Fic: I Won't Send Roses

[mrssjw]

Title: I Won't Send Roses
By:
mrssjw

Length: Lotsa Scrolls (2,253 words)
Genre: Romance (Slightly fluffy)
Rating: PG-13 (ish)
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Jack/Ianto
Series: Candlelight and Weevils

Spoilers: Nothing too big, a slight mention of Gwen's revelation in KKBB, and one for the fact that Jack was gone, and who he was with.

Setting: Set during Series 2 of TW; after Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, but before Adrift.

Summary: Jack wants to do something special for Ianto, and sets out to show him just what sort of man he can be.

A/N: This one is dedicated to Michelle from TW:NSY!G who has stated that everyone needs a little romance and aliens! Hopefully, this helps make up for 'that scene' in Adrift! ^_^

“What’s all this?” Ianto asked, his step hesitating on the threshold to Jack’s office. Jack looked up from his task. He’d gone with a pair of khaki slacks and a royal blue dress shirt, open at the throat, and Ianto had to swallow past the sudden urge to throw himself at the Captain. Jack smiled, his teeth gleaming brightly in the scattered candlelight.
“This is for you…”

“What?” Ianto asked, clearly out of his element, and Jack chuckled.

“Your quick mind and clever turn of phrase never cease to amaze me.” Taking a step closer to the confused Welshman, Jack let his sarcasm bridge the gap between them. It was exactly what Ianto needed to regain his composure, and Jack knew it. He came to a stop directly in front of the younger man, about an arm’s length away. A sound, music, Ianto realized, was playing quietly in the background, and just as quietly, Jack began to sing along.

“I won’t send roses, or hold the door.
I won’t remember what suit you wore…”

Ianto met Jack half way, and the Captain took a deep breath, offering Ianto a hand. As he pulled the other man into his arms, he began to move them slowly to the music.

“My heart is too much in control
The lack of romance in my soul
Will turn you grey, kid
So stay away, kid…”

Ianto couldn’t help but smile at the serenade. It was so Jack…

“Forget my shoulder
When you're in need
Forgetting birthdays
Is guaranteed
And should I love you, you would be
The last to know
I won't send roses
And roses suit you so…”

Even though he knew he was being warned, Ianto rested his chin on Jack’s shoulder. They hadn’t said more than three lines to one another, but the song seemed to speak for Jack. Ianto knew he didn’t want to let go and allowed his weight to sink him further into Jack’s embrace.

“My pace is frantic
My temper's cross
With words romantic
I'm at a loss
I'd be the first one to agree
That I'm preoccupied with me…”

Ianto chuckled, and Jack ran a hand down his back in a manner that was both soothing and somehow possessive.

“And it's inbred, kid
So keep your head, kid
In me you'll find things
Like guts and nerve
But not the kind of things
That you deserve
And so while there's a fighting chance
Just turn and go…”

Jack pulled back and met Ianto’s gaze. He was willing to back off if he had to… okay, so maybe willing wasn’t the right word, but he didn’t want to push Ianto… this was too important. Ianto met his look, eye for an eye, and didn’t seem to be making any movements toward the door.

“I won't send roses
And roses suit you so…”

Jack let his voice fade out along with the end of the song and seemed to be waiting for Ianto to respond. At a loss for words, Ianto took a deep breath and leaned in.

His lips met Jack’s, trembling slightly. Jack sighed, as if he’d been holding his breath, worried that Ianto may have refused. The kiss was tender and sincere, undemanding; an unspoken agreement that more pleasures would follow. Jack was the first to pull away; he was trying very hard not to rush things.

He slowly released Ianto and stepped over to his desk. Ianto glanced around the office as Jack opened the bottle of wine that had been chilling. Every available surface had been covered with a variety of candles.

Candles of every shape, color and size could be seen, and Ianto wondered if there were any candles left in the whole of Cardiff, as every single one appeared to be in Jack’s office. A glass of rich burgundy wine was offered to him, and Ianto took a quick sip, enjoying the way Jack’s eyes darkened when he licked a droplet from his lips.

