proum: It was better by the time you reviewed! Glad you like it! Here's the next update! :D Heh thank you for saying I have awesomeness... that's nearly as great as being told I'm made of Win (not happened but it would make my day if it did!)
hotflower901: Thanks! I have! :D hehe things like that happen. Thanks for the long review! Let's me know I'm doing something right! I had Owen break in because this is somewhat silly and I wanted the reaction of surprise both for Ianto having his house broken into and for Owen finding that one night stand in his bed.
Janto-addict: It wasn't that bad, just a bit of blood. It's still pink but I can bend it again and I can type so who cares if it's still healing!
zsazsa4168: Thanks!
Rietta: I know it is but I was impatient! :b
Miss Sweeney: Baby? Oh, took me a minute to remember which baby. Forgot Gwen had just had a sprog! I'm mad because I work better when I'm tired, maybe because I'm so out of it I don't care what I write. Pure artist or whatever? I'm a night owl and have worked the past few nights writing whatever came to mind in all stories I have up here. Even a few I don't ;b I have an idea for a crossover that just won't leave my head.
Poisoned-Thorns: Yes they pay Jack a visit. Owen is going to be the only 'official' person who knows that Jack and Ianto are together. I'm mad how I made that work out :/
TheWeddingFairy: Yeah they'll get it together but things are going to be weird for a while until everything is revealled. This chapter will make sense of the whole 'revealled' thing!
katwinchester: He was a little comic relief as well as being the voice of reason. Hah I made him into a contradiction!
: I'll try!
seether79: Glad you liked Owen. He's going to be somewhat of a comical slave driver in this.
socalrose: Was a bit dodgy writing that but glad you liked it. Was gonna put Gwen's baby delivery off for a while but thought no. I know I'll have Jack deliver it. Because that would be funny in a scary way. Gay man has to look at a girl parts to deliver baby. I think there's an irony in there somewhere.
Authors/Note: Glad you're all liking this! The first part of this chapter is kinda serious where Jack and Ianto talk and then Owen walks in on them when they're making up. It gets soppy over the EmEsEm (sound familiar?) and I hope that you enjoy the witty banter between Ianto and Rhiannon. I hope I've just managed to capture the brother-sister attitude right. I had fun writing this chapter. Next chapter up will before the Earthboys whenever I get round to it. My mom sort of made up a business on ebay and now for some reason I'm the one managing it and doing all the legwork, which is nice! Hm, at least it's improving my rating on ebay :/ so I'm now dividing my time unaccordingly. Plus I need a lot of sleep, I'm beginning to think I'm part bear in need of hibernation. As always read and review it, and just have fun, this isn't meant to be serious just a light hearted soppy comedy. I don't own Torchwood, it belongs to the Beeb. Enjoy!
Chapter Six
Owen let himself into Jack's house, it seemed like he had a way of getting into anyone's home, and Ianto couldn't help but feel a little green eyed at how familiar the fun-loving burglar was with Jack
"Hello?" called Owen as he took off his coat and hung it up before gesturing for Ianto to do the same. He led the quiet Welshman into the house and they found it empty "He's not here. Why isn't he here? He's supposed to be here working!"
"Maybe he popped out for milk or something?" suggested Ianto as he sat down at the kitchen table dejectedly, he was nervous... more than nervous about facing Jack. He still wasn't exactly sure what he felt for the guy even though he was beginning to accept his attraction and that he liked kissing him, amongst other things.
"Alright, put the kettle on and I'm going to check his study. I need to see his progress" he mumbled to himself before leaving Ianto alone in the kitchen.
Twenty minutes later after boiling the kettle up several times and being ignored by Owen who came in twice for caffeine sustenance he heard a key in the front door. Jack was back!
Unsure of what to say or do he just paced waiting for Jack to find him in his kitchen but Owen intercepted Jack before he even got anywhere near the kitchen
"And where were you?"
