Beautiful Iris 6/20
Pairings: Jack/Ianto, Tosh/Owen
Summary: when a seemingly cut-and-dried incident calls out Torchwood early one morning all is not as it originally seems. Alien technology leads the team into a trap of danger and curiosity, propelling them to an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces. Split into two, the team must find a way back before past events puts one member of Torchwood into danger.
Spoilers: season1 up to episode 7.
A/N : I haven't written anything for a while, so I decided to finish this fic. It now has 20 parts an an actual ending :) please r&r
Disclaimer these characters are not mine. I'm just borrowing RTD's toys and promise to put them back when I'm done :)
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
Ianto made his way across the living room and headed towards the window, slumping down in a hard wooden chair. The windows were ancient and chipped at the edges, the old white paint was faded and the glass rattled in the gentle wind. The view was dark and without the city lights he was used to Ianto could see nothing other than the courtyard, his eyes focussed on Spike, the slightly chubby ginger cat that cleaned himself in the centre of the yard.
Jack caught his eye as he passed by, shoving his hands into his pockets as he braved the cold weather; he stopped for a moment and locked his eyes on the younger man, gazing at him so intensely that he was forced to look away. Jack had looked at him that way throughout dinner, glancing up from him when he ate and piercing his eyes into his soul over the rim of his glass Every look seemed to be directed at him and by the end of dinner he found himself sitting there, opposite the older man, hard as a rock and trying to hide it.
Ianto was dreading going to bed. He didn't want to lie there beside him, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest, or the beautifully sculptured arc of his back as it clung to the sheets in the heat of the night. For a moment the thought of him made him consider following him into the barn, but he didn't see how pressing him up against the back of the barn, spreading him like butter and fucking him senseless would really help to solve any of their problems.
“Hi.” Gwen's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked over the room as she hobbled over to see him. "I've not seen you all day."
"We've been out searching for the device."
Gwen smiled at him and sat down on the arm of the chair, putting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. He looked hot and flushed, even though the weather was cold; his waistcoat was fully open and only three of his shirt buttons were fastened, just covering his chest. He had even removed his socks and his hair looked like he had been dragged through a bush backwards.
“You're stressed,” she said. “I can tell.”
“How?”
“You're a mess. You're only a mess when you're stressed."
Ianto let a hint of a smile cross his lips. “I'm fine.”
"Yeah, you look it." Gwen chuckled and put her arm around him, dragging his resistant body over to her for comfort.
“How are you holding up?”
“Wonderful,” she droned sarcastically. “I really enjoy feeling like a damsel in bloody distress."
“What?”
“She told me I look like a man in my clothes and said that tomorrow I can borrow one of her dresses."
"A dress?" Ianto laughed a little. "You'll look nice in a dress."
“Please just tell me you found it so that I can go home.”
“No sign yet."
“Maybe you'll find it tomorrow.”
“Maybe.” Ianto looked back out of the window and squinted to look at Jack as he disappeared into the barn. “I don't fancy our chances, though."
“Don't say that. You're meant to tell me that it's just a matter of time and that we will be home before we know it.”
“Sorry.” He gave Gwen an apologetic look. "It's just a matter of time and we'll be home before we know it."
“What happened today?” she asked. “You and Jack went out and when you got back you looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp and Jack won't stop glaring. I saw you two at dinner, it looked like some kind of staring contest over the mashed potato.”
“We had words,” he explained. “Things were said.”
“You had a fight?”
“It's complicated.”
“Do you want to--”
“I don't want to talk about it.” Ianto said, moving away from Gwen and returning to staring out of the window. "That won't help anything."
A silence fell between them for a while as they both looked out of the window at the foreign world that they had found themselves in. For a moment they could almost trick themselves into believing that they were on a break at a rural getaway, but it was no use lying and the reality of the situation hit them again. The clock struck eleven and Ianto raised his eyes to the face of the clock on the mantle.
Gwen pushed herself up from the chair arm and attempted to stand up. “I think I'm going to head off to bed.”
“Can you manage?” he asked, standing up to help her steady herself.
“I'm fine, but a little help wouldn't go amiss.”
Ianto put one arm around her waist and let her lean on him as she limped in the direction of the stairs. When she got to the bottom she looked up at all the steps and took a deep breath.
“Somehow I think that going up is going to be a lot more work than coming down.” She chuckled. “Care to offer me a piggyback like a gentleman?”
