Author's Notes: The ending is a bit weird, but I think you know what I'm going at here, so I'll leave it to your interpretation. I'm kind of satisfied with this chapter, especially since it solves a question that RTD never bothered to solve, and I hope you're going to like it, too. As always, feedback is most appreciated.

Colour: Yellow

Prompts: 'Good day, Sunshine!' and 'sickeningly sweet lemonade'

The light in Ianto's room suddenly intensified from the gentle, muffled glow of the TARDIS and her blinked several times, trying to clear his vision as the Doctor plopped down on his bed. "Good morning, Sunshine!" he called cheerfully and Ianto blinked some more, frowning at him. "Sod off."

"N'aww, don't be like that." The Doctor wriggled closer to him and ignored Ianto's attempts at pulling the blanket over his head. "I know you've slept only for two hours, but we've got work to do." When there was no reaction, he poked Ianto in the shoulder. "Martha called."

The change was immediate. Ianto sat up in the large bed, his eyes wide and full of panic. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure it's anything bad," the Doctor went on, eyeing Ianto a bit warily. He supposed that his reaction had been a bit extreme, but he'd been on board long enough to know that calls from home never meant anything good. "She just said that they needed help. Yes, they," he repeated when Ianto raised an eyebrow. "She's in Cardiff. You can stay in here if you'd like to," he added carefully at the way Ianto's face cell, but the younger Time Lord shook his head. "No, it's fine. I miss Cardiff anyway. And I want to help."

The Doctor clapped his hands. "Good! Go get dressed, then. We're leaving in ten minutes."

Ianto had always been good at getting ready as quickly as possible, so he did it now in no time. The Doctor had been right, he'd only had two hours of sleep, but he found himself strangely full of energy and vaguely thought that the curiosity that was burning inside him right now resembled the one people usually reserved for staring at road accidents – unhealthy and pretty sure that it would lead to a lifetime scarring, but unable to help it.

He picked up one of the suits that most resembled the ones he'd had back at home, mostly because he didn't want to freak anybody out and make himself seem even more distant than he would be anyway. Lately, he'd taken up to wearing jeans with his usual dress shirts and ties and pairing them with a mid-thigh long black jacket, and the sudden change back to the attire that he mostly wore when he was a human was sudden, but necessary.

He took a deep breath and got out of the wardrobe, in search of the Doctor. Of course, he'd known that he'd have to face Jack again at some point, just hadn't expected it to be so soon. He had lost himself in the travels and the adventures so much that he had forgotten what had actually made him leave and now, as he neared the TARDIS doors with the Doctor right behind him, he realised that he wasn't ready for it.

Then, after a quick nod to himself, the hesitation was gone and Ianto opened the door to the grey, rainy scenery of Cardiff Bay and the small crowd that seemed to have formed in front of the Tourist Office. Ianto frowned and, as soon as he stepped outside, heard a small noise somewhere nearby and found himself in Gwen's embrace. Just like usual, she couldn't even wrap her arms all the way around his shoulders and yet it was strangely endearing – and enough for him to realise that he'd missed her as he disentangled himself carefully from her grip.

"We thought you weren't going to show up," she admitted, still smiling, and Ianto returned it, waving away her concern.

"Like I would. What's happened?"

If it was possible, her smile grew even brighter. "Oh, we don't have a problem. We just needed– help with something." There was a small pause and Ianto didn't break it. He saw with the corner of his eye that the Doctor had gone to say hi to everyone he knew and then focused back on Gwen as she got the expression people usually have when delivering delicate information. "Now, this over there – that's Tom – is Martha's fiancé." She pointed to a man dressed in a suit that was leaning against the stone wall behind him. Ianto nodded.

"I know. I've read her file. What of it?"

"Well, the thing is..." Gwen nibbled on her lower lip, as if unsure how to continue. "That there?" She pointed at another man, dressed in a similar suit as the first one and laughing as he greeted the Doctor. "That's Mickey. Martha's– other fiancé."

