A/N: Serious spoilers for They Keep Killing Suzie. Also, bit more of an adult theme in this.

Life in the hub seemed to conspire against Ianto and his patience was waning. There was never a good moment to flirt, never a good opportunity to get close, and there hadn't been a good opening in conversations to drop an innuendo. Extremely dissapointing.

After the third time in as many days at a failed attempt Ianto gave up. If it happened, then it happened. If not, then that was the way it was supposed to be. After all, the banter he shared with Jack was never something either of them seemed to have to try at; it just came naturally.

Failed attempts and giving up looking for flirtatious opportunities aside, he still thought about the older man. In truth he still lusted after the man. So much so, Ianto was regularly having to 'deal' with himself in the mornings...and the evenings. He used the time to try out new things. A twist of his hand here, pressure applied differently there, slower more controlled movements, and once or twice (alright more than that) he explored more of surrounding areas and was pleased to say the least. He knew what he liked sure, but what would Jack like? Jack, that overly handsome man...

Every time he stole a glance at Jack he admired what he saw. He admired it so much in fact he decided to make a game of it. Standing behind Jack often led to a nice view of his boss's backside, a very tempting view indeed, so Ianto tried to do it as often as he could. Ianto was pleased to note he was winning this game.

He often found himself imagining things to do to Jack while secretly gazing at him and wondered if the older man had done the same to him. Jack's flirtations seemed to have slowed down, but Ianto chalked it up to being busy. Actually, now that Ianto was thinking on it, He hasn't made any advances since Lisa. He let that thought sink in. A sick worried twist in his stomach began to form, What if I don't stand a chance with him anymore because of what I've done?

That was the way Ianto started his morning in the hub while the others went off to investigate some suspicious murders.

Murders which it turns out were connected to Retcon. Ianto rubbed the back of his head when he heard about the amnesia pills being involved. They had used a lot of Retcon over the years. Thankfully it was well documented. Still, that left 2,008 suspects. Ianto's mind was finally given a case to work on that was enough of a distraction from thinking about Jack that he was able to stop trying to flirt completely. He let out a frustrated sigh and squared his shoulders as he set himself to task.

Jack always noticed Ianto.

Sometimes though, it felt like he hadn't seen the young man in days. He knew he was around, he would catch glimpses of the young man in the corner of his eye and paper work was filed away unerringly, but he hadn't gotten a good look at the Welshman in a while.

Things weren't always so easy at Torchwood to allow time for flirtations. It had been a while since he was able to flirt with Ianto and it was starting to bother Jack.

Jack had always noticed Ianto's uncanny ability to recall seemingly endless information about Torchwood. He liked to think Ianto was just a good listener and would quietly brush up on any topic before meetings took place; having heard key phrases he intuitively knew what to look up. If that was the case Jack wanted to stump the young man; so Jack began playing a little game. Any time he was able to direct a question at Ianto about a Torchwood fact he would, and Ianto never failed to provide the answer. Jack was not pleased to note he was losing.

2,008 people have been administered Retcon. Jack didn't even think of his game when he asked Ianto to supply the figure. He was starting to take this particular skill of Ianto's for granted. It was quickly replaced by a new skill.

"The Risen Mitten." Giving names to all the previously unnamed alien artifacts. Correction: giving them cool names.

Everyone stood and stared at Ianto. The young man had been relatively quiet today and it was the perfect name for the glove really. No one expected it from the reserved young man; it was a bit of a shock.

"I think it's catchy" Ianto said to the silent faces and Jack looked at him properly for the first time in days. The innocent look on Ianto's face made a wave of protectiveness wash over him. There were times he forgot how young Ianto was. And now that he was looking at him properly he realized there were times he forgot just how good the young man looked in those suits of his. Ianto seemed to have been just in the corner of Jack's eye for the past few days and he realized he missed a wonderful opportunity to show off his arse to the young man.

The banter between Ianto and Owen was oddly refreshing to Jack also. If anyone were to actually observe the young, suit clad man, they would be able to see a subtle shift in his attitude. His steps were a bit lighter, his wit a bit sharper, and his eyes shone a bit more. The only one who ever seemed to see Ianto was Jack and he wasn't about to let on he noticed the change. Besides, he was too busy with this current case.

"Life Knife"

And before Jack knew it Suzie was alive, staying alive, and he was on his way to a club to look for the possible next victim and/or Max, the murderer. It gave him a moment to think about Ianto at least. Not intentionally mind, the young man slipped into his head when he considered coming back to this club for a good time. He could think of all manner of things to do with the young man while at a club. To be fair he could think of all manner of things to do to anyone while at a club. Or at a pub. Or a beach. Or in the car...anywhere really. This was Jack after all.

Since Ianto informed Jack he was "fine", Jack had been looking for the young man to start flirting, or leering, or something, but there was nothing so far. They had been busy lately though. Still, Jack had given up looking for it and resigned himself to waiting for it to just happen when it happened.

He did dedicate his use of the stun gun to the young man though. He had to have some sort of fun at work after all.

Back at the hub and in his office Jack focused on paper work with one half of his brain while the other was trying to ignore the problems they were currently facing: A seemingly catatonic serial killer who turned violent hearing the word "Torchwood" locked in their vaults and a previously dead operative who was also a serial killer and now seemed stuck in the land of the living. He wanted to have this all sorted and sit down with a cup of coffee and ponder more delectable things; like Ianto.

The day had other things in mind for him. After Gwen left his office he sat back with a frustrated sigh and set his jaw as he contemplated his choices.