Who He Wants To Be

By Gracefultree

Chapter 14: First Date with Lisa

Posted: October 26, 2014

A/N: Wow, 100 Reviews! Special thanks to Aya2013 for being my 100th reviewer! And kkpsigirl for being 101!

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Ianto hummed to himself as he packed his messenger bag. While he usually didn't mind staying a little late if he needed to, today was different. Today, James had called him during his lunch break and asked if he could come a day early. He was feeling off, and thought there was something Ianto could do to help him. Ianto had no idea what he was talking about, since James didn't give any details, but he promised to give it a try. So, James wold be arriving at his in just a few hours, and he had to give the place a good clean. Hence, wanting to leave immediately at five.

Next to him, Lisa sat at her desk, carefully reapplying her lipstick. She caught him watching and winked. He felt his cheeks heat. They'd been flirting with each other for two weeks straight, and today was their last day next to each other, since, in theory, he'd come in on Monday and find out who he'd gotten as a mentor for the remainder of his training. He hadn't heard her mention a boyfriend, and if James hadn't called like he had, Ianto might have considered asking her out for a drink that night. She had called him gorgeous the other morning when he'd fallen asleep at his desk. That was a good sign.

But James was on his way, so he didn't have the time. It would be nice to go out with her, he thought. Even if it was just as friends, though the idea that she'd agree to go on a date with him sent a small thrill of excitement through his body. Today she was dressed in black trousers and a scoop-neck blouse in a luscious purple silk that showed off her cleavage to excellent effect.

"Hot date tonight?" he asked, giving her an inviting smile and hoping she didn't think he was staring at her breasts.

Lisa closed her compact and tossed it and the lipstick in her pocketbook. "I certainly hope so," she answered. She patted her perfectly arranged short hair to make sure it was in place.

"You don't know?"

"He hasn't asked yet."

"No? Is he blind? You're beautiful."

"Why thank you," she purred. "I think he's shy," she explained. "Or gay. We've been flirting for a while, you see, and I think he's interested, but every time I think he's about to ask me out, he doesn't."

"Hmm, I know a number of gay men who flirt with women because they know it's safe and that it won't go anywhere," Ianto mused, adding his travel mug to his bag.

"You know a lot of gay men?" She sounded curious, and also slightly disappointed.

"My roommate Steve is gay," Ianto explained quickly. He didn't want her to think he was gay. "And I have a good friend who'll flirt with anyone gorgeous enough," he added, thinking of James. Who also wasn't gay, he reminded himself. The most handsome man Ianto had ever seen, and sexy as hell and damn good at every kind of sex they'd tried, but not gay.

"Well, this guy is a snappy dresser, always well put together," she explained. "But that doesn't mean he has to be gay, right? He could just have style."

"True," Ianto said.

"And he's very polite."

"Could just have nice manners, I suppose," Ianto murmured. He snapped the bag closed. "It's not unheard of."

Lisa put down her own bag and stepped closer to Ianto. "So, which is it, shy, or gay?"

Ianto looked at her in surprise. "Me?" he blurted. She nodded, moving close enough that he could smell her perfume. She raised a hand and adjusted the lapels of his suit jacket. "You're talking about me?"

"Yes, Mr. Welsh Man. Shy, or gay?"

Ianto swallowed nervously. He felt himself blush, and a drop of sweat trailed down the back of his neck. "Shy," he answered, his voice slightly lower than normal because of nerves. "I, um, I'd love to take you out for a drink, if you want," he offered. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. He hadn't done that right, it seemed. He tried again. "Would you like to get drinks sometime?" he asked more firmly.

"Yes," she answered, smiling, looking pleased. "How about tonight?"

Ianto froze. James was coming tonight. James would be at his the entire weekend. He couldn't leave James alone at his place while he took Lisa out. That wouldn't be fair at all. But how could he explain to her that he was busy the entire weekend? Could he ask James to leave early? No, that wasn't fair to James. Shit. What should he do?

