Author's Notes: Sorry for being so late with this and I'm sorry that it's so short, but the prompt was being a bit difficult and it wouldn't let me decide which way I wanted it to go, and also, I have about three more fics that are currently in the making and are fighting for territory in my mind. It's not strictly by the prompt even in its finished version, so I hope I didn't go too far off the mark and I also hope you like it. And, as usual, don't be afraid to let me know what you think of it.

Liberality – generosity; nobility of thought or actions.

The planet they'd landed on was nothing like Jack had first imagined it to be. When the Doctor had told them about it, he'd imagined it as some sort of never ending desert with an unforgiving sun glaring down at it. Not that it was far from that, really; it was just that it had been impersonal before. Just a planet they'd visited, nothing more.

And of course, that had been the idea, or so he thought. Jack strongly suspected Ianto behind the plan that had led them to their current situation, and he wasn't sure yet if he was angry or grateful to him for it.

Because this? This was familiar. This was everything he'd been before he'd forced himself to leave and never look back, and he had never really allowed himself to think about it, either. It had been a closed case even in his own head that this was it, that he'd never come back again. Not ever. Not after what had happened.

"Is it too much?" Ianto's voice was quiet and he could hear his polished shoes sinking in the sand. Every sound and movement around him was intensified now; it was much more than it had ever been. He felt open. "We could leave if you'd like."

"No," Jack said quickly and leant back when he felt Ianto's arms slipping around his waist for support and then felt a gentle kiss being pressed against his neck. It was a habit of Ianto's to do that when he could feel that Jack needed it; a quiet way of saying, I'm here. Everything's under control. "No, it's fine. It was just– unexpected."

"Good unexpected or bad unexpected?" The Doctor asked as he made his way to them and Jack noticed the contemplating look he sent his way. The Captain found it in himself to smile.

"Not sure yet. What century are we in?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know, either. What if he'd ended up here in seemingly linear time; returning when having aged visibly twenty-something years, when everyone could recognise him?

"The fifty-third," Ianto said carefully and let go of Jack so he could stand by his side. "So I don't think there's a chance of anyone recognising you, unless your neighbours are really long-lived."

Just like usual, Ianto – and his unfathomable ability to make the most inappropriate and potentially painful jokes in the worst possible moments – were what really made Jack come out of his stupor, and he grinned at his lover. "No danger of that, I'd say. You should have seen my nearest neighbour. When I was ten, she was already about a thousand years old."

Ianto returned the smile immediately – it had been his idea after all, Jack thought, or he wouldn't have been so happy that Jack liked it – and, when the Captain reached to take his hand and lead him to where the waves shattered against the beach, Ianto took it without a second thought.

o.O.o

After all those years – more than Jack wanted or needed to count – coming back home on Boeshane Peninsula was something he'd never even dreamt of doing. It wasn't that it was impossible; far from it, especially since he'd came on board of the TARDIS, but it had just never occurred to him to do it. Not after he'd gone so far away and had done so much since the last time he'd been here.

And yet, it felt natural to sit here, on the beach, with Ianto by his side. He looked like he belonged on that beach despite his five hundred quid shoes and his Armani suit, both of which were currently in danger of getting soaked up by the occasional waves, and he was staring at the distance where the sun was throwing its last rays.

He wasn't very talkative today but then again, Ianto usually wasn't; not even with his newly found identity. He preferred the quiet appreciation and it was – just like usual – Jack who broke the silence in the need to say something.

"Thank you," he said softly and drew Ianto out of his trance as he stared in the horizon.

"What for?"

"For doing this. I know it was your idea and that you wanted it to be a surprise, so thank you."

Ianto shrugged. "I haven't done anything, really. I just wanted you to get on your feet. I know that the last several weeks have been... a bit too much." When Jack didn't say anything, he went on, still without looking at him. "And by that, of course, I mean that I've been a bit too much. It was a shock for you and you still miss whatever you believe you had when you still thought I was human."

The words stung, even if Ianto hadn't meant them that way, and Jack flinched. He'd tried his best to be understanding, but this Ianto was still a bit too alien, too foreign for him to talk with just yet. Logically, he knew that nothing had changed – that Ianto had been the same before and he just hadn't known it – but it was still difficult.

"You thought things were a bit too fast for me and you brought me home?" Jack asked with a small smile and Ianto shrugged again.

"You hate change."

"Not all change is a bad one," Jack said after a moment of silence in which he contemplated his lover's words. "And I'm not afraid of you."

"You've never seen anything good from Time Lords." It wasn't an objection to his earlier words, not exactly, but Ianto's voice was still some strange combination between unsure and hard as stone.

"Yes, I have. From you."

"You didn't know–"

"Me not knowing doesn't change anything."

There was a pause. "Maybe not," Ianto admitted. "You're right. Not that you've seen much good from me either."

Jack ignored him- they'd had this conversation at least a million times now – and reached for Ianto's hand to bring him closer until his lover's head rested on his shoulder. "If we were in the right century," he said quietly, "I could have introduced you to my family." Ianto gave a small scoff but Jack could see him smiling with the corner of his eye and went on. "My mother would have loved you; she'd have said that you were a great man and that it was a pleasure to have you in her house. Then she'd pull me somewhere on the side and tell me that as nice as you are, I'm an idiot for shacking up with a Time Lord."

This time Ianto outright laughed, the sound rich with amusement and when he pulled back to look at Jack, his eyes were twinkling.

"You think I'd have fit in here?" Behind the teasing gleam in his eyes there was genuine curiosity and Jack felt something inside him melting up as he stared at those familiar, bright eyes that would never have to fade again.

"I think you already do."