head back, rubbing a hand over Ianto’s arm.

            An evil thought flitted through Jack’s mind, and he opened his mouth. “In the flat I’m gonna organize the Tupperware for you, all stacked up by type, with their matching lids…” Ianto’s breath hitched, hand stuttering in his smooth strokes. His eyes squeezed shut as a shiver ran through him. Perfect. Jack pressed on. “Our closet will have the shirts hung up by color…ah, fuck, Ianto, do that again…”

            Ianto complied, rubbing his thumb over the slit of Jack’s head on the upstroke. Jack pressed on, trying to think of more organizational things to turn Ianto on. “We’ll have matching plate and dish sets.” Ianto gasped, leaning forward to capture Jack’s lips in a kiss. When they pulled apart, Ianto braced a hand on the wall next to Jack’s head, panting as he continued to fist their arousals roughly. Hot flesh rubbed against hot flesh, spending spikes of pleasure through Jack’s system, making it harder to think. Still, he continued. “Little plastic drawer dividers in…desk…pens and…uh Ianto.”

Jack shuddered, feeling his impending orgasm draw nearer. He should have known better than to mention office supplies – that was liable to send him over the edge as much as Ianto. Another desperate twitch surged through Jack’s body, and he glanced at the face of the man atop him. Ianto was close, too, if the sweat beading his upper lip was any indication. “DVDs…alphabetical.” Above him, Ianto moaned, hips thrusting down all the more furiously. Just a little bit more… “All your Bond’s…chronological… order…” Finally, Ianto shuddered and gasped as he came. Warm come spilled out over his hand and Jack’s cock as his hips twitched and thighs trembled.

            Jack batted Ianto’s hand away and took himself in hand, stroking quickly. Aided by the slickness of Ianto’s come, it wasn’t long before he was on the brink, a warm tingle of pleasure flowing through his system, ready to explode. Ianto leaned forward, sucking at his neck, muttering sweet nothings into his skin. He nipped at his pulse point, and Jack came, thrusting his hips up against Ianto’s limp body.

            They sat, breathing heavily as they recovered from their orgasms. Finally Jack groaned, moving so he could stretch his legs out in front of him. Ianto shifted and slid off. Slowly the sensation returned to Jack’s legs.

            Leaning to the side, Jack kissed Ianto’s jaw lightly. “Good?”

            “Mm.” Ianto’s eyes were still closed, head pressed back against the wall behind them.

            “Have I ever told you that your nostrils flare when you come?”

            Ianto cracked an eye open at that, sliding his eye to the side to glance at Jack. “No. Interesting.”

            “It’s cute.”

            “Mm.”

            Jack laughed as he zipped himself up. Next to him, Ianto stretched before he started pulling himself together. “Best get back up to Lois, compliment her on the system.”

            Fluttering fingers over Ianto’s wrist, Jack hummed. “Me too.” Ignoring the light-hearted slap from Ianto, Jack continued. “Speaking of which, you know, Alonso…” Ianto’s post-coital lassitude disappeared abruptly, replaced by tension. Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto, pulling him close. “No, I’m just saying, if you want…” Jack pressed his lips to Ianto’s ear. “He’s a really responsive bottom.”

            Pushing Jack away, Ianto turned, looking contemplative. A little skip of hope – saturated with lust – went through his chest. Then Ianto was smiling at Jack, shaking his head. “I’d rather not, Jack. No interest in him.”

            “That’s a no?” Jack wasn’t disappointed, persay. Just thought it might be fun, for both him and Ianto.

            “Definitely no. Sorry, sir.”

            Jack leaned forward and kissed Ianto on the lips. With a slap on the leg, Jack hauled himself to his feet. He stretched down a hand and helped Ianto up as well. “But, you are okay with the whole…” He wiggled his fingers at Ianto.

            Ianto nodded, and Jack could tell that he was being honest. “Yes, Jack. It’s fine. He seems nice, and him and Lois are quite sweet together.”

            Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He didn’t need anything standing between himself and Ianto – not anymore. They kissed again, before Ianto pulled away, rubbing the back of his head. “If this is what you’re like now, the honeymoon is going to be insufferable.”

            Jack bellowed with laughter, clutching his stomach with one arm and Ianto with another. “We’ll have to take two weeks off: one for the honeymoon, one for the recovery.”

            To Jack’s surprise, Ianto shook his head, smiling wickedly. “No need. You’ll be the one in need of recovery, after all, and your body heals up just fine within a day.”

            Trousers zipped and shirts straightened, Ianto started out the door of the archives, with Jack trailing after him. Jack loved the sound of that.

 

            Jack was doing his best not to hover over Ianto, he really was. But he was looking something up on the Torchwood computers, and Jack wanted to know what it was. It was with a monumental effort that he spent the next five minutes away from Ianto and not looking over his shoulder.

            First he tried playing with baby Braith. And sure, babies were cute and all – but also kind of boring. It was just…she was just lying there, sleeping and looking adorable, but not even doing anything. And there was only so many times that Jack could comment on her eyes (which were closed) resembling Gwen’s, and her hair (which was just fuzz) resembling Rhys’, and her chubby cheeks as well (but then again, didn’t all babies have chubby cheeks?).

            So Jack left Gwen to stare adoringly down at the baby, and decided that maybe he could have a peek at what Mickey was doing. And if he had to pass by the workstation Ianto was at to get there, well, it was just a coincidence: not manufactured at all. And if his eyes just happened to look at the computer screen that Ianto was in front of, well, that was just…

            Okay, so Jack was spying. He gave up all pretenses, even to himself.

            It was when he finally saw the UNIT file that Ianto was reading, that Jack wanted nothing more than to stare at baby Braith for an hour, and pretend he had never seen what Ianto was looking up.

            “That’s my Steven.”

            Ianto jumped at the sound of Jack’s voice, instinctively closing out of the screen he was in and turning around to face Jack. His expression was a mixture of guilt and pity: neither emotions Jack wanted to see on Ianto’s face.

            He opened his mouth to explain, but to his surprise, Ianto stood up, placed a kiss on his cheek, and clasped a hand to his shoulder. When he pulled away, Ianto’s face was smoothed into a calm little smile, just a hint of worry beneath it. “I’m going to go check up on Rhys, I think. Ask him some more about our new cover business. Ring me if you need anything.”

            Jack watched as Ianto walked away, out the cog door that swung shut heavily behind him. A small bit of tension inside Jack suddenly snapped and faded away. He had known he would have to tell Ianto what happened after he died eventually. Ianto had taken burden out of his hands, and found out on his own.

            A small smile flickered across Jack’s face, even in the midst of the grief he still felt from Steven’s loss. That Ianto Jones was an incredible man. Jack’s smile grew wider. And he was marrying him. A surge of pride went through Jack.

            “Oh fookin’ hell! What…fuck!”

