"Supper's ready." Bethan called out from the kitchen. There was a clatter of feet and chairs pulling back as they gathered round the island in the kitchen.
"Guests first. Jack?"
"Dark meat. And no carrots in the veg." Ianto answered quickly. Jack gave him an impressed grin and turned back to Bethan.
"He's got me down. Thank you." Jack took the plate and stepped back. "Where should I sit?"
"Kids watch a film in the lounge." Aoife replied, taking her own plate. "It's tradition."
"Who chose this year?" Ianto asked, selecting a roll from the basket on the counter.
"I did." Georgie announced from her perch on a stool. "I picked Christmas Carol. I like it. The black and white one."
"Well picked Georgie. I like that one." Ianto nodded, taking his food. They moved towards the lounge.
"Oh! Ianto dear." Bethan called him back. "Before you start the movie, can you just run over next door and ask Mrs. Travers if you can borrow that cake pan I asked for. I need to make the gingerbread for dinner tomorrow before I go to bed."
He glanced at Jack who shrugged.
"Um, yeah, okay Mum. I'll be back in a moment then."
"We'll keep the film for you." Georgie promised.
Jack sat his plate on his lap and started eating quickly. It had been a long time since he and Ianto had stopped for fish and chips along the roadway.
"So." Jack looked up at Aoife, his mouth full. He tried to smile around it. "You and Ianto."
Okay. It looked like they were going to take advantage of Ianto's absence to ask some questions. Probably the kind of questions Ianto would have tried to quash if he had been there. Jack swallowed his mouthful.
"Yup. Me and Ianto." He sat back, looking as relaxed as possible.
"How did you two meet?"
"Well." Jack thought about how to twist their real meeting into an appropriate story.
"We ran into each other. Literally." Jack laughed. "We actually knocked each other to the ground."
"Where was it?"
"At work. We weren't working in the same department though. Not then."
"When did you first meet each other?" Aoife frowned, trying to figure out the timeline.
"A couple years ago."
"While Lisa was still alive." Lew said quietly, nodding his head.
"Yeah." Jack tried not to think about Lisa. It still hurt that Ianto had lied to him so deeply about that. Thinking about Lisa put a damper on the intrigue Jack had felt when he first met Ianto, on the attraction. When he had found out about it, he'd felt betrayed yes, but also…used. It had been a strange feeling for Jack.
"We, uh, nothing happened between us until well after…. Until about ten months ago?"
"So you do fancy Ianto then." Georgie determined.
"Did I say that?" Jack grinned back at her.
"No, but you're all smiley talking about him. Do you think he's handsome?" Jack snorted the water he had been drinking. Lew and Aoife were laughing.
"What? If he fancies him, he probably thinks Ianto's handsome, don't you Jack? I like Dylan at school, and I think he's handsome."
"You fancy a boy Georgie?" Aoife asked, bemused.
"Yes. What's wrong with that. I'm twelve. I'm plenty old enough for a boyfriend." Georgie turned back to Jack. "Well? Do you?" Jack opened and shut his mouth, unused to interrogations from twelve year olds.
"Yes?" Jack scratched the back of his head. Where was Ianto. How long did it take to run next door.
"I thought so. I saw you staring at him earlier."
"Georgie." Lew scolded her, pulling her against his side and covering up her mouth with his hand. "Leave poor Jack alone.' She pulled down his hand and looked up at him.
"Sorry. I just wanted to make sure Jack liked Yanno. Cause Yanno really likes him. I can tell." She said earnestly. Lew and Aoife looked over at Jack. He tried to smile.
"What's going on in here?" Ianto appeared in the doorway smiling and all four of them fell silent. "Sorry. Did I interrupt something?" Ianto said hesitantly. Lew and Aoife put on smiled, but Ianto frowned. "Well, I'll just go grab my dinner whilst you all finish up then."
Jack stood up quickly and followed him into the kitchen. Ianto shut the door behind him, and closed the door that led to the dining room where his parents and a shy feeling Gwenys sat.
"Jack. What did you say?" Ianto hissed, grabbing his plate from the microwave.
"I swear. I didn't say anything." Jack held us his hand in his own defence.
"Then why did I walk into a room full of embarrassed faces." Ianto snatched a beer from the fridge. He turned to pass by and Jack planted his hand against the wall in front of him to stop Ianto.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Yes Jack. I really want to know." Ianto replied sharply.
"Georgie asked me if I thought you were handsome." Ianto watched Jack warily, swallowing. "And whether I really fancied you, because she said she could tell you liked me. She wanted to make sure you were okay, that we were okay.
"Well we aren't, are we." Ianto returned.
"Ianto."
"What Jack! What is it." Ianto's voice was a low hiss, and Jack could see Ianto getting upset. He lifted his hands to the side of Ianto's neck.
"It's okay."
"This was a stupid idea."
"I've told you I don't mind." Jack reprimanded him.
"I mind Jack! That's the problem."
"Hey," Ianto pulled away from Jack uncomfortably as Aoife looked in on them. "We're going to start the film."
"Fine. We'll be right in." Ianto replied, taking back up his plate
Jack looked at Ianto, sitting tensely on the far cushion. He looked at the others who were watching the movie, but occasionally glanced over towards the settee. Shifting over, he held out his hand to Ianto.
"No. I don't want to pretend right now Jack. I'm not in the mood." Ianto whispered sharply.
"Then don't." Jack stared at Ianto, and he ducked his head in to touch his lips against the other man's. When he pulled back, his fingers ran down Ianto's arm and took his hand, pulling it back to his lap. "I'm not." Ianto's head snapped up sharply.
"Jack?"
"Shhh." Jack shook his head, running his thumb over Ianto's hand. "Just watch the movie."
He didn't want to say anything right now. It was the ghost of Christmas present, which Jack had always enjoyed.
That, and he didn't know what he would say. Had he just told Ianto that he cared for him, or was it just an acknowledgement that Ianto had some form of emotional attachment that Jack considered flattering. It wasn't that, Jack knew. He wasn't flattered. Well. He was. But it was more than that. He felt….warm, and happy, and comfortable in a way he hadn't for a great deal of time. And maybe, maybe just a little turned on.
He heard Ianto huff next to him, and he couldn't help it. He let go of the other hand and wrapped his arm around Ianto's shoulder, tugging the man to his side. The back of his fingers danced up and down his arm lazily.
"I love this part." Jack whispered to Ianto's ear as Nephew Fred came onto the screen.
"See. I told you Jack fancies Yanno." Georgie whispered to Lew.
"Quiet Georgie."