AN: Good response to the new ship! I have to say, these were some of the funnest chapters to write. Hope the rest is just as enjoyable for all of you!

[*]

"Ianto! I got your favorite pastry at that bakery down the street, so I expect your best coffee in exchange!"

Enveloped in his soft, warm bed, Ianto smiled.

Then he sat up and gasped.

"Connie! Don't-"

"Well hello, gorgeous!"

Ianto burst into the room in time to see his friend admiring a shirtless Captain Hart. "You gonna introduce me, Yan?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes playfully.

"I can introduce myself." John took Connie's hand and shook it lightly, rakish grin on his face. "Captain John Hart."

Connie laughed. "Another captain, Ianto? Although I think this one's the better deal," she licked her lips, eyes sweeping down John's bare chest and tight jeans while Ianto looked on in horror.

"And this is why I said you needed a blonde!" John said, returning Connie's flirtatious look.

"That is quite enough!" Ianto cut them off. "Connie, what are you doing here?"

The UNIT courier looked surprised at his anger. "I had a day off, I was in the area. What, I can't even stop by anymore?" she asked, slightly insulted.

"Not when I have company!" Ianto said seriously, eyes wide.

A grin stole back over her face. "What if I want to catch you 'with company?'" She waggled her eyebrows.

"I think you and I are gonna get along just fine," John decided.

"No! No, no! There will be no friends-making today!" Ianto said anxiously. "Connie, you have to go! This is business," he emphasized.

"Oh," the young woman's enthusiasm faded as she caught on. "Yeah, probably best for me to go, then. Don't want any sort of 'incident', eh?"

"Yeah," Ianto agreed, relieved. "Look, I'll make you that coffee another time, I promise."

"You'd better. I'm sorry I couldn't spend some more time with you, Captain Hart," Connie apologized, pouting cutely.

"That's life," the former time agent shrugged.

Connie left the pastries on Ianto's kitchen counter and left. She called over her shoulder before the door closed, "Give him a good snog for me Yan!"

Ianto covered his face with his hands, letting out a quiet breath of relief and a quick prayer that no one at either UNIT or Torchwood got wind of what had happened. He dropped his arms when he felt strong, calloused hands covering his hips and sliding around to his back. "What are you doing?"

"You heard your girlfriend, give me a snog," the captain grinned devilishly. Before Ianto could say anything, he was pressing his tongue into Ianto's mouth.

When they broke apart Ianto walked into the kitchen quickly, wiping his mouth on his wrist. "She's not really my girlfriend," he started to explain, then stopped. "Wait, how'd you know?"

John smirked. "Maybe it's 'cause I'm wildly intelligent in addition to extremely attractive," he suggested. Ianto glared, and John relented. "You were naked that whole time and she didn't say a word, which means she's used to it."

Ianto looked down in surprise to discover that the captain was right.

"Either that, or I'm just so unbelievably gorgeous she didn't even look at you."

Ignoring him, Ianto turned to the coffee maker and began brewing a good-quality pot. Once the machine was working its magic, a warm hand tugged Ianto's shoulder.

"Mornin'-after regrets?" John asked quietly.

Ianto avoided his eyes. "Somewhat."

"I never saw the point of that," John commented. "It's over and done, so why think about it now? Except in a very, very good sense of remembering."

"I shouldn't have done this," Ianto muttered, squeezing his eyes shut. "This was a mistake."

John was silent for several seconds. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll be gone in a few hours, never have to see me again."

Ianto shook his head. "It's not that. I-" he sighed. "I don't want…"

"Is it Jack?"

"What? No! What?" Ianto blinked, flustered.

"It is, isn't it? Bloody hell, the whole fuckin' universe is after Jack Harkness." John shook his head, jumping up onto Ianto's kitchen stool and relaxing against the counter.

"That's not, I don't- oh whatever," Ianto gave up.

"You know, he's not that hard to seduce," John rummaged in the bag of pastries and pulled one out. He turned it over a few times, shrugged, and tore off a chunk. "Wear tight clothes for a bit, bend over in front of him, fuck-me eyes and bam! There you are, one randy captain at your service, literally."

"I'd have thought that'd be you," Ianto jibed. He snatched the cinnamon roll out of John's hands. "And that's my favorite, by the way."

