A/N: here we go after a short vacation. Jack climbs the stairs.

No spoilers, not really, just a hint.

Beta-ed: TattoedLibrarian

Jack climbed the stairs behind Ianto thinking about all the things he hadn't said to Ianto; about the missing time. He hadn't lie to him, he just hadn't said that he had only noticed all those things Ianto did for him when they were gone, when he was served with only pain and chains. Before he was chained up he unconsciously counted all the things Ianto did for him and now he had to take care of them alone. He had always done them alone; he was used to it, after all he was a roaming man always on the move, even in his marriage. But then Ianto stepped in and took over without Jack even noticing it, he had done it so naturally, without any demands, and he did them better than Jack ever did. Ianto was right, he didn't demand anything in return, but Jack found himself wanting him to ask for something, wanting for him to need Jack. So in the missing time Jack had spent his time counting the things Ianto would do during the day, and now nobody did them, Jack couldn't, he was strapped up, and he thought how nice they were. It was nice to be pampered throughout the day, but Jack thought more about the things he could do for Ianto in return, to use that extra time he had given him. And after Ianto came to rescue him... well his train of thoughts turned to things he would do to him without clothes.

Jack could never tell any of it to Ianto; it would make things too hard to confess that level of need. He would never burden Ianto with that knowing that he could never deliver as much as Jack needed.

"Sit here" Ianto offered a bar stool by a counter and Jack obeyed him. He watched as Ianto took out a frying pan, butter, chocolate, walnuts. "I could just heat up yours, but I like them stuffed, they always put too little."

"I like stuffed too" Jack grinned and Ianto just glared at him.

"So" Ianto started as he sat across of him "Hector? That is surprisingly modest; I would always guess that you would think of yourself like Achilles."

"No" Jack said raising his palms up "you've talked me through a meal already. Now I'll enjoy my dessert. This looks and smells divine." Jack took a bite. "Oh, and it taste as good. I forgot how delicious food can be."

"Well what did they feed?" Ianto frowned watching him eat.

"You wouldn't believe just how tasteless can meal be, how everything can be ruined just by preparing it. I thought, I'd seen it all, but that was horrible." Jack complained.

"Just how incompetent was the cook?" Ianto inquired further.

"Oh he was very good, the goal was to make an awful meal; it was a torture technique. Luckily I was trained to ignore taste, I could eat almost anything, I ate almost anything; you'd be surprised just what you could eat in right circumstances."

"Something like Bear, he eats pretty awful stuff." Ianto said and explained when Jack gave him blank face. "Of course, you don't watch television, it's a show about a survivor in the wild, I think you'd like it."

"Watching someone eat gruesome stuff, I don't think so." Jack shook his head.

"Bear is hot" Ianto added.

"You could show me sometimes" Jack grinned widely and then looked at his plate. "You've done it again, I ate the whole thing." Ianto smiled tightly.

"Here we can share mine" Ianto pushed forward his untouched plate and Jack placed finger against his lips saying shush.

They ate it in silence and Jack loved every minute of it.

Afterwards Ianto cleaned the counter signalling Jack to stay put. Jack watched him as he moved around the kitchen and found the sight relaxing.

"Coffee? Tea?" Ianto asked.

"Tea has a nice ring to it, and coffee just reminds me too much of the office." Jack mused. "Although I do love your coffee, I remember when I first tasted it. I was already resigning to that awful thing that Owen made. Suzie was too important to do something like that, and Toshiko to absent. In the end we bought it when we could, but that would always get cold and somehow not thick enough."

"You never brew coffee?" Ianto encouraged him to continue.

"No, in my time that was obsolete, something that you could get in pills, sitting while time passes by and drinking something warm wasn't something I would often do." Jack smiled. "But I can make a great lasagne; someone once told me it was the best in the free world. I learned from the source, a great Italian taught me." Whenever Jack would think about him he would get sad, but making lasagne always steered him to think of the good times. Sometimes he was amazed just how young he was back then. "I can make it some time; I haven't made it in years, wonder if I still can?"

Ianto put a note pad and pen in front of Jack.

"What?" Jack was confused.

"Write down the ingredients you need for it and I will get them. We could do that tomorrow."

"Tomorrow" Jack lightened up and started to write down the list, he was surprised just how easily he could remember what he needed. Everything was as he was thought; he only changed the order of ingredients to make the memories less vivid; blood would smear through those letters if he would let himself go too deep in the picture. It was pity really that fear would always get between him and others. Even Gwen watched him with caution, and sometimes distant coldness. He lifted his gaze to Ianto's face. He was reading his list crossing off things he already had in his kitchen. Why was he different, why was he so at ease with him sitting in his chair, in his home? How could he be so unfazed by his defiance to death? Even when they accepted him, people needed some time to adjust to his condition, to overcome their shock. They needed at least a few hours before they would touch him with caution to ensure he was there.

When he died first time in front of Ianto, death that he was aware of, Jack hadn't seen anything but relief on him when he woke up. He hadn't stepped back not even for a split second, on the contrary he grabbed him and dragged him out of the Hub not letting go, supporting him with a tight grip that was broken only when Jack ran off into a new danger. Ianto looked up and caught him staring. Jack was so deep in thought that he didn't manage to find a smile to put on his face. Ianto watched him for a second searching for something on his face. Then he put down the list, went around the counter and took Jack by his hand pulling him up into an embrace. Jack took it. He placed his arms around Ianto's shoulders adjusting himself to the closeness and then he sighed placing his cheek against Ianto's. They just stood there for a moment in silence and without intent the embrace got tighter pressing them together.

