Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Yes, my child?"

madeinwales (madeinwales) wrote in vas_captio_rpg,
@ 2009-08-11 22:43:00

Entry tags:

!complete, day 18, ianto jones, jack harkness, location: museum

Day 18 - before dawn
Who: Ianto Jones and Jack Harkness
What: Coming home
Where: The museum
When: Day 18, before dawn
Rating: PG-13 to R?
Status: Active

They had been dropped back before the sun had even begun its climb up into the sky (or day had been dialed in, Ianto thought) and Ianto was knackered and a bit heartsore, though he couldn't really say why. Not the heartsore bit, at least.

The replica coat swirled round his ankles as he walked carefully, new shoes shiny in what little light there was. It was enough to find the museum, at least, and to slip inside towards the room he shared with Jack. Belatedly, he wondered what they had been told about the day's experiments, if they had been told anything at all. God, he hoped that everyone knew that they were alright.

Ianto knocked before pushing the door open and wearily called out, "Jack, it's me, it's over. I'm back. ..Jack?"

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capt_harkness
2009-08-12 03:11 am UTC (link)

Jack Harkness was not asleep. Jack Harkness was wide awake, staring up at the ceiling and may or may not have been sleeping on what had been Ianto's side of the bed. It still smelled like him, even though Jack knew the scent would fade in time.

Then he heard his voice. He'd know those Welsh vowels anywhere.

Anger flashing in his eyes, Jack sat up in bed, the covers pooling around his waist. Snarling, Jack pointed at the door. "You. OUT. I'm not fucking in the mood for this so get the fuck out of here."

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madeinwales
2009-08-12 03:17 am UTC (link)

Oh, God, not this.

Ianto shut the door behind him and slumped against it, regarding Jack's figure in the dim light. He wished he could see Jack's face, though the anger he'd see there wouldn't be reassuring in the least. Still, it'd be easier to read Jack. Depending on vocal cues alone was harder.

But then, there was no mistaking that tone.

"Kiss me," he said shortly and tucked his hands into his pockets. "Snog me. Good and proper. I'm, frankly, knackered and need a bit of a lie down so we can get my identity out of the way quickly."

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capt_harkness
2009-08-12 03:26 am UTC (link)

Yes, this. Because Ianto Jones was dead and this was a clone in its place. Jack had dealt with the clones, and, frankly, was sick and tired of them. He didn't want a threesome (or a foursome) -- and he wanted nothing more than to try and sleep.

Ianto shouldn't see Jack's face because said face was a masque of hatred and anger.

"No," Jack said simply, eyes narrowed. "Because you clones saw this, knew this is how I can tell him apart from the others. So I don't care if you went through his mind to find out how to snog me before you killed him. I don't do 'second bests'." Jack waved his hand, wishing he had his webley to shoot the clone between the eyes. "So get the fuck out of here and go take your failure back to the Powers. And, while you're at it, you can fucking tell them to go to hell and that I'll be happy to send them on the trip."

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madeinwales
2009-08-12 03:32 am UTC (link)

Wait. Killed him...? Ianto's breath caught and he stared at Jack, wanting badly to go over to him and shake him. He was alive! "I'm not dead, they didn't kill me! I don't know what they told you, but it's not true." Without that kiss Ianto had no way of identifying himself to Jack. Not in a place where everything was monitored and watched and where clones could be made at the whim of whoever ran this place.

Ianto slid down the door, till he was seated, and just stared. God, the fury in Jack's voice. The anger, the hatred. It .. made him ache. "Anything I suggest you'll accuse me of taking it from my own mind or manufacturing it, so taste is out of the question, too, I reckon. So's scent. How's your psychic abilities, lately?" All Torchwood personnel were trained in at least level one use of psychic abilities. It let them see through slightly psychic paper. Ianto was inviting Jack into his mind, if he could get there.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-12 03:38 am UTC (link)

Yes, killed him, a death Jack had witnessed on a grainy black & white set and had seen in his mind's eye every moment since. It was so ingrained that, even if Jack closed his eyes, he could see that monitor and Ianto as his life was slowly snuffed out.

Fucking bastards.

"Didn't have to tell me. I watched it," Jack hissed. "So don't tell me I don't know what I'm talking about because I fucking saw it."

Jack growled as the clone sat down on the floor. "What fucking part of 'get the fuck out of here' didn't you understand the first time?" Jack's patience was already paper thin and was continuing to wear -- that paper was almost see-through now. "There's nothing wrong with my abilities but if you think you're getting into my head? You've got another fucking thing coming, Jones. So why don't we just forgo this and you get out of here and leave me to my gr--" Jack cut off abruptly. No, not giving that away to the clone.

