m_findlow

Title: A matter of time
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Rhiannon
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 880 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for mirrored_illusions prompt "Any, any, amateur mistake" at fic_promptly
Summary: Ianto makes a small error in following instructions.

Ianto was practically quivering with excitement as he got out of the car. A whole day of being the cool uncle to his sister's kids. Once upon a time he might have dreaded the prospect, but not now. He had the whole day planned out down to the last detail. No one was going home without having had a good time today. And it was just a bonus that it worked out well for his sister as well. She'd been complaining for months that she and Johnny never got any time for themselves anymore. When she'd called him and asked him to take the kids, he'd jumped at the chance.

He slipped the car keys into his jeans pocket and marched up to the door pressing the bell and hearing the tinkling of Greensleeves tumbling out of the small device. He expected to hear the thumping of small footsteps bolting down the hall, competing to be the first ones to the door before heaving it open. Instead he was made to wait, pressing the button again before finally the door was slowly pulled open.

Rhiannon looked at him, bleary-eyed as she stood there, clinging to the inside frame of the door.

'Ianto, do you know what the hell time this is?'

'I know. I'm sorry,' he apologised. 'Only Jack was meant to be back early this morning but it's taking a whole lot longer than he thought. You don't understand how hard it is to feed a grumpy dinosaur an hour earlier than she likes to normally be woken up.'

He checked his watch again. It was only seven fifteen. He wasn't even that late. He planned on getting here earlier, quarter to at least, knowing that the kids would be struggling at this hour, trying to pack overnight bags and get everything sorted.

'It's going to be great Rhi. I've got it all planned out. Natural history museum. They've got some new exhibits on Paleolithic fossils and the Roman empire. Some of it is stuff that came through the rift we donated. I can't wait to check it out.'

'Ianto...'

'Then we'll stop for lunch, and there's a session on at the planetarium next door about the birth of the cosmos. The kids'll love it. I mean, it's not going to be nearly as good as the real thing, but I keep telling Jack that I'm not letting that Doctor of his take the kids in the TARDIS until they're older. Then, Jack's going to meet us up for dinner.'

'Ianto...'

'I told him that he should probably get some more sleep, knowing how late it's going to be when he finally gets home today, but he says he's not missing out on bowling and laser tag. Plus, we need even numbers for teams. They'll love it.'

'Ianto, would you just shut up for a second? God. Normally I can't get two words out of you.'

'What?'

'I said pick them up at seven. PM! Not bloody AM!'

'Oh.' The reality of the situation hadn't quite dawned on him at that point. 'But I had a table booked for breakfast at Salotti's and everything.'

Rhiannon let out a long groan. 'It's not half obvious you're not a parent,' she said. 'Who in their right minds thinks you can get kids out of bed at six AM on a weekend?'

He tried to remember the exact conversation they'd had. It'd brilliant if you could pick them up at seven. Wasn't that what she'd said? He'd just assumed she meant seven AM. She wanted time with Johnny. Two hours before he put them to bed was hardly worth it. He knew from experience that date nights were always far too short. At least his and Jack's always were. He'd just presumed she meant for him to keep them occupied the whole day.

'Ah, well this is awkward,' he said, unsure what else to say.

'You're an idiot,' she said in reply. 'Only you would think I'm going to get the kids up at the crack of dawn, and try and get them ready. Hard enough to get them up on school days.'

'Rhi, I'm really sorry.'

'Well, you're here now. I hadn't planned on getting anything done today with the pair of them underfoot, but since you're here...'

Ianto gave her a furtive look. What did she have planned up her sleeve? 'I wouldn't mind getting my hair done proper for tonight,' she said.

'I'm not a qualified hairdresser,' he said, and she punched him on the arm.

'Not you, you great lump! But I know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. I can have the kids up and ready in an hour. With some help,' she added looking pointedly at him.

'But,'

'Oh, no. Don't think you're sneaking off and having a day off yourself. You're here now. You can have them. You did just say you had it all planned out already.'

Considering how excited he'd been just ten minutes ago, he was beginning to feel that suddenly he was the one getting the short end of the stick. Next time he was going to make sure he got clearer instructions, otherwise his sister was going to start taking advantage of his trusting nature.