            Jack’s head snapped around at the sound of Mickey’s voice. He – and Gwen, Andy, and Martha – all rushed from their various spots around the Hub to his workstation. “What’s going on?” Gwen demanded. Guns were already being checked for ammunition and cocked as Mickey’s fingers scrambled across his keyboard.

            “Rift spike…right on top of us! Shit! Wait…” his hands flew up to his skull, gripping it tight. “It’s not even on top of us, it’s here! In the Hub!”

            “Bugger!” The exclamation came from Martha, who was standing with her gun pointed at Gwen’s office. “There! Life form!”

             All four guns were trained on Gwen’s office in an instant. For a tense moment, nobody moved. Jack’s mind worked furiously. Nobody should be able to teleport into the Hub. The technology needed to do something like that was only in the possession of two men that Jack knew of: the Doctor, and…

            “Jack! I’m so sorry.” John Hart emerged from Gwen’s office, consolatory words contradicted by his swagger and smoldering gaze. “I just heard about your loss: can’t believe your plan didn’t work to bring the old Eye…sorry, Ianto…back.”

            He glanced around, raising an eyebrow. “Still, nothing can be done, right? Where’d you drop off that Alonso bloke? Maybe a good shag’ll lighten your mood. We can take turns on him; I’ll even let you shove in first: my treat.”

            Above them, there were the sounds of someone stumbling, followed by a small squeak. Jack chanced a glance up, seeing John doing the same. Lois was up there with Alonso, hand pressed to her mouth and eyes wide. Alonso was turning beet-red, and his hand automatically reached out for Lois’.

            Jack turned his attention back to John, who had a devilish smirk on his face. “Oh, looks like he snagged himself a pretty little thing, didn’t he? Well, you can join too, sweetheart. Wanna fuck your boy with a strap-on?” He winked at Jack. “Remember the bird from the Agency? Vector calc instructor?”

            Another squeak drifted down from the catwalk, though Jack couldn’t be sure if it was from Alonso or Lois. Either way, he turned to the rest of the team. “A moment.” He made eye contact with Gwen briefly, and she nodded in understanding. He heard Andy mutter to Gwen “Who’s this pompous arse?” before he was shushed.

            “Well,” Jack strode forward, until he was face-to-face with John, “You heard about Ianto, did you?”

            John nodded, face twisted into what Jack assumed John must think was a sympathetic expression. “Yeah. Terrible thing. Guess the nanogenes didn’t take. Must have been dead too long before cryo. Listen, so, you want to get out of here…” John leaned backwards, nudging a shoulder in the direction of the rift he had just stepped through.

            Jack pretended to consider the offer. “Sounds tempting…but you know, the nanogenes did take.”

            John’s nostrils flared – his oldest tell – but he shrugged, continuing. “Huh. Guess the antivirus didn’t work, or you got the wrong one, or something. Listen, I just came from Grangoria, Jack. Grangoria. There’s aliens of six different genders just waiting in my hotel room.”

            Once again, Jack nodded, considering. “Six, huh? You’ve got one of the…” he waggled his fingers.

            John’s face broke out into a grin. “Oh, yeah. From Spragon? Absolutely. And you know what?” John lifted his hand to Jack’s shoulder, squeezing it solemnly. “With everything you’ve been through, you can have a go at the Spragonite first, alright?”

            “Tempting…” he glanced over his shoulder. Gwen’s head moved ever-so-slightly, nodding. He turned back to John. “Let me just ask someone his opinion. Ianto?”

            The cog door scraped open, and out stepped Ianto Jones, looking impeccable and beautiful in his suit. “Yes, sir?”

            Oh, Jack was so pulling up the CCTV footage of John’s face later. His mouth was literally hanging open, before he slammed it shut. His throat undulated as he swallowed convulsively. Jack smiled as Ianto drew up alongside him. “What do you think? Fancy a trip to Grangoria?”

            Ianto, as well, pretended to consider John’s proposition for a moment. “I don’t know, sir. We were going to close on the flat Monday, and I wanted to christen it and settle in for a bit before we did any traveling.”

            Jack ignored the little spark of anticipation that went through him at Ianto’s mention of “christening” their flat. Instead, he turned back to John, folding his arms over his chest. “Well, I guess that settles it. Sorry, John. You’ll just have to go without me.”

            John, to his credit, was pulling himself together quickly. “Oh, well, congrats. Glad the uh…the rumors were…” Still, John couldn’t help but stare, agape, at the young man before him. His eyes narrowed and flickered to Jack, who he stared at for a long moment. “Alright, I give. What the hell happened?”

            Jack took this as his cue to rush forward, and sock John right across the jaw. “What the hell happened?! I don’t know, John, why don't you tell me what the hell happened?!”

            John started up, but Jack was on him, grabbing a fistful of jacket and dirty undershirt as he punched him again. “What did you think, John?” Crack. Jack punched John again. Crack. And again. Crack. “Did you think I wouldn’t know it was you?” Crack, crack, crack. John’s eyes were glazing from the pain; jaw grinding sickeningly between Jack’s knuckles. It was obviously dislocated and broken. “Did you think I’d come running back to you? I’d crawl into your arms, looking for some hard, rough fuck to help me forget?”

Jack pulled his fist back, ready to land another blow, or dozen, when a gentle hand on his bicep stopped him. He looked back, and there was Ianto, with an indiscernible expression on his face. With one last, good shove, Jack released John, letting him fall to the ground at their feet.

To Jack’s surprise, Ianto knelt down beside John, extending a single elegant finger to push at John’s chin until he was looking him in the eyes. To the untrained eye, the gesture was gentle compared to Jack’s previous blows. But Jack knew that a single finger to a jaw that was broken and dislocated could cause searing pain to radiate from the spot. And Jack knew that Ianto knew it, too.

“John? Are you listening?”

A wet, guttural groan was all the response Ianto received from the man on the floor. He nodded, and continued.

“I just have a question for you. Didn’t you realize: if Jack didn’t get to you first, I would?”

There was a sudden flash of light, and Jack snatched Ianto back. It wasn’t until John moaned and disappeared that Jack realized Ianto had caused the sudden teleportation. “Where did you send him?”

“Judoon home planet.”

Jack’s eyes widened. “He’s wanted in over 10 star systems!”

There was a twinkle in Ianto’s eyes as he arched an eyebrow, expression an imitation of ignorance. “Oh?”

Jack grabbed Ianto’s shoulders and shook him playfully, placing a kiss to the top of his head. He glanced back at the team, who were staring at the scene as if they had just sprouted another head. Ianto coughed delicately, moving away from Jack and putting some distance between them. Rueful glances were exchanged, but in the end, Gwen just threw up her hands, muttered “Jack bloody Harkness”, and turned away. The rest of the team seemed to take this as a dismissal, and went back to their work.

Jack glanced over at Ianto. He looked tired. “Hey, you want to go back to the hotel?”

