bluecastle | A Gentleman's Gentleman -- chapter 5

A Gentleman’s Gentleman – Chapter Five

Title: A Gentleman’s Gentleman
Chapter: 5 of ?
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13 for some bad words
Summary: In which Jack contemplates lovers old and new.

a/n: The conference bits were a combination of the UNIT website http://www.unit.org.uk/ and a couple of random conference schedules I Googled and then mashed together. They were fun to come up with, although I don’t know if they actually make sense! Likewise it was fun to create the UNIT personnel. There’s a very long list of them on Wikipedia, but rather than mess around with someone else’s characters, I made my own up. Some fluff, and a bit of angst for seasoning…

Ianto thanked his lucky stars for his ability to multi-task. He was mostly dressed, and was sitting at the small round table in Jack’s suite trying to eat a sandwich while going over the conference schedule on his PDA. Jack was behind him, reading over his shoulder and trying to undo Ianto's shirt buttons in a very tempting manner.

“Stop it Jack,” he said, batting away his lover’s hands. “Pay attention.”

“I think I was paying a lot of attention,” Jack murmured in his ear.

“To this list… not to me.”

Jack sighed, grabbed a sandwich, and still leaning over Ianto’s shoulder, read from the schedule.

13:15 to 14:15 -- How Real is Reality: Dealing with the Aftereffects of Psychic Trances and Liminality during an Alien Incursion presented by Dr. Almani Korda

14:30 to 15:00 -- An Update to UNIT publication UAC-45: Interim Guidance on the ETE Extra-Solar Contaminant Detection Kit version 2.02 presented by Lt. Terence Perkins-Lockhart

15:15 to 16:15 -- Plexus Blocks and Morphological Variations in Non-Terran Anesthesia presented by Professor Chang Donovan

16:30 to 17:30 -- Essential Force Multipliers: Coordinating with Local Law Enforcement to Enhance Homeworld Security presented by Major-General Wilbert Billings

“These UNIT conferences are going to do me in Ianto.”

“Sir, it’s not going to kill you to sit through an afternoon’s worth of lectures.”

“It might.”

“I think we both know better,” Ianto smiled up at Jack.

“One point to Jones,” Jack smirked as he kissed a bit of mustard off Ianto’s mouth. Jack pulled Ianto up for a more lingering kiss. Ianto relaxed into the kiss for a moment and then pushed Jack gently an arm’s length away. As he straightened Jack’s tie, he said, “This first session might actually be pretty interesting. I’ve been following Dr. Korda’s work ever since he did some training for us at Torchwood London.”

“Ok, fine. But give me one good reason to attend that second session. It sounds like torture.”

Ianto smiled, and reached for his PDA. With a few stylus clicks he brought up a picture of the presenter and showed it to Jack.

“Does this help?” Ianto asked.

Jack took the PDA from Ianto and gazed at the picture before him, an odd smirk on his face.

“Jack?”

“Hmmm?”

“Maybe you should skip that session. Drooling at the presenter is frowned upon.”

“No, it’s not that.” At the quirk of Ianto’s eyebrow, Jack laughed, “Well yes, he is handsome. It’s just that we’ve met before, although I never knew his full name. He asked me to call him Perky, and it turned out to be a very appropriate nickname.”

“You and your soldiers Jack…”

"What can I say Ianto, keeping up morale within the ranks is important."

When Ianto didn't respond to the obvious innuendo Jack stepped towards him. "There's no reason for you to worry. About ten years ago Alex sent me to help UNIT out with some alien tech that turned up near a Boarding School outside Bristol. Perky and I took care of the tech, while spending the weekend sneaking into each others rooms in a soggy guest house owned by Perky's mum. She kept trying to fix me up with her obnoxious daughter. Perky was certainly very pretty, and I enjoyed getting him out of his uniform and, you know, helping him with his morale, but well... even Jack Harkness has his limits."

"I wasn't worrying, Jack, but when you start talking about limits, I might start."

“Impudence. Now get over here so I can put that tie of yours back on. I want to run the silk through my hands one more time, and I want you to remember that my hands were the last ones to touch you.”

