for Ianto | june 11, evening

[more_flexible]

The air was warm but there was still snow lingering, fighting against melting away. It was more in the shady areas than on the path, which was nice. Not that any amount of snow would have stopped Jack. He made it to Ianto's and knocked, half wondering if Charlie was going to answer the door in her underpants. It seemed to happen far too often for it to be a coincidence. That thought made him grin and he leaned against the door frame. Ianto in his underpants would be acceptable, too.

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[coffee_sir]

Ianto was not in his pants, point of fact. Well, not solely. He had jeans on as well, and even a shirt, though this had likely more to do with their current spat of unexpected weather than any desire on Ianto's part. Banon rose up from her sleeping pillow as if to bark at the intruder, but Ianto gave her a snap of his fingers as he moved to the door, and she sat back down.

"Jack." He greeted the man with a smile as he opened the door. "Come in. What's up?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack wore a lopsided grin of his own as he entered and closed the door behind him. Once inside, he shrugged off the heavy wool greatcoat and laid it aside.

"I came by because I've got a question for you," he said. He'd tried out a few different ways to tell Ianto while he was walking here and nothing seemed to sound right in his head. Like most things, he figured he could wing it and everything would turn out all right.

"Well, not only because I have a question. I also wanted to check that you and Charlie made it through the storm okay. You did, right? Both of you?"

On second thought, maybe winging it wasn't the best approach.

[coffee_sir]

A question that required searching him out, somewhat inconveniently as it entailed Jack walking through snow. That was intriguing, so say the least, particularly because it was not so urgent as to be a true emergency. The less emergencies, the better these days.

"We were fine," Ianto assured him. "Stu built a good house. Banon was a touch miserable, but she got over it." He could have gone on with the small talk, but he was curious. "So what's your question?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"My question. Right. Well, Logan proposed, and I agreed, so if neither of us decides it's a huge mistake, I was wondering if you'd return the favor and be my best man. In, oh, probably some time this year. Or next," Jack said as he watched Ianto closely for his reaction.

[coffee_sir]

Ianto did his very best not to have a reaction, and Ianto's best was very good.

Never in a thousand years. Not in a million would he have expected this. Yes, surely, somewhere over those centuries that Jack had wandered, there had to have been a marriage or two. Or, hell, five. But that was only conjecture on the part of the Torchwood 3 crew. He'd never thought it would become reality like this.

He wanted to be happy. He desperately wanted to, but caution tended to win out with Jack. "Married," Ianto repeated, just to have the word said. "Monogamous?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"We didn't really talk about that," Jack chuckled. "Probably not, but since neither of us has been screwing anyone else..."

He trailed off and looked off into a middle space, the smile permanently affixed to his face. Like a lot of things Jack did, it was obvious that there was only the barest hint of a plan- and the bits he had set were the ones that made him feel the best.

"I'm not kidding, though. Later. Much, much later. After all the crap with Neil, Logan's in no rush to do it again and I...I'm me."

[coffee_sir]

'I'm me' was not the most reassuring statement, but it was better than ignorance. Still, it didn't tell Ianto whether Jack was fully conscious of what he was doing, or just too pleased to think past the most obvious problems.

"But you're going to talk about it," Ianto answered. It wasn't a question; they had to. "About everything before you actually do anything."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack gave him a pointed look and despite the fact that he did, for one rare moment, look truly happy, he clearly wasn't overcome by the whole thing. He may not always have the best plans, but he always had some sort of strategy.

"We're going to talk about it," he said with a nod. "There's a lot to consider. I'm not sure I'm ready, but I will be."

He turned to his coat and reached into the pocket, then handed Ianto a photograph.

"It's from the future. It was in that case of papers and shit I got a couple years ago. I don't know who she is...but she must be amazing if we get married. Since I got that, I've wondered how I become that guy. The guy you knew. I think I get it now."

[coffee_sir]

Perhaps he was being a bad friend, but he couldn't very well help it. After all Jack had gone through in terms of relationships -- and Logan as well, to be honest -- Ianto thought it better to be wary than overly supportive. An immediate hug and smile wouldn't have meant anything if his heart weren't in it besides.

He took the photo, unfamiliar to him, and really looked at it. He couldn't say Jack looked overjoyed, but he didn't look unhappy. And the bride looked pleased. Though, given Jack's history, there was no guarantee that this picture recorded an actual marriage.

"You do?" Ianto asked, looking up at Jack. "How's that?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

He shrugged briefly and reached for the picture.

"I've been here three and a half years, Ianto. The novelty of pretty people has worn off. And a lot has happened; I'm sick of avoiding things or running from them. Everyone- you, the Doctor, Dale, Daniel, Tosh, Alcuin -you've all told me to find how to be happy," he explained as he looked at the picture briefly before putting it back into the pocket.

"I love him and we make each other happy. Of all the people I've known who have gotten married, that's all it comes down to. He accepts me for what I am. He's never asked me to change, or even hinted at it. I love him how he is, too. He's...fantastic. He's worth it."

[coffee_sir]

Ianto, for one, never thought that Jack's relationships were built upon a person's physical attractiveness, not entirely. But avoiding things, yes, Jack could do with a little less of that. Something about this didn't feel entirely right. Perhaps it was the unexpectedness of it all, or, heaven forbid, Ianto had placed Jack into his own little box in his mind, and marriage wasn't a part of that.

