The Small Print

The Small Print - Part Three

The appointed hour had approached slowly, so slowly that the day itself had been something of an interminable nightmare. At last it was here, and Ianto was surprised to find that he was really quite nervous. Of course, it was the anticipation that made it like this, and the format. He'd never had a formal interview for his position. Jack hadn't seemed to want that from him. The thought made him smile to himself secretly.

"Take a seat, Ianto Jones!" Jack said with a wave to indicate the chair before the desk after Ianto's rather hesitant knock and subdued entrance. He'd been told to knock. He didn't think that helped with the anticipation at all.

Another thing that hadn't helped had been Jack's usual lack of subtlety when he had explained to the others he would be conducting an interview and that they shouldn't be disturbed – even if the world was ending. Toshiko had given Ianto a somewhat sympathetic glance, Owen had raised an eyebrow, and Gwen had avoided looking at him at all. It was only late afternoon, so the others were still here. Ianto found himself looking down at them from the bird's eye view of Jack's office. None of them were looking back, and Ianto suspected that was deliberate.

This was inevitable, so he settled in the chair and paid attention to Jack, who seemed to be completely at ease. What had he done? Ianto couldn't help feeling he'd created a monster. He tried to emulate the carefree attitude, though he didn't know if he succeeded. Jack seemed to see just how nervous he was as he turned to business and smiled.

"I've been looking through your employment contract," Jack said, flourishing the document in his hand as he paused. Jack looked like he was enjoying it far too much. "All afternoon!"

"Good," Ianto replied brightly, trying to be composed, his eyes on the stapled contract Jack was holding. He half stood up and reached out for it. "Er... can I have a look?" Jack held the papers back and out of his reach until Ianto sank back down into the chair with a sigh.

"I'll give you a copy after this interview." Jack smirked, and Ianto closed his eyes briefly. "Shall we begin?"

"I deserve this," Ianto said quietly, realising it, refusing to look up any more as he studied his hands, remembering instantly how it had felt when he'd succeeded and Jack had told him to show up for work like it was some kind of reward.

"Yes, you do," Jack said in return, the usual humour absent. Despite that, it wasn't as heavy and painful to speak like this as Ianto expected, and that did make him look up. When had the pain eased? He didn't know, but he knew it was all to do with Jack. "Which makes it all the more fun for me!" There, and the humour was back again. Ianto nodded and pressed his lips together for a second.

"All right. Do it," he said with a kind of resigned fatalism, and Jack smiled at him before staring down at the contract in his hand. Yep – definitely a monster.

"Page one states that you are a full member of Torchwood. You are a salaried employee with overtime paid at the discretion of," Jack said, and then paused to look up, "well, me." Ianto nodded at him to carry on. "You have five weeks vacation time, again to be taken at my discretion. As the nature of the job is somewhat unpredictable, you may be required to work odd hours, and are on call at all times."

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad," Ianto noted, a little surprised, sure that couldn't be the end of it but wishing it was. Jack watched him as he continued. Obviously, he wasn't lying about spending the entire afternoon reading it. He knew it by heart.

"You are required to be smart during work time. The wearing of a suit..."

As Jack said that, Ianto immediately began to protest. Owen didn't wear a suit. In fact – Ianto peered through the glass – yes, Owen was wearing jeans again today. "Well, hang on, that's not really –"

"Is not optional." Jack spoke over him, and Ianto fell silent. They stared at each other, and Jack raised his head a little. "Are you done?"

That question in his eyes was bloody infuriating. Ianto sighed and folded his arms, beginning to feel put upon. That was only going to get worse, he was sure. "Fine," he said at last, tightly, not caring about the way Jack smirked. Let him smirk. He already wore a suit anyway, but it wasn't about that, it was about being told. It was annoying.

"Moving to page two," Jack declared, flipping over a sheet. "Your duties and responsibilities." Oh, God. This must be it. Ianto felt some colour drain from his face as he leaned forward a little against his own better judgement, needing to know what it said.

