InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "they call me lil speedy!!"

notethestripes (ex_notethest397) wrote in labyrinth_rpg,
@ 2009-03-09 23:37:00

Entry tags:

complete, day two, jack harkness, rose tyler

WHO: Jack Harkness & Rose Tyler
WHEN: Day Two, evening
WHAT: Two very old friends finally run into each other. Unexpectedly.
WHERE: Ren Faire. Why, no, Jack isn't checking out men in tights.
RATING: TBA
STATUS: Complete

Day one was mostly a blur as far as Jack Harkness was concerned. He'd gotten his key and his diary, met an interesting bloke or five and had quickly escaped to the room he was provided. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely nothing familiar. No Hub, no Cardiff, no nothing.

While Jack may have been used to this whole bounding about through the galaxy thing he certainly didn't fancy being plucked from his bed and tossed to universes unknown. Rather rude if you asked him.

Still, after spending the whole of the first day in his room, prodding at his wrist strap and hoping that the King's warning about never leaving was nothing more than an empty threat (because, really, a 'space hopper' should have been enough to get him out of here), Jack knew he had to get out before he drove himself bonkers. The second day brought exploration, still meeting others and trying to make the best of the situation. By mid-evening, Jack found himself at the Ren Faire -- which wasn't a bad place to be as far as Jack was concerned.

Men in tights and women wearing corsets. It was a dream come true.

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plusone
2009-03-09 10:51 pm UTC (link)

The day had been...well, pleasant might've been giving it a bit too much credit. But it hadn't been completely dreadful, either. Tonks had been so kind and friendly that Rose had, reluctantly, taken to her right away. And, with that bit of hope brewing under the surface, Rose allowed herself to get immersed in the atmosphere around her. She had to eat, after all. When strangers noticed you were looking a bit peckish, it was time to try and stay on your feet. And, if she happened to take in the sights and the jousting as well, then so be it.

She chose to carry her food around, rather than settle in one place. Somehow, it felt strange to stay still too long there. As if she'd be caught doing something wrong and punished, despite only minding her own business. But in picking at the food on her plate, she tended to lose herself. And when she glanced up, she felt her stomach turn over.

It was him again. That bloke that looked far too much like Jack. Older, perhaps, around the eyes at least and possibly even better built than Jack had been. He definitely looked the sort that could dance with a girl on an invisible spaceship in the middle of London and sweep her off her feet. But Jack was dead, and damn this man for looking like him. The last thing she needed was reminders of the past; wasn't it enough that if the King was telling the truth, she'd never see her mum or her dad or Tony again? Wasn't it enough that, despite at least a dozen attempts to make it to the right universe at the right time, she kept missing the Doctor? Did she have to be haunted by Jack Harkness, too?

She caught herself staring a moment too long, then cleared her throat. "Sorry," she mumbled, in case she'd been caught. "Sorry, I'll just be moving on, then." Not necessarily to anyone in particular, but the words were spoken out loud just the same. She really did have to stop that.

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-09 11:09 pm UTC (link)

He may not have been happy with his surroundings and being taken so abruptly, but Jack was determined to have a good time. Particularly if there was to be no hope in rescue or escape. Left Jack with one of two alternatives: be stuck and be miserable, or be stuck and try to make a decent go of it. Jack was going to take the latter choice. Besides, with the rate of people arriving, it was fairly likely that he'd manage to find others like himself. He didn't hold out much hope to see certain people, but one never knew.

Jack knew he was desperate when he wouldn't mind seeing John again. Two days away from Cardiff and he was already thinking of the psycho in fond terms. Didn't matter if, in the end, he had helped them -- the man was still psychotic. That bit would never change.

And so, before he got any more maudlin, Jack focused on the Ren Faire, and the beautiful men wandering around. Not all of them were Jack's type (yes, he had a type), but he could browse. At some point, Jack had stopped at a vendor, picking out something to eat. Mutton -- not exactly his first choice for meat, but it would do. He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering why on earth he had worn the coat out in thisweather. Because, Jack knew, the greatcoat was too much a part of who he was and in a strange world? Jack needed all the reminders he could get. Throughout his walk he'd felt someone staring at him. Yet, every time he turned, he couldn't spot who it was.

