After The Wedding
Title: After The Wedding
Word Count: 2,142
Setting: Post-Something Borrowed
Disclaimer: Gwen is alive. Ianto, Tosh and Owen are dead. I think that's more than enough proof that I don't own Torchwood.
A/N: This is another result of plot bunnies! Set after Something Borrowed. Drabble. Please R&R!
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After the last guest was packed away into their hotel room, the members of Torchwood that weren't newly married gathered in the freshly cleaned main hall.
Jack looked at his tired team mates. "I'm guessing everyone and everything's been put away?" They nodded tiredly. "Good. Is everyone okay to drive home?" They all nodded, except for Tosh.
"Shouldn't someone stay in case someone wakes up still remembering what happened?"
Jack sighed. "Good point." He turned to Owen. "Could you do it? I mean, you don't need to sleep, and I don't know what else you were going to do."
"Yeah, sure." Owen grinned. "I know what I'd like to do, but unfortunately that is now impossible." Everyone giggled feebly. "I'll stay; no problem.
Jack handed him a sizeable amount of RetCon, just to be safe. Tosh started to make her way to the door.
Jack noticed a small pool of champagne on the floor, and quickly mopped it up. He started to make his way to the door, when he heard a weak yawn behind him.
Thinking it was a forgotten guest he, in one quick movement; whipped around, produced some RetCon from his pocket and held it out in front of him threateningly.
He laughed when he saw it was only Ianto. He had his back to him, hadn't even realised Jack was standing behind him. He probably hadn't noticed he was still standing there.
Jack walked towards him. He still didn't turn around. He put his arms around Ianto's waist. He didn't notice. He planted a soft kiss on Ianto's neck. Still no reaction.
Jack turned him around in case he'd fallen asleep standing up. When Jack came into his eye-line, Ianto blinked tiredly and smiled at him.
Jack traced his jaw line, never taking his eyes off of Ianto's. "I don't think you're safe to drive home."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're coming home with me." Jack smiled. Ianto smiled weakly back.
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On the car journey back, Jack kept one eye on the road, and another on Ianto, not an easy task when driving at night! He saw him nod every few minutes, but he never fell completely asleep. Ianto never did sleep much. Neither did Jack. They spent nearly every night in each other's arms though.
After Jack parked the SUV, he gently shook Ianto's shoulders, noticing that the young Welshman seemed only half-conscious.
Ianto shook his head as Jack brought him back to his senses. He faced the older man. "Are we at the Hub?" he asked.
Jack nodded. "If you're really tired, I could take you back to your flat."
Ianto shook his head again. "No, it's alright; I've got stuff to file in the archives."
Jack grinned playfully. "Really. I thought we could do some Weevil hunting in my office." Ianto didn't smile back. "No, really, I've got work to do." He practically ran into the Hub as he said this, leaving Jack to watch him go, wondering what he did wrong.
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The next morning, Ianto woke up at his desk in the archives. He fixed his hair and rubbed his eyes in the dark, glad no-one was there.
"Morning, sleepyhead." Okay, maybe someone was there. Ianto turned to the door, and saw the unmistakable silhouette that was Captain Jack Harkness.
Ianto smiled tiredly into the darkness. "Morning." He paused. "It is morning, isn't it?"
Jack laughed as he started to make his way towards the Welshman. "It's six in the morning." He put his arms on Ianto's waist as he reached him. "Still plenty of time before the others get here.
Ianto smiled at the last part of Jack's statement. Then he realised where Jack's hands were. It brought him back to the previous day, and he quickly pulled away and jogged up the stairs.
Jack watched him go. What was up with him? When they were cleaning up Gwen's wedding, he'd avoided him as best he could. And Ianto deserved a gold medal at avoiding people.
Jack followed him up. He heard the sirens go off as Ianto left just as he reached the main level of the Hub. He sighed and went to change; knowing that was what Ianto would be doing back at his flat.
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As Ianto walked through the front door of his flat, he sighed and headed to his bedroom to change.
He rummaged through his wardrobe. Why did he have so many suits? Why did he have suits at all? He'd needed them when he worked at Torchwood One, but here in Cardiff they should have been useless to him. But they weren't. He didn't know why he wore them.
He sighed, and pulled out a simple three-piece suit and a red tie.
He had a quick shower, then threw the suit on. He was just about to leave, when he realised he didn't have his keys.
He sighed again, and turned back to his bedroom to look for them. He checked his chest of drawers and his wardrobe, but couldn't find them.
He sighed and sat down on his bed. Maybe this was why humans needed sleep; without it, they lost things. With it they lost things, just not always in the same way. He looked at the picture of himself and Lisa on his bedside table and sighed, gently stroking her cheek, feeling the tears welling up in his eyes.
God, he missed her. The team went on at him a lot, asking why he never had any fun. He always shrugged it off, too embarrassed by the explanation; whenever he even started to enjoy himself, would suddenly hear Lisa's he voice in the back of his mind. "How?" it would ask him, "How can you be enjoying yourself when I'm dead? I thought you loved me. If you did, you would be remembering me, not enjoying life when you know I can't. But then, whose fault is that?"
That always brought tears to his eyes. He knew it was just his subconscious – he wasn't stupid! – but it was almost impossible to see it that way whilst he was hearing it.
He brushed the tears out of his eyes and got off of his bed. As he did so, he heard something under his feet. He looked down; it was his keys!
He sighed, picked them up, and headed to the Hub.
