Hiding Out
It isn't often that he gets to see Jack sleep. Most of the time Jack is still awake when he drifts off and wakes before him as well. Of course, that's assuming Jack even sleeps during their encounters. The only times Ianto can recall seeing Jack sleep is when he's well and truly unconscious, normally the result of some kind of injury.
So it's a huge surprise to see Jack sleeping on his sofa when he comes down from changing out of his suit. He couldn't have been gone more than five minutes, but Jack's head is resting against the back of the sofa and he's snoring softly. It's that quiet, wheezing snore that sets this apart from the other times he's seen Jack sleep. This time, it's just a plain exhausted slumber.
Smiling fondly at his sometimes-lover, Ianto crouches down and carefully removes Jack's boots. They're a lot dirtier than Ianto remembers them being, stained in some places with what looks like blood. Dark, rusty smears and dribbles. Once he has Jack's boots off, he gently tips the immortal so that he's stretched out along the entire sofa. Thankfully, Jack had removed his coat before sitting down so all Ianto has to do is drape a blanket over him.
Leaving Jack for a moment, Ianto picks up the boots, as well as Jack's coat which has been thrown over the back of a nearby chair. The army greatcoat tells as much of a story about Jack's absence as his boots. There are several tears— expertly repaired, but still visible to a trained eye—that Ianto knows hadn't been there before.
A chill runs through Ianto, and he suddenly wishes that he'd put on a jumper and socks instead of just a t-shirt and jeans. The sleeves are long, but Ianto can still feel a chill all the way through him. He's fairly certain that Jack has been gone a lot longer than the six weeks he was missing in their time. Between Jack being unable to die and the Doctor being able to travel in time, the other man could have been gone years and they'd have been none the wiser.
With nothing else to do but avoid themselves for the next twelve hours while they wait for events with Captain John Hart to sort themselves out, Ianto makes himself some tea and gets comfortable in the overstuffed chair that Lisa had bought for their apartment in London, but that he hadn't been able to part with.
He's halfway into his second cup of tea when Jack begins to stir. He makes a few quiet noises that Ianto can't identify and begins to shift restlessly. He's about to go back to his reading when the noises take on a decidedly unhappy tone. He's at the sofa by the time Jack has begun a keening whimper and strokes his fingers through Jack's dark hair. Laying his hand against Jack's head, Ianto lightly rubs his temple with the pad of his thumb. Jack calms for only a moment before whatever terror is gripping him reasserts itself. Jack fights earnestly against the blanket covering him and Ianto's in the process of tugging it off of him when he finds himself sprawled in an ungainly heap with Jack on top of him.
Jack's panting harshly, his eyes slightly glazed, but after a few moments he seems to focus, his eyes locking onto Ianto's.
"Hey," is all Jack seems able to come up with.
"Hey, yourself," Ianto murmurs just as quietly.
With a bit of shuffling, they're both standing in the middle of the living room. Jack seems completely lost, likely just a result of his interrupted sleep, so Ianto grabs hold of his wrist to guide him to the stairs.
"The bed's a lot more comfortable than the sofa," Ianto says by way of explanation.
Jack chuckles in that quiet way that once made Ianto flustered every time he heard it. At the moment, Ianto can't help but smile in turn.
"We're just going to sleep," Ianto informs him, unable to keep the amusement from his voice. "This has been a long day and I'm exhausted. Besides, you still owe me a date."
And even though Jack continues to tease, there's a tightness around his eyes that shows Jack is just as exhausted as he is. So even though they're both naked when they crawl into bed, they do nothing but curl up against each other. By the time Ianto starts to drift off, Jack has wiggled about to the point where his head is resting on Ianto's chest. Jack is just as much of a human furnace as Ianto remembers and between Jack's body heat and the duvet, Ianto finds himself in such a wonderful pocket of warmth that it's not long before he falls asleep.
When he wakes up the next morning, Jack is propped up on one elbow watching him. The haunted look is gone from his eyes, at least for the moment, and Ianto finds himself holding onto Jack's hip as his lover leans down for a kiss.