Chapter Twelve

Ianto couldn't seem to drag his eyes away as Jack raised the bacon-topped doughnut to his lips with a look of mouth-watering anticipation. He watched as Jack sank his perfect teeth into the fried pastry and bit off a generous mouthful, his eyes drifting closed as he chewed and finally swallowed. The moan of pleasure which followed was borderline obscene.

Ignoring the strange little shiver down his spine and thankful that the bakery was currently deserted, Ianto forced his attention away from the curve of Jack's lips and stared determinedly out the window. The heavy rain of the last couple of hours had kept potential customers at bay, with the exception of Jack, who wasn't really a customer these days anyway, even though he still insisted on paying for his coffee and baked goods on each visit.

Another shameless moan pulled Ianto's gaze back to the man sitting across from him. Despite himself, a smile tugged at his lips. The travesty that Jack was enjoying with such unbridled pleasure, otherwise known as a maple-glazed doughnut with finely-chopped bacon topping, was apparently quite popular in some parts of the United States. Regardless, he still couldn't quite believe that he'd been coerced into making them, his indebtedness to Jack for helping with Rhiannon's wedding dress notwithstanding. The man was nothing if not tenacious, which he had to concede wasn't actually a bad quality to possess. Truth be told, it was something that he and Jack shared in common.

"Oh, my God." Jack opened his eyes and took another sizable bite. "This is incredible." He groaned again. "Now I know what all the fuss is about. This is better than sex."

Ianto felt his eyebrows shoot up. Narrowing his eyes with scepticism, he spoke before he could stop himself. "Really?"

Jack gave him an annoyingly smug grin, a mischievous gleam alight in his eyes. "Well, no. If anyone ever says that, they're not doing it right." He waved the half eaten doughnut under Ianto's nose. "Here, take a bite."

Ianto firmly shook his head. "No, thanks. I'll take your word for it."

Jack shrugged and took another mouthful. "You know what would be even better? If you put bacon in the doughnut batter too."

Ianto stared open-mouthed at Jack. "Isn't it bad enough that there's bacon on top?"

Jack laughed, clearly enjoying himself far too much. "Spoilsport. But seriously, this could be great for business. I've checked around and nowhere else in Cardiff makes them. Probably nowhere in all of Wales."

Which Ianto thought was a very good thing and just confirmed that the Welsh had good taste. That being said, he hadn't been surprised when Rhys, a bacon lover from way back, had declared the doughnuts as nothing short of genius and had been disappointed he hadn't come up with the idea first. "I'm not sure I want Myfanwy's to become Cardiff's home of the bacon doughnut, Jack."

Jack continued to look amused as he devoured the rest of the doughnut. "Wouldn't hurt to give them a trial run. You've already perfected the recipe so what have you got to lose? You could rotate them on the menu like you do with your other delicacies."

Ianto sighed in defeat. He supposed his sensibilities had to sometimes come second to what was good for business, although he wasn't sure that this was one of those times. "All right, I'll give them a try. One day a week to see if they're popular."

"Good man. Now, can I have another one? Since you went to so much trouble, I can't insult you by eating only one." Jack's face was a picture of innocence, all big blue eyes and beguiling, dimpled smile.

Unable to help himself, Ianto rolled his eyes and laughed.

###

For the second time in as many days, Ianto found himself standing at the doorstep of Jack's flat. The day before, after Jack had gorged himself on two bacon doughnuts, he'd stayed while Ianto closed the bakery and gone about his usual routine, Rhys having left early for a dentist appointment. Jack had helped with the cleaning up, then he'd declared that he was going to cook them dinner back at his flat. Ianto had once again found himself failing to refuse Jack's invitation. He couldn't deny that a home-cooked meal and Jack's friendly company was preferable to a lonely evening of paperwork and a microwaved frozen dinner.

Now, twenty-four hours later, he was back again, this time for their planned trip to the opening night of the museum's French Impressionist exhibition.

