*peers at screen through watering eyes* I hate spring and flowering plants

Jack and Ianto are both being prats at the start.

'Morning,' Rhiannon hummed quietly, 'I brought you an Aspirin, I think.' Ianto's eyes flickered under delicate lids before confused blue eyes gazed up. 'How you doing?' She inquired, settling on the end of the couch.

The couch rustled at his back as Ianto struggled upright and rubbed a tired hand over his face and closing the other around the cool glass. 'Fine,' he drew his knees up under the duvet, 'what's the time?'

'It was a mistake to put you and Lisa in the same room, and same car,' Rhiannon ignored him.

Stubble scratched Ianto's palm as he slid his hand around, cupping the back of his neck. 'Sorry if I was a mess last night,' he almost flinched at the memory, 'I suspect I didn't make a very good impression on Gray's brother.'

'Not your fault,' she squeezed his knee, meeting his eyes earnestly, 'I didn't know things were that bad between you and Lisa, I really didn't. I'm so sorry, Yan.'

Ianto leant back into the protection of the cushions, 'We've split,' he admitted with unnatural calm, fingers curling tightly into the duvet out of sight. Anger flickered briefly as he recalled Gray's brother. He focussed back to find Rhiannon staring intently at him, her hand still resting comfortingly on his knee.

'What happened with Jack?'

'Gray's brother?' Ianto let his head drop back with a sigh, 'He's a bit of a prat,' he said finally, masklike expression still in place.

'I can explain to him,' Rhiannon said firmly.

'No,' Ianto surprised himself with his quick answer, 'no,' he repeated steadily, 'I'd rather if-' he hesitated, 'I'll hardly see him again, it doesn't matter.' He closed his eyes briefly and pressed his lips together. 'It was just a misunderstanding,' he said half to himself. 'Actually,' his eyes snapped open, sorrow giving way to anger, 'he could have been a bit more bloody understanding,' his voice grew heated. 'And he could have apologised. In fact,' Ianto roughly pushed the duvet off himself, 'he could have kept his hands to himself. "Wrong person" my arse. Do not,' he pointed a finger at his sister, 'sit me next to that man at any family dinner in the near future.'

Rhiannon ran her hand through long black hair in a gesture identical to her brother's. 'He hit on you, didn't he?'

Ianto whirled, 'It wasn't an accident? He does that? He did that on purpose?'

Rhiannon held out a placating hand, 'Let's not get irrational,' she looked up at her brother's furious tear streaked face and let the sentence trail away. 'Bit too late for that?' She asked shrewdly.

Tired, hurt and angry, Ianto ignored her. Rhiannon waited understandingly on the couch, watching as her brother stalked across the lounge room, weeks of suppressed anger and grief suddenly expressed in a rare outburst. She waited through his incoherent speech, gestures, shouts, pained cries, unsurprised when suddenly he simply sank to the ground. The last time she'd seen a reaction of this scale was after Tad died. Lowering herself to the ground beside him she wrapped an arm around his shoulders, rubbing his back until the inevitable tears would start to slowly fall in earnest.

'Just sleep, Yan,' she murmured eventually.

TW

'...pissed.' Ianto dimly heard someone say. Another voice murmured back.

'Yeah,' the first voice, 'found him vomiting in the garden. Saw him after-' the rest of the sentence was too low to catch.

Sleep faded quickly as pain and hurt slowly burnt again inside Ianto, numbed and dull. His body seemed to ache and deep weariness settled over him. Waiting until a set of footsteps moved away, he sat up on the couch. The room swam sickeningly and he closed his eyes and took a steadying breath.

'Hungover?' Someone asked without any real interest.

'You seem willing to tell everyone that,' Ianto said shortly, leaving his head pillowed in his hands, 'despite the fact I am not.' The man's tone wore at the tenuous hold Ianto had on civility. 'Jack, isn't it?'

'You're Ianto?'

'Yes, and I would ask please don't spread last night around, I was not in fact drunk.'

'What was wrong then?'

Taking a deep breath, Ianto released it with a shudder and linked his fingers firmly together, pressing them between his knees. 'I just wasn't drunk.'

'Bread's on the table, jam in the cupboard if you want,' with that Jack ignored him and left.

'Wait,' Ianto called reluctantly, blinking hazily as he lowered his hands and vaguely motioned the man back.

'Don't throw up on the couch,' he said flatly.

