galadriel1010 | Birthday Blues 4/9: In the Quiet of Night

Title: Birthday Blues
Chapter Title: In the Quiet of Night
Challenge/Fest: Schmoop_Bingo
Prompt: Sleepy Times
Rating: U
Characters: Jack/Ianto, Mirabelle, Andrew, Mica, David + other family members
Summary: The family are out at the farm in the Beacons, looking forwards to spending Ianto's thirtieth birthday there together. It wouldn't be them if several things didn't go wrong, though.
Contains: Illness, an unscheduled trip to Grenada, family fluffiness, a picnic and a milestone birthday.
Disclaimer: Torchwood and its environs, occurences and persons belong to the BBC. The original characters have disowned me.

Ianto didn't turn or even open his eyes when he heard footsteps on the stairs. They were too heavy to be any of the children, and Mica and David had retreated to the attic for the night anyway, so he would have heard the attic door. Jack's hands came to rest on his shoulder and he smiled lazily. “Bedtime?” he guessed.

“I think it might be,” Jack agreed, and kissed Ianto on the forehead. “All you've done all day is lie in bed. Actually, you're feeling a bit warm...” he pressed his cheek against Ianto's forehead. “You're not getting ill, are you?”

“I hope not,” he pushed Jack away and opened his eyes, reaching out for Jack's hand. “Bed time?”

“Come on then, Mr Harkness-Jones,” Jack grunted and tugged him to his feet, then looped his arm around his waist loosely, resting his hand on the curve of his arse. “You get up to bed, and I'll bring us some drinks up.”

“Alright.” Ianto stopped him before he went to the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his neck. “I missed you, by the way,” he said before kissing him softly. “And I'm glad you're home.”

Jack smiled and rested his hands on Ianto's hips, hooking his thumbs though his belt loops. “I missed you too. It's worth it to come home to you, though.”

“You are a hopeless, soppy romantic,” Ianto chided him, “and I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jack laughed, pushing him away. “Go on, bed. I'll be up in a minute.”

Ianto did as he was told, climbing the narrow, creaking staircase as quietly as he could. He visited Andrew first, and was relieved to find that he was sleeping deeply, flopped in the middle of the double bed and taking up as much space as a six-year-old boy could take up which, as he and Jack had discovered occasionally after nightmares, was a lot of space. He tucked a stray foot back under the covers and brushed Andrew's hair back from his forehead, then turned the bedside light out and left the room as quietly as he'd entered.

Mirabelle was curled up in a tiny ball, with Tybalt sprawled across the pillow above her head. He gave Ianto a slow glare, stretched, yawned, and curled up again with one eye just visible over his tail to watch Ianto's progress. Ianto ignored him, except to stroke him briefly to keep him quiet, and pulled the duvet down to uncover Mirabelle's head and tuck it under her chin. She didn't wake, even when he kissed the top of her head, so he left the door open for Tybalt on his way out and went to his and Jack's room.

He was in bed by the time Jack got there, with the duvet pooled around his waist and his nose in his book. Jack opened his mouth to make a comment and Ianto glared at him over the top of his glasses until he closed his mouth and smiled. “Tybalt's in with Belle,” he informed him, closing his book and setting it aside with his glasses on top of it.

Jack nodded and set the tray down on the chest of drawers. “I'll go and say goodnight, but he'll be okay in there overnight. He wasn't a problem whilst I was gone?”

“No, no,” Ianto accepted the mug from him and sighed. “Thanks. No, he's been fine. I just didn't know if you'd want him to go downstairs or outside.”

“I'll leave him,” Jack leaned forwards and kissed Ianto on the cheek. “I'll be right back.”

Ianto wrapped his hands tightly around his mug, listening to Jack's progress around the landing, starting with Andrew, stopping off in the bathroom and then finishing in Mirabelle's room. He left their bedroom door ajar when he returned and stripped off quickly, leaving his clothes folded carefully on a chair – the closest Ianto had yet got to persuading him to put them away at the end of the day – and collected his mug before sliding under the covers next to Ianto and lifting an arm for Ianto to curl up against him.

“That's better,” he sighed, tightening his arm around Ianto and taking a sip of his drink. “Now we've got the day out of the way, how are you?”

“I...” Ianto thought about this and smiled. “I am very happy to have you home. As much fun as we had whilst you were gone, I did wish you hadn't been.”

“I think I made sense of that sentence,” Jack said thoughtfully. “But I'm glad I'm home too. Here's hoping no one needs my attention for a while, at least.”

“Do you think you'll be here next Monday?” Ianto asked.

Jack hugged him tighter and brushed his lips against his forehead. “Ianto... oh Ianto, I am not going to miss your birthday for the apocalypse, alright? A translation in Mexico or a meeting in Japan have no chance. I'll be here.”

“I just wanted to make you say it,” Ianto smiled up at him and tilted his head for a kiss, which Jack readily granted him. “Can't believe I'm nearly thirty...”

“I know.” Jack downed more of his drink. They'd had too many occasions when Ianto seeing thirty had seemed like an impossibility for him to be able to joke about it. “I'm just glad you're still with me.”

“I look nearly as old as you now,” Ianto pointed out, not seeming at all put out by that fact. “Strangers will stop assuming you're my dad when we take Mam out to lunch before long.”

“That only happened once...”

“It was funny,” Ianto finished his drink and rolled away from Jack to set his mug on his bedside table, then back into Jack's arms where he used Jack's shoulder as a pillow. “We're going to get too hot here,” he pointed out.

Jack set his mug aside and wrapped both arms tight around Ianto. “Tough. Not letting you go now... Besides, you'll snore.”

Ianto thumped him, but in an affectionate and amused manner.

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