Author's Notes: Early post this week! Hope everyone enjoys the new chapter. Thanks again to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, it really helped to give me some encouragement. Thanks also as always to Prothrombintime for much appreciated support and advice.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

November 12th, 2004 (continued)

Jack appeared to be frozen in place, his arms held stiffly at his sides, neither reciprocating the kiss or recoiling away from it. Ianto was equally still as his initial shock gave way to a wave of possessive anger that burned hot in his chest, making it almost impossible to breath. He clenched his fists causing his fingernails to bite painfully into the palms of his hands, and stared with unblinking eyes, waiting to see if Jack would kiss the other man back.

Time seemed to drift, mere seconds dragging on with excruciating slowness. It wasn't just that Jack was being kissed by someone else, it was the way in which this unknown man was kissing him. It was aggressive and dominating, as if the man was reclaiming what was rightfully his. Ianto wanted nothing more than to march forward, tear them apart, and punch the man in the face with every ounce of strength he possessed. His mind promptly conjured up the image, complete with a satisfying crunch as his fist connected with one of those ridiculous cheekbones. He was stunned that witnessing Jack being kissed by another person could produce such an intensely visceral, primal response within him. The raw, palpable desire to stake his claim wasn't a feeling he was accustomed to, and he found it deeply unsettling.

Just as he'd decided he couldn't remain idle for a moment longer, Jack roughly pushed the stranger away and took a step backwards. The man stumbled, almost losing his balance, but grabbing the edge of the bar to steady himself. Ianto allowed himself a small smirk of pleasure from the expression of astonishment on the man's face. He obviously hadn't been expecting his advances to be rebuffed quite so forcefully.

Jack glanced over his shoulder at Ianto, a worried frown marring his features. Momentarily distracted, Jack didn't see the other man's fist before it impacted viciously with his jaw, sending him crashing back against the bar. Ianto winced as Jack awkwardly pulled himself upright, the stranger's face taking on a taunting, self-satisfied sneer.

Without warning Jack retaliated, punching the man in the face, the force of the impact causing him to reel backwards. Jack immediately followed with a hard blow to the man's stomach. That was just the beginning, and Ianto watched in fascinated horror as the two men engaged in a ferocious bar brawl the likes of which he'd never witnessed before. They fought brutally and relentlessly, decimating the surroundings in their wake. The two men seemed to almost revel in the barbarity, as if it was some form of depraved foreplay.

It was several minutes later when they crashed through a decorative glass wall, falling to the floor in a mass of tangled limbs and shards of glass. Ianto was about to leap to Jack's rescue when just as suddenly both men were back on their feet, guns out and held at arm's length, aimed at each other's heads. They circled around each other, dishevelled and bloody, eyes narrowed dangerously, and guns unwavering.

Ianto couldn't restrain himself any longer. Pulling his gun from his jacket, he strode forwards, priming the weapon and aiming it squarely at Jack's assailant. "Put the gun down," he growled, surprising himself with the menace in his voice. "Now."

To his astonishment, Jack laughed. "I'd do what he says. I've trained him myself, and he doesn't miss."

The stranger's eyes shifted to Ianto, seeming to notice him for the first time, his expression appraising and vaguely lecherous. "All right, all right. No need to get overexcited," he muttered, his voice arrogant and slightly mocking.

The man casually lowered his gun, slipping it back into the empty holster strapped to his right hip. His gaze shifted back towards Jack, looking him up and down speculatively. "What are you wearing?"

Jack slowly put away his gun, nodding to Ianto to do the same, which he did, although reluctantly. He took a step back, his body still tense as he watched the stranger warily. "Captain Jack Harkness, note the stripes," Jack replied cheekily.

"Captain John Hart, note the sarcasm," the man retorted.

Jack looked outraged. "Hey, I worked my way up through the ranks."

"I bet the ranks were very grateful." John grinned suggestively, still breathing heavily from their fight. He turned towards Ianto, raising his eyebrows as his gaze raked lewdly up and down the length of Ianto's body. "So, who's this delicious piece of eye candy?" An unpleasant smirk spread across his face. "Aren't you going to introduce us, 'Jack'?"

Ianto scowled at John, his dislike of the man increasing exponentially by the second. But before he could react further, Jack grabbed John roughly by the front of his red jacket and pulled him close until their faces were almost touching. Jack's features twisted into a malevolent glare. "Look at him like that again and I guarantee you'll regret it."

John looked unrepentant, his leering expression not faltering. "Easy there, big boy. I see you're still as possessive as you used to be. You never were good with sharing your toys." He pulled himself out of Jack's grip, straightened his jacket, and glanced appraisingly at Ianto again. "Not that I can blame you." He looked back at Jack. "Kind of young for you though isn't he? And by the way, have you put on weight?"

