Part Three

"Happy birthday, Ianto."

Ianto looked up surprised. Usually Jack was so occupied with work and the latest rift-activity that he forgot about most special days in the life of the people around him. At the start, this had bothered Ianto, especially after they had begun sleeping with each other. After a while he'd learned to cope though. Jack made up for it by his spontaneity anyway.

"Thank you, Jack."

The surprise didn't seem to end there though, as a small package was dropped onto his desk. Ianto just stared at the brown envelope in question.

"Do you need me to send this to someone?" he finally asked confused. "Which address…?"

"No, it's your birthday present." Jack looked smug, but Ianto just stared at him wide-eyed. He'd never gotten a birthday present from Jack before, at least none in which both of them were still dressed.

"You bought me a present?" Ianto finally asked still trying to grasp the meaning of all this.

Jack rolled his eyes.

"Duh."

"Why?" Jack's sigh was heavy.

"Will you just open the envelope?" as Ianto didn't do as asked Jack added "Please?"

Ianto was still suspicious.

"Since when do I get birthday gifts from you? You never gave me one before."

Jack shrugged looking uncomfortable. "Since I was in the mood?"

"It's not very convincing if you say it like a question…" Ianto's voice trailed off as he finally, very carefully, opened the envelope and looked inside "What the… are you serious?" Ianto looked so baffled at the tickets in his hands, that Jack seriously wondered if he'd done something wrong.

"You don't want to go on a vacation?"

"Of course I do… but… Jack, what's wrong? Do we need to work at that place? You can just say so…"

Jack's look was hurt as he whined "Why are you so suspicious?"

Ianto looked back sternly "This just isn't like you, Jack."

Jack shrugged again.

"It wasn't exactly my idea. Rhys gave it as a present to Gwen…"

"Ah. Now we are getting somewhere. And what? You just liked the idea?"

"Yes. I thought after losing Owen and Tosh we all could use a change of scenery."

"You mean I could use a vacation. You never go on those."

"You have two tickets in your hand." Jack pointed out.

"So what, you want me to go with someone else? Is this your way of suggesting our arrangement is over?" Ianto couldn't decide what to feel, but anger was still the easiest emotion.

"No. I want you to go with me. I will come with you, if you want me to." Now it was Jack who looked confused. "Or do you want to go with someone else?"

It was Ianto's turn to roll his eyes.

"Of course I want you to come with me. I'm just trying to understand your motives. Why, Jack? Tell me, please."

"Because I want to be there with you. Even I need to stop working from time to time."

"You've been telling us this for years now, but you've never followed your own advice before."

"I do it every time when I spent time with you." Jack argued but Ianto still didn't look convinced.

"What is it Jack? The truth, for once, please?"

They lapsed into silence while they stared at each other. To Ianto's surprise Jack actually lost the staring match and started to explain:

"The date of the changing of the world is near. I… just wanted us all to have a good time before it happens. For once, I want to forget who I am and what I… what we all need to do. For once I just want to be your lover and go on a vacation with you. Is that really too much to ask?"

Ianto could see that Jack was for once really telling him the truth. Jack Harkness was actually scared of the things to come, which was never a good sign. Ianto lifted his hand and softly stroked over Jack's cheek.

"So, when does our flight go?"

"The beach here is beautiful, Jack. Thank you for showing me this place."

Ianto was sitting with his back resting against Jack's chest and they had pulled Jack's coat over both their bodies to warm up. Jack hugged Ianto from behind, while his cheek rested against Ianto's ear.

"Have you ever been here before?"

"At lizard's point? No. I didn't know there was such a great beach to find here. Have you been here before?"

"Yes. Once."

"Kind memories?" Ianto asked cautious despite knowing better than to do that.

"Old memories, but they are kind. Yes."

Ianto didn't ask right away but in the end he couldn't stop himself from doing it.

"Past lover?"

Jack looked surprised. "No. I wouldn't have brought you here then."

"Really?"

"Yes. I know you think I'm not very romantic but even I know that it's not a good idea to bring a new lover to a place you've shared with another lover." Jack answered mock-annoyed.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Wouldn't have been the first time though. Besides… everything that has to do with your life seem to be connected to either fighting against aliens or your past love life. But fighting against aliens doesn't sound like fun to me, so…"

Jack chuckled. "I see your point. Actually this place is connected with a fight against aliens, but only loosely. We fought at the sea and we lost our ship. When I finally reached this shore there was this woman, who looked after me until I was strong enough to get back to fighting."