"Leave me in peace. You've done enough."

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madeinwales
2009-08-12 11:47 am UTC (link)

Leave him to his grief. Oh God.

Not for the first time did Ianto think about how things had changed between them. Especially now. There was an intensity now that didn't exist before. Probably born of despiration. Ianto shook his head and rubbed at his forehead just a bit.

"No, I'm not getting into your head. I'm inviting you into mine. I know enough that I can sit here, wide open, while you rummage." Ianto held a hand out, briefly, then dropped it, shrugging. This hurt far more than he was letting on.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-12 12:32 pm UTC (link)

Yes, leave him to his grief -- only that bit wasn't supposed to have been said at all. Whoops. Jack didn't want some damn clone knowing just how much his relationship with Ianto had changed while they were stuck here in Vas.

Hell, he wasn't really ready to let the real Ianto know for that matter.

"And what --" Jack broke off. No, clones had the memories too. "And how do I know you didn't strip him of his memories?" Jack asked. "How do I know they didn't just take his brain and put it into your body? It's possible and I've seen it done, just with a bit more mess."

Coldly talk about Lisa. Now let's see how the clone reacted.

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madeinwales
2009-08-12 01:00 pm UTC (link)

Ouch.

He would bring up Lisa, wouldn't he. Ianto knotted his fingers together and looked down into his hands and swallowed against the lump of grief that memory still brought up, occasionally. "If that's the case," he said, voice harsh and roughened, "then it would still be me, wouldn't it? My brain? Oh God. Just .. Just don't." Don't talk about it anymore. Ianto felt like he was going to be sick.

Ianto began to pick himself up off the floor, swaying just a little. She wasn't mess. And he wasn't like that thing she had become. He couldn't be. "I'm going to be ill," he murmured quickly.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-12 05:16 pm UTC (link)

Yes, Jack would bring up Lisa because he didn't give a damn. The man sitting on the floor (now rising) wasn't his Ianto so what did Jack care if he crushed the other man's spirits? Nothing, that's what.

"I already said I don't do second bests," Jack replied. "The original Ianto with the original brain, none of this hybrid bullshit." If that wasn't a declaration of love (though Jack wasn't consciously thinking of such), Jack didn't know what was -- said in Jack's own 'way'.

"If you're going to be sick, do it elsewhere," Jack replied, waving Ianto off. He watched Ianto for a moment, arms crossed over his bare chest. "Just why should I believe you anyway?"

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madeinwales
2009-08-12 07:09 pm UTC (link)

Ianto paced, fingertips against the wall and free hand against his stomach. At one point, he loosened his tie and undid a couple of buttons so he could breathe a bit better. He felt a bit like it had been a couple of years ago, when everything had been tentive and careful, when Ianto had feelings for Jack and couldn't act on them and nearly destroyed everything for love of a woman.

Given that Jack had brought up Lisa, it wasn't surprising that this time was heavy on his mind, was it?

He paused in the corner, shoulder to the wall, and looked over at Jack, eyes sweeping up and down smooth planes. "We woke up in beds," he said, unwilling to answer Jack's question. "In a sealed off apartment. Rather like Big Brother. Little beds and showers and a stocked kitchen. No windows, no journals. All we did was wait. Shannon cried because she thought... she thought that she was a curse. That people died because of her. And all I could do was hold her and offer tea. And now you don't believe I'm me and I don't even have the tea." Useless, Jones. Utterly useless. "I wish we had the mind probe. I'd submit to it in a second."

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capt_harkness
2009-08-12 08:07 pm UTC (link)

To be quite honest, Jack wasn't sure why he was still sitting in Ianto's side of the bed and talking this rationally (or as rationally as Jack could manage at the present) with the clone. And then there was that whole nagging feeling in the back of Jack's mind that he was not going to give voice to. No, not yet.

Jack's head moved just enough to follow Ianto's progress around the room as he paced. "That doesn't answer my question," Jack snapped, drawing his lips into a thin line. It did, however, further bring any and all of Jack's doubts into question. Damn you. Leave me be. Please. Jack's jaw clenched, trying to push aside the naggling feelings of doubt. "Tea?" Jack arched a brow. "If you wanted to offer me comfort it'd be coffee and not tea."

The problem with this was that Jack didn't do benefit of the doubts. Still, he found himself speaking in spite of of his lack of want to give into misgivings. "If I said my psychic abilities were just fine, what would I be seeing?" Jack's skills were decent, part of the training from the Agency -- only his mind tended to wander more often than naught.

