A ROOM WITH NO VIEW
Owen was annoyed, his coffee wasn't waiting for him when he arrived into work and the errant Tea Boy was nowhere to be seen. He glanced up in the direction of Jack's office just to double check. Jack was pacing, phone in one hand, document file in the other and he looked more pissed off than Owen felt. He moved his gaze to Tosh, who was as always so engrossed in her work that if he spoke to her he suspected she'd be replying in zeros and ones. That could be fun of course, for all of a nano second. With a huff he made his toward Ianto's domain and the kettle... god forbid that he should actually use it to make coffee... but he was getting desperate, the hangover really was killing him. Unfortunately Gwen was there. Her back was facing him and he could hear her whittering impatiently down her mobile to the long suffering Rhys no doubt... Owen was never a subtle man.
"Oi,'ave you got the kettle on, love?"
Gwen jumped and swung round, offering up a wide eyed glare and Owen wondered how she managed it so successfully with such large and doey orbs. She stepped aside and returned to her conversation and Owen went forward to get his caffeine. He found his mug and flicked the switch on the kettle, confident he'd find some instant somewhere.
The cupboards were bare.
He scratched at his head, somewhat perplexed by the lack of refreshments and then jumped out of his skin when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Jesus Jack, you could make a man impotent scaring 'em like that!"
Jack looked shocked at the thought but managed a megawatt grin which made Owen close his eyes and suck back his nausea.
"What do you want Harkness?"
"That is no way to address your boss."
Owen shrugged. "Where's the Tea Boy?"
"Why are you asking me in that tone of voice?"
Jack was still smiling and Owen could feel himself sinking deeper into a bad mood.
"I need coffee Jack, he's a Tea Boy, he makes tea and COFFEE and he keeps us happy in our times of great need."
"Oh, he does that alright."
Owen shook his head. "Mind out of the gutter please... So... where is he?"
At this point Jack's smile dropped considerably. "Don't you ever check the Hub diary? He's in London for the week, visiting a friend who like him managed to survive Canary Wharf and then he is going to take some of Lisa's things to her family and to really cheer him up he has a meeting with General Oodie whatisname from UNIT on Friday before coming home to a nice weekend off."
"Oh."
Jack leant against the door jamb and folded his arms. "Ianto's kitchen instructions were quite clearly laid out on the note he left in the boardroom."
"Which was?"
"Don't use Starbucks, go to Cath's Cafe a little way along the back near the Coal Exchange, he has set up an account which he will settle from the petty cash when he returns."
"Oh." Owen couldn't think of anything else to say really apart from. "What about biscuits?"
"Tesco, just round the corner from the cafe."
The grin on Jack's face was getting more irritating.
"Seeing as how you're so desperate for a fill up, why don't you go and get the first round in."
"Right yes, good plan."
"Cath knows the order, just tell her Ianto sent you and she'll know what to do."
Jack swung away and veritably swaggered back up to his office. Owen snorted in disgust, that smarmy Tea Boy really had it coming to him one day... What the Hell was he thinking?...Decent coffee, Ianto's status of Godhood would remain untarnished if Cath's Cafe could cure his hangover.
Jack watched from his office as the surly medic departed.
The day passed uneventfully, which was pleasant in a calm, boring sort of way. Owen got on with his back log of routine autopsies, Tosh was doing whatever it was Tosh did with the computers and Gwen had spent the day checking all the local EMT logs. The Rift was quiet, the weevils were apparently on holiday somewhere and no one official had phoned to advise them of imminent danger. Jack was relieved, even if he was bored and studiously avoiding the paperwork still sitting on his desk from when Ianto had left it there the previous day. 5pm rolled round and Jack sent his team home, so at least for one day in their lives they could pretend they had normal jobs and lives to go home to.
The Hub was oddly quiet and Jack wandered about the cavernous space and felt the ache of loneliness in his chest, even Myfanwy's cawing didn't help to ease the feeling. He fingered the keys in his trouser pocket.
Ianto's house and car keys, the open invitation and Jack knew once he accepted the unspoken gesture the dynamics of his relationship with the younger man would be altered. Jack was sure he wasn't willing to go there, but he missed it so much. That sense of belonging, of coming home.
His mobile ringing jolted him out of his darkening thoughts, unsurprisingly the caller was Ianto and Jack couldn't help but smile as he answered the phone and then he remembered why Ianto was away in the first place.
"How was the funeral?"
Jack sat down at Gwen's neat desk and picked up a photograph of herself with Rhys.
"It was pretty grim, but most funerals are in my experience."
Jack sighed.
"So what's up?"
"I needed someone to talk to, sorry Jack, is this a good time?"
"It's fine, it's quiet and I have the Hub to myself... well Miffy is up in the rafters somewhere... you wanted to talk?" The photograph was put back and Jack waited patiently for Ianto to speak.
"Sorry I just..."
"That bad huh?"
Ianto was sucking in a long breath.
"Yes, his family were looking at me throughout the whole thing, like it was my fault. I could feel their resentment, the fact that I survived undamaged, the fact that I survived at all. It was horrible. I'd only met the man once before...well before... I feel like shit Jack."
"Ianto, I don't know what to say... I guess I'm used to it, hardened to it. I've had people in my life who have resented what I am because I will always be the one left alive and undamaged... in a manner of speaking."
