"Where is everybody Mum?" Ianto asked, appearing at the doorway of the kitchen.
"Aoife and Lew took the girls out to the shops to finish up with presents. And Ainsley's on her way. Says that the Chunnel is positively mad right now." She moved the last glass from the washer to the cabinets and smoothed her hands over her hair.
"Come here now my boy, let me see you." Ianto stepped up, glancing back for a moment at where Jack was crouched under the tree, reviewing names on the gift tags and smirking at Ianto's wrapping attempts.
"You look as handsome as ever." Bethan said firmly. "Gwenys will be delighted to see you." She determined and turned back towards the kitchen island. "Would you or Jack like some tea?"
Ianto swallowed heavily and stepped forwards. His toes were cold on the tile floor, covered only in his thin, fine wool socks. No one wore shoes at home in Ianto's family.
"Mum, that was something I wanted to talk with you about. If you have a moment."
Bethan turned around.
"What's wrong?" Ianto couldn't help smiling.
"Nothing's wrong Mum. I just…About Gwenys…" Ianto tried, clasping his hands together.
"Oh dear, I know you're shy, but-"
"Mum." Ianto interrupted. Bethan looked slightly surprised. Ianto wasn't the type of boy to interrupt his mother, not after he had left adolescence. "It's nothing to worry about. It's just…there's something you should know. About Captain Harkness- Jack. I just didn't want to tell you on the telephone."
"Ianto?"
"He's my…" Ianto faltered for a moment, hating lying to his mum, and feeling a strange twinge of unhappiness that it was a lie. "Jack and I are in a relationship. Romantically."
"Oh." Bethan's eyebrows raised. "I wish you had told me beforehand Ifan."
"I'm sorry Mum." Ianto was still watching her face. She took a deep breath, and smiled.
"Alright then. Well, I guess then the two of you won't have to fight about who sleeps on the cot in your room then." Ianto let himself smile at that.
"Did I hear my name?" Jack appeared, leaning against the doorway. He quickly scanned the body language in the room and determined that things were alright. He had forgotten to ask Ianto how his parents felt about his bringing home a man.
"I may have said something about a conceited man I knew, but it wasn't necessarily about you." Ianto said simply, he reached out his hand. Jack remembered their signaling and took the hand in his, coming to stand beside Ianto.
"It's always so hard to know." Jack replied with a grin.
"My son tells me that the two are you are involved in a relationship, Mr Harkness." Bethan said, watching Jack carefully. Jack just looked over at Ianto's face, letting his eyes drift over the features in what he knew others would interpret as an affectionate way. He knew himself because of the warm flush that hit him as he saw the nervous energy in Ianto's glance.
"We are. I'm very fond of your son, Mrs. Wallace. He's a wonderful man."
Bethan watched as her son's ears lit up bright red.
"Jack." Ianto reprimanded slightly. Well, it was a shame about Gwenys. Such a nice girl. Bethan had really thought that the two would have been a good match. Maybe in the future. But her youngest boy was certainly quite taken with whoever this Jack Harkness man was. Bethan could certainly tell that.
The door opened up and the sound of voices filled the lower level of the house.
"Whose car is that out front?" A light woman's voice called.
"Hello then Aoife!" Ianto shouted out. Jack grinned into his mug of tea at the smile that had broken out on Ianto's face.
"Yanno!" A higher voice was quickly followed by a young girl with long trailing brown pigtails. Ianto stood up and caught the girl as she clasped him around the waist.
"Hello Georgie." Jack watched with interest at the fond look on Ianto's face. It was something that held a marked difference from the charming, wry and professional expressions Jack was most familiar with.
"When did you get in! I wanted to be here when you did." The girl let Ianto go and stood back to take off her coat. It seemed as though she noticed Jack all of a sudden. "Oh. Hi then? Yanno, who's this?"
"Hi." Jack held out his hand. "I'm Jack." She shook his hand.
"Georgianna Wallace. Pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine." Jack kissed the back of her hand, grinning at her, which set Georgie off laughing.
"Oi, little brother, who's the charmer?" Jack looked up to see three more people join them in the lounge. "Hey, Georgie, go get your outdoor things off and put them in the closet, eh?"
"Lew." Ianto stood and shook his brother's hand. Lew was taller than Ianto, and more leanly built, but he had the same interesting eyes. "Aoife." Ianto let his sister pull him into a hug. She was a short curvy girl who had dark blonde hair and Ianto's cheekbones, that Jack assumed had come from their mother.
When he pulled away, Jack watched Ianto run his hand over the back of his neck and wave at the other girl.
"Hello Izzy." The girl smiled tightly, and waved before she stuck both her hands in her pockets.
"Hello Ianto. It's nice to see you." She glanced at Aoife and Lew. "I said I'd meet Jas down the street in ten. Can you tell my dad?"
Lew just waved her off.
"Just make sure you're back for tea time."
"Yes Lewis."
"Don't call me that, Isabella." He shouted back. Aoife rolled her eyes.
"Who's this then?" She asked, looking kindly at Jack.
Ianto propped himself on the arm of the settee by Jack's side.
"Oh, yeah, well….This is Jack."
"Jack…." Lew prompted.
"Jack Harkness. Captain Jack Harkness…." Ianto felt the staring contest between himself and his brother and sister beginning. He glanced back and forth between them, from Lew's relaxed expectancy to Aoife's crossed arms. "Jack's my boyfriend. Who wants some tea?" Ianto said quickly, exiting the room. Jack broke out into laughter. He couldn't help it.
Aoife had chased Ianto into the kitchen and Lew had joined Jack laughing before sitting down on the couch.
"Nice to meet you." Lew said. He didn't have the looks that drew Jack to Ianto, but there was something in the crooked smile of the other man that made an instantly good impression on Jack.
"You're Ianto's brother then?" Jack commented, glancing back at the doorway to the kitchen where they could hear Bethan trying to mediate between her two children. Georgie slipped into the room and took a seat on the ottoman.
"Yeah, Lew. And don't worry about that little show. When Yanno brought Lisa home, he introduced her and promptly ran back to the car to go to the store. Poor girl was left standing there for twenty minutes with all of us before he got back. Did you ever meet Lisa?"
Jack nodded.
"Very briefly."
"It's terrible. Ianto was gutted after she passed away." Lew shook his head. "Anyways. Yeah, don't worry about the sprint. He'll be back once he gets his nerves together."
"Why's Yanno nervous?" Georgie asked, crossing her legs up, and looking from Lew to Jack.
Aoife's head popped out of the kitchen.
"Yanno fancies Jack." She replied.
"Aoife!" Ianto's despairing voice called behind her.
"Oh! Do you fancy Ianto too then?" Georgie grinned.
"If anyone wants me I'll be upstairs in the bath, doing myself in." Ianto walked past them, through the lounge, and disappeared up the stairs.
"We'll be back in a few minutes." Jack pardoned, and followed Ianto with a broad smile.