Fixed Focus
Balancing her cup of coffee in one hand and her large, black portfolio bag in the other Rose weaved her way through the busy London streets with her head pressed awkwardly to her shoulder in order to hold her mobile in place.
"Please, Rose. Please. I'll do anything if you just help me out with this."
Rose sighed, feeling a little twinge of guilt at the pleading note in his voice. "Jack, you know I'd love to help out. I really, really would, but I'm so far behind on my own project, I just-"
"I know. I know. And I hate to ask you to go out of your way, but you're the only one who could do this shoot for me. I have a vision-"
"Jack I'm sure plenty of other girls would be willing to help you out. In fact, I'm sure of it."
"They don't photograph like you do. Come on, it'll only be four hours tops. I promise." A teasing lilt entered Jack's voice. "You know I'll make it worth your while."
Rose snorted a laugh. "Ha ha. I'm sure Ianto would love to hear that."
She could practically see the mischievous glint in Jack's eye as he answered. "You know Ianto is open to-"
"Stop. Stop right there!" Rose said, giggling despite herself.
"You know where to find me if you change your mind, sweetheart. Anyway, trust me when I say you don't want to miss this shoot." A different note had entered Jack's voice. One that Rose had trouble deciphering. Her eyebrows knit together.
"What do you mean? What're you planning?"
"Na huh. Only if you agree. Otherwise you find out with everyone else."
"Jack," Rose whined.
"C'mon it'll be fun," Jack sing-songed. Despite knowing that she was falling right into his trap, Rose found that her curiosity had been piqued. Jack had been so tight-lipped about this project of his and the thought of having to wait until the day that final projects were due seemed torturous. Jack usually always told her what he was up to.
"Okay, okay, I'll think about it, but I really don't think it's goanna work out so don't get your hopes up." She glanced down to her watch. "Shit, I'm goanna be late. Let me call you later, alright?"
There was slight disappointment in Jack's voice as he said his goodbyes, but Rose had to stick to her guns on this one. At this point finishing this project had to be her first priority.
There was no time for distractions.
Untying her paint splattered apron and unthinkingly wiping a stray piece of hair from her sweaty face, Rose contemplated her canvas with a critical eye. Her strokes were haphazard, her light play was the weakest she'd ever seen it, and the whole piece was uninspiring at best. She let out a frustrated huff.
"I can't look at this anymore," she muttered to herself, throwing the apron on a rack. She carefully cleaned her brushes and washed away the paint staining her hands before making her way down to a break room where Clara sat, sipping a cup of tea.
"Rose," she greeted, when the disgruntled blonde entered. Her eyes immediately blinked in concern. "Everything alright?"
"No not really. I'm getting no where on the final project. I'm thinking about scraping the whole thing and starting over. Not that I really have the time for that."
"Come sit down," Clara fussed, ever the mother hen. "Let me make you a cuppa and then we can get you sorted, yeah?"
Rose sighed in relief, falling back into the cushions. "You're a lifesaver."
Clara came back a few moments later with a steaming cuppa. "Remind me again what you're working on?"
"Just a painting," Rose groaned. "Really shouldn't be so hard, but I feel...stuck. Like I'm in a rut. Always doing the same thing, day after day. Everything I've made lately feels so...boring."
"I think you're being too hard on yourself." Clara wagged a finger at her. "You're a fantastic artist and I won't have you saying otherwise. But if you really feel so stuck, in a rut as you say, why not try your hand at a different medium?"
"Yeah...maybe," Rose said, not quite convinced. Painting had always been where her talent lay, after all. She really couldn't imagine doing something else. But maybe Clara did have a point. Perhaps if she looked at what some of the other student were working on, she'd be inspired. Unbidden, her mind wandered to Jack and his plea this morning for her to help him out with his photography project. Despite how adamant she had been just this morning on not getting involved so she could put all her effort focusing on her own project, she was starting to think that maybe helping Jack was exactly what she needed after all; to see someone else's ideas right in the midst of their creative element. Just to get the juices flowing.
"You know what," Rose said suddenly. "You've given me a great idea. I'll be back, I have a phone call to make."
