Notes: Another delay and for a comparatively short chapter. I apologize. I had many ideas for the second half of Jack and Ianto's date. I settled with what you are about to read. Not to mention the movie selection took me quite some time to settle upon. If you have not seen the soon mentioned movie, I suggest watching it. I'm more of a horror buff myself, but I appreciate the movie I chose.
Oh, and SleepingwithIanto - Please don't kill Gwen, even virtually. Without her, who would I bash and potentially plan out an even worse fate for? (Sorry, Gwen fans.)
Chapter Spoilers: None, though this chapter is the result of Jack's date proposal in episode 2.01 (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)
Jack and Ianto gathered into the car and headed back to Ianto's flat. They held hands the entire drive back and continued holding hands once they were out of the vehicle and heading into Ianto's building. Jack noted Ianto was publicly displaying affection, something he normally strayed from. They were inseparable until they reached the living room.
Ianto turned to Jack and gave him a very passionate kiss, which Jack responded to equally. Ianto reluctantly pulled away, but still kept Jack close. "Why don't you go pick out a movie," he pointed to his collection. "And I'll make us some popcorn."
Jack nodded and pecked another kiss to Ianto's soft lips before they went about getting ready.
Jack was scanning through the collection of DVD's. He had no idea which movie to choose. He knew James Bond movies were Ianto's absolute favorites, along with the Harry Potter series, though he's more into the books than the movies, always picking out the differences and changes, but still finds it enjoyable. However, Jack didn't find either of those to be suitable as a first date type of movie. Personally, Jack wanted something a little more romantic, but there was barely anything romantic in the collection.
Ianto was nervous about letting Jack choose a movie, if he was being honest with himself. He wanted this to be a romantic evening as much as Jack did, and figured that if Jack found a romantic flick among his collection, he would most likely choose it. The uneasiness Ianto had with this was the fact that all the romantic movies he had were ones that Lisa had bought for them to watch during their own staying-in-dinner-and-a-movie date nights.
Ianto let out a sigh as he placed the bag of popcorn in the microwave and set the proper time. The thought of Lisa and their romantic nights in together used to overwhelm him drastically. But tonight he felt content. Ianto knew he loved Lisa with all his heart, which is why losing her twice had hurt as much as it did. But Jack had helped him heal, and that was when he truly started falling for the immortal. I think I'm falling in love again, he thought as the kernels began to pop.
Jack continued perusing Ianto's collection. He spotted a few romantic movies in the mix, but knew they must have been ones he shared with Lisa. He knew Ianto had gotten past this loss, but Jack wanted to err on the side of caution before choosing a movie that could send Ianto back into the despair he felt after losing Lisa for the second time. He settled on two movies. I'll let Ianto ultimately decide, Jack thought as he headed, with his choices in tow, to the sofa.
Ianto, with popcorn in hand, joined Jack shortly thereafter, after having emptied the bag of popcorn into a bowl, adding a pinch of salt for extra flavor. "So what have you chosen?"
"I didn't know what you were up for watching," Jack replied, holding up the two options, "so I figured I'd let you make the final decision."
Ianto looked at the two movies. There was a split second twinge of heartache as he looked at the first title; The Lake House. Lisa bought it shortly before the battle and they never got to see it. The second was a James Bond film, which he chose because I love the series. He's just as worried as I was about him choosing a romantic movie.
Ianto hesitated in his choice, but ultimately chose The Lake House for tonight. Jack was a little shocked with Ianto's decision. "Are you sure, Ianto?" he asked, again wanting to be safe.
"I'm sure, Jack," Ianto answered before placing a soft kiss upon Jack's lips. "I can sense you know it was Lisa's movie since we both know I'm not one for romantic films without influence from another." He paused before confessing, "She bought this before the battle. We never got to watch it. The memory hurt for a split second, but then subsided. There was much we haven't done and can never do, but I'm fine with that now. And I can experience this movie with you without any memories of time with her creeping in, ruining tonight." He placed another kiss on Jack's lips, this one a bit more loving. "But thank you for being considerate and letting me choose."