"Sounds like a love story to me." Ianto's voice sounded as if he were pouting so Jack kissed his partner on the back of his head.

"No, actually she lived here because people thought she was a witch, but the only thing she ever did to make her stand out of the rest, was falling in love with another woman."

"Aw, poor Jack. There's the possibility of a war romance and you get rescued by a lesbian. You must have been in agony." Ianto teased him but he instantly grew earnest as he heard Jack's strange tone of voice.

"I was in agony. I couldn't have made a move on her even if I wanted to. And she was beautiful even though she was over sixty already. I needed three weeks to recover in her care before I could stand up again."

"Wait a moment. What are you talking about? I know you hurt when you come back from death, but even after facing Abbadon you needed only a day to fully recover."

"Did you never wonder about my fear of water?"

"Most of the time it doesn't even show and it never makes you stop our job."

"No, but you know it's there."

"Yeah, it's hard to forget when your lover takes you to the seaside but sternly refuses to take a swim with you."

"You looked gorgeous though, all wet and pouting. It was worth the trouble." Jack mused.

"Stop changing the subject. I was really happy that day, it was the first time you ever told me anything important about yourself. I never told anybody."

"I knew you wouldn't." Jack leaned in again and placed a soft kiss on Ianto's neck. "And I want to thank you for your loyalty. I know it's not always easy to follow my orders when I don't explain myself."

Ianto shivered at the soft touch and sighed.

"There isn't much else to do but to trust you. I…" Ianto was scared to tell the truth but in the light of Jack's strange behavior he felt compelled to do it anyway. "I can't just walk away from you anymore."

Both men knew what those words meant. The actual words didn't need to be said as Jack hugged Ianto tighter. Ianto released a deep breath as Jack whispered "I know. I've been fighting it, but I… feel the same. That's why we are here."

Both were silent for a while then Ianto took a deep breath and prodded "So tell me then. Why do you fear the sea so much?"

Another silence fell and as Ianto was sure Jack wouldn't answer anymore, the other man softly started to explain.

"I drowned here. Of all deaths it's the most horrible to me. I felt so helpless, my lungs burned with the ache to breath but there was nothing I could do. The pain was excruciating. I wasn't used to dying yet and I couldn't be sure that I'd come back. And when I finally regenerated, I wished I could have died."

"Why? Did the aliens catch you?" Ianto dreaded the answer, but it was clear that Jack needed to tell the story.

"No, because I was still trapped under water when I came back to myself."

A chill ran down Ianto's spine. "It must have been horrible."

"It was. I… stopped counting how often I drowned until I was finally able to free myself."

"So that's when you reached this shore?"

Jack nodded "I was only skin and bones by then. I must have looked like a sea monster to her."

"But she still took care of you."

Jack nodded. "That she did. I think she knew well enough how it felt to be an outcast and my appearance spoke to her."

They lapsed into silence again with Jack lost to his memories and with Ianto trying to digest the new information. Jack had never before spoken to him about how it feels to die and come back again. Although he hurt with his partner, Ianto was still glad that Jack held back most of his past. He wasn't sure how much of it he could handle.

Then a new thought occurred to Ianto "This is why we're here, right?"

Jack looked caught but tried not to show any feelings. His voice sounded neutral, but Ianto could see the truth in his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Are those aliens the cause why the world will be changing? Are they coming back?"

Jack grimaced, as he never liked getting figured out by anybody, least his innocent tea-boy. Still, as much as Ianto could tell, his answer was surprisingly honest.

"Maybe. The doctor never told me what will happen. I don't know much more and it could be anything, but…"

"But you have a feeling it might be them?"

Now Jack looked even sadder. "I know that they'll be back this century, just not exactly when. And… they might be the cause of the change."

"So we're here to fight your demons?"

Again, silence from Jack as he looked away, obviously searching for the right words. Finally, he found them, but the pained look didn't leave Jack's face.

"No, we're here to celebrate your birthday, Ianto."