Walking quickly from the room and fishing her mobile from her pocket on the way, Rose almost missed Clara calling out, "Wait Rose, I forgot to say, but you've got a little bit of paint on your forehead!"
With a final pass of he washcloth over her face, Rose had finally rid her skin of the dried and flaky splatter mark.
"How embarrassing," she mumbled to herself as she threw the cloth down.
Jack had predictably been enthusiastic when she'd called him, spouting off the basic details of the shoot to her rapid fire. He told her he would be ready for her in two days and Rose felt the coil of anticipation building in her gut. Her own unfinished project still felt like a weight in the back of her mind, but agreeing to help Jack had surprisingly eased the stress of it.
She tried her best to get some work done until the day of the shoot, but not much was coming of it. Instead she found herself wandering around some of the other studios, watching deft fingers manipulate clay and skilled hands capture the most vividly realistic of scenes or even the designers drape fabric over mannequins and spin the pieces of cloth into beautiful gowns. It made her feel a little lighter, watching some of the younger students work. They were all spilling with creativity and enthusiasm and new ideas and so much potential. She couldn't help feeling a little jealous, wishing she could get those days back.
Two days ended up passing quickly enough and a few hours before the shoot found Rose in one of the makeup departments of the school with Jack directing Martha on the kind of look he was going for. Jack thought the world of the pretty brown-skinned make-up artist and frequently used her for the more critical shoots he worked on. Rose could see why he liked her so much, she was ambitious and clever and what she managed to do with eyeliner seemed nothing short of magical.
As Martha got started, Rose relaxed into the seat, eyes closing as a soft brush trailed over her cheekbones and eyelids.
"So are you excited for the shoot?" Martha asked, as she began applying mascara heavily to her eyelashes.
"'Course. Jack's shoots are always a blast aren't they? It'll be fun. I'm excited to see what he has planned."
Martha's lips pressed together and it looked like she was trying to hide a grin, but she said nothing.
"What?" Rose asked perplexed by the look on the young woman's face.
"I really shouldn't say..."
Now Rose was definitely intrigued. "No, really. Tell me."
Martha leaned forward with some eyeshadow and Rose was forced to close her eyes as she began coating her eyelid with the powder. Finally, Martha said, "I'm just surprised is all, that he hasn't told you anything more about the shoot."
Rose shrugged. "He never really does. Not really. He says he wants it to be natural. Doesn't want me thinking about poses or anything before hand, just go with the flow, you know?"
"Yeah...I suppose," Martha said, sounding unconvinced. "Everyone's been gushing about how lucky you are though, working on this shoot."
Rose laughed. "Working with Jack does seem to be every girl's fantasy around here, huh?"
"More about who you will be doing the shoot with that has everyone so riled up?"
"Oh, Jack didn't mention that it would be a-"
Rose was interrupted by her phone going off in her pocket. Giving Martha an apologetic smile, Rose fished her mobile from her pocket.
"Jack's just letting me know he's going to send Ianto up soon with wardrobe."
"Well, we're almost done here anyway," Martha said, dabbing at some lipstick that was lingering around the corner of her mouth. "There perfect! Would you like to see?"
"Yeah let's see it then!"
Holding out a mirror, Rose gazed at the deep burgundy lipstick and the way her skin glowed with a natural gold dusting. Dark, black wings framed her eyes and her eyelashes looked impossibly long.
"Wow. Martha this looks fantastic."
"I'm glad you like it. Hopefully, Jack feels the same."
Rose laughed. "How could he not? Besides you know he loves your work. Wouldn't keep coming back to you if he didn't."
"I suppose," Martha said with a pleased smile, beginning to pack away her things. Once she had hefted her large make-up kit in hand she gave Rose one last smile. "Good luck, Rose!" Then with that she was gone and Ianto was walking through the door moment's later as if he had been summoned.
"Miss Tyler," he said, coming forward and kissing her cheek. "You look radiant as always."
"Thanks, Ianto. And you know you can call me, Rose." Ianto smiled, but said nothing and Rose knew that like always he would ignore her attempt at familiarity. It just didn't seem to be in his nature to be anything less than formal.
