Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. Life got in the way. This was a bit hastily written, but I think it turned out well enough in the end. Still a bit anxious about it, mind you.

Important note: Nina Rogers is a character from the Torchwood book Consequences and things progressed pretty much like they do in this story – that's what the quotes are there for – except it was from her point of view. And yes, she did fancy Ianto. In case someone's wondering, they Retconned her at the end.

Enjoy and as always, I'd love to know what you think.

Envy – the need to have better or be better than others.

Nina Rogers was sitting in Cardiff University's Library and she was trying not to look like she was staring at the Fit Bloke. He was standing, looking a little lost, in the History section. Fiddling with his cuff-links, he seemed to be waiting for something to happen.

And Nina knew that something would happen. Because it wasn't just that she fancied him. She knew him.

Ianto had told him a million times now that this was just a case like any other. She was just some girl, he'd said, one who seemed to be always in the wrong place at the wrong moment, but just a girl nonetheless. That was all.

And yet Jack felt compelled to search through the files they had on site. He had every right. She had been a witness, and more than once at that. It was only natural for him to check the details.

Nina Rogers, a first-year History student (which, Jack remembered ruefully, had been Ianto's subject in University) from Cardiff. There were tons of personal details, but what had attracted Torchwood's attention in the first place had been the fact that she always seemed to be where their cases were. It happened to be a coincidence, but Ianto wanted to investigate further, claiming that if they were in any way compromised, she had to be dealt with.

Jack looked at the photo that had pulled up on the screen in front of him. Nina Rogers was young, with dark glossy hair that fell around her face, pale skin and dark brown eyes. Exactly the type Ianto would go for, Jack thought just as Gwen joined him by the monitor.

"Is that her?" she asked. "She's nice."

"She is," Jack agreed grimly. "What do we do with her?"

"I thought Ianto was going to decide," Gwen put in. "After all, it's him she remembers."

And she'd mentioned him to her best friend, too; they had transcripts of the conversations. Personal space was an unfamiliar concept to the Torchwood Institute.

"You think Ianto would want to deal with this?" Jack asked sceptically.

"Yeah, why not? It's not like he has to do much. Invite her for a drink, put the Retcon in said drink – easy as anything."

"And she'll agree, just like that, to get a drink from a perfect stranger?"

Gwen scoffed. "Not everyone out there is a paranoid nutter who's afraid you'll put an amnesia pill in their drink, Jack. Of course she'll take a drink from him. She thinks he studies in her University – or at least that's what she told that Jess girl – and he's just her type anyway."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He's her age, smart, pretty and, well, if he's interrogated her as a witness, even if she doesn't remember it completely, then she's seen him do his thing too."

"'His thing'?" Jack laughed. "Ianto has a crime scene thing?"

"He does." Gwen seemed to think it was obvious. "When he isn't pretending to be a police officer, anyway. Haven't you seen him? He does that thing. The 'tragic hero that just saved the day but now needs information' thing. And young, easily impressed people are suckers for that kind of thing."

"It's happened more than once?"

"It's happened every time when our witness doesn't fall for your tricks," Gwen said absent-mindedly and Jack saw her looking around the Hub. "Mind you, where's he gone?"

"Outside. In the University Library, actually. Rift activity. Double the luck if he meets our girl too, since he'll be able to deal with it immediately."

"What's the deal with you today?" Gwen asked, a small smile playing on her lips. "This is the first time he's shown interest in a human being that happens to live outside of this building. Leave him be." Jack huffed. "Wait a second. Are you jealous?"

"Don't be ridiculous," the Captain waved her off. "Ianto is free to do as he pleases. Let's see how well that's gonna end when he retcons her."

"He might not retcon her at all," Gwen said pensively. "We do need recruitments, after all."

"Absolutely not," Jack snapped and Gwen snickered quietly, shaking her head. "The last thing I need here is another person Ianto's age. You know what Tosh said when I hired him? 'I didn't know we were holding a kindergarten here'. I'm not planning on continuing the tradition."

"Oooh, are we the two grown-ups here now? It would be nice. What brought this on, anyway? 'Ianto' and 'immature' don't fit in the same sentence usually."