With a weak smile, Ianto nodded. “Yeah. Big day tomorrow, after all.”

Jack’s eyes widened in proportion to his grin. That’s right. Tomorrow was Monday.

 

            Jack was dying. Dying. Who knew buying a flat could take so long? Stupid humans and their damned paperwork. He nudged his knee against Ianto’s for the hundredth time, and was once again rewarded with an annoyed look and silent shushing.

            “And initial here…and here…and here. Now sign here…perfect! We’re all done, Mr. Jones. Congratulations on your new flat!”

            Jack could have kissed the estate agent, if he wasn’t much more interested in kissing a certain beautiful Welshman he was sitting right next to – and doing much more to, besides. He stood as Ianto did, both of them shaking the woman’s hand. Ianto spoke up. “By the way, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could we get a key to the place now? We have some friends who want to build us a corner unit, and they wanted to get the measurements today, so it would be ready in time for the flat-warming.”

            Jack frowned. Who was…oh. Jack’s eyes lit up as the woman passed the keys over to Ianto, all smiles and politeness. Oh. That beautiful, wonderful, brilliant man of his. Of course, now Jack had to hurry off to the bathroom, making some sort of excuse about checking the lighting. Wouldn’t do to scare the estate agent with an obvious erection tenting his trousers.

            After a moment of standing the bathroom, debating whether or not to start stroking himself or splashing his face with cold water, he heard the door close. Another moment, and he was back out in the hallway, staring hungrily at Ianto. The other man was staring just as hungrily back.

            Jack didn’t waste any time: he raced to Ianto, cupping his face in his hands and shoving his tongue down his throat. A moan escaped Ianto, which turned quickly into a yelp as Jack slammed him into the wall.

            “Jack! Careful! The estate agent-”

            “Then lock the door,” Jack growled. His hands were already ripping off Ianto’s tie and undoing his collar. Ianto pulled away from him, turning to the door and locking it, even as he toed off his shoes. Jack managed to strip down entirely during the brief moment of distraction, and as soon as Ianto had turned back around, was molded to him, completely starkers.

            “Your ability…mmph…to strip…oh, Jack, that’s good…never ceases to amaze.”

            Jack growled. No more talking. He tore at Ianto’s belt, whipping it off and throwing it into the living room. Jack fell backwards, taking Ianto with him, and they collapsed on the ground with a loud thud. “Now, Ianto. Now, now, now!”

             Not a second later Ianto’s trousers and pants were off, and the two men ground against each other as if this was their last shag. With a sudden curse, Ianto lifted his head from Jack’s neck. “Shit, Jack! Lube! I didn’t-”

            “Jacket. Right pocket.”

            Even as Ianto fumbled for the lube, Jack slicked up a finger with his tongue and pushed it inside of himself. He grunted at the lack of lubrication – spit was always a last resort, and never satisfactorily effective, in Jack’s experience – but continued to push the finger in and out. He needed Ianto inside of him, in the new flat. Their new flat.

            “Ianto, come on…”

            Then Ianto was there, face flushed and sweaty as shaking fingers slicked themselves up and pressed into Jack. He bore down on the two fingers inside of him, doing his best to be loose and ready for Ianto as quickly as he could. “Third, quick.” Without preamble Ianto pushed a third finger inside of him. The stretch burned as Jack’s muscles contracted and relaxed around the extra finger, but soon enough Ianto’s fingers were sliding smoothly in and out of Jack.

            “Good, Ianto, now.”

            With a noise between a moan and a whimper, Ianto pressed his body closer to Jack, lining himself up even as Jack lifted his legs so that one ankle was resting on Ianto’s shoulder, the other wrapped high around his waist. Their eyes locked for a moment just before Ianto thrust forward, and then Jack couldn’t look at him anymore, because his eyes were falling shut amidst the wave of pleasure that assaulted him as Ianto pressed deep inside of him.

            “Jaaaaack.” The sound that escaped Ianto’s lips was more of a drawn-out groan than a name. Jack’s head slammed into the plush carpet as Ianto began to move, pushing in and pulling out in a steady rhythm.

            Jack moaned. He could feel the carpet burns forming as his back dragged across the floor. “Oh, yes Ianto. Harder.”

            A moan answered him, and then Ianto was thrusting more ferociously into him, causing Jack to slide and rub against the carpet beneath him. He hissed at the burn, both on his back and inside him, where Ianto’s cock was spreading his tight passage, pushing farther and farther into him. He groped blindly for Ianto, squeezing his forearm when he found it.

            Ianto’s arm moved, but it was only to entwine their fingers as his hips continued their brutal pace. “Jack,” Jack’s eyes snapped open, and were greeted with the sight of a flustered, smiling Ianto gazing down at him. “How’s the carpet in our new flat?”

            A jolt of pleasure went through Jack at the words that had very little do with Ianto’s firm movements inside of him. “Oh, Ianto, say it again.”

            The younger man’s eyebrows furrowed. “Carpet?”

            Jack shook his head. “Our flat.”

            A flicker of realization passed across Ianto’s face, before he leaned back, settling into a position that afford him better leverage to thrust deeper into Jack. “Our flat,” he drawled.

            Jack’s hips thrust up, swollen red cock leaking copious amounts of precome over itself, trailing down until the sticky liquid nestled in his pubic hair. Fire pooled in his groin, an electrical thrill going through him at the words.

            “Our flat.” Ianto grunted again. He pulled Jack’s captured hand up with his, until they were both clutching at Jack’s thigh, drawing them even closer together as Ianto pounded into him, chanting: “Our flat; our flat; our flat; our flat.”

            Jack screamed as his orgasm overwhelmed him, running through his body and tensing every muscle. As come spurted out of him, his body shook with the aftershocks. Ianto was still pounding into him, head hanging down as he thrust his way toward completion. Jack moaned, tossing his head from side to side, as each snap of Ianto’s hips send miniature orgasmic shudders through his body; the overstimulation was driving him mad.

            With one last, powerful thrust Ianto came, keening as his release filled Jack. Then he collapsed, falling against Jack’s broad chest, sweat and come mingling as they pressed against each other.

            For a long minute, all Jack could do was draw deep breaths as he tried to get sensation back to his legs. His body kept twitching: uncontrollable aftershocks from his orgasm. He nuzzled the face lying against his, turning so he could press little kisses to his cheek and ear. “Oh, Ianto,” he sighed.

            “Mm.” Slowly Ianto lifted himself up enough so that he could turn into Jack, kissing him languidly. Tongues swept over tongues as Jack’s hands began wandering, caressing Ianto’s back, arse, and thighs. Ianto pulled away with a rueful smile. “Stop it, Jack. We have work to do.”

            Jack raised his eyebrows, but Ianto shook his head, kissing him once more before climbing off of him. Standing, he held down a hand for Jack to help him up. Jack winced as he did. Rug burns.