Jack smiled and nodded and kissed Ianto again before getting up to insert the movie and rejoin Ianto back on the sofa. He gestured for Ianto to cuddle into him, which the younger man did not object to. Once they were both comfortable, Jack hit play on the remote and the movie began.
By the end of the film, both men were in tears. Neither of them expected the movie to have such an effect on them, but they were wrong. It related to them in more ways than they knew when the movie started.
"What would you do if we got split through time like that?" Jack asked.
"Weren't we already?" Ianto countered. "You left with the Doctor."
Jack frowned, remembering how hurt he left Ianto, and didn't like that his disappearing act was being brought up now, of all times. "Yes," he answered honestly, a bit snappy, emotions still raw. "But at the time I needed answers and I didn't exactly have time to leave a forwarding address."
Ianto, having realized what he said after seeing Jack's face fall, immediately wished he could take it back. "I know, and I'm sorry. I do forgive you, you know. Once you explained everything, I understood why you needed to go."
"I don't deserve it," Jack stated. "But I couldn't be any more grateful." They stared at each other and kissed a softly, but very passionately. Jack pulled away and asked again, "But what would you do?"
I love you Jack, I would do anything to find you, to make you fall in love with me, to spend however long of your life we can together, Ianto immediately thought. He settled for answering with, "If we could contact each other like Alex and Kate, I would do exactly as they did. Give clues to the past, meet up, try and fall in…" Ianto paused, not wanting to say the "L" word. It's not the right time, though I now know I am in love with him.
Jack smiled. I love and am in love with this man, so much. "I would do the same, Ianto. No matter where you were, I would find you or find a way back to you," he confessed.
Both men, so elated over their roundabout confessions of love for one another, kissed more passionately and tenderly than ever before. Ianto wanted to take Jack into the bedroom and make love, or at least what he could consider to make love. But his cell phone suddenly buzzing caught him off-guard.
Back at the hub, Gwen and Owen had finished their dinners. Gwen immediately headed back to her workstation, pulling up the CCTV footage of Jack's rental car. To her surprise, the car was now gone. She tried rewinding the footage to see in what direction Jack headed, but any angle of the area was disabled for rewind. Must be a glitch in Tosh's system, she concluded to herself, not knowing that it was actually Tosh who disabled all extra functions so Gwen could not discover the truth.
Gwen decided to go ahead with her plan anyway. She didn't have the proof she needed that Jack was with someone else, but Ianto doesn't know that. As soon as Owen fell asleep in the med bay, Gwen pulled out her cell and dialed Ianto's number.
Ianto looked at the caller ID. What the fuck does this bitch want?!, was his initial reaction. He knew he wasn't immediately on call for the night; Tosh was. Jack would also be contacted before him if there was an emergency. "Hello," he flipped open his phone and answered politely, attempting to keep calm.
"Ianto, I know you have a thing for Jack," Gwen opened, trying to sound sympathetic, "so I thought you should know that he's on a date right now."
Ianto was completely confused. Of course he's on a date, he's with me. Why is she stating the obvious and attempting to sound sorry if she knows she's on a date with me? Then it clicked. She doesn't know he's with me, and is trying to give me doubts. He decided to play along. "Is he now?"
"Yes," she answered and began telling him where the bar was and what time he was there. "I'm so sorry."
No you're not, Ianto thought while contorting his face into an expression that confused Jack, who had been watching the entire time, wondering what was going on. "Thank you for letting me know," he ended politely before hanging up the phone, pretending to sound distraught from the latest news.
"Who was that?" Jack asked immediately.
Ianto rolled his eyes. "Apparently you're on a date, Jack, at a bar with someone other than me."
"What?!" Jack was so lost.
"Gwen." That was all Ianto had to say.
"I'm going to wring that woman's neck!" Jack exclaimed.
"You aren't the only one," Ianto agreed. "But let's not worry about this now. I believe I was about to take you to bed," he added suggestively. Jack was more than happy to oblige.
That night, Jack and Ianto made the sweetest, most caring, most ecstasy filled lovemaking humanly possible, for both a 21st and 51st century man. This was an important night in their lives, but neither knew just how important.