Sulu'd almost wondered if he'd asked the wrong question, or if Ianto was starting to feel the effects of being separated from Jack, but he quickly recognized that upwards gaze and settled back to listen to what Ianto had to say. And what he had to say - Sulu bit his own lip and glanced away, trying to figure out how to respond to that. Because Sulu really wasn't used to this, no matter how much he acted cool and collected. He supposed he was lucky, though; he knew what Ianto wanted, now, and he knew that he wanted the same thing.

He didn't know how he should say it, so he simply went with it, opening his mouth and talking (while trying not to say anything stupid). "I get it. We go together well," he said, wincing a little at how silly that sounded but pressing on nonetheless. "We're a lot a like, and we both enjoy each other's company, and - we both want to explore it further and see how that works out. Right?" He'd been using so much pluralization, he felt compelled to add, "Because I want that. I really like you, Ianto, and more than anything, I don't want to mess this up. But I don't think this," he held up their locked hands, "is going to do that."