Ordinarily, a Friday date wouldn't be a problem, since James didn't arrive until mid-day Saturday, but today…

"Is today not good?" she asked, saving him from his near-panic.

"I have a friend coming to visit from out of town. He's due in a few hours." Ianto paused, took a deep breath, and continued. "What about next Friday? After work?"

"That would be great," Lisa said. She leaned forward. "You want to know a secret?" she whispered. He nodded. "They assigned you to Billy Masters. I thought you'd like to know, since you've been on edge about who you were going to get. But don't tell anyone I spilled the beans. You have to act surprised on Monday."

"Of course," he said quickly. "Thanks. I thought I'd get put with Michael Sheldon, or something."

"According to the report, you did so well against the psych corps that they figured they wanted to see what you'd do if you went where you wanted."

"Really?" he blurted, completely stunned. "I mean —"

"But you can't know that, either," she said. "I had to sneak a look at the report when Catherine was on the phone… she doesn't know I saw it."

"Wow. Thanks. That must have been hard."

"I have a suspicion you're worth it."

"They don't want me for psych corps, do they?" Ianto asked, suddenly worried. He didn't want to have to rummage around in other people's heads. That wouldn't be very ethical. Or fun, he thought, given what people thought of others and kept to themselves most of the time.

"No. You don't have any telepathic markers," she answered. "A smidge of empathy, but that's it. More than me. I don't have any."

"Sorry."

She giggled. "You're cute."

"Is it my turn to compliment you again?" he said with a small flirtatious smirk on his face, learned from James. "Lisa, the rarest of flowers…"

They smiled at each other, large, happy smiles, before Lisa turned away. "Don't forget our date," she called over her shoulder. "I know where you work! I can hunt you down."

He laughed. "I'll be at your desk by 5:01," he promised.

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Ianto paced around the loo nervously, checking his hair one last time. He hadn't been on a date with a woman in months. What did he do? Did he pay? Of course he paid! Did he kiss her goodnight? Maybe. Did he have sex with her? No. Not on a first date. Did he tell her about James? No! No, he didn't mention James! James was just a friend. Someone he cared about, someone who cared about him, but just a friend. It didn't matter that they were having sex. People did that kind of thing all the time.

He took a deep breath and let it out. He checked his watch.

Lisa gave him a warm smile when he walked up to her desk. She accepted the arm he offered. "What are you, some kind of country lord?" she teased.

"We're taught manners in Wales," he answered, winking. She giggled. He decided he liked her giggle quite a bit.

They chatted over drinks. They flirted over dinner. They were considering dessert when Ianto noticed someone's mobile ringing to the tune of 'I Only Have Eyes for You.' He frowned. Who would want that as a ringtone?

"You can answer that, if you want," Lisa said, rather acerbically, her lips pressed together in a thin line of disapproval.

Fearing the worst, Ianto reached into his pocket where he discovered that it was his mobile making the horrible noise. His cheeks turned red in humiliation. He pulled it out. James. Of course.

"What the fuck did you do to my mobile?" he hissed angrily, turning away from Lisa, though he knew she could probably hear every word he said. He only hoped she wouldn't be able to hear James. "You're embarrassing me!"

"I'll have to tell Toshiko that it worked," James said with a hearty laugh.

"You got your staff to prank me? You're a bloody bastard, you are," Ianto growled.

"Darling, what's gotten into you? I thought you'd think it was cute."

"I'm out with friends," Ianto explained quickly, ignoring the twist in his gut at the lie. "What do you want?"

"Oh. Sorry. I just wanted to confirm our plans for tomorrow. It's getting late and I thought we'd talk since you hadn't called yet… Should I text instead?"

"Yes, that's fine. I'll see you then." Ianto hung up and turned back to Lisa with an apologetic smile on his face, not caring how rude he'd been to James. How dare he mess with his mobile like that? He shut the thing off for good measure. "I'm really sorry about that. One of my friends played a practical joke on me."

"He changed your ringtone to that?" she asked.

