The Way We Say Goodbye
If you wanted to be with someone, you should always make sure they know you want them…. Right? Captain Jack Harkness cursed under his breath as he thought of how he had been treating his young lover these past few weeks. Bad, to say the least.
He would ignore poor Ianto for days at a time and then come crawling back to his doorstep, an excuse for his poor temperament on his lips and a passionate gleam in his eyes. Ianto, always the pardoning type, would ignore his mistreatment and welcome Jack back everytime. Jack always just told himself he couldn't help it. He, the charismatic,handsome playboy of the galaxies was just used to flirting with anything that could move. Being tied down to one person was just so difficult.
Jack would remind himself that this wasn't just one person, this was Ianto Jones, the man who could make a wicked cup of coffee and make dry cracks at everyone with an adorable smile on his face. The one whose thick welsh accent and twinkling blue-gray eyes could make Jack's heart melt. Ianto always knew what to do and when to do it. When Ianto had begged Jack for a job several years ago, Jack had come close to refusing and making the biggest mistake of his life.
Cursing again as he dropped some paperwork that needed to be done, the man he had just been thinking of stepped in the room and helped Jack. 'Always there when you need him.' Jack reminisced on his earlier thoughts. "Ianto" Jack greeted cheerfully, his heart filled with affection for the young welshman. " Anything I can do for you sir?" Ianto replied subserviently. " Nothing more than staying here, with me." Jack seemed to be talking about the current moment but Yan knew better. " You know I'll never leave, I never could." he replied gently while gripping Jack's arm lightly. " I know." And that always seemed to be where their relationship ended and started again.
Weeks later, when Jack was sad and Ianto had broken his promise, Jack sat at Ianto's grave and looked mournfully at the tombstone. "You promised Yan, you said you would never leave, never let go. Why'd you have to go and break it? Why'd I let you?" Jack whispered as tears streamed down his red cheeks and dripped down onto the lilies he had brought for Ianto's grave.
He wondered briefly if his lover was enjoying his time in Heaven. 'Probably scurrying around, making coffee for the angels and teasing Tosh and Owen about the fact that he had lived longer than they had, if only marginally.' " You might have broken your promise Yan, but I'll never break mine." And with those parting words, he got up, removed his military coat and wrapped it around the tomb stone. Ianto had always loved that coat, Jack remembered that one of the first things Ianto said to him, "Love that coat.". Jack turned to look mournfully at the grave," Ianto Jones, it was more than good, it was amazing, it was brilliant, YOU are brilliant and I hope someday I'll see you. I know I didn't say it before but I love you Jones Ianto Jones and it was most definitely a good one."