"Normal," Jack mused. He looked down at the pavement as they ambled along. "I don't think I've ever had anything approaching normal."
Ianto turned his head to look at Jack. "That's not true. There have been times where you have been with people outside Torchwood." Jack looked up and waited for him to continue. "Estelle, for instance."
"That was wartime," Jack commented. They had reached the shop and he opened the door so that Ianto could go in first. There were a few people sitting and Ianto led the way to the counter. He ordered for both of them and they sat down at a table away from the few people still seated. "That was hardly what one would consider normal."
"Still," Ianto said. He toyed with the bottle of water he had ordered. "Maybe I should get a flat again." He looked up and smiled at Jack. "If only to make Julia happy."
"And that is important," Jack said with a smile.
"I like her. She isn't one of your normal choices," Ianto said. "Not that I know what is normal myself. I like them all. You have a great group here, and they genuinely care about what they're doing."
"Yeah, they work well together," Jack said with a nod. He got up when their order was called, waving for Ianto to stay seated. After retrieving their food, he placed a plate in front of Ianto before sitting down with his own.
"Oh God, this smells good," Ianto said. He closed his eyes as he inhaled and Jack chuckled at the expression of ecstasy on his face. "Good old fish and chips."
"Some things never change," Jack said with a grin as he picked up a hot piece of fish and blew on it before taking a bite. "Julia was a real find. I had to lure her away from an appointment she had, but she's made some great inroads in our work."
"Kip's interesting," Ianto said and Jack nodded. "He tends to take a back seat but I wonder at how much he isn't telling people. I also think that he isn't sleeping as much as people think." Jack grinned. "He's an observer."
Jack raised his bottle of water up to Ianto in a salute. "As stated by the master of observation himself." Ianto chuckled. "So what do you think of Rob?"
"Good man," Ianto said. "Very methodical and careful. Not sure how he survived in the SAS so long, though."
"How's that?" Jack asked. He was amused at Ianto's assessment of the current staff.
"Take today for instance. It really bothered him, what happened in the Assembly today," Ianto said. Jack nodded. "I think the worst of it was thinking of the families."
"He's lost family of his own," Jack said. "I think he can relate to it all too much when he lets himself think about it. He was one of the rising stars in the SAS when he abruptly walked away from it. He was brought to my attention by someone in UNIT who wanted to recruit him, but Rob turned him down. That's when he was referred to me.
"Doing reconnaissance I think he saw stuff that bothered him," Jack said. "He had also had some extra terrestrial run-ins while with the SAS. Half of his group had problems after that. He still hasn't talked to anyone about what happened, but he's come along in the last three years he's been with us. I think he's finally coming to terms with whatever it was."
Ianto looked thoughtful for a long moment as he ate. He wondered what it was that Rob had experienced, and thought perhaps he might be able to help him. After all, he had his own issues that he had had to work through himself.
"What's Todd's story?" Ianto asked, moving on to the last person on the staff that they hadn't talked about yet.
"Brilliant in maths, and in fact, too brilliant for his own good," Jack said as he popped a chip in his mouth. Ianto continued to eat and waited for Jack to continue. "Hacked his way into the M15's mainframes as well as CERN and NASA and apparently tied them together for an elaborate MMORPG that ran for six weeks before anyone noticed it.
"To add insult to injury, he accidentally over clocked the particle accelerators at both CERN and Fermilab and nearly blew both places to smithereens," Jack grinned at Ianto.
"Hence the reasons why you don't want him anywhere near the UNIT mainframes," Ianto said and Jack nodded. "Oops, I might have shown him how to do it. You may want to have a talk to him if you don't want him going in there."
"He's good, but he still has a ways to go. Gets too distracted by pretty lights and bright shiny things," Jack said with a smile. "I tried having him get into the system at one point and I think he was so nervous about impressing me that he all but announced to them that Torchwood was sniffing around their data. I had to make him pull out before we got caught. Perhaps you can sit with him and show him some of your more sneakier ways of doing it from a passive standpoint." Ianto nodded. He finished off the last of his chips and sat back with a satisfied sigh.
"Oh, that hit the spot," he said. He finished off his water and put the cap back on the bottle.
"That it did," Jack agreed. "Ready to walk back?" Ianto nodded and they threw their trash out before heading back out the door. Jack reached out and laced his fingers through Ianto's, eliciting a smile from the younger man.
They took their time walking back to the Hub, neither saying much as they matched their steps to one another. Ianto relished their time together, with no one else seeking Jack's attention. He could hear music playing off in the distance as they passed a street filled with clubs. A glance in that direction showed groups of people waiting to get in one of the many venues located on that street. He watched the faces of the couples as they walked. These people were living their lives with no thought to the rift below their feet, or the threat of aliens over their heads. It felt so normal.
