Role Reversal
Jack glanced at his watch before turning back to the mirror to check his appearance one more time. Ianto would be in soon, and Jack was hoping for a response to remember when the Welshman saw Jack's Halloween attire. Normally Jack didn't go for the holiday; in spite of over a hundred years on Earth, Halloween still struck him as a somewhat odd way to celebrate death, and the more gruesome and ghoulish aspects threatened his respect for people at times given that he had experienced so many gruesome and ghoulish deaths himself. Halloween for Torchwood had always been a rough night as well, with increased Rift activity, far more alien disturbances than usual, and even the occasional werewolf, ghost, or vampire, leaving him running around Cardiff protecting other revelers from danger instead of enjoying himself. He did, however, like the costumes, and he loved the treats, especially candy corn.
Jack straightened his maroon tie, the one he had nicked from Ianto's closet the night before and his favorite, now around his own neck and knotted in a sharp half-Windsor. He adjusted his four-button waistcoat over the new cotton dress shirt he had purchased just for the occasion. A crisp white, with a spread collar, it stood out in stark contrast to black trousers, highlighting the subtle grey pinstripe. The suit wasn't the most modern of styles, but it fit him well; Jack thought still looked sharp, though he also knew his taste in clothing could be questionable at times. He felt a bit naked without braces, but it couldn't be helped; Ianto didn't wear braces, and Jack was going for authenticity with this particular outfit. Pulling on black leather dress shoes (also not new, but shined to perfection), Jack stood and ran a hand through his hair, unable to resist letting it fall where it would. Ianto wore his hair short and neat, but Jack had done that years ago, and it didn't suit him.
He was ready. Turning toward the ladder, Jack stopped and grinned; the distinct smell of coffee was drifting through the Hub, which meant that Ianto had arrived.
Time to trick, hopefully for a treat.
Letting his anticipation for Ianto's reaction to his unusual apparel grow, Jack climbed the ladder to his office and lingered at his desk for a few moments. Normally Ianto brought him coffee first thing in the morning, and they would sit together and talk about the day, but after ruffling absently through a few papers, Jack realized that he was far too impatient to wait. He hurried out to the Hub, hands in his pockets, trying to appear casual even though he was filled with an almost childlike excitement.
He thought about sneaking up on Ianto at the coffee machine, wrapping his arms around the other man and peppering Ianto's neck with kisses, but he was stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of the man. His breath caught in his throat, and he stared in speechless surprise.
Ianto Jones was not wearing a suit.
Instead, he was wearing navy trousers and a light blue pilot shirt, complete with passants, and a hint of white underneath. Red braces, tan boots, and slightly rumpled hair completed the look. Draped over a nearby chair was a long grey coat. Jack was staring at himself, and damn if Ianto didn't look fantastic in Jack's clothing.
Sensing someone behind him, Ianto turned with a cup of coffee in hand. He faltered briefly when he saw Jack, eyes going wide for barely a second before he set down the mug and nodded. His hands almost went to his pockets before crossing over his chest in that way Jack knew he did so often. Ianto raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"Nice suit," he said.
"Nice coat," replied Jack, nodding toward the chair where the final accessory rested. He returned the grin and let his eyes run appreciatively up and down Ianto's new look; the Welshman unashamedly did the same.
They slowly approached one another, like two rivals studying their opponent before a match. They even circled a bit, taking in every perfect detail. Jack had dressed as Ianto, and Ianto had dressed as Jack. Jack was getting hard just looking at Ianto, and he suspected—or hoped—that Ianto was enjoying his view just as much.
Jack took a step closer, practically ready to pounce, but Ianto held up a finger, shaking it teasingly as he reached for the grey coat and slowly pulled it on. It was all Jack could do to not groan out loud, because the coat completed the look perfectly. Ianto did a quick spin, then crooked his finger at Jack, indicating he was ready.
Running a hand down the lapel of the wool coat—not exactly like Jack's, but close enough—Jack took a deep breath and pulled Ianto close, hands moving beneath the coat and wrapping around the other man's waist. "Love the coat," Jack murmured, and he began planting kisses along Ianto's jaw.
He felt rather than saw Ianto's hand caressing the smooth silk of the maroon tie. "Love the suit," Ianto whispered back, before abruptly leaning down to capture Jack's mouth in a heated kiss. Tongues caressed as hands began to roam over cotton and wool. It was the sort of kiss that quickly led to other activities, only they were still standing in the middle of the Hub, fully clothed. Jack decided they needed to move this back downstairs before anyone else arrived.
