A/N: Hello! Sorry it's been a little longer than I usually leave it, we've had family over for Easter and I've been trying (and failing) to revise and trying (and yet again failing) to finish of Ianto Jones's Diary... so yeah... sorry! But it is a long ch and I really hope you like it! Hannah xxx
The following two weeks in between Jack's unexpected, yet pleasant, phone call passed unbearably slowly for Jack. Not only was he as impatient as a child in waiting for the fun times ahead to roll on through, the final few weeks (for now) of his modelling work for Burberry had dragged by as the closing shots for a press campaign so often do – with ample time spent just sitting about and waiting while directors deliberated over reshooting sections, or altering the colouring of the photographs. By the time that Friday afternoon came about Jack was highly relieved that he was finished with all the fussing around and endless preening involved with work as a model, and whilst he had been fully grateful for the opportunity and wouldn't rush to turn down further work, he knew now why he had chosen to retire into the more relaxing life of a photographer. He was also relieved that he would now get to spend the entire weekend with his gorgeous Welshman, acting as full on, flirtatious and 'handsy 'as he wished (Well as Ianto would allow any how) in the public eye and generally enjoying touring the city and enjoying their trip to the theatre. Just a few last minute bits to pack – he had attempted to finish all of his packing on Thursday but as per usual there was a distraction, a repeat of the Steven Fry episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks on Dave it had been this time, which had prevented him from doing so – and then they would be away.
In opposition, the two weeks had passed remarkably quickly for the young Welshman who was both eager and uncontrollably excited for their weekend away to England's buzzing capital, but also sick to death with worry and nerves. It wasn't that in theory he was opposed to the idea of spending the weekend with Jack, in fact he was keen to spend as much time as possible with him these days, which was setting butterflies flying in his stomach; more rather that he knew exactly what this weekend would entail, the pair of them finally consummating their relationship, a thought which thrilled and terrified the Welshman in equal parts.
The problem wasn't that Ianto didn't like the American, he liked him a great deal, and if truth be told the problem wasn't even that things were happening too quickly –it simply boiled down to utter confliction between his own lusts and his sheer inexperience. He was fully aware of the fact that he was sure and fast becoming infatuated with the other man which had surprised him to a great deal; regardless of the fact that just three and a bit months ago he never could have picture himself in a relationship with someone of the same gender, it was how quickly he had grown so close to anyone after everything that had happened with Lisa which had caught him pleasantly by surprise. Yes, it had been a fair while now since she had left him, but he'd never really quite got over it all and found himself able to connect emotionally again until Jack (quite literally) swaggered into his life. And now that Ianto was unashamed and happy to admit and rejoice in this new found level of connection with another human being, he found himself – naturally – wanting to connect in other ways, ways in which he knew that Jack wanted to too if his wandering hands were anything to go by! But the question was – how on Earth did he go about it? Besides from kissing and perhaps a little basic use of his hands he had no idea how to progress, this was a territory entirely foreign too him and though he knew that Jack was aware of this and was doubtless that he would be kind and reassuringly slow, he felt a little embarrassed of his inexperience – as though he would be about to lose his virginity for a second time which, in a way, he supposed that he was.
It wasn't just technique, or lack of, and execution that Ianto was worried about as far as bedroom activity was concerned either. He was worried about how another man was going to react to him… naked and exposed… especially a man like Jack: Jack the model, Jack who exudes confidence from every pore, Jack with the perfect jawline and perfect teeth and perfect eyes and perfect tanned-but-not-too-tanned skin, and perfectly muscular arms and undoubtedly a perfectly formed set of chest muscles beneath his t-shirts. How could he live up to that? Ianto, with what he deemed an average face, pale skin, sprinklings of dark chest hair corrupting the plane of his lightly toned chest… and then there were other things to worry about… With a woman, he had never felt this sense of utter self-consciousness as it had always been she with the confidence issues, she who had the body hang ups and she who he would truthfully and eloquently praise in order to make them melt away – there was no time or room for him to consider the way he looked. But now… now things were troubling him big time, and on Friday, early afternoon, he arrived at an idea which seemed both helpful and logical (if potentially a little awkward an embarrassing) that he decided would certainly be a way forward with his predicament.
