The central idea for this was ebineez01's :-)
Ianto smiled to himself as he entered the bar. Captain Hart was fairly predictable – though he'd probably chew his head off if he ever told him that. He slid onto a stool next to the former Time Agent who simply kept staring into his glass, ignoring Ianto completely. Ordering a drink for himself Ianto settled in for a long night, but John opened his mouth a lot sooner than he'd expected.
"You won, Eye Candy. Let it go."
Ouch. Good Lord the man was hurt. Ianto felt sorry for him.
"I didn't know we were competing."
John snorted and downed his drink, holding it out for the barman to refill.
"Jack seems determined to go on with this 21st century monogamy farce. Whatever. Congratulations. You won the lottery."
Ianto smiled a little.
"He's not monogamous. Never was, never will be."
That finally got John's attention.
"And you're OK with that?"
This wasn't going in the direction Ianto had planned. He shrugged.
"It's Jack."
"Huh."
John went back to his drink. Ianto took a breath.
"Anyway. I can't watch this any longer. You're hurting. Jack's moody. You need to sort this out."
John gave a bitter laugh.
"Jack has sorted this out a long time ago. I'm his past. You're his present. He's always been awfully pedantic about time lines."
Ianto studied the man beside him for a full minute. John really believed that. Couldn't see what Ianto was seeing. Wouldn't let himself see it. He turned on the stool to be able to fully look at John. He noticed the tension in the other man's shoulders as well as in his jaw.
"That's not true", he said, his voice soft, but steady. "I've seen the way he looks at you. When you're not looking. When he thinks nobody's looking. I've never seen him look at anybody the way he looks at you."
John's heart skipped a beat, but his face was perfectly neutral. Don't go there. No hope, no pain.
"I told him over and over again. He never answered me. A million years later he tells me he did love me, but couldn't say so because he was under orders." He spat the last words, making it perfectly clear what he thought of Jack's excuse. He stood.
"I'll say it one last time, Ianto."
There was a sincerity to the way he said Ianto's name, a level of respect Ianto had never gotten from the captain before. "Let it go."
He visibly pulled himself together and walked towards the door, perfect swagger, gun belt framing his ass quite nicely. Stubborn son of a bitch.
Less than three minutes later Jack stormed the scene, gun drawn. When he noticed Ianto sitting at the bar all by himself and in no imminent danger he lowered his weapon, gesturing apologetically to the barman. He sat down on the stool John had vacated and gave Ianto an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry about the big entrance."
"Yeah what was that about?"
"We located both your comm and John's wrist strap here, so I thought -"
"What exactly did you think we were doing?", Ianto asked, a mixture of smugness and innocence on his face that only he could pull off. Jack cleared his throat.
"I thought you might be in danger. Excuse me for being worried."
Ianto just held his eyes, and Jack had the good sense to look a bit sheepish. Ianto took pity.
"I was trying to talk to him."
Jack huffed out a breath.
"Emphasize on trying. There is no talking to John. Wait a minute, what were you trying to talk about?"
Ianto turned serious.
"You still love him, don't you?"
Jack stared at him.
"What? No! John and I are through! Ianto, I swear, you're the only one I care about. "
"Two lies in two sentences. That has to be a record."
Jack blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"First. You've never been a one person guy and you will never be -"
He stalled Jack's attempt at protesting.
" - and that's OK, Jack. It's who you are. Second. I'm not blind."
Jack's shoulders sagged. Ianto moved a little closer.
"Why is this so hard? John refuses to see it, you pretend it's not there. What happened between the two of you?"
Jack didn't say anything for quite a while, but Ianto was nothing if not patient.
"I hurt him, Ianto. Badly. I don't think he'll ever forget that."
Ianto's chest tightened. He felt sorry for the both of them – the man he loved and the man he was beginning to like, or at least respect, more and more.
"Is it true you didn't tell him how you felt – back then I mean – or actually – well when you were at the Agency -"
He took a breath and tried again.
"Is it true you never told him because you weren't allowed?"
Jack heaved a sigh.
"The Agency partnered us because I could control him. It barely worked, and only because I didn't tell him. If I'd failed, if I'd lost my grip on him – they would have reassigned us."
Understanding started to dawn on Ianto. Jack went on, his voice so low it was barely audible over the back ground noise of the busy bar:
"They might have put a universe between us, or a few millennia. I couldn't risk that."
"Because you loved him."
"Yeah. I needed him. I wanted to be with him."
"So you never told him and broke his heart instead."
Jack straightened.
"Lucky for me he's enough of a glutton for punishment to stay regardless."
Ianto gasped.
"That's such a cruel thing to say."
"It's the truth. He can take a lot. And he did", he added, guilt in his voice.
"So?"
"So – what?"
"What are you going to do?"
"What do you suggest?"
Ianto took a breath.
"Find him before he does something stupid."
"John's not the suicidal type."
"I was thinking more along the lines of blowing up the city."
Jack swallowed and all but leaped to his feet. That did sound like something a hurting John would do.
"Right."
He gave Ianto a quick kiss and went to find his ex partner, not sure what he'd tell him, what he'd do, but aware that he had to do something.
He found him overlooking the bay. Pretty much the first place he'd tried. What was it with John and the sea...
John didn't turn, but the way his body tensed told Jack he was well aware of his presence. Now what do you tell the man you love, have loved for so long, and hurt so many times? John beat him to it.
"Don't", he said, still not looking at him.
So little from a man who loved to hear himself talk, and yet it was enough. Don't try to explain anything. Don't make it worse. Don't twist the knife. Please let it go. But Jack knew he couldn't do that. Not anymore. Ianto was right. His beautiful, brilliant, so-much-stronger-than-people-thought Ianto was right. They had to sort this out. He had to sort it out.
"Is it too late?", he said, just loud enough for John to catch it over the soft sounds of the night, standing behind him but not touching him. John didn't move a muscle.
"Or do you still want me?"
Still nothing. Jack felt his hands shake a little. Could it be? Did John finally have enough? Enough pain, enough disappointment, enough heart break? He tried one more time.
"You're a proud man, John, and there's only so much pain a person can take. Even you. So tell me, please – is this it? Are you done with me?"
Still without a word John turned and simply looked at Jack. Even in the poor light the emotion in his eyes was clear as day. He finally stopped hiding the constant pain he was in and unleashed it on the man who was causing it, no pretense, no brave facade, raw, blazing pain that had been there for years. It made Jack swallow and close his eyes, and he took a step back. He'd seen angry John and smug John and hot as hell 'come get me' John, but this was a whole new experience. This was John letting him see what his rejection had done to him. That he was coming apart and didn't have the strength to cover it up anymore.
Jack moved in, framing John's face with both hands, and kissed him. His ex partner struggled to not give in to the kiss, but when Jack ran one hand down his back and gently pulled him closer he gave up, lean body melting against the man he loved, chest heaving in a desperate attempt not to lose it completely.
"I'm sorry, John", Jack breathed against John's mouth. "All the things I put you through, all the things I didn't say..."
John buried his face in the crook of Jack's neck, his arms around his waist, fighting to regain control.
"All that time, I never told you, and when I finally did, I lied to you."
John pulled back to look at him, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"It's not past tense, John. I do love you. Always have from the moment you swept me off my feet at the Agency's casino. I'm sorry, John. I'm so sorry."
"I hate you, Harkness", John breathed, and Jack knew perfectly well what that meant. John moved in for the sort of kiss Jack remembered, would always remember no matter how long he lived. It meant John did still want him.