The door alarm went off then, though they didn't immediately break apart. It was too difficult, too much. Ianto in braces, Jack in a suit…it was quite possibly one of the most erotic outfits he'd ever role-played in and with. Who would have thought simply dressing as your partner would be such a turn on? So much for all the other costumes.
Well, except for the naughty schoolboy, of course.
They slowly stepped apart, breathing heavily, eyeing one another with filthy grins before wiping mouths and fixing hair and straightening clothes. By then Owen had bounded up the stairs and stopped at the sight of them still adjusting themselves.
"Oh Christ, at it already?" he asked. Jack winked at Ianto before turning around. He noticed a twinkle in the Welshman's eyes, but forgot about it immediately when he saw what Owen was wearing.
Navy trousers, not jeans. Blue button down, not a ratty old tee shirt. Red braces, tan boots, and a grey pea coat. Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah, " said Owen, rolling his eyes. "I wore what I had. I couldn't be arsed running out to some military surplus store for something I'd only wear once and burn."
"It's quite comfortable," offered Ianto, shrugging out of his coat and draping it over the chair once more.
"Says the man who nicked half his stuff from Jack's closet," retorted Owen. "You had an unfair advantage." Ianto shrugged, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Complain all you want about my many advantages," said Ianto. "You still owe me ten quid."
Jack wondered what the bet was while Owen swore under his breath and pulled out his wallet. He eyed Jack as he slapped the money into Ianto's hand. "Nice suit," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"That's what Ianto said," Jack replied. He waggled his eyebrows. "And then he—"
"I saw," Owen grumbled. "And no, I'm not sticking my tongue down your throat just because you still fit in a suit that's older than half the team."
Ianto frowned and turned to Jack, absently reaching out to finger the sleeves of Jack's suit coat. "Seriously, Jack? Your only suit is that old?"
"It's in perfect shape," Jack replied, feeling slightly defensive. "And I paid a lot for it. Saville Row, 1982."
"Bloody hell, it really is older than me," Ianto muttered.
"It's my best one!" Jack exclaimed. "It's classic." He paused and frowned. "Why are we stuck on the age of my suit rather than the fact that I'm even wearing one? Or that both of you are dressed like me?"
Owen and Ianto exchanged a grin, but before either one of them could reply, the alarms went off again, and all three of them turned toward the door. Gwen and Tosh entered the Hub, heads together and laughing, but they stopped when they saw the three men staring at them.
"Nice," said Owen, sounding appreciative.
"Perfect," said Ianto, sounding pleased.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Jack. He was torn between confused, outraged, and impressed.
The girls looked down at their navy trousers, blue shirts, red braces, tan boots, and grey coats, glanced at one another, and shrugged. They were both grinning widely.
"Happy Halloween, Jack," said Gwen. "Like our costumes?"
"Nice suit," added Tosh. "Although we were expecting something different."
"Like navy trousers, a blue shirt, red braces, tan boots, and a grey coat?" asked Jack.
"Something like that," she replied.
"Your usual," added Owen.
"Am I that predictable?" asked Jack.
"Yes," they all chorused at once, as if they had rehearsed it just for that moment. Jack sighed dramatically before bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Not always. I dressed as one of my employees today instead of dressing like my boss. Like it?" He grinned and waited for the response. Tosh nodded enthusiastically while Owen clapped slowly.
"What made you decide to wear a suit?" asked Gwen. Ianto turned back to the coffee maker and started pouring mugs for the rest of the team; Tosh pulled out pumpkin pastries from her bag.
"I overheard Owen talking about Halloween the other day," said Jack. Ianto whirled around, a frown on his face.
"When?" he asked.
"When you obviously thought I wasn't listening," Jack grinned. "And when my red braces disappeared, I figured out what was going on. I just didn't think you'd be wearing them—or that you were all in on it."
"Ianto!" said Gwen. "No fair borrowing Jack's clothes. We don't have the same access to his manhole that you do."
Tosh spit out her coffee; Owen paused with his halfway to his lips and grimaced. Jack tried not to laugh as Ianto turned back to Gwen, cocked his head, and simply waited for her to catch on.
"Oh grow up," she said, blushing furiously. "I meant his bedroom. His room. His closet."
"Of course," Ianto replied. "No double entendre intended, I'm sure."
"Stop right there," said Owen. "I don't want to hear anything about Jack's manhole."
"Me neither," said Tosh, "but I do want a team picture."
"What?" asked Owen. "You want proof of our temporary insanity?"
