Log: Ianto and Jackson become friends
Who: troellwr and not-skywalker
Where: The Nexus
When: A couple of days after running into Jono
Rating: PG-13
Ianto drops down to a couch. It’s early for him, which makes it evening for most everyone else. He has a couple hours to before he has to go into work and he's been having a hard time filling these hours before work. He's got a book and his iTouch, in hopes of killing time in the Nexus, so he can at least pretend he's not alone.
Well, he isn't really alone. As it turns out, Jackson is curled up in the nearby armchair, a big bundle wrapped in a knit blanket, either napping or listening to a music player with his eyes closed. Either way, he looks disproportionately cold.
Ianto doesn't really notice him, curling up in his own chair as he settles in. He settles his headphones around the neck, before cranking the volume up. If Jackson isn't listening to the music or napping, he'll be able to hear the music. Ianto opens the book, settling in to read.
Though he had been napping, it was a light sort of napping, easily shaken out of. Jackson inhales a deep breath through his nose and wakes a little, giving Ianto a groggy look. "What's that?" he wonders fuzzily.
"Hate Me by Blue October" Ianto rattles off without really glancing up from his book.
"What does that even mean?" Jackson wonders, looking perplexed. "Is that a band?"
"Blue October is a band, Hate Me is one of their songs." Ianto explains, glancing up to see Jackson, before looking back down at his book. My Jackson is a lovely reminder of what an idiot Ianto is.
He unfolds his legs and drapes them over the arm of the chair, socked feet dangling. "I've never heard of them, but that's not saying much. What genre is that?"
"Rock," Ianto replies softly
"Jono listens to punk," Jackson says conversationally, wiggling his toes to get the odd feeling out of them after napping so oddly scrunched up in the chair. "I don't know much music from this era."
"I like it, but I freely admit that I'm likely to be biased," Ianto says.
"I like most of what I've heard. I like The Killers."
"They are pretty good," Ianto agrees with a nod.
"Am I bothering you?" he wonders, not quite sure.
"No," Ianto shakes his head, "I've just had a shitty couple of weeks."
"Yeah?" he wonders. This is definitely that jerk Ianto he talked to before, but Jackson is a pretty easy going guy. He's saving all his grudges for people like Adam and the creatures that took his brother.
Ianto nods, silently, not sure how much he wants to admit to.
"Sorry," Jackson offers, since ... well, he doesn't know.
"No, It's my own fault," Ianto says, looking up at him with sad eyes. "I'm an idiot."
"You want to talk about it?" he asks, moved by that very sad look.
"Not really, I don't really need to hear, 'I told you so'" Ianto says, giving Jackson a major clue as to what he's talking about.
"Did you talk to your friend?" he presses, tilting his head against the back of the chair to watch Ianto.
"He met someone else," Ianto says, nodding slowly.
"That's too bad."
"Yeah," Ianto say softly, "Over the last few months, I've spent less and less time with him. All while being understanding of his need to spend time with his new lover."
"Why?" he wonders. "Do you think it would be awkward? Feeling the way you do, but knowing he's with someone else?"
"We always got together on Mondays, its the one day the Hub is closed. We were doing it for a couple of months before James. Now, we haven't done anything for months, he always calls and cancels it so he can spend it with James." Ianto explains, before hanging his head. "He didn't even bother to call last time."
"Was he at least sorry?" Jackson frowns.
"He's always sorry," Ianto says, sounding bitter. "He's always sorry, I'm always pushed aside, it doesn't change."
Jackson unfurls himself from the chair and slides himself over to share the couch with Ianto, wrapping himself up in the blanket again. "Do you think he's really pushing you aside? Or do you think that you're hurt because he's with someone else?"
Ianto sighs, "It feels like it. I can understand why he spends so much time with James, because James' job takes him out of town. Its just he always says he's sorry, he always promises to make it up to me, but the next week it happens all over again." Ianto explains. "And yeah, I'm probably jealous, but how would you feel if your best friend was spending all his time with someone else and kept making bogus promises to spend more time with you?"
