A/N: Another piece for my Domestic series. This one is set on January 24th 2015. I just wanted to have the twins experience a panto, but being me the story exploded and now became a relatively detailed recap of the panto "Robin Hood" I saw in January.
"Ianto, where the hell are you?" Jack shouted into his phone, trying to be louder than the two toddlers who were bouncing up and down in front of him.
"Sorry, Jack, Gwen had to rush home because Emma has developed a fever and Rhys didn't know what to do. I send Andres with her." Ianto grinned broadly as he heard Jack mutter under his breath before chiding their children to be quiet for a moment. "I phoned Miguel, but it will take him at least ten minutes to get to the Hub. Just go ahead, I'll catch up with you at the theatre."
"You're not going to bail out of this Ianto Harkness-Jones! Taking the kids to the Panto was your idea and you were the one hyping them up on the whole Robin Hood 'taking from the rich, giving to the poor' thing."
Ianto had a hard time to keep the laughter that was threatening to bubble up in his throat, down. Jack sounded downright in panic and Ianto could picture exactly what was going on at home. And right on cue he heard Josh chant "Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood" quickly joined by his sister, while an unnerved groan from Jack filtered through the phone.
It was true he had hyped the twins up. He had loved going to the Panto as a kid and was now more than happy to share this wonderful experience with his children. Jack had no idea what awaited him in the theatre. But it served him well; usually Jack was responsible for the two toddlers to go spare. Only fair to let him stew for a while.
"I'm not trying to bail out, Jack! I will be at the theatre in time. Just take the troubles and get a head start, maybe the walk to the theatre will tire them out. Or you just buy them something from the merchandise to keep them occupied."
"Daddy, can I have a bow like Robin?" Josh piped up and Ianto could practically see his little boy tugging at Jack's shirt, while looking at his dad with those big blue eyes. Jack could never resist that look.
"Me too, me too!" Unmistakably the voice of his little girl, who was undoubtedly pulling on Jack's shirt, too, now.
"Ianto!" Jack was practically whining.
"Yes Jack?" Ianto couldn't keep the chuckle in anymore, knowing how his partner was glaring at the phone, trying to figure out, what exactly was happening here.
"Get your a..."
"Jack!"
"Sorry. Get your lovely bottom over here now!"
"I'll meet you at the theatre."
"Ianto!"
"See you in twenty minutes." Ianto quickly ended the conversation before bursting out with laughter. This would teach Jack to wind up the kids each time before their weekly shopping trip to the supermarket only to find a reason to bail out of it at the last second. Allowedly, Ianto hadn't counted Emma getting ill in, but it served him well. Jack had to learn a lesson and taking the two squealing toddlers all the way from their house to the New Theatre would surely hit home.
For the next few minutes, he busied himself with clearing away the rubbish and putting the used coffee mugs into the sink. Glancing at his watch after finishing his task, Ianto grabbed his coat and slipped it on. Miguel would be here in a minute and he wanted to catch the next shuttle train to the city centre so he wouldn't have to walk all the way. Just on cue the cog door rolled open and Miguel strolled in with a grin on his face.
"Aren't you supposed to be at the Panto with Jack and the kids?"
"I'm heading there right now. Jack is already on his way with the troubles."
"On his own?" Miguel's grin got even broader.
"He is a grown man, I'm inclined to think he can handle two four-year-olds," Ianto replied seriously, but the smug grin on his face betrayed the seriousness of his voice.
"Yeah, right," Miguel chuckled. "Give my regards to Jack and the kids. Have fun!"
"Thanks. Call, if there's something major going on." Ianto patted his teammate on the back and hopped down the stairs to the cog door. A quick glance at his watch told him that he would manage to catch the next shuttle train if he got going now.
*
He was just climbing onto the platform after a quick jog through Mermaid Quay when the train rolled into the station. Paying the driver, he fell onto a seat and took a deep breath. Hopefully Jack had thought of taking the tickets from the fridge or they would never make it in time for the performance if they had to double back to get them.
Ianto settled deeper into his seat when the train jerked and made its way back into the city. He watched as the Lloyd-George-Avenue flew by and glanced quickly at their house, satisfied that all the lights were out. Jack and the gang were already on their way. By taking the train, Ianto would probably beat them and make it to the theatre first.
