8
"I need you to think carefully about where you heard or read about … you know what" Jack said as Ianto tied his tie in the mirror.
"Jack, I …" Ianto shrugged.
"Don't force it just to please me" Jack said quickly, cutting him off.
"I need coffee" Ianto sighed and Jack grinned as he nodded enthusiastically.
They re-entered the hub and found Tosh working through CCTV footage of her attack. On the screen was a frame by frame breakdown showing her skin part in long furrows and even her sleeve tearing and a piece fluttering to the ground.
"You're looking at it wrong" Ianto said as he studied it.
"How?" Owen turned and ran his eyes over the immaculate suit.
"Look away and look back quick while blinking" Ianto said, "Like this."
He turned his head and began fluttering his eyes and quickly rolled his head past the picture. He blanched and shuddered.
Owen frowned, then tried.
"Fuck" he stepped back and looked over at Tosh who was repeating the same motion.
Gwen was ignoring them as she reloaded her gun, "Whatever the hell it was I injured it. That noise was pain."
"It's more than one though" Ianto shattered her hopes, "Sometimes they are in pairs sometimes three. Seldom just one."
"No shit" Owen frowned as he placed his nose on the screen and blinked furiously, "Oh yeah. Just in the corner of the screen, another arm."
"Why you though" Owen repeated his favourite saying and Ianto tensed as he waited for the attack.
"Leave him alone!" Jack growled as he walked up behind them, "Ianto is out of bounds as of now!"
Owen turned and looked at Jack, then sneered as he saw Jack's flush.
Tosh squeaked and Gwen looked up in time to see Ianto running from the archives on screen, a long shadow following him.
"Wow, they do like you, don't they" Owen frowned. "That makes three."
Ianto went into the kitchen and withdrew a phone from a tin by the tea bags. He chose a number.
"Aunty? You busy?"
He started to grind beans.
"Yeah, coffee time"
He started the soothing ritual of coffee.
"They're here."
He stopped a spoon of sugar halfway to Gwen's cup and sighed.
"No! I didn't. I guess they piggybacked or something."
The sugar went in the cup.
"Look, it's not my fault and I can usually deal with them, you know I can but they're latched onto a workmate. A lovely girl who …."
A snort and eye roll.
"No! She is not my type… She is single … but I love her as a little sister … please stop trying to mate me off! Just because you want a nice wedding to wear a bloody hat to, it doesn't mean we all need …."
Ianto leaned against the counter.
"It has happened though."
Ianto blushed and giggled softly.
"Yeah. NO, this is the crazy bit. I chose a man! Yeah, I never knew I felt … wow … he just blew my very mind."
Ianto paused again and grinned, sheepishly.
"Yeah. It is him as a matter of fact, you knew? You bloody knew I would chose him?"
Ianto frowned now and then huffed as he poured the milk.
I know you warned me about him, I think …"
"He won't hurt me. You don't know him like I do. You just listen to the rumours too much!"
Ianto suddenly reared back and slammed shut the phone with a look of thunder, then resumed making the coffee.
From the vantage point where Jack was watching, he could hear him mutter, "You don't know him, and he won't betray me. He will forgive me!"
Jack wondered what he was about to forgive.