Title: Good For the Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Ianto Jones/Tenth Doctor
Fandom: Torchwood/Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: 25fluffyfics
Prompt: 3, Sport
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own Ianto Jones or the Tenth Doctor. Please do not sue.

***

Ianto frowned as he flipped through the channels on his television, finally clicking the remote to turn it off and leaning back on the couch. "There's nothing on but sports," he complained, looking over at the Doctor. "They bore me."

The Doctor raised his brows in question, a small smile quirking his lips. "Ianto, I thought all men were supposed to love sports! 'The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat,' that sort of thing. What man doesn't enjoy watching people exert themselves physically?"

"This man," Ianto grumbled, shaking his head. "I've never liked watching sports. I used to go to ball games when I was younger, but I can't say I really enjoyed them. I like playing sometimes, but just watching? That's boring."

"I think most humans would call you strange, love." The Doctor couldn't help chuckling at Ianto's tone. "Men are expected to like sports. It's in their blood."

"Then I must have alien blood in me," Ianto told him, finally smiling a bit. It was impossible to resist the gentle teasing tone of the Doctor's voice; there was something about the way he sounded when he talked like this that could always lift Ianto's spirits.

"What about you?" he asked, turning towards the other man with a look of curiosity on his face. "Did you like sports when you were growing up on Gallifrey? Or is your race too involved in pursuits of the mind to be concerned about being physical?"

"Oh, Gallifreyans had sport," the Doctor said, his voice going soft, as though he was reminiscing. "But you're right -- my race was more concerned with matters of the mind than of the body. Though we certainly didn't let our bodies go -- we knew the importance of keeping fit."

"You're proof of that," Ianto murmured, letting his eyes roam appreciatively over the Doctor's thin body. He loved seeing the Time Lord in jeans and a t-shirt; there was something about the way he wore those clothes that made Ianto want to strip them off.

"I've had different bodies, you know," the Doctor told him, seeming to pull himself away from thoughts of the past with an effort. "You've seen pictures of how I used to look, Ianto. So you know that this body is the most attractive one I've had."

"And I plan on you keeping this one for a long, long time to come," Ianto told him, sliding across the couch to the Doctor and wrapping his arms around the other man's waist.

Ianto was gratified when the Doctor turned to him and slid those thin arms around his waist; he loved being with the Time Lord like this, feeling closer t him than he ever had to anyone else. It was always good to feel needed, he thought as he stroked the Doctor's hair.

"If you don't want to talk about Gallifrey, then you don't have to," he murmured, placing a gentle kiss on the top of the other man's head. "I know there are memories that you'd rather not think about, Doctor. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

The Doctor sighed and rested his head against Ianto's shoulder, his arms tightening around his lover's waist. "It's not that I don't want to remember Gallifrey, Ianto. I want to keep those memories, but sometimes it hurts to know that I'll never see my home again."

Ianto couldn't even begin to imagine that; he knew that he wouldn't always have this flat, that he and the Doctor would eventually spend all of their time on the Tardis, and that the ship would be his home. But he couldn't imagine Earth not being here.

What was it like to lose not only the home you were used to, the house you lived in -- but an entire planet and a race of people as well? He couldn't fathom how that must feel for the Doctor, being the only one left of an entire race.

But the Doctor had him, Ianto told himself, tightening his arms around the other man. And he wasn't going to leave -- he was mated with the Doctor for life.

"You have a home here. And one on the Tardis," he said, knowing in his heart that it wasn't the same. The Doctor might have other places that he would be welcome, but Gallifrey would always be his home. The fact that it didn't exist any more didn't change that.

He didn't want the Time Lord to talk about anything that would upset him. He'd seen that happen too often in the past -- and he'd been the instigator of that too much of the time. He was too good at putting his foot into his mouth -- sometimes his entire leg.

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," he said hastily, wishing that he hadn't brought the subject up. How had they begun talking about Gallifrey, anyway? Oh yes -- his silly question about sports. He should have known better.

The Doctor shook his head, sighing as he did so. "It's all right, Ianto. I can't avoid talking about my home planet forever -- and I have to face up to the fact that it's gone. There are some memories that are painful, but I wouldn't want to forget them completely."

"I can understand that," Ianto murmured, feeling still more guilty. The last thing he wanted to do was caus the man he loved any sort of pain, however unintentional.

"Gallifrey was .... a beautiful place," the Doctor whispered, raising a hand to wipe at his eyes, though Ianto hadn't seen any tears there. "But it's gone now, and I have to keep it alive in my memory and in my hearts. So talking about it can be a good thing."

"I wish that I could give it back to you," Ianto said softly, tilting the Doctor's face up to his so that he could look into the Time Lord's eyes. "But I can't, Doctor. All I can do is listen to you speak of it -- and wish that I had been able to see it in all its glory."

"I wouldn't call it 'glory,'" the Doctor said, smiling ruefully. "It wasn't some sort of enchanted place, Ianto. It was just .... my home. So many of the memories I have of it are good ones, but there were bad things about it, too. No place is perfect."

"Just think, all of this reminiscing came about because of sports on tv," Ianto said, waving a hand at the television and trying to change the subject. Things were becoming a bit too heavy for his liking; he wanted to see the Doctor smile again.

The Doctor did smile at his words, lifting his head from Ianto's shoulder and loosening his grip around the young man's waist. "It's strange how our conversations can ramble, isn't it? I wouldn't have thought that subject could lead us to a discussion of Gallifrey."

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Ianto said softly. "I didn't mean to upset you, or to make you feel badly. I suppose that I'm just curious about your world because I wish I'd have been able to see it."

"I wish you had, too," the Doctor told him, his voice going soft and husky on the words. "I wish you had been a part of it, Ianto. You would have loved it .... but that world is gone now. We have this world -- the one that we share. And it's not a bad one."

"No, not at all," Ianto agreed, tightening his arms around the Doctor's waist and pulling him closer. "What do you say to getting a bit of physical exercise -- in the bedroom?" he murmured into the other man's ear, a teasing tone in his voice.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," the Doctor answered, a smile curving his lips. "I'm surprised neither one of us thought of that sooner, considering the subject that started all of this. Making love is supposed to be good for the heart, you know."

"I think we should put that theory to the test," Ianto said, laughing as he bent his head to kiss the Doctor, his hands moving down the other man's body. "That's about as close to sports as I want to get -- it's much more interesting than tossing a ball around."

"Oh, I have no argument with that," the Doctor murmured as his lover's mouth came down on his again. Ianto couldn't wait to get to the bedroom; he had a feeling they'd be getting more than their share of exercise there for the rest of the day.

***