A/N: alright, sorry I've slowed down all of the sudden. But between cleaning the house and working till 2 A.M. on new years eve... well... let's just say I spent most of today sleeping. But I'm back! And with another chapter for you all to enjoy!
Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say I don't own Jack and Ianto?
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Ianto hadn't been joking when he said that dinner was a family affair.
The dining room was full of adolescents and teenagers sitting at a huge table and Jack found himself sitting with Ianto among several of the older teens including Marina, Danny, Ryan, Luis, Tessa, and 'Cookie', and of course Tara sat with them too.
The entire family seemed to have accepted Jack and they made him feel very welcome always trying to include him in their conversations about what they called 'everyday subjects' but what were quite unusual to most.
Unusual animals also seemed to be a common thing among the household as well Jack discovered.
So far Jack had met a very impressive tigress named Sapphire with a quick wit that matched Ianto's, Lana the cheetah, a timber wolf with bat like wings that hung out of a tree named Jinx, Sammy had a sugar glider, little Cody had a giant flying fox, Tara's pet was a tamandua anteater who was always playing dress up, Niles had a very unusual Komodo dragon who for some odd reason had no claws and the inability to produce venom, and Jeremy had a normal pit bull. That was just the animals that lived in the house and he had yet to meet the animals that roamed the grounds of the magnificent home.
"I still can't believe that you have a little anteater that wears a skirt." Jack chuckled as he sat with Ianto, Tara, and Aldair in Ianto's room.
Farah the little anteater was sitting on the couch with Tara, dressed in a purple skirt with a pink shirt, a frilly bow on her neck.
"Yes, you never see me play dress up." Aldair snorted.
Farah stuck her tongue out in Aldair's direction as if in defiance.
"Watch it missy! Don't you get smart with your elders!" Aldair protested, making everyone chuckle.
"What do you care if Farah like's to wear clothes? At least I'm not putting any on you." Tara said.
"That's because he'd never let you Tara." said Ianto with a chuckle, as he sat cross legged on the bed beside Jack.
"After all my years at Torchwood, I thought I was prepared for the unexpected, but this family, was something I could never have imagined." Jack admitted with a smile.
"But admit it, you like it here." said Tara with a grin.
"I do like it here." Jack said with a nod and a smile. "This is actually my first time to the states."
Ianto let out a snort of laughter. "You pose as an American, yet you've never been here before? That makes me more American then you, and I'm full blooded Welsh!" he protested.
"Wow, that's pretty sad." Tara giggled.
"So I've heard." Jack sighed, stretching out on the bed. "That makes Kit more American then me too."
Tara and Ianto laughed a little.
"You have a point." Ianto said, looking down at him.
"So, where do Kit and Alistair live?" Jack asked curiously, Kit being the only child he hadn't seen.
"They live about forty minutes south of here in La Jolla." said Ianto.
"Where's La Jolla?" Jack asked curiously.
He was surprised when Ianto got up and walked over to a wall where he started pulling down a bunch of gigantic maps till he found a map of California.
"Really?" he asked, surprised.
Ianto laughed. "I like to study geography." he shrugged. "Anyway, we're here," said Ianto pointing to an orange dot on the southern edge of the state. "And they're here." he said pointing to another dot a few inches below it.
"So they live almost right in between here and San Diego." said Tara.
"Ah, alright. I think I got the general idea." he said with a nod.
"We're actually going to spend the day with them tomorrow." said Ianto with a smile.
"I wonder what you look like in a tux." said Tara with a smile. "I've seen Ianto, but I have trouble seeing you."
"Believe it or not, I wore a tux once. When I got married, back in the early nineteen hundreds." he paused. "Wow, I'm old."
"Oh please, I'm older then you." Aldair sighed, smacking Jack's leg with his tail.
"I'm just finding it hard to think that you've actually been married." said Ianto with a good natured smile as he sat back down beside Jack. "You don't seem like the type to settle down."
