Ianto had spent just a week in hospital before he'd been allowed home, with the condition that he could be under constant care. Of course, there was no question of who would be looking after him. Which was how he found himself bruised and bandaged in Jack's bed, alone, much to his disappointment, while Jack made him lunch.
"Hello!" Jack poked his head around the door cheerfully, "I come bearing gifts"
"Joy" Ianto muttered sarcastically as Jack skipped in with a tray full of egg mayonnaise sandwiches, crisps and fruit.
"Oh, come on!" Jack sighed, "You know you can't resist my sandwiches"
"Oh, shut up" Ianto said irritably, pulling the duvet up over his head. Jack frowned, putting the tray down and sitting next to Ianto on the bed. He hesitantly pulled on the duvet to reveal Ianto's face,
"What's wrong, Yan?"
"I'm bored! I'm fed up of being stuck in this bed on my own with nothing to do"
"Ianto, you've been hit by a car, you can't just go out for a jog"
"I don't wanna go for a bloody jog, Jack! I just don't wanna feel like an invalid, I wanna be able to...do stuff"
"Like what?"
Ianto thought for a moment, "You" he said simply, pulling Jack towards him and kissing him heatedly. Jack responded automatically until Ianto began to run his hands up Jacks t-shirt.
"Yan, you have cracked ribs" Jack pointed out breathlessly,
"So go easy on me" Ianto winked, leaning in again. Jack was off the bed in seconds.
"Ianto, no, you'll get hurt!"
"Jack, I'm gonna die of sex deprivation!" Ianto groaned, burying his head in the pillows. Jack smiled fondly, sitting back on the edge of the bed, purposely not touching Ianto.
"As soon as you're better, I promise there'll be no stopping me, but I just can't hurt you"
Ianto sighed, "You're not gonna budge on this, are you?"
Jack shook his head, "Not until you're better"
"Fine" Ianto said childishly, "I'll just be bored then"
"Well...we could play a game"
"Unless it's naked hide and seek, I'm not interested" Ianto pouted, "Pass me my guitar, will you?"
The guitar was one of the things Jack had been instructed to bring from Ianto's flat when he'd gone to collect his clothes and other belongings. Jack had been rather pleased with this, hoping he'd get to hear Ianto's singing again, which he found almost too much of a turn on.
"Of course" Jack said sweetly, reaching for the instrument at the bottom of the bed and placing it in Ianto's hands. Ianto absent-mindedly played with the strings before looking up at Jack, who was smiling expectantly.
"What?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you gonna play something?" Jack asked excitedly, much to Ianto's amusement
"Well, yeah, any requests?"
"Anything, just...sing something"
"I wish you were this eager about other things" Ianto muttered before gently playing the opening chords.
There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
With sepia tone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together
mmm, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, we'll look at them stars when we're together
Well, it's always better when we're together
Yeah, it's always better when we're together...
Jack sat in mesmerized silence, beaming as Ianto continued to play. As Ianto finished the song and looked up at Jack with a grin.
"Happy now?" Ianto asked mockingly, placing his guitar beside him on the bed.
"Insanely" Jack smirked, "And you weren't bored, were you?"
"No, but I still feel really useless" Ianto sighed, "I wanna do something!"
"Well, I suppose you could come downstairs to the sofa, but you can't do anything...vigorous"
"Spoilsport" Ianto grinned, pulling himself out of bed, wincing as he stood up. Jack wrapped an arm around Ianto's waist to steady him, causing Ianto to raise an eyebrow,
"You just can't wait to get your hands on me can you?" he teased,
"I really can't, this is killing me" he admitted,
"Hey, you're the one who's resisting my advances!"
"Yeah, because I'm concerned for your health, but it's taking all of my strength to not jump you here and now"
"Oh really?" Ianto smirked, "Well, that's interesting"
"Why?" Jack asked warily,
"Well, if it's taking all your restraint to resist me now, it shouldn't be too hard to seduce you if I really try"
"Oh shit" Jack groaned, "What are you gonna do?"