"Christ Owen! You scared the shit out of me!" gasped Jack, Ianto could hear them talking from his spot in the kitchen "Gwen had the baby. I was at hers last night... I delivered it"
"You're shitting me"
"I shit you not. Little baby boy" he told him "I went with her and Rhys to the hospital, was there for most of the night"
"Rhys must be over the moon"
"He was but half the time Gwen was coherent at the hospital she was ripping him a new one for missing it. Wait, hang on... what are you doing here? I thought the next deadline wasn't for two weeks?"
"Can't a loving friend stop by and visit?" asked Owen, trying to sound all innocent "Well at least I tried. I brought someone round... I'm going to be in the study while you talk. He's in the kitchen"
Then there was silence, Ianto waited. He heard a door shutting, presumably Owen going into the study and then the kitchen door slowly swung open
"Hi" whispered Jack sounding extremely nervous
"Hey" Ianto said just as softly. The pair of them stood there tensely waiting for the other to make their move until Jack finally cleared his throat and spoke up
"I'm sorry for what happened. I shouldn't have let you leave like that, thinking Owen was my... there's no way I'd ever date anyone like him. He's my best friend nothing more... you're not angry are you or... or jealous?"
"Jack..." began Ianto then he sighed running a hand through his hair "You shouldn't be the one to apologise. I'm really messed up right now... Toshiko left me for another man and I took it really hard especially with all this"
"This?"
"You. I won't deny that I'm attracted to you but it's made me feel less of a man and with my girlfriend... ex-girlfriend... cheating on me that hasn't helped. I'm scared and unsure and I don't like it!"
"I'm sorry"
"No, Jack, no. I told you there's no reason to apologise to me. I'm the one who should be doing all the apologising. I come in here and mess everything up for you, I'm running hot and cold on you and this won't really be what you need"
"Hey, hey" Jack moved closer enfolding him in his arms "I know what it's like to be in this situation, I went through it too y'know, when I was with Gwen. I thought there was something wrong with me, that I was suddenly lesser than what I was but I wasn't. I was more, there was something apart of me that was so open and it felt so freeing. I was free, I was who I was meant to be and suddenly everything made sense"
"I'd like to feel like that. I don't want to be scared or unsure anymore... I want to try, if that's okay with you"
"More than okay" grinned Jack happily, the past few hours were changing his life for the better; Gwen had had her baby and now Ianto was here saying that he wanted to be with him! Ianto just nodded head before stepping back leaning against the sink, his fingers resting on the metal
"Jack, before we... I should tell you this, I'm not telling this to hurt you but to be honest. I want you to know that when I did this I was out of my head, I was so upset and I believed that Owen was your boyfriend..."
"Ianto?"
"I slept with someone last night. I slept with a girl... it was a stupid one night stand and a moment of weakness but it happened. I wanted you to know because whatever happens I want to be honest between us"
"Oh" nodded the American nervously unsure of how to react, he was pleased that Ianto wanted things to start off on honest footing but he wasn't sure how he felt about this one night stand. It hurt, it felt like physical pain and it made him feel queasy.
"Are you okay?" Ianto took a tentative step towards him and Jack fought back the urge to step away from him.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked quietly "You cheated..."
"I'm not your boyfriend, Jack! I'm..." snapped Ianto swallowing harshly, it dawned on him what he'd just said "But I'd like to be" he told the other man softly, Jack's eyes snapped up in disbelief
"Ianto..." there was no backing away, he was only going forward now. Only towards the shy Welshman.
The kiss was soft and it felt like the first kiss, it was the start of something great. There was forgiveness and apology there too before it deepened into something passionate, it was strange for Ianto; all the times he'd kissed it had been with a girl and he'd been the dominant one but now it was equal, the power shared, and it was making him light-headed.
