Fic: Party Plans
Title: Party Plans
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Meriel.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Preparations are underway for the twins’ birthday, but Ianto doesn’t approve of one of Jack’s birthday plans.
Word Count: 1149
Written For: Prompt 203 - Celebration at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Curious about what Jack was up to, Ianto leaned over the back of the sofa and peered at the screen of his husband’s laptop. “What’re you doing?”
“Party preparations. What does it look like?”
“But…” Ianto shook his head. “Fireworks? I know I said you could order some party supplies online, but I meant things like silly hats, bunting, and balloons, not rockets and roman candles.”
“I know that, but none of the shops around here have got any fireworks in stock. I checked.”
“Of course they haven’t, twpsyn; it’s the wrong time of year for them. Fireworks are for bonfire night and the various New Year celebrations, not for the middle of July; this isn’t America, we don’t celebrate Independence Day. Besides, this is a party for one-year-olds; all they’re going to want are the wrapping paper from their gifts, and maybe a couple of balloons.” Ianto leaned further over the back of the sofa, risking falling headfirst into his husband’s lap, to check out Jack’s online shopping cart. “Forty-seven items? Are you insane? Give me one good reason why I should let you buy a cart full of fireworks.”
“To celebrate! We’ve survived almost a full year with twins, and if that’s not reason for celebration, I don’t know what is.”
Their older daughter, Meriel, sitting beside Jack, looked from her Taddy to her Daddy and back again throughout the exchange. Her parents had always been way more entertaining than her friends’ parents, and today was no exception. She’d been enjoying helping her Daddy pick out things for her brother and sister’s first birthday party, but in some ways this was better. She suspected her Taddy would win this battle, he usually did, but it was always fun watching her Daddy trying to come up with excuses for whatever it was he wanted to do.
“No fireworks, Jack. Remember what happened at New Year, with fireworks going off all over the city? The twins hated the noise, they practically screamed the house down.”
“We don’t live in a house, we live in a flat,” Jack corrected stubbornly.
“Don’t split hairs.”
“Anyway, they were only six months old back then. This time they’ll be yearlings!”
“Yearlings!” Ianto snorted. “That applies to horses, not humans, you daft sod!” He shook his head, grinning down at his husband. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I can think of a few things.”
“I’ll bet you can.”
“About the fireworks though…”
“No, Jack, we are not having fireworks.”
“Not even a few?”
“No, not even one! You don’t want the twins to be miserable on their first birthday, do you?”
“Well, no, I suppose not.” Jack’s shoulders drooped.
“Besides, making it through the first year with the Holy Terrors isn’t such a big deal. They’re barely mobile yet. If we survive though the end of year three, then we can discuss the possibility of celebratory fireworks.”
Jack winced. “Oh yeah. The terrible twos: tantrums, finnicky eating, all the joys of the toddler stage…” He shuddered. “If we get through that in one piece, we’ll need more than fireworks to celebrate, we’ll deserve a long holiday away from our precious darlings, a month at least on a quiet planet, courtesy of the Doctor, while someone else babysits for a couple of hours.”
“We’re not doing that either. We’d have to take Meriel with us, it wouldn’t be fair to leave her behind, and then she’d be a month older than she’s supposed to be and we’d have to move her birthday, which would confuse everyone.”
Meriel frowned. “I don’t want my birthday moved, Daddy! I like it where it is.”
Jack sighed mournfully. “No fireworks and no holiday; everyone’s ganging up on me again! Don’t you love me?”
“Of course we do, Daddy! Don’t be silly.” Meriel hugged Jack, then turned thoughtful, glancing up at her other father. “Taddy? Was I a terrible two?”
Ianto came around the sofa and sat down at his older daughter’s other side. “Yes, you were, but it wasn’t your fault, and it won’t be the twins’ fault either. You had all these feelings going on inside you, but you didn’t know how to deal with them, and you didn’t have the words to tell us what you were feeling. It was fine when you were at home and Nosy could help you feel better, but when we were out, you’d get upset over things you didn’t understand. Everyone goes through that stage, it’s an important part of growing up, but the twins are already terrors, so I suspect we’ll really have our hands full with them.”
