And it was so strange, Jack thought. Here he'd been trying to be what he thought the Doctor would want, removing elements of him self that he in his mind had deemed would be 'too much'. But then this was him, this was who he was, an element, not the entirety, but just as important a factor as any other, and here, like this? He could have utter confidence. Because he knew what he was doing.

And maybe that's what he should have done all along.

His hand drifted again to the bottom of the Doctor's tie, absently (but precisely) curling the fabric around his finger, he shifted his hold again then, moving so he gently held a finger hooked around the knot at the top.

And then he tugged firmly, loosening it.

"Then I guess that makes me the control, doesn't it?" he said, his voice still low and husky.

His eyes then went to the Doctor's neck, the tiniest extra space of skin displayed now without his tie holding his shirt tight. His eyes danced over the skin, touching it with just a look, and then his gaze drifted again, looking at the Doctor's hand as it touched against his braces.

"Oh I beg to differ," he said, "I think an experiment in these conditions could provide some quite interesting results."

And again, he tugged loose the Doctor's tie.

"So we have our variable, and we have our control. Tell me what else we need." And not a question, not a query, but an instruction.