[RL with Jack and Ianto] Backdated to the Three's Company Virus

[akihiko_sanada]

Akihiko snuggled up close to one of his lovers, buried in warm blankets and sandwiched between them. The bed at the Hub wasn't quite large enough for three people, but somehow they managed, falling into a pile like puppies and falling asleep

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[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto was the first of the other to to wake up, which would be strange, but then if Jack actually fell asleep for real, it was a very rare moment, and he would then proceed to sleep like the dead. Ianto breathed deeply, shifting slightly, hoping that he wouldn't wake Jack earlier than he was ready, but feeling refreshed enough not to want to go back to sleep.

He squeezed Akihiko lightly. "'lo," he said quietly, propping himself up on his elbows and smiling at Akihiko sleepily. "I would say good morning, but then, I'm not sure exactly what time it is at the moment. My watch..." he motioned to the small bedside table on the other side of Jack.

[capt_greatcoat]

Jack shook his head, smiling in disbelief. "No," Jack said firmly. "I let the two of you go home." He had wanted to jump Ianto right then and there, when he'd finished locking up their newest Weevil, standing there with his hair all mussed and his suit all ruined, out of breath from wrangling the creature into the cell. But Jack didn't want Akihiko to feel left out, and Ianto was tired enough to not be able to take a hint, so he'd sent them home.

The look on Jack's face made something in Ianto's stomach twist dangerously. Jack really didn't remember. "Jack," he said, his face still awash in disbelief, "what happened? Why can't you remember?"

Jack sighed. He could see that the two of them were more than a little bit hurt that he couldn't remember any sort of relationship with Akihiko. "Fine," he said. "If this really happened, then tell me something that you wouldn't know unless you'd slept with me."

[akihiko_sanada]

Akihiko knew it had to be a virus, and that there was nothing really to worry about. There was no need to feel hurt that Jack didn't remember. But it still hurt.

Desperate to convince his lover of the truth, he thought hard. "Well...how about this?" he asked, sorting through the myriad of little details he did know, trying to come up with something good. "Ianto likes to...to use full windsor knots in bed."

Surely no one else would know that. He hadn't even known what to call it before Ianto told him. Though, just to be sure, he added something personal to Jack himself.

"And you don't fall asleep nearly so fast if you haven't got a warm body to curl around," he added.

He wasn't sure he'd ever stop blushing.

[capt_greatcoat]

"Damn," Jack said. The sleeping bit he'd probably be able to pry out of Ianto if he'd liquored him up enough, but the knot? Jack knew Ianto wouldn't ever share said information aloud, which could only mean he'd been with Ianto. And since Ianto had strict moral codes about these things, he wouldn't be sleeping around behind Jack's back, and since he and Jack obviously still had something going on, that would mean...

"A virus, then?" Jack asked. "A virus from the community could do something like this?" He leaned forward, and kissed Ianto. After a moment, he leant back, breaking it off. "I definitely remember that. But..." He trailed off, turning to look at Akihiko, before leaning forward and kissing him as well.

It wasn't tentative--nothing Jack did sexually ever really was, anymore--but it was definitely unfamiliar. Nice, and obviously Akihiko'd learned a few tricks of the trade somewhere, but unfamiliar nonetheless.

[akihiko_sanada]

Yet to Akihiko, it was as familiar as anything could be. He wound his arms around Jack's neck, pressed close, willed him to remember as he used every trick Jack had tought him and everything he knew Jack loved best.

But even as the kiss ended, he knew it hadn't made a difference. Jack didn't remember.

Sometimes the community really annoyed Akihiko.

"You...really don't remember," he said miserably.

[capt_greatcoat]

"I'm sorry," he said, "I really don't remember. I wish I could tell you that it's just a big hoax, then we could all have a laugh about it, but."

Jack brought his hands up to cup Akihiko's face. He felt pretty terrible about the situation--it would be one thing to forget both of them, but to just forget one of his lovers...

"Hey," he said, gently moving Akihiko's head to look him directly in the eyes. "We'll get to the bottom of this. There's gotta be some way to fix this, right?"

[akihiko_sanada]

Akihiko gazed up at Jack with utter trust in his eyes. He knew Jack wasn't doing this because he didn't like him, or because he didn't want to be with him. Jack cared about him, that was obvious.

"I don't know if there's a way to fix it," he said unhappily. "If it's a virus, it'll go away, though."

He hesitated. "Jack... do you want to remember? I mean, is it okay with you that we're together?"

[capt_greatcoat]

Jack shrugged. "I'm not opposed to the idea of being with you, and I'd be lying if I said that I'd never thought about it before. But..." He paused. "Don't take this the wrong way, but it'd entirely have to be up to Ianto."

"Me?" Ianto asked, surprised that suddenly the focus had switched to him.

