The sensation was a bit like putting his foot down and not finding the step he expected to be there, or any of the ones that were supposed to follow it. His stomach dropped and his heart fled in the opposite direction, leaving a big hole in the middle and making him feel vaguely sick and slightly dizzy. He tried to shake it off, but clearly he had shown some of what he was feeling, because Ianto asked, "Are you alright?"

He swallowed, shook his head and nodded. "Fine, I think I just fell in love." Then he slammed his mouth shut and wished for the ground to swallow him up.

Ianto's eyes widened almost comically and his jaw worked silently for a moment. "Jack, you're not on some alien drug, are you?"

"No..."

"And you've not been playing with any alien tech that could have hardwired brain to mouth without your being able to control it?" he checked carefully.

Jack flushed, which he hadn't known he was capable of. "I'm flattered that you've not considered the possibility that I didn't mean it yet."

Ianto ran a hand through his hair and looked away. "You told me you loved me months ago, and have told me often enough since..."

"And I meant it," Jack hurried to reassure him, in case Ianto was worried about it. "This was just... You know when you're going downstairs, not really paying attention, and you miss the step?" Ianto nodded and Jack smiled lopsidedly. "Well it felt like that. One moment 'apples, pears or both?' Next moment 'I love this man beyond words or reason' and missing step."

Wide-eyed, Ianto nodded again. "I can see that realising something you've known for months would be startling."

"It's not..." Jack reached over and took Ianto's hand across the table. They were sitting in the kitchen of the flat, writing up a shopping list of non-perishables to restock as they did once a month when they got the chance. It was creeping up to one in the morning, and even Jack was flagging. He wasn't sure what had tipped the balance, but there was something so incredible about Ianto that he'd not quite been able to comprehend before. It had clicked into place like a code and unlocked the dizzying rush of emotion that had knocked him so off balance. As he didn't really understand it himself, he decided that he probably wasn't going to be able to explain it to Ianto, so he settled for, "I just went to Defcon Four."

Ianto laughed softly and retrieved his hand to rest it against Jack's cheek. "You are quite mad."

"I know," he nuzzled into Ianto's palm. "But you love me anyway..." he trailed off with just enough pause to make it a question.

Ianto leaned forwards and kissed him gently on the lips. "It's possibly even because of it, rather than in spite of." He brushed his thumb over Jack's cheek gently. "You remember that time that the Weevil nearly got me, round the back of Tesco?"

Jack nodded and swallowed, throat suddenly dry. "How could I forget?"

Ianto licked his lips. "Well, that was because I felt like I'd just been punched in the stomach."

"You..." Jack frowned and tried to joke. "If it's going to put you in danger, I need to be less dashing."

"Be that as it may, Captain," Ianto pulled back and stood up, putting plates and mugs in the sink. "I beat you to the revelation by over a month."

Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto's waist from behind and kissed the corner of his jaw. "I'll make it up to you."

"I know," Ianto assured him calmly, smiling at their reflections in the dark window. "You're going to wash up."

Jack was left blinking at the place where Ianto had been, sandwiched between him and the counter where he couldn't possibly escape, and Ianto laughed at him from the doorway. "I'm going for a shower. If you're quick, you can join me."

The space left by his stomach and mouth doing their escapology act filled with warmth.