Ianto opened his eyes, but his lagging brain didn't register the morning until a glance at the clock on the bedside table showed him that it was way past the time his alarm clock had been set to go off.
"Shit." He squinted against the fluorescent numbers in the dark; it was so easy to lose track of time without the stimulating sunlight. He still had to take a shower, and the water in the bunker's bathroom took a while to warm up.
"What's the matter?" Jack whispered groggily, rolling over to spoon Ianto and wrapping an arm around him.
"Overslept. Why are you whispering?"
"It's night. And it fits the mood."
"What mood?" Ianto rolled his eyes. "It's eight in the morning."
"It's romantic, isn't it?"
Ianto scoffed. "There's no romantic mood. We got up in the middle of the night because we spent four hours chasing Weevils. And it was too late for Weevil hunting of the fun kind after."
Jack pressed a small kiss to his ear. "At least it all ended well: we're both okay, and the Weevil's down in the cells."
"You're right." Ianto turned around and met Jack's lips in a quick kiss. "And now I'm going to shower."
"Ooh…" Jack grinned. "A shower?"
Ianto playfully nudged him as he sat up. "An actual shower. You're not invited."
"Alright, then." Jack languidly stretched out on the bed, hugging Ianto's abandoned pillow. "I'll just stay here… sleeping."
Ianto rolled his eyes, not rising to Jack's customary bait. "Sounds riveting. I'll be in there, rubbing my hands all over my naked body."
He laughed as Jack playfully growled at him, and stood up. One step later, he was back on the bed, having fallen backward with a yelp.
Jack sat up, no longer laughing. "Ianto?"
He grimaced. "My ankle."
"Did you hurt it last night?"
"No, I don't think so. I guess I must have twisted it while I was sleeping. I'm fine," Ianto looked sideways at Jack, who had sat up and was now wrapped around him in a concerned hug, "it doesn't hurt that much, I just wasn't expecting it."
Jack kissed his cheek and got up to turn on the lights. "Let me see."
Ianto nodded.
"That doesn't look good…" Jack winced in sympathy. "See Owen when he comes in. I think several days should do it, maybe a week. Just take it easy."
"Thanks."
"Anytime. Although I'd rather you weren't injured. How'd you even manage it?"
Ianto shrugged. "Might have caught my foot caught in the blankets or something. Stepped on it awkwardly getting up, maybe."
"Well, he's a good-morning-feel-better kiss." Jack leaned in and gave Ianto just that. "Now, d'you need any help showering? You know… since you're hurt."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Any excuse, Jack."
"That wasn't a no."
"No, it wasn't," Ianto conceded. "All the same, I think I'll take my chances. It's already late."
"Alright." Another kiss. "Just be careful. And tell me if you do need any help."
"Always." Ianto returned the kiss with a grin, then got up and limped over to the en-suite.
.oOo.
By the time evening was dawning, Ianto had followed Jack's advice—Owen's advice, too, when he'd come in—and had very firmly stayed at his desk. He had made coffee and Gwen had delivered it; had ordered food and Tosh had gone up to get it; had given up his Weevil-feeding duties to Owen; and had called Myfanwy down to get her food instead of climbing up to her aerie to feed her.
Had there been more happening—he was dealing with the online world of alien sightings, suspicious artifact auctions, and interdepartmental fights with UNIT—he would have felt bad about not being out in the field. As it was, the only action that day had been a tech retrieval—broken—and the investigation of a sighting of green clouds raining flowers—which turned out to be fake.
He got up and slowly made his way to Jack's office, where he found Jack hard at work filling out a crossword.
"I know you're rolling your eyes," Jack said with a grin, though he didn't look up from the newspaper. Ianto was indeed rolling his eyes, and conceded to Jack the glory of the observation, though he rolled his own eyes once more when Jack looked up and put the crossword aside. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Before you get a big head, it wasn't because I just wanted to see you. Although," Ianto smiled, "that is a great benefit."
"It's the jawline."
"It's not only the jawline, and you know it."
Jack's eyes twinkled. "I never knew you found me so irresistible."
"I just came to say that I'm heading home," Ianto said when Jack finally looked ready to listen. "Since it's quiet. If that's alright."
"Of course." Jack nodded. "You're supposed to be taking it easy today."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "I was thinking more along the lines of stopping on the way to get some food—"
"I'll get it, you just go home. Rest."
"And picking up Untitled from Sylvia."
