A/N: Good evening lovely readers! Isn't the whole clocks going forward thing an utter nuissance! I did try and finish this last night but alas my girlfriends and I had had far too much wine, and my mind was too fuzzyto write anything 'proper'. Hope you like it - it's a relatively long ch... Hannah xxx
Once Ianto had swiftly gathered up his jacket, satchel and various paraphernalia from behind his desk, and bid a quick goodbye to his fellow colleagues Lucy and Marcus the pair headed outside of the Library and into the fairly quiet surrounding city centre. With it being a Sunday, the usually hustling and bustling atmosphere that swamped the shopping district had been replaced be a much quieter, calmer feeling that was much better to both men's tastes. With it being early March, there was just enough warmth from the sun to warrant the carrying of excess outerwear, and as the two men started to walk along there was a gentle breeze in the air; all in all, it was pretty much the idyllic spring midday. For a good few minutes, Jack and Ianto walked aimlessly, not talking and barely even thinking, as the soaked in the pleasant settings, so it almost came as a surprise to the young Welshman when his companion did eventually start a conversation.
"So, where are you taking me for lunch then?" Jack turned and grinned to face the Welshman.
Ianto, who had just been dragged out of the calm zone in his mind filled with happy 'nothing-ness' and back to reality paused for a second, and pulled his dark eyebrows together in contemplation. "Oh yes… lunch…" He said "Umm… I have no idea!"
Jack laughed, "So you ask a guy to lunch but have nowhere to take him! Disgraceful…" He winked. "What about that funny little café where we met after my party? What was it called again?"
Ianto smiled, "Sorry, but it was a spontaneous idea – I don't make a habit of asking out the attendees of m Sunday reading group!" Jack laughed.
"Well, I should hope not – some of their parents were pretty hot though"
"Anyway…" Ianto said rolling his eyes good humouredly, "The café doesn't have a name; at least I'm not aware that it has one, but we can't go there regardless as they close on a Sunday."
"Wait, they randomly stay open until gone midnight on a week day or a Saturday – but they refuse to open at all on a Sunday? How bizarre. If we can't go there, then where else would you want to go? Another little café? Pret A Manager? Fish and chips? Neither of us is really dressed for a restaurant I guess…"
Ianto's stomach twisted into a very slight knot of nerves at the mention of the word restaurant… and he decided not to mention to Jack that as much as he was coming to term with the whole 'dating a man' issue relatively quickly and with ease, that perhaps he was still not quite sure about dining out in a restaurant together just yet. It was nothing against Jack of course, it was just that he hadn't actually told anyone beyond Tosh, Owen and a couple of his and Tosh's other friends, about the relationship yet. He thought for a moment, deliberating over their options, and eventually came to an idea.
"Well, it's a nice day… we could just go to M&S and get a few sandwiches and drinks and things and take them to Bute park and have a sort of… picnic?" Ianto suggested, biting his lip slightly nervously, worrying that perhaps a picnic might seem a little childish or that it might be a little below someone who models for Burberry.
"Ooh that's an awesome idea! I haven't had a picnic for ages! And you definitely can't beat Marks and Spencer's!" The American smiled.
Ianto sighed a small breath of relief, "Excellent, though I wouldn't announce that too loudly – I think we're still in John Lewis territory at the minute!"
Together, the American and the Welshman made their way towards the large department store and headed straight towards the food hall after skirting around the general crowds of Grandparents, Mothers, unwilling Fathers and impatient children who were huddling near the front in the clothing section.
"Phewww… I thought we were never going to get past all of them" The American laughed.
"Me neither! No matter what the day of the week, what the weather outside is doing, or what the current economic climate is I swear that Marks and Spencer's is always manic!" The Welshman replied, joining in with Jack's laughter.
"Which proves my point that M&S cannot be beaten"
"That it does!"
"What do you want to get to eat then?"
