torchwoodteaboy | [RL WITH SULU]

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[RL WITH SULU]

Ianto lay in his bed upstairs, a book laying face down on his chest. He had been trying to read for the better part of an hour, but had found himself drifting more often than not, and on the third read-through of the same page he'd given up and just put it down. And he'd been drifting since then as well, not really awake enough to be doing anything other than just lying there, not really tired enough to really go to sleep. More and more each day, while no one else was around, he found himself in this sort of a state, a sort of standby mode that was disturbing in the fact that it didn't really bother him. That nothing really bothered him anymore, because he really couldn't dredge up enough energy to be bothered about it.

He brought a hand up to his face, running it across his eyes. He...he couldn't keep lying to himself like this. At first he thought it had simply been his imagination, that things were just progressing slowly, that was all. For all that he had worried that things wouldn't get better, he had hoped that they would, Sulu continuously helping him be optimistic in that fact, and so the fact that he was going backwards, now, getting worse, it... It was crushing. And he had no idea what he was going to do about it. No idea. The even worse fact of the matter was that he was slowly convincing himself that there was nothing to do about it. That he'd never get better. That it was too late, and he couldn't do anything about it now even if he tried. Which was the mindset he kept spiraling down and dragging himself out of as it approached that time when Sulu would be making his appearance for the night.

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Sulu held up his hands. "I'm not saying it won't be good, don't worry. I'm just saying that it'd have to be really weird for it to throw me off." And it was true, really. He didn't doubt Jack's ability to cook, not really. The fact that he could improvise was sign enough of his talents; Sulu wouldn't dare stray from a recipe, unless he was absolutely sure what he was doing was also some version of the same recipe.

Really, it was almost surprising how non-adventurous he was when it came to more mundane things than flying or fighting. Outside of Starfleet, he realized, he was kind of boring. Oh well; at least Ianto wouldn't care too much about that, right? "Don't worry," he added to Jack, "I'll help you clean up so it actually gets done." They needed to let Ianto rest, after all... and in truth, he couldn't clean if he tried, anyway.

Ianto knew that Sulu was offering to help Jack because he couldn't, and he appreciated it. It wouldn't be fair to make Jack cook and clean all by himself. And honestly if he could help Jack clean up, he would, but the simple matter of it was that he couldn't so. He was going to have to leave it to the two of them, and try not to feel too guilty about the fact.

He smiled slightly at Sulu, a little sadly, because he just couldn't hide the fact that he knew that he wasn't in his best form, there, couldn't hide the fact that he did feel more than a little useless, with the pair of them having to wait on him as they did. Hell, he was going to have to get one of them to carry him back up the stairs to bed, when the time came, to...to take him to the bathroom to get ready... He didn't like being like this. Yet another reason why he needed to get better.

"...I thought you said that you didn't do dishes," Ianto said, smirking a little as he teased Sulu, to try and lighten his own mood a little. Sulu had told him something like that, after all, once he'd first come home. Just because he was sick didn't mean that his memory was going too.

Sulu smiled helplessly at Ianto and held up his hands. "I'm a military man, Ianto, I can't let a captain do all the cleaning. That wouldn't be right." Which wasn't really true, because everyone knew Jim did his own share of cleaning up proverbial messes, but still. The fact was that he didn't want to leave the entire thing to Jack. And if Jack had some help cleaning - well, then Jack could take Ianto up the stairs and save Ianto the embarrassment of knowing someone was watching him be carried.

He was proud enough to know what kinds of things would annoy or embarrass another proud man, and he knew that that would be one of them. So, he'd do the dishes just this once, and let Jack have some time alone with Ianto while he did so. It seemed like a pretty good plan, so long as Jack didn't end up getting angry at Ianto again.

