Title: Give Me A Reason
Author: scy
Feedback: scynneh@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: Not mine
Fandom: Torchwood
Pairing: Jack/Ianto
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up through 'Sleeper', at least
Summary: Someone needs to act.
Author's Notes: I thought there would be more of this sort of thing.
March 2008

At a minute past nine, Jack picked him up for their date. Ianto had expected to be given directions to a restaurant and meet his boss there, and so he dressed for the occasion, and was instead standing on the corner with a bewildered expression on his face when Jack pulled up in the SUV.

"You look surprised, Ianto," Jack said.

"Yes." Ianto saw no point in denying it, Jack would only fix on Ianto's discomfort and make light of it in such a way that Ianto would feel ridiculous. If nothing else came out of the evening, he wanted to maintain his composure, it was his only defense, and one he wasn't, as yet, prepared to relinquish under any conditions.

Jack got out to open the passenger side door for Ianto. It was another of those quirks that threw him. Jack was most definitely not raised anywhere in Earth's recent history, but he had plainly experienced several generations and liked enough of them to employ their gestures.

"Come on, hop in," Jack said and Ianto stepped into the SUV. Jack took the driver's seat and glanced in the mirror as he pulled out. "I saw the way you were staring at me," Jack said.

"I wasn't, exactly," Ianto said.

"I said I wanted to take you on a date, there are certain requirements for these things," Jack said.

"I just wasn't aware you had any familiarity with social niceties," Ianto said. He was needling Jack, very obviously, but he couldn't help but wonder why Jack was bothering. They both knew what Jack was interested in, and it didn't include clothes or a meal.

"I'm trying something different," Jack said. "I admit, it's been awhile since I did anything like this. It's almost a new experience."

"I see," Ianto said. He and the others had talked about Jack while he was gone missing, and they had concluded that their leader was much older than he appeared and that they had no way of knowing where he came from.

In every conversation since Jack had been back, even when they managed to herd Jack around to the topic of him being away, Jack was charming and completely unhelpful in allaying their concerns about whether this was going to be a habit they would have to deal with in the future. Nobody had said it, but the consensus was that if they didn't keep track of him, Jack would disappear without explanation or word.

Ianto followed Jack into the restaurant and decided that he would reserve judgment on whether it was worthwhile to dare this thing they'd barely had all over again, knowing he didn't understand Jack, and likely never would.

Jack ordered swimming angels and an assortment of other dishes in Thai. The waiter brought the dishes and put them in the middle of the table. He smiled with that extra warmth that Jack effortlessly brought out in other people.

"I didn't know you spoke Thai," Ianto said, and thanked the waiter in the same fashion.

"Showoff," Jack said and grinned.

"Hardly." Ianto stared at Jack and then began to eat slowly. They didn't let the conversation stray beyond the bounds of two people who hadn't seen one another for some time, and the meal was good, if surreal. He didn't know where to begin, or even if he should try to rely on past precedents to figure out what Jack was up to. As a compromise with his dignity, Ianto limited himself to basic queries.

"Did you do a good deal of sightseeing?"

"It wasn't that kind of trip," Jack said.

"Then what was it?" Ianto asked.

"I found someone unexpectedly, and realized I'd already answered most of the questions I had."

"For your doctor," Ianto said. They had deduced that it was the alien in the blue phone box that must have taken Jack, since that was one of the only beings any of them believed would have a chance of actually enticing Jack away before he remembered to leave a note.

"That's what I said earlier."

"Right." Ianto stabbed his fork into the mound of rice on his plate and glanced up to see that Jack was watching him. Self consciously, Ianto resumed eating more delicately.

"If I asked what happened, would you tell me?"

"Why do you need to know? I'm back now, that's what's important," Jack said, as if that should be the end to it.

For Jack at least, that seemed to be all he felt he needed to say on the subject. The past, what he'd done, and with whom didn't need to be explained, not until the world was at stake. Ianto had handled that once, but circumstances had changed, and he wasn't sure whether it would be worth it.

