[for ianto and daniel] Wednesday Sept. 19

[more_flexible]

Jack took the bucket and left House and Wilson together in the rec room. He made good on his suggestion, finding his way to Ianto's hut easily in the twilight. It really was magic because by the time he got there, not only had none of the ice melted, there were a few more beers than there had been before.

He knocked on the door and waited, hoping it was still early enough he wasn't interrupting anything. And hey, if he was, he had a peace offering.

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[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He clenched his jaw, looking at Ianto, listened to Daniel. Fallout...yeah, there would be fallout. One way or another, there was going to be fallout.

"I'm fine," he assured Ianto quietly. It wasn't the pat lie he told all the time. Physically, he was fine. He was satisfied in more than one way. It was just...

Change.

Fuck, he hated changing.

[coffee_sir]

It was hard to look at Jack, listen to Daniel, and not feel like an absolute twat. The intention had been to stop Jack from doing anything stupid, and though it had seemed the thing to do at the time (and Ianto thought he would be able to defend himself in any case) he couldn't help the doubts from starting to seep in.

He didn't let them show though, refused to give them a foothold. Holding Jack's gaze as much as he could through Daniel's words, Ianto squeezed Jack's hand again as he sat up. "If you want to leave, then go," he said quietly, no judgment in his voice. "But you're always welcome here. You know that, just remember it."

[theunascended.livejournal.com]

"You're not fine," Daniel disagreed, because if Daniel wasn't allowed to hide from Jack then the reverse was also true. "The island fucks with everyone and today it decided to screw with you." After a minute, he admitted, "And maybe we helped it along. But whatever the consequences, we will help you."

That was a given. If Jack didn't come to them, they would go to him.

"Even a Captain needs to have someone to lean against, Jack. I've seen what happens when they don't." He took a breath. "Jack walked through the Stargate - the first time I met him - ready to blow a nuke to make sure the Gate couldn't be accessed. It was a suicide mission. Not one he took because he had to. One he took because he wanted to."

He shook his head before Jack could respond. "I'm not saying you're suicidal, but I am saying that I know what it's like when you don't have someone to count on." And by you he meant military men. "And I want you to know you can count on us. On me."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Reciprocity only worked when Jack was willing. For now, he'd stick to his typical answer. It was enough, just right now, to be 'fine'. Not fixed. Not happy. Not weak or strong. Just...fine.

He smiled at Ianto, soft but tight, and stroked Daniel's hair once, then moved away, climbing off the bed and retrieving his clothes from the night before.

Their words--count on us, family, welcome--he heard and understood. This just wasn't the time to deal with it. It was too raw, too fresh, too close. He may as well have still been marked and bruised for as bright as the pain still was.

After Faramir, though, he couldn't stand to look down and see scrapes and bruises. It had little to do with House and everything to do with him. Marks were...well, once, a long time ago, marks were not allowed.

"I know," he replied, fastening the top button of his jeans. "Thanks."

And that was all he was willing to say about it. Any of it.

[coffee_sir]

Jack was making his escape, as per usual, and Ianto was neither unsurprised nor unsympathetic. Jack knew everything Daniel had just said. He just did without having to hear it. But Jack listening and Jack doing were two completely separate things, and Ianto knew Daniel wasn't going to get anything more out of Jack than what he'd already gotten. And perhaps a goodbye.

Shifting again, Ianto resettled on the bed with his arms loosely around Daniel, roughly chest to shoulder. It was partially out of a need to have the other man close and partially to somehow restrain him from saying too much, pushing too much more. Because half of loving Jack was letting him go. Sometimes more than half.

"Take care," he said to Jack, giving him a slight but true smile.

[theunascended.livejournal.com]

Daniel leaned against Ianto and sighed. The acknowledgment was enough. For now. It meant that at least Jack had listened to what they said, believed it, and would probably process what it actually meant. God knew that Daniel needed to. He'd done such a complete 180 that if he hadn't seen how Jack had responded to being under the island's magic, he would have believed he was.

Except that Jack didn't question it. Jack hadn't questioned the newfound feelings and Daniel did. Or at least would once he was alone with Ianto. He wasn't sure that Jack was up to the scrutiny that Daniel was about to put himself through.

"In bocca al lupo," he murmured, nodding. Good luck indeed. He thought that Jack would need it. He gave Jack a look that hopefully said that he was leaving off the line of conversation for now. It would be continued later, but not now.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack pulled on his shirt, then picked up his boots. One final look at each of them, one final smile, one quiet nod, and he walked out.

The beer was still on the table in the bucket, the ice still there too. Jack picked out a bottle and opened it, considering for a moment everything that had happened since Wilson gave him the first one last night. Just a moment of thought, and the bottle changed to a flask and Jack smiled. House had Wilson and he had hypervodka.

As he left their hut, he was fairly certain everything was just how it was supposed to be.