Oberon's Wild Night
:This fanfic is a sequel to my fanfic Deus Ex Machina, which I swear I am going to publish as soon as it's ready, and the companion fanfic written by StormesJay, The WAVE, which will probably be published before mine. Contains Season 2 and Exit Wounds spoilers. Main points post Season 2 canon to be picked up in those fics are that John is in Torchwood, Torchwood has also picked up a non-human member in the form of a phoenix, Owen and Toshiko were resurrected by said phoenix, a time jump, and the stopwatch, and thanks to the phoenix, Ianto is going to be around until at least the 51st century when he, under the name Kyhl Davies, creates the Time Agency. Torchwood and the characters are property of the show and BBC. Since it has been misunderstood by at least one reader, please take into consideration that Torchwood is not a place where morals regarding sexual coersion are taken much note of (as seen in Everything Changes and Day One) and that, like just about everything else Torchwood does, their behavior should not be condoned or copied in the real world.:
Friday Night, 8:00 PM, City Centre, Cardiff, Wales
A month after a dozen terrorist bombs had ripped through Cardiff, St. Mary's Street was back in full swing. Captain Jack Harkness swaggered through the Friday night crowd, already well through the right side of the street and not quite steady on his feet. It was hardly his first time meeting the classic challenge of a pint and shot in every drinking establishment, but it had been a while since he'd made the pilgrimage alone. Granted Ianto would usually give up by the time they hit the Prince of Wales, and Owen couldn't make it past the Hard Rock Cafe without getting into a brawl, but for the past three years he'd had at least one of them at his side when he went boozing. Tonight he just wanted to get plastered and try to forget the insanity of the last week.
Insanity in general, of course, was part of his daily stock in trade. A standard day's fare could include anything from an alien hunt to a cannibalism investigation, with the odd time traveller thrown in. The past two months had been a little more intense, what with the return of his former Time Agency partner John Hart, a family reunion with his tortured younger brother Gray, the destruction of half of Cardiff city centre, and a time trap that left him buried alive for almost two thousand years as he waited to catch up to the present again. Two of his best friends and fellow Torchwood officers had died the night Gray came back, along with over a hundred other people in the city. The past week, however, had been outright nutty. He'd left Cardiff for a simple getaway with his boyfriend Ianto and by the time the weekend was over, they'd somehow picked up a newly hatched phoenix and brought Owen and Toshiko back from the dead. This much he could almost deal with. The part that made him want to get plastered was finding out that the quiet and unassuming man he'd already found himself hopelessly in love with against all his better judgment was no more likely to die in a normal human life span than he was. He would, in fact, be alive at least three thousand years in the future, still gorgeous, and would be Jack's boss in the Time Agency.
He swung open the door of the second to the last pub on this side of the street and forced his way in against a wall of loud techno. He was enough of a regular that he got some smiles and waves from the locals, and enough of a striking figure that he got stares and ogles from most of the rest. He hit the bar on his fifth stride and dropped his open hand on it expectantly. "Gimme a pint and some Jack Daniels," he declared in a fit of American pride.
"Wondered how long it'd take you to make it this far." John tossed back a glass on the next stool. "Why Jack Daniels, though? They've got the real thing here."
"I'm feeling homesick," muttered Jack, glancing darkly at his ex-partner. "Are you stalking me? Because I'm really not up for it tonight. Keep in mind that I can kill you."
John raised his hand appeasingly. "Relax, will you? I thought you might like to talk to someone is all. Someone who knows how freaked out you must be right now."
"I'm not freaked out!" Jack slugged back his shot and reached for the pint. "It's just odd, finding out that Ianto's going to be Director Davies someday."
John nodded. "Odd, true, considering neither of us recognized him."
"I did, a little, I think." Jack sank onto the barstool. "I had a crush on Director Davies since the day I was recruited. When I first met Ianto I knew he was hot. Just didn't know why, exactly."
John smirked as he signaled for a refill. "I know why. Eye candy." He blew a kiss into the air. "Shy boy act like that, you know right off he's the kind of shag you can't quit."