Ianto finally got it. He tensed in Jack's arms, but the older man just held on tighter. Jack wasn't afraid of his past or of a repetition of his horrid journey under water. He wasn't even afraid of the aliens. He was scared to lose Ianto. Jack was probably scared to lose everybody he ever loved and still lived, but most especially he was afraid to lose his tea-boy.

Suddenly it wasn't important how complicated it could be to live and work with Jack. Suddenly it wasn't important that Jack had lied about not being capable of having a relationship with him. Suddenly it wasn't important that Jack had so many hidden secrets he told no one about. Suddenly it wasn't important that Ianto would die one day while Jack couldn't.

The only important thing was the strength with which Jack held on to his lover… and yes he was his lover even if they both didn't say the words… and how much Jack needed Ianto right now to be there for him. Jack was lost and he'd turned to Ianto for comfort. Not to that stupid doctor, not to past lovers, only to him.

Ianto turned in Jack's embrace and made the other man look him in the eyes.

"Let me make you forget. Let me make you feel. You deserve it."

Both felt reminded of their first night together as Ianto repeated Jack's words back at him, which was exactly what Ianto had been going for.

Jack's lips were pliant under Ianto's as he leaned in for a first, still chaste kiss. He slowly coaxed them open with skilled movements, feeling something wet hit his cheeks. There were no sobs, no cries, just silent weeping, as if Jack couldn't hold back the tears. Ianto didn't react on it because he knew it would make Jack feel embarrassed. Instead he continued with his mission. He pulled the coat off their bodies after separating a little from Jack's embrace.

Jack watched him expectantly, while Ianto put the coat down on the sand. Then he grabbed Jack's arm and pulled him on top of it, pushing him back so that he lay on his side. Ianto took their backpack and positioned it under both their heads as he sat down next to his lover. Then Ianto softly stroked Jack's cheekbones, leaving his hands there, when he leaned back in to kiss again.

Their tongues danced while Jack just held on to Ianto for dear life. For once he wasn't the strong one, for once he didn't want to be it. He wanted Ianto to make true on his words to make him forget everything.

Ianto took his time doing that job. For a small eternity they just lay there and kissed, enjoying each other's scent and closeness. It was too cold yet to bare any more skin and both shivered as the cold air of the seaside hit their faces and hands now that the warm cocoon of the coat was lost to them. But both knew they would soon heat up, so they weren't bothered too much by the cold wind.

Perhaps it was the cry of one of seagulls above them that sent Ianto's hand finally on its journey. It started slow and subtle, first stroking over Jack's chest, following the contours of his suspenders and the placket of the shirt below. At the same time Jack moaned appreciatively, as Ianto started to show more and more passion in his kiss as well. He not as much dominated but gently led the kiss, so that it was easy for Jack to follow.

Ianto had learned from the master of seduction and he intended to put his knowledge to full use. Jack probably never realized when the buttons of his shirt were opened slowly, one after another, because he was distracted by the intense kisses. Only when Ianto pulled the shirt underneath out of the hem of the trousers Jack broke the kiss to hiss as the cool air hit his sensitized skin.

Ianto wouldn't have any distraction apart from the kiss though, so he instantly took Jack's mouth again, quickly rolling on Jack to shield him from the wind. While his leg still held most of his weight his right leg came to a rest between Jack's slightly opened legs. Ianto decided to use this to his advantage as he sensually started to rub his thigh against Jack's crotch.

Jack moaned again, his hips bucking clearly with a mind of their own. Ianto put a stop to that as well by letting even more of his weight rest on Jack's muscular form. Jack obediently stilled his movements and retreated to just lying there moaning and enjoying the kiss. Content with that reaction, Ianto's hand's started moving again, while the slow and steady movement of his thigh never faltered.

Soon he'd pushed down the shirt over Jack's shoulders and Jack's undershirt up to his collarbone, so he had access to most of his lover's chest. It was finally the time to break the kiss as Ianto quickly loosened his own tie and ordered: "Close your eyes, Jack."

Jack didn't hesitate even for the blink of an eye before following the command.

Ianto shortly stopped every movement to blindfold Jack with his tie, before resuming and giving another order "Now lie back and just feel me."

This time Jack took his time to follow the command, but after a few seconds Ianto felt Jack's body relax. He knew how much Jack loved watching him giving him pleasure, but he also knew that it still gave Jack a feeling of control over him and over their coupling. But he didn't want any of that now because Jack was supposed to just feel. He would probably let him watch much later, when he was already lost to the passion.

