A/N: My muse refuses too let me write anything else at the moment, and when the muse demands, I must obey. This story is a lot different from my normal stuff, so I hope you enjoy it, as much as I am having fun writing it:)

Special thanks to my super, special, awesome, beta Rietta, for her hard-work, constant encouragement and smacking Ianto round the head when he needs it XD, Love you, hun.

Please let me know what you think :)

Chapter 1- Take a look at us now.

1 week ago.

"I don't care. I am sick of coming home every day, fearing that I'm going to find you in bed with someone."

Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Ianto, you know I have never been unfaithful, so what the hell has brought this on?"

Ianto looked sceptical for a moment, eyebrow raised nearly to his hairline and a frown upon his face.

"Jack..."

"No, Ianto." Jack shook his head, "You can't come home, accuse me and then refuse to talk about it- I demand you tell me what the fuck is going on!"

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"Oh yes, because coming home every other night and accusing me of being with another person is dealing with it. I thought you trusted me."

Ianto looked over at Jack as he booted up the computer and logged in. "You know I do."

"You have a funny way of showing it. We've been together ten years Ianto, in a civil partnership for four of those years... talk to me."

Ianto opened his mouth, took a deep breath and then mumbled something so quietly that Jack had to strain to hear him.

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

"I said, I'm not good enough for you." Ianto snapped.

Jack's eyes widened and he was next to Ianto in three strides. "Where the hell did you get that ridiculous notion?"

Ianto looked at Jack. "So now I'm ridiculous."

"No!" Jack snarled. "You are everything to me, the reason I wake up in the morning and the reason I sleep easier at night. You are the person I stood in front of family and friends with and vowed to be with forever. You are Ianto Jones, and I bloody love you."

Ianto stared into Jack's eyes and Jack smiled slightly. "You're my little coffee bean."

Ianto had been doing so well, he didn't cry often, but he couldn't help the sob that erupted from his chest when Jack called him that; it had been so long since they had even hugged properly. He leaned forward and kissed Jack soundly on the lips.

"I've missed you," Ianto sobbed as he continued to kiss the man before him. He felt Jack kiss him back and let himself be guided to the bedroom; he was vaguely aware of the computer shutting down, but he didn't care, work could wait.

"Ianto." He heard Jack's voice and met his eyes. Seeing Jack's eyes wet with tears he knew this wasn't over, but he allowed himself to be guided to the bed. Jack surprised Ianto by lying down on the bed and pulling Ianto down to his side so that they curled around each other. There was no kissing, but this was something that had been missing from their relationship this last few weeks.

"Let me ask again," Jack smiled. "Talk to me."

Present.

"Can we please stop trying to kill each other?" Jack pleaded as he and Ianto stood at opposite ends of the room, arguing again- it seemed to have become a favourite pastime of theirs in the past few weeks. "Let's stop accusing and actually talk about this."

Ianto inhaled sharply, taking a deep breath and calming himself, then nodded his head. Then he asked quietly: "Can you remember the last time we did something with each other- not a family party or a night out with friends, but just something for us?"

Jack thought for a moment, and then cast his mind back, finally finding the memory of the holiday in 'Costa del sol' over a year ago.

When Jack didn't answer straight away, Ianto took his chance. "When was the last time we had sex, Jack?"

Jack smiled. "Sunday."

Ianto nodded. "When did we last make love?"

Jack closed his eyes. "Just after you got the promotion in the office, we shared a bath and I gave you a massage."

Ianto nodded and allowed his eyes to skim the room, freezing suddenly. Something was out of place: there were cards on the mantelpiece and a neat pile of wrapping paper and envelopes on the coffee table, where Jack had been sat. Ianto felt his heart sink.

"Shit."

Jack looked up and caught his eye. "Remembered, have you?"

Ianto nodded, his stomach twisting in knots, and he felt the guilt eat him up. "I'm sorry."

Jack shook his head. "When was the last time I forgot your birthday, Ianto?"

"Never."

"And when was the last time I actually made you feel like shit on your birthday?"

"Never."

Jack shook his head and moved to the table, holding up a wooden photo frame that had been decorated with paints and felt tips. In the frame was a picture from Jack and Ianto's civil partnership, Ianto holding a little girl on his hip and Jack with a little boy in his arms. "From David and Mica."

Ianto bit back tears as he noticed the writing on the bottom of the frame. 'Happy Birthday Uncle Jack'. Ianto looked at the clock, and then back at Jack.

"Come on," he grabbed Jack's arms.

Jack looked at him. "What?"

"It's only six-thirty- I'll buy you tea, just me and you. We've both fucked up these last few weeks; we need the time together, and I can start making it up to you for forgetting today."