Jack said nothing, aware that Ianto was lost in thought. They ambled along the waterfront, in no hurry to return back to the Hub. After a few moments of walking like that, Jack tugged Ianto to a stop.
"Mmmm?" Ianto said, breaking out of his reverie.
"Just wanted to show you something," Jack said. He pulled Ianto over to an estate agent's shop window. "In case Julia asks, you can say you've actually begun looking for a place." Ianto laughed and followed Jack as he led the way over to the building. There was an interactive display in the window and Jack touched the screen to show several choices to Ianto.
Ianto scanned them and wrinkled his nose. "Ugh. Modern architecture certainly hasn't improved over the years, has it?" Jack tilted his head as he regarded the glass and steel exterior that Ianto was gazing at with distaste. The building was reminiscent of a Geary design. He was more of a classical architecture man himself.
"Nothing in sewer chic, is there?" Ianto asked, looking out of the corner of his eye for Jack's reaction with a small smile on his face. As he predicted, Jack roared with laughter.
"I don't think Julia would permit a subterranean flat," Jack said after he had stopped laughing. He continued to flip through the pages of available property, occasionally glancing over to Ianto, who shook his head each time. "The whole point of the exercise is to get out topside, after all."
Ianto took Jack's hand and pulled him away from the storefront. "I've seen enough, it's all shit, to quote Owen. Let's head back."
"Works for me," Jack said with a grin. They continued their walk. As they made their way back to the Plass there were less people out and about. Ianto thought that it felt like they were alone in the world and he reveled in this all too infrequent moment of peace. Sometimes it felt as if they were constantly stemming a never ending tide of stuff coming through the rift, so when it was quiet, it was a time to savor the peace and stillness of the moment. Ianto tilted his head to one side as he looked at Jack.
"Should I be scared with you looking at me like that?" Jack asked with a grin on his face. He stopped and turned towards Ianto, using their clasped hands to swing the other man so that they were facing one another.
"Well, it all depends," Ianto said with a smile. Jack's face was shadowed by the streetlight behind him. Ianto reached up with his free hand and straightened the collar of Jack's shirt so that it fell properly. Jack glanced down at Ianto's fingers on his shirt collar before looking back up again.
"Depends on what?" Jack asked. His breath involuntarily hitched as Ianto moved closer. This Welshman held so much fascination for him. In those moments when he allowed himself to be honest with himself, he knew he was hopelessly lost without this man. He had had a lot of time to think about it, and he knew that had Ianto truly been lost he would have moved on. He wouldn't have had a choice. But having had the technology to potentially save this man's life he knew that given the choice again, he would have done exactly the same thing. It had been a very selfish decision, but one he would never regret. Having Ianto standing here before him was worth the wait, and the lonely years by himself. Though he always had a team with him, he hadn't wanted a relationship with any of them. He had been in a holding pattern. It hadn't been healthy, but it had been what it was.
"Depends on how much of my diary you're going to hold against me," Ianto said. He couldn't be sure, but he thought that Jack actually flushed at his comment. He certainly wasn't meeting his gaze as Jack looked away guiltily. It made Ianto smile.
"I couldn't help it," Jack said in a tiny voice, barely discernable above the lapping of the water against the pier. "I shouldn't have done it."
"No, you shouldn't have," Ianto said. "But I can't fault you for doing it." Jack looked up, surprised. "After all, it isn't the first time you've read my diary." Jack saw that he was smiling and tentatively smiled back at Ianto.
"You're not mad at me?" Jack asked. Ianto shook his head. "Whew." He blew out a sigh of relief. He thought back to what Ianto just said. "What makes you think I would hold anything you wrote against you?" Ianto shrugged.
"One never knows," Ianto said with a smile. "Measuring tapes aside, that is." Jack grinned.
"That one still bothers you, doesn't it?" Jack asked as he pulled Ianto closer. "We could always re-measure, just to be sure." He could feel Ianto's breath against his cheek at the other man snorted softly. "After all, practice makes perfect, and you are a bit of a perfectionist."
"Only just a bit?" Ianto said softly, his breath caressing Jack's ear. "Still think you cheated somehow on that one." Jack gave a delighted laugh before turning his head to kiss Ianto. His hand moved up Ianto's arm and he ran his fingers through Ianto's hair. The kiss deepened as they explored one another. Jack felt Ianto's hands pulling him closer and he groaned as they pressed closer to one another. After a long moment, Ianto reluctantly pulled back. If he held that kiss any longer he would be tearing Jack's clothes off right there on the Plass.
"Let's get inside," he said, his voice rough with barely suppressed desire. Jack's eyes were closed and his lips parted. It was all Ianto could do not to crush his lips against Jack's again. "We have an appointment with an empty bed."
The two men walked back to the Tourist Centre entrance, all thoughts of living anywhere else for the moment forgotten…