Jack and Ianto - Chapter Five

"Marry me."

"What?" stuttered Ianto. Jack grinned again; he'd caught the man completely unprepared and although he was terrified, he was also thrilled to have surprised Ianto.

"Marry me. I was going to ask later, to prove that I mean it, that I don't want to leave you."

"You don't have to prove anything, Jack." Ianto laughed somewhat nervously, but Jack grinned wider, excited now, and held out the box.

"Open it," he said. "Go on."

Ianto took the box, still eyeing Jack warily. He untied the ribbon and lifted the cover, and Jack almost crowed with delight when Ianto gasped at the gift within. It was exactly what Jack had hoped to find when he'd set out that morning: a silver pocket watch with a sturdy chain. Etched around the edges, there was a scripted engraving on the back. Jack had never been so certain that he was meant to find something as when he'd seen the watch and read the inscription.

Gently taking Ianto's now shaking hand, Jack turned the watch over. "Read it," he whispered, his voice cracking.

"Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly."

Ianto's head shot up, his eyes wide. "I don't understand…" he trailed off, his fingers running along the edges of the watch, his eyes bright.

"I wanted you to have a symbol of some sort," Jack said, trying to recall the simple speech he'd prepared and failing completely. "You've got more than enough cufflinks and tie tacs, and you don't seem like a necklace or bracelet kind of bloke. I know a pocket watch isn't the same, but I didn't know how you'd feel about a ring."

"A ring?" Ianto asked, his voice an octave higher. Jack laughed joyfully and kissed him again before sitting back.

"A ring is more traditional," Jack pointed out. "But we haven't always followed tradition. So I'm seizing the moment and offering a watch in lieu of a ring. And myself, if you'll have me."

"Jack, are you really asking—"

"You to spend the rest of your life with me?" Jack finished. "That's exactly what I'm doing. I meant everything I said, and I want to make it official. If we're going to do this…let's go all the way."

"Official." Ianto stared at him, apparently speechless. He looked down at the watch, once again tracing his fingers along the edges and over the engraved words. Jack waited as patiently as he could, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. He knew he might be moving fast, but he was ready. He hoped Ianto was as well.

"Ianto?" he whispered. "You're killing me here."

Ianto glanced up again. "It's a stopwatch," he said. He held it up and clicked the button on top. "It keeps time."

Now it was Jack's turn to stare at the watch, completely dismayed and wondering how he could have screwed up so badly. It had seemed so perfect the moment he had found it in the antique shop that he hadn't even realized it wasn't the right kind of watch. He suddenly wanted to turn back time and take it all back to spare them both the embarrassment.

Yet to his surprise, Ianto started laughing. He was apparently tearing up as well, because he wiped his eyes as he met Jack's confused, worried gaze. "My grandfather had something like this. I loved playing with it as a kid." He leaned forward and kissed Jack, who felt as if the awkward moment was all happening to someone else. "It's perfect, Jack. Thank you."

"Er, you're welcome," Jack replied. He was still confused. Ianto laughed again.

"Don't be disappointed!" he exclaimed, then grinned. "Lots of things you can do with a stopwatch, after all. Especially since we broke yours a while back."

Jack stared at him. They had broken Jack's stopwatch during one exceptionally passionate night of exploration, but he'd completely forgotten about it. Perhaps his subconscious had somehow recognized Ianto's fascination with it. "I can think of a few," Jack offered, somewhat hesitantly.

"There's quite a list," Ianto replied. He leaned over to kiss Jack once more, a long, passionate kiss that left Jack even more confused. "What's wrong?" he asked when Jack continued to frown.

"Well…" Jack hesitated, then shrugged. "You haven't actually answered my question, you know."

"Your—oh!" Ianto glanced down at the watch before he looked up and nodded. "Yes. Yes."

"You want to get married?" Jack asked, wanting to be sure.

"I don't know if that's exactly the term for it," Ianto replied dryly, "but yes. I want to be with you. I love you too much to say no."

