Fanfiction: Me and Mr. Jones (Chapter 3)
A/N: Thank you AGAIN for all the great comments and so sorry for the delay *bows head*. I actually lost my thumbdrive at work after I had written the bulk of this chapter (and for some reason I didn't have a backup), so I had to rewrite it.
The good news is, someone found my thumbdrive but not before I had rewritten most of it *makes face*. But I really hope you guys like it ^^
As always please enjoy and comment. Also please forgive the one liberty I took with Ianto ;)
***
~Chapter 3~
***
My eyes are on you,
And you see that I can’t stop shaking,
No, I won’t step back but I’ll look down to hide from your eyes,
‘Cause what I feel is so sweet and I am scared that even my own breath,
Oh could burst it if it were a bubble,
And I’d better dream if I have to struggle,
So I put my arms around you. (3)
***
Two Weeks Later
Linda Johnston hated her job. She was overworked, underpaid and so bored out of her fucking mind that she spent fifteen minutes every Monday morning thinking up creative ways to skive. There really was nothing to look forward to at the office.
Well, she looked down at the sheaf of invoices she was holding and blushed, there was one thing and his name was Ianto Jones. Because the library was constantly receiving shipments of journals or replacement books, there was always something that required his approval.
If she were lucky, they would get to chat for a few minutes. If she were really lucky, they would go for coffee.
“Morning Ianto, I need your signature as usual,” Linda said coquettishly as she dropped the papers on his desk, making him look away from the spreadsheet he was working on.
“Thanks Linda,” he said, giving her a smile that made her insides do circus tricks.
She had been more than a little disappointed when she found out he was married. She had met his wife before and - unsurprisingly - took an instant dislike to her. While her feelings no doubt coloured her judgment, she found Lisa bossy and overbearing in the way she treated Ianto.
“Coffee?” she asked hopefully. Ianto shook his head as he quickly worked through the stack.
“Not today, got loads to do. Next time maybe?” Ianto said apologetically handing the invoices back to her. Linda tried not to let her disappointment show at the gentle brush-off.
“Of course, I will just leave you then,” she said, slowly making her way towards the door. But the speed at which he went back to work told her that she had been promptly forgotten.
Biting back her frustration, she noted that Ianto didn't seem himself. As she walked back to the library, she wondered what had him so out of sorts.
Given her straight-laced impression of Ianto, Linda would have been surprised to find out exactly what had him so preoccupied.
Or more accurately, who.
***
Ianto beat an anxious tattoo on his desk with his pen as he considered his predicament. He took a side-glance at his phone, and breathed easier when he saw he had no new messages.
It had been a fortnight since he last heard from Jack, which meant the American was flying. Usually it mildly infuriated Ianto how Jack drifted in and out of his life like a willow-o’-the-wisp, implicitly expecting him to be free when he called.
But now he was grateful for the break, as it gave him a chance to gather his thoughts and decide what to do next.
He rightly reasoned that he had probably been spending too much time with the absurdly good-looking captain and as a result, his common sense had gotten waylaid by that enigmatic charm.
The exchange between them on the train had made Ianto realise what a dangerous game they were playing. If it got out hand, they would end up hurting the people they cared about most.
Ianto was nothing if not practical. He figured the best way to deal with the problem was to not see Jack as often and squeeze in more time with Lisa.
Simple enough. Easy enough right? And it would have worked, only if Ianto could have forgotten the way he felt when Jack looked at him that day with those beguiling china blue eyes of his.
For even the most fleeting thought of Jack kissing him, of pulling him near so their bodies were flush against each other, resulted in a kick of desire so powerful it made his chest ache with longing.
Ianto hadn’t been as honest about his orientation with Lisa as Jack had been with Gwen. He had no problems with dating men, it just happened that he came across more women that struck his fancy. Not that he had dated many before his wife.
“I have Lisa, who could ask for more?” Ianto told himself firmly, ignoring the slight tremble in his hands as he straightened the various items on his desk. It always gave him a sense of calm to see everything in neat rows and within easy reach.
Even so, Ianto still jumped slightly when his phone beeped. His heart rose to his throat when he checked his mobile, only for it to sink back down once he saw who had sent him the message.
It was Jack, asking if he was free for a coffee after work. Ianto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t deal with this, not now.
Ianto swiftly began typing a message back, saying that he had just been given a pile of work and thus, expected it to be a busy week. A weak excuse for sure, but the best he could come up with at the moment.
While in the midst of replying, Ianto’s gaze fell on the spaghetti tangle of white paper in the wastepaper basket and felt his resolve waver.
Jack had been right about the resignation letter, which Ianto had shredded as soon as he got into the office the next day. And he had also been right about Ianto needing to talk things out with his boss. As a result, she had eased off Ianto’s back, leaving him once more to run the library with clockwork precision.
“Jack’s my friend, I can’t just ignore him,” Ianto thought, rubbing the back of his head. “We should be able to get past this.”
But Ianto knew deep down inside it was impossible, that there had been an irreversible shift in the dynamics of his relationship with Jack. And it terrified him, the part of him that wanted to kiss Jack and said hell with the consequences.
His mind made up, Ianto took a deep breath and pressed the “send” button. He didn’t even wait for the message to leave the outbox before composing one to Lisa, telling her he would be taking her out for dinner.
“And that is that,” Ianto thought as he dropped the phone in his drawer before turning his attention back to work.
However if Ianto thought that repeatedly declining Jack’s invitations would deter him, he didn’t know Captain Jack. If anything, it made Jack even more persistent, much to Ianto’s exasperation.
On one hand, Ianto couldn’t blame Jack for his constant requests to meet up throughout the week. It was unlike Ianto to turn down the captain’s invite four days in a row. Jack probably knew something was up despite Ianto’s reassurances to the contrary.
On the other hand, Ianto wished Jack could take a bloody hint.
It was Friday lunchtime before Jack finally resorted to calling instead of messaging. Ianto was having coffee in the university garden café when the call came through. He stared at his mobile for the longest time while it rang, knowing that he shouldn’t take it but realising that he couldn’t sidestep Jack forever.
He steeled himself and picked up the call just before it went to voicemail. “Hi Jack.”
“Mr. Jones, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me,” Jack said jokingly, but the mirth in his voice sounded forced.
“Why would I avoid you Jack?” Ianto replied quietly, trying to keep his tone noncommittal. “I’ve just been busy that’s all.”
“Your boss still giving you trouble?” Jack asked concerned. Ianto couldn’t help smiling at little that Jack had remembered.
“Actually no, I managed to settle things with her. You were right about going to her first Jack, thank you,” Ianto’s gratitude was sincere this time and Jack picked up on that.
“Remember you owe me dinner. What about lunch tomorrow instead though? I’m in town until Sunday, then they are shipping me off to Japan for a few days,” Jack asked.
“Sorry Jack I can’t, have lunch with a friend. She’s moving to London from Cardiff, so I am helping her get a flat sorted and all that,” Ianto said. At least he wasn’t lying, he did have plans with an old friend from university.
“Another time then. Will bring you back some green tea or some weird Japanese coffee beans,” Jack said sounding more like his old self.
“No, no,” Ianto thought as leaned his forehead against the palm of his hand and closed his eyes. This was not working out the way he intended.
“You don’t have to Jack,” Ianto said struggling to control his irritation.
“It’s no trouble Ianto.”
“Seriously, no need to bother,” Ianto insisted, his voice colder than he intended.
There was a beat of silence before Jack spoke.
“No worries Ianto, leave me a message when you are free then,” Jack sounded cheerful enough but Ianto knew a false front when he saw one.
“Bye Jack,” Ianto ended the call and put his head in his hands. It killed him, to hurt Jack deliberately like that. But if a simple two-minute conversation with the captain was enough to let his guard down, what would happen when they were actually together?
“It’s for the best,” Ianto thought determinedly, crushing his coffee cup with more force than needed before tossing it into the trash.
So why did he feel so shit?
***
Jack resisted the impulse to throw his phone against the wall of his living room. Instead, he just tossed it on the couch and walked out onto the balcony of the flat, kneading his shoulder in a desperate attempt to loosen the tension knot there.
