Author's Note: I seem to recall that I promised fluff?

Once upon a time, Jack had been as familiar with these corridors of power as he was with his own Hub. He had been a valuable asset in the war efforts, and a friend and confidant to the Prime Minister, who had delighted in his tales of far-away lands and times. Of course, he'd not heeded Jack's warnings when it counted, had sent him away behind enemy lines after one argument too many and sent for the Doctor instead but... It was in the past now, anyway. All in the past, and it wasn't even the same building since someone blew it up.

The secretary he'd charmed into showing him the way stopped outside a side office and knocked on the door, then opened it and announced him. Ally was the only one in the office, and greeted him warmly. "Hi, Jack," she kissed him on the cheek and nodded at the secretary. "Thank you, Gill. I'll look after him until Mr Jones gets back."

When they were alone, Ally gestured him into an armchair and sat on the edge of her desk, long legs crossed and one of her shoes hanging off her foot. Jack smiled at the image, but restrained himself to the compulsory once-over. "Like what you see, Jack?" she asked without looking up from the report she was reading.

"You would improve the ambience of any room you were in, Analyn," he assured her. "I was just pondering on the fact that Ianto appears to have broken me."

"More's the pity for the rest of us," she teased, glancing up at him for a moment. "He should be back any moment; he just went down to the archives."

"Okay. Are Martin and Jacqui around?"

"Gone home, about half an hour ago. Ianto's hanging around for you, I'm hanging around for a hot date from accounting," she put the report down and leaned back on her hands, "hence the slightly glam outfit. I decided to take a leaf out of your book; she's called Laura."

"Good for you, pictures or it didn't happen," he grinned at her and turned to see the door opening. "Ianto."

His partner smiled and held the door open for Ally, who waved a cheerful goodbye on her way out, then closed the door quietly, meeting Jack halfway in a warm embrace. "Hey," he wrapped one hand around the back of Jack's neck and held him tightly, letting Jack melt into him. "Good trip over?"

He shrugged and turned his face into Ianto's neck to ground himself in his familiar scent more fully. "It was okay. Went first class, so they fed me and gave me coffee; it wasn't as good as yours."

"I take it that we're talking about the coffee here?" Ianto teased, rubbing his fingertips through the hair at the nape of Jack's neck where it was ungelled. "Because my cooking is..."

"It's not so back," Jack insisted, pulling back to smile at him sheepishly. "Well, okay, it is. But I still like it."

"I guess I was lucky to find someone who can actually survive my cooking and still love me afterwards," Ianto sighed and added, "And someone who can actually cook."

"I knew it," Jack sighed theatrically, pulling away from Ianto completely to help him into his coat and so that Ianto could collect his keys. "I knew you only loved me for my cooking."

"Rumbled," Ianto muttered, smiling over his shoulder at Jack, who helped him to slide his arms into his coat sleeves and straightened his collar gently. "Ready to go?"

"Nearly," he turned Ianto around to face him and framed his face in his hands, brushing his thumbs gently against his cheekbones. "I missed you today," he confessed softly, "not just you you, either, but my right hand man. It was... it should have been our case. When you come back to us, will you accept a place as my second?"

Ianto hesitated and dropped his gaze. "I can't, Jack. When you go down, it's your second's job to take up the reins. I can't do that."

"I'm sorry," Jack stilled the movement of his thumbs and sighed. "I shouldn't have asked."

"No, you should. I should be able to do it, but..." he leaned his head sideways into one of Jack's big, gentle hands and smiled softly when it cupped his head more securely. "I'm just too emotionally involved in you, Captain Harkness."

Jack pressed his lips against Ianto's gently and smiled, giving a wry chuckle of warm breath against Ianto's lips. "We are hopeless, aren't we?"

"Completely," Ianto agreed.

"Good, glad that's agreed," Jack dropped his hands and wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist again. "Where are you taking me for dinner?"

Ianto groaned and kissed him. "The way to a man's heart... I thought we'd try something different; I've got us a reservation at an African restaurant, a bit further out than me. We can go home via my flat and pick up my car, then we don't have to get a taxi back."

"You won't be able to drink, though," Jack pointed out, as Ianto took his hand and tugged him from the room. "Or is that part of some cunning plan?"

"Oh a very cunning plan," Ianto agreed, "which involves picking up a bottle of red and a dessert on our way home to share when we get back. This restaurant does starters and mains very well, but I prefer to dessert elsewhere."

"Like in the comfort of your own dining room." Jack followed him, holding Ianto's hand tightly in his own. They lapsed into a comfortable quiet to navigate the sleeping corridors, and Ianto bid soft good nights to the few people they passed, sure and confident in his place in these hallowed halls.

Outside on the street, the temperature had dropped even further, and ice crystals in the rain clung to their coats after the water soaked in. Ianto stopped in the doorway to pull his gloves on and tutted at Jack, who had his hands burrowed into his pockets. He slipped one hand into Jack's pocket to lace their fingers together again and they kept their heads down, huddling close to each other even as they ran for the gate and the street beyond.

Ianto led the way through the streets to the nearest Underground station and they hurried down into the more sheltered world. They swiped their Oyster cards on the gate and found their way to the correct platform, huddling together in the cold draft on the platform. "Why is it so cold?" Jack muttered, tugging Ianto around to face him and burrowing his hands into Ianto's pockets.

Ianto rubbed his gloved hands over Jack's back and looked past him to the arrivals board. "Only a couple of minutes until the next one comes along. And I don't know, Jack; could it possibly because it's December and we're underground?"

