Jack and Ianto didn't fight much. There is usually no reason to because Ianto was so quiet about things. Jack would notice when Ianto was giving him dirty looks but then he'd respond with a different type of dirty look and then Ianto stopped being angry. They'd fought after Lisa's death but they had never had a fight as a couple (or whatever they counted as, Jack didn't really know). Jack had been back for a month or so and everything felt like it was getting back to normal. Except with Ianto. Tosh was clever as ever, Owen was still a dick, and Gwen was as charming as she had always been. Nothing had changed with them. But Ianto seemed off to Jack. He was sarcastic and held himself with confidence he'd never had before. He wasn't scared to sass Owen and went on missions whether Jack told him to or not. He just felt weird. He was very distracting but Jack couldn't tell if it was because he had missed him, because he was sexier, or because he was acting so weird. Jack wasn't sure of what he thought of Ianto yet. But at that moment Jack was too pissed to care. The two of them faced off in Jack's office. Jack was yelling but Ianto refused to match Jack's intensity, which only made Jack angrier.
"What was I supposed to do?!" Jack shouted.
"Oh I don't know. Maybe not kill the damn thing." Ianto replied sarcastically.
"It was an alien threat."
"Not to us. We should have captured it."
Earlier that day Ianto, Gwen, Jack, and Owen had gone on a mission to track down an alien life sign they'd seen on the computer. When they arrived at the site they found the alien. It seemed to be only teeth, that walked like a spider, had a pair of bright red antenna that appeared to be bleeding, and was sitting in a tree. It hissed at them and it's teeth suddenly turned green. None of them had seen anything like it before. But then they realized that the thing was hiding from the next creature they found. It was about Jack's height, humanoid, with blood red eyes and the most demented smile ever. The smile stretched across his whole face and put deep menacing folds on it's forehead. Owen later said it looked a bit like the villain from Who Framed Roger Rabbit or the creepy clown creature in that Supernatural episode. Nobody else had seen the movie or watched the show and didn't know what he was talking about they agreed that it was creepy as fuck. The creature was walking around the tree slowly (that's why they hadn't seen it at first as it was on the other side of the tree). The thing appeared to be trying to speak but it just made high pitched screaming noises. It then suddenly snatched the thing out of the tree and ate it. But then it walked off. It didn't mess with any of them. Just walked around aimlessly, smiling creepily and screaming. Suddenly Jack pulled out his gun and pumped the thing full of led. Everyone stared in shock. Owen went forward to try to help it but Jack wouldn't let him touch it. It lay on the ground twitching and screaming until it finally died. It turned blue and only then did Jack let them approach it. He'd killed it even though it meant them no harm. Owen and Ianto picked up the corpse and took it back to the hub. Ianto put it in the morgue but then walked around the rest of the day with the look of someone who was pissed but pretending not to be. Gwen was better at pretending she wasn't mad so Jack didn't notice. After everyone else had left Jack called Ianto into his office and asked him about it. Ianto had stayed quiet and dodged the questions for a while until Jack made him open up. Jack regretted doing so.
"It was acting threatening! It ate that other thing!"
"The other alien was the one being threatening. You saw how it responded to us. Besides based on it's body structure it seemed to be a lower life form. The alien you murdered was clearly a more advanced life form and it wasn't any threat to us."
"How do you know!?"
"It didn't charge us, Harkness!" Ianto finally started to yell. "It just looked at us then wandered around! It was harmless!" Ianto glared at Jack. Ianto only called Jack by his last name was he was irritated.
"They're never harmless!"
"It was innocent unless you have proof otherwise! You had no proof Jack. You murdered it." Ianto's voice returned to it's quiet but threatening tone. Jack swore under his breath and kicked his desk angrily. Ianto crossed his arms and glared at Jack. Ianto had a point and Jack knew it. He knew Ianto was right but he didn't want to give him the pleasure of winning. He sat down on his desk and glared back at Ianto.
"Why do you even care? This has never bothered you before." Jack asked.
"This has always bothered me, Harkness." Ianto said darkly.
"Then how come you never said anything before?" Jack snapped, frustrated.
"Because I was trying to keep my job!" Ianto yelled. Jack blinked. He knew Ianto would be mad but he never guessed at his answer.
"What?" Jack was no longer angry. He was just confused.
"I was trying to keep my job, Harkness. Nobody here ever had to worry about losing theirs but I had to. They could all do whatever they wanted because they were necessary. They were needed. Me? I was the coffee boy. I was there because you pitied me. So I stayed quiet. Because I knew that I wasn't necessary. I knew that if I stepped out of line again you'd remember that, retcon me, and drop me on some roadside in middle of nowhere. Because I was extra." Ianto took a deep breath. He turned away from Jack and pinched the bridge of his nose. Jack didn't know what to do. He felt guilty that Ianto felt so useless. So inadequate. But he was also angry. Ianto had lied to him. He didn't know what to feel.
