It would have been foolish for Jack to think there were things that Ianto hadn't told him. Perhaps this was folly: a relationship built on two men's ideal of one another as opposed to anything concrete. And yet, Jack knew how he felt about Ianto and in his mind, that was all that mattered in the end. "The past doesn't always make the man," Jack replied, thinking of the things he had done in his own past, coupled with the missing two years of his life. "You see who I am now," Jack repeated. "And that's what's important. I don't think you'd like who I was to be quite honest." Jack, however, hadn't intended to say that last bit aloud and quickly pushed forward before it could have a chance to register in Ianto's mind.
"Immortality isn't something one brings up idly. 'Just so you know, I can't die and am waiting for another man to come fix me. So pass the crisps, will you?'" Jack shook his head. "I also hadn't planned on getting shot by my own team either," he pointed out.
Even though he was dead, Jack wouldn't have minded bringing Owen back to strangle him. The man had no right to say anyt of that -- even if it may have rung with a bit of truth at the time. "No, you're not. If you were, would I be going through all of this to make sure you don't walk out that door? Even if we are assigned to the same flat, so don't bring that up again. If I didn't care about you or us..." Jack trailed off, drawing in a deep breath. "Christ, Ianto," he repeated, shaking his head almost sadly.
"No, you're not another item -- I didn't mean it that way when I said it to Gwen. It was intended to lighten what should have been the happiest day of her life that got fucked in the end." Jack warred with himself, half of him wanting to gather Ianto into his arms and snog him senseless while the rest wanted to turn away until Ianto could realise what Jack was saying without saying.
"So..." Jack said softly, fixing Ianto with a level stare. "Just how much do you think I'm capable of in the end?" He drew in a breath. "Because I'm so fixated on Gwen or the Doctor I don't have time for anything else?" Jack did, at last, take a hesitant step towards Ianto. This was why they really needed to talk more than they did. Otherwise things built up until they came to a head -- just as they were now. "But I do care," Jack said softly, the hard veneer of the Captain began to break, showing the vulnerable man beneath, the man Jack so desperately tried to keep hidden. "I was never good at relationships. One or five night stands are easier."