Thanks for all of the reviews. Some strong feelings here about this episode, despite it being worked into an AU! :-) Now how the flip am I going to resolve this one?! Thanks as always to my lovely and extremely talented beta riftintime. Hope you all are reading riftintime's new story, The Flatmate. It's funny, clever and beautifully written.

Chapter 36

Jack reeled backwards, stunned by the unexpected blow. He put his hand to his throbbing face and wiped blood away from his nose.

Tosh and Owen had reached them, and they were physically restraining Ianto, whose expression held such formidable rage that Jack actually took a step backwards. "Captain Jack Harkness," Ianto snarled, struggling against Tosh and Owen, "You fucking hypocrite!"

Jack gaped at the other man, stunned by the particular cruelty of his words. "What happened?" Tosh asked, at the same time Owen said, "Bloody hell! What did you do, Harkness?"

Ianto's heart was pumping hard, sending surges of adrenaline through his body. Every nerve was tingling with fury. He had stopped struggling, but Tosh and Owen were each still holding one of his arms. Ianto was on the brink of crossing the point of no return, saying something that he would later regret. Perhaps he already had. His whole body trembled. He was past reason, past control, past rationale.

Tosh looked from Ianto to Jack and decided to take matters into her own hands. "Jack, why don't you go home," she said calmly. "We'll talk later."

Jack opened his mouth to protest, to defend himself, to argue, but he caught Toshiko's eyes, and she shook her head slightly. His gazed moved from her stern expression to Owen's suspicious one, finally to Ianto, in whose eyes burned a fire that Jack had never seen there before. Without another word, Jack turned and hurried away.

Tosh and Owen bundled Ianto into the passenger seat of the SUV, Tosh took the wheel using the spare set of keys she'd taken from Ianto's office, and Owen climbed into the back seat.

They drove to the Hub in silence, the late hour making traffic blissfully light. Tosh glanced worriedly at Ianto every few moments. Owen made a concerted effort to refrain from making snide comments. Ianto stared out the window, the image of Jack passionately kissing another man playing over and over again in his mind.

Tosh parked the SUV in their underground garage, and the three of them got out. Ianto started heading towards the entrance to the Hub, but Tosh stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Oh no you don't. I think we all could use a drink after the day we've had. We're going to the pub."

"I'm not in the mood," Ianto mumbled.

"Too bad," Tosh said, grabbing his arm and leading him out of the garage and onto the darkened Plass.

After settling Ianto in a booth in a dark corner of their favorite pub, Tosh sent Owen to buy drinks. "What happened?" Tosh asked in a quiet voice, placing a comforting hand over Ianto's.

He shook his head, but Tosh persisted in her quiet way, unwilling to let Ianto tuck his emotions away again. Then Ianto began to speak, and once the dam had broken, the words came tumbling out. He hardly noticed Owen's return, only grateful for the glass of amber liquid pushed in his direction. He took a long swallow, shuddering as the alcohol burned its way down his throat. He told the story chronologically, succinctly, and strangely without emotion. He told them the facts, and he had a good memory for detail and conversation. He told them exactly what was said and what he'd observed, and they listened in silence.

He stopped abruptly after he'd reached the part where they were back in the present day, after he'd repeated Jack's final words. "There were angels dancing at the Ritz."

There were several moments of silence. Finally Owen said, "And that's when you slugged him?"

Ianto nodded, picking up his glass and draining it.

No one spoke as Tosh and Owen took it all in. Neither of them knew where to begin. Tosh's head was spinning. Jack wasn't really Jack. Bilis Manger had a file on Torchwood. Jack had kissed another man in front of Ianto. "Did you hit him because he lied about who he is or because of the kiss?" she finally asked.

Ianto shook his head uncertainly. "Probably a bit of both I suppose."

"I thought you and Jack were through," Owen said. "Didn't you tell him you just wanted to be friends? That's the polite way of saying 'fuck off' you know. You might as well just say 'fuck off.'"