"I've brought you the outfit for the shoot." He handed her a garment bag with a polite smile. "Once you're changed feel free to come down to the studio."
"Thank you," she said, beaming at him. He nodded his head at her and then took his leave.
After the door had closed behind him, Rose shimmied out of her jeans and top and then opened the garment bag which held a pair of black skinny jeans and a simple, low-cut purple top. She was also provided with a black, lacy set of knickers and bra. She was rather surprised by the simplistic outfit and raised her eyebrows a bit at the lingerie, but quickly got over the surprise, remembering that this was Jack they were talking about. He'd had her do a few risque shoots before and it didn't bother her so much and he never had her do anything that was too uncomfortable. Not thinking twice of it, Rose exchanged her own sky blue set for the new pair and then slid the jeans on to her legs and pulled the top over her head.
The shade of purple was flattering on her skin and the top showed an ample amount of cleavage with a hint of the lacy bra underneath. After smoothing out the top over her stomach, Rose headed down to find Jack, eager to learn what this mysterious shoot of his was about.
When she entered the room, Jack was fussing with light fixtures. Light fixtures that framed a large, iron-wrought bed. Her mouth dropped as she thought back to the racy underwear she had slipped into moments ago.
"I swear to christ, Jack if you're going to try to persuade me to pose for nudes-"
"Well, hello to you too, sweetheart." Jack jumped off from his position balanced on the ladder and headed towards her with his hand held out. Rose pursed her lips as she placed her hand into his and allowed him to kiss the back of it.
"You look positively gorgeous. Martha has outdone herself as always."
"Jack," Rose said warningly, her eyes darting to the bed.
"No nudes," he said. "Nothing of the sort."
"What do you have me doing then?" she demanded, hands going to her hips.
"Do you remember that shoot I had you do with Ianto, way back when?"
Rose did remember. It was one of the racier shoots he had had her do. Jack was unsurprisingly interested in depicting passion and romance through his photography and this particular shoot had involved her in just her underwear, posing in a variety of scandalous positions. She was comfortable enough with Ianto that she hadn't minded and the shots had turned out stunning and classy. It made her feel confident in her body, seeing those pictures. So while she didn't mind posing in her underwear or even in racy scenes, Jack at least usually gave her a little forewarning. This...had not been what she was expecting today. Now she knew why Martha was acting strangely earlier.
"I do," she said cautiously.
"It'll be a bit like that but more..." He hesitated.
"More?" Rose asked, raising an eyebrow.
"More handcuffs," he finally said, winking at her.
Rose burst out laughing. "Oh my god, you do have a one track mind, don't you?"
"Sex is beautiful," Jack argued. "I just like to show people that with my work."
Rose smiled, hitting his shoulder playfully. "You know I support you fully. A little warning next time though, yeah?"
"If you insist," Jack said with a long-suffering sigh. "Anyway, you about ready? Should probably get started soon."
"Yup, I'm ready. Anything else I should know about your vision?"
"I'm thinking black and white photo shoot. I really want to get at the heart of BDSM. Power and control juxtaposed with submission and surrender. Of course the underlying themes are passion and lust." He gave her a lascivious grin. "Think you're up for it?"
Rose flitted her tongue to the corner of her mouth. "Technically, Ianto's the one who has to be up for it, eh?"
Rose watched, as if in slow motion, as Jack's grin faltered. She felt dread begin curling in her stomach as soon as she saw the look on his face. He coughed. "Knew I was forgetting something," he said carefully, holding up his hands as if to protect himself. "You won't be working with Ianto on this one."
It was one thing, modeling in salacious photos with Ianto. She actually knew him for one and he was so obviously in love with Jack that she could have paraded naked in front of him and he probably wouldn't have batted an eye. A stranger however...that was much more complicated. Nervousness was pooling in her stomach and she couldn't stop fidgeting and biting her thumbnail as she waited for Jack's friend to show up. He was running late.
Jack gave a sigh when almost half an hour had passed since they were supposed to get started. "Should have expected this from him," he said shaking his head. "I'm sorry about this, Rose. Hopefully, we can make up for the lost time in the shoot. I know you're busy with your own project."
