Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. As always, truly appreciated.

A very special thank you to my wonderful new beta, IceElf2008, who is nothing short of a godsend.

Enjoy the new chapter!

"Fine," Jack's boss finally said, after Jack had made his proposal. He had told him that he'd decided to hire his tutor as a consultant, to help him until things got better. He'd said that he would pay him from his own pocket, so it wouldn't create any extra expenses for the company. "If you're willing to do that, I think it's fair that I give you a chance. But know that I'm only doing this because I actually care about you, and I know you're going through a rough time."

"I know, sir. Thank you."

"And what I said before still stands. If we lose any clients..."

"I'm out the door. I know."

"Okay, then. Let's see if this tutor of yours can actually make things better."

"Congratulations, Ianto Jones," Jack said as soon as the other man picked up the phone. "You got yourself a new slave job," Jack grinned.

"He said yes?" Ianto could barely contain his excitement.

"He said yes. Now I'm going to need the schedule of your lessons, so I can arrange the meetings with the clients."

"Yes, sir."

"Sir?"

"Yeah, well, you're my boss now."

"I thought we were supposed to be partners."

"Oh, right. Huh. I actually like the idea of you being my boss. Never thought I'd say that, but you could do with an ego boost right now."

"Never saw anyone so excited about the idea of being bossed around for no money."

"You underestimate my selflessness, Jack Harkness."

"I guess I do," he chuckled.

"Right, I'm going to email you my schedule now. Talk to you soon."

"Okay. Hey, Yan?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," Jack said sincerely.

"You're welcome, Jack."

The first few weeks went surprisingly well. Ianto never mentioned it to Jack, but despite being so insistent on making Jack accept his idea, he was deeply worried that it wouldn't work. He suspected that Jack was, too, and was only indulging him in his idea. He felt that both of them were just desperate, and using this as a last resort.

All the worries turned out to be misplaced. The clients took an immediate liking to Ianto, and many times Jack would have to insist on finishing the meeting, because they would get so engrossed in talks about the history of the sites, that they completely lost track of time. Also, Ianto had been right. Just the fact that Jack had brought him, made the clients start trusting him a lot more, as they realised that the difficulties Jack was having came more from lacking deep knowledge of the culture and history of Wales than a lack of concern for getting the job done as accurately as possible. Now they felt as if they had a liaison who would help them get their ideas across, they started trusting that Jack would get the job done. Besides that, Ianto's presence really did make a difference. Jack quickly became more relaxed and confident, and now that the clients weren't so averse to him, they actually started enjoying his presence and his personality. All in all, the clients had developed a major respect for the partners, and everything started going exceedingly well.

One day, after a particularly successful meeting, the clients having left smiling and laughing, seeming tremendously pleased with how everything was going (and making sure to let Jack's boss know how satisfied they were) Jack was called into his boss' office.

"Jack, I have to say, I really didn't expect your idea to work. I thought it was mad, and I just let you do it so I'd have a clear conscience knowing I helped you in any way I could. Now I'm pleasantly surprised. The clients are satisfied, not only appreciating both yours and Mr. Jones' work, but they're actually demanding that you stay with them until the job is done. I'm impressed," His boss was grinning widely.

"Thank you, sir. I'm very pleased things have been working out myself," Jack beamed.

"I can tell you, unless you find a way to completely mess things up – and I'm hoping you won't – you're out of the woods. You won't be losing yourjob any time soon."

"Oh, thank you, sir. I won't let you down, I promise. I cannot thank you enough."

"Don't thank me. Thank yourself and that consultant of yours. These past weeks you've shown that you more than deserve your place here."

Jack couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. He knew things were getting better, but he was still very insecure, and he didn't expect his boss to be this pleased, this soon. And it was all because of Ianto. As soon as he left the office, he went straight to Ianto's flat.

"Can I keep you?" Jack breathed, as soon as Ianto opened the door, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Why, what happened?" Ianto laughed, slightly out of breath, surprised by Jack's sudden embrace.

Jack let go, and walked into the flat. "The clients are happy, my boss knows, and I can keep my job," Jack grinned, the smile almost splitting his face in two.

"Really? I'm so happy for you!"

"Oh, Yan, it was all you," Jack hugged him again. "I'd be out on the street by now if you hadn't been there for me." Jack didn't let go this time. He kept holding Ianto, keeping him close.

Ianto was quite stunned. They really weren't the hugging type. In fact, they barely touched. Aside from a few times when they'd held each other's hands reassuringly, it never happened. It had started right at the beginning,when Jack had found out that Ianto was bothered by his attention and was trying to respect his space, and it had never changed, regardless of how close they'd become. What was stunning Ianto the most, though, was how he was feeling. He'd been encompassed by Jack's warmth and scent, and that made him feel all warm inside, in a kind of weird, non friendship-y way. When Jack finally let go a few moments later, Ianto actually mourned the loss of contact. He didn't pay any heed to those feelings, though. He was excited for Jack, and quickly changed his focus to the other man's success.

"I'm just glad I could help," Ianto smiled sincerely at him. "What do you say we go out and celebrate?"

"I think that's a great idea," he beamed.

"We never do this," Jack stated, as soon as they found a table and got themselves comfortable with their drinks. "Why don't we ever do this?"

"I don't know. Because we're a couple of lazy bastards who'd rather stay at yours than move a few hundred metres? There's always alcohol there anyway."

"Yeah, but coming to a pub is not just about the alcohol."

"It's not?" Ianto said jokingly.

