Just Imagine...

Sensitive Side

"Are you... okay?" Ianto asked quietly, laying one hand on Jack's hand.
"I think so." Jack sniffed, staring ahead at the road with a tear-streaked face. Ianto would've offered to drive instead but he'd had a few glasses of wine earlier. At least Jack had stopped sobbing by the time they got in the car.
Jack whimpered softly.
Oh shit, Ianto thought, I've done it now.
"I'm sorry!" Jack exclaimed, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks, "it's just so... I don't know!"
"Jack," Ianto sighed patiently, trying to sound comforting, "it was just a movie. I thought Mean Girls would've been a safe choice. Plus, Tosh and Gwen have wanted to see it for a while."
"Those young people," Jack murmured, seeming not to have heard him, "moving on with their lives. Will they ever be together again? Will they ever think back on their high school years and wonder why they acted the way they did?"
"Well, no, because it's not real," Ianto pointed out, "it was a movie. Fiction!"
"But things like that do happen in real life!"
"Yes, that is true."
"Like my mom. She said she hates that movie because it reminds her of the bullies she had to deal with in her high school years."
"To be fair, Jack, everything reminds her of that. The other day she was helping me down in the archives and said she liked that the original sketch of an Ilgrail because it looked just like that Sydney Reynolds woman she loathed so much as a teen."
Ianto was relieved (and a little surprised) when Jack promptly burst out laughing. He found himself letting out a small chuckle as well.
"Don't know why I used past tense," he added, "Sam still won't shut up about her."
Jack laughed harder and Ianto grinned to himself, glad to have cheered his husband up and forget about the movie.
"Cut it out, I'm driving!" Jack exclaimed, "you don't want me to have an accident, do you?"
"You mean crashing the car or wetting yourself?"
"Stop!"
The two of them were both laughing hysterically by now, and Jack had to pull over for a second.
"Sorry," Ianto gasped after a moment, "I didn't mean to make you laugh so hard!"
Jack leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"It's okay," he murmured, "I'm glad you did. Thank you."
Ianto smiled at him, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.
"You're welcome." He said softly.
"Y'know, while we're pulled over here..." Jack began with a mischievous smirk.
"Oh, absolutely not!" Ianto laughed, "c'mon, we've got kids to get home to. Your parents are probably wondering what's keeping us."
Jack mock-sighed.
"Okay," he said, "maybe later?"
"For sure." Ianto chuckled.

It was a few weeks later when the 'issue' resurfaced.
Gabby and Danny were all excited to watch Air Bud for the first time. They'd seen all the Buddies movies and had been thrilled to discover that there was another one to add to their collection. They had just gotten the DVD from the local movie rental store, which they had insisted Ianto take them to after he picked them up from school, and were now sitting on the floor in front of the TV getting it set up. Jack had just arrived home and presented Ianto with a loving kiss.
"What're we watching, kiddos?" He asked cheerfully, joining his children in the living room.
"Air Bud!" Gabby replied excitedly.
"Sounds like fun!" Jack exclaimed, "mind if I watch with ya?"
"Daddy, no!" Danny protested immediately.
"What?" Jack asked, smile vanishing, "why not?"
"Because you'll cry!" Gabby said matter-of-factly, "you always cry."
Ianto, who was in the kitchen getting dinner ready, bit his lip to keep from laughing. Apparently his and Jack's children had noticed their father's habit of getting emotional at the end of films - it wasn't exactly hard to notice.
"Did you hear all that?"
Ianto jumped at Jack's sudden voice behind him. He bit his lip again, not looking at his husband.
"No," he said innocently, "what did the kids say?"
Jack picked up on the fact that he was being teased.
"Ianto." He practically whined. Ianto glanced over his shoulder to see Jack pouting like a little boy.
"Yes, Jack?" He asked, unable to keep a smirk from slipping onto his face.
"It's not my fault I'm a sensitive soul!" Jack exclaimed, "it's not my fault I have emotions! I'm so tired of living in a society where men can't cry!!"
Ianto let out an affectionate chuckle and pulled him into a hug.
"I don't think that's what the kids were saying, Jack," he tried, "they just don't like seeing you cry. You're such a happy man, and they love that about you. Seeing you reduced to tears... upsets them."
"I guess you're right," Jack sighed, "it's just...  embarrassing for me sometimes."
"I don't think you should be embarrassed about it, Jack. It's one of the things I love most about you."
"Really? You mean it?"
"I do."
"Well... thanks, Ianto. Sometimes I try not to cry to spare you."
"You don't have to do that. Remember what your mom says; it's important to express yourself."
They both leaned back to look each other in the eyes.
"You're right," Jack said, "and she also says a lot about Sydney Reynolds."
Ianto laughed quietly.
"The thing I love most about you is your laugh." Jack murmured, reaching up to lightly tickle Ianto's neck. Ianto jerked away with a squeak.
"Don't!" He giggled, "do you want me to get dinner ready or do you want to have a tickle fight?"
"Oh, I'm sure we've got plenty of time for both."
"Great." Ianto said, rolling his eyes as he went back to cooking. He loved Jack, but sometimes he could be insufferable (in a mildly delightful way).