"Yeah," Jack replied. "Like it or not, I remember being in a relationship only with you. And I know you have your rules about these things, and I respect that." Jack wouldn't want to ruin the best relationship he'd had in a long time based on an uncertainty.

"Don't you get it though, Jack? I've already agreed to this. Months ago." Ianto's face seemed to be stuck in a permanent frown.

[akihiko_sanada]

Akihiko was incredibly relived to hear Jack say that. It wasn't dissimilar to the way things had been when they first got together, though Akihiko was sure more conversations had taken place that he wasn't privy to.

He shifted slightly and laid down, letting Jack and Ianto talk without his big head in the way. If Jack felt like he needed to discuss this with Ianto before he'd feel comfortable with it - well, he wouldn't be Jack if he didn't. That was okay.

[capt_greatcoat]

Jack was honestly a bit surprised that Ianto would agree to a three-way relationship. Then again, Ianto always had seemed to be a man out of his time, although sometimes Jack wondered if Ianto would fit in better in Jack's own 51st century, or in the past where he could fulfill his servantly desires to his heart's content.

Jack sent Ianto a look that he hoped expressed everything that even he felt would be saying too much in front of Akihiko.

Ianto's expression softened. Jack really was trying, and none of them could help the situation that they were placed in. "Really, Jack," Ianto reassured him, "it was almost my idea in the first place." This got Jack's attention. "You joked about us all showering together one day, to save water. We just agreed." He smiled slightly. "Had no idea what I was thinking at the time, but it turned out more than alright in the end, though, right?" He directed the question at Akihiko, so he wouldn't feel left out of the conversation entirely.

[akihiko_sanada]

Akihiko saw the look, too, and had to repress a sigh. Jack wasn't going for it, was he?

"Yeah, yeah, it was really all right," he said unhappily.

Decisively, he made to climb out of bed, wriggling down off the foot so he wouldn't dislodge either Jack or Ianto or have to climb over either of them. "Think I'm going to go for a run," he said distractedly, searching for his clothes.

He just couldn't stay here anymore. Maybe Jack would come around, or maybe they should just wait until the virus wore off. He didn't want to make things awkward, and it was obvious that Jack wasn't just going to dive back in and trust what they said.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Jack followed Akihiko with his eyes, but it was Ianto who moved after him.

"Akihiko, wait," he said, climbing out after him, catching Akihiko's hand as he distractedly went about trying to locate his clothes in the pile on the floor. He pulled Akihiko's hand up to place it on his chest and hold it there, while he reached his other hand out to cup Akihiko's cheek. He hoped Akihiko could feel his heart racing as much as Ianto himself could.

"Please," he said, his voice low so Jack would really have to strain to hear it even in this small a room. "Stay. I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on any more than you, and I'm sorry this is happening to you, but don't leave me here alone with him feeling guilty for something I have no control over. Please."

[akihiko_sanada]

Akihiko didn't resist the hold. He paused and turned towards Ianto, looking up at the other man with a pinched expression.

At Ianto's words, though, guilt flickered in his grey eyes. Ianto was right - that wasn't fair. He had thought Ianto would be better able to handle the situation, since he had known Jack longer. But it wasn't fair for him to run away.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I'll stay," he said and shifted closer. He leaned his head against Ianto's shoulder and closed his eyes, drawing strength.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Ianto put a hand on Akihiko's back, rubbing gently. He knew that nothing about this situation was easy for the younger man, but that they needed to face it together, rather than run away like they usually were wont to do. "Thank you," he murmured quietly, before placing a light kiss to the top of Akihiko's head.

Jack watched on quietly from the bed. He felt it wasn't really his place to butt in in their moment. There was definitely something between Ianto and Akihiko, and more and more, Jack felt sorry that he had forgotten what they had apparently shared between the three of them.

After a moment, Ianto stepped back, keeping a hold on Akihiko's hand, though. "Right," he said. "How about a change of scenery? Maybe we need to get you out of the Hub to help you remember. We could go somewhere that would mean something to the three of us aside from work..." He searched his brain for where that could be, when it dawned on him. "Why don't the two of you come home with me?"

[akihiko_sanada]

Akihiko leaned into the embrace and sighed slightly, wishing that he would next feel what he would normally feel - Jack's strong arms slipping around both of them, completing the embrace.

Well, it would all go back to normal soon enough. He was sure of that.

He squeezed Ianto's hand tightly, and nodded at the suggestion. "Yeah, let's go somewhere together. Your place sounds like a good idea. Mine's too small, anyway. We can just spend the day together without any distractions."

He smiled hopefully at Jack.

[torchwoodteaboy]

Jack looked at the two of them for a moment more, before nodding, standing up to move and be near the other two. "It sounds like a plan, then," he said. He reached out, putting a hand on Akihiko's shoulder for a moment, in a way that he hoped would come across as both appologetic and comforting, before he turned his gaze to the floor