Ianto stood, leaning on the wall at the foot of his bed in the bedroom of his small London flat. He was watching a calmly sleeping Lisa Hallett. She was naked, covered only in a thin sheet that was slowly slipping from her thin frame. Her chest rose and fell at a steady rhythm, then faster as she began to wake. She blinked her eyes open. Her vision was blurry from the long night of disuse. She let herself adjust and, seeing a dark figure at in the room, she bolted forward in surprise. Just before she would have begun searching for a weapon, she realized it was her long term boyfriend. She settled back down and dramatically hoisted the sheets over her chest.

"Stop staring, you creep" She joked. Ianto completely ignored this and continued to admire her. She rolled her eyes and playfully scoffed at him.

"Marry me" He eventually said. Lisa's eyebrows shot up to her hairline in surprise. His face was impassive, and held no relation to the significance of what he just said.

"What?!" She asked incredulously. This was not something she expected first thing in the morning, especially from Ianto. He wasn't the spontaneous type, he left that to Lisa most of the time.

"Marry me" He restated, still not faking the nonchalant air in his voice.

"Do you really think this is the best time for a proposal?" She laughed out, smoothing down her cropped black hair that was sticking out from sleep.

"I'm not proposing. Think of it like a promise. I promise that one day I will properly get a ring, get on one knee and all that bollocks and propose".

"Oh, so it's not that ridiculous a statement. Are you drunk?"

"It's 6 a.m." He chuckled.

"You wake up earlier than me. Who knows what you're up to" He ignored her light jab.

"What would you say?"

"What?"

"What would you say if I proposed?"

"Isn't the point to wait and find out?" She rolled her eyes for the second time that morning.

"Humor me" He requested, giving her that puppy look that she couldn't resist.

"Fine. I'd say yes, you big dumbo". Ianto attempted to suppress a grin and failed. It was one of the few times that she had seen his teeth. Genuine emotion was rare on his face, and appeared even less when he thought someone would see. It was one of the most frustrating things of their entire relationship, but Lisa was glad to endure it.

"You're gorgeous" She observed. His eyes met hers, and they held that sparkle that she could never manage to get used to.

"You're not too bad yourself" He paused, wondering if he should say what he was about to say. He decided to throw caution to the wind and continue. "Mrs. Jones". He finished.

She giggled and covered her face into the rose colored sheets, throwing herself back onto the bed.

"God, think of the children!" She exclaimed. Ianto crossed the room and sat next to her, worrying the fabric covering her shoulder between two fingers.

"What would we call them" He prompted, feeling particularly sentimental due to the early hour, or lack of coffee yet today.

"I've always liked Aggie for girls."

"And for boys?"

"Noel." She answered after pondering for only a moment.

"I'll teach them Welsh"

"Of course, but not as their first language. No inside jokes either" He chuckled in response. They both knew it would happen anyway. "And they're not allowed to drink coffee until they're 13" She added, knowing Ianto would feed them coffee out of a bottle if he could."

"10" Ianto said, looking highly affronted at depriving their children of his deepest obsession. Lisa hesitated for a moment.

"12" She wagered.

"Deal" He conceded, but didn't seem happy about it.

"They'd get into the best schools" She said, knowing that they'd be sure to gain a good mind from the both of them. Ianto was quiet for a few seconds, and when he did speak again it was more somber than before.

"We'd love them. No matter what" Ianto finished with a distantly sad look in his eyes. Lisa saw it and leaned upwards, kissing him on his cheek, then jawline. Slowly the distance faded from him, and he gave her a soft, sad smile.

"We should probably get ready for work" He said. His moment had broken the spell on them. He got up off the bed, kissing her on the forehead as he did.

"Do we have to? It's bloody freezing out there" Lisa sighed as Ianto rolled his eyes. She did this every morning, he didn't know whether to find it annoying or endearing.

"You know Hartman will want us there to prepare for the Ghost Shift" He tried to convince her. His voice had an edge to it that chilled Lisa briefly. It was no secret to her that Ianto hated the ghosts that had shown up over the past three weeks. The thought of the dead coming back was horrible to him, and she had no idea why. She thought of his father coming back, in Newport. It was a wonder to her that he wasn't excited that he had a chance to talk to him again, but she didn't push it. All in good time with Ianto.

"I know, I know. I swear, she's bloody obsessed" She sighed.

"All for Queen and country" He mocked his boss in a pompous voice, though there was little humor to it. "I'll go make the coffee" he added, and left the room.

Lisa sighed and heaved herself off the bed, thudding her way to the bathroom to start a hot shower that Ianto had learned not to interrupt if he didn't want to get burned. She listened to him bustling in the kitchen, lightly humming to himself. It was good to see that the mood hadn't entirely left him.

Yes, she thought, she would definitely say yes. Whenever Ianto chose to ask.

How is it? I might add another chapter later with Jack and Ianto.

This was meant to be about a month and a half before the Battle of Canary Wharf, so it's not TOO tragic.

Thanks for reading! Every review is appreciated!