InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Be."

Rose Tyler Will Defend the Earth (plusone) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-04-21 00:51:00

Entry tags:

complete, day seven, jack harkness, rose tyler

Who: Rose Tyler and Jack Harkness
What: Gossiping like girlfriends do
When: Day 7
Where: Smack in the middle of the amusement park, why not
Rating: Jack's mouth=PG-13
Status: Complete

Rose liked to consider herself a relatively strong woman. She'd been raised by a single mum, fallen on hard times and gotten herself out of them, and then there was her time with the Doctor. Traveling the universe through time and space, and stepping in wherever and however she could. Then there was the traveling through the multiverse. She could've gone all weak and soft after being left on the other side of that wall in Torchwood Towers, but she'd picked up the pieces and began to pull herself together. And before long, she was working to save the world all over again, this time on her own.

But the one thing she couldn't be strong and protect was her heart. And the one man who had it and refused to do anything about that was the Doctor. She'd cared about Mickey. She'd fancied herself in love with Jimmy. There'd been schoolgirl flings and a couple of wild rides along the way. But none of them was met with the intensity her feelings for the Doctor had reached. And, as they'd had their only chance at goodbye on a windy beach in Norway, she'd cried her heart out and told him she loved him. And she would've sworn he was about to say the same when the image faded, the gap between the dimensions closed, and he was gone to her for good. And reliving that via journal was not how she wanted to spend her time in this place. If he wouldn't fess up, he could at least let her live in that merry world where she could pretend she'd never said it. Hell, she'd found four different dimensions in which she hadn't said it, so maybe she could picture them, instead. Right?

Ordinarily, this would be the point where she used to lean on Shareen, or she chatted with her mum over a cup of tea. But neither of them were there and she was pretty sure she couldn't get her mobile to pick up her Mum's phone signal. What she needed instead was a friend. One who understood her. And the one tinkering around in the TARDIS was clearly not the one to help her just then.

When she exited to find an adventure park all around her, her eyes lit up for a brief moment. Should she run back in and tell him? No, she decided. Let him figure it out on his own. Clearly, she'd spelled too much out for him lately. She wound her way through the crowd, picking up a huge bag of popcorn and a draft. It was nothing like the ales back home, but it would do. It and the man in the navy coat sitting off to the side at one of the tables, looking alone. That was a first. Instead of asking to join him, Rose merely plopped down at the bench opposite him and put the popcorn in the middle of the table. "You!" she declared, trying not to smile. "Explain why your gender fails. Is it the future thing? Or hormone related?"

(Read comments) - (Post a new comment)

ex_notethest397
2009-04-27 03:00 pm UTC (link)

Yes, but it was still fun to protest and try to convince others that he was the good and innocent one. The problem was whenever Jack opened his mouth, he removed all doubt.

Sticking out his tongue would have been far too immature for a man of his advanced age -- which is exactly why he did it. Pat his hand in a condescending manner, would she? That also earned Rose a brief one fingered salute before he reached for the popcorn, shoving a hand-full into his mouth. "Your favourite former Time Agent? You know, that only works on little kids calling the only one the favourite. And no pointing out the tongue-sticking as being a sign of immaturity either." Jack sighed, swallowing the last of the popcorn. "He's fine, outside of the fact that the bloke he's supposed to be shagging right now is being a complete twat." And let the mocking begin on that one.

It did fit Rose well. "What, now you're stealingmy own expressions?" Jack teased, returning the kick. So, she'd moved in that long ago? Now he was hurt that he hadn't been offered room as well. But, then again, with Ianto next door bringing him coffee every morning, he didn't know if he'd have taken the room. Still, would have been nice to be offered one. "I thought you already knew!" Jack lied easily. "So, uh, Rose. Guess who I found!"

Yes, Jack Harkness could be a royal ass when he wanted to be.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

plusone
2009-04-27 09:49 pm UTC (link)

His arse-ness earned him yet another kick, but this one was even more light and might have been mistaken as a prelude to a game of footsie if one chose to take it that way. However, Rose was beaming. Gossip! There it was. She knew he wouldn't be able to keep it in for long.

