AN- A massive, massive thank you to everyone who's stuck with this story. A huger thank you to all those who review it XD You're reviews keep me going.
I think I have to bow down to Rietta here and I think she deserves a standing ovation for putting up with my 'repeated' errors, Thank you hun! Caru'ch! And big hugs and a slab of chocolate and vanilla cheesecake is on it's way to you.:)
From this moment belongs to Shania Twain, as far as I am aware:)
Chapter 8- We shared the Laughter and the pain.
Penarth road was quiet for the early morning, so Jack found he had an easy time finding Greenway Close without developing that 'wicked' road rage he got when dealing with traffic. Jack parked his black Range Rover Vogue in front of a small house and looked at it. From the outside it looked quite nice. Red brick walls, clean garden and a decent sized driveway to park the car on. But the longer he stared at it, the less like home it felt. He figured anywhere without Ianto in it wouldn't feel like home. He eyed the hanging, wall-climbing, gutter-killing ivy for a long moment and shuddered. If Ianto could see this...
Sighing to himself he opened the door to his car and surveyed the house again whilst waiting for the estate agent. He leant against the side of the car and let the morning sun light bathe him in warmth.
The ivy was clinging to all sorts of places on the house. He calculated that that would cost him at least two hundred to have removed, and that was before he accounted for the manual labour. The sound of a loud engine startled him out of his thoughts as a sky blue Volkswagen Golf pulled up behind his car.
"Morning!" Eugene Jones, the estate agent, greeted in a tone which Jack decided was much too happy for a nine o'clock viewing.
Jack nodded his head in greeting and offered a small smile. Any other day, looking for a house or flat would be exciting, but not today. "I got the right house then."
Eugene nodded. "You did. This is the one in the lower price bracket, but it's still a nice house and has plenty to offer, plenty of space. I understand it's just you."
Once again Jack nodded and offered an explanation. "My partner and I are getting a dissolution."
Eugene raised his eyebrows slightly. "I'm sorry to hear that. Lets see if we can find you somewhere to live then."
Several hours later Jack was exhausted. Of all the houses and flats he had viewed he had managed to narrow it down to three: the first house on Greenway Close; a flat by the bay; and a house on Clive Street. He parked the car outside his and Ianto's home and switched off the engine. Leaning his head against the steering wheel, he let out a tired sigh before shoving himself from the vehicle and leaning on it for support. The odd look he received from their neighbour, Mrs May, was enough to encourage him to walk normally.
As he walked towards their building, he shook his head remembering the day before. Ianto's mother had made a shocking appearance, scaring the living daylights out of him and Ianto. Granted they had been about two inches away from kissing, but still... He'd have to teach that women to knock; he dreaded to think what would happen if she ever walked in on Johnny and Rhiannon.
From outside their door he could hear the soft sounds of the TV and frowned. It was half four- Ianto shouldn't have been home from work for at least another hour. Opening the door, he placed his coat on the hook and turned to the living room. The sight before him broke his heart.
Ianto was bundled up on the sofa, open Chinese take-out cartons on the coffee table and an open bottle of red wine on the floor. He could see Ianto's mouth moving along with the words from the TV and his eyes snapped to the screen and widened at what he saw before him. Scattered around the TV were open DVD cases, labelled in Ianto's own writing: 'Graduation', 'Christmas 2000' and 'Jack and Ianto's Civil Partnership' were the ones he noticed. The one in the DVD player was their Civil Partnership. Ianto was mouthing along with himself as he made his vows to love Jack forever.
Forcing back a choked sob Jack moved quickly. He crouched in front of the sofa and looked at Ianto, who had flinched when Jack appeared.
"What are you doing to yourself?" Jack asked.
"I don't want to forget." Ianto's voice shook as he spoke.
"That's what this is for." Jack smiled gently and tapped Ianto's head. "Don't do this to yourself; it won't make it any easier."
"I knew then." Ianto nodded at the screen.
Jack raised a questioning eyebrow and looked at the screen as Ianto finished speaking his vows and slipped the ring onto Jack's finger. "You knew what?"
"That it was too good to be true... That I'd do something to mess it up." Ianto took a deep breath. "That I wasn't good enough for you."
Jack turned his head quickly to Ianto and before he could even register what he was doing he kissed the Welshman solidly on the mouth.
"Stop it... please!" Jack found himself begging. "This isn't about you not being good enough; you were so much more than I deserved... We're just not working anymore... It's not your fault."
Ianto was openly crying himself. Not expecting an answer, Jack pulled Ianto into a hug, and the two of them curled up together and watched the end of the DVD. Tears flowed down their cheeks for the rest of the ceremony and the meal, but come the party and reception at the end where both Rhys and Owen danced with their respective quiche and pizza slices the tears had turned into laughter.
Ianto and Jack had been quiet with each other since the DVD night, barely remaining in the same room as each other. Ianto had confessed that night about being on compassionate leave, when Jack had asked him what he was doing home so early.
Jack sat at the kitchen table, the documents for the two houses and one flat in front of him as he pondered over the pros and cons. He had heard Ianto enter the house earlier and had decided not to mention that he had narrowed his house hunt down to three unless Ianto asked.
