Ianto had arranged to meet Tosh at the pub after work to talk things over, namely her confession that morning and Ianto's run in with the men the night before. Ianto didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to just run home, curl up in bed with Myfanwy and pretend none of this was happening. It didn't help that the afternoon was dragging on forever and he'd ran into Jack at least three times already, the most recent and most awkward being in the stationary cupboard when he'd gone to find a stapler. Jack had hovered in the doorway with his arms crossed, a similar pose to the one he'd struck in his office earlier that day, and waited for Ianto to pass.
"Sir," Ianto greeted him with a nod, "Could I...?" He coughed awkwardly and gestured for Jack to move, frowning as a slow smile spread across the other man's face.
"Sorry, Ianto," he dropped his arms to his side and flattened himself against the door frame, giving Ianto only inches more space to move past. Ianto didn't bother protesting; it was a useless cause when it came to Jack.
"Thanks," Ianto mumbled, before carefully squeezing past into the cupboard, staying as close to the opposite wall as possible to avoid any part of his body coming into contact with Jack's. His boss certainly wasn't making it easy for him.
He could feel Jack's eyes on his every move, and he suddenly felt a compelling urge to turn around and scream at him, ask what in the hell it was Jack wanted from him. When he finally did find the stapler and turned around to find Jack still hovering in the doorway, he almost did just that.
"Do you want something, Jack?"
Jack jumped a little, as if surprised by the younger man's presence, and quickly fixed his infamous Harkness grin back in place. "Nope, sorry, I was just thinking."
"Anything you wish to share?"
Jack let out a breath, "Nothing I could."
Ianto sighed and squeezed the stapler in his hand, mulling a response over in his head. "Jack, listen--"
"Jack," another voice sounded, a female voice, "can you come and look at this?" Gwen appeared in the doorway at his side, clutching a large stack of papers in her hands. She glanced at Ianto then back to Jack, her eyes widening slightly. "Sorry, am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all," Jack assured her, offering Ianto a quick apologetic smile before following Gwen back to her desk. Ianto waited for them to disappear, before slipping out and hurrying back to his own station.
Ianto sighed heavily as his eyes skimmed over the same sentence he'd been reading for the past twenty minutes, still not really taking in the words. His mind was on other things, mostly Jack and all the things he wanted to say to him. Really, Jack shouldn't exactly be top of his priority list, considering the situation he'd gotten himself into with the men from last night. In fact, it probably was for the best that he kept Jack at arm's length. It wouldn't be fair to get Jack caught up in his past, and god knows what Jack would think of Ianto if he found out the truth.
No, he was doing the right thing. He'd somehow explain that to Tosh after work and they'd deal with it together.
He just had to get through the rest of the day.
*
Five o'clock rolled on by and Ianto couldn't get out of the office fast enough. He wrapped his coat tight around him and kept his head down as he hurried down the street towards the pub. He had no idea where or when his attackers would pop up again but he didn't want to hang around to find out.
Tosh was already waiting for him inside when he arrived and he didn't even stop for a cigarette before going in. Tosh waved him over to their usual seat in the corner and wasted no time delving back into their earlier conversation.
"You didn't run into them on the way, did you?" She asked him, reaching up to rub her thumb over the mark on his cheek. Ianto shook her off with a glare.
"Lower your voice, Tosh!"
"Sorry! Sorry, it's just... I'm concerned about you. These guys could be really dangerous, Ianto," She reached across the table to cover his hand with her own, "Maybe you should talk to—"
"No!" Ianto snapped, "I'm not getting the police involved. It's too soon."
Tosh raised an eyebrow, "Well, I was going to say Jack, but that will do." Ianto carried on shaking his head, pulling his hand back from Tosh's to run through his hair.
"No. No police, no Jack. This is something I need to deal with alone."
Tosh sighed, defeated. She didn't want to pressure Ianto into giving her answers; that only ever served to push him further away, but there was one question she was dying to ask.
"Ianto, you can tell me if I'm out of line here, but there's something I've wanted to ask you for a while now, and maybe now is the right time," she glanced at him for permission to continue, but he was ignoring her and gazing off out the window. "Ianto?"
"Go ahead," he responded, his eyes never leaving the window. Tosh took a large sip of her wine to brace herself for Ianto's reaction.
"Did you ever...I mean," she took a deep breath and started again. "When Lisa was in that... stage, did you ever try it?"
Ianto flinched and Tosh could tell that it hadn't exactly been the question he'd expected. He wet his lips nervously, still looking away as he answered, "Just once. I haven't touched any of that stuff since, not after..." He trailed off leaving the sentence open. Tosh didn't push him; she didn't need to hear the rest and she certainly wasn't going to make him say it.
"I'm assuming that isn't what you've been hiding from me all these years though, is it? And no, I'm not asking you to tell me, I just want you to know that I'm here to listen and not judge."
Ianto nodded, "I know, Tosh, I really do. There are just some things I'm not comfortable sharing." He turned his head away from the window to meet her eyes, "I'm not sure you'd want to know the half of them anyway."
Tosh smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. She hated to admit it, but Ianto was probably right. Her friend had always had a bit of a dark side, and it was a part of him she was happy not knowing.
"So what are you going to do?"
Ianto shrugged, "First, I'm going to have a beer, and after that I'll take it one day at a time. Who's to say I'll run into them again anyway?"