There was a long pause and Jack could picture in his mind's eye, Ianto chewing at his lip.
"Where are you?"
"I'm sitting in my hotel room... Did I do the right thing Jack? Coming here for this?"
Jack wondered if Ianto were pacing his room.
"Yes and yes. You need closure Ianto... Did you want me to come over?" Jack began to doodle on Gwen's note pad.
"No...yes... no, I should deal with this alone, you have enough with... and if there is an emergency, you'd be too far away if you came over. Thanks for the thought though."
"You're welcome. Are you still going to see the Hallets tomorrow?"
"Yeah, there's some things of Lisa's from her childhood and I feel sure they'd want them back."
"What about you though, don't you want to keep them?"
"No Jack." Ianto sounded resigned. "I'm going to die for Torchwood one day and I don't want Lisa's memories consigned to some lock up garage in Splott. She deserves better than that."
Jack really didn't like the sound of that, but under the circumstances he could understand.
"Will you be ok?"
"I need time Jack, I need to work through this and face my demons... like you said, closure."
"Yeah... just remember you're not alone Ianto."
"I should go, let you get on."
"I don't have anything to do, so er... tell me what you're wearing?"
"Jack we're not having phone sex."
There was chuckle and Jack found himself breathing again.
"Why not?"
"Time and a place Jack."
"You're miles away, in a lonely hotel... I'm here at home, bored..."
"Jaaaaack." There was mock warning and Jack smiled.
"Yeah, so the timing is a little off."
"I left you some food in the freezer at my flat, get out of the Hub, the coffee machine in my kitchen is ready to go, just turn it on."
Jack sat upright. "You ok with my being there?"
"Just don't leave used socks and underwear lying around for me to pick up when I return, anyway you must feed the cat on Wednesday, because his dispenser will be running low by then."
"Ok...Thank you."
"Go home Jack."
"I will, call me tomorrow?"
"Yes... Goodnight."
"Night Ianto."
Ianto slumped down onto the unfamiliar bed and dropped his phone somewhere, he didn't look where. He lay there and stared at the magnolia ceiling. Tears threatened and Ianto blinked them away. It had been a terrible day of remembrance, of survivors guilt and apologies for a man he hardly knew. The only thing they'd had in common was the fact that they had survived, initially at least, the man had thrown himself from the top of a multi story car park in Wimbledon the previous week. Ianto grieved, but not for him. It was a life lost, another funeral, more hopes and dreams dashed upon a pavement at 2am... His life, the one he could have had...once. Ianto lurched upright and yanked at his black tie. He had never felt more alone in all his life. The tie was tossed aside and Ianto went to the fridge and peered into the mini-bar, he reached for the scotch and the vodka...
Jack gaped at his phone, surprised that Ianto had hung up so quickly. In times past when separated by distance, phone sex had been part of their routine and clearly Ianto was far unhappier than he had stated. Jack scratched at his head unsure of what to do. He thought of Gwen, no doubt tucked up beside Rhys on the couch. Owen would be sprucing himself up, ready for a night on the town and Tosh... Jack often wondered what she did at home, probably internet chess with some random egghead in Russia. He sighed and decided to take Ianto up on his suggestion, if nothing else he'd get a decent cup of coffee out of it and companionship in the form of Ianto's very friendly orange stripey cat called Jupiter. Jupiter had a large reddish spot on his left flank. Ianto had found him dumped in his rubbish bin one morning some months previously. Jack had been away with the Doctor at the time...He stopped that thought in its tracks as he pulled on his faithful greatcoat. Truth was he was also rather pleased to get the chance to snoop around Ianto's home in his absence.
Jupiter was sprawled along the entire length of the couch and he barely lifted his head when Jack entered the room. A whisker was twitched and a yawn large enough to swallow a train followed and then he went back to his sleep, well used to Jack's noisy stomping about the place by now. Jack hesitated as he took off his coat, taking a moment to look around the neat lounge. It had been almost sterile once, before Jack had starting staying over and he suddenly realised just how much of his personality had been stamped on the place right down to the haphazardly stacked DVDs under the flat screen TV. Jack went back into the little hallway and hung up his coat, he also shucked his boots off and padded through to the kitchen to find his dinner. There was a note for him stuck to the fridge door with a list of kitchen related instructions and Jack couldn't help but laugh out loud at what he read. So tonight's dinner was homemade Sheppard's pie with lots of cheese on top, Jack loved cheese. He made himself at home. Jupiter ended up curled on his lap as Jack sat and watched the TV. Jack slept in Ianto's bed with a contented smile on his face and a fat cat pawing at his head every time he snored.
The rest of the week went to Hell and when Ianto returned to Cardiff there was no one at the Hub to greet him. He knew his weekend off had just been culled as he sat at Tosh's terminal and plugged himself into the Torchwood coms. Owen was swearing, Jack and Gwen were laughing and Tosh was complaining about wet clothes. It sounded like business as usual to Ianto. He went to the coffee machine.
AN: STILL FINDING MY FEET WITH THE CHARACTERS AGAIN... THIS HAS NO POINT OTHER THAN TO FLEX MY MUSES MUSCLES...SORRY IF I AM GETTING THE BEARS BARES WRONG!