AN: The fluff will be in the next chapter I promise. It was meant to be in this one… but I kind of spiralled into angst. Sorry.
Please keep your ideas coming, and please keep reviewing x
Owen walked cautiously into the archives; his hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his jeans and his head bowed slightly as he approached Ianto's desk. The Welshman was sat with his back to the entrance hunched over his desk writing.
"When I was with Katie I was totally different to how I am now." He began gently. "I'd found this amazing person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and who wanted to spend the rest of theirs with me, and I couldn't be happier. Then it all fell apart. When I lost her and Jack brought me to Cardiff and introduced me to this mad world of aliens and rifts and chaos that we live in I changed. Or at least I pretended to change. I went out at the end of every day into the city, into the nearest bar and I drank to help me forget the shit I was living in. I drank and I drank and I shagged anyone I could just to distract me from my pitiful life. I pretended to be this confident bloke who was just sleeping around. In reality I was just trying to find someone I could talk to, someone I could fall in love with, someone I could spend the rest of my life with. I just didn't realise that the person I was looking for was you. And now I have you I am so scared that I'm going to lose you, just like I lost Katie. I am so scared that someone is going to take you away from me, that you'll realise I'm this big fraud and that you won't want me anymore." Owen's voice began to falter.
Ianto turned around slowly on his chair and looked up at the other man. "I don't know what you want from me Owen, I don't know what more I can do. I am with you, I love you, and I am moving in with you. What else can I do?" He asked exasperatedly.
Owen shook his head. "I don't know." He replied softly before turning around and walking back out the archives. Ianto sighed as he rose to his feet slowly and shut down his computer. Pulling his jacket on he left the archives and returned to the main Hub level and walked over to the conference room. Jack, Tosh and Gwen were sat around the table eating the Chinese he'd brought back as Tosh explained what she'd found on the CCTV. The conversation stopped as Ianto entered.
"Where is he?" He asked simply.
Gwen and Tosh shrugged as they kept eating. Jack shook his head as he swallowed. "He went out about two minutes ago." He explained.
Ianto sighed and shook his head. "I'll take my PDA with me. Send any of the witness statements you need me to read to it. We'll be back as soon as possible." He said looking at Jack and ignoring the eye roll from Gwen.
Jack nodded. "Take your time." He said with a small smile.
"Thank you Jack." Ianto replied before walking back out the conference room, through the Hub and out through the cog door. He jogged straight to his car and jumped inside before speeding off towards Owen's apartment. Parking up he took the bag out of the glove box and shoved it into his pocket before hurrying inside and boarded the lift, going straight up the correct floor and using his own key to let himself inside.
"Owen?" He called gently as he kicked off his shoes and hung his jacket in the hall. Walking into the lounge he looked around but Owen wasn't there, however his keys were on the bench top.
"Owen?" He called again a little louder as he walked back along the hall and pushed open the bedroom door. "Oh Owen." He breathed as he found the other man led on the bed with tears streaming from his eyes. Ianto padded over to the bed and climbed on pulling Owen up into his arms. "I love you, you idiot. I love you, so please stop this. Stop this, and trust me. Just trust me." He murmured into Owen's hair as the other man clung to him, sobbing into his chest.
"I love you too, and I'm sorry." Owen replied as he leant back and wiped his eyes. "I don't want to lose you." He said softly.
"So don't." Ianto replied.
Owen nodded.
"I just left my things around the place. I hope you don't mind." Ianto said as he leant back on the headboard and pulled Owen into his arms.
Owen shook his head. "I like seeing your things here. Though your taste in music is questionable." He replied.
Ianto chuckled. "I hope you don't mind the photo on the fridge." He said seriously.
"She's an important part of your life, just like Katie is of mine. I don't want you to forget her." Owen said. "Who is that in the frame? I recognise you and Rhiannon, but who is the man?" He asked glancing at the photo on the nightstand.
"The man is my father." Ianto said simply.
Owen studied the photo closely. "Oh yeah, I can see the resemblance. You have his eyes." He said.
"Thankfully that's where the similarity ends." Ianto murmured. "My father was a drunk, and he was a coward, and he was a bully. He fell apart when my mother left and began drinking heavily. I was too young to notice at the time, but the smell of alcohol became part of my growing up. I didn't realise that was a bad thing until I was older." He said with a wry smile. "When I first challenged him about it I was eleven years old, and he just yelled at me. He yelled and yelled, and it was as though his frustration for the last six years was coming out all at once. He shouted at me every day from then on. I was an easy target. Rhiannon was fifteen and had her group of friends. She'd stay over at their houses, spend weekends with them, she'd just escape. I was eleven and alone. I couldn't escape. I had nowhere to go to escape. So I stayed. I stayed and I let him shout at me over and over again. It went on for seven years." He explained softly.
Owen sighed. "Ianto I'm so sorry." He said as he sat up and turned so he was facing Ianto.
The Welshman shrugged. "It's okay."
"No it's not." Owen shook his head. "He should never have treated you like it was your fault. It was never your fault." He said placing his hand on Ianto's cheek.
"He said it was. He said it was my fault my mother left. It was my fault he drank. It was my fault he…" Ianto's breath hitched in his throat.
"Ianto?" Owen prompted carefully. "Ianto what did he do to you?" He asked.
Ianto shook his head as tears filled his eyes. "Doesn't matter." He said quickly as he brought his hand up to his eyes.
"Ianto please. Talk to me. What did he do to you?" Owen asked taking hold of Ianto's wrist and pulling his hand gently away from his face, clutching it firmly as he saw the tears that were spilling down the younger mans face.
"He…" Ianto took a deep breath. "He hit me. He hit me everyday for seven years." He said before breaking down and crumbling into Owen's arms.