Fandom: Torchwood
Pairings: Jack/Gwen UST, Jack/Ianto canon
Rating: R
Wordcount: 465
Warnings/Notes: The usual. Unbeta-ed. Spoilers through the 2nd series.
Summary: Never try to con a con-man.
He tells himself he doesn’t want her.
After all, if he wanted her, he would have gone after her, and if he’d gone after her, he’d have had her. Since she’s still there, working with him every day, tantalizingly close, yet still untouched, he must never have wanted her at all.
The looks they share, the smiles, the stories he can tell her and no one else, clearly mean nothing.
He tells himself he respects her commitment to Rhys, when a galaxy full of cuckolds could swear that he’s never let a marriage vow, especially not his own, stand in the way of what he wants when he wants it.
“Who else would have me,” she’d said, forcing him to acknowledge what he’d lost by running after his dream of the Doctor. It was the right thing to do and he’d do it again, but dreams aren’t free and this one has cost him the right to claim the thing he’s dreamed of and longed for through a year in purgatory. As painful as seeing the Doctor’s feelings for the Master, is the cold hard stab of reality when he feels the ring on Gwen’s finger.
His fallback position had no such impediments, although the unwillingness to have their first date in an office spoke to a serious lack of erotic imagination. At least Ianto was willing to accede to the costumes and games that Jack kept suggesting, hoping to stave off the boredom he’d felt within the first weeks.
Jack’s second favorite fetish had always involved the possibility of being seen, and the day that the trap caught Gwen in the middle of her beautifully foolish quest for the truth was a nearly unparalleled thrill. The shock on her face as she saw him in action, the knowledge that he was nearly naked and she was so, so close. The invitation was no joke, and whatever Ianto muttered to dissuade her barely registered against the lust pounding in his ears. Sure, he yelled at her, not wanting to burden her with the secrets of the island, but every cell in his body, wanted to reach out for her, push her to the floor, and show her exactly what she was missing. If it was only the once, it would still have been worth it.
Except then he’d have to deal with Ianto's reaction and a Ret-con treatment so intensive, it was doubtful Ianto would remember his own name.
Too much trouble.
Especially for someone he doesn’t want, someone it doesn’t nearly destroy him to see hurt, someone he doesn’t reach out for to make sure she’s still alive, still safe, when they lost two, and came so close to losing everything.
He tells himself he doesn’t want her, but he knows it’s a lie.