"In all honesty, I would love the chance to settle down and live a normal life." Jack admitted.
"Well you won't get it in this family." said Aldair.
Just then they heard a quiet knock on the door and Niles peaked in.
"Did you need something Niles?" Ianto asked.
"Jeremy and I were wonderin' if we could join in on the conversation."
"Sure, the more the merrier." said Jack with a smile.
Niles smiled and entered the room followed by Jeremy, then Larry the komodo dragon, and Gladstone the bulldog.
One thing Jack had learned about Niles and Jeremy was that Niles had the most energy of the two. Always jumping around in excitement with every new discovery. Jeremy was the quieter of the two, always happy and outgoing, and willing to engage in thought provoking conversation. But he had a bad leg causing him to need an arm crutch to help him get around. But they were also proof that Jack wasn't the only one out of his time. The two were rescued as child mill workers in 1853. Now, their research was well ahead of the current century, let alone their original time.
"So I'm curious, why doesn't Larry have claws?" Jack asked as the two boys sat beside Tara.
"He was born without claws. It was just a weird birth defect. But that's why dad's friend at the zoo called and asked if we could keep him, cause the other komodo dragons would tear him to pieces without claws, and his teeth aren't sharp like others. Larry's mostly a vegetarian, besides some occasional cooked fish." Niles explained.
"You should've seen him begging dad. It was like a kid that wanted a puppy." Ianto chuckled.
"You wanted a komodo dragon?"
"Well he had no claws and dad said if I could stop his body from producing the venom I could keep him. So I named him Larry."
"And here I thought it was odd that we had a weevil named Janet and a pterodactyl named Myfanwy." Jack chuckled with a shake of his head.
"Ooh! You have a pterodactyl? Neat!"
"Why is it I'm the only one with a normal pet in this family?" Jeremy asked with a smile, scratching behind the little bull dog's ears.
"It appears to me that you're the only one that's actually somewhat normal Jeremy." said Jack with a chuckle.
"He is, that's why he's the most boring of us all." said Niles with a grin.
"Well I apologize if I like some semblance of normalcy in my life." Jeremy sighed, shaking his head a little. "At least I don't end up covered in green goo."
"This coming from the mundane one that still uses old fashioned chalk and blackboard?" Tara added.
"Aye! What's wrong with chalk?"
"The fact that the dust chokes you?" Niles asked.
"And get's all over your clothes." Tara pointed out.
"Alright now, that's enough from you three." Ianto interrupted. "Besides in nine thirty and you know what that means."
The three children groaned as they all stood up and Jack immediately understood: bedtime.
So after saying goodnight to the kids and the animals Jack and Ianto were alone. But then Ianto surprised him by standing up and putting on his shoes.
"Come on Jack, let's go for a walk." said Ianto with a smile.
"But…. I'm kinda comfortable." he admitted, stretching out on the bed.
"Just come on." Ianto chuckled, pulling him off of the bed.
"Alright, I'm coming." said Jack with a laugh, letting Ianto lead him out of the room.
They quietly headed down the hall and out of the house.
"So, where are we going?" Jack asked.
"Just come on." said Ianto with a smile.
Jack followed Ianto back down the room where they sat together and watched the moon over the ocean out the large window together.
"So, what do you think?" Ianto asked with a smile.
"I think you've got a wonderful family Ianto." he admitted, stretching out in the chair. "If not unconventional."
"Unconventional is something of a requirement in this family." Ianto said with a laugh.
"I noticed." Jack nodded. He smiled when Ianto let out a heavy yawn. "Let's get you into bed Ianto, it's late and you're obviously tired."
"Good point."
Jack watched as Ianto walked over to the little room and disappeared from sight, then he stood up and followed him. He looked around to see that the window was lit up and there were a couple of fish swimming by. He jumped slightly when he heard rustling from the bed beside him he turned to see Ianto curled up under the covers on the bed with a content smile on his face.