Jack had been expecting Ianto to turn skittish after the sexual tension that had sparked between them the last time. That was a given as both of them were currently involved with other people and hardly able to act on their feelings.
What he didn’t expect was how upset he was that Ianto had by now probably pegged Jack as some opportunistic, bum-grabbing pervert.
“Great work Jack,” the captain muttered under his breath. And given his reputation, he knew it would have been easier to make Ianto believe that Jack was Queen of England than the fact that no, Jack really wasn’t trying to sleep with him.
As handsome as Ianto was, it had never crossed Jack’s mind to start something with the younger man. After all, Jack had already decided that Gwen was the one for him, so he never felt the urge to stray.
“Good luck convincing him now that you aren’t trying to get into his pants,” Jack chastised himself.
Because now, Jack did want him.
Oh how he wanted him.
Jack had never remembered wanting anyone this badly in a long time. It made him hard, it made him frustrated, it made him exhilarated and guilty all in one go. And they hadn’t even kissed yet.
Jack yearned to screw Ianto senseless and then whisper endearments to him afterwards. To make those grey-blue eyes go cloudy and hear his name framed by that Welsh lilt, preferably followed by the words “fuck me”.
Jack knew that the smart thing to do at this juncture was to write the entire friendship off. Chalk it up to a lust-induced moment of madness and be done with it.
But it was different with Ianto. Jack couldn’t bring himself to let go just yet.
Because it wasn’t just the lust, of that the captain was sure. Jack recognised lust, even grab-you-by-the-balls-hard lust such as this. But that wasn’t what made him feel so bereft. You couldn’t miss what you never had.
Funnily enough, it was the thought of losing Ianto’s friendship that pained him the most.
Jack laughed humorlessly. Wasn’t that a right kick in the teeth?
***
The Next Day
After two weeks of cold, London weather decided to be its usual, unpredictable self and gave its residents a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Leaning against the plate glass display window outside Hamley’s, Ianto had already discarded his coat and tie, stuffing the latter into his pocket as he hooked the jacket over his arm.
“What a perfect day for people watching,” Ianto thought as he pushed his sunglasses up his nose and took a deep drink of Evian. His lunch date had requested they meet at a landmark, and no store was more iconic to every child that visited London than Hamley’s.
Not that Toshiko Sato was a child, but Ianto had always considered her cute as button with her almond shaped brown eyes and China doll bangs. He was glad to see not much had changed as she walked up to him from the cab and gave him a rib-bruising hug.
“Ianto Jones! Aren’t you looking all cool and composed,” she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.
“And you Tosh are sweet as always,” Ianto said, wrapping her in an affectionate embrace.
“Ready to take me to lunch?” Tosh asked. “It’s on you right?”
“Of course, consider it my welcome to London treat for you,” Ianto offered his bowed arm to her as he took her away from all the hubbub to a Spanish bar tucked behind Regent Street.
“Saying that, considering you are the one shooting up the job ladder, shouldn’t you be buying me lunch?” Ianto half-joked to Tosh after they sat down.
“It’s no big deal, I just get given more work that’s all,” Tosh said contemplating the menu.
Ianto knew she was being modest but then Tosh had a habit of hiding her light under bushel, even in university. She had been doing her Masters when she was assigned to tutor him in his third year.
As awestruck as he was at the sharpness of her mind, he adored her because she never saw the need to flaunt it. Like now, she made it sounds as if being made the head of the government’s IT think tank was an every day occurrence.
“You must be excited about the move though. Leaving anybody behind?” Ianto asked delicately as he buttered a piece of bread. Tosh smiled at his tactful phrasing and shook her head.
“You liking your job? Making any friends?” Tosh countered, hoping the lightness in her tone matched Ianto’s. But the frown on his face told her she hadn’t succeeded.
“What is it with you and Lisa asking if I have made friends? You both make me sound as if I am some kind of loner that shies away from social contact,” Ianto replied, sounding more than a little put out.
“It’s not that Ianto,” Tosh jumped in quickly. “You’ve always been sociable, but you always had a hard time letting people get close to you.”
Tosh knew however that it hadn’t always been that way. Lisa had previously told her that Ianto had very much been one of the lads, bent on enjoying his university life the only way a young twenty-something can.
But that all changed when his dad was diagnosed with cancer at the start of his third year. The Ianto that Tosh had first met was a withdrawn young man who was steadfastly polite to a fault. It was only when they became friends that she caught glimpses of the laidback boy he used to be.
“I suppose that’s not a good thing,” Ianto commented, nonplussed.
“Not necessarily, it just means that if you trust someone than they really have earned it. At least you know that they will be there for you,” Tosh said squeezing his forearm. “Like me.”
Ianto replied with a small smile that told Tosh all was forgiven. But as they were being served their lunch, something about her earlier observation struck Ianto and brought into focus a startling revelation.
“Does that mean I actually trusted Jack?” The thought surprised Ianto more than he expected it would.
“So, have you found me a place to stay yet?” Tosh asked, eagerly spearing a rosemary olive with her fork and popping it into her mouth.
Putting Jack out of his mind for the moment, Ianto reached into his bag and proudly pulled out a four-inch thick file covered in multicoloured tabs.
“Based on your rough outline, I’ve picked some flats that look suitable. I’ve broken it down into location and price, then cross-referenced it with availability and type of furnishings.”
Tosh just stared at him with wide eyes. “We will be here all afternoon.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” Ianto winked and motioned for the waiter. “A bottle of Cava please.”
***
One Week Later
Stepping out of the shower, Ianto roughly dried his hair as he glanced at the clock. Sighing when he saw it was one in the morning, he pulled on his boxers and threw the towel into the hamper.
For some reason, he couldn’t sleep despite having gotten up early for half-day of work. He thought a warm shower would help, but it made him more awake if anything. Lisa was not around either as she was pulling an all-night shift at the hospital.
“When all else fails, make tea I suppose,” Ianto thought, switching on the kettle as he cut up a lemon into wedges, being careful to remove his wedding ring so the gold wouldn’t react with the citric acid.
While sipping his steaming mug of tea and thyme honey, Ianto settled himself in front of the TV in search of something interesting. After quickly passing over sci-fi reruns and badly made soft-core porn, he finally decided on BBC24 as his best option.
“What the hell?” Ianto bolted upright as images of a burning plane fuselage flickered across the screen.
“Official word is that no new survivors have been pulled out of the plane crash wreckage at this time. To recap, two hours ago a Boeing 747…”
Ianto dropped his cup when he heard the newscaster mention the name of Jack’s airline, not even noticing when the hot liquid slopped against his knees.
“No…Jack…it couldn’t have been his flight could it?” Ianto felt icy tendrils of fear spreading across his chest as he suddenly found it hard to breathe. Ianto knew Jack was flying this week but for the life of him he couldn’t remember to where and for how long.
He racked his brain as he tried to recall that day’s conversation. He remembered Jack mentioning Japan because of the coffee beans but the actual dates escaped him.
“Why didn’t I listen? Instead of being caught up in my own petty feelings…why didn’t I just fucking..”
Swearing under his breath, Ianto hurriedly changed to Sky News to see if he could garner any more details about the crash. What he heard made his blood run cold.
“The flight had been coming in from Japan when its landing gear malfunctioned forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. The impact snapped the plane in half, with the front portion taking the most damage.”
Ianto didn’t even bother listening to the rest of the report before reaching for his phone.
“He has to be safe, Jack has to be safe,” Ianto desperately repeated the words in hopes that they were true as he dialed Jack’s number with trembling fingers.
He anxiously paced as he willed for the American to answer his call only to curse as it eventually went to voicemail. Ianto hit the redial button, pressing a knuckle into the taut skin of his left temple.
“Come on Jack, please. Please, please pick up the phone…”
“Ianto?”
“Jack! Fucking hell why didn’t you pick up?” Ianto berated the captain as sheer relief overtook him, leaving him weak-kneed and bolstered against his sofa for support.
“My phone was in the other room, what’s the matter with you?” Jack sounded utterly confused and Ianto suddenly felt the urge to strangle him.
“There was a plane crash Jack! It’s your airline….”