Ianto smiled softly, nodding at Sulu. "I know," he said. And he did know. Not only did he know that Sulu was covering for the real reason that he was going to help cleanup, but he knew why he was doing it, and he was grateful for it. Not that he minded Sulu taking care of him, it was just. He felt like he'd let the other man down, and he wanted to give him a break from taking care of him, really. At least for a minute or two. Let Jack shoulder some of it, let the two of them share, between them. Not for the first time, he was glad that they had each other, and that he wasn't just leaving either one of them on their own to have to deal with this.

"I guess I should have asked this before," Jack said, from the stove, as he went to strain the pasta in the sink, "but you don't have any food allergies, right? I'd hate to accidentally end up putting you in the hospital as well," he said, with a pointed look over his shoulder. That would really be all he needed, the pair of them ill and with only him to be able to do anything about either of them. No, Jack didn't think he could handle any more sorts of medical emergencies any time soon.

Sulu honestly didn't mind taking care of Ianto, not when he was this sick. Really, even when perfectly healthy, Sulu wouldn't mind doing these sorts of things for the other man. He wasn't prone to doting on people, so when he met someone he really did want to do things for, it sometimes was a little strange. Still, he threw himself into it from the beginning of this whole debacle, and he would continue to dote relentlessly until Ianto really didn't need it any more.

"No," he said in response to Jack's question, grinning. "As far as I've ever known, I've got no allergies whatsoever. You're good to go, captain." At least, hopefully Sulu didn't end up having some kind of allergic reaction to something Jack was using. That really would be just great.

Edited 2010-12-08 07:37 (UTC)

Jack shot a smile back at Sulu before turning back to what he was doing. "Good to know," he said. "You better not be lying to me, though. I didn't use anything too out there, here, so it should be okay." Jack put the noodles back into the pot, added in the spice sauce, and then went to the refrigerator for one more ingredient, coming back with the sour cream and adding liberally to it before putting that away and stirring.

"Well," he said, giving a little smirk to Sulu, "since you're going to help me, Lieutenant, how about grabbing some plates for this?" He nodded to the cabinet where they were, just in case Sulu didn't know by then, although he couldn't imagine why he wouldn't know, considering how much time he'd spent with Ianto in his flat in the last few weeks or so. He stirred the pot, the action honestly making a rather interesting sound, what with the sour cream sauce, but. It still smelled heavenly, and Ianto found himself being a lot more hungry than he'd previously thought he was, even after that piece of toast.

Sulu gave Jack a lazy salute and stood up, shooting Ianto a smile before heading over to the cabinet to get out plates for the three of them. This was the kind of thing people usually expected out of these kinds of relationships, at least for his time, he figured. Sort of symbiotic, with each person filling in a different part of the whole. And it was nice, especially now that he felt that much closer to both Ianto and Jack than he had before. He also knew that he would be able to give the two of them space in a heartbeat, and that the same was true the other way around.

It really wasn't bad at all, and he was not going to let anything take it from him. He put the plates beside the stovetop, making a face at the noise the food was making despite how good it smelled. "At least dog doesn't squelch when you grill it," he said with a grin, looking to Ianto.

Ianto shot Sulu a look that clearly said not to push it at the same time that Jack turned to send a look of his own, that just dared him to keep insulting the food that Jack had spent...yeah, alright, all of maybe 10 minutes, not even, making. Still, though. "Careful there, Lieutenant," he said, the look not leaving his face. "It isn't exactly wise to insult the chef, especially before he's even served you yet."

Jack moved, dishing out the food equally between the three plates. "For that," he said, "you're going to have to finish it, even if you don't like it. Because squelchy or not, it is food, and it's the only thing I'm making tonight, so you're going to eat it and enjoy it, too. Are we clear?" he asked, shooting Sulu another look that did say that he was joking, sort of. He really would bully him in to eating it all if he didn't like it, though. Because...really, it was the sour cream. Any sort of food that had sour cream sauce made that sound. Jack was proud of his concoction, and would swear by it, and yes, even if it did make some interesting sounds when he stirred it, it still would taste just the same.

"Here," he said, handing him two plates, one for Sulu himself and the other for Ianto, and sticking forks into the noodles in both of them, "serve."