"I…" Jack started before dropped off. Ianto looked at him again.
"I had to stay quiet. I put on an act. I had to be Jack Harkness' coffee boy. Because as long as I was unnecessary I had to play the part. But then you left..." He took a breath, "Then you disappeared. I had no clue where you were. But when you left I was suddenly necessary. Suddenly they needed me around. I was a proper part of the team and they needed me. So finally I could be someone other than sweet little Ianto the butler. This is my personality, Harkness. This is what I'm like. I finally got to act like myself. Because I knew that even if you came back and didn't like it you couldn't fire me. Gwen and Tosh wouldn't let you. Owen would applaud you. But the other two would put up a fight. So I got to drop the act." Jack stared at him. Unsure if he should be mad or guilty.
"So you've just been pretending to be someone else this entire time? Is there anything about that is real?" Jack asked. He chose angry. He felt betrayed.
"Plenty of me is real, Harkness."
"What parts? Who are you really? You're certainly not the Ianto I met." Jack gritted his teeth and stood up. Ianto laughed darkly, mocking Jack's attempt to intimidate him.
"What was the "Ianto you met" like? What parts of him are you particularly concerned about losing?"
"Sweet." Jack listed, glaring at Ianto accusingly.
"I'm not rat poisoning but I'm certainly not sweet." Ianto replied sarcastically.
"Loyal."
"Until the end." Ianto said, his voice becoming lighter. Jack glared at him, trying to stay angry.
"Polite."
"Only when I want to be."
"Caring."
"I obviously still am or I wouldn't be talking to you about this."
"Brave."
"Again. I'm talking to you aren't I? That's a feat in and of itself."
"Affectionate." Jack still tried to stay angry. He tried to ignore that Ianto wasn't mad at him anymore. He tried to ignore how attractive it was when he was sassy. He tried to ignore how happy he was that Ianto was still loyal. He tried to ignore the fact he was talking to Ianto and act like he was grilling some alien threat and not someone he cared about. Suddenly Ianto's face darkened.
"Don't turn this on me, Harkness." He said angrily, crossing his arms.
"What?" Jack was glad for a reason to be angry again.
"Don't turn this on me. Don't make this you accusing me. You're scared that the Ianto who loved you is gone but you won't admit it. You want to pretend this is all you testing me and not you accusing me for not caring about you." Ianto walked towards him. "Because that's what you're doing. You probably don't mind the polite or sweet. You just want an excuse to blame me for what you're afraid of. You're afraid and you want to grill me until you get proof that you should still give a damn about me!" Ianto stared Jack down. Jack hadn't thought about it that way. Jack didn't like thinking he was afraid of anything but Ianto was right again. He was scared that Ianto was gone because he left and he wanted to blame someone other than himself.
"You're right." Jack muttered. There was silence. It took Ianto a moment to register what Jack had said.
"What?" Ianto was shocked that Jack would admit it.
"You're right. I am accusing you. I'm sorry." Jack ran his hands through his hair and sat down on his desk again.
"Then stop accusing me and ask your real questions." Ianto said calmly.
"Do you still love me?" The words stumbled from Jack's mouth, kicking his pride on the way out. Ianto's whole body relaxed. Ianto turned away, frustrated and unsure how to answer. He pinched the bridge of his nose again and closed his eyes. Jack watched him.
"Yeah sure." He muttered, shrugging and looking at the ground.
"Is that a yes?" Jack stood up and walked over to him, leaning over slightly so he could look at Ianto's face even though he was looking down. Ianto stood up straight and looked Jack in the eye.
"Yes. It's a yes." He said. Jack broke into a grin. Ianto smiled slightly and rolled his eyes. For someone as sexy as Jack he was super sappy. Jack placed his hand on Ianto's cheek, leaned in, and kissed him. Ianto couldn't stay mad anymore. He pressed his hand against Jack's chest and leaned into him. He'd missed this. Their lips sped up and Ianto grabbed on to the front of Jack's coat. Finally Ianto leaned away and smoothed the front of Jack's coat where he had been holding onto him. Jack smiled, so relieved that Ianto still loved him.
"I missed you." Jack admitted. He took Ianto's hand, letting it hang by his side.
"I know." Ianto smiled, teasing Jack for attempting romance. (Something he was surprisingly bad at). He swayed Jack's hand back and forth and looked up at the ceiling. He was really teasing Jack now.
"Did you miss me?" Jack asked, smiling sexily. Ianto looked him in the eyes again.
"Of course, Jack." He said, finally using his first name. It was obvious but Jack asked him anyway. He dropped Jack's hand and kissed him, pulling him towards him by the front of his coat. Jack grabbed Ianto's waist and pulled him closer. Even though Ianto was sarcastic, bitter, and opinionated he was still just as loyal, caring, and beautiful as he was before. And Jack loved him.