Jack dropped Ianto off at his flat just before eleven, and only smiled when Ianto wished him good night. He had thought Jack wouldn't restrain himself when they weren't in public, but Jack seemed to be trying to defy every standard, even those of his employees.

The question kept Ianto up that night. He had been preparing himself for Jack to kiss him since the man had uncertainly proposed they go out on a date. As nothing of the sort had happened, Ianto knew Jack had something less common in mind, and he could speculate as to what that might be, or he could act, and give Jack a hint. One of them needed to have a clear direction.

At work the following Monday, Ianto approached Jack's office and stood quietly in the doorway. When he wasn't noticed, he took a step forward.

"Jack," Ianto said and the other man turned around.

"I had a good time."

"I'm glad," Jack said, his hands in his pockets, smiling.

"We should do it again, soon," Ianto said.

"Another date?" Jack asked.

"Or something else," Ianto said and had the pleasure of seeing Jack try not to smirk.

"The next time, I choose what we do," Ianto said and went to start the coffee.

Over the next week, Ianto discovered that watching Jack negotiate the rudimentary groundwork of a relationship was entertaining, a spectacle that Ianto categorized as a rare phenomenon. In the office, Jack repeated himself I belong here, not leaving, and Ianto saw that the repetition and his continued presence were beginning to put Toshiko, Gwen, and Owen at ease. They complained about his jokes and mysterious ways, but with a fondness that was more possessive than annoyed. Jack was their boss, unknown, unbelievable, but unshakable. He'd made a place for himself and they all knew how empty it had been in his absence.

Ianto was determined not to forget though, that he hadn't been sure of what he wanted when he made that first serious overture with the stopwatch. It had always been a given that Jack was interested, but Ianto had held off until he felt as though he wouldn't be at a disadvantage, emotionally or otherwise. It had been completely different, a diversion that he enjoyed, but he had considered the arrangement to be loose, by any definition of the word. Apparently, Jack was looking to establish something a little more enduring, and Ianto had to decide if that was what he wanted too.

"What do you think, Ianto?" Jack asked.

Ianto sat up in his chair. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"The issue of Martian passports, do you think it needs to be addressed?"

"You're not serious," Ianto said.

"No, I wanted to see if you were listening. What were you daydreaming about?" Jack asked.

"Jack, stop teasing him," Gwen said.

"Couldn't help it," Jack said. "Luckily it's not a consideration, can you imagine the backlog we'd have to go through?" Jack shuddered theatrically. "Would be a nightmare."

"If we could get back to the briefing," Gwen said. "Tosh has been following reports of people living close to the bay who've come down with a strange reaction to something."

"Why are we looking into anaphylaxis?" Owen asked. "Couldn't they go to hospital?"

"They appear to be breaking out in kelp," Tosh said.

Ianto blinked. "That's odd."

"And embarrassing unless it happens in the right setting," Jack said.

Owen rolled his eyes. "Is it contagious?"

"No, but several of the victims have begun to become ill" Tosh said. "The kelp is spreading, taking over their bodies."

"If it extends into their respiratory systems, it could be fatal," Owen said.

"We're having tissue samples sent to the lab for you to analyze, Owen," Gwen said.

"Right, I'll work on breaking down the cellular structure, see if I can't synthesize an antidote," Owen said and hopped up.

Tosh pushed her glasses up higher and followed after. "I've got a pattern recognition program running, I'll check whether it's picked up on a trajectory for the attacks."

"The police will alert me if there's another case," Gwen said. "I've set my voice mail to forward the call to my mobile."

"I'm going to look through the archives, see if there's anything on record about similar cases, we might be able to find a way to stop whatever this is," Ianto said.

"Sounds good," Jack said. "All right people, get to it, Ianto stay a minute."

