Torchwood Dance Extravaganza
Chapter Four
Disclaimer: Still no owning. (*Christmas wish*)
Major thanks, as always, to 19fangirl97, for coming up with this wonderful plot.
Well, how about that for a last chapter, huh? I promise that, after that, this chapter is going to be sweet and gooey – everything you want in a story about Jack and Ianto.
Here we go, onwards to chapter four.
As soon as Mildred left the hall, the interest in their rather public conversation dissipated – for the most part. Jack could still see the peripheral interest of most of the adults present . . . and a few students as well. It was as if they were waiting to see if there was going to be a second act of the show.
However, Jack wasn't concerned about them at all.
No, he was trying to decide if he was going to pout when Ianto slipped away from him and approached the DJ's booth. Jack remembered Gwen and Rhys's wedding, all those years ago, not that anyone other the two of them, Gwen, Rhys, Tosh, and Owen remembered that wedding. Everyone else who attended had been doused with Retcon. Still, Jack firmly recalled how Ianto had been handy, stepping in for the DJ for the reception.
Though, as he thought about it, in recent years, Ianto had taken to playing music in the Hub whenever they had down-time, rare as those times might be. Said music was always fun and managed to keep everyone else from going insane with boredom – namely himself (when Ianto decided to be professional) and Owen (when Tosh got fed up with his repeated attempts to distract her from whatever programs she was devising). Jack had long since learned to accept the fact that Ianto knew everything and kept them alive and seamlessly running.
His attention was firmly diverted from Ianto's decision to be vice-DJ when Derek crossed to Alia and gave a small, somewhat shy smile. Alia bit her lip, a clear sign to anyone who knew her well that she was nervous.
"You look really beautiful tonight, Alia," he told her, stammering some. If Jack wasn't mistaken, the boy was blushing as he spoke to her. He was nervous too. "I mean, you always look beautiful, but you really look beautiful tonight." He flushed some. Derek was nervous as well. "I thought you should know that."
Alia lit up brightly at his words. "Thanks, Derek." She gave him a brighter, broader, happy smile. "You look really great tonight as well."
The music changed from a fast-paced song to a slower ballad – perfect for a slow dance. Oh, Ianto was very good at this.
Derek held out a hand to Alia. "Would you like to dance?"
Alia briefly looked back at her friends and Jack saw how the happy smile that split across her lips. She looked back to Derek, her eyes alight with sheer excitement.
"Of course, I would!"
The boy led her out onto the dance floor, where he took placed a hand on her left hip and took her right hand in his left. Alia put her free hand on his shoulder and they began to do a simple waltz in time with the music.
Ianto returned to his side. Jack saw the conspiratorial smile on his lips.
"Have I told you lately that you're amazing, Ianto Jones?" Jack asked.
"Mmm, not since last night," Ianto replied, his eyes twinkling. Ianto was happy now. Jack could tell.
His words sunk in. Jack was going to have to rectify that soon.
"If that's the case," he said, leaning over to press a chaste kiss onto Ianto's lips, "then I'll have to make it up to you."
It was little touches like those that Jack had really gotten used to over the past years. He liked having the moments where the two of them could be around each other, touch one another, and share kisses without falling into the old, fervent pattern of sex and full-blown snogs, though they did have those more intense moments on a regular basis – Jack was Jack, after all. No, this was one of those in-between moments.
The music filtered over them softly.
"Would you like to dance, Ianto?" Jack asked, smiling.
Ianto returned his smile.
"I thought you'd never ask, Jack."
Once upon a time, Ianto would have been extremely hesitant to have any public display of their relationship. While he still preferred to be low-key when they were in public, Jack loved that he was happy to be more open about their love for one another.
As he led Ianto onto the dance floor, Jack saw Alia look over to them, Derek's eyes following hers a moment later.
Alia laughed a bit and looked back up at Derek.
He twirled Ianto because, well, Jack was always one for a little bit of flair at any given moment, before he pulled Ianto close to him. They held each other and swayed, not really in time with the music, but that didn't matter to either one of them.
Ianto pressed his cheek against Jack's. A slight tingle went down Jack's spine at that little touch.
A part of Jack wanted to have sex with Ianto right here, right now, and Jack took that as a sign that, even though he knew how to act in public (in the 21st century), Ianto had such a strong hold over him, if he could produce such a reaction in him. That was part of the reason why Jack loved Ianto so much. It was the fact that, despite all of it, the handsome Welshman was willing to look past all of Jack's faults and his mask, to see the man that was hiding beneath the surface, the one who had kept himself locked away from love because he didn't want to lose anyone else he loved so dearly.
Until Ianto came along, Jack thought that he could function that way.
When Myfanwy changed everything, Jack thought that he had merely found someone who accepted him as different without question, who could be an amusement, if only for a little while. Little did he know that he found something so much more.
And, thanks to that Rift-energy that had burst through the Hub all those years ago, Jack had a very long future to look forward to, one where he had Ianto with him.
"I love you, Ianto," he whispered, pressing his lips to Ianto's ears.
The way that Ianto moved in his arms was indicative that Ianto was pleased to hear those words, though not for the first time.
"I love you too, Jack."
Eventually, the music changed and picked up its pace.
The students danced around them, leaving something of a berth around them, though ignoring the fact that it was two men who were holding each other on the dance floor. Jack didn't mind. In fact, he appreciated that fact.
After a while, they left the dance floor, finding their way over to the drink table, manning that for a while, relieving the parents who had been stationed there previously.
No one really commented on their dance together, but Jack could tell by the way that everyone was looking at them that the dance had solidified what message Ianto had been trying to make earlier. They were happy with one another and they were so much in love that neither one particularly cared what other people thought about them. In fact, Jack was pretty sure that he saw more than a few smiles be sent in their direction, during and after their dance, as if the senders were happy for them.
And Jack appreciated that.
True, Jack didn't like labels, but, when it came to his own personal life, he did find that having labels helped with a few thing – namely, when he got to show that he and Ianto were together and very happy together.
The two of them settled down into the folding chairs on the far side of the drinks table, hands clasped together, content to watch Alia dance with Derek and her friends. It was their dance, after all.
Besides, Jack knew that, when the day was over and done with, he would have Ianto all to himself and that gave him plenty of ideas.
For now, they were chaperones at a high school dance, as well as fathers watching their beloved daughter dancing with the guy who could very well be her first boyfriend. And, as first boyfriends went, from his brief interactions with the young man, Jack could see that Derek was a good kid. He obviously was interested in Alia and he wasn't bothered by the fact that she had two fathers. Knowing Ianto, within twenty-four hours, they would know everything there was to know about this kid but, until then, Jack was enjoying the fact that he could have a surprisingly normal human moment.
Those moments were few and far between, given the fact that they worked for Torchwood.
Ianto squeezed his hand tightly.
Jack looked over to him.
"Our little girl's falling in love," Ianto said, low enough that only Jack could hear him.
Ianto was right, as always. Jack nodded.
"She's growing up so fast," he replied, though he didn't feel any sadness rush through him.
Alia was so young, but she would only have a finite lifespan, unlike her fathers. He would have liked to have her share their immortality, but the logical part of Jack's mind told him that it would be better for her, in the long run, to be mortal. The paternal instinct in him wanted to shield her from this burden.
"We'll be there for her, no matter what," Ianto announced.
"Yes, we will," Jack agreed.
They shared a smile and watched Alia dance.
This was a good moment.
A little bit of sadness in the end, but it's still a good kind. Anyways, there's one chapter left in this story, so keep your eyes open for it!