No spoilers

Beta-ed: GlassSplinter

Ianto felt like crying. That's why he didn't move. He waited 'til that reminiscence of tears disappeared from his eyes. He was ready for anything but gentleness. He expected hard sex against the file cabinet, rough edges, and firm grips. Things after which you feel relaxed and move on like nothing happened. He didn't expect to feel embraced and surrounded with the presence of another being. That's the right word for it, presence. Jack was there all the way, taking him in. It was hard to cope with that. He'd gotten used to absence, to the stiffness of his spine, to a knot in his chest. He felt stripped of all that, and he didn't want to show it. The blanket underneath him was thick and soft. All he wanted to do was to roll in it and stay there until those feelings went away and left him blank and unemotional. When that didn't happen he felt the urge to say something to break the silence.

"That was..." he trailed off, what to say, it was overwhelming, but he didn't want to say that out loud.

But Jack said, "Yeah, it was." Ianto felt better.

He was convinced that it wasn't overwhelming for Jack. It was just sex, and coincidentally Jack was good at it. Now Ianto understood the long line of lovers that Jack always mentioned. Who wouldn't experience that? He wasn't special. That's why he held up his head and looked at Jack, who was spread across the blanket flat on his back, exposed without shame. Why not; like he had anything to be ashamed off. He decided to follow his example and leave shame behind. It would be silly after all he'd let him do.

"Well." He lifted himself up and sat on his heels. "It's time to get back to work."

"Oh." Jack frowned. "We can't have seconds?"

"That was seconds."Ianto said dryly.

"You're such a tease," smiled Jack, and Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"Don't you..." Jack jumped up but before he could grab Ianto the echo of the cog door was heard from the hallway.

"Guess they worked it out quicker then I'd hoped. I'll have to train them less." Jack sighed and got up.

"How can we hear the door all the way down here?" Ianto followed Jack and saw him pick up his clothes, beside them stood the radio. "Oh." Through the speakers he heard Owen and Gwen bickering.

"You brought clothes," he said accusingly.

"Of course," said Jack, and shrugged.

"That's unfair. And that's pure cheating." He pointed at a piece of alien tech that could read residual heat energy. "No wonder you found me that easily."

"What? You're sorry I did?" Jack stepped closer and looked him in the eyes. He turned his head to the side. He heard Jack laugh, loud and pleased. Ianto felt the urge to smash him to the wall and cut off that sound, but he stood firm. The others were back. He heard them searching for Jack.

"We have to move, my clothes are all the way to the vaults. If they find them I just might quit tomorrow." Ianto could imagine all that shame. It was one thing to stand in front of Jack, but to be exposed in front of Owen, Gwen and Tosh was something different.

"Oh, we can't have that. Not now when I'm in the lead." Jack picked up a blanket and draped it over his back.

"Lead? It's a tie, at best; if we don't count that you cheated." Ianto closed edges of the blanked grateful for the warmth.

"It's not cheating." Jack pulled Ianto close and slid his arm under the blanket, around Ianto's waist. "I made up a game, we just didn't discuss the rules."

"Ok, then I state that using alien tech to track down the hider is cheating." Ianto said dryly, but Jack's smile just widened.

"Agreed, no alien tech next time." Jack turned towards the upper levels as Gwen started to shout Jack's name. Ianto followed him with a delay because he realised that he'd just agreed to more rounds with Jack. He cought up with him and watched his back as he strode ahead. More rounds might not be such a bad thing.