POV-Ianto

He did not stop until he had speedily made his way down the stairs and through the metal gate, and collapsed down in a chair beside Gwen's desk, hoping that she would be off somewhere doing God-knows-what with Owen. But when he looked up he found that Tosh hovering over the desk, sorting through a prodigious stack of papers with a worried look on her face.

"Ianto, I know this isn't your job, but do you think you could help me organize a bit of this clutter later?" she inquired without looking up "No one else will lend a finger to do anything. Too busy shagging each other I guess." She huffed, and when he did not readily respond she chanced a glance and frowned. "Ianto, you look flushed. What's the matter?"

"Nothing." He replied gravely.

She placed her hands on her hips and spoke more firmly. "What's the matter?"

He swiped his hand softly as if to dispel her worries. "There's nothing you could do."

"I could listen." Apparently Gwen's "humanity" was catchy. His characteristic aloofness didn't stand a chance. Before he knew it he began to spill the whole story with as much dignity as he could manage. It turned out that it wasn't very much.

Casting a hasty glance over his shoulder to be sure the object of the conservation was nowhere in sight he began. "You know how Jack's always after me?" He stated bluntly.

"Certainly. But I never thought anything of it. I always thought he was, well, you know." She gave a slight nod as if that was all it took to indicate Jack's definite, if not strangely displayed, lean towards heterosexuality.

"Well I did too. I just thought he wanted to see me flustered, and I can hold my own, but recently it's been having, well, more of an effect." He continued, omitting the part of him that ardently prayed it was sincere affection.

Tosh's eyes brightened. "Ooooh. You mean that kind of an effect?" Delighted she clasped her hands together. "Well I think you two would make a fine pair."

"But what if it's all just a game to him? You know how he is." He countered dolefully. His companion nodded understandingly, placing her hand under her chin in rapt attention. "And I just lose my nerve every time he's around. He tends to do the most distracting things. It's unnerving, not having control over my thoughts."

POV-Tosh

"What kind of things?" Tosh asked, moving closer, ever eager to hear more about the mysterious Captain. This was shaping up to be a better day than she had expected.

"For starters he knows how to use his hands. Not that I would know," he added hurriedly, but Tosh wasn't so sure. "But I can imagine." She nodded in complete commiseration. "And then he used his hips…." He paused, then violently shook his head to clear away his reverie. "And then I accidentally touched his trousers—" At that Tosh dropped her sympathetic gaze and began to giggle loudly. Ianto swept a finger over his mouth in a warning signal and she soon calmed down, still looking rather amused. "I don't know what to do." He concluded, and put his head down miserably as if he was to next confer with the floor.

Biting her lip, she began to reveal a brilliant idea (if she did say so herself) that had been working into her brain the whole conversation "Well you'll just have to turn the tables."

"What'd you mean?" He mumbled, still looking down.

"Beat him at his own game. She replied resolutely. Seeing Ianto's attention finally being drawn away from the floor she continued. "Jack's a man controlled by his drives. Oh he does try hard to act all put together in front of us, but I can see underneath all that. He probably wouldn't know what to do with himself if you were the suggestive one. What you must do," she concluded, "is reverse the roles."

POV-Ianto

"But how?" Ianto replied innocently enough, even though he did have some rather interesting ideas beginning to form in the back of his mind.

Apparently Tosh could see that too. "You know, Ianto. Put that beautiful Welsh voice to some use."

Nodding decisively Ianto stood up and beamed down at Tosh. "I will. Thanks so much." She smiled proudly in return, but then her gaze flicked towards the stack of papers she had once been so concerned about. "Yes, I'll get to that later."

Her smile got a little brighter. "So, how will you start?"

"Start what?" Came an inquisitive voice from the doorway.

The two twirled around in unison to see Jack leaning against the open door with a mock puzzled expression on his face.

"Tiding up a bit. You know how Gwen can be." Ianto replied, composed and not skipping a beat.

"I sure do." Jack responded as if his mind were in another place. "I'll be in my office if anyone needs me." Without another word he disappeared up the steps.

Once they were sure he had gone Ianto resumed the conversation. "Do you think he heard us?" he hissed to Tosh.

"No. Of course not. How could he?" Ianto nodded in agreement. If his sneaking about earlier had been any indication of his espionage skills there was no way he had listened undetected. Tosh folded her arms across her chest. "Well…?"

"Well what?" Ianto stared blankly at Tosh.

"Aren't you going to get on with it?" she asked, leaning her shoulder in the direction of their bosses' office.

"Right. Yes. Just getting on with that." Ianto replied. "Will you hold this?" He handed his tie clip to Tosh who laughed outright.

"Don't you want that to happen again?" She asked bawdily.

"On my terms." He countered, smiling wickedly. With that he turned on his heel, snatched the coffee pot, and briskly trotted up the stairs, leaving Tosh shaking her head down on the floor below.

POV-Jack

Of course he had been accused of being a flirt at times, a downright cad even. But he had never actually caused anyone to actually flee from his suggestions. Was he losing his touch? Nah, couldn't be. Maybe Ianto wasn't what he thought he was. Maybe it was his radar that was off. Yeah, that was it. With his ego still intact Jack reluctantly made his way down the stairs back into the Hub. There he saw Ianto talking with Tosh. They had exchanged a few words, and before he knew it he was slouched behind his desk, sipping cold coffee. He didn't even have the heart to call Ianto in for a refill. If the man thought he was repulsive then he could stay away for all he cared. Jack could do much better anyway.

"Excuse me, sir?" Ianto popped his head in through the glass door, and Jack's thoughts of Ianto's inadequacy fled immediately. "Do you require more coffee?"

I require a lot of things, Jack thought saucily, but held his tongue; he didn't want to frighten him off again. Instead he simply raised his mug as an indication of the affirmative. Ianto dutifully slipped through the door, then shut it tightly. But instead of immediately approaching the desk he stopped where he was and glanced around. "Is it warm in here, sir? Should I adjust the thermostat?" he inquired as he began to loosen his tie.

This time it was Jack who gulped audibly.

A/N: Thanks so much for the positive reviews! I'll try to get the next section up shortly.