"Wow, that tired huh?" Jack asked with a chuckle.
Ianto just shrugged.
So Jack stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt and climbed in next to Ianto. "When was the last time you slept in this bed?" he asked curiously.
"I locked myself in down here after Canary Wharf." Ianto said honestly. "It gave me time to think."
Jack just leaned in and gave Ianto a gentle kiss in understanding. But he was surprised when Ianto grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. He broke it off thought when he heard Ianto let out a soft grunt when Jack touched his chest.
"Maybe we shouldn't get too worked up Ianto, you're still healing." he said.
"I'll be fine." Ianto shrugged, "It just means you'll have to be a little gentle with me."
"Are you sure?" Jack asked slowly.
Ianto grinned and Jack gulped, it was the kind of grin that made every ounce of his resolve crumble in an instant.
"Trust me Jack, I've wanted you all day. That's why I came out here, no interruptions." said Ianto rolling over on top of him and straddling his waist. "Don't keep me waiting now."
Jack opened his mouth to say something but Ianto immediately stopped his words with a hard kiss on the lips and before he knew it, Ianto was all he could think about, and he began kissing back with equal fervor, excited to see where the whole night was about to go.
A couple of hours later the two collapsed exhausted under the covers, completely sated and content.
"I must admit, that's the first time I ever had a bright orange fish and a lobster watch the entire time." Jack chuckled looking out the window as Ianto curled up beside him.
"Oh please, I'm sure you've had sex with some alien on an underwater planet somewhere." Ianto chuckled softly.
"Now that you mention it, there was this very interesting species of underwater dwellers, a few galaxies away." he said thoughtfully.
Ianto just shook his head with another chuckle as he snuggled up against Jack's chest.
Jack smiled and wrapped his arms around him, gently kissing the top of his head. "Goodnight Ianto, sweet dreams." he whispered softly.
"Night." Ianto whispered back sleepily.
He just watched as Ianto drifted off to sleep, with a small smile.
But just as the young man's eyes fluttered closed one last time he heard Ianto mutter, "Rwy'n dy garu di, Jack. Rwy'n dy garu di."
Of course, despite living in Cardiff for so long, Jack had no idea what Ianto had said because he hardly knew any type of Welsh. Only about seven percent of the population of Cardiff actually spoke Welsh, and then you had to determine if it was southern Welsh or Northern Welsh. Ianto was actually one of the few people Jack had known in his abnormally long life that spoke Welsh fluently and regularly, if only to leave Jack in the dark during a conversation.
After a few minutes of laying beside Ianto, Jack realized he wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon, so he got up carefully so as not to disturb the sleeping Welshman, then he put on his trousers and headed upstairs to watch the moon over the water and think about his day.
Now he had not only fallen in love with Ianto, he had officially fallen in love with Ianto's unusual family. They were so far beyond normal they were in a whole different universe compared with everyone else, but they accepted him. They had accepted him as Jack Harkness, the immortal with occasional suicidal tendencies, odd habits and quirks, as the fallible futuristic human, and Ianto's lover. They had accepted him and made him feel welcome. It was a first in Jack's life, and it was something that made his heart swell with joy. Between Ianto and the others, Jack finally felt that he could actually be at peace and belong somewhere in the world.
Jack smiled and shook his head. "What a place." he whispered to himself. "No wonder these kids can be so happy here after so much trauma."
Jack had discovered that most of the children came from very dark pasts, like Tara and her sister Sammy who had been horribly abused by their father, or Tucker who's mother left him at a hospital when he was ten saying she just didn't want him anymore because she never loved him in the first place, then he had been sent to a foster home where his brother continuously beat him up till he ended up in a hospital with broken ribs and internal bleeding. Cookie had just been abandoned on the streets when his parents left him in an unfamiliar city and forgot about him. Nearly half of the children had been taken in after suicide attempts, their scars still clearly visible. But all of them smiled and laughed as if their lives had always been as happy has it was now.
