Chapter Four
Ianto parked in the driveway of his sister's house, collected his shopping bags from the boot, and walked in the front door, taking care his shoes were clean before crossing the threshold. "Only me," he announced cheerfully.
"In the kitchen," was the shouted reply.
He tried not to cringe as he negotiated his way down the cluttered hallway and through to the kitchen at the rear of the house. A penchant for order and tidiness was just one of the many personality traits he and his sister didn't have in common. As used to it as he was, every time he visited he still had to fight back the urge to roll up his sleeves and attempt to bring order to what seemed like borderline chaos.
Regardless, it was a lovely two-storey renovated character house. Located in a nice, quiet neighbourhood in Penarth, it also had the benefit of a good primary school nearby for his six-year-old niece and eight-year-old nephew. He would be forever grateful to Henry Parker for his generosity in providing the means to extricate Rhiannon, Johnny, David and Mica from the run-down council estate house they'd been living in up until six months ago – the same estate he and Rhiannon had grown up in. Although he'd managed to leave the estate behind after finishing high school and getting his first full-time job, Rhiannon hadn't been so fortunate. She'd sacrificed her own chance of escape, staying at home and working to support the three of them after their father had been laid off from his job. Three years older than Ianto, Rhiannon had insisted that he finish high school as she had done. Then she had met Johnny, became pregnant with David a year later, and her fate had been sealed.
After the second break-in at their Cromwell Estate home in as many months, and with crime continuing to escalate in the area, Ianto had feared for their safety and grown increasingly anxious to relocate them to a nicer house in a better area. Johnny had been struggling to find work at the time, making the situation even more grim. Ianto had planned to use his savings and secure a second mortgage so he could buy them a house. Failing that, he'd considered selling his flat and buying something big enough that they could share. It wouldn't have been ideal, but if it meant getting his family away from the estate he'd despised for as long as he could remember, it would have been worth the sacrifice.
It was around the same time that Henry had found out he was terminally ill. Not having any children or family of his own, he began making plans to divide up his vast estate amongst his friends and employees. Ianto hadn't wanted anything for himself, but when he voiced his worries about his sister and her family, Henry – a man who had remained stubborn and intractable until his final breath – had insisted on giving them the money for a new home. Rhiannon and Johnny had refused at first, but Ianto managed to talk them around, urging them to put aside their pride and accept the gift they'd been offered.
After Henry's passing, Ianto had been stunned when the deceased man's solicitor had presented him with a cheque for a ridiculously large sum of money, telling him it was Henry's final gesture of gratitude to the young man who had given him comfort and companionship in his final days. Ianto hadn't wanted the money, but it had been Henry's wish that he have it, and he'd felt honour-bound to accept it with good grace.
He'd used some of the money to pay off the mortgage on his flat, but the majority remained untouched. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with it, but he intended to use some of it to give his niece and nephew the best possible start in life. He didn't want them to endure the hardships he and Rhiannon had faced throughout their formative years. He himself had been a bitter, sullen and lonely teenager, silently struggling with coming to terms with his sexuality and keeping it safely hidden, while his boyish appearance, awkwardness and small size for his age had ensured he was on the receiving end of bullying and abuse from his peers. He'd hated his life and circumstances, resented the premature death of his mother years earlier, and had little respect for his downtrodden, emotionally absent father. To escape his misery, he sought refuge in books and drawing, losing himself in fictional worlds and the application of pencil to paper.
As a rule, he tried not to think about the past, but when he found himself looking back, he sometimes wondered how he'd survived those dark, desolate years. In many ways, his sister had been his salvation, the one constant he could always count on. Rhiannon had done her best to take care of him, demonstrating her maternal nature from an early age. She'd figured out he was gay, which he supposed hadn't been particularly difficult given his lack of interest in the opposite sex, and she'd kept his secret. Their father had passed away before learning the truth about his son, and Ianto thought that was probably for the best, doubting he would have taken it well.
