Chapter Text
All was quiet in the Hub. Outside, Cardiff was buzzing. As always. The sky was darkening to a rich, deep blue.
After a particularly lazy day, Ianto and Jack had enjoyed having the place to themselves for the evening.
They’d had dinner together in the meeting room, their food all finished. Ianto was barefoot and relaxed, his tie long removed and his shirt slightly undone. He had rolled up his sleeves carefully and was making himself useful by tidying away the takeaway containers and plates from the table. He occasionally stopped to sip from his glass of red wine. Jack watched him from across the table.
“I can whip us up some coffee, if you like?” Ianto suggested, glancing at Jack before continuing with his work.
“Nah, not right now. Thanks.”
“Hmm. Not like you. You ok?” Ianto glanced at him again, his smile replaced with a look of concern.
“Better than ok,” Jack said reassuringly, his smile wide and genuine.
Satisfied, Ianto nodded and continued cleaning up.
Already a telltale rosy flush had warmed Ianto’s cheeks. That soft, rosy glow Jack had come to recognise. When Ianto was a little drunk (which wasn’t often) it surfaced things about him that never emerged in their long days at the Hub, where Ianto was all quiet professionalism and measured words.
In this kind of evening, when the hard edges of the world seemed far away, another side of Ianto came alive. That usual stillness gave way to something deeper, the layer beneath the careful restraint.
Jack thought of that laugh first. The wholehearted belly laugh that bubbled up sometimes in the middle of their late night conversations, catching him off guard until tears came to his eyes. The rare moments when Ianto forgot the weight of the world just long enough to be completely, utterly himself.
Then there was the passion. The fire that came alive behind those calm eyes, especially in the quiet sanctuary of their shared nights. The way Ianto moved with absolute abandon, fearless and fiercely tender. The way he trusted Jack wholeheartedly, with everything he was. A rare and pure devotion.
In this moment, it felt so good to Jack to just be watching Ianto. Having him to himself. Jack’s own sleeves were rolled up, his coat draped on the chair behind him. He didn’t look like a leader. Not a captain. Just a man, taking in someone he couldn’t stop staring at.
Ianto was never one to let silence linger between them for too long. He gave him a small, amused glance.
“You’re staring,” he murmured, eyes warm and crinkling at the corners as he smiled.
“I’m thinking,” Jack replied, his voice steady.
“Ah, thinking. What have I told you about that, now?” Ianto said, deadpan. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
Jack chuckled but didn’t answer. Instead, he stood up and moved around to behind his chair. Where his coat was hanging, waiting.
Ianto continued, oblivious, as he tidied. “So, how shall we enjoy our stolen time? Maybe… My place tonight? You’d need to drive, of course.”
Jack walked around the table to stand in front of Ianto. In his hand, he had a small black box that he had retrieved from his coat pocket. Before Ianto could ask what it was, Jack slowly opened it.
Inside were two rings, glinting silver.
Ianto froze.
Jack looked down at the box, removing one of the rings and placing the box on the table beside them.
“Ianto Jones,” he said, looking him in the eyes, “Two years ago, you kissed me in the SUV. And we swore it would be just the once, yeah?”
Ianto let out a shaky laugh. He thought he was being pranked. “Jack, I…”
Before he could say any more, Jack interrupted him by stepping forward and carefully lowering himself down on one knee.
Ianto inhaled sharply. He was definitely being pranked. He put out his hands, gesturing for Jack to stand. “Jack, wait.. What…”
“Just listen,” Jack said, looking up at him earnestly but uncharacteristically flustered, “This is not… I just… I’ve been thinking about what this is. What you are to me. ”
He took a quick breath, steadying himself. “This isn’t a proposal. Well, it is, but… There doesn’t need to be a ceremony, unless you want one. One day. This is just me. It’s me saying, I want to share my life with you. For as long as you’ll let me.”
Ianto stared at him, stunned. His mouth opened slightly, then closed again. “Are you… being serious?”
Jack let out a huff of air but when he spoke, his voice was low. And more than a little concerned. “Ianto. I’m down on one knee, here.”
Ianto stared at him for a long time, before finally realising he wasn’t being lied to. His eyes welled but it wasn’t with anything resembling elation. It was conflict. Hesitation.
He stepped closer, taking Jack’s hands in his own and speaking softly.
“Just… Stand up. Please…”
Jack’s face fell but he did as he was instructed, rising up to his feet. Their faces were now inches away from each other.
“Jack…” Ianto’s voice came low, rough around the edges. “I… Look, this is… it’s lovely. But…”
Jack waited patiently, although his heart was pounding. This wasn’t going how he’d planned it. But he waited.
