Ianto leans his cheek into Lorne's hand. "If I were okay, I would be around them a lot more. It's the best cover story I could have found, because it was mostly true: if I'm grieving, if I'm not feeling social, nobody expects me to want to attend the suppers and the parties.

"Only I didn't think of what they'd think I kept on grieving, if I kept on not visiting. It's like any other lie: it's out of my control now." He sighs heavily, leaning into Lorne's warm, solid body.