The younger man stepped up to Jack and turned, pressing his back flush against Jack’s front. The two men stood immobile for a moment, lost in the memories of their noontime interlude, and the sweet torment of rough wool on bare skin. Jack took the opportunity to run his hands up Ianto’s arms and across his shoulders, and then dropping a quick kiss under his lover’s ear he leaned over and tied Ianto’s tie. Both men found themselves lost in the sensual sound of silk whispering over silk. He then turned Ianto so that the men were facing each other, and primly buttoned up Ianto’s waistcoat, indulging in a quick kiss after each button. Jack dug the stopwatch out from among the rumpled bedclothes and tucked it back into Ianto’s waistcoat pocket.

“Yours are the only hands I want on me Jack,” Ianto purred as he pulled Jack into a longer, more intense kiss, and then shooed him out of the room, stopping only long enough to pick up his notebook and PDA, and surreptitiously gaze into the mirror to check the tie’s knot. It was not his usual knot, but he touched it lightly with nimble fingers, and smiled in satisfaction.

Ianto had been right, and Jack had enjoyed the first presentation by Dr. Korda. Jack had some experience with alien induced twilight states, and he and Dr. Korda had engaged in a spirited debate towards the end of the session. Ianto had followed the men’s dispute, and was pleased with himself for keeping up on his shorthand skills. He had taught himself during a couple of temping jobs when he first moved to London, and he could usually notate complete transcripts of conversations. He supposed he could have taken dictation from a recording, but he found it satisfying to be able to utilize a less technological method.

The second session was, as predicted, deadly boring, and Ianto had been amused to watch Jack try and catch Perky’s attention. When the Lieutenant gave no indication of knowing who Jack was, Ianto just smiled, and continued taking notes so that he could revise the UNIT publications file he kept in the Hub’s archives.

Jack found himself sitting in a room, gazing at a past lover, and knowing that his current lover was sitting behind him, just over his right shoulder. Perky had been just one of a long string of one (or two or three) night stands, and Jack couldn’t help musing over how different his life was now from those days not so long past.

His young Welshman made him happy in ways that constantly amazed Jack. He could hardly have imagined that a relationship that began steeped in lies and betrayals could ever provide so much kindness, sympathy, and support. At times both men doubted the sanity of pursuing their relationship. What began with heartache and loss seemed destined to end the same way. Jack found himself remembering the early days when there was so much anger between them. The nights when the sex was almost feral, Ianto pinning him to his bunk, biting and scratching Jack as he worked himself to his release, screaming in both pain and pleasure, and then collapsing back onto the bed, burying himself in the bedclothes in shame and despair. Jack had lost count of the nights that the younger man stumbled from the bed soon after sex, dragging on his clothes and fleeing the Hub.

They had their first fight about it one night when Jack had snuck up behind Ianto in the kitchenette as he was making coffee. The team had spent a long frustrating day trying to figure out an odd piece of alien tech and a long-buried corpse they had found at a construction site. Jack had eventually sent the rest of them home, asking Ianto to stay and make him a cup of coffee before he went. Finding himself alone with Ianto, and thinking about fun ways to work out the day’s frustrations, Jack had slipped up behind the younger man and grabbed him around the waist. Ianto flinched, and dropped the pot of coffee he had in his hands. The glass pot shattered at his feet, soaking his shoes and the cuffs of his pants in hot coffee.

“Fuck Jack. What the hell are you doing?”

“Trying to surprise you. I think it worked.”

“Shit, shit, shit,” Ianto ground out, as he grabbed a handful of rags from under the sink and knelt down to mop up the hot coffee. He gently binned the pieces of the shattered glass carafe and tried not to cut himself.

“Here, let me help,” Jack said, crouching down.

“Don’t Jack.”

“But I want to help.”

“No thank you, Sir. You hired me to clean up after you. Now let me do my job.”

“But you look like you could use a hand,” Jack said, honestly wanting to help, but also enjoying the innuendo inherent in his response.

“Yes, Jack." Ianto huffed. "I know my place… on my hands and knees at your feet cleaning up after you.” Ianto sat back on his heels, furious as his coffee soaked shoes squeaked. He looked up his boss, saying angrily. “I know you like me on my hands and knees. Is there anything else you want while I’m down here?” he asked pointedly gazing at the zipper in Jack’s pants.

Jack had grabbed Ianto by the shirtfront, yanked him to his feet, and shoved him out of the kitchenette and up against the catwalk rail. Never letting go of him, Jack leaned into the younger man, close, but not quite touching Ianto.