"Your role requires you to provide a public face for the activities of Torchwood," Jack read out. "You will liaise with the public, the press and governmental bodies as necessary for the smooth running of Torchwood and the fulfilment of its objectives, stated or otherwise."

Well, that was all right. "Okay," Ianto replied, feeling a little relieved. Jack must be just teasing him. Typical Jack.

"You will provide refreshment upon request to any member of the Torchwood team." Ianto nodded. Yes, it was going to be fine.

"Right," he agreed, wishing there was a modifier that would allow him to exclude Owen at will.

"You will familiarise yourself with the building and perform scheduled and emergency maintenance as necessary to reduce or eliminate the need for the visits of tradesmen." Quite sensible, and Ianto began to relax.

"Understood, Sir."

"You will be responsible for the efficient running of some communications, including but not limited to monitoring of internet access, ensuring adequate mobile phone reception, and maintenance of the internal public address system..."

Jack carried on after that but Ianto was only half listening. There was Health and Safety, administration, transport, and myriad other things that he already knew and already did. In fact, as Jack read out his full job description, Ianto really began to wonder how they had got along without him.

"You will be responsible for dry cleaning," Jack said, and Ianto suddenly sat up straighter, paying attention again. He'd almost missed it, and he looked at Jack, suddenly suspicious, remembering that night with the pterodactyl and all the things he'd offered to do.

"What?" he said, shocked enough to consider stammering. "Seriously?" He had offered to do it, and he did do it, but to think that Jack had put it in his contract gave Ianto a very definite feeling of dread.

"You will take care of the physical needs," Jack paused, clearly enjoying it, and Ianto glared at him, "of any alien or non-human life that Torchwood decides to keep alive."

"Is that it?" Ianto asked when the silence between them begged to be broken, hoping against all hope that Jack wasn't really going to do it to him. He knew better though, and Jack had never yet disappointed him or failed to meet his expectations.

"That was page two," Jack informed him at last, flipping over another sheet. He took in a deep breath and nodded at Ianto with a wicked smile. "Now we get to the fun part."

There were no words except one. Ianto fell back weakly into the chair. "Fuck," he whispered faintly, shaking his head.

"Don't swear," Jack told him, and Ianto couldn't believe it.

"Is that in it?" he asked, genuinely astonished. Jack looked put out for a second, pouting, and Ianto actually wanted to laugh, despite what had to be coming next.

"No," Jack said, as if he was regretting not putting it in. Ianto could have carried it on, seeing his discomfort, but he really wanted to know, so he let Jack go on that one.

"All right," he said, then took a deep breath of his own. "How many pages are left?" he asked, and Jack gave him such a predatory grin in return that Ianto felt his pulse quicken slightly.

"Five," Jack informed him, making him wait just that few seconds too long for it. Ianto swallowed. His throat was dry, but there wasn't any way he was going to ask for a glass of water. That would be giving away too much, even if it was clear what this was doing to him. Five pages of what Jack Harkness termed "fun." Ianto swallowed again.

"Oh, fuck," he said again, unable to think of anything else, which was unlike him, but his mind seemed to have taken a holiday and left him high and dry with nothing to say in return.

"Don't swear." There was a warning in Jack's tone this time, and Ianto raised an eyebrow.

"You said that wasn't in it," he reminded Jack, welcoming his mind back with relief.

"No," Jack admitted, "but obeying my orders? You can bet that's in." His mind saw what was happening, and promptly fled, leaving Ianto staring at Jack with no words.

"Oh, f... help me." He managed to avoid the swearing, and was rewarded by Jack's little laugh. So evil. And then as if that wasn't enough, Jack began to read from the contract again.

"You will not object to touching, fondling, kissing, or rolling around on the floor with the boss." Jack looked away from the paper for a moment and nodded. "That's me."

"You've got to be kidding," Ianto said lifelessly. Rolling around on the floor? Oh, that made him remember something else about that night, and he wanted to say no, but he couldn't. Instead he cleared his throat.

"You will strive to provide physical gratification to the boss including but not limited to becoming a skilled masseur." Ianto found himself staring at his hands. Actually, that night class had turned out to be rather effective. He shook his head in distraction and narrowed his eyes as he looked back up again.