Rose jolted, the nervous butterflies in her stomach flying away as she suddenly remembered that she was here for more than just to help a friend out.
"Oh right, that reminds me. Jack I was wondering if you could-"
"Oh there he is!" Jack exclaimed, his eyes cutting over to the side as a frantic figure about fell into the room in his rush.
"Sorry, sorry I'm late," he said, running a hand through his flyaway hair.
"About time you showed up, Doctor." Jack whacked his friend on the shoulder. "We've been ready to shoot for ages. Come on let's get you changed and in make-up."
Then Jack was shoving the tall, lanky man out the door and Rose felt all the butterflies that had just left her system come back with a vengeance. All thoughts of her unfinished project left her head.
Turns out that Jack's friend was bloody gorgeous.
"Rose," Jack said, gesturing to the man she was about to be posing in decidedly intimate positions with. "This is the Doctor."
Rose held out her hand and attempted a smile. "Doctor?"
"John Noble, actually. That's just a nickname."
"Well, it's nice to meet you." Her eyes couldn't help but glance down his lean frame and then back up to his deep, brown eyes and artfully coiffed hair. It was very nice to meet him indeed. He raised his eyebrow at her, having caught her out and she felt her cheeks flush.
"You must be Rose," he said after a moment, giving his own appraising look. "Even more gorgeous in person."
Now it was Rose's turn to raise her eyebrow. "Eh?"
John shrugged and smiled. "I've seen some of Jack's other work. You feature prominently." He leaned in a bit closer, his gaze heated and teasing. "I can see why."
Rose looked up at him from underneath her eyelashes and smiled demurely.
"Alright," Jack called. "C'mon now save the flirting for the shoot, yeah?"
Rose felt her cheeks grow even more red and her eyes darted away from John's, but when she looked back she noticed that his ears had turned pink as well. It made her feel slightly better.
Now to see if she could get through this photo shoot without completely embarrassing herself in front of this gorgeous man.
"Could you pull one sleeve of your shirt down for me, Rose?" Jack asked from behind the camera. She could hear the strain and agitation in his voice and she winced, feeling guilty. So far, things were...awkward at best.
"Sure," she managed to squeak out. "She pulled the purple top down her shoulder, revealing more of the black lace underneath. She watched John's eyes glance downwards for a brief moment before they bounced back up and skittered away from her altogether.
Jack sighed and Rose heard him put down the camera and threw his hands up. "You're both going to at least have to look at each other if we have any hope of getting through this! Remember what I told you in the beginning. Passion! Lust! Hell, at this point I would even take 'vaguely interested,' just give me something," Jack pleaded.
Rose had to bite back her thoughts that she was definitely more than vaguely interested. Overcoming the awkwardness of having to straddle and pretend to be seducing this man who she'd just met was where the trouble was lying. It didn't help that he was just as tense and uncomfortable as her. His shirt was off and his hands were placed gingerly on her waist and his eyes had trouble meeting hers. For all the bolstered confidence and flirting earlier he looked like a spooked horse now. She was sure that she wasn't faring much better.
But one look at Jack's frustrated face had her feeling incredibly guilty again. So, steeling herself with determination, Rose took in a deep breath and put on her best sultry look. Lips parted and moist, eyelids heavy and back curved pushing her breast against his chest. Impulsively, she let one of her arms wrap around his neck so that her hand could grip his frankly magnificent hair and pull his face towards her. Her other hand settled to grip at his bare back. John fumbled as she adjusted their position, his hands tightening on her waist and his eyes going wide and jaw turning slack. He swallowed hard and gave her a look that was reminiscent of a deer caught by a predator.
Rose heard Jack fumbling frantically with his camera. "Yes, yes. Stay just like that...Don't...Move...An...Inch."
With that the camera snapped.
From there, Rose basked in how sexy and confident she felt as she played her part of the dominatrix. John slipped into his role perfectly as well, always gazing at her like she was some sort of goddess and he her supplicant. She knew the look was an act, but despite this it still caused a heady feeling in her stomach that made her feel decidedly powerful.
