Cursed

The following morning, after bidding the Hogwarts professors and his friends a fond farewell with many thanks, a somewhat diffident Ianto apparated home to his flat in Cardiff with Jack.  The older man took the mode of transport in his stride, declaring it to be only slightly less unpleasant than travel via vortex manipulator. 

They decided to divide and conquer.  Jack headed to the hub to check in with Tosh and Owen, while Ianto unpacked their things, intending to launder them before repacking them.  He found himself with a free morning when he realized that the house elves had already laundered everything.  He promptly repacked their bags, adding a couple of jumpers in case the weather turned.

He tried to have patience when he noticed his energy was flagging.  The bustle of their leave-taking at Hogwarts and the activity of the morning had been a bit taxing, and he needed to be okay with that.  Madame Pomfrey and Susan had both assured him that he was progressing well, but it would likely be Christmas before he was feeling fully recovered.

It was a small price to pay, really.  A few months of rest following so many years of pain.  But he wanted to feel better now.  And at the same time, he knew that patience with his recovery was the best way he could show his magic and the universe his gratitude for everything ending so much better than anyone could have expected.  Getting shot by Gwen notwithstanding, things had resolved better than he could have ever hoped or imagined, given the fact that the best he thought he’d be able to manage was a painless suicide.

“I am grateful, damn it,” he muttered as he flopped down onto his sofa and flung an arm over his eyes. 

He could be grateful and dramatic. 

It should be allowed.

***

Jack was about to call out to Ianto as he entered the flat, but then he spotted him.  An incredibly pleased smile tugged at his lips as he closed the front door and hung up his coat.  He kicked off his boots and rounded the sofa, where Ianto had sprawled in an uncharacteristically theatrical fashion, right down to the arm flung over his eyes, the spectacle of the gesture second only to the artfully delicate wrist to brow.  Jack had visions of his lover swooning dramatically and held back a snicker as his eyes roved hungrily over the loveliness before him.

Ianto was mostly stretched out on the sofa, though his body was a bit askew, such that his torso cheated slightly to the right with his left arm thrown over his face, hiding his eyes.  His right arm was flung out to the side, hand hovering gracefully a foot off the ground.  His right foot was flat on the floor, rather implying the poor lovely, worn-out beauty had got himself mostly onto the sofa and then couldn’t be arsed to finish the job.

Jack chuckled at the thought.  That changed to a tiny pout at the idea of Ianto being so tired, but at least that was not unexpected.  He was just glad Susan had warned him that Ianto’s energy levels would continue to be unreliable for some weeks (or even months) yet, or he would have been out of his mind with worry at these signs of his lover’s prolonged and profound fatigue. 

He continued his perusal of his fetching lover, eyes moving down his torso and snagging on the strip of pale, sweet skin exposed as his t-shirt had ridden up.  His denims were riding low on his hips due to the weight loss, though he was making excellent progress in regaining the weight.  Jack could only hope he would be as adept at tempting Ianto to eat as the house elves at Hogwarts had been.

He had actually been tempted to ask if they could borrow Mitzy for a few weeks.  He frowned as he looked around the room, spotting where Ianto had set up Arianrhod’s perch and cage.  He might yet do that.  He was certain Minerva would consider the request, at least while Ianto recovered.

Jack set the idea aside for the moment as his eyes were drawn back to Ianto, and he dropped to his knees beside the younger man and began pressing soft kisses along that line of exposed skin, which was every bit as sweet as expected.  Ianto shifted but did not rouse, and with a grin, Jack began following the kisses with tiny kitten licks, enjoying the sight of Ianto’s body reacting even as he stubbornly continued to refuse to wake.

Jack moved and began mouthing Ianto’s growing erection, humming with satisfaction when the younger man shifted his hips and let out a soft moan.  Jack returned to that soft strip of skin and gave it a long lick, feeling Ianto’s stomach tremble at the attention.  Ianto’s stand was now at full attention, and Jack made quick work of the younger man’s flies, pulling at his boxer briefs in order to free that gorgeous cock.

Ianto fully woke with a gasp as Jack took his entire length into his mouth.  He moaned in pleasure around the lovely obstruction, moving so his lips and tongue could work Ianto into a quivering mass of wanton lust.  A graze of teeth had him bucking into Jack’s mouth.  Jack hummed loudly and swallowed, allowing his throat to work around Ianto’s cock.

He hummed and then swallowed again, and Ianto came with a shout.  Jack sucked him through the aftershocks before allowing Ianto to pull him up to kiss him, slow and deep.  Jack gasped into the kiss as clever fingers made short work of his own flies.  Ianto licked his hand and took hold of Jack’s cock, working it just the way Jack liked as they kissed with an almost feverish intensity.