Rhiannon was down-to-earth, forthright and plainly spoken. She was also caring and compassionate, and fiercely protective of the people she loved. Ianto hadn't been thrilled when she'd announced that she was marrying Johnny Davies, his initial assessment of the man being that he was a crass, loutish, loud-mouthed wanker. But Rhiannon loved him, and he'd always been good to her and the children. And after struggling to hold down a steady job for a number of years, Johnny had finally settled into gainful employment with a local trucking company, Harwood's Haulage. The fellow Welshman had always been friendly towards Ianto and didn't have a problem with him being gay, the occasional inappropriate or off-colour remark notwithstanding. Little by little, Ianto had warmed to his brother-in-law, and although Johnny wasn't someone he would normally choose to socialise with, he'd learnt to tolerate the man in reasonably small doses. Which was fortunate since Ianto visited every Sunday to catch up with his sister and spend the afternoon with his niece and nephew, who, as much as he adored them, were best taken in small doses too.
He found his sister standing at the kitchen table, sorting and folding an enormous pile of laundry. Rhiannon had the same colour of dark brown hair as Ianto, hers straight and currently pulled back in a neat ponytail, and she shared his pale complexion, button-shaped nose and blue eyes. Beyond that their similarities ended, with Rhiannon being heavier and around average height for a woman, whereas Ianto was tall and lean. The casual observer probably wouldn't even realise they were siblings.
Rhiannon stopped mid-fold and raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, hello there. This is a nice surprise. You don't normally visit during the week. What's the occasion?"
"Thought I'd stop in and say hello." Ianto put down his shopping bags and leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine," she replied, smiling at him as she finished folding a tea towel and added it to the pile. "Just trying to catch up on this mountain of washing." She glanced down at his shopping bags and narrowed her eyes. "What's in the bags?"
"Just a couple of things for the kids." Ianto gave her a sheepish shrug. "A new Lego set David wanted and a Barbie for Mica. Oh, and I noticed you were almost out of coffee beans, so I got you a bag. The ones you like, Jamaican medium roast." He sat down at the table and started folding laundry.
Rhiannon sighed, shaking her head. "You spoil them, Ianto. All they have to do is show you something on the telly or the internet and you go and buy it for them. They've got you wrapped around their little fingers. You know they adore you. You don't have to buy them presents all the time."
It was a familiar argument and one that Ianto always chose to ignore. He enjoyed his role of doting uncle. Since he was pretty sure he'd never have children of his own, he wanted to make the most of the time he had with David and Mica before they reached their terrible teens and decided it wasn't cool to hang out with their uncle anymore. He was going to miss his Sunday afternoons building Lego with David and having tea parties with Mica. "They're good kids. I like buying things for them."
"I know you do." Rhiannon smiled, the wryness in her expression showing she'd already conceded defeat. "They'll be ecstatic when they get home and see what you got for them." She gave him a knowing look. "Did you buy something for yourself?"
Ianto grinned. "Yep."
Shopping for David and Mica gave him the perfect excuse to feed his own addiction, not that he ever really needed a reason. Much like his nephew, Ianto had something of an obsession with Lego, although his interest was more in the adult-oriented sets like the modular buildings and architectural themes. Not having had any toys or luxuries growing up, it was a guilty pleasure and an escape. The spare bedroom of his flat was devoted to his hobby, where he had an ever-expanding city built from official sets along with his own creations. It was rare for a week to go by when he wasn't adding to his collection in some shape or form. Of course, Rhiannon knew that he wouldn't buy a set for David without buying one for himself too.
Rhiannon laughed. "At this rate, you're going to need a bigger flat soon." She snatched away the tea towel he'd just finished folding. "Stop doing that. If you want to make yourself useful, go and work your magic. You arrived just in time. I'm dying for a cuppa."
Ianto rolled his eyes, but he retrieved the beans from one of the shopping bags and dutifully prepared two cups of coffee. The machine was the same as his and had been his house-warming gift when they'd moved into their new home. Johnny mostly drank tea, but Rhiannon enjoyed coffee, although, unlike Ianto, she often drank tea as well. Ianto didn't mind a cup of tea on occasion, but he was, at heart, an unapologetic coffee addict.
He listened as Rhiannon chatted about Johnny's work and what the kids were doing at school this week. Once the coffee was ready, he carried their drinks over to the table and sat down again.