Odd.

Jack kept trying to watch over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of who was watching him. Or, maybe, they were staring because of the idiot wearing a wool greatcoat in such warm weather. Still, this didn't feel like a mocking glance, rather, it was someone watching him. Jack turned quickly enough this time, spying the woman. Blonde hair. No. No.

Couldn't have been her. Rose Tyler? Here? Jack didn't have that kind of luck. Still, he spoke her name before he could stop himself.

"Rose...?"

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plusone
2009-03-09 11:21 pm UTC (link)

He knew her name? Bugger, she really was off her rocker if she thought Jack Harkness lookalikes were speaking to her. Too much sun that day, perhaps, or maybe the food was too rich. Or...something. Anything.

"Um, yes?" Rose replied, looking warily at the person who'd spoken. If she'd only daydreamed he was talking to her, she was going to feel like a bigger loser than before. Maybe she'd have been better off just taking the meal to her room. It wasn't so bad there. Four walls, a bed. She could do with a bit more sleep. Yes, that had to be it. Sleep was all she needed to get this crazy notion out of her mind.

And yet, she couldn't pull her eyes away. God, he looked just like him, right down to the damnedable dimples. But that was impossible. He'd been exterminated. And as far as she could tell, none of the people around her were dead. That would be more than awkward, wouldn't it?

Then again, it wouldn't be the first time she'd seen the dead come back to life. Damn again. "Can I help you?"

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-10 08:35 am UTC (link)

Rose's reaction to him stopped Jack fast in his tracks. Why on earth was she looking at him as if she'd seen a ghost? That phraseology gave him pause as Jack damn near skidded to stop, looking at her curiously. Was it possible that she didn't know what she had done on Satellite 5? Jack assumed when he was left behind as he was (no, he was never going to let that go), the Doctor had explained things.

What if he hadn't? What if the Doctor had left him there amongst all the Dalek dust, took Rose and the TARDIS, and never said a word. True, the next time he saw the Doctor, it had been Martha he was travelling with, Rose deposited elsewhere.

God, what if she didn't know?

Why hullo, Rose! Remember me? The captain you danced with while the bombs fell on London? Yep, alive and kicking thanks to you and absorbing the Time Vortex.Nope, you didn't know because the Doctor is damned annoying and apparently keeps one too many things to himself.

Yeah, perhaps not the best opening line in the world.

"Well, well, well. Rose Tyler. As I live and breathe." Jack flashed her a grin. "I think you can help me." Jack bit his lower lip, still managing a smile.

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plusone
2009-03-10 09:11 am UTC (link)

Rose blinked. There was really no other reaction she could muster. It had to be him, and yet, alternatively, it couldn't be. Christ, what was this place? Transporting the dead, too?

He knew her name, though. Her full name, and she knew she hadn't dropped that anywhere in this God-forsaken place. It was too much, she rarely let anyone in on her given name as it was. All the universes she'd deposited herself in, through all of them she only let herself be known as Rose, if that. And this bloke? This bloke that looked so much like Jack that it froze her in place, knew it all.

"Can... Can I? How do you-- How can I?" she murmured, stuttering and more quiet than she'd been since she'd arrived. Because really, what was she supposed to do, throw herself at him in a giant hug as she'd rather have liked to? It just couldn't be, things didn't work in her favor that way!

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-10 11:41 am UTC (link)

All Jack could do was watch her stutter and sputter about. Funny how something so simple as that could make him feel completely at home. Yes, this was definitely one Rose Tyler. Jack knew full-well it could have been someone who looked, dressed and acted like her, but there was no mistaking Rose. Never in a million.

Jack frowned slightly, though still managed to keep the look of the flirt. Half pout-half smile, it was a look he'd perfected over the centuries. Jack just watched her for a moment, letting her stutter about until he could get a word in.

"I mean, you are Rose, aren't you?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow in her direction. "Certainly look like her, though I always thought the Union Jack shirt was quite fetching."

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plusone
2009-03-10 12:28 pm UTC (link)

Oh hell, oh hell, oh hell. There was... He had to... Only Jack would've known about that blasted shirt, accidentally worn during the middle of the London Blitz. She was feeling weak-kneed suddenly, and she shook her head desperately. "Not possible," she whispered, then glared. "Who the hell are you? You're not... He's dead and you can't be him so what sort of...of thing are you?"