Jack laughed, finished off his pint, balled up his fist, and punched John in the left cheekbone. He grabbed his stunned drinking partner before he could fall off the stool, pulling his hand back for another shot. "Keep your hands off of him, asshole!"
"Oi!" yelled the barman, leaning over to try to push them apart. "Not in here, Captain, y'mind?!"
Jack let go, stepping back. "It's okay, Tom. Time for the next stop anyhow." He dropped his money on the bar and made for the door.
John caught up to him before he could open it, rubbing his cheek. "Totally farking unbelievable, Jack." He opened the door for both of them, following Jack out onto the sidewalk.
"What, that I hit you? I can do it again if you need to be convinced." Jack leaned against the wall, glaring at John.
"Maybe later. I'm good for now." John checked his teeth with his tongue. "That's not the part that's got me smacked." He leaned forward to smile. "Captain Jack Harkness is in love."
"I've been married before, it's not my first time loving someone." Jack pushed John's face away with a scowl.
"Not like this, though. You're in love and you're not going to get away from it." John clapped his hands together in merriment. "You're stuck with him and you don't know how to deal with it."
Jack crossed his arms, looking the other way. "Fuck off, John. You don't understand."
"I think I do," John retorted, joining Jack in leaning against the wall of the pub. "I wondered, though. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what it was made a tea-boy so special you'd turn me down flat for him. And not just me, either. Everybody in Torchwood's steaming their skivvies over you. You could be doing the whole lot on a weekly rota if you felt like it and you're tied up in Ianto Jones, admin extraordinaire." He held up his arm to ward off a threatened blow. "I'm being serious here, Jack. Him being your adolescent spank fodder doesn't explain why you fell for him this hard. I spent a lot of hours wanking off to fantasies about him when I joined the Agency, too, but it never stopped me from spreading the love around." He shrugged nonchalantly. "So I figured it had to be the sex. You've done your share, same as me, so I had to find out just how good he ranked in the universal standings."
Jack pushed away from the wall, his brows knitting. "John? What did you do?"
John cast a disarming smile at Jack. "Don't be mad. Director Davies himself told you when he came back here that we'd all have our turn with him at some point or other."
"John?! What did you do?!"
John held up both hands, backing away from the Torchwood leader. "I might have slipped him some Oberon tablets."
"What?!" Jack slammed his palm to his forehead in disbelief. "You slipped my boyfriend some date rape pills?!"
"Come on, there wasn't any other way I was going to convince him to have a roll with me, your loyal lover that he is and all. Besides, he said you'd never said anything about being exclusive. Never even told him you love him, have you, you wank. Take him for granted." John crossed his arms over his chest. "All I did was help him get over his inhibitions."
Jack grabbed John's collar with a growl. "You idiot, are you even aware that they don't have resistance to class 3S drugs in this century? Or that he's a level 7 empath? Drop his inhibitions? You mean you popped him some pills to turn him into a shagging machine! Shit, he'll pass it on through his skin, even. Anyone he touches will be infected!" He pushed John to the ground and spun on his heel, storming back towards the other end of St Mary Street and the public carpark where the Torchwood SUV was parked. "I'm holding you responsible, John!"
John got up, blinking slowly, then ran after Jack. "I should never have left him alone. Bloody hell, I could've still been having it. Shutting up now," he added quickly as he saw Jack's hand form a fist again.
Friday Afternoon, 1:00 PM, Holding Cells, Torchwood Three Hub, Cardiff, Wales
John whistled as he hosed down the floor of Janet's cell, the resident Weevil snoozing in a heap in the corner to make it less of a bother. "You know, lovey, it's not the smell of weevil piss. Some parts of the universe that might even be a turn on. But why the bloody blazes is it sticky?" He gave the weevil a squirt from the hose, then jumped back with a laugh as it made a sleepy swipe at his ankle. "None of that, you frisky bitch." He turned off the hose, stepping back and triggering the door lock with his wrist strap. "Think I've mucked enough to take a break." He turned toward the clank of the reinforced door that separated the cells from the rest of the Hub. "Just in time. Could go for some eye candy right now."
