Jack's Feeling Broody
Jack was feeling broody; it had been roughly 367 years since their last child had been born and just over 200 since he'd passed away. Over the millennia, they'd kept track of all their descendants – Ianto would know how exactly many 'greats' were involved – and although they were scattered to the four corners of creation, Jack and Ianto visited whenever they were in the neighbourhood.
Pausing at a brightly decorated stall, Jack gathered various pieces of fruit and veg, some recognisable and some not, and placed them in his basket before ticking them off his grocery list. He and Ianto had split the shopping that morning, with Ianto getting the non-food items half this go-round. Ianto was off looking for a new condenser coil and some replacement couplings as well as the always necessary toilet roll. The only edible item on his list was coffee beans because Jack would never be allowed to… the one and only time Ianto had let Jack pick out the beans the brew had eaten a hole right through the bottom of the pot.
Childish laughter erupted behind him and Jack turned to see a toddler clutching his mother's skirt as he stood on wobbly legs and pointing at a display of bright purple fruit called plarkuus. Stretching up to grab a plarkuu, the little boy let go of the skirt and immediately plopped onto the ground; looking around, he wasn't sure whether he should laugh or cry. His mother was busy bargaining with the shopkeeper and hadn't noticed her son's plight but the parent in Jack responded immediately.
Dropping his basket – handmade from JiiJiiJii fronds and a gift from Ianto – to the ground, Jack knelt next to the child and grinned brightly. "How you doing down here, little man?" he asked and although he wanted to reach out and take hold of him, Jack managed to restrain himself. There was no way to know how the mother might respond to seeing a strange man touching her son.
The little boy studied Jack's face for a moment as if trying to decide if he should scream shrilly or laugh loudly; laughter won out and he cheerfully giggled, kicking his feet in the sand. Reaching out one chubby hand he patted Jack's knee while waving at the fruit with the other and chortling away happily, telling Jack all about it – at least that's what Jack thought he was saying.
The immortal remembered watching his own offspring, then their kids and grandkids – so many generations now – chattering away about everything and anything in their own child-like language, telling him stories of their day, filling him on their adventures. The memories clenched at his heart and brought a lump to his throat.
Oh, how Jack wanted to re-live those times. He wanted to hold his own baby in his arms again, to inhale that scent that only babies fresh from the bath and delicately powdered could provide. He wanted to see those first wobbly steps again, feel chubby hands patting his face, and hear gales of gleeful laughter as he tickled soft little tummies. He even wanted to be the one to change nappies and put on the footie pyjamas, read wonderful faery tales til tired little bodies fell asleep in his arms and then put their wee ones to bed.
Jack speared a wedge of plarkuu and held it out to Ianto, who took it from the fork with a soft smile. He could tell that his mate was feeling broody; for a while now, Jack had been rearranging the furniture, cooking special titbits for them to share and now he was feeding Ianto as though he were a child.
'Wait for it,' Ianto told himself sternly. 'He'll get there.' He dutifully accepted the next piece of fruit, reaching out to snag Jack's hand before he could withdraw it. Holding onto it, Ianto stroked his thumb across the back of his hand. "Cariad…?"
"Yan…" Jack turned their hands over and traced Ianto's lifeline with his finger, then he looked up, meeting his Welshman's eyes. "I want us to have another baby."
Ianto smiled brilliantly. He leaned in and kissed his mate softly before whispering into his ear, "I thought you'd never ask."
end