11
"So, what's for tea tonight?" Jack asked as he watched Ianto crouch to set the fire.
"There's a pizzeria in town, hard left at the end of the drive, you will soon get there" Ianto replied without looking up from his task "You know what I like. Take the spawn and go get us some, maybe some ice-cream for afters? Hmmm?"
"What… are you going to allow me and the kids to be released to the wilds without you? Seriously?" Jack gaped.
"Don't be silly, of course not. Mongo will supervise" Ianto said as he rose and Jack found himself roaring with mirth as he went to tell the kids to get some shoes on. Soon they were roaring off leaving Ianto to sit by the fire.
Ianto was startled awake by the sound of them entering the house, Jamie Dee screaming dramatically as he struggled not to drop the pizza he was carrying, Nate showing his intelligence by letting Dad carry the others, while he instead carried the ice cream with glee.
"Good lord Cariad, I fell asleep" Ianto exclaimed, then laughed softly at himself as he struggled form the chair, rubbing at his eyes. Jack banked the dying fire back to life. Ianto watched his boys setting the coffee table lie it was the dining room table at home, their glee evident as they then got cushions off the sofa to sit on. Ah. They did love Toshiko's traditional Japanese table they sometimes ate at when at her place. They were going to have fun.
Ianto made a decision "OK. Rules!"
Everyone froze, their eyes wide. Ianto continued "So… here the rules at home do not always apply. The 'Eat at the Table Only' rule and the 'Must always wear pants' rule may be able to be overlooked occasionally. Other rules to be wobbly."
The place erupted as both boys shouted out other rules they wanted a ruling on and Jack laughed as he watched Ianto face palm, then wave his hands "OK… OK. General rules apply like wiping feet, not farting in one another's faces and dishes going the sink still apply. Everything else… flexible."
"how flexy?" Jamie Dee asked with narrowed eyes, looking so much like his father that Ianto had to force himself not to frown in the same way Nate now was at his brother.
"On a scale of one to ten… maybe a six or seven is acceptable." Ianto finally said and Jamie Dee immediately undid his little trousers and dropped them to the floor with a flourish, his little boxer shorts with monsters on them now on display.
"Is this a six? Or a seven!"
Jack was snorting now, giggling away as he saw himself in the little shit. Ianto just calmly said "Yes. That is on the cusp of what can be on the furniture."
"And after we eat we can pay outside until the fireflies come out?" Nate finally asked a question that was of worth to him, the inside for evening meal and trapped thing a bummer. He loved twilight.
"Agreed."
"But we can be outside in grundies too?" Jamie Dee asked with both hands pointing to his underwear for emphasis with raw hope on his face. Ianto nodded.
"Brilliant" the little man clapped his hands together as Nate pulled his on pants up more to show they were NOT coming off ta muchly.
They finally settled to eat.
It was later, once the boys had helped put the dishes in the sink and asked about tops… apparently Nate was ok with naked top if beep-beeps were allowed to be aired that two boy ran shirtless in the garden with Ianto watching in the swing seat… it was that much later that Jack noticed the pad Ianto had been doodling on while they were away.
Jack picked it up to see what Ianto had been chewing over and settled to look through some rough blueprints for their house that includes several thoughts on additions. When Ianto came in he found Jack fully engrossed, scribbling on the bottom of one of his designs, muttering to himself.
"Jack?"
"This one is perfect. We can push the side of the house right out to the fence line, then with the gateway to Tosh and Own we just use their side entrance to get in and out of the back yard with the mower and stuff. We can make this room a brilliant long one… or even two rooms." Jack leaned back as he tapped the pad "If we section it off here for a double room, then this area here can have a desk and some bookshelves added for later on when as a teenager he will want to swat and stuff."
Ianto leaned over as Nate said angrily behind them "I am NOT leaving my bedroom. I love my bedroom, I will NEVER leave me bedroom. It's mine."
"I want a new one" Jamie Dee agreed "But Nate does not like changes, he likes his room. It's always his room, I just sleep there. Can I have my own one?"
"You never asked, we would have changed the other room for you" Ianto said softly.
"But that for our little sister" Jamie Dee said with open horror at the thought of desecrating the little girl's room "When you finally get around to giving us one, she will need it!"
Ianto blinked as Jack laughed again, shaking his head as the boys clearly had things sorted out. Big ears!
"Well… OK. Think of a theme then" Ianto said as he accepted the general family consensus that a little girl would be nice.
Secretly… he was overjoyed.