it slipped out.Â
TRULY, he does love this man in front of him. and, by god, heâs loved him for a long time now. he screams it in his mind, over and over. he murmurs it under his breath when ianto canât hear. itâs real and itâs true, but saying it is a fear he doesnât think heâll ever get over. making it real like that? a  t a n g i b l e  concept to be plucked from the air and held by his tongue? a love that will be struck down by death and leave him lonely once moreâŚ
but ianto looks so BEAUTIFULÂ in this light - this harsh white light of an enclosed bathroom that should make anyone look their worst yet makes that man glow like the ANGELÂ he is.Â
and his thoughts donât filter; they  s p i l l  from his lips in a way he canât take back. and though his heart pounds within itâs cage, he keeps that steady smile across his lips and prays to a god he doesnât believe in that his eyes donât betray the fear that comes with saying those words. to say them canât be thought of as a mistake. loving IANTO JONES could never be a mistake.
             â canât it be a bit of both? â jack suggests coolly. he takes a step towards him, somehow even more endeared by the toothbrush hung from his mouth.Â
the captainâs arms  s n a k e  around iantoâs waist from behind, lowering his chin against his shoulder with a smile. he nuzzles the skin of his neck for a moment, peppering small kisses into the soft space made just for HIM, arms tightening their grip lovingly.Â
             â maybe this place has made me soft, â he takes a breath, finding iantoâs gaze in the reflection of the bathroom mirror. â but itâs nothing i havenât thought before we arrived. â
arms encircle him from behind, and there is an inherent way in which his body leans back into the other man. he pulls the toothbrush from his lips, setting it aside while meticulously ensuring no toothpaste remains on his skin. only then does he meet the gaze of the man whose just confessed feelings of LOVE. never had ianto jones thought this day would come.
and it is not as though ianto is oblivious to the way jack feels for him, but he knows the weight of past loves lost that sits heavy upon jackâs heart. one day the immortal man will be forced to leave him behind, as well. how could he not? the heart of jack harkness deserves to be protected, just as that of any mortal human being.
he would never blame jack for choices he has to make due to something he has no control over
but, there are moments where what surges between the two men can only be described as love, it is UNSPOKEN, and yet louder than anything ianto has ever heard. the nights where he stirs and finds jackâs soft gaze upon him in the night. the way jackâs thumb brushes lightly against his thigh as they drive through the city and his hand finds iantoâs leg, a smile dancing across the most inviting of lips. the intimate moments where jack takes time to appreciate every inch of his body, refusing to let ianto leave his grasp until they are forced to vacate the bed.
no, he thinks heâs always known what jack has chosen now to express.
â i think you just have a fetish for welsh accents, â a flicker of a smirk tugs at his lips, eyes unwavering as he watches jack through the mirror. his boyfriend has made no secret of the way the heightened accent of his stepford-husband persona has a certain effect on him. he teases all the same before he finds himself turning within jackâs arms to face him without a barrier between them.Â
â jack-- â he starts, an almost shaking breath taken in before he continues. eyes drift to a bedroom that isnât theirs, and once again he fears that PLAYING HOUSE has coloured the way jack sees him. but, more than he is insecure-- he trusts jack. with everything he has and everything he is. â i love you. âÂ
a pause, hands finding home upon jackâs hips.Â
â not falling in love, i erm-- â and that is not to say he wishes jack would be as far along as he. god knows he is lucky that jackâs feelings have come this far, â i love you. if thatâs okay. â