"Ianto, I'm leaving now, sweetheart." Elizabeth stood by the door, her maid waiting for her by the carriage, ready to leave.
Ianto arrived at her side, giving her a quick, awkward hug and kissing her on the cheek. "I'll see you as soon as you get back. Have a good time, and tell your parents I'm asking for them."
They said their final goodbyes, and Elizabeth hopped into the carriage. Ianto stood by the door, waving - only because it was expected - and with a neigh of horses and the crack of a whip, the carriage pulled away, taking Elizabeth with it, not to return for another three days.
As soon as the click of the door shutting sounded, Jack came dashing out of the kitchen, smiling dirtily at Ianto and approached him with speed, eagerly attaching his lips to the Welshman's and pinning him to the door.
Soon both men were panting and gasping as the intensity of the kiss grew gradually, until they were grinding their hips eagerly against each other, and Jack's hands were on Ianto arse. He lifted up the younger, and considerably lighter man, who instinctively wrapped his legs around Jack's waist, and carried him to the bedroom.
He pushed the door open with a bump of his hip, never once detaching his lips from Ianto's, their tongues still dancing, and within a second, they were on the bed, shedding clothes as quick as a bolt.
It didn't take long until they were both naked and Ianto was begging Jack to make love to him.
…
"Mmm, I've missed that." It was true, since Ianto and Elizabeth moved in to their new home, taking Jack and Elizabeth's personal maid with them, they had barely had a chance to talk never mind kiss, or have sex, and it had driven Jack crazy. But now Elizabeth was gone for three days, they had all the time they wanted. But Jack had something weighing on his mind that no amount of mind blowing sex with Ianto could make him forget.
Ianto chuckled. "I suppose I'll just have to agree with you on that one."
They were laying in bed, the duvet draped lazily over their hips, as they held each other, Jack running his fingers through Ianto's curly chest hairs, as Ianto left a trail of kisses up his neck and along his jaw line.
"I love you, Ianto Jones."
"And I don't even have to remind you how much I love you."
Jack's face lit up with a teasing grin, as he cocked his head to the side, facing Ianto. "You don't have to, but it wouldn't hurt."
Ianto quickly sat up, the duvet falling from his hips, revealing his naked form, the last remnants of sweat from their earlier activities drying as he straddled Jack's hips, a smirk of his own lighting up his face.
"I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you! I love you a million times over Jack Harkness, and don't you ever forget that. Ever!" They were both laughing, blinding smiles tattooed on their faces as they relished this rare moment of pure happiness.
Jack lifted his head from the pillow, stealing a chaste kiss from Ianto, before the younger man rolled off him and returned to his position curled in to Jack's side.
…
A while had passed, but to be perfectly honest it could have been seconds, minutes, hours or days - neither would have noticed as they lay entangled in each other. Jack hated to ruin the moment, but he figured the sooner he got the weight off his shoulders, the better.
"Ianto? I need to talk to you about something."
Immediately, Ianto sat bolt upright, the tone of Jack's voice telling him straight away that something was very wrong.
"Anything, Jack. What's wrong?"
The last thing Jack wanted to do was break Ianto's heart, but it seemed that it was to be the best in the long run.
"I need to leave."
Ianto froze. He literally stopped dead for a few moments. He didn't know whether Jack was being serious, so he didn't know how he was supposed to react. Laugh? Cry? Shout? Scream?
"What? No, you can't leave me. You told me you'd never leave me, Jack. You promised! You promised!" He jumped from the bed, as if being any where near Jack would burn him, cause him physical pain. He pulled up his undergarments in haste, travelling around the room and gathering his clothes, before leaving a dazed Jack in the room, and heading for the kitchen seeking out anything with a high alcohol percentage.
Whisky would have to do.
He poured himself a shot, before sitting at the wooden kitchen table and putting his head in his hands. A few moments later, the scraping of a wooden chair on stone tiles told Ianto that Jack had arrived.
He eventually looked up, his bloodshot eyes meeting Jack's before chugging down the last of the whisky in the glass and looking at Jack accusingly.
"Why? Why are you leaving me? I need you, Jack. So much. Please. Don't do this to me."