"Have you kissed and made up ye-whoa!" gasped Owen when he came into the kitchen, Ianto pulled away quickly turning to face the window above the sink. His face felt warm and his pants were tight "I'll take that as a yes"
"I should go" he told Jack when he'd recovered enough to turn around
"Not running out again are you, not because of me I hope" smirked Owen, Ianto shook his head clearing his throat before stepping up to Jack
"No, not because of you. I have training, I'll see you later Jack" his hand came up cupping the older man's cheek as he pressed a soft kiss then left leaving Jack and Owen alone.
Jack resisted the urge to squeal as Owen stood there smirking to himself, proud of what he'd done for his friend
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Alright, alright. Do I have to get a big stick to get you to do some work" he joked as he ushered Jack from the kitchen to the study.
***
Andy watched his best friend on the team come in after the training with a smile on his face, he'd been nothing but gloomy these past few days, and now he wondered what had changed. Ianto was one of the youngest on the team and the youngest fly-half the Blues had had in years but he was good at his game, even when he was down in the dumps
"What's made you so happy? You've done nothing but sulk these past few days... you win the lottery or something?"
"Tosh left me for another man" he told him quietly, the grin on Andy's face disappeared to be replaced with one of guilt and apology
"Bugger... man, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
"I'm getting over it. We're friends now and well... I've met someone else"
"Yeah?" the grin returned to his face "What's she like?"
"She... she's really nice. Brown hair, beautiful blue eyes... a fantastic kisser" he told him, almost drifting off to imagining Jack's kisses. He did feel a little guilty about the pro-noun he'd used but he wasn't comfortable just yet telling people that it wasn't a she that he liked but a he. It was scary and new and he was still trying to come to terms with it; he'd accepted it himself and he'd accepted Jack but he just wasn't ready for the emotional roller-coaster of people knowing how he felt or who he was attracted to.
"Lucky bastard" chuckled Andy "So when are we going to meet her?"
"Oh I... well um... you see... I've only just met her and I don't want her to meet all you guys. I'm still a bit upset about catching Tosh in bed with another bloke. She's absolutely gorgeous and I kinda like her enough to keep her..."
"Are you trying to say that we'd seduce her away from you?" he asked with an understanding smile "I'd never do such a thing" Kai leaned between them reaching for a towel on the bench near them
"You're the only one, Andy. If she's as gorgeous as you say she is then I'd shag her" he joked in mock seriousness. Ianto just rolled his eyes enjoying the banter.
He was feeling a bit worn out from running tries, legging it up and down the pitch and getting covered in mud. All he wanted to do was go home and clean himself off and maybe call Jack.
"I want to meet her, want to meet the woman who got you to smile like that" Andy stated finally
"Okay" he sighed deeply before picking up his bag always being the first to leave "I'll see you guys tomorrow"
"Good" the coach called from the office "You take it easy tonight, we've got a big game coming up on Saturday and you played well today but the last few days you've been dead on the pitch"
"Sorry coach. Later" he left then headed home.
Dinner was a dull affair, the shower was more interesting but only because he was cleaning off the mud and wished Jack was there to help him. In low slung pyjama pants he powered up his computer that Tosh had tinkered together to run maximum efficiency on minimum power and put on some music before connecting to the internet.
The sweet strains of Portishead's Roads came drifting out of the speakers and his mind began to wander back towards Jack. He googled his boyfriend and found the main website for his books and a little link for his email and a personal blog. Ianto quickly added the email to his EMESEM chat box before wandering over to the personal blog and read through it, he hoped that Jack would mention him but there wasn't any mention of him; not even a few words about Jack dating someone! Ianto couldn't help but deflate, his shoulders sagging and he felt a bit upset but that was pushed aside when his EMESEM pinged alerting him to a new chat message
"Hello?"
"Hey, Jack. It's me Ianto" he typed quickly, his fingers flying over the keys. The song had reached a moody soulful bit and it made him think of dancing with his American
"Oh. Hi... how did you find me?"
"I googled you. I hope you don't mind" he told him via the chat "This song makes me think of dancing. With you"
"Yeah? What song is it?" Ianto looked it up on ViewTube and sent it to him. He waited for Jack's reply, the cursor blinking in wait "Does is feel wrong to you?"