“Yeah I know, my colleagues called me as soon as it happened,” Jack said somberly. “The good news is the casualty count doesn’t look like it’s going to be high. The co-pilot survived but the pilot didn’t.”
Jack sighed. “Paul is…was…a good man. I feel for his family.”
Ianto closed his eyes at the obvious sorrow in the captain’s voice.
“I am so sorry Jack.”
“You don’t have to be, you didn’t know him.” True, but Ianto knew the pain of losing a father.
“I thought it might have been you, on that plane,” Ianto blurted out before he could stop himself. Ianto thought he heard Jack take a sharp intake of breath, but realised it could have just been a fault in the call connection.
“Well it wasn’t, so no need to concern yourself. Thanks for calling though,” Jack replied politely.
Ianto’s eyes flew open. Something wasn’t right, Jack was too calm, too composed for a man who had just lost his friend in a horrific accident.
“Jack, where is Gwen?” Ianto asked quietly.
“She’s in Cardiff visiting her parents. She went to bed hours ago though, so she probably doesn’t know about the crash otherwise she would be on her way back. But there’s nothing she can do, so I didn’t bother to wake her.”
Ianto felt a chill pass through him as he realised what was wrong. Jack was being entirely too civil with him. Given how he had treated Jack, the younger man had been prepared for Jack to be bitter, give him the cold shoulder or even treat him with disdain.
Instead Jack sounded…not just apathetic…but dead. And it scared Ianto more than the news of the crash had.
“Jack, I am coming over,” Ianto said decisively. “You shouldn’t be alone.”
“Ianto, I don’t need you to hold my hand.”
“Jack, please…let me come over,” Ianto entreated, gripping his phone harder. First there was silence, followed by a defeated sigh as Jack told Ianto his address.
“I will be there in thirty minutes.”
***
Ianto made it in fifteen.
When the captain opened the door, Ianto was surprised to find him fully dressed despite the lateness of the hour. His blue shirt was buttoned and tucked in while his braces were neatly in place.
But his face told a different story. His handsome features looked haggard and his blue eyes were bloodshot.
Ianto didn’t even bother to greet the American before pulling him close for a hug. He felt the worry finally seep from his marrow at the physical assurance that Jack was there, unhurt and in one piece. But he felt disheartened when Jack didn’t hug him back.
“Sit down and talk to me Jack,” Ianto said softly. Jack nodded and motioned to the dining room table, where Ianto saw he had made inroads into a bottle of Jack Daniels.
Ianto’s felt another blow to his chest, Jack almost never drank.
“Ten years ago, when I was still a rookie, I was co-piloting this private plane as sort of a job interview. It was a cushy position, flying this businessman around and I was being shown the ropes by his existing pilot who was retiring,” Jack spoke, pouring Ianto a whisky.
“One day, during a routine take-off, the engine cut and the plane nosedived. All I could remember after that was being pulled out from the wreckage.”
Jack took a deep shuddering breath and clasped his hands together to keep from shaking.
“The press called me immortal….the invincible man. Because by right, no one should have survived it,” Jack said ruefully. “But I spent every night after that wishing I did die.”
“That’s how I met Gwen,” Jack drained his whisky. “She was my shrink, but I don’t usually tell people that. Eventually, she helped the bad dreams go away but I don’t let her know that the guilt still lingers.”
“Why don’t you tell her, that it still haunts you?” Ianto asked.
“Because I am Jack Harkness, I’m supposed to be bullet-proof,” Jack joked, but his jest fell flat.
“Because I don’t want her to psychoanalyse our life together Ianto. I want her to be my wife, not my psychiatrist treating me with kid gloves. That’s why I don’t let her see me fall apart like this.”
Ianto’s heart ached as another part of Jack revealed itself to him. Playful Jack ….perceptive Jack ….vulnerable Jack.
“You can fall apart in front of me,” Ianto offered, shocking Jack. Hell, he was surprised himself.
“I mean, what are else are friends for?” The younger man gently placed his hand on Jack’s forearm. “I mean it. You can always fall apart in front of me, and it won't change my perception of you. I will even make you coffee.”
Ianto’s spirits lifted when he heard Jack chuckle.
“Thanks Ianto,” Jack said touched at the offer. “I will be fine, don’t worry. This just brought back some bad memories that’s all.”
Ianto nodded, believing the American’s words this time.
“So…you were concerned about me huh?” Jack asked, his voice gaining back a glimmer of its familiar flirtatious tone.
Ianto turned flustered and looked down at his glass. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because the last time we spoke, I got this impression that you were trying to avoid me,” Jack said deliberately. Ianto swallowed hard.
“Don’t worry about that, I was just being stu…”
Before he could complete his sentence, Jack suddenly caught Ianto by the wrist and kissed him. Really kissed him.
It wasn’t a brief thank you brush against the lips. It was the kiss Jack wanted to give Ianto that day. It was silky and as deeply passionate as a closed mouthed kiss could be. So much so that when they broke apart, both men were breathing heavily.
“Ianto,” Jack said hoarsely. “I didn’t … I mean..”
“Shut up.” This time it was Ianto that grabbed Jack by the lapels to pull the captain’s mouth to his.
Ianto’s lips parted as he brushed his tongue against the roof of Jack’s mouth. If the American was taken aback by Ianto’s aggression he didn’t show it. Instead he just sucked the younger man’s tongue and grazed his bottom lip with his teeth.
“Oh God.” Jack’s kiss was exactly like how Ianto imagined it would be, tasting of smoke and sex. Jack responded by pushing his tongue in deeper, catching the ghost-taint of burnt grass as a result of the tea Ianto had drunk earlier.
Their hands were not idle either as Ianto started blindly undoing Jack’s buttons as Jack ran his hands up Ianto’s back under his t-shirt.
“It’s not enough,” Jack had that sudden desperate thought as he pulled Ianto towards him so that the younger man was straddling him. Ianto gasped as their erections roughly ground together.
“Jack..” Ianto panted as he helplessly fumbled with the captain’s braces, only managing to unsnap one before giving up and unzipping his trousers instead. Jack groaned into Ianto’s neck as the other man slipped his hand inside the opening and grabbed a handful of silk, cock and balls.
“Stand up,” Jack said roughly ordered, pulling them both to their feet. Jack made fast work of his shirt and trousers, leaving him only in a thin undershirt and boxers as Ianto discarded his own t-shirt.
“Oh yeah,” Jack said throatily as he claimed Ianto’s mouth for another kiss and pressed him against the edge of the table. But Ianto was never the passive sort and pushed back against the captain as he broke the kiss.
Jack hissed when Ianto clamped his teeth on the soft flesh of his earlobe and whispered darkly, “Why are you still wearing so many clothes?”
The American gave a sexy chuckle. “Why do you still have your pants on?”
Instead of answering, Ianto just traveled south, planting open mouth kisses across Jack’s broad chest. Ianto stopped at his nipples and gathered the thin cotton between his lips, buffering the sharp edges of his teeth as he bit and sucked.
Jack ran his tongue over his teeth as he grabbed the back of Ianto’s head and guided it to the other nipple. The puckered flesh stiffened further as it got caught in the wet material. When his skin became too sensitive, Jack halted Ianto’s actions so that he could pull the shirt over his head.
“My turn Mr. Jones,” Jack said as he firmly maneuvered Ianto back against the table. Ianto gave smirk that was just as wicked as the American’s.
“Whatever you say Captain,” Ianto replied, cheekily pinching a bruised nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Jack just growled and dropped to his knees, enjoying the Ianto’s stuttered breathing as he pressed his palm against the hard ridge of the other man’s cock.
Unsnapping the fly of Ianto’s jeans, Jack was about to pull it down when something caught his eye. Jack shot Ianto a dirty grin when he realised the other man had a tattoo. A Welsh dragon, hidden just below the beltline.
Once more, Ianto never failed to surprise him.
“What?” Ianto asked defensively. Jack shook his head and shifted his attention.
“God bless Wales,” he said as he traced the outline of the tattoo with his tongue and sunk his teeth into Ianto’s pelvic bone for good measure.
“Fuck Jack, don’t take your bloody time,” Ianto threaded his hands through Jack’s dark brown hair as he tried to push him lower.