If he asked nicely for it, that is.

Jack was soon writhing under Ianto's knowing touch. The young Welsh knew by now most of Jack's hotspots and he was trained to play his cards right. He had pulled the shirt completely off Jack's arms and freed him of it. With two sharp pulls Jack's undershirt was also gone and left his whole chest exposed to Ianto's ministrations. The young Welsh lost no time to dive in and nibble on Jack's neck. The captain moaned appreciatively his hands found their way to Ianto's head. They didn't try to give him directions though, so Ianto let them stay there instead of pushing them back on Jack's coat.

Ianto now concentrated on his trail of kisses down over Jack's chest to his left nipple, slowly circling it before finally sucking it into his mouth. He bit down softly, earning a groan before soothing the hard nub with wet licks. Then he pulled his mouth of and blew softly over it, causing Jack to shiver. From there he kissed his way to the other side, repeating every motion on the other waiting nipple. He alternated his movements from there for a while, knowing how much Jack loved the attention on those very sensitive body parts.

When Jack started moaning without pause Ianto knew it was time to move on, so he slowly started his trail again, this time to the south. He'd always loved Jack's physical appearance and he was very glad that Jack took so much effort to be in this state of health. His flat and muscled stomach just was gorgeous and Ianto loved to take his time to play there. He let his tongue dip into the navel, before he moved on to nibble on tense muscles. Jack was so distracted by it that he probably never realized that Ianto's thigh had stopped moving and was now replaced by hands that opened his fly.

Finally, after endless minutes of teasing, Ianto started to strip Jack in earnest. With three sharp pulls he freed Jack from his pants, leaving him only in his tight boxers. They were made of cotton and were dark blue, which was the same as the captain's eyes. Jack's already leaking erection had left a dark stain on them and Ianto leaned in to lick over it. Jack's hips bucked and he moaned, causing Ianto to chuckle and relish in how much of his famous self control Jack had already lost.

Ianto wondered if he should tease Jack a little more through the soft cotton, but decided against it as his own arousal made him impatient for the real deal of Jack's musky smell and the heady taste of Jack on his tongue. So the boxers had to go too and Jack quickly helped him along by lifting his hips.

Jack's breathing was soon ragged as Ianto's hungry mouth finally descended on his erection. He started with wet licks, which only circled the head leaving only a taste of things to come. Then his tongue followed the main vein down to its base where Ianto buried his nose in Jack's pubic hair inhaling the musky and aroused scent of his lover. From there his lips found the soft skin of Jacks testicles, which were very sensitive and needed pretty cautious handling. The rest of Jack's body sometimes craved the rougher way of lovemaking, but never his balls. Ianto's touch was feather-light and even his tongue made sure not to work there with too much pressure.

Ianto just wanted to suck a finger into his mouth to start on the hidden entrance below the tight sac as Jack's husky sounding voice broke the silence "Ianto, please."

The words made Ianto instantly stop in wonder. It was exceedingly rare for Jack to plead and especially in bed. He was such a proud and cocky creature, always the joker, the teaser himself and really famous for his self control. Ianto had managed to make him beg perhaps twice since they started sleeping with each other and they both had been surprised about it when it happened. This was no exception as Ianto instantly realized how lost Jack must already be to his intense feelings – perhaps due to the emotional turmoil of the last months and his recent memories - if he asked him for no more teasing.

Ianto was happy to oblige though and racked his brain how to work this without serious teasing at the beginning. Originally Ianto had wanted to fuck Jack here on the shore, but the other man's plea made that suddenly impossible. Jack's healing factor usually prevented any hurried intercourse with him on the bottom. There were those few times when Jack actually wanted to feel the pain, but Ianto wanted to give him nothing but pleasure here. While being regenerated, well muscles and staying young was pretty nice, but it also meant a practical virgin anus that needed patient preparation every time anew.

Jack didn't look very patient right now and actually Ianto didn't want stop touching him even for a minute to look in his backpack for the lube. He needed another solution for this problem and suddenly an idea occurred to him. He quickly opened his own pants and pushed them together with his shorts to his knees. Jack desperately needed to touch him anyway, because the man hated to leave his partners unsatisfied and Ianto hoped to wear him out that he could perhaps doze a little beside him afterwards, without having to worry about Ianto's needs.

