Torchwood: Fanfic: Learning to let go

[m_findlow]

Title: Learning to let go
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 720 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for anonymous prompt "Any, any, maybe they could get used to this romance thing" at fic_promptly
Summary: Ianto has never been big on romance

Ianto didn't think he could have gone any more red if he tried. Ironic that he should now be exactly the same colour as the very long stemmed rose that Jack was holding out in front of him.

'What's that?' he said stupidly.

Jack eye-rolled him. 'What does it look like?'

A declaration of love, he felt like saying, but didn't.

Jack didn't wait for him to reply. 'I told you when I came back, I want to do things right this time around. I messed up, so this time I'm going to make it all up to you.'

Sure, Jack had said just as much. He wanted to try doing things properly instead of the completely arse backward approach they'd taken so far. Dinner and a movie, that's what he'd said. A proper date. Wined and dined, curled up close in the dark of the cinema where no one might see them sharing chaste kisses, and then... Well, what happened after that was as yet undefined.

What he hadn't expected was for Jack to pull out all stops though. This was, well, a bit much. They were still two guys after all. Did guys really do flowers? He knew no one else had seen it, at least he hoped they hadn't, but it didn't stop him feeling a little embarrassed.

Jack seemed to read his flustered expression. 'It's too much, isn't it?'

Ianto wanted to say no. It was sweet and thoughtful and romantic. He just wasn't sure how he felt about this sort of thing being directed at him. It wasn't so much "too much", as it was "too much, too soon".

'Forget it,' Jack said, tying hard not to look hurt, pulling it away and setting it on the desk behind him, out of sight. 'Let's just go.'

Bollocks. Ianto cursed himself. Why was he so bad at his? He'd been the one pining after Jack, and now that Jack was giving him his full attention, he didn't know what to do with it. He remembered all those times he'd gone out with Lisa. He'd loved her like crazy, but they're never really done the mushy stuff. It was more a meeting of minds and interests. Sure, they had kissed and cuddled and done all of those things, but overt displays of affection were strictly for when they'd both had more than a little to drink.

He should have known this was coming. Jack was just, well... Jack. He was the kind of tactile, touchy feely guy. It stood to reason that when it came to love he was as old fashioned in that as he was in everything else. For him, red roses and intimate first dates were a given. He probably didn't ever expect anyone would ever rebuff those efforts either.

Ianto didn't know what to say. He'd always been rubbish at expressing himself, and he wasn't the talkative type. It didn't mean he didn't have a million things he wanted to say, he just didn't know how to make them come out of his mouth.

Jack was standing there whilst Ianto kept his silence and he could see the hope in Jack's eyes slowly dying. Jack was about to turn and go when Ianto suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand, determined not to let him get away. Before he knew what he was doing he'd grabbed Jack by the collar and pulled him into a kiss. He might not be able to find words for it, but maybe he could still show Jack what he meant.

When they finally broke apart, Jack let out a small chuckle.

'Well, that was unexpected. And hot.' Ianto managed a small smile in return, hoping that his earlier reticence could be forgiven.

'Still want to go to dinner or do we skip straight to the part at the end?' Jack asked.

'Dinner sounds great.'

Jack's smile widened and he grabbed Ianto's hand, squeezing it tight, and happy that Ianto didn't flinch at the touch. He didn't care what everyone else thought. He wanted to show them that he was out with the one person he wanted more than anything.

Ianto felt a flush of warmth fill him at the touch. It wasn't his usual style, but maybe he could get used to this romance thing after all.

Comments

[bk_forever]

I love flustered Ianto, but poor Jack, Ianto's silence was a bit of a downer for him. I hope they can somehow negotiate the minefield of romance without too many missteps.

[m-findlow.livejournal.com]

They'll manage, once they realise that how they feel about each other is all that matters.