Gazing

It started slowly, not long after Jack returned from traveling with his Doctor. The first time Tosh noticed it was a few days after the catastrophe with the space whale. Jack was sitting in his office, working on some paperwork, when he stopped and gazed out into the Hub with a look on his face she couldn't quite describe. Almost entranced, it was a small smile that reached his eyes and lit up his face. She stared for a moment, because it wasn't a look that Jack wore often, and it made him appear so much younger and carefree. Curious as to what could bring about such an expression, she traced his gaze across the Hub.

He was watching Ianto. The Welshman was sitting on the sofa going through the files about their latest case, oblivious to Jack's eyes. He flexed his wrists, rubbing at a particularly bad rope burn from the warehouse. Turning back, Tosh thought she saw something else—maybe concern, or maybe affection—in Jack's eyes. Then she put it all together: the warehouse, Ianto's injured hands, the gun that hit Rhys but misfired when Ianto had been wrestling with one of the thugs. And she understood that Jack was feeling over protective, like he often did after someone on the team had a close call. He was watching Ianto to make sure he was still there, safe and uninjured.

After a moment, he shook his head and smiled to himself once more, then returned to his paperwork. Tosh thought it was sweet, but nothing more.

She caught Ianto watching Jack not long after that, after he'd gone to Hell and back to save Jack. Tosh had told him the program wasn't been ready, but Ianto had grabbed the matchbox and disappeared, reappearing with an extremely unsteady Jack clinging to his arm. Neither man had said much about what they had seen, especially Ianto, and Tosh had been too relieved to tell them the program hadn't saved them. Then again, maybe it had; maybe it hadn't needed to be at one hundred percent to lock onto wherever Ianto had gone to bring him back with Jack.

Or maybe there was something to Ianto's assertion, right before he left, that he could bring Jack back from Hell by forgiving him. Forgive him of what? His sins against Ianto? Or everyone else Jack had wronged over his long life? She wondered if Jack still needed Ianto's forgiveness, or if Ianto needed to give it. The two men seemed to be doing fine since Jack's return; at times, they appeared closer than ever, going out in the field together and staying late at the Hub. Ianto never said anything about it, though.

As she watched Ianto follow Jack around the Hub with his eyes, she wondered if he was worried about Jack disappearing again, or simply admiring the view (she certainly did, so why wouldn't he?) Ianto wasn't watching Jack with lust and desire in his eyes, though; he was gazing at the older man with clear concern and what appeared to be reluctant affection.

He seemed to sense Tosh watching him, as his eyes shifted toward her. He quickly returned to his paperwork, appearing slightly flustered. She smiled, thinking there might something else going on that she couldn't quite see. At least not yet.

Jack stopped mid-sentence and gazed over her right shoulder, his eyes literally crinkling around the edges as the left side of his mouth crooked up in a warm smile. Turning, she saw Ianto coming up the stairs from the archives, carrying a box filled with whatever he had gone down there to find. Something for Owen, she knew. Ianto stopped, as if he knew he was being observed, and turned to find them both watching him. He ducked his head and walked quickly toward the medical bay; she imagined him blushing.

Tosh turned back to Jack, thinking to continue their conversation, but Jack was still watching Ianto. And unlike some of the other times she'd caught him at it, there was no sense of worry, but obvious fondness, and not in the same way he looked at her or Owen. Or even Gwen, now that she thought about it. She didn't like the way Jack looked at Gwen, but it was nothing compared to what she saw in the way he watched Ianto now.

Clearing her throat, she dragged Jack's attention back to the program she was trying to discuss. He grinned, turning his charm on her full blast. Yet he still seemed distracted, and she was fairly certain it was because of Ianto. Something was going on; she just wasn't sure what.

She almost asked Ianto about it when she caught him watching Jack a week later. Jack bounded into the Hub with Owen, a containment box swinging carelessly in his hand. Ianto glanced up from his computer, followed Jack with his eyes, then touched a spot behind his ear with a small smile as he turned away. It was as if he was recalling a fond memory, and Tosh almost wondered if she'd find a love bite on his neck.

It seemed as if every day she caught one or the other of them at it: Jack watching Ianto make coffee, Ianto gazing at Jack doing his paperwork. And sometimes she even saw them catch one another's eye. Jack would come out from his office, focusing almost immediately on Ianto, and the Welshman would turn to meet his gaze, first with a smile, then with a nod. Once he got up and took Jack some coffee, pulling the door shut behind him; another time he headed toward the archives. Jack followed not long after, and when they came back looking slightly ruffled thirty minutes later, the game was up.

They were obviously sleeping together again, but from the looks they exchanged across the Hub, Tosh suspected it was more.

Sometimes there would be a wink, sometimes some banter. Soon she noticed not only the looks, but the touches as well: Jack's hand on Ianto's shoulder, or his arm. Ianto's hand lingering on Jack's when handing him a mug of coffee or a file. They walked close, as if subconsciously drawn together, and they sat closer as well. And then there was all the Weevil hunting they seemed to do, especially at the end of the day. Tosh was certain it was a euphemism, but whether they actually hunted Weevils before shagging or went out, had dinner, and then shagged, she wasn't sure.

