MY SKIN

Jack Harkness woke up with a smile on the fourteenth of February.

Jumping out of bed and quickly getting dressed for school, Jack bounded down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mother was making breakfast, his father reading the newspaper and Alice making a mess as usual.

"There he is, the birthday boy" Mrs Harkness said walking round the table to kiss Jack's cheek. "My little baby a legal adult now, I can hardly believe it. Sit down, sit down, I've made pancakes"

Jack sat down opposite his father who put the newspaper down. "Happy Birthday Jackie-Boy"

"Thank you Dad" Jack grinned as his mother placed down a plate of pancakes with strawberry sauce squeezed on in a shape of a heart. "Looks delicious Mum"

"'Appy 'irthday to !" Alice shouted excitedly bashing her spoon against her high chair.

"Thank you, Princess" Jack said blowing a kiss to a giggling Alice. "Happy Valentines Day as well, I got you some chocolate for later"

"Yay! Choccy!"

"Now, now Jack don't get her to excited or I won't be able to handle her today" Mrs Harkness said. "Come on, eat up and open your presents, you don't have long till school"

Obeying his mother's wishes he found he had some new clothes, a new watch and quite a large sum of money from not just his parents but his family in America. Alice had even scribbled him a special birthday picture that caused him to smile, after giving everyone thank you hugs and kisses Jack got up to go to school.

"What are you planning on doing tonight dear?" Mrs Harkness asked as she gathered all the plates.

"Me and Gwen are going out for dinner, I may not come home at all tonight" Jack said in a suggestive voice.

"Practise safe sex" Mr Harkness said from behind his newspaper. "I don't want Alice to have a sibling just yet"

"Of course, father of mine, Gwen would skin me alive if I got her pregnant" Jack said picking Alice up and twirling her in the air. "Besides I'm not reading to share my love to Alice with another gorgeous baby just yet" he kissed Alice on the nose and passed her to his mother. "I'll be back at five to get ready; Owen says he'll come around at seven"

"Are you sure Owen doesn't mind babysitting?" Mrs Harkness asked worriedly. "I mean its Valentines Day, he might have had a date planned or he might not have wanted to leave his Nana alone"

"Owen hasn't got the guts to ask Tosh out on a date" Jack said bluntly. "And he specifically brought baby monitors so he can keep an eye on his Nana, so all is well. You and Dad just enjoy spending a romantic night together. Au reviour"

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

"I can't believe Jack is born on Valentines Day!"

Ianto looked sceptical. "Really? I can, Captain Flirts-a-lot lives and breathes romance"

"Yes, but you don't live and breath pranks and you're born on April the first" Gwen reminded Ianto.

"Don't remind me" Ianto muttered darkly. "Dad likes to make awful pranks involving the presents, the cards, the cake..."

"Well, thank you for the chocolate" Gwen said quickly changing the topic.

"No, thank you for the chocolate" Ianto said grinning. It was custom for the three of them (Ianto, Gwen and Andy ) to exchange chocolate on Valentines Day, it started back in Year Eight when Andy was upset that his girlfriend had broken up with him a whole week before Valentines, in an attempt to cheer him up Gwen started the tradition by buying both him and Ianto some chocolate.

"Have you seen Andy?" Gwen asked. "I wanted to give him his chocolate before class"

"I don't know" Ianto said. "Hey...Gwen...is Andy avoiding me?"

"Huh, what would make you say that?"

"Well he never spends time with me alone, when he's with us he never looks or speaks to me directly and when I see him in the corridor he walks very quickly in the other direction"

"He does not! You're being sensitive Yan!" Gwen said laughingly.

Andy bumped into them, looking alarmed he immediately began half running the other way. Ianto looked deadpanned as he said, "You were saying?"

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Owen and Tosh were doing some homework in the library. It was very quiet apart from the occasional giggle that came from some stupid couple that thought making out in the library was the right thing to do on Valentines Day which had made both Tosh and Owen slightly uncomfortable. Owen was trying to gather up his courage to give Tosh some chocolate, not in a romantic sense, oh no, but in the friendly way like Gwen does when she gives Ianto and Andy chocolate because they were too lame to get dates.

When he had gathered enough courage, Owen had opened his mouth to speak when Gwen suddenly appeared next to Tosh.