"You know, I don't remember saying I doubted your skills or how good this was going to be," Sulu said with a lopsided smile, "And I intend on cleaning my plate." Truthfully, he really couldn't see it turning out too bad, and though normally he'd try to smooth things over... he had to admit that tonight he was a little high strung. Rolling with whatever he was thinking was just easier, even if it hurt Jack's feelings. Really, the man was going to have to get used to his joking around eventually.

Still, he took the plates with a "sir, yes sir," because if they were going to be using their ranks like this, he was going to go full out, and then he brought them over to the table, setting one in front of Ianto before settling down in one of the seats next to him with his own plate.

Jack stuck a fork in his own plate and carried it over to the table. It was nice to think back and compare this to the last time the three of them had sat down in Ianto's kitchen, but that's as far as the comparison ended. Because Jack had been the one sick that time, and truthfully that was just a cold. Just a community virus, something that they were guaranteed to get over in a couple of days at the most. This, though. This was something different. Because here there was no guarantee that things would work out the way that they had wanted them to. There was no guarantee that they couldn't just treat the symptoms and make sure Ianto was comfortable as he...

No. Jack shook himself. He couldn't think like that. This would work, and he'd get Ianto back for good...and then he'd most likely stick him in bubble wrap or something and never let him out into the world again. Certainly not into Torchwood. Of course, like hell Ianto would stand for that, but. He could try, at least. He would try, once Ianto got well enough that arguing with him wouldn't make him afraid of accidentally killing him, that is.

"Well, dig in," Jack said. "It's not nearly as nice once you've let it get cold." And true to form, Jack did exactly that, and tucked into the food, pleased with the fact that it'd come out as well as it had, considering the fact that he'd been more than a little distracted making it. It said something about how Jack was feeling that he wasn't shoveling it down like he normally did, but then Ianto supposed that maybe Sulu wouldn't know about Jack's normally questionable table manners anyway. Even if he had shared a meal with the man before, it certainly wouldn't have been a time when Jack was in full form, or anything even remotely close.

Sulu admittedly knew nothing of Jack's various moods and habits; at least, he knew nothing useful, given the only prolonged contact he'd had with him was during the time Ianto had been dead. He hoped none of those moods or habits were normal for the other man. So when he noticed some amount of reserve in Jack's mannerisms, he didn't know what to attribute it to - politeness, habit or his mood?

It didn't matter, Sulu decided, doing a good job of not slurping his noodles like an ass. The food was good and Sulu enjoyed the company, so come what may, he was going to enjoy the moment for what it was. Besides, there would be time tomorrow to worry and fret, and probably time tonight. He smiled at Jack, knowing full well that for him, there was no future time. He was worrying and fretting and preparing himself for the worst even as he ate. "Very nice, captain. My compliments to your cooking abilities."

Jack shrugged absentmindedly, pausing in his eating to say, "Thanks, I do try," before continuing. Ianto watched the pair of them, doing his own eating while he did so. Sulu seemed to be doing alright, at the moment, key word being seemed, but Jack... Ianto could see him struggling. Even though he was smiling and getting through the conversation and all, he... Ianto supposed there wasn't enough tea in the world to fix Jack's mood, especially now that he'd thrown him this curveball as well.

So he complimented Jack as well, eating the food quietly. And even though he didn't finish it, like he normally would have, he ate most of it, which was good enough for Jack. Showing the other man that he wasn't forcing himself to do anything, and that he was feeling under the weather at the same time; even without words, he was being honest, which Jack appreciated, as he stood to clear the table after they'd finished. He tossed what was left of the food (because who knew when the next time anyone would be in this flat--maybe Ianto'd come back later in the day after he'd seen Doctor McCoy, or maybe he...maybe he wouldn't), and put the dishes in the sink.

Sulu knew that the conversation they were holding while eating was superficial at best, but it was better than the potential awkward silence they could have met with if they didn't at least try to talk. After all, the act of simply pretending things were all right for this short time was better than bemoaning the fact that everything was going horribly wrong.