"Tosh? Is that you?" The Welshman called out from behind the closed door of his bedroom as he heard the door to their flat wing open. He was already prepared, stripped down to just a simple, inoffensive pair of blue and white checked underwear, and was stood with his hands firmly on his hips trying to feign confidence and pretend that he wasn't internally shaking with nerves and humiliation for what he was about to do.
"Mmhhmm hang on a sec" She called back, placing three heavy bags of shopping down on the counter before finishing "Yeah – who else would it be?"
The Welshman laughed nervously, "A burglar?"
"A burglar with a key?" Tosh laughed back
"Perhaps not…"
"Ianto, are you alright?" Toshiko asked frowning – her roommate was behaving in a highly peculiar manner she thought to herself.
"Umm yeah, well no actually… could you do me a favour?" He asked biting his lip.
"Ok…" Tosh replied back a little uncertainly.
"Could you just come in here for a minute, I need your help with something; I promise it won't take long"
She sighed to herself and shrugged before making her way over to the Welshman's door, "Alright then"
"Thank you, and I don't mean to alarm you, but I'm not wearing very many clothes…" Ianto said as Tosh flung open the door.
She burst into hysterics at the sight in front of her, at the underwear clad Ianto stood tall, with his hands on his hips and a face upon him that looked as though he was undergoing extreme torture.
"Oh god… if that's your reaction" The Welshman groaned dramatically and flopped down onto his bed.
Tosh, fighting to banish her giggles, sat down next to him and began to speak: "Ianto what on Earth is going on?"
Ianto flipped over to face his friend, "I was going to ask you for some advice because this weekend… well… it's… it's a big deal and… oh god, basically I think this weekend will be the first time that Jack and I… you know… and I'm kind of worried about how I… well, how I look… but clearly the sight of me semi-naked is hysterical so I have absolutely nothing to worry about" Ianto replied, sarcastically towards the end.
"Oh Ianto, it wasn't you that I was laughing at! Well it was… but not because of that! Just because I wasn't expecting to walk into such a sight! I mean you have to admit, that face you were pulling! And what was with that stance?" She laughed again.
"I was just trying to… oh never mind" He rolled his eyes before standing up again, "So… how do I look? I know you've seen me in my underwear before but could you just properly look for a second?" The Welshman asked, fiercely pretending that he wasn't blushing beetroot red at that second.
Toshiko looked him up and down for a second or two before replying, with a reassuring smile on her face, "You look fine Ianto – just fine – great in fact! Just stop worrying! Jack certainly seems to find you attractive enough, so there is no need to panic – in fact I can't believe that you two haven't… you know… already, considering what he's like!"
Ianto's blush reddened further, "I think he's been pacing things a bit, you know, because this is all new to me and well I basically haven't got a clue…"
"Honestly please, just stop worrying – or you won't enjoy it" Tosh nudged the Welshman suggestively, who had resumed his seat next to her.
He rolled his eyes in response.
"Am I alright to go now? Not that this hasn't been suitably entertaining… it's just I've got a bag of frozen peas and some ice cream slowly defrosting on the counter" Tosh smiled.
"Yeah sure, and thanks" Ianto replied, still not one hundred percent convinced but feeling ever so slightly better.
"Oh, actually, one more thing…" He called as Tosh was half way to the door. "How… how do I give a… oh never mind I'll use Google" Ianto hurried through, his blush returning as Tosh left the room giggling at his words.