Leaning forward just as she used to during girls' nights with Shareen and Keisha, she dropped her head into her hands and fixed Jack with 'the look'. "Which bloke? Who is this? What do you mean he's being a twat? You can't start a conversation like that and not fill in the gaps, Jack Harkness, it's just not done!"

That and it got her mind off of her own...issue, so to speak. As grateful as she was to have that room in the TARDIS and as happy as she was that the ship had accepted her back so gracefully, it still felt strange. It was no fault of the Doctor's, Rose knew. But he could be so completely clueless sometimes and while it had never really bothered her before, the least he could do was admit that the feelings she'd spilled carelessly to him weren't returned.

Git, indeed. "So tell me more," Rose added, in a voice reminiscent of the Pink Ladies of Grease. "Who is he? Is he here? Did you know him already?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_notethest397
2009-04-27 11:18 pm UTC (link)

If it had been anyone else, Jack may have called it a game of footsie. But, in the end, it was Rose -- and while he may have entertained more than a few thoughts of pursuing things, for one reason or another, he never had. Jack wasn't sure why, but it was a boundary he never crossed -- fancying her was one thing, acting on it was another entirely.

Jack sighed, knowing that his one innocuous comment about a certain bloke being a twat was going to pique Rose's interest. And yet he had said it anyway, damning himself to explaining the situation and the accompanying mocking. "Of course I can start it and leave things out," Jack replied, reaching across the table to tap Rose lightly on the nose. "You know what they say about curiosity. And you, Rose Tyler, are about the most inquisitive woman I've met. And that's saying something."

Oh she was hiding something, Jack knew -- and he'd get it out of her later. He had ways. "Yes, I knew him before. He's one of Torchwood's operatives. Torchwood Three," Jack added quickly, knowing what the Doctor thought of Torchwood. "My Torchwood," He said, a hint of pride entering his voice.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

plusone
2009-04-27 11:37 pm UTC (link)

The Doctor may have hated Torchwood and what they'd stood for in her old London, but to Rose, it was home now. She didn't really have much of a choice, honestly. She loved it, still being involved in everything that she'd once fought for. And, between her and Mickey, they'd definitely brought something new to the team.

"Is that the one who's... You know, who was there?" she asked, remembering something he'd mentioned about working with one of the survivors of Canary Wharf. They hadn't talked about his team much, which was a bit of a shame. Rose wanted to know more. He was right when he called her inquisitive. It was something she hadn't stopped even in this new place, asking questions around every corner, determined to find out anything she could. "I mean, you don't have to say," she added a beat later, realizing there was a fine line between curious and just plain nosy.

But then, they were friends, and friends were going to ask questions that affected their friends lives. And shagging that was no longer shagging? Definitely counted. "So wait, you knew him then and yet you're not shagging anymore? Why is he twat-like, hmm?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_notethest397
2009-04-28 12:11 am UTC (link)

Jack still wasn't at the point of thinking of Rose as a Torchwood operative. She would, forever in his mind, be the Doctor's companion. Just as Jack would always count himself among those ranks. Torchwood would always come after the Doctor and his needs because the Doctor left some strange tint on those who travelled with him.

"I..." Jack bit his lower lip and nodded ever so slightly. "Yes, he was one of the few who survived the battle. I honestly don't know how he did and it's nothing I've ever asked him about either." Jack drew in a breath before finally offering information. "His name's Ianto Jones." The problem wasn't Rose's inquisitiveness, it was Jack's reluctance to talk about anything in regards to his life. "I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what's going on if you'll tell me why my entire gender sucks."

Jack sighed, picking up a piece of popcorn and tore it apart with his fingers, tossing the tiny pieces into his mouth. "Yes, I knew him and was shagging him. But, apparently we've managed to show up from two completely different time periods. In his, we haven't." And therein was the rub.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

plusone
2009-04-28 12:30 am UTC (link)

Rose stilled slightly when he admitted that this Ianto was one of the survivors of the worst day of her life. In some ways, it made her hate him; no, it wasn't his fault, but he'd stayed and lived his life and hers had been ripped apart. But then again, it made her want to meet him more. The people who'd survived were heroes in her eyes.

Her hand reached out, however, taking his in hers. Not in the condescending way, either. Rather, in the way of someone who knew he obviously needed a friend just then. "Plenty of people survived," she reminded him. "Just...not easily."