"What?"
"Us?"
"No. It doesn't... makes me feel warm, it feels right to me. That's why I'm wondering how can something this good feel wrong...god, sorry. I'm being cheesy tonight... it just it makes me think of dancing with you. In a dark room..."
"Speaking of dancing... there's a press release on Friday and an afterparty. I should have mentioned it earlier but it slipped my mind. Do you want to come? The press release is going to be boring but the after party is fun, and it's semi-formal so I'd get to see you in a suit... that is if you agree to go with me"
"I'd love to" he typed momentarily forgetting about the game on Saturday "What time?"
"I'll pick you up, if you want"
"Yeah that'd be great" he smiled then he remembered the game "I'll come but only if you do something for me"
"What?"
"Come to one of my games. I'm playing on Saturday and it's a big one... you'll come and see it won't you?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world" he told Ianto, across town Jack was drooling over the chance to openly see Ianto tackling other men and getting very dirty in the process.
"I'm going to go to bed now. I've got practice tomorrow and I'm going to see my sister... she's going to want to hear about me and Tosh breaking up"
"Okay. Do you miss her?"
"A little, I'm still trying to get used to her not being my girlfriend anymore. I was pretty sure she was it for me. Sometimes I'm glad I'm wrong and other times I wonder how she could do that to me"
"I'm glad you're wrong too. Goodnight Ianto x" then Jack was gone and Ianto went to bed.
***
Ianto was up bright and early and as soon as he woke up he felt on top of the world. Things seemed brighter and better than they did last night, it might have had something to do with the weather but really, he told himself, it was everything to do with Jack.
After a long relaxing shower he got out and walked back to his room naked towel drying his hair; in the past he'd always been self conscious of his body. Tosh had always insisted that he wear a towel after he got out of the shower in case one or her friends or family popped by. He wasn't a streamlined swimmer, he had more meat on his bones leaning him towards heavy set but for some strange reason he had a feeling that Jack would like his body. That it would be okay to pad about naked if Jack was over at his.
While he was getting dressed he thought briefly of having Jack come over to his place at some point, maybe he could cook Jack dinner? He wasn't the worlds best cook but he survived well enough on his own. Grabbing up his phone he sent a quick text to Jack asking him if he wanted to have dinner after Saturday's game and was pleased to get a reply a few minutes later. Jack replied with a big YES in capital letters and Ianto couldn't help but grin. It was one of those truly happy grins because you felt so good inside.
He took his time putting the rest of his clothes on, it was one of the lazy kind of days he enjoyed... he had training from two till eight and he didn't have to see his sister until half twelve, which was two hours away. Once Ianto was dressed he got his keys and left heading for the shops to buy food for Saturday.
The biggest draw back for being so excited about Jack coming to his game and coming to dinner afterwards was that he was still grinning like an idiot when he got the café he was meeting Rhiannon at
"Hey sis" he greeted her with a quick hug then went to order their drinks. When he was settled and sat down she began interrogating him about his life
"So how's things with you and Toshiko? Gonna pop the question any time soon? I know mam is dying to buy a new hat" Ianto's happy expression slipped from his face; this was big gossip and he'd have all the family ringing him over the next few days if he told his sister what had happened "What? What's wrong?"
"Me and Tosh split up a few days ago. She was cheating on me" he explained, her face darkened with sympathy and anger at the woman who would do that to her little brother
"That bitch. Oh, Ianto, I am sorry" she told him and he nodded with a tight smile.
"So am I but it's okay. We're going to be friends from now on... we were good but we were interested in other people"
"Still cheating on you isn't the right thing to... wait a minute, did you say both of you were into other people? There's someone else? You've met someone else? Who is she? What's her name? Tell me! Tell me!"
