Just Imagine...

"WE LOVE ONE WELSH BOY AND HIS SNORTS!"

The first person on the team to hear Ianto laugh so hard he snorted was Jack. Of course it was Jack. He was such a touchy-feely person and he just had to decide to have a tickle fight with Ianto - when Ianto already knew he'd lose. In the midst of it, Jack's fingers had found their way to the backs of Ianto's knees and it was all over; Ianto curled into a defensive ball, lapsing into belly-laughs, and snorted. Jack immediately stopped tickling him, stared at him for a second, then collapsed in giggles.
"What?" Ianto demanded, sitting up.
"You snort when you laugh!" Jack exclaimed, beaming.
"Shut up." Ianto muttered, pulling his knees into his chest and feeling his cheeks getting warm. He couldn't look at Jack anymore so he stared at his toes instead.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Jack asked, suddenly concerned.
"Nothing, I..." Ianto began, "I just didn't want anyone to hear."
"Why not?" Jack pressed, "it's so cute!"
Ianto looked up at him then, and this time it was Jack who averted his eyes, blushing.
"Cute?" Ianto echoed, "it's not cute. It's disgusting."
"You really think that?"
"Yes. I do. The one thing I hate the most in this world is my own laugh."
"Don't say that!" Jack exclaimed suddenly, diving across the bed to grab Ianto's hands in his, "don't ever ever say that, Ianto! Your laugh is the most beautiful sound I've ever heard! I could listen to it all day! I don't care if you snort when you laugh, that just makes it that much more adorable!"
"Then why were you laughing at me?" Ianto asked, trying to hold back tears.
"Because," Jack said, "it made me so happy it just had to burst out."
Ianto was really blushing now, and he could feel a dumb, giddy smile appearing on his face. Jack pulled him into a hug and he buried his face in the curve of his neck, breathing in his unique scent. He had never been comfortable laughing in front of other people until this moment. And he wished he could say that to Jack. Maybe someday he would.

The rest of the team all found out about Ianto's laugh a few months later. They had just gotten back from a mission, completely exhausted and still on edge after almost losing Sam. They hadn't, thanks to Owen, he'd leaped in at the last second, tackling her to the ground so that the laser beam from a high-tech gun wielded by a blowfish only just missed them.
"I'm okay!" Sam had exclaimed, then she smirked when Owen had breathed a sigh of relief and said, "did you just jump into the line of fire for me?"
"What?" Owen demanded, "no! Shut up!" Sam was laughing.
"You did!" She said.
That was over now, and the six members of the Torchwood team were back at the hub, trying to unwind after the ordeal.
"About what I did before," Owen said, "no one say anything, okay?"
"Wow, Owen," Sam said, grinning ear to ear with a mischievous glint in her eyes, "I can't believe you like me! That is so embarrassing for you!" She wrapped an arm around his neck in a play-headlock and gave him a noogie.
"Stop it! Get off me!" Owen barked, wriggling out of her grip and shoving her away from him. Sam was laughing, and so was everyone else. Ianto found himself belly-laughing, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop a snort from slipping out. He covered his mouth as the others stopped laughing to look at him, trying to calm his breathing so he didn't snort again.
And there it was, the embarrassment. The sensation of his cheeks turning red. The crippling feeling that everyone was about to start making fun of him and that they'd never let him live it down. Ianto cleared his throat.
"Anyone want coffee?" He asked. He didn't wait for an answer, just got up and practically ran to the coffee machine, sitting on the floor behind it so he was out of sight and curling into a tight ball, hugging his knees. He could hear the others talking quietly, and he knew they were talking about him. He could feel it. This was just like in elementary school, when his classmates had teased him endlessly about his laugh. Ianto was just about to cry when he heard footsteps approaching. He glanced up slightly and saw a pair of white sneakers with rainbow stripes on the floor in front of him.
Sam.
"Ianto?" She asked gently, "are you okay?"
"No," Ianto said, "just get it over with, Sam. Make fun of me for my laugh. I'm used to it."
"Make fun of you for your laugh?" Sam demanded, "why would I do that? That's the most horrible thing I've ever heard of! Who would do that?"
"Weren't you and the others just doing it?"
"No. At least I wasn't. Jack wasn't. Gwen and Tosh weren't. Owen might've wanted to but he didn't. Why would we make fun of you because you snort when you laugh? We're your friends, we love everything about you, especially your laugh! It's just like you, full of light and beauty and love!"
Ianto looked up at Sam now and he could tell by the sparkle in her emerald eyes that she was being sincere. But Sam was always sincere, it was just her way. Sam and Jack might say they loved his laugh, but as for the others... Ianto just wasn't so sure.