Apparently once he and Jack had sex it didn't make any difference what Ianto was doing, he felt the possibility of more. All day long while he was keeping the Hub and its occupants on track, he kept his composure, but he was supremely conscious of Jack and what the other man was doing at all times.

"Are you staying late again, Ianto?" Tosh asked. Since she had been seduced and given the ability to hear her coworkers' thoughts, she'd been attempting to give him a chance to talk.

It was a departure in her usual behavior, but Ianto didn't see any reason not to become friends. He suspected she was grateful for the way he'd treated her after she returned to work. In his opinion, it did no good for her to dwell on what had happened, he was in no hurry to encourage anyone else to fixate on their loss the way he had, as it happened, that brought him no relief from his guilt. Better to bear up against it and keep working.

"I thought I'd process the reminder of the flight logs from the plane."

"Don't work too hard, we need your perspective." Tosh brushed her hair behind one ear and smiled sweetly. She dared to pat Ianto's arm and then hurried out the door.

"She worries about you," Jack said, not raising his eyes from the book he was reading.

Ianto stared at the yellowing pages and made a guess. "That's not for work?"

"It's not current," Jack admitted, but ran his fingers lightly over the loops of script as if just the feeling of it was meaningful and then closed it. The front cover looked worn, leather cracked with age and the gilt crumbling off as it was closed.

"Family heirloom?"

"Sort of." Jack set the book aside and gave Ianto his attention. "Did you have something for me to sign?"

"The usual forms and equipment requisitions. Also, Gwen's done up a very thorough report on the displaced travelers."

"She outdid herself?" Jack asked, hand out for the pages stapled together, and he flipped through it, shaking his head. "Still falling back on logic that one," he mused and leaned back in his chair and skimmed further.

"Gwen puts particular focus on Emma," Ianto pointed out.

"They bonded," Jack said.

"Apparently." Ianto had seen how each person in the group of lost people had tried to make connections in a time where everything they knew didn't apply. John had found it too overwhelming, although Ianto suspected Jack's intervention may have delayed his breakdown. There was the cold storage to be taken care of and Ianto had all the relevant documents gathered for Jack's final approval.

"He didn't have any family?" Ianto asked.

"None with the mental capacity to take the news or need to be retconned. John's only son is in the late stages of Alzheimer's."

"The poor man, Ianto said and waited a moment. "Anything you'd like to add onto the autopsy?" Ianto inquired eyes on the toes of his shoes.

"No, it's as complete as it can be, everything important has been included." Jack handed the report back to Ianto. "Good work."

"Thank you, sir," Ianto answered unthinkingly and glanced up at Jock.

"I thought I asked you not to call me that when we're here late."

"I know, it's still rather new to me."

"And I know how you like your routines," Jack teased.

"Implying that I'm too rigid?"

"Only in all the best ways," Jack grinned, resting his chin on folded hands as he eyed Ianto.

Thanking Jack for noticing how he looked in a suit was foolish, it was one thing his boss never forgot to mention regularly, but it was a sign that Jack wanted to continue whatever they had started in Jack's office, but he was leaving the timing up to Ianto.

Ianto unknotted his tie as he filed the paper work and dropped coat and tie on a chair. He rolled his sleeves up and turned around.

"Trying a new approach?" Jack asked.

"Clarifying where I stand," Ianto said firmly.

"I can see that." Jack pushed his braces off his shoulders and then began unbuttoning his shirt.

Ianto sat in one of the chairs and watched openly. When Jack was down to his undershirt, Ianto fleet about ready to move on. He'd seen Jack dressed like this early in the morning, but he'd never taken it in.

Jack seemed to be enjoying Ianto checking him out. "Like what you see?"

Someone else would have been trying to get a return on all the roundabout flattery, but Ianto got a different impression, closer to Jack needing to be sure of Ianto's readiness, even though they'd been through this before. "I thought I made it clear last time that I knew what I was doing."

"You never quite lost that wide eyed look," Jack reminded.

"It was just a lot to take in, but I do know what I like." He kept his voice steady. "And right now, I want to see more."

Jack found Ianto's bluntness a welcome changed from his usual obedience and he laughed softly. "This sort of thing really helps loosen you up, Ianto."

"Can't say the same for you, Jack, you're still sitting there." Ianto let go of verbal restraint to see Jack's reaction. "Are you waiting for me to give you directions?"

"It's an intriguing assumption, you think that you could handle me?"

"Given the opportunity, I'd give it my best effort."

"I don't believe you'd let me stay in charge, you like the position too much."

"Being on top does give me a number of privileges," Jack agreed. "Including being kept informed of all the goings on that may affect team performance."

"And what's your conclusion in regard to me, Jack?"

"That it would be negligent of me not to give you some personal attention and an incentive for thinking of the larger picture." Jack stood up and pulled his shirt over his head.

"That's progress."

"Well, you set such standards you'd better keep up with them," Jack urged, and Ianto continued undressing. He hadn't gotten all of his clothing off in their last encounter and if he was ready to be more than the guy who accepted an offer, then he needed to be just as honestly bold as he could.

"I've never had a problem meeting and exceeding requirements," Ianto said truthfully.

"That can't be argued."

"One shouldn't discount expertise, in any area." Ianto was aware of a small portion of Jack's history with Torchwood, and of that, little made it into the captain's dossier. Even though Torchwood's aim was to protect Earth, at times they left some questions go unasked. Ianto knew just how much Owen disliked not having access to the answers.