The pair of them stood there eying up the vast selection of sandwiches, wraps, pittas, baguettes, pastas and salads; of salt and vinegar, plain, sour cream and chives and barbecue crisp; of apples and oranges and bananas and mixed fruit salads; and of various cakes and chilled dessert items, intently contemplating what to purchase. It soon became apparent to the Welshman that he and Jack had very different tastes in food. Ianto himself opted for a roasted chicken and tomato and herb sauce pasta salad, a mixed pot of carrot and celery sticks, and a bottle of orange juice. Jack on the other hand had seemed far more interested in the sweet items than the savoury, and had gone for a slice of chocolate and vanilla cheesecake as well as a piece of rocky road along with a chicken and avocado sandwich (he was originally going for a cheese and onion pasty but Ianto had warned him that if he ate it then he could not be expecting a kiss from him, so Jack swiftly changed his mind) and a bottle of orange juice like his companion. He thought that the older man's sweet tooth was surprisingly endearing, and made it all the more impressive that he manages to stay in such good shape for the modelling!
As they were leaving the food hall, Ianto suddenly let out a small groan.
"What?" Jack asked.
"We should have bought strawberries!" He said gesturing towards the display of two for one on their selection of fresh berries. "I love strawberries"
"I've never been that fussed by strawberries…"
"What? Really? I thought everyone like strawberries?"
"Well… I like them when there's cream – whipped cream" Jack winked.
Ianto just rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what he was suggesting.
"I like them even more when they're with whipped cream and a lack of clothing" He grinned as he saw the blush that he had been hoping to encourage in the Welshman grow after this second, more explicit remark.
The Welshman tried to pretend that the heat was not spreading to his cheeks and simply rolled his eyes for a second time in response, "I bet you do… but if you're going to carry on making comments like that I think we had better get a move on with walking to the park, or else some poor elderly lady in here might overhear you and have an aneurysm!" He replied, ushering Jack outside of the shop.
Bute Park was relatively busy for one o'clock on a Sunday as the nice weather had brought out many of the local residents; across the expanses of grass there were children and teenagers playing football, people walking dogs, men and women pushing prams along and several early ice cream vans pulled up for business – all of them making the most of the fortunate weather just as Jack and Ianto were. With the park being busier than usual, it meant that there wasn't an available bench for the pair of men to sit at, and so they settled for sitting themselves down in the middle of the grass, using 'Captain' Jack's full length, air force blue military jacket and Ianto's ¾ length camel coat as makeshift picnic blankets.
"Do you know what I've just realised?" Jack grinned just as the pair of them had finished off their lunches and relaxed into a comfortable, food and sun induced silence.
"That penguins can't fly?" The Welshman suggested jovially, pointing towards the penguin logo on a nearby ice cream van.
"Oh haha" Jack replied, giving Ianto a light jab in the shoulder, "But seriously though…?"
"No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me" The younger man replied dubiously.
Jack's smile widened, "That, seeing as we didn't go to a café or anything in the end, that you never ordered our food in that magnificent, posh, high pitched Goldie Locks voice of yours!"
"Well now, isn't that a shame" Ianto replied in a heavily sarcastic tone.
"It's catastrophic!"
"No. What's catastrophic is that you heard me talking like that in the first place! Oh god it's so embarrassing!" Ianto said, placing his head heavily in his hands.
Jack laughed, "It's not embarrassing - it's funny! I modelled on a car insurance advert back when I was a complete unknown, now that's embarrassing"
Ianto rolled his eyes expertly. "That's not that embarrassing… everyone has to start somewhere, whereas that voice…" The Welshman moaned, still not believing of the fact that Jack had actually come to visit him during the story time session, in his eyes he couldn't have picked a worse time to come and visit him at work.
"Trust me, I don't know if that advert is still in existence but if it was I'd … well actually… even if it did still exist I wouldn't show it to you, not even to prove a point – that's just how bad it is! And don't worry, I was so looking forward to hearing that wonderful accent again – it's just become my second favourite accent!"
"And what would be the first?"
It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes now, "your normal, everyday, b-e-a-utiful Welsh vowels of course!"
Ianto's cheeks coloured ever so slightly pink at that, "Well… umm… thank you. But I still can't believe the advert was that bad!"