Jack was seriously beginning to doubt that his heart would ever return to one piece, the number of times it had been broken since he had fallen for Ianto Jones. And looking at Ianto's face, the pain, the hurt, the utter devastation in his eyes, he could feel it break a million times over.
"Because…it's for the best Ianto. You'll soon see that." Ianto went to interrupt, but Jack stopped him, determined to tell Ianto everything. Every last detail. "I can't stand back and watch you live with your wife, have a family, grow old together, whilst I stand by and polish your mirrors, gather your firewood. I love you, like I've never loved before, but I have to leave. It's because I love you that I need to go. I'll find work elsewhere, I might go to London, Scotland even, anywhere. I just know I have to leave before it's too late."
The tears were falling freely from their eyes now.
Ianto eventually spoke, his first few words cracked and unclear. "But won't it look suspicious? You've never had any problems with the family, but suddenly you're leaving? People will talk Jack, and you know it."
"I'll tell them I'm going to see family. You have nothing to worry about, Ianto."
"Except never seeing you again."
"Please, Ianto. Please don't make me feel worse than I already do."
Ianto nodded solemnly, locating another whisky glass from the cabinet, filling it with a shot of whisky and offering it to Jack. He took it gratefully, downing it without a second thought. The burn no longer lingered in his throat, and it would worry him if he didn't have bigger problems. Maybe he should stop turning to alcohol whenever a problem arose.
He put the glass down, and tentatively reached across the table for Ianto's hand. Their was no resistance.
"Ok."
"Ok what?"
"Leave. But not just yet. Stay. One last night, Jack. Please."
Jack nodded, standing from his seat and leading Ianto to the bedroom. Their was none of the excitement of earlier, none of the frantic kisses, or constant smiling as they fell to the bed. Just the knowledge that this would be their last time together, and they had to make it amazing.
Both were quickly naked, and Jack started to slowly explore Ianto's body. He knew what he would find, the pale, angelically soft skin, the thick dark hair that covered his chest and legs, and the fine wiry curls at his most private area. He knew he would find a beauty spot on the inside of Ianto's thigh, and that he would cause Ianto to whimper when he flicked his tongue over the underside of his cock. He knew all of these things, every inch of his lover's body, every spot that would cause a range of reactions, everything about Ianto's body was etched in his memory, and would remained locked away forever in some hidden corner of his mind, but he wanted to remember everything vividly - not just hazy memories. So he traced every inch of the man's body with his fingers, his tongue, his eyes.
Ianto grabbed Jack's shoulders, turning him onto his back and looming over him. He doesn't spend the same time as Jack did worshipping every inch of the glorious body laid out in offering to him. He simply closes his eyes and kisses every inch of skin he can reach, relishing in the ripple of muscles under his lips, and dedicating the sweet, yet salty taste of Jack's skin to memory.
Some time later, Jack finds himself buried deep inside Ianto, with the younger man sitting on his lap, arms and legs would tightly around him as they ride out every wave of pleasure. Together.
Jack tries so hard to withhold the tears that had eventually ceased falling a while ago, as he continues to thrust into Ianto, loosing himself in the sensations of the man surrounding him in every sense of the word, but it doesn't take long for the salty teardrops to fall, cascading down his cheeks and landing on Ianto's chest.
Ianto comes first, crying out in ecstasy whilst at the same time sobs rack his frame and he falls back on to the mattress. Jack quickly follows suit. He collapses on top of Ianto, the Welshman grasping at his back, digging his fingernails in so deep, clinging to him, that Jack should cry out in pain.
He is too numb.
Ianto's words are ever so slightly muffled by his tears and by his head buried in Jack's shoulder, but Jack can hear exactly what is said.
"Please don't leave me."
Tonight will be the first night that Jack and Ianto will share a bed, in the sense that they will fall asleep together and both will still be there in the morning. It will also be the last.
Jack knows he should feel guilty, sleeping in Ianto and Elizabeth's marital bed, wrapped around him so close that it's impossible to tell which body part belongs to whom, but Jack and Ianto love each other. One key factor missing from the marriage.
AN: I'm so sorry for all the angst, but there's still an Epilogue to come, and I promise they'll get the happy ending they deserve. Xx