"Arms up, Rose," Jack directed. "And John, use your hands to push up her top so that the camera catches a bit of skin under the bunched up fabric. Yes, that's perfect. And Rose head back for me please, love."
Rose obliged flinging her head back and letting her hair fall down her back. Her leg rubbed against the outer side of his as the move caused her to shift and she felt John tense up underneath her. The camera clicked.
Lowering her eyes, Rose tried to meet his gaze to make sure that everything was okay but suddenly he wouldn't look at her.
"Rose," Jack said, and Rose instinctively whipped her head around to meet Jack's bright, blue and excited eye. "I'm thinking we're going to move to the shots with you in just the lingerie. That okay?"
Rose took a deep breath and felt herself nod, trying to shake off the sudden shyness she felt. It wasn't really helping that John, if possible, became even more tense. Ignoring his suddenly strange behavior Rose stood up so she could pull the top over her head and shimmy out of her jeans quickly so she wouldn't have to think about it. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she might have heard a gasp. Shaking off her nerves, partially brought upon by John's suddenly closed off manner, Rose let a smile grace her lips and moved back towards the bed. She tried to catch John's eyes to reassure him that everything was good, but his gaze was fixed somewhere over her shoulder.
Rose was determined to not let the awkwardness settle in again despite the way it felt like it was dripping off her skin so she casually jumped back onto the bed and turned to Jack. "Anything specific you would like?"
Jack regarded them both critically then his face lit up. "I think I'm goanna have John on top this time. Rose, I still want you in control of the shot though. Understood?"
Nodding, Rose leaned back against the pillows and then looked to John and smiled enticingly. He gulped and then very carefully placed himself over top of her, keeping a small amount of distance between them.
"John, one arm wrapped around her torso and the other supporting yourself. And Rose how about you hook a leg over his."
They both shifted, taking on the desired pose. The position brought their face impossibly close and Rose could feel the way John's breathing was slightly harder than it had been before. His eyes finally found hers again and the look was electric, erasing all doubts from his behavior a moment ago. His eyes held hers as if she was the only thing he wanted to look at. Rose had to control the hitch in her breath and then set her face into the powerful, controlling look that Jack wanted. The camera clicked around them rapidly as they minutely changed their position and features.
"I cannot wait to look at these shots," she heard Jack mumble to himself as he brought his camera down and began messing with the lighting. Rose let a pleased smile flit on her face and she looked up at John to share in the accomplished feeling. But his eyes avoided hers and his body had shifted back farther from hers and there was a dimple forming in his cheek.
Rose felt her stomach drop at how uncomfortable he seemed to be and she quickly looked away, smoothing down her hair in order to distract herself.
Rose soon realized that whenever the camera was on their face, John gave her those toe-curling looks, but as soon as the flash had ended he was once more tense and awkward looking. Rose tried not to let it bother her, but she soon started feeling annoyed that he was being such a knob about this. Especially after how flirtatious he had been when he'd first entered the studio. It wasn't like it was the most ideal situation for her either, but they could at least be grown ups about it.
So, in retaliation Rose began to work even harder. Pushing her breasts against his chest, running her hand up and down his back, letting her breath hit his neck, arching into him. Jack was eating it all up, but it only served to make John go increasingly more tense, his eyes refusing to even look at her when the camera wasn't snapping around them. It made Rose huff out a frustrated breath.
"Handcuffs!" Jack exclaimed gleefully handing them to her. "As promised!" He seemed oblivious to the tense atmosphere in the room, probably seeing it as a product of the sexy posing they were doing. Trying to tamper down on her own agitation, Rose gingerly took them with a forced smile and turned back to face John who had obligingly placed his hands near the iron slats of the headboard. He was still avoiding her gaze.
Swallowing, Rose took his thin wrist in her hand and carefully worked on attaching the restraints. Then she clambered back up onto the bed and carefully straddled him again, making sure to place herself a bit higher than she normally would, as she'd been doing the whole time. Her hands naturally fell to his exposed chest and she felt him briefly tremble underneath the coolness of her hands.
