Chapter 11

And I have something to tell you
But it doesn’t matter now
I’ll stick to small talk
And leave the little bits of flattery to him

The next morning was uncomfortable for everyone. Tom had barely spoken two words to Ianto that morning, though he hadn’t completely avoided him and he didn’t have the same look of betrayal in his eyes. When they’d stepped into the Hub though, Tom had stopped dead at the sight of Jack looking at Tosh’s computer. Ianto had heard a low growl of anger before seeing him storm off to the archives to collect today’s set of data. Jack had approached Ianto then, weary of Tom’s reaction.

“You okay?” Ianto nodded stiffly and sighed heavily as Jack put a hand on his shoulder in concern.

“Yeah, it went as expected, can’t say I blame him though.” Ianto shrugged himself free of Jack’s grip and removed his jacket, throwing it onto the sofa behind them and rolling his sleeves up.

“Ianto, I’m really sorry about last night… It was a mist-“ Ianto shot him a glare then, cutting him off mid sentence

“No it wasn’t, Jack. It was a conscious decision that we made and I was just as involved as you were. I was the one pushing for it... And it really wasn't a mistake.” Ianto gave Jack a meaningful look before he turned on his heel and headed to the coffee machine. Jack just sighed and went back to his office. It was going to be another long, hard day.

As the day progressed, Jack saw more and more signs of forgiveness from Tom as he warmed up in Ianto’s presence; smiling, laughing and making contact with him, the complete opposite to his body language that morning. Silently, Jack cursed himself for not fighting for the young man, but he knew that he still couldn’t get between the two men. He owed Ianto that. If he could make a relationship work after confessing that he’d slept with his ex, then hell, Ianto deserved to have the warmth and comfort of a stable partner.

*

Several more days passed in the same manner; Tom and Ianto healing their precariously balanced relationship and Jack becoming more and more withdrawn from his team and the young man, especially as Tom had been showing up every day, not just his pre-stated ones.

Several times, Gwen had attempted to talk to him about it, valiantly offering him her shoulder to cry on. After the first few times, the appreciation turned into annoyance. Couldn’t she leave him to wallow in his self pity?

Owen was a different matter altogether. His casual shunning of the situation made Jack feel strangely welcomed. Owen was observing the universally accepted rule of; Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Something which the males of the species did extremely well. This reaction assured Jack that Owen wasn’t angry or annoyed at him anymore, something which eased his pain a little.

Tosh was the only one of the team that he liked talking to. She would come by mid afternoon to hand over all reports from the day and talk to him about everything but Ianto and the year that never was. She really helped Jack hold himself together and he’d never appreciated the woman more than he had since his return.

However, nothing the other three could offer made him forget about Ianto. He soon realised that his day dream of forgetting about him and letting him go without any fight was nothing but stuff and nonsense. He’d spent a century with people who did nothing but satisfy the physical, rarely helping the emotional. Ianto had been one of those people, but now he was more than that. Jack’s soul felt clean and whole when Ianto held him, smiled at him, spent time with him. He wasn’t about to let that go. But would Ianto let him keep on fighting?

With another sigh, he got up from his seat, acknowledging that he still couldn’t come between Tom and Ianto again. He couldn’t do anything to hurt the relationship because that wouldn’t make Ianto want him, it would make him resent him. Resentment was the last emotion Jack wanted from Ianto. He stepped out of his office for the first time that day and headed over to Tosh's station, looking over her shoulder as she continued working on some new program – she always seemed to be coming up with them.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed someone moving around the basin. Looking over, he saw Ianto with a tray, picking up discarded mugs and making his way to the kitchen area. He looks amazing… he thought before he could stop himself. Ianto was dressed in a dark grey, pinstriped suit, the jacket and trousers tailored to perfection, complimenting every line and curve of his figure, hiding any imperfection there might possibly be. He remembered commenting a while ago to Ianto that he particularly loved that suit.

He was just contemplating saying something when he noticed Tom meet him in the kitchen area, smiling at him. Their conversation wasn’t hard to over hear, no matter how much Jack tried to avoid it.

“So, thought anymore about that UNIT Liaisons job offer?” Tom asked, Jack’s heart flipped.

“I dunno, my family’s here, my job, my home…” Ianto sounded a little unsure of his words, but Jack didn’t know why.

“Yeah, but you said yourself, you’re never going to get a promotion here, there’s nothing more you can get from the job.” Tom moved a little closer to him as Ianto flicked the coffee machine on. “Your brother’s living in London anyway and your mum lives thirty minutes away from here, you said yourself that you barely visit her.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Ianto smiled and started to make the coffees to pass around.

“I always am.” Tom grinned and Ianto laughed in reply, letting Tom lean in to kiss him gently on the lips. “But seriously, please think about it? I really want you to come back to London with me, even if only for a few months to see what you think.”

“Okay.” Ianto nodded and smiled again, making another coffee as Tom pushed himself away from the counter and took a few steps away. As if on a second thought, he twisted around with another smile on his face.

“By the way, I don’t think I told you how much I loved that suit.” He winked and Ianto grinned again as Tom walked away, hands in pockets and whistling to himself, heading back down to the archives. Jack turned away at that, silently seething at the compliment. So he’s stealing my lines as well as my man? His eyes mentally narrowed and he felt a surge of anger, the fighting spirit returning. He didn't even realise how ridiculous it was to refer to Ianto as 'his man'... When had he ever owned him?

However, when Ianto appeared beside Jack handed him his coffee, the look of peace on his face make him think twice again. He couldn’t take that away from Ianto, not again. Damn you, Jack Harkness… You love him and you can’t even say so, he chided himself, stalking back into his office to brood a little more over his distinct lack of Ianto.

*

The first day, Tom had been distant. Sure, they’d smiled and talked, but he hadn’t been his usual self. Ianto had just held his breath when they returned to the flat that night, not sure how to cope with it just being the two of them. Luckily, Tom picked up the phone and ordered in a couple of pizzas before sticking a DVD on for them to watch.

They spent that evening on the sofa, eating and drinking together amiably. Tom still slept in the spare room, but Ianto didn’t go to sleep with the feeling of his insides slowly digesting themselves. It was a definite improvement.

The next morning, Ianto had been greeted in the kitchen by a kiss on the cheek and a smile, something which had made him smile in relief, his heart reviving a little. The following few days had continued to see an improvement between them. Whilst they’d not talked about what had happened, Tom had made it clear that he didn’t hold it against the young man anymore. He blamed Jack fully. After a third night apart, Tom even moved back into Ianto’s bedroom.

On about the fifth day after sleeping with Jack, Tom had asked him once again about moving to London. He’d been thinking it over almost every second of the day, a long list of pros and cons formed in his mind’s eye. He was still no closer to choosing than he had been several days ago. Now it was the evening and Tom was looping his arm around Ianto’s waist as they walked out of the Hub.

At least we’re back on track now, Ianto thought with a slightly wistful smile. No matter how safe he felt with Tom, a part of him still ached to be with Jack. Somehow, he didn’t think that was ever going to go away, not even with all the time in the world.