Spoilers:
2.01 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
May 2008
For once Jack Harness wasn’t wearing his trademark trousers with suspenders, topped with the World War II era navy peacoat; instead, he was in a nice pair of black slacks and a blue shirt that matched his eyes with a sports jacket over top. He wanted his date to realize that this meant something to him, so he’d taken the extra effort for the first time in a long while.
He glanced down at the bottle of Dom Perignon he’d brought, reminded himself that he was Capt. Jack Harkness, and knocked firmly on the door. A few moments later, it was pulled open, and a lean figure dressed in a subtly pin-striped charcoal suit, maroon shirt and diagonally striped tie looked out.
"Hullo, Jack," Ianto greeted him, smiling slightly as he stepped back out of the way to allow him inside.
Jack returned the smile, handing the chilled wine over. "I thought we might enjoy this. Like the shirt," he added after giving the other man an appreciative once over. "New, isn’t it?"
"Yes," Ianto allowed. "Yours as well? And is this for now or after dinner and the movie?"
"Whichever you prefer, of course, but I was thinking after?" Jack suggested.
"And are you going to be able to drive if you drink half the bottle?" Ianto called as he walked into the kitchen to put the champagne in the refrigerator.
"Am I going to have to?"
"Drive or drink half the bottle?"
"Drive. I was kind of hoping you’d be interested in me staying."
"Are you saying I’m easy, Captain?"
"Far from it," Jack replied fervently. "But you’re worth the effort, and I hope you think I am too."
"We wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t think so." The small smile returned, and Ianto stepped forward to catch Jack’s hand. "Now then, where are we going to dinner?"
"There’s a great little place not far from here that serves the best seafood I’ve had in three galaxies. I thought you might enjoy it."
"It’s not raw, is it? I’m afraid I draw the line at eating sushi."
Jack chuckled. "I wouldn’t make that mistake again. Though I’m telling you, you don’t know what you’re missing. No, the fish is cooked, and they do a sole that would make you weep."
"Hrmm, I’ll take that under advisement until I see the menu then."
"I’m sure you’ll find something you enjoy." Jack hesitated briefly before leaning in to kiss Ianto, the younger man sighing softly, his hand tightening around Jack’s before he finally stepped back.
"Dinner, Captain, then that movie."
"Of course. I’m looking forward to it," Jack admitted. "It will be nice to spend time together outside of Torchwood."
Ianto nodded at that. "And perhaps some time, when you’re ready, you’ll tell me where you’ve been these last few weeks. But not now; now I’m hungry."
"I’ll tell you over dinner," Jack agreed, stepping out of the flat and waiting while Ianto locked up. "Since it’s a nice evening, I thought we could walk?"
"Of course, no point in taking a car if it’s close, and it will be nice to walk through the city rather than run."
"That is rather unusual for us, isn’t it?" Jack chuckled. "Let’s hope we have better luck than Gwen. I once took her away from a dinner with Rhys when I chased a weevil past the restaurant where they were eating on the patio."
"I imagine neither of them were very pleased at that," Ianto murmured as they headed down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk. "They’re engaged now, you know."
"Yes, I know. I hope they make a go of it. I know Gwen was letting the job take over too much of her life last year."
"It does seem to consume all of us that way."
"Yes, though we all find our equilibrium or we burn out quickly. Like Suzie."
"And unfortunately when we burn out, we tend to take others with us." They turned a corner and continued down the new street. "I’m sorry, this isn’t exactly the cheeriest conversation."
"That’s all right. It’s good that we can talk about things," Jack replied. "That was part of Gwen’s problem with Rhys, that she couldn’t. But enough about them." He glanced sideways at the Welshman. "How was your trip to the Himalayas?"
"You knew about that then? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised," Ianto continued without allowing Jack the chance to answer. "Frustrating and freezing cold."
"Saxon was a maniac," Jack said, glad that the others couldn’t remember that year of hell... or that the first time, the Master had brought them back only so Jack could watch them die. "He told me about sending you there."
"He who?" Ianto asked, frowning slightly. "Harold Saxon?"
"Yes. I’ll tell you about that too, but not at dinner. That requires privacy where no one can overhear us. Things are always interesting around the Doctor."
"Was that why—I know, later." Ianto squeezed Jack’s hand again as they continued down the street, their strides in sync.
"I’m glad to be home," Jack said after a short while, glancing sidelong at Ianto.
"I knew you’d come back, that you wouldn’t leave us."
Jack nodded slowly. "It was a roundabout trip, but I found my way back to you."
"It hasn’t been the same without you."
"I missed you," Jack admitted, stopping and opening the door of the restaurant as they reached it.
"I’m glad." The brief smile returned as they were led to a table near the back of the restaurant. "If you hadn’t, then you would still be there."