"It depends," Jackson answers softly, thinking about the scenario from his own perspective. What if Jono was acting that way? His smile is a little telling. Even thinking of Jono in that context makes him feel all fluttery. "I'd feel upset. Jealous, probably. But I'd do something about it. I'd tell him how I feel."
"That's your answer to everything, isn't it?" Ianto asks.
Jackson frowns. "There's nothing wrong with feelings or talking about them. There's nothing wrong with talking in general, Ianto. It's so much easier than never saying anything and always feeling slighted by people not reading your mind."
"Two weeks ago this Sunday, he told me James was out of town and we should get together the next day, like old times. I agree, because why wouldn't I want to hang out with my best friend." Ianto says slowly, "I go over on Monday, I find him trying to suck James' tongue into his mouth while getting him naked. Apparently, he didn't care enough to even call me."
"I think you're making a lot of assumptions," Jackson points out, trying to be logical about this. "Do you know he doesn't care? I mean, I know your alternate can read minds, but ... "
"He didn't bother to call," Ianto says slowly. That's really the part that hurts the most though.
"So, what did he say the next day when you saw him?"
"Not much," Ianto says, "but I was hungover."
Jackson sighs. "So ... he invited you over, may or may not have been surprised by his partner, and you caught them in the middle of foreplay. You don't know if he has a valid reason for not calling, because you went out and got drunk and were hungover the next day."
"And got fucked," Ianto adds, reluctantly.
"...and got fucked." Jackson frowns. "You didn't have sex with someone else because you were upset with him, did you?"
"Uh," Ianto scratches his head as he considers that, "I don't thinks so, I think I was too drunk to be that rational."
"But you were drinking because he upset you," Jackson points out, rather than asking.
Ianto nods a bit reluctantly.
Jackson just sighs, tilting his head against the back of the couch. "Why won't you just tell him how you feel?"
"Because he's over me now and he's... he's happy with James," Ianto says, "I don't want to mess that up."
"If he's over you and with someone else, you're not going to mess than up," he says, trying to be gentle about it. "But it would make you feel better, wouldn't it? Getting all this off your chest?"
"I... I kind of made an ass of myself," Ianto says, "A really big ass."
"...what did you do?" This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?
"Wednesday, I came in to find him having new speakers installed. He made some comment about how he was going to ask me yesterday and I pointed out that if he had his eyes on these speakers for months then he could have asked before yesterday." Ianto explains.
"Right," Jackson answers, signifying Ianto should go on.
"He managed to figure out I was upset and asked me if it was about Monday and apologized again. I told him that if he really was sorry, he'd do something to fix it."
"What did you mean by that?" Jackson wonders pointedly. "I mean ... what do you want him to do? Short of breaking it off with this other guy?"
"Spend some time with me, give me one Monday night!" Ianto says, he really didn't want that much.
"Did you tell him that? What did he say?"
"He didn't ask, he just gave me the same old reasons about why he always spends time with James," Ianto rolls his eyes, before sighing. "James is a pilot, he's not always in town. He needs to spend time with James when he's in-town. Et Cetera, et Cetera, repeat ad nauseam."
"So ... you didn't tell him that." Jackson frowns, giving Ianto a severe look.
"I think it would be pretty obvious that I wanted to spend some time with him, when I asked when was the last time we did anything."
"...but you didn't tell him," he emphasizes. "You want something. He isn't giving it to you. This is what you need to be able to continue your friendship and he doesn't seem to understand. If you're going to insinuate he doesn't care about you because he doesn't assume, then shouldn't you be held accountable, too? Maybe you don't care about him because you aren't telling him what you want."
"I shouldn't have to tell my friend that I want to do things with him, when I ask if he's free every week!"
"Ianto," Jackson says softly, shrugging off the blanket to rest a hand on his arm. "Talking to your friends, especially about what you want or need in the relationship, shouldn't be an obligation."
"I do talk to him, or I did," Ianto says, softly. "I never thought the relationship would last this long and..." Ianto trails off shaking his head, "I've asked and asked if we can get together and he's always busy or he cancels. If he wanted to spend some time with me, he'd make some suggestions about when or stop canceling at least."