With gentle moves he put Jack onto his side and turned himself upside down, so that he was looking now at Jack's feet instead of his head. Jack still couldn't see him but the sounds of his turning must have informed him about what Ianto had planned out for them. Jack's hand already greedily looked for Ianto's cock before it finally found it.

This time it was Ianto who moaned as Jack's expert fingers closed around his throbbing erection and played him like an instrument. God that man really knew how to touch. He felt the tug of Jack's other hand on his hip and he obediently moved forward, so that Jack's mouth had easy access to the waiting organ. But as much as Ianto was distracted by the sudden attention on his arousal, he still had a mission to accomplish.

He took some deep and even breaths, trying to center himself and finally looked ahead to Jack's arousal, which was still waiting for him. He resumed his earlier licking movements and started to imitate everything Jack was doing to him. It wasn't easy, but this wasn't the first time they were doing it like this and so he already had some practice in it.

Ianto figured they were slowly but steadily approaching the end of all this, if Jack's needy moans and greedy sucking were any indication. So Ianto stopped his frantic up and down movement around Jack's cock to gently lick the head a least one more time before releasing it. He wanted to give Jack some extra pleasure and he hoped he would manage as they'd never done that in this position before. He grabbed Jack's hips and pulled the man even nearer to him as before. Jack's movement faltered and Ianto knew that Jack was curious what his next move would be.

He slowly closed his arm around Jack's left leg and pulled it over his head, so that he now had access to Jack's secret entrance. He heard Jack groan as the other man realized what he was about to do and Jack's tongue dove in with extra effort on Ianto's erection.

Ianto slowly counted to ten in his head to keep his control under the onslaught but then he finally licked his lips a last time before he leaned in. As Jack suggested this practice the first time Ianto had been scandalized. Jack had quickly backed off and hadn't mentioned it for a while, until one drunken night he'd just done it to Ianto without warning him beforehand. Ianto had struggled and Jack had again reminded him that he wouldn't do anything he didn't want, but he should at least try it out before judging it. Jack had looked so sincere and had never asked for him to do it back, so Ianto finally shrugged and gave his okay. He hadn't known how good it would feel and how addicting the feeling would become. To Ianto this was the most intimate pleasure and he'd soon wanted to reciprocate without Jack having to ask for it. They usually saved it up for special moments though, to keep its magic and Ianto felt heady with arousal only thinking about it.

Ianto knew that Jack wouldn't be able to still his movements when he did that, so he was warned as Jack's legs jerked at the first touch of Ianto's tongue on his anus. He slowly circled the rosy muscle while his hands slightly pulled the cheeks apart. He used much saliva at first, to make his movements as easy as possible, before he slowly started to worm his tongue into the opening. As soon as he'd worked it loose enough he established a slow, maddening rhythm that soon had Jack swearing above him around his mouthful of cock. The humming sensations spiked Ianto's own arousal and it was clear both were on the brink.

With one last push of his tongue into that welcoming heat Ianto came first, triggering Jack's orgasm as he went flying on the sensations humming through him. Jack's cry of release was muffled and as a direct consequence of their unusual simultaneous orgasms, he choked a little on Ianto's cum. When Jack got his breath back, he chuckled over his own mishap as he still enjoyed the intense feelings.

As soon as Ianto got his breath back he moved his head from its position clamped between Jack's legs and turned his attention to Jack's come. He licked it of Jack's chest and stomach and tended also to the few droplets which had hit his own stomach. Then he finally turned again so that he was now facing his lover again.

He dove in for another kiss and moaned as the taste of their now mixed come hit his taste buds. He really loved the intimacy it provided to share such an intense experience. For another small eternity they just lay there kissing again, while their bodies slowly started to cool off.

Finally Jack broke the kiss and whispered very quietly "Thank you." Then he added mischievously "And happy birthday, tea-boy."

"Happy birthday to you too, Jack Harkness, whoever you really are and whenever your birthday really was." Ianto answered and meant every word.

Soon they would have to return to Cardiff and be their responsible selves. But right now, they were just lovers enjoying each other's warmth and strength.

For once, that was enough.

Endless End

Finished 18thSeptember 2010