            Ianto noticed, and he was turning Jack around, grimacing in commiseration. “Oo, Jack. These look terrible. Do you want ice? Maybe some aloe?” Light fingertips traced along the burnt patches on Jack’s back. He shuddered at the touch.

            “No, it’s fine.” He winked roguishly at Ianto. “Besides, all I’m interested in right now is hauling your mattress out of storage and up the stairs. What do you say?”

            Jack loved the way Ianto couldn’t suppress a small smile at the suggestion. “Alright. But,” he arched an eyebrow warningly at Jack as he went to pull on his clothes. “We’re bringing more than just the mattress. Linens, dishware, and the bed frame,” he ticked off on his fingers, “We should be able to fit it all in and on the SUV.”

            Jack smacked Ianto’s arse as he bent over to pick up his shoes. “Well let’s get moving.”

**

            Three hours later, the two men (mostly Ianto) had successfully set up their bed, made it, and managed to put away a few cutlery and dish sets in the kitchen cabinets. There were even a handful of towels and facecloths in the bathroom, though no soaps or shampoos yet. Ianto had mentioned a Tesco’s run for later that night.

            For now, Jack had Ianto curled tight to him as they lay, comfortable and sated, beneath his sheets. “Do you think Gwen washed these before she packed them up?” One of Ianto’s hands was playing idly with the fabric, running his finger pads over it again and again.

            “Don’t see why she would.”

            Ianto sniffed. “I’ll wash them after we get detergent tonight. They smell stale.”

            Jack copied Ianto, sniffing experimentally. “All I can smell is you. And me.”

            There was a pause, and then Ianto was laughing. “Was that supposed to be romantic?”

            Squeezing Ianto closer to his chest, Jack laughed, planting a kiss into his hair and breathing deeply. “I don’t know. If I say yes, will you blow me before we go shopping?”

            Jack laughed as Ianto slapped him across the arm. He thought he heard him mutter “behave”, but all of Ianto’s words were currently being mumbled into Jack’s neck, making him difficult to hear.

            There was a pause, and Jack felt Ianto’s shoulders tense. The movement would have been imperceptible, if it weren’t for Jack’s arm wrapped tight around Ianto’s shoulders. “You know,” he whispered into Jack’s neck, “I’m sorry I never met Steven. Or Alice.”

            Jack froze. He had known he would have to talk to Ianto about it eventually but…not like this. Not so soon. Not when the loss of his little boy and the alienation of his little girl were still such a sharp, open wound in his chest.

            “Ianto, I don’t…”

            “No, Jack, I’m not asking you to…” There was a pause, and Jack concentrated on the feel of Ianto’s warm breath on his neck. “I just would have liked to have met him, is all.”

            Jack’s fingers stroked at Ianto’s arm for a moment as he considered. Ianto wasn’t asking him to explain, or talk, or anything. Just stating a fact about how he felt.

            He kissed Ianto on the head again, then nudged him until they were looking at each other. “Someday I’ll tell you about him. Show you some pictures.”

            The small smile that graced Ianto’s face seemed to heal Jack, just a bit. “No rush.”

            They kissed again, and as they did, Jack wondered at how he had managed to keep this wonderful man. Something stirred in his chest, and he felt the need to say something, anything, to try and express how much he loved Ianto.

            “I’d die. If I could.”

            The small flicker of pain that marred Ianto’s features made Jack realize how that sounded. “No, no, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.” One hand came up to cup Ianto’s face, thumb stroking it gently. “I just mean, that if I could reverse this, somehow, I would. So that I could live the rest of my life with you. And so I wouldn’t have to keep going without you.”

            “You couldn’t, though.” Jack looked down at Ianto, but the young man didn’t seem upset. “You said you think the Doctor knows you in the future. In your future. So, even if there was a way, you couldn’t. Timelines.”

            Jack settled back against his pillow with a sigh. “Timelines,” he whispered, grimacing slightly. Putting on a brave face, he patted Ianto on the flank. “Come on. I’m hungry. Take-away before shopping?”

            Ianto considered for a moment as Jack rolled off the bed and padded across the room naked. “I suppose no Indian, if you want that blowjob before we leave.”

            Jack’s eyes widened, hands automatically going to protect his bits. “Oh, no. Please no.”

            “Chinese, then?” Ianto’s grin was all-too-cheeky, but Jack loved it.

            “Chinese sounds great.”

**

             The little deviled eggs just looked so damn yummy. Ianto wouldn’t mind if he snagged just a few before…

            “Jack! Hands off!”

            Jack whirled, two deviled eggs balanced in his palm, another two stuffed in his mouth. “Wrf?” Ianto’s disapproving glare and foot tapping encouraged Jack to swallow before trying again. “What?”

            “Leave the hors d’oeuvres alone, please?”

            “But Ianto,” Jack sidled closer, sliding the hand that wasn’t cradling deviled eggs around Ianto’s hip. “Your cooking is so delicious, I just can’t help myself.”

            Never one to be taken in by his flattery, Ianto plucked the eggs from his palm and rearranged them on the plate. In apology, Jack snuck up behind him and rubbed his shoulders. Ianto practically melted under the touch.

            “Mm. You still can’t have the hors d’oeuvres.”

            Jack beamed down at the beatific expression on Ianto’s face. “Your shoulders are all tense. Tough day in the archives?” Ianto groaned, eyes still closed in bliss from the ministrations of Jack’s strong hands. Jack continued: “It was only a half day: couldn’t have been that bad.”

            “Alonso blew up half the ‘toys’ section. He found something that was decidedly not for youngsters, then activated it in his enthusiasm.”

            Jack chuckled. “Oh. So that’s probably why Lois dropped the Weevil she had been helping me haul in and ran down there?”

            Ianto’s eyes opened, and he titled his head, looking back at Jack. “You didn’t even ask her afterwards?”

            Jack shrugged. “Torchwood. Besides, not in charge: not my problem.” There was a moment’s pause as Jack continued his massage, then he leaned closer, brushing his lips over the shell of Ianto’s ear. “Did you give him a dressing down?”

            An arched eyebrow and twitch of his lips, then Ianto said: “Made him fill out accidental discharge forms.” He turned into Jack, wrapping his arms around his waist. “In triplicate.”

            Jack groaned. Damn Ianto and his office dirty talk. Just as he was wondering if Ianto would be up for a quick blowjob before the guests arrived, Ianto pecked him on the lips and started away. Jack watched fondly as he straightened the throw pillows and adjusted the stereo speakers.

The mini eggroll things were starting to look all-too-tempting when the doorbell rang. The two men blinked, staring at each other. “Suppose that’s the first of the guests,” Jack commented.

            “Suppose.”

            There was a moment of wild panic as both men turned and stared at the door. “Which one of us should,” Ianto stared at Jack, a helpless expression on his face. It was the same look he had when he first saw the his-and-hers sinks.

