Chapter 11

Monday morning found Ianto and Tosh sitting in a little coffee shop just down the road from the hub. Tosh kept up the idol chit chat about what's been going on meanwhile skirting the topic Ianto knew she was dying to bring up.

After what happened to Suzie on Thursday Jack had given the team Friday and the weekend off unless there was an emergency, and since he'd spent all weekend with Jack, it was the first chance Tosh has had to question him and get the gossip.

"You know I came to see you on Friday, then again on Saturday but you weren't home,"

"I spent most of the weekend at the Hub," Ianto replied taking a sip of his coffee while Tosh paused in her movement as what he'd said sunk in.

"Really?!"

"Ok, the misunderstanding Jack and I had was, neither of us know who started it but we ended up snogging in the firing range, just before you came in. I freaked."

"But I thought you liked Jack,"

"He's our boss Tosh,"

"So, you can't help who you like. I mean look at me, Owen's not exactly a prime candidate for dating,"

"I know and he kind of said the same thing, that when I was ready he'd be there, which is why I propositioned him." Ianto said and Tosh inhaled her coffee.

"You propositioned him?"

"Yes I did," Ianto smirked

"I'm assuming he took you up on the offer," Tosh grinned

"He sent you home early remember," Ianto replied grinning back at her

Mouths and tongue's clashing in passion as hands roamed over hard bodies, Ianto running out of breath gasped as Jack finally released his mouth, only for it to turn into a moan as that same mouth trailed down his neck, kissing, sucking and biting.

"Oh, Um... Is?...never mind," Tosh blushed focusing on her coffee

"What?" Ianto asked amused

"No it doesn't matter," Tosh shrugged

"What were you going to ask me Tosh?" Ianto teased

Tosh straightened her shoulders and met Ianto dead in the eye

"Is he as good as he claims to be?"

His hands clutched in soft hair as a hot mouth did things that had him trembling on the edge of oblivion, on the edge but not allowed to fall. Long fingers massaged, a skilled tongue stroked and the warm heat of his mouth sucked with just the right pressure.

"I could say no, and dampen your spirits," Ianto shrugged

Tosh clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Strong hands massaged and held him firmly and steady, thrusting against him, making him keen as that sweet spot deep within him was blissfully tortured over and over again. Soft gasps and deep groans filling the room with whispered names and passionate moans.

"But then I'd be lying," Ianto smirked.

Jack sat in the conference room bored out of his brain, he knew all this so why he pretended not to was anyone's guess.

Owen was currently going over his recent Weevils finding while Gwen listened with rapt attention. Tosh and Ianto had slipped out for brunch while he wasn't looking, claiming to bring back food for the rest of them as compensation for running off.

Jack didn't really mind any way as it was a slow morning and no doubt both of them were up to date or ahead of themselves with their work anyway.

Without him even realising it Owen's report had shifted into the mating habits of the weevils and Jack found his mind wandering back to last night.

Hot mouth and hands leaving trails across his body, making everything they touch tingle in their wake. Cautious at first having not been near a man for a while but building in confidence with every passing second.

"Jack why are we listening to this?" Gwen asked looking a little paler then the last time he'd glanced at her.

"Gwen it is important to know your enemy, even the slightly dumber ones. They're very instinctual and who knows what sort of trouble you'll go marching into if you interrupt a couple in courtship or something." Jack replied, fixing her with his best annoyed parent look.

She sighed and slumped back in her seat trying not to look at the almost pornographic images Owen now had up on the screen as Owen continued.

"Neither the male nor female seems to be specifically dominant, it seems to be somewhat of a power play between the two..."

Two hard sweaty bodies rolled together on the bed, both parrying for top though neither really minding the outcome. He pinned Ianto's hands above his head, gaining the upper hand he smirked down at the man beneath him. Blue eyes met his as they melted into silver and he suddenly found himself on his back. Hips grinding against his, hardness to hardness as that beautiful welsh accent, thicker in his arousal, whispered hotly in his ear. "I win, Sir,"

Ianto and Tosh were just walking across the Plass on their way back to the tourist office when Ianto's mobile rang.

"Hello?"

"Ianto I need you and Tosh back here, we've got a call from the police Eugene Jones has been killed..."

"Eugene, Gwen's little Sci-Fi enthusiast? How?" Ianto asked stopping in his tracks causing Tosh to stop and look at him in confusion.

"Hit and run by the looks of it. But because of what he knew about us, or thought he knew about us, we need to check it out just in case."

"Of course Sir, we're out on the Plass on our way back now." Ianto said starting to walk again, Tosh following along side him.

"Finished gossiping about me already have we?" Jack teased.

"That ego... Goodbye Sir," Ianto smirked hanging up as he did so.

"Was that Jack?" Tosh asked as they got near the tourist office,

"Yeah, he wants you back now. Eugene Jones is dead, possible RTA but he wants to check it out anyway." Ianto said opening the door and holding it open for Tosh as she walked through.

Ianto sat in the back of the SUV listening to Owen and Gwen bicker about something or other, he wasn't taking enough notice to know what.

Beside him on the seat was a few boxes of Eugene's things that they'd collected from his house.

Tossed on the top carelessly by Owen were a few objects from his alien collection.