"No, it's about being around different people, and movement, and music. You know, having fun."

"Again, lazy bastards. At least I know I am. Don't really need to be around people if I can have fun elsewhere."

"Either way, we should do this more often."

"Okay, then we will," Ianto smiled.

They had their first beer, quietly talking about nothing and everything, like they usually did. Then Jack went to get another round. That's when Ianto started thinking. He'd always assumed that if Jack went out, it would be to go on the pull. What with all the stories about the constant flirting, and the few times he'd actually witnessed it, he imagined it was only obvious. However, he'd Jack had barely looked around the pub once. Even now, going to the bar, he'd made a beeline to it, and focused entirely on the barman. To order. In fact, Ianto was fairly sure that Jack had been completely focused on him for at least 90% of the evening. Now he was intrigued, because come to think of it, all the time they'd been friends, Jack hadn't mentioned going out or hooking up with anyone once. Maybe he just wasn't telling him, but they told each other everything. Why would he be quiet about that? A more intriguing question: why was thinking about this making Ianto jealous?

Jack came back, and Ianto pushed all these thoughts aside. He considered asking Jack about it, but thought better of it, trying to pretend that it wasn't because he was scared of the answer.

After a few more pints, rational thought was beginning to leave Ianto's brain. Of course they usually drank when they were at Jack's, but he never got drunk. He was certainly getting there now. As he got looser, he got a lot more tactile, touching Jack's hands and arm constantly. He was also laughing a lot more, and about the silliest things. Jack seemed incredibly amused by the whole thing. It wasn't really common to see Ianto like that, even if they were so comfortable around each other, and Jack was enjoying every second of it. Then Ianto started to notice how gorgeous Jack was. The amusement brought a twinkle to Jack's eyes, those beautiful blue eyes, and he kept flashing Ianto that dazzling grin. Every time he touched Jack, Ianto felt his hand tingle, and he got butterflies in his stomach every time Jack looked directly at him. Jack just seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, and he didn't seem to notice anything different about the way Ianto was treating him.

After a couple of hours, Jack decided they'd had enough fun.

"Okay, Yan, we have that early meeting tomorrow, so we'd better go home. I'll drop you off."

"Yeah, sure, let's go. But you're right, we should do this more often."

"Yeah," Jack laughed. "I certainly enjoyed seeing you like that."

Ianto just poked his tongue out at him, which made Jack let out a full on belly laugh.

xXxXx

Ianto woke up the next morning with a faint headache, and a weird feeling. He could remember everything he'd felt when he'd touched or looked at Jack, and it all felt profoundly strange, if not troubling. When had his perception of Jack changed like that? Was it just the alcohol? Or was there something else there? No, there couldn't be. They were just friends, weren't they? Yeah, of course they were. He quickly dismissed all his thoughts, assuming they had come from the severe haziness of his brain. He got up to get ready for 'work'.

Except they hadn't. Every time he met Jack that week the feelings returned. He was dazzled by Jack's smile, entranced by his eyes, he got butterflies every time they got too close. It was like a switch had been turned on in his brain, and he couldn't turn it off. The next Saturday they spent together had been impossible. Sometimes he thought he would have to physically restrain himself to keep him from touching Jack. That's all he could think about. Holding his hand, stroking his face, what Jack's lips would feel like on his, what he smelt like, what he'd look like naked, sweating, moaning. Stop it, Ianto. Get it together. He's your friend. Ianto was beginning to worry that he was being tremendously obvious, but throughout all that, Jack seemed to be none the wiser.

xXxXx

"Okay, Tosh, I hope you're happy." Ianto said by way of greeting. Tosh just looked at him, puzzled. "It took me a while to get here, but here I am. I'm attracted to Jack."

"Oh," was all Tosh could say.

"Actually, strike that. I'm ridiculously attracted to him. I can barely be around the man," he said exasperated.

"Ooookay... And that's bad because...?"

"Because we're friends. You're not supposed to feel like that about your friends."

"You know, I've always thought that the best relationships are based on strong friendships."

Ianto just glared at her. "Who said anything about a relationship? I don't even know if he feels the same way, and even if he does, who's to say it would develop like that? We could just ruin everything." He was almost yelling by the time he finished. He took a deep breath, then added softly. "He's one of my best friends, Tosh. I can't lose him."

"Maybe you could just talk to him. You're so close, I'm sure he'd be open to listen to you."

"And tell him what? 'Oh, hey, Jack, I don't know how it happened, but sometime in the last week I started seeing you differently. Now, every time we're alone I want to shag you so badly I can barely think straight. But, you know, no worries. It's perfectly okay if you don't feel the same. No, I'm not embarrassed. We can totally still be friends. It's not like you just completely crushed me or anything.'" Now he was yelling.

"Okay, now you're just being over dramatic. There's no reason to be embarrassed, even if it hurts you at first, I'm sure you'd get over it, and you know, maybe just phrase the part about the shagging better." Ianto just stared at her, miserably. "C'mon, you're both adults, you're great friends, you have immense respect and trust in each other. I'm sure you can deal with this, no matter the outcome."

He paused for a while, thoughtful, looking dejected. "Even if we can deal with it, it might make things difficult for a while. With everything he's been going through, I could never do that to him. He needs me."

"I thought he was doing better."

"He is, but whatever it is, it's still affecting him. I can see it in his eyes, even if he tries to pretend it's not there."

"Okay. But what if he does feel the same? You already help him so much. What if being with you is the thing that would help him get entirely better?"

"What if it's not?"

"Only one way of finding out."