Tosh awoke, still wrapped in Owen's arms. He had watched her sleep throughout the night, for the first time not hating the fact that he can never again sleep. She sighed contentedly, the warm blanket above her and the residually warmed arms of her dead man cozy and comforting. Owen wanted to great her good morning, but the fact the she was just lying there, snuggled up to him, was enough of an incentive to remain silent. He simply hugged her tighter smiling as she wriggled every deeper into his embrace. Her eyes flickered open, peering strait into his.
"Morning Tosh." He whispered quietly. Tosh wrapped her hands around his neck, pecking his lips softly.
" Morning Owen." She sat upon the couch, stretching languidly.
"Sleep well?" Owen asked casually, his eyes lingering on the technician.
"Wonderfully." She purred. Owen grinned, glancing at the clock, 7:30.
"UNIT will be here in two hours. That give you enough time to get ready?" Tosh smiled at him.
"Plenty. I would ask you to join me, but someone needs to be here, and I doubt the boys will be in until later, if at all." Owen nodded. He really couldn't be mad at them. They have had a hell of a rough patch, and they needed to get themselves together.
"Tea-boy will probably drag the captain in here before UNIT shows up, he's good like that." Tosh giggled, pulling on her discarded glasses and shoes. Owen tossed her his car keys.
"Take mine, I notice one of your tires was low yesterday. I'll air it up while you're out. Tosh nodded, touched by the level of concern. She kissed the dead man goodbye, before dashing out the HUB door.
Jack was the first to wake up, shifting slightly under the weight of his lover, he was shocked, and more than a little pleased, to feel Ianto still filling him, long after they succumbed to their passions. He surveyed the damage, noting the level of disarray their foray into the pleasures of the flesh had left behind.
The captain's clothes were everywhere, an article on each piece of furniture. His and Ianto's trousers were pooled on the floor, next to a spilled bottle of lube. The sheets that had once neatly covered the bed, where now bunched around them, uprooted by Jack's frantic grasping.
Ianto too, was irrevocably disheveled. His hair laid, half plastered and half spiked on top of his head, his lips were parted and chapped. The sight of the usually impeccably made up Welshman made Jack's heart stir. Jack turned his head slightly, still unwilling to disturb the sleeping Welshman. He peered at the clock, noting the time. 7:45. Ianto would want them at work sometime today, probably before UNIT showed up. The immortal sighed. If they got up now, there would be enough time for him to cook Ianto breakfast.
The Captain ran his fingers gently through Ianto's hair, drawing a soft sigh from the Archivist. His fingers trailed across Ianto's cheek, every pattern of protection he could conjure from memory trailing their way over the skin. Ianto shifted slightly, snuggling deeper into Jack's chest, before his eyes fluttered open. Jack smirked as Ianto slowly pieced together the fragments of last night to the evidence of the morning. Last night had been the first time Ianto had topped since Jack's return, and then it was only his second. The fact that he had fallen asleep inside his lover had apparently been even more shocking to Ianto than it had been to Jack.
"Good morning sleepy head." Jack purred. Ianto smiled softly, his fingers running through his hair. The Archivist wanted to remove himself, but the contented pleasure surrounding Jack convinced him otherwise. The Welshman tilted his head up, gazing lovingly into his partners eyes.
"Morning Jack. What time is it?" Jack shrugged, unwilling to break the spell Ianto's gaze cast over him.
"Not yet 8. Don't really care." Ianto rolled his eyes pushing himself up off of Jack. He rolled over, onto his back, completely removing his contact with his lover. The immortal pouted, the loss of contact leaving him feeling empty, and cold. Ianto too shared the Captain's feelings, but knew that the day would be a long one, and that he need to get it started.
"Besides, I need a shower." Ianto grumbled. Jack nodded.
"Can I join you?" Ianto laughed, shaking his head.
"Yes, but just to bathe, yea? I actually want to make it to work today." Jack pouted, but nodded his head acceptingly.
"Fine." The two men rolled out of bed, Ianto stretching out the kinks in his spine, while Jack tried to grow accustom to the soreness in his core. Ianto noticed the stiff way the captain was moving, and stifled a laugh.
"Having some trouble there, sir?" Jack scrunched his nose at his lover.
"Not trouble, per se, just a little sore is all." Ianto shook his head again, before wrapping an arm around the Captain's waist. "I don't remember this being so bad in the past."
"You get used to it, sir." Jack glanced at his lover, alarmed. Was this how Ianto felt?
"Yan, I had no idea." Ianto chuckled turning on the water in the shower.
"It's not a bad pain Jack. It reminds me of what I have. Who I belong to." Ianto shrugged, and Jack's heart twisted again.
"You're doing it again, Yan." Ianto looked at his Captain quizzically.
"Being perfect without trying?" Ianto smiled. The two men stood together under the warm spray of water, cleansing the grime of the previous day away, hands lathering each other's body companionably, not erotically. Both men knew that there would be time for that later.