When Jack stood and started clearing the plates, Sulu smiled a little at Ianto before speaking up. "Don't bother with the dishes," he said, pushing his chair back to stand himself. "I'll take care of it, since you were the one to cook." And he would take his time, too, but there was no way to convey that simply through tone. He wasn't sure, either, how he should mention the idea of Jack taking Ianto upstairs, but he couldn't exactly trust them to breach that topic of conversation, so... "How are you feeling, Ianto?" he tried.

Ianto smiled as Sulu stood to help Jack with the cleanup, still slightly amused by the two of them working together in such a domestic way as cooking and doing the dishes, but when Sulu asked his question, that faltered a little. He lowered his gaze to the table, lacing his hands together in his lap as he answered--truthfully, this time. He was going to have to do just about everything he could to regain their trust, but he'd do it. He'd do it in a heartbeat.

"...cold," he answered, softly, a bit sadly, "and. And tired." As if that impromptu nap he'd taken hadn't done anything at all, as if he were right back where he started, before all of this had happened, that bleary half-awake state that he'd been in all day. He'd kept up the conversation while they'd been eating, when necessary, but the more he'd eaten, the more tired he'd become. He'd gotten tired after a large meal before--everyone had--but this was different, and he knew it.

Jack turned, leaning back against the counter as he looked at the other two for a moment. He thought he could see where Sulu was going, with this questioning and offering to do the dishes himself, so Jack spoke up, hoping he guessed right. "I could take you upstairs, then. Get you settled in for the night. It'll definitely be a lot more comfortable and a lot warmer falling asleep in your bed, with all those blankets, than doing it again here at the table. If that's alright with Sulu, here," he said, turning to shoot a questioning look at Sulu, as if to ask if he'd followed the other man's prompting correctly there. A look that Ianto, luckily, was just too tired to notice.

Sulu shrugged noncommittally as he shot Jack an appreciative look, the slight smile on his face enough indication that yes, he'd read right there, and that was exactly what Sulu had planned. He was glad that Jack had understood his meaning, because he'd really hate to have to spell it out but at the same time, he would have done it if he'd had to. This could be the last chance Jack got to spend some time alone with Ianto for a while, if McCoy needed to keep him for too long.

"Works for me," he said, "I have to take care of the kettle, anyway, since that was my responsibility from the start. I..." And for a moment, he thought that maybe he should leave; let the two of them have the night and then take Ianto to McCoy the next day, or whenever the hell McCoy allowed him to be taken in. He knew his hesitation was showing but he tried to push past it. "I can be up in a few minutes."

Jack nodded back to Sulu, over Ianto's head so he couldn't see him doing it, although he did catch that moment of hesitation, so he sent him a definite look as well. "Great. We'll be upstairs waiting for you then," he said, forcefully, making it clear that Sulu was not allowed to leave on his account, not at all. That they both wanted to be there, so they were, damn it, because if this was the one last chance, he wasn't going to deny anyone that kind of a chance, least of all Sulu.

Jack turned to Ianto. "Sound good to you?" he asked, looking down at him. Ianto merely nodded. He was a lot more tired than he'd originally thought, he supposed. Jack just took in a breath, before nodding again. "Right," he said, "upstairs we go, then." Bending down, he hooked a hand underneath Ianto's knees, and another around his shoulders, and lifted. Ianto, catching on that Jack was lifting him, wrapped his arms around Jack's neck and held on tight as he was once again hoisted into the air. He blushed, embarrassed that they had to be doing this for him, but that's just the way things had to be, and he certainly wasn't going to try walking again.

"Don't take too long, yeah?" Ianto said to Sulu, throwing it over Jack's shoulder as they headed out of the kitchen and down the hallway. He'd really prefer not to have fallen asleep by the time Sulu made it upstairs, and if Sulu took his time doing the dishes, then he couldn't make any promises that he won't have by then.

