Title: Watching The Tide Roll Away
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Rating: Mild PG
Spoilers: Mild, for Adam
Disclaimer: Not mine; they belong to RTD and to the BBC
Summary: Written as a result of the prompt for Day Four on horizonssing:


Jack sat on the sand and watched as the sun gradually lowered itself towards the horizon. The breeze was blowing directly towards him, carrying the tang of the ocean and the indefinable scent that used to be that of home. He'd spent years inhaling that scent until he'd grown so attuned to it that it wasn't until it was no longer in his nostrils that he had realised how much he loved it.

The sky was darkening towards twilight and the sun was drawing its evening clothes of scarlets, mauves and oranges about itself. The sand was still warm from the baking heat of the day and Jack settled back against the dune he was sitting against, looking further up the beach to where a familiar figure was slowly walking towards him. He smiled at the sight. Ianto had taken off the coat, tie and waistcoat earlier on and had rolled up his trouser legs so he could walk along the edge of the receding tide. Along with the top two buttons being undone and his shirt being pulled out of his trousers, he presented a deliciously ruffled appearance. Ianto paused every now and then to look down and very occasionally picked something up before dropping it back down. Only once did Jack see him put whatever it was into his pocket.

Jack watched for a little while longer before relaxing back completely and closing his eyes. He listened to the sound of the surf beating endlessly against the shore and the occasional cry of a seabird. Eventually the sounds were joined by the scuff of bare feet against sand and he opened his eyes just as Ianto reached his side and gazed down at him with a faint smile.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked, indicating the space alongside Jack.

Jack pursed his lips and considered the question. "Well, I was promised the company of an incredibly handsome and intelligent man who said he would watch the sun go down with me."

"Really?" Ianto raised an eyebrow. "What an incredible coincidence! I met a charming and roguish man who said he would show me a sunset as well."

"Hmmm, you're right, it is an uncanny coincidence," Jack agreed. "Why don't we keep one another company until the two scoundrels make an appearance?"

Ianto laughed and settled down beside him. "Sounds like a plan to me."

They lapsed into a companionable silence for a while as they gazed out towards the horizon. After a few minutes, Jack reached out an arm and gathered Ianto closer, resting his head against the other man's. Ianto reached up a hand to place it over the one Jack had around him and smiled.

"You were right," he said quietly. "I had to see it to appreciate it."

Jack sighed and nodded. "It's not the kind of place you can describe," he agreed. "And I was always afraid I wasn't remembering it right."

Ianto gazed up into the reassuringly blue sky, now a dark sapphire as the sun bled away into the horizon. To his left and a little behind him hung the immense rose and gold crescent of Boe, the gas giant around which this world-moon of Boeshane orbited. Three of the other thirty-two moons were also visible and Ianto nudged Jack and pointed to the nearest one.

"What's that one called?"

Jack looked up at the almost-full disc of pale blue and smiled. "Boesavan. And that one-" he continued, pointing to the slender sliver of gold "-is Boemosht while that last pinkish one is Hoji."

"Why not Boehoji?" Ianto asked curiously.

Jack shrugged. "Just wasn't. They only stuck Boe on the front of those moons in the Boe system that could support life. Boeshane means 'daughter of Boe', in case you're interested."

"Always," Ianto said softly, still gazing around him. This was such a beautiful world and if you ignored the sky, it was so much like the Welsh coastline that it was positively unsettling. "Have you ever been to the Gower, Jack?"

"Hmm," Jack hummed in agreement, lying back and tugging at Ianto to join him. "Lovely world."

Ianto made a sound of exasperation. "It's not a world, Jack, it's part of the Welsh coastline..." His voice trailed away as he saw the smile on Jack's lips. "Seriously? There's an entire world called Gower?"

Jack's smile widened. "Uh-huh. Want to go there next?"

"We should be getting back to the Earth," Ianto pointed out. Even he had to admit that his tone lacked conviction. "You said we'd take one trip on that timeship and then let the Doctor know we'd found it."

"Yep, I said that," Jack agreed. He wriggled to get more comfortable and made another attempt to pull Ianto down to lie beside him. "You wait until the sun goes down completely and the stars come out. It's an awesome sight."

Ianto sighed and then chuckled, settling down beside Jack. "We're not going back for a while, are we?"

"Timeship," Jack said, making a pleased noise as he realised that Ianto wasn't going to put up much of a fight.

"So it is." Ianto smiled and planted a quick kiss on Jack's cheek before snuggling close and waiting for the stars to appear while the tide continued to go out.

OOOO