“Sure."
“I was joking!” Gwen chuckled, starting to make her way up the first step.
“Did you and Mr. Jones enjoy your constitutional this afternoon Captain?” Mr Hughes walked up to Jack who stood in the barn stroking the nose of the same horse that had tried to eat him the evening before.
“Fine thank you.”
“Did you go far?”
“Not too far. Far enough to enjoy the view, but not too far to get lost.”
“You could never get lost out here,” he said. You would reach the village eventually and they're very friendly around here.”
"No thanks. I'm a little wary of villagers of late. Bad experiences.”
“You wouldn't have any bad experiences here Captain, trust me.”
“I believe you.”
“Maybe tomorrow you could take Snow out for a while,” Mr. Hughes suggested, running his hand along the side of the horse. “You seem to have taken a shining to him and he hasn't had nearly enough exercise recently.”
“He's a beautiful stallion,” Jack said. "Gorgeous coat, but I'm not much of a rider."
“We used to have more but we had to sell them on, I couldn't afford to keep them all.”
“But not this one?”
“Iris would have me shot,” he chuckled. "She loves this horse. Sometimes I swear she loves it almost as much as I love her."
"I doubt that."
“My daughter is a very beautiful girl, Captain. Don't you agree?”
“Absolutely. She's quite the beauty.”
“She's just like her namesake to me: precious, beautiful and innocent.”
“And you want to make sure that she remains that way.”
“Yes.”
“I can assure you that neither Ianto, nor myself, will even attempt to lead her astray. We won't be here long enough for that and even if we were we wouldn't even dream of it.”
“I trust my daughter Capitan, she's a very smart girl, but she's very impressionable and has taken a liking to all of you.”
“Say no more,” Jack said. “We understand each other completely. Consider me warned off.”
“You should go to bed and get some sleep. That fence in the far paddock needs fixing and you'll need to start straight after breakfast.”
Ianto carried Gwen through the bedroom door and sat her down on the bed. She had started to climb the stairs on her own but halfway up Ianto had taken pity on her and carried her the rest of the way.
“Thanks Ianto,” Gwen said, removing her shoes and he perched on the bed beside her. "You're a real gent, you'll fit into this time really well.
“No problem. Although don't think that you're getting this kind of treatment every night; this was a one time deal.”
“I should be better in a few days.”
“You can't start walking properly until we find the devices,” Ianto reminded her. “We can only stay here as long as you're injured.”
“How long do you think I'll have to do this for? There's only so long that you can milk a sprained ankle.”
“Until we find it.”
“And what if we don't?” she asked, looking over at Ianto. “What if, just for arguments sake, we don't find it and the others can't bring us back. What then?”
“I suppose we're stuck here. There's nothing else we can do but build a life and get on with it.”
“That's easy enough for you to say,” Gwen said, standing up and hobbling over to the mirror. She put her hand on her face and touched her skin. “You're the right sex.”
“What do you mean?”
“All that I have heard all day is Jack and Mr. Hughes speak about me like don't have my own bloody mind. It's easy for you."
"How?"
" You can go out, find a girl, fall in love and have a life together. I'm nothing but a bloody ornament here, I may as well not have a brain or thoughts of my own. I can't even vote for God's sake."
Ianto walked over and leant on the wall, looking at her as she watched herself in the mirror. “You have Jack and you have me; we'll look after you.”
“That's exactly the point Ianto. I can look after myself.”
“It's a different world.”
“I'm fully aware of that thank you,” Gwen spat and then sighed, looking up at him. “I'm sorry, Ianto.”
“It'll be fine. I promise that whatever happens I'll be here and I'll look after you even if it means that I let you think that it's actually the other way around.”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” She asked, closing the gap between them a little, “Marry me?”
“I could.”
“You don't love me, Ianto." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight . “It's very sweet though."
“Maybe I could learn,” he said. "Maybe we could even be happy in time."
“You can't learn to love someone Ianto.” Gwen looked up at him. “Why would you even suggest it?”
“I don't want you to end up with some chauvinist pig, and considering it's 1901 it's more than likely that it'll happen.”
“Then I'll be alone and I'll be fine.”
“I wouldn't."
"You have Jack."
"Jack isn't going to stick around, he's going to go off somewhere and find something exciting to do. I would much rather be with you than be alone. it's a lot less scary than the other options.”
“As true as that is, you can't live a life with someone you don't love Ianto.”