"Yes?" Ianto kept back the 'sir', even though it still felt strange not to acknowledge that Jack was, in charge, even when he was wandering so far off topic that Gwen had to rope him in again.

"I really did have a good time the other night," Jack said.

"You did?" Ianto couldn't tell sometimes, if Jack was playing an elaborate game with everyone around him, and that included them having Thai food and talking about things that weren't their jobs. Mostly, Ianto had been prompted to share anecdotes about how work had been while Jack was away, and Jack neatly avoided sharing anything about his travels.

Gwen would have pushed and insisted that Jack needed to share because he owed them, her, something of an explanation. Ianto understood the desire to keep a few secrets, and he had never demanded that Jack force disclosure when it wasn't right.

He asked, and when Jack was willing, learned little things. It wasn't a technique that he employed often. Too many questions made Jack's smile sharpen and his mood veer into other territory. Ianto had heard more recounting of bedroom antics than he ever imagined could exist, and while the suggestions of positions were intriguing, they were never what he had wanted to know in the first place.

Ianto understood the trouble; everyone was so dazzled by the front that Jack presented, they didn't think to try and take another look. It was an old routine, and Ianto had used it himself as the discreet and indispensable assistant who was around when needed, but never got in the way.

That had been effective if isolating way to protect his interests. Then it became an impossibility, and he was revealed to the team in all his divided loyalties and then loss. He hadn't known how to give up someone he loved. Now, when there was the promise of an extension on the understanding he'd formed with Jack, Ianto had next to no clue how badly he wanted whatever Jack was offering, only that it could be his and he had to prove that he did want the chance to decide what it meant.

"Absolutely," Jack said and stood a few inches closer than he needed to. "The next one's your pick."

"I haven't forgotten," Ianto said and gestured at the projector. "We do have other priorities, though."

"That's work, I'm talking about a date," Jack said.

"You mix the two?" Ianto asked.

"Sometimes that makes it more exciting," Jack said, and seeing that Ianto wasn't overwhelmed with that explanation, continued. "Or it could be that we only see one another at work, and I want to change that."

"You want to see me outside of work," Ianto confirmed.

"Yes."

"After we solve this case."

"All right," Jack said. "I'm looking forward to it."

Ianto was as well, but he only smiled the tiniest bit. "Later."

"I know, at the moment, there's a kelp epidemic to deal with. Another one of those things I bet you never thought you'd have to face," Jack said.

"One of many," Ianto said.

Jack took a seat at the conference table and flipped through the scanty files that Tosh and Gwen had accumulated. As soon as he put all his focus somewhere else, Ianto felt like he'd lost.

"Would you believe that there are sentient sea plants?" Jack said and stood up. "I knew I'd seen that foliage before."

He hurried out of the room and Ianto followed.

They found the others at their work stations, and Jack began explaining.

"They're parasites, attaching themselves to a host and taking over their bodies."

"Why?" Ianto asked.

"Organic life forms are able to sustain a highly alkaline environment that's just perfect for their needs. They use currents to migrate, but if they find something that might take them further, they'll use it, and for more than that, they need the closest source of nourishment for their young."

"Is the gestation fatal?" Owen asked.

"And messy," Jack said.

"How do we cure it?" Gwen asked.

"Expose them to rainwater," Jack said. "They come right off in a good downpour."

"Wouldn't a bathtub be easier?" Owen asked.

Jack shook his head. "It has to be natural."

"All we have to do is wait for it to rain?" Gwen asked. "Can those people wait that long?"

"It won't be too long," Ianto said. "The weather's been dreary all day, and rain is predicted."

"All right, let's get on this," Jack said, and everyone grabbed their coats.

In the SUV, Owen was on te phone with the hospital, stridently arguing about the benefits of fresh air in this type of case, while Gwen and Tosh conferred over the hospital specs.

"I don't much care if you think it's homeopathic rubbish," Owen said loudly, "I want those patients signed over into my care under the authority of Torchwood by the time I arrive."

