This Mess We're In 10/?
Title: This Mess We're In
Rating: R for series
Paring/Characters: Whole team, Jack/Ianto
Summary: Completely AU. Ianto Jones works as a secretary for an ad agency based in Cardiff, spending his days making coffee and fending off the continuous advances from his boss, Jack. He tells himself it's because he's not interested in the man, but deep down he knows theres much more to it than that...
Thanks to my beta mjswrtings for checking this over.
A/N This fic now has a banner :) Made by the wonderful seether_79.
Ianto woke to find himself alone for the second time that morning.
He sat up with a groan, back cricking painfully as he stretched his arms out above his head and swung his legs over the edge of the sofa bed. Glancing over to the side that had once been occupied by Jack, he found a yellow post-it note attached to the pillow.
Had to get to work early, didn’t want to disturb you. I’ll pick up coffee on my way in, so no need to rush. Take the morning off if you like and I’ll see you later.
Jack
Xxx
Ianto smiled and neatly folded the note, tucking it into his trouser pocket as he tugged them over his legs. The smell of toast wafted through from the kitchen and Ianto felt his stomach rumble as he tried to remember the last time he’d eaten. Quickly slipping into his shirt, he padded through to the kitchen to see Tosh.
“Morning!” She greeted him cheerfully, pulling a chair out at the table and placing a large plate of toast in the middle. “Come and eat, I’ve made a bit too much I think.”
Ianto beamed and rushed over to the table, piling three pieces of toast up on his plate. He smothered the first one in jam, folded it in half and devoured it in four bites.
“Someone’s hungry,” Tosh smiled and sat in the seat opposite, spreading a thin layer of butter across her own piece. Ianto tried for a smile around a huge mouthful of toast and gestured to the fridge with a raised eyebrow.
“Go ahead,” She told him, taking a small bite from her slice, “tea’s in the pot if you want it.”
Ianto stood, taking his plate with him and moved over to pour the tea, glancing at the time on his watch for the first time that morning.
“Fuck!”
Tosh whirled around, startled. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s ten o’clock!” Ianto exclaimed, leaving the remains of his breakfast on the countertop and hurrying back down the hallway. Tosh rolled her eyes and followed, calling after him.
“Jack said we could take the morning off, didn’t you get the note?!”
Ianto stared at her as if she’d grown another head. “That doesn’t mean actually take the morning off, Tosh. Have you seen what happens to the office when I’m not there?!” He shook his head and raced off up the stairs, hurriedly doing up his shirt buttons as he went.
Tosh heaved a sigh and leant against the banister. “I’m sure you’ve got five minutes to finish breakfast, Ianto,” she said as he returned fully dressed moments later, jacket slung over his shoulder.
“That’s another five minutes for Jack or Owen to wreak havoc in the kitchenette, I’m not taking any chances.” He pushed past her back into the kitchen, cramming another piece of toast into his mouth for the journey. He came back to find Tosh still stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching him with a frown.
“What?”
“Nothing...” she chewed on her lower lip hesitantly, “just, are you sure you’re okay to walk there?” Ianto rolled his eyes and waved off her concern.
“I’ll be fine, Tosh. It’s not far.” He moved over to the door, hand hovering above the handle as he turned back to smile at her. “Although... If you wanted to walk with me, I’m sure I wouldn’t complain.”
Tosh grinned and dashed off down the hallway. “I’ll just get my coat.”
*
They spent the walk mostly in silence, Tosh occasionally breaking it to comment on the weather or something she saw on television. She purposely avoided the topic of Jack or Ianto’s stalkers, since Ianto seemed to be doing a fine job of panicking already. She watched as his eyes darted back and forth, peering around corners and down alleyways, twitching each time someone came up behind them. Tosh couldn’t really blame him for being a little nervous after everything that had happened, but when she noticed his hands start to shake as they made their way down the high street, she decided it was time for a subject change.
“Y’know,” She began, nudging him in the side with a small devilish grin, “I haven’t seen you smoke for a while.”