"I won't," Sulu told Ianto as he was carried off by Jack. Truthfully, he was considering staying down there for a while to give him and Jack time to talk and just take comfort in one another, but selfish as it was, he wanted to be there too. Who knew what McCoy would have to do to get Ianto back into shape, and who knew if Sulu or Jack would get visitation rights during it?

He rinsed out the kettle, strainer and mugs, draining his own before dumping the last bits of tea down the drain from the other two, and once he was sure he'd taken a good ten minutes cleaning the kettle and mugs, he moved on to the pan Jack had used for cooking. He found himself grinning a bit wryly, wondering what his mother would say if she found out he had done the dishes of his own free will for somebody, without being guilted into it first.

And then he made a face as he considered the fact that maybe, if he took Ianto to San Francisco, they would run into his parents. That would be godawful for multiple reasons, but the image was only broken when he nearly scalded himself with the hot water from the tap. Swearing under his breath, he forced himself to finish up the dishes quickly. Once that was done... he dawdled a little. He made sure everything was where it should be and took his time making his way to the stairs and then up them, not wanting to break up whatever moment the other two were having.

Ianto sighed, resting his head on Jack's shoulder and just submitting himself to being carried up the stairs by the other man. When they reached the top, Jack paused, not even winded from the climb, and looked into the bedroom before heading to the bathroom first. "Jack, I..." Ianto started, but Jack shook his head, cutting Ianto off. "Let's get you ready for bed, alright? Then we can do the talking." So Ianto nodded, and shut his mouth.

Jack stepped into the bathroom, standing in the middle of it for a few moments before speaking up again. "Alright. I'm asking you honestly, here. Do you think I can set you down on your feet without you passing out on me? No walking, no exerting yourself, I just..." He wanted to give Ianto the chance to at least try and function normally. Ianto bit his lip, and nodded. "I... I think I can, yeah."

Jack paused, before nodding back. "Alright. We're. We're going to try this, okay. But if you think for even a second that you're going to pass out, you tell me. And you can forget about asking me to leave. It's not like it isn't anything that I've seen before, alright?" Ianto blushed, but nodded, prompting Jack to go on. "Alright, here goes nothing." He bent, putting Ianto down on the ground gently, keeping his arm on his shoulders as he waited for him to steady himself.

"Alright?" he asked. Ianto nodded again, reaching out to put a hand on the wall, steadying himself as the room did swim in and out of focus a little, but not enough to really be worrisome. Ianto was grateful that Jack was at least thoughtful enough to turn to the side as he went about his business using the toilet and washing his hands (holding onto the wall and making the one step between the toilet and the sink hadn't been too bad, although the little pins of light had told him not to push it any more than that). Jack stood by, silently keeping an eye on him as he went so far as to even brush his teeth, taking the opportunity to do so now that there was someone there spotting him as he did.

It was a little awkward, the two of them standing there in silence, Jack just watching, but Ianto couldn't bring himself to care too much, and pretty soon, he was as ready as he was going to get, and Jack was lifting him once more and carrying him back out and into the bedroom. He set Ianto down beside the bed, on his feet once more, before turning the blankets back and letting Ianto crawl in himself, for which Ianto was grateful. He felt at least a little in control of what was going on with himself, even if Jack was watching his every move. Ianto made sure to settle himself in the middle of his actually pretty enormous bed, leaving room on both sides for the others, should they decide to join him. Which he hoped they would, although who really knew if they would. He was still a little wary of the pair of them being angry at him, which is why when Jack tugged the blankets over him and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, Ianto spoke up. "Jack. I... I'm sorry I--" But Jack cut him off.

"Don't," Jack said. "I know you are, but. I... Not now, alright? I can't listen to you apologizing to me right now, I can't." So Ianto nodded, and shut his mouth again. Jack sighed, swinging his legs up on the bed, moving to lounge against the headboard, not quite laying down, but not really sitting up either. "You can save it for after you get better, yeah? Prove me wrong. Prove to me that you can change."

