Author's Note: I do not own Torchwood or any of its characters. Please Enjoy.
Ianto had waited until the next day when Tosh came in. He had wanted to ask her right away, but Owen and Gwen had their own questions to ask of her. He kept back and he was glad he had the night to think about it. After hearing about what her pendant could do, he was scared. Scared of what she could do with the pendant and all that she heard from his mind. From everybody's mind. He made sure that the coffee was perking for Jack and that the teas were ready for when Owen and Gwen decided to come in. He took Tosh's cup of tea over to her, setting it down quietly down on her station where she was finishing up the list that Jack wanted from her. "Morning Tosh," he said quietly, not wanting to disturb her if she was focused on her task.
"Morning Ianto," Tosh said as she pressed the print button in order to put the physical document on Jack's desk. She saved the digital copy she was working on, in case Jack wanted her to just send that or he had any changes to the list that he wanted made. "Could you tell Jack that I've got the list done?"
"He's not up yet, but I'll tell him when I see him," Ianto offered to her. "Tosh – about – well, about yesterday."
"Probably not just yesterday, right?" Tosh asked as she turned her chair to look at him. She took a sip of her tea, waiting for the questions that he had. She smiled a bit as she forgot that she would be the one to ask the questions first. "You're afraid of what I heard?"
"A bit," Ianto said quietly. "I know my thoughts haven't been all that great."
"I know," Tosh said quietly as she put down her cup. She took Ianto's hand and led him over to the printer where her document was just about done. When there, she gave him a very tight hug. "If you ever want to talk about those thoughts, I'm here. I'll always be here, Ianto. The problem is that sometimes, you need to speak up. We're not mind readers. I was never supposed to be. I don't want you to bottle up everything until you just explode."
Ianto hugged Tosh back, mutely nodding a yes about what she had just said before hugging her back. "Thank you," he said quietly. "Did – did you mention to Jack what you heard in my head?"
Just as Ianto got out the question, they both heard Jack say "If there's hugging in the office, I should be notified of it."
"Morning Jack," Tosh said as she gently let go of Ianto and picked up the list that Jack wanted. She was glad that Jack had decided to come in so she wouldn't have to answer Ianto's question. "Here's the list for UNIT you wanted and it should all be in order. There's a digital copy if you want it or you need me to make changes or anything."
"Thanks Tosh," Jack said as he looked over the list. "Upload it to UNIT and we're done with them. Ianto, is the coffee ready?"
"Just about, sir," Ianto said as he went back over to his part of the Hub.
Jack watched Ianto go and then looked back to Tosh. "Does he know that you told me?"
"He suspects," Tosh said with a shrug. "But it didn't feel right not to tell you, Jack. The last act of that stupid pendant was to be a good one."
"Okay," Jack replied with a bit of a nod.
"Well, good luck," Tosh said as she went back to her desk to do what Jack asked her to do.
"Right," Jack said quietly as he sighed softly. He was nervous for reasons that he didn't fully comprehend. He was never nervous before now with talking to Ianto and didn't make sense to be nervous now. He shook his head at that. "Get it together Harkness," he muttered to himself as he turned and walked to where the coffee was.
"It's almost done," Ianto said as he heard Jack walk up. "I can't make the coffee faster unless we have a faster coffee pot to do so."
"I know," Jack said quietly as he moved to watch Ianto. "Tosh told me about your thoughts, Ianto."
"Oh?" Ianto asked as he raised an eyebrow. "What of it?"
"You don't want to talk about your thoughts or anything?" Jack asked as he leaned against the coffee bar as he watched Ianto at his work.
"Nope," Ianto replied as he poured a cup of coffee and gave it to Jack. He took the other mugs and turned around, walking away from Jack.
"Ianto – " Jack said and sighed as he saw Owen and Gwen walk in and be given their mugs before Ianto went up to reception. He sipped at his coffee, smiling at the fact that it tasted wonderful. It always did, no matter what mood Ianto was in. It was one of the many things that he liked about Ianto. No matter what was happening – he was professional and to the point. He thought about that as he sipped more at the coffee and watched Gwen and Owen interact with Tosh. He looked to the door of the Hub before putting his mug down and leaving the main part to go up to the reception area. He moved into the reception area and looked at Ianto. "Why can't you just talk to me, Ianto? I only want to help you."
"You say that Jack, but you never follow up on that," Ianto said quietly. "None of you do. It's because Tosh told you something that you didn't see yourself that you are worried. If I had told you what Tosh had been able to get from my thoughts, would you really try to help me?"
"Yes," Jack said without missing a beat which made Ianto raise an eyebrow. "You think that I don't care. You think that I had to hear what Tosh was saying to believe you. It's not true. I knew something was off. I just wanted you to come to me, Ianto. I wanted to know from you instead of having to hear it second hand. Or, heaven forbid, ever encountering a secret of yours again."
"You had to bring that up?" Ianto asked.
"Sorry," Jack said. "I just – I want you to actually talk, Ianto. You said we don't ask, we don't make it seem like we care. I do care. I want you to talk. Or yell or cry or something that makes me know that you're going to be alright."
"I doubt I am ever am," Ianto said quietly. "May I – May I have the rest of the day off unless an emergency comes up?"
Jack started to nod a yes but thought about it. "Give me one minute?"
"Why?" Ianto asked.
"I'll drive you. Anywhere you want to go. Or just for a drink," Jack said.
"It's ten in the morning," Ianto pointed out.
"There are coffee shops around here," Jack countered with a grin. He was about to say something else when the door to the tourist office opened and Jack's coat got thrown at him by Gwen. "So, let's go," he said as he put on his jacket.
"Okay," Ianto said quietly as he let Jack take his hand and lead him out of the tourist office. They did go to a coffee shop and talk, with Jack letting Ianto do the lion share of everything that felt wrong with him. It wasn't the complete fix to help Ianto but Jack knew that it was enough of a start to get Ianto out of his shell.