"Sorry," she said, forcing cheer. "Hands must be a bit cold."
"Yeah," he said through slightly gritted teeth. "It's fine." Rose tried not to frown at his rude tone, but couldn't quite hold it back.
"Ready?" Jack asked, all smiles. "John, I'd like you to arch off the bed, pulling a bit at the restraints. Carefully, don't hurt yourself."
She saw John nod tightly before she felt his back arch sharply and his head throw back revealing the line of his neck. Rose gasped as she felt herself lose her balance slightly, sliding a bit further down his body until she came in contact with well...him.
All the blood drained from her face as she felt him hard and straining against her. And then a guttural moan came from the back of his throat. A very real and very turned on moan. Her eyes widened with shock and pure embarrassment and if it couldn't get any worse, she heard the snap of the camera.
Rose was frozen. Every fiber in her body was screaming at her to fling herself from his body as quickly as she could, but she couldn't force her muscles to cooperate. Her fingers were digging red crescent marks into the skin of his chest where she had gripped too hard when she'd begun to slip. Slowly, she was able to force her fingers to release their painful grip. John had since slowly lowered himself back on the mattress with her still pressed tight against his arousal. His eyes were pained when he finally met her gaze, his mouth working helplessly.
She vaguely heard Jack calling another position out to them, but everything in her brain felt too jumbled that she couldn't understand what he was saying. Finally, finding her voice she said, "I think I need a few minutes." And with that she gracelessly pushed herself off of John's body, grabbed her clothes, and fled from the room.
She was gulping down water when a throat cleared behind her. She whirled around to find John standing a few feet away, his eyes downcast and his hair and clothes looking rumpled.
"I-" he started, but then he couldn't finish his sentence.
Rose felt the anger come spilling over inside her. "What was that in there," she demanded, pointing back at the studio.
John shrunk away from her. "I'm sorry...I know it's inexcusable..."
"One minute your giving me those frankly irresistible looks and the next you won't even meet my eyes? What do you think you're playing at?" Rose let her hands fall to her hips.
John's brow furrowed. "Wha-"
"I know it's an awkward situation, but the least we can do is be civil. I'm just trying to help my friend here."
John's cheeks turned red. "I know...I'm sorry that I...I was afraid that would...I was trying to...you know...keep myself controlled, but umm, you..."
Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm hardly mad over that. Just surprised I suppose, after the way you'd treated me the rest of the time, like you could hardly stand me." Rose let out a huffed breath. "Look for the rest of the shoot if we could at least be friendly with one another I think it would make everything a lot less tense and a lot more believable you know? I mean-"
"Wait, wait, hold up," John said waving his hands. "What do you mean you're not mad about me, well-" He tugged at his ear.
Rose shrugged, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Look I would honestly be more offended if you hadn't reacted. We're doing some rather...intimate poses together. 'S bound to be a bit arousing. I'm not mad over something you can't control."
John looked completely relieved. "Yeah?"
Rose smiled, understanding finally dawning. "Is that why you were so tense the whole time?"
Chuckling, John nodded. "Yeah, suppose I was afraid of getting a knob on like a teenager in front of you. Didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything."
Rose looked at him from underneath her eyelashes. "Oh, trust me I wasn't uncomfortable in the least," she practically purred.
"What do you say we go ahead and finish the shoot then," John said, giving her an equally flirtatious look. Rose was happy to see the confidence and swagger back in his step. He held out his hand for her.
She took it and let him lead her back into the studio. But right before they entered John pulled her hand so that she'd meet his intense gaze. He leaned down, his breath blowing against her ear.
"And for the record," he said softly. "If you think my looks are irresistible then well you should see yours."
It only took about thirty more minutes after that for Jack to feel like he had the shots he needed. He couldn't stop praising how great they looked together and how sexy the last few poses had been. Rose and John had shared a secret smile.
Rose's body felt like it was thrumming by the time the shoot was over. The whole ordeal had felt like some of the sexiest foreplay of her life and she found herself reluctant to leave, even though she knew she really needed to get a move on with her own project.
"I really should go," she said to Jack and John once both John and her were dressed again.
