CH 10 So This Is Acting

Ianto headed to Jack's on Monday morning, looking forward to seeing the older man. He had done his best to push all thoughts and feelings regarding Jack out of his mind for the remainder of the weekend after he had responded so vigorously to his brother-in-law's statements, but he now wore a sappy smile anticipating seeing his friend again.

Jack was already in the kitchen when Ianto arrived. "Morning Ianto. Want some breakfast?"

"Morning Jack. No, I'm fine. You didn't try to make the coffee did you?" He asked in a worried tone.

Jack chuckled. "No, I've learned my limitations in that area."

Ianto smiled at him and got the coffee started.

"Did you have a good weekend Ianto?"

"Yeah, it was nice. First one I've had off for as long as I can remember. Lisa and I went over to my sister's for dinner on Saturday. It was nice to see her and the kids." He didn't bother to mention Johnny or anything about their confrontation.

"That's great. Hopefully you can spend more time with them from now on. Family is important. I often wish mine was closer so that I could see them more."

"Well, now you have your family here; Tosh, Owen, Gwen, Suzy, Andy, Mickey, Eugene…" Ianto paused a second and tipped his head down before adding somewhat quietly, "…and me." When he looked up Jack had a sweet, heartfelt smile on his lips.

"Yes I do. And for that I am very grateful."

The day seemed to pass quickly even though there wasn't really a lot of work to do. The entire week ended up that way. Ianto had gone over to Jack's every day just as he and Jack had agreed upon, but even when he didn't have any work to do he didn't leave early. He really enjoyed being with Jack and even if he didn't have anything to do, he would rather do nothing in Jack's company than alone in his own flat. The only exception was on Thursday when Ianto asked Jack if he minded if he took a couple of hours off around lunch time.

"Got a hot date?" Jack questioned.

"Hardly. I am going to lunch with Gwen. She asked if I might be able to help her a bit with the wedding planning since I had experience in dealing with weddings from working at the Centre."

"That's very nice of you Ianto. Have a good time."

The following week they were going to London. Jack was filming a guest spot in an episode of a popular television drama about an advertising agency. He had appeared on the show previously and they were bringing the character back for another episode.

As with their daily routine, the drive was relaxed and comfortable. They arrived at the hotel and the valet unloaded their bags and took the car. As soon as they walked in the concierge greeted Jack.

"Good afternoon Mr. Harkness. It's wonderful to see you again."

"Thanks Jonathon; you too. Jonathon, this is Ianto Jones, my personal assistant. He will now be handling everything for me so make sure you are good to him."

"Very well sir. Mr. Harper will no longer be accompanying you?"

"No, he and Tosh's baby is due soon and he really had too much going on to be with me all the time anyway. Besides, Ianto is much better company." He waggled his eyebrows and gave Ianto a lascivious grin.

Ianto rolled his eyes, but he was pretty certain he was blushing. "Okay Captain; I'm sure Jonathon has things to do."

The two men said goodbye to Jonathan and entered the lift to go to their rooms. "So you've been talking to Mickey Mouse, huh?" Jack grinned.

"Mmmhmm. I have to say I kind of like it. It fits you; commanding, in charge."

Jack grinned again. He leaned his shoulder into Ianto's and dropped his voice to an even more seductive tone. "I can be in charge if that's what you like."

Ianto shuddered and focused his stare on the little light on the panel indicating their floor. His face was on fire and he was sure it would be noticeable to anyone looking at him. He had sucked in a breath and was holding it when the lift finally came to a stop and the doors slid open. He quickly stepped out, letting out his breath and creating some distance between himself and Jack as they headed to their rooms.

After the two men got settled in, Jack asked Ianto if he wanted to go grab some dinner. Ianto accepted so the two went to a little curry place down the street from the hotel.

When they were back at the hotel and in the lift heading back to their rooms Jack asked, "Hey Ianto, you want to run lines with me?"

"You mean practice for your part?"

"Yeah. It would help me out to do it with an actual person instead of just memorizing them by myself."

"Sure."

So the two men went to Jack's suite. Jack grabbed the script and opened it to the page for the scene they were shooting the next day.

"Here. This first part is in a board meeting, so there are several different people you will be reading. My character is Alex, so if you could read all the parts except Alex."

"Okay. Do you want me to do anything, like move around for certain parts?"

"The first part we are all sitting down at the table, but here, when the meeting breaks up, you can get up and just kind of follow along. It helps me with my timing and deciding where I'm going to turn and stuff like that. Ready?"

"Sure."

Ianto and Jack proceeded to go through the dialogue for the board meeting. As Jack had indicated when the meeting ended, Ianto stood up and continued with the lines.

Jack read his. 'Claire, can I see you for a few minutes about the Burlington account?'

'Of course Alex.'

'Bill, I will see you at three in your office to go over the issues with the Garner account.'

'Sounds good Alex.'

'Alex, what's going on with the Burlington account?'

Jack pressed his body up against Ianto's back and leaned in by his ear. 'Nothing. I just wanted to get you alone.'

