The boys are settling in at Porthcawl …

CHAPTER TWO

Ianto walked slowly into the bungalow and closed the front door behind him. To his right was a toilet and to the left a well appointed galley kitchen. He carried on through the door in front of him and looked round. He was in the main living room with a dining table and chairs in front of him against a huge picture window. The patio doors in the middle were open and a faint breeze came in. Ianto undid his tie as he moved forward, depositing it on the dining table as he passed, drawn to the fresh air and sunshine. He undid the top buttons of his shirt and stepped through the doors and joined Jack on the deck. He smiled, a genuine smile, for the first time since this surprise had been sprung on him. A weekend here could be just what he needed, what they needed.

Jack turned when he felt the hand on his shoulder. He was staring out at the empty – well almost empty, there were one or two boats – sea in front of him and breathing in the salt-laden air. This felt like home. He wrapped an arm round Ianto and pulled him to stand beside him at the railing looking out. "We've earned this," he said softly, leaning his head against Ianto's.

"Yeah, we have. They were pretty sneaky. Did you know what was going on?"

"No, no idea." He turned to face Ianto and kissed him softly.

Ianto responded but gently, not forcing the pace. "Do you know how long it's been since we've done that?"

"Eight days, fourteen hours and thirty four minutes," responded Jack, straight faced.

Ianto batted his arm and pulled away. "Be serious."

"I was. It was a week yesterday, just after midnight when you went home."

Ianto stared at him. "My God, you're right. Have you really been counting?" He was touched by the thought.

"Kept track on this," he waved his wrist strap. "Must be the longest I've gone without for years," he added surprised.

"We have been busy," replied Ianto stepping back into the bungalow.

He surveyed the room and saw more: the easy chairs and couch facing the window, the bookcase and the CD player as well as the ubiquitous TV. He went to the door in the right hand wall as he was facing the room and opened it to find the bedroom which also had a large picture window. He explored the door at the side of the bedhead and found a fully equipped bathroom with a large tub and separate shower. He was standing back in the bedroom when a shadow passed over the window and he looked up to see Jack prancing about making faces at him. He went to the window and opened the patio doors to let him, and some fresh air, in.

"Nice bed," smirked Jack eyeing the king sized divan with interest. To be honest, he'd like to just sleep in it at the moment but his mind was seeing other possibilities for later on.

"We'd better see what they packed for us," said Ianto, eluding Jack's half-hearted attempt to grab him. He too wanted sleep more than sex but was not sure how to say so.

He led the way back through to the front door and outside where he opened the boot of his car. There he found two overnight bags with big labels on: one label read 'Jack' and the other 'Ianto'. There was also a box of groceries and a cool bag. He took the box and cool bag and left the bags. "Grab the bags, Jack," he said as he passed him. "Oh, and get my jacket from the back."

Ianto carried on into the kitchen. He put down his burdens and looked out of the window to see Jack move the equipment box into the boot and secure it there, having taken out the bags. These he brought into the bungalow, with the jacket and his greatcoat even remembering to lock the car. Jack dumped everything on the couch and joined Ianto in the kitchen. "What have they given us?" He peered into the box.

"Eggs, cooked chicken, bacon, butter, bread, milk, beer and water. Oh," Ianto paused bringing out a bottle, "champagne," he added impressed. "There's potatoes and salad too. What have you got?"

"Chocolate biscuits, coffee, some tins, marmalade. Those savoury crackers you like and fruit including strawberries." He licked his lips. "We shouldn't starve," he grinned at Ianto who was putting things into the fridge.

"No. Plenty here for tonight and for breakfast." He peered into the freezer. "There's ice cream in here."

"Goody." Jack rubbed his hands together, he loved ice cream. "Shall we have some now?"

"No. I'm going to get changed and then …" his voice tailed off and he looked across at Jack.

"What?" asked Jack, concerned.

"Would you mind if I just got some sleep? I'm knackered."

Jack grinned at him. "No problem. Can I join you? I mean to sleep," he continued seeing Ianto's face. "Perhaps if we get some rest now we'll be ready for something more interesting later," he smirked.