Jackson gives Ianto's arm a little squeeze, then shifts closer to budge up next to him and offer half a hug. "I still think you should just tell him that you're half in love with him. Even if it doesn't change anything, you might feel better."
Ianto leans into it, before sighing, "It gets worse, he told me he had feelings for me and that he realized that I wasn't interested and got with James, who is good for him. I called him an ass, he called me immature and I told him I didn't really believe that he had feelings for me." Ianto did say, he made a really big ass of himself, right? At least he's admitting it. "It was a stupid thing to say."
Jackson is quite obliging and lets Ianto lean against him a little. "You did make an ass out of yourself," he agrees, stroking Ianto's hair to, you know, take the edge off that statement. "Don't you think he might be avoiding you to try to get over those feelings, since he thinks you're not interested?"
"He's my best friend, best friends aren't supposed to avoid each other." Ianto says.
"I guess it's hard to have feelings you can't act on for your best friend?" This is something he wouldn't know about, given that he's ... well, he's half in love with his best friend and shagging him like mad. So, er, Jackson is speculating.
"We aren't even talking anymore," Ianto admits, glumly
"Why don't you talk to him? Maybe apologize for what you said?"
"I... I don't know what to say to him," Ianto sighs, shaking his head. "I don't want to tell him that I, I didn't trust him to not treat me like a fling."
"Just be honest," he recommends. "He'll understand. You're friends, you're just going through a rough time right now."
"I suppose it can't get any worse, he already left town without telling me."
"You two had a fight," Jackson points out. "Maybe he just needs some space."
"He came back a couple days ago, I have no idea where he went and who took care of Myfanwy," Ianto says.
"Myfanwy?" Welsh names are fun to say, but he's trying to be serious.
"His dog, that he says is really mine, because she would be mine, if it wasn't for my flat not allowing pets."
He smiles softly. "I think you two will be okay, if you'd just talk about it."
"I don't know if I can face him," Ianto shakes his head, sounding slightly scared.
"You can. He's your best friend. You'll be fine." Aw. Ianto can have a squeeze of a hug.
"I don't want to be waiting around for him to spare me some of his time. I don't want to be the guy he hangs out with only when James is out of town though." Ianto doesn't want to be second best, which really is what he feels like.
"You should tell him that. Sometimes it's hard, especially at the beginning of a relationship, to find a good balance between the person you're with and your friends. Maybe he needs you to talk to him, help him. Tell him how you feel and what you need."
"So I can be ditched again?" Ianto grumbles. He just isn't sure about this right now.
"Ianto," Jackson admonishes, giving him a prod in the side. "Stop that."
"I don't think our friendship is going to be the same though." Ianto says, he's been hurt too much by the cancellations and finally has something else to look forward to.
"Maybe not, but you can't just leave it like this. It isn't fair to either of you. If you really enjoy his friendship, you should try to get back to where you guys were, right?"
Ianto shakes his head, "No, because if he's over me, then I need to get over him. I can't be that close, because it'll just keep hurting every time we make plans and he cancels."
"You're not understanding what I'm saying, Ianto," Jackson frowns. "You two can still be friends. Being together isn't the end all be all of your relationship with him. It might hurt, but can you really say that you'd rather never be friends with him at all?"
"No, I can't say that, because I needed someone after Lisa died and he was there." Ianto says softly.
"So ... try to fix this. You still want his friendship, maybe he still wants yours. You shouldn't throw that away just because you can't have sex with him." Way to be blunt, kid.
Ianto snorts, "I didn't say I wanted to end our friendship, because I can't have sex with him." Ianto shakes his head, "Just try to get over him.... And not sit around waiting for whenever he decides to grace me with presence."
"Or ... you know ... talk to him. About wanting to spend some time with him. As a friend." Jackson nudges Ianto again. "If it were me? And Jono was ignoring me? I'd probably drag him off somewhere for the day just to hang out."
"I'm tired of asking to spend time with him," Ianto pouts.
"You wouldn't be asking." Jackson grins. "Stop being petulant and take control. If you want something, get it."
"Besides, I can't drag him away, we work six days a week and James is always there on Mondays." Ianto is so very tired of James, it would be so much easier to like him if he wasn't so perfect.