After a while Jack found his voice.

"Should I be a gentleman now and leave?" he asked gently stroking his neck and back of his head.

"No, you were gentleman enough tonight" Ianto answered quietly. "Besides, it's past midnight, everything is back to normal."

"You mean to say that my SUV is a pumpkin now?" Jack whispered ghosting his lips over Ianto's neck.

Ianto laughed shortly but was cut off when Jack pressed his lips behind Ianto's ear.

Jack parted his lips and tasted Ianto's skin with tip of his tongue. Ianto shivered in his arms. He tasted bitter and sweet, just how he remembered it. He felt the urge to bite down hard on his skin so he moved away not ready to trust his own instincts, to be sure he wouldn't cross the line and become too rough. After the crude year he had, his emotions were wild and unexpected.

Jack moved his head away so he could see Ianto's face, that he could remember where he was because when he would close them unwelcomed images would come his way. Ianto smiled like he understood and for Jack it wasn't hard to believe that he did.

"Since your ride, sir, has turned into a vegetable" Ianto stroked Jack's back. "I feel obliged to offer you shelter for the evening."

"What" grin sneaked back to Jack's face "you're offering me your couch? I won't mind if I can persuade you to accompany me on it."

"Oh I just couldn't spend one more night on it" Ianto said looking at it with disdain.

"You're telling me that you had a bad time?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"No, I'm just saying that I love my suits, especially this one."

"It's nice suit, really" Jack took in his appearance. "But I'd hate it if you choose it over me."

"Oh don't worry" Ianto smiled devilishly "You have some advantages over it so I can arrange for you to be let in to my bed, but I have a few rules."

"Rules? I love rules" Jack grinned widely "they can be so beautifully broken, and obeying them is sometimes fun too."

Ianto raised his eyebrow ironically.

"First rule is, in my bed I'm the boss" said Ianto firmly.

"Uh" Jack pursed his lips and moved his hands down Ianto's spine and squeezed him closer "I like that one."

"I'm sure you do" Ianto pushed himself off Jack "but I'm saying that in a lets-take-things-slower way, and the second rule is that you don't use any of your sneaky persuasion techniques to cheat and turn things your way."

"I wouldn't dream of it" Jack let go of Ianto and lifted his hands in surrender, which earned him sceptical look from Ianto. "At least not for the evening" he offered his crooked smile.

Ianto took a deep breath in and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Well... you may be all perfect and fresh, but I'll need a bathroom. Make yourself at home, the bed is there" he opened the door to the bedroom. "I'll be quick." He opened the bathroom door but then he turned around."And Jack... try not to disappear."

"Yes sir" Jack straightened himself up and saluted him. Ianto glared at him and went to the bathroom.

Jack looked around when he was left alone. It was not one of his best romantic outcomes, but with Ianto it was never about the romance and extraordinary. In fact it was always about the ordinary and every day, and Jack loved that. He thought about picking up a book, taking out the wine, dimming the lights, putting on the music, but then he decided to just go to bed. Ianto did establish rules and Jack didn't doubt he'd kick Jack out if he messed around with them. Jack didn't doubt that Ianto wanted him there either, but there were still a few thresholds to be crossed. In a relationship trust is more often the issue than desire. He and Ianto were past desire, that was there, and Jack trusted Ianto with everything he had, but to trust Jack. Jack still hadn't really came to the stage were someone would really trust him.

Jack went into the room looking around. Usually when he would get to the bedroom he was too preoccupied to notice his surroundings, and later on it wouldn't matter anymore because he would be on his way. It was a nice room, it had big closet with mirrors on the doors, Jack liked the mirrors. The only other furniture was a chair in the corner, a small white nightstand, and big bed with chocolate covers all tidy and pressed. Jack grinned widely, imagining Ianto spread across it naked; he tried to imagine the differences in his body, the ones that would show him that time had passed. Then he considered the option of posing himself and greet Ianto that way, but then he decided against it. He knew to recognize when someone withdrew to the bathroom to make dramatic entrance and this wasn't it. Ianto withdrew to ease down the tension, and there was tension between them.

That's why he stripped down to his boxers and t-shirt, leaving his clothes on the chair and crawled under the covers. He covered himself to avoid the accusation that he was using his sneaky techniques. Jack smiled, Ianto did respond well to his sneaky techniques, and he didn't have any doubt that it would be easy to turn Ianto his way just by showing off for a bit. As he stretched out, Jack discovered that he was tired, it was nice to lay down, after all he had been on his feet for almost four days now and it hadn't been a nice couple of nights.

"Jack?" he heard a hint of concern in Ianto's voice, like he really did expect him to vanish.

"In here" Jack called out and Ianto came in wearing black pyjama bottoms and grey t-shirt and Jack growled under his breath. He wanted to climb out of bed and drag him in. His suit was really armour and without it he looked ready for the taking, defenceless. Jack wanted to bite down hard on his shoulder and just devour him.

"Um, right then" Ianto broke eye contact and went back to the living room where he turned out the lights.

A/N: So few words about their talk,

- the lasagne reference comes from Everyone Says Hello, audio book, and I combine Jack's sentence that he makes great lasagne with past sequence from Miracle day, Angelo was Italian so it looked compatible

- talk about TV shows goes with Jack's thoughts in the audio book In the Shadows, when he thinks about watching TV with Ianto

- and Achilles and Hector are characters to Greek epic poem Iliad, or the movie Troy with Brad Pitt :)