Ianto had something similar at home, though his consisted of real alien artefacts instead of rice krispies and bent roman coins.

Jack was the same, as he'd seen the draws full of alien trinkets in his room, a few Jack had even shown him new uses for over the weekend.

And he imagined Tosh, Owen and soon Gwen would stash away a few of their own useless artefacts as mementos over the years.

So what made Eugene so different than them? A job title? So what if they could tell what was real and what was fake.

They were all alien collectors when it came down to it.

It didn't take him long to catalogue all of Eugene's things.

None of them were of any use to them and yet Gwen continued to push what everyone else could see was nothing more than an RTA involving someone they coincidently knew.

Jack walked up behind him leaning in close towards him, almost touching him to whisper in his ear. Ianto's eyes quickly searched the hub for the others to make sure no one could see them, he wasn't ready to let the other know about him and Jack just yet.

Except for Tosh, who wasn't even paying attention to them anyway, buried in some program she was working on.

Gwen was having a shower after preforming Eugene's autopsy and Owen was engrossed in some sort of computer game at his desk.

Walking around the hub staring at anything and everything he could find, he still couldn't believe it, he Eugene Jones was inside the Torchwood hub.

He was dead, mind you, but he was still inside the Torchwood Hub.

"Wow this is amazing, I never imagined it would be like this. They must love their jobs, so full of adventure and excitement." He said walking up the ramp to find Owen engrossed in his computer game.

"Maybe some people have more sense than others," he muttered

Moving on he found Tosh engrossed in her programming

"Ah, that's more like it... I wonder what she's working on." Catching movement out the corner of his eye, he looked up in time to see the blinds close on Jack's office.

"Ohh that looks top secret..." he said heading up the stairs. He was just about the open the door when the phone rang inside the office.

There was a bit of scrambling and swearing from within before Jack's voice rang out sounding a little annoyed "Hello,"

Reaching for the door again it was opened from the other side as Ianto rushed out straightening his tie and combing back his hair.

"What was that all about?" he wonder watching as Jack still on the phone re-opened the office blinds and scanned the hub checking on all of his team members.

Jack sat at his desk rolling the Dogon sixth eye back and forward in his hand.

The whole ordeal with Eugene had happened almost a month ago now but it was still bothering him.

He'd been dead, over and over and over again and all he'd seen is darkness.

Darkness that had something hiding there, waiting for him.

He thought he knew what death was.

Which meant he just couldn't fathom what happened with Eugene.

His gaze fell back to the eye in his hand, he was tempted to use the eye, to relive the last month.

One month, he and Ianto have been well, he wasn't quiet sure what they were but together was definitely a good word to use.

One month he'd been happier than he had in the longest time.

Closing his eyes he closed his hand over the eyes and focused allowing memories to wash through his mind, he was just reaching the place he wanted to be when suddenly it all went black.

It was as if he was standing in field in the middle of the night when there's no moon, hearing movement behind him Jack spun around as large dark shape lunged towards him.

Jack sat bolt upright in his seat gasping in shock as he dropped the Dogon eye where it rolled across the floor and under his filing cabinet.

"Jack? Are you aright?" Ianto asked walking in and moving over behind Jack to massage his shoulders.

"Yeah, Yan I just drifted off and had a bad dream that's all." Jack sighed relaxing back into those skilled hands and sighing in content.

"Come on, everyone's gone home and it's getting late, let's turn in for the night and I'll chase all your dreams away." Ianto said moving around and taking Jack's hand in order to lead him towards the entrance to Jack's quarters.

Jack lay on his back staring at the ceiling on his room with nothing on his mind except the feeling of the warm body pressed against his side.

His fingers stroked through Ianto's hair teasing the slight waves into more obvious curls as warm even breaths tickled his chest.

He was heading down a road he knew to well, he was worried though, he had a feeling something big was coming and it wasn't going to be good.

The Dogon eye had shown him that and whatever it was scared him.

The only way he could think of keeping Ianto from getting hurt was by making him believe this was more of a friend with benefits kind of relationship, a comfortable shag, even though it was anything but.

He had to make Ianto believe, even if it killed him.

"I'm sorry for what i'm going to do," he whispered pressing a kiss to Ianto's head, he climbed out of the warm cacoon he'd been in and slipping into his clothes made his way up into the cold hub.

Ianto woke up to a cold bed, scanning the room he realised Jack was no where to be seen, which was unusual.

Ever since they'd started sleeping together he'd woken a few times when Jack was not in bed with him because he'd gotten restless only to find him sitting nearby reading a book or watching him sleep.

Climbing out of bed he dressed quickly and climbed into the hub.

The place was dark, silent and apart from Myfanwry flying overhead there was no sign of movement anywhere.

That was odd, Jack had never run off on him before, at least not without telling him and that was only the once when the Weevil alarm went off.

Sighing he wrote a quick note to Jack letting him know where he was, sticking it on his monitor where he was bound to see it before heading out of the hub and towards home.

He might as well get his clean suits and water his plants.

Jack stepped from the shadows he'd been hiding in as he watched Ianto sadly leave the hub.

God he hated himself right now, so much.

But he had to do this, he had to protect him.

Something was coming and he couldn't loose Ianto, even if it meant loosing their closeness, he had to keep him safe.

TBC