John pulled out another from the bag. "I choose my partners a bit more carefully than Jack," he sneered. "That's how I'm still alive. I don't have my own magic regeneration powers, do I?" He rolled his eyes, taking a huge bite from the pastry.

"Magic what?"

John stopped chewing for a moment. "Not important," he said, voice muffled by the food.

Ianto was a bit suspicious, but he let it go. "You don't seem that choosy, you met me on the street."

John grinned. "Are you insulting the repute of the streets in your own country? Shame on you, Eye Candy."

Ianto nearly choked on the cinnamon roll. "What?"

"Eye Candy. Well, you are!" John defended against Ianto's incredulous expression.

"Never call me that again." Ianto checked his microwave clock and sighed. "We should head in."

"Ooh, do we get to drive in together," the captain teased. "What will all the other girls say?"

"I will drive myself in, I don't care how you get there," Ianto clarified. He headed for his bedroom but was stopped by John's hand on his arm.

"Whatever you're worried about, it's not gonna be as bad as you think," the shorter man said comfortingly. "Not much ever is."

"Is that true?" Ianto smiled.

"Of course it's not," scoffed John. "Didn't Jack tell you not to believe a word I say?"

[*]

Jack nearly growled as he watched John flirting with Jones when they came in the Hub. His former partner was in his element, casually joking and teasing and grinning devilishly. Jack could tell he was taking in the security measures of the Hub and looking over their tech as he carried on a conversation, but aside from that he was as relaxed as Jack could ever remember him being. Despite the years that had passed for John, he was still handsome, dangerously so, and Jack couldn't decide how he felt about it.

There was wariness, certainly, for Jones. Lately, Jack could feel himself getting more attached to the young man, even as he tried to hold off. He could tell Toshiko was already taken by the London liaison, they had coffee most mornings and chatted easily, but Jack held off. Each smile he saw from a distance, every helpful comment in the background of the comms only served to make him more sympathetic to Jones and that was something he couldn't handle.

Jack knew it was stupid to care for Jones, the reasons were numerous: Jack would be getting rid of Jones' position as soon as he got some suitable leverage against Yvonne Hartman, Jones would probably have to betray them to the Director to protect himself at some point, or else Jack would have to betray him to protect Torchwood Three. Entrusting Jones with the secret of Flat Holm was a leap of faith, and a bond of loyalty that Jack hoped neither of them would have to break.

But however much his rational brain knew it was a bad idea, he'd gotten a soft spot for Jones at some point. Maybe it was seeing his team's faces at the thoughtful gifts Jones had gotten for them, despite how badly they'd been treating him. Maybe it was Gwen's compassion rubbing off on him, or maybe it was Toshiko's simple entreaties to give the man a chance. Whatever it was, it had led him to this moment, and these feelings.

Jones wasn't safe with John, he knew that. He would be worried about any of his team being in danger from the master con artist. But more than that, this felt like the betrayal he'd been half-expecting: someone he'd been beginning to trust, even to like, becoming more comfortable with his ex-partner, his ex-'in every way', than they ever could be with him. Seeing Jones immediately bond with John Hart like that had felt like a knife in the back, and Jack didn't know when he'd started feeling like there was even anything between them to be betrayed.

"Jones!" he shouted out into the Hub. The Welshman's pale face turned to his office. "Stay in the tourist office 'til the team gets back. I need to speak with John. Alone."

Jones nodded and left quickly, shoulders tight. Jack felt a pang that was half-guilt, half-anger. Maybe the glare was a bit much.

John strutted into his office the way he always walked, in a manner reminiscent of a runway model. Jack suppressed the familiar desire to laugh at his former partner.

"I feel like I'm in the principal's office," John joked as he sat in the wooden chair. "Are you gonna punish me?" he smirked.

Jack sighed. "What's the deal with you and Jones?"

"What, are you jealous Jackie-boy?"

"Don't call me that. What do you want with him?"

John smiled disarmingly. "You can't believe I made a friend?"

"Well he's not dead, so you can forgive me for being confused," said Jack, trying to make the comment bite.

"Ouch, that hurt," John said sarcastically, holding his chest. "Jumpin' to conclusions, are we?"

"This woman, who promised you the diamond," Jack began. "Did you sleep with her?"

"Of course I did, what do you take me for?"

"And is she dead?"

The joking expression vanished and John crossed his arms. Jack was instantly reminded that John was just as good a conman as he was. Even better, since John had no conscience.

