m_findlow

Title: Fussing over nothing
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Tosh, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 500 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 535 - Paranoid at slashthedrabble
Summary: Jack is worried over Ianto's reluctance to discuss their first date.

Ianto was nowhere to be found when Jack entered the hub, feeling refreshed and reinvigorated. He'd forgotten how good it felt to take a night off and spend it with someone he cared about. And he did care about Ianto. It might have taken a year of being shackled up and beaten to death, but now he understood. Cardiff was where he was meant to be - where he belonged. As first dates went, it wasn't earth-shattering, but there was something gentle about it, awkward even, like he didn't have to impress Ianto, much as he wanted to.

He spotted Toshiko busily working at her computer. 'Morning, Tosh! Ianto around?'

'Morning,' she greeted back. 'He's somewhere. Said he'd be back in time for first rounds of coffee. By the way, how did last night go?'

The question caught Jack off guard. 'He didn't say anything?'

Tosh just shrugged. 'You know Ianto.'

Or did he? Jack wondered.

'So?' Tosh's eyes lit up with romantic possibilities.

'You know me, Tosh. I don't kiss and tell.' He gave a playful smirk and left, feeling disconcerted.

Why hadn't Ianto said anything? He and Tosh were close. Perhaps the reason he hadn't said anything was because it had been a disaster. Perhaps he was quietly hoping for a word in Jack's ear to tell him that this whole dating thing really wasn't working out the way he'd hoped and that it might be better if they just parted ways. That was so Ianto. Never one to make a fuss, preferring to keep things low key. They could just agree that last night had been a mistake and not speak about it again. The others would no doubt forget all about it, assuming they'd remembered at all. They hadn't really advertised it, after all, so hiding how disastrous it had been would be easy. It didn't have to be a big deal, only it felt like a big deal to Jack. He'd really wanted it to work out. He'd thought it had gone well.

He was so lost in thought that he almost walked straight into Ianto, coming the other way.

'Morning, sir,' Ianto replied brightly.

Jack cringed at the salutation. Sir again. 'Morning,' he replied, still feeling distracted.

'You look like you were doing some serious thinking there. Should I be worried?'

Jack wavered with indecision. No, he decided. He had to know. 'I was just wondering... Um... About last night...'

He saw Ianto's body tense up. 'Oh. Yes, of course. Last night.' Ianto's eyes dropped to the floor. 'Nope, I understand completely. You don't have to say anything more.'

'Wait.' Jack's heart fluttered. 'You enjoyed last night?'

'Not if you didn't,' Ianto replied, covering himself.

'I did,' Jack replied earnestly. 'So much.'

Ianto blinked. 'Oh, so this isn't you telling me that you want last night to be a one-off thing?'

Jack grabbed his hand. 'Ianto, I wish every night could be like last night.'

'Well, maybe not every night. That would just be greedy.'