The Welshman calmed himself with a quick shower and his second shave of the day, before dressing into his second favourite pair of straight leg jeans – they were the stone wash ones; he'd had a coffee accident involving the black pair – a red polo shirt and a chunky beige cardigan and restyling his newly shower-messed hair ready for Jack's imminent arrival. Jack was meeting him here at three o'clock sharp (he had sworn on his life that he wouldn't be late) in a taxi so that the two of them could travel to the station together to catch the 3.25 train to London. Surprisingly, Jack was bang on time, and the Welshman almost felt slightly rushed as he grabbed his leather hold all containing at least three changes of clothes in order to account for every foreseeable outing, his toiletries and other weekend away essentials, and slung his brown satchel containing his iPod, wallet and a book for the journey over his shoulder.
"Wish me luck!" He said with a parting kiss on the cheek to Tosh as he opened the door to greet Jack.
"Ianto!" Jack greeted him enthusiastically with a kiss, giving Tosh a little secret smile. "It feels like ages since I've seen you! You ready to go?" He asked.
"Absolutely" He smiled back, patting his heavy hold all and swallowing back his nerves.
"You boys have fun!" Tosh said as the two of them waved her goodbye and headed off downstairs to the waiting taxi.
The thought of an almost three hour long train journey had seemed a little daunting to both men, but as they boarded the surprisingly empty and quiet vehicle and curled up closely together in their seats, getting comfy in preparation for the long journey, the pair of them quickly drifted into a light slumber. They only awoke, thankfully, as the train was pulling in to Marylebone station, both of them surprised that they had managed to sleep for such a long time in such a public place, but both of them glad to have had the extra few hours shut eye and pleased that there had been no one (like Tosh or Owen for example) around to take photographic evidence of their nap. Groggily, they collected their overnight bags from the luggage compartment and made their way over to the taxi bay – both men had agreed that it was foolish to attempt to use the tube system with two large hold alls between them.
"Where exactly are we staying then?" Laughed the Welshman as he watched Jack attempt to whistle down a taxi; the American had been keeping their entire plans for the weekend a closely guarded secret.
Jack huffed a brief sigh of annoyance as yet another taxi drove by, before turning to face Ianto with a grin: "Ah well, I suppose it's time enough for me to tell you… but just before I do, I need you to promise not to flip out about costs or anything because I'm paying." Jack said quite firmly.
Ianto rolled his eyes, "I told you Jack, I'm happy to go halves – I might not be a model but I'm not on the verge of bankruptcy"
Jack laughed "I know, I know – it's just, well, it's The Savoy"
"The Savoy?" Ianto asked back incredulously, "Wow I mean, just wow! The Savoy! I can, well I can still pay for half honestly…" The Welshman insisted, hoping that it was a true statement.
"I thought you'd be surprised" Jack smiled. "But I'm serious Ianto, this weekend is my treat – I don't mind, hell I've just finished a job with Burberry, I have money to burn" He laughed.
"If you're sure… I just don't want you to feel as though I'm taking advantage of your generosity" Ianto replied uncertainly.
"Oh gee, well if that's the case then I'd better cancel the room, cancel our reservations for dinner and send back the theatre tickets!" The American replied back in a very Ianto esque sarcastic manner. "Of course I don't think you're taking advantage of me!" He reassured him.
"Well then… good" The Welshman smiled back. "What show are we seeing?"
Jack tapped his nose secretively, "All in good time, all in good time" He winked "Though if you manage to actually flag down a taxi for us then I might consider telling you early!" Jack sighed as yet another cab was claimed by someone who wasn't him.
Ianto grinned "With pleasure" He replied, before letting out an almighty whistle and causing the nearest empty taxi to grind to a halt beside their feet.
"How on Earth did you manage that?" Jack asked incredulously, highly impressed of his boyfriend.
"It's nothing, just a little skill of mine" Ianto grinned back.
"You have lots of these 'little skills' don't you Mr Jones" Jack replied suggestively wiggling his eyebrows as the pair of them, one now very pink in the face, loaded themselves and their luggage into the awaiting taxi.
