Blue eyes and a smirk from ear to ear. There he was again. Quickly, Ianto shook his head. No, don't think like that.

A mysterious man had come to the coffeeshop where Ianto worked every single day at exactly ten past twelve in the afternoon for a week now. Kind, shy Ianto Jones worked from ten to two every day to save money for his future – he now lived in a small apartment close to the harbour in the middle of Cardiff, but he wanted to get out of there. Get a real house, find a wife and start a family…
His thoughts were interrupted with a brief cough. Ianto looked up and let his eyes glide over the –now familiar- man standing in front of him. He could not suppress a tiny smile when looking into the handsome face of the customer, with his brown hair all messy because of the Welsh wind.
'So,' the male started – his American accent could not go unnoticed amongst all the Welsh ones –, 'I come here every now and then but never have I ordered something with you'. He winked. 'My name is Captain Jack Harkess, but you can call me Jack.' It was quiet for a while, and then Ianto remembered how to breathe again and thought of the lessons he learnt when he started working at the shop. 'W-what can I help you with, sir?' he stuttered. Jack grinned again. 'I like my coffee how I like my men. Bitter and hot.'
Ianto almost choked when hearing that, and didn't know how to react. He just stood there, like he was made of stone. Now Jack laughed audible. 'Relax a little, dear. Black coffee for me, please.'

Jack drank his coffee at a table for two near the bar where Ianto helped other customers. Ianto tried really hard not to glance at the Captain and concentrated on the other people in the shop. There, for example. A pretty decent-looking girl. Raven hair and dark brown eyes. Full lips. Good body, as well. But nothing compared to that amazing jawline of Capt-

No. Ianto squinted his eyes and shook his head sternly. Why did these thoughts creep into his mind? That was not Ianto Jones.

When he walked home from work, he felt the cold wind hitting against his face and tried to think of all the loves he had in his life so far. The only serious relationship he had ever had was with a girl from Norway called Aimee. They met when she was on a trip to Wales with her family and they kept contact for years. He even learnt a little Norwegian for her – until she met another bloke and dumped Ianto. After that, he had kissed two or three girls but never felt anything. Not after Aimee. Not until now.

The next day Ianto was late for work. He hadn't slept quite well, stirring in his sleep and waking up every now and then. Thinking of this strange Captain. Coming all the way from America to Cardiff, for what? And now Ianto felt so many things and he was scared.

He stepped from the cold into the heated shop. It was small, but it still felt like a second home to Ianto. The interior was practical, allowing the maximum of people to sit inside and enjoy a hot cup of coffee or tea. It didn't surprise Ianto to see the regular visitors sitting alone or together, reading the newspaper or chatting about the latest gossip.
He walked behind the bar and greeted his colleagues. A girl with her black hair in a ponytail smiled at him. Her teeth were slightly crooked, but it suited her. She had always been Ianto's favourite colleague. Always happy, and if not, she could make sarcastic comments about it. She made him laugh, but he had never thought about her in a sexual way. She had a husband and always talked about his love for him. Now, she leaned closer to Ianto to whisper something in his ear. 'This man, yeah? He comes here every single day for a little while now. I always catch him looking at you. And me. And everyone, from head to toe! I'd feel harrassed if he wasn't such a looker!' Ianto laughed. 'I indeed can't deny he's handsome, Gwen. And he tips me good, so I'm not complaining.'

Of course, Captain Jack Harkness didn't skip his coffee this Thursday. He walked into the shop, and everyone turned their heads to examine him. He looked back – aware of his physical attractiveness.
He walked up to Ianto, and in the corner of his eye Ianto noticed Gwen staring at Jack. 'The usual, please. Black coffee, if it's not much trouble.' Ianto coughed, his throat suddenly very dry. 'No, not a problem at all, sir. Do you want sugar with it?' Jacks eyes flickered for a second, and then he said like it was the most normal thing in the world: 'No, no sugar please. You're sweet enough for the both of us.'

So it went on for the next couple of days. Nervous Ianto and confident Jack, talking to him like he was practicing his flirt skills on someone and it didn't mean anything to him. It couldn't mean anything, right? But to Ianto it felt like the world and the universe and far more. His heart dropped whenever Jack Harkness came walking into the coffeeshop and he secretly hoped he would stay a little longer this time. But at twelve thirty Jack would stand up every single time, looking over his shoulder once as he walked towards the door.

On Monday, Ianto couldn't stand it any longer. The nights without sleep and just surviving on Jacks smiles and his own coffee magic. Gwen noticed. 'Go up to him', she encouraged him. 'For the sake of all single people in the world. Please?', she begged. Ianto was shy and only came out of his shell in company of people he knew well. Like Gwen. So he nodded, even though his nerves almost made him collapse.

So when Jack came to order his usual drink at the usual time, Ianto decided to start the conversation first. 'You never asked me for my name', he said – immediately regretting this blunt statement. Jack looked up firmly, his eyes shooting across every line in Ianto's face to see if he was joking. But he wasn't, and Jack knew and smiled. Showing his perfect, white teeth and twinkling eyes. Ianto's heart skipped a beat when he saw those eyes.
'So, tell me, then. Is your name as beautiful as your face?' Ianto still couldn't get used to these cheeky lines, but he liked them. 'Ianto Jones, sir', he said, suddenly being formal again. 'Ianto', Jack repeated, rolling the name off his tongue as if he wanted to decide if its taste was pleasant or not. 'Never heard that before. But you're one of a kind, anyway. When does your shift end?'
Good god. He was so straight forward. Ianto felt Jacks voice in every vein. The way he said his name. Not slightly right, with the American accent and all. 'It ends at two. Why?', Ianto asked. Of course he knew why, but he wanted to hear him say it. 'I would ask you to go for a drink with me, but as you work here', he made a gesture to the shop around him, 'maybe we should skip that part and you could come to my house right away.'
Ianto felt as if he was struck by lightning when hearing that. He couldn't move for a while, but then he nodded. This man, this strangely handsome man, wanted him and him only to go to his house. Anything could happen. So far, he lived a boring life in Cardiff and wasted his days in this coffee place that suddenly seemed too small to breathe. He wanted Captain Jack Harkness. He wanted him to show him the world.

So after his shift, Ianto walked with the stranger to his house. As Ianto had assumed, it was a large house and every single detail in the interior fitted with Jacks style. It was so cleverly thought over, it was intriguing.
'I don't want to be a bad host, so I'm going to offer you something to drink anyway', Jack said with a little smile in his tone. He always seemed to smile, and Ianto loved it. Ianto sat himself down on one of the couches and looked up to the man he dreamt about every single night. 'I know it sounds utterly boring, but I'll take a coffee, please. I want you to make it for me once instead of the other way around.' Jack loved this, because Ianto seemed to relax around him more every day. Jack tried to imitate the voice of a chic waiter as he said 'Sugar or cream, sir?' Ianto laughed. 'Cream, please, my captain.' Jack nodded. 'Hmm, good choice, sir. Lots of things you can do with cream.'