"He can be a right arse sometimes," Ianto muttered, fiddling with his napkin. "Didn't know he'd done it," he added, not thinking it was wise to mention that the ringtone had been the perfectly acceptable James Bond theme when James called him the day before. New technologies, indeed, he thought to himself, his mind boggling that James and his technician could alter the ringtone on Ianto's mobile from 150 miles away.

"You're sure it's not a message?"

"Huh?"

"You know, like he's saying he's interested in you," she explained.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "He knows I'm not gay. He just likes to mess around. Did something similar to one of the guys on his team, once, though he used Heartbreaker," Ianto lied quickly.

Lisa nodded thoughtfully. "So, how did our date become 'out with friends?'" she asked, resting her chin on a hand.

Ianto rubbed the back of his neck, looking away briefly. "Sorry about that. I, um, I don't know why I said that. I'm sorry. I, um, I haven't been on a date in a while, I guess. I'm not used to it."

Lisa's eyes widened slightly. "How long is a while?"

"Three, four months," Ianto admitted, his voice low with discomfort.

She gave him a kind smile and rested her hand on his briefly. "Don't worry, Ianto, it's just a first date. There aren't any big expectations. Do you want to split the chocolate cake?" she asked. He agreed, grateful for the change of topic.

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Ianto walked Lisa home and kissed her cheek goodnight, but declined her invitation to come upstairs, saying he didn't want to press too far on the first date. She said he was a gentleman to say something like that and cajoled him into coming up 'just for a coffee.' To his surprise, all they did was talk some more and drink very bad instant coffee. He promised to make her better coffee next time, and since she'd benefited from his coffee-making skills for two weeks, she accepted enthusiastically. They kissed goodnight again as he left, on the lips this time. He felt a warmth suffuse his body and recognized it as desire.

Back at his flat, Ianto looked at his phone for the first time in hours. James had texted his plans, the text devoid of the usual flirty remarks or x's at the end. Was he upset? Probably. Ianto had to find out. He dialed.

"I'm sorry about earlier," James said in greeting. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"I know," Ianto reassured him. "I'm sorry for being short with you. I was just upset. There was someone there from work I barely know yet," he added, wondering why he didn't just come out and tell James he'd been on a date.

No, he didn't need to wonder. He didn't want to tell James. He didn't want to have to think about what it meant that he'd done it. He didn't want to think about the implications of dating Lisa and how that would effect what was happening with James.

Denial, a voice in his head that sounded like Steve whispered.

No! Not denial. What could he possibly be in denial about, anyway? He knew what he was doing. He knew what James thought. They had an agreement. They weren't exclusive. And why should he have to tell James about one date, anyway? It was none of his business!

Just like it's none of Lisa's business that I have sex with James? he asked himself.

One date didn't mean anything. She'd said it, herself. No big expectations. A kiss wasn't having sex, and that's all it had been. They'd had a very nice time, granted, and they planned to go out again the next week, but they weren't serious. Just getting to know each other. Just trying things out.

"Well, I'm still sorry," James was saying. "I'll make it up to you."

"Yeah? How?"

"You'll just have to wait until tomorrow, won't you?" James teased. "I should go. At least one of us needs sleep."

"You're implying that you don't?"

"I don't need it. I can get away with two hours a night, if I have to."

"Comes in handy when you visit me," Ianto commented.

"I love watching you sleep," James said, his voice suddenly serious. "You're so gorgeous. So peaceful. It makes me thank the Gods and Goddesses that I can do the work I do, so I can protect you and people like you."

"I always feel safe when you hold me," Ianto responded without thinking.

"I'm glad, darling. That makes me so happy to hear."

Ianto smiled, thinking about how lucky he was that an amazing man like James cared so much about him. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?" He pushed away worrying about how happy he, himself, sounded. He pushed away any fears about what was brewing with Lisa. He had James now, and that was the most important thing.

"Yeah. Sleep tight."

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tbc next time in: Chapter 15: So... he's bi?