"Captain Hart? I brought you some takeaway." Ianto stepped in, bearing a cardboard tray emptied of everything but two fast food containers and a pair of wax paper cups.
"Here I am, reduced to penance duty as pretty much the Torchwood janitor, and of all the team you're the only one who still bothers to be polite." John strolled over to collect his fizzy drink from the tray, letting his eyes wander over the pinstripe suit Jack's lover was sporting. It looked oddly conservative, of course, compared to how he remembered Director Davies dressing. He and Jack, he suspected, had both picked up their penchant for military style fashion from watching the Time Agency's senior officer stride around in ecclectic bits of period body armor that gave him a superhero aura in their active imaginations. Still, he had to admit, there was something about that suit that made him try to imagine what view he would get if he ripped it off.
Ianto glanced up, raising a brow as he offered over one of the containers. "Just doing my job. I got you a sausage and pepper sandwich and chips."
John popped open the top of his drink, letting two tiny tablets slip from his palm into the cup. "Sounds good, except I don't like diet. Think this is yours, eye candy."
"Sorry, switch it, then." Ianto shifted the tray so John could make the exchange. "It smells much better in here, now. I'm sure Jack will be pleased."
"I'm sure Jack won't bother to notice." John watched as Ianto took a sip from the drugged cola. "I suppose you're going to have to run off and handle him and I'll have to eat alone again. Voted least popular once more." He sighed, playing up the pathetic lonely new kid routine to his best ability. He'd gleaned enough about the admin to know Ianto could relate to feeling like the outsider. He'd apparently spent his first year being practically unnoticed.
Ianto pursed his lips. "Actually, Jack's busy at the moment. He's out on an investigation."
"Without you?" John nudged Ianto with his shoulder.
"He likes to hunt on foot alone. It's not like it's the first time," answered the admin defensively. "Anyway, it's no big deal. I trust him." He took another drink.
"Put a ring on your finger, has he? Or wherever you boys like to stick your rings." He looked pointedly at Ianto's crotch, then back up to his face. "You're exclusive?"
Ianto's lips thinned. "Not like that. I wouldn't try to pin him down. He's not a possession."
"Are you?" John set his lunch down, taking the tray from Ianto as he saw the faint flush to his cheeks that indicated the tablets were starting to take effect. "He says jump, you roll over?"
"No, we're not like that, either." Ianto's lips parted as his breathing became more ragged, his gaze less focused as his grey eyes fixed on John's face. "Jack needs me. I take care of him."
"I took care of him, too," whispered John, bringing his lips so close to Ianto's he could feel the tickle of the other man's breath. "I'm guessing you must be even better at it than I was, and that's got to be impressive." He lowered the tray to the floor, setting it down as he knelt between Ianto's feet. "I'm thinking we could compare notes."
Ianto swallowed, but made no effort to stop John from undoing his belt. He lifted his hand, tracing John's temple and ear with one finger, then cupping his hand behind the time agent's head with a soft laugh. "We shouldn't do this."
John looked up with a deviant grin. "You're no possession, Ianto Jones. You're free to do what you like. I promise you'll like this."
"Shut up, John," whispered Ianto hoarsely, pulling him to his body tightly.
Friday Afternoon, 2:30 PM, Carpark, Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff, Wales
Gwen Williams pulled her car up next to the red Mini Cooper and got out, casting a cheery grin to her workmate. "Oi, Ianto, giving it a wash?"
Ianto returned her grin, swiping a sponge over the bonnet. He'd switched his usual kit of a tailored suit to something more appropriate to the task, looking entirely casual in a pair of jeans decorated in various grease stains and worn holes and a Tokio Hotel t-shirt. "Got almost all the bug off of it. Never running into a seven-foot tall mosquito again unless I'm driving the SUV."