"You don't have to get married just because you make each other happy, Jack," he said, keeping his voice mild. He wasn't about to lecture, just get another perspective out there. "It's not a progression, no matter what people say. I don't doubt that you love him, and he loves you."

He chewed his upper lip for a moment, then took a deep breath as he nodded to himself. "If this is what you want to do, I'm there for you." Then Ianto could smile, small but honest. "I'd be honored to be your best man, Jack."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"But you don't think I should do it," Jack replied, not so happy that he couldn't pick up on Ianto's reticence. In fact, it was enough to take at least half the wind out of his sails. He had no doubts about it himself, but it seemed like no matter what he did, the people he cared about and who said they wanted to see him happy were always the first to point out what was wrong with whatever he'd found happiness with.

The bitch of it all was that Ianto was usually right.

[coffee_sir]

Ianto chewed his lip again before he answered, the smile faltering now. "I'm not sure it's right for you," he said. "For both of you, actually. That doesn't mean I don't think you should do it. I've always said do what makes you happy, be a little selfish, and it'd be hypocritical of me now to say don't. I'm just... feeling cautious. And would be more than happy for my worries to turn up unfounded."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Me too," he said quietly. "I hope you're wrong. I'm not sure if it's right either...but it doesn't feel wrong. I keep waiting to have some sort of doubt, and I haven't yet. Maybe I will after I go talk to Joe,"

[coffee_sir]

"Well," he said before interrupting himself with a sigh of... not exactly annoyance, but something like it at not knowing all the answers. "I truly hope you don't either. But if you do, listen to it please. Don't take the chance of buggering up something brilliant because you got carried away."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Is that what you thought was going to happen with Charlie?" Jack asked. "That you were ruining it by asking for more?"

[coffee_sir]

"No," Ianto answered without hesitation. "Not for a second." He might have had his own reasons for having held back on asking the question, but that was certainly not one of them.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"It doesn't feel wrong to want more, Ianto," he said quietly. "There are a lot of things I don't tell you about when it comes to Logan, but I'm happier than I've been in a long time. Ever, maybe. He got the worst of me to begin with and now? Maybe six months, maybe a year...a long engagement is good, I think, but he wants a promise and I'm ready to make one I won't break."

[coffee_sir]

Except promises always find a way to break.

He nodded, simply nodded. Now Ianto wished he hadn't taken the cautious course, had simply hugged Jack and let that be the end of it. Anyone else he probably would have, but Ianto liked to be honest with Jack. That's how best friends were supposed to work, right?

"Alright," he said, then stepped forward and took Jack's face into his hands. "You're happy. He's happy. I'm happy. I'm sorry you had to convince me. I just never thought I'd see the day, honestly."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Actually, that makes two of us," Jack replied, reaching up to cover one of Ianto's hands with his own. "If you'd told me a year ago...hell, if you'd told me at your wedding that I'd not only consider it, I'd agree to it, I'd have thought this place was messing with your head."

[coffee_sir]

Ianto laughed softly at that, released Jack and squeezed his shoulders. "Good not to be alone," he said lightly. "Dare I ask if you've told anyone else?"

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I talked to Dale because I need to talk to Joe and I wanted to do a little recon, but other than that, no," he said, then met Ianto's eyes and smiled. "Aside from Logan's family, you're the first. You might be the only. For a while. Just until, you know, everything's sorted."

[coffee_sir]

Regardless of the issue, Ianto tended to be the easiest on Jack when things didn't go as planned. This was simply a fact that history had taught him. And which made Ianto wary of what might come when Jack told more people.

"Right," he said. "And there's quite a bit to sort. ...And you'll have more than half the bloody island at this thing, whenever it happens," he realized with good-natured dread. "Don't tell me I'm going to end up wedding planner as well."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"If it happens, it'll be small. Really small. Intimate," Jack insisted. "I'll demand a party, though. A big one. Huge. You know how I like parties."

Of course, it just pointed out how much he and Logan really needed to talk about. The other man might actually want to make it a big deal. Jack had told him he didn't expect him to wear a white dress, but that was about as far as it had gotten before they'd fallen asleep.

[coffee_sir]

"Then do me a favor," he said, "and try and schedule this thing as close to the new year as possible. That way if you completely blow through my stock at the Hub, maybe the island will magic me up some more before anyone has to suffer."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"You know, that's a fantastic idea. We could just do it on New Year's Eve. Everyone will be there anyway, ringing in the New Year. This place provides all the food and drinks and we wouldn't touch the Hub stores. See, you're the best wedding planner around, Ianto. What would I do without you?" he beamed, patting Ianto on the cheek and then leaning in to steal a fast kiss. "Brilliant."

[coffee_sir]

Ianto had to blink, a little startled by the sudden decision, but finally laughed. "No one's going to bloody well remember the wedding at that rate, but it's only fitting."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"I will. And Logan will. That's all that really matters." Of that, he sounded certain. Plans and discussions and details could all get worked out. There was no date, no deadline. Just he and Logan and an open ended 'let's do it'. For now, that was good enough.