AN: I am spending way too much time reading Owen/Ianto smut as research (yeah, right…) for my missing scene from this story. I blame "rosieposy" entirely…
Time for cup of tea I think. Get reading and reviewing whilst I go put the kettle on x
"I know you like to be early Ianto, but even this must be a new record." Jack called down from the gantry with a grin as he checks the time on his wrist-strap and sees that it's barely past 4am.
Ianto stops in his journey across the Hub where he is heading for Jack's office and looks up at his Captain and former lover before replying. "You love me?" He asks in a tone that Jack can't decipher, not that he ever could tell what the Welshman was thinking, even when they were together.
The grin falters and slips from his face. "He told you?" He replies with a hint of embarrassment and fear.
"Yeah he did. He has a tendency to tell me things at the appropriate moment. Maybe you should take lessons." Ianto replied as Jack walks down the stairs, hands deep in his trouser pockets, a subdued look on his face. "What are you hoping to achieve?" Ianto asks.
"What do you mean?" Jack replies confused.
"Are you trying to get me back? Are you trying to mess with my head? Are you trying to mess with his? I don't know what game it is you're playing, but its getting old now Jack." Ianto snaps angrily. "You had me, you could have had me for the rest of my life, but you broke us, you broke what we had, and now you don't get me any more. Now he gets me. Without the games and without any of the pain. Did he tell you he loved me?" He asked.
Jack nods. "He did." He admits.
"What absolutely blows my mind about Owen right now, is that he is worried how him and I being together will affect you and me. We used to have this incredible relationship Jack, even before us. After Lisa… we became really close, and the trust was always there, and I felt like we understood each other. I miss that. How did we get to here? How did we let things get to the stage where I'm lying to the team about how I got this bruise on my face to protect you? How did we get to the stage where we're hurting each other like this? I miss us Jack… the us that we had before we let our excuse for a relationship ruin it. That's the Jack I want back in my life. That's the Jack I miss." Ianto spoke passionately and neither man was surprised when tears began to seep from the Welshman's eyes. Jack reached out one hand, cupping Ianto's cheek and thumbing away his tears before pulling him into a hug that almost consumed him.
"I'm so sorry Ianto." Jack murmured as he held him to his chest. "I'm so sorry for everything." He echoed as he planted a gentle kiss to the side of Ianto's head. The Welshman's arm slid around Jack's waist and he hugged back, for a moment allowing himself to feel safe and comforted in the immortal man's arms. His face became buried in Jack's neck and the scent that had brought them together so many months ago drifted into his nose and threatened to take him again. Pulling back from Jack's neck but remaining in his embrace he looked up at the immortal man, locking his own eyes with the sparkling blue before him.
"I will always love you Jack, for so many reasons, and I hope we can get back what we lost, but that's as far as it will ever go. You know that, yeah?" Ianto explained.
Jack nodded. "I know." He breathed.
A small smile flickered onto Ianto's face as he extracted himself from Jack's arms. "Too early for a coffee?" He asked wiping his hand across his face and through his hair, messing it up slightly.
"I'd go home and change if I were you, unless you want Tosh and Gwen to think you stayed here last night." Jack suggested.
Ianto nodded as he looked down at yesterday's suit. "Not the confession I had in mind for today." He mused.
Jack smiled. "Before you go…" He began as Ianto set off towards the door. He turned back and looked at Jack, who stepped forward cautiously and placed his hand back on Ianto's cheek. Dipping his head forward he placed a soft kiss onto the younger man's lips, a kiss so unlike any other he'd received from Jack that Ianto was too shocked to stop him. "I will always love you too." Jack whispered before turning on his heel and striding back up to his office without a backward glance.
As Ianto stood routed to the spot in shock his mobile rang in his pocket. "Yep?" He said with a mildly shaky voice as he answered, not checking to see who it was.
"Why are you not still led in my bed?" Owen's voice sounded a strange mixture of sleepy and concerned.
Ianto smiled. "Because I'm an idiot." He said as he walked towards the cog door, the fanfare sounding as he passed through.
"Are you at the Hub?" Owen asked through a yawn.
"You know anywhere else with that unsubtle a door bell?" Ianto joked. "I'm heading back to mine to change. Do you want me to come back to yours after?" He asked as he rode the lift to the surface.
"Are you okay?" Owen checked.
Ianto nodded unseen as he stepped out onto the boardwalk. "I'm fine." He said softly.
"Okay." Owen accepted. "How long will you be before you get here?"
"Why do you miss me?" Ianto asked striding across the Plass.
"More than you know." Owen admitted in a rare moment of honesty.
"I'll be about twenty minutes. I'll grab a bag, throw some clothes in and I'll get changed when I've finished in your shower." Ianto replied.
"Why don't you bring you a few changes of clothes… maybe a toothbrush…" Owen's voice trailed off.
Ianto stopped in his tracks, still holding the phone to his ear but not speaking.
"Ianto?" Owen said.
"I'm here. Sorry I… what did you just ask me to do?" He asked carefully.
"It's just that my place is bigger than yours… nicer views… and I thought maybe you'd… stay?" Owen asked nervously, and it became clear that he wasn't just asking Ianto to stay for night or two.
"Are you serious?" Ianto asked.
"Yeah… is that okay?" Owen asked.
"I'll grab a few things… and we'll… see okay? It's been two days Owen." Ianto replied gently as he restarted his journey.
"I know." Owen conceded. "But I love you, and I don't want to lose you."
"And you're thinking that what? If I move in you can keep me? I'm not a possession Owen. Or is that you don't trust me?" Ianto asked a little angrily.
"Look at it from my point of view. I tell you that the man you have loved forever loves you too, and when I wake up an hour later you're gone from my bed, and when I call you're in the Hub with him. How does that look to you?" Owen retaliated.
"It looks like your problem, not mine." Ianto snapped before hanging up the call and stuffing the phone back into his pocket angrily.