This was Ianto’s favourite time of day when it was his turn at house-husbanding duty, the blissfully quiet hour or so in the early afternoon designated as naptime. He still didn’t understand how Nosy had managed to train the twins to nap in tandem instead of taking turns, but he blessed the Fluff’s ingenuity daily.

When the twins, now twenty-two months old, snuggled down with their weary Flufflets, it gave Taddy time to catch his breath, have an uninterrupted coffee, or even take a nap himself. Naps were essential to toddlers and adults alike; Ianto honestly couldn’t imagine how he would survive being a parent to hyperactive twins if he couldn’t take the occasional break from parenting and grab some sleep, although being able to switch back and forth, going to work one day and caring for the kids the next, certainly helped.

Of course, there were days at the Hub when he devoutly wished he could send some of the team, mostly Gwen and Owen, to take a nap. Sometimes they could be as bad as toddlers themselves, although Owen had improved considerably since he and Tosh had settled into married life. He still had days when he was a cranky bastard, but… Well, he was Owen, he couldn’t be expected to be nice ALL the time, that would be going completely against his nature.

The twins were currently sound asleep, draped over a couple of floor cushions, in positions that didn’t look like they could be at all comfortable, fast asleep. Each one was gripping a handful of their Flufflets’ fur, while the Flufflets themselves snoozed peacefully, draped half across the cushions and the rest of their long bodies across the twins, trailing down onto the floor. Like toddlers, they seemed able to sleep anywhere, and in the most ridiculous positions imaginable. Still, as long as they all slept, Ianto didn’t much care if they were intent on impersonating contortionists. The peace and quiet was what mattered.

Nosy had taken up position encircling the sleepers, ready with a helping snout in case any of them slid off their cushions. It was drowsing too, but as always with Fluffs, was so attuned to its charges’ emotions that, if necessary, it could react in an instant.

Satisfied that all was well, Ianto stretched out on the sofa, deciding a nap would be a good idea for him too. The previous day at work had been manic, and then this morning, the twins had woken up at four and refused to go back to sleep, so Ianto had been up since then as well. Hopefully, it meant Gareth and Jenna would nap for longer than usual, giving their long-suffering Taddy a chance to recharge his own batteries.

Being immortal was supposed to mean he could manage perfectly well on a lot less sleep that a regular human could, and before the twins came along, that had been the case; except for during the first few months of Meriel’s life, when he and Jack had been permanently worn out, struggling to keep their eyes open every time they sat down. Ianto had thought that bad enough, but with the twins, it was at least ten times worse. He often found himself looking back wistfully on Meriel’s babyhood and wondering how he could ever have thought THAT was a tough time. He’d been so naïve, but he knew better now. Never having twins again; he’d said as much to Jack, who’d agreed. Twins were too much work.

With one last quick look at the tiny terrors, Ianto relaxed against the big cushion he was using as a pillow and closed his eyes. Naps were seriously underrated among adults; a daily post-lunch nap would probably increase productivity in workplaces across the country. Seriously, most adults had no idea what they were missing.


The End