Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed! Hope you're enjoying it so far!

Special thanks to my fabulous beta Amethystbutterflys- I'm counting down to February! x

The lyrics included with this chapter belong to Graham Russell and Russell Hitchcock, and the classic version of the song is of course by Air Supply (aka the aforementioned gentlemen). However, I'm guessing quite a lot of you are also (if not more) familiar with the John Barrowman version. For obvious reasons, my playlist has the original version.

Chapter 3

All Out Of Love

(I'm all out of love- what am I without you? I can't be too late to say that I was so wrong…)

Two weeks later, and things were still rocky between the two friends. Ianto resented Tosh's inquisitiveness and lack of faith, whilst the technician was hurt by her friend's insistence on lying. Giving one another space had initially seemed the best idea, a situation which had dragged out for far longer than it really should due to the stubbornness of both parties.

Actually, Ianto was surprised Tosh had lasted two weeks, but then again the quiet technician could be surprisingly stubborn when she wanted to be. If the Welshman was honest with himself, he was really rather relieved when his phone rang and the name 'Toshiko' flashed up on the display- he'd been on the point of quelling his own stubborn streak and calling her himself.

"I'm sorry!" he answered the phone, and promptly burst out laughing as he realised she had opened with exactly the same sentiment at exactly the same time. He could feel her smile down the line, and it warmed him.

"Listen, do you want to meet up somewhere and talk, Yan?" she asked when they had got their mirth under control, and he nodded despite the fact that she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, that would be great," he responded. "Usual place?"

"Sure; I'll meet you there in fifteen minutes?"

"Roger that." Old habits died hard, and the quasi-military expressions Jack had instilled in him still came naturally to the Welshman.

Hanging up, Ianto checked the clock on his phone before slipping it back into his pocket. Damn, it was going to take a good thirty minutes to walk to their usual café by the Bay from here- he'd have to grab a cab.

Spotting one pulling up near the St. David's Centre he hurried towards it, concentrating too hard to notice the man rushing for the vehicle until they collided hard beside it, fingers groping for the handle. The wind knocked out of him by the impact Ianto stumbled back, wheezing an apology.

"Oh god, I'm sor-" the words died in his mouth as he glanced up and took in the face of his competition.

"Fuck!" Ianto muttered as blue eyes locked with blue eyes, and Jack's own apology met a similar fate as he took a reflexive step backwards. Quicker to recover than the Welshman, the Captain shot his ex one of his trademark dazzling grins.

"We have got to stop running into one another like this!"

Ianto merely rolled his eyes, and Jack continued, unperturbed. "You ok?" he asked, reaching out hand to steady the Welshman, and Ianto nodded, trying not to flinch away from the warm and comforting touch.

"You work out too much," he retorted as he caught his breath. "People wouldn't get so winded when you run into them if you carried a bit of padding."

Jack laughed. "Time was I could make you breathless without colliding with you in the street," he leered, straightening his shirt. Ianto knew full well it would be crooked again before long, and he frowned at the American.

"Are you sure that's entirely appropriate, Captain?" he murmured.

Jack gave him a characteristic smirk. "What, slamming you into the side of a taxi? You never used to complain."

Ianto's breath hitched at the memories, and he fought to control himself. "You split up with Martha then?" he asked levelly.

Jack blinked. "No. I'm on my way to meet her now, as a matter of fact. Don't tell me you're interested; because you'll have a hard time making me believe it."

"I'm not," the Welshman responded shortly, inwardly cursing himself.

"Ok then." Jack's grin was back in force now. "Where are you meeting Tosh? The usual place?"

"Yep." Ianto nodded, briefly toying with the idea of finding a new 'usual place'. He wasn't sure he could cope if Jack suddenly started showing up in the café as well.

Oblivious to Ianto's thoughts, the American beamed. "Excellent! I'm heading that way myself; we can share the cab, split the fare, win-win situation all round."

He turned to open the door for Ianto, only to find that someone else had sneaked the cab whilst they had been talking and his hand fell on empty air. He blinked again, as if surprised by this.

"The Mystery of the Disappearing Cab," he grinned, looking around for another.

Ianto raised an eyebrow. "That an Enid Blyton or an Agatha Christie?" he questioned, and Jack gave him one of the lopsided smiles which always made his heart flip.

"Your sense of humour is nothing changed, I see," he commented as he spied another vehicle and summoned it over, grinning as it stopped.

"Why change the habit of a lifetime?" he retorted, privately thinking that it was a good thing Tosh wasn't there- she would have disagreed vehemently. There had been little sign of Ianto's dry wit in the two months since his break-up with Jack, the sarcastic humour giving way to quiet brooding.

Jack grinned as he followed the Welshman into the cab and gave the driver the address of Ianto's favourite waterfront café. "Glad to hear it- you wouldn't be Ianto without the wit and sarcasm."

The comment haunted Ianto through the rest of the light conversation as the vehicle sped towards the bay. Supposing that was true, what was he turning into without Jack? Frowning to himself, Ianto barely noticed the rest of the journey and the harmless small talk with his ex. It was not until he was disembarking that the soft strains of the radio broke through his reverie and he realised with a wry smile that he was hearing the closing notes of 'All Out Of Love'.

"Damn!" he muttered under his breath as he turned from Jack's smile with a vague wave and headed in the direction of his café, not looking back- he did not want to see which restaurant the American was taking his girlfriend to.

Toshiko was waiting for him in the café, and the Welshman forced a smile as he bought the coffees and sat down to hear a long diatribe on the acerbic young doctor Tosh was hung up on. Earning forgiveness for their past argument by listening patiently, Ianto forced all thoughts of Jack's dazzling grin to the back of his mind as he concentrated on what his friend was saying and offered sympathy when needed. As if accepting that Ianto's love life was a dangerous topic at present, they both subconsciously steered clear of it, and Ianto did not mention sharing a cab with Jack.