Jack gasped, pulling the breath from Ianto’s mouth.  Drawing back, he rested his forehead against Ianto’s.  “Gods,” he rasped, his breathing heavy as Ianto slowed his movements, drawing out the tension and pleasure. 

“Tell me what you want,” Ianto whispered, his voice husky and his eyes dark with affection and promise.

“Just you,” Jack breathed, looking into his lover’s face properly.  “You’re all I want or need, Ianto.”  His eyes shone as he added, “You’re all my dreams come true.”

“Jack.”  If anything, Ianto’s eyes darkened further as his grip tightened slightly.  At Jack’s answering moan, he growled, “In me.  Now.”

Clothing flew across the room with great speed, and Arianrhod confiscated a sock as the two men focused on one another.  In no time Jack had prepared his lover and was sinking slowly into him, moaning decadently at the snug heat of Ianto’s body.  He rolled his hips, and they began moving together, bodies undulating as the delicious tension began to build, once more.

Oh, goddess.

Jack, please!

So good…

Don’t stop.

Don’t think I could.

Gods, please!

“So beautiful,” Jack panted.  “Love it when you beg for my cock.”

Ianto made an inarticulate sound that made Jack’s hips jerk involuntarily.  The changed angle had Jack’s cock crashing into Ianto’s prostate, causing the younger man’s entire body to jolt.

“Gotcha,” Jack chuckled, but then moaned as Ianto’s body jolted again, tightening almost painfully around his cock.  He reached between them and took Ianto in hand.

“So close!”

“Beautiful,” Jack gabbled.

“Love y…”

The rest of the sentiment was practically a yodel as Ianto climaxed hard, pulling an equally vocal Jack over the edge with him.  As they rode out the aftershocks, a surge of hormones left them both dizzy and giddy-headed as they collapsed into a sated heap of tangled limbs and cooling sweat and come.

Jack’s forehead was pressed against the crook of Ianto’s neck, their skin gliding against one another slightly due to the perspiration and the force of their breathing as they began to calm.  Jack’s heaving exhalations cooled Ianto’s overheated skin, eliciting a shiver from the younger man.

“Damn,” one of them breathed.

“Yeah,” came a croaked reply.

Jack had found that sex with Ianto was almost always mind-blowing.  Their chemistry was just that good.  But even when it wasn’t great, it was still pretty damned good – Jack would rate even their worst couplings as still above average, in his experience.  But sometimes, it was even better than their fantastic normal. 

Sometimes it seemed as though the stars aligned, and they fitted together better than usual and moved together more perfectly than normal and it was just… sublime.  This was one of those times, which likely explained the extra dose of hormones and the catch in his chest that had Jack gulping in more air to keep from weeping with the beauty of it.  If Ianto’s erratic breathing was anything to go by, he was experiencing a similar struggle.

Jack’s softening member slid out of Ianto’s body, producing another shiver, along with a sound that was almost mournful.  Jack knew that sudden, empty sensation and how it could leave him feeling bereft.  Reluctantly, he raised himself up on one elbow and gazed into the frowning countenance of his lover. 

He leaned forward and gave Ianto a long, soft kiss as he shifted slightly.  Just getting more comfortable, not going anywhere.  Definitely not moving away.  Ianto shifted as well, and they found themselves holding each other close, arms wrapped around one another and legs in a tangle.  There was quite a bit more kissing as they soothed one another through the adrenaline crash and whispered soft love tokens.

“I think our bond just settled a bit more,” Jack said.  The telepathic communication just now had been effortless.  Almost inadvertent, given that neither of them was deliberately projecting those thoughts.  It was more that the listening had opened up to a greater degree, and they’d been able to hear one another more clearly, as a result.

Ianto hummed in reply, but Jack heard a distinctive Welsh whisper in his mind.

I am ridiculously fond of you.

And I should have known you were a wizard all along, because you have bewitched me, came Jack’s reply.

“Sap,” Ianto snorted, though his smile lit Jack’s world.

“Your sap,” he corrected.

“Too right.”

They held one another close and kissed and bantered.  Jack let Ianto know that Owen and Toshiko were doing well.  UNIT was still providing extra manpower when needed, but they had also taken it upon themselves to recruit Andy Davidson, and the now former PC had the people skills to begin mending the relationship between Torchwood and Heddlu. 

He’d even dragged Owen and Tosh to his local, which was a popular watering hole for many members of the Cardiff constabulary.  That had helped, because now they’d all raised a glass together and eaten (and been trounced at the pool table by Toshiko), there was a better understanding between the two groups, which would surely lead to a better accord.  Even Detective Sergeant Swanson was warming up, and Owen felt confident they’d be able to recruit her, as well.

***