Jack looked at him over the table. "I might have come back eventually for the team, but I wanted to come back for you."
Ianto blinked several times at that statement and swallowed hard. "You just couldn’t stay away from my coffee," he finally whispered.
"It is the best in five galaxies," Jack agreed, reaching across the table to take Ianto’s hand. "But I’d have come back even if it had been the worst."
"Now you’re putting me on," Ianto said smiling slightly.
"It was never in any doubt," Jack admitted. "I just needed to close out some things that had been left unfinished."
"And were they closed satisfactorily?"
"Yes. I know what happened and why. Now I can get on with my life."
Ianto reached over, caught Jack’s hand, and squeezed it. "I’m glad. Not even because of this, but... for you. So you’re happy."
"I’m working on it. I know what I want is here, as well as what I need to do."
"Which is?" Ianto asked before sipping his drink, watching Jack over the rim of the glass.
"Torchwood, the team..." Jack hesitated briefly, looking into the blue eyes. "You."
Ianto’s mouth curved into a small smile as he set his glass down and reached across the table to take Jack’s hand. "Do you think I’d be here if I didn’t feel the same?"
"Considering that I know how stubborn you can be, not in the least." Jack laced his fingers through Ianto’s. "Maybe we should try this dating thing more often."
"Serial dating as it were?"
"That sounds pretty good to me."
"I like that idea as well—for this to be leading somewhere, if only to another date."
"It’s been leading somewhere for a while," Jack admitted. "I just didn’t know if I was ready to follow it."
Ianto held up a finger at that. "One day at a time, Jack, that’s all we can ask for."
Jack shook his head. "You have to know what you’re getting into with me, Ianto. You’re going to grow old eventually, barring miscellaneous cannibals and aliens, but I won’t. I’m never going to grow older, never going to die, and either you’ll hate me for that and leave me, or someday I’ll watch you die." He smiled sadly. "I’m not going to live thinking about that, but you need to know the reality of the situation."
"Which is why I said one day at a time," Ianto said after a moment. "And if I leave, it will be because of what we do, not from a choice I make." He smiled again. "You forget, I can be very stubborn."
"That’s something I never forget," Jack replied with the faintest of chuckles. "You’ve proven it time and time again. I don’t underestimate you."
"Which may prove to be a problem for me if I can’t surprise you any longer."
"Oh, I’m sure you’ll always manage to do that." Jack smiled, and Ianto tilted his head to the side to study him.
"I would hope so."
"I’m sure of it." After a final squeeze, Jack released Ianto’s hand to pick up the menu, glancing over the choices.
After a leisurely meal and a bottle of good wine, the two men walked back out into the Cardiff night. "That was very good," Ianto murmured, his hand brushing against Jack’s as they strolled along.
"Yes, it was. And the food was pretty good too." Jack caught hold of Ianto’s hand, lacing their fingers together, so they walked hand in hand.
"And you even managed to keep from flirting with the waiter; very impressive."
Jack chuckled. "I’m saving my best material for my favorite audience."
"Ahh, planning on plying me with banter as well as good champagne?"
"I wouldn’t want you to think I was stinting you."
Ianto’s fingers closed around Jack’s at that. "I know you give everything you can."
"I think you may find that I can give more now," Jack said quietly.
"I could be dead tomorrow."
Jack wanted to deny it, but they both knew it was true. The life expectancy of Torchwood operatives—other than Capt. Jack Harkness—was not long. But even aside from the fact that they couldn’t leave Torchwood, no one had ever seriously tried. Finally, he said, "All the more reason to make the most of tonight."
Ianto’s smile returned at that. "I don’t hear an argument coming from my side."
"I love an agreeable man."
"Or a disagreeable one. Or woman. Or..."
Jack stopped the amused-sounding list by the simple expedient of kissing Ianto, earning a happy sigh as Ianto pulled him closer, his fingers tightening convulsively on Jack’s coat before loosening again.
"We should probably move this somewhere private," Jack said eventually, cupping Ianto’s face between his palms as he drew back slightly, smiling into the somewhat dazed blue eyes. "Unless you’d rather continue on to that movie we talked about first?"
"You wanting to go somewhere private, that’s a new one," Ianto gasped before catching his breath. "So, back to mine then?"
"That’s where we left the champagne," Jack agreed, sliding an arm around Ianto’s waist, the younger man responding in kind and leaning against him as they retraced their previous steps, ending up seated on the sofa in Ianto’s flat, both with glasses of chilled champagne and without their jackets.
"I like your home," Jack observed, leaning back against the comfortable cushions as he looked around. "It’s attractive and functional, much like its owner... which probably means it has some hidden surprises as well."
"You know me too well," Ianto commented wryly. "Care to guess what they are?"
Jack might play the charming rogue, but he wasn’t actually brainless. "I think I’ll wait till you see fit to tell me."