            Without further hesitation, Jack swept Ianto up and kissed him gently. “I’ll get it. That way I won’t be tempted to steal some more of your delicious food behind your back.”

            Leaving a softly smiling Ianto behind him, Jack flung the door open wide. Standing outside was the entire Torchwood team. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. “What, did you guys carpool here?”

            Gwen smacked Jack on the arm playfully, before shoving a bottle of wine into his hands and standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “We’ll, we were all at work anyway, and we all left at the same time. Unlike you bastards who got off work early today! What do you expect?”

            “Hey, we’ve been cooking all day!” There was a pause, and Jack sighed in defeat. “Okay, Ianto’s been cooking all day. But I’ve been moral support!”

            “Sure, Jack. Think I know by now what that means,” said Rhys, following Gwen inside. The rest of the team filed in behind them, unloading armfuls of gifts onto Jack. He had to stagger over to the fireplace, where Ianto had instructed he arrange any and all housewarming presents. He fiddled with the packages for a moment, trying to make them look proper, rather than just a pile of boxes. Giving up on that, he started to thumb through one of the bags with tissue paper poking out the top.

            “Jack!”

            He looked up at Ianto guiltily. Just as Ianto was opening a quirked mouth to reprimand him, the doorbell rang again, and Jack jumped up to answer it.

            Thirty minutes in, and Jack was pleased to see Ianto looking more relaxed. He was chatting agreeably with Rhys and Mickey – about footie, if their gestures were anything to go by – and sipping on a beer. Jack knew he looked like an idiot, but he couldn’t help grinning madly to himself at the sight.

            The doorbell rang, and Jack saw Ianto start away from the men. He caught Jack’s eye, nodding at the door to indicate that he had it. Jack scanned the room: almost everyone they had invited was already there. All the new neighbors, Torchwood staff, and a few friends-of-friends were mingling and chatting happily around their new flat. Jack stifled a rather unmanly giggle of happiness: their flat.

            His arousal and contentment dropped sharply away when he caught a glance of Ianto standing stock-still before the front door, expression hardened to the person on the other side. Oh, shit. With little effort he extracted himself from a conversation with their next-door neighbors and practically knocked over an hors d’oeuvres tray on his way to the door.

            “Well I had an invitation, so-”

            “Sorry! Sorry!” Jack pushed himself in between Ianto and the new guest: Rhiannon. He focused his puppy-dog eyes on Ianto. “I invited her. I thought maybe…”

            “Oh, so you didn’t even invite me?” Rhiannon was staring at Ianto. Little flashes of anger and hurt were trickling out of cracks in Ianto’s expressionless mask.

            “Rhiannon,” Jack put a hand on her elbow, gently steering her into the flat while keeping his body between the two siblings, “Please come in. I wanted you here. Please?”

            Even a woman as down-to-earth as Rhiannon couldn’t resist Jack’s charms, and she relented, though her lips never deviated from the thin line they were pressed into. She pushed a bowl covered with plastic wrap into Jack’s arms. “Here. Spinach and artichoke dip with some of those fancy crackers.” She glanced around. “Congrats on the new flat.”

            Jack noticed as she walked away to mingle with the other guests that all her comments were directed at him, rather than her brother. He turned to Ianto, ready to apologize.

            But Ianto just took the bowl from him, peeling off the wrap and walking away. “I’ll just put this out, then.” Jack winced. Not exactly the reunion he had been hoping for. But at least she was staying. For now.

            Three hours later the sky had gone dark outside, and the interior of their flat was aglow with warmth and life. Several beers and a few glasses of wine had loosened up Ianto enough that he was chatting with Gwen rather animatedly in a corner. Jack wanted to step in, but then he saw Ianto’s hands spread in an imitation of size, and he decided it might be best to leave those two to talk about…whatever it was they were.

            Jack was happy to see Rhiannon chatting it up with one of the neighbors. The entire night he had walked on eggshells around her. But she was still here – that had to be a good sign, he figured.

             “What do you mean you’re getting married?!”

            The room froze. Jack whipped his head around to see Gwen staring at Ianto, jaw dropped to the floor and eyes wide as could be. Ianto’s eyes blinked slightly out of sync, and he frowned. Jack could see his mind trying to figure out if he was supposed to have mentioned that to Gwen. A slow smile slid across his face as he looked down at his hands.

            “Well, yeah. He asked me. And look,” one of Ianto’s eyes was closed as he held out his right hand, showing off a platinum wedding band. “He got me a ring. He couldn’t wait until the wedding to get matching ones, so…um…we got them. Just on this hand.” He waggled his right hand at Gwen.

            Jack shifted uncomfortably. This wasn’t exactly how he had expected to announce their engagement. As surreptitiously as he could (not at all) he slipped over to Ianto’s side, prying the glass of wine from his hand. “Think you’ve had enough.”

            Ianto grinned up at him. “Hey.”

            “Hey.”

            Ianto started to lean in for a kiss, and Jack panicked. Normally Ianto wouldn’t welcome the public display of affection. Then again, if Jack pulled away, it would look odd to the room full of people. So he kissed Ianto quickly on the lips, pulling away as the besotted and inebriated young man tried to deepen it.

            “You’re getting married?!” It was an echo of Gwen’s earlier words, but this time from Rhiannon. Both men’s heads whipped around, Ianto appearing to sober slightly.

            “Listen, Rhi, I didn’t mean to not tell you…”

            Jack wasn’t sure which “not tell you” item Ianto was talking about, and glanced over at Gwen frantically. He didn’t exactly need Ianto blurting out the story of his resurrection in front of the room full of guests, either. That might go over worse than the engagement.

            “You daft sod!” Abruptly Rhiannon was there, pulling Ianto into a crushing hug. “Well, you’ll just have to make Johnny your best man, to make up for it.”

            Even drunk Ianto knew that was a bad idea, and his expression was the funniest thing Jack had seen all month: a mixture of horrified, drunk, apologetic, confused, and an attempt at tact buried somewhere amongst the bunch. “Er, Rhi, I don’t…”

            Rhiannon smacked Ianto’s arm. “Oh, I was just teasing! But, I insist on helping you plan the whole thing! Me and Johnny had to do the damn thing on a shoestring budget – you’ve got some quid to spare. We’re throwing you the wedding I never got, alright?”

             “You’re lovely, Rhi,” Ianto breathed. He stumbled and half-hugged, half-leaned on Rhiannon.

            The room broke out into applause, a chorus of “congratulations!” going around. Jack took that as his cue to steer Ianto toward the bedroom. He smiled broadly at Rhiannon as he did. “Let me just get him to bed, then you and I can talk.”

            “Oi!” Rhiannon shoved Jack with a wink and a grin. “That’s my baby brother you’re talking about.”

            Jack smiled back good-naturedly, but inside he groaned. Families. What a pain in the ass.

 

            “There. The bartender gave that woman two napkins. Again.” Ianto started to stand. “I’m going to have a word with him.”