"Good idea. At least now that Jack'd make John wash it." Gwen watched Ianto's face slip into that expression he got when, she suspected, he'd just managed another sexual escapade with their team leader. She'd learned the dangers of bursting into rooms unannounced now that Jack had a lover. She covered a giggle with her hand. "What did I say this time? Jack or SUV? No, wait, if you've done it there I don't want to know."
Ianto indulged her with a smile that confirmed her fears. "Don't worry, I give it a thorough clean every week, inside and out."
Gwen rolled her eyes, smacking Ianto on the shoulder playfully. "I told you I don't want to know! You're incorrigible."
"You've no idea." Ianto gave her a wink, leaning over the bonnet to wipe it dry. It was hard for her to not notice from this angle that suits weren't the only thing he looked good in. Even as a married woman, Gwen could well appreciate how artistically a pair of jeans could cling to a nice, tight little bum like that. Not at all like Owen's tiny arse, or even Jack's gorgeous backside that she'd spent her entire career in Torchwood resisting. Ianto was hiding a nice build under those suits. Her mind wandered back to the first time she'd walked in on him with Jack in the greenhouse, tangled in an embrace with their clothes strewn over the plant pots. Her mind stubbornly held onto a snapshot view of Ianto's bare backside. It was nothing against her husband's backside. Rhys was her soulmate, the man she loved more than anyone, and if he wasn't a model for a keep fit programme, that didn't matter to her. Ianto, on the other hand...
"Was your lunch date fun?" Ianto stood, jarring her from her stroll down indiscretion lane.
"Oh, yeah." She nodded quickly. "Rhys took me to that new little bistro. Lovely salads."
"I really should eat more salads." He turned to face her, shoving his towel into his back pocket. "Do wonders for your skin. Certainly make you look gorgeous." He reached up slowly to run his thumb over her cheek. Gwen felt her breath catch in her chest at the touch, her eyes glued on his. Her mind flashed back to the day that Owen and Toshiko came back, when they'd had that strange visit from the man called Director Davies, the future version of Ianto. She'd put it out of her mind after Jack warned them to not bring it up in front of Ianto, but now she couldn't stop thinking about one of the many startling things that had come out during that visit. I have.. will.. sleep with everyone in this room, Davies had told Jack. Did that mean this moment was destined? It certainly felt like destiny right now.
"Ianto," she whispered. "I'm married."
Ianto nodded, pulling her face to his for a kiss. Warmth flooded through her body. Like her, Ianto was a high level empath, and this kiss was full of psychic connection. She pushed him back against her car, fumbling around his hip for the car handle as his hand slid up under her blouse to undo her bra. She pulled his shirt up over his head and threw it behind her, then dragged him down by his beltloops until he fell backward into the driver's seat, knocking the back of his head on the roof in the process. Ianto laughed and dragged her in after him. "Just be careful with that shift, love."
Friday Afternoon, 4:00 PM, Armory, Torchwood Three Hub, Cardiff, Wales
Dr. Owen Harper smirked triumphantly at what was left of the target in the shooting range. He capped the drama by cooling the tip of his handgun with a blow and gave it a spin on its way back to his belt. "And that, boys and girls, is how you kill alien scum."
"Nice shot." Owen spun to see Ianto behind him, sliding a clip into his own 9mm. "Although your stance could use a little work."
"I eliminated that bloody silhouette!" Owen shot back hotly, his competitive juice riled. "Like you can do better. Going to put a hole in its shoulder?"
"I was aiming for your shoulder. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Ianto stepped up next to Owen, raising his pistol in his right hand and firing without hesitation, taking out four targets with four headshots.
Owen frowned, crossing his arms. "You weren't this good before."
"Jack's been teaching me." Ianto fired the rest of his clip into the wooden targets at the back, sending up a cloud of splinters. "He says I had it in me all along, just had to get my confidence up."
"Is that what you're getting up when you're with him." Owen sneered, raising his second pistol to fire at the back targets as well. Only three of the bullets hit. "What is that aftershave you've got on? Can't breathe with you standing there."
