m_findlow

Title: Beautiful mess
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Torchwood team
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,891 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 96 - Mess at beattheblackdog
Summary: Jack's gotten himself into a state, but Ianto will be there to look after him.

Owen stumbled out of the pub and out onto the damp city street. 'Who's up for another pub?'

'I'm slaughtered,' Gwen replied, feeling well past tipsy.

'I'll come,' Jack said.

'Oh, no you won't,' Ianto countered. 'I think we've all had more than enough. Time to go home.'

'Don't be such a wuss,' Owen complained. 'You and Tosh aren't even drunk. It's embarrassing.'

'A good thing, too,' Tosh replied. 'Otherwise you'd have stayed out all night. We've got work tomorrow and some of us don't want to be hungover.'

'You two are such spoilsports,' Jack said, watching as Ianto was already flagging down a taxi. It pulled over and Ianto opened the door, giving the driver Owen's address.

'Sodding killjoy,' Owen said, clambering in.

'I'll come too,' Gwen said, crawling in. 'My place is on the way.'

Ianto held his tongue, knowing that the pair of them had been shagging for a few weeks now and that it was just an excuse, but letting them go anyway. They were adults after all. A second taxi followed shortly after, and Tosh was escorted inside.

'What about you?' she asked, holding the door open a moment.

'Still got to get this one home,' he said, as Jack pouted. 'It's only a short walk and the air will sober him up.'

'Be safe and I'll see you in the morning, then,' Tosh said, letting the door shut.

As soon as the taxi pulled away, he found arms wrapped around him. 'The night is still young and it's all ours,' Jack said. 'Let's go paint the town red.' He leaned in to kiss Ianto but he easily evaded the public spectacle. Even the team didn't now about them yet, so he certainly wasn't going to let a whole bunch of Thursday night revelers see. It was just lucky that Jack had kept his hands to himself throughout the night, aided by that fact that Ianto made sure he sat on the opposite side of the booth. If anyone caught Jack making eyes at him, they'd just think it was normal, but at least he wouldn't have to explain wandering hands and wandering lips.

'You won't be painting anything tonight. It's home and then bed for you,' Ianto said.

'That's doesn't sound like any fun,' Jack said. 'Unless you mean bed in the way I think you do.'

Ianto just shook his head, beginning the short walk down the street, knowing Jack would follow him. He'd never seen Jack get drunk before. He barely even drank, but tonight he'd gone all out. The first scotch had been nursed, but they followed in quick succession after that. By rights, he shouldn't even be conscious at this point, Ianto having lost count of the drinks as they stacked up, Owen going toe to toe with him for a while, before reverting back to beers.

Jack quickly caught up with him, arms once again wrapping around him, tugging him heavily along the street, helping keep Jack close to upright as he staggered down the street. By the time they'd reached the invisible lift at the top of the Plass, Jack couldn't keep his hands himself any longer, going in for the kill. At least no one could see them now, Ianto thought, as the lift descended, his lips locked into the messy kiss Jack was giving him. It was sloppy, lips and tongue all out of sync, a far departure from his usual passionate style. There was desperation and drunkenness written all over it.

'You're so sexy,' Jack murmured in his ear as the lift finally came to a halt at the base. Even intoxicated, it was hard not to blush at the admission. Perhaps he should have had a few more drinks himself and just let go, but he still had a reputation to rebuild with the rest of the team. Better they thought him a sober prude then a dunken, slightly sexually confused individual shagging their boss.

'Come on,' he said tugging Jack across the hub. 'A shower before you go to bed. You smell.'

Jack tugged him back, awkwardly crashing into his body. 'But I thought you liked how I smell?'

'Even those pheromones of yours can't disguise the fact that that you smell like a brewery.'

'I like breweries,' Jack slurred. 'Did I once tell you I spent a whole month working undercover in a brewery?' he said, clumsily making his way down the ladder into his bunker, as Ianto kept an eye on him from above. 'I made the best whiskey this side of the known universe.'

'That's a distillery, Jack,' Ianto said, correcting him, even though it was pointless as he lead him into the bathroom, Jack treading on his toes. He slipped off Jack's braces and began unbuttoning his shirt. Under any other circumstances, he might have enjoyed the task. It was rare that he was allowed to do this slowly and purposefully, usually tugging things off in a mad rush to get at the skin underneath. Funny how they'd come so far so quickly.

'I have whiskey upstairs,' Jack said. 'We should have some.'

'I think you've had quite enough.' There was no point wasting good whiskey, even if Ianto was still sober enough to enjoy his. Another whiskey and he might just be compliant enough to let Jack do whatever he felt like.

Jack let Ianto pull his t-shirt over his head before coming to drape his hands over Ianto's shoulders. 'Why're you still dressed?' he asked.

Ianto deftly slipped Jack's belt open and tugged down his pants. 'It's not that kind of shower.'

'Oh.'