Unlike Doctor Harper, Ianto could see that Jack didn't give up his secrets without there being an absolute necessity. To know that Jack had a shady past was one fact among many that he accepted, the same way he knew that Jack was their leader. What he was allowed to see could be questioned or merely noted, whichever Ianto chose. At present, he was determined to learn more of Jack's preferences and talents. He stepped out of his trousers, leaving them beside his shoes, kicking both out of the way.

Jack, in spite of his claims at keeping the hierarchy clear, let Ianto direct him out from behind his desk and up against a wall. He let out a soft laugh as Ianto struggled to find the best way to make his move.

"You might let me in on what you like," Ianto suggested.

"And why would I do that?"

"It might give me some direction."

"Anywhere you put your attention will be appreciated," Jack promised, not adding anything helpful.

Ianto's hands reached out, hanging onto Jack's hip and finding the scar there like it was a mark of confirmation. He still thought experience should have left more than stories, but Jack healed exceptionally well. Ianto petted the scar and slid his palms up Jack's chest, learning slope and contour in his own time.

Jack was waiting, allowing Ianto this tactile curiosity, his own hands kneading Ianto's shoulders until tension was released and the muscles loosened.

Up close, there was a different smell about Jack. It was the same combination of generalized strange and foreign spices that permeated his office, as though Jack opened one door and stepped into Cardiff, then opened another and was in another country. Ianto was unable to identify the scents, but they drew him in closer to Jack as he inhaled.

Although Jack didn't laugh while Ianto sniffed at him, but he was barely holding it in. "It's not cologne," he said at last, dragging Ianto's face away from one arm and kissing him.

"Just me."

Ianto rather liked it and wondered if Jack's skin tasted the same. At first he licked tentatively, unsure about whether Jack minded Ianto's spit on his neck, but when Ianto drug his teeth across Jack's carotid, the other man gasped and pushed into it. It was dangerous to have someone so close and allow them to make the rules; even more than doing this at work, in Jack's office, where anyone with clearance to be there could drop in without warning. The possibility of there being consequences was as intoxicating as the openness of Jack's response.

When they first met, Ianto had thought that Jack spent his life getting what he wanted out of people and then moving on, not bothering to form acquaintances, or even opinions. Then Ianto was convinced that Jack was incapable of feeling as most did. He figured that could be one of the qualifications for running a branch of Torchwood. Then he figured it made sense for Jack to be a bastard at on the many occasions that called for such ruthlessness. But at the moment Jack was demonstrating a level of thoughtfulness that Ianto gave back with gusto. The return he got was greater than what he put forward and so it was a bit of reciprocal one-upmanship that Ianto was determined not to fall down on.

Since Jack liked his attempt at control, Ianto took the next step and put his weight on Jack's thighs and pulled the other man's hands above his head and held them there while he breathed along with Jack.

"You like seeing people go beyond their limits and finding what they're capable of."

"Is that right?"

"When they don't measure up, you expect it but you forgive them because they're your team."

"You're been studying me?"

"Trying to understand why, after I betrayed you, Gwen let an alien loose that murdered several people and Tosh nearly compromised the Hub, you've let us all continue to work for you."

"You left out Owen's vendetta," Jack reminded.

"So you remember but you don't hold it against us."

"I can hold a grudge, Ianto, believe me."

"But we're different."

"Well, of all the people who've slammed me up against a wall, you're the first to stop and analyze me instead of taking my pants off."

Ianto realized that he was still holding Jack's wrists together and pulled away slightly. "The thought only just occurred to me."

"And this seemed like an appropriate time to ask?"

"Would there be another?"

Jack smiled enigmatically and didn't give Ianto anything else.

"Typical," Ianto said in fond exasperation.

"You're pushing for disclosure."

"What is that?" Ianto didn't confirm Jack's assumption.

"How I do it. You want to know why I can do my job so well." And still be relatively abysmal at keeping his people in line, was careful not to add.

"Yes."

"Let me show you," Jack offered and stepped into Ianto's space, paused and kissed him lightly. "I can do this," he said and then reached out. In two swift movements he twisted Ianto's right arm behind his back and put him flat on the wall, palm on the base of Ianto's neck holding him in place.

"And that, obviously," Ianto panted, struggling but unable to get free. Jack knew how to disable a man very well and he'd done it professionally and easily without a discernible mood swing away from flirtation. It was as if he didn't need to think about separating the two actions; they could be performed simultaneously.

"Is that helpful?" Jack spun Ianto around to face him, his expression fierce, power checked and recognizable. He leaned in slowly, offering Ianto an opening to turn away or strike out.

"I'm not afraid of what you can do, Jack," Ianto said deliberately, selecting his words like he was filling in a puzzle and the penalties were worse than personal injury. "I knew when I signed on that you weren't like all the other divisional supervisors, that's why I came here from the first. I accepted that you would never forgive me, but you have. What I don't understand is how you can turn so easily, what made you think like that?"

"You want to expand my dossier?" Jack smirked.

"Perhaps, it would give me the opportunity to increase my influence."

"Should I be concerned about a grab for power?"

"Not for power," Ianto said plainly and moved closer to Jack again. "I can take the parts of you that aren't for the public or the rest of the team, Jack. I knew coming into Torchwood that it wouldn't be all about the monsters outside. I just want to know what's going on."

"Are you going to hold yourself to the same policy?" Jack asked.

"Yes," Ianto said, and repeated himself when Jack met his gaze silently. "Yes, Jack, I am. I'd rather know than not."

"Alright." Jack brushed the back of his hand over Ianto's cheeks and kissed him with stirring enthusiasm. "So long as you know what you're in for."

"No idea," Ianto confessed and laughed. "But I'm sure."

-end