Ianto blinked and turned to face her, his hands automatically going to his pockets where he knew he had a pack of ten stashed away.
“So?”
“You always said you’d quit once something better came along,” she smiled and poked him in the arm, “I bet you didn’t smoke last night either.”
Ianto shrugged. “I had a lot on my mind last night, I didn’t have time.”
“If you’d had time though--”
“Yeah, well I didn’t.” Ianto snapped defensively. He hated to admit it, but Tosh was right. He hadn’t smoked once while he’d been with Jack and he knew there was a good reason for that; he’d had a distraction. He’d been distracted. Not only that, but it had been a good distraction.
Turning back to Tosh, he found her staring at him, confusion evident in her face. His expression softened and he reached out to squeeze her arm.
“Sorry, I’m just a bit... on edge.”
“You don’t say,” said Tosh, smirking as they reached the office building and walked through the automatic doors. Ianto calmed down a little at the thought of seeing Jack and pulled Tosh into a firm hug as they stepped into the lift, ignoring the other passengers.
“Thanks, Tosh. I do appreciate this,” He whispered, aware that the two women stood behind them could hear everything he said. Tosh blushed a little at the praise, but gave him a small nod of acknowledgement before he stepped out at his floor.
“Have a good day, Ianto.” She called after him as the doors closed. Ianto exhaled a long breath and adjusted his tie, as he did every morning. This morning was going to be very different though. He swallowed and tried to ignore the picture his mind was painting of him walking into the office and twenty six knowing pairs of eyes instantly boring into his back. The thought made his stomach churn and it took every ounce of courage in him just to take another step.
He knew he was being stupid really, that the others couldn’t possibly know about him and Jack. Jack wouldn’t have said anything, would he?
He didn’t have a lot of time to ponder that thought, as it was at that moment Owen came bustling through the door, yelling orders at the new student intern who was balancing four books on one arm and struggling to keep up behind him. Owen stopped dead when he noticed Ianto and gestured over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
“The boyfriend wants to see you,” he told him, sniggering as he watched Ianto’s face pale, “I wouldn’t keep him waiting or you might not get shagged tonight.”
It took a few moments for those words to click with Ianto, but when they did he scowled and stormed past Owen into the office, heading straight towards Jack’s office to give him a piece of his mind. He could handle Tosh or even Gwen making snarky comments, but he wasn’t going to take it from Owen fucking Harper.
Ignoring his co-workers, he walked right up to Jack’s office and swung the door open, expecting to find Jack sat behind his desk with a mug of terrible coffee in hand. Instead, he was met by four pairs of eyes; Jack sat in the middle of them reading from what was likely an incredibly important document. He paused at the commotion and glanced up, mouth curving upwards into a smile at the sight of Ianto.
“Morning, Ianto,” he greeted him, biting back a laugh at the adorable flush that was rapidly making its way up the younger mans neck, “were you after something?”
Ianto plastered on a fake smile and slowly retreated out the room. “Uh... Nothing that can’t wait, sir,” he said, taking the last step out the door with a polite nod to three men in suits sat around the desk. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Jack stood and cleared his throat to address his clients. “Will you excuse me a second?”
The men all grumbled a reply and Jack quickly dashed over to the door, stepping out in front of Ianto and pulling it shut behind them. He took Ianto’s arm and led him down the corridor until they reached the stationary cupboard, tugging him inside before anyone in the office noticed. As soon as the door was shut and locked, Ianto turned on Jack, anger overcoming his initial embarrassment.
“What the fuck have you told Owen?!” He demanded, folding his arms across his chest in an act of defiance. Jack raised his hand to seek out Ianto’s, but dropped it back to his side almost instantly when he caught the look on the other man’s face. Sighing, he settled for stepping closer and leaning against one of the shelf units, hip just brushing against Ianto’s.
“I’m sorry,” he began, placing one leg either side of Ianto’s so the younger man had no choice but to stand between them. “It just sort of... slipped out earlier. He was teasing me, really pushing his luck. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Damn right you weren’t thinking!” Ianto retorted angrily. “This is going to be all over the office by the end of today. Did you even take that into consideration?!”