"One day we can trade secrets. For now, they can lie where they are."
"Good, gradual unveiling is always much more interesting."
"Isn’t it though?" Ianto refilled Jack’s glass, then leaned forward to loosen his tie while Jack watched with great interest.
"Yeah, really like unveiling," he murmured in a somewhat thicker than normal voice.
"That was something I knew about you already." As he spoke, Ianto slowly pulled Jack’s tie from his collar and dropped it to the floor before undoing the button at his collar.
"You’re a very clever man," Jack observed, reaching for Ianto’s tie as well.
"I have to be, to keep up with you."
"I think it might be the other way around," Jack mused, sliding a hand inside the open collar of Ianto’s shirt to spread his fingers across the warm flesh beneath, drawing a sigh from the younger man before he twisted and set his champagne flute aside.
"I missed you," Ianto whispered before leaning in, his lips grazing Jack’s before pressing against them.
"I missed you too, even more than I realized I would," Jack replied once the kiss ended. "Even without the team, without Torchwood, I would have come back for you."
"Shh." The words were stopped with another kiss. "One day at a time."
Jack regarded him with amused exasperation. "Someone I actually want to say the words to, and he won’t let me. Typical!" he half laughed, and Ianto grinned down at him.
"There’s time enough for it." He bent in again and kissed the side of Jack’s jaw.
"Time for a lot of things," Jack replied, pulling Ianto over him as he semi-reclined on the sofa, his hands unerringly finding their way to the Welshman’s ass, Ianto relaxing down against him, sighing with pleasure as they easily fit together.
"Not all tonight, I hope; I won’t be able to walk come morning."
Jack laughed. "I’ll do my best not to cripple you... although I don’t have any great emotional attachment to walking," he hinted broadly.
"I believe that might be easier if we went to the bed."
"You are clearly a genius among men."
"An under-appreciated one though," Ianto chuckled as he stood, taking Jack’s miraculously un-spilled glass from his hand and downing the contents as he waited for the other man to stand.
"Completely appreciated by me," Jack assured him while getting to his feet and stretching hugely. "Bed?" he said hopefully, well aware of where it was but leaving each step of this up to Ianto.
Ianto reached up and undid several more of the buttons on Jack’s shirt, hooking his fingers into the fabric before leading the way down the hallway toward the bedroom, another button giving way every few steps until Jack’s shirt hung loose out of his pants.
"You’re very systematic in your unveiling process," Jack observed, following on Ianto’s heels, with just enough distance between them to allow him to get a good eyeful of Ianto’s ass.
"It’s a habit." Ianto turned and caught one of Jack’s hands, undoing the button at his wrist, before repeating the move with the opposite hand.
"One that I like." Jack stole a quick kiss while Ianto was facing him, earning a small smile before his shirt was slowly pushed off his shoulders, agile fingers tracing over his arms once the fabric slid away, sliding under the sleeves of his t-shirt to glide over his shoulders.
Jack shivered with the pleasure of Ianto’s touch, and his blue eyes were growing darker by the second as his arousal mounted. "I thought we were trying to make it to the bed?" he said huskily.
"Maybe I don’t want to wait," Ianto challenged. "Maybe I want to take advantage of you right here."
"To hell with the bed!"
Ianto grinned at that and pulled Jack into the bedroom and onto the bed, settling himself at the other end, between Jack’s legs, and leaning in to push his T-shirt upward, stroking his hands over the bare skin beneath it.
"Then again, as hot as being shoved against a wall is, this is a lot more comfortable," Jack observed, raising his head to watch Ianto touch him.
"Which is why we’re here."
"Like I said, a genius."
Ianto chuckled at that and pushed Jack’s shirt up to press a kiss against his stomach, making Jack shiver again and arch up, his fingers combing through Ianto’s dark hair.
The move made Ianto grin against Jack’s taut stomach, and he licked the smooth skin above the other man’s navel, letting his teeth graze over the damp flesh.
"Ianto!" Jack panted, shifting restlessly without moving away from Ianto’s mouth, Ianto smiling against him again before reaching between them to undo Jack’s belt and the button and zipper beneath it. "Yes," Jack rasped, finally reaching for the buttons on Ianto’s shirt as well only to have him push Jack’s hands away and continue his explorations.
Realizing Ianto wanted to be in control that night, Jack smiled and lay back, his hands at his sides, clenching fistfuls of the sheets when Ianto nipped at him, easing his zipper lower, then tugging at his pants and underwear, slowly baring his erection, licking a stripe up it when it sprang free.