Jack looked at Ianto. "We're both still in our work stuff."

"And?"

"And we both stink."

"And?"

"After the fight we've just had, I really don't want to go out."

Ianto felt his shoulders slump and he noticed how exhausted Jack looked. "Let me cook then?"

Jack smiled. "Bean, why don't we just order takeout and crash on the sofa with 'Independence Day' and relax?"

Ianto smiled. "Whatever you want." Then he froze. "You called me 'Bean'."

Jack chuckled. Their fight was by no means over, but Jack knew now was not the time or the place. He didn't want to fight on his birthday, and he knew Ianto didn't either, now that he'd remembered.

Ianto placed an order for Chinese to be delivered and then they both made use of the two bathrooms their house offered before changing into pyjamas. Ianto came out to find Jack sat on the sofa, his eyes closed and his breathing even. He smiled and just looked at Jack; it had been so long since he'd done that. He was still as gorgeous as ever, Ianto noted, even now, on his twenty-ninth birthday.

"You're thinking." Jack's voice was loud in the quiet room.

Ianto chuckled. "Sure you're not psychic?"

Jack tilted his head back. "Positive."

Sinking onto the sofa beside Jack, Ianto leant over and kissed him chastely on the mouth. "I'm sorry."

Jack smiled. "We still need to talk, but not today. We'll deal with it; we can't go on like this, we're just going to push each other away."

Ianto nodded. "I'll make it up to you; forgetting, I mean."

Jack chuckled. "I don't doubt that."

One week later, despite their promise to talk, it had never happened; and again they found themselves in foul moods with one another. Jack had been working from home, whilst Ianto had come home at lunch time. It had been a rather pleasant lunch break: the two men spent time re-connecting and chatting as Jack made them both sandwiches whilst Ianto took care of the coffee. It was like old times as they moved around the kitchen, sharing touches and soft kisses... until Ianto had noticed the still full washing machine.

"You've been working from home, Jack! You could at least have emptied the washing machine!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "When? When I was having a four way conference call? When I was making a deal with one of the other highly influential companies in America?"

"How about when you got out of bed this morning? I'd have done it myself but I was in work at seven."

Jack rolled his eyes and refused to speak, which Ianto must have taken as Jack not caring because he stood up, grabbed his coat, and stormed out the flat, muttering about 'inconsiderate partners' and cursing a blue streak in Welsh. Jack did empty the washing machine, the instant Ianto had walked out and whilst on the phone to another highly influential company, this time in Tokyo.

When Ianto came home that night, he had decided to not even mention it to Jack, figuring he had been a bit of an idiot. He planned to go home and talk it out while he cooked them a nice dinner. He walked in and noticed Jack was sat on the sofa; this time, he was on the phone, so he walked past Jack and into the kitchen, smiling when he noticed that Jack had emptied the washing machine. He tried to curb his temper when he saw the dishes from lunchtime soaking in the sink, and he knew he should at least appreciate that Jack had been working on several phone calls, all probably long and wearisome, but he snapped. For once in his life... he flipped. He heard Jack hang up the phone and he all but growled:

"Do you not know how to wash a fucking dish, Harkness?"

Jack jumped as if he'd been scalded. "Hi honey!" he snapped. "Nice day at the office?"

"Don't fucking start, I've had a long day at work, and I come home and find I have a partner that can't even wash a dish from seven hours ago!"

Jack sighed and leant back. "I'm never going to be good enough for you, am I? If it's not the fact that I have apparently cheated on you, or the fact that we haven't done anything for each other, it's the bloody fact that I don't fold my shirts exactly the same as you or that I don't wash dishes as soon as I've finished with them, or the fact that I don't empty the fucking washing machine when I'm working from home! What more do you want from me?" Jack almost begged, he could feel the tears behind his eyelids. "You're like a completely different man! I don't know this you! What happened the Ianto Jones I fell in love with?"

"He grew up!" Ianto snapped. "He learnt how to run around after a person who is meant to be his partner but acts like a fucking three year old and a walking tornado..."

Jack stared, this really wasn't the man he fell in love with, this was... If aliens existed he'd swear blind Ianto had been possessed. Fighting back tears he snarled: "The only person who could keep you happy, Jones, is you! Good luck finding him, because unless you can clone legally (and if I remember correctly, you can't) then that's the only way you'll find happiness in this world. I'm done!" He slammed his laptop closed, grabbed his wallet and phone and headed for the door, grabbing his coat as he passed the coat rack.

"I fucking love you, Jones, and I always will. But you can expect to hear from my lawyer in the next week." He let the door slam on his way out.