Finally he ran out of excuses to stay in the basement. It was now afternoon and his growling stomach told him that he was overdue for some food. Taking his beans upstairs, he brought them over to the counter and stepped behind it to store them. He saw Ticia looking at him and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yes?" He said. She had the oddest look on her face.

"Ianto, you didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," she said with a laugh. He stared blankly at her for a moment.

"Erm, well, it didn't come up. Why do you mention it?" He asked, blushing slightly. It sounded so weird to hear someone say that to him that he didn't know how to respond.

"Because he came in, but didn't want me to get you since you were busy downstairs," Ticia leaned in and winked at him.

"Did he, really?" Ianto said in surprise. Ticia nodded and pointed over his shoulder. Turning, he saw Jack seated at a table with his chin resting in his hand. Only he had to do a double take, since he had never seen Jack dressed like that before.

Jack had definitely embraced the idea of going under disguise and had dressed rather flamboyantly. Ianto was quite taken aback by his outfit. He wore simple black trousers but topped that with the most outrageous shirt that Ianto had ever seen. It had more colors than should be in one piece of fabric and was almost blinding. He had topped that off with a bright yellow scarf which he had loosely tied around his throat and draped off to one side.

"Interesting outfit," Ticia said. "But then, I guess all artists are a bit colorful."

"Yes, colorful is an apt description for Jack," Ianto said in bemusement. "Will you excuse me?" Ticia nodded and he turned towards the counter. Lifting the divider, he passed under it and let it drop behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mrs. Trundle watching them.

"Jack, darling! What a surprise!" He headed over to Jack's table and leaned down to give him a kiss. Jack wrapped his hand around Ianto's shoulders and hugged him.

"Come here, sweetheart and let me hold you!" Jack said in a very camp voice and pulled Ianto protesting onto his lap. They kissed again and he looked over Ianto's shoulder to see the proprietor watching them. "You fell asleep last night so early I felt all put out!"

Ianto's lips twitched. He didn't think he was going to be able to get through this without laughing out loud. He cuddled his face into Jack's neck. "Jack, please!"

Jack snuggled him closer before lowering his voice to a murmur right next to Ianto's ear. "Well, I figured I need to play the possessive lover to warn that troll off. If she isn't an alien I'll eat my vortex manipulator! " He raised his voice as Ianto heard footsteps behind them. "Awww, baby, I miss you."

"I miss you too, honey, but this is a great place, and think of the money!" Ianto said with a laugh as he pulled back. "Really, you need to let me get back to work. Time is money, after all!" He was still sitting on Jack's lap when Mrs. Trundle came into his view. "Hello."

"And who's this?" The squat woman asked, eyeing Jack with suspicion. Ianto struggled to get out of Jack's embrace. Eventually managing it, he worked at straightening his clothing before turning towards the proprietor. It gave him time to school his expression.

"Mrs Trundle, this is Jack, my lover. Jack, Mrs. Trundle, proprietor of the Coffi Emporium," Ianto said, making the introductions. Jack waved a rather limp wrist at Mrs. Trundle and Ianto had to look away towards the door before he laughed.

"Ah, so you're the woman who stole my honey away," Jack cried, his voice an octave higher than it normally was. "You naughty woman!" Standing up, he pushed past Ianto and flounced over to where she was standing. She backed off nervously. "Surely you won't work the poor dear to death, will you?"

She looked helplessly at Ianto. "Oh stop it, Jack!" He chided the other man. "She'll do nothing of the sort."

"I should hope not," Jack exclaimed, his voice going even higher. Ianto had to bite his lip in response. "I need you ship shape for my opening next week."

"And what do you do, sir?" Mrs. Trundle asked politely, hoping to change the conversation.

"I am an artist!" Jack exclaimed and tossed one end of his scarf over his shoulder. He seemed to be going too far in Ianto's opinion, but Mrs. Trundle didn't look suspicious at all. If anything, she looked horrifyingly fascinated with him. "I had an exhibit opening next week, so I need my Ianto rested or else I'll be a wreck."

"I'll be fine, Jack," Ianto assured him. "It was just the first day was a little long." Jack turned to look at him and rubbed his eye. Ianto shook his head. "No need to worry about me." Jack frowned at him. He shrugged. "I've been busy working. As you can see, with all the stuff to do around here there hasn't been a lot of time to do anything else." Jack pouted at him. "Now don't pout at me, you know what that does to me."

Mrs. Trundle backed off from the couple and escaped through the curtained opening to the back room. A glance at the counter showed Ticia was listening avidly while serving a customer who had walked in.

"I need to get back to work, sweetheart," Ianto said and opened his arms. Jack moved into his embrace and they hugged tightly. "If I can get into the basement," he whispered into Jack's ear, "I'll put the contacts on. Otherwise there's nothing to see." Pulling back, he gave Jack a lingering kiss on the lips. "Now let me get back to work, or I'll be stuck here even later."

"Can't have that, I'm taking you out to dinner tonight," Jack told him. He smiled sweetly at Ianto. "And I don't want you late! Down on the wharf on time, you hear me?"

"Yes, love," Ianto said, pulling his arms away from Jack's waist. "But I have a lot to do before then, so you can't stay here and be a distraction. Besides, don't you have a painting to work on?"

"Oh, that!" Jack exclaimed with a sigh. "I'm just totally blocked without you as my inspiration there." Ianto smiled, unable to hold back any longer. "Well, if you insist, I'll leave now." He sashayed past Ianto to the counter where he waved to Ticia. "You take care, you hear?" Ticia giggled and nodded. "Then I'll see you later!" He turned back to Ianto, who was still standing behind him. "And I'll see you for dinner, handsome." He gave Ianto another kiss before turning towards the door. "Ta!"

Ianto shook his head as the bell jingled and the door was closed shut. "Sorry about that, Ticia," he said ruefully. "I love the man dearly, but he can be a handful sometimes." That was the biggest understatement he had ever uttered.