With the kids that were now surrounding him, even Jack found himself forgetting more of his harsh and unhappy past. He suddenly didn't care that the doctor abandoned him, he didn't care that he couldn't die, he was just happy to live in the moment he was in, and he hoped that when he did finally get some sleep, everything wouldn't just disappear when he awoke because he was dreaming.
He jumped a little when he felt arms wrap around his waist from behind. He turned his head to see Ianto resting his chin on Jack's shoulder with a sleepy smile. He could feel that Ianto had put on his slacks and t-shirt before heading upstairs to join him.
"What are you doing up?" Jack asked softly.
"I could ask you the same thing." Ianto shot back with a chuckle.
"I couldn't sleep. So I came upstairs to think." he admitted.
"I should've known."
"Ianto, what does 'Rwy'n dy garu di' mean?" he asked, stumbling over the pronunciation a bit. "I heard it somewhere and I was just curious." He felt Ianto stiffen slightly as the grip around his waist tightened. "What? Is it something bad?"
"Where did you hear it?" Ianto asked.
"I heard it while I was out yesterday." he shrugged.
"It means 'I love you,' in Welsh. Well southern Welsh anyway. 'Dw i'n dy garu di' is more northern Welsh and 'Rydw i'n dy garu di' is considered more standard." Ianto explained. "Why? Where did you hear it?" he asked again.
"I told you, while I was out." he said again. But suddenly his mind was reeling, so he shut Ianto out bit, trying to get a grip on himself.
Ianto had said that he loved him. But was it a sleepy accident or did he mean it? Jack had no idea what to think now.
"You're a terrible liar Jack." Ianto said, suddenly breaking into his thoughts. "You hear Welsh every day, but this is the first time you've actually asked me what anything meant. Where did you hear it?"
Jack wasn't sure he wanted to admit to Ianto that he heard it from him, but he didn't want Ianto to sit an wonder if he was hiding something either, so he went ahead and told him.
"I heard you say it, when you were falling asleep. You said, 'Rwy'n dy garu di, Jack'."
Ianto's arms suddenly went slack and Jack turned to see that the Welshman's eyes were wide with shock as he starred ahead, not looking at Jack.
"Did you mean it?" Jack asked slowly.
After a few moments of silence Ianto took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes." he said simply as he let go of Jack and came to stand beside him. "Foolish I know, but I do."
"Why do you say it's foolish?"
"Let's face it Jack, you don't ever love anyone, all you can really do is intense affection, and that's all I ever feel from you anyway."
Jack felt a slight pang in his heart when he heard Ianto's words.
Ianto had no idea just how Jack felt for him, and it made him feel terrible.
"You don't think I'm capable of loving someone?" he asked quietly.
Ianto shook his head, neither one of them made eye contact they just continued to stare out at the water and the full moon above it.
"It's not that you're not capable of love Jack." Ianto said, crossing his arms against his chest. "It's just that you don't. You've lived so long, and lost so many people that you don't love anymore, or you at least try your best not too. It's a learned response to protect your heart, and I completely understand it. I know others that are like that too."
Jack felt terrible, Ianto was right. He tried not to love because he didn't want to be hurt anymore. But Ianto was different. He loved Ianto, and he wanted to love him, despite the heartache he would eventually suffer when he lost the Welshman. But there was something else he wanted to know.
"Do you regret that you love me?"
Ianto shook his head with a tiny smile, surprising Jack. "No, I don't regret it. All you want is someone who loves you Jack. I love you, and I'm perfectly content with the affection I receive in return. That's all I need."
It was a completely honest answer and it surprised Jack immensely, but it also made him want to cry. Ianto really was the most selfless person he had ever met. Even thinking that Jack could never love him, he loved Jack and openly admitted it.
"Why?" Was all he could get out.
Ianto frowned suddenly, "Are you alright Jack? Why are you so sad all of the sudden?" he asked, worriedly.
"I'm fine, but why would you love someone that would never love you back?"