"I object," he sighed and relaxed into Ianto more. "You're warm, though. Can we just skip dinner and go straight to the 'huddling under the duvets' bit?"

"No," Ianto kissed his ear and chuckled. "We have a reservation. Besides, dinner will be warm, and you are always hungry."

"My body thinks I'm pregnant," he huffed. "Not my fault."

"I know, I know," laughing, Ianto hugged him tighter. "You will love dinner though, I promise."

"I will," Jack agreed. "I'm just..."

"It's okay," Ianto reassured him. "You're rattled, and it really is bloody freezing," Jack laughed against his neck and Ianto smiled into his hair. "Train's coming."

Jack's response was drowned out by the arrival of the train, and he cut himself off mid-word at Ianto's amused look. They squeezed onto the train, already fairly full, and pressed close to each other to minimise space; Jack held onto one of the hanging handles with one hand and tightened the other arm around Ianto's waist, and Ianto mirrored his position, resting his head on Jack's shoulder and covering his hand on the handle. They swayed with the motion of the train, bumping into and being bumped by people close to them, and enjoyed the enforced proximity. The many nights they'd spent in Jack's bunker, and some in less comfortable conditions, had forced them to get used to being pressed together, and they had even come to relish it; it was no wonder that they didn't sleep as well when they weren't together.

They goes off the train a few stops later and emerged, reluctantly, to street level to wait for a bus. It was long-since dark outside, had been by the time Jack arrived in London, and the precipitation was getting lumpier, occasional flakes settling on their coats. "Do you think it'll snow?" Ianto asked him, slipping his hand into Jack's. "A white Christmas?"

"It would be nice," Jack agreed, smiling sideways at him. "We could kidnap the kids, take them all out sledging in the Beacons."

"I'd like that. Do you think Alice would let Steven come?"

Jack shrugged and sighed. "I hope she would. Or we could just ask Steven directly, then she can't say know." He grinned, but knew that he wasn't hiding his melancholy from his partner. "Hopefully we'll get to see them over Christmas. I still want you to meet her before the wedding."

"I want to meet her too," Ianto tugged him onto the bus and up the stairs to sit half-way back. "I need to vet her, make sure she's worthy of my captain."

"Isn't she supposed to be vetting you, to make sure you're worthy of her dad?" Jack slung his arm around Ianto's shoulders and tightened his grip when Ianto snuggled in against him.

"I think I measure up better than she does," Ianto huffed.

"I think you do, too," Jack grinned into his hair at his affronted tone. "But you're still the incomer."

"Fine, I'll subject myself to her vetting process," Ianto said sulkily. "She'd better say yes."

"She can like it or lump it," Jack assured him. "I'm marrying you, no matter what anyone says."

"Good," Ianto kissed him briefly and looked past him. "Rain again, and our stop I think... yep. Come on." They hurried through the rain to Ianto's car, and he cranked up the heat to clear the screen. "Sometimes I regret having a ragtop," he muttered as he finally ulled out.

They parked just around the corner from the restaurant, which was hidden up a staircase above a bar. It was warm and cozy, decorated in reds, browns and oranges, with traditional music and incense adding to the atmosphere. They ordered a tasting platter of various different meals, and thick, sweet juice drinks. When the food arrived, it was served in small dishes around a thick, heavy flatbread, and was richly flavoured. They ate in contented silence, happy to enjoy the company whilst it lasted.

Jack tore off another lump of the bread and scooped a piece of lamb onto it, mopping some of the sauce out with it as well, and gestured with it. "So tell me about Australia?"

"What about it?" Ianto asked, licking his fingers.

"Um..." Jack blinked and scowled at Ianto's smirk. "Play nice. I don't know, what are you doing out there?"

"Oh, well, you know the basics," Ianto shrugged and Jack realised that he couldn't say much in public like this. "They've got a couple of specimens that they want me to study and compare to the records we have here, and I need to go and help them get ready for the changeover, so it made sense for me to go."

"Partly protocol, partly practical," Jack summarised. "Looking forwards to it?"

Ianto shrugged. "I'm looking forwards to the weather, certainly, and I've been promised fabulous cuisine. But it's probably going to be far, far too hot for me, I'll come back as red as these walls and I'll be on the far side of the world from you."

"At least with the hours I keep I'll probably be around if you want to call," he pointed out. "I'll miss you too."

"You always do, soppy oaf," Ianto teased him. "I've been thinking..."

"Uh oh."

"Excuse me, sir, but that's my line," he objected dryly. "Anyway, I've been thinking about consultancy." Jack gave him a questioning look. "Well, once we've got the organisation... organised. If you wanted a break from... front line work, for a few years, but wanted to keep your hand in with the organisation," his words were carefully chosen, both for public content and for persuasive ability, "we could go into consultancy. Become roving experts between the branches."

Jack stared at him and sat back in his seat, dropping his gaze to the tabletop. "Wow. I... Let me think about it?"

"Of course," Ianto assured him quickly. "And, I mean, it's only an idea. If you want to stay, then I'm happy to stay."

"You are quite amazing, Ianto Jones," Jack told him, leaning forwards to kiss him. His heart was pounding, and he felt nearly dizzy with some heady mix of hope, love and fear. Ianto would step back, Ianto would be safe... Ianto would go mad with boredom. "We'll think about it after the wedding, once everything's settled down, yeah?"

"Good idea," Ianto smiled at him, and Jack would have given him anything he asked for.