“Jack, what’s all this for?” Ianto had to ask, his voice a deeper timbre than usual.

“It’s for you.” Jack repeated, and Ianto shook his head.

“No, I mean, why?” This was what was most confusing, “Why all the candles and music and wine? It’s not as if this is our first time, and you have to seduce me or anything.” But now Jack was shaking his head.

“That’s different. It was different before… before I left. That was sex.”

“How is this different?” Jack sighed and set his glass down on the desk, coming over to Ianto and resting a hand on his cheek.

“This is making love.” He whispered.

Ianto could swear there was a heater on in the room, and that the pounding noise in his head was a passing bass drum. It couldn’t possibly be because Jack was looking at him with such a soulful look that he was blushing and his heart raced. It couldn’t possibly be the fact that he wanted nothing more than to completely give in to the gentle touch on his face and allow Jack to steer them down to the floor.

It couldn’t possibly be because he loved this man beyond all reason, and wanted to spend the rest of his days by his side.

It couldn’t possibly be any of those things, Ianto told himself. He wasn’t the type to give in to random desires, and while Jack had certainly opened his eyes and mind to new and exciting things, there wasn’t anything that would lead Ianto to believe that he and Jack had any kind of future together. There was too much unsaid between them, and if Jack wanted a shag, he didn’t have to resort to candles and crooning. He should know by now that all he had to do was smile in that way, and Ianto was proverbial putty.

“You don’t have to do this.” Ianto insisted, trying to ignore the scream of agony that his heart gave as he stepped back from the handsome Captain. Jack huffed out a breath, then smiled at Ianto.

“You really are just so damned infuriating, you know that?” When Ianto didn’t say anything, Jack shook his head. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe I want to do this?”

“Jack, if you want a shag…” he started to say, but Jack cut him off.

“No, Ianto. I don’t. I want you.” The emotion was thick in Jack’s eyes and voice, and Ianto had to take a deep swallow of his wine.

“Why?” The question was wavering and as soon as he asked it, Ianto wished he hadn’t. He really didn’t want to hear about Jack’s feelings of guilt for abandoning them, and running off with his Doctor. He didn’t want to know that now that Gwen was permanently off-limits, Ianto was looking like a better alternative.

He didn’t want to hear it, and that’s why he set the glass down behind Jack, and cut off his words with a fierce kiss. Not one to turn down a willing partner, Jack became actively involved with removing Ianto’s suit jacket and waistcoat.

Ianto ground out a rough sound, and pressed Jack’s hips hard into his own, demanding, and pleading. Jack was startled by the animalistic fervor that seemed to have taken Ianto by storm. He couldn’t deny that he was enjoying it. After all, a gorgeous, eager young man who wanted to tear his clothing off and have his way with him?

Jack was startled, but not stupid. Once he had successfully divested the Welshman of his shirt and tie, Jack slid his hands down Ianto’s back to cup his bum. He drew back on his kisses, making an effort at slowing things down. He didn’t want to move too quickly and end up ruining the evening he had planned. He stepped back from Ianto, earning him a deep-throated growl of disapproval from the other man.

Smiling slightly, Jack pressed his hands against Ianto’s bare torso. Stumbling back a quick step, the younger man lost his footing, and Jack caught him about the waist, lowering him to the pile of pillows laid out behind him. Slowly, caressingly, Jack showed Ianto his feelings in an easy, decadent way. Words could not find room between the emotive play of their facial expressions, as desires increased and passions were met with love.

*~&~*

Ianto rolled on his side somewhere in the early morning hours, and he looked across the room. Jack had slipped away from his side moments ago, which had woken him. Currently, the Captain was in the process of putting out all the candles. The flames guttered low in their holders, showing the progression of time, and Ianto smiled at how damn sexy Jack was.