"He's as mature as he's supposed to be. He's twenty-four. He's barely even an adult at all. And he could die at any moment–"

"Don't say that." Gwen's voice had lost all humour and he could hear the stony edge to it without so much as looking at her.

"But he could! He could and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Jack, he's not a child," Gwen said softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know that when compared to your age he's really young – hell, even compared to me he's really young and out difference is only eight years – but he chose this job. He knows what he's doing."

"Does he, really?" Jack knew that his tone was bitter, but he couldn't help it. "He doesn't know what anything else would be like! It's always been Torchwood for him. He's never had a normal life."

"And have you ever thought that maybe he doesn't want a normal life?" The question didn't require an answer and Jack didn't have one, so she kept going. "He's chosen this consciously."

"He could still be in University!" He was only digging himself deeper into his fears and he was well aware of it, but he couldn't stop himself. "And maybe now that he's there, he'll remember what it was before Torchwood came along and ruined everything and maybe he'll want–"

"Ah," Gwen said quietly. "I think we got to the heart of the problem." When Jack just stared at her, stunned, Gwen smiled and tapped him on the shoulder. "Glad I could be of assistance, but if you don't have any more work for me, I'm going home. Good luck with Nina."

"Thank you," the Captain said, even more miserable than before.

o.O.o

Nina Rogers was standing on an invisible lift as it descended into a secret underground base. She wasn't as surprised as she thought she should be, but she was taking the opportunity to hold onto Ianto's arm.

The lift reached the floor and he led her off it. Nina stood there, looking around at the madness. "I don't know who I am anymore."

"That's life, though," said Ianto. "I mean, I used to have a girlfriend."

Before Nina could reply, an arm appeared between them. She looked up as Captain Cheese grinned down at her. Then the Captain pulled Ianto into a hug and gave him a tender kiss.

Nina felt like crying. But she didn't. "Oh, bloody typical. You're gay. Great. No, that's just brilliant, that is. There was me thinking that the one thing, the one good thing that might come out of all of this was a few drinks, a night out, maybe even a quick..."

She trailed off as the two men grinned at her.

"Yeah," said Ianto. "I think you're still human."

As the invisible lift descended into the Hub, Jack stared up at it and could just make out the two figures on it. One was Ianto, and the other one was smaller, shorter and clinging cautiously to his lover. The Captain gritted his teeth.

Just as the lift clicked on its place on the ground, Jack reached between the two of them and brought Ianto closer for a kiss, then smiled at the young woman's groan.

Okay, maybe Gwen was right after all. Maybe he was afraid that Ianto would prefer something else; a life that would start with continuing the education which Torchwood had interrupted and it could go on with a successful career and anything else he might want instead of the life he had in the Institute – full of risks and madness, and the same horrors every day.

Maybe she'd been right. And maybe there was a certain pleasure in making sure that at least for now, as they spoke to Nina, Ianto stood firmly by his side.

o.O.o

Jack had said that they could still help her if she needed it. That they had a special magic pill that would clear recent events from her mind. She'd said no. She'd had enough of alien things in her head. She just wanted to go home. She'd had enough of Torchwood.

Then she'd kissed Ianto on the cheek and given him her number in case he ever decided to go straight. He'd laughed, linked arms with Jack and strode off.

"Gwen was right about you and witnesses," Jack noted as they made their way back to the Hub. The weather was nice for the first time in weeks and they'd decided to soak up as much sunlight as they could, so they weren't really in a hurry. His lover sent him an inquisitive look. "She said that you had a way to make them open up. She called it, quote, the 'tragic hero that just saved the day but now needs information' thing."

Ianto laughed; a rich, full-bodied sound that took Jack by surprise. After they'd lost Tosh and Owen, there had been very little heartfelt laughter, and it was good to see that the life was returning back into his people, especially since he could feel it happening inside his own soul as well.

"Yeah? And do you think it's working?"

"Can't say," Jack admitted and gripped Ianto's hand a little tighter. "Works on me, though," he admitted, voice a little more bitter than he'd been aiming for. Sometimes he wished Ianto didn't have as much tricks up his sleeve that could work on him.

Ianto smiled in return. "Good to know."