After a while of extreme confusion, during which Ianto was trying to get his bearings and understand what the hell had just happened, he finally decided to get up and take a look around the living room where the table they used was. He'd never looked around before, making a point of focusing on his lesson and the lesson alone. But now he felt too nervous to stay still, so he thought he could take Jack's word, and decided it was okay to look around.

Now that he took the time to notice his surroundings, he realised that they were quite sparse. Jack was clearly not one for knick-knacks, there wasn't a single piece of decoration around, aside from one picture on the table beside the sofa. It looked like a family picture, the parents and two boys. An older one, that looked like Jack, probably mid-teens, and the other probably around nine or so. The sofa looked very comfortable, and in front of it was a very large wide-screen telly. There was just one bookcase, with very few books and a lot of DVDs and the rest was just blank walls, painted in some sort of egg-shell white.

Suddenly Ianto started to feel quite uncomfortable about being alone there looking over Jack's things, and he decided to follow the other man into the kitchen. He found Jack still rummaging through the fridge, and he looked up as soon as Ianto appeared at the door.

"Oh, sorry it was taking me so long, I got distracted trying to figure out what I could make you for lunch." He hid his head inside the fridge for another moment, and came back right after, offering Ianto a bottle of beer. "Here you go."

"Thank you. And seriously Jack, you don't have to go through so much trouble-" Ianto was still feeling very uncomfortable. There was really no need for Jack to do all that, and the more trouble the other man went through for him, the more embarrassed Ianto felt.

"It's okay, Ianto, I really want to do this." Jack quickly interrupted the other man. "Plus, I've already found what I need. Is spag bol okay?"

"Sure, Jack, it's fine." Ianto gave a resigned sigh.

"Great! And since you're here, take a sit. We can talk while I cook." And with that he gave another surprisingly kind and warm smile.

Ianto sat down at the table, and took a long sip of his beer. He had no idea what he could possibly talk to this man about, so he decided to stall for as long as he could. He was just humouring him anyway, which meant he had no idea how this whole thing was supposed to go. He'd soon find out that this line of thought was completely irrelevant, because apparently Jack knew exactly what he was doing. He soon closed the fridge carrying everything he might need, and with an air of extreme confidence (that Ianto now realised he used to call arrogance), started carrying the conversation while rummaging through the cupboards, getting the rest of the things. He seemed to do it all with extreme ease, as if he couldn't be more comfortable. Ianto had to admire that. He always felt terribly tense around strangers (which they basically were to each other, even though they'd known each other for three months now), only starting to relax after he'd known the person for a long while.

"So tell me, Ianto, what made you decide to take the role of a Welsh tutor?"

"I didn't, really. I mean, I did, but only because I didn't have another choice. See, my tad died when I was in Uni, and he was the sole provider of our house – my mam is a housewife. She's fine, he had a pension plan. But that wasn't enough to cover my expenses, let alone pay for tuition. So I had to drop out and get a job. I wanted to be a professor – I was studying British Literature and History – and teaching Welsh seemed like the best thing I could do that would still hold some semblance to my original dream. It was this or getting a job in a tourist office." Ianto said with a self-deprecating small laugh. "But turns out there's not enough demand for Welsh tutoring, so I can barely make enough to get by. Going back to Uni at this point is completely out of question." He stopped suddenly to take a breath and realised he'd told Jack a lot more than he ever intended. He also realised that Jack had abandoned everything he was doing and had turned to him, looking at him closely, paying attention to every single word that came out of his mouth. Ianto felt that no one had ever looked at him that closely before – not even Tosh. He was torn between feeling self-conscious and tremendously flattered.

"Ever thought of getting another job?" Jack finally asked, after looking at Ianto thoughtfully for a really long time.

"Yeah, many times. This is going to sound really silly, but I feel that if I get another job I'll be giving up on my dream completely. Which makes me kind of stuck at the moment. If I keep doing what I'm doing I'll never be able to go back to Uni, but if I get another job I won't have time to go back, and I'll be doing something I'm not passionate about... it would feel like I'm surrendering, like I gave up the fight... and I... I want to make my mam and tad proud." He had a defeated tone in his voice. He looked down for a while, and after a long time let out a sigh and said under his breath. "I don't think I'm doing a very good job at that." God, why was he telling him all this? How could he feel so open and comfortable all of a sudden? Five minutes ago he despised the man, and now he felt like he could trust him with everything. How had that happened? No one had ever had this power over him... He kept looking down, but he could see that Jack had started to reach out to his hand, as if he wanted to hold it, but stopped himself midway and pulled back. Ianto looked up and saw Jack still looking intently at him, with a look on his face that Ianto couldn't quite place. He was surprised, though, to see that it wasn't a look of pity, that is the first thing he would've expected after everything he'd told him. After all, he was nothing but someone deserving of pity, considering he'd basically failed everyone.

"I think your tad would be very proud of you for not giving up on your dream." Jack finally said, after what seemed like an eternity. "It takes courage to stick to a life style that is not ideal in favour of doing something you love... That doesn't mean there's not another option, though."

"Well, I can tell you that I've thought long and hard about that for a really long time, and I was never able to figure out an alternative."

"Hm, I don't know, I wouldn't admit defeat just yet. I don't think you're as stuck as you think you are." Jack said with an enigmatic smile. But before Ianto had a chance to say anything, he followed up with another question. "So, is it only you then? No brothers or sisters?"

"No, I have an older sister. But she was already married with a kid on the way when my tad died. It didn't affect her as much as it did me. Well, not financially, anyway."

"What's she like? Are you guys close?" Jack asked, effectively changing the subject.

"We don't talk as much as we'd like, you know, she's very busy with the kids and all – she has two now, a boy and a girl – but we're good friends. I know she'll be there for me if I need her, and vice-versa. She's a nice person. I think she's happy with her family life, she loves her kids and I don't think she minds devoting her time to them. At least I hope so..." He stopped for a while, with a thoughtful look on his face. "I really want her to be happy..." As if on cue, Ianto's mobile started ringing. "Speak of the devil."

"Hey, Rhi." There was a pause as he listened to the person on the other side. "Hm, no, not really." He looked at Jack apologetically. "What's up?" Another pause, longer this time. "Oh, is he going to be okay?" Ianto sounded worried now, and Jack looked at him, expectantly. "Yeah, of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." He turned off the phone, looking at Jack even more apologetically.

"I'm really sorry, Jack, but I have to go. My sister's at the hospital with my nephew, he's broken his arm, and she needs me to go there to look after her youngest until her husband can get there. He'll take a while, he was visiting family up north, and I can't leave her alone that long. I'm so sorry."

"No, it's okay, don't worry about it. Where are they?"

"St David's."

"Did you drive here?"

"No, I took the bus."

"Okay, let's go, then, I'll give you a lift."

"What? No! Really, Jack, that's really not necessary. I feel bad enough for ruining your lunch."

"Ianto, stop arguing with me. It's gonna take forever for you to get there by bus. Plus you might need help there. I'm taking you, end of story." He hurriedly put everything away again, found his car keys, and was rushing to the door, while Ianto was still looking at him, dumbfounded. "Come on, don't stand there all day. Your sister is waiting."

Ianto blinked a few times, trying to shake the shock away, and then followed Jack out the door.