"Ahh, at least stay for a drink, Rosie. Ianto's grabbing a bottle of wine."
John didn't say anything, but his eyes were begging her to stay as well. And it was, oh, so tempting but her blank canvas at home was calling her name.
"Another time, yeah? I really should try and get some work done."
"Alright," Jack said, pulling her into a hug. "Thanks for all your help today. You were excellent."
"I was happy to help and I must say...I feel a bit rejuvenated to begin work on my own canvas." Which wasn't an understatement. Rose's mind felt practically running away with ideas. She wasn't sure what had caused it, but something about the whole experience had been invigorating. At least by the end there.
Her eyes met John's again and he floundered for a moment before thrusting out his hand to her. She looked at it amusedly before placing her own in it. A handshake. It seemed so incredibly incongruous considering the way they'd been touching not thirty minutes ago.
"I guess I'll see you around then," he said and his voice was so, so hopeful, his eyes burning into hers.
"Definitely."
Rose stared at her canvas and let out a frustrated groan. Her hand had apparently decided to grow a mind of it's own because at every corner she found herself jotting down images of messy brown hair. The line of his neck, the hard planes of his chest, the soulfulness of his eyes... all of it was begging to be brought to life on her canvas despite her best efforts to think of anything else. Her muse hadn't been reinvigorated by the shoot it seemed, rather completely taken over by gangly limbs and crooked smiles.
This was definitely going to be a problem.
Three days later, lying with her head face down on a table, Rose heard the sound of footsteps behind her and shot up like a spring. Her eyes darted to her canvas with her rather incriminating painting on it. She nearly launched herself in front of it, just as Jack entered the room.
He gave her a grin when he saw her, all teasing teeth.
"I thought I'd come see if you wanted to take a look at the shots. It's all done now."
Nervously, Rose fiddled with her hoop earring. "Y-yeah, let me just...clean up around here first."
"Want some help?" he asked knowingly.
"NO! I mean," Rose chuckled awkwardly and felt a bead of sweat travel down her forehead. "I got it, yeah. Just...I'll meet you down there."
Jack crossed his arms, still grinning widely. "Before I go...why don't you show me what you've been working on for the best two days? Clara told me you've really been going at it up here."
Rose twitched. "It's a surprise," she finally managed to croak out.
Jack's blue eyes twinkled. "Well, I for one look forward to seeing it. Anyway, I'll see you down there once you've finished cleaning up."
With that Jack turned, his coattails flying out behind him and Rose sagged in relief.
"Oh and for the record," Jack said started slowly in that teasing voice of his causing Rose to tense. Jack turned back around in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "I'm sure John would have loved to pose for you, if you had asked him. Hasn't shut up about you since the shoot, after all."
And as Jack left, Rose's heart jumped to her throat.
"Rose!" John exclaimed when she entered the room.
Jack and Ianto were huddled around Jack's camera, but John came bouncing toward her and Rose felt her insides squirm pleasantly at the sight of him. Her painting had been from memory, but seeing the real thing again made her realize how many details she had missed, like the wonky left ear and the dashing of freckles across his nose.
"How have you been?" His eyes glanced down at her hands and when he looked back up he raised an eyebrow at her. "Painting?"
Rose flushed, trying not to think of the way she'd been painting him without his permission. Surely anyone would find that strange and weird, especially considering that not three days ago they were posing as lovers. "Yeah...just working on my final project."
Their eyes met and held for a long moment, neither of them speaking until Jack cleared his throat and they both broke their gaze guiltily. "You two ready to see?"
John nodded eagerly and bounded over to Jack and Rose hesitantly followed, slightly afraid of what the sight of these picture might do to her already tumultous stomach.
Without another word, Jack began placing down the printed photos on the counter for them to peruse. He started with some of the tamer shots, but gradually they became increasingly sexual and Rose felt her face flaming as she took in the expression on her own face. The lust in her eyes was unmistakable. And if that wasn't bad enough, seeing how John was looking at her in those photos was like an electric shock to her system. It made it even worse knowing that John was scrutinizing them with her. As time passed she became acutely aware of his proximity and the heat coming off his body. Somehow, looking at these photos together, their faces matching expressions of desire captured forever on film, felt even more intimate than the actual posing had.
