If it makes you feel any better, you know Jack and Ianto get a happy ending.

Well, true, but what I think made it for me was that the ending just fits so perfectly to the fic even if I didn't want it to. I love how you've hinted at Jack's softer side, how he truly does care for Ianto, but then never truly followed through in the end. It think it's spot on for Jack's character, to feel "the normal lovey dovey" things but then never express them, never really let them get in the way.

Okay, end of my crappy analysis.