“Maybe I could,” he said. "I could try.”
“You could never do that."
"Why not?"
"I know you. Your heart is too full with feelings for someone else to ever think about loving me."
“Lisa is dead.”
“I'm not talking about Lisa.”
Gwen locked her eyes onto Ianto's gaze; it took him a moment of firm starring to get what she was trying to say.
"Gwen--"
"You're just scared because in this world what you want is seen so differently. "
"It's nothing!" he said, pushing Gwen away to arms length. "It's casual flirtation, it means nothing."
"I've seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you."
"You don't know anything."
"I know that your mind is so full of him that you couldn't possibly think of anyone else."
“That's not true.”
“Yes it is.” She closed the gap between them again and put her hands on Ianto's cheeks. "I love Rhys and you love Jack.
“If I was with you I would be far too busy with you to think of anyone else, even Jack.”
“That's a lie.”
"It's not."
Gwen pulled Ianto's face down and pressed her lips against his, she felt her body move as he put his hands on her waist, pulling her close.
“Am I interrupting?” Jack's voice came from the doorway. “Do you two want some time alone?”
Gwen felt like she had frozen to the spot and Ianto removed his hands, looking at the older man who stood in the doorway.
“Shit." Ianto pushed Gwen away from his body and walked towards Jack. “This is not--”
“It's not what?” he asked, stepping into the room and shutting the door, looking at him with a glare so cold it hurt. “It's not what it looks like? It's not what I think?”
“It really isn't,” Gwen said. “Ianto and I were just--”
“Just what?” he challenged, watching Ianto who stood in silence whilst Gwen dropped down on the bed.
“It was just a kiss,” Ianto said, moving towards him as he backed away.
“You should have said, you two could have had the double bed.”
“Jack--”
“That way you could lock the door and fuck each others brains out.” Jack opened the door again and walked out, closing it behind him.
“Jack--” The sound of Ianto's voice was drowned out by the slamming of the door.
He stared at the door for a while after he left as though he expected Jack to come back and covered his lips with his fingers.
“You were thinking of him."
"Why does it matter? He turned around to face her but refused to meet her gaze.
“I knew you would."
"You've ruined everything."
"Ianto--"
"Why did you do that?"
'I Just thought--"
"Well don't bloody think!"
Ianto walked out the door, slamming it it behind him. He walked down the hallway and stood outside the bedroom door and stared at it. He put his hand on the doorknob for a moment before removing it; he didn't know whether he could face him.
It took Ianto a full hour before he had the strength to walk into the bedroom to face Jack.
After spending ten minutes with his hand on the doorknob and no nerve to go inside, he had gone for a walk in his bare feet across the darkened courtyard; it had proved to be a bad idea. Spike, the not-so-friendly family cat, had allowed him to sit on the ground stroking him for a while before scratching his hand, hissing and darting off towards the barn. Not that Ianto blamed him, he wasn't really paying much attention to the podgy moggy and stroked it's coat aimlessly as he stared up at the bedroom window. Spike simply got sick of playing second fiddle to a window, and left.
So, a while later, with his feet blackened, his skin cold and his hand covered in deep red scratches he returned to the house, climbed the stairs and looked at the large oak door once more. He took a deep breath and finally made the decision to go inside, closing the door quietly. He could see Jack lying in bed, the thin sheet draped over the his shirtless torso, his eyes closed, his breathing calm.
“Jack?” He walked over to the other side of the bed and crouched down, looking at him as he slept. “Jack are you sleeping?” he asked.
When he got no reply, Ianto put his hand on Jack's face and swept his hair away from his eyes, looking at him for a while. He looked peaceful and so much calmer than he had earlier in the evening. He let his hand drift down to Jack's lips, allowing his fingertips brush against the soft skin. Ianto dropped down to his knees and moved his lips closer to Jack as he slept, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
Leaning back on his blackened heels, Ianto let his hand slowly fall from the Jack's face. He watched him for a moment, praying that he wouldn't wake, and sighed a little. He considered waking him just to say his piece, to tell him what he had been rehearsing for the past hour in his mind, but thought better of it; some things were better left unsaid.
Quietly, he stood up and walked over to his side of the bed and removing everything but his underwear. He draped the clothing over the chair and pulled back the sheet, preparing to climb into bed without waking him.
“It's late,” Jack whispered without moving. “Where did you go?”