Jack bit his lip, eyes dropping to the floor. “I really am sorry. But... isn’t it better this way? Y’know, things all out in the open?”
“Maybe for you, Jack. You’re the boss; no one would dare say a word to you.”
“And they won’t tease you either.” Jack insisted, pushing himself up to pull Ianto to him. Ianto went reluctantly, clinging loosely on to Jack’s braces. “If anyone says a word to you about it, they’ve got me to deal with. That includes whatever Owen said to you this morning.”
Ianto huffed into Jack’s shoulder, but felt his earlier anger rapidly fading. Jack seemed to notice and chanced a quick kiss to Ianto’s cheek, rubbing his hands soothingly down the other mans back.
“Will you stay behind tonight?” He asked eventually when it was clear Ianto had nothing left to say. He felt Ianto grin into his neck and pulled back to look him in the eye, bringing one hand up to cup his jaw. “What?”
“You think I’m going to go ahead with the plans we made last night after your behaviour this morning?” Ianto’s tone was serious, but the tiny twitch of his lips gave the game away. Still, Jack was all for games. He’d played enough of them to get to where they were now.
“Well, maybe this will convince you.” Jack grinned and licked a stripe up Ianto’s neck, nibbling on his ear as he trailed a hand down towards his belt. Ianto stopped him with a hand on his wrist before he could take it any further, calmly stepping out of reach.
“I’m afraid it will take a bit more than that, sir, and I believe you have a meeting to attend to first.” He straightened up and adjusted his suit before stepping over Jack to reach the door. “I have some forms for you to sign this afternoon too. That gives you,” he paused and glanced at his watch, “approximately three hours to decide how you’re going to make this up to me.”
Jacks gawping went ignored by Ianto, who dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hand as he stepped out the door, pausing only once in the doorway to say,
“Good luck, sir.”
*
A/N2 Definitely not just a build up to smut. Except that it is.
Rating: R for series
Paring/Characters: Whole team, Jack/Ianto
Summary: Completely AU. Ianto Jones works as a secretary for an ad agency based in Cardiff, spending his days making coffee and fending off the continuous advances from his boss, Jack. He tells himself it's because he's not interested in the man, but deep down he knows theres much more to it than that...
Thanks to my beta mjswrtings for checking this over.
A/N This fic now has a banner :) Made by the wonderful seether_79.
Ianto woke to find himself alone for the second time that morning.
He sat up with a groan, back cricking painfully as he stretched his arms out above his head and swung his legs over the edge of the sofa bed. Glancing over to the side that had once been occupied by Jack, he found a yellow post-it note attached to the pillow.
Had to get to work early, didn’t want to disturb you. I’ll pick up coffee on my way in, so no need to rush. Take the morning off if you like and I’ll see you later.
Jack
Xxx
Ianto smiled and neatly folded the note, tucking it into his trouser pocket as he tugged them over his legs. The smell of toast wafted through from the kitchen and Ianto felt his stomach rumble as he tried to remember the last time he’d eaten. Quickly slipping into his shirt, he padded through to the kitchen to see Tosh.
“Morning!” She greeted him cheerfully, pulling a chair out at the table and placing a large plate of toast in the middle. “Come and eat, I’ve made a bit too much I think.”
Ianto beamed and rushed over to the table, piling three pieces of toast up on his plate. He smothered the first one in jam, folded it in half and devoured it in four bites.
“Someone’s hungry,” Tosh smiled and sat in the seat opposite, spreading a thin layer of butter across her own piece. Ianto tried for a smile around a huge mouthful of toast and gestured to the fridge with a raised eyebrow.
“Go ahead,” She told him, taking a small bite from her slice, “tea’s in the pot if you want it.”
Ianto stood, taking his plate with him and moved over to pour the tea, glancing at the time on his watch for the first time that morning.
“Fuck!”
Tosh whirled around, startled. “What’s the matter?”