"That sounds good." Ianto walked to the bedroom, taking the bag with his name on it and his jacket with him. He gingerly opened the bag. Inside he found underwear, T-shirts, jeans, shorts, a sweater, swimwear, his shaving kit, trainers and some toiletries. The latter were not his. "I seem to have your smellies," he said to Jack holding them out to him.

He looked over to see Jack grinning. Around him on the bed was much the same as Ianto had unpacked but in his hands were some familiar items that had not been in his, Ianto's, bag. "I seem to have the 'toys'," he said holding up two pairs of fluffy pink handcuffs. "Oh and here's the condoms and lube. My God, three tubes of lube. How much do they think we use!?"

Ianto was offended. "Why have you got those? It's not like I don't use them." He huffily snatched up his toiletries from the bed where Jack had put them and replaced them with those he'd found in his own bag. Then he went to put them and his shaving kit in the bathroom.

"I don't know, I didn't pack." Jack put the offending items in a bedside drawer. Then he picked his own stuff up and followed Ianto. "Oh, two basins. Luxury."

"Only one shaver point," Ianto pointed out. "They obviously didn't imagine two men sharing."

"I suppose it's not a gay hotspot." Jack put his stuff out beside Ianto's and went back into the bedroom, too happy at being on holiday to let unimportant things affect him.

Ianto straightened Jack's toiletries before walking back into the bedroom. There he found Jack already out of his clothes and putting his clothes away in drawers and cupboards. Ianto admired the well toned body of his immortal lover, it was a sight that he never tired of seeing. Jack dived beneath the duvet, not noticing Ianto's stare which was a first. The Welshman sighed and put his own clothes away. He looked around when he realised something was missing. "There's no pyjamas."

"Won't need them," came from the mound in the bed. Jack had the duvet almost over his head.

"Suppose not," agreed Ianto, finally divesting himself of his waistcoat and shirt before removing his shoes. He remembered the living room doors were open so popped in there and shut them. He left the bedroom one on the catch and removed his trousers and briefs. He pulled back the duvet and slid underneath, enjoying the feel of crisp, cool cotton on his bare skin. Beside him Jack was already asleep, snuffling softly. Ianto turned to lay against him and shut his eyes.

-ooOoo-

The tiger was playing with him. It was rubbing against his chest and its fur was tickling his nose. Ianto was lying underneath the large creature and was not worried at the nearness of the teeth and claws. He wondered why that was and then looked down at his body and saw that he was a tiger too. The stripy fur looked good and he stretched, feeling his tail twitch enticingly. His nose was tickled again and he put up a paw to scratch it and felt not a friendly paw but a furry, hard roundness. What was that? He opened his eyes and saw pink. Pink fluffy handcuffs and behind them …. Ianto sat up abruptly and Jack reared back to avoid being head butted.

"At last. It's taken me ages to wake you up." Jack put down the handcuffs he'd been using as a tickling aid. He leant over and kissed Ianto's cheek. "You have 15 minutes to shower and dress and then it's supper time." He stood up and winked before walking out of the bedroom. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans and Ianto smiled; this must be a holiday if Jack was dressed like that.

Ten minutes later Ianto was washed and dressed, also in jeans and a T-shirt, and in the living room. He had slept for five hours, it was close on eight o'clock and he was hungry. He saw the dining table had been laid with a proper tablecloth and place mats as well as cutlery and glasses.

"What do you want to drink?" asked Jack, coming into the room. He had with him a basket of bread which he put on the table. "Beer or water? Thought we'd save the champagne," he smiled.

"Beer, please. Oh and a water too."

"Okay. Sit yourself down." Jack was off back to the kitchen.

"Can I help?" called Ianto after him.

"No," came back through the open doors. Jack appeared again a moment later, a bottle of beer and two bottles of water in hand. "You could get yourself another glass from the cupboard over there." He nodded in the general direction and left the room again.

Ianto did as he was told and sat at the place where Jack had put the beer. He opened the water and poured some out, drinking thirstily. Jack returned with a bowl of salad and the butter before disappearing yet again. His final appearance was with a plate of cooked chicken and a bowl of warm potatoes. He sat himself opposite Ianto and smiled.