"Incredible mouth," Jack whispered, staring down at the dark head at his groin, Ianto murmuring something inaudible as he shifted enough to swallow Jack down, his hands tightening on Jack’s hips and urging him on. Even if he hadn’t, Jack didn’t think he would have been able to hold himself still once he felt the wet heat of Ianto’s mouth on him. As it was, with Ianto’s clear permission, not to mention demand, he let himself go, fucking the other man’s mouth as he’d dreamed of doing so often while trapped on the Master’s ship. He thought Ianto might have been what kept him sane through that year, and then he wasn’t thinking at all, only feeling.
Ianto relaxed his throat, taking everything Jack gave, swallowing him down and silently asking for more, his breath rasping against Jack’s groin with every thrust, and Jack gave him everything he asked for. He shuddered and swore breathlessly, hips moving rapidly as he slid in and out of Ianto’s greedy mouth, his pleasure only increased by the knowledge that his companion was enjoying this as much as he was. He reached down, cupping Ianto’s face in one big hand, and his thumb gently rubbed at the corner of Ianto’s stretched lips, the slight pressure making Ianto sigh as he tilted his head slightly, looking up to meet Jack’s gaze.
Jack inhaled sharply at the expression in those midnight blue eyes, and his hips jerked upward, burying himself to the hilt in Ianto’s mouth as he came, pulse after pulse of pleasure ripping through him as Ianto swallowed him down, his own hips jerking at the riot of sensations running through his body in response to Jack’s pleasure.
As he softened and slipped from Ianto’s mouth after being thoroughly licked clean, Jack smiled muzzily and spread his legs, the invitation clear, and Ianto smiled. "Not that I wouldn’t love to, but it may take a while."
Jack’s eyebrows arched, and then he looked down the length of his torso at Ianto and grinned. "Oh, enjoyed it that much, did you?"
Ianto shrugged slightly, a flush staining his pale skin. "So it would seem."
Jack curled a hand around the nape of Ianto’s neck and drew him down. An instant before their mouths met, he whispered, "That’s really hot."
"Also messy," Ianto murmured once he could speak again.
Jack shrugged. "Good sex always is. That’s why man invented indoor plumbing."
"And dry cleaning."
Now Jack laughed. "So get naked. As good as you look in your suits, you look even better without them."
Ianto pulled back and licked his swollen lower lip as he began stripping out of his shirt and pants. "Only if you do the same."
"You have me most of the way there," Jack pointed out, sounding amused as he sat up to unlace his boots and then kick his pants off.
"Almost isn’t the same as all the way there."
"True, but now here I am, naked as the day I was born and a whole lot more interesting."
"Than the day you were born?" Ianto asked as he finished stripping and settled back on the bed next to Jack, "I would hope so."
"Well, my mother adored me right away, of course, but most others found I improved with age." Jack slid an arm around Ianto, drawing him close while rolling to his side so that they were facing each other.
"What was—is—her name?"
"Will be," Jack corrected wryly. "She won’t be born for another three thousand years or so. And her name was Bella. Although I don’t think that’s the one she was born with," he added. "I got my looks from Mom. Dad was nothing special to look at, but they loved each other."
"Which is what counts in the end," Ianto murmured, reaching up to brush the hair back from Jack’s brow, making him smile slowly.
"Yes, it is," he agreed. "It took me a long time to figure that out, but I got there eventually."
"We all have to grow up eventually."
Jack laughed. "But I was enjoying being Peter Pan."
"Did it include your own personal fairy?"
"No, but I got a hell of an improvement on Wendy."
"Gwen will be glad to hear that," Ianto murmured.
"Gwen’s not the one I decided to grow up for."
"I hope you aren’t meaning for me to wear a blue nightgown..."
Jack leaned back a little, eyeing Ianto, pretending to consider it. "No," he finally decided, "it would be criminal to hide that ass and legs."
Ianto stared at him for a moment before breaking into laughter. "You’re insane, Jack."
Jack shrugged, smiling wryly. "Some days more than others."
"That sounds like normal life here."
"Good point," Jack chuckled. "And somehow all of us choose this life."
"It seems to choose us."
"True enough, but could you see any of us being happy in a nine to five, routine office job?"
"Though that is close to what I did in London," Ianto murmured as he continued to play with Jack’s hair.
"But did you enjoy it? Would you want to go back to it?"
Ianto was silent for a long moment, pondering the question. "Knowing what I do now, no, but at the time I was... happy."
Lisa’s name was unspoken, but it loomed large in the room. "Are you happy now?"
"I am. I think I’ve grown up as well."
Jack smiled slowly. "It looks like we got our timing right."
"Everyone deserves some luck at some time, don’t they?"
"So they say, but not everyone actually gets it. We did." Jack cupped Ianto’s cheek, and he leaned into the touch before turning his face to kiss Jack’s palm.
"I... am glad for us," Ianto whispered, rolling to his back and bringing Jack with him.
Jack smiled down at him. "Me too," he replied softly before kissing Ianto.
END
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