Inspired, of course, by the scene in the episode Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, in which Jack declares his love for office buildings before asking Ianto out on a date. Also slightly inspired by the song One of These Mornings by Moby.
"Coffee?" Jack Harkness looked up, startled, from his computer.
"What?" A young-looking man stood next to his desk. A downright gorgeous man, at that. The man laughed.
"I was making myself a cup of coffee, but got distracted. Had to take a phone call. Then of course I forgot I'd already made a cup, and made another. I was passing by your desk and, well, you looked like you could use some caffeine. He grinned. "To say the least." So Jack's lack of sleep was noticeable. He could live with that, so long as it continued to result in attractive men bringing him coffee.
"Thanks," he said, taking the cup and sipping it eagerly "Oh that's good," he said earnestly. "Not your average cup of coffee." He smiled and extended his free hand.
"Jack Harkness," he said. The other man's hand met his with a firm grip.
"Ianto Jones," he said.
"Ianto Jones." He still had yet to let go of Ianto Jones' hand. "It is very nice to meet you, Ianto Jones. I will -" the phone rang. Jack sighed softly and let go.
"Torchwood Industries," he said, dryly, picking up the receiver. "I see. Alright" He looked up just in time to see Ianto turn to leave. He tried to signal for him to stay, but it went unnoticed. "Right, well, I'll see what we can- right. What was your name? Mrs. Cooper. Right." He looked around halfheartedly for a pad to scribble the name on but couldn't find one, so decided remembering the talkative woman's name wasn't that important anyway. Finally, finally, he hung up the phone, but Ianto Jones was already gone.
The following week they met again.
"Mr, Jones!" Jack said, looking up just in time to see the young Welshman walk by.
"Mr. Harkness," Ianto stopped and shook his hand. "We meet again." Jack let go all too quickly this time.
"What brings you to the faraway land of my cubicle?" Ianto held up an empty mug.
"Coffee run."
"Ah."
"And, uh, what brings you to the faraway land of Wales, exactly?" Ianto asked. "I take it you're not from around here."
"Yeah," Jack said. "No, I moved here pretty recently, actually. Wasn't feeling American life. Wanted to spice things up, find a bit of adventure."
"So you came to Cardiff," Ianto laughed. "Well, Mr. Harkness, sorry to disappoint you, but the most excitement this city…hell, this country has seen in the last fifteen years was when there was a two-week long blizzard a couple years ago. Not exactly what I'd call 'spicing things up.'"
"Maybe," Jack said. "But then…America doesn't have good-looking Welshmen that speak with music-to-the-ears accents, make to-die-for coffee, and wear, uh, nice suits." Ianto blushed slightly.
"Well I-"
"So for that, Mr. Jones, I had no choice but to drop everything and move to the magical land of Wales." He grinned.
"Yeah? How'd you manage that?" "Dropping everything and moving here?" winked.
"I have my ways." Jack winked.
"Right. Not sure I want to know what those ways are."
Oh but I wish you did. "Anyway, must be going. I've got coffee to make, a meeting to go to."
"Yeah," Jack said. "See ya 'round."
The following week they met again.
"Coffee run?" Jack asked when he saw Ianto approaching him.
"No, no actually I came to see you."
"Ah," Jack said, leaning forward. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm, um," he held up a stapler. "Out of staples. Got any?"
"Oh," Jack said, "Uh. Yeah. Let me-" he opened a desk drawer and began to rummage through it. "Couldn't you've asked someone in your neck of the woods?"
"Nope. Everyone's on their lunch break, it seems. The place is practically deserted. So it was either you or-" he made a face, "-Owen over there.
"Coulda stolen some," Jack countered
"Mr. Harkness!" Ianto said with mock incredulity. "Are you trying to get me fired?"
"Fired? You wouldn't get fired. Stealing paper clips, maybe." Ianto chuckled. "But staples'd only earn you a firm talking to from Ms. Sato herself.
"Shame," Ianto said, almost to himself.
"Shame?"