"Owen," Tosh reprimanded him with her tone. "That's not the point."

"Isn't it?" Owen asked. "I mean, Ianto told him it was over, then gets his knickers in a twist when Jack moves on?"

"Didn't take him long to move on," Tosh said sarcastically.

"I didn't know there was a rule about how long you were supposed to mope around feeling sorry for yourself when someone dumps you," Owen retorted. "Jack's our friend too. I thought you'd be happy that he's moved on."

"Well, he didn't have to move on in front of Ianto," Tosh argued, her cheeks starting to flush with indignation.

"It's not like he did it on purpose," Owen countered.

"How do you know?" Tosh demanded. "How do you know that Jack didn't do it just to make Ianto jealous? Is that's what you'd do if we broke up?"

Owen narrowed his eyes. "And you would, what? Punch me?"

Ianto decided it was time for him to go. The last thing he wanted to do was witness a lover's quarrel between Owen and Tosh. Besides, he couldn't help feeling somewhat guilty, as though it was his fault they were arguing. "I should go," he said, rising quickly to his feet.

Neither Tosh nor Owen looked at him. They were too busy glaring at each other. "Right," he said. "Sorry." And with those final words, he hurried out of the pub.

It started drizzling as he walked the short distance back to the Hub, so he hunched his shoulders against the damp and picked up his pace. He had wanted to seek the comfort of his flat, however someone needed to look after the Rift, and he had a feeling neither Tosh nor Owen were going to show up anytime soon. Gwen was still on holiday, and Jack certainly wasn't going to be around. He was the leader, and it was his responsibility to make sure that Torchwood and planet Earth came first, no matter how much he wanted to go home, crawl under the covers and hide.

He replayed Owen and Tosh's argument as he walked, ironically able to see both sides of their dispute. He had told Jack it was over; there was no denying it. He had told him that for now, all he could offer was his friendship. And in a way Owen was right. He'd heard that line before himself. 'Can we just be friends?' Most people probably had at some point in their lives. It was the polite way to reject someone, no matter how sincere the entreaty for friendship was.

The truth was that he did still care about Jack, but fear had held him back. He had given Jack his heart, but Jack didn't know it. He hardly knew it himself. How could he blame Jack for refusing a gift he never knew he'd received? And as for Jack not being Jack… and having once been a conman…. It's not really that much of a shock.

The drizzle had elevated into a downpour, but Ianto hardly noticed his clothing sticking to his skin. Water was dripping down his face, and he had to wipe the rain from his eyes several times. As he hurried down the pier and towards the tourist office entrance, he stopped dead in his tracks. Jack was standing in front of the door, arms crossed, greatcoat dripping with rain, dark hair slicked down around his head.

Ianto took several more steps in Jack's direction, coming to a halt a few feet away. "We need to talk," Jack announced.

"About what?" Ianto asked, unable to keep the hostility from his voice. Although he'd reasoned with himself all the way back to the Hub, seeing Jack in the flesh brought back the image of him locked in an embrace with another man and all of the emotions that went along with it.

"What the hell was that about?" Jack demanded, maintaining his position in front of the door. "Why did you hit me?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Ianto sneered through his teeth.

"Do you think I would be standing here in the pouring rain if I didn't?" Jack countered, raising his voice.

"You lied to me about who you are," Ianto accused him.

"No I didn't," Jack shouted. "Everything I've told you about myself was the truth."

"Except your name," Ianto retorted.

"I've been Captain Jack Harkness for over a century." Jack waved his arm emphatically. "The person I was before no longer exists. Here and now, that's what's important. The work we do, the person I am now. That's what I'm proud of."

"You could have told me," Ianto said, but the conviction had gone out of his argument.

"I didn't think it mattered anymore," Jack said.

"No, I suppose it doesn't," Ianto finally ceded.

They stood looking at each other through the pouring rain. Ianto was soaked to the bone, and his teeth began to chatter. "Why did you hit me, Ianto?" Jack asked again, this time with less anger and more appeal in his voice.