It was fun trying to puzzle it out, though. So she started a spreadsheet, noting every look and touch, wink and smile. She rated each one based on several factors: the expression on the observer's face, whether the look was returned and how, and the overall emotional impression of the encounter. And while plenty of the looks were no more than smiles between coworkers, most were rated as more than friendly, with several going beyond flirtatious and even to scandalous. Tosh followed them that time on CCTV—she needed concrete evidence, after all—and promptly deleted the footage, feeling rather warm.

Jack and Ianto were definitely sleeping together again, but the evidence still pointed toward more.

When Owen died, the looks and touches almost doubled, though they were rated highly for concern and support. She suspected both Jack and Ianto were reeling from Owen's death and resurrection, both men fearing the day Ianto might face a similar fate. They didn't try to hide it as much either; whereas normally they shied away from displaying any affection in front of the others, now Tosh tracked more and more looks and touches out in the open. And if someone walked in on them during a close moment, they didn't spring apart, but slowly moved away, almost reluctantly.

It was really remarkable. In spite of everything that had happened, they seemed happier than ever. Ianto was more confident, his dry wit sharpened to a razor point; Jack smiled more, his dark moods appearing less and less.

Tosh was so happy for them that her heart broke for both men as she watched it almost fall apart at Gwen's wedding.

Jack had given them all the next day off, and when Tosh called Ianto to see if he wanted to go out to dinner and gossip about the wedding, he begged off with an apology and said he had plans. She asked him point blank if his plans were with Jack, and after some embarrassed stuttering, he admitted that yes, he was seeing Jack that night.

She then asked him if everything was all right after the drama of the previous day, leaving no confusion as to her meaning. Ianto sighed and admitted that it had been a hard day, though not entirely for the reasons she suspected. He didn't elaborate, but assured her that he and Jack were going to talk over dinner.

She asked him if he knew what he was doing, and if it was worth it. When he laughingly accused her of sounding like his mum, she told him she was more like a big sister looking out for him because she didn't want him to get hurt. At which he'd sighed again and told her it was probably too late for that, and he'd let her know if it was worth it when he knew the answer.

Tosh felt terrible when she hung up the phone. She wondered if she'd ever catch them watching one another across the Hub again, because she'd miss it if they didn't.

Two days later, Jack was leaning against the door to his office, his arms crossed over his chest as he gazed into the Hub. It took Tosh a few minutes to notice, but sure enough, he was watching Ianto. Who was sitting at his station, chewing on a pen as he glanced from computer screen to clipboard, back and forth, completely oblivious to Jack.

But Tosh noticed, and it was wonderful: Jack watched Ianto, tilted his head and smiled to himself. Then he frowned, his gaze turning inward as he made a little 'o' with his mouth, and glanced back at Ianto with wide eyes. It was as if he'd realized something, something important but something that apparently rattled him. He turned back into his office, stopped two steps in, then rushed back out and over to Ianto's station.

He wrapped his arms around Ianto's chest, leaned down and whispered something in his ear, and then kissed him on the cheek before bounding away with a broad smile. Ianto appeared stunned, and sat there for several moments before he slowly started grinning to himself. His entire body relaxed, his face lit up from within by happiness. He glanced at Jack's office, where the other man was on the phone, and simply watched, the look on his face almost exactly the same as the one she'd just seen on Jack: realization.

Apparently, they'd worked things out, and Tosh couldn't be more glad to see things return to normal.

The others weren't as happy and amused as she was, at least not at first. When Owen finally noticed the increase in looks and touches, he took every opportunity he could to badger them about getting a room, particularly Ianto. At first Ianto was mortified, then merely embarrassed, and then he started flinging back barbs of his own, including one about finding the medical bay particularly comfortable and offering to leave the candles out for Owen next time. Owen toned it down after that, and once Tosh even caught him watching Jack and Ianto with a smile on his face, as if he were happy for them.

Gwen eventually noticed and seemed confused at first, then disappointed. But Tosh watched her closely, and she saw the moment when the other woman started smiling when Jack and Ianto got lost in one their looks. Owen made retching sounds, but Tosh and Gwen loved watching the two men. Gwen even walked in on them once and assured Tosh that they were as hot as they were adorable, and that Ianto had a great arse under those suits.

After being caught quite literally with their pants down, Jack and Ianto seemed reluctant to let the others see into their relationship. But Tosh knew what to look for, and she could always tell when Jack was gazing at Ianto from his office, or when Ianto stopped to watch Jack from across the Hub. There were still looks of concern, or of thinly-veiled desire, but Tosh saw more than affection, she saw love.

She knew they would never admit it, not to the team and probably not even to one another. But she knew it was there, because she saw it. And every time she saw it shining from their eyes, she was mesmerized, imagining someone looking at her like that one day, and hoping Jack and Ianto knew how lucky they were.

Jack caught her at it once and put arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "Are you watching us?" he teased. She nodded, unsure whether to respond with humor or the truth. He smiled, his eyes moving back to Ianto, his face lighting up with joy. "I'm a lucky man," he whispered.

"You both are," Tosh replied. Ianto glanced up then to find them watching him. He rolled his eyes and went right back to his work. Jack positively beamed.

"Yes, we are."

And he gazed at Ianto again, until the other man met his eyes, and they were lost to everything around them once more.

Author's Note:

Many thanks to DinoDina for letting me take inspiration from her Tumblr post about Jack and Ianto gazing across the Hub at one another! I hope you enjoyed it!