"I was once told that unrequited love is the mark of a very soft heart." Ianto shrugged. "But in all honestly, I love you, because you make me happy Jack. I once promised myself a long time ago that I would do everything I could to stay happy in my life, and you make me happy. When you smile, I smile, when you laugh, I want to laugh too. That's why I work so hard to make you happy. Why I do everything I can to make you smile, and anything to make you laugh. Because then I'm happy too." He let out a tiny laugh as he shook his head. "It's a bit selfish I know, but…. Even I can a bit self centered at times."
"You're not selfish Ianto. If that was the case, wouldn't you rather have a life where you could settle down and have a family?" he asked, bracing for the worst possible answer.
Ianto gave him a sad smile. "Let's face it Jack, working for Torchwood, that's not an option. More then ninety percent of Torchwood operatives die young, and only three or four have ever actually made it to retirement. I don't kid myself about living for too much longer. I know I've got at least one more year, but beyond that….. I don't know if I'll live another week, or another ten years, so if your affection is all I need to make me happy for that short time, then please, let me be happy, yeah?"
Jack finally felt the dam break and he found himself crying as he pulled the young man against his chest in a tight hug.
"Jack? Why are you crying?" Ianto asked softly. "I'm sorry if I upset you, really I am, I just…."
Jack shook his head. "Oh Ianto, don't you ever think that I don't love you." he said softly, his tears falling in Ianto's hair. "Because I do, I really, really do. I love you very much Ianto."
Ianto let out a tiny sigh. "You don't have to say that just to make me feel better Jack. Really you don't."
Jack felt as if a piece of his heart was about to break when he realized Ianto didn't believe him. But he knew just the thing to make Ianto know that he was telling the truth. He let down his barriers and continuously thought about how much he loved the young man.
Ianto let out a gasp of surprised and grabbed onto Jack's shoulders as his knees went weak. He then looked up at Jack, and gently wiped away the tears. "You meant it." It was a statement rather then a question letting Jack know that he understood, but Jack nodded anyway with a tiny smile.
"Loving you is well worth an eternal heartache Ianto." he admitted, as Ianto gently dried the rest of his tears. "And I mean that."
Ianto smiled and put a hand on the back of Jack's neck, gently tugging him down for a kiss.
"You're happy now I take it?" Jack asked with a chuckle when they broke apart.
"Absolutely exultant." Ianto said with a grin.
Jack chuckled and rolled his eyes a little. "You and you're big words. Where do you even find some of them anyway?"
"Jack, look at the wall and tell me how many bookshelves you see." Ianto told him.
Jack turned and counted fifteen bookshelves that stretched from floor to ceiling around the room, each one full.
"That's two thousand three hundred and forty two books, not counting the three hundred and fifty six in my bedroom and the one hundred and thirteen back home in Cardiff. I find all sorts of words in these books." Ianto said.
"Nerd." Jack said playfully.
Ianto laughed. "And proud of it! Now then, let's go back down to the bedroom and try and get some sleep? We've got quite a long day ahead of us Cariad." he said, taking Jack's hand and leading him back down to the small room.
"What does that mean?" Jack asked bewildered as he paused for a moment.
"Cariad? It's basically a Welsh term of endearment." he shrugged
"Oh, alright." he said with a nod, then he just followed Ianto back down to the bedroom.
This time when they got into bed, Jack found the roles reversed as he curled up in Ianto's arms and drifted off into a peaceful sleep, knowing that, not only did he love Ianto dearly, Ianto loved him unconditionally. Suddenly, for once, his life felt perfect and he wouldn't have it any other way.
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A/N: Yay! Jack has admitted his love! I just wish he had in the show, that would've been perfect. But for now, we'll let the show stay the same, and settle for what we write, yeah? Anyway, my wonderful, faithful readers that are always there know what happens next! You guys review, let me know what you think, and I'll get to work on the next chapter! You guys are awesome!