"Be creative? You're just kind of giving in to apathy right now and it's not a very becoming trait."
"We did talk about going skydiving once," Ianto bites his lip, considering the idea.
"So take him skydiving." Jackson doesn't really know what that is, but the name is pretty obvious.
"I have no idea if he needs more training to make a jump or if he's good to go though." Ianto admits. He knows he needs training though.
"I don't even know what you do, but ... you could talk to someone who's gone skydiving and see how it works?"
"Jump out a plane and freefall until you need to release a parachute." Ianto explains.
"That ... sounds like the best thing ever." He grins.
Ianto laughs, "The first couple of jumps you go in tandem, attached, to a more experienced jumper. So, it would probably be wise of me to get those jumps out of the way."
"So, you've never gone? Has he?" Oh, Jackson wants to go now. Damn it.
"He used to do it when he was in the military, so I have no idea if he needs any refresher courses or anything." Ianto admits, thinking this through.
"Well ... take him, anyway, and if you both have to do tandem jumps with people ... they've got instructors or something, right?"
"I don't want him to be bored though," Ianto whines slightly.
"What part of jumping out of a plane would be boring!" Aw, he's so stupidly excited about this.
"The training courses" Ianto says, "Especially if you've already gone through them."
"I'm sure jumping out of a plane, even in a training course, would be exciting."
"I don't think the training course would be, if you've already jumped out of plane," Ianto rolls slightly to look at Jackson.
Jackson looks right back. "You're making me want to go," he accuses.
Ianto laughs, before smiling, "Then you should go with me, I thinks is obvious that I need more friends. I'll find something else to do with Jack."
He grins. "Really?"
"Yes," Ianto nods, "You're pretty smart," he pauses, grinning, "for a kid"
Oh. Ianto is going to get a playful nudge. "You're all right, I guess. For a dork." Take that, Jones!
"A dork that knows who Blue October is," Ianto teases back, grinning.
Jackson makes a 'pffft' sound and nudges Ianto again. "Dork. Lemme listen to them."
The iPod has been playing in the background, but it has moved on. He digs it out of his pocket to 'rewind' the play and turn 'Hate Me' back on. He tugs the headphones off and hands them over to Jackson. "Here"
Jackson takes the headphones and slides them on, listening to the song. After a bit of listening, he gives Ianto a grin and tugs them headphones down around his neck. "Not too bad."
"It was popular a couple years back," Ianto explains. "Its kind of played out now"
"But you still like it," Jackson points out. "What else have you got on here? I've got a player like this, it has a lot of random stuff on it." Like Vivaldi. And The Killers.
"Its pretty full, I don't even remember what's all on here. Its about time for an erase and re-adding stuff."
Jackson holds up his. It's a used off brand MP3 player that looks suspiciously held together by duct tape. "I haven't figured that part out yet. I feel too stupid for your weird century tech sometimes."
"I think you need a new one," Ianto says slowly, "Do you have a computer at all?"
"Well ... " Jackson grins. "I'm kind of just shopping around at the free Nexus stuff. So it's whatever I can find. Haven't found a computer yet. Er, one that works, at least."
"Right, free computers are going to be crap, you need to spend some to get a decent one."
"Money," Jackson deadpans. "Yeah, I don't ... have a job." He clears his throat, sheepishly offering the headphones back.
"How old are you?" Ianto asks, curious.
"Er, seventeen." He gives a lopsided grin.
"Well, you can't get a job at the Hub..." The Hub is always his first thought. "Any special skills?"
"How old do I have to be to work there?" As far as he's concerned, he's of age. Seventeen is pretty old, isn't it? He frowns thoughtfully. "I'm all right with tech, if I can get it apart and understand it."
"Eighteen" Ianto says, "Just to get in." Ianto considers, "Maybe get a job at one of the repair places?"
"Why?" He frowns again, then shrugs. "If I could find one, yeah. Know any?"
"Alcohol laws," Ianto explains, with a shrug. "There are a couple over that way." Ianto indicates an area near the area he lives.
