"Have you ever had the feeling you owe somebody somewhere
a really good reason to live?
To grow old?
To be ninety-eight-and-a-half
with a laugh like broken glass
so whenever folks walk barefoot
they'll get hidden pieces embedded in their souls?"

-Titanic, Andrea Gibson

The rain was pounding down on the glass, sliding down the window. Blankets pooled around the two sleeping men. Ianto's head was tucked underneath Owen's. Their hands were trapped between them, legs twisted in the sheets, the scent of Ianto's hair filling Owen's lungs.

Lighting flashed, thunder echoing through the room. Ianto sucked in a breath, tension building as the blinding light filled his vision. He tightened his grip on Owen, pressing closer, nose grazing Owen's neck.

Owen's phone went off. He rolled over, so that Ianto was spooning him, head on the back of his neck now. The Londoner reached out, knocking his phone off the side of the bed, growling, swearing as he fumbled for it. Ianto stirred.

"Fuck, what?" Owen yawned into his mobile. "Good morning to you too, Owen."

Jack's voice. Owen turned slightly. Ianto groaned in his sleep, forehead buried into Owen's spine. "What is it, Jack?" "Bit of Rift activity, I figured you and Ianto could check it out." "Jack , it's fucking 3AM, we got home two hours ago, why the bloody fuck is it so damn important you bastard." Owen had a bizarre talent of being able to cuss his boss out only seconds after waking up.

"It's probably just an alien artifact, but there's a chance it's biological. Gwen asked for tomorrow off, Tosh left just before you did, and you two are closer. Now stop asking questions and get the hell off your ass." Jack snapped.

Owen grumbled, snapping the phone shut, dragging himself out of bed. He'd be fine without Ianto. Sleeping Beauty could get a few more hours in before they both had to be at work. Owen leaned in, ruffling Ianto's hair, frowning slightly. Usually Ianto was a pretty light sleeper. Maybe he really needed this.

The road was covered in so many puddles that it may as well have been flooding. Owen splashed through it, picking up the pace. Jack had texted him the exact location, and he knew it. A spot just around the block from his flat- the flat that Ianto and him now shared. Owen smiled at the memory of moving the few boxes and things, packing his car to the roof and making it in one trip.

There was a light flashing in the distance, down a small alleyway. Owen double checked the text from Jack. Sure, this was a little off, but maybe the Rift wasn't always easy to read. Damn thing was probably alive anyway. Owen pulled out his stun gun, sneaking into the alley, cursing as the rain started falling heavier again. Rain hit the ground hard, causing water to burst from the puddles, like an upsidedown rain.

Owen shivered, zipping his coat up to the top, slowing down as he caught sight of the source of the light. Just a strobe light. The sort he'd seen on Halloweens as a kid. Owen walked towards it, curious. He heard footsteps and whirled around- too late.

Owen was gone. Wrinkled, twisted sheets, pillow on the floor. Ianto curled in towards himself, calling Owen's name softly. He wished that his instincts were wrong, that Owen was still there, that the Londoner was just being absurdly quieter than normal. No sound. No smell of hot breakfast, or the hiss of a hot morning shower. Owen wasn't swaggering in, towel wrapped around his waist, running a hand through his hair, teasing Ianto and dropping the towel.

The flat was empty. Clouds blocking out the rising sun. Ianto sat up, slowly getting out of bed, finding away around the room in the dark. He made it to the shower, alone. Pulled on his usual suit, dress shoes, then a coat because of the storm clouds. There was thunder in the distance.

Ianto turned to leave and then paused. He knelt down, trying to remember what to do with his hands when he prayed. He shut his eyes, breathing in. And prayed.

He didn't know what was different about that morning. Why he felt the urge to cling to that perhaps imagined supreme being. Why he ran to the spiritual shelter he rarely ever brushed by. But he stayed there, on his knees, reciting every prayer he knew, before he began to whisper, begging, pleading. For what, he didn't know.

The Hub was still. Jack stood by the cog door, leaning against the wall, tired. He shut his eyes, wishing sleep came to him as easily as it did for mortals. Toshiko sat at her computer, typing away. Ianto came in the Cog door, shadows under his eyes, deathly white paleness on his face. He didn't acknowledge Jack. Simply went to the coffee machine and went to work on making four coffees.

"I miss the sunlight. The way it would slip in through the smallest of cracks, pool on the ground, flood the air of the room. Why can't we go back to the good days, Ianto?" Owen was standing by the coffee machine, one hand resting on the counter. Ianto tried not to reveal how startled he was, instead sucking in oxygen and begging his heart to keep beating.

"Good morning." Ianto's tongue pressed the roof of his mouth, and Owen could imagine the exact degree of pressure, the taste of the dripping wetness, the heat and muscle pushing against that spot of Ianto's mouth. The same spot that he'd cut into just days ago, and couldn't remember how it had gotten there. The spot Owen longed to drag his tongue over, never let it heal. Owen imagined it was a place just for him. Perhaps the one piece of Ianto he could always have. Owen shut his eyes.

"Any particular reason you left?" Ianto had forgotten about the coffee. His eyes were on his lover. His fingers thinking of the way they'd felt lingering on Owen's collarbone last night. He wanted oh so badly to be playing with those sensitive nipples as he kissed his way up Owen's sternum. Draw a vertical line to his throat.

"Jack called. Spot of Rift activity, I didn't want to wake you." Owen shifted, looking at him. He could feel something different. The air seemed thick, dizzying. Ianto nodded, moving to the coffee machine, pulling the mugs out, his body language dismissing Owen. Owen moved to walk by him, brushing against him slightly. But the touch of skin on suit turned into something different. Ianto could feel Owen's breath on his skin. Fingers on his wrist. One arm around his waist, pulling him in. A kiss planted softly just on the edge of his collar, nose and lips brushing Ianto's skin.

Ianto stiffened. "He'll be angry." He said. Owen didn't say a word. He rested his chin on Ianto's shoulder, head tilting to rest against the other man's head. "You know you miss it too. The sun. It's never found a way down here. You know, it's bloody marvelous. How after thousands of years the Plass could crack, and a tiny seed find its way to uncovered soil. And the roots could reach lower than you'd believe, until one little root touched this place." Owen murmured. Ianto turned his head, eyes drooping shut as Owen caressed his thigh.

"And then this place wouldn't be so damn cut off from the world." Owen kissed him on the cheek, turning and walking away.

and that's it. please review