The trip took only a few minutes before the train reached Cardiff Queen Street station and Ianto stepped out on the platform, pulling his jacket closer around him as an icy wind tugged at it. This January was really cold; maybe they should take a cab after the performance. The kids would probably be very tired and the walk home would be a bit too long for them then. And it would be even colder that late in the evening.
Making his way through the still busy streets, Ianto smiled when he heard two high-pitched squeals after rounding the last corner to the New Theatre.
"Taddy!"
Ianto had just enough time to pull his hands from his pockets, before he found himself with an armful of squealing toddlers.
"Hey squirts, are you excited to see Robin Hood?"
"Yeaaah!!"
"Good." Ianto put the kids down again and smiled when both slipped their hands into one of his each. Looking up, he found Jack glaring at him. Presenting his partner with a broad smile, he stepped closer and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "Hey honey, did you have a nice day?" Now laughing out loud at Jack's indignant expression after using one of the dreaded pet names, Ianto gave his lover another kiss. "I see you made it to the theatre with the troubles and you still alive. Congratulations."
"You brat! I should give you a nice spanking for leaving me alone with two hyperactive toddlers."
"Oh, now you're spoiling me. But it will have to wait until after the show." Giving Jack a smug grin, Ianto savoured the moment of triumph over his usually so flamboyant partner, who was gaping at him now.
"You are really a piece of work today!" Finally chuckling, Jack quickly followed his lover, sweeping Katie up on his arm in the process so he could snake the other around Ianto's waist. "But don't think this is over yet."
"Well, I think it is. Maybe you'll remember this the next time you tell the twins about the new chocolate flavour or the Matchbox cars on sale before we go to the supermarket."
"There is a new chocolate flavour?" Katie piped up, looking excitedly at Ianto.
"No squirt, it was just an example to explain something to your dad."
"Oh."
"But the Matchbox cars are on sale, right Tad?" Blue eyes were looking up hopefully at Ianto, forcing a deep sigh out of him.
"Sorry baby, no Matchbox cars."
"Oh."
Jack swallowed hard when he saw the disappointed faces of his kids. He knew he was giving Ianto a hard time with winding up the kids and he guessed he just got the payback. "Point taken."
"Good."
"But can I have a bow?" Josh asked carefully.
Jack wondered how Ianto did it. The kids had been jumping around and driving him mad before his lover had shown up and now they were both behaving and the perfect picture of well raised children, asking politely instead of shouting and pointing at what they wanted.
"We'll see if Robin can spare one of his bows, okay?"
"Cool!"
Frowning, Ianto looked down at the little boy now hopping happily along next to him. "Where did you learn that word?"
"Gwion uses it all the time." Josh stopped hopping and looked unsure up to his Tad, afraid of having said the wrong thing.
"Who is Gwion?"
"He's Josh's friend from school," Katie piped up. "He has a lot of cool words."
"Has he now?" Ianto had to fight the smile that threatened to steal its way to his face. He had expected that the twins would bring new words home from school, but he didn't expect it to happen so quickly. They had started Reception only two weeks ago. "Well I hope cool words are not his only specialty."
"No, he always has brownies in his lunch bag," Josh explained with a serious face. "And we play LEGO's together. We built an entire fortress with spaceships and dragons yesterday."
"Wow, maybe we should have him come over one afternoon?" Ianto smiled down at his little boy.
"Really?"
"Sure."
"Cool!"
Laughing, Ianto ruffled through the boy's hair before taking his hand again.
"Can Mari come over too?" Katie asked, her eyes big and her lip already trembling. Tell tale signs of a tantrum.
"Sure, sweetie. Is that your new friend from school?" Jack quickly stepped in and shifted the little girl higher up his hip.
"Yes, we made a big picture with finger paints yesterday. Miss Morgan said, I'm a very good painter."
"You are, angel." Pressing a kiss to his daughters head, Jack turned to look at his partner and smiled. They didn't have to say it loud, they both thought the same thing: The kids were growing up too quickly.
TBC