Ianto answered the buzz at his apartment door to find an especially handsome Jack Harkness in a dark blue shirt and waistcoat, holding a beautiful bouquet of bright red roses.
"Evening, Ianto Jones," Jack grinned. "I knew I'd be right about you in a suit!"
"Thanks," Ianto said, sure his blush was rivaling the flowers. "You didn't have to bring me flowers. And you're pretty bloody gorgeous as well," he said, accepting the flowers and stepping back to invite Jack in.
Jack shrugged. "Gonna do this dating thing right. Pick you up, flowers, go for a nice dinner… not enough class in the world these days, you know? Besides, what you said last weekend about not being used to decadence - I'm on a one-man mission to change that."
Ianto smirked, but somewhere in the back of his mind he wondered where getting used to such indulgences would leave him if he and Jack should part ways. He wasn't likely to meet anyone else at all like Jack Harkness. Was he only letting himself glimpse a lifestyle (and lover) that would be very difficult to forget? As he clipped the ends of the rose stems and put them in a vase, Ianto told himself to stop overthinking it and just enjoy Jack's attention. At least it was an experience he'd always remember.
Ianto set the vase on the coffee table and picked up his keys and mobile. "Thank you, Jack," he said, kissing Jack's cheek. "Shall we?"
"You bet," Jack smiled, offering his arm.
"Wow," Ianto breathed as Jack led him to the car parked in front of the block of flats. "Is that an F-type?"
"Uh huh," Jack grinned. "She doesn't drive – she flies."
"Bloody hell. I take it it's not a hire car?" Ianto said, sliding into the passenger seat as Jack held the door for him.
"Nope. Mine all mine," Jack said, getting behind the wheel and starting the engine. "Listen to that purr, just like a lap-cat with a plate of cream."
"Quite nice," Ianto said. "Where are we off?"
"Mermaid Quay," Jack said, pulling out onto the road.
"How's your salmon?" Jack asked.
"Exceptional," Ianto smiled blissfully. "And the filet?"
"Done to a turn. This place never misses a beat in my book." Jack reached over to top up Ianto's glass before pouring himself a bit more of the Chateauneuf-de-Pape Syrah.
"Very nice wine selection as well."
"It is a favourite of mine. I generally won't have wine unless I'm sharing it with someone, so it's not a very frequent pleasure, really."
"Well, if you're planning to get me more used to being indulged, then perhaps you should have more frequent pleasures as well," Ianto grinned.
"Maybe you're right about that. Speaking of… interested in dessert?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if I could be persuaded."
"I happened to notice a poached pear on offer, but I've also had the bavarois here… maybe we should have both?"
"As long as there's coffee as well."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Jack said.
"Oh, that reminds me. I've got a little sample of my coffee blend for tomorrow morning," Ianto said, patting his jacket pocket.
"I can't wait to try it. In fact, I think there's a few things I'm really looking forward to," Jack said, reaching across to give Ianto's hand a squeeze.
"Me too," Ianto said, turning his hand over and stroking Jack's palm with his fingertips.
Ianto, panting hard, struggled not to collapse on top of Jack, but with Jack's legs still wrapped around his waist, he didn't have much room to maneuver away.
"You're really incredible, Ianto…," Jack breathed.
"I'm not the only one," Ianto snickered, closing the gap between his lips and Jack's.
Finally, with a kiss of his own and an extra tight hug, Jack loosened his hold and let Ianto shift to curl up beside him. Of course, as soon as Ianto was comfortable, Jack's arms were back around him almost immediately.
"Can I ask you something?" Ianto said, snuggling in and tugging the duvet over them both.
"Uh huh."
"Was that… um… I mean, did you… come twice, just then?"
Jack grinned and nodded. "Yeah, I did."
Ianto's brow lifted. "Really? I didn't think guys could do that. I can't do that, I don't think."
Jack snickered. "I don't think I can explain it. Just kinda happens sometimes. Usually only when it's really good, though. I'm probably just an anomaly, though."
"Well, whatever you are, you're an enjoyable one," Ianto said, kissing Jack's cheek.
"You're enjoyable, Ianto Jones. And very, very beautiful," Jack said softly.
Holding Ianto as he fell asleep, Jack thought of all the worlds he'd seen over the years and thought that absolutely none of their wonders could compare to the world he inhabited every time he was with Ianto. Jack could curse himself for falling so hard and so fast. He supposed that he would never learn how not to end up hurt, or that he'd always forget the inevitable pain as soon as someone stirred him again. It figured that his capacity to love managed to be as immortal as his physical body.
"Morning," Ianto whispered, setting a mug on Jack's bedside table.
"Morning, Tiger," Jack smiled.
"You had a bit of a lie-in. Didn't want to wake you, since I'm betting you don't get those often," Ianto said, climbing back into bed beside Jack and picking up his own coffee.
"You'd be right. Makes me a kinda rude host, though."
"Please. I don't mind. I'd rather see you get your rest."
"Thanks, Ianto. Say… is this the coffee I've been promised? It smells great."
"That's it. I don't know if you take milk and sugar."
"Not usually for my first cup," Jack said, sitting up in bed. "If I have an afternoon coffee, yeah."
"Me as well. Usually with HobNobs. Or Jaffa."
"Don't tempt me! There have been a few times I've eaten an entire box of Jaffa Cakes by myself, in one sitting."
Ianto laughed. "I usually pass them around at work so that doesn't happen. Otherwise, I definitely would devour them all alone."
"Wow!" Jack exclaimed, taking a sip. "Ok, what do you do to make it so good?"
Ianto grinned. "Can't quite tell you – official secrets of my own, you see. However, I can reveal that the key is all in the roasting and blending. Also, you've got to get the grinding right. Timing doesn't really matter so much for a drip brewer since those are mostly automatic, but you've still got to get the proportions right."
"Whatever it is, I know I've never made coffee like this. I don't think I've ever had it this good from a shop either."
Ianto shook his head. "You won't have. The bigger shops are usually too busy to take real care with the details and the smaller ones often can't make the numbers work to brew a higher quality roast and still be priced competitively with the chains."
"Well if you ever get tired of archiving, you could charge £20 for a cup of this and have a path beaten to your door."
Ianto just smiled, but couldn't help thinking he might really enjoy that. He also couldn't help wondering if Jack might one day get tired of doing whatever highly classified work he did and come join Ianto at bean brewing.