InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "You're a new Faerie aren't you"

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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ex_notethest397
2009-03-15 11:57 am UTC (link)

Of that, Jack had no doubt. He was the dashing hero and dashing heroes always had the best dance moves, didn't they? Jack arched a brow in Rose's direction about the Versailles comment. "Somehow managed to never hop back to that era," Jack mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "So, on that, I'll take your word for it. Though, I'd prefer to be stuck in the medieval period than anything the French have to offer. Powdered wigs do absolutely nothing for my complexion."

It was only at the expression on Rose's face that Jack realised he had said something he oughtn't have said. "I saw him... about a year ago," Jack said. "He and Martha had stopped in Cardiff to refuel and I," stupidly Jack added silently in the breath pause he inserted, "left my team to go with him." Jack shook his head ever so slightly. "Even before, though, he knew I had survived and still left with you." Bitter? Jack? Never. "I was helping him close couplings in a room filled with radiation. The sort of room no one could go in and survive. Something right down my alley."

Closing his eyes, Jack leaned his head back against the chair cushion, getting lost in the memory for a moment. "The end of the Universe. And he said he knew I had survived, had been brought back to life, and yet still left me on that fucking satellite. Alone amongst the Dalek dust."

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plusone
2009-03-15 01:08 pm UTC (link)

Rose's mind was reeling. It was a lot to take in anyway, the events of Satellite 5 being far beyond what she'd thought. But everything else he'd just revealed, probably without meaning to.

She wasn't stupid. She knew life had gone on without her in the universe she'd lived in for the first twenty-one years of her life. But hearing about it made it all that much more real. The Doctor had been around over nine hundred years, who was she to think one single, solitary human was going to change his life entirely? God, she was blind, thinking it would've mattered. Of course he'd moved on. Martha? Who was she supposed to be? Had he blown up her job as well? Where'd he pick her up? Did he care about this Martha in the way Rose had thought he cared about her?

And, if all of that was true, why did she still have that need to see him? For the same reason Jack had up and left his team to go with him, she knew. For the faults he did have, the Doctor was an entrancing sort one didn't easily forget.

Oh, Jack. Her sweet, brave, impossible not to love Jack. Rose shook her head with a tired smile, looking him over in a way she never had before. The bravery he had to have had to not only have gone down fighting once, but apparently time and time again. "How'd you manage?" she asked quietly, slowly coming to terms with everything she'd learned in such a short amount of time. "How did you even get out of there? And what've you been doing since? A team? One that actually follows you?" From con-man to leader. Now that was the man she knew.

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-17 08:12 am UTC (link)

It was a lot to take in and in such a very short amount of time. Perhaps Jack should h ave eased her into this a bit slower, rather than throw everything at her all at once. But that? That wouldn't have been Jack's style. Besides, with everything they'd been through, Jack would have been fairly disappointed if she couldn't handle all this.

In the silence that stretched between them, Jack tried to read Rose's facial expressions,tried to figure out just what was running through her mind. Had he inadvertently said a very very wrong thing? He supposed it was possible, but there was no way of knowing just what had been so wrong. Jack folded his hands in his lap, trying to look impassive, but knowing full well that a look of concern edged his features. There were very few people who Jack would allowto see his proverbial 'vulnerable side' (and that didn't count the times when something would happen at Torchwood that he couldn't fix).

But it was true. The Doctor was one no one easily forgot. The Doctor was the reason that after a hundred years of field work, he took Torchwood from Alex and had finally gave the organisation purpose. Had rebuilt it following the ideals of the Doctor. The con-man, learning to study first, shoot later.

The look on Rose's face almost confused Jack, his brow furrowing ever so slightly when the question was asked. "At first, I didn't believe it. I got into a brawl on Elis Island and was shot. I woke up the next day. Took more than a few deaths afterwards to realise I couldn't die." A far-away look came over Jack, Jack no longer looking at Rose, but out the window, remembering. "I made one final jump. It's why the wrist strap is now useless. I jumped and managed to the land in the late 1800s. And just... lived all the way through. World War One, World War Two -- serving once more and was, on more than one occasion, the only man to survive."

Shaking himself as if to rid the memory from his mind momentarily, Jack looked back and flashed her a grin. "You'll never believe it when I tell you," He said, a hint of pride in his voice. "Torchwood. And yes, they follow me. Have been since 2000."

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plusone
2009-03-17 10:15 am UTC (link)

Well, if anything was going to make Rose sit at attention, that would. "Torchwood? You? A leader? You're kidding me!" She wore a skeptical expression, but she couldn't hide the smile in it. Slowly, the skepticism melted and only her beaming smile remained. How could she not? He'd come so far and done so much. Somehow, it made being dragged here almost worth it, knowing he was alive and still living through exciting adventures. And for him, not exactly life-threatening.

"Suppose you know--actually, best not to assume anymore with him, isn't it?" she asked with a wry laugh. "Seems we have a bit in common; I'm working Torchwood, too. Not heading my own team or anything--well, sort of. Independent project." An independent project to find him and warn him what was coming. But really, who'd believe that bit? "I can't believe it. I thought Torchwood would've shut down after... Well. Canary Wharf and all."

That was something she didn't particularly want to remember. She'd promised to stay with him till the end, and she would have, if it hadn't been for that one moment. While she was thankful to her dad, she couldn't help wishing it'd gone differently. "Huh. You, running your own Torchwood. Impressive, Captain, I'll grant you that. Then again, how many wars have you served in? It's about time you had some power, isn't it?" Rose leaned back, a casually smug look on her face. In some ways, this was the hardest night she'd ever lived through. But when she thought about it, it was also pretty wonderful. At least she had someone on this wretched planet, whatever exactly it was.

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ex_notethest397
2009-03-24 09:21 am UTC (link)

Jack spread his hands wide, grinning at Rose. "Nope, not kidding one whit. The lot forced me to work for them for a good hundred years. They thought I was a bit too, shall we say, unpredictable to stay rogue. Eventually? Made leader." Jack simply glossed over the how part. No need to go into Alex's death, now was there? The fact that he was leader should have been enough.

The laugh almost obscured the main point of Rose's statement and Jack's head snapped sharply towards her when he finally heard it. "You? Working for Torchwood?" Jack asked, eyebrows lifting as high as they would possibly go, practically reaching his hairline. "Well I'll be damned. How did they manage to get their hooks into you?" Jack shook his head ever so slightly. "All that was affected by Canary Wharf was Torchwood London. One of my officers now is one of the few survivors, actually. But Torchwood 3, my Torchwood, had split with London years before the battle. We were unaffected, for the most part."

Softly, Jack tutted, rising from his chair and crossing the room, perching on the armrest of Rose's, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "How many wars? I've lost count," Jack said softly, that rare haunted look entering his gaze. "Suppose it is about time. Just..." Jack sighed softly, turning his head to lightly kiss Rose's temple. "I may lead my men into battle, but it kills a leader to be the only man who returns. Always will return."

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