"Believe me, it was awful. So awful that you'd probably seriously consider never seeing me in private again, let alone in public."
Ianto laughed, "I highly doubt that! Are you sure that you don't still mind seeing me even now you've learned that I have a tendency to impersonate mythical children?"
Jack laughed "Absolutely not, like I said earlier, I was never that into fairy tales as a kid, always preferred something with a bit more 'bite' to it, but if I could always hear them read by you I think I'd quickly change my mind – I might have to gate crash next week as well!"
"If you dare" The Welshman warned good humouredly, prompting the older man to laugh "Though it's almost tempting to allow you some and broaden your knowledge of children's stories, I think you'd find if you read some of the older versions then a lot of them would have more 'bite', as you put it, than you might have first thought"
"Oh really?" Jack asked intrigued.
"Yeah, I mean the Little Mermaid for example – which I've never read to the children for reasons which will follow, is actually a lot more grim than it is portrayed by Walt Disney. The Little Mermaid still saves the drowning Prince, and still trades her harmonic voice in exchange for human legs, but in the true version it's Mermaid's are said to outlive humans but dissolve into foam and nothingness within the sea post death, whereas people live on forever after death with eternal souls and the witch warns her that in order to gain an immortal soul she must find and marry her true love lest she be immediately disintegrated into 'sea foam'. Unlike the Disney version she never marries her Prince, and in her despair at seeing him marry another woman throws herself into the ocean where she dissolves – there's some dispute about the ending, whether that's that or if after she died she was allowed an immortal soul because of her valiant efforts, either way, it's not the most jolly or appropriate story to share with a five year old!"
Jack had been hanging off Ianto's every word – even without the amusing voices he put on to retell the more 'jolly and appropriate' stories to the young children, his expression of the tale was still a captivating performance.
"Wow, that is interesting – I thought they were all fluffy and happy nonsense!"
"Disney has made a lot of them like that, but really they're actually quite gripping even to read as an adult. I think you'd like 'the Twelve Dancing Princesses', a group of twelve incredibly beautiful sister's keep sneaking out each night to go dancing and the only proof their Father can find is that their shoes are worn out each morning, so he calls all the eligible bachelors in the land to watch over them and find out how they are sneaking out, and whoever discovers the secret gets to marry whichever sister he chooses. Of course, none of them can guess what on Earth is going on because each night the men are drugged in their wine and fall unconscious and so cannot witness the Princesses exits, until one night an old soldier decides not to take the wine and manages to follow the Princesses using an invisibility cloak. The King is completely overjoyed and the soldier gets to marry the eldest princess"
"Ooh I do like the sound of that! Beautiful princesses, handsome bachelors, fine wine… though I could think of more interesting things to do with a gorgeous nobleman in my room than to drug him and sneak out to go dancing!" Jack winked.
"Oh dear, I don't think I want to ask what!"
"I'd be happy to show you exactly what I mean if you like" Jack almost purred into the Welshman's ear.
"Umm I… um…" Ianto mumbled, slightly breathless and with flushed cheeks, "I'm alright, I think I've got a pretty good idea, and we don't want you getting arrested for public indecency!"
Jack laughed whole heartedly, "Perhaps that wouldn't be great…"
"No perhaps not" Ianto agreed smiling.
The American glanced at his watch, noticing that all of a sudden four o 'clock was rapidly approaching, and remembered that he had agreed to meet up with the infamous sword stealer, John Smith, at six.
"Boy time has really flown hasn't it? As much as I hate to say it, I think I'm going to have to leave shortly" Jack said, his tone laced with regret.
"That's alright" Ianto smiled, though there was a hint of disappointment in his voice, "if you need to you can just go…" He said, not sounding quite as sure as he had meant to.
"There's no immediate rush… just enough time for us to have a walk around the park I'd say" Jack smiled.
Ianto smiled back, wider. "Great" he said, standing up to gather up all of their rubbish and place it in the bin, and then to put back on his coat in order to face a walk in the now slightly chilly afternoon weather, and Jack did the same, before the two of them set off walking directionlessly around the large, pastoral space.