He tugged nervously on the sleeves of his jacket, glancing down at himself and wondering again about his choice of attire for the occasion. He hadn't been out in public before with Jack, and although he couldn't compete with Jack's film star looks and expensive clothes, he still wanted to look his best. He'd considered wearing a suit – he always felt more confident and self-assured in a neat, tailored suit – but he hadn't wanted to look out of place and overdressed. So instead he'd settled on his best pair of jeans, freshly shined black leather shoes, plain black dress shirt and charcoal grey peacoat-style jacket. The overall look was smart yet casual, and it was the best he'd been able to come up with from his fairly limited wardrobe. It had been a long time since he'd had to think about dressing for an evening out.

The door swung open to reveal a smiling Jack, who he was relieved to find similarly attired in dark jeans and a dark blue button-up shirt. What caught his attention, however, was Jack's long grey coat, which had a vaguely military style about it and was reminiscent of the photographs he'd seen of greatcoats worn by the RAF around the middle of the twentieth century. The coat was both striking and flattering, broadening Jack's already impressive shoulders and giving him a formidable, almost roguish appearance.

With Jack looking as ridiculously handsome as ever, Ianto experienced a stab of envy. Although he didn't think of himself as unattractive – he was fairly tall at just shy of six-foot, wasn't fat and had a lean but reasonably well-proportioned build, had nice hair, good teeth, quite nice blue eyes, good skin and a pleasant enough face, albeit somewhat boyish for his age – he'd just never thought of himself as anything special. At best, he considered himself to be average and not the sort of person who stood out in a crowd or attracted people's attention. In other words, the opposite of Jack. All of which suited him, since he didn't like to draw attention to himself. Yet he couldn't help wondering what it was like for Jack, who no doubt turned heads wherever he went and probably had women and men alike drooling over him. He supposed that, given Jack's modelling background, he was used to being the centre of attention and thought little of it.

Jack's eyes swept over him in an appraising up-and-down fashion as he ushered him inside. Even though he was used to Jack's scrutiny, the intensity of the man's gaze made his skin grow warmer and prickle with awareness. "Wow. You look gorgeous, Ianto. I love the black shirt." Jack's grin was only just short of lewd. "Very sexy."

"Er... thanks, Jack." Ianto stumbled over the words. He knew that Jack found him attractive – after all, he'd made no secret about it – but he still wasn't sure how to feel about receiving that sort of attention from another man. It was flattering of course, and he couldn't recall anyone else looking at him with the desire that Jack frequently did, not even Lisa. But he also didn't take it too seriously. It wasn't so much that he doubted Jack's sincerity, but the man tended to be over-exuberant with his praise on all manner of things. His rapture over the doughnuts the day before being a case in point.

He cleared his throat. "You too. Um... you look nice, I mean. I like the coat."

"Really?" Jack looked down at himself. "It's new. Not really something I'd normally wear, but I was shopping the other day and it caught my eye." He frowned doubtfully as his eyes met Ianto's again. "It's not too much?"

Before he could think better of it, Ianto had reached up to smooth out a barely visible crinkle on Jack's left shoulder. The heavy wool was softer than he'd expected against his fingertips, and when he realised that his hand had lingered longer than necessary, he pretended to brush away a speck of dust and quickly pulled back. Giving Jack a sheepish smile, he drew in a breath and was momentarily overwhelmed by the warm, musky scent of Jack's aftershave. Not content with looking stunning, the man had to smell ridiculously good as well.

He tried to appear as if he was casting a critical eye over the garment and shook his head in response. "No. It's nice... very smart... classic. Actually, it's quite dashing."

"Dashing, huh?" Jack looked so delighted that Ianto couldn't imagine him appearing any happier if he'd just been told that he'd won a million quid in the lottery. He spun around in dramatic fashion, causing the tails of the coat to flare our and swirl around his legs. "Oh, I like that." He winked at Ianto, his grin growing even wider. "I like that a lot."