"You slept well."

"Yeah, can't believe the day's nearly gone." He helped himself to food and started to eat. "When did you get up?"

"About seven. I'd have let you sleep longer but thought you'd be hungry." He watched the Welshman demolish a bread roll. "I see I was right."

"Umm," mumbled Ianto, "must be the sea air," he managed after swallowing.

Jack was eating too, chicken and salad was a welcome change to their recent diet of takeaways. "You've barely seen the sea let alone breathed the air," he protested. "You've been flat on your back and snoring."

"I do not snore,"

"You do."

"Don't. You do."

"I know. And you do."

They looked at one another and laughed, delighting in the stupid conversation. It was an indulgence they'd missed over recent weeks. They continued to eat and drink and chat, enjoying the chance to relax. Jack brought in the dessert – strawberries and ice cream – which they took onto the deck. Sitting side by side in the swing seat they ate watching the sun start to go down. It was a calm evening and still warm so they remained out there, holding hands and chatting sporadically, Jack's head resting on Ianto's shoulder, as the sun set in glorious technicolour.

"You're shivering," said Jack, sitting up. "Let's go inside." He rose and held out a hand which Ianto took and stood up, fitting perfectly into the other man's arms. They kissed gently, getting to know one another again after so long an absence. They parted when Ianto shivered once more. "In!" ordered Jack, picking up the dishes from the floor where they'd left them.

"I'll wash up," offered Ianto, "you got the meal ready."

"Okay." That seemed a fair to him.

Jack put the dishes on the table and walked off to the couch. He found the remote control and turned on the TV. He was in time to catch the start of the news and watched the headlines: nothing new. He flicked through the channels and found a classic movie channel, The Third Man was about a quarter of the way through. This was one of his all time favourite movies, ever since he'd caught it at the cinema when it had first been released. He settled back and watched the action.

Ianto cleared up and made some coffee, glad that the bungalow had a decent machine. He took the mugs through to the living room and found Jack watching the TV. He sat down beside him, passed him one of the mugs, and looked at the screen. He recognised the movie instantly, he'd watched it many times with Jack. He curled his feet underneath him and leant back letting the distinctive zither music, that played at just that moment, wash over him as he sipped the drink.

"That is one perfect movie," said Jack when the credits were rolling. He looked across at Ianto and found his partner had his eyes closed and his mouth open, dead to the world. He chuckled and leant over, kissing Ianto lightly. "Wake up, sleeping beauty," he murmured as Ianto's eyes fluttered and opened.

"Oh," the Welshman yawned. "Sorry, I must have dropped off." He moved his leg which had gone to sleep under him, wincing as the circulation returned. "Has the film finished?"

"Yeah. Time for bed." Jack pulled Ianto up and pushed him towards the bedroom. "Go on."

Jack picked up the mugs and took them to the kitchen. He checked the doors and windows were closed and locked as he walked back, ending up in the bedroom. He heard the toilet flush and water run and few minutes later Ianto appeared from the bathroom, looking fresh. He was still wearing the T-shirt but had discarded the jeans and footwear.

"Still tired?" Jack asked, running a hand through his lover's hair and cradling his cheek.

"A bit. You?"

"Yeah. Let's sleep." He released Ianto and shucked off his own clothes before heading for the bathroom.

Ianto removed the T-shirt and slipped into bed, lying back and relishing the peace and quiet and the fact that there would not be any urgent calls for him from Torchwood. He hoped the others were coping all right, after all Gwen and Owen had only just got back from sick leave. By rights, Toshiko should be having a break too, just because she hadn't been running around the streets of Cardiff didn't mean she wasn't as tired at he and Jack. He looked over when Jack re-appeared.

"Do you think we ought to check in? Make sure everything's okay?"

Jack got under the duvet and propped himself on one elbow, looking down at the other man. He reached across and pushed a stray lock of hair back into place. "No," he said finally, reaching down to place a kiss on Ianto's lips. "They were fine earlier when I rang and I'm sure they can cope." He placed another kiss on those very tempting lips and this time got a response.

Now the boys have caught up on their sleep, they can start having fun. A new chapter, a new day …