As they walked along past the groups of children who were still playing out on the green, though the ice cream vans and parents with young babies had long since departed, Jack extended a cool hand out to embrace that of the man stood to his left. When the contact was formed, Ianto felt an immediate sensation of warmth and internal happiness spread up through his hand and around his entire body, before remembering that they were in a very public place and for all intents and purposes their relationship was a secret. Quickly he retracted his hand, withdrawing all sensations of warmth, and looked away from the American, embarrassed of his shame. Jack meanwhile cursed internally at the action, wishing he had thought before making what had seemed like a natural gesture.
"Sorry" Jack said through a grimace.
"No, don't be, it's me… I, I'm sorry" Ianto mumbled, turning to face him and fixing him with an apologetic smile, internally mourning the loss of contact.
"Don't mention it" Jack replied, plastering on an almighty grin.
"So…" Ianto began, with a little trepidation, worried that he might have introduced a tension to the air, "You said things had been really hectic at work all week?" He finished, attempting to introduce a new line of conversation.
"Mmhhmm yeah! It's felt like I haven't had a chance to breathe all week! Thankfully the filming for the new advert is all sorted, but there's still a lot to sort out in terms of publicity photos and magazine adverts, and they're talking about using me for their new fragrance advert too – so it's all kind of crazy at the minute" Jack laughed.
"Wow! It's all so… so impressive! I still find it hard to believe that… well… oh it doesn't matter." Ianto quickly tailed off.
"What?"
"Well… that you're interested in me! Your life is so glamorous!"
"You manage to make librarian-ing very glamorous, believe me" Jack winked.
The men continued to walk around for another half an hour or so, sporadically discussing current affairs and further work life details, along with avidly discussing the contrasts between Jack White's various bands and his music produced as a solo artist, and even stopping to discuss the incredibly bizarre question of 'what would you rather eat, a live tarantula or half a baby goat?' which Jack had instigated. Ianto had opted for the half a baby goat, seeing this as the logical choice, especially when Jack had stated that the goat would be cooked, but Jack had gone for the spider as he'd eaten goat and said he might fancy a trying something a little more exotic – a comment which didn't fail to arouse laughter in the Welshman.
"I guess I should get going now really…" Jack said regretfully as they reached the exit of the park.
Ianto nodded, "Of course" He smiled disappointedly. "I've had a really nice afternoon, thank you"
"No, no thank you – after all, it was you who invited me out to lunch"
"Ah… but it was you who surprised me at the library"
"Indeed it was" Jack grinned and leaned in to kiss the Welshman goodbye.
Ianto noticed the incoming gesture, which he would normally have welcomed with open arms – well, open lips – but drew back through instinct, and converted it into a much less openly affectionate kiss on the cheek. Jack in turn pulled back with an offended look on his face which made the Welshman's heart ache, and his lips wish even more that they had partaken in the kiss. "Umm, well bye" Ianto muttered hastily and quickly walked away and towards his flat, silently cursing himself for not having enough courage as he did so, leaving a rather bewildered and confused Jack behind.
Once he had arrived back at his apartment and flung the door open rather loudly, startling the unsuspecting Tosh who was perched on the edge of their sofa reading the Independent, the silent cursing became literal and loud.
"Shit, shit, shit. Bugger, bugger, bugger. Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" He cried out as he threw down his coat and satchel and stormed into his room, slamming the door behind him and flopping straight onto his ready mattress, still muttering curses into the covers.
"Ianto? Are you ok?" Called out the now slightly calmed down Tosh as she got off the sofa and went to knock on her roommates door. The Welshman so very rarely shouted like that, let alone swore, that it had been quite a shock to her system to hear so many loudly repeated words in one go. when there was no reply she opened the door delicately. "Ianto?" She asked again.
"Mnn-go away!" He mumbled into the duvet cover.
"What on Earth is the matter Ianto Jones?"
The Welshman turned over on the bed and hastily sat up, pulling his legs to his chest with his arms and scrunching his hands together. "I'm ruining everything Tosh! Completely and utterly, royally cocking things up!" He groaned.