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madeinwales
2009-08-12 08:22 pm UTC (link)

"She's more of a tea drinker," Ianto explained. "I haven't coffee, either. Put some in my pockets, but my pockets are empty." Ianto shook his head at Jack's snapped retort, then looked down at his shoes for a moment. He was too tired to deal with this well, he knew. And he had to watch every word he said, right now.

"You should believe me because you couldn't live with yourself if you were wrong. And if you were in my mind, you'd see .. me. How I feel and how I hate admitting it. It's not bad, how I feel. Just .. rather like .. I don't want to jinx things." He looked over his shoulder again. "You would see loyalty. Frustration. Guilt. Or did you mean specific things?"

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capt_harkness
2009-08-12 08:41 pm UTC (link)

Well that would be consistent with what tended to happen at Vas Captio. Jack thought of the morning buffet and how food had turned to ash after leaving the room. It was the day Ianto had left that cryptic message for Jack to decipher, with Jack adding his own words of love to the mix. He had been forgiven, so Jack figured he was allowed the sappiness.

In truth, Jack wondered how much a clone could know about him. Memories and facts were one thing, but to know how a person would react was another entirely. "It's a start," Jack replied softly. "I've never been one for admitting things either. If it were specific, what would it be?"

Because Jack wanted to know if this was a clone or not. And he knew that Ianto would know the right thing to say to turn him into a believer.

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madeinwales
2009-08-12 09:28 pm UTC (link)

"Brecon Beacons." Ianto turned and wedged his back into the corner and clasped his hands in front of him. These were painful memories. "Mainly for the helplessness I felt then and the helplessness I feel now. I was willing to give up my life to get Tosh out of there and I'm willing to do the same now, with everyone else here. No cannibals though. That's a plus. At least in the Beacons I knew who's head to bash. Here, I don't."

His back slid down the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. They were talking so things were progressing. Or, rather, Ianto was talking and Jack was listening. He still had to prove himself, but it was much better than being thrown out or bludgeoned over the head with something. "All I wanted, then, was for my stupid little life to mean something. It's why I did it, why I stayed." Ianto's head tipped back so that his gaze was lost somewhere up in the ceiling. He couldn't admit this and look at Jack. "And it's after all that mess, while I was high on opiates that I knew I was forgiven."

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capt_harkness
2009-08-13 01:20 am UTC (link)

That sure as hell was one word (or, two to be accurate) that would make Jack sit up and take notice. It hadn't been one of Jack's most shining moments, following quickly on the heels of what had really been a horrible time for him. He sat and listened, thumbnail pushing his cuticle back to give himself something to do with his hands. The naggling doubt was growing and growing and Jack was wondering if it truly was possible.

Could they have been taken for the entire day? Anything was possible, wasn't it?

It was one of those things that... Jack knew but didn't actually know. "I swear, there are times that I should have kept Owen with Janet and thrown away the key." Yes, Jack knew about the opiates and knew where Ianto had gotten them. Against his better judgement, Jack rose from the bed, glad he still had his trousers on at this point in time. He moved across the room, crouching in front of Ianto, one hand resting on his cheek.

"You said that once before." That was one of those things Jack only vaguely remembered, something that was clearer as time went on. The name still eluded him, but Jack figured that was the most important part. The circumstances and what had happened they could remember but not what caused it. "That I gave you meaning."

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madeinwales
2009-08-13 01:34 am UTC (link)

Ianto frowned at the light touch and looked up. "They were for the pain, the drugs. It .. helped. I cracked a lot of things on that trip." Oh, thank you, God, for making Jack listen, for making this alright. He sighed a little and rubbed his cheek against Jack's palm.

"I .. don't remember saying it. But it's true. After .. after Lisa, there wasn't anything for me to hold on to except Torchwood. And when you came back..." Well. Jack gave him meaning, but not in that all Ianto's life was Jack. Jack showed him how to move on from the pain and find joy again.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-13 01:42 am UTC (link)

He wasn't a believer yet, but he was more inclined to listen that was for certain. Just so long as Ianto didn't give him any reason to doubt what he said. It was still tenuous between them.

"No, you probably wouldn't." Jack drew in a breath. "My curse, I suppose." His curse to be able to get through retcon. Fantastic.

"And when I came back...?" Jack asked, prompting Ianto. He still wanted that proof this was Ianto.