Jack staggered a little as Ianto tried to coordinate Jack lifting his feet out of his pants, and knew that it was hopeless. 'Sit back on the edge of the bath,' Ianto said, though pushing him backwards and down rather than waiting for Jack's brain to process the instruction, kneeling down to finish the job with shoes and socks.

'I'm drunk, aren't I?' Jack asked.

'Very much so,' Ianto said, pulling him back to his feet and directing him towards the shower, leaning in to turn the taps on. The edge of his shirt sleeve, rolled up to he elbow as it was, got damp as he tried to coax Jack underneath the spray of water. It wasn't cold, so that went a long way to helping him keep Jack there, leant against the tiled wall as he was.

'Soap, Jack,' he said, handing him a flannel. It was taken and haphazardly rubbed over his body, fixating on certain areas and missing others altogether. It was better than nothing, Ianto supposed, holding out the bottle of shampoo and squeezing some into the slack hand. In hindsight, it would have been more efficient just to strip and get in the shower to do it all himself, watching Jack fumble uselessly.

'Why's there water coming out of the roof?' Jack asked.

'It's coming out of the shower head,' he replied.

'We should get that fixed.'

Ianto rolled his eyes. 'I'll put it on my list for tomorrow. You almost done?'

'Am I?' he said, confusing the question for a statement.

Ianto was already holding the towel out, ready to wrap it around Jack as he wobbled towards him. It was lucky he did, preventing Jack from sending them both tumbling to the floor as his legs refused to hold him upright. Ianto scrubbed him from top to toe with the fluffy white towel. Jack hummed happily at the sensation, leaning into Ianto's arms as he rubbed them.

'I had a horse once. She liked to be rubbed down.'

'Yes, Jack,' Ianto said, ignoring the waffling conversation.

'Her name was Betsy. She liked sugar lumps.'

'Sounds like you have a lot in common,' Ianto said, reaching up to towel off Jack's hair, which poked out at odd angles once he was done. Jack's eyes had that glazed expression in them. He was past the happy drunk stage now. Instead, Ianto grabbed his toothbrush and handed it to him, preloaded with paste.

'Stick that in your mouth,' he said.

'I was hoping for something else,' Jack replied, but sticking it in anyway, half heartedly swirling it around.

'Not tonight, you're not,' knowing Jack had neither the coordination or clarity of mind for anything else.

Jack leant over the basin and spat put the toothpaste. 'Ooh, feeling all floaty,' he said, from the sudden change in elevation of his head. 'Why's the room spinning?' Ianto put a hand around his waist before he fell over, carefully leading him back out of the room.

'I'm a mess, aren't I?' Jack asked, as he flopped down onto the edge of the bed.

'Not your best form,' Ianto agreed. Then again, who was he to judge? Didn't everyone deserve to get drunk every once in a while? With everything they put up with around here, it was a wonder they didn't get drunk more often. Even in his inebriated state, Ianto couldn't help but admire how beautiful Jack's body was. He wanted to cover it with kisses. He didn't even feel embarrassed staring at it, knowing Jack would be unlikely to remember him doing so. That was why he stopped himself. It felt wrong to take advantage of him, even if Jack would enjoy it.

'I don't usually get drunk,' Jack said, mirroring Ianto's thoughts. 'I once had fourteen hypervodkas and shagged my executioners. No hangover. You wanna shag when you get drunk. It burns up the alcohol.'

'Keep telling yourself that.'

Ianto pulled the covers back, trying to help Jack to lie down, lifting his feet into the bed and tucking him in. It was far too much trouble to bother with dressing him again. Naked and tucked in would be good enough.

'See you in the morning, sir,' Ianto said, making to leave. Jack stretched out a hand from under the thin blanket.

'Stay?'

'I'm not shagging you like this.'

'Stay anyway.'

'What for?'

'I'm clean now.'

Ianto gave another roll of his eyes. He toed off his shoes and lay down on the edge of the narrow bed, on top of the blankets. Just until he falls asleep or passes out, he promised. Pressed so close, he could smell the shampoo and soap, much more pleasant than the air of yeast and hops that had clung to his skin earlier.

'Better?' Ianto asked.

'Mmm.'

Ianto lay there, one arm wrapped around him as Jack mumbled endlessly, trying to tell stories, but only ever getting out a few sentences before randomly changing subject. Most of what he said made no sense anyway, talk of far off planets, doctors and agents, aliens and other things that sounded just as improbable and slightly gibberish. It's the booze talking, Ianto decided, making Jack even chattier than usual.

'Go to sleep, Jack,' Ianto said, feeling tired himself at the lateness of the hour.

'So much I wanna tell you, though,' Jack mumbled.

'It can wait until tomorrow,' Ianto replied, no longer able to find the energy to get up off the bed.

'I'm gonna live forever. Just thought you should know. Need to find a doctor to fix me.'

'Uh huh,' Ianto murmured, as he nestled close, eyes falling shut for the last time. He thought he was pretty invincible when he was drunk, too.