A/N: Some source locating and skin craving :)

No spoilers

Beta-ed: TattoedLibrarian

Jack followed the pale line of Ianto's neck as he talked to Tosh. He was tuned into their conversation, but he didn't really pay attention. There was talk about hormones, signals and transmitters, their tower. Jack let all that just pass him by. `Rise your protection´ Ianto demanded of him, and he did try. It worked for a second, but then it fell down and he wasn't willing to try again. This feeling was so sweet and alive that he wasn't ready to let it go. He wanted to savour its flavour and the rush that ran through his body. Strangely, enough focus of that feeling revolved solely around Ianto, his movements, his words. Jack watched him closely trying to find the source of that luring scent that was reaching for Jack.

Despite the throbbing in his blood he restrained himself, his training in control served him well, besides, it always was more fun waiting, watching until your desire grew. Ianto spoke of panic, but there were no real danger for Ianto, not from Jack, because oddly his desire didn't contain anything violent. On the contrary he could say it was a tender feeling, something gentle, that's why he called him dear. He never used that word, it didn't become him, but now it just wanted to slip off his tongue.

He wanted to taste that pale skin, but he had to wait, Ianto was still talking fast and at the top of his lungs, the panic was still there. That's why he followed Ianto as he moved, keeping his distance, always two steps behind. He was waiting for Ianto's breathing to even out, his shoulders to slump down. Tosh's voice came out high pitched through the speaker, that didn't work to Jack's advantage. Sadly he couldn't turn her off because they had to save the world or something like it.

`If it's just Cardiff´ Jack mussed to himself `could I leave it on until I got enough of Ianto? ´ But he knew he couldn't, because he wouldn't ever get enough of Ianto. That made him sad.

Like he felt Jack's change of mood Ianto turned around and raised one eyebrow up. That lifted Jack right back up, he loved when Ianto did that, that little smug bastard. Jack smiled and Ianto got back to business. He opened up the Rift manipulator panel.

"It's got to be something you fixed" Tosh spoke sharply "it's not a coincidence that it triggered just after the repair."

"Great, now it's my fault" murmured Ianto.

"I didn't say that" Tosh sighed with fatigue "you couldn't know that a booby trap was set somewhere. You probably fixed a broken circuit that activated some ancient device."

"Booby trap" that got Jack's attention, "that sounds familiar" he said as he leaned closer to sniff at the back of Ianto's neck that was exposed when he leaned forward to get a better view. Ianto's hand reached back and slapped him away. Jack shook his head trying to focus, what had Ianto said recently, what creatures had come their way? Which one would use a booby trap?

Ianto and Tosh continued to talk.

"Ow" Ianto shouted and jumped back right into Jack's arms. "It short circuited" he said and showed his injured hand to Jack. He continued to explain to Tosh what happened and Jack rubbed the sore place, Ianto didn't move away. Jack focused on the shape of the bruise on Ianto's palm. Its crescent shape with small sharp spikes looked too perfect and it looked familiar, something from another life, maybe even before he died the first time, before he lost his name.

"That translucent alien" Jack spoke up, interrupting their conversation about ways to cut through the protective force field that seemed to surround one string of wires. "What did he look like?" There was a sudden silence that was filled with the humming of computers and ventilation. "The one that showed you Tosh's thoughts?" To his surprise Tosh started to laugh on the other side of the line.

"Translucent?" she caught her breath. "Only Ianto could write that report." She said cheerfully. "I surely didn't, it looked different to everyone. When it opened my mind it showed me how it looked to others. Ianto's vision was perfect, transparent skin that glowed, all minty green with blue veins. I wish I could look at world in such a way. Owen saw it like black lump that crawled on the floor, all rubbery like, I think he saw too many black and white old shows. Gwen saw a metal thing two feet tall, I think she just watched Transformers. At first I saw like a red meaty thing, all muscles and blood, but after I saw its different forms I couldn't locate it."

"How did you defeat it?" Jack asked calmly and with a low voice so he wouldn't disturb her giddiness, in her crying mood Ianto had to constantly get her back to the subject at hand. As he listened, Jack put his arms around Ianto surrounding him in a light embrace; he didn't looked alarmed by it.

"Oh it was easy" Tosh laughed again "once I realized it had no solid form, that it only transmits waves that produce images in one's head I just blocked that wave and it was easy to find, small round, and like a metal ball."

"Where is that ball now?" Jack continued to use his low tone despite the urgency that started to arise.

"Oh it didn't do anything else, it seemed dead, so we locked it in vault seventeen, turned on the cooling and catalogued it. It wasn't harmful really, more like some kind of trickster."

"Tosh, wave lengths that stimulates the brain, tricks, ring any bells?"

"Oh you think it got away?" she changed her mood to guilt.

"Well maybe, but it didn't get far, we should check on the vault, and where does exactly that wire lead?"

"Which one?" Ianto asked dryly and Jack's grin lit up.

"The red one in the middle" Jack said against his neck.

"Why that one?" now Ianto sounded irritated.

"Because it's red, and red is for blood like Tosh said, someone with a sense for good trick would use red to induce blood stream changes."

"Well when you say it like that, when it produced mental images did it use a grey wire." Tosh sighed on the other side. "Why do I hear you two with an echo?" she sounded alarmed. "Maybe someone is listening in; it sounds like its two sources of sound."

Ianto jumped away from Jack just as he pressed his lips against pale skin. Jack smiled.

"Don't worry Tosh, we resolved problem of the echo. Let's see if our friend is still where you left it."