"I'm not. Just showered, in fact." Ianto put his hand under Owen's wrist, moving closer behind him. "You need to relax your grip a bit. You're not trying to juice the thing, just pull it."
"I'll thank you to keep your confidence to yourself, Ianto." Owen frowned, surprised at how soft the admin's hands were. "I'm just getting some tips here."
"Have I ever been anything less than professional?" Ianto placed his hand on Owen's hip, pulling him into a proper side stance. Owen looked down at the hand, making sure it was only moving him into a shooting position. He'd come to accept the possibility that he was quite capable of being attracted to a man after four years working with Jack, but Ianto was different. Ianto, after all, hadn't so much as put up a fuss about being Jack's shag. He danced in public with Jack without worrying what anyone might think, even. Owen didn't care if Ianto had had a girlfriend once, he was convinced that had been a cover all along. Owen stiffened as he felt Ianto's breath on the back of his neck. "This isn't going to work if you don't relax."
"Alright, alright, just bloody get on with it." Owen tried his best to focus on shooting, but he was finding it increasingly distracting that Ianto was so close and so warm. Even more distracting was that it was this distracting. The hairs along his arm were starting to stand up as Ianto's fingers slid along his hand, making tiny adjustments to his grip on the pistol. He inhaled deeply, picking up the scent of Jack embedded in the jacket of Ianto's suit. He leaned back against Ianto's chest, feeling a bit drunk, as if it were Jack who had his arm around his hip. He hadn't had sex in so long, not since the day he died almost two months ago. In Owen Harper's book, that was two months more than he could stand, especially since he was alive again and able to do something about it. The main problem here was that Ianto was in control. This was not going to work.
Owen dropped the pistol in his hand, grabbing Ianto's wrist and spinning around so that he could press the six foot tall admin against the wall. "I know what you're up to, and it's not going down that way, got it?"
Ianto offered no resistance, nodding. "Got it. Exactly what way is it going down?"
Owen smiled slowly, unzipping his pants. "Just remember who's giving the orders."
Friday Afternoon, 5:30 PM, Computer Centre, Torchwood Three Hub, Cardiff, Wales
Toshiko Sato looked up as a beaker of coffee moved into her field of view on the right side of her keyboard. "Oh, thanks, Ianto." She took it from his hand and turned in her seat to give him a cheery smile. "Missing Jack?"
Ianto nodded, staring at the desk with a lost expression. Tosh's heart went out to him, her source of vicarious romance. Her own love life might be dull to disaster, but she could satisfy her longing for tenderness by watching Jack and Ianto. The two of them were her very own in-office dimestore novel. Jack, of course, was such a dreamy hero, and Ianto was the shy and virtuous girl who needed to be swept off her feet. Well, maybe that was just Tosh's own needs asserting themselves, but it was better than nothing.
"I'm sure he's just fine. If he was in trouble, he'd call for you in an instant." She laid her hand over Ianto's softly. He had such delicate fingers. She enjoyed watching him type, his fingers moving with a grace and sureness that almost matched hers, the two geeks in the adventure that was Torchwood. She sometimes imagined what those long fingers did when Ianto and Jack were alone, how they would twine with the captain's as they lay in bed together, or perhaps tangle in Jack's hair during a moment of heated passion. She gulped, feeling her cheeks heat up as if her thoughts were being broadcast on the computer screen in front of them. It wasn't her place to invade their privacy in such a way.
"He's fine, I'm sure of it." Ianto sat on the edge of the work station, lifting his eyes to Tosh's face as if he knew what she was thinking. "Aren't you missing anyone?"
Tosh turned bright red, looking away quickly. "Me? No, of course not. I'm not seeing anyone. Well, there was Owen, but it just didn't work out. Know him too well, I guess."
"There's always something new you can find out about someone." When Tosh looked up again, Ianto was no longer looking at her, his gaze distant once more. She felt a pang of worry. Was there something amiss between him and Jack? She couldn't bear it if she lost their romance. Ianto looked back to her, breaking into a smile once more that she couldn't help but respond to. "But no, I don't think Owen's right for you. You need someone more sensitive, more.. attentive."