But the fecking thing had Jack's eyes. And that goofy smile he wore when he thought he was charming the pants off of someone (and usually, he was). And for God's sake, even the freaking eyebrow lift.

Though there was always the chance he was an alien. She knew there were some that could take the shape of others. But why Jack, and how had the only one in the entire galaxy that looked like him happen to find her? "You just...can't be."

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-10 12:47 pm UTC (link)

Jack cocked his head to the side ever so slightly, staring at Rose. So... the Doctor had never told her. She thought he had been Exterminated by the Daleks on Satellite 5. She never, ever knew that he had come back, nor, obviously did she know about his other little talent. This was going to take some explaining. Shame they were amongst a crowd, explanations of Time Vortexes and immortality were likely to turn a few heads.

"I, not he, Rose," Jack said gently. "I was, but not now. As for what I am? Well... that's anyone's guess anymore. I'm not even sure what I am to be completely honest."

Hands tucked in the pockets of his trousers, pushing aside the greatcoat, Jack looked at her with that same eyebrow raise. "And why can't I be?"

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plusone
2009-03-10 12:54 pm UTC (link)

Bugger. "Wait, wait. It's really you? Oh, God..." She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. This was insane. Wonderful, but completely insane. "What the hell do you mean you were but not now? How is that even an option! And you could've told me that, that's just... Oh for Heaven's sake."

And with that, she slapped him gently in the arm. Seconds later, her emotions won over, and Rose snagged him in a tight hug, clinging as if he was the only normal human left on whatever this awful place was. And for all she knew, maybe he was. Dead or not. "You can't be because you were gone and then we were gone and then it's just not possible, alright?"

However, her words were muffled into the fabric of the coat he wore. At the moment, she didn't care one bit about how silly or weak she might look. She just needed to know he was really, truly in front of her. Or, well, smothering her, perhaps.

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-10 08:43 pm UTC (link)

Really, laughing at Rose's reaction was probably the worst thing Jack could have done. But he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips as she talked out the whole thing. And he still cursed the Doctor for not telling her. Loved the man, but still cursed him at the same time.

About to chastise her for smacking him, Jack soon found himself with an arm-full of Rose. Grinning, he wrapped his arms around Rose, and held her close. Seeing someone he knew just made this place so much easier. He had someone he could confide in. This wasn't going to be so bad after all.

After a long moment, Jack took the slightest step back, cupping Rose's face in his hands and smiling down at her. "It's really me. Come on, do you think anyone could possibly duplicate this level of charm?" The corner of his mouth quirked up a bit further. "It is possible. And, actually, I have you to thank for it." Jack paused. "What do you remember of Satellite 5?"

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plusone
2009-03-10 08:58 pm UTC (link)

He had a point there, and Rose had to laugh, though she would be lying if she said there weren't tears in that laugh. It was a relieving feeling, knowing that something there finally made sense. Well, save for him being dead and then him not being dead and apparently her having something to do with it.

"Not much," Rose admitted, closing her eyes for a moment. Mostly to keep from looking into those eyes for too long. It was true, Jack would never lose his charm. And while her heart still resided in one place, she was a huge mess of emotions and that crazy git who'd rescued her from some stupid barrage balloon could still hold her gaze longer than most. "S'all sort of fuzzy, really. I just knew I needed to get back there, but the TARDIS...it was like it was dead without him. And Mickey helped, and Mum... And there was a load of light and then voices and..." She shook her head, clearing it of the buzzing that typically occurred when she tried to remember the events of that day. She knew a lot of it had been wiped from her memory by the Doctor in order to save her from the overwhelming task of holding the heart of the TARDIS in her human mind.

"What's that got to do with the fact that my dead mate is standing in front of me as alive as I am?" she asked, a hint of her old sass returning as she finally dared to look back up at him.

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-10 09:40 pm UTC (link)

If Jack had to wind up god knows where, there certainly were worse people he could have wound up with. Namely that one ex of his... never really learned the true meaning of the words 'it's over'. But Rose? Oh, Rose. Jack could have done far worse. And god was she a comfort to see. A sight for sore eyes and any other clichéd phrase he could possibly think of.

