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Captain Jack Harkness (foreverjack) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2016-12-20 11:38:00

Entry tags:

ianto jones, jack harkness, jun kanzaki, martha jones, spike, the doctor (ten)

Day 407 / Action / Open and closed
Action – closed to Ianto

He's finishing getting dressed and bending to get his boots out of the wardrobe, when the sight of something at the back of the wardrobe, sitting innocuously right behind his boots where he'd swear it wasn't yesterday, gives him pause. A box. A box he had for decades. A box which couldn't possibly be here if this existence wasn't virtual and/or outside of time.

Hardly breathing, he scoops it up and takes it through to Ianto, who's already in the kitchen, getting coffee.

"Hey. Look what I found!"

Action – open

Jack's gift is a box of photographs of past lives and lovers, incredibly precious since it was blown up along with him and the rest of the Hub over a year ago and (in real life, at least) lost forever.

Find him sifting through the photos, or just gazing fondly at one of them, at various points through the day – at the Defence Force HQ, in a restaurant at lunchtime or dinner time, wandering along with a coffee in his hand etc. etc. etc.

((OOC: NSFW content in the thread with Ianto (surprise surprise)! ))

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	foreverjack 2016-12-22 04:40 am UTC (link)
	"Yeah, seems to be a day for it." After the briefest of moment's consideration, he holds the photo for Spike to see. "Estelle Cole. I fell in love with her during the war, and I loved her right up until she died, in 2006." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-22 08:20 am UTC (link)
	It's little things like this that makes Spike believe that maybe he can trust Jack after all. Sex is one thing and if that was all they had he wouldn't even worry about it, but the relationship behind it needs some work. This is that work. "She's gorgeous." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2016-12-22 11:55 am UTC (link)

Considering how free he is with a lot of personal information, this is actually something he hasn't shared with many at all. But, oddly, even if he wasn't still actively trying to work on his relationship with Spike, Spike is someone he doesn't think he'd mind sharing this with. Spike's surprisingly sensitive underneath it all, and he feels he can trust Spike with this where he wouldn't some others.

"She was," he smiles, still gazing at the photograph. "Even when she got old, there was always such a light in her eyes, a kind of innocence. Never did grow up, really. She grew old, but never grew up."

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-25 08:37 am UTC (link)
	"Those are the best kind of people." Not that he really knows. He hasn't really spent a lot of time with people that can grow old, but keeping a youthful attitude usually indicates an interesting personality at least. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-26 04:42 am UTC (link)
	Well, in a way, perhaps immortality in a never-ageing body does give you something of a perspective on such things. In some ways, it's easy not to grow up too much when you never get old. He gives Spike a rueful smile. "It was what I loved about her. But it was also what got her killed." And he'll never forgive himself for not having been there. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

chipswiththat
2016-12-26 04:57 am UTC (link)

"Most people die sometime. At least she got a long life - that's more than most."

This is something he knows a thing or two about. Funny how being immortal is the one thing that's taught him the most about life and death. You'd think that would fade out when it doesn't concern you, but Spike's possibly even more aware of it now than he ever was when he was alive.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-26 05:09 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, that's something Jack can relate to. Never dying (or staying dead) yourself makes you far more aware of everyone else's mortality. "I know. I just wanted her to die peacefully - happily - in her bed, you know? Not out in the rain in mortal terror." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-26 05:18 am UTC (link)
	"We don't always get what we want." He shifts uncomfortably, despite his best efforts, feeling his own photo weigh heavily in the inside pocket of his coat. It hits a little too close to home, all this. You don't always get what you want. You don't always do what you intend. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-26 05:42 am UTC (link)
	"I know." God, does he know it. He watches Spike fidget and lifts an eyebrow, wondering where it's coming from. "What?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-26 05:46 am UTC (link)
	"What? Nothing." Can he recover if he pats himself down for a cigarette? That's nonchalant, right? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-26 06:38 am UTC (link)
	Really nonchalant, yeah. He knows you, Spike. "Did something happen?" He's not really thinking of Spike having a photo of his own, more that something's happened here in the Dome. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-26 06:53 am UTC (link)
	"No." Oh wait, they're supposed to be open and honest and confide in each other, aren't they? He shifts his weight again, takes a moment to light up. Ugh. "...You're not the only one getting gifts today." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-26 11:18 am UTC (link)
	He waits through it patiently, and is rewarded for his rare moment of patience, which makes it really feel worthwhile! "Ah. Sorry, I didn't realise. Something that made you remember things too?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	gosh, html chipswiththat 2016-12-26 12:23 pm UTC (link)
	Look at them learning and growing as people! Maybe you really can teach an old dog new tricks. Without a word, Spike fetches the photo from inside his coat, handing it over to Jack. It's a studio photo in sepia tones, late 1800s of an older woman. Maybe Jack can see the family resemblance. Spike isn't about to elaborate. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2016-12-26 05:10 pm UTC (link)

Maybe you can. These two certainly seem to be demonstrating it!

He takes the photo and studies it and it's less family resemblence and more the obvious period it was taken and the background knowledge he has (he can't remember if it was Spike who told him directly about having killed his mother, or Ianto indirectly, but he's gleaned it from somewhere) that makes it obvious who this must be.

He lifts a sympathetic gaze to Spike's face. "Your mother?"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-26 06:19 pm UTC (link)
	Who can even tell who said what at this point. Spike has a feeling he could've told Jack at some point and even if he didn't, it's about time that he found out. It's not something he talks about a lot but it's something that still haunts him. He nods tightly, takes another tense drag off the cigarette. Got it in one. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-27 05:11 am UTC (link)
	Jack gives him a rueful smile, offering the photograph back to him. "I'm sorry. Hard to be reminded of that, eh? I mean, some of my relationships have been complicated, but I suspect this one tops them all!" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-27 05:15 am UTC (link)
	He takes it, tucking it back into his pocket with a shrug. "It was great. Didn't end so great, though." What with the turning and having to stake her. Couldn't have ended much worse. "She was my biggest supporter." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-27 05:36 am UTC (link)
	Yeah, bad endings are the worst. All those good memories, and yet it's often only the bad ending you think of. He quirks an eyebrow. "Your biggest supporter?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-27 05:42 am UTC (link)
	"My only supporter." he snorts, self-deprecating. He can't remember if the poetry thing ever came up with Jack, but Ianto knows for sure. Oh yes, he knows. "Ianto never told you about what I did when I was alive?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-27 08:47 am UTC (link)
	"Uh..." He screws up his face as he thinks back, trying to remember. "I'm pretty sure he has, or you have..." And then it comes to him. "Oh! Poetry?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-27 02:03 pm UTC (link)
	He gives a slow nod and a somewhat embarrassed smile at that. Yep. That's exactly it. This is what you're getting into bed with. "A terrible one, at that... but she always encouraged me." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2016-12-28 05:07 am UTC (link)

It doesn't bother him that it's what he's getting into bed with. He's bedded far worse people than a slightly bad poet!

"Of course she did - she was your mother!" It's what mothers do, after all, even if privately they don't think much of it.

He tilts his head. "Was your poetry really so bad? Personally, I'm just impressed you could write it at all! It's not something I'd be able to do!"

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	chipswiththat 2016-12-28 01:16 pm UTC (link)
	"Ask my critics." Oh wait, he killed them all. Imagine that. "And that's bollocks, anyone can write. Unless you're saying you're not in touch with your emotions enough?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	foreverjack 2016-12-29 05:08 am UTC (link)
	Jack just gives him an amused look. "Being in touch with my emotions is not something I'm typically known for!" His body, sure, he knows every tiny reaction to stimulus, but his emotions? Not so much. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)