Tosh drove home quickly, thankful for the light traffic and the fare weather of the morning. She dashed into her home, the door slamming behind her. She wanted to get back to the HUB quickly, not liking that Owen was there alone, less something should happen. She showered quickly, opting against styling her hair for just toweling it dry and leaving it to curl. She skidded into her bedroom pulling outfit after outfit from her closet in her quest for the right one. A soft violet dress that hugged her slender frame, without constricting her movement lest she have to go into the field. A pair of black kitten heels and a matching black sweater completing her ensemble. She quickly checked herself in the mirror, forgoing heavy makeup for touch of lip gloss and some mascara. She dashed into her kitchen snatching a bagel and power drink from the fridge before rushing out the door of her flat.
Owen wandered around the HUB, picking up anything out of place and cleaning off his desk. A part of him kept screaming that it was Tea-Boy's job, yet he continued to work, an unknown source of inspiration powering his actions. No, not unknown. Tosh had shifted his whole perception of the day. HE felt a renewed vigor that he usually only felt the morning after mind blowing sex. Yet there had been no sex. He and Tosh had simply hung out, and cuddled. He had ended up in bed with her, yet even then she had only slept. He had lost track of time watching her. The doctor knew that, if his heart had been capable of beating, it would race in her presence, and clench at her every move. He had somehow fallen in love with the Technician, despite the fact that such a thing should physiologically be impossible.
Ianto toweled himself off swiftly, his hair curling in the way that Jack found absolutely irresistible. The Welshman grinned at him, wrapping the towel around his waist as he stepped into his closet. Out of habit, he pulled down a suit, yet something brought him to a halt. He glanced back over his shoulder, to see Jack bent over the drawer of the dresser, his wet hair slicked back as he scrounged out his usual outfit. The Archivist smiled. The Captain deserved a treat. He kicked shut the closet door. What he was about to do, Jack would see soon enough.
Jack dressed swiftly, ignoring the ache of his muscles. He briefly wondered if his usually oh-so-fast healing had somehow disappeared, but he surmised that he was in fact healing normally. That it was probably worse for someone who couldn't heal as quickly as him worried him greatly. He walked into the kitchen, planning on treating his Welshman with a big morning breakfast. One glance in the fridge, however, put that idea off entirely. Nearly everything in there had spoiled, the bread on the counter was stale, and the majority of the foods in the cupboards were out of date.
The immortal snorted. Leave it to Ianto to work so much that he is never home to eat. The Captain stopped himself there. Guilt knotted itself in his stomach as he realized that part of the reason Ianto was never home was that he had been keeping the Archivist overnight at the HUB, or, when they were at home, he would rush out first thing in the morning to beat everyone else to the HUB, so as not to arouse suspicion of his activities with the Welshman. Jack bit his lip. He really had been a rubbish partner in all of this. He groaned, doubling over the counter, his head in his hands.
"Ianto really must be a saint to put up with me."
"I'm not a saint Jack, I'm far from it. Though it does take a bit of work to put up with you sometimes, it's worth it in the end." Jack jumped up from the counter, wincing at the dull pain the movement caused. The sight before him put all thoughts of pain or pity aside. Ianto was not in a suit this morning. Instead, the usually business like Welshman was in a tight pair of dark grey jeans, that hugged him tightly without being obscene. A tight grey V-neck T-shirt allowed a tuft of dark curls to peep from above the collar. Ianto's hair was lightly combed, yet he let it curl of its own volition instead of his usual tamed style. The Welshman tugged on a black leather jacket, obviously pulled from his preforming wardrobe. Jack couldn't believe his eyes.
"Jack, are you ok? You look a bit dazed." The Welshman smirked, obviously enjoying the Captain's reaction.
"Ianto, you're not, I mean that isn't, you're not in a suit." Ianto chuckled inwardly, but feigned disappointment.
"Do you want me to go change?" Jack's eyes widened in horror.
"NO! No, you look fantastic, it's just, I've only seen you dress like that in pictures, you know." The Welshman nodded.
"On stage. Yes well, this is a bit more mild then my usual stage fare, but it's from the same wardrobe. By the way, you never mentioned knowing about that." Ianto leaned against the kitchen counter, his face mere inches from Jack's on the other side.
"You never mentioned being in a band." The Welshman shrugged, kissing Jack lightly before pulling back.
"You never asked." Jack opened his mouth to defend himself, but realized that the statement had held no malice. Ianto wasn't mad. "However, now that you do know about my night job, I would like to know what you think." Jack grinned.
"Well the music is amazing. You are amazing. Your voice is deep and melodic, your range perfectly tailored to the music. As for your stage presence, well, frankly the only other time you look that amazing is when your panting and sweating beneath me." Jack paused, the memory of the night before flooding his thoughts. "Or above me for that matter." Ianto rolled his eyes, but smiled anyway. "So over all I have to say, I'm a big fan." Ianto laughed glancing through his cd case to pull out a cd. Still wrapped in cellophane Ianto handed Jack a copy of his band's latest CD.
