He was late and Jack hated to be late. His conference call with UNIT had over run and, as he had been heading out of the Hub muttering imprecations against desk bound soldiers whose brains were in their arses, Gwen Cooper had emerged from nowhere shrilly demanding to know where he was going.

'Out' said Jack shortly, 'and I'm late, so you'll have to excuse me'

Gwen made a grab for his arm but he shook her off and stepped onto the invisible lift, grimacing as the soft Welsh drizzle began to fall on him.

As he emerged into the miserable Cardiff weather, Jack caught sight of something that pasted a warm, happy smile across his face; his lunch date, Ianto Jones, was leaning on the railing, gazing out over the bay, raindrops sparkling in his hair like diamonds. Ianto turned, saw Jack and gave him a small wave as he crossed the plas to meet him.

'Ianto' Jack hurried towards the young man feeling the stress of the morning melting away under the sunshine of Ianto's smile. His eyes fixed on Ianto, he increased his pace. He was so busy looking at his lover, he wasn't looking where he was going, put his foot on some sodden chips discarded on the ground, slipped and began a undignified fall.

Suddenly Ianto was in front of him, a thin pale hand resting on his chest, an arm round his waist pulling him close, steadying him and keeping him balanced

'Whoa, steady Jack.' The warm Welsh tone washed the last of his bad mood away, 'It's Ok. I have you'

Jack looked into Ianto's eyes and suddenly realised the truth; 'yeah you do, don't you?'