Jack's hot breath against his neck made Ianto shudder and his eyes drifted closed. He inhaled deeply to calm himself, but the only thing it accomplished was an assault of his senses by the amazing smell that was Jack Harkness. He finally opened his eyes and tried to read on. 'Alex, I can't. You know I'm seeing Darren now. Darren's a great guy. He's dependable and sweet and stable.'

Jack spun Ianto around and pulled him in close by the waist, leaning in close so that there was just a whisper between their lips. 'You can't tell me that he makes you feel like I can.'

Ianto's heart was racing and he could feel his body responding once again to being so close to Jack. The two men's eyes were locked on one another and both were breathing heavily. The sound of the script hitting the floor as it slipped from Ianto's hand broke the intensity of the moment and Ianto pulled away.

Ianto spoke, desperately trying to disrupt the feelings he was having. "Pshhh. You mean people actually watch this dribble?"

Jack laughed. "It's one of the top shows. Just wait, I get to come back again for an episode in the spring that involves Claire and some baby daddy drama."

They both laughed, Ianto still a bit uncomfortable with the feelings that had been stirred up. Ianto decided a change of topic might help move things along.

"How about you Jack, do you want to have children?"

"Yes, I would love to have kids. It's one of those things that I guess I just assumed would come along eventually, but at this point, I guess it may not happen."

"Oh come on Jack. You have plenty of time to have a family."

"I don't know, Ianto. Things aren't looking so good. How about you? Do you and Lisa want to have a family?"

"Yes, we've talked about it. I didn't think I wanted kids for a long time. My childhood wasn't exactly the greatest so I wasn't so sure I would be able to handle it. But I've really come to enjoy spending time with my niece and nephew and I think I might do an okay job of it."

Jack gave him a warm smile. "I'll bet you will be a great father Ianto. So does that mean you and Lisa are going to get married soon?" He tried to maintain a sincere smile but wasn't sure he was able to do so, thinking of his feelings toward the Welshman.

"I guess. But I haven't actually asked her yet. We have talked about that and having kids though. It just hasn't been the right time yet I guess."

The topic seemed to be making both of the men a bit uncomfortable, so Ianto changed it to rugby and they both relaxed again. Not long after, Ianto excused himself for the night.

Ianto stepped into the hot shower. The warm water was very relaxing as it massaged his shoulders and back. As he stood there lathering himself up, his thoughts returned to the events that had transpired earlier in Jack's suite as they ran lines. As he remembered Jack's warm breath at his neck he began running his soapy hands up and down his chest. He began to think of how he felt when he was pressed up against Jack and as he did, one hand slid down between his legs and squeezed and massaged his balls. His soapy fingers pinched at his nipple as he slid the other hand up to his stiffening rod. He began stroking himself; slowly at first and then with more and more urgency. He felt his climax building in his abdomen and placed his hand against the cold tiles to brace himself as white ribbons began shooting out, hitting the side of the shower. At that moment he heard himself moan out Jack's name. Unbeknownst to him, the same thing was occurring in the suite next door with the whispered name being Ianto's.

The following morning was an early wake-up so that Jack could get to the studio to begin filming the television show. Ianto was a little excited as he had never been on set before. Jack knew almost everyone already because of his previous appearance on the show so he was introducing Ianto to them.

Ianto found the process to be very interesting. He also found that there was a lot of down time between scenes when Jack didn't have to be in front of the camera. During those times Jack would sit with Ianto and they would talk. It was later in the afternoon that they started working on the scene that the two of them had gone over the evening before.

As usual Ianto was captivated watching Jack perform. When Jack pulled the actress up against his body as he had done Ianto, Ianto felt a twitch in his groin. He continued to watch and the actress smashed her lips into Jack's and Jack pushed her down onto the boardroom table and climbed on top of her. Things beyond twitching were beginning to occur in Ianto's nether regions but he was helpless to turn away. The director yelled "cut" and Jack and the actress stood up and started talking as if they had just ordered lunch; not as if they had just been groping and kissing one another. He wasn't sure how anyone would be able to pull themselves away from Jack's mouth. As his thoughts continued to go there, he realized that his trousers had gotten incredibly tight. He finally turned and went to get a bottle of water before he embarrassed himself.

They wrapped up shooting around seven o'clock. Jack got changed into his own clothes while Ianto waited for him. When he came out of his dressing room he asked Ianto if he wanted to go get dinner again.

Ianto hesitated. "Umm, don't you want to go out with someone new for some, uh, fun?"

"Nah. I'd rather spend some time with a friend." He smiled a soft smile.

Ianto smiled back. "Okay."

"You pick. You lived in London, you should know where to get something good."

Ianto smiled again. "Okay."

The two mean got into the back of the car the show had provided for them. Ianto leaned forward and told the driver where to go.

"So, where are we going?"

"It's a little place I used to eat at a lot when I first moved here and didn't have very much money. It's not a fancy place, but they have the best Chinese food I have ever eaten. Specifically, the best Szechuan."

The driver pulled up in front of a building that was fairly non-descript. The two men exited the vehicle and Ianto led Jack to the door. Jack took a second to look around. It definitely wasn't fancy and it didn't seem to be in the greatest area of town either. But if this is what Ianto wanted, he was all in.