"Not planning to take him on a walk, are you? Without me?" Jack pouted, then turned seriously. "And not while you're still—"
"Hurt, I know." Ianto shook his head fondly; Jack was looking out for him when Ianto himself was tempted to be negligent, and the snubbed expression on Jack's face forced a laugh out of Ianto. "No walks, I promise. Just a romp in the courtyard."
"Ooh, a romp?"
"If you want any sort of 'romp' tonight, you'll come by later instead of engaging in questionable word play."
"I'll hold you to that," Jack said with a wink, and Ianto hid a smirk as he left.
He called Sylvia on the way. She'd been his neighbor from the beginning—she and her often elusive husband, a man Jack swore he'd briefly known in the fifties—and she gladly took in Untitled, an energetic two-year-old retriever, whenever Ianto was unable to return to his flat.
By the time he limped up to the landing he shared with Sylvia and her husband, Untitled was standing in Sylvia's open doorway, ready to jump onto him with a greeting.
"Thank you," Ianto said to Sylvia, petting Untilted's head. He still didn't think it was quite fair to dump the dog on her on such short notice—one of the biggest reasons he'd been reluctant to keep Untitled in the first place—but she seemed satisfied with the arrangement.
"Any time, Ianto, you know that," She said warmly. "Is your Captain coming home tonight?"
"He'll try." Ianto had no idea what the day had in store for Torchwood, and felt momentarily guilty before reminding himself that he'd be called in case of emergency. "Our job is a bit… unpredictable."
Sylvia nodded in understanding. "My Steven was the same way. Day in, day out, always running to and from the police station. You know, it's not just now that you have all these strange animals running around, criminals dressed in weird costumes. Oh, I shouldn't keep you, Ianto. Go on, I know you're dying to spend some time with Untitled."
She smiled at him, though Ianto saw her shake her head in amusement as she closed the door to her flat; she was forever puzzled at his and Jack's decision to call the dog 'Untitled'.
"Come on," Ianto said to Untitled, then, and headed for the lift. "Let's go for a walk, yeah?"
Untitled wagged his tail happily and trotted in front of Ianto into the opening lift.
The open courtyard was empty, though it was sometimes filled with Ianto's neighbors, but that was probably due to the lateness of the hour. It was dinnertime soon, and they all had food to make. Ianto decided to wait for Jack, or warm up some takeaway from his fridge. He motioned to Untitled to take as much time as needed, and sat down on one of the benches.
It hadn't rained—he would have felt stupid sitting on a wet bench in suit trousers. It wasn't long before Untitled bounded up to him with a ball between his teeth.
"I won't run," he told Untitled, "but I'll throw."
He did throw then: not far, to just beyond the cluster of trees in the middle of the courtyard that some of the kids in the neighboring flats liked to climb. Untitled came back, and Ianto threw the ball again: he kept throwing, avoiding Mrs. Lloyd's rose bushes—she'd gotten permission to plant them only a few months previously—and the areas next to the doors in case anyone was coming out.
When it got dark and Untitled began walking to the door, Ianto levered himself off the bench and followed. Untitled needed a drink, and Ianto needed to be off his feet, the exhaustion of the past few days and the annoyance of his hurt ankle finally doing him in; they needed a dinner, too, and possibly a film to watch together before Jack returned from the Hub.
.oOo.
Jack came home with treats for Untitled, kisses for Ianto, and fresh takeaway for what remained of the evening.
"You're early," Ianto said from the sofa as Untitled got comfortable beside him, showing Jack in no uncertain terms whose seat it was. "It's not even fully dark out."
"It's summer." Jack looked down and pouted. "And Untitled's in my seat."
Ianto shrugged helplessly. "Take it up with him."
He half-listened as Jack began to bargain with the dog, still trying to watch the end of the film. It was only when Jack sat down next to him that Ianto realised he'd won the argument; when Untitled jumped up to lie over the two of them, he realised it had been a draw.
"We're watching another one?" Jack asked.
"Unless you have nothing better to do." Ianto shrugged lightly. "Or don't want to."
Jack kissed Ianto's temple. "No, I want to. Can't exactly beat James Bond, can I?"
"Only if you really try."
Jack threw him an enthusiastic look and gave him a promising kiss. "Oh, I will."
"After the film?"
"After the film. I'm not a monster, Mr. Jones."
"You can be my Bond Boy later." Ianto swatted at his chest with a laugh, which proved ineffective due to their current cuddling position.
Another soft kiss, full of promise at the rest of the evening after the film would be over and Untitled would be sent to rest; for now, it was just the innuendoes Jack whispered into Ianto's ear during the quiet parts of the film.