No spoilers.

Beta-ed: GlassSplinter

And Jack's ideas got more and more extreme. Ianto thought about it, could he keep up with them? He was used to thinking about himself as a shy person. But with Jack that seemed to be switched off. Partly it was because of the whole contest thing that he'd started. The other part was something else. With Jack he felt powerful. How odd was that? He didn't expect it to be that way, not with Jack being the boss, and all. He felt, well it was a bit uncomfortable, he felt beautiful. He always considered Jack as a narcissistic person, as someone who enjoys being better than those around him, or at least enjoys their admiration. But the closer he got the more it seemed that Jack was the one doing the admiring, and not just of him. He seemed to see the best in people, to find some kind of beauty in everything. And it happened that he himself sometimes saw things the way he did. When he looked through his eyes the world didn't seem like a gray and dull place, as he used to see it, but like a live thing that was always moving. Maybe that was the key to Jack's own beauty. People wanted to be around him to catch a glimpse of themselves in his eyes. That was why he let Jack handle him however he wanted, and mostly wherever. He balanced that by keeping eyes on the score, and he took care that he got his own way often enough.

"Ianto!" Jack's voice startled him, and he almost spilled his coffee on his shirt. He approached him unnoticed; he'd drifted too far into his thoughts.

"I wanted to discuss this." He pointed at something on his clipboard. Ianto leant forward, when he saw what he was talking about he felt warmth rush to his cheeks. Owen and Tosh were just a few feet away from them, typing something, but they were close enough to hear anything interesting. Jack was holding his stopwatch list in his hands. He forced himself to stay calm and not show anything alarming.

"What about it sir?" He managed to keep his voice in its usual tone.

"This item bothers me, I think you underestimated it. We should go through it to check." He pointed out the number he thought was quite generous.

"Really?" He couldn't hide his surprise. "I thought I overestimated it, it was always shorter so far."

"That's only because we always rush somewhere, there will be quieter times," Jack said seriously. "Here," he handed him a list. "This is a list; we should be prepared for anything."

"Grocery list," Owen murmured to Toshiko. "Those two take shopping lists far too serious."

Toshiko shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know, you get pretty annoying when you're hungry." She didn't lift her gaze from the screen.

"Excuse me!" Owen was surprised.

"Oh, sorry," Tosh looked around, "Did I say that out loud? I meant it in the best possible way." She smiled politely.

"I have to be careful or you'll grow teeth. Who will put up with me then?" He smiled at her.

Tosh bit her tongue and didn't answer. Ianto was reading Jack's list and his eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"As you wish, sir," he said at the end. "I'll have it in mind." Then he turned to Owen and Tosh with their coffees.

"Finally Teaboy, you managed to find us." Owen grabbed his mug from the tray. "While at it, bring me some treats, you know what I like." Owen turned to his computer.

Ianto stood there shocked for a second before he realized what Owen really meant.

"Oh, chocolate," he said with relief.

"What else?" Owen murmured but he was already lost in some file, full of corpses. Ianto withdrew, and Jack chuckled in the back.

"So how long will you need for that list?" he asked Ianto quietly, but loud enough to sound casual.

"Now, sir?" Ianto was surprised, it was the middle of the day, and they weren't talking about a few minutes stolen in the archives.

"Do you have other plans, Ianto?" Jack looked him in the eyes and Ianto could see that he was asking for real.

"No, not as such." He lowered his gaze and stumbled over his words slightly. "Two hours." He said and strode towards the door. A problem of Owen and Tosh was Jack's problem to solve, he was the boss after all. Ianto looked at the list and couldn't help but smile. How cheeky was that; to send him to eat and rehydrate so he could beat his estimation by five minutes. Nevertheless, Ianto obeyed Jack's instructions to the letter. What fun is the game, if you don't give into it?