"Oh, that smells lovely." Rhiannon took a sip of her coffee and sighed. "Thanks for the beans. The kids aren't the only ones you spoil. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. It's a brother's prerogative to spoil his older sister."
She gave him a teasing grin and took another sip, then put her mug down and fixed him with a pointed look. "So, tell me about this new boss of yours. You've been very secretive about him. What's he like? Is he nice?"
Ianto only just managed not to cringe. 'Nice' didn't seem to be quite the right word to describe Jack. Personally, he might have leaned more towards pain in his arse, and not in a fun way, although that seemed somewhat uncharitable when Jack's only real offence was his highly distracting good looks. "He's nice," he agreed, deciding it was the easiest option. "He's... different. I'm not really sure what to make of him yet."
"I looked him up online. There's photos. He's gorgeous. Like a film star." Rhiannon's eyes glazed over for a moment – a reaction that Ianto suspected was all too common where Jack was concerned.
He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "I suppose."
He didn't want to think about Jack and how gorgeous he was. Remembering the appraising glance Jack had given him on the weekend outside the garage, the warm touch of his hand, and his own absurd reaction to Jack spending the night with the blond stranger, he felt a hint of warmth creep up his neck.
"Oh, no." Rhiannon gripped her coffee mug and stared at him.
"What?" Ianto asked in confusion.
"You're smitten, you daft sod. I can tell from the look in your eyes." She sighed and shook her head. "You like him, don't you?"
"No." Ianto swallowed a gulp of coffee and exhaled a sigh of his own. "All right... maybe. A bit." He sighed again. "He is very handsome," he admitted, this time not trying to hide his cringe of dismay.
Rhiannon studied him, concern evident in her eyes. "Oh, Ianto..."
Ianto knew what his sister had to be thinking. She knew all too well his history of falling for the wrong type of men and probably thought he was repeating the same old pattern again. "I know, Rhi," he agreed. "He's my boss. So nothing's going to happen. Even if he was interested at all, which I'm sure he's not, I'd never get involved with someone I work for. And definitely not with someone like Jack Harkness."
He paused, thinking back to the coffee they'd shared after the awkward incident by the garage. They hadn't talked much and not about anything noteworthy or personal. But it had been nice all the same, just sitting with Jack and having a cup of coffee together. He wasn't sure if he'd imagined that Jack had almost seemed disappointed when he'd excused himself to go back to cleaning the car.
"He seems..." he began, then stopped again, shaking his head. "I don't know... he seems lonely. He lives in his huge house by himself. All he seems to do all the time is work." He decided not to mention Jack's extracurricular activities from the week before.
"It's funny, isn't it?" Rhiannon's eyebrows drew together in a thoughtful frown. "Looking like he does... successful... having all that money. It's what so many people dream about. Doesn't mean he's any happier than the rest of us poor sods though."
Ianto could only nod in agreement. His sudden and unexpected wealth hadn't made him any happier.
"You could always quit, you know," Rhiannon suggested. "If it's too difficult being around him. Out of sight, out of mind."
Ianto shook his head, even though the thought had crossed his mind. "I've only been working for him for a week and a half. I can't just up and quit."
Rhiannon shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Just tell him it's not working out. Make up some excuse. He'll find someone else to drive him around."
Ianto knew it would be the sensible thing to do. But the idea of quitting and not seeing Jack again seemed worse than seeing him nearly every day and having to repress his attraction to the man. As much as he wanted to deny it, he was already growing attached to his new boss. "No. I couldn't do that. It wouldn't be professional."
Rhiannon opened her mouth to respond, but Ianto cut her off with a warning glare. "Don't say it, Rhi." He didn't need to be reminded that his professionalism was already well and truly on unstable ground.
A few moments passed before Rhiannon spoke again, an indignant expression suddenly clouding her features. "What do you mean you're sure he's not interested? What's wrong with him? He'd have to be a daft idiot – no, make that a daft, blind idiot – if he doesn't think you're a brilliant catch. You're every bit as good as he is, and he'd be bloody lucky to have someone like you. You can tell him I said so too."
Ianto spluttered on his mouthful of coffee. Then he laughed. Jack might be the master of his own domain, but if he ever ended up in the same room as Rhiannon, he might just discover he'd met his match.