Ianto had to refrain from rolling his eyes. He admonished himself that he really should know better by now than to encourage the man. Still, it was a very nice coat, and he'd always had an appreciation for well-made clothes and fine tailoring.

Still beaming happily, Jack clapped him on the shoulder, his hand lingering for a moment. "Ready to head out?"

###

As they'd anticipated, the exhibition was fairly crowded, but Ianto was too engrossed in the amazing collection of artwork to care very much. During his stay in Paris, he'd spent his spare time wandering the historic city's galleries and museums, and in doing so, had developed an appreciation of the work of French artists and their many varied styles. In particular, he'd discovered a love of French Impressionism. The paintings had a surreal, otherworldly quality, and he was captivated by the bold use of colour and imperfect, ethereal beauty of the images, losing himself in them for hours at a time. Being surrounded by such stunning works of art again brought back memories of his time away, and he realised that he hoped to visit Paris again some day.

It shouldn't have surprised him that Jack had turned out to be the perfect companion for the event. Even though the medium was different, Jack had an eye for colour, light and composition, and an appreciation for beauty in its many forms. Jack had admitted to not knowing much about Impressionism or paintings in general, but he nonetheless seemed to enjoy the exhibition. He'd been quite taken by some of the work, and Ianto found himself recounting biographical details about the various impressionists that he'd remembered from his readings on the subject. To his credit, Jack was attentive and often made astute observations about subtle aspects of the paintings that many people would have overlooked, Ianto included on several occasions.

They spent well over an hour touring the exhibition and had returned for another look at one of the highlights of the exhibit given its importance in establishing the Impressionist movement: Monet's Sunrise, or soleil levant, painted in 1872. He'd only seen the painting in photographs, but seeing it in person was an entirely different experience.

Finally dragging his gaze away, he turned to Jack, who looked back at him with a warm smile. "Mind if we go around again?"

Jack shook his head. "Take as much time as you want. I'd like to look around again too."

With a grateful smile, Ianto headed towards where the Sisley's paintings of the cliffs of Penarth and Langland Bay were on display. He'd only taken a couple of steps, however, when he froze in shock. Little more than a dozen yards away was a familiar face attached to an equally familiar tall, statuesque body.

He swore under his breath and had the irrational desire to duck behind Jack and use the man's bulk to hide himself from view. Unfortunately, it was too late. Lisa had already spotted him and was heading towards them, a tall, well-built blond man dressed in a dark suit beside her, their arms linked.

"Ianto? What's wrong?"

Ianto only dimly registered Jack's question. He tried to take a steadying breath. "The woman coming towards us. That's Lisa. My, er... my ex-girlfriend."

He chanced a quick glance at Jack. Staring at the approaching couple, Jack's expression was a mixture of surprise and curiosity.

They moved aside so that they weren't standing in the way of the throngs of people milling around the exhibition, and Ianto plastered on a smile as Lisa and her companion reached them. Her short, tussled, ebony hair was the same as he remembered, the understated, carefully applied make-up accentuating her flawless, dark skin. Elegant diamond pendants adorned her pierced ears, and her figure-hugging midnight blue dress showed off her svelte curves and long, lean legs. Her handsome, suited companion was no less striking and well-groomed. With an inch or two of height on both him and Jack, the man possessed intelligent, deep brown eyes and had a chiselled, clean-shaven face that could give Jack a run for his money. The glittering diamond ring on Lisa's left hand was also impossible to miss.

"Ianto, I thought that was you. Fancy seeing you here." To her credit, Lisa had recovered her composure and was now smiling brightly at him. "You're looking well." Her dark gaze shifted to Jack and looked him over with obvious interest.

Wishing that the floor would open up and swallow him whole, Ianto tried to maintain his smile. "Hi, Lisa. How are you?" He glanced at Jack, who was studying Lisa with equal interest, his eyes having slightly narrowed. "Oh... um... this is Jack... Jack Harkness."