By the time that they had arrived at the reception to their grand destination, it was nearing seven o'clock meaning that the boys had just half an hour to change and freshen up before their seven thirty dinner reservation at the hotel's restaurant. The Welshman had been a little worried about how the idea of the two men intending to share a room together for the following two nights might be received by the staff, but everyone on the reception desk was polite and charming, and the only comment made regarding their stay was their wishes that it was a pleasant one. They were shown up to their room by a polite young bell boy, whom was tipped by Ianto who had insisted that if Jack would not let him pay for the room then he could at least let him pay for this, and as Jack unlocked and opened their suite door in one swift motion Ianto's breath caught in his throat. Their room was magnificent. The door welcomed them in to a central living area, decorated in a flawlessly classic Edwardian style, with two comfortable looking sofas, an arm chair, a coffee table, a writing desk, beautiful paintings on the walls, an elegant Venetian glass mirror and a gorgeous fireplace. The sitting room had also been fully equipped with all of the essential modern gadgets: a sizable flat screen television with a satellite box and DVD player, an impressive looking stereo and an iPod docking station. The bathroom was just as great a pleasant shock as the living room, there was an enormous bath tub, a separate power shower, large mirrors on the wall, matching soft white dressing gowns and an assortment of Savoy toiletries scattered in neatly arranged stacks. As they progressed throughout their suite, Jack couldn't hide the smile on his face at the surprised and awed look on the young Welshman's face as more and more pleasantries were revealed.
However, when Jack grandly opened the wooden door concealing what would be their bedroom for the next two nights, neither man could deny that Ianto's expression suddenly became tainted with nerves. The door revealed a sizable room with furnishings as gorgeously Edwardian as the living room: two arm chairs, a second writing desk, two beautifully carved bedside tables, two ornate lamps, a large fitted wardrobe… and one very large, very comfortable looking king size bed. He quickly recovered himself though, making a quick comment about how lovely the rooms was and motioned his way over towards the fitted wardrobe where he began unpacking his 'likely to crease' items of clothing as Jack in turn went to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Ianto… you do want to be here don't you?" He asked a little nervously.
Ianto stopped unpacking for a second to turn to Jack, firmly shaking all traces of nerves away and determinedly focusing on the part of him that was immensely excited to be here: "Of course!" He smiled widely
Jack breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on the bed, "Good"
"Just promise me that you will never tell me how much all of this cost… I don't think I could live with the guilt!"
"I promise, though there's no need to feel guilty – you're worth it"
Ianto blushed a little, but smiled regardless, "Thank you that means a lot…Though… you could have warned me that we were coming to such a grand hotel – I only packed one suit!" Ianto exclaimed jokily.
Jack chuckled lightly, "You're welcome, and I'm sure it's a very suitable one!"
"Oh that was poor" Ianto laughed, "Come on then" He said pulling Jack up from his position on the bed by his hand, "We need to get changed"
"Oh Ianto Jones, forever trying to get me out of my clothes… it's despicable" Jack laughed before grabbing his own overnight bag and heading into the living room to change – a gesture which had surprised the Welshman a little, though he presumed that Jack was simply still erring the side of caution and giving him a little space before the evening.
He emerged again, dressed in a classic black suit accompanied with a pale blue shirt with a slight herring bone pattern running through it and a silvery tie, at twenty five past seven - just in time for their reservation – and the two men set off hand in hand for what they were both anticipating would be an enjoyable evening.