Despite himself, Ianto had to stifle an amused snort. Jack, on the other hand, looked like he was about to hurl himself at the other man again and beat him to a bloody pulp. A little unnerved to see Jack so aggressive and unconstrained, Ianto glared at John and stepped closer to Jack. "Who is he, Jack?" he asked quietly.

Jack sighed, his furious gaze softening a little as he looked at Ianto. "We go back."

"Excuse me," John interrupted. "We more than go back. We were partners."

"In what way?" Ianto found himself asking, not sure he actually wanted to know the answer. The two men clearly had a turbulent history together, and as determined as he was not to act like the jealous lover, to his extreme chagrin, he realised that was exactly what he was doing.

John produced a smug smile. "In every way. And then some."

"It was two weeks," Jack retorted, glaring angrily at John again.

"Except that two weeks was trapped in a time loop, so we were together for five years." John looked far too pleased with himself for Ianto's liking. "It was like having a wife."

"You were the wife," Jack snapped.

"You were the wife," John argued.

Jack stabbed his finger at John's chest. "No, YOU were the wife."

John grinned broadly. "Oh, but I was a good wife."

Ianto stared at John speechlessly, trying to process this latest revelation, while wondering how it was possible the two men had managed not to kill each other in all of that time together.

Jack sighed and shook his head, slumping back against the edge of the bar. "So, how was rehab?"

"Rehabs. Plural," John stated matter-of-factly.

Jack frowned. "Drink, drugs, sex and...?"

"Murder," John replied with a shrug.

"You went to murder rehab?" Jack asked incredulously, glancing at Ianto before looking at John again.

"I know, ridiculous." John pouted theatrically. "The odd kill, who does it hurt?"

Ianto observed the two men as they reminisced for a minute or so, disconcerted and more jealous than he was willing to admit. He knew it was completely irrational to feel that way, given that Jack must have had numerous partners and lovers over this very long life. He supposed he'd just never thought he'd come face-to-face with one of them, especially one that, while undeniably good-looking, was also a self-proclaimed psychopath. He wasn't sure how to feel about Jack having once been involved with someone so amoral and contemptuous. John Hart was a real piece of work, and he'd thought Jack would have had higher standards, no matter how intense the physical attraction. However, he listened carefully, taking particular note when John mentioned something about an organisation called the Time Agency.

"It's good to see you," John said quietly, a nostalgic hint in his voice, and a glimmer of something close to affection in his eyes. "It was never the same without you."

Much to Ianto's relief, Jack appeared to be entirely unmoved. "Sorry, what's the Time Agency?" he asked, forcing himself into the conversation.

John looked at him with what seemed to be a mixture of complacency and pity. "What, he hasn't told you about his past?"

"No, he hasn't," Ianto said pointedly, glancing at Jack and surprised to find apprehension in his eyes.

Jack quickly averted his gaze and stood up straight, taking an intimidating stance in front of John. "You need to go. I don't want you on my territory."

"There was a time when you couldn't get enough of me on your 'territory'," John retorted, looking at Jack disbelievingly, then glancing at Ianto. "So, what's the deal with you and Eye Candy here? Are the two of you some sort of team? Oh, do you have a team name? I love team names, go on!"

"Torchwood," Jack replied curtly.

"Oh. Not Excalibur? Blizzard? Bikini Cops? No? Torchwood. Oh, dear." John shook his head sadly, then grinned at Ianto. "You still haven't told me your name, Eye Candy."

"His name's Ianto Jones." Jack breathed out deeply, rubbing his hand over his face. "What are you doing here, John?"

"I was wondering when we'd get to that." John fiddled with his wrist-strap for a moment and a rotating blue hologram of a cylindrical alien object materialised before them.

"That's the same as yours," Ianto murmured to Jack, looking curiously at the device on John's wrist.

Jack nodded. "A little smaller though."

"But lasts much longer," John countered with a salacious grin. "Get two Time Agents in the same room together, it's always about the size of the wrist-strap." When Jack failed to respond, he simply shrugged. "Anyway... I'm working with this woman, beautiful, clever, sexy, yadda yadda yadda, and we both get shot. And as she's dying, she begs me. She tells me about these radiation cluster bombs she'd been working on."

Ianto frowned. "Um... I don't like the sound of that."

"Three canisters, contents beyond toxic, swallowed up in a rift storm," John continued to explain.

"And they ended up here," Jack interjected, sounding resigned.

"Bingo! That's the downside of your city being built on a rift in space and time. Now, left to their own devices, the radiation will break down the canisters... and then infect your people and planet. They need to be neutralised."

Jack looked at him suspiciously. "What do you get out of this?"

"Dying woman's wish," John replied, the expression on Jack's face showing his obvious disbelief. "Now, there's only one problem. I don't know where they are. Hoping local knowledge might help." He tapped his wrist-strap again and the hologram vanished.

