16.
Jack stared at his mobile, the voice message blinking on his screen insistently. He turned away from it, looking out the car window to the bank on the opposite side of the street instead.
"Hey!" John said, nudging him with his elbow. "I'm glad you decided to regain your sanity after all."
Jack looked at him and at the water pistol he was holding. "Only this job," he said, feeling like he had to clarify this again. "And then nothing."
"Okay," John said, grinning. "This one and then California."
Jack nodded slowly and looked down at his mobile again.
"What's the matter?" John asked.
Jack sighed. "Voicemail."
John frowned. "I thought you switched it off."
"Yeah, and then I switched it on again," Jack answered, irritated.
John looked at him as if he didn't quite know what to think. "You want to listen to it?"
Jack looked at the screen for a long moment, then he huffed a breath and threw the mobile on the backseat. "No." He took his own water pistol when the money transport turned the corner. "Let's do this."
"Yeah," John replied with a smirk and a dangerous spark in his blue eyes. "Let's."
That was when somebody knocked on the window and they both jerked around, automatically trying to hide the water pistols. Jack frowned when a boy waved at him, barely recognising him from Ianto's Year 7 – Robin. "Hello, Mr. Harkness!" he called through the glass, two of his friends waving just as eagerly. Out of all the streets the kids could have gone to ...
John cursed. "What the hell?"
"Shut up, let me handle this," Jack answered and opened the door to talk to the kids. "What are you doing here?"
Robin grinned at him in excitement. "We wanted to buy alcohol for tonight's party."
Jack remembered Ianto mentioning something about a party for the younger students. Ianto had been invited as well and Jack had made jokes and how much he seemed to enjoy the idea of being considered worthy enough to be invited. Ianto had blushed.
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Alcohol?" he asked. "You're way too young for that."
"We know," Robin said. "We thought, you know … since we saw you being here ..."
Jack's eyes widened. "I'm not buying alcohol for you. Mr. Jones will freak."
"But it's for him," Robin answered quickly. "We want to make him drunk so that he isn't sad anymore."
One of his friends nodded. "Please, Mr. Harkness, just once do something forbidden."
John nudged Jack's shoulder insistently. "Hey, our window's closing."
Jack ignored him. "Mr. Jones is sad?"
Robin nodded. "My brother is in the 10b. He says it's because you quit. Why did you quit?"
John nudged him again, harder. "Jack."
He stared at the kids and then looked at the money transport … the sick feeling in his stomach intensified. He'd never felt this way before committing a crime, as if he was doing something he would regret. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply … and then made his decision.
He grabbed his mobile from the backseat. "I didn't quit," he told the kids. "And I'll buy it, but you won't get your sticky little fingers on the bottle." He got out of the car.
"Hey!" John said. "Jack, what the fuck?"
Jack glared at him. "Mind your language, there are kids here, you wanker!" He slammed the door shut and strode away, the kids following in his wake, chatting about the upcoming party excitedly. Jack didn't really listen. His heart was beating loud enough that it reverberated through his ears and he felt slightly dizzy … he felt happy. It was a strange feeling, one he encountered not often enough.
Robin's little hand sliding against Jack's palm pulled him back to the present and he looked down, surprised.
Robin smiled up at him. Jack found himself smiling back.
xxx
Ianto stared at his mobile, willing it to ring. He'd given up on calling Jack, knowing by now that he wasn't picking up for whatever reason. But maybe he would call back, maybe he would have doubts and look for advice … maybe … Ianto closed his eyes and put his head in his hands, rubbing them down his face tiredly before he turned his head to look at the darkened yard. He would have to go to the Year 7 party soon and he didn't look forward to it. It meant leaving the house and pretending everything was all right when it really wasn't ...
The clapping of the letter box pulled him out of his thoughts. He wanted to ignore it but in the end found himself going to check it out anyway. It was way too late for post to arrive.
A single white envelope lay on the floor at the door. Ianto frowned and picked it up, opening it carefully. There was one sheet of paper in it and when he unfolded it, it didn't say much, but it didn't have to. He'd waited for this letter since he was thirteen and as simple as it was, it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever read.
Do you want to go out with me?
Yes
No
Maybe
Ianto swallowed.
"So?" somebody asked and Ianto looked up at Jack standing in the lounge door. He must have come in through the half-opened porch door. He looked tired and insecure, his blue eyes dull.