"Yeah, it's just, sometimes I wouldn't mind getting fired from this place. Or at least, y'know, leaving."
"Why?" Jack asked. "Anywhere else you'd go you wouldn't find dashing and good-looking Americans with the best staples in all of Britain." He handed Ianto the box of staples at last. Luckily, Ianto didn't look ready to leave just yet.
"That might be true," Ianto said, playing along. "But when you've been here as long as I have-"
"As long as you have? What are you, twenty-five? How long could you possibly have been here?"
"Long enough."
"Oookay," Jack said. "So, what's your plan, other than to get the hell out of there?"
"Dunno, I just can't stand it sometimes, y'know? The office life. 9 to 5. Five days a week. 12 months a year. Exactly the kind of job you grow up telling yourself you will never have. And here I am, Torchwood fucking Industries." He paused, and looked right at Jack with his sad blue eyes.
Oh god, those eyes. "Just, sometimes, sometimes I like to think there's something more out there, disgustingly cheesy as it may sound. And, hey, you never know. One of these mornings, everyone will come to work, just like always, and they'll look for me, you'll look for me-" he sighed dramatically, "-but I'll be gone."
"Hopefully not too soon," Jack said.
"Well actually," Ianto looked at his watch. "Best be going. Work to do." Jack waved Ianto goodbye for the third time. For the third time all too soon.
The following week they met again.
"You come here often?' Jack asked, raising his eyebrows at the sight of the pink shirted man standing before him.
"Mr. Harkness, what exactly is this?"
"Looks like a cup of coffee," Jack said, eyeing the nearly full mug Ianto held in his hand. Ianto sighed.
"I mean, what exactly is this thing where I always come and pay you a visit at your lonely little cubicle, but you never come to mine."
"Uh, if I recall, last time you were here it was because you were borrowing staples," Jack said. "Wouldn't exactly call that visiting. And besides," he chose his words carefully, "I didn't know you cared."
"You're right," Ianto said, shooting Jack something between a smile and a frown. "I don't." And then he turned around. And then he was gone.
The following week they met again.
Jack was spinning lightly back and forth in his chair and halfheartedly writing an e-mail, and then suddenly Ianto was leaning up against the side of the cubicle.
"Hey."
Like nothing had happened.
"Hey."
And he did say he cared.
"Go any staples?"
Wait, no he didn't. That was me, accusing him of caring.
"Erm, n- I believe you took them all."
He said he didn't care, in fact.
"Only joking, only joking."
And then he walked away.
"Ah."
He'd been smiling though.
"I am, in fact, just visiting."
Sort of.
"Well, Mr. Jones, I am honored."
Oh that smile.
"You should be. I, uh, wouldn't do this for just anyone."
For just anyone.
"Because just anyone isn't on you way to the coffee machine, right?"
Fucking coffee machine.
"Er, yeah, maybe that too."
Then again, how, otherwise, would they ever have met.
"Well, stay a while. The coffee isn't going anywhere.
It's a small office.
"'Course it's not."
Not that small.
"So, um, do you always dress this nicely? I mean, everyone else is in jeans, or, may as well be."
They would have met eventually.
"Do you always dress this old-fashionably? I mean, really, the braces, and that coat? What is this, the 1940's?"
There's that smile again.
"Hey! That's not fair. What I said was a compliment! And I happen to love that coat. How can you not like it?"
That smile.
"Didn't say that."
That smile.
"Might as well have."
That smile.
"Right, well, I better be going. Don't want to keep the coffee machine waiting any longer."
That smile.
"Trying to make me jealous, I see."
That smile.
"In your dreams, Mr. Harkness."
That smile. But that smile was already halfway down the hall.
The following week was almost over before they met again.
"Fancy seeing you here," Jack said, as Ianto walked…right past him. Ianto stopped. Slowly turned around. He had already passed the entrance to Jack's cubicle.
"Not now," he said, almost glaring at Jack, though he may have been imagining it.
"Bad day?" Ianto turned to leave.