"I'll check it out." He grins, clearly grateful.
Where: The Nexus
When: A couple of days after running into Jono
Rating: PG-13
Ianto drops down to a couch. It’s early for him, which makes it evening for most everyone else. He has a couple hours to before he has to go into work and he's been having a hard time filling these hours before work. He's got a book and his iTouch, in hopes of killing time in the Nexus, so he can at least pretend he's not alone.
Well, he isn't really alone. As it turns out, Jackson is curled up in the nearby armchair, a big bundle wrapped in a knit blanket, either napping or listening to a music player with his eyes closed. Either way, he looks disproportionately cold.
Ianto doesn't really notice him, curling up in his own chair as he settles in. He settles his headphones around the neck, before cranking the volume up. If Jackson isn't listening to the music or napping, he'll be able to hear the music. Ianto opens the book, settling in to read.
Though he had been napping, it was a light sort of napping, easily shaken out of. Jackson inhales a deep breath through his nose and wakes a little, giving Ianto a groggy look. "What's that?" he wonders fuzzily.
"Hate Me by Blue October" Ianto rattles off without really glancing up from his book.
"What does that even mean?" Jackson wonders, looking perplexed. "Is that a band?"
"Blue October is a band, Hate Me is one of their songs." Ianto explains, glancing up to see Jackson, before looking back down at his book. My Jackson is a lovely reminder of what an idiot Ianto is.
He unfolds his legs and drapes them over the arm of the chair, socked feet dangling. "I've never heard of them, but that's not saying much. What genre is that?"
"Rock," Ianto replies softly
"Jono listens to punk," Jackson says conversationally, wiggling his toes to get the odd feeling out of them after napping so oddly scrunched up in the chair. "I don't know much music from this era."
"I like it, but I freely admit that I'm likely to be biased," Ianto says.
"I like most of what I've heard. I like The Killers."
"They are pretty good," Ianto agrees with a nod.
"Am I bothering you?" he wonders, not quite sure.
"No," Ianto shakes his head, "I've just had a shitty couple of weeks."
"Yeah?" he wonders. This is definitely that jerk Ianto he talked to before, but Jackson is a pretty easy going guy. He's saving all his grudges for people like Adam and the creatures that took his brother.
Ianto nods, silently, not sure how much he wants to admit to.
"Sorry," Jackson offers, since ... well, he doesn't know.
"No, It's my own fault," Ianto says, looking up at him with sad eyes. "I'm an idiot."
"You want to talk about it?" he asks, moved by that very sad look.
"Not really, I don't really need to hear, 'I told you so'" Ianto says, giving Jackson a major clue as to what he's talking about.
"Did you talk to your friend?" he presses, tilting his head against the back of the chair to watch Ianto.
"He met someone else," Ianto says, nodding slowly.
"That's too bad."
"Yeah," Ianto say softly, "Over the last few months, I've spent less and less time with him. All while being understanding of his need to spend time with his new lover."
"Why?" he wonders. "Do you think it would be awkward? Feeling the way you do, but knowing he's with someone else?"
"We always got together on Mondays, its the one day the Hub is closed. We were doing it for a couple of months before James. Now, we haven't done anything for months, he always calls and cancels it so he can spend it with James." Ianto explains, before hanging his head. "He didn't even bother to call last time."
"Was he at least sorry?" Jackson frowns.
"He's always sorry," Ianto says, sounding bitter. "He's always sorry, I'm always pushed aside, it doesn't change."
Jackson unfurls himself from the chair and slides himself over to share the couch with Ianto, wrapping himself up in the blanket again. "Do you think he's really pushing you aside? Or do you think that you're hurt because he's with someone else?"
Ianto sighs, "It feels like it. I can understand why he spends so much time with James, because James' job takes him out of town. Its just he always says he's sorry, he always promises to make it up to me, but the next week it happens all over again." Ianto explains. "And yeah, I'm probably jealous, but how would you feel if your best friend was spending all his time with someone else and kept making bogus promises to spend more time with you?"