"Well who's to say you won't?"
"I'll take my chances." He grabbed her glass of wine and knocked back the rest, inclining his head towards the bar once he'd swallowed it down. "You want another?"
"I'm assuming you're going to buy me one anyway to avoid this conversation."
Ianto winked, "You know me too well, Toshiko." He got up to leave but was stopped by Tosh grabbing his wrist and tugging him back to the table.
"Ianto," Tosh spoke warningly, "this isn't going to go away just because you ignore it. I want you to be safe—"
"Tosh," Ianto cut her off, placing his hand over hers on his wrist, "I promise you, if anything happens or it goes too far, I'll call the police. But for now will you just let me deal with this my own way?"
Tosh huffed but nodded her head in agreement all the same, "You're lucky I love you."
Ianto smiled softly and pressed a kiss to her hair, "Believe me, I know." He pulled away, squeezed her shoulder once and moved off to the bar.
*
Ianto tipped his head up to the sky as they left the pub half an hour later, feeling the first drops of rain trickle down his cheeks. He groaned and warmed his hands in his coat pockets.
"Sometimes, I bloody hate Wales."
Tosh giggled and popped open her umbrella, moving to link her arm through Ianto's as they slowly began the walk to her car. Ianto remained silent throughout the journey, seemingly oblivious to the concerned glances Tosh kept shooting his way until they reached the car.
"Will you stop looking at me like that?!"
"Like what?" Tosh feigned innocence.
"Like I'm about to drop dead at any moment! This is nothing for you to worry about, okay? I'm going to walk home now and I'm going to be fine."
Tosh frowned, worrying her lower lip between her teeth, "I could give you a lift..."
Ianto smiled, shaking his head, "You're going in the opposite direction, there's really no need."
"Well if you're—"
"I'm sure," Ianto finished for her, "now go home and relax."
Tosh nodded but crushed him in a hug all the same, "Just be careful, okay?"
"I will," he held open the door for her as she climbed in and shut it gently behind her with a click. "Drive safe."
She shot him one last smile before reversing out onto the road and driving into the distance. Ianto waited until her car had completely disappeared from view before beginning the journey home.
The rain was heavier now and Ianto began to regret not accepting that lift from Tosh or bringing his own car to the pub. Instead he stuck to the shelter of the alleyways and pulled the collar of his coat up to cover his face. His once neat and styled hair was now flattened against his forehead, small droplets of rain dripping down the slope of his nose. He blinked once to clear the water from his eyes and thought he caught a quick glimpse of a shadow to the left of him.
He turned and squinted. He couldn't see much in the darkness, could barely make out the road from where he was, but he was sure he could feel another presence nearby.
Dismissing it as a cat or another animal, he continued on, his pace a little quicker as he looked for a spot to move back onto the street. Just as he found one, he heard footsteps coming up right behind him and more than one voice mumbling something incoherent. His heart pounded that little bit harder in his chest as he sped up his movements, the walk turning into a jog as the footsteps behind him sounded even closer.
Ianto swallowed against his dry throat and risked a quick glance over his shoulder. There were definitely shapes moving behind him in the alley, even faster now and Ianto stopped trying to pretend he wasn't being followed and started running.
"Oi!" An all too familiar voice shouted after him as he finally came out onto the road. He swore under his breath and kept running, unsure if it was even the right direction but too scared to stop and think about it. His legs began to feel the strain of the night before and the rain had seeped right through to his skin, but Ianto kept moving, forcing himself on.
He reached the end of street and turned to his left, returning to a jog as the voices began to fade. The ache from his legs was rapidly spreading and it soon hurt to even breathe. By the time he reached the end of the block his legs were threatening to give way beneath him and he had to stop. Supporting himself against a lamp post, his breath coming in gasps, he turned to survey the surroundings.
The men had vanished, but he was still nowhere near his house and they could appear again at any moment. He thought about calling Tosh, but then he'd have to come up with a cover story that she'd never buy and she'd probably make him call the police or something equally ridiculous.
If he could find the name of the road he was on he could call a taxi. Might look a little odd since he was drenched through, wearing a shoddy suit with a huge bruise forming on his cheek.
Still, better than walking.
He walked slowly to the end of the road, practically dragging one leg behind him with his left arm held protectively across his chest, and read the sign.
Fairwater Road... now why did that sound so familiar?
He walked back down a little way, trying to remember who it was he knew that lived in the area. It certainly wasn't the cheapest part of the city; you'd have to have a pretty high salary or at least be very high up in the ranks to... Ah.
Now he remembered.
Jack.
Well, there was no way he could just go barging in on his boss, was there? He was probably still at the office anyway, and even if he wasn't, there was no way Ianto was going to do it. No way.
And yet somehow he found his traitorous legs walking back down the street to try and spot Jack's car. It didn't take long, since the huge SUV Jack turned up at work in every day was parked right on the roadside. Ianto had no idea why Jack needed a vehicle that big for one person, but then that was just Jack. Man of mysteries.
Much like himself, really.
Jack's house looked huge from the outside and Ianto found himself actually trembling as he reached the front door, adjusting his suit to at least make himself look the tiniest bit presentable. Jack was still his boss after all, even though he rarely acted like one.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and rang the bell.
The door opened on the second ring.