"Do any of you like chocolate kisses?"

"Eh?"

"I keep finding chocolate kisses everywhere I go!" Gwen half wailed. "In my locker, on my desk in class, in my school bag"

"Oh my heart bleeds for the girl that has a secret admirer" Owen said sarcastically. "How horrific"

"Don't you get it, it's from my stalker" Gwen hissed. "I don't want to keep encouraging them so I wandered if you would want them" she pulled out a small carrier bag and poured out a lot of silver wrapped heart shaped chocolates. "Would you like them, Tosh?"

"Thank you Gwen" Tosh said quietly taking one and looking back, making sure the librarian could see her before she started to unwrap it. His little Tosh was getting more and more daring each day. "I'll get you something on White Day"

"White Day?"

Tosh swallowed. "Oh yes, in Japan it's a custom that on the fourteenth of March who give a gift back to those who gave you chocolate. Preferably something white"

"Ah, sounds cool, here in Britain you just give chocolate and hope your loved one gives you some back" Gwen said getting up. "Well, I got to go; if I get any more chocolate kisses you can have them"

"Ta Freckles" Owen said coolly earning a dirty look from Gwen. Once he was sure she was gone he turned to give Tosh her chocolate to find that she was presenting a box herself.

"I wanted to say thank you for everything you have done, you have been a wonderful friend" she said shyly, her head bent over so her dark hair could curtain her face.

Smiling down on her fondly, Owen accepted the box and decided he'll treat Tosh to something even better on this White Day...

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

They were furious. That disgusting, sleazy, footballing pig had his paws all over her. Valentines Day, apparently was his birthday, trust him to be born on the most romantic day of the year just to dirty it, to make it feel cheaper than it already was.

He gave her chocolate, kept kissing her, had everyone give him presents and wish him Happy Birthday and then he had a nerve to send the clichéd red roses which they quickly intercepted much to his annoyances. They can tell from his voice when Gwen told him she didn't get his roses.

He took Gwen out to a restaurant and they watched from afar in the shadows. Disgusted to see him holding Gwen's hand throughout the dinner, the little insecure git can't even go five minutes without making sure Gwen was chained to him, unable to escape. And then, the sheer nerve of him, after dinner he took Gwen out for a walk along the docks, arm dragged around her as if he owned her or something.

Watching in the shadows, they were unable to hear what was being said but all of a sudden, he was kissing her with such puppy-dog enthusiasm, slobbering all over poor Gwen. Before taking her...to a hotel of all things!

Knowing full well what was going to happen that night, they decided they shall save Gwen from more disgusting nights like these. They will begin to plot to break Gwen from Jack Harkness' grips forever.

They shall make Jack Harkness' life a misery as well.

TWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTWTW

Gwen came in rather late in the morning. A blush stained her cheeks though she had no idea why. It wasn't like she was a virgin; she and Rhys had done it a fair few times before. But then again Jack was...well good. There was a passion and an explosive chemistry between them that made the sex a billion times better than anything between her and Rhys. She headed up the stairs to her room to get changed when her mother caught her in the landing.

"Hello sweetheart, had a good time last night?"

"Erm..." Gwen said nervously.

"Don't worry dear, I told your father you were staying at Tosh's after the date. I believe you're old enough to make your decisions, just use contraceptives, I'm not ready to be a grandmother just yet"

"Don't worry Mum, I'm still on the pill and Jack used a condom" Gwen said blushing even harder. "I'm going to shower and get changed before getting into my homework"

"Ah before you do sweetheart, this came for you today" Gwen's mother passed a red box with a black bow on. "Probably a belated Valentines present"

"It's most likely the roses Jack sent yesterday" Gwen muttered taking the box.

"I wish your father was a romantic man like your boy" her mother said sighing as Gwen ran up the stairs.

Putting the box on the bed, Gwen opened it up to find not the roses that Jack had claimed he sent but a massacred remains of the roses. Red petals scrunched up, the green stems snapped and a little white card placed on the top of the sweet smelling pile. Picking it up and turning it round, Gwen's eyes widened, horrified to see only two words written in a dark red. It was not the words that horrified her as such but the smell.

She could smell the rustic copper of blood.

In blood two words were written.

Be Mine.

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