Taking pity on him, Jack hooked his thumbs on the waistband and in one rough tug, sent his pants and boxers tumbling to the floor, leaving him face to face with Ianto’s cock.
Not overly long, but thick, the captain had to lick his lips at the pearlescent drops that were seeping from the eye of Ianto’s prick. Without preamble, he took the head of Ianto’s cock in his mouth, enjoying the way it jumped when he applied pressure.
“Shit…”
The curse turned into a moan as Jack opened his throat to swallow the shaft deeper until his nose was buried in the tangle of pubic hair at the base. Ianto dug his nails into the captain’s shoulders when Jack cupped his ass and started moving back and forth.
Jack had forgotten how much he loved giving head. There was something just so unbelievably erotic about the twitch of velvety flesh when he did it right. Ianto was certainly not complaining when Jack flicked his tongue against the sensitive underside and dug the tip into the slit at the top.
“Don’t..stop…Jack…God,” Ianto panted as sparks danced up his spine.
“Ianto,” Jack groaned as he let go of his cock and got to his feet so he could kiss the younger man. As Jack continued to stroke Ianto, equally eager hands scrabbled at the front of his boxers so the younger man could repay the favour.
It was getting too much, and Jack needed to fuck him soon.
“Wait,” he whispered as he regretfully stopped Ianto’s hands, which were simultaneously jerking him off and massaging his balls. Ianto blinked as Jack disappeared into a nearby room and soon emerged, sans his boxers, while holding a foil packet and a tube.
Naked Jack Harkness was definitely a come-in-your-pants sight. But Ianto’s trepidation must have showed in his eyes as Jack stopped himself from ripping open the condom.
“You’ve….never done this before?” Jack asked gently. Ianto nodded and looked away, trying not to show how embarrassed he was at his lack of experience. Jack’s heart softened at the sight as he came to a decision.
“Tell you what then…tonight, you take the lead,” Jack said softly, pressing the condom and lube into the other man’s hand. Ianto’s head snapped back as he met Jack’s eyes and his heart skipped at the blatant desire there.
Jack was a natural top, but he wanted him so badly that he would have him any way he could. And Ianto saw that.
“Come on, its rude to leave people waiting,” Jack winked as he lifted himself on the edge of the table.
“Here?” Ianto murmured.
“Don’t worry, its solid oak. Two elephants could fuck on this and it wouldn’t break,” Jack smirked as he rapped it with his knuckles. Ianto gave him a look.
“Are you saying I’m heavy Captain Harkness,” Ianto ripped the packet with his teeth and rolled the condom on.
“I’m saying, if you don’t fuck me now, I won’t be responsible for my actions,” Jack mock threatened as he nipped Ianto’s jawline. Jack leaned back as he watched Ianto lube up his sheathed cock and spread his legs in anticipation.
Jack flinched though when he felt the head of Ianto’s cock ream his tight opening, but perversely liking the bite of pain to his pleasure.
“I’m hurting you,” Ianto sounded remorseful, as he pulled out completely. “Oh Jack, I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, its okay,” Jack calmed him by laving his sensitive fingertips, which tasted faintly of lemon. Reaching for the lube, he squeezed a generous amount over the other man’s fingers.
“You just need to…let your fingers do the walking,” Jack said huskily as he lead Ianto’s hand down his body, leaving a sticky shiny trail, before moving past his balls and pushing one finger in.
“Get the idea?” Jack cocked an eyebrow. He arched his back when Ianto buried one finger deep inside his puckered entrance, which was quickly followed by another.
As Ianto pumped his fingers inside Jack, the American moved his hips trying to get those fingers to graze his prostate.
Unable to take the sight of Jack writhing on the table, Ianto swiftly replaced his hand with his cock, penetrating him until he was fully seated inside the captain. Breathing slowly so that he could control himself, Ianto pulled out slightly before giving an experimental thrust.
Jack inhaled sharply through his teeth when Ianto started to fuck him, and he grabbed his cock in order to intensify the sensation.
“How do you feel?” Ianto, concerned even as his lust threatened to overcome him. But the dirty laugh that Jack gave in return made tingles go off beneath his skin.
Pulling Ianto closer so that they were only an inch apart, Jack looked him straight in the eye and said, “Full.”
“Tight,” Jack undulated his hips so that Ianto’s dick hit his sweet spot. “So… fucking …good,” He drew out his words, punctuating each of them with a kiss.
Ianto groaned as he started thrusting again. The living room filled with the sounds of their ragged breathing and the slap of Jack’s cock against Ianto’s hair roughened belly.
Jack bit his lip, it was good but it was too fucking slow. Picking up his head, he murmured into Ianto’s ear, “Don’t be so gentle with me baby, I am not going to break.”
The endearment, coupled with the roll of Jack’s hips almost caused Ianto to loose it. Burying his face into Jack’s neck, Ianto snapped his hips forward in increasingly erratic movements, managing only a handful more thrusts before he came.
The heat from Ianto’s cum almost pushed Jack over the edge, but it was just not enough. Still, he held Ianto until the end of his orgasm although he himself was dying to come.
It was only when Ianto’s world swam back into focus that he noticed the captain’s leaking cock jabbing into his stomach.
“Can you stand?” Ianto asked quietly as he pulled out. Jack nodded as he lowered his feet to the ground, leaning against the table to compensate for the unsteadiness in his legs.
Dropping to his knees, Ianto hesitated. He hadn’t given a blowjob since high school, but the quiver in Jack’s cock told him how close he was. Wrapping his fingers around the base, Ianto just sucked hard on the tip.
Jack throwing back his head was all the warning Ianto got before he came. The younger man pulled back just in time as the captain’s semen caught him on the chin and the chest.
Sliding down to the floor next to Ianto, Jack gingerly kissed the younger man as he rubbed away the remnants of his climax. But even before the afterglow faded, it began to dawn on both of them exactly what had just happened.
“I will get rid of this, okay?” Jack said quietly as he pulled the condom off Ianto’s penis and tied the end.
After he had flushed it down the toilet, Jack came back to find Ianto dressed in his jeans on the chair with his head between his hands.
“What just happened Jack?” Ianto asked as if in a daze. Jack swallowed and took a step forward.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly as he pulled on his trousers.
“I didn’t even think about… I mean it never even occurred to me…” Ianto choked on his words, as guilt gripped his windpipe. That was all the impetus Jack needed before he shook Ianto by the shoulders.
“Stop. Don’t say it..”
“What do you mean don’t say it?!” Ianto exploded, shoving Jack backwards. “Do you realise what we just did?”
Ianto got up so quickly it made his head swim, but Jack caught him as he stumbled backwards.
“Calm down Ianto,” Jack said softly. Ianto glared at the captain, his grey-blue eyes stormy.
“I am not going to calm down Jack,” Ianto spat. “What came over us? Why did we do this?”
“I don’t know! If I did, I would tell you,” Jack turned Ianto by the shoulders so he could look him square in the eye.
“Maybe it was because we both needed comfort. Maybe its because I am just so damn attracted to you. But I really don’t know why so stop asking!”
Jack was the one that was angry now causing Ianto to bow his head.
“What I do know however, is that I don’t want this to stop,” Jack said quietly, but his words carried a steely edge of determination. Ianto’s head jerked up, his lips twisted in a scowl.
“What? The sex,” Ianto said sarcastically.
“Yes, the sex, but its not just that,” Jack’s anger petered out as he pulled Ianto back down to the chair.
“It’s the connection Ianto, it’s our friendship,” Jack added sadly.
“But I won’t lie and say that I don’t want you again. And I won’t lie and tell you that if you walk away, I can remain your friend. Because I can’t, so don’t ask me. But I can’t force you to do something you don’t want to.”
Jack knelt at Ianto’s feet and took his hand. “So tell me Ianto, do you want this to end?”
For a moment Ianto just contemplated Jack’s thumb rubbing circles on the top of his knuckles. Jack’s touch….Jack’s presence…could he really let that go?
Ianto took a deep breath and slowly raised his gaze to meet Jack’s.
“No…” he answered, wrapping his arms around Jack’s neck to kiss him. Jack kissed him back as he guided him towards the guest bedroom.
