Note From the Author-- So I completely spaced doing this for my favorite holiday ever (Halloween) so I'm doing it for Christmas instead. I'll be writing a short Christmas/Holiday related one-shot for each and every category I usually write in. Should be interesting if nothing else : ) Volume Two: Torchwood
Disclaimer—I don't own the characters of Torchwood, nor do I own the song which this story's title comes from
Spending Christmas Eve Day hunting down a rogue Weevil was far from ideal, but in Torchwood it was pretty much the norm. But now the alien had been caught, Tosh and Owen had wandered off to their respective holiday outposts and Jack was brooding in his office while Gwen and Ianto got ready to go home.
As Ianto filled a mug with coffee for the drive home Gwen watched him with a smile. "Are you going to your sister's then?" she questioned.
He smiled over at her. "We're doing Christmas Day actually. Big dinner, I bring lots of loud obnoxious presents for my sister's kids, she complains about them with a grin on her face and my brother in law gets completely schnokered on egg nog and starts singing really off key carols."
She giggled. "Sounds like family alright. Just me and Rhys this year, thank God. Though our parents have gone off on a joint cruise together; God only knows why. Hopefully they come back in one piece." She knew that his and Jack's relationship was still fairly new, but she couldn't seem to help asking. "You and Jack not doing anything then?"
"No. Christmas pretty much lost its significance for him when he lost his family. He doesn't like to make a big deal but that hasn't stopped me putting a gift on his desk every year I've worked here. I suppose this year is no different, really."
Gwen grinned again, then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. "Well I'm going home to my gorgeous man. Happy Christmas Ianto."
"Happy Christmas Gwen."
Ianto thanked God for clear roads as it made his drive home incredibly quick. The crazies evidently weren't on the roads yet so he easily made it home in one piece and bundled into his apartment. When he got there he breathed a sigh of relief to be home then set about his usual Christmas Eve Routine, stripping out of his suit and tie, running a hot bath while he made cocoa with a healthy dose of Irish Cream and turned the sound system on to send soft music floating through the house. It wasn't long before he sank into the hot water and let out a contented sound as the heat went to work on his bruised body and aching muscles. He felt the warmth of his cocoa begin to seep in as well and thought to himself that this could be one of the best ways ever to spend a Christmas Eve. Then he heard a noise from the living room.
Ianto's body immediately tensed, and he was out of the water with a towel wrapped around his waist in a second. In another second the gun that had never left his side since the countryside incident was in his hand as he crept towards the source of the noise. He gave an exasperated sigh and set the safety on the weapon before setting on in the side table. The backside sticking out from under his Christmas tree was incredibly familiar.
"Jack, what are you doing under my tree?"
Captain Jack Harkness swore as he smacked his head against every ornament in its path on his way to his feet. He stood with a sheepish look on his face and a wrapped present in his hands. "I was going to leave this under the tree. Why are you wet?" His eyes slid slowly over Ianto's wet hair and skin and the towel clinging at his hips.
Ianto raised a single eyebrow. "Really?"
"Can't blame a guy for trying."
"Uh huh." He stepped forward into the Captain's personal space. "So you were going to break in, leave a present, then sneak back out?"
He had the decency to look just a bit shameful. "Yeah, I guess you could put it that way." Sighing, Jack reached out to pull Ianto still closer, his hand's coming to rest on his lover's hips. "I didn't… look we both know I'm not good at the Christmas thing, but you are. I just wanted to make sure you had a good Christmas."
"Jack you could have just told me."
"I'm even worse at the relationship thing than I am at the Christmas thing, Yan." Those bright blue eyes of his were just a bit sad as they met Ianto's. "I just wanted to make sure you had something nice from me."
He really didn't know what to say. Throughout their admittedly short relationship it had been hell trying to get Jack to open up. For him to make an outright admission was both completely out of character and completely sweet. With a content smile he pulled Jack fully into his arms and brought them together for a long, slow burning kiss. When the pulled apart Ianto nuzzled against Jack's neck, sighing happily before whispering against warm skin. "You should've realized that all I wanted this year was you under my tree."