"No way." This couldn't be happening. Jack looked very superior and smug all of a sudden. Ianto gave up and pushed his chair back slightly just so that he could hold his head in his hands.

"You will play any and all games the boss suggests to you with enthusiasm. You will not mind when the boss cheats."

"Ha-ha!" The laugh was explosive and loud as he looked up again. Yeah, right.

"You will be required to go hunting for weevils when approached, at which point the stipulated form of dress is jeans." Oh, really? Ianto managed to close his mouth, and just sat in shock for a moment or two. Eventually, something occurred to him.

"I, um, already do all that," he pointed out hesitantly. Jack nodded with a happy smile that made Ianto feel as if he had just been had in some way. It was admirable, he had to admit it.

"I know," Jack said breezily, waving the contract around to indicate it. "I'm as surprised as you are that I haven't ever needed to bring this up. You're a natural."

Something serious occurred to Ianto then though, and he frowned. This was a game like any other, even if those things were in his contract. But... "Hang on. It actually says 'the Boss?'" Ianto queried, suddenly concerned. "That's not very good. What if – "

"I can't die," Jack cut in, speaking over him so that he sighed in annoyance.

"You can leave though," he pointed out with a little bit of resentment, then sat up straight in his chair and shook his head a little. "You're not going to leave again." He said it like an order, and he meant it. Jack looked back at him, and there was something in his eyes. Admiration, maybe.

"No intention of it," Jack said, still giving him that look. Ianto stood up, leaning forward with his hands on the desk as Jack stared up at him.

"I want a promise," he said, and he saw Jack swallow.

"I promise." It was a whisper, spoken in the quiet like a secret instead. Ianto reached out with one hand, holding Jack's gaze easily, and plucked the copy of the contract from Jack's grasp before dancing back with it out of his reach.

"And a look!" he called out merrily. "Thanks!" He heard Jack chuckle behind him as he turned around with his prize and studied it. Wait... that was strange. He leafed through the pages. Blank... except for the first two. Something incredible occurred to him, and he laughed as well, turning to face Jack who had got up from his seat and was making his way around the desk.

"You liar!" Ianto accused, loving it. "You've been lying all along!"

"Yeah," Jack admitted, clearly not caring at all about being found out. It was perfection, and Ianto continued to smile. "Had you going though." He looked back down and found something on the last page, the page before the place that he had signed his name. The smile faded, and his mind leapt back nearly two years to a time and a place he'd never expected to be.

"Actually this just says one thing," he said quietly, remembering that night again as he studied the curl of the hand-written letters. He remembered their laughter and the adrenaline, and how it had changed when they'd realised where they were. The fear giving way so easily to intimacy. He'd been breathing fast, and it made the press of their bodies all the more obvious. Ianto stood still as Jack approached him, and they were so close, lips almost touching.

"It does," Jack said, dropping his eyes in agreement. He realised Jack was looking at his lips, and he felt his tongue dart out to moisten them. "More of a suggestion, really." He sounded far away and as if he was remembering too. He must be.

"I'll take it as an order," Ianto said without hesitation, wanting it to be one, and after all it could be. There wasn't really a way out of Torchwood. You didn't leave.

"I kind of hoped you would," Jack said, and they sealed it with a kiss as the contract fluttered to the floor, falling from Ianto's hand as he reached out to pull Jack closer to him, kissing him with a smile because it was real. And it was his. Jack was his.

On the paper, three little words stood out in stark relief against the white. Written so long ago, and Ianto had put his name to them without a thought, but he hadn't read them. Even after all this time Ianto remembered. They'd been so close, their breathing hot between them, and he'd suddenly felt alive and vital, his weight pressing Jack down into the floor as they stared at each other, hearts hammering as their bodies recovered from the danger, and he'd forgotten for a moment. He'd forgotten that he had somewhere else to be, someone else to save. The second he remembered, he'd said: "I should go."

He hadn't paid attention to Jack's reply until now. Those three words on his contract, that he would have seen if he'd only read it.

You should stay.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it.