Jack didn't want to leave Ianto. It was the only thing pulling at his heart and mind as he ran after the TARDIS; ran to catch up with The Doctor. But he wasn't just doing it for himself; he was doing it for Ianto.
He wanted The Doctor to fix him; to put an end to his curse so he could grow old with Ianto, or die with him young, as all Torchwood members do.
He was tired of out-living everyone; he didn't want to out-live Ianto. The idea of life without him didn't seem like much of a life at all.
...XoXoXo...
Catching up with The Doctor could not have been more poorly timed. Leave it to Jack to show up right as Armageddon comes 'round. But he was thankful that time reset; everything that happened with the Toclafane, and the enslavement of the human race; it was awfully good that only a small handful of people on the planet would remember it. That fact was a relief; and it was also a burden. Trauma is so lonely. But it was a lonely life Jack led; he was used to it. He just couldn't wait to get back to Ianto and the rest of the team; but mostly Ianto.
He tried to forget the year that never was; the year of complete alien invasion, and the torture endured on the Valiant, with The Master, and all the horrible, horrific, and inhuman things done to him and The Doctor while they were held captive.
...XoXoXo...
"I came back for you…."
The moment he was back in Ianto's embrace; awkward and tentative as it was, Jack felt hopeful that he could put it all behind him; that he could just lose himself in Ianto and just forget.
But Ianto was not about to forget.
It took so much convincing; a task Jack was more than happy to bestow upon Ianto over and over; the attempts to convince Ianto that he was never going to leave again. The promises were made with kisses, and caresses, languid love making in Ianto's bed, in the hub, on a desk. Long cuddles at night with nothing but whispers of "I'm right here. I'm not leaving…"
It's not that Ianto was weak, or insecure. Jack's leaving broke his heart; it broke both of their hearts and this was Jack's only way to pick up the pieces and glue them back together as one; one heart.
Ianto needed to heal; Jack was more than willing to help.
...XoXoXo...
"You do get lonely…"
That time in Jack's office was one of the first times Ianto initiated the kiss. It was deep, meaningful; loving. It led to sex, of course, but it was more than just sex, and even more than just making love.
Ianto was officially making himself a part of Jack's life; a part of his many lives and lifetimes. That moment in time; that little blip in the universe marked the start of an epic journey through all of space and time; all of forever. Ianto wordlessly committed himself to Jack; no matter what it took, and no matter what Jack had done in the past, he knew that he would always love the man; the immortal who stole his heart.
...XoXoXo...
"He cheats. He always cheats." Ianto grinned in his own adorable way as he continued to reassemble his outfit sloppily.
Jack smiled upon being outed as a cheater in naked hide-and-seek. He would accept that label, thank you. In fact it was somewhat a bragging point, since he got to the fun part faster. Once he'd found Ianto's hiding spot using the hub's many CCTV cameras, he would pounce on Ianto and get right to the really fun bit; the making out and the jerking each other off.
Gwen Cooper happened to walk in on that part. But oh well… There was always next time.
...XoXoXo...
There wasn't a next time.
The chilling words "We are coming" took the world by storm, stopping every little thing in its tracks and there was no fun to be had after that.
Torchwood was terrified. Jack was terrified. More than being terrified of the sacrifice Earth would have to make, Jack was terrified of what Ianto would say about what he did, in the past. He knew it was wrong of him to value Ianto over the thousands, if not millions of children the Four-Five-Six would demand. He knew it was wrong for him to keep it from Ianto until it was nearly too late.
Jack told the team about what had happened all those years ago; in 1965 when he surrendered twelve children in exchange for the sparing of twenty-five million. The look in the Welshman's eyes when he told them... it broke Jack's heart.
But later, that night when they slept fitfully in that warehouse, awaiting their impending meeting with the Four-Five-Six, Ianto unexpectedly hugged Jack close. He was obviously crying; Jack felt tears drip onto the side of his face while Ianto embraced him tightly from behind.
"I forgive you…" He whispered ever-so-quietly. "I understand."
Jack rolled around onto his other side, so he could face the beautiful, loving Ianto. He wrapped the big blanket around them before kissing the young man softly.
A soft whisper of, "I don't deserve you, Ianto Jones," escaped Jack's lips.
And he could have never meant it more in his entire life than he did right then.