I am so terribly sorry about the long delay, it's been crazy! Chapters will be coming far more quickly now (and will also be getting much longer), considering I got Torchwood Season 2 and Children Of Earth for Christmas, so I'll be more inspired to write more, and when I can't quite remember what happened next, I have season 2 to watch over again. Enjoy!

Chapter Two

During the trip back, Ianto had thought that he'd never find someone more irritating than Captain Jack Harkness. And then, a few hours after the man had returned, he'd been introduced to someone who had proved Ianto completely wrong. Captain John Hart was annoying, arrogant, and on more than one occasion Ianto had felt the urge to either knee or kick him where it would kill. Therefore, it didn't really surprise the Welshman all that much that both captains had worked together in the past.

After having to endure them flirting, he'd slunk down into the archives to sort through items he hadn't properly checked in from the past week (more to take his mind off everything before he went mental). Sliding some type of stun gun Owen had found on an alien that had crashed into the ocean into an evidence bag, Ianto bent down to scribble the needed information on the white strip on top of the bag, not paying any attention to the sudden sound of footsteps behind him. It wasn't until he heard a cheerful, "hello, Eyecandy" that the Welshman turned abruptly with a slight, disapproving scowl aimed at Hart.

He forced it back, swallowing heavily, although Ianto's eyes narrowed just slightly. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Sir?" Hart gave a bark of laughter, tilting his head back. "I can see another reason he likes you." The man settled his hands on his hips, sharp gaze suddenly falling onto the Welshman who fought the urge to nervously shuffle backwards. That was the difference between Jack and this man - Hart carried a type of malevolence with him that Ianto couldn't see in his boss. "Tell me, Mister Jones, how do you feel about him?"

Ianto was fairly sure he could see a threat forming in Hart's eyes, a dangerous promise that the man intended to carry through if Ianto didn't choose his words carefully. Although, as far as Ianto was considered, if he could handle monsters and cannibals and every other horrible thing he'd faced since joining Torchwood, he could handle one man. How ever unstable he happened to be. "I don't see how that is any of your business."

Turning on the spot, Ianto looked back down on the evidence bag, trying to ignore the presence of the man behind him. It failed, however, when two hands slammed down on either side of him and a body pressed hard against Welshman's back. Clenching his own hands into fists, Ianto glanced over to where he'd laid down his weapon with an itching desire to snatch it back up, tensing when Hart leaned closer and started to mutter into his ear.

"Listen to me, Eyecandy." The sarcastic playfulness that had been in that incredibly stupid nickname had vanished, making it sound more chilling and deadly. "Jack is mine. He might not acknowledge it, but he is. Go anywhere near him, and I'll have no qualms about snapping that pretty neck of yours."

Ianto gritted his teeth, hand twitching slightly as he considered making a grab for the gun. Before he could make up his mind, the intercom in his ear flicked on and Tosh's voice sounded. "Ianto, Jack wants us all up here now."

He felt Hart pull away, imagining the smirk on the man's lips before he took a deep breath. "I'll be right up."

R&R please and thank you!