Ianto nodded, taking Jack's hand in his own, Jack moving to wrap his other hand around it at just how cold the touch was. How had he not noticed that it'd been colder than normal before? Probably, he supposed, because he just hadn't wanted to notice. He hadn't wanted there to be anything wrong, so there wasn't, as far as he had been concerned. But now, looking down at Ianto, he knew that he'd missed things. Important things. "I should be apologizing too, you know," he said, quietly. "That I didn't see this coming. That I couldn't have caught it before it got this bad."

Ianto shook his head. "It's not your fault. Or Sulu's, for that matter. It's just...I drew the short straw. Again. So now...I'm dealing with the consequences. But..." Ianto bit his lip. "It'll be okay, you'll see. It'll all be fine." And Ianto almost believed that, too. Too bad that Jack was a bit harder to convince than that, though. So he just sat there, Ianto's hand clutched between the two of his own, warming it up just through his touch alone, before Sulu's footsteps could be heard on the stairs, and Ianto looked to the doorway, watching for Sulu to appear in it.

When Sulu did show up at the door, he was surprised to find that he didn't really feel like he was intruding on anything. It wasn't that Jack and Ianto weren't having a moment or anything - at a time like this, there was no way they couldn't be - but all the same, it didn't feel as though he were walking in on something he shouldn't be a part of. He supposed it was because they were all in the same boat, here; all three hoping for Ianto to get better but fearing that he wouldn't, wanting to spend as much time with each other as possible, in case it didn't end well...

The fact that there was a space on the bed for him didn't escape his notice, and he smiled a little at that, moving to the empty side, toeing off his shoes as he reached the bed before climbing in - under the covers, unlike Jack, because he wanted to give up as much of his body heat to Ianto as he could. He'd use his comm to send a message to McCoy after Ianto fell asleep, and maybe he'd get up and do some pacing, or even steal a coat and walk up and down the block a few times, but for now he was going to stay exactly where he was. His pent up frustration could wait. "Hey," he finally said softly, to both of them, though his eyes were fixed on Ianto as he addressed him directly, "Are you feeling okay enough to sleep?" Even though they all knew he only ever felt like sleeping, nowadays.

Ianto let out a soft breath of amusement at that question, but had to stop himself responding as he'd first wanted to. Stopped himself from pointing out that sleeping was probably the only thing he ever felt okay enough to be able to do anymore. "Yeah, I. I'm definitely okay to sleep," he said, as he shifted closer to Sulu, slightly, not taking his hand out of Jack's nor moving away from Jack purposefully, but because he wanted to get closer to the body heat that Sulu was offering.

Granted, he didn't move as close as he wanted to. Not because Jack was there, but because...he wasn't sure whether Sulu was alright with that. Wasn't sure if Sulu was still mad, or well, not sure if he was mad enough not to want to be pressed close to Ianto like that. So he didn't. But he wanted. He wanted to be pressed close to the pair of them, warmed from both sides, safe and protected and warm, but he knew that he'd messed up, and he probably wouldn't get that.

Jack sighed, gripping Ianto's hand for a few more moments, before letting it go, moving to stand and kicking off his own shoes, shrugging out of his braces. He undid the buttons of his dress shirt before he took that off as well, hanging it on the post at the end of the bed before lifting up the covers and sliding in himself. He knew that this was what Ianto would want, after all. That it's really what he wanted as well. That he hoped this wasn't the last chance he'd ever get to do this, but if it were...then he wasn't going to waste it. "Better?" he asked. Ianto nodded, smiling softly at him. "Yeah," he replied. There was still the fact that they were further away then he would have liked, but. At least Jack had made himself comfortable as well.

Sulu shifted towards Ianto after a moment, his frustration and annoyance all taking backseat to the fact that he wanted to be there for Ianto. Admittedly, he didn't get as close as he would have if Jack hadn't been there, but he just wasn't that sure about how Jack would really take all of this. He'd play it by ear and only do what the other two men were comfortable with, until he felt out what was okay to do.