It was another hour before Ianto finally made it home.
***
Chapter Four
The good news is, someone found my thumbdrive but not before I had rewritten most of it *makes face*. But I really hope you guys like it ^^
As always please enjoy and comment. Also please forgive the one liberty I took with Ianto ;)
***
~Chapter 3~
***
My eyes are on you,
And you see that I can’t stop shaking,
No, I won’t step back but I’ll look down to hide from your eyes,
‘Cause what I feel is so sweet and I am scared that even my own breath,
Oh could burst it if it were a bubble,
And I’d better dream if I have to struggle,
So I put my arms around you. (3)
***
Two Weeks Later
Linda Johnston hated her job. She was overworked, underpaid and so bored out of her fucking mind that she spent fifteen minutes every Monday morning thinking up creative ways to skive. There really was nothing to look forward to at the office.
Well, she looked down at the sheaf of invoices she was holding and blushed, there was one thing and his name was Ianto Jones. Because the library was constantly receiving shipments of journals or replacement books, there was always something that required his approval.
If she were lucky, they would get to chat for a few minutes. If she were really lucky, they would go for coffee.
“Morning Ianto, I need your signature as usual,” Linda said coquettishly as she dropped the papers on his desk, making him look away from the spreadsheet he was working on.
“Thanks Linda,” he said, giving her a smile that made her insides do circus tricks.
She had been more than a little disappointed when she found out he was married. She had met his wife before and - unsurprisingly - took an instant dislike to her. While her feelings no doubt coloured her judgment, she found Lisa bossy and overbearing in the way she treated Ianto.
“Coffee?” she asked hopefully. Ianto shook his head as he quickly worked through the stack.
“Not today, got loads to do. Next time maybe?” Ianto said apologetically handing the invoices back to her. Linda tried not to let her disappointment show at the gentle brush-off.
“Of course, I will just leave you then,” she said, slowly making her way towards the door. But the speed at which he went back to work told her that she had been promptly forgotten.
Biting back her frustration, she noted that Ianto didn't seem himself. As she walked back to the library, she wondered what had him so out of sorts.
Given her straight-laced impression of Ianto, Linda would have been surprised to find out exactly what had him so preoccupied.
Or more accurately, who.
***
Ianto beat an anxious tattoo on his desk with his pen as he considered his predicament. He took a side-glance at his phone, and breathed easier when he saw he had no new messages.
It had been a fortnight since he last heard from Jack, which meant the American was flying. Usually it mildly infuriated Ianto how Jack drifted in and out of his life like a willow-o’-the-wisp, implicitly expecting him to be free when he called.
But now he was grateful for the break, as it gave him a chance to gather his thoughts and decide what to do next.
He rightly reasoned that he had probably been spending too much time with the absurdly good-looking captain and as a result, his common sense had gotten waylaid by that enigmatic charm.
The exchange between them on the train had made Ianto realise what a dangerous game they were playing. If it got out hand, they would end up hurting the people they cared about most.
Ianto was nothing if not practical. He figured the best way to deal with the problem was to not see Jack as often and squeeze in more time with Lisa.
Simple enough. Easy enough right? And it would have worked, only if Ianto could have forgotten the way he felt when Jack looked at him that day with those beguiling china blue eyes of his.
For even the most fleeting thought of Jack kissing him, of pulling him near so their bodies were flush against each other, resulted in a kick of desire so powerful it made his chest ache with longing.
Ianto hadn’t been as honest about his orientation with Lisa as Jack had been with Gwen. He had no problems with dating men, it just happened that he came across more women that struck his fancy. Not that he had dated many before his wife.
“I have Lisa, who could ask for more?” Ianto told himself firmly, ignoring the slight tremble in his hands as he straightened the various items on his desk. It always gave him a sense of calm to see everything in neat rows and within easy reach.
Even so, Ianto still jumped slightly when his phone beeped. His heart rose to his throat when he checked his mobile, only for it to sink back down once he saw who had sent him the message.
It was Jack, asking if he was free for a coffee after work. Ianto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t deal with this, not now.
Ianto swiftly began typing a message back, saying that he had just been given a pile of work and thus, expected it to be a busy week. A weak excuse for sure, but the best he could come up with at the moment.
While in the midst of replying, Ianto’s gaze fell on the spaghetti tangle of white paper in the wastepaper basket and felt his resolve waver.
Jack had been right about the resignation letter, which Ianto had shredded as soon as he got into the office the next day. And he had also been right about Ianto needing to talk things out with his boss. As a result, she had eased off Ianto’s back, leaving him once more to run the library with clockwork precision.
“Jack’s my friend, I can’t just ignore him,” Ianto thought, rubbing the back of his head. “We should be able to get past this.”
But Ianto knew deep down inside it was impossible, that there had been an irreversible shift in the dynamics of his relationship with Jack. And it terrified him, the part of him that wanted to kiss Jack and said hell with the consequences.
His mind made up, Ianto took a deep breath and pressed the “send” button. He didn’t even wait for the message to leave the outbox before composing one to Lisa, telling her he would be taking her out for dinner.
“And that is that,” Ianto thought as he dropped the phone in his drawer before turning his attention back to work.
However if Ianto thought that repeatedly declining Jack’s invitations would deter him, he didn’t know Captain Jack. If anything, it made Jack even more persistent, much to Ianto’s exasperation.
On one hand, Ianto couldn’t blame Jack for his constant requests to meet up throughout the week. It was unlike Ianto to turn down the captain’s invite four days in a row. Jack probably knew something was up despite Ianto’s reassurances to the contrary.
On the other hand, Ianto wished Jack could take a bloody hint.
It was Friday lunchtime before Jack finally resorted to calling instead of messaging. Ianto was having coffee in the university garden café when the call came through. He stared at his mobile for the longest time while it rang, knowing that he shouldn’t take it but realising that he couldn’t sidestep Jack forever.
He steeled himself and picked up the call just before it went to voicemail. “Hi Jack.”
“Mr. Jones, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me,” Jack said jokingly, but the mirth in his voice sounded forced.
“Why would I avoid you Jack?” Ianto replied quietly, trying to keep his tone noncommittal. “I’ve just been busy that’s all.”
“Your boss still giving you trouble?” Jack asked concerned. Ianto couldn’t help smiling at little that Jack had remembered.
“Actually no, I managed to settle things with her. You were right about going to her first Jack, thank you,” Ianto’s gratitude was sincere this time and Jack picked up on that.
“Remember you owe me dinner. What about lunch tomorrow instead though? I’m in town until Sunday, then they are shipping me off to Japan for a few days,” Jack asked.
“Sorry Jack I can’t, have lunch with a friend. She’s moving to London from Cardiff, so I am helping her get a flat sorted and all that,” Ianto said. At least he wasn’t lying, he did have plans with an old friend from university.
“Another time then. Will bring you back some green tea or some weird Japanese coffee beans,” Jack said sounding more like his old self.
“No, no,” Ianto thought as leaned his forehead against the palm of his hand and closed his eyes. This was not working out the way he intended.
“You don’t have to Jack,” Ianto said struggling to control his irritation.
“It’s no trouble Ianto.”
“Seriously, no need to bother,” Ianto insisted, his voice colder than he intended.
There was a beat of silence before Jack spoke.
“No worries Ianto, leave me a message when you are free then,” Jack sounded cheerful enough but Ianto knew a false front when he saw one.
“Bye Jack,” Ianto ended the call and put his head in his hands. It killed him, to hurt Jack deliberately like that. But if a simple two-minute conversation with the captain was enough to let his guard down, what would happen when they were actually together?
“It’s for the best,” Ianto thought determinedly, crushing his coffee cup with more force than needed before tossing it into the trash.
So why did he feel so shit?
***
Jack resisted the impulse to throw his phone against the wall of his living room. Instead, he just tossed it on the couch and walked out onto the balcony of the flat, kneading his shoulder in a desperate attempt to loosen the tension knot there.
Jack had been expecting Ianto to turn skittish after the sexual tension that had sparked between them the last time. That was a given as both of them were currently involved with other people and hardly able to act on their feelings.
