I have missed 'To the Last Man' but have an idea which I will write up at some point. This was written some time back and is set after the events of 'Meat'.
Acceptance?
Ianto had gone home that night rather than stay with Jack. He'd wanted to stay but Jack had pushed him away. Ianto wasn't surprised; it was what Jack did, how he coped. He lay in his bed looking at the ceiling; the only relief from the darkness coming from a street light, shining through a gap at the top of the curtains. He couldn't be bothered to get up and close them properly.
He'd tried to sleep but found he couldn't so he simply stared. He knew what Jack was doing and why. He pictured Gwen and Rhys lying in each other's arms. She'd probably have told him all about the aliens she'd met by now and what had happened with each one. Rhys would no doubt have listened and wrapped his arms around her, wanting to protect her as well as loving her for her bravery. Perhaps they'd made love; perhaps they hadn't, but Gwen would know that Rhys loved her enough to put himself between her and a bullet, a bullet that would kill him, not for once but for always. Rhys had risked all for her and she'd risked losing her job and memories for him. Oh yes, he knew why he wasn't with Jack that night.
Ianto knew that he'd been lucky; the gun had been empty when fired. Jack could do nothing to protect him; he couldn't even die, yet again, to save him. For the first time Jack hadn't been able to stand in the way. That had made him think and a thinking Jack wasn't always a good thing. Ianto was mortal; he could die. He could cross the road and be hit by a bus, or have his throat ripped out by a weevil, or have some guy selling alien meat put a gun to his head and pull the trigger. Whilst Ianto had gotten angry, Jack had become afraid and the creature dying hadn't helped improve his mood. Living things were mortal; things Jack loved and cared for died. The world wasn't fair and wasn't safe and he couldn't save it over and over again without losing something, or someone. Ianto realised that at some point Jack was going to have to accept that about him, as he himself had. He would die; he hoped he would die for a good cause rather than being run over by a bus to Barry Island. He knew no-one got a pension when they worked for Torchwood.
Jack, however, would never let him talk about it. He'd listened to Jack talk to Gwen about loving Rhys. He'd heard Tosh talk about them being sad singles but he wasn't really sad and he wasn't really single and he knew that, but Jack, Jack was afraid of acknowledging it, even to himself. They just had an understanding. There were so many things that they didn't talk about. Ianto accepted that. There were boundaries yet uncrossed and Ianto didn't know if they ever would be crossed or if he even wanted them to be. It was then that he heard the key in the lock. He sat up. The door of the bedroom opened. He knew who it would be.
'Jack, please come here,' he said to the figure stood at the door. Jack came forward. Ianto rose and took him in his arms, his bare flesh pressing into Jack's coat; his senses filled with the taste, smell and touch of the man.
'I could have lost you today,' was all Jack said. 'I couldn't get to you, Ianto. If there'd been bullets in that gun you'd be dead now. I couldn't take the bullet for you!'
'It's alright, Jack. I'm here, I'm alive and I'm safe.' He pulled away from the other man.
'Jack, look at me. One day I'll die, you know that. I know you've lost people. I know that's why you push everyone away but you need me, Jack; you need us all. We know that we'll die someday but we still go on every day just doing what we do. Thousands of people take risks every day. You can't be there to save everyone, Jack, immortal or not. You've got to get through that and accept it, because I'm not going anywhere. Wherever we are and whatever happens, my place will always be at your side.'
Jack wished he was stronger; he wished he could push Ianto away but all he growled out was, 'I know, Ianto, I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.'