Hello everybody. Here's a little side story to my story Living the Dream. You don't have to read it to know what's going on though. I hope you all enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: Don't own, sadly.

- TW -

Jack sighed, kicking his feet idly as he stared out the window of his dad's car, watching the scenery bored out of his mind. He didn't want to leave his America and fly all the way out to some country that might not even know any English. What was he supposed to do if he couldn't talk to anybody but his family? He'd go insane with boredom. His mother assured him that wasn't going to be the case, but he had made sure to do everything he could to show his displeasure about the whole thing.

He knew though, a small part of his brain, that they had to move. His father was being stationed in Wales, so their family was settling in the town of Newport. They were getting a small house in the outskirts of town, not too far from where his mother was working and where he and his siblings will be going to school. There were going to be plenty of children his age, so he'd have someone to play with that wasn't Grey or Renee. He didn't want to make new friends though. He liked his old school, his old neighborhood and his friends. He wasn't going to see them for who knows how long and that upset him. How was he supposed to make friends with people who didn't speak his language?

He kept his opinions to himself as they pulled in front of an average looking, two story house. The moving truck was just pulling away as their car came to a stop and the small family piled out of the car. The house to the right didn't appear to have anyone home at the time, and the one on the left had their car pulling out of the driveway. He sighed to himself, kicking a stray rock before starting towards their new house behind the group. Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention though and he paused.

It seems like the house on the left wasn't as empty as he had first thought. There was a small boy, if he had to guess who would be roughly the same age as him, crouched down in the back yard. Jack glanced after his retreating family before, decision made, he made his way over to the boy. He stopped a few feet away, nervous of approaching. He really did want to at least attempt to make friends, but there was a part of him that was afraid he was going to make a bad first impression.

His mother always told him to just be himself and if people didn't like him, that was their lose. So with that thought in mind, he took a deep breath to prepare himself, put a large smile on his face, and made his way over to the boy. "Hello!" he said, plopping down next to him.

The boy jumped, stumbling backwards and landing on his bum. "You scared me!" he exclaimed, scooting back a little to get away from this strange boy. As far as he was aware, there weren't any other boys his age in the immediate area.

Jack smiled, pleased that he could understand what the boy was saying, even if it was different than normal English. It still counted! "Sorry. I didn't mean to." he said, his smile softening in apology. "I'm Jack. My family just moved in next door." he said, holding his hand out in introduction.

The boy eyed it warily before hesitantly reaching out to shake it once before withdrawing his hand. "Ianto." he said, scooting back a little more.

Jack grinned, happy. "Ianto! That' an interesting name." he said, scooting close to the other boy. "Want to be friends?" he asked before anything else could be said.

Ianto frowned, surprised at the sudden question. "Uh... I guess?" he said, making it sound like a question. He didn't really have any other friends, so it couldn't hurt.

Jack smiled, launching himself forward and wrapping his arms tightly around the other in a quick hug. His mother always said he was an affectionate person and it definitely showed. "Great!" he exclaimed, scooting back before Ianto could get too uncomfortable. "Would you care if I called you Yan instead?" he asked, tilting his head curiously.

The small Welsh boy blinked, shaking off the surprise of the random hug before nodding slowly. "I... guess... If you want." This boy was strange. But he was sure that he was a good kid. After all, he was a great judge of character, especially for someone so young. "Where are you from, anyway?" he asked, curious. Based on the accent matches what he hears on the tellie, he'd have to say it was from somewhere overseas.

"Chicago, Illinois. It's very different from here." Jack said, shifting so he was sitting more comfortably, legs crossed.

A small smile tugged at the corner of Ianto's mouth as he copied the other's movements. "I'd imagine. From what I hear, that's a large city in Illinois." He was silent for a second before tilting his head curiously. "Tell me about it?"

A large grin spread across Jack's face and he went off in a large speech, his arms waving around dramatically. He told of all the places he would go, the restaurants he would eat at, his school and friends. He went on and on about anything he could think of, with Ianto listening quietly with only the occasional question. When he was finished he asked about Newport, giving the Welsh boy a chance to speak about the place he grew up.

They talked until Ianto's parents came home, calling the boy indoors. They hugged once quickly before going their separate ways. It looked like the beginning of a long and lasting friendship.

- TW -

So... Good? Bad? Let me know with a review! Just like I say in other stories, anything you'd like to see happen in my story, anything at all, just let me know and if I can work it into my plan, then I most definitely will. :)