Ianto can't help but smile a little at that, shaking his head as he does. "No," he replies. "That's alright, though. I'm not looking for a mentor, John. I want..."

He flicks his eyes to the side, glancing at the other man again and fidgeting slightly. How best to explain himself here? Now that John's made the comparison between him and Jack, he's extra conscious of doing so himself, and yet.

"It was fun," he says, carefully. "Working for Torchwood. Being with Jack. ...discovering who I am, what I liked, what I wanted, and what that -- what that all entailed." He swallows, a bit nervous for talking about this aloud but hey. Maybe it will help?

"He was good at that. No judgment. Not with sex, anyway. But I could never..." He presses his lips together, glancing back at John before shrugging helplessly. "He would never let himself get close, I suppose. Or maybe I was too afraid to try. Too afraid I'd push him away if he did, and then maybe. Then maybe everything my tad said about me was right." He flicks his eyes down to his hands where he's laced them in his lap, not really wanting to get into his whole family dynamic with John, but he supposes the other man might have guessed at some of it as it is.

"I'm not going to make the same mistake again, John," he says at last.