And then Jack brought out the photo where Rose had felt the physical evidence of John's desire and her face erupted into flames seeing the very real pleasure captured on his face. Her eyes couldn't help but cut over to see John's expression as he took it in. His face was just as flushed as hers felt and he fidgeted where he stood, his eyes unable to meet hers. Rose's stomach dropped.
"These...these turned out great, Jack," she finally managed to say. "Thanks for showing them to me, but I need...I should really get back to my work."
Then determined not to appear as if she were fleeing the oppressive tension in the room, Rose slowly made her way out the door.
"You were lying."
Rose froze. Surprised at the sound of John's voice and for a moment, all-consuming panic flooded her system until she realized that she had already covered her painting up for the day. Thank god for small miracles.
Slowly she turned to see his frowning face and folded arms. She gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, that I have made you feel uncomfortable. Or I did."
"I told you that I wasn't," she denied, shaking her head.
"Then why did you run off?"
Rose looked down, embarrassed that he had cottoned on to her so quickly. "I-"
John rubbed at the back of his neck. "I was the one who embarrassed himself in front of a virtual stranger. One that I had been begging to Jack to introduce me to, no less." He laughed self-deprecatingly. "Didn't really think that was how he'd go about it, the wanker."
Rose's eyes went round. "What?"
John shrugged, but managed to meet her eye. "He's told me a lot about you and then when I saw the pictures I just...sorry. I'm sorry that's probably incredibly creepy of me. I didn't...I just thought I'd like to meet you. Then there were your paintings, too! I went to one of the exhibits and just, wow. You're incredibly talented, you know? So, I, well, I might have been a bit enamored."
Rose felt the blush blooming on her face as she processed the earnest tone to his words. "That's...wow," was all she managed to say.
But John seemed to deflate at her words. He nodded one to many times. "Anyway, just wanted to apologize for everything-"
"No," Rose tried to protest. "You have nothing-"
But John continued on, as if he hadn't hear her. "And I know I've come on a bit strong-"
"That's not-"
"And I wish that maybe I'd got a chance to meet you under more normal circumstances-"
"Well, I don't-"
"But I know I've cocked all this up so I'll just let you-"
"I was aroused too, okay!" Rose finally shouted out in frustration. Her outburst caused everything to go deathly silent and John gaped at her like a fish out of water. She felt herself blushing madly, but continued on determinedly. "In fact, I've not been able to stop bloody thinking about your stupid face these best few days." When John didn't say anything, didn't react, Rose continued running her mouth, despite her head screaming at her to stop. "That shoot was probably the hottest thing I've ever done and on top of that you were so incredibly gorgeous and I, well, I for one am glad I got to do it with you, so...yeah."
The silence after her confession was suffocating and Rose felt her heart constrict. She looked away from John then back to him when she heard him audibly swallow. He licked his lips and then opened his mouth and said, "Jack said...he said I should ask you about your project."
Every inch of Rose's body froze and she looked at John with complete and utter terror and disbelief. She was going to strangle Jack when she next saw him, so help her.
"Did he," Rose finally managed to squeak, eyes darting to her covered piece.
"Yeah...I thought...I thought he was winding me up, you know? But maybe...maybe not?" He gave her an endearingly hopeful expression and Rose felt the panic begin to recede and slowly she smiled back at him.
"I...may have possibly been a little inspired," she finally admitted, bitting her lip as she met his gaze. He positively beamed at her.
"Were you now," he crowed.
"Oh shut up."
"C'mon, let's see it then," he said bouncing on his toes.
"No, I couldn't possibly-"
He pouted.
"But maybe," she continued before he could interject. "Maybe you could model for me? I did the last one from memory so it's not so great. Missed a lot of details, I did," she said giving him a flirtatious look up and down. "What do you say?"
"Miss Tyler, I would be delighted!"
After that, Jack always was sure to book both of them any time he got inspired. They really didn't seem to mind. In fact, neither of them ever seemed to notice the smug looks that Jack would periodically send Ianto.