“I know you, I know what you’re like,” Ianto continued quietly. “You never say ‘I love you.’ Not properly. You keep me at arms length, just far enough that it won’t hurt so much when it all goes wrong.”
“Ianto, I-“
“Stop, please just… Let me talk.”
Ianto took a deep breath, trying to keep himself contained as he looked in Jack’s eyes. “I’m not asking for more than you can give. I wouldn’t do that to you. You are enough for me. So if you’re doing this just to placate me, because you think I need it - don’t.”
As is typical with Ianto, there’s no anger in his voice. Jack very rarely heard him raise his voice in anger, especially with him. He spoke with a soft and terrible vulnerability.
It was a declaration that was so perceptive it cut Jack to the marrow of his bones. But he didn’t flinch. Instead, he nodded slowly in response.
Ianto took a deep breath, his blue eyes locked onto his. There was so much sadness behind them, it was heartbreaking. Jack put a hand against the side of his neck and spoke.
“Ianto,” he said, with calm honesty, “I’ve thought about this moment for a long time. Weeks. This wasn’t spontaneous. It wasn’t guilt, nothing like that.”
Ianto watched him, still and patient. Always listening, constantly listening to him. Whether it was now, or a ridiculous hour of the night.
Jack stroked his cheek with his thumb. “I realised I need you more than I ever let myself admit. That I don’t want to go back to what I was before you. I can’t. And I know I don’t know how to say it properly.”
Ianto took a shuddering breath, enough to shake a tear free from his eyes. He wiped it away automatically, his full attention on Jack.
“So this…” Jack continued as he looked down at the ring in his hand, “is how I’m saying it. Not because you need it. But because I do.”
Ianto blinked hard. Another tear slipped down, and this time he didn’t bother to wipe it away.
His hand, trembling slightly, found Jack’s. He offered it, open and sure.
Jack looked in his eyes and in that moment, Ianto finally smiled. Soft and stunned.
“This is…” he said, voice breaking slightly, “Honestly, it’s the most incredible thing anyone has ever done for me.”
Jack held his gaze, finally allowing himself to relax.
Ianto squeezed his fingers gently. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Jack slid the ring onto Ianto’s finger. The fit was perfect. He’d made sure of it.
Ianto let out a trembling breath as he smiled, nodding. He turned towards the table and plucked Jack’s ring from the box. Then he gently took Jack’s left hand and slipped it on to his ring finger.
Then, without hesitation, Jack pulled Ianto into a tight embrace, burying his face in his shoulder. His arms locked around him.
They stood there for a long time.
After a while, Ianto leaned back slightly, not stepping away yet. His eyes dropped to his hand, where the ring now rested. It was cool against his skin.
Ianto turned his hand back and forth, admiring the way the ring gleamed in the low light. How it looked on him.
“It’s beautiful,” he said, softly.
Jack gave a wide smile, pleased. “I hoped you’d think so.”
Ianto kept turning it, thoughtful. “What metal is it?”
“Palladium.”
Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Not an obvious choice.”
Jack chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s rarer than platinum. Doesn’t tarnish. Strong. Seemed fitting to me.”
That made Ianto smile, quiet and full.
“You put a lot of thought into this.”
Jack watched him, grinning. “You haven’t even seen the best part.”
“Oh?”
Jack carefully slipped his ring off and turned it in his fingers, until the inside caught the light.
He handed it to Ianto. Inside, engraved in tiny, precise lettering, was a single letter I.
Ianto stared at it for a moment. His lips parted, but no words came. Just a breath.
Then, slowly, he pulled his own ring off and checked the inside. There it was. A small, perfect J.
He looked up at Jack, a grin tugging at his mouth, eyes gleaming. “You are a marvel,” he breathed.
“Aren’t I just?” chuckled Jack.
“No, really,” Ianto continued, “You just keep surprising me.”
Jack shrugged. “Only fair. You do the same to me.”
They stood in silence again, nothing rushed, the two rings now resting between them in their hands.
Then Ianto reverently slid his ring back onto his finger. “Feels like it belongs there.”
Jack did the same with his, eyes never leaving Ianto. “It does.”
Ianto chuckled. “The others will have a field day when they find out about this.”
“Oh, let them!” said Jack, taking Ianto’s face in his hands again, “So… celebrate at your place?”
Ianto nodded. “You’ll drive.”
“Then I’m carrying you over the threshold.”
Ianto rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help the smile. “I’ll never get you to shut up now, will I?”
Jack leaned in, forehead brushing Ianto’s. “Not a chance.”
And then he kissed him. It was steady and tender, a promise sealed between them. Ianto’s hands went to Jack’s shoulders, tugging him a little closer.
When they finally broke apart, breath mingling, Ianto whispered, “Well… I suppose I can live with that.”
Jack smiled. “Good.”