THE COAT
A TORCHWOOD FANFICTION
PAIRING: Ianto x Jack
AUTHOR: Djap
GENRE: First Time, Romance, h/c, Humor, Established Relationship
RATING: NC17
BETA: Neenabluegirl – thank you for your great work, I really appreciate it ;) and thanks to you I get the feeling that my English's getting better
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the boys and I won't make any money by using them. Promise.
LANGUAGE: English
SUMMARY: The story of a coat of a few ups and downs while dating one Captain Jack Harkness
SPOILER: To be on the safe side everything up to the last episode of season 2 – I still haven't seen the third season and I really don't intend to do so. I'm a sucker for happy ends and I know there will be none to find
A/N: Well, what should I say? I felt like writing smut, so here it is ;)
A/N2: I wrote this before I saw the episode 'Something borrowed' so I didn't know Ianto's dad was a tailor… I hope you still like the story ;)
A/N3: This is Part 1 of 3
…
The coat
a Djap story
…
"What services do you expect from me, Sir?"
Ianto blushed as his new boss grinned at him in a very obvious way. He suddenly was pretty sure that Captain Jack Harkness was used to bedding about everyone he found interesting, regardless of race, gender, religion or home planet. Thankfully he also looked like someone who could take a no for an answer, so Ianto wasn't too worried about it. As the young Welsh didn't answer the grin in an inviting way, Jack's grin dimmed down to a friendly smile and the Captain didn't even mention Ianto's badly chosen words anymore.
Jack shrugged before he started to explain.
"Actually we could use someone for the smaller details: providing us with food, coffee and tea whenever we forget to do it ourselves because we're caught up in a case. Your coffee was really great and I'm very interested to see if you could do a decent cup of tea. Besides that, our archive desperately needs to get reorganized and you mentioned your qualities as a receptionist."
Ianto nodded his agreement.
"We also need someone to work at the tourist information downstairs to deal with any unwanted guests."
"That sounds good to me. Oh and remember the dry cleaning, Sir."
"Huh?"
"I could take care of your laundry."
"Are you being sarcastic?"
His boss looked suspicious but Ianto was pretty serious.
"No. I'm really good at those things. Look, I understand that you don't need a junior researcher, but I really want to work here and I want to do a good job. I wash your clothes, I buy your aftershave. I'm your building maintenance, whatever."
Suddenly Ianto's boss sported a playful grin:
"What is it with you and my coat?"
"Love at first sight." Ianto responded equally playful then he grew earnest again. "I'm really serious. That coat could need a helping hand. You're not giving it over to those cleaners in Garden-street, are you?"
Now his boss looked surprised. "Actually I do, but…"
"But they don't know anything about military coats." Ianto finished the sentence for him looking suddenly annoyed.
"And you do?" Jack blinked.
"My parents had a washing salon."
"You come from a cleaner-dynasty?"
"You could say that. And I grew up with military coats, too. I used to wear them when nobody was looking and play in them when I was just a small boy. Of course I learned to clean them properly too."
Ianto blushed. He hadn't meant to tell all this, but something about this strange man, who healed so fast, made him babble much more than he usually did. To make it better he added: "They are using the wrong kind of washing powder and you need to oil it regularly. Besides, how often was it there in the last few weeks since we met?"
"About three times…" Jack shrugged "… this job isn't very kind to…" but was soon interrupted.
"Well then they overlooked one missing button at least three times too. I know where to get them and I could sew it on."
"Now I think you're kind of obsessed with my coat. Is that really healthy? Are you seeing a shrink about it?"
"Please don't mock me, Sir. It just sparks some good memories for me and I can't stand seeing such a fine example in such a bad state. Especially as it really suits you... Sir."
"Do you know what scares me most?"
Ianto's blush deepened "No, Sir?"
"You're not even trying to charm your way into my pants. You actually do think that highly of my coat."
Ianto shrugged. "Yes."
His boss immediately shrugged out of the coat and gave it to him.
"Well, then let's see if you've been telling the truth about your abilities."
And with that Ianto's life at Torchwood Three began.
…
Ianto felt like falling apart. He'd done everything he could to save Lisa's life and in the end he hadn't even had the strength to set her free by killing her. He was a failure of everything and now he had even damaged the working relationship he had managed so far with his colleagues. They had trusted him; they had let him in, although Jack knew that he had had such a difficult past. Now he'd destroyed all that by being loyal to his girlfriend, although she'd been lost long ago.
To make it worse, Jack had told him right away that he was expected back. That he should help clean up what he'd done. Of course he had followed that command and had helped as much as he could. But now that work was finished and he waited for Jack to wipe his memory. But the situation never came.
He would have taken the pill to wipe his memory without looking back, because he just wanted to forget. Then, he suddenly realized, that Jack wanted him to remember. He had once told him that people were the product of all their memories and experiences. They defined who someone was going to be and how he would react. But what could Ianto learn from this whole mess? Besides that he was a failure and even weaker than Gwen, who just had started to work with them. Even she had made the shot he couldn't.
Ianto still made himself go to the hub. He couldn't decide on anything else to do. There was nowhere else for him to go and he just knew too much. How much did Jack know? How old was he really, how often had he seen someone he loved die? Was that why he seemed to forgive him so easily?
It wasn't easy for Ianto to get back into his usual routine, so one morning, when he came into his bureau, he stopped dead in his tracks. Neatly draped over his desk was Jack's coat, which seemed to await him expectantly. A note in Jack's handwriting was lying beside it.
'Try it on and play soldier for a while. Going back to childhood memories sometimes helps to deal with the pain.'
From anybody else he'd felt mocked by that note, but from Jack it touched his heart. He knew his boss meant every word of it and for the first time since he'd been a child, he actually did it. For a short while Ianto just dressed in the coat, closed his eyes and pretended to be someone else.
…
End of Part 1