A/N: Hello all! This one was first under the name of 'Love it When you Call' in GPYRO. Hannah xxx
"Ianto" Toshiko called, waltzing through into the living room carrying a mug of tea which was precariously sloshing around inside and threatening to spill over the edges. It was a Sunday and almost noon which meant that, unlike the roommate who's attention she was now demanding, she herself was still dressed in her pyjamas (which would most likely stay on all day unless she desperately had to venture out… and sometimes they might stay on even if she did!) and had only been awake for half an hour or so.
"Yes?" Ianto enquired from his arm chair, looking up from his Sudoku and turning to face the familiar sight of his roommate, slightly dishevelled after a good thirteen hours of sleep. As usual, he had risen with the sun and then decided upon heading out for a short jog before returning to eat a breakfast of strong coffee and toast with marmite, followed by a relaxing shower and a change into old jeans, white t-shirt and a favourite burgundy cardigan.
"What would you say to the idea of a sort of drinks and nibbles type do next Saturday? Now that Owen and I are 'officially' a couple we thought it might be nice to host one and invite a few of our single friends, get some quality wine in and have a bit of a formal get together" She finished smiling.
Ianto Jones soon found himself smiling back. It had been almost a month now since Jack's costume party, and since Tosh and Owen first began that awkward stage of a new relationship cursed with the phrase 'seeing each other'… he'd always hated that ambiguous term… but anyway, the young Welshman was sincerely happy for his dear friend who had liked the Doctor for some time now. Initially, he had been uncertain of his suitability as a boyfriend for his beloved Tosh – he'd only previously met him in passing and the young man never came off particularly favourably in these brief encounters – and it had certainly taken him long enough to notice her in return… but after getting to know him a little better, and seeing how strangely perfect the pair were for each other, Ianto had made up his mind that he really was the best thing that had happened to Tosh in recent months.
"Who else might be coming" He asked, mainly out of courtesy, not even giving a second though as to whose names she might list off.
"Well there'll be you, Owen and I, obviously, and then there are his friends Martha Jones and Tom Milligan and Rhys Williams, and then my friend Gwen who you'll probably remember from that Christmas party a few years back and…. Jack" She finished, trailing off towards the end of the sentence and biting her lip a little, nervously awaiting his response.
The Welshman sat opposite her just raised up his left eyebrow in that classic Ianto manner and began to speak.
"Jack? You're inviting… Jack?" He questioned dubiously. "And why might I ask is there an even number of males and females invited aside from him and I?"
"Wel…" Tosh mumbled a little "I just, well I thought you might like…" She trailed off again, embarrassed to admit that trying to set him up with her American pal was another one of the reasons she had for holding this dinner party in the first instance.
"What on Earth sort of a scheme have you got going on here Miss Sato?"
"No, no. No scheme I promise, there's nothing!" She lied, rather convincingly. "But… I thought you liked him?"
The Welshman sighed, he'd known that she would eventually want to talk to him about Jack and find out exactly what was going on, in fact, he was amazed that she hadn't tried sooner. He'd been dreading it partially because he hated opening up to others about his feelings and emotions, it made him feel awkward and embarrassed and naked, but mainly because he hadn't the faintest idea how he was supposed to address such a question.
After that rather bizarre meeting between the pair in Ianto's favourite café he'd barely seen the American; he'd popped in to Cardiff Central Library for a quick chat – but Ianto had been working and so that was all it had been, and he really didn't feel comfortable trying to explain why 'The Karma Sutra' was not a book the library stocked in front of a large audience – and Tosh had organised a pub outing that they had both attended, but there were too many people there for them to have had a proper chance to talk, but they'd both been busy, him especially with that new Burberry contract.
In a way Ianto was glad that things had worked out this way, by limiting his contact with Jack he had managed to avoid confronting the fact that he was maybe (just maybe) attracted to another man, and that he had genuinely enjoyed that one off drunken kiss. But a large part of him was also a little melancholic at the fact that nothing more had really happened between the two of them, friendship wise or otherwise. The Welshman had left that first outing feeling confused and a little terrified by what exactly he might have been feeling, but he had thought he was certain about the fact that he at least would be gaining a new friend if nothing more. When he had met up with him, he'd been struck each time with the same sense of awe at how ridiculously attractive the man before him was… and how ridiculous it was that he found a man attractive… and how ridiculous it was that a man like that could find a man life him attractive… and it was all highly confusing. He was a little ashamed it admit that it had been easier to ignore this and ignore him than well… admit that how utterly upside down and mesmerised he felt in that man's presence.
"Well…" He began to answer Tosh after realising he had remained silent for a good few minutes. He sighed once more, "I really have no idea… I mean I like him yes, and he's hilarious and witty and fun to be with…"
"…And?"
"AND… well, I suppose I do think he's handsome" Ianto almost whispered.
It was Tosh's turn to raise an eyebrow now. "Alright – very handsome" Ianto blushed.
A large grin began to spread across the Japanese woman's face, "Marvellous! So… what's the problem then?"
The Welshman before her sighed for the umpteenth time "I just… it's not me, I mean… I don't do men, I don't like guys… not like that and I'm not sure about what any of it actually means and I don't want to do anything stupid on an impulse that I might regret later!"
She just rolled her eyes "You think about things far too much sometimes" She giggled.
"I just can't switch the old brain off" He replied, joining in with her laughter.
"Just take bit more time to get to know him properly, and well… see if you firm up on your opinion of him either way in the process, it can't hurt!"
