Torchwood: Fanfic: Short on sleep

[m_findlow]

Title: Short on sleep
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Jack, Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 475 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for juliet316's prompt "Any, any, sleep was the best thing for the body right now" at fic_promptly
Summary: The boys need sleep more than they think

They stumbled in through the apartment door, dumping keys and coats.

'What a day,' Jack said.

'Days, plural,' Ianto said, heaving the two grocery bags into the kitchen, putting them on the bench to be unpacked.

'You're probably right,' Jack said, following him into the kitchen, placing his hands on Ianto's shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze, feeling how tense they were.

'Why don't you go grab a hot shower and some fresh clothes,' he suggested. 'I can start cutting up the vegetables.'

Ianto gratefully accepted the offer, padding down the hall towards their bedroom.

Jack began unpacking the bags, putting away items in the pantry and fridge, leaving out the few vegetables he needed for dinner. At least it wasn't overly late, and they'd be eating at a reasonable hour. Eating at all was usually considered a bonus.

He was humming as he cut long strips of capsicum to go with the broccoli and the carrots, before realising he hadn't heard any water running in the bathroom. He put the knife down and went to check on Ianto. Perhaps he was waiting for him, Jack thought, grinning to himself. That was going to make dinner much, much later.

When he reached their bedroom, Ianto was curled up on his side on the bed, still fully clothed except for his shoes, the pillow clutched underneath his head.

Jack walked over and stroked his hair.

'Hey, you should've told me you were tired.'

'S'okay,' Ianto mumbled. 'Just give me twenty minutes and I'll be good for dinner.'

Jack shook his head. If Ianto was willing to admit he needed twenty minutes sleep, the reality was that he probably needed eight hours. Ianto was a master of concealing how tired he was, but looking at him now, Jack could see the weariness in his face and body. Dinner could wait. If he'd known, they'd have picked up something on the way home to save time.

He stoked Ianto's hair a few more times, watching him settle into sleep, before going over to the cupboard and pulling out the spare blanket, draping it over him, since he was lying on top of the rest of the bed covers. He divested himself of his belt and braces before climbing onto the other side of the bed, snuggling up against Ianto and pulling the blanket over both of them, wrapping an arm tightly around him and nestling against Ianto's neck. As he lay there curled up, his own tiredness began to creep up on him, quickly descending into full blown exhaustion. It definitely had been a long few days, and as much as they probably needed to eat some food, especially something with nutritional value, perhaps sleep was the best thing for both their bodies right now. Dinner would still be there tomorrow.

Comments

[bk_forever]

Awww, fluffy snuggles! This is so sweet, I hope they sleep well =D