"It depends," Jackson answers softly, thinking about the scenario from his own perspective. What if Jono was acting that way? His smile is a little telling. Even thinking of Jono in that context makes him feel all fluttery. "I'd feel upset. Jealous, probably. But I'd do something about it. I'd tell him how I feel."
"That's your answer to everything, isn't it?" Ianto asks.
Jackson frowns. "There's nothing wrong with feelings or talking about them. There's nothing wrong with talking in general, Ianto. It's so much easier than never saying anything and always feeling slighted by people not reading your mind."
"Two weeks ago this Sunday, he told me James was out of town and we should get together the next day, like old times. I agree, because why wouldn't I want to hang out with my best friend." Ianto says slowly, "I go over on Monday, I find him trying to suck James' tongue into his mouth while getting him naked. Apparently, he didn't care enough to even call me."
"I think you're making a lot of assumptions," Jackson points out, trying to be logical about this. "Do you know he doesn't care? I mean, I know your alternate can read minds, but ... "
"He didn't bother to call," Ianto says slowly. That's really the part that hurts the most though.
"So, what did he say the next day when you saw him?"
"Not much," Ianto says, "but I was hungover."
Jackson sighs. "So ... he invited you over, may or may not have been surprised by his partner, and you caught them in the middle of foreplay. You don't know if he has a valid reason for not calling, because you went out and got drunk and were hungover the next day."
"And got fucked," Ianto adds, reluctantly.
"...and got fucked." Jackson frowns. "You didn't have sex with someone else because you were upset with him, did you?"
"Uh," Ianto scratches his head as he considers that, "I don't thinks so, I think I was too drunk to be that rational."
"But you were drinking because he upset you," Jackson points out, rather than asking.
Ianto nods a bit reluctantly.
Jackson just sighs, tilting his head against the back of the couch. "Why won't you just tell him how you feel?"
"Because he's over me now and he's... he's happy with James," Ianto says, "I don't want to mess that up."
"If he's over you and with someone else, you're not going to mess than up," he says, trying to be gentle about it. "But it would make you feel better, wouldn't it? Getting all this off your chest?"
"I... I kind of made an ass of myself," Ianto says, "A really big ass."
"...what did you do?" This just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?
"Wednesday, I came in to find him having new speakers installed. He made some comment about how he was going to ask me yesterday and I pointed out that if he had his eyes on these speakers for months then he could have asked before yesterday." Ianto explains.
"Right," Jackson answers, signifying Ianto should go on.
"He managed to figure out I was upset and asked me if it was about Monday and apologized again. I told him that if he really was sorry, he'd do something to fix it."
"What did you mean by that?" Jackson wonders pointedly. "I mean ... what do you want him to do? Short of breaking it off with this other guy?"
"Spend some time with me, give me one Monday night!" Ianto says, he really didn't want that much.
"Did you tell him that? What did he say?"
"He didn't ask, he just gave me the same old reasons about why he always spends time with James," Ianto rolls his eyes, before sighing. "James is a pilot, he's not always in town. He needs to spend time with James when he's in-town. Et Cetera, et Cetera, repeat ad nauseam."
"So ... you didn't tell him that." Jackson frowns, giving Ianto a severe look.
"I think it would be pretty obvious that I wanted to spend some time with him, when I asked when was the last time we did anything."
"...but you didn't tell him," he emphasizes. "You want something. He isn't giving it to you. This is what you need to be able to continue your friendship and he doesn't seem to understand. If you're going to insinuate he doesn't care about you because he doesn't assume, then shouldn't you be held accountable, too? Maybe you don't care about him because you aren't telling him what you want."
"I shouldn't have to tell my friend that I want to do things with him, when I ask if he's free every week!"
"Ianto," Jackson says softly, shrugging off the blanket to rest a hand on his arm. "Talking to your friends, especially about what you want or need in the relationship, shouldn't be an obligation."
"I do talk to him, or I did," Ianto says, softly. "I never thought the relationship would last this long and..." Ianto trails off shaking his head, "I've asked and asked if we can get together and he's always busy or he cancels. If he wanted to spend some time with me, he'd make some suggestions about when or stop canceling at least."