Both men were immediately loosening their ties as they re-entered their hotel suite at about half past ten that evening after enjoying a fine meal accompanied by fine wine and pleasant conversation in the restaurant downstairs. Whilst they had been enjoying their dessert Jack had asked one of the waiters if it wouldn't be too much hassle for them to request for a bottle of the delicious Bordeaux that they had been drinking to be sent up to their hotel room, to which the waiter replied with an 'of course Sir' and left to have it arranged for the pair of them, and so after discarding his tie and his jacket now, Ianto started looking for glasses for the bottle of wine which was indeed waiting on their coffee table. As he was doing so, Jack couldn't help but indulge himself with a sneaky stare at his counterpart; there he was: dark hair ever so slightly ruffled now (and if he wasn't mistaken, it was curling lightly at the edges), slim body concealed by a well-fitting dark grey pair of suit trousers, a light pink shirt and a grey waistcoat… staring at him then, he wondered at how Ianto could ever feel as though he wasn't attractive. The Welshman had never confessed as much to he himself, but he'd spoken to Tosh about him before and it seemed Ianto's opinion of himself always boiled back down to one word – 'average' – a word which couldn't be more absurdly inaccurate in Jack's opinion. Jack smiled as he saw him darting about, checking the various draws and cupboards in the room, admiring his movements… he'd become so very attached to the other man, and if he wasn't mistaken, Jack was almost certain that he was falling for him – completely and utterly.
The American didn't quite manage to hide his stolen stare at the Welshman before Ianto turned around triumphantly with two glasses in his hands.
"What?" Ianto asked nervously, worried that he had done something wrong or funny or embarrassing without realising, or that maybe he had something on his back.
Jack smiled back at him; "Absolutely nothing – just admiring the view" He said sitting himself down on one of the settees and relaxing back into the curve of the seat.
Ianto rolled his eyes and made his way over to Jack, with both the glasses and a cork screw which he had located next to the glasses, and sat himself down next to Jack on the extremely comfortable sofa. "Perhaps you shouldn't have anymore", he gesture towards the wine, "It appears that you've already got your beer goggles on" Ianto joked.
It was Jack's turn to roll his eyes then, "Oh Ianto if you're complement fishing then you're doing a very good job of it… you know I think you're gorgeous so shut up and get this bottle opened" He replied. "Please." He added laughing.
"As you wish" Ianto replied, quickly side stepping Jack's praises and going to open the bottle.
"So" Ianto began after the two of them had obtained a glass of the red liquid each, "Are you sad that everything's over with Burberry?"
"Hmm sort of, I will miss everyone that I worked with – especially Karen, boy she was a laugh and a half – and it's been such an honour to work with them and they did suggest that they might like to use me again for their winter campaign… but honestly? I'm kind of glad it's all over"
"Really?" Ianto asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, I mean it's been fun and the money's fantastic, but I know now that I made the right choice in choosing to leave full time modelling and enter photography instead. It's so much work! All those early starts and late finishes and diets and make-up and endless standing around – leave it to the young ones, that's what I say" Jack laughed.
Ianto smiled back about to make ask if he would take them up on an offer to work with them in the winter again if they made him one, when another question came into his mind sparked up by his reference to 'the young ones'. "Jack… just out of interest, how old are you?" Despite the pair of them having been together (sort of) for three months or so now, birthdays and ages had just never been a topic that had come up as yet, and though Ianto had to admit that he had often wondered about the age of the other man, he also had to admit that the answer really wasn't important to him.
Jack thought for just a second before answering, he'd been wondering when this particular subject would crop up, and he'd known that it would do sooner or later, and he'd been pretty much dreading its arrival as he was a little worried that revealing his age might indeed put the younger man off. He deliberated over making a little joke to squeeze his way out of answering, but instead he decided to just come straight out with it: "Thirty nine and your good self?" He smiled, internally hoping that his answer would be well received.
"Thirty nine? Really? I mean, I knew that you looked young for your age… but I would have guessed 37 – 35 even going by appearances!" Ianto replied.
"Well what can I say, it's all down to moisturiser baby" He flashed a large grin… "It doesn't bother you though, does it?" He asked nervously.
"Of course it doesn't" Ianto smiled "Don't you think I would have said something by now if it did?" He laughed.
"Maybe…" Jack agreed. "You didn't tell me how old you were" He pointed out.
