I think I should apologise to everyone for my thing with pancakes the other day. There's a perfectly logical explaination to this! I went to Chicago for a couple of days last summer, and we went to this amazing little place called The Bongo Room which did the best breakfasts I'd ever had. I chose (both days) to have american pancakes with strawberry creme fresh, maple syrup and chopped up banana and strawberries on the top. Thus, the pancakes... cos I felt that:
A) Jack and Ianto eating the amazing pancakes would just be brilliant!
B) I was really craving those pancakes
Secondly, I'd like to welcome my new beta reader, Naomi (the friend who's opinion about my work actually matters). She's helped a little with this one (not as much as she'd needed to with the others) and gave it the all clear, so everyone, enjoy!
Thanks again to everyone who's got into the fic and been reviewing it regularly, it's a really cool feeling to come online to people saying how much they like the inner workings of my latest 'obsession'.
Disclaimer: I do not own Torchwood or any of it's characters, they belong to RTD... But I reeeaaaally want to get Jack and Ianto action figures to go with my Aragorn, Batman and Wolverine statues!
Chapter 2: Coffee and Questions
Owen was still grouchy with Ianto the next day, and had been seriously considering tormenting the man during his therapy session later on that evening. Ianto had made it up to him by going out to the local bakery and bringing him back a custard tart to have with his afternoon coffee, which had been, as usual, fantastic.
He had just finished cleaning out the autopsy room from the dead alien he'd had in there that day when Jack came and looked down over the railings, leaning on them with his hands clasped together.
Owen briefly looked up and then returned to his work, inviting Jack to go ahead with whatever he'd come in there to say. He prepared himself to disappoint the captain, guessing what he'd come in to talk about.
"I can't do it, Jack." He turned around, arms folded, and looked up at the man leaning on the railings. He frowned a little in reply and Owen carried on. "I can't tell you anything Ianto might talk to me about later, so don't even ask."
Jack's mouth opened, about to argue back, but Owen cut him off. "I can't go around telling you what he says in those meetings because of Doctor Patient confidentiality. If I broke that, he may not open up to me, which is the entire purpose of them in the first place."
Jack slumped forwards a little more, a grudging acceptance on his features. "Okay… fine. I just thought I'd tell you that you guys can use the board room… It's more… comfortable than this place." He looked pointedly at the blood stains on the walls and floor, wrinkling his nose a little and walking out of the room. Owen merely nodded and turned away to finish the report on the computer, taking the chance to roll his eyes at Jack without him noticing.
"I saw that!" It was impossible to tell whether Jack actually HAD seen him, or whether it was a lucky guess. He just shrugged it off, finished up his report and bundled himself off to the board room with a pad of paper and a first aid kit.
First, he made sure the blinds were closed and that the CCTV was disconnected, and then he dropped into one of the plush seats and spun around experimentally on it. There was something enjoyable about spinning round on a chair, especially when it didn't squeak or grate as it moved. It was a few moments before he noticed Ianto standing in the doorway, suppressing a smile. He simply cleared his throat and motioned to the seat opposite him, watching as Ianto closed the door behind him and walked over to the table, removing his jacket and hanging it smartly on the back of the chair, rolling his shirt sleeves up again as he sat down and slid down a little in his seat.
"Right, first off, I want you to know that whatever we talk about in here, it doesn't go any further." Owen had his medical head on and was looking at Ianto seriously. "Nothing you say in here is going to passed on. To anyone." He said the last part with emphasis and Ianto grimaced a little as the implied fact that Jack had already tried to get Owen to tell all. He just nodded at Owen, prompting him to go on.
They spent the hour discussing a lot of simple things, no deep emotions this time round, no recollections of life changing events. Just talking, getting out Ianto's current feelings, how he'd been doing over the last couple of days and whether he was alright for now. By the end of the session, Ianto had been laughing and joking with Owen, much as he had during Jack's absence. Owen took this as a good sign and jotted it down in short hand on his paper.
"Okay, now that that's over, all I need to do is do a wound check and re-dress them." Ianto sighed heavily and unbutton his waist coat and shirt, removing his tie at the same time. Owen moved around to the other side of the table and waited for Ianto to pull his t-shirt up for him to see his stomach. He pulled the gauze off and examined the cuts. They were looking a little bruised, but they were healing well and Owen noted down that the stitches there were on schedule for removal in a week's time. Next, he made Ianto pull his trousers down and checked the cut on his leg. That one was fairing slightly better as the swelling had gone down a lot more. Again, he noted that the stitches would be coming out in a week or so and let Ianto pull his trousers back up, getting up and moving to open the blinds and let in a little more light.
After a minute or so, he turned back around and looked at Ianto again. "I need to see your wrists now." There was a slight tension in the young man's features as he let Owen unwrap the bandages and look at the mess of cuts on his arms. "Why, Ianto?"
He hadn't meant to move onto the subject of his attempted suicide on the first day, but he simply couldn't resist it. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop to think about the merits of keeping them back. He looked at Ianto carefully, trying to gauge what was going on. He didn't for a minute think that he could read Ianto, that he knew the inner workings of the man's mind, but somehow, he saw a glimpse of something more in his face. He watched, silently, as Ianto studied his wrists, running his fingers of the cuts and tracing the red lines.
