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(no subject)

Who: Ianto and YOU
What: Coffee. Americano. Espresso. Cafe Latte. Need I go on?
Where: Queequeg's
When: during a slow hour
Notes:
Warnings: Once your character tastes Ianto's coffee, they will be ruined for all other coffee forever.

Ianto let out a breath. The morning rush was finally over, the manager was beaming, and the supply of ground coffee had dwindled as the mess behind the counter had grown. Day after day, the lines out the door had been getting progressively longer as word of Ianto's coffee spread, and Ianto was now fairly certain people were going well out of their way for it. He'd spotted some customers he was sure weren't even residents of Mog Hill. If he ever wanted to take over Baedal, he figured he could successfully pull a Starbucks.

While it was flattering almost to the point of embarrassment, it was also irritating since it dirtied up his kitchen (yes, his kitchen), and dealing with demanding customers wasn't his favorite way to spend a morning. Thankfully, his co-workers were taking out the trash and cleaning the counters, leaving Ianto free to grind more of his special blends in preparation for the next rush.

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Jack shook his head. "You'll see," he said, mysteriously. "We're headed to Flyside, though." Which, of course, was Ianto's cue that he should start directing them to the nearest train to catch a ride there. Yes, Jack knew how to get there himself, but he liked it when Ianto took charge of things like this, and he was pretty sure that somewhere inside himself, Ianto enjoyed being able to do so as well.

"Right." With the turn of a foot and the slightest shift of pressure, Ianto began to lead them toward the train station. It was a long-ingrained response that when Jack used that tone of voice, Ianto would step up and take charge. It worked as well in situations like this, or in the field, as it did in the bedroom, and Ianto had long since stopped questioning Jack's reasons. They both knew how to get to Flyside, but if it pleased Jack to follow Ianto, Ianto was pleased to lead. Jack wasn't wrong that Ianto found it enjoyable, even if he didn't fully understand why.

The train was just arriving at the station when they got there, and a quick ride followed by a transfer and another quick ride had them disembarking in Flyside.

Edited 2011-08-06 00:52 (UTC)

Jack smiled as he happily let Ianto take charge of the situation and where they were going. He had fond memories of the other man taking command in various situations and positions, after all. As soon as they disembark in Flyside, though, Jack's taking charge of where they're going, leading Ianto down streets and sidestreets and humble little alleyways until he just randomly stopped in front of a row of residences.

"And we're here," he said, with a flourish and another smile.

"Oh..." Ianto looked up at the houses, immediately charmed by their old world grace. Victorian by the look of them, and beautiful. All of Flyside was like something out of a steampunk film, but what little he'd seen of it so far was bustling and commercial. He'd somehow missed the quiet, residential back streets.

"Here? What's here?" He looked at Jack, barely daring to hope this had anything to do with their house hunting.

Well. Jack wasn't going to pretend to be any good at these things, or at reading Ianto's expression at that moment. He hoped that it was a good reaction he was getting, he wanted it to be a good reaction. He rather liked the little duplex that he'd found just randomly as he'd been out walking around earlier that week.

"Well. What do you think? Because... I think. I mean. I was kind of hoping that this could be ours..." God, what was it about the man in front of him that reduced him to a stuttering teenager sometimes. He would be embarrassed about it if he didn't honestly, earnestly want Ianto to like his idea, here.

Ianto's face lit up. "Really? It's for sale? In our budget?" He looked back at the house again, disbelieving. It wasn't that their budget was overly small, but in Ianto's experience, this was the kind of house you held onto for generations. If you had to sell, it would go for a premium, if it were in any kind of decent condition at all. But then again, that was on Earth, and this was Baedal.

"Can we see inside?" Ianto did his best not to get overexcited. It looked great from the outside, but maybe it was a fixer-upper.

Jack nodded in reply to all of Ianto's questions. "Yes, yes, and...would you like to go inside then?" he asked, with a smile. He was relieved and, well, pretty happy with the fact that Ianto seemed to be loving the place already. "Because that can definitely be arranged. I've kinda. Already expressed an interest with to the landlord." Since Jack was pretty much in love with the place as well. And. He kind of put money down on it already. He stepped forward to the letter box, pulling a key out of it.

"I... Kind of asked ahead," he said, trying not to be awkward about it, but failing a little bit too.

Ianto's smile widened affectionately. Jack was never sweeter than when he was nervous and awkward, a rarity that Ianto had only seen once before and had been too nervous and awkward himself at the time to appreciate. He'd be a little less pleased if he knew Jack had already put money down without consulting him, but thankfully he didn't.

"What are we waiting for, then?" Without stopping to think twice about it, Ianto grabbed Jack's hand in his own and strode purposefully toward the front door.

Jack smiled wide back at Ianto as the other man tugged him along towards the front door. He flourished the key, opening the door for the other man before gesturing him forward. "It's...a duplex, obviously. But it's connected. And we could make it even more connected, the landlord said. Y'know. If we wanted to that is..."

The house was beautiful, if bare, and it was all Ianto could do to keep himself from putting the cart before the horse and insisting they take the place before they'd even done an inspection. Jack's words just further eroded all attempts at being practical and made his heart flutter.