"When we get back to the Hub, we can run a citywide scan on radiation surges and cross reference that with Rift activity during that time-frame," Ianto suggested.

"So, you're not only gorgeous, Eye Candy, you're clever too. I can see why Jack here keeps you around." John looked at Ianto in a way that made his skin crawl, before turning his attention to Jack again. "You see, together it's an easy job."

"We do this, you get out of here when it's finished," Jack said firmly, his eyes narrowing. "Right away."

"Does this mean I get to see your house?" John asked with evident amusement. "Just give me a minute first. Need to visit the little boys' room." He sauntered off towards a doorway at the back of the bar.

Jack stared after him, a dark look clouding his features. Ianto shuffled his feet awkwardly, then cleared his throat. "Please tell me your ex's aren't all like that," he muttered with a nervous half-laugh.

Jack shook his head and slumped against the bar again, not meeting Ianto's eyes. "When he and I..." He trailed off and sighed. "It was a very long time ago... a part of my life I'm not proud of. Let's just say I was young and extremely foolish."

Jack looked up into Ianto's eyes with obvious reluctance. Ianto was surprised to see genuine fear in those blue depths he adored, and he was struck by a sudden realisation. As unlikely as it seemed, Jack was terrified that he would reject him if he knew the truth – if he knew the kind of man Jack had once been to become involved with a twisted, narcissistic bastard like John Hart.

"Fortunately, my taste has improved considerably over the years," Jack added, a tremulous, self-deprecating smile flickering over his lips.

"Suppose it had to, didn't it?" Ianto suggested wryly, feeling a little of his tension begin to ease with the knowledge that Hart was a nothing more than an unwelcome remnant of Jack's past.

Jack chuckled. "Yeah. I suppose it did."

"Jack, does he remind you of someone?" When the other man just looked at him blankly, Ianto rolled his eyes and added, "A certain fictional peroxide-blond vampire you're rather fond of?"

Jack's eyes widened. "Huh, you're right. Wow! Must not have noticed because of the hair. Gotta say he's much hotter as a blond." Pausing, he looked thoughtful. "Hmm, maybe he's got a time-travelling twin brother I never knew about."

Ianto raised a sceptical eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"You never know." Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Either that or a clone. Wouldn't put it past him."

Ianto shook his head in disbelief. "I don't trust him," he murmured. "I don't like him much either. And if he calls me Eye Candy again, I might have to punch him. Or shoot him. I haven't decided yet."

Jack let out a mirthless chuckle. "The bastard certainly deserves it," he agreed darkly. "But if you do that, he'll probably just think it's foreplay. He'll think you want to have sex with him."

Ianto allowed his features to convey exactly how distasteful he found the suggestion, not that he could ever imagine wanting to sleep with a man who wasn't Jack.

Jack gave him a teasing grin, his features seeming to relax for the first time since John had contacted them. "By the way, am I detecting a hint of jealousy, Ianto Jones?"

Ianto huffed indignantly. "No. That's ridiculous."

"Mm-hmm." Jack's smug grin lingered for a moment, then he became serious again. "Look, I don't trust him either. Never have. But there's a slim chance he's breaking a habit of a lifetime and telling the truth. Which means the city's in danger. I don't like it, but we'll have to play along and find out what he's up to." He reached for Ianto's upper arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Just be careful and watch your back. Don't believe anything he says. And whatever you do, don't let him kiss you."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "I'm not in the habit of going around kissing random men. Especially psychotic ones who may or may not have clones of themselves swanning about."

"Let's just keep it that way then." Jack smiled tightly, but the smile quickly faltered, a hint of uncertainty creeping into his eyes. "He was right about one thing though. I don't like to share. Not when it's someone who means so much to me."

Ianto nodded awkwardly, surprised but reassured by Jack's unexpected admission, and feeling a bit foolish about his earlier surge of jealousy. "I hated watching him kiss you," he murmured self-consciously, lowering his gaze. "Guess I don't like to share either."

"Ianto?" Jack said softly, a moment later.

Ianto hesitantly lifted his eyes to meet Jack's again. "Yes, Jack?"

Jack reached for his hand and grasped it firmly. "For the record, you have nothing to be jealous about. John's ancient history. He's someone I'd hoped never to see again. He's a reminder of my past, and I want him gone."

Ianto nodded again but before he could respond, John burst back into the room, a smarmy grin plastered across his face. "Come on then team Torchwood," he announced, his voice filled with derisive condescension. "Work to do."

He swaggered past them towards the entrance. Ianto rolled his eyes, sharing a resigned look with Jack, who clenched his jaw and scowled after the other man. Ianto squeezed Jack's hand reassuringly before letting it go, and together they followed John outside.