"Very nice to meet you, Jack." Lisa smiled up at the man standing beside her. "This is my fiancé, Brian Johnson. Brian's a neurosurgeon at the University Hospital."

"Er... hello." Dumbstruck, Ianto offered his hand to the man.

"Ianto." Brian gave his hand a firm shake. "Lisa's told me about you, of course." The man's accent was English rather than Welsh, and he spoke in a deep voice with precise, cultured pronunciation. His smile was amiable, but his gaze was shrewd and assessing, and Ianto didn't doubt that Brian was conversant in Lisa's list of what she perceived to be Ianto's many shortcomings. Brian then offered his hand to Jack. "Jack."

Jack shook the other man's hand, not appearing in the least bit intimidated. "Nice to meet you, Brian."

The four of them stared at each other, none of them seeming to know what to say. Ianto cleared his throat. "Congratulations on your engagement. That's wonderful. I'm very happy for you."

Lisa nodded and smiled. "Thanks. We haven't set a date yet, but we're very excited. How about you? Are you seeing anyone?" She looked between the two of them, a small frown forming between her manicured eyebrows. "Oh. Are the two of you...?"

Ianto felt his eyes widen in surprise. He quickly shook his head. "No, of course not. Jack's..."

He didn't manage to finish his sentence before he felt Jack's hand settle on his shoulder and give a reassuring squeeze. "We're just friends. I've been helping with promoting Ianto's bakery."

Ianto nodded with relief, strangely grateful for the comfort of Jack's warm, strong hand on his shoulder. Under any other circumstances, he suspected that he would have been shrugging it away with annoyance, but at the moment it was a much needed lifeline. "Jack's a photographer. A brilliant one, actually."

"You've got your own bakery?" Lisa's dark eyes failed to hide her astonishment. "That's..." She hesitated for the briefest of moments before managing a smile. "That's wonderful. I'm pleased for you, Ianto. I know how much you wanted that."

"Thank you." Not sure what else to say, Ianto tried to smile graciously. He supposed that Lisa could afford to be magnanimous now that his choices didn't have any impact on her future aspirations. Or she was just being on her best behaviour in front of her fiancé. Either way, she'd traded up by finding herself an undoubtedly wealthy and successful doctor.

"It's fantastic. The best bakery in Cardiff." Jack squeezed Ianto's shoulder again. "Ianto's amazing. We're all very proud of him."

Lisa seemed lost for words with Jack's pronouncement, as was Ianto. Fortunately, Brian interjected. "We'll have to stop by sometime. Where is it?"

Ianto suspected that Brian was only being polite, but Jack smoothly slipped one of the bakery's business cards from his wallet, handed it to the other man and told them the address.

Jack then glanced at him before turning back to Lisa and Brian. "I'm sorry, but we should make a move." He flashed them an apologetic smile. "There are a couple of the paintings we want to look at again, and then we're meeting up with some friends for dinner. It was great to meet you both."

"Er... yes... sorry. Jack's right. We should go." Ianto forced himself to summon up another smile. "It was good to see you again, Lisa. All the best with the wedding."

After exchanging farewells, he and Jack moved away, and it wasn't until they'd reached the museum's main entrance that he stopped to take a breath.

He was far more unsettled by the encounter than he expected, not that he imagined running into one's ex was ever easy. He hadn't seen or spoken to Lisa since their breakup, and in all honesty he would have preferred to have kept it that way. Seeing her again, especially with a brain surgeon fiancé in tow, had reawakened all the old feelings of inadequacy that he'd been trying to keep buried. Lisa had obviously moved on with her life and hadn't looked back. Meanwhile, he was very much alone, with no prospects in sight.

"Ianto?"

Taking another breath, he turned to look into Jack's concerned eyes. He tried to muster up a smile, although suspected that it must have appeared more like a grimace. "Is it all right if we leave now?"

"Yeah, of course." Jack patted Ianto's arm. "Come on, let's go and get something to eat. Besides, I think you could use a drink."

Ianto couldn't have agreed more.