"No" he replied quickly stopping her twenty questions "This is all new and I don't want you or mam meeting her and trying to encourage her to marry me. It's very new and all we've done is kiss..." he thought briefly of seeing Jack naked but that didn't count because nothing really happened "I want to enjoy spending time with her before you two descend on her and scare her off"
"Ianto, now would we do a thing like that?" she asked all innocently as she sipped her coffee
"Yes. You would I know what you're like"
"Fine. Can I at least know her name?" she inquired hoping for some kind of gossip
"Jack" Ianto blurted before he realised what he was doing
"Is that short for Jackie or Jacqueline?" asked Rhiannon, Ianto picked up his cup the porcelain heating his fingers
"Mm" he mumbled before swigging the hot sour liquid
"Hm, she got a last name too?"
"Harkness" he responded as he put the mug down
"Jacqueline Harkness. I don't suppose she's a Welsh girl"
"No she's not. She's american! You're as bad as mam, you settled down with a welsh lad... why should I do the same?"
"You know what mam's like" she quipped and he rolled his eyes exasperated
"Speaking of the devil, how is Johnny?"
"Still on at me to get you to get the team's autographs. He's as bas as ever! He can't get enough of you, y'know. When he's out at the pub with the lads from the estate it's always my brother in law plays for Wales, my brother in law is the youngest fly-half for the Blues... half the time I think he married me for you"
"Don't be daft" he teased her "Of course he did. We all know I'm the better looking one"
"Oi, cheeky" she chuckled as she took a playful swipe at him "Tell me a little bit more about your american girlfriend"
"She's not my girlfriend, Rhi" he told her, bashful that the conversation had gone back to him again "She's got brown hair and really pretty blue eyes, she's... gorgeous"
"Aww" she chuckled "You sound so smitten"
"Smitten? Who the hell says smitten these days?"
"Me. Just then... shut up! Well she sounds nice, I'm prepared to like her but if she breaks your heart like that Tosh then she better watch out"
"Tosh didn't break my heart, Rhi, yes I was upset when I caught her in bed with that guy but I don't care anymore. She's my friend... we're all going for drinks at some point"
"Ooh get you! Life and soul of the party! I remember when you used to lock yourself in your room with those magazines and..."
"Yes. Thank you! Enough of that" he interrupted her. She smirked knowingly as he cringed
"Rugby has done you good... and dare say this Jacqueline has as well, it's been a while since I saw you smile like that. You look... happy"
"I am. I am happy" he told her with a warm smile before it faltered a bit "Rhi, I'm scared too"
"Why?"
"Because I think that this is the one. I thought it was Toshiko because we were heading towards the obvious stage and it felt like settling. Like I'd missed my chance and was just accepting that I would spend my life with her. But now... I look at Jack and... I get excited"
"Too much information" she joked turning the conversation lightly for a moment until she saw how serious he was "Do you get all warm when she looks at you?"
"And all the other soppy chick film clichés" confessed Ianto. She smiled and put her hand over his giving her blessing
"Does she feel the same? Yes, yes I know you said it was still early but does she?"
"I think she might" he stated with a megawatt grin. She squealed the pulled him into a hug
"My little brother is in love!" she exclaimed, pretty much shouting down his ear as she held him in a bone crushing hug.
"Christ, Rhi, deafen me why don't you? I won't be able to hear the plays at training! Training! I have to go" he stood up as she pulled away
"You call mam later on tonight, promise me yeah? She'll want to talk to you after I've finished talking to her"
"So you can join forces and get me that way?"
"Yes" she stuck her tongue out as he grabbed up his gym bag and hefted it up onto his shoulder. He pulled her into a hug before getting out his wallet and handed her forty
"That's for David and Mica" he explained, she shook her head
"No, Ianto, that's far too much"
"I hardly see them. They can at least buy themselves some toys or what ever it is kids buy these days"
"But it's still too much for pocket money"
"Then put it away for them, and get christmas presents" he suggested then hugged her again "I really gotta go. Bye" Ianto left heading to rugby training with Rhiannon watching him go.
"Bye" she put the money in her bag then left the café to drive home.
TBC...