Chapter 4A

And just like a man, he holds you gently,
And just like a man, he strokes your hair,
And just like a man, I still pretend that I’m
Immune to the whole affair.

Ianto rolled over groggily, eyes screwed up against the notch of sunlight that filtered through the gap in the curtains. He blinked a few times before he managed to squeeze one of his eyes open. He looked around to find himself lying alone in bed, dressed in his pyjamas. Reaching for the clock, he almost leapt out of his skin when he saw the time.

“Relax," A voice said, Ianto twisting to find the owner. "Jack called earlier. He said that you all have the day off as a thank you for holding fort whilst he was gone.” Tom walked over and sat down on the bed next to Ianto, leaning down and kissing him gently on the forehead. Ianto slid a hand around the back of his neck and pulled him closer, capturing his lips in a strong kiss. After a few long, happy moments, Tom pulled back with a smile lingering on his lips. “You hungry?”

Ianto propped himself up on his elbows and smiled crookedly. “Not quite.”

He pushed himself up and pulled Tom to him by the front of his t-shirt, locking lips with him as soon as he was close enough. Tom groaned happily and moved his hands to Ianto’s hips, running them slowly around his back and pulling him towards him, deepening the kiss.

“I think I can help there.” Ianto was trailing his lips down Tom’s neck, kissing the soft skin lightly before biting gently on his collar bone, eliciting another groan from the man.

“I’m sure you can.” Ianto moved back up to look and Tom again, grinning mischievously. Without warning, Tom pressed him down on the bed, manoeuvring himself so he was lying on top of the young man, lips pressed to his exposed neck.

*

Jack sat in his office, rubbing his temples gently as he tried to ignore the throbbing headache of his hangover. He’d already raided Owen’s stash of painkillers and was just waiting for them to kick in. He’d called everyone early in the morning, half out of gratitude for all their hard work, half because he just needed a day alone. After all that time wanting to be back, he suddenly wanted to be anywhere but here.

He groaned gently and checked his mobile in a vain thought that Ianto may have called. It was late in the morning now and the team would probably be back in bed. Ianto will be with Tom… his mind thought before he could stop himself. He slammed his fist down on his desk angrily and pushed himself out of his chair, suddenly needing to occupy himself.

His first thought was to go see Janet. He’d need to feed her today, as Ianto wouldn’t be in. He strolled down to the vaults and swung into the room behind the cells. From the cupboard at the end, he grabbed a bucket of chilled meat and went back to the door that lead into Janet’s cell.

He heaved the thick metal entrance open and tipped the pile of flesh into the middle of the floor, winking as Janet looked up at him. She’d become surprisingly domesticated for a weevil, to the point of recognising some of the team members; Owen, Ianto and himself mainly.

Jack closed the door and watched through the small window for a moment, smiling as Janet carefully picked through her food and tore the chunks apart with her teeth, chewing before swallowing, a manner that Ianto had forced her to learn in a fit of exasperation at having to deal with Weevil-indigestion. Jack chuckled to himself briefly before the memory morphed into an all the more painful one.

Ianto’s breath on his neck was almost intoxicating, their skin pressed together as Jack ran his hands through the young man’s hair, inhaling the soft scent of coffee beans and vanilla soap. They’d barely begun but Jack felt the need for the young man to be closer, melded together as one person, even if only for that split second…

Jack found himself kneeling on the floor, bent over so his forehead was pressed against the cool concrete, arms wrapped around his chest again, holding the gaping wound together as much as possible.

*

Ianto ran his hand over Tom’s chest, smiling slightly to himself as his regained his breath. The sensation of the other man’s fingers combing his hair and holding him close was all he could ever ask for. It was the overwhelming feeling of safety that he felt which made him stay.

“Fancy breakfast now?” Tom’s voice was low, a murmur that Ianto felt as much as heard. He pushed himself up and kissed him gently, lingeringly.

“Yeah, I think so. First, we need to get cleaned up.” Ianto sat up and turned to find Tom smiling at him in amusement. He rolled his eyes and grabbed the other man’s hand dragging him out of bed and through to the bathroom.

Ianto flicked on the shower and waited for the water to heat up. He felt arms around his waist and twisted to meet the lips that sought his in another kiss. The gentle embrace was broken as Ianto managed to regain his common sense and dragged them into the shower.

Under the hot jet of water, Ianto felt his muscles start to relax. He grabbed the shower gel and squeezed it onto his hands, carefully cleaning them both as Tom did his best to distract his partner form his task, hands and lips roaming over his body in a way that was too close to Jack for comfort.

Ianto pushed the thought away and continued his work, letting Tom draw him in a little more in an attempt to distance himself from the memories of Jack that were bustling for his attention.

*

Jack had managed to compose himself after ten rough minutes. He left the vaults and headed back to the Hub, climbing up the levels to feed the other Torchwood pet. Myfanwy squawked in approval as he entered the cave and deposited a second pile of raw meat, this time in much larger chunks. The dinosaur ambled over and nudged him gently in welcome, her long nose tapping his head to one side. Jack reached up and scratched her on the back of her head gently, eliciting and low hum of pleasure.

He smiled ruefully before leaving the cave and wandering back down to the workstations. He stood by Tosh’s desk and looked around, wondering what he could do next. He was distracted by the sensation of his body heating up, heating up more than it should. He checked his wrist strap and found the room temperature to be at least five degrees too high.

Relishing the idea of having something to concentrate on, Jack headed down to the room in the archives that housed the climate control system. He stood in the middle of the small room and surveyed the equipment that took up half of the room, wall to wall and floor to ceiling.

With a masochistic grin, he tuned his wrist strap in to receive Rift alerts and set to work on the thermostat. Hopefully, the task would take up most of the day. It was a complex piece of machinery and would require his complete and undivided attention.