"I'll talk to McCoy in a little while," he told them both, hoping they wouldn't take his delaying the wrong way. Honestly, the only reason he hadn't done it right then and there was because he'd wanted to get the most out of his time with Ianto before they had to go up to the ship. If they went up to the ship. When they would, he scolded himself. He smiled at Ianto a little apologetically. "I just want to get a breather here, first. It's been a long day."

Ianto smiled back at him, shaking his head and reaching out a hand to grasp Sulu's. "It's alright," he said. "You need to get your rest too, same as anyone." He squeezed Sulu's hand too, to let him know that he wasn't going anywhere soon. That it would be alright for one more night, for Sulu to rest and get in contact with McCoy and prepare himself for whatever it was that came next, Ianto wasn't exactly sure what that might be.

Jack reached out to take Ianto's other hand in his own. If he could reach, he'd probably grab Sulu's too, show him that he supported him in this, that he was grateful that the other man was there, both for Ianto and for himself. "Talking to McCoy can wait," he said, with a nod, "I'm not going to force you go go on the comms right now and call him up. Besides. You're going to want to catch him at a good time, anyway. Both of you are going to need to rest up before you go there, and if he's anything like any other doctors I know, as soon as he finds out he's going to want you to come in as soon as possible, so he can get started. Might as well enjoy one more night at home and head in in the morning, yeah?"

He looked between the two of them, looking to see if they agreed with him on that. He shot Sulu a look as well, one that Ianto could see, thanking him for not jumping right on calling McCoy up. Much as Jack wanted Ianto to get better, if... If things didn't work out right, Jack wanted to have this one last chance to lie next to Ianto, to hold his hand and be with him. His one last chance...to say goodbye. Because if that's what it came to again, at least. At least he'll have had that chance, this time around.

"Exactly," Sulu agreed to Jack's sentiments, giving him the firmest, most honest smile he could muster in that moment. He wanted to reassure Jack as much as he could, but so far all of his efforts had been directed towards Ianto. He'd even let himself crumble, just a little, in front of Jack, which he knew was the exact opposite of helpful for the other man. He'd have to make it up to him. He would make it up to him. He knew Jack was more prone to negativity - realism, part of his mind said - than Sulu was, and now he was somewhat prepared to handle it.

Squeezing Ianto's hand to reassure him as well, closing his eyes and leaning his head so that it rested on Ianto's shoulder. He wasn't tired - exhausted, sure, but not tired - and he didn't give off the impression that he was going to sleep. It was just a way to keep Ianto close to him until the other fell asleep and he did what he did best, which was finding a way to do the impossible.

Ianto shifted a little closer to Sulu, at the head resting on his shoulder, for both the warmth and the comfort of the other man's presence with him there. Now that he was laying down again, he was hard pressed not to let his eyes start drooping again, and it was only a matter of minutes, he knew, before he was out like a light, dead to the world for the next few hours. During which time, Jack would probably get up and leave. It was nothing personal to think that, but that's what Jack always did. Got up and left during the night. Especially if there was something bothering him, something that made him even more restless than usual, and well. That would certainly be the case, here.

He shifted his head to look at Jack, his eyes sad, apologetic, and most of all inquiring as he looked at the other man. He couldn't say it out loud, but he could hopefully convey it all with his gaze. He wanted something normal. Something nice. Wanted the pair of them close, and not to leave either of them out. Jack looked back at him for a moment, meeting his gaze with his own, world-weary blue eyes, before giving the other man a sad smile and a tiny shake of his head, and shifting closer as well, until soon Ianto was pressed between the two of them, warmed from both sides, and a lot more reassured about their feelings for him, that was for certain.

"When I imagined the first time I got to go to bed with the pair of you, this wasn't quite what I had in mind," Ianto said, his voice obviously tired but also light, matching the tone of his joke. He definitely felt better to have both of them with him at that moment. Jack chuckled, and Ianto's heart swelled to hear the noise.

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