"Looks like a classy place. You thinking of moving out?" Ianto attempts to keep the hope out of his voice, but doesn't think he's done a very good job. Nights over the past few weeks have been torture, knowing that Sean is there in the Hub too; his imagination filling with pictures of Sean and Jack meeting up after dark. The archives have become a refuge for him, a place to hide and lose himself in the concerns of another age.
Sean grunts, eyes fixed on the screen as he scrolls through the interior views of the large flat. As Ianto pushes aside some detritus to place the steaming cup of tea on the desk, he notices the address.
"Splott! I knew it looked too good to be true. I'd give that one a miss if I were you. It's not a good neighbourhood." More like a war zone, he thinks to himself.
Sean looks up, seeming to notice Ianto for the first time. "It's not? The agent said it was up and coming, or some such bollocks. Thought he was a bit shifty, though. Never trust the sly buggers, that's what I say." He picks up the tea and takes a huge gulp, wiping his mouth with his sleeve as he sets it back down again. Ianto struggles to keep his face impassive, wondering how someone so beautiful can have such repulsive habits.
"What do you reckon then, mate? There's these places on the waterfront that look great, but they're a lot more cash for a lot less space," Sean says, calling up some images of stunning and deceptively spacious designer apartments. "Thing is, I don't know Cardiff at all. I could do with a bit of a hand. 'Specially from someone who isn't trying to sell me something."
"Okay," Ianto examines the photographs and accompanying sales pitch. "Well, they're probably asking too much if they've got that many left unlet. I expect you could knock them down a bit if you like the place. But it's not like you can't afford it anyway. Not on what we make here." Ianto has become slightly embarrassed by the size of his bank balance, but can't think of anything much to spend it on at the moment. Not until he feels thoroughly comfortable with going out on his own.
Sean looks down at his mug of tea and seems about to say something, then just takes another slurp. Ianto waits patiently, remembering what Gwen said about Sean needing a friend and trying to ignore the disgusting sound of him drinking. Eventually he reaches the bottom of the mug and slams it down on the desk.
"Thing is, I've got financial commitments back home, now." Sean looks up, searchingly, green eyes clouded with doubt. "Can you keep something to yourself, Ianto? You're not much of a talker, are you?"
Ianto decides to let his silence speak for itself.
"Oh, fuck it! I need to tell someone, anyway. Gonna go nuts keeping it all to myself." He sighs deeply, hunching his shoulders and looking more like the boy he must once have been, rather than the obnoxious punk of recent years. "It's my mum, y'know? She's always been a bit... well, different. Needed me to look after her. Keep her out of trouble n' all that. I couldn't just leave her on her own. There's some bird from social services that comes over a couple of hours a day, but it's never enough, is it?"
Shaking his head, Ianto is flooded with guilt at remembering his own neglected filial duties. How his mum ended up in that place with no family to care for her. Rhi too busy with the kids. Ianto too busy escaping from his past. Maybe Sean is a better person than I am; the thought shocking Ianto into paying real attention to the young man in front of him.
"So, when I got dragged away to this place and boss-man told me how much I'd be making, I thought to myself, now I can pay for proper live-in carers, y'know? I mean, it's not gonna be as good as family n' all, but it's the best I can do right now. At least she can stay in the house with all her stuff around her. All them bloody knick-knacks and crap." He smiles fondly, and Ianto is struck again by how young he looks with the attitude stripped away. Ianto gives him a tight smile, not trusting himself to say anything else without giving away something personal. His discomfort seems to go unnoticed, however, as Sean suddenly turns a dazzling grin on him.
"So, mate, what do you say? Gonna come and look at this place with me? Reckon you could do a better job of getting me that discount. I never know what to say to those arseholes."
"What about Jack? Wouldn't he help you look for somewhere?"
Sean snorts, the scowl turning his face momentarily ugly. "I'm not gonna ask that creepy bugger. Don't wanna spend any more time with him than I have to. Keeps trying to chat me up, n' all, y'know? Gives me the creeps. Not like you, mate. You're alright for a bender. Know how to keep your hands to yourself."
Ianto's eyes widen at the implications of this little speech. Sean seems to interpret this as disapproval, hastening to add: "Oh god, he's not your boyfriend is he? I didn't think you guys were..."
Shaking his head rapidly: "No, no, nothing like that. It's okay. You're entitled to your own opinion, anyway." Thinking it wasn't that different from his own a couple of months ago. Keen to change the subject, he pretended to study the flat on the screen. "Okay then, I'll arrange a viewing if you like. I can make sure we get someone who's able to negotiate to show us around. What about this afternoon?"
"Yeah, that'd be great. Cheers mate."
Smiling broadly, Ianto heads off to make a phone call.
*****
Returning to the Hub, Jack is annoyed to find Ianto has closed the Tourist Information shop early. During the drive back, he'd been planning how to persuade him out for a drink, using some of his most irresistible techniques. Letting his thoughts linger over the inevitable hand holding and where it might lead, only reminding himself at the last moment that they needed to have a serious discussion about Lisa before he would allow things to go any further. It had been a good thing that Gwen was driving, because he was feeling quite distracted, his insides jittery with anticipation.
"Ianto? Rhys? Sean? Anyone home? Aeris?" Jack calls out, his voice echoing in the vast space of the central Hub. He pouts, standing with his hands on his hips and wanting to know where the hell his team have got to without informing him. He's supposed to be in charge, after all. Some days, you wouldn't know it.
"Ah, Jack, there you are." Rhys grins as he steps out of the corridor, managing to look quite manly despite the baby-sick motif on his t-shirt and the culprit strapped to his back.
"Where's Ianto got to? And Sean?"
"Just gone out for a spot of house-hunting, they said." Jack feels his jaw drop, unable to marshal his thoughts into any coherent order. There were just so many things wrong with what Rhys just said.
"Hey, it's okay, isn't it? They haven't gone far. Just to that new block down on the waterfront. Ianto said they could get back in five minutes if there was any trouble. Didn't think you'd mind. That Sean needs a place of his own. Might learn a bit about keeping house, that way."
They both look over to Sean's workstation, then back to each other with wide eyes. It was clear and polished, with only one of the photos left up. One of an older woman, attractive if somewhat haunted looking, bearing a striking resemblance to Sean.
"What's going on around here? I leave for a couple of hours and everything goes weird," Jack complains. Rhys just shrugs, so Jack stalks over to his office, slamming the door behind him.
Seated behind his desk, and tapping away at the keyboard with some force, Jack starts to search through the CCTV footage. He has some investigating to do.