"Me? You have anyone in mind?" asked Tosh flirtatiously. She blinked as he took her hand in his, their eyes locked together once again. "Ianto?"
"You have my full attention, Tosh." Ianto kissed her hand, sending a thrill straight to her heart that flooded her entire abdomen and seemed to shut off her brain. He slid off her glasses and set them aside, then they both slid onto the floor.
Friday Night, 7:00 PM, Surgery, Torchwood Three Hub, Cardiff, Wales
Dr. Martha Jones studied Ianto with a professional eye. "You do look a bit flushed. It could be a virus, or something you ate, or just stress."
"No, it's something else." Ianto ran his hand through his hair. "I'm not.. acting like myself."
"How so?" Martha patted the exam table. "Let's have a look at you."
Ianto sat on the table, taking off his suit jacket. "It's hard to explain. I feel fine, really, other than the.. abnormal behavior."
Martha took his wrist to check his pulse, finding his skin warm. His pulse was strong under her fingers, so much so that the rhythm of it seemed to pull her in, making it hard to watch the second hand on her wristwatch. "Um, sorry, abnormal? Have you been working out today? Doing any heavy cardio?"
"Yup." Ianto let out his breath slowly. "That's part of the problem. I don't seem to be exercising any control."
"What is it you are exercising?" Martha looked into Ianto's eyes for any pupil changes. They were grey eyes, the kind that were hard to identify as one color unless you stared deep into them. No wonder Jack had picked this one out of the herd. Martha figured she could stare into eyes like that over more than a dinner herself.
"I'm having sex. A lot of sex."
"What?" Martha wasn't sure if she had heard him, or if her imagination had been sparked by those eyes into making up an inappropriate response.
Ianto sighed. "I'm shagging everyone, Martha. I don't mean to, honest. It's as if I get within two feet of anyone and next thing I know, all I can think of is what their skin feels like, how fantastic they smell, how much I want to kiss them..." He stared at Martha, his voice trailing off.
Martha felt as if she were paralyzed, leaning forward over the exam table, her hand on Ianto's cheek. "I know exactly what you're talking about, Ianto. I think I'm feeling the same way. I'd try to analyze it properly, but to be honest, I'm finding it impossible to think about anything but.. what I shouldn't be thinking."
"Do you think we're under alien influence?" Ianto slid his hand along the back of Martha's thigh, under her skirt. His touch made her heart pound in her chest, a fine sweat breaking out on her skin.
"I don't know," she murmured, pushing him back on the table. "I don't bloody care."
Friday Night, 8:30 PM, Reception, Information Centre, Roald Dahl Plass, Cardiff, Wales
Rhys Williams stepped into the info centre and rang the bell, leaning on the cubby. "Oi, Ianto?"
Ianto leaned out through the bead curtain that separated his tiny office from the reception desk. "Oh, hello, Rhys. Here to meet Gwen?"
Rhys grinned at Jack's boyfriend. He had no problem with gays, and certainly not with ones who kept Jack busy and away from his wife. "Don't you know, she's not answering her phone. Called her from the carpark and tracked her phone down to her car. She must've dropped it."
Ianto coughed into his hand quickly. "She does that sort of thing, doesn't she. You want me to buzz you through?" He leaned across to hit the switch that opened the door to the Hub, brushing against Rhys's arm.
"Cheers, mate, I owe you." Rhys started for the door as it slid open, then stopped, looking back over his shoulder. What sort of thing was it, he wondered, that made a bloke like Ianto gay? Other than the suit and the way he kept his brochures just so on the desk he was a man's man, and Rhys could swear there was nothing different or odd about him when they'd watch rugby matches together. How did a man like sport, drink beer, and otherwise behave just like one of the mates and yet shag other men? Well, he had to admit that Gwen did all those things, too, but she was just a sporty sort of girl. Still, as he looked at him, he could himself imagine what it would be like to wrap his arms around those shoulders and wrestle him into a scrum, two strong men kissing each other breathless, sweating passion and.. In a moment he realized that he had crossed back to the cubby, grabbed Ianto, and was pressing his lips hard to his, pushing him against the rack of brochures. Ianto's hands were all over him, unbuttoning his shirt. He wasn't disgusted by it at all. He was in the grip of the most powerful and animalistic passion he had ever experienced and he wasn't about to stop.