"That's for me to know and you to find out" Ianto winked, taking Ianto's hand and carefully walking downstairs to the sofa. Jack sighed almost worriedly at Ianto's mischievous grin as they sat down on the sofa together.
"So what shall we do now?" Ianto asked innocently,
"Um...we could watch a movie, if you want?"
"Fantastic" Ianto beamed, looking far too wicked for Jack's liking. Jack rolled his eyes as he got up to put a DVD into the player. They decided on a film and Jack took his seat next to Ianto, who gently moved so he was pressed against Jack's side. Jack rested an arm across the back of the sofa without thinking about it, causing Ianto to be pushed even closer as a result. Ianto smiled inwardly at this, knowing he was about to have some fun. Just as the film began, Ianto's hand moved from where it was resting across his lap to stop on Jack's knee. Jack raised an eyebrow, but continued watching the film as if nothing had happened. After a few minutes Ianto began to slowly trace patterns across Jack's thigh, inching closer to Jack's groin each time. Jack's breath hitched as he placed a hand over Ianto's to stop him in his tracks. Ianto grinned, keeping his eyes on the TV as if nothing had happened. He sighed contentedly, resting his head on Jack's shoulder. He pressed a soft kiss to Jack's neck, smiling to himself as Jack moaned softly. Taking this as a good sign, he teasingly ran his tongue up Jack's neck and resumed his attention to Jack's thigh. Jack gasped, and Ianto took full advantage, covering Jack's lips with his own. Jack responded immediately, lacing his hands in Ianto's hair and running his tongue along Ianto's lips. Ianto grinned into his lips as he deepened the kiss further, moving his hands up to rest on Jack's shoulders. Jack had Ianto's T-shirt up and over his head in seconds, leaning down to kiss his chest softly, before glancing down at the sight before him. For the first time, he noticed the bruises littering Ianto's ribs, hitting home just how hurt Ianto still was.
"I can't do this" Jack sighed, getting up of the sofa and away from Ianto
"Jack, I'm fine!" Ianto groaned, "You know you want it as much as I do"
"I don't want it enough to risk you in pain!"
"Oh, for fucks sake!" Ianto yelled, "I'm not a bloody doll, Jack, you can't break me!"
"I know, but..."
"But nothing, I can't have you treating me like I'm made of glass, because you're pissing me off!"
"Well, maybe I'll just leave you alone then!" Jack said sadly, heading upstairs to the guest bedroom. Jack had let Ianto have his room while he was recovering, and had taken to sleeping in one of the spare rooms to give Ianto space to recover. He sat on the edge and put his head in his hands. He hated having to fight with Ianto, but he hoped he at least had the moral high ground in this. He had his answer a few moments later, when Ianto knocked timidly on the bedroom door, hesitantly entering and looking at Jack pleadingly.
"Jack, I'm sorry" Ianto sighed, "I shouldn't be taking this out on you"
"It's understandable, Yan, you've been through a lot"
"Yeah, but you've done so much for me, and all I do in return is try and lure you into bed, then having a go at you when you try and look after me"
Jack laughed softly, "Come here" he patted the space on the bed next to him, which Ianto quickly sat down in,
"Ianto, you know I want nothing more than to make love to you, because, well, why wouldn't I?" Jack smiled, "I'm just trying to protect you, cause me being...hmm...shall we say a bit rough with you could really slow down your healing"
"I know, it's just it's really frustrating" Ianto murmured, "I'm almost completely healed, I go through most of the day with no pain at all, and the bruising is the only real sign that there's anything wrong. I know there's more I need to be aware of, like the cracked ribs, but it's so hard to think about that when my mind's full of rather more interesting thoughts about you"
"I'm flattered" Jack winked, "You know, just because we can't have sex for a while doesn't mean we can't do other, less energetic activities"
"Oh?" Ianto raised an eyebrow, "Such as...?"
"Just you wait and see..."