            “Ianto,” Jack grabbed Ianto’s wrist and tugged him back down to his seat. Stifling his protest with a firm kiss on the lips, Jack pulled back, cradling Ianto’s face between two hands and staring into his eyes. “Let it go.” Ianto still glanced over at the bartender, a thin worry line forming between his eyes. Jack kissed him again. “It’s your wedding reception. Relax.”

            “Just inefficient. Wasteful.” But Ianto decisively turned himself away from the bar, facing Jack. “And you should be as indignant as I am. It’s your money paying for the open bar.”

            Jack grinned, all teeth and gums and happiness seeping out of his every pore. “I can afford it.” He winked at Ianto, then patted his leg decisively. Ianto looked like he was trying very hard not to preen under the attention.

The song changed and Jack’s eyes lit up. “Oh, Ianto, you have to dance with me to this.” Ianto had been refusing Jack’s encouragement to dance all night; he had sat down as soon as their first dance was over, and turned down every dance since.

But this song...Jack leaned forward, brushing his lips against Ianto’s ear. “Remember that night in the hotel, overlooking the bay?”

Ianto sighed and stood up, taking Jack’s hand as he allowed himself to be led to the dance floor. “Still don’t know what you see in this song.”*

Jack sighed in contentment, pulling Ianto close and swaying easily with the music. He nuzzled Ianto’s cheek, breathing in deeply before he spoke. “Because I’d be lost without you, Ianto.”

He felt Ianto shift uncomfortably beneath him, but Jack held him close, keeping firm pressure on Ianto’s lower back with the palm of his hand. “Jack-”

“Shh.” Jack kissed Ianto’s cheek. “Like the Beach Boys, in their infinite wisdom, say: the world will go on when you leave me.” He felt Ianto shake beneath him, and Jack had to open his eyes wide in an effort to stave off tears. It wasn’t working very well. “But while you’re here, you make me a better man, Ianto Jones.”

The song ended, but Jack kept holding Ianto close – whether he was giving himself or Ianto time to collect himself, Jack wasn’t sure. Finally, as the next song ended, Jack pulled away and kissed Ianto lightly on the lips. The other man’s eyes were still a little red, and his complexion slightly blotchy, but Jack pretended not to notice. “Have I told you yet today that you look like the most beautiful man for ten galaxies in that suit?”

Ianto swallowed thickly, then grinned. “Only ten galaxies? So I suppose the men over in IOK-1 have me beat?”**

Jack shrugged. “Never been. Maybe it can be one of our stops, and I can see for myself how much sexier you are than them.” He nodded over at their table. “Come on. Let’s get the handsome newly-wed another drink.”

**

            The send-off for their honeymoon was more limited than their reception, due to the fact that their honeymoon was taking place on an interstellar cruise ship waiting for them in the Oort Cloud. Only Torchwood employees were allowed to join them on the secluded hill outside of Cardiff. Jack had one arm wrapped around Ianto, and remembered the last time he had stood on a hill, waiting for an alien spaceship to take him away. His arm squeezed tighter around the man’s waist beside him.

            The whole Torchwood team was standing around them, bidding them farewell and generally drinking more champagne than defenders of the Earth really ought to. Gwen was the first to run up to them, throwing her arms around both men and hugging them tight. “You two stay out of trouble, you understand?” She pulled back and sniffed dramatically, eyes all teared-up. “We can’t do this without you both – you have to come back.”

            Jack huffed and released Ianto, wrapping Gwen up in a tight hug and kissing her on the cheek. “You managed fine all the other times I left, haven’t you?”

            When Gwen looked like she was going to really start crying, Ianto stepped in and demurely kissed her other cheek, taking her hands in his. “It’s only for a month. I did the calculations myself.”

            Rhys stepped in and shook both men’s hands before pulling his wife away. He stood there and grinned, baby over one shoulder, Gwen tucked under the other. “If you do get into trouble, get out of it, alright?” He winked and nodded at Gwen. “Don’t think I could stand this one if something happened.”

            Jack threw his hands up. “It’s just a pleasure cruise! How much trouble do you think I get into?”

            “On that note...” Mickey stepped forward, with Martha trailing behind him. He had a smug grin on his face. “Martha was telling me about some of the pleasure cruises she heard about when she was traveling with the Doctor.” Jack narrowed his eyes at Mickey. He had his hands behind his back, and was obviously holding something there. “Now, I know it’s nothing you two don’t already have...” he pulled his arms around front, handing Ianto a rectangular package, “but, I figured with you newly married and all, Ianto, you could use it to keep the Captain in line.” Mickey was rocking back on his heels, obviously pleased with himself. “After all, he’s got to stay faithful now, don’t he?”

            Jack peered over Ianto’s shoulder at the package. Ianto shimmied off the lid, to reveal a cat o’ nine tails nestled snug in the box. Ianto coughed demurely, face turning red as he tried to put the lid back on the package. Jack was too quick for him, snagging the cat o’ nine tails and pulling it out of the packaging. He hefted it, then snapped it off to the side. “Oh, Mickey, Martha, how could I ever thank you!” He grabbed them both up into a bone-crushing hug, kissing them messily on their cheeks. Mickey spluttered indignantly, while Martha giggled.

            “Oh, Jack, get off!” She pushed Jack off, smoothing down her expensive-looking dress. “Not like you boys haven't used something like it before, I’m sure.”

            Jack looked back at Ianto with an evil smirk. “Well, not a cat o’ nine tails, exactly. Something more of the equine variety, on the other hand...” The groans from the Torchwood team members were worth it to see Ianto blush.

            “Well, if you want my advice, just don’t freeze it before you use it,” Alonso piped up from the back of the group. He rubbed his arse meaningfully. “Not a great idea.”

            Jack blinked at Alonso. He turned around to raise an eyebrow at Ianto, who shrugged, before turning back to Alonso. Lois was turning a deep crimson beneath her darker skin, and she tugged discreetly at Alonso’s trousers. Noticing her mortification, it was Alonso’s turn to blush. “Oh.” He glanced around at the team. “That’s one of those things people don’t talk about, isn’t it?”

            Mickey laughed uproariously. “It’s alright, ‘Lonsy. You’re working with Captain Cheese: normality goes straight out the window with ‘im.”

            Ianto stepped forward, sliding the toy out of Jack’s grasp and replacing it in the box. “You two just make sure my Archives are intact when I get back,” he directed his order at Alonso and Lois. “Alonso: I want a full report on rooms 215-314 when I get back; we’ve never had anyone with your technical expertise to properly catalogue those devices.”

            Jack tugged at Ianto’s arm. “That’s enough, Ianto. No more work-related thoughts for the next month.”

            Ianto shot Alonso and Lois one more warning look before turning back to Jack with a wink and a smirk. “Just making sure I don’t have too much work to do when we get back.”

