11
"Oh Jack" Ianto gasped with shock ,"I don't …I mean ..no one has ever said that to me before."
"What?" Jack asked with equal shock, didn't he have a dead wife?
"Lisa was an arranged marriage I guess" Ianto snorted, "Our friends and families wanted it, we went with it as we were both damaged clinging to each other. We were well matched in the service, with our humour. I don't know how we would have gone after we have finished our term of service. Maybe we would have crashed and burned but I like to think we would have been stubborn and made it work. I loved her, but I was never in love with her. Also, I know she cared for me but the L word was never used. Not even at the end when I tried to give her that peace and she choked out 'don't' because she didn't want it."
"I am so sorry" Jack sighed.
"For what it's worth, I fell for you already or do you not remember my ankle?" Ianto asked with a snort and Jack felt hurt as he looked down at his meal.
Ianto ate for a while and then sighed, "Actually. When I woke and you weren't there in the bed I panicked. I didn't know what I would do, where to go. I am already thinking of us together, as a unit. Also…"
Jack looked up as Ianto hesitated.
"I have already fallen in love with your lovely voice" Ianto whispered softly, his discomfort proof enough for Jack that he wasn't playing for the camera. "I … I want this to work. Gods, I hope we can build something here."
"We are getting a shuttle back tomorrow" Jack said as he refilled Ianto's glass, "We will be three days early. Do you think Rhia will be OK with us taking Lola early?"
Ianto looked nervous as he shrugged and Jack remembered the camera, smiling to himself as he chose his words, "Rhia strikes me as a strong woman, grown from good stock like you. I think she wants what is best for her niece and will see that you are a good Taddy. Your eyes do not control your heart and you don't need your sight to see what is best for her. Don't worry Ianto, Rhia will have her ready and waiting, you just wait and see. A grand woman, a lovely heart and she will surprise you."
Ianto blinked at the speech and then he realised there was a camera there, swallowing before answering.
"Rhia is my big sister. A real Mama and I know she wants what is best for Lolly. That's why I fear that she will keep her. Da always said I was a waste of air. Maybe she thinks so too" he said as he tried to shrug it off.
Jack took another bite and watched Ianto's nose twitch as the dessert came.
"Oh-oh!" Jack crowed, "Dessert! Does that mean I get a cuddle later?"
Ianto blushed a deep crimson that went down his collar and Jack leaned over to watch it disappear under the soft pink shirt then sat back down licking his lips as he imagined licking that blush off.
As if hearing him Ianto reached out and loosened his tie, releasing the top button so Jack could see more and Jack cleared his throat.
"What?" Ianto asked as he frowned, "Did something go down the wrong way?"
"From where I'm sitting it's all going down nicely" Jack flirted and was rewarded with a gasp and snort as Ianto looked down.
"Stop hiding" Jack said as he reached out and stroked his cheek, "You are sweet."
"So sweet I make candy" Ianto chortled as he made a reference to Lola and Jack laughed with him.
"She is sweeter than candy, much more." Jack agreed, "I bet she is addictive!"
"Yeah" Ianto sighed happily, "She sure is."
"I love her hair" Jack motioned with his hands, forgetting that Ianto couldn't see and then he saw those eyes register the movement, "You see me?"
"The lighting is low enough, I can see movement. You were moving your hands around your head?" Ianto replied and Jack knew it was silly but he felt like he had won the solar lottery as Ianto smiled at him. "You are expressive and I often see your hands moving."
"Yeah?" Jack grinned.
"I like it because I know you are being honest" Ianto laughed, "I know you are passionate about the subject and you chose to share with me. I have often sat in my wee single berth and wished for someone to talk to. Even about mundane shit about like the news feed or the next door neighbour's weird smells."
Jack laughed and then leaned forward, "My neighbour likes to water his roses naked."
"Really?" Ianto asked.
"He's eighty if he's a day" Jack whispered and Ianto roared with mirth, slapping the table.
"I like making you laugh" Jack told him and Ianto wiped his eyes.
"I like you making me laugh so there ya go!" Ianto shot back, "I've not laughed so much in years. Oh Cariad, you are a balm."
"Cariad." Jack repeated.
"Er, it's …like. Shit. Did I say that?"
"A couple of times" Jack said and reached out reassuring him that it was OK, he liked the word.
"Darling, beloved, sweetheart, Cariad" Ianto blustered, "It is a term of endearment. Shit, really? I call you that? Wow. I have only ever used it for Lolly."
"Lisa?"
"No. She hated Welsh" Ianto said with his smile fading, "She forbade me from speaking it to Lola too. Only thing I had defied her on. My daughter is Welsh, like her Taddy. I'll be damned if she doesn't know her culture!"
"Well …good for you!" Jack smiled, "I'm actually Scottish."
"Really?" Ianto canted his head and smiled softly, "I'll not hold that against you."
Jack's roar was full of mirth as Ianto daintily licked his spoon.
Both men were thinking the same thing.
WOW
