Chapter 3 – Games: Gwen was getting more and more edgy. They were taking so long. What if Jack had said he only wanted Ianto? Ianto might love her, but he loved Jack too, and if he were forced to choose... well, how could she compete with Jack? And how could she watch them together without her?

She wouldn't, that was all. She'd already written the letter, she just had to send it if it proved necessary. The Prime Minister was looking for people to staff a new branch in Belfast; she'd go if this didn't work out. But she didn't want to; Cardiff was her home, the team here was her family. But if she had to, she would.

She looked for something, anything to distract her from this bleak picture. She heard the dryer go off. That might work, for a few minutes. Grabbing the laundry basket, she began unloading. And stopped as she lifted a pair of blue cotton boxers. A smile crept over her face as a memory flashed into her mind...

Gwen had been at Ianto's for a week. She'd been looking around for a new place, but so far no luck. Her things, besides her clothes, were in a storage facility. Ianto had gone along to pick her stuff up and they'd found Rhys packing, his manner that of a hunted animal. He told Gwen he was going to Sydney, to get away from her "crazy friends." Ianto, upon hearing this, had smiled in a rather... disturbing way. Rhys had gone white, which troubled Gwen. In the car, she asked Ianto what had happened.

"Oh, I just sent him a little message."

"Oh? And what was this message?"

"A CCTV still of him sleeping and a note saying, Don't touch her again."

"Ianto..." but it gave her a warm feeling, to know that he'd done something to defend her. "That wasn't necessary."

"No, but it was satisfying." He quickly added, "You're my friend; I don't like seeing my friends hurt."

So they'd left it at that. And she'd been here a week, and they'd gotten on pretty well. They'd managed to keep Tosh and Owen from realizing they were currently flatmates – even if the situation was temporary, they didn't need Owen's comments or Tosh's suspicious glances. When the woman wasn't at her computers, she was watching everyone as though she could study them in the same way she did her diagnostics. And Owen, well... that he would comment was just to be expected.

She brushed her teeth and then shut off the faucet, turning to the door and opening it. As she stepped through the doorway, she collided with Ianto.

They were slammed together only for an instant, but that instant seemed to stretch on forever. She was wearing her pajamas, a spaghetti-strap green cotton shirt and matching, loose pants. Ianto wore only a pair of blue boxers. Their respective outfits ensured a certain amount of skin-to-skin contact that left her feeling electrified. Quickly she pulled back, her cheeks burning and unable to meet his gaze. "Sorry, Ianto," she mumbled.

"No, it was my fault," he said quickly, backing away so she could pass him. She took the opportunity and fled back to her room. Closing the door behind her, she leaned against it, trying to slow her racing heart. This was ridiculous. She was acting like she was back in secondary school and having her first crush. Since when had she been interested in Ianto anyway? Well... OK, if she had to admit it, she'd agreed with Jack's comment about Ianto's looking nice in a suit the first time she'd met the Torchwood team, before being retconned. But that didn't mean she was interested... did it? No, of course not. She had simply observed that Jack's comment was accurate. Right?

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Ianto dunked his head under the tap and turned the cold on high. He didn't think a full-fledged cold shower was required, but a cold something certainly was. It was quite a bit better than thinking about how those pajamas clung a bit in all the right... OK, that was quite far enough. He'd never thought of Gwen like that – well, that wasn't quite accurate. He'd thought about it, occasionally, partially thanks to Jack, and partially because he was male, after all, and Gwen was attractive. But he didn't chase after every girl he was attracted to, and he didn't need to go chasing after Gwen. And he wouldn't.

Things were awkward between them for the rest of the day, until a short interaction between Owen and Tosh. All it was was Tosh giving Owen a coffee cup and his complimenting her - "You are brilliant, Tosh," - and her reaction. She hid it from him – not that hard; Owen wasn't the most observant of people at times like this – but both Ianto and Gwen saw it. Once neither of the two were in earshot, Gwen murmured to Ianto, "I wish she'd just say something to him."

"It's been like this for years," Ianto informed her, shaking his head. "Tosh is too shy and Owen's just blind."

"Should we play matchmakers for them?"

"Sure, if you want footage of things you'd rather not have made public pop up on the Internet."

"But if things work out, they;d be grateful, wouldn't they?

"Maybe; I wouldn't put it past Owen to talk Tosh into doing it anyway. He recorded you kissing Carys, you know."

"He did what? Oh, I'm going to kill him."

"Don't. It's Owen; you can't expect any better of him, Gwen."

"That's true."

"So, lots of cream and just a bit of sugar?" he asked, getting up from the couch where they were sitting.

"Hmm?"

"Your coffee. I'm making more cups."

"Oh. Yeah. Thanks." And he walked off. She scowled at his retreating back. He was so, so... frustrating! So damned distant and professional. She almost wished Jack had left a manual on how to deal with the 'teaboy' – but as he hadn't even left one on how to run Torchwood, she supposed she couldn't expect much.

A hand came into her line of sight holding a steaming mug. "Thanks, Ianto," she said, taking a sip. Perfect, as usual.

"That's my job," he said, grinning at her. Damn if that grin didn't make her stomach flip. When had Ianto become charming? Or had he always been that way, and just kept it under wraps, unlike another Torchwood charmer she knew?

What was he doing? Was he flirting? What had he been thinking? Oh, that he wanted to see if he could get her to blush like she had this morning. She was cute when she blushed – oh great. He really was heading towards that fall, wasn't he? Not again... he didn't need that to happen again. He had a bad track record after all; one dead and one gone off to God knew where. He did not need to fall again. But he might not be able to stop himself.

His musings were interrupted by Gwen saying, "I guess I should be looking in the papers."

"For what?" Ianto said blankly.

"Well, I'm going to need a new flat, aren't I?" she asked, before standing up. "But that'll keep for an hour. Right now I need to go through some of those files in the archives." She smiled brightly at him and left. That should shake him up a bit, she thought with satisfaction. Two could play this game.

A/N: R&R!