“I’ll help all I can,” Meriel promised.
“I know you will, sweetheart, but the twins aren’t your responsibility; your Daddy and I don’t expect you to look after them for us.”
“I still want to help though.”
“And you can, but any time you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Right, now that’s settled, let’s get back to planning this party, shall we?” Ianto leaned across Meriel and deleted Jack’s fireworks inventory. “Helium balloons, the kind that won’t go bang, and some bunting, Jack. Silly hats for the grownups, nothing that’s likely to scare the twins. Got it?”
“Yes, Ianto.” Pouting just a little, Jack started scrolling through the party store’s inventory again, this time steering clear of the fireworks.
“Did I have a birthday party when I was one?” Meriel asked, in between helping Jack choose colours for the decorative bunting and some wipe-clean tablecloths. “I don’t remember.”
“Of course you did!” Suddenly Jack was grinning again. “And what a party that was!”
At Meriel’s other side, her Taddy chuckled. “That was quite a day, especially when your Daddy cut your birthday cake.”
“Why? What happened?” Meriel never got tired of hearing about when she was little, but this was a story she was sure she’d never heard before.
“The table tipped up and most of the cake fell on Nosy.” Jack could laugh about it now, but at the time he’d been mortified.
“Oh no! Poor Nosy!” Meriel looked at her daddies, wide-eyed.
“Nosy didn’t mind,” Jack assured her. “Neither did you. Taddy managed to rescue part of the cake for the other guests, but you just sat on the floor grabbing handfuls of cake off Nosy and eating it. You weren’t very good at getting it in your mouth though, you had so much cake all over your face and in your hair, you needed a bath afterwards. So did Nosy, it was all sticky.”
Meriel giggled. “Were you cross with me?”
“No, it wasn’t your fault, and anyway, it was your party, and you were having so much fun. But we only let you have the cake that didn’t go on the floor. Nosy cleaned up the rest.”
“That’s alright then.” Meriel smiled. “I’ll always share my cake with my bestest friend.”
The End
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Meriel.
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Preparations are underway for the twins’ birthday, but Ianto doesn’t approve of one of Jack’s birthday plans.
Word Count: 1149
Written For: Prompt 203 - Celebration at fandomweekly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
Curious about what Jack was up to, Ianto leaned over the back of the sofa and peered at the screen of his husband’s laptop. “What’re you doing?”
“Party preparations. What does it look like?”
“But…” Ianto shook his head. “Fireworks? I know I said you could order some party supplies online, but I meant things like silly hats, bunting, and balloons, not rockets and roman candles.”
“I know that, but none of the shops around here have got any fireworks in stock. I checked.”
“Of course they haven’t, twpsyn; it’s the wrong time of year for them. Fireworks are for bonfire night and the various New Year celebrations, not for the middle of July; this isn’t America, we don’t celebrate Independence Day. Besides, this is a party for one-year-olds; all they’re going to want are the wrapping paper from their gifts, and maybe a couple of balloons.” Ianto leaned further over the back of the sofa, risking falling headfirst into his husband’s lap, to check out Jack’s online shopping cart. “Forty-seven items? Are you insane? Give me one good reason why I should let you buy a cart full of fireworks.”
“To celebrate! We’ve survived almost a full year with twins, and if that’s not reason for celebration, I don’t know what is.”
Their older daughter, Meriel, sitting beside Jack, looked from her Taddy to her Daddy and back again throughout the exchange. Her parents had always been way more entertaining than her friends’ parents, and today was no exception. She’d been enjoying helping her Daddy pick out things for her brother and sister’s first birthday party, but in some ways this was better. She suspected her Taddy would win this battle, he usually did, but it was always fun watching her Daddy trying to come up with excuses for whatever it was he wanted to do.
“No fireworks, Jack. Remember what happened at New Year, with fireworks going off all over the city? The twins hated the noise, they practically screamed the house down.”
“We don’t live in a house, we live in a flat,” Jack corrected stubbornly.
“Don’t split hairs.”
“Anyway, they were only six months old back then. This time they’ll be yearlings!”
