Ficlet: Confusing Conversations
Title: Confusing Conversations
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, Tosh
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Tired after a late night mission, Ianto seems to be not quite himself.
Word Count: 473
Written For: My own prompt ‘Torchwood, Jack/Ianto, confusion,’ at
fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
“Oh, my poor legs!” Ianto groaned as he hobbled into the Hub, Jack trailing a little way behind him. “All that walking’s really made them ache. I’m going to show them to Tosh.”
“Okay,” Jack replied, distractedly then frowned. “Wait a minute, why do you want to show Tosh your legs?”
Ianto paused and stared at Jack. “What? I don’t! I want to show her the readings we collected.” He shook his head. “Pay attention, Jack!”
“I thought I was,” Jack muttered, mostly to himself because Ianto was already hobbling towards Tosh’s workstation on his sore legs.
Tosh looked up as Ianto approached. “How did it go?”
“Okay, I guess. I’m worn out though, I swear we walked for about ten miles, but we didn’t see much. There were sheep everywhere, so I took readings; see what you can make of them. I’m starving, I think I need a shower, I’d better make sure there’s enough coffee.” He dumped the SUV’s SatNav on Tosh’s desk and hobbled away towards the kitchen, leaving a baffled Tosh staring after him in confusion.
“Everything alright, Tosh?” Jack asked, leaning against her desk and deftly swapping Ianto’s PDA for the SatNav.
“I have no idea. Ianto told me he took readings of sheep, gave me the SatNav, then went to make coffee so he could have a shower?”
“He’s a little overtired,” Jack explained. “It makes him liable to switch subjects in mid-sentence without noticing. It’s confusing for the rest of us, but harmless. He took readings of the anomalous energy signatures you picked up; they probably don’t have anything to do with the sheep, but you never know in this business. They should be on his PDA. As for the coffee, I think he’s making that for the rest of us before showering. If it’s any consolation, he told me his legs hurt and he was going to show them to you.”
Tosh giggled. “Does he get like this often?”
“No, not really, but a ten mile hike at night after a long day at work is enough to make even me tired. I think I’d better join him in the shower to make sure he remembers to take his clothes off first. If you want coffee though, you’ll have to go to the coffee shop across the Plas.” Ianto had set up the coffee machine, but it was still unplugged and he was nowhere in sight. “Good luck with those readings! Let me know if there’s a problem with the sheep!” Jack grinned at Tosh and scurried towards the stairs down to the showers.
A hot shower, food, and a good night’s sleep, and Ianto would be back to his normal, organised self by morning. As much as Jack admired Ianto’s usual competence, he had to admit that he found tired, muddled Ianto completely adorable.
The End