With Rose, the charm just came naturally. Well, charm always came natural to Jack, but with some people it was just easier. There was a part of him that could see what there was between her and the Doctor, though it hadn't stopped him from flirting with her. Hell, there was very little that would keep him from flirting with anything and anything. Still, there was a part of him that would always flirt with her, no matter what. She was Rose. The woman he'd danced with near Big Ben during the London Blitz. You didn't forget something like that.

"I'm not surprised," Jack said, shaking his head ever so slightly. "If it were me, I'd probably have done the same. Though, apparently, a few important salient details didn't make their way to you."

Jack glanced around, deciding that people weren't paying any attention to them. Still, he offered his arm to Rose, wanting to get out of the sunlight and into a far more private place. "Where to, my fair lady?" He asked. "I'll get you there and then we can talk."

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plusone
2009-03-10 10:22 pm UTC (link)

Almost as if it were completely normal for them to be walking around some idiot version of Medieval Banquet surrounded by people from different parts of the universe and creepy goblin things, Rose took Jack's arm, leaning against him in a friendly manner.

"Anywhere you please, Captain," she offered, the first truly happy smile crossing her face in days. Oh, sure, she'd given a tiny smile or two while talking to the girls in the journals, and she'd actually had a good time spending the day with Tonks. But here and now with a genuine friend from her time and her place? It didn't get better than that, did it? "No real specifics, I guess. We can talk wherever, you know. Don't think anything would surprise this lot."

At that point, she didn't even care if him being there was completely impossible. The fact was, he was there. And damn, if she hadn't needed it. If she had to be torn apart from everything she knew twice, at least she had someone on her side.

"Look at you," she commented, glancing him over with a smile. "All dressed up and no place to go. Last time I saw you, you were decked out in leather. Not that I minded," she added a bit sheepishly, before a slight giggle escaped.

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-10 11:12 pm UTC (link)

Grinning, Jack laid his hand over Rose's, turning, greatcoat swirling behind him. He wore the clothes, the clothes didn't wear him. Jack headed in the direction of his rooms, a bounce in his step that hadn't been there before. People around to chat up? Wonderful. Someone he knew? Fucking fantastic.

True, she did have a point that no one would probably care about the specifics he had to tell her. But old habits died hard, and when you spent the majority of your life working for a secret organisation, one didn't often talk about the 'specifics' in front of others. Hell, they never talked in front of others.

"May not surprise, but you know me," Jack said with a wink. "Old military habits die hard."

It felt wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. He may have still been reeling from the deaths of Owen and Tosh, but to regain one who had been l ost to him? It meant the world to Jack. Squeezing her hand ever so slightly, Jack made his way through the city and towards his room.

"All dapper and proper now," Jack said, inclining his head ever so slightly. "The leather tends to chafe after a while. Not that I don't mind it, but when you're running through the streets of Cardiff, running after Weevils and other aliens? With all the fighting, trousers tend to get torn and it gets bloody damned expensive after a while."

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plusone
2009-03-11 09:19 am UTC (link)

Rose groaned at his 'old military habits' comment. Granted, she didn't know his past as well as she probably should have. He didn't talk much about the real him, only the con-man that had occurred afterwards. "Maybe so, hot shot, but I've met witches and warriors and some guy who looks like he spent too long on that program with the tattoos and all. This place is...like nothing I've ever seen." She grinned up at him, then, a mischievous look in her eyes. "And we both know I've seen quite a bit!"

Including him. Alive and well, and...proper. He'd always had a dose of dashing; she'd found him in the bleeding 1940s, after all. But now, looking every bit the captain he claimed to be? Well, it was definitely a sight she hadn't prepared herself for.

But he'd said something that had sparked her interest and she peeked up with a hopeful look. "Weevils? Aliens? What other sorts? And for that matter, what the hell's a Weevil? Like, the lesser of two?" She snickered at her own corny joke and leaned her head carelessly against his shoulder. This was almost too perfect. The earth would be opening up and swallowing her whole or she'd be confronted by Cybermen or something. Any second now, it had to. This almost felt good. And that couldn't happen, not here.

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