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madeinwales
2009-08-13 01:47 am UTC (link)

"When you came back and it was .. in the open. Like you wanted me and not just my arse. It.. rebuilt my life. You gave me meaning, Jack. You showed me how to find it. Even if we never got through the official date." A hint of a smile was beginning to show through the exhaustion on Ianto's face. This was horribly mushy stuff and very emotional, but to convince Jack of anything, he had to let it all out.

Hopefully, Jack'd appreciate it. Ianto shifted closer so that he could put his cheek against Jack's bare shoulder. A yawn was stifled against tan skin.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-13 01:59 am UTC (link)

All of it -- word by word -- Jack was beginning to trust Ianto. That this was his Ianto that sat in front of him. The scent was even right and that was one thing Jack knew couldn't be fabricated. Hell, just seeing a clean-shaven Ianto was a change from the past week or so.

"I always did want to actually get that date in. Without having a Weevil interrupt us." Jack drew in a breath as Ianto shifted closer. Well, there was one way he had always been able to tell if it was Ianto and that was through a kiss. That same kiss Ianto had tried to foist off on him and, had he just taken it, they could have avoided this entire conversation.

No sense waiting. Jack lifted Ianto's head and pressed his lips to his lover's. It was Ianto who'd have to prove himself.

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madeinwales
2009-08-13 10:21 am UTC (link)

He'd never have to prove himself in a kiss. Kissing Jack was one of the easiest things ever and all he had to do was let go and do it. And true to form, it was a demanding kiss, even if he was bloody tired, slow but firm. It was very much Ianto, in that kiss.

Finally!, he thought and brought a hand up so he could stroke Jack's cheek with a thumb. The worst part about all of this place was that it made people mistrust one another. And not like how he would expect, either. Ianto kept the kiss relatively short, though it was hard given that he deeply enjoyed kissing Jack. There was just something so satisfying about it.

He pulled back after a little nip to Jack's lips. "What did they show you that you thought I was dead?" he murmured, still stroking Jack's face, trying to soothe.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-13 03:51 pm UTC (link)

With a kiss like that Jack didn't need any more proof. He silently cursed himself for doubting that this was his Ianto. Ianto was right in that: had Jack pushed the other man away he never would have forgiven himself.

Jack was loathe to let the kiss end and even as Ianto pulled back presumably for air, Jack didn't want to let him go. He pulled Ianto into his lap needing the contact. Rather than answer, Jack kissed Ianto again. There was a hint of desperation in the kiss coupled with a lot of relief.

"It was the experiment from the other day. All those rooms. You and Shannon suffocated to death. They showed it on the monitors. Everyone taken was killed differently." even though Ianto was in his lap, Jack could still see it.

And this meant something else: Remy was alive. Good for the Doctor.

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madeinwales
2009-08-14 12:05 pm UTC (link)

When pulled into Jack's lap, Ianto shifted a bit so he could hike up the legs of his trousers a bit and wriggled so that the coat fell comfortably over the two of them. The desperation in Jack's kiss was answered with a firm confidence from Ianto, trying to wipe the pain all away. Even when he spoke, he kept his face close to Jack's, breathing the same air.

"Nothing like that. Just us in a flat with no windows. We were even given films to watch when things got dull. I'd say that the experiment was on you lot, this time around." Which was sick, putting everyone through that. "Let me take care of you," he said suddenly and shifted to push Jack towards their little make-shift bed.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-16 06:23 am UTC (link)

It was still strange seeing Ianto in the duplicate coat, but at the same time, Jack liked seeing Ianto wearing the replica. He knew the connotations it implied but he couldn't be arsed to care. Not with Ianto in his lap and doing that little wriggling motion of his.

The kiss did much to alleviate Jack's fears and it was the kiss coupled with Ianto's taste and scent that told Jack this was indeed his Ianto. "A flat you could watch films? Next thing you'll tell me is you managed to get a bondathon in that I didn't have to sit through." The last bit was said quickly, however.

"I thought I was the one supposed to take care of you," Jack said softly, though allowed himself to be pushed backwards towards the bed. He laid on his back, pulling Ianto on top of himself and wrapping his arms tightly around his lover. "I never should have doubted you."

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madeinwales
2009-08-16 10:08 pm UTC (link)

"Yes, you should have. Absolutely, you should doubt me. We need to have a code word or something. Something absolutely secret between us, but bugger if I can think of something." They needed something to erase that doubt, because until they could think up something, it was reasonable to expect the other might be a clone.

Ianto let himself be pulled atop Jack and shrugged out of the replica coat, leaving it to drape over them. The coat branded him absolutely as Jack's man, soldier and otherwise, and he found that he didn't mind. He would have, before this place, but he thought that the desperation going on this place was making them love a bit more strongly.