Jackson gives Ianto's arm a little squeeze, then shifts closer to budge up next to him and offer half a hug. "I still think you should just tell him that you're half in love with him. Even if it doesn't change anything, you might feel better."
Ianto leans into it, before sighing, "It gets worse, he told me he had feelings for me and that he realized that I wasn't interested and got with James, who is good for him. I called him an ass, he called me immature and I told him I didn't really believe that he had feelings for me." Ianto did say, he made a really big ass of himself, right? At least he's admitting it. "It was a stupid thing to say."
Jackson is quite obliging and lets Ianto lean against him a little. "You did make an ass out of yourself," he agrees, stroking Ianto's hair to, you know, take the edge off that statement. "Don't you think he might be avoiding you to try to get over those feelings, since he thinks you're not interested?"
"He's my best friend, best friends aren't supposed to avoid each other." Ianto says.
"I guess it's hard to have feelings you can't act on for your best friend?" This is something he wouldn't know about, given that he's ... well, he's half in love with his best friend and shagging him like mad. So, er, Jackson is speculating.
"We aren't even talking anymore," Ianto admits, glumly
"Why don't you talk to him? Maybe apologize for what you said?"
"I... I don't know what to say to him," Ianto sighs, shaking his head. "I don't want to tell him that I, I didn't trust him to not treat me like a fling."
"Just be honest," he recommends. "He'll understand. You're friends, you're just going through a rough time right now."
"I suppose it can't get any worse, he already left town without telling me."
"You two had a fight," Jackson points out. "Maybe he just needs some space."
"He came back a couple days ago, I have no idea where he went and who took care of Myfanwy," Ianto says.
"Myfanwy?" Welsh names are fun to say, but he's trying to be serious.
"His dog, that he says is really mine, because she would be mine, if it wasn't for my flat not allowing pets."
He smiles softly. "I think you two will be okay, if you'd just talk about it."
"I don't know if I can face him," Ianto shakes his head, sounding slightly scared.
"You can. He's your best friend. You'll be fine." Aw. Ianto can have a squeeze of a hug.
"I don't want to be waiting around for him to spare me some of his time. I don't want to be the guy he hangs out with only when James is out of town though." Ianto doesn't want to be second best, which really is what he feels like.
"You should tell him that. Sometimes it's hard, especially at the beginning of a relationship, to find a good balance between the person you're with and your friends. Maybe he needs you to talk to him, help him. Tell him how you feel and what you need."
"So I can be ditched again?" Ianto grumbles. He just isn't sure about this right now.
"Ianto," Jackson admonishes, giving him a prod in the side. "Stop that."
"I don't think our friendship is going to be the same though." Ianto says, he's been hurt too much by the cancellations and finally has something else to look forward to.
"Maybe not, but you can't just leave it like this. It isn't fair to either of you. If you really enjoy his friendship, you should try to get back to where you guys were, right?"
Ianto shakes his head, "No, because if he's over me, then I need to get over him. I can't be that close, because it'll just keep hurting every time we make plans and he cancels."
"You're not understanding what I'm saying, Ianto," Jackson frowns. "You two can still be friends. Being together isn't the end all be all of your relationship with him. It might hurt, but can you really say that you'd rather never be friends with him at all?"
"No, I can't say that, because I needed someone after Lisa died and he was there." Ianto says softly.
"So ... try to fix this. You still want his friendship, maybe he still wants yours. You shouldn't throw that away just because you can't have sex with him." Way to be blunt, kid.
Ianto snorts, "I didn't say I wanted to end our friendship, because I can't have sex with him." Ianto shakes his head, "Just try to get over him.... And not sit around waiting for whenever he decides to grace me with presence."
"Or ... you know ... talk to him. About wanting to spend some time with him. As a friend." Jackson nudges Ianto again. "If it were me? And Jono was ignoring me? I'd probably drag him off somewhere for the day just to hang out."
"I'm tired of asking to spend time with him," Ianto pouts.
"You wouldn't be asking." Jackson grins. "Stop being petulant and take control. If you want something, get it."
"Besides, I can't drag him away, we work six days a week and James is always there on Mondays." Ianto is so very tired of James, it would be so much easier to like him if he wasn't so perfect.