They walked through the door and a diminutive Asian woman greeted them. When she got a look at Ianto, her face lit-up and she hurried to his side with a hug.

"Oh, Mr. Ianto, it's so nice to see you!"

Ianto smiled down at her. "You too Lan. This is my friend Jack."

"Welcome, welcome. Right this way." She led them to a quiet table in the rear of the restaurant. "Do you need a menu?"

"I don't." He looked at Jack.

"No Ianto, you pick. It sounds like you know what's good here." He smiled at Ianto and up at Lan.

"Okay. How about Tea Smoked Duck, Kung Pao Chicken, and Spicy Aubergine."

"Ahh. Good choice Mr. Ianto." Lan headed to the kitchen.

"You must have come here a lot Mr. Ianto."

Ianto blushed a little. "Well, I didn't live far from here and Lan was always very good to me. She always thought I was too thin so she would load up my plate. Who was I to refuse delicious food, especially with the money I was making at the time."

Lan returned with hot tea and the two continued to talk as they waited for their food. It wasn't long before she returned with the three dishes heaped with steaming food.

"Wow! It looks fantastic."

"Enjoy!"

Jack spooned some of the chicken and duck onto his plate. Ianto looked at him. "No aubergine?"

"I'm not so sure about aubergine Ianto. Its not really my thing."

"Okay but you will regret it."

Jack seriously doubted that. There weren't a lot of vegetables that he was that fond of and aubergine certainly didn't make the list of those he was.

Ianto spooned some of everything onto his plate and the two began eating. After taking a few bites of the food on his plate, Jack almost moaned. "Mmmm. This is absolutely delicious! You were right Ianto, this has to be the best Chinese food I have ever had." He smiled big as he continued to poke the food into his mouth.

Ianto held a piece of the aubergine up with his chopsticks. "You sure you don't want to try the aubergine? Its better than the duck."

Jack gave in. "Oh, okay."

Ianto reached across the table with the chopsticks and place the food in Jack's mouth. Jack chewed it up and closed his eyes for a second. "Mmmmm. You're right Ianto. That is amazing!"

Ianto couldn't hear what Jack was saying because he was too busy yelling at himself in his head. 'What the fuck was that! Have you completely lost your mind? You actually just fed your boss food from your own chopsticks! What the fuck is wrong with you Jones? You're not on a god damn date!'

Jack had continued to talk but noticed that Ianto didn't seem to be paying attention to him so he stopped. "Ianto? Ianto are you okay?"

Jack was squeezing his hand when he came back to reality. He quickly pulled his hand away. "Uh, yeah. That last bite I took was just really spicy."

"Can I do anything?"

"Uh, maybe get me a beer."

Jack jumped up to seek out Lan for the beer. He quickly returned to the table with two. Ianto took it and chugged down half of it in seconds. "Thanks Jack."

Jack continued to look at him with concern. "Are you sure you are okay?"

Ianto took a deep breath to get himself calmed down. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

They went back to eating and talking. When they both felt as if they couldn't eat another bite, Jack spoke. "Thank you Ianto. That really was great."

Lan came over to the table. "Anything else tonight Mr. Ianto?"

"No, just the bill. Thank you Lan, it was delicious as always."

Lan returned with the bill and two fortune cookies. Jack looked at the cookies. "You pick first Ianto."

Ianto tried to protest to the silly activity. "Jack..."

"Nope, you have to do it. Open it and read it out loud."

Ianto reluctantly picked up the cookie and crushed it, revealing the tiny white slip of paper. He read over it silently first and rolled his eyes.

"Awe, come on Ianto." Jack urged.

Ianto sighed. "Plan for many pleasures ahead." He dropped the slip and looked up at Jack. Jack had a huge goofy grin on his face and Ianto couldn't help but respond to it with a smile of his own.

"Okay. Your turn Jack."

Jack crushed his cookie and pulled out the slip. "Your everlasting patience will be rewarded sooner or later." If possible, his smile grew even bigger.

Ianto rolled his eyes again. "Well, see. That just proves how silly fortune cookies are. You are probably the least patient person I have ever met. You are like a child who wants everything now."

Jack feigned shock. "What do you mean? I'm patient! Give me one example of when I wasn't patient."

"Let me think about it."

"No. You tell me now or it just proves my point that I am patient!"

Ianto looked at him, raised his eyebrow and smirked.

"What?"

"Tell me now..."

Jack gave him a shy smile. "Oh."

"Can we leave now that I have proved my point?"

"Okay Ianto. You win for now, but I will show you how patient I can be." Jack picked the two small slips of white paper up off of the table and slipped them in his pocket as they got up to leave.

"Whatever you say Jack."

By the time they got back to the hotel it was pretty late so the two said goodnight and headed to their respective rooms. Jack laid thinking that Ianto really had no idea how patient he had been. He just hoped that his reward was sooner rather than later.

Ianto laid thinking about his fortune as well. His mind drifted to some of the many pleasures he would like to experience at the hands of Jack.