"Oh yes of course! I'm 26… but I know for certain that I look younger than that…they till check my ID occasionally which is high embarrassing"
"Aww I think that's cute" Jack smiled. "You're like a baby!" He teased, much to the other man's disapproval. "So when's your birthday then?" He asked, trying a less 'death stare' incurring line of conversation.
"The 19th of August, what about yours?"
"Well it was the first of January, but I've decided that I'm no longer having any birthdays, this year was my last, can't be dealing with any of this forty nonsense!" He joked.
"Yeah I don't want to have to tell people I'm dating an old man…" Ianto replied grinning.
"Hey!" jack replied mock angrily, and made to elbow the other man in the ribs lightly, but Ianto moved slightly just as Jack's elbow was coming in closer meaning that he had been attacked a lot harder than Jack had intended. "Oh bollocks! Ianto I'm sorry – are you alright?" Jack asked quickly.
"I'm fine" Ianto lied, laughing a little… it would probably leave a bruise, but he knew that Jack hadn't meant it and didn't want to upset his feelings.
"Are you sure? Do you need me to kiss it better?" Jack asked.
"Hmm well… maybe…" Ianto smiled.
"As you wish" Jack laughed and planted a large kiss on Ianto's ribs through his shirt and waistcoat.
The older man then leaned upwards again and moved in closer to the Welshman to connect their lips and engage in a much more passionate and lust fuelled kiss than had just been previously had. Ianto was eager to respond, and the possibly bruising ribs were quickly forgotten as Jack's tongue located his.
After an immeasurable amount of time, the two of them broke away from each other, both breathless and panting, and a little flushed.
"Well we've got fine wine, each other's company and excellent past time to engage in… all this really needs now is some music" Jack whispered seductively into the Welshman's ear.
"I'll turn the radio on if you like?" Ianto replied back smiling.
Ianto got up from their very comfortable position on the sofa to switch the impressive stereo and try to find a radio station. The pair of them giggled as it immediately went straight to some obscure 'World music' station as the Welshman attempted to tune the gadget.
"My iPod's in my bag? How about I go and get it?" Ianto suggested.
"Alright, but hurry back!" he called as Ianto left, hurrying into the bedroom.
In the end, there was absolutely no need for the Welshman to hurry back as whilst he was rummaging around in his satchel for the desired device, Jack walked up behind him and pulled him into a large hug from behind which had startled him briefly. As Ianto relaxed into the hug, convinced by Jack's unmistakably citrus-y and fresh, intoxicating smell that it wasn't in fact a stranger holding him, Jack turned him around gently to face him and once again captured his lips. This time, the two men shared kisses filled with passion and heat and sheer lust, and before either of them had fully realised it was happening they were both fighting to remove each other's clothing. As Ianto felt the American begin to unbutton his waistcoat and then his shirt, he realised that right now, now when everything was actually happening, his worries about the way he looked had vanished along with his worries about his inexperience – all he wanted right now was Jack, and all Jack wanted was him. His own hands instinctively reacted back and began unbuttoning Jack's shirt, eager to press skin against skin.
When the two men were left standing in just boxers, all their other clothing scattered hap hazzardly across the room, Ianto broke of their furious bout of kissing.
"Jack I, I really, really, want to do this but before we do I just want you to know that…"
He was cut off by Jack's lips which were quickly pressed against his own. "Me too, but not tonight" He smiled into Ianto's mouth.
Ianto pulled a slightly puzzled face which the other man couldn't help but laugh a little at.
"Not tonight, this is our first, your first time… effectively… and I want this to be really special for you… so not tonight" Jack clarified.
"Jack how much more special can you get than in the Savoy and with you?"
"Ah well, you haven't heard about what I have planned for us tomorrow…" He winked.
A/N: So... a couple of people PM'd after the last me asking if I was planning to write any M rated bits on their weekend away... which I'm not... I don't think - unless people really want it? What do you all think? Hannah xxx