Jack shook his head. "I understand if you're not ready," he started, but Ianto stopped him with another kiss.

"I'm ready," he whispered against Jack's lips. "Whatever it's called, I'm ready." He smiled and glanced away before meeting Jack's eyes. "I realized it this morning."

"Ianto Jones, have you been thinking about getting married someday too?" Jack teased. Ianto nodded, his face still serious. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box that was slightly smaller than the watch box and held it out to Jack.

"I wasn't sure how you'd feel about a ring either," he said softly, echoing Jack's words. "So I'm offering this in lieu of a ring. And myself, if you'll have me."

Jack was stunned. He imagined he probably looked a bit like Ianto had when Jack had pulled out his own box. He stared at it, just as Ianto had, until the other man gently nudged him to open it.

Inside were a pair of beautiful square cufflinks, brushed silver inset with black onyx. The edges were intricately etched with Celtic knotwork, and a brilliant blue stone sat in the middle of the black. They were obviously high quality, and Jack suspected rather old as well.

"They're breathtaking," he said, taking one out of the box and holding it up close. It was truly a work of the finest craftsmanship; Jack wasn't sure he'd ever owned anything so fine.

"You can wear them with your new dinner jacket," Ianto replied. Jack glanced up sharply.

"Dinner jacket?" he asked stupidly. Ianto grinned and leaned forward.

"I'm not doing this in jeans and a jumper," he replied. Jack glanced down at the cufflinks, then back up in surprise.

"You were serious," he said. "You really were thinking about getting married."

"Of course I was," Ianto replied, obviously holding back a laugh. "I didn't think it'd happen today, though!"

"You were planning this," he said. Tucking the cufflinks back into the box, he shook his head in amazement. "How long?"

"They were my grandfather's," said Ianto. "One of the original center stones went missing years ago, so I had them set with the blue topaz." He paused and smiled somewhat sheepishly. "Last week."

"No!" Jack exclaimed. "But you've been so…so…"

"Distracted, I know," Ianto replied, agreeing completely. "I've been a right mess. But I realized in the middle of it all that you've been there for me every step of the way, from the moment you slipped up at the pub that you knew about my past." He took a deep breath. "I don't know why I brought them with me, I honestly wasn't thinking about anything like this. Not here, not now. I had planned for them to be a gift, a thank you, when we got back." He shook his head. "I'd even thought about getting tickets to the opera, so you'd have a reason to wear them somewhere nice."

"I have an even better reason to wear them," said Jack, still gazing at the beautiful gift in awe. "So why now?"

"It's like I already said: it's you, Jack. I want to be with you," Ianto replied. "Seize the moment, right?"

"The moment was perfect," said Jack, and he pulled Ianto close and kissed him hard.

"Thank you," he whispered when they broke apart.

"For what?" Ianto asked.

"For the cufflinks, and for saying yes."

Ianto smiled. "Well, thank you."

"For what?" Jack teased.

"For coming with me," Ianto replied. "For the watch. For saying yes." He punctuated his words with another kiss, this one accompanied by twinkling eyes. "And for putting up with me while we plan this thing."

Jack laughed. "What's there to plan? We both say yes and sign the register. Done."

"Jack…" Ianto warned him.

"Oh, wait, there is something else!" Jack exclaimed, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the key he'd been carrying for weeks. "Move in with me until New York. It'll be easier to plan that way." He winked and Ianto rewarded him with a laugh. He also took the key and turned it around his fingers a few times.

"Yes," he said softly, the one simple word filled with such love and conviction that Jack finally let out the whoop he'd been holding back. He didn't care if the Doctor was watching, if several police had stopped to watch, if a news camera had caught it all on video. It was the most amazing moment of his life, and he wouldn't change it for the world.

Author's Note:
I know my chapters are usually much longer, but I've been sitting on this for a while without it changing much, which tells me this is exactly how it's supposed to be—short but sweet! The quotation is from 'War and Peace' by Leo Tolstoy. I hope to wrap it up with a short epilogue. Thank you for reading!