Chapter 11

A/N: Me again, I'm trying to take advantage of my break while it lasts! Thank you, thank you for all of the reviews, encouragement, and suggestions. I'm so excited that you are enjoying the story thus far. I've already asked some of you about your thoughts regarding who should have the privilege of ending up with Tosh, and I've received some interesting suggestions. If I haven't heard from you yet please let me know your thoughts. I've got it narrowed down to two or three people, but if you have a compelling suggestion I could be persuaded!

And so here is my newest installment, with a little angst (we're not quite to the drama yet) for my reviewers! Enjoy!

Architecture and Angst

After they had finished their coffees, which took much longer than normal due to Siani's continual exclamations, Ianto showed them around the rest of the house.

He showed them the mudroom off of the kitchen which led to the back garden; then he took them back to the kitchen to show them the adjoining dining room. The large cherry wood table dominated the room, which had a large picture window that overlooked the flowerbeds in the back garden. The walls were painted a bold cranberry and accented with a continuation of the bright white crown molding from the hallway, and traditional wainscoting. Back in the hallway he led them to the formal living area they had passed upon first entering the house. It was a large, open room, warmly decorated with half of the wall space taken up by built-in bookcases.

Siani gazed at her surroundings in amazement.

"This is absolutely wonderful Yan! It's beautiful, and just this floor is bigger than any place I've ever lived. Jack isn't this fantastic?"

Jack simply nodded, remaining uncharacteristically silent as he took in the home Ianto created.

Siani gave him a quizzical look which he ignored.

"You added the bookcases like I suggested!" She smiled at Ianto happily and squeezed his hand.

Smiling back he replied, "Of course I did, it was a great idea! Are you doing alright? Do you need to take a break before I show you the rest?"

Shaking her head Siani replied, "No, I'm great right now, this is so exciting! Lead the way Yan, I'll follow you up the stairs and enjoy the view."

He laughed and blushed as she winked at him. They all started up the stairs to see the next two levels. Both had noted Jack's silence, but they were waiting to see if he would open up about what was obviously bothering him.

"Master bedroom and bath you've already seen, this is a small bedroom here, nothing in there yet." Ianto indicated the room next to the Master, and each of them silently observed that it would make a fantastic nursery.

Next to the nursery was the laundry and another bathroom, and at the end of the hallway a large family room.

"Oh I like this!" Siani said as she flopped down on the fluffy oversized couch. "Oh yeah, I've found my spot!"

Both Jack and Ianto grinned at her enthusiasm.

"Alright, one more floor. Come along woman - ouch!" Ianto exclaimed as she smacked his rear.

"Not you too, quit calling me woman!" She glared at him playfully. He simply smiled back with an innocent expression.

"Let's see the rest then." Jack said in a subdued voice which caught their attention. Without looking back he lead the way up the stairs to the top level where he waited for the other two.

Following behind him, Ianto and Siani grew concerned. He had been just fine a short while ago in the kitchen, and now he was quiet, withdrawn, and brooding.

Reaching out to him through their bond, Siani said:

Shae, what's wrong? You're acting very strangely. Shae?

Her inquiry was met with a brick wall of silence. He had blocked her!

She stumbled on the stairs when she realized what he had done. Ianto reached for her immediately, catching her before she could fall.

"Are you okay? We should stop, this is too much too soon I think." Ianto said with concern.

Her eyes were locked on Jack; he had turned back at the top of the stairs when she tripped, but though he looked away guiltily he maintained his mental silence.

"No," she reassured Ianto. "I just had a clumsy moment, that's all. Let's finish up, the food should be here soon."

"If you're sure . . ." Ianto said.

Siani nodded and continued up the stairs, determined not to let the anger she felt building towards her husband interfere with what should be a special moment for them all.

Ianto showed them the other three bedrooms and two bathrooms on the top floor, then they came to a final room that overlooked the park across the street. It was an office with two desks that sat facing each other.

"This is the last room." Ianto said as he tried to hide the blush that clearly rose on his face.

Siani smiled. She clearly saw what Ianto had done in this room. In this one place in the house Ianto had allowed himself to dream. The room was a combination of Ianto and Jack. The Welsh memorabilia and 19th century antiques Ianto preferred were intermixed with the RAF memorabilia and decor from the 1940s that Jack preferred. It was a beautiful, masculine room, with sepia toned map wallpaper and dark wood.

Jack had pulled up short upon entering the room. His breath caught in his throat as he took in all of the minute details of the room. It was clear to see that Ianto had spent a great deal of time and effort on this room. Jack felt like an ass.

As they had gone through the house Jack had felt the hurt building inside of him. He wondered why Ianto had kept this from him, why he had kept this part of himself from him. It felt as if this house was a place that Ianto had obviously poured himself into creating, but in which Jack had no place. It hurt.

But this, this was something he had never expected. Laid before him was a clear display of Ianto's desire for his presence. This room was them, Jack and Ianto, Ianto and Jack.

The awkward silence that had descended was broken by the ringing of the doorbell.

"I'll get that." Siani said, knowing that her two men needed a few minutes alone.

"I should probably-"

"No Yan, I'll get it. If I can just have enough money to pay them I'll meet you both in the family room whenever you're ready."

Ianto nodded and went to the desk on the left-hand side of the room and pulled out £30.

"This should cover it and the tip. Just yell if you need help, we'll be down shortly." Ianto said as he handed Siani the money. He kissed her cheek as she turned and left the room.

Jack walked around the room silently, running his hands over each item that Ianto had chosen with such care. Ianto gave him a moment, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms as he watched Jack examine "their room."