At his admission that in Ianto's time period the shagging hadn't occurred, Rose's eyes lit up a bit, though she still held Jack's hand tightly in her own. "What's the worry? Obviously he wants to at some point or you wouldn't have been in your time. So... You know, start from scratch."

She didn't want to get in to why his gender failed, least not yet. There was still so much thinking to do. Confront him or not? Ugh, why did that man have to be so difficult? And why, if he was so difficult, did she still love him so much?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_notethest397
2009-04-28 01:01 am UTC (link)

There was a lot that had happened that day and there was a large, vindictive part of Jack that wasn't sorry Canary Wharf had happened. For him, it had wiped out the largest branch of Torchwood -- the ones who were dead set on capturing the Doctor. There had been no love lost between Torchwood London and Torchwood Three once Jack had taken over in 2000. He would never subscribe to what they stood for, not when he cared so deeply for the Doctor.

Jack looked at the hand laced with his own and lightly squeezed their hands together. The comfort meant more to him than he could possibly say. "Oh, I know that. Like with any war and any battle, there are the survivors and the ones taken. It's those left behind that have the hardest time." And Jack knew all too well the scars the Battle of Canary Wharf had left on Ianto.

"It's the fact that, as far as I'm concerned, we've gone through this. That and he does these damned infuriating things like kissing and then walking away." Like he h ad a few days ago. And, outside of coffee in the morning, Jack hadn't seen him since.

Narrowing his eyes ever so slightly, Jack drummed the fingers of his free hand on the table. "Well? Your turn. Why does my gender suck so much?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

plusone
2009-04-28 01:10 am UTC (link)

Rose had to giggle. He really was impossible, wasn't he? "Yes, well, that happens sometimes, Jack," she reminded him, grinning widely. "When you're not in an...intimate relationship with someone, you kiss and sometimes you kiss more and then...that's it. Not everyone just jumps into bed, I don't care what they were doing on... What was that planet? Rosalfellas? Rosen... Aw, hell, you know, the one with the randy people." Yes, Jack had fit right in. She loved that about him, though she occasionally had wondered why, despite their joking, she'd never been on the receiving end.

Which brought her around to his question. "I... Okay, so, there's this bloke, right? And let's just assume I've fancied him for...a long time. Yeah. And let's say I finally got it together to tell him that but it was at an..." Oh, how to phrase that one? "An inopportune time, we'll say. And let's just say that later, it all kinda came back to slap me upside my idiot head."

She was rambling again. Damn. Pulling her hand away from his, she picked up a piece of popcorn and played with it, batting it between her hands on the table. "Anyway. He's just a confusing sort, is all." Rose sighed, twirling the popcorn piece, then glanced back up at Jack. Of course he'd figure out who she was talking about. He already knew the Doctor was around, and her affections for the man had never been very well hidden.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

ex_notethest397
2009-04-30 01:44 am UTC (link)

Didn't Rose remember that 'Impossible' was Jack's middle name? Well, that and 'sexy' but he figured that one went without saying. "But that's the point, Miss Tyler," Jack said, interrupting her with a wave of his hand. "We are in an intimate relationship. Though he seems convinced that we aren't. And therein lay the problem." Two different times and a man who kissed him like he was wanting to strip all of Jack's clothing off and yet wanted to be wooed. In other words, Ianto wanted to have his cake and eat it too. "I know exactly where. Damn I've always wanted to go back and spend a good month there."

Jack sighed and it was clear his mind was no longer at the amusement park and with Rose. He'd had almost as much fun there as with those executioners of his, but that could have been the hypervodka talking.

"Rose? First of all, I'm far from thick. Unlike a man we both have travelled with." In other words, Jack knew exactly who she was speaking of. "That's the hard part about my gender, we are idiots half the time. You'd think I'd understand my own gender but I don't. Not even after all of these years." Jack stood and moved to the bench Rose was sitting on, slipping an arm around her shoulders and gathered her in close. "Sometimes you just have to act. Go for it. Worst case is you'll get a punch to the jaw." Jack paused and grinned. "Well, you wouldn't. Men tend to treat women a bit better and being kissed by a woman isn't as disconcerting for a bloke."

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(Read comments) -