The Welshman scrambled to the door, sheer terror ripping through him. His mam? Now? There was no way they could make themselves presentable. And Jack was still here! He felt a hand grip his shoulder, another wrapping itself around his hip.
"I'll clean, then you can take a quick shower and get dressed. We'll go from there." Ianto nodded, his mind racing at what was going on. He rushed through a shower, threw on the nearest set of clothes and took one look in the mirror. Fear ran through his body at the site of the deep purple bruise forming on his neck. Not even the collar on his shirt covered it up. He briefly considered a scarf, but denied it. Maybe he could pass it off as a left over from some chick at a bar. But even then he felt that it was wrong. He couldn't deny to his mother that Jack was his, he couldn't deny it to anyone. The man in question came into the room, and winced at the sight of the bruise.
"Yan shit I didn't-" He reached a tentative finger to the mark, but Ianto shrugged.
"Doesn't matter. Get dressed, and hurry. We have-" A glance at the clock. "15 minutes before she gets here, and we still don't know what we are going to tell her." Jack nodded, hopping into the shower. Ianto didn't bother with shaving, instead opting to brew some coffee. Jack had done a remarkable job at cleaning the house, not a single thing looked out of place. He felt, more than heard Jack hop out of the shower, as a car pulled up to the flat. A soft knock at the door and Ianto shuffled over to hit, pulling his collar up as high as it would go. Another round of knocking before Ianto came to himself enough to open the door. A small round woman with jet black curls stepped across the threshold, her arms throwing themselves around Ianto's neck.
"Ianto! Oh how I've missed you! Sut mae?" Ianto disentangled himself from the grasping limbs, opting instead to hold her hands.
"Da iawn, Diolch. A chithau?" The woman smiled.
"I'm fine Yanny." Ianto stepped back, taking the woman's coat and hat and placing them on the rack. The woman glanced briefly at Jack's coat, before turning to Ianto.
"You have a guest?" Before Ianto could respond, Jack appeared, fully clothed and miraculously dry. The Welshman dared to admire the speed in which the captain had readied himself, before snapping back to reality.
"Yes, mam, this is Captain Jack Harkness,-" He paused, the subtle of looks from the captain.
"Friend. Lunch" The Welshman caught.
"My friend from work. He's over for lunch, since we don't have work today." Mrs. Jones seemed to except this, as she tottered into the living room and sat gracefully in the armchair.
"Nice to meet you Captain, I'm Ianto's mam." Jack smiled, walking over and shaking her hand.
"It's my pleasure, Mrs. Jones." The woman clucked her tongue, folding her arms over her ample bosom.
"Now now dear, It'll be Gwen to you. I'm not yet old enough for Mrs. Jones." Jack smiled and Ianto bit back a laugh. brought over the three mugs of coffee.
"The pizza will be here shortly" Jack the corner of his mouth twitching at the Welshman's seamless cover.
"Great." He took the mug from Ianto, being extra careful not to let his hand brush his lovers, or his eyes linger.
"So, Jack, or would you rather Captain Harkness?" Jack smiled.
"Jack is fine ma'am." The woman nodded, the same look of calculation rolling across her face that Ianto often had. The resemblance there was uncanny.
"Jack then, Where are you from?" The immortal grinned sipping his coffee and glancing over at Ianto briefly. The poor man was nearly as nervous as the captain was.
"America, originally. Though I traveled for a long time, and I've spent the majority of my adult life in Cardiff." Mrs. Jones nodded once more.
"Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg?" She asked, her head tilted inquisitively. Ianto groaned inwardly at the question, unsure of how his mother would react to Jack's answer.
"Ydw, tipyn bach. I'm afraid I haven't picked up more than a few useful Welsh phrases. Yan does most of the talking at work." Too late, the captain realized what he had said, as he felt the fear flood him from Ianto. He lowered his head guiltily, But Mrs. Jones didn't seem to have noticed the slip up.
"Does he now?" There was something there, both men could see, a feint twitch of her lips and a spark of amusement in her eyes. Ianto reached out to her, but found that he couldn't read her at all, that knowledge disturbed him.
"Mam, What brings you here all the way from Ponypridd?" Ianto asked, trying to calm his nerves. He wanted nothing more than to tell his mother that Jack was his boyfriend, yet the other half of him kept dreading that moment.
"A bit of shopping. That and I thought that it would be nice to see my son, you know, since you never visit." Ianto looked down guiltily.
"You know I work a lot mam. This is my first day off that I haven't been ill." The Welshman felt a surge of guilt from Jack. Both men fought valiantly to keep from reaching out to one another. Both wanting something of the other to hold onto, if only to calm their nerves. They sat there for a few moments, simply enjoying each other's company, when another knock found the door. Unconsciously, Jack went to open it, a habit of his was to order dinners for the two of them, but Ianto gave him a look and stood, pulling some money from Jack's wallet on the counter. He felt a rush of amusement and slight annoyance from his lover, but ignored it. It was Jack's idea for lunch, Jack would pay. The Welshman paid for the pizza before shutting the door. Ianto went to place the pizza on the table, as per his usual custom, but a reproving glare from his mother sent him spinning on his heels to the kitchen. Jack stifled a laugh at that, trying desperately to keep himself in check. Neither he, nor Ianto were quite ready to tell this woman about their relationship, and he didn't want to make anything worse by flubbing up.
"Here you are then, pepperoni, sausage, and-" The Welshman wrinkled his nose. "Anchovies for Harkness." He handed Jack the plate, mindful again of the slightest brush of their fingertips.
"Thank you." Jack said softly, taking the plate. Ianto straitened quickly, two more plates In hand.
"And a cheese, pineapple and olive pizza for you, mam. I apologize for the food selection. If I would have known you were coming sooner, I would have gotten something a bit less-"
"Normal?" Jack said, swallowing a bite of food. The Welshman shot him a warning glare, but Mrs. Jones simply chuckled.
"Yanny, Pizza is fine. Though why aren't you eating anything hearty? Look at Jack over there-" She waved at him. "That is what a man should look like. You're getting to thing." Jack laughed at that, he couldn't help himself. The way that his Welshman was blushing was simply too cute for words.
"I'm perfectly fine Mam. I simply care about my arteries." He glared disapprovingly at the greasy pizza in the Immortal's hands. In truth his stint in Brecon Beacons had put him off eating meat, something that Gwen teased him over. Of course if his mother knew that he had been locked in a room with a fridge of human flesh, then beaten and bled to join its contents, she would probably find it a wonder that he ate at all. Naturally this was one of the things that she would never know about.
"Before you sit down dear, could you go out to my car and fetch me something? There is a shopping bag in the passenger side." The Archivist nodded, taking a quick bit of pizza before heading out the door. Mrs. Jones turned to Jack, and smiled warmly.
"So how long have you been sleeping with my son?"
Welsh phrases: Sut mae? = How are you? Da iawn, Diolch. A chithau = I'm fine, thanks. And you?
Ydych chi'n siarad Cymraeg? = Do you speak Welsh? Ydw, tipyn bach = Yes, a little.