Jack stopped at the bookcase that lined the left wall, and stared at the picture of himself and Ianto on the shelf. It was one he had never seen before, and it was gorgeous. Tosh must have taken it during one of their pub nights. Ianto was wearing his favorite shirt, red of course, and they were pressed together, smiling at each other as if there was no one else around. Jack reached up and touched it gently, and smiled at how good they looked together.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you, or are you going to continue to be an ass?" Ianto's voice interrupted his musings.

Looking down guiltily, Jack turned toward Ianto before he moved and sat on the couch situated next to the doorway in which Ianto was standing.

"I was angry."

Ianto pushed off of the doorframe and sat next to Jack.

"Why?"

"You kept this place from me!" Jack said angrily. "You never gave me any indication that this place even existed, yet you were picking out paint colors with Isi! Why didn't you tell me about this, what else aren't you telling me?" Jack knew immediately that he had said the wrong thing.

Ianto stood from the couch and began to pace in front of it.

"I'm going to forget that you said that last part. And initially I didn't realize that Isi wasn't a figment of my own imagination, so don't pull that shit with me! I was going to tell you eventually-"

"When, in twenty years?" Jack interrupted.

"Ha! No it wouldn't have taken that long. I never thought you'd be around for that long anyway."

Jack reared back as if struck. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh don't pretend to be surprised Jack! You know damn well what I mean. You went to great lengths before you left to insure that I knew exactly what we were, or more what we were not. You made it clear that you didn't want to be tied down, you didn't like labels. So what was I supposed to say when I inherited this place? 'Guess what Jack, I have a nice big house in the suburbs now. Do you want to move in and be a happy family?'" Ianto stopped his pacing and leaned back on the desks.

"But, I came back- I thought that things were different now. I've been trying to show you how much I love you, how much I want you. What did I do wrong?" Jack asked in a defeated tone.

Pushing down the anger and hurt, Ianto sighed and went to join Jack on the couch again.

"Jack, I know you've been trying. I see that. For some time I wasn't sure how to take the 'new you.' But the things in the past and everything with Gwen, it's made me leery of putting myself out there. You broke me Jack. When you left, I can't tell you how alone, hurt, and utterly worthless I felt. I knew you needed answers from the Doctor, I tried to tell myself that was the only reason you left. But a large part of me felt that you were never coming back. You were finally with the man you had waited on for over a century. Why would you ever come back to me?"

"Yan-" Jack reached out and held his hand.

"No Jack, listen. Like I said, I didn't think you were coming back, each day was a struggle just to function. To be perfectly honest, if it weren't for Tosh and Isi, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Jack gasped sharply and grasped Ianto's hand tightly in both of his own, as if trying to make sure he wouldn't disappear. He struggled to control his breathing, images of Ianto, broken and bleeding on the Valiant flashed through his mind.

Ianto reached over and pulled Jack into his arms as he began to hyperventilate.

"Hey, calm down. I'm right here, it's okay." He held Jack tightly, waiting for him to calm himself.

"Sorry." Jack said softly against Ianto's neck.

"It's alright. Listen, I was going to talk to you about moving in with me this weekend."

"Really?" Jack asked, lifting his head from Ianto's shoulder.

"Yeah." Ianto smiled. "My lease is about to be up on the flat, and I was going to ask if you wanted to move in there or find another flat together."

Jack frowned. "Why a flat? Why not here?"

"Well, the flat is closer to the Hub. I figured it would increase the likelihood of you saying yes if we weren't far from the office. Mostly though, I didn't think you would want this, especially with me. I thought I would take what I could get." Ianto looked out the window, avoiding Jack's gaze.

"Oh Ianto Jones." Jack said sadly as he slid off the couch to kneel in front of him. "I understand now, though nothing could be further from the truth. I can't blame you for not telling me now, that's my fault."

Jack reached up and touched Ianto's face, gently pulling him back to look him in the eyes.

"But hear me now Ianto Gareth Jones, you are the only man in the universe that I love. I came back for you. You are everything that I need, you and Isi are my world. If you want to leave here and live in a hut in the Amazon jungle, I'm there. I want to be here with you both. I want to fill this house with gorgeous dark-haired babies with Welsh accents. And some day when we leave this planet, I'll be right beside you. I love you."

Ianto gazed at Jack, and realized that he had to make a choice. So he chose to let the past go; to let the hurt, and anger, and jealousy go, and to live his life in the here and now. He leaned forward and took Jack's lips in a gentle kiss.

"And I love you." He said as he drew back.

Jack ran his hands up and down Ianto's thighs. "Are we okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay." Ianto said as he smiled at him, leaning forward once more for a brief kiss. "Come on, Isi is waiting for us."

Ianto stood and offered a hand to help Jack up off the floor. Jack groaned once he stood up and placed a hand on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Ianto asked.

"I'm in so much trouble!" Jack said as he ran his hand down his face.

Ianto was confused by this strange change in behavior.

"What- why are you in trouble?"

Jack looked at him sheepishly. "I might have blocked the mental bond with Isi earlier."

"And this is bad." Ianto stated.

Jack nodded. "Oh yeah it's bad. We swore to each other just after we woke up from the bonding ceremony that we would never do that without letting the other know first. Oh I'm so dead."

Ianto grinned at Jack's dramatics. "Well come along then, you'll at least get a last meal."

Jack was pulled reluctantly from the room and to the stairs by Ianto.

"You think I'm kidding! That woman is the last person in the universe you want to be pissed at you. Trust me, I know! She's sneaky, and she's patient. Whatever happens in there, I love you!"

Ianto just laughed and lead the way into the family room where Siani was waiting. The food was laid out on the coffee table and she had piled pillows around for seating. Jack gulped as he entered the room.

"Better?" Siani's asked evenly.

Ianto nodded and took his seat next to her. Jack smiled sheepishly and sat across from Siani.

Siani returned his smile with an even wider one.

Oh goddesses, I'm so dead!

Oh yes you are my love, yes you are.