m_findlow

Title: Losing yourself
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Jack
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 500 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for Challenge 590 - Athletic at slashthedrabble
Summary: Jack's heart is breaking a little more each day.

Jack could help but watch in with bemused curiosity as Ianto sat bent over on the sofa, tying up the shoelaces of what looked to be some very new and very expensive running shoes. In fact, his whole attire was decidedly sporty. He didn't think he'd ever seen Ianto wearing shorts, and they only seemed to accentuate the long legs that trailed down into short white socks. For the moment he had a thin jacket on, zipped up to the neck, but underneath it was surely a t-shirt of some kind, which was almost as rare as shorts.

‘What's with the gym get-up?’ Jack asked.

Ianto pulled the bow on his shoelace tight and raised his eyes to meet Jack's. ‘Thought I'd go for a run this morning.’

‘A run?’ Jack couldn't have sounded more skeptic about the idea if he'd tried.

‘Well, a light jog to start with, anyway,’ Ianto admitted, fingering the knee joint which had suffered the brunt of his injuries from the warehouse explosion. For Jack, it was just nice to see him not attached to that awful metal brace thing, holding his leg together for him, not the crutches and cane that had followed it. Even the limping was almost gone, thankfully, after so many months of physical therapy. ‘I figure I need to get back into some kind of shape after so many months of inactivity. Running seems like a good way to start.’

‘Running?’ Jack repeated. ‘Since when do you run? I mean, apart from away from life threatening danger, and even then not very often.’

There was a frown growing on Ianto's face. ‘I don't run?’ He looked a little confused by the revelation. ‘I woke up yesterday and it felt like the right thing to do. Like I'd always done it. I guess maybe that would explain why I couldn't find any running gear in my wardrobe and had to buy this stuff yesterday.’ He shrugged. ‘Oh, well. Now is as good a time as any to start. It'll be a good habit.’ He looked at Jack again. ‘You could come along with me if you like. Maybe not today, since you're not really dressed for it, but tomorrow?’

Jack tried to hold a nonchalant expression in place, wondering how well he was succeeding at it. ‘I'll pass for now.’

‘Suit yourself. See you in an hour. And I promise I won't push myself too hard. Rhiannon would have my guts.’

Once Ianto was gone, Jack let his stoic mask drop and rubbed a hand over his face. This amnesia thing with Ianto was killing him a little each day. How much of the man he'd known was lost forever, and how much more of it was being overwritten with these new memories and new habits? All Jack wanted was to have his old Ianto back again - the one that loved coffee, was fastidious about everything, who did not go for morning runs, and most importantly, who loved Jack in return.