What he didn’t expect was how upset he was that Ianto had by now probably pegged Jack as some opportunistic, bum-grabbing pervert.
“Great work Jack,” the captain muttered under his breath. And given his reputation, he knew it would have been easier to make Ianto believe that Jack was Queen of England than the fact that no, Jack really wasn’t trying to sleep with him.
As handsome as Ianto was, it had never crossed Jack’s mind to start something with the younger man. After all, Jack had already decided that Gwen was the one for him, so he never felt the urge to stray.
“Good luck convincing him now that you aren’t trying to get into his pants,” Jack chastised himself.
Because now, Jack did want him.
Oh how he wanted him.
Jack had never remembered wanting anyone this badly in a long time. It made him hard, it made him frustrated, it made him exhilarated and guilty all in one go. And they hadn’t even kissed yet.
Jack yearned to screw Ianto senseless and then whisper endearments to him afterwards. To make those grey-blue eyes go cloudy and hear his name framed by that Welsh lilt, preferably followed by the words “fuck me”.
Jack knew that the smart thing to do at this juncture was to write the entire friendship off. Chalk it up to a lust-induced moment of madness and be done with it.
But it was different with Ianto. Jack couldn’t bring himself to let go just yet.
Because it wasn’t just the lust, of that the captain was sure. Jack recognised lust, even grab-you-by-the-balls-hard lust such as this. But that wasn’t what made him feel so bereft. You couldn’t miss what you never had.
Funnily enough, it was the thought of losing Ianto’s friendship that pained him the most.
Jack laughed humorlessly. Wasn’t that a right kick in the teeth?
***
The Next Day
After two weeks of cold, London weather decided to be its usual, unpredictable self and gave its residents a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Leaning against the plate glass display window outside Hamley’s, Ianto had already discarded his coat and tie, stuffing the latter into his pocket as he hooked the jacket over his arm.
“What a perfect day for people watching,” Ianto thought as he pushed his sunglasses up his nose and took a deep drink of Evian. His lunch date had requested they meet at a landmark, and no store was more iconic to every child that visited London than Hamley’s.
Not that Toshiko Sato was a child, but Ianto had always considered her cute as button with her almond shaped brown eyes and China doll bangs. He was glad to see not much had changed as she walked up to him from the cab and gave him a rib-bruising hug.
“Ianto Jones! Aren’t you looking all cool and composed,” she said, planting a kiss on his cheek.
“And you Tosh are sweet as always,” Ianto said, wrapping her in an affectionate embrace.
“Ready to take me to lunch?” Tosh asked. “It’s on you right?”
“Of course, consider it my welcome to London treat for you,” Ianto offered his bowed arm to her as he took her away from all the hubbub to a Spanish bar tucked behind Regent Street.
“Saying that, considering you are the one shooting up the job ladder, shouldn’t you be buying me lunch?” Ianto half-joked to Tosh after they sat down.
“It’s no big deal, I just get given more work that’s all,” Tosh said contemplating the menu.
Ianto knew she was being modest but then Tosh had a habit of hiding her light under bushel, even in university. She had been doing her Masters when she was assigned to tutor him in his third year.
As awestruck as he was at the sharpness of her mind, he adored her because she never saw the need to flaunt it. Like now, she made it sounds as if being made the head of the government’s IT think tank was an every day occurrence.
“You must be excited about the move though. Leaving anybody behind?” Ianto asked delicately as he buttered a piece of bread. Tosh smiled at his tactful phrasing and shook her head.
“You liking your job? Making any friends?” Tosh countered, hoping the lightness in her tone matched Ianto’s. But the frown on his face told her she hadn’t succeeded.
“What is it with you and Lisa asking if I have made friends? You both make me sound as if I am some kind of loner that shies away from social contact,” Ianto replied, sounding more than a little put out.
“It’s not that Ianto,” Tosh jumped in quickly. “You’ve always been sociable, but you always had a hard time letting people get close to you.”
Tosh knew however that it hadn’t always been that way. Lisa had previously told her that Ianto had very much been one of the lads, bent on enjoying his university life the only way a young twenty-something can.
But that all changed when his dad was diagnosed with cancer at the start of his third year. The Ianto that Tosh had first met was a withdrawn young man who was steadfastly polite to a fault. It was only when they became friends that she caught glimpses of the laidback boy he used to be.
“I suppose that’s not a good thing,” Ianto commented, nonplussed.
“Not necessarily, it just means that if you trust someone than they really have earned it. At least you know that they will be there for you,” Tosh said squeezing his forearm. “Like me.”
Ianto replied with a small smile that told Tosh all was forgiven. But as they were being served their lunch, something about her earlier observation struck Ianto and brought into focus a startling revelation.
“Does that mean I actually trusted Jack?” The thought surprised Ianto more than he expected it would.
“So, have you found me a place to stay yet?” Tosh asked, eagerly spearing a rosemary olive with her fork and popping it into her mouth.
Putting Jack out of his mind for the moment, Ianto reached into his bag and proudly pulled out a four-inch thick file covered in multicoloured tabs.
“Based on your rough outline, I’ve picked some flats that look suitable. I’ve broken it down into location and price, then cross-referenced it with availability and type of furnishings.”
Tosh just stared at him with wide eyes. “We will be here all afternoon.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” Ianto winked and motioned for the waiter. “A bottle of Cava please.”
***
One Week Later
Stepping out of the shower, Ianto roughly dried his hair as he glanced at the clock. Sighing when he saw it was one in the morning, he pulled on his boxers and threw the towel into the hamper.
For some reason, he couldn’t sleep despite having gotten up early for half-day of work. He thought a warm shower would help, but it made him more awake if anything. Lisa was not around either as she was pulling an all-night shift at the hospital.
“When all else fails, make tea I suppose,” Ianto thought, switching on the kettle as he cut up a lemon into wedges, being careful to remove his wedding ring so the gold wouldn’t react with the citric acid.
While sipping his steaming mug of tea and thyme honey, Ianto settled himself in front of the TV in search of something interesting. After quickly passing over sci-fi reruns and badly made soft-core porn, he finally decided on BBC24 as his best option.
“What the hell?” Ianto bolted upright as images of a burning plane fuselage flickered across the screen.
“Official word is that no new survivors have been pulled out of the plane crash wreckage at this time. To recap, two hours ago a Boeing 747…”
Ianto dropped his cup when he heard the newscaster mention the name of Jack’s airline, not even noticing when the hot liquid slopped against his knees.
“No…Jack…it couldn’t have been his flight could it?” Ianto felt icy tendrils of fear spreading across his chest as he suddenly found it hard to breathe. Ianto knew Jack was flying this week but for the life of him he couldn’t remember to where and for how long.
He racked his brain as he tried to recall that day’s conversation. He remembered Jack mentioning Japan because of the coffee beans but the actual dates escaped him.
“Why didn’t I listen? Instead of being caught up in my own petty feelings…why didn’t I just fucking..”
Swearing under his breath, Ianto hurriedly changed to Sky News to see if he could garner any more details about the crash. What he heard made his blood run cold.
“The flight had been coming in from Japan when its landing gear malfunctioned forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. The impact snapped the plane in half, with the front portion taking the most damage.”
Ianto didn’t even bother listening to the rest of the report before reaching for his phone.
“He has to be safe, Jack has to be safe,” Ianto desperately repeated the words in hopes that they were true as he dialed Jack’s number with trembling fingers.
He anxiously paced as he willed for the American to answer his call only to curse as it eventually went to voicemail. Ianto hit the redial button, pressing a knuckle into the taut skin of his left temple.
“Come on Jack, please. Please, please pick up the phone…”
“Ianto?”
“Jack! Fucking hell why didn’t you pick up?” Ianto berated the captain as sheer relief overtook him, leaving him weak-kneed and bolstered against his sofa for support.
“My phone was in the other room, what’s the matter with you?” Jack sounded utterly confused and Ianto suddenly felt the urge to strangle him.
“There was a plane crash Jack! It’s your airline….”
“Yeah I know, my colleagues called me as soon as it happened,” Jack said somberly. “The good news is the casualty count doesn’t look like it’s going to be high. The co-pilot survived but the pilot didn’t.”
