Jack and Ianto Go On a Date

Rating: Teen

Summary: One-shot. Jack asks Ianto on a date. Takes place a few days after the short story "Plant Life"(see Notes 2 for more) but don't need to have read that to get this. Something for my readers until I get more up on my series.

Notes 1: This is a much lighter story than my others posted. I'm not a "comedy" author, so don't expect great things. It's just a happy story about two hot guys finding their feet/testing the waters/etc in love.

OooOooO

"Tea Boy! Welcome back!" Owen Harper shouted as Ianto Jones stepped through the doorway into the Hub proper.

"Thank you, Dr. Harper, what sort of mess have you made now?" Ianto quipped back at him.

Captain Jack Harkness smiled as he watched the two of them banter. It had been three days since they had saved Ianto from the mind controlling plant. Owen had ordered Ianto to go home and rest for seventy-two hours as he had suffered a fair amount of blood loss at the hands --er, leaves? -- of the vampiric flora. Needless to say the Hub had suffered greatly without the young man there to clean and organize. Not to mention that Jack and the girls were suffering from a severe case of Lack of Ianto's Fantastic Mind Blowing Coffee (all caps, as Owen was seriously considering writing a dissertation on the pros and cons of Ianto's coffee, his own way to sate his nonneed for the brew).

Jack hopped down the stairs and followed Ianto to the coffee machine. Ianto worked quickly and efficiently to make a pot of his famous brew and then turned towards Jack with a cup.

"Ianto Jones, you are without a doubt the most wonderful person I have ever met." Jack took the cup from him and took a sip. "Oh! Now that is the way coffee should taste! We could achieve world peace with your coffee. If you ever leave, I'll hunt you down, throw you over my shoulder and bring you back!"

With a laugh, Ianto picked up his own cup. "Why thank you, Jack. I'm pleased to know that you missed me while I was on sick leave."

"I always miss you," Jack said. His smile faded into a frown as Ianto cast his eyes down and the shadows of doubt crept onto his face.

The doubt was painful to look at. Jack knew that Ianto saw himself as less than worthy of the Captain's affections. But that was so very far from the truth. In fact Jack had done a lot of thinking since he had killed that blood sucking plant and taken Ianto home to recover. It had only been a few days since Gwen's wedding and Jack knew that his ridiculous display of emotion for Gwen had deeply hurt his lover. Because of Jack's carelessness he knew it was not going to be easy to fix this. He only hoped that Ianto had enough faith in him to be able to give him another chance. Not that Ianto had said anything on the subject yet... Selfless Welshman.

Ianto was taking a sip of coffee. The perfect opportunity to start his 'Show Ianto How Much You Care' plan .

Okay, take a deep breath and let it out. Now, ask him now!

"Ianto?"

"Yes Jack?"

"According to Tosh the Rift is going to be quiet for the next couple of days so if you're not busy-- Iwaskindahopingthatyouwouldliketohavedinnerwithme?"

Owen looked up from his computer and Ianto just stared at Jack as if he had grown a second head. Considering who and what they worked it, it was a valid concern. Sometimes.

"Huh?"

Take another deep breath. That's it! Now try it again-- only s l o w e r.

"I was kinda hoping that you would like to have dinner with me…"

Okay, that was much better. Though you still sound like an idiot, you idiot.

Now Ianto was staring at him with a blank expression on his face. It was the same expression that Owen claimed made him seem like a robot. Coincidentally, it was also the same look he used on Jack whenever he wanted to wrap the man around his finger. It was completely unreadable and completely unnerving.

"Um, you're supposed to give a response?"

Okay, if you make everything sound like a question, he's really going to doubt that you want to take him out to dinner. He's going to think that you're just playing games, toying with him, making a fool out of --

"Shut it."

"I didn't say anything…" Ianto said slowly.

Jack winced as he realized that he had just spoken to his subconscious out loud.

"Er, not you. I was talking to me, I mean… Never mind. Sorry I bothered you. You probably want to get to work or something. I've got to get back to those reports and all that." Stop rambling, you're over 150 years old and you sound like a babbling schoolgirl with a crush! "See you later." He turned and started back towards his office and away from making a complete fool of himself.