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Waiting for Ianto as he entered the Hub, was Jack.
"Talk to me, Ianto." He said immediately.
Ianto honestly had no idea what was going on. "W-What do you mean, sir?"
"Drop the 'sir' bullshit, it ain't gonna fly. Talk to me."
"I-I don't k-know w-what you w-want me to s-say." Ianto stuttered.
Jack knew Ianto only ever stuttered when he was nervous. He considered letting him go, but he was determined to find out what was wrong with the young Welshman, so pressed on.
He started to walk towards the young man. "I want you to say why you avoided me when we were cleaning up after Gwen's wedding last night, well, technically, much earlier this morning." He reached the Welshman and held his hand gently. "I want you to say why you didn't want to go 'Weevil Hunting' with me when we got back from cleaning up after Gwen's wedding." He took his other hand, and stood nose-to-nose with his lover. "I want you to say why you are looking at me right now as if you're about to run off just like you did just over an hour ago."
As if to prove Jack's point, Ianto tried to escape the immortal's grasp, but Jack refused to let him go.
Ianto looked into the older man's eyes. Usually when they were in this position and he did that, all he could see was lust. Now though, he could see that the immortal was hurt, which only made Ianto himself hurt more.
He wanted to tell Jack the truth, he really did, but he was worried Jack would laugh at him, or worse, call off their sort-of-not-quite-a-relationship, and Ianto didn't know what he'd do if that happened.
So he tried brushed it off like he did with everything else. "I h-honestly don't know w-what you're g-going on about, J-Jack." He laughed.
Jack, however, was not in a laughing mood for the first time in a very longtime. "Ianto, please, talk to me." Ianto turned away from him, so Jack seized his face and forced him to look directly at him. "Ianto, I am begging you here. You never talk to anybody about how you feel, and how neither of us has managed to go mad because of it yet is beyond me. Talk to me now Ianto, and I promise, unless it is an absolute emergency and Owen forces me to for the sake of your health, I won't ask you to tell me how you feel about anything ever again, so for God's sake, man; talk to me! Have I done something wrong?"
Ianto looked right at Jack. He would never, in a million years, have expected Jack to say something like that to him. Ever. He didn't know what to say, so continued staring at Jack.
Jack let him do so. He knew it took a lot to make Ianto talk, but he hoped he would get through to him.
It took all both of their self-control not to kiss each other; Jack was holding Ianto's face right in front of his own, gently, but firmly. They could each feel each other's breath on their lips.
Ianto gently removed Jack's hands from his face, but held onto his hands, reassuring him he wasn't going to run off again.
Ianto stared right into Jack's eyes. "I-I'm sorry. For e-everything. A-Avoiding you. N-Not W-Weevil hunting w-with you. R-Running off." He sighed again, looking at his feet. "I-Interrupting your d-dance with G-Gwen."
Jack was shocked. He made Ianto look at him again."Excuse me?"
"I-I i-interupted y-your d-dance w-with G-Gwen a-at h-her w-wedding."
"So?"
"S-So, w-when I-I d-did–"
"Don't stutter, please." Jack eyes and voice were sad.
Ianto cleared his throat. "When I did, you looked, well, quite frankly, pissed off with me. I know you'd rather dance with Gwen than with me."
Jack was taken aback. "Don't think like that. I– "
"Don't fuck with me Jack! You want Gwen; I just keep you satisfied and we both know it, so save your breath!" Ianto shouted, tears glistening in his eyes.
Jack could feel the tears in his own eyes. "I–You–Ianto–"
Ianto cut him off again, but he didn't shout this time; just tearfully said, "It's true, isn't it Jack? I'm just the consolation prize, aren't I? You can't have Gwen, so you have me, don't you?" Jack could see the tears glistening in his eyes, but also that he was determined not to cry."
Jack sighed, wondering how he was going to get himself out of this; he'd always figured Ianto would do this eventually, despite the fact that everything he was saying was totally untrue. It was just convincing Ianto of such was going to be extremely difficult; the man was fiercely private, and let a very select few into his heart. Jack was one of those few. And right now it looked like he ballsed it up.
"Ianto," Jack started. It was barely more than a whisper, and he tried to hold in his own tears as he spoke. "I can't say I didn't see this coming. Look, I'm sorry I flirt with everyone and everything; it's in my genes, and if I could help it, I swear to you, I would. And, I admit it, I do want Gwen. But I want you more. In fact, I want you more than I've ever wanted anyone." He squeezed Ianto's trembling hands. "You do something to me, Ianto. Every time you walk in a room, I have to fight not to react. I have to fight not to pounce on you. And that has never happened to me before; not ever." Jack swallowed and forced himself to look into his lover's beautiful blue eyes. "Ianto Jones, I've no idea how you've done it, but you have; you've gotten me to-to" Jack closed his eyes. "fall in love with you." He sighed. "I love you, Ianto."
He gingerly opened his eyes, to see that Ianto had let a single tear fall down his cheeks.
Ianto smiled at him nervously. "I love you too, Jack."
Jack felt the tears in his eyes finally fall as he and Ianto locked their lips in what was by far the best kiss of both of their lives.
Jack eventually, though very reluctantly, pulled away.
He grinned playfully at Ianto. "I'm sure we still have some time before anyone gets in."
Ianto just smiled; the only reply Jack needed.
A/N: Phew! Now that that's done, I should be able to continue with my story 'Taking Care'. Please review for this though; it brightens my day!