He hung up and grinned. "Love arguing with those unimaginative slobs."

The reluctant physician was the only hiccup, and Owen's long-winded argument had cowed him so that when they reached the hospital, it was only a question of how best to transport the patients to the nearest unobstructed space before the clouds moved in.

"We always wind up on the roof," Gwen said as they stared up at the darkening sky, each of them standing beside a stretcher.
Owen moved between the patients, checking their vitals and didn't do more than grumble about the deplorable state of medicine.

"Everyone pack their raincoats?" Jack asked, and there was a collective groan as the sky opened up on them.

Jack was right, the kelp creatures withdrew from their hosts as soon as the first raindrops hit them, and Owen packed them into small coolers filled with saline.

"Has to be the best thing, really," he said.

"They're sort of sad," Gwen said.

"Don't get soppy over some seaweed," Owen said.

Gwen sloshed one of the coolers in Owen's direction and he jumped backwards. "Stop that, they're drawn to appropriate host bodies."

"Oh, right." Gwen peered into the container. "You should be just fine, then."

Tosh giggled.

"Enough, you three," Jack said. "Better get these people back in their beds downstairs, their recovery has to be declared a miracle."

"On the way," Owen said.

Torchwood delivered the patients downstairs and exited before the hospital staff could more than descend on the groggy people and begin doing assessments.

Back in the Hub, Ianto found Jack picking up the reports they'd left scattered when he'd figured out what was going on.

Ianto held up the papers he was holding. "Just the usual H34/L forms."

"Why haven't we given up and called them the illegal alien forms?" Jack asked.

"Probably because the main office frowns on such labels," Ianto said and handed them over.

"It would be more to the point," Jack said

"Fine, give them here." Jack paged through the papers, nodded at the boxes Ianto had checked and pulled a pen out to sign several lines. "There you go."

When Ianto didn't move after several moments, Jack shifted and gave him an attentive look. "Was there something else?"

"I don't have any other forms for you to sign," Ianto said and smiled.

"Then, you can go on home, or out, if you feel like it."

"I'd rather stay in," Ianto said. "I'm not much for socializing tonight." Ianto reached up and began loosening his tie. "But I'm sure we can fill our time somehow."

Jack glanced up and raised his eyebrows. "I see that you've decided to take the initiative." He sorted another file, only looking at Ianto when he spoke up, his voice rough.

"You say that like I don't know what I want," Ianto said.

"It's been hard to figure out," Jack said.

"It was," Ianto said and pulled his tie off entirely and dropped it on the table in front of Jack. "I've reconsidered specific conditions that were mutually agreed upon in our previous arrangement." His hands shook slightly, but he kept moving to work at the buttons on his shirt. "And I've come to a conclusion."

"I can see that," Jack said.

"Is that a problem?"

"No, I'm eager to hear what you've decided."

Ianto let his coat slide off and draped it purposefully on the back of Jack's chair. "When you were away to wherever, you came up with a plan, how did it go? We would date, go the the cinema?" Ianto undid his cuff links. "Take things slow?"

Jack pushed his chair back and faced Ianto, expression pleased and speculative. "I thought it'd be nice."

"Not your usual way," Ianto said.

"I told you, I thought about this a lot."

"I don't need wooing, Jack."

"Are you against it?" Jack asked.

"Not at all, but that's not what I need right now," Ianto said.

"What, then?"

"I've hinted, rather broadly, as to what I'd like, but you haven't picked up on any of it."

"I'd rather you keep on going, I'll get it eventually," Jack said.

Ianto snorted. "Don't pretend to be thick, it doesn't suit you."

Jack got out of his chair, a move that brought him up against Ianto, his breath warm against Ianto's face. He cupped Ianto's cheek and smiled tenderly, tilted his head as he leaned in, and laid a kiss on Ianto's mouth.

"Does this?"