"Oh." Ianto paused, unsure, then grinned. "Are thy fighting for her? Cause I could set up a fight right here. We could even sell tickets."

Gwen punched him in the arm god-naturedly, a small smile on her lips. "No, you idiot. They want to get married. I mean, the three of them. Together. But it's not exactly legal here, so..."

"Oh, I see," Ianto interrupted, understanding finally dawning. "They want a lift."

"We want a lift," a new voice added and Ianto's head immediately snapped up at the expected but unfamiliar nervousness that suddenly twisted his insides. "What a wedding needs is guests, right?"

Jack's eyes didn't give anything away and that was exactly what made Ianto stand on guard. While he'd still been on Earth, jack had opened up for him quite often and now the carefully arranged polite expression was like a stab in the chest.

He nodded. "Right."

"I – I think Martha might need my help with the dress," Gwen said, apparently sensing the sudden tension. "Ianto, she wanted to talk to you too."

"So do I, I've missed her," Ianto said, briefly taking his eyes off Jack. "Tell her I'll be there in a minute."

Gwen left and Ianto wanted to call after her to save him, but it was too late. He looked up at Jack, then back at the ground, kicking the pebbles that cluttered the ground with absent-minded determination until Jack spoke.

"So... how long have you been on the TARDIS?"

Ianto shrugged. "Three, four months. I'm not sure. What about you? How much time passed here?"

"Almost a year."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Silence settled again and Ianto realised that he had forgotten how to talk to Jack – or, actually that he had never really done it – and that this could turn out to be very ugly if things got out of control, so he quickly asked the first thing that came to mind. "How have you been doing?"

"Good," Jack said, looking back at the people in front of the Tourist Office. "Martha, Mickey and Tom came to work for me, so we're no longer short of people, so everything's fine. What about you?"

If there was one thing Ianto hated, it was small talk. And yet here he was, stuck in it with a man who he knew despised it as much as him, and neither of them was inclined to break it. "It's all great, really." It wasn't a lie. "It's– extraordinary. Everything I've ever dreamed of, and more." He'd been looking at the sky – wondering if it would start pouring soon – and just happened to focus back on Jack in the wrong moment, only to see the Captain looking at him, an unguarded anguish in his eyes. He must have realised he was noticed, because he finally dropped all pretence.

"You know, it's almost painful. Looking at you like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're a stranger. I look into your eyes and... there's nothing. You have no idea who I am."

"I have all the memories Ianto Jones had as a human," Ianto pointed out quickly, only to have Jack give a small, exasperated laugh.

"See? That's what I'm talking about. Yes, somewhere in that detached, inhuman brain of yours Ianto Jones is still alive. But he's too far away. I don't know who you are. I don't even know your name."

"It's Ianto," he assured and Jack raised an eyebrow. "Well, the first part of it is. My whole name is a bit of a mouthful. But, if you want," he was quiet for a moment, not sure how to pose the question, "You could come with us. It would be hard at first but I suppose that, if you want to, you could get to know me again eventually."

Jack shook his head. "It would be too much," he said quietly. "I wouldn't be able to bear it, being near the man I love day and night and knowing that it's not really him."

Ianto grimaced. "I'm pretty sure the Doctor knows how you feel about him, and I'll try to tell him not to be a jerk–"

"I wasn't," Jack gritted out, "talking about the Doctor."

"Oh," Ianto murmured and saw Jack's eyes suddenly ablaze with anger.

"Yes, oh. Don't act like you're so surprised. You knew how I felt about you, even when you were still human."

"If that's any consolation," Ianto started carefully. "He loved you too. The human, I mean."

"But not you?"

"I could learn to," he admitted. "But... you haven't exactly given me much, Jack."