PART 7 HERE
Summary: when a seemingly cut-and-dried incident calls out Torchwood early one morning all is not as it originally seems. Alien technology leads the team into a trap of danger and curiosity, propelling them to an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar faces. Split into two, the team must find a way back before past events puts one member of Torchwood into danger.
Spoilers: season1 up to episode 7.
A/N : I haven't written anything for a while, so I decided to finish this fic. It now has 20 parts an an actual ending :) please r&r
Disclaimer these characters are not mine. I'm just borrowing RTD's toys and promise to put them back when I'm done :)
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
Ianto made his way across the living room and headed towards the window, slumping down in a hard wooden chair. The windows were ancient and chipped at the edges, the old white paint was faded and the glass rattled in the gentle wind. The view was dark and without the city lights he was used to Ianto could see nothing other than the courtyard, his eyes focussed on Spike, the slightly chubby ginger cat that cleaned himself in the centre of the yard.
Jack caught his eye as he passed by, shoving his hands into his pockets as he braved the cold weather; he stopped for a moment and locked his eyes on the younger man, gazing at him so intensely that he was forced to look away. Jack had looked at him that way throughout dinner, glancing up from him when he ate and piercing his eyes into his soul over the rim of his glass Every look seemed to be directed at him and by the end of dinner he found himself sitting there, opposite the older man, hard as a rock and trying to hide it.
Ianto was dreading going to bed. He didn't want to lie there beside him, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest, or the beautifully sculptured arc of his back as it clung to the sheets in the heat of the night. For a moment the thought of him made him consider following him into the barn, but he didn't see how pressing him up against the back of the barn, spreading him like butter and fucking him senseless would really help to solve any of their problems.
“Hi.” Gwen's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and he looked over the room as she hobbled over to see him. "I've not seen you all day."
"We've been out searching for the device."
Gwen smiled at him and sat down on the arm of the chair, putting her hand on his shoulder to steady herself. He looked hot and flushed, even though the weather was cold; his waistcoat was fully open and only three of his shirt buttons were fastened, just covering his chest. He had even removed his socks and his hair looked like he had been dragged through a bush backwards.
“You're stressed,” she said. “I can tell.”
“How?”
“You're a mess. You're only a mess when you're stressed."
Ianto let a hint of a smile cross his lips. “I'm fine.”
"Yeah, you look it." Gwen chuckled and put her arm around him, dragging his resistant body over to her for comfort.
“How are you holding up?”
“Wonderful,” she droned sarcastically. “I really enjoy feeling like a damsel in bloody distress."
“What?”
“She told me I look like a man in my clothes and said that tomorrow I can borrow one of her dresses."
"A dress?" Ianto laughed a little. "You'll look nice in a dress."
“Please just tell me you found it so that I can go home.”
“No sign yet."
“Maybe you'll find it tomorrow.”
“Maybe.” Ianto looked back out of the window and squinted to look at Jack as he disappeared into the barn. “I don't fancy our chances, though."
“Don't say that. You're meant to tell me that it's just a matter of time and that we will be home before we know it.”
“Sorry.” He gave Gwen an apologetic look. "It's just a matter of time and we'll be home before we know it."
“What happened today?” she asked. “You and Jack went out and when you got back you looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp and Jack won't stop glaring. I saw you two at dinner, it looked like some kind of staring contest over the mashed potato.”
“We had words,” he explained. “Things were said.”
“You had a fight?”
“It's complicated.”
“Do you want to--”
“I don't want to talk about it.” Ianto said, moving away from Gwen and returning to staring out of the window. "That won't help anything."
A silence fell between them for a while as they both looked out of the window at the foreign world that they had found themselves in. For a moment they could almost trick themselves into believing that they were on a break at a rural getaway, but it was no use lying and the reality of the situation hit them again. The clock struck eleven and Ianto raised his eyes to the face of the clock on the mantle.
Gwen pushed herself up from the chair arm and attempted to stand up. “I think I'm going to head off to bed.”
“Can you manage?” he asked, standing up to help her steady herself.
“I'm fine, but a little help wouldn't go amiss.”
Ianto put one arm around her waist and let her lean on him as she limped in the direction of the stairs. When she got to the bottom she looked up at all the steps and took a deep breath.
“Somehow I think that going up is going to be a lot more work than coming down.” She chuckled. “Care to offer me a piggyback like a gentleman?”
“Sure."