"This is beautiful, Jack..." He squeezed Jack's hand and tugged him in a little farther, taking in sloping ceilings and the spiral staircase and the light filtering in the windows onto the hardwood floors. "We should put in an offer. Have an inspection done, of course," he added in hurriedly, knowing his enthusiasm was getting the better of him, "but this is perfect..." He trailed off, looking at Jack like Jack had just given him the world's best birthday and Christmas presents rolled into one.

Jack smiled softly back at Ianto, nearly blushing for how pleased he was that Ianto was looking at him like he was. "Well... It's currently owned by the bank. The woman who owned both sections died a while ago and they couldn't find any descendants or anyone interested in asking price, so. They knocked it down, and now they're just trying to get it sold. It...probably needs a little upgrading, and a few pieces of upkeep sorts of things here and there, but."

He paused for a moment, gripping Ianto's hand in his own, almost at a loss for words. "Well... I kind of. Asked them to hold it for us anyway. But if you like it." He smiled, again. "Well, the woman at the bank was pretty receptive to my negotiations..."

"'Negotiations', is it?" Gwen's voice echoes in his head, Oh, is that what they're calling it these days? "And by 'hold it,' I assume that means you had to put money down on it?" His eyes narrow a little, but he can't hold the expression for long. He's much too happy to scold, even if Jack is insufferable sometimes.

"You know me too well," he says, by way of reassurance that he isn't going to bite Jack's head off, and then he gives Jack a kiss in reward.

Edited 2011-08-13 17:28 (UTC)

Jack smiled into the kiss, moving to rest his hands on Ianto's shoulders. "I knew you'd never let me live it down if I found the place but then let someone else buy it before I could show it to you. So I put a little money down on it. It was worth it, right? I mean...you do like it." Right?

"I don't know if it's exactly what you imagined when we talked about this, but. It has a kitchen. And our own bathroom. More than one, even." I do listen, his tone seemed to say.

"It's better than I imagined," he reassured, instantly forgiving any financial assumptions Jack might have made. It had been a good call. A very good call.

"Come on, show me the rest. Especially those bathrooms. We have to decide which one is best for the spa tub." No harm in doing a little planning. They could work the necessary (and not so necessary) improvements into their budget.

Jack took Ianto on a little tour of the place, not really being the best guide but happily enthusiastic about it all nonetheless. The kitchen, which was nice and spacious, with a center island. Upstairs, to a large bathroom that was already pretty nice but missing a spa tub. "This one's probably the best fit for a bigger tub," he said, with a grin. "I mean, theoretically we could both fit in this one here, but. Well. It'd be a tighter squeeze," he said, with a mischievous smile. "A spa tub would certainly give us more room for more options, that's for sure."

Ianto smirked, leaning against the door frame. "Options are good. Very inspiring. You never know what new, creative things someone might come up with, given enough options..." Not that he had any in mind. Well, maybe a couple. A few. Alright, so he was compiling a mental list, so sue him. He'd never had a spa tub before. Or a kitchen with an island. His eyes glazed a little as he considered the possibilities.

And there were a great many possibilities. "Just wait until we buy ourselves a decent bed, too," Jack said, with a wink. Never mind that this was a duplex, and he'd probably furnish the other side up a little more military standard, the way he's used to. It'd be fun to have the option to have to squeeze there as well. A whole house to explore and do with as they so desired; nearly two to do with as they chose. The sky was the limit, as far as he was concerned. "I think we'll have more options than you could stand to even consider."

"So. What d'you say?" he asked, turning to the other man from where he stood in the middle of the bathroom. "I can't have them hold it forever, after all. We need to make a decision one way or the other..." Although Jack was so hoping that Ianto would say yes.

Yes, a decent bed. Nice and big, with crisp, quality sheets for them to muss up. And sturdy bedposts. There were a lot of options Ianto could stand to consider.

"I say yes. We'll never find better than this, not by a long shot. We should put in an offer right away." It'll be the biggest house he's ever lived in, and he'll be living in it with Jack. They can remodel to their heart's content, have Tosh over for dinner or drinks, spend quiet nights together. If either of them needs some alone time, neither of them will need to leave the house. It's perfect, and though they're stuck in a strange world away from all he knows, Ianto can't recall ever being happier.

Jack smiled, big and wide and all white teeth and impossible charm, because Ianto had said yes, Ianto had said yes and they were getting a house together. "Perfect," he said, grinning. "I'll give them a call tomorrow then. Bank hours are weird, they've probably closed by now, but tomorrow." He glanced around, spreading his hands wide. "We have enough money to start the payments... So tomorrow, this place'll be ours." He smiled wide. "What d'you think of that, then, huh? No more inn, no more sharing with strangers. Our very own house in Flyside."

Ianto couldn't help but laugh happily in response to that wide grin. "We don't have to worry about sharing the bathroom. We can walk around naked. I have room in the kitchen to get a real coffee machine." Not that he believed that would stop Jack from visiting him at the coffee shop when he had the opportunity. Really, he didn't mind.

"We should start packing tonight. If we make it to the bank early enough, we can have keys in hand by evening and we can sleep here tomorrow."

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