"Rhys! Ianto!" Jack grabbed Rhys by the shoulder, pulling him back. "Rhys, look at me. Go downstairs, now, and find Gwen. You're having a bad drug reaction."
Rhys shook his head, trying to clear it. "I'm what? What the bloody hell did you give me this time?"
"Nothing." Jack sighed, pulling Ianto into a hug, then restraining his hands by holding them at his sides. "John gave it to Ianto. You just touched him. Get everyone into the conference room, please? And John, you had better have some antidote on you."
Friday Night, 9:00 PM, Conference Room, Torchwood Three Hub, Cardiff, Wales
Jack rubbed his temples, then looked around at the others. Rhys, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, John, and Martha sat around the table, each staring down in silent contemplation. "The Oberon should be out of your systems now, so there's no more concern about a lack of control."
Rhys cast a glare at John. "I might have some hardship controllin' my urge to kill your mate there, Jack. How many times am I gonna get drugged by you lot?"
"Hey, we all feel a rather constant urge to kill John." Jack looked at John, who shrugged acceptance of the statement. "And he did apologize."
Tosh tapped her fingers together. "So we were all acting under the influence of Ianto's desire, or our own desire, or what?"
"We're all basically sexual beings," offered Martha. "And we all care about each other, so the potential is there biologically."
"There has to be some basis of attraction or curiosity or.. something that sets the Oberon off in the first place." Jack sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets as he paced the room. "But it should be out on the table now. After talking with John, I'm guessing it was more curiosity."
"Yeah, pretty much," confirmed Owen, leaning back in his chair. "Granted, you got those 51st century pheromones wreaking havoc on the rest of us, but I got to say, I always wondered what it was that made Ianto win the lottery with you. Why him and not one of us?"
Jack raised a brow. "So now everyone's satisfied about that?"
Every head nodded slowly.
"He's good. Very good."
"Amazing kisser."
"And those hands, so nimble."
"His technique is so natural."
Jack cleared his throat before it could go any further. "Great, thanks, glad you approve. Because that's not why it's him. I love all of you, every last one. The reason why I'm in love with Ianto isn't because he's good in bed. It's because he gets me. He doesn't idolize me, he doesn't question me, he just gets me, good and bad, and he accepts me. What I've got with him is what you have with Rhys, Gwen, and it's not about the sex. That's why I'm not going to make anyone take Retcon over this. What happened today doesn't change how we really feel about each other. Not that it's ever going to happen again."
"Not good enough, Jack," protested Rhys. "This is one time I want that bloody amnesia pill."
"Martha will give you one if you want it." Jack headed for the door. "Just remember that it's Gwen you really want to kiss like that. Looked fun to me."
He found Ianto in the SUV, sitting in the passenger seat, listening to j-rock on the cd player. He climbed in the driver's seat, looking over at his boyfriend. Ianto didn't look up, but wiped a tear from his cheek. Jack put his hand on Ianto's knee. "I should've been here with you, not out trying to escape."
"I don't want to be clingy or possessive," Ianto said quietly.
"You're not. Anything but." Jack leaned back in the seat. "But you don't deserve to be taken for granted, either. Ianto, you think you're lucky to be with me? That's bull. I'm the lucky one. You have no idea how special you are, and I don't know how to convince you, but I promise you, Ianto, I'm not letting you go." He rested his hand on Ianto's hair lovingly. "Ever. If I ever lost you I'd never get over it. I love you, Ianto Jones."
Ianto lifted his head, looking into Jack's face. He smiled softly, leaning over to kiss him. "I love you, too, Jack. Forever if I have to."