"What do you care? He's not one of yours after all, is he?" the other captain asked shrewdly.

"What are you talking about?" Jack glared.

"Oh come on, it's not like it was hard to tell. You're all buddy-buddy with the others, then it's all glares and 'Jones' with him. Which actually makes me change my first impression of your current tastes, that boy is a fine piece of work under the suit," John grinned lasciviously.

Jack gritted his teeth. "He's a spy," he explained. "He's reporting on us to another organization."

John rolled his eyes. "Like you an' me weren't doing the same thing half the time we were together. The kid's a fluke, Jack, give 'im a break."

Jack blinked in surprise at the term from the old code he and John had used when they performed cons together back in the day. Flukeball was a game played by a particularly vicious race of large flying insects. A smaller creature, called a fluke, was tied by a long rope to the top of a pole. It then had to avoid being torn apart by a crowd of the slower predators, but it couldn't get further away from the pole than the length of its rope. Universally, the fluke ended up torn apart by one of the players. Jack and John had used the term as a metaphor for marks that were easy to manipulate or blackmail due to being tied down by family, business or other connections.

"You think?" he asked in surprise. He'd never considered Jones along those lines.

John nodded. "Pictures of family and friends all over the flat, nearly frantic about keepin' work away from the personal life. I'd be surprised if he hasn't considered it before."

Jack was still mulling over John's words when his Vortex Manipulator beeped. He pulled back the flap to check the screen. "Looks like we have something of yours," he said to John.

[*]

"You beautiful, beautiful thing!"

John rushed forward and took the Arcadian diamond from a somewhat annoyed and disheveled Gwen's hands. He held it up to the sunlight and smiled brilliantly.

"What, no 'thank you for stayin' up all night and finding my stupid rock'?"

"Thank you," John said to Gwen, almost sincerely.

"Your turn," Jack commanded. "Leave."

"What, right here, in broad daylight in front of the world?" he gestured around them to the Plass. There were dozens of people in the immediate vicinity, although none of them seemed to notice the small crowd of Torchwood agents standing in their midst.

"I've extended the perception filter using the Rift Maniplulator as control," Tosh explained, not removing her eyes from an energy sensor she'd brought up. "I want to record the patterns as you leave for study."

"You sure know how to make a man feel appreciated," John muttered, punching buttons on the Vortex Manipulator. A portal or orange-red light appeared a good twelve meters away and John walked toward it. Before he reached it, however, he turned around. "Hey Eye Candy!" he called. "Forgot to tell you something!"

Ianto rolled his eyes, but stepped forward, very conscious of the team watching him. "What?" he said as he reached the captain.

"Come here." Ianto didn't trust John's smile, not even a little bit, but leaned forward as if to receive a whisper.

Ianto found himself pulled into a heavy snog. His first instinct was to push away, but, feeling the captain's grin against his lips he gave up and wound him arms around the other man's waist.

Ianto glared into John's eyes an inch away. "You just outed me in front of four people who think I'm a traitor."

"What do you care what they think?" John asked, smirking.

"Seeing as they have a whole Hub full of alien weapons, I think I care what they think!"

"Don't worry," John soothed. "It honestly won't be as bad as you expect." For once, his expression was totally honest. Ianto slowly pressed his lips against John's in a completely chaste kiss.

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

John nodded. "You're welcome."

"Now get out of my country," Ianto shoved him lightly toward the portal.

John gave him a last grin and walked into it. As the light began to pull in on itself, his voice echoed back.

"Maybe next time we can catch up with that blonde of yours!"

Ianto shook his head, grinning. He took a deep breath, and let it go. He took another breath, and turned around to face the team.

Dr. Harper and Gwen were staring at him in complete shock. Captain Harkness just gave him a tired smile.

"That was absolutely amazing!" Toshiko squealed, eyes still locked on her scanner.

Gwen and Dr. Harper burst into laughter, and even the captain spared a few chuckles. Ianto smiled.

"What? What did I miss? Tell me what happened!"

[*]

When Ianto got back to his flat that night and began to take off his suit, he heard an odd crinkle from one of his pockets. Reaching inside, he found a business card for a male escort service. He rolled his eyes.

On the back was an odd message.

19835-837062-413

Don't call unless you're naked or there's a good fight waiting

Ianto snorted, but programmed the number into his phone with a soft smile.