Jack sighed. “Paul is…was…a good man. I feel for his family.”
Ianto closed his eyes at the obvious sorrow in the captain’s voice.
“I am so sorry Jack.”
“You don’t have to be, you didn’t know him.” True, but Ianto knew the pain of losing a father.
“I thought it might have been you, on that plane,” Ianto blurted out before he could stop himself. Ianto thought he heard Jack take a sharp intake of breath, but realised it could have just been a fault in the call connection.
“Well it wasn’t, so no need to concern yourself. Thanks for calling though,” Jack replied politely.
Ianto’s eyes flew open. Something wasn’t right, Jack was too calm, too composed for a man who had just lost his friend in a horrific accident.
“Jack, where is Gwen?” Ianto asked quietly.
“She’s in Cardiff visiting her parents. She went to bed hours ago though, so she probably doesn’t know about the crash otherwise she would be on her way back. But there’s nothing she can do, so I didn’t bother to wake her.”
Ianto felt a chill pass through him as he realised what was wrong. Jack was being entirely too civil with him. Given how he had treated Jack, the younger man had been prepared for Jack to be bitter, give him the cold shoulder or even treat him with disdain.
Instead Jack sounded…not just apathetic…but dead. And it scared Ianto more than the news of the crash had.
“Jack, I am coming over,” Ianto said decisively. “You shouldn’t be alone.”
“Ianto, I don’t need you to hold my hand.”
“Jack, please…let me come over,” Ianto entreated, gripping his phone harder. First there was silence, followed by a defeated sigh as Jack told Ianto his address.
“I will be there in thirty minutes.”
***
Ianto made it in fifteen.
When the captain opened the door, Ianto was surprised to find him fully dressed despite the lateness of the hour. His blue shirt was buttoned and tucked in while his braces were neatly in place.
But his face told a different story. His handsome features looked haggard and his blue eyes were bloodshot.
Ianto didn’t even bother to greet the American before pulling him close for a hug. He felt the worry finally seep from his marrow at the physical assurance that Jack was there, unhurt and in one piece. But he felt disheartened when Jack didn’t hug him back.
“Sit down and talk to me Jack,” Ianto said softly. Jack nodded and motioned to the dining room table, where Ianto saw he had made inroads into a bottle of Jack Daniels.
Ianto’s felt another blow to his chest, Jack almost never drank.
“Ten years ago, when I was still a rookie, I was co-piloting this private plane as sort of a job interview. It was a cushy position, flying this businessman around and I was being shown the ropes by his existing pilot who was retiring,” Jack spoke, pouring Ianto a whisky.
“One day, during a routine take-off, the engine cut and the plane nosedived. All I could remember after that was being pulled out from the wreckage.”
Jack took a deep shuddering breath and clasped his hands together to keep from shaking.
“The press called me immortal….the invincible man. Because by right, no one should have survived it,” Jack said ruefully. “But I spent every night after that wishing I did die.”
“That’s how I met Gwen,” Jack drained his whisky. “She was my shrink, but I don’t usually tell people that. Eventually, she helped the bad dreams go away but I don’t let her know that the guilt still lingers.”
“Why don’t you tell her, that it still haunts you?” Ianto asked.
“Because I am Jack Harkness, I’m supposed to be bullet-proof,” Jack joked, but his jest fell flat.
“Because I don’t want her to psychoanalyse our life together Ianto. I want her to be my wife, not my psychiatrist treating me with kid gloves. That’s why I don’t let her see me fall apart like this.”
Ianto’s heart ached as another part of Jack revealed itself to him. Playful Jack ….perceptive Jack ….vulnerable Jack.
“You can fall apart in front of me,” Ianto offered, shocking Jack. Hell, he was surprised himself.
“I mean, what are else are friends for?” The younger man gently placed his hand on Jack’s forearm. “I mean it. You can always fall apart in front of me, and it won't change my perception of you. I will even make you coffee.”
Ianto’s spirits lifted when he heard Jack chuckle.
“Thanks Ianto,” Jack said touched at the offer. “I will be fine, don’t worry. This just brought back some bad memories that’s all.”
Ianto nodded, believing the American’s words this time.
“So…you were concerned about me huh?” Jack asked, his voice gaining back a glimmer of its familiar flirtatious tone.
Ianto turned flustered and looked down at his glass. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because the last time we spoke, I got this impression that you were trying to avoid me,” Jack said deliberately. Ianto swallowed hard.
“Don’t worry about that, I was just being stu…”
Before he could complete his sentence, Jack suddenly caught Ianto by the wrist and kissed him. Really kissed him.
It wasn’t a brief thank you brush against the lips. It was the kiss Jack wanted to give Ianto that day. It was silky and as deeply passionate as a closed mouthed kiss could be. So much so that when they broke apart, both men were breathing heavily.
“Ianto,” Jack said hoarsely. “I didn’t … I mean..”
“Shut up.” This time it was Ianto that grabbed Jack by the lapels to pull the captain’s mouth to his.
Ianto’s lips parted as he brushed his tongue against the roof of Jack’s mouth. If the American was taken aback by Ianto’s aggression he didn’t show it. Instead he just sucked the younger man’s tongue and grazed his bottom lip with his teeth.
“Oh God.” Jack’s kiss was exactly like how Ianto imagined it would be, tasting of smoke and sex. Jack responded by pushing his tongue in deeper, catching the ghost-taint of burnt grass as a result of the tea Ianto had drunk earlier.
Their hands were not idle either as Ianto started blindly undoing Jack’s buttons as Jack ran his hands up Ianto’s back under his t-shirt.
“It’s not enough,” Jack had that sudden desperate thought as he pulled Ianto towards him so that the younger man was straddling him. Ianto gasped as their erections roughly ground together.
“Jack..” Ianto panted as he helplessly fumbled with the captain’s braces, only managing to unsnap one before giving up and unzipping his trousers instead. Jack groaned into Ianto’s neck as the other man slipped his hand inside the opening and grabbed a handful of silk, cock and balls.
“Stand up,” Jack said roughly ordered, pulling them both to their feet. Jack made fast work of his shirt and trousers, leaving him only in a thin undershirt and boxers as Ianto discarded his own t-shirt.
“Oh yeah,” Jack said throatily as he claimed Ianto’s mouth for another kiss and pressed him against the edge of the table. But Ianto was never the passive sort and pushed back against the captain as he broke the kiss.
Jack hissed when Ianto clamped his teeth on the soft flesh of his earlobe and whispered darkly, “Why are you still wearing so many clothes?”
The American gave a sexy chuckle. “Why do you still have your pants on?”
Instead of answering, Ianto just traveled south, planting open mouth kisses across Jack’s broad chest. Ianto stopped at his nipples and gathered the thin cotton between his lips, buffering the sharp edges of his teeth as he bit and sucked.
Jack ran his tongue over his teeth as he grabbed the back of Ianto’s head and guided it to the other nipple. The puckered flesh stiffened further as it got caught in the wet material. When his skin became too sensitive, Jack halted Ianto’s actions so that he could pull the shirt over his head.
“My turn Mr. Jones,” Jack said as he firmly maneuvered Ianto back against the table. Ianto gave smirk that was just as wicked as the American’s.
“Whatever you say Captain,” Ianto replied, cheekily pinching a bruised nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Jack just growled and dropped to his knees, enjoying the Ianto’s stuttered breathing as he pressed his palm against the hard ridge of the other man’s cock.
Unsnapping the fly of Ianto’s jeans, Jack was about to pull it down when something caught his eye. Jack shot Ianto a dirty grin when he realised the other man had a tattoo. A Welsh dragon, hidden just below the beltline.
Once more, Ianto never failed to surprise him.
“What?” Ianto asked defensively. Jack shook his head and shifted his attention.
“God bless Wales,” he said as he traced the outline of the tattoo with his tongue and sunk his teeth into Ianto’s pelvic bone for good measure.
“Fuck Jack, don’t take your bloody time,” Ianto threaded his hands through Jack’s dark brown hair as he tried to push him lower.
Taking pity on him, Jack hooked his thumbs on the waistband and in one rough tug, sent his pants and boxers tumbling to the floor, leaving him face to face with Ianto’s cock.