"Synesthesia. There. Only copy to be handed out by the lead singer." Ianto winked and Jack grinned, hugging the CD over his heart.
"You know that this will be the only thing playing in the SUV from now on right?" Ianto sighed.
"And you know that I'm going to get awfully tired of hearing myself sing, right?" Jack shrugged, pulling on his RAF jacket and opening the door.
"You gave me the CD." The Welshman groaned, heading out the door, the immortal closing and locking it behind him.
"So, anyway, what do you want for breakfast?" Jack asked, and Ianto smiled softly, that was a new question.
"What brings this on then?" Jack shrugged.
"I was going to make you breakfast, but seeing the state of your food supplies, I decided against it." The Welshman grimaced, getting into the SUV.
"Yea, I really need to do some shopping." The captain nodded looking forlornly at the open drivers side of the SUV. Ianto laughed again, feeling Jack's conundrum.
"Come on Jack, if I can put up with it so can you." Jack frowned, but got into the SUV anyway, hissing as he went. Ianto shook his head.
"If this is your reaction after so long a time, maybe I need to top more often." Jack's eyes lit up, and he leered at the Welshman.
"Is that a promise?" Ianto rolled his eyes, trying desperately to ignore the stirring in his stomach at the thought.
"Breakfast. All right, well, considering the fact that we barely have 45 minutes until UNIT will be at the HUB, I say we go ahead and park there, and grab a pastry from the Plass. We can have a big lunch later." Jack nodded, popping in his new CD as they drove down the road. Ianto groaned, this really would be a long day.
Tosh had made it back to the HUB in record time. She entered the Hub to catch Owen picking up trash from the floor of the HUB.
"Owen Harper, actually cleaning? It must be a portent of the end times." Owen shot Tosh a warning glare, then rolled his eyes and smiled at her.
"That was quick Tosh, what did you do, fly?" Tosh shrugged.
"Didn't bother with dressing up." Owen looked the technician over, admiring the minimalistic makeup and natural hair.
"You never need to." He muttered. Tosh blushed slightly, catching the sentiment. Her phone rang.
"Hello?" She asked, not expecting a phone call.
"Hey, Tosh, I just thought I'd call ahead. I'll be in in a few minutes." It was Gwen, what was she doing back from her honey moon? Tosh dashed over to her calendar, mortified to find the date marked as the date of Gwen's return.
"Ok then, UNIT will be here at 9:30." Tosh stated cautiously. Owen mouthed his question on who it was, and Tosh's reply earned wide eyes and his own dash to a similar calendar.
"I'll catch up when I get there." The phone line went down and Owen and Tosh shared equal looks of horror. How would Gwen react to Jack and Ianto not being here?
Ianto and Jack walked side by side across the Plass to the little bakery that Jack favored. Jack kept bumping his arm into Ianto, annoying the Welshman greatly.
"Jack, what do you want?" He asked, irritated.
"Hold my hand?" Ianto blushed slightly. He was never one on public displays of affection. His train of thought was abruptly put to rest when a blonde man stumbled, huffing into his path.
"Hey there gorgeous." Ianto reeled back, he felt the desperation and lust pouring off this man, and the anger and jealousy from his lover. The mixture was revolting.
"Listen I know the other night at the bar I may have been a little pushy." Ianto snorted.
"A little. You practically tried to force your way home with me." More anger from Jack.
"Yea, I know, I'm sorry, but listen, I-" Jack coughed slightly and the man looked up, seemingly noticing the immortal for the first time.
"Who are you?" the blonde man asked, cockily. "The one who had beautiful over here crying into his drink?" Jack was seething now, even without empathy Ianto could have felt it. Jack leaned into the Blonde man menacingly.
"I'm his boyfriend. And I suggest you back off, otherwise you'll have more than a busted noes to deal with." As if to accentuate his point Jack poked the man's chest. Ianto eyed his handiwork from a few nights before, feeling no remorse for inflicting the injury. The blonde man shrank from Jack's gaze.
"Boyfriend huh? Well gorgeous when you tire of this prick call me." The man tossed a card swiftly at Ianto, who snatched it out of the air. The Welshman offered his hand to Jack, who took it in his and strode purposefully forward. Ianto grinned madly tossing the offending card behind him.
"Boyfriend huh?" Jack slowed his pace, glancing over at Ianto.
"Well yea, why, don't care for that title?" The Welshman kissed his immortal lightly, weaving their fingers together ever tighter.
"On the contrary." And he wasn't lying. The fact that Jack was publicly acknowledging him as his boyfriend warmed him greatly. They entered the little bakery, each ordering a pastry to go before striding back to the Hub, hand in hand.