Ianto made a dismissive gesture and tried to walk around Jack. The other man put out his hand to stop him. Ianto felt the heat from Jack's hand against his chest, and it sent a different kind of shiver through his body, but he tried to ignore it. "I'm freezing, Harkness. Let me through!"

"Not until you answer my question," Jack replied firmly.

"I'm still your boss," Ianto snapped, his anger rising again.

"Don't pull that crap with me." Jack's tone matched his. "This isn't a conversation between an employer and employee."

"Because it hurt, all right?" Ianto roared. "It hurt to see you with someone else! I was jealous! Is that what you want to hear?" Ianto thrust his finger against Jack's chest, anger sending his heart into overdrive. "Because it took you no time at all to move on." He thrust his finger again against Jack's sternum. "Because you tried to convince me that I mattered, that I was different, but it turns out that I'm just like everyone else to you! Disposable!"

He shoved Jack roughly aside and tried to unlock the tourist office door. Jack grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, slamming him against the building. "Is that what you really think?" Jack snarled, his voice low and dangerous. "After everything I've told you about myself, after everything I've shared with you, things that no one else knows. You really think I could dismiss you so easily?"

"Considering the show you put on today? Yes." Ianto glared at Jack.

"You want to talk about hurt?" Jack shouted. "I spent a year chained to a ceiling, being slowly tortured to death over and over again. The only thing that kept me sane, kept me fighting, was the thought of coming home to you. And then I watched the world end. I watched you die. I watched all of you die." Jack's voice broke, and Ianto looked at him with horror. "Then the world reset," Jack continued. "That horrible year never happened. I had another chance with you."

He was breathing heavily, still keeping Ianto pinned against the building. Ianto was mesmerized by Jack's words, unable to move even if Jack wasn't holding him in place. "The Doctor asked me to come with him. Did you know that?" Jack asked. "It's the only thing I've wanted for over a century – to travel with the Doctor again. But I turned him down… because of you."

Ianto gaped at the other man, unable to take in what he was hearing. "Then I finally make it back… and you're not interested. And I figure, it not only because I left, but because I told you what I am, what the Doctor told me – that I'm immortal. That I'm wrong…"

"No, Jack." Ianto finally found his voice. "That was never the reason."

"If not that, then what?" Jack asked, his breath still ragged from his emotional outburst.

"I was afraid," Ianto said in almost a whisper.

"Of what I am?" Jack demanded, his voice rising again.

"No, well… yes… er, not exactly." Ianto shook his head, frustrated at his lack of eloquence. "It's not that simple, Jack. I never thought you were wrong. I don't know why the Doctor said that to you, but it's bollocks."

Jack let go of Ianto and leaned away from him. "But he's the Doctor," Jack argued.

"I don't care who he is. It's still bollocks," Ianto repeated with more confidence.

Jack didn't reply. He was looking out across the bay. Ianto took a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. He frowned in concentration, choosing his words carefully before he began to speak. "I've never been with a man before you. Never even been attracted to one. I like to think I'm a pretty open-minded sort of bloke, but I think that would throw anyone for a loop…" He paused and stole a glance at Jack, but Jack was still staring out over the water. "But our involvement had an expiration date. You were leaving, so I never had to admit that I'd fallen for a man."

Jack looked at him sharply, but he didn't speak.

Ianto took a deep breath and continued. "When you left, I was relieved. Sad, but relieved. I would never have to deal with my feelings for you. But then you returned… and that comfortable world of denial I'd been living in came crashing down around me. I suppose I panicked…" He broke off, feeling raw and exposed, but there was one last confession he had to make. He owed it to Jack. "I was afraid to face my feelings for you…"

He desperately wanted to look away, wanted to escape the penetrating gaze of Jack's blue eyes, but he forced himself to maintain eye contact. They stared at each other for a long time. Finally Ianto said, "I'm bloody freezing. Can we please go inside now?"

Jack threw back his head and laughed.