"I'd ditch the one on Clive Street and go view the other two again."
Jack jumped in his seat and twisted to face Ianto, who was gazing at the documents over his shoulder Ianto smiled gently at Jack.
"I'm not daft; we can't live together forever if we're getting a dissolution. I just assumed you'd ask me to move out."
Jack shook his head "I meant what I said. You spent so much time decorating this place… flat… our home. You keep it. The only contribution I gave was a debit card."
Ianto chuckled. "You could, if you wanted, just go for the flat. I mean, the houses are a bit on the big side. And you'd have less to decorate."
Jack smiled. "I'm not much of a decorator or building things for that matter."
Ianto rolled his eyes. "DIY takes on a whole new meaning with you."
"OI! I'll have you know that it was the wardrobe's fault. I didn't build it like that."
"Yes, the wardrobe intentionally lost the screws and built itself with the doors upside down..."
Jack blushed slightly. "I never professed to be good at DIY."
Ianto smiled. "I know. I just agreed with you."
"Cheeky bugger."
Ianto stuck his tongue out, then turned serious. "Do you want me to come and see them with you? You know I can help in anyway you need me to."
Jack stared at Ianto, slightly stunned. "You want to help?"
"Gotta make sure you can look after yourself."
"Do you think I'm incapable?" Jack's head snapped round to look at Ianto.
"No!" Ianto hurried to reassure Jack. "I just..." he trailed off. "I just want to help."
Jack looked guilty for a second. "I wouldn't mind your help."
There eyes met for a moment before Ianto reached for the Clive Street documents, skimmed them quickly and ripped them in half.
"Set up an appointment for tomorrow night; we'll go and view the house and the flat."
Jack nodded and stood up. As he twisted past Ianto, he dropped a kiss on his forehead. "Thank you."
Ianto nodded before going to the sink and washing up some dishes, refusing to let Jack see the tears in his eyes.
"Definitely the flat!" Ianto grinned as they exited the house on Greenway Close.
Jack raised his eyebrows. "Let me guess? The ivy?"
"Look at it Jack, the poor house is being eaten up by the ivy!"
"It's not sentient, Ianto."
"No, but it grows, dies and re-grows. Before you know it, with the hours you work, you'll have a house overrun by ivy and have to spend a ridiculous amount of money to have the gutters sorted."
Jack nodded. "I knew we could agree on something!" he shot back. Then he turned to Eugene. "I'd like to put an offer in on the flat then."
Eugene smiled. "Let's go and fill out the paperwork."
Jack and Eugene stood at the front of the car as Ianto settled himself in Jack's Range Rover. He pulled his coat around him and tried to ward off the chill from the area. He did have a selfish reason for suggesting Jack buy the flat: it was closer to Ianto so he had a much better chance of working on his 'fight for Jack' plan; if he hadn't succeeded by the time Jack moved out. A part of him felt bad about trying to make Jack realise how much he loved him, but he didn't want to just come out and say it, suggest they were making a mistake, in case Jack flat out laughed in his face. Gwen had told him to make Jack realise what he was missing, and Owen and Tosh had agreed: make Jack realise how much Ianto needed Jack and vice versa and Jack would change his mind.
The driver's door opened and Jack climbed in. "Eugene said I should hear from him within the next four days with the decision."
Ianto smiled. "That's good."
"Yup." Jack started the engine to the car and buckled himself in. A few seconds later the radio rose in volume over the engine and Ianto's eyes widened and he glanced at Jack, who was concentrating on the road but whose eyes had become slightly wider.
"Fuck!" they both whispered.
'From this moment life has begun… From this moment you are the one- right beside you is where I belong, from this moment on. From this moment I have been blessed; I live only for your happiness, and for your love I'd give my last breath, from this moment on...'
"That's just... weird," Jack murmured.
"It's... it's even the same version." Ianto said.
Jack nodded and carried on driving, fighting back the tears that came to his eyes. It hadn't been that long since he'd heard the song, just the other night on the Civil Partnership DVD, but hearing it on the radio and not a special occasion had caught him off guard.
'I give my hand to you with all my heart; can't wait to live my life with you, can't wait to start… You and I will never be apart. My dreams came true because of you… From this moment as long as I live, I will love you: I promise you this; there is nothing I wouldn't give, from this moment on...'
Ianto closed his eyes and settled back in the car, wiping his hand roughly over his eyes, determined not to cry in front of Jack again in such a short space of time. He too was rather stunned to find his and Jack's 'first dance' song on the radio, they hadn't heard it on there for years.
"Must be someone else's song as well," Ianto whispered.
Jack nodded mutely. Ianto wasn't fooled: he could see the light from the dashboard reflecting off Jack's tears.
'You're the reason I believe in love, and you're the answer to my prayers from up above… All we need is just the two of us: my dreams came true because of you… From this moment, as long as I live, I will love you: I promise you this; there is nothing I wouldn't give. From this moment, I will love you as long as I live, from this moment on...'