"It's not insanity, Owen," said Gwen, rolling her eyes. "It's called having a sense of humor. It's Halloween. Have fun with it."
"I'll only have fun with it if this outfit pulls me some nice birds after work." He paused. "Not that I can have that kind of fun with them, but at least I can still imagine it."
"Always works for me," said Jack cheerfully. He reached out and grabbed Ianto's arm, pulling him close. Ianto merely raised an eyebrow and stepped out of Jack's embrace.
"I am not a bird," he said, affecting a more proper accent. "Nor am I some one night pull."
Owen snorted, but before Jack could reply, Ianto had raised that finger again, and Jack shut his mouth. He would save it for later, in private.
"All right, Team Jack!" said Jack, grinning widely. Tosh giggled and Ianto groaned. "Boardroom in ten. Let's make sure we're ready for the day, since it's always an interesting one."
"Can I change now?" asked Owen. "Or do I have to look like Jumping Jack Flash all day?"
"I thought you were going to try it out at the pub," teased Gwen.
"I'm fine dressing as myself, thank you very much," said Owen. He was already pushing down the braces and unbuttoning his shirt.
"Good luck, then," murmured Ianto, and Tosh laughed again, earning herself a wink from Ianto and a glare from Owen.
"You could walk around naked for all I care," said Jack. "But let's meet in the boardroom in fifteen minutes."
"You said ten," Gwen pointed out. Jack shrugged.
"Take twenty, then. Bring any unusual activity so far, plus last year's files and those pumpkin pastries. We can go over it all and plan our day." He turned toward his office. "Ianto, my office first. Bring the NSB file."
"Yes sir," said Ianto, moving toward his computer. Jack caught the smirk and tried not to return it. Owen groaned again.
"Give it up. There's no such file," he groused as he headed toward the autopsy bay.
Ianto held up a folder. "It's right here."
"It's bogus," said Owen. "I've looked."
Tosh and Gwen were glancing back and forth between Owen and Ianto.
"What is it, then?"
"Secret code, I'd wager," said Owen. Ianto crossed his arms over his chest.
"And why would we need a secret code?"
Owen coughed the extremely vulgar answer under his breath. Tosh blushed, Gwen looked away, and Ianto raised an eyebrow. Jack clapped his hands.
"That's enough, kids. Ianto, my office. Everyone else, boardroom in thirty."
He hurried toward his office and pulled the blinds shut. Ianto followed a few minutes later with the file and two new cups of coffee. But the coffee was quickly forgotten and the file tossed aside as Jack reached for Ianto's braces at exactly the same moment that Ianto grabbed his tie and pulled him close.
"My tie looks good on you," he whispered.
"And my braces look good on you," Jack whispered back.
"I can think of better things to do with my tie than appropriate it," said Ianto.
"Can I return the favor with my braces?" asked Jack. Oh, the things they could get up to. How long had he given everyone until the team meeting?
"How about one now, one later?"
"One now, one later, and both tonight," said Jack. He felt Ianto's breathing change as the idea sent sparks through them both. Jack hoped it was a slow day, because what he wouldn't give to be able to go back to Ianto's flat, take off the tie and braces, maybe light some candles and put on some soft music, then sprinkle candy corn all over his—
"Jack?" asked Ianto, pulling him out of his fantasy.
"Hmm?"
"Stop thinking about it and do something about it instead."
"Yes, sir," said Jack. Ianto's eyes went wide at the verbal role reversal, and he shoved the suit coat off Jack's shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. Jack began moving backward, sliding the red braces down to Ianto's hips. They attacked buttons before reaching the ladder that led down to Jack's room. By the time they reached the bed, zippers had been undone, clothing discarded, and only the tie remained.
Forty-five minutes later, the meeting started.
Six hours later, they experimented with the braces in the archives.
Twelve hours later, Jack stopped for candy corn on the way to Ianto's flat.
The next day, Jack wore red braces and Ianto wore a black suit with a maroon tie. Jack decided that Halloween wasn't so bad, after all.
And that role reversal was definitely something they needed to explore even more.
Author's Note:
Many thanks to Tamaar for not only suggesting that the team dress up for Halloween as various things, but encouraging my crazy idea that they all dress up as Jack, and then taking a quick look at it to make sure it wasn't a hot mess. If you want to see Jack and Ianto in a real costume, including RAF Service Dress, hurry up and read her story 'Out in the Open.' Because you can't read too many Halloween stories on Halloween, and because it's really good! Ta!