"There was," he said mournfully, "not a single Bond film about the place."

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capt_harkness
2009-08-17 12:48 am UTC (link)

They did need to have a code word, the only worry was that if the clones were around again, they'd have that memory. There was, of course, always the kiss -- even if Jack had been loathe to kiss even a Ianto-shaped object. "So that makes two different safe words," Jack said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. Not that they usually got that rough in their bed play but it was always fun to tease.

If Jack were a man who easily showed his feelings and believed in typical 'couple' conventions, he would have readily admitted just how serious their relationship was. Usually there were rings by this point, but Jack never would have done such a thing. The appearance of that second coat, however, did the trick. Jack should have minded that they were branded as a couple, but he didn't. It simply... fit.

"Not a single Bond?" Jack tsked softly. "What an absolute travesty. I don't know how you managed to get on with your experiment day without it. Such horror, no Bond in the place." Really, Jack deserved to be kicked for that one. Instead, though, Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist, holding him tight against his chest, telling Ianto through his actions just how much the thought of a dead Ianto had killed him.

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madeinwales
2009-08-17 01:36 am UTC (link)

"Not a single Bond," he murmured, smiling a little. He knew the teasing was Jack trying to get himself back on his mental feet, so he didn't whack him for the joke. It'd take a lot to rattle Jack that much and seeing him like this was sort of rattling for Ianto.

As he sprawled on Jack, Ianto kicked his shoes off and sighed, just a little, in pleasure. "I think our safe word should be pineapple."

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capt_harkness
2009-08-17 01:44 am UTC (link)

"Utter tragedy," Jack said, tossing in a dramatic sigh. "How ever did you survive it?" Yes, the teasing was helping Jack feel more like his normal self. Not completely, mind, but it was getting better.

Ianto's weight pressing down on him did a lot towards making him feel better about things to be quite honest.

"Pineapple?" Jack asked with a raised brow. "And why would you choose that for a safe word, lover?" Yes, it was a throwaway word tacked onto the sentence but Jack was waiting for Ianto's reaction.

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madeinwales
2009-08-17 02:31 pm UTC (link)

Lover? Ianto paused at that word, holding his breath for a second or two, before lowering his head and pressing a rather stupid smile against Jack's shoulder. Lover. Well, of course he knew what they were. But this was the first time Jack's used a pet name.

Normally he didn't like nicknames (they led to him being called 'Yan' of all things), but this was alright by him.

"First thing that came to mind," he supplied. "It could be neoprene or tire iron if you'd rather."

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capt_harkness
2009-08-17 10:07 pm UTC (link)

Yes, lover. Jack hated the convention of pet names, but at the same time... Vas was doing very strange things to both of them where their relationship was concerned. If anything, it was making them stronger and stronger. Jack could easily grin the moment Ianto ducked his head, knowing the other man couldn't see his own reaction. He tightened his grip, rolling his hips and waiting for Ianto to move his head to get a proper kiss from the man.

"Tyre iron might be a bit hard to work into conversation," Jack replied. "I suppose pineapple fits." There was more Jack wanted to say -- that he needed to say... but had no idea how to tell him.

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madeinwales
2009-08-18 01:19 pm UTC (link)

Jack was saying it all, though, with touch and the look in his eyes. It was a silly thing to think that words were necessary. Not that he didn't mind hearing them, but it was all stuff he knew.

He knew even when he gave the coat away. Ianto had to admit that it was a petty thing to do, that. When he lifted his head, Ianto's face was still flushed and a bit blotchy from it (he wasn't a pretty blusher), but he was smiling. "I like pineapples," he said lamely and granted Jack his proper kiss.

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capt_harkness
2009-08-18 03:27 pm UTC (link)

It was silly that a coat meant so much, but it had nearly killed Jack when he saw the greatcoat had been given away and to Remy no less. But it was back and that was all that mattered.

Ianto may not have been a pretty blusher, but Jack liked making him do so in any case. Just knowing he could get to the other man. Jack lifted his hands, cupping Ianto's face and covering the blush marks. "I like the way you taste after you've eaten one," Jack replied with a bit of a smirk. "But I do prefer the coffee-flavoured kisses." Closing his eyes and giving himself over to the kiss, Jack somehow managed to keep control even as he was on the bottom.

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	madeinwales 2009-08-18 11:50 pm UTC (link)
	Oh yeah. The Captain was feeling better. Ianto grinned as he eased into the kiss, giving Jack control because he seemed to need it. It'd make for a very .. healing evening. This time, though, Ianto planned on not shouting. (Reply to this) (Parent)