Ianto cleared his throat, clenching his fingers around the letter to stop his hands from shaking. "That depends," he answered slowly. "Did you rob the bank?"
"No," Jack said, coming closer.
Ianto suppressed a smile. "A shame," he whispered. "I like them dangerous."
Jack grinned. He held out a hand and, as soon as Ianto took it, pulled him close for a gentle, unhurried kiss. His thumb brushed Ianto's cheek and Ianto could feel him smile still against his lips, even when he deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around him.
"Ugh!" Mica said, peering down at them from the first floor. She was smiling. "Teacher sex."
xxx
They had been called to Tosh's office the second they'd entered school grounds the next morning and were now sitting across from her. Tosh had been looking at them with a carefully guarded expression for the last two minutes or so and Jack had the feeling that he was going to get arrested. It was possible that they'd found out about the tunnel and the origin of the money and the fact that Jack had been faking his degree ...
Tosh interrupted Jack's wildly spinning thoughts by calmly asking, "What the bloody hell have you done?"
Jack swallowed and glanced at Ianto, who looked oddly pale. "Tosh," he said. "I can explain-"
"What did you do to those students?" Tosh asked, slapping a pile of paper on her desk. Even upside down, Jack recognised the English test on Shakespeare. "I never before cried while looking through tests," Tosh said. "But this is ..." She shook her head.
Whatever Ianto had been about to say, Jack interrupted him quickly. "It was my idea."
"None of them," Tosh said as if he hadn't spoken, "failed."
Jack stared at her, wondering whether he'd misheard.
Ianto asked, "None of them?"
"None of them."
"And Bernie?"
"None of them."
Jack cleared his throat. "I thought the students would understand the story better if we'd speak about newer versions of Romeo & Juliet."
"Your test has only one question and it's stating that the students should pick one modern version of the Romeo & Juliet story, show the relationship to the original and then explain the story and interpret it."
Jack grinned despite himself. "Yeah, I felt like a right geek writing that."
"We have Westside Story, Avatar, Titanic, even Star Wars and Doctor Who. The students' insights vary in originality and depth, but all of them are good."
Ianto smiled at Jack and took his hand, squeezing gently.
"Additionally," Tosh said, "they started to participate in other courses as well. Rory isn't even taking his asthma spray anymore when he has biology with them." She smiled at Jack. "So, let's talk business. If only two thirds of the 10b manage to get their GCSEs, it will have consequences for our budget. I want a canteen, I want copiers and I damn well want smartboards because I hate chalk fingers. Jack, you'll get a fixed position here."
Jack's smile dimmed and he shifted in his chair. "Thing is, I didn't actually get a degree. I'm not really a teacher."
Tosh leaned back in her chair, folding her hand in her lap. "I fail to see the problem, since you apparently faked it well enough to fool me."
"I didn't even finish school," Jack admitted.
"Hm," Tosh said. Her resolute expression melted away to a secretive smile that brightened her strict face into quite a pretty one. "I won't tell anyone if you don't."
Ianto's eyes widened. "What?" he asked. Jack grinned widely at him but Ianto shook his head. "No … that's … cheating."
"Ianto," Tosh answered, "us teachers get messed with every single day. Let's mess with them right back for once."
xxx
"This doesn't mean you get off the hook," Ianto warned. Jack put an arm around him while they walked down the corridor towards the school yard. Recess had just started and the students were milling in the corridors. They got out of the way, though, when Jack and Ianto approached, smiling and waving at Jack. Ianto recaptured his attention by nudging him into the side. "You will go to school in the evenings and read all the books on teaching that I'll give you … without complaining."
Jack grinned and shook his head. "But not knowing is the key to my success."
"That's not funny," Ianto said. "It went well this time but it could go wrong the next and I don't want them to find out that you're not a teacher." He leaned closer to Jack, stopping him in his tracks to look at him earnestly. "You could go to prison."
"Stop worrying," Jack said, kissing Ianto's lips firmly. "Teachers love me." With that, he slapped Ianto's arse and sauntered off.
Ianto blushed. "Hey!" he called after Jack, "I was serious, though!"
Jack didn't react.
"Jack!" Ianto called. "Jack, I'm talking to you!"
"Mr. Harkness," the students around him echoed, "he's talking to you!"
Jack turned around and winked.
09/15
END