Ianto bit down on his lower lip hard as he paused outside the door to Jack's office holding two cups of coffee. Taking a breath he rapped his knuckles on the door to attract Jack's attention and motioned with the cups in his hands.
Jack's face lit up, whether at the sight of Ianto or at the sight of the coffee Ianto couldn't tell. The door swung open and his boss and lover waved him in with a trademark grin.
"It's early in the morning and you're already here seeing to my needs. What else could I want in life?"
Ianto rolled his eyes at this stupid comment and placed the coffees on Jack's desk before taking the liberty of seating himself in his chair. Jack came over and sat on the edge of his desk, their positioning the opposite of one they had been in before. That had been the first night when Ianto had felt truly close to Jack.
"There's something I want to talk to you about," Ianto began.
"Sounds serious."
"It is. It's something I started thinking about after Gwen's wedding. I know it brought back memories for you and I realised that I wanted something to make you remember me in the future."
"Is it really necessary to talk about this now?" Jack asked looking uncomfortable and sad at the reminder that he would be left alone again. "You're not going anywhere soon if I have anything to say about it."
"Jack, be realistic, we work for Torchwood, and no one here except from you has ever had a long life expectancy. That's why I thought of these."
Ianto pulled out two ring boxes from his suit pocket, causing Jack's eyebrows to rise up vastly. Ianto laughed at his terrified reaction.
"They aren't engagement rings if that's what you're thinking, although I should be offended at your reaction. They're commitment rings."
"That sounds a lot like something out of a cheesy movie or giving the girl you were dating your class ring in American in the '50s."
Ianto blushed, "I'll admit to getting the idea from a film. It's just, I want something left of me for you to always have. I'm not going to smother you or demand you tell me everything about your life or get angry if you flirt with someone else. This is just a promise that at the end of each day you'll come back to me because I'm the one you want the most, even if we sometimes fight."
Jack looked up into Ianto's eyes seeing the earnest look of wanting them to work, of accepting Jack and of love. As the length of time without a word from Jack stretch on, doubt and disappointment started to fill those eyes. Unable to see his lover in pain and once again having to admit to himself that he came back for Ianto Jack did something to Ianto had not been expecting.
Wordlessly, he picked up a ring box and upon extracting the ring, slid it onto his ring finger.
"I promise."