“It’s ten o’clock!” Ianto exclaimed, leaving the remains of his breakfast on the countertop and hurrying back down the hallway. Tosh rolled her eyes and followed, calling after him.
“Jack said we could take the morning off, didn’t you get the note?!”
Ianto stared at her as if she’d grown another head. “That doesn’t mean actually take the morning off, Tosh. Have you seen what happens to the office when I’m not there?!” He shook his head and raced off up the stairs, hurriedly doing up his shirt buttons as he went.
Tosh heaved a sigh and leant against the banister. “I’m sure you’ve got five minutes to finish breakfast, Ianto,” she said as he returned fully dressed moments later, jacket slung over his shoulder.
“That’s another five minutes for Jack or Owen to wreak havoc in the kitchenette, I’m not taking any chances.” He pushed past her back into the kitchen, cramming another piece of toast into his mouth for the journey. He came back to find Tosh still stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching him with a frown.
“What?”
“Nothing...” she chewed on her lower lip hesitantly, “just, are you sure you’re okay to walk there?” Ianto rolled his eyes and waved off her concern.
“I’ll be fine, Tosh. It’s not far.” He moved over to the door, hand hovering above the handle as he turned back to smile at her. “Although... If you wanted to walk with me, I’m sure I wouldn’t complain.”
Tosh grinned and dashed off down the hallway. “I’ll just get my coat.”
*
They spent the walk mostly in silence, Tosh occasionally breaking it to comment on the weather or something she saw on television. She purposely avoided the topic of Jack or Ianto’s stalkers, since Ianto seemed to be doing a fine job of panicking already. She watched as his eyes darted back and forth, peering around corners and down alleyways, twitching each time someone came up behind them. Tosh couldn’t really blame him for being a little nervous after everything that had happened, but when she noticed his hands start to shake as they made their way down the high street, she decided it was time for a subject change.
“Y’know,” She began, nudging him in the side with a small devilish grin, “I haven’t seen you smoke for a while.”
Ianto blinked and turned to face her, his hands automatically going to his pockets where he knew he had a pack of ten stashed away.
“So?”
“You always said you’d quit once something better came along,” she smiled and poked him in the arm, “I bet you didn’t smoke last night either.”
Ianto shrugged. “I had a lot on my mind last night, I didn’t have time.”
“If you’d had time though--”
“Yeah, well I didn’t.” Ianto snapped defensively. He hated to admit it, but Tosh was right. He hadn’t smoked once while he’d been with Jack and he knew there was a good reason for that; he’d had a distraction. He’d been distracted. Not only that, but it had been a good distraction.
Turning back to Tosh, he found her staring at him, confusion evident in her face. His expression softened and he reached out to squeeze her arm.
“Sorry, I’m just a bit... on edge.”
“You don’t say,” said Tosh, smirking as they reached the office building and walked through the automatic doors. Ianto calmed down a little at the thought of seeing Jack and pulled Tosh into a firm hug as they stepped into the lift, ignoring the other passengers.
“Thanks, Tosh. I do appreciate this,” He whispered, aware that the two women stood behind them could hear everything he said. Tosh blushed a little at the praise, but gave him a small nod of acknowledgement before he stepped out at his floor.
“Have a good day, Ianto.” She called after him as the doors closed. Ianto exhaled a long breath and adjusted his tie, as he did every morning. This morning was going to be very different though. He swallowed and tried to ignore the picture his mind was painting of him walking into the office and twenty six knowing pairs of eyes instantly boring into his back. The thought made his stomach churn and it took every ounce of courage in him just to take another step.
He knew he was being stupid really, that the others couldn’t possibly know about him and Jack. Jack wouldn’t have said anything, would he?
He didn’t have a lot of time to ponder that thought, as it was at that moment Owen came bustling through the door, yelling orders at the new student intern who was balancing four books on one arm and struggling to keep up behind him. Owen stopped dead when he noticed Ianto and gestured over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
“The boyfriend wants to see you,” he told him, sniggering as he watched Ianto’s face pale, “I wouldn’t keep him waiting or you might not get shagged tonight.”