"Fine! But I'm not promising anything! I know what you're like Tosh; you just want a gay best friend to go shopping with and get manicures with and watch Miss Congeniality with…"
"Ianto, you already do two out of three!"
He rolled his eyes expertly, "I know, I know. All I'm trying to say is no pressure ok?"
"None whatsoever, I promise" She replied smiling. "Although you have to promise that you will AT LEAST talk to him on Saturday!" she said, extending her little finger out towards him.
"Alright, fine. I promise" He said, reaching his own little finger out to link through hers and seal the deal.
"Oh and… you wouldn't mind calling him to invite him over would you… I'm just so busy" She begged.
"Fine. FINE. But you had better not ask anything more from me for a good while Miss Sato!" He grumbled reluctantly.
"Thank you!" She giggled as he got up from his arm chair and stormed off to his bedroom to take the call in private.
"Hello you've reached Jack Harkness, international sex god with licence to thrill" the cheerful American voice greeted the young Welshman after several rings, Ianto's own voice caught in his throat at the older man's greeting.
"Umm, hi. It's Ianto, Tosh's friend" He eventually managed to stumble through, suddenly worried a) about whether or not he would actually remember him, after all, it had been a long month and Ianto had never thought of himself as particularly memorable… but more worryingly to him that b) he might have recognised precisely who was ringing him using the caller ID, and purposefully greeted Ianto in that manner.
"Oh hey! Long-time no see!" Jack replied.
Jack suddenly worried that he seemed all too eager in his response to Ianto's greeting because, truth be told; he really was excited to hear from the Welshman. After their enjoyable, if a little unusual meeting at that obscure but lovely café… nothing further had really happened and that was something that he regretted mightily. He'd understood from the young man's uncertainty and awkwardness towards the end of their outing that anything 'romantic' was pretty much out of the question for now at least, the younger man clearly confused by whatever attraction he was feeling towards a man of the same gender and had yet to come to terms with it. But he really had thought that they would make good on their ending 'promise' that they would at least try and make a go of being friends… and he'd hoped that by this stage, a month on, he wouldn't have needed to refer to himself as 'Tosh's friend'. And, he wasn't ashamed to admit, that he had hoped that a month or so might have been long enough for Ianto to make up his mind and for them to become…. more than friends!
But for one reason or another this just hadn't happened. He himself had been incredibly busy with his new modelling contract with Burberry; there had been magazine adverts to shoot, TV commercials to film and billboard adverts to photograph, all of which had require test shoots beforehand and, not to mention, the hours of gym going and grooming etc. that had all been done in preparation.
And Ianto, well, the Welshman seemed to be holding Jack at arm's length and he would have liked to have said that this was down to Ianto's own hectic schedule… but Jack was certain that it was simply that he was having doubts and wanted to forget that any of this had ever happened. So, when he heard Ianto's voice on the other end of the phone line… he couldn't help but feel a little bit optimistic.
"What's with the Tosh's friend bit – thought I'd forgotten you?" He asked quickly, before Ianto had even managed to reply, hoping to tone down the levels of excitement in his voice.
The Welshman could practically hear the wink in his voice. He felt himself blushing a little, he'd been proven wrong on both of his worries as Jack seemed neither to have known prior to Ianto's own announcement that it was in fact him calling, and he certainly seemed to recall who he was. "Well… maybe I don't know… just thought that you might have… well you've been busy and off meeting lots of people with your new contract and…" He tried to explain, flustered to a frustrating extent – he was usually the image of composure.
The American laughed down the phone line, "Well, that's as may be… not met anyone as interesting as you though."
"Oh haha… Jack, you're working with Burberry! You must have met a hundred designers and photographers and magazine editors and other models that are all much more captivating than I" Ianto rolled his eyes.
"Hmm I beg to differ, but I will say that the female model that I've been working with might be a contender" He grinned.
"Well, you can tell me all about it properly, face to face, on Saturday if you like. Tosh and Owen are having a little drinks 'do' at ours and she wanted me to invite you." Ianto said, biting his lip a little as he waited for Jack's reply.
"Sounds perfect! What time?" Jack asked eagerly.
"About eightish I believe… though, should I tell you half seven and then that way we might see you before nine?" Ianto asked sarcastically.
"Oh shut your mouth!" Jack exclaimed, laughing loudly. "I'll do my best to be on time… although you are supposed to be fashionably late to parties!"
"Yes, but it's arguable about how late is fashionable… and what degree of lateness wouldn't be suitable to be sold in Primark!"
"Fine, I promise no more than fifteen minutes tops."
"Deal" Ianto said firmly, chuckling a little. "…looking forward to seeing you." He said with a little less certainty.
"You too! It's a date" Jack said and hung up before Ianto could dispute that fact…
Not that Ianto was entirely certain that he wanted to dispute Jack's throw away comment anyway; the phone call had given him just a glimpse of the connection he had felt with the man at both his party and at the café all those weeks ago. He found communicating with the man as easy and simple as it was to do so with Tosh, whom he had known for five years, and just hearing his husky American voice was enough to bring the image of his perfect face into his mind and distract his usually coherent thoughts. This was why Ianto had limited their contact, because when he was away from Jack, it was easy to pretend it was all nothing, that it was all in his head, a fleeting fancy and nothing more. But a mere telephone call with the man had been enough to remind him how exactly Jack made him feel… and it was terrifying.