8

They had arrived in separate vehicles and left the same way but Ianto veered off to the cemetery where he sat for a while staring at his sister's grave "you know sissy. I did like Gray but his brother is an arse."

Of course there was no answer, she didn't have one maybe so he sighed and rubbed his face. What an about turn. He could not get an angle on this man who seemed OK one minute and crazy the next. Grief. It affects us all in different ways. Mimi had been a baby not yet a year old when Gray had come along, David barely three. The Harkness family had been their family so all this time… how could he do anything but try and please everyone.

But what about him?

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Ianto entered to find Franklin sitting at the table with Jack and the kids, all eating Chinese. Ianto felt the sting of that as he walked to the fridge and opened it to look at the quiche already made to be reheated and sighed, turning to the stove to tip the potatoes into a bowl to save for tomorrow night.

"Ianto, leave that, come eat with us" Franklin said happily and Ianto turned to look at him with open incredulity before turning back to the sink.

Jack cleared his throat "Ah.. Ianto… I got a bit hot under the collar and tomorrow I will smooth it over OK? I will talk to my lawyer and explain I had a brain fart… I don't want to fight 50/50 … I don't want this to be a …"

"What!" Franklin choked on his noodles, then cleared his throat "Jackson… you didn't. Now... let us discuss this later without little ears!"

"Well… he will have to go back to England sooner or later when his visa runs out anyway. We can't let him take the kids!" Jack argued and Ianto watched the little faces change to confusion, then horror.

"its OK kids, Uncle Jack is not being serious. I am not leaving you!" Ianto said with a glare in Jack's direction. "He means that he wants to make sure you stay here with the Harkness Family as well."

"But I like my school" a little voice said.

"Uncle Ianto is from Wales, not England!" David interrupted everyone "Stop saying that. Mama was Welsh too, and our real father."

"Daddy Gray is our real dad!" Mica swung on him and Ianto glared at Jack once more for creating this then sat at the table, facing the children.

"Listen… look at me. Both of you. You are both Americans now. I will apply for a green card and then in five years I will apply for citizenship, I will become one too. We will live here, you will go to your school and hang out with your friends and see Grandfather and Grandmother Harkness all the time." Ianto said gently "we have to sort the grownup boring paper work and stuff and it makes us all grumpy."

"You won't really leave us?" Mica asked.

"No" Ianto assured her "If I do have to go back to Wales it will be to sort paperwork and things, then I WILL come back. Besides. Uncle Jack is here, Grandpa and Grandma are here. I will not want to be anywhere else. OK?"

"So… Uncle Jack can live here all the time too? Like… always? You and him can be our family" David said as if this finalized everything and two little heads nodded as the kids agreed this would work best.

Ianto sat back to eyeball the man that he might have to smother in his sleep and smiled wanly.

This was not going to be as easy as the kids thought.

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"Ianto?"

Ianto stopped folding the laundry to turn and face Jack. The man looked sheepish and Ianto knew his father had reamed him a new one in the driveway before leaving. Good. Harden up!

"Yes Jack?"

"I don't know why I am behaving like this. I can be logical, calm and we can be… friendly like this and then I get… angry." Jack grimaced.

"Your brother and his wife were murdered. You are allowed to be angry. So am I. We just have to try not to take it out on each other. We both lost someone, something. We both have adjustments to make. You know… I am not going anywhere. If you want to use the loft apartment for your… trysts… that may be a better idea? I am not your keeper and definitely not your wife. I don't mean to be judgmental. I only had one lover and .. well. She's gone now. That does not mean everyone else has to be as pure as the driven snow. I actually envy you. So handsome, you can have anyone you want. Must be nice to be looked at like that." Ianto paused and sighed, then laughed as he shrugged "Like you said. Flat mates. Right? Just… a text if you are not going to be home for meals, that's all I ask. And next time you get takeaway… I like dim sums."

Jack smiled as he felt relief.

Yes.

This could work.