"I was shocked, at first. Now, I mostly don't see what would be the point. You know," he suddenly met Ianto's mildly confused gaze. "When I was waiting for the Doctor, I contacted UNIT a lot. All through the twentieth century, I tried to learn as much as I could about Time Lords."

"Did you now." It wasn't exactly a question, but Jack kept going anyway.

"Yes, I did. And if there's one thing I learnt about their nature..." His eyes were suddenly fixed at some point over Ianto's shoulder and he smiled sadly. "...is that they are possessive creatures."

Ianto frowned. "What do you–"

"Ianto!" He nearly jumped a foot in the air when the Doctor's hand landed on his shoulder. "What are you still doing here? Martha wanted you to arrange – sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No," Ianto said quickly. "Not at all."

"Good, because Martha asked if you could arrange the seats; you're good with organising and all, and once we arrive–"

Ianto laughed. If Gwen had trapped him in endless wedding planning, then so could Martha – even if they would set it up on the spot. "Where are we going, actually?"

"London, the 23rd century. It's legal by then, and they're all from London, so I decided it could be a good idea."

"It is," Ianto said and, as he went to tell the people they could get in the TARDIS and to greet the bride and meet the grooms, he threw one last look at Jack, only to see him stare at him and the Doctor with some expression between quiet acceptance and bitter amusement.

o.O.o

The ceremony itself was beautiful. Even Ianto, who wasn't exactly a wedding person, had to admit that much. It seemed to be a specifically arranged ritual that the three participants took equal roles in, and it was fascinating to watch. Martha was – just as he had expected – a beautiful bride. The dress wasn't anything too puffy; it was simple, all silk except for the cascade of little crystals that fell from her shoulder to her waist. Her hair was done up – courtesy of Gwen, Ianto supposed – and there was a small crown on her head so she shone between Tom and Mickey as they all listened to the priest – or whatever passed for one two centuries after their time – tell them the vows Ianto had heard so many times.

The after party was something Ianto wasn't all that sure about – especially when it came to the lemonade he had decided to try and had given up on moments later – but, since it was out of time and the guests weren't all that many – just Martha's family, Gwen, Jack, Ianto and the Doctor – it was all they could have done, and it was in the middle of it that Ianto felt the Doctor nearing him after he'd went to congratulate the newlyweds.

"Martha said to get them home," he said, sitting down next to his companion. "So go gather the crowd and get them back in the TARDIS."

Ianto just nodded and had the pleasure of seeing the control room of the TARDIS full of people for once, especially since he got to explain everything about the 'bigger on the inside' part to Gwen (he supposed she'd been a bit busy with last minute corrections on Martha's dress and things like that to notice it the first time around) and enjoy the laughter that reigned around them while it lasted.

Soon enough, Martha neared them too to get her goodbye and Ianto gave them both a hug, carefully not looking towards Jack as the man got out of the TARDIS and back into twenty first century Cardiff.

"You don't feel like doing it, eh?" Gwen asked softly. "You know. Talking to him."

Ianto shook his head. "What would be the point?"

She took a deep breath and seemed ready to give him a piece of her mind, but Martha just said, "Maybe it's for the best." and Ianto looked up at her gratefully to see her smile. "Bye, Ianto. See you around, yeah?"

He managed a smile in response. "Whenever you'd like."

As everyone said goodbye to the Doctor and got out, Ianto stared through the open door, unable to stop himself from searching for the familiar figure until he gritted his teeth - frustrated mostly at his own weakness than at anything else - and turned around, leaning against the console.

"Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away." The Doctor's voice was gentle and Ianto smiled, his eyes almost hurting from the tears they wanted but couldn't produce for whatever reason. Ianto had realised long ago that it was especially when he desperately wanted an outlet for his grief, the tears wouldn't come.

"'The Great Gatsby'?" He asked softly. "I didn't really know it was your sort of thing."

"Oh, Ianto." There was something Ianto couldn't identify in the Doctor's tone. "There's so much you don't know about me."