            Tugging Ianto close, Jack murmured in his ear: “Well, we wouldn’t want that.”

            There was a faint beeping, and Jack pulled back from Ianto for a moment to check his wrist strap. One of the lights was flashing red – one minute before extraction. Jack looked around the group one last time as he wrapped an arm around Ianto. “Andy!” Jack shouted out.

            Andy widened his eyes. “Yes?”

            “Keep these rapscallions in line, will you?”

            Andy saluted Jack seriously. “Will do, Captain.”

            His wrist strap beeped again: ten seconds. Jack turned to Ianto, who was looking over at him, eyebrows furrowed ever-so-slightly. On impulse Jack leaned forward and pressed a kiss to that frown line, not pulling back until it smoothed away.

            There was a flash of light, and the two men left Cardiff far, far behind.

**

            Ianto gasped. They had been beamed onto the observation deck – Jack had to grin at the slick move on the ship’s planners’ part. Putting the transportation beam in the observation deck was a sure way to awe and inspire wide-eyed tourists. He glanced over at Ianto. He was doing his best not to look like a wide-eyed tourist himself, and failing spectacularly.

            Jack nudged Ianto with his shoulder. “Stop trying to look so nonchalant.” Ianto had looked nothing of the sort, but he had looked like he was trying to look nonchalant, so Jack decided to humor him. It seemed to work, because Ianto grinned sheepishly at him. Jack nodded at the glass roof and walls around them. “Feel free to look.”

            Ianto smiled broadly, turning his eyes from Jack’s to the view surrounding them. Jack decided to indulge his own sense of wonder. It had been almost a year since his last jaunt in space, and it had been years and years since he had enjoyed it. The Oort Cloud didn’t exactly allow for a starry night, but the cloud itself was fascinating, with comets and meteors whizzing by the ship. Every once in a while a small one would collide with the shield around the ship, and burst in a spectacle of dust and rocks.

            Ianto was clutching Jack’s arm, gasping and pointing at the spectacle around them. “Jack...” Ianto turned to look at Jack for the first time in several minutes, eyes glistening. “This is amazing.”

            Jack swept Ianto up into his arms, kissing him passionately. When they pulled away, Jack could only grin madly at Ianto’s happiness. “It is,” he said sincerely, his eyes never leaving Ianto’s.

**

            An hour later, when Ianto’s eyes grew tired of staring up and around, Jack led him to their room – a newlywed sweet. It had cost enough money for Jack to buy his own little starhopper, ten times over, but it was worth it for the sight of Ianto’s face when he opened the door and saw the wall-to-wall window in the bedroom. “Jack,” he breathed. Jack watched as Ianto stumbled into the room, jaw dropping to the floor and eyes wide. Jack quietly set their luggage in a corner as he watched him marvel at the view.

            Jack snuck up behind Ianto, wrapping his arms around his waist. Ianto leaned back into the touch, gripping Jack’s hands in his own. “Jack, I can’t...I don’t even...”

            With a gentle tug, Jack pulled Ianto around. He kissed him, gently: cupping his face in his hands as their hips slotted together. Ianto melted into him.

            They pulled apart, Ianto’s breathing already heavy. He rubbed his forehead against Jack’s cheek, and Jack nuzzled back. “Jack...”

            “Shh.” Jack ran a hand over Ianto’s hair and down the side of his face. “Come here.” Jack kissed Ianto again, until it turned heated, frantic. Ianto pulled away with a whimper, dragging Jack backwards to the bed. They fell onto it together, laughing in between kisses.

            As Jack started undressing Ianto – pulling apart his bowtie and yanking it from his collar – Ianto pulled away. “Wait, wait.” He nodded over at their bags, an impish grin on his face. “Do you want to try out our present?”

             Smiling down softly at Ianto, Jack shook his head. “Not now. Now I want you.” His eyes watered a little as he stared down at the beautiful, disheveled man laid out beneath him. “Just you.”

             Before an emotion could fully form on Ianto’s face, he surged up, pulling Jack down to him and kissing him. Their clothes vanished in a flurry of buttons and silk. Jack took it as a testament of Ianto’s gratitude that he didn’t once stop and complain about wrinkled fabric and the expensive clothes.

            As Jack snaked one hand down between them, fisting their arousals together in a jerky, messy slide, he reached his other hand out to the side drawer and fumbled around for the lube. Ianto propped himself up at the snap of the cap, curious eyes alighting on the strange bottle.

            “What’s that?”

            “Complimentary lube. Self-warming, nanobots for that little extra tingle.”

            Ianto stared warily at the bottle. “Safe for humans?”

             Jack poured a generous dollop on two fingers, rubbing it between thumb and forefingers. “Of course.” He glanced down between the two of them, then back up at Ianto. “Can I...?”

            Ianto nodded, smiling as he lifted his hips. “We’ve got a month. It’d get boring if I was on top the whole time.”

            As Jack pushed a single slicked digit in, he pressed his lips to Ianto’s, mumbling “Never.” Ianto gasped and squirmed beneath him, mouth falling open even as his eyes fluttered shut. “Never could get bored of you, Ianto.”

            He pushed a second slicked-up finger in, and Ianto cried out, face screwed up in pleasure. “Jack! Oh, Jack, that’s...”

            Jack grinned as he pushed the fingers in and out of him, scissoring them as he stretched Ianto torturously slowly. “Nice, yeah.”

            Ianto’s hands were clenching around the silk sheets of the bed, hips undulating down onto Jack’s fingers. “Jack, yes...” The veritable growl that escaped Ianto turned Jack on more than anything, and he rutted against Ianto’s thigh as he stretched him.

            Jack remained patient enough to slip a third finger in, even as Ianto begged him to just get on with it. “Please, Jack. Just...”

            “Not yet.” Jack thrust three fingers in, avoiding Ianto’s prostate. He didn’t want their first sex as a married couple to end prematurely. Beneath him, Ianto whined, one hand slipping down to stroke his cock. Jack batted the hand away. “Not yet, not yet.”

            Satisfied that Ianto was stretched enough, Jack pulled his fingers out and coated himself in the lubricant. His eyes fluttered shut at the sensation, fingers threatening to linger before he drew them away and lined himself up with Ianto. With one smooth, slow thrust he pushed in. Both men groaned, twin pairs of blue eyes closing against the onslaught of pleasure.

            Jack stilled, burying his face in Ianto’s neck as he felt his cock throb inside his tight passage. He felt Ianto’s hair tickle the side of his face as his head moved, lips kissing and teeth nipping at Jack’s ear, jaw, lips. “Move, Jack.”

            Unable to resist any longer, Jack pulled back, just a small ways, before thrust back in. Beneath him, Ianto’s breath hitched at the slight movement. “Again, Jack.”

