Ficlet: The Trials Of Parenthood
Title: The Trials Of Parenthood
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Twins, Fluffs.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Arriving home late from work, Jack joins his exhausted husband in bed.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Past Prompts Revisited at anythingdrabble, using Prompt 317: Goodnight.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Arriving home from work just after midnight, Jack quickly undressed in the dark, crawling into bed beside his husband with a sigh of relief.
“Is that you?” Ianto mumbled, woken by the mattress moving beneath him.
“It better be,” Jack replied. “If you were expecting someone else, we need to talk. Just not tonight.”
“Twpsyn,” Ianto managed through a cavernous yawn. “Like I’d have the energy for anyone else.”
“Go back to sleep.” Propping himself up on one elbow, Jack leaned over to kiss Ianto. “Goodnight.”
“Oh, don’t I just wish!”
“Rough day of house-husbanding?”
“Mm.”
Jack was impressed by how much feeling Ianto could cram into such a short non-word. He cuddled up against his husband. “Sorry. If it’s any consolation, work wasn’t a picnic either. The Rift was running riot, and Gwen and Owen were squabbling like toddlers again. Speaking of toddlers, how were the twins? Or shouldn’t I ask?” Gareth and Jenna currently had the sniffles, noses dripping all over the place, although it didn’t seem to be slowing them down any; at twenty months old, Ianto was convinced they must be somehow related to the Energiser bunny.
“Life was so much easier before they became mobile, when they were still just eating and pooping machines, never moving from where we put them. Gareth got away from me when I was changing his nappy, went running around the flat stark naked like an Olympic sprinter, or maybe a streaker. Took all three Fluffs almost twenty minutes to round him up. I would have helped, but Jenna got hold of the baby powder and was waving it around, looked like it was snowing indoors, and then she started sneezing, and I had no idea so much snot could come out of such a tiny nose. I had to clean her up and change her clothes. On the plus side, her cold’s been much better since then. Gareth’s still snuffly though.”
“Poor Ianto.”
“Yes, poor me. After I dealt with Jenna, and got a clean nappy on Gareth, I had to dump them both in their playpen and mop up after him. He left… a bit of a trail. After that, I had to bath the Flufflets, while Nosy took a shower, and after THAT, I had to take a shower myself. By that point, I just wanted to crawl under the bed and hide, but there was a massive pile of laundry to do, the Holy Terrors were getting hungry, and I needed to refuel as well.” Ianto heaved a weary sigh. “Finally got them settled and asleep around eleven and crawled into bed.”
“And then I woke you up.”
“Can’t be helped.”
“If I’d known what you had to deal with today, I would’ve just crashed on the sofa.”
“Good thing you didn’t, it’s still a bit wet from where I had to clean it.”
“Ah.”
“Besides, I sleep better when you’re beside me. Means you’re home and safe. Goodnight, cariad.”
Jack smiled. “Goodnight, Ianto. Sweet dreams.”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack, Ianto, Twins, Fluffs.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Arriving home late from work, Jack joins his exhausted husband in bed.
Word Count: 500
Written For: Past Prompts Revisited at anythingdrabble, using Prompt 317: Goodnight.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Arriving home from work just after midnight, Jack quickly undressed in the dark, crawling into bed beside his husband with a sigh of relief.
“Is that you?” Ianto mumbled, woken by the mattress moving beneath him.
“It better be,” Jack replied. “If you were expecting someone else, we need to talk. Just not tonight.”
“Twpsyn,” Ianto managed through a cavernous yawn. “Like I’d have the energy for anyone else.”
“Go back to sleep.” Propping himself up on one elbow, Jack leaned over to kiss Ianto. “Goodnight.”
“Oh, don’t I just wish!”
“Rough day of house-husbanding?”
“Mm.”
Jack was impressed by how much feeling Ianto could cram into such a short non-word. He cuddled up against his husband. “Sorry. If it’s any consolation, work wasn’t a picnic either. The Rift was running riot, and Gwen and Owen were squabbling like toddlers again. Speaking of toddlers, how were the twins? Or shouldn’t I ask?” Gareth and Jenna currently had the sniffles, noses dripping all over the place, although it didn’t seem to be slowing them down any; at twenty months old, Ianto was convinced they must be somehow related to the Energiser bunny.
“Life was so much easier before they became mobile, when they were still just eating and pooping machines, never moving from where we put them. Gareth got away from me when I was changing his nappy, went running around the flat stark naked like an Olympic sprinter, or maybe a streaker. Took all three Fluffs almost twenty minutes to round him up. I would have helped, but Jenna got hold of the baby powder and was waving it around, looked like it was snowing indoors, and then she started sneezing, and I had no idea so much snot could come out of such a tiny nose. I had to clean her up and change her clothes. On the plus side, her cold’s been much better since then. Gareth’s still snuffly though.”
“Poor Ianto.”
“Yes, poor me. After I dealt with Jenna, and got a clean nappy on Gareth, I had to dump them both in their playpen and mop up after him. He left… a bit of a trail. After that, I had to bath the Flufflets, while Nosy took a shower, and after THAT, I had to take a shower myself. By that point, I just wanted to crawl under the bed and hide, but there was a massive pile of laundry to do, the Holy Terrors were getting hungry, and I needed to refuel as well.” Ianto heaved a weary sigh. “Finally got them settled and asleep around eleven and crawled into bed.”
“And then I woke you up.”
“Can’t be helped.”
“If I’d known what you had to deal with today, I would’ve just crashed on the sofa.”
“Good thing you didn’t, it’s still a bit wet from where I had to clean it.”
“Ah.”
“Besides, I sleep better when you’re beside me. Means you’re home and safe. Goodnight, cariad.”
Jack smiled. “Goodnight, Ianto. Sweet dreams.”
The End