"Be creative? You're just kind of giving in to apathy right now and it's not a very becoming trait."
"We did talk about going skydiving once," Ianto bites his lip, considering the idea.
"So take him skydiving." Jackson doesn't really know what that is, but the name is pretty obvious.
"I have no idea if he needs more training to make a jump or if he's good to go though." Ianto admits. He knows he needs training though.
"I don't even know what you do, but ... you could talk to someone who's gone skydiving and see how it works?"
"Jump out a plane and freefall until you need to release a parachute." Ianto explains.
"That ... sounds like the best thing ever." He grins.
Ianto laughs, "The first couple of jumps you go in tandem, attached, to a more experienced jumper. So, it would probably be wise of me to get those jumps out of the way."
"So, you've never gone? Has he?" Oh, Jackson wants to go now. Damn it.
"He used to do it when he was in the military, so I have no idea if he needs any refresher courses or anything." Ianto admits, thinking this through.
"Well ... take him, anyway, and if you both have to do tandem jumps with people ... they've got instructors or something, right?"
"I don't want him to be bored though," Ianto whines slightly.
"What part of jumping out of a plane would be boring!" Aw, he's so stupidly excited about this.
"The training courses" Ianto says, "Especially if you've already gone through them."
"I'm sure jumping out of a plane, even in a training course, would be exciting."
"I don't think the training course would be, if you've already jumped out of plane," Ianto rolls slightly to look at Jackson.
Jackson looks right back. "You're making me want to go," he accuses.
Ianto laughs, before smiling, "Then you should go with me, I thinks is obvious that I need more friends. I'll find something else to do with Jack."
He grins. "Really?"
"Yes," Ianto nods, "You're pretty smart," he pauses, grinning, "for a kid"
Oh. Ianto is going to get a playful nudge. "You're all right, I guess. For a dork." Take that, Jones!
"A dork that knows who Blue October is," Ianto teases back, grinning.
Jackson makes a 'pffft' sound and nudges Ianto again. "Dork. Lemme listen to them."
The iPod has been playing in the background, but it has moved on. He digs it out of his pocket to 'rewind' the play and turn 'Hate Me' back on. He tugs the headphones off and hands them over to Jackson. "Here"
Jackson takes the headphones and slides them on, listening to the song. After a bit of listening, he gives Ianto a grin and tugs them headphones down around his neck. "Not too bad."
"It was popular a couple years back," Ianto explains. "Its kind of played out now"
"But you still like it," Jackson points out. "What else have you got on here? I've got a player like this, it has a lot of random stuff on it." Like Vivaldi. And The Killers.
"Its pretty full, I don't even remember what's all on here. Its about time for an erase and re-adding stuff."
Jackson holds up his. It's a used off brand MP3 player that looks suspiciously held together by duct tape. "I haven't figured that part out yet. I feel too stupid for your weird century tech sometimes."
"I think you need a new one," Ianto says slowly, "Do you have a computer at all?"
"Well ... " Jackson grins. "I'm kind of just shopping around at the free Nexus stuff. So it's whatever I can find. Haven't found a computer yet. Er, one that works, at least."
"Right, free computers are going to be crap, you need to spend some to get a decent one."
"Money," Jackson deadpans. "Yeah, I don't ... have a job." He clears his throat, sheepishly offering the headphones back.
"How old are you?" Ianto asks, curious.
"Er, seventeen." He gives a lopsided grin.
"Well, you can't get a job at the Hub..." The Hub is always his first thought. "Any special skills?"
"How old do I have to be to work there?" As far as he's concerned, he's of age. Seventeen is pretty old, isn't it? He frowns thoughtfully. "I'm all right with tech, if I can get it apart and understand it."
"Eighteen" Ianto says, "Just to get in." Ianto considers, "Maybe get a job at one of the repair places?"
"Why?" He frowns again, then shrugs. "If I could find one, yeah. Know any?"
"Alcohol laws," Ianto explains, with a shrug. "There are a couple over that way." Ianto indicates an area near the area he lives.
"I'll check it out." He grins, clearly grateful.