He hadn’t bothered to get dressed, and was standing nude in the diminishing light. Quietly, Ianto got to his feet, and crept up behind Jack as he bent slightly to blow out another candle.

“Thanks.” He said simply, wrapping his arms around Jack from behind, and Jack settled himself back into Ianto’s embrace, holding a hand over his lover’s.

“Don’t thank me, Yan…” he murmured, “This is something we should have done a long time ago.”

“Jack,” Ianto turned Jack to face him and kissed him warmly, “I’m glad that we waited as long as we did. I wouldn’t have had the full appreciation of it otherwise.”

As Jack’s bright blue eyes met Ianto’s smoky blue, there was a sudden crackling electricity that flared between them. Jack gave Ianto a devilish grin, and dragged him back to the pile of pillows and blankets.

“Maybe you can demonstrate that appreciation, then.”

*~&~*

Jack wasn’t sure when it had happened, but he had actually managed to drift off to sleep at some point during the wee hours of the morning. He discovered this fact when he rolled over and opened his eyes. It was brighter outside the office windows than it had been when he’d closed them, and therefore more time had passed than he’d meant to. He glanced around, suddenly realizing that he was not only waking up, but that he was waking up alone.

Ianto had left him a note however. It was sitting on the pillow that Ianto had slept on, and used the cork from their shared bottle of wine as a paper weight. Frowning slightly, Jack lifted the note, and read the tidy, masculine scrawl that he recognized from years of archive records and forms.

Jack,

I’m not too far, so before you start to worry, don’t. I just went to take a shower, and put the coffee on. The others will be in soon, and I didn’t want to wake you.

After all, you had a busy night. ☺

Yours,
Ianto

Jack grinned at the cheeky little smiley face, and rolled to his feet. Maybe if he could get down to the showers before the rest of the team got in…but no, it was too late.

He could hear the cog-wheel door sliding open and the sound of Tosh and Owen bickering. He sighed and headed back to his bunk. He’d need fresh clothing, for a start.

After that, well, who knows, maybe he could sneak in and see Ianto getting dressed before the others realized that he wasn’t already at the coffee machine.

Stretching languorously, Jack smiled to himself, and went to find a clean shirt.

*~&~*

Everything was rather quiet that entire day; just the odd Weevil sighting, which wasn’t even really sighting, as it was seen by a poor, terrified dog. Luckily, the dog was a fast runner, and Owen happened to be coming back from his daily walk to stop anything worse from happening.

Tosh made some headway on the latest program she was working on, and Gwen managed to track down some suspicious looking articles of alien tech, that turned out to be the melted pieces of a kid’s science fair project.

Owen stayed out of everyone’s way, for a change, and instead spent the majority of the day trying to sneak out of the Hub. Eventually, everyone “happened” to look the other way long enough for him to leave, and Ianto chuckled softly as he did.

As for Jack and Ianto, Jack kept trying to corner Ianto, and Ianto allowed it a few times, before laughingly pushing Jack back in the direction of his office, telling him sternly, but with a twinkle in his eye, to ‘get back to something more productive than stalking’.

All in all, the day passed by smoothly, and by the time the end of the day rolled around, everyone felt rather good about things. Jack kissed Ianto good night passionately, but let the Welshman go home and get a change of clothing. He wouldn’t be leaving the Hub for a couple days, Jack had told him, and Ianto made sure to pack accordingly.

The next morning, Ianto came in to work, and was surprised to find Gwen, Tosh, and Owen all gathered around his desk, giggling like schoolchildren.

“What’s going on here?” Ianto asked suspiciously. He didn’t want this to be a repeat of the last time, when they had all conspired to change the Hub screensavers to an inappropriate picture of a scantily clad young lady.

Gwen stepped back so that Ianto could see his desk, and what stood on it.

A vase, filled and overflowing with red roses. Ianto smiled slightly, and reached for the card, already having a pretty good idea of where they had come from.

This is for you.

Yours always,
Jack