“I was joking!” Gwen chuckled, starting to make her way up the first step.
“Did you and Mr. Jones enjoy your constitutional this afternoon Captain?” Mr Hughes walked up to Jack who stood in the barn stroking the nose of the same horse that had tried to eat him the evening before.
“Fine thank you.”
“Did you go far?”
“Not too far. Far enough to enjoy the view, but not too far to get lost.”
“You could never get lost out here,” he said. You would reach the village eventually and they're very friendly around here.”
"No thanks. I'm a little wary of villagers of late. Bad experiences.”
“You wouldn't have any bad experiences here Captain, trust me.”
“I believe you.”
“Maybe tomorrow you could take Snow out for a while,” Mr. Hughes suggested, running his hand along the side of the horse. “You seem to have taken a shining to him and he hasn't had nearly enough exercise recently.”
“He's a beautiful stallion,” Jack said. "Gorgeous coat, but I'm not much of a rider."
“We used to have more but we had to sell them on, I couldn't afford to keep them all.”
“But not this one?”
“Iris would have me shot,” he chuckled. "She loves this horse. Sometimes I swear she loves it almost as much as I love her."
"I doubt that."
“My daughter is a very beautiful girl, Captain. Don't you agree?”
“Absolutely. She's quite the beauty.”
“She's just like her namesake to me: precious, beautiful and innocent.”
“And you want to make sure that she remains that way.”
“Yes.”
“I can assure you that neither Ianto, nor myself, will even attempt to lead her astray. We won't be here long enough for that and even if we were we wouldn't even dream of it.”
“I trust my daughter Capitan, she's a very smart girl, but she's very impressionable and has taken a liking to all of you.”
“Say no more,” Jack said. “We understand each other completely. Consider me warned off.”
“You should go to bed and get some sleep. That fence in the far paddock needs fixing and you'll need to start straight after breakfast.”
Ianto carried Gwen through the bedroom door and sat her down on the bed. She had started to climb the stairs on her own but halfway up Ianto had taken pity on her and carried her the rest of the way.
“Thanks Ianto,” Gwen said, removing her shoes and he perched on the bed beside her. "You're a real gent, you'll fit into this time really well.
“No problem. Although don't think that you're getting this kind of treatment every night; this was a one time deal.”
“I should be better in a few days.”
“You can't start walking properly until we find the devices,” Ianto reminded her. “We can only stay here as long as you're injured.”
“How long do you think I'll have to do this for? There's only so long that you can milk a sprained ankle.”
“Until we find it.”
“And what if we don't?” she asked, looking over at Ianto. “What if, just for arguments sake, we don't find it and the others can't bring us back. What then?”
“I suppose we're stuck here. There's nothing else we can do but build a life and get on with it.”
“That's easy enough for you to say,” Gwen said, standing up and hobbling over to the mirror. She put her hand on her face and touched her skin. “You're the right sex.”
“What do you mean?”
“All that I have heard all day is Jack and Mr. Hughes speak about me like don't have my own bloody mind. It's easy for you."
"How?"
" You can go out, find a girl, fall in love and have a life together. I'm nothing but a bloody ornament here, I may as well not have a brain or thoughts of my own. I can't even vote for God's sake."
Ianto walked over and leant on the wall, looking at her as she watched herself in the mirror. “You have Jack and you have me; we'll look after you.”
“That's exactly the point Ianto. I can look after myself.”
“It's a different world.”
“I'm fully aware of that thank you,” Gwen spat and then sighed, looking up at him. “I'm sorry, Ianto.”
“It'll be fine. I promise that whatever happens I'll be here and I'll look after you even if it means that I let you think that it's actually the other way around.”
“And how exactly do you plan to do that?” She asked, closing the gap between them a little, “Marry me?”
“I could.”
“You don't love me, Ianto." She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight . “It's very sweet though."
“Maybe I could learn,” he said. "Maybe we could even be happy in time."
“You can't learn to love someone Ianto.” Gwen looked up at him. “Why would you even suggest it?”
“I don't want you to end up with some chauvinist pig, and considering it's 1901 it's more than likely that it'll happen.”
“Then I'll be alone and I'll be fine.”
“I wouldn't."
"You have Jack."
"Jack isn't going to stick around, he's going to go off somewhere and find something exciting to do. I would much rather be with you than be alone. it's a lot less scary than the other options.”
“As true as that is, you can't live a life with someone you don't love Ianto.”
