Ianto sighed and reached for the pebble, scooping it up in deft fingers. "I meant the lake is pretty to look at. Not the pebble. But your analogy's sound, I suppose. I have been taking my shifts at the cafe. I'm not entirely mewed up in the house." Even if he did trail after Jack like a lost puppy when he was home.
Instead of standing to skip the stone, Ianto rubbed it between his fingers again, thinking. It was clear that Jack was trying to urge Ianto into independance again. That this fear that caught him up wasn't really becoming. Wasn't really Ianto. "You're right," he said after a while. "Even if I want to argue that I'm fine."