Toshiko moved to sit on the bed next to her friend and placed a comforting arm around his back and began moving her hand in delicate, soothing circles. "Shssh I'm sure that's not true, Jack really likes you – why else would he have gone to visit you at work today? He could have just gone back home again after he'd visited the flat and I'd said you weren't in! So what makes you think that things are going wrong?"
"I… I think I've offended him… I keep…." The Welshman's words trailed off into nothing.
"Keep?"
"Keep pushing him away in public, acting like I'm embarrassed about all of this… and I feel awful, because I'm not embarrassed as such, I'd just rather it stayed private for a little while longer, just until we've been seeing each other a little longer and I've had the chance to tell my Mum and Rhi, and my colleagues and other friends…"
"Well, that's perfectly understandable, I'm sure Jack will be ok about it" She offered comfortingly.
"I'm not so sure, he looked a little upset when I just dashed off earlier…"
"I'm sure it'll be fine! Perhaps you should just have a bath, get changed into your pyjamas and join me for a coffee and a slice of carrot cake in the living room, yeah? Take your mind of it a little."
Ianto nodded and Tosh smiled. "That's it, cheer up now, and don't worry – I'm not intending to make the coffee" she laughed, leaving the room and the Welshman alone.
Just as Ianto had taken off his work clothes and slipped into a navy towelling dressing gown to walk to the bathroom in, he heard the high pitched bleeping sound and thunderous vibrating noise signalling a text to his mobile. He smiled at the screen as he saw who it was from, and full on laughed out loud by the time he had finished reading it:
Hey! Just wondering if you're ok? Jack x PS: I'm not wearing any underwear.
He replied quickly:
Hello! I'm fine, sorry I acted a bit off, I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I really do like you! It's just, well, until this is a bit more definite I don't want to tell my family, and more to the point I'd really hate it if we were spotted out together and they found out from some random mutual friend before I'd had the chance to talk to them – is that ok? Ianto x PS: Oh really?
No offence taken! I understand completely, I shouldn't have tried to kiss you in such an open space, but what can I say, your lips are just utterly irresistible Mr Jones. Jack x PS: Hell yes.
Thank you, I think, yours are equally so… it took a great deal of effort to offer my cheek to them instead! Ianto x PS: Prove it!
Fine! Jack x
Ianto opened the attached picture and laughed when he saw a flamboyant pair of purple boxers with Barney the Dinosaur printed on them with a bright green waistband and 'rawr' written in black lettering around it, lying openly on what he assumed was Jack's bed, accompanied by a caption which read: 'see here is the underwear that I am not wearing!'.
Point proven! Oh and by the way… I'm completely naked underneath. Ianto x
Well, he was… sort of… underneath the dressing gown at least.
I hope you liked them! And whoa, whoa, whoa – naked? Your turn to prove I think… Jack x
I did indeed, Barney is quite wonderful! Sorry, some other time, my bath is getting cold! Ianto x
The Welshman grinned; picturing the American's disappointed face upon receiving his reply.
I'll hold you to that! Hope to see you again soon – this Thursday maybe? Think of me while you're bathing ;)! Jack x
Ianto smiled to himself again, perhaps, just maybe, he wasn't messing things up after all. He threw his phone down sloppily on the bed and went to his wallet to withdraw a crisp, fresh purplish note embellished with the face of Adam Smith, and then left his bedroom. The Welshman grinned at his roommate who had resumed her position on the settee and her reading of the paper.
"Jack just texted"
"Oh really, what did he have to say?"
"Oh nothing much… but he was completely understanding just like you said he would be" Ianto smiled wider, skipping out the discussions of underwear and nakedness for fear of death by blushing.
"Good, good" She smiled back, "I knew it would all be alright!"
"Indeed… I think things are going to be just fine" He said approaching his roommate now.
Ianto planted a friendly, light peck on Tosh's cheek and slipped the twenty pound note into her unsuspecting hands. "I believe you won this" He announced, as he retreated towards the bathroom, leaving a wildly grinning Toshiko behind.