It took a few moments for those words to click with Ianto, but when they did he scowled and stormed past Owen into the office, heading straight towards Jack’s office to give him a piece of his mind. He could handle Tosh or even Gwen making snarky comments, but he wasn’t going to take it from Owen fucking Harper.
Ignoring his co-workers, he walked right up to Jack’s office and swung the door open, expecting to find Jack sat behind his desk with a mug of terrible coffee in hand. Instead, he was met by four pairs of eyes; Jack sat in the middle of them reading from what was likely an incredibly important document. He paused at the commotion and glanced up, mouth curving upwards into a smile at the sight of Ianto.
“Morning, Ianto,” he greeted him, biting back a laugh at the adorable flush that was rapidly making its way up the younger mans neck, “were you after something?”
Ianto plastered on a fake smile and slowly retreated out the room. “Uh... Nothing that can’t wait, sir,” he said, taking the last step out the door with a polite nod to three men in suits sat around the desk. “Sorry to interrupt.”
Jack stood and cleared his throat to address his clients. “Will you excuse me a second?”
The men all grumbled a reply and Jack quickly dashed over to the door, stepping out in front of Ianto and pulling it shut behind them. He took Ianto’s arm and led him down the corridor until they reached the stationary cupboard, tugging him inside before anyone in the office noticed. As soon as the door was shut and locked, Ianto turned on Jack, anger overcoming his initial embarrassment.
“What the fuck have you told Owen?!” He demanded, folding his arms across his chest in an act of defiance. Jack raised his hand to seek out Ianto’s, but dropped it back to his side almost instantly when he caught the look on the other man’s face. Sighing, he settled for stepping closer and leaning against one of the shelf units, hip just brushing against Ianto’s.
“I’m sorry,” he began, placing one leg either side of Ianto’s so the younger man had no choice but to stand between them. “It just sort of... slipped out earlier. He was teasing me, really pushing his luck. I wasn’t thinking.”
“Damn right you weren’t thinking!” Ianto retorted angrily. “This is going to be all over the office by the end of today. Did you even take that into consideration?!”
Jack bit his lip, eyes dropping to the floor. “I really am sorry. But... isn’t it better this way? Y’know, things all out in the open?”
“Maybe for you, Jack. You’re the boss; no one would dare say a word to you.”
“And they won’t tease you either.” Jack insisted, pushing himself up to pull Ianto to him. Ianto went reluctantly, clinging loosely on to Jack’s braces. “If anyone says a word to you about it, they’ve got me to deal with. That includes whatever Owen said to you this morning.”
Ianto huffed into Jack’s shoulder, but felt his earlier anger rapidly fading. Jack seemed to notice and chanced a quick kiss to Ianto’s cheek, rubbing his hands soothingly down the other mans back.
“Will you stay behind tonight?” He asked eventually when it was clear Ianto had nothing left to say. He felt Ianto grin into his neck and pulled back to look him in the eye, bringing one hand up to cup his jaw. “What?”
“You think I’m going to go ahead with the plans we made last night after your behaviour this morning?” Ianto’s tone was serious, but the tiny twitch of his lips gave the game away. Still, Jack was all for games. He’d played enough of them to get to where they were now.
“Well, maybe this will convince you.” Jack grinned and licked a stripe up Ianto’s neck, nibbling on his ear as he trailed a hand down towards his belt. Ianto stopped him with a hand on his wrist before he could take it any further, calmly stepping out of reach.
“I’m afraid it will take a bit more than that, sir, and I believe you have a meeting to attend to first.” He straightened up and adjusted his suit before stepping over Jack to reach the door. “I have some forms for you to sign this afternoon too. That gives you,” he paused and glanced at his watch, “approximately three hours to decide how you’re going to make this up to me.”
Jacks gawping went ignored by Ianto, who dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hand as he stepped out the door, pausing only once in the doorway to say,
“Good luck, sir.”
*
A/N2 Definitely not just a build up to smut. Except that it is.