"Jack!"

"Yes?" That didn't sound too bad. Even if it did come out in a little squeak.

"Dinner would be nice, provided that it's not take-out."

Jack turned and looked at Ianto's face. He could vividly remember the first time he had asked out the younger man. He had been nervous then too but not nearly as nervous as he was now. The blank expression was still there; maybe it was himself being toyed with.

"I mean," Ianto continued, a soft blush creeping up his neck and onto his face. "If you want to, that is?" He smiled hesitantly. His blue eyes had that soft look they always had after they had made love or kissed or even just when Jack did something silly.

"Of course I want to. I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't want to."

"All right, then. Maybe we could go to the French restaurant by the Memorial?"

"Make the reservation for seven. Maybe after, we can go for a boat ride down by the bay too."

"That would be nice." Ianto's smile brightened at the prospect.

"So then it's a date?" Jack asked.

"It's a date."

Jack practically bounced back to his office.

OooOooO

Ianto was on cloud nine. Not only had Jack dressed in something different from his normal attire (although still coordinated with the RAF greatcoat), he had also been on time to pick Ianto up. The French restaurant had an excellent atmosphere to go along perfectly with the excellent food. They had sipped red wine and ate the most delicious meal followed by the most decadent dessert of dark chocolate and finished it all off with exquisite (though not quite as good as Ianto's!) coffee.

After dinner they had rented a boat and gone for a relaxing ride along the bay. Now they were standing outside Ianto's door kissing goodnight.

"Wanna come in," he mumbled against Jack's lips.

"Don't haffta ask me twice," came the muffled reply.

Ianto shoved his key into the lock and twisted the knob (a foreshadowing of things to come? Maybe not so much...). He misjudged and ended up falling hard on his arse. Jack laughed and reached down to help him up. Before Ianto could snap at him for laughing, Jack pushed the door closed and spun them around so that Ianto was pressed against it. Once again Ianto and Jack started kissing.

It didn't take long before they stumbled their way into the bedroom, a trail of clothes behind them. They playfully fought for dominance and Ianto triumphed by pinning his lover to the bed. He laughed and smiled at his lover.

"Tease," Jack said. He reached up and pulled Ianto down for a heated kiss.

It was well after midnight before they finally fell asleep.

When Ianto woke it was just after three in the morning. Hm, that was strange. He sat up and looked around for whatever it was that had disturbed his pleasant slumber.

"Cawe-aah. Hehh. Cawe-aa--aahh. Hehh."

Jack was snoring. Jack "I'm the most handsome and perfect man ever" Harkness was snoring in Ianto's bed. Jack had woken Ianto up with his snores.

"Cawe-aah. Hehh. Cawe-aa--aahh. Hehh. Hehheh."

"Jack," he hissed. Torchwood employees rarely got the recommended eights hours a night of sleep so for Jack to wake him up in the middle of the night while snoring was just unthinkable.

"Jack, wake up!" He kept his voice low, although he really wasn't sure why.

"Cawe-aah. Hehh. Cawe-aa--aahh. Hehh."

"Dammit, Jack, some of us are trying to sleep," Ianto grumbled.

As if in response, Jack rolled over and pulled Ianto into a tight hug and nuzzled at his neck. Well, at least that meant that the awful snoring had stopped.

All in all, it had been a wonderful end to a wonderful day. He looked forward to more in the future.

The End

NOTES! I actually listened to my dad snore (which is easy as it happens all the time) and broke down the sounds. It was right before the last Doctor Who (US broadcast, part 1 of the angels episode) so his revenge was talking loudly during the show (I countered that by being loud during the commercials!). Haha... Thank goodness I got it recorded!

"Plant Life" is a fantastic short story that was featured in the TW Official Magazine Yearbook. Read it, it's fantabulous! I tried to include enough tidbits about that story here so those who have not had the opportunity to read it won't be confused but intrigued. According to "Plant Life" Gwen has probably been married for a few days, I think the novel "Skypoint" (also fun to read) has her married for a couple of weeks.

Now, I'm off! I promised a Jack/Jason confrontation in "Not the Expected Happy Ending" and need to follow through!