“Yearlings!” Ianto snorted. “That applies to horses, not humans, you daft sod!” He shook his head, grinning down at his husband. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I can think of a few things.”
“I’ll bet you can.”
“About the fireworks though…”
“No, Jack, we are not having fireworks.”
“Not even a few?”
“No, not even one! You don’t want the twins to be miserable on their first birthday, do you?”
“Well, no, I suppose not.” Jack’s shoulders drooped.
“Besides, making it through the first year with the Holy Terrors isn’t such a big deal. They’re barely mobile yet. If we survive though the end of year three, then we can discuss the possibility of celebratory fireworks.”
Jack winced. “Oh yeah. The terrible twos: tantrums, finnicky eating, all the joys of the toddler stage…” He shuddered. “If we get through that in one piece, we’ll need more than fireworks to celebrate, we’ll deserve a long holiday away from our precious darlings, a month at least on a quiet planet, courtesy of the Doctor, while someone else babysits for a couple of hours.”
“We’re not doing that either. We’d have to take Meriel with us, it wouldn’t be fair to leave her behind, and then she’d be a month older than she’s supposed to be and we’d have to move her birthday, which would confuse everyone.”
Meriel frowned. “I don’t want my birthday moved, Daddy! I like it where it is.”
Jack sighed mournfully. “No fireworks and no holiday; everyone’s ganging up on me again! Don’t you love me?”
“Of course we do, Daddy! Don’t be silly.” Meriel hugged Jack, then turned thoughtful, glancing up at her other father. “Taddy? Was I a terrible two?”
Ianto came around the sofa and sat down at his older daughter’s other side. “Yes, you were, but it wasn’t your fault, and it won’t be the twins’ fault either. You had all these feelings going on inside you, but you didn’t know how to deal with them, and you didn’t have the words to tell us what you were feeling. It was fine when you were at home and Nosy could help you feel better, but when we were out, you’d get upset over things you didn’t understand. Everyone goes through that stage, it’s an important part of growing up, but the twins are already terrors, so I suspect we’ll really have our hands full with them.”
“I’ll help all I can,” Meriel promised.
“I know you will, sweetheart, but the twins aren’t your responsibility; your Daddy and I don’t expect you to look after them for us.”
“I still want to help though.”
“And you can, but any time you don’t want to, you don’t have to. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Right, now that’s settled, let’s get back to planning this party, shall we?” Ianto leaned across Meriel and deleted Jack’s fireworks inventory. “Helium balloons, the kind that won’t go bang, and some bunting, Jack. Silly hats for the grownups, nothing that’s likely to scare the twins. Got it?”
“Yes, Ianto.” Pouting just a little, Jack started scrolling through the party store’s inventory again, this time steering clear of the fireworks.
“Did I have a birthday party when I was one?” Meriel asked, in between helping Jack choose colours for the decorative bunting and some wipe-clean tablecloths. “I don’t remember.”
“Of course you did!” Suddenly Jack was grinning again. “And what a party that was!”
At Meriel’s other side, her Taddy chuckled. “That was quite a day, especially when your Daddy cut your birthday cake.”
“Why? What happened?” Meriel never got tired of hearing about when she was little, but this was a story she was sure she’d never heard before.
“The table tipped up and most of the cake fell on Nosy.” Jack could laugh about it now, but at the time he’d been mortified.
“Oh no! Poor Nosy!” Meriel looked at her daddies, wide-eyed.
“Nosy didn’t mind,” Jack assured her. “Neither did you. Taddy managed to rescue part of the cake for the other guests, but you just sat on the floor grabbing handfuls of cake off Nosy and eating it. You weren’t very good at getting it in your mouth though, you had so much cake all over your face and in your hair, you needed a bath afterwards. So did Nosy, it was all sticky.”
Meriel giggled. “Were you cross with me?”
“No, it wasn’t your fault, and anyway, it was your party, and you were having so much fun. But we only let you have the cake that didn’t go on the floor. Nosy cleaned up the rest.”
“That’s alright then.” Meriel smiled. “I’ll always share my cake with my bestest friend.”
The End