"Because sometimes, when things get bad… When you can't see anything left in the world that's worth fighting for… Sometimes, it gives you back that thirst for being alive." Ianto suddenly looked up at Owen, a challenge setting in his face as he dared Owen to ask him more about the question, but Owen just nodded, inspected the wounds, wrote down what he saw and bandaged them back up, a new respect for Ianto brewing in his mind.
When he'd finished, Ianto smiled appreciatively and thanked him. "Thanks, Owen. I wouldn't have made it this far without you saving me so many times over the last few days." He smiled, a genuine smile of appreciation, and left the board room, making his way down to the coffee machine to fix Owen, Jack and himself a coffee before they shut up the hub for the evening.
"Not for me, thanks, Ianto." He was pulling on his jacket and locking some papers in his desk. "I'm calling it an early night, as the girls have already taken it upon themselves to leave. Is that alright with you, Jack?"
Ianto turned to see that Jack had emerged from his office and was leaning against the doorframe. "Fine with me, Owen. Go have a beer and enjoy yourself!" Jack smiled as he headed round to Ianto and the coffee machine, waving to Owen as he left the hub.
"As for you, I could murder a coffee right now." He slipped his arm around Ianto's waist and pulled him close, pleasantly surprised when Ianto moved his lips to Jack's and kissed him, the coffee machine bubbling away next to them. Ianto ran his hands through Jack's hair and settled them behind Jack's neck, keeping him close as the kiss deepened. Eventually, Ianto pulled away as he heard a click, smiling as Jack's lips tried and failed to keep the moment going. Jack managed to open his eyes and watch Ianto pour two cups of steaming hot coffee, twisting around in his arms as he looked for the milk.
"You know, if you want your coffee, you're going to have to let me go for a minute to let me get to the fridge." Ianto's voice was level, with a slightly playful tone to it. Jack decided he could push the moment just a little bit further. He moved his mouth to Ianto's neck and kissed him gently, moving his way up towards his ear, the kisses getting harder and harder until he caused Ianto to yelp and flinch away from him, rubbing the side of his neck gingerly.
Jack smiled at the young man's indignation and started to laugh as he removed his hand, showing the beginnings of what would be a monumental love-bite. It had been a long time since he'd given anybody one of those, and somehow it seemed fitting for Ianto to break that streak. When Ianto looked accusingly at him, he feigned innocence, shrugging his shoulders and smiling sweetly. "Oops!"
Ianto glowered at him for a moment, just long enough for Jack to start wondering whether he'd gone too far. His suspicions were crushed as Ianto turned to finish making the coffee and handed Jack his, kissing him gently as he did so, heading off to Jack's office with his own in his hand, the other in his trouser pocket. Jack grinned to himself and quickly followed.
He was a little disappointed as Ianto kicked off his shoes and sat down on the sofa, nestling back into the soft cushions to enjoy his coffee, but understood and took a seat next to him, kicking his boots off his feet to collide with the opposite wall. They sat in silence for a moment before Ianto spoke, putting his coffee on the floor.
"What're we doing here, Jack?" Jack turned to see Ianto staring at the wall in front of him, taken aback by his sudden question.
"I would hazard a guess at drinking our coffee… though I'm not dense enough to assume that's what you're talking about." Ianto turned his head and smiled at him, taking Jack's hand in his and returning his gaze to the wall ahead. "I'm going to take my chances with saying that we're both here because we want to be." In the thoughtful silence that followed, Jack drained his coffee and put his cup on the floor, closing his eyes as he let Ianto mull over his words.
"Why do you stay here, when there's so much else out there? Knowing that you could have whatever you wanted." Ianto's voice was a little distant as he voiced thoughts that had been buzzing in his mind for months, half dreading Jack's reply.
"Well…" Jack chose his words carefully. "I've been to a lot of places, and quite frankly, after your first two or three supernovas, they get a little boring. When you've travelled as much as I have, the thrills in life are the small things that happen on a daily basis. At the moment, I'm quite enjoying living here, spending time with you and letting the small things happen." He smiled to himself as he finished and Ianto sat, thinking through Jack's reply and forming a new question.
"So you want what's happening between us?" Jack frowned a little and looked at Ianto with a puzzled look on his face. "I mean, I want to be here, with you… I really do. I just don't want to be forcing myself on you… Not after knowing the things you've seen, the people you've met."
Jack smiled at that and stroked his face gently and kissing his lips lightly. "I wouldn't let myself be anywhere else than next to you, Ianto Jones. Yes, I've seen more than any other living human, but nothing compares to waking up with you in my arms."
He looked into Ianto's eyes and saw nothing by affection and love in them at that moment, and he wasn't surprised at all when the young man leant forwards and locked their mouths together, both exploring the other tenderly as their arms moved around each other. Jack soon found Ianto's hands undoing his shirt and moving over his back, gently tracing his fingers down his spine and causing him to shiver a little in anticipation. Ianto smiled, withdrew his hands and lead Jack down through the hatch and into the soft nest below.