            Jack moved, hips picking up a slow, steady rhythm as they undulated against Ianto’s. The lube tingled and warmed around Jack, where he was sheathed inside Ianto. He kissed Ianto again, hips picking up their pace and snapping out a harsher rhythm. Ianto’s legs rose up and wrapped high around his waist, pulling Jack in, thrusting against him. As Ianto fell back from the kiss, his head turned to the side. “Jack, look.”

            Jack followed his gaze to the wall-length window. The ship was moving again, and meteorites, dust, and comets sailed past them at impossible speeds. Stars were flickering into visibility around them as the ship gained speed, lighting up the sky. Beneath him, Ianto gasped and cried out, muscles getting tighter and tighter, hips pressing down faster. Jack stared at the sight with him. Their reflections moved in the window, set against the backdrop of starlight and space dust.

            “Jack, Jack, Jack,” Ianto was chanting his name, eyes barely staying open as his body arched into Jack. “Touch me, please.”

            Jack could feel his own orgasm building inside of him, a fire waiting to erupt behind his groin, a tingling pleasure spreading through his skin. He pushed a hand between their writhing bodies, finding Ianto’s straining arousal, dripping with precome. In a few short strokes Ianto was crying out beneath him, body arching up from the silk sheets as every muscle stilled in a moment of exquisite tension. Jack gasped as those same muscles bore down around him, squeezing tight around his cock. His orgasm roared out of him, the last bit of pressure allowing him to find the release he had been searching for.

            They fell against each other on the bed, laughing and gasping for breath. Jack pulled out of Ianto and rolled off of him, coming to rest on his back on the silk sheets.

            For a long minute, the only sounds in the room was their panting breaths as they basked in the glow of orgasm. Then Ianto was grunting, pulling himself up to lie against the pillows and pulling the sheets up and over them. Jack grumbled in protest to the movement, but shifted himself so that Ianto was tucked into his chest, sheets draped lightly over them.

            “Thank you, Jack.”

            Jack pressed a kiss to Ianto’s forehead. “Nothing to thank me for. You’re here.”

            Jack gazed out the window for a moment, before he realized that Ianto was facing away from it. “Hey,” he shook Ianto, trying to roll him over. “You’re missing the view.”

            Buried in Jack’s chest, Ianto groaned. “Comfortable here.”

            Jack laughed. “As the former leader of Torchwood Cardiff, I order you to turn over and enjoy the view. I didn’t pay good money for this room for you to stare at my chest – gorgeous as it may be.”

            With a groan and a few grumbled swears Ianto reluctantly pulled away from Jack, turning over so he could enjoy the view. Jack pulled him close, wrapping an arm around Ianto’s chest so they were spooned together as they looked out at the stars.

            “Do you miss being the leader?”

            Jack stroked a thumb over Ianto’s hand, clasped close to Ianto’s chest. “Hell no: no more paperwork.”

            Ianto chuckled, but Jack could tell it was just obligatory. He was waiting for his real answer.

            “No. I don’t. When I was in charge, every death...” he paused, taking a shaky breath. “Every death was because of me. Was because of a decision I made. As a field agent, I’m only responsible for myself.” In his arms, Ianto hummed in understanding. “Plus, twenty-first century humans should be the ones running twenty-first century Torchwood. I was out of line being in charge. It’s your world, your time.”

            Jack felt his hand being lifted, and Ianto pressed a quick kiss to the back of it. With a groan, Ianto rolled over. “All that champagne and drinking, I’m starved. Could we grab a bite?”

            Jack chuckled, leaning down to nip at Ianto’s shoulder. “But I’ve got something right here to nibble on,” he whined. Ianto laughed and shoved Jack away. Sweat slickened skin slid against each other, as then men laughed and wrestled on the bed. Within minutes, Ianto had Jack by the hair and was shoving clothes on him until they were both decent enough to grab a bite.

 
 

*The song they danced to was “God Only Knows”, by the Beach Boys. I don’t even like the Beach Boys that much, but I love this song. You can listen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDfH_J4MA UQ

**The most distant galaxy detected so far. According to Wiki :P

 

Epilogue 

            “It’s been good.” This time, it wasn’t a question that passed through Ianto’s lips. The cloudy eyes glimmered with the surety of the statement.

            “The best.” Jack whispered. He took care not to squeeze the fragile hands beneath his own. “Don’t talk-”

            “Shh.” Paper-thin skin rubbed against his own. Jack took a shuddering breath, trying to stop the tears from falling. It was a lost battle. “Jack.” Ianto’s voice was barely a whisper, wheezing out from dying lungs. “Don’t bring me back.”

            Jack laughed half-heartedly, until the laughter turned to sobs. “I love you, Ianto. I’m going to miss you so much.”

            “Good.” The small, quirked corner of his mouth just made Jack sob harder. “You-” Ianto was interrupted by a coughing fit. Jack waited it out, holding him up and rubbing his back soothingly. He felt so light in his arms, so fragile. Nothing like the strong, young man that existed in Jack’s memory.

            As the fit subsided, it left behind a rattling noise in his chest. Jack tried to push a glass of water to Ianto’s lips, but he waved it away. His voice, when he spoke, was even weaker than before. Jack had to practically press his ear to Ianto’s lips to hear. “You showed me the universe.”

            Jack wiped his eyes on his sleeve. His hands shook even as he collected Ianto’s in his own. “We saw it together. You showed me so much, Ianto. So much I would have never seen, without you by my side.”

            Ianto smiled, and for a moment Jack could again see the vibrant soul beneath the dying shell that lay before him. There were long minutes of silence before Ianto spoke again. “I love you.”

            “I love you too, Ianto Jones.” Jack clutched Ianto’s hands to his chest. He was determined to do this right, to make up for last time. “I love you.”

            Two hours later, Ianto Jones was dead.

            Three hours later, Jack Harkness stood up and left, his greatcoat tucked around the man lying still on the hospital bed.

 

End-of-Series A/N:

            First, I’m so sorry for ending it so sad. ;___; I cried when I was writing it, actually. But I feel that the real tragedy of Jack and Ianto wasn’t that Ianto died, which he would always end up doing any way – it was that they didn’t get the time together they should have. So I gave them that time. ;____;

 

Onto other things! I’m starting on my Gwil Saga (title pending...) now, the “growing up Torchwood” series of stories. Go check out the poll for more info about it, as well as voting on a day of the week for weekly updates!

 

Thank you so much, again, everyone. Thank you for reading, thank you for commenting, thank you to all the lurkers who enjoyed it from a distance, and all the rabid fans who commented every time. I just try and write something good and entertaining, and I hope I did that.

• Main Torchwood slash page
• New stories page
• Jack/Ianto stories
• Ianto/Owen stories
• Other pairings stories - ie threesomes
• F/F stories
• Gen stories
• Amazon.com - Torchwood: Children of Earth
• Amazon.co.uk - Torchwood - Children of Earth [DVD] [2009]
• Amazon.ca link - Torchwood - The Complete First Season (7DVD)