This was a Jack that Ianto had rarely seen before. His Captain was almost beside himself with fury. Ianto found himself unable to look Jack in the eyes, and he shivered, remembering the feel of Jack’s Webley pressed to his temple.

Breathing heavily, and using every ounce of self-control he possessed not to strangle the younger man, Jack ground out, “You and I both know this isn’t really about the coffee, is it?”

When Ianto didn’t respond, Jack shook him, “Answer me, damn you.”

Ianto still couldn’t bring himself to respond, and Jack shoved him away from the railing. He took a few steps away and then turned back. “Why can’t you look at me, Ianto? Why is it so hard for you to let me touch you?”

Jack was stunned when Ianto started laughing, a big loud full-throated laugh that Jack had never heard from him before.

“What’s so fucking funny?”

“You are Jack. I’m going home. You can clean up your own mess for once.”

“Wait… Ianto… I don’t understand…”

“I know you don’t Jack. How could you possibly understand how long it’s been since someone touched me the way you touch me. Since anyone touched me at all. There is no way someone like you could understand the pain of being so utterly alone for so very long.”

Ianto started past Jack to go down the steps, but as he passed the Captain, Jack reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“That’s where you’re wrong, Ianto Jones.” He whispered.

“Sir?”

Jack couldn’t shift the sudden echoes in his head… the emptiness of the satellite… the smell of death… the despair…the sound of his boots on cold metal walkways. Calling for others till his voice gave out. Hoping against hope that there were other survivors. Curling up exhausted in deserted corners after days of fruitless searching. Finding sleep impossible, and retching up everything he tried to eat. Sobbing until he had no tears left. Shooting himself in the head, finally, trying to end it all, and discovering to his horror that death was never going to be a way out.

“Sir? Jack?” Ianto tried to pull away from Jack who was standing, lost in his own thoughts, a single tear sliding down his cheek.

“Never say I don’t understand loneliness Ianto. Someday I’ll tell you about all the loneliest places in the Universe.” Jack walked away then, towards his office, never looking back as he called out to Ianto, “Get out of here. I’ll see you in the morning. Buy yourself a new pair of shoes, and hide it in the expense report. You know I never actually read those things before I sign them.”

Ianto had gone home then, more confused than ever about where he and Jack stood. They had danced around each other at the office for days, each consumed by their own pain. The following Sunday, Jack had taken Ianto out to Flat Holm Island. Told him he needed someone who understood pain and despair to help take care of the residents. Pressed a set of keys and a flash drive with the security codes into Ianto’s hand, saying quietly, “just in case…” They took a walk and found themselves sitting in a comfortable silence, Ianto’s hand in Jack’s staring out over the water and listening the crash of the waves on the rocks below them.

On the boat on the way back to Cardiff, Ianto had come up behind Jack, and wrapped his arms around his waist. Resting his head on the others man’s shoulder, he asked, “How long has it been since you’ve had a home cooked meal, Jack?”

Jack always smiled when he remembered that night. It was a simple dinner, a salad, some pasta, a bottle of wine. They sat on the couch eating ice cream and watching TV. Ianto had leaned in and kissed some stray chocolate sauce off Jack’s cheek, and Jack pulled him close, and they fell asleep, arms wrapped around each other. Jack was just starting to reminisce about the fun he had had waking Ianto up, when the lights in the conference room came up, and Perky was wrapping up his presentation.

Ianto caught up to Jack in the hallway on their way to Professor Donovan’s talk. Jack pulled him aside, and asked quietly, “Do you think we could have dinner tonight, just the two of us? Maybe slip off down to the pub, or something.”

“I had something similar in mind myself, Sir, although I had planned on someplace a bit more secluded than the pub.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Sir. If you’ll look in your bottom dresser drawer when you get back to your room you’ll find a sweater, a map, and some instructions.”

“How do you always know what I need?”

“I was actually thinking about what I need, Sir. My morale is a bit low, and I thought maybe you could think of some ways to improve it. Start by wearing the coat. I love the coat.”

“And what will you be wearing?”

“An expectant smile, Sir…”

a/n: Whew. This chapter did NOT want to be written. And this story keep taking detours I never expected it to. Next up… “The Folly.”

Chapter Six here

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