"Wait," Jack said calmly. "Come here."
"Mr.-"
"Come. Here." Ianto sighed deeply and followed the American's orders.
"What." Jack reached out and ran his hand up and down Ianto's arm soothingly.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't want to-" This time it was Jack that sighed.
"For weeks now," he said. "No, for months, I've sat here as you've strolled casually up to my cubicle. I've given you all my attention while you've given me just about as much as you give that mug you're always holding. I've pretended I don't care when you decide you have better places to be and walk away at the height of the conversation. Well guess what, Mr. Jones. I care. So tell me what's wrong." He stopped stroking Ianto's arm and let his hand rest on the young man's bicep. "Please." Ianto closed his eyes in frustration, then opened them again.
"Brokeupwithmygirlfriend," he said at last.
Oh. Jack kept holding on to Ianto.
"Girlfriend?"
"…yeah."
"Oh. Well I didn't…I thought…" For the first time that day, Ianto looked Jack square in the eyes. Then he said,
"I don't like you like that, Mr. Harkness." He then pulled away from Jack's grip, and walked off in a hurry.
The following week they didn't meet at all.
The following week they didn't meet at all.
The following week they didn't meet. At all.
Ianto Jones was late. He was always late. His whole life, he'd been late. Late for everything. Late for school. Always. Late to wake up. Every morning. Late to go to bed. Every night. Late to break up with his less than appreciative girlfriend when for weeks, no, for months, he'd thought only of someone else. Only once. Late to take what he'd said back and tell this someone else that maybe he did like him in that way because the breakup hadn't gone as planned. Hopefully never again.
In this case, he was only late to work.
"Coffee?" Startled, Jack spun around
"I-what-hello!" Ianto giggled.
"Hello!" That smile.
"Thought you'd, uh, be long gone by now. Off on an adventure. Something more."
"Yeah, I thought so too. But…as it turns out…everything I want can be found in an office building in Cardiff. So…don't think I'll be leaving any time soon" Jack stood up finally standing face to face with the blue-eyed, slick-dressing, coffee-drinking Welshman.
"Ianto Jones, I could hug you!"
Ianto Jones.
"Jack Harkness, I could kiss you."
Ianto Jones.
"That was nice."
Ianto Jones.
"Yup."
Ianto Jones.
"Could you kiss me again?
Ianto Jones.
"Yup."
Ianto Jones.
The following week they met again.
To be precise, the following week they met again, for the 6th time that week. This time it was a Saturday.
"Well this is different," Jack said when he spotted the Ianto.
They were in a coffee shop.
"Tell me about it. I was beginning to wonder whether I'd ever see you somewhere other than that spinny chair."
That smile.
"Is this better?" Jack questioned, sitting himself down in Ianto's lap. Ianto shook his head and gently pushed the American off his lap. "Hey!"
Ianto took Jack's shoulders and sat him down in the chair. Then he sat himfsel down on top.
"This is better." Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist and kissed the back of his head. Every last person in the coffee shop had their eyes glued to the pair.
"Hmmm, this is going to happen all the time, at the office, if we, you know, make this public," Ianto said.
"Looking forward to it," Jack said. "Now let's give these people something to stare at." Right on cue, Ianto turned himself around to face Jack, with one leg on either side of him and thee chair. Ianto put his arms around Jack's neck while Jack tangled his fingers in Ianto's hair. Jack's mouth was half an inch from Ianto's when he pulled away.
"You know, I think I'd like somewhere a bit more private," he said loudly.
"Right you are," Ianto said, standing up to the extreme disappointment of everyone in the room. "What do you recon? Your place or mine?"
"Oh your place," Jack said. "Definitely." He grabbed Ianto's hand and the two of them nearly skipped out of the coffee shop.
"Too bad we can't actually go to my place," Ianto said, when they had left. "Since we have to be getting back to work, and all." Jack contemplated this.
"Work can wait," he said, at last, leading Ianto in the opposite direction of the building where they worked. "But I've waited long enough."