"Possibly," Ianto said.

"And this?" Jack asked and kissed Ianto again, tongue brushing against Ianto's mouth.

"Could be."

Ianto could turn things in any direction, he could sen that, and he considered leading Jack somewhere more comfortable, but then he felt his belt being undone, and knew that they weren't likely to leave the room.

"Are you sure you're on board, you haven't taken off so much as your braces," Ianto said.

"I'm getting there," Jack said, but kissed Ianto again instead. He wasn't doing it roughly or hurriedly, like it was mostly a preliminary to the main event. Every kiss seemed like a way to gauge what mood Ianto was in and how far he wanted to take this.

Ianto pulled back and licked his lips. "You're stalling."

"Savoring," Jack said.

Jack's fingers were heated on Ianto's neck, and he reflected that Jack had always almost feverishly warm along Ianto's body, as if whatever it was that made Jack different, it kept him running hotter than everyone else. Ianto had forgotten how curious a sensation it was, not bad though. He pressed closer to Jack and slid his hands under Jack's braces and shoved them down. They tangled around Jack's wrists and Ianto seized the moment and yanked Jack over to the table and urged him up on top of it.

"Going to have your way with me, Ianto?"

"Your savoring was taking too long," Ianto said.

"Such a critic," Jack said in a low voice.

Ianto stood between Jack's legs, and felt himself being guided nearer.

Jack rubbed his leg along Ianto's hip and laughed. "I keep forgetting that chivalry is dead."

"Just impatient," Ianto said.

Jack's eyes went to the door, and he leaned back far enough to reach his wrist strap. He flipped it open and pressed three buttons and then smiled at Ianto. "If they do come back, they won't be able to open the door."

Ianto's face felt warm, and he realized where he was.

"Hey," Jack said, gripping Ianto's chin. "We were right here."

Ianto nodded. "Right you are, sir." He added the honorific to see Jack's reaction and got one.

"Weren't we going to drop the that?"

"Habit, I apologize," Ianto said and smiled broadly.

"Looks like you're breaking some old ones," Jack said.

"You used to tell me that we shouldn't do this at work."

"I advised against flagrant exhibitionism," Ianto said. "You remember that I did participate."

Jack was plainly recalling several of those discussions and he laughed.

Ianto sighed in exasperation. "Could we focus, please?"

"Polite, yet impatient," Jack said softly. "I like it." Before Ianto could get out a retort, Jack shifted and began to move along Ianto's body as if he was talking with each twist and roll of his hips.

Ianto's collar was wrenched open, and he would have protested the damage, but Jack apologized with the way his teeth nipped at the skin he'd exposed, and Ianto let it go. He drew in air to warn Jack not to mark him so obviously, but when he jerked away, Jack followed, and as Ianto relaxed, the other man hummed in a key that made Ianto's face heat.

"I expect the same opportunity," Ianto said, and Jack kissed him.

"I certainly hope so," Jack said. He didn't take charge entirely, because Ianto was still holding him in place, but Jack did direct Ianto's hands below their waists and between his fumbling and Jack's gentle laughter, they found a position that suited them both.

Jack stroked Ianto with one hand and fisted his shirt with the other,and Ianto held him close as he shuddered.

When his heart rate had slowed, Ianto gave himself enough room to see to Jack, and laid him back on the table, shirt pushed up, his belly soft, and heaving as Ianto put his mouth on him.

When Jack tried to arch up, Ianto had the leverage to hold him down and so he used it. He raised his head and gnawed at Jack's him, leaving a bruise just where it would be felt the most, and then he brought Jack off.

"Point made," Jack said, and hauled Ianto up to lay on top of him. Ianto thought he might be too heavy and tried to lift up, but Jack held on tightly. "No, it's fine, Ianto, just stay."

"You first," Ianto whispered, and Jack pressed his face into Ianto's neck.

"I came back, and I'm staying."

-end