Jack
He'd been watching Ianto for a few minutes now and had been hoping for some progress, but Jack saw nothing. No, that's not quite true, Jack reminded himself - about a minute after he put his phone away, Jack thought Ianto might be coming around. He'd seen his lips twitch, just the tiniest amount, but it was enough to spark hope within Jack. Now though, he felt as if he had imagined it.
Jack had no idea what to do, he had never been in this kind of situation. He wasn't quite sure how aware Ianto was of his surroundings, he seemed too unresponsive to be fully appreciative of everything. Jack didn't want to startle him by making a noise; however, he knew he wasn't doing much good just sat there. So Jack spoke, as softly as he could while still making a sound. "Ianto?" He breathed. "Ianto, can you hear me?" Maybe Jack was just seeing what he wanted to, but he thought that he saw Ianto's eyes tighten. Other than that, there was no response. Jack tried again. "Ianto, tell me what's wrong, I might be able to help." And Jack kept trying. "Even if I can't help, a problem shared is a problem halved." He felt foolish but he didn't give up. "Speak to me Ianto, I'm here," Jack's voice stayed calm and quiet, but he couldn't tell if his words were even being heard. "I'm not going anywhere; I won't leave." At this, Ianto's nostrils flared and his eyes blazed. Jack was not imagining this, Ianto could definitely hear him.
Jack folded his hands in his lap and thought of more things to say. He tried lots of things, attempting to get another response. Jack asked questions, mostly "What's happened, Ianto?" or "What's wrong?" but he also threw in some more basic things like "What did you have for lunch?" and "Did you do that homework we had for Maths?". Nothing. Since flaring his nostrils, Ianto had remained silent and unmoving. Jack tried using humour; he would add a funny comment onto random statements, hoping to catch Ianto of guard. It had no effect and Jack moved on from that idea quickly.
It must've been about 10 minutes before Jack gave up. He'd spent the whole time prattling on and it was having no affect. He frowned to himself as he let the room fall silent. Well what now? Jack was frustrated. He needed something to help him out, a clue, a prompt.. Something! How was he meant to help Ianto when all Jack could do was sit there and stare?
Ianto made no change, Silence it is, Jack thought. There was something wrong with this quiet, it was restless. Silence was supposed to be calming and peaceful, This certainly isn't either of those, Jack laughed to himself. I need to try something new, He racked his brain and came up with a few possibilities. Jack stood up slowly and walked carefully to Ianto's corner, where he crouched on the floor so that he was looking up at Ianto.
Ianto
For the most part, Ianto succeeded at focusing on the same thought; he let it branch out into plans and he decided the finer details that had needed sorting out. Ianto's plans were so thorough that he could almost see himself carrying it out. Of course, he had imagined it before but nothing like this. It was so vivid. However, there were some parts of Jack's little monologue that seeped into Ianto's thoughts and diverted his attention.
When Jack started speaking with the word "Ianto", Ianto had to suppress the urge to respond. He wanted to ask What the hell are you saying my name for? And why are you whispering? but he didn't. Instead, Ianto clenched his jaw shut and tried to keep his focus. Despite his determination, Ianto was interrupted again.
It sounded like Jack was attempting to persuade Ianto to talk, to tell him what was wrong. "I might be able to help" he'd said. Ha! Ianto thought, struggling with the itch to contradict Jack. Good joke! he wanted to say, You can't help me Jack, you shouldn't even want to help me.. Of course he doesn't want to, he's just saying it to be polite. Jack doesn't really want you to answer, Ianto could feel himself getting worked up again, Calm down! You mustn't talk, or else Jack wont leave. He took a deep breath but before Ianto had regained his focus he was disrupted again.
Jack was still trying to convince Ianto to talk to him, he promised not to leave. LIES!, Ianto roared inside his head. You all leave. So now Jack was making things up and Ianto could feel himself loosing control, he felt his nostrils flare before he managed to pull himself together. Ianto, you'll ruin everything! Calm down. He slowed his breathing and returned to his planning.
For a good while Ianto was able to stay unreactive. He could hear Jack speaking and wittering on, sometimes he even listened, but he was calm now and had no desire to react.
All of a sudden Jack stood up. Janto almost glanced up in surprise, but caught himself just in time. He felt nearly excited; Jack was leaving! Ianto could carry out his plan. - Wait No! What are you doing?! Ianto wanted to turn and yell at Jack and then shove him out of the room. Jack had gotten up and crouched next to Ianto! What the hell was he supposed to do now?! He managed not to respond to this other than a slight flicker of his eyes, which he used to glance at Jack's face. Jack's expression seemed to be one of pure concern; Ianto almost caught his breath in astonishment. He hadn't realised just how close Jack was, it made him a bit uncomfortable.