“Maybe I could,” he said. "I could try.”
“You could never do that."
"Why not?"
"I know you. Your heart is too full with feelings for someone else to ever think about loving me."
“Lisa is dead.”
“I'm not talking about Lisa.”
Gwen locked her eyes onto Ianto's gaze; it took him a moment of firm starring to get what she was trying to say.
"Gwen--"
"You're just scared because in this world what you want is seen so differently. "
"It's nothing!" he said, pushing Gwen away to arms length. "It's casual flirtation, it means nothing."
"I've seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you."
"You don't know anything."
"I know that your mind is so full of him that you couldn't possibly think of anyone else."
“That's not true.”
“Yes it is.” She closed the gap between them again and put her hands on Ianto's cheeks. "I love Rhys and you love Jack.
“If I was with you I would be far too busy with you to think of anyone else, even Jack.”
“That's a lie.”
"It's not."
Gwen pulled Ianto's face down and pressed her lips against his, she felt her body move as he put his hands on her waist, pulling her close.
“Am I interrupting?” Jack's voice came from the doorway. “Do you two want some time alone?”
Gwen felt like she had frozen to the spot and Ianto removed his hands, looking at the older man who stood in the doorway.
“Shit." Ianto pushed Gwen away from his body and walked towards Jack. “This is not--”
“It's not what?” he asked, stepping into the room and shutting the door, looking at him with a glare so cold it hurt. “It's not what it looks like? It's not what I think?”
“It really isn't,” Gwen said. “Ianto and I were just--”
“Just what?” he challenged, watching Ianto who stood in silence whilst Gwen dropped down on the bed.
“It was just a kiss,” Ianto said, moving towards him as he backed away.
“You should have said, you two could have had the double bed.”
“Jack--”
“That way you could lock the door and fuck each others brains out.” Jack opened the door again and walked out, closing it behind him.
“Jack--” The sound of Ianto's voice was drowned out by the slamming of the door.
He stared at the door for a while after he left as though he expected Jack to come back and covered his lips with his fingers.
“You were thinking of him."
"Why does it matter? He turned around to face her but refused to meet her gaze.
“I knew you would."
"You've ruined everything."
"Ianto--"
"Why did you do that?"
'I Just thought--"
"Well don't bloody think!"
Ianto walked out the door, slamming it it behind him. He walked down the hallway and stood outside the bedroom door and stared at it. He put his hand on the doorknob for a moment before removing it; he didn't know whether he could face him.
It took Ianto a full hour before he had the strength to walk into the bedroom to face Jack.
After spending ten minutes with his hand on the doorknob and no nerve to go inside, he had gone for a walk in his bare feet across the darkened courtyard; it had proved to be a bad idea. Spike, the not-so-friendly family cat, had allowed him to sit on the ground stroking him for a while before scratching his hand, hissing and darting off towards the barn. Not that Ianto blamed him, he wasn't really paying much attention to the podgy moggy and stroked it's coat aimlessly as he stared up at the bedroom window. Spike simply got sick of playing second fiddle to a window, and left.
So, a while later, with his feet blackened, his skin cold and his hand covered in deep red scratches he returned to the house, climbed the stairs and looked at the large oak door once more. He took a deep breath and finally made the decision to go inside, closing the door quietly. He could see Jack lying in bed, the thin sheet draped over the his shirtless torso, his eyes closed, his breathing calm.
“Jack?” He walked over to the other side of the bed and crouched down, looking at him as he slept. “Jack are you sleeping?” he asked.
When he got no reply, Ianto put his hand on Jack's face and swept his hair away from his eyes, looking at him for a while. He looked peaceful and so much calmer than he had earlier in the evening. He let his hand drift down to Jack's lips, allowing his fingertips brush against the soft skin. Ianto dropped down to his knees and moved his lips closer to Jack as he slept, planting a soft kiss on his lips.
Leaning back on his blackened heels, Ianto let his hand slowly fall from the Jack's face. He watched him for a moment, praying that he wouldn't wake, and sighed a little. He considered waking him just to say his piece, to tell him what he had been rehearsing for the past hour in his mind, but thought better of it; some things were better left unsaid.
Quietly, he stood up and walked over to his side of the bed and removing everything but his underwear. He draped the clothing over the chair and pulled back the sheet, preparing to climb into bed without waking him.
“It's late,” Jack whispered without moving. “Where did you go?”
PART 7 HERE