'I have a migraine,' he said tiredly, turning to look up at the other man for the first time. Jack shrugged, hands buried in his pockets, handsome face clearly sceptical. 'Why did you do it?' He felt driven to ask, 'Last night, coming up behind me?'

Jack shrugged again, 'You looked cute. Thought you might be someone I knew, wanted to give them a surprise.'

'You weren't even sure?' Ianto asked incredulously, 'You didn't bother to check?' His headache stabbed painfully and his right eye saw through unfocused gold sparkles. Right now it was something he simply couldn't fathom, that simple unconcern on Jack's part could have caused everything.

'You're acting like this because I'm a man, aren't you?'

Something snapped. 'Your sexuality does not interest me,' Ianto said coldly, 'only your desire to inflict it on others.'

Jack left.

Two Months Later

The door stuck and Ianto pushed his shoulder against it with a grunt, his bag falling painfully into his shin. With a groan the door opened and Ianto shuffled awkwardly through, keys in his mouth as he wrestled his bag over the step.

'Go,' Rhiannon placed his violin on the backseat and slammed the car door. Ianto winced and pulled the door back open, carefully buckling the seatbelt over the violin case. 'I mean it,' Rhiannon dangled the keys in front of him, 'go. Rest, play your violin, do the performances, get away from everything.'

'You sure?' Ianto asked uncertainly, leaning against the car door, glancing up at his house. His and Lisa's. Until she moved out.

'Positive,' gripping his shoulder, Rhiannon dragged him in for a quick hug before pushing him towards the car.

'Thank you,' he flashed a tight smile, sliding into the seat.

'And for God's sake play some bloody cheerful pieces!' She called after him.

The small tv screen flickered, casting shadows over Ianto as he curled up on the couch, the constant stream of city traffic outside sending their own streams of dim light over him. The remote hung loosely in his hand, teetering towards the ground. Above the patter of rain and low voices from the screen he heard the thud of something against the front door. His barefeet hit the ground before he had even thought, leaving him frozen cautiously in the small dark room. Ianto grasped his top from the end of the couch and padded carefully down the narrow hall, pulling the large shapeless jumper over his head. The door thudded open as Ianto stretched out a hand for it.

'You!' Ianto started in complete surprise, recovering quickly to smooth his face impassively.

'What are you doing here?' Jack stared back, rain dripping unnoticed down his face.

'Rhiannon gave me the keys.'

There was an awkward silence as the rain thundered down. 'Can I come in?' Jack gestured impatiently, shoes squelching as he strode past without waiting for an answer. Ianto stepped aside and quietly shut the door after him, leaning his forehead briefly against the wood before following the wet trail up the corridor.

'You're dripping everywhere!' He called in annoyance after Jack's back.

'Rather I stripped here in the hall?' Jack kept walking, raising his voice sarcastically, his coat dropped to the floorboards with a wet slap.

Ianto ignored him and pulled out his phone, darting a glance down the hall before dialling. 'Hey, it's me,' he murmured at Rhiannon's answering tone, 'do you know what he doing here? He just arrived, trailing water everywhere, probably pissed out of his brain,' he added with a bitter laugh.

'Am not!' Jack called faintly from the bedroom. Ianto immediately snapped the phone shut with a soft curse, burying it in his pocket and stalking into the kitchen.

'I'm not pissed,' Jack wandered into the kitchen minutes later, hair tousled and looking, Ianto admitted, incredibly handsome, 'Gray gave me his keys, said I was free to stay here for a while. And talking of pissed,' he looking meaningfully at the whiskey on the bench and the glass in Ianto's hand. 'Again?'

Ianto set it down with a sharp clunk on the bench. 'How long are you staying?'

Jack shrugged, unbuttoned blue shirt moving over his shoulders. 'A few weeks. You?'

'Few weeks,' Ianto reached for the whiskey again. 'Doing some concerts.'

'Some speeches for the book,' Jack pulled the fridge open, the light highlighting toned muscles under his golden skin. Ianto drew his eyes away from his chest and stared out the dark window with a sigh.

'Going to bed,' Ianto announced with a sigh, walking out without a reply.

Finally got the interesting bit :) Expect chapter lengths to have a growth spurt. Always wanted to do a fic where Jack and Ianto didn't like each other.

Explanations are coming. Tossed up between having Ianto as a violinist or a singer what with GDL...but violinist seemed more Ianto sexy. If that makes any sense. It's 2am. Forgive me.