Not overly long, but thick, the captain had to lick his lips at the pearlescent drops that were seeping from the eye of Ianto’s prick. Without preamble, he took the head of Ianto’s cock in his mouth, enjoying the way it jumped when he applied pressure.
“Shit…”
The curse turned into a moan as Jack opened his throat to swallow the shaft deeper until his nose was buried in the tangle of pubic hair at the base. Ianto dug his nails into the captain’s shoulders when Jack cupped his ass and started moving back and forth.
Jack had forgotten how much he loved giving head. There was something just so unbelievably erotic about the twitch of velvety flesh when he did it right. Ianto was certainly not complaining when Jack flicked his tongue against the sensitive underside and dug the tip into the slit at the top.
“Don’t..stop…Jack…God,” Ianto panted as sparks danced up his spine.
“Ianto,” Jack groaned as he let go of his cock and got to his feet so he could kiss the younger man. As Jack continued to stroke Ianto, equally eager hands scrabbled at the front of his boxers so the younger man could repay the favour.
It was getting too much, and Jack needed to fuck him soon.
“Wait,” he whispered as he regretfully stopped Ianto’s hands, which were simultaneously jerking him off and massaging his balls. Ianto blinked as Jack disappeared into a nearby room and soon emerged, sans his boxers, while holding a foil packet and a tube.
Naked Jack Harkness was definitely a come-in-your-pants sight. But Ianto’s trepidation must have showed in his eyes as Jack stopped himself from ripping open the condom.
“You’ve….never done this before?” Jack asked gently. Ianto nodded and looked away, trying not to show how embarrassed he was at his lack of experience. Jack’s heart softened at the sight as he came to a decision.
“Tell you what then…tonight, you take the lead,” Jack said softly, pressing the condom and lube into the other man’s hand. Ianto’s head snapped back as he met Jack’s eyes and his heart skipped at the blatant desire there.
Jack was a natural top, but he wanted him so badly that he would have him any way he could. And Ianto saw that.
“Come on, its rude to leave people waiting,” Jack winked as he lifted himself on the edge of the table.
“Here?” Ianto murmured.
“Don’t worry, its solid oak. Two elephants could fuck on this and it wouldn’t break,” Jack smirked as he rapped it with his knuckles. Ianto gave him a look.
“Are you saying I’m heavy Captain Harkness,” Ianto ripped the packet with his teeth and rolled the condom on.
“I’m saying, if you don’t fuck me now, I won’t be responsible for my actions,” Jack mock threatened as he nipped Ianto’s jawline. Jack leaned back as he watched Ianto lube up his sheathed cock and spread his legs in anticipation.
Jack flinched though when he felt the head of Ianto’s cock ream his tight opening, but perversely liking the bite of pain to his pleasure.
“I’m hurting you,” Ianto sounded remorseful, as he pulled out completely. “Oh Jack, I’m so sorry.”
“Hey, its okay,” Jack calmed him by laving his sensitive fingertips, which tasted faintly of lemon. Reaching for the lube, he squeezed a generous amount over the other man’s fingers.
“You just need to…let your fingers do the walking,” Jack said huskily as he lead Ianto’s hand down his body, leaving a sticky shiny trail, before moving past his balls and pushing one finger in.
“Get the idea?” Jack cocked an eyebrow. He arched his back when Ianto buried one finger deep inside his puckered entrance, which was quickly followed by another.
As Ianto pumped his fingers inside Jack, the American moved his hips trying to get those fingers to graze his prostate.
Unable to take the sight of Jack writhing on the table, Ianto swiftly replaced his hand with his cock, penetrating him until he was fully seated inside the captain. Breathing slowly so that he could control himself, Ianto pulled out slightly before giving an experimental thrust.
Jack inhaled sharply through his teeth when Ianto started to fuck him, and he grabbed his cock in order to intensify the sensation.
“How do you feel?” Ianto, concerned even as his lust threatened to overcome him. But the dirty laugh that Jack gave in return made tingles go off beneath his skin.
Pulling Ianto closer so that they were only an inch apart, Jack looked him straight in the eye and said, “Full.”
“Tight,” Jack undulated his hips so that Ianto’s dick hit his sweet spot. “So… fucking …good,” He drew out his words, punctuating each of them with a kiss.
Ianto groaned as he started thrusting again. The living room filled with the sounds of their ragged breathing and the slap of Jack’s cock against Ianto’s hair roughened belly.
Jack bit his lip, it was good but it was too fucking slow. Picking up his head, he murmured into Ianto’s ear, “Don’t be so gentle with me baby, I am not going to break.”
The endearment, coupled with the roll of Jack’s hips almost caused Ianto to loose it. Burying his face into Jack’s neck, Ianto snapped his hips forward in increasingly erratic movements, managing only a handful more thrusts before he came.
The heat from Ianto’s cum almost pushed Jack over the edge, but it was just not enough. Still, he held Ianto until the end of his orgasm although he himself was dying to come.
It was only when Ianto’s world swam back into focus that he noticed the captain’s leaking cock jabbing into his stomach.
“Can you stand?” Ianto asked quietly as he pulled out. Jack nodded as he lowered his feet to the ground, leaning against the table to compensate for the unsteadiness in his legs.
Dropping to his knees, Ianto hesitated. He hadn’t given a blowjob since high school, but the quiver in Jack’s cock told him how close he was. Wrapping his fingers around the base, Ianto just sucked hard on the tip.
Jack throwing back his head was all the warning Ianto got before he came. The younger man pulled back just in time as the captain’s semen caught him on the chin and the chest.
Sliding down to the floor next to Ianto, Jack gingerly kissed the younger man as he rubbed away the remnants of his climax. But even before the afterglow faded, it began to dawn on both of them exactly what had just happened.
“I will get rid of this, okay?” Jack said quietly as he pulled the condom off Ianto’s penis and tied the end.
After he had flushed it down the toilet, Jack came back to find Ianto dressed in his jeans on the chair with his head between his hands.
“What just happened Jack?” Ianto asked as if in a daze. Jack swallowed and took a step forward.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly as he pulled on his trousers.
“I didn’t even think about… I mean it never even occurred to me…” Ianto choked on his words, as guilt gripped his windpipe. That was all the impetus Jack needed before he shook Ianto by the shoulders.
“Stop. Don’t say it..”
“What do you mean don’t say it?!” Ianto exploded, shoving Jack backwards. “Do you realise what we just did?”
Ianto got up so quickly it made his head swim, but Jack caught him as he stumbled backwards.
“Calm down Ianto,” Jack said softly. Ianto glared at the captain, his grey-blue eyes stormy.
“I am not going to calm down Jack,” Ianto spat. “What came over us? Why did we do this?”
“I don’t know! If I did, I would tell you,” Jack turned Ianto by the shoulders so he could look him square in the eye.
“Maybe it was because we both needed comfort. Maybe its because I am just so damn attracted to you. But I really don’t know why so stop asking!”
Jack was the one that was angry now causing Ianto to bow his head.
“What I do know however, is that I don’t want this to stop,” Jack said quietly, but his words carried a steely edge of determination. Ianto’s head jerked up, his lips twisted in a scowl.
“What? The sex,” Ianto said sarcastically.
“Yes, the sex, but its not just that,” Jack’s anger petered out as he pulled Ianto back down to the chair.
“It’s the connection Ianto, it’s our friendship,” Jack added sadly.
“But I won’t lie and say that I don’t want you again. And I won’t lie and tell you that if you walk away, I can remain your friend. Because I can’t, so don’t ask me. But I can’t force you to do something you don’t want to.”
Jack knelt at Ianto’s feet and took his hand. “So tell me Ianto, do you want this to end?”
For a moment Ianto just contemplated Jack’s thumb rubbing circles on the top of his knuckles. Jack’s touch….Jack’s presence…could he really let that go?
Ianto took a deep breath and slowly raised his gaze to meet Jack’s.
“No…” he answered, wrapping his arms around Jack’s neck to kiss him. Jack kissed him back as he guided him towards the guest bedroom.
It was another hour before Ianto finally made it home.
***
Chapter Four