Tweak

InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Are we there yet?"

Captain Jack Harkness (foreverjack) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2017-05-06 17:07:00

Entry tags:

aidan reilly, ianto jones, jack harkness, jezebel mephistopheles, jim kirk, kanji tatsumi

Day 426 / Video and action / Open (backdated to morning)
Video
[Jack comes on the screen in front of the store previously known as the Plush Rump and now proudly sporting a brand new sign stating Captain Jack's Exotic Emporium.]

So. I took this place over a while ago and I was intending to have a great big grand opening day, but what with one bit of drama and another I haven't got as far with the renovations as I'd like to.

So instead I'd like to invite you to come and help me do the place up! I've found some paint and fabrics and things, but a little extra manpower wouldn't hurt, and I could use some people to help set out the stock as well. Any helpers grateful received!

Action
He'll be at the store all day, working on getting it set up.

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readystopwatch
2017-05-07 04:47 pm UTC (link)

"I lied before. About my father." He clarifies with a gentle smile. "It's hardly important, but it seemed silly to keep pretending." And it really doesn't feel important, not the way it once did. Maybe their is something to this talking idea after all.

"I assure you my intentions are entirely innocent." He replies primly, already searching for a pen and paper to start an inventory. And for the record, his intentions are the opposite of innocent.

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	foreverjack 2017-05-07 08:23 pm UTC (link)
	He can probably find a pen and paper somewhere amidst the boxes of merchandise and materials. But his elaboration about the lie has caught Jack's attention now and so this time he follows it up. "So why did you lie? Were you embarrassed or something?" Not anxious or accusing, just genuinely curious. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

readystopwatch
2017-05-07 08:47 pm UTC (link)

He tracks one down and begins making notes and reorganizing items as he speaks, privately thinking that being so easily distracted is perhaps why Jack has gotten so little done here.

"Not exactly. I never got on with most of my family, particularly my father. I wouldn't say I'm embarrassed of where I'm from but I didn't want it to be a part of my life anymore. I still don't." Even if his life currently consists of alphabetizing and organizing boxes of dildos.

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foreverjack
2017-05-08 09:11 am UTC (link)

He might have hit the nail on the head there...

He listens to what Ianto's saying, and what he's not saying, and nods slowly. "Okay. You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

He starts back towards his ladder. "I've really got to get the rest of this wall painted, so we can start putting things against it. Perhaps while you're inventory-ing you could separate out any items you think might be particularly interesting to display prominently?"

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readystopwatch
2017-05-08 01:28 pm UTC (link)

"If I'm honest there's not much to tell." Or maybe there's too much. What's more important is that he's left it behind. Just knowing that makes it all seem less important. "It was the bit about lying to you that was bothering me more than anything else."

He continues to organize and sort as he talks, occasionally pulling out a particularly dramatic item and setting it aside for display. "I see you went with the Captian Jack name. I approve. It does have a good ring to it."

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foreverjack
2017-05-10 07:09 am UTC (link)

He nods. He's grateful for the gesture of being told the truth now, in the spirit of their new efforts at really communicating with each other, but he doesn't want to make a big deal of it, so he focuses on the other side of the conversation for now, and grins.

"What, cheesy and over the top?" He laughs. "Yeah, it felt appropriate. And Mary made me a fantastic sign for it, too!"

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	readystopwatch 2017-05-10 11:12 am UTC (link)
	Ianto glances up from his notes - he's really going to have to come in regularly for inventory here, isn't he? - at the revelation of who supplied the sign. "So you used your first request as a free man for that sign?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

foreverjack
2017-05-12 07:12 am UTC (link)

He thinks about it for a moment and then laughs. "I guess I did! Though changing the name was something I'd been intending to do since our chat the other night, so I would have asked even it meant sucking up to the AIs. More fun sucking up to Mary, though!"

He glances over at Ianto. "People are going to need this sort of stuff more than ever now, though. After all, no more restrictions on sex now."

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readystopwatch
2017-05-12 02:07 pm UTC (link)

Ah, there it is, the elephant in the room. He was about to bring it up himself anyway. It feels like such a difficult topic to discuss because of the games their old captors played with their minds so recently. But in a way that also feels like it was for the best. Knowing the worst case scenario makes it feel like they really can find a way to make this work.

So he's serious but it harsh as he looks up from his notes. "Jack, I want you to know that what happened in the future was what they made happen, and the way I reacted was because I couldn't separate myself from the feelings they gave me once we got back. I'm not saying you should immediately go out and seduce half the dome, but I do understand what you were saying. What we have is about emotional connection, and as long as anything else you do is about sexual satisfaction rather than that then I'm alright with it, I really am."

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foreverjack
2017-05-12 04:44 pm UTC (link)

It's a scary topic to broach directly, which is why he hasn't yet. He's grateful to Ianto for doing it, and doing it so generously. He carries on painting while Ianto's talking, but it's very much automatically. All his attention is on Ianto.

And when Ianto finishes speaking, he's still for a moment, paintbrush still in his hand. Then he turns towards him, an unusually open expression on his face.

"Thank you," he says, and it really does feel like a massive weight off his mind. "That's good to hear. I mean, it's not even an issue at the moment, really, because most of the people I might have wanted to shag have gone anyway." A rather bitter twist of his lips at that, that Kitty should disappear just moments before the rules changed completely. "And even if they hadn't, I don't want to..." He pauses, unsure quite how to say it. "I don't need anyone else just now. It's more, in the long term, you know? If we do end up stuck here for all eternity."

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readystopwatch
2017-05-12 07:46 pm UTC (link)

They're all still stinging from Kitty's loss but that won't last forever and he knows there are other people here who have caught Jack's eye from time to time. Kirk certainly comes to mind. Maybe what happened in that fake future was a good thing right now. He doesn't know if he'd be able to talk honestly about this otherwise.

"I understand. I did listen to what you were saying during our fight, even if I didn't want to hear it at the time." The smallest smile to make it clear he's not bringing up the fight to make it awkward. "I know the idea of being with the same person forever isn't you and I want to worknto understand that. I think we need to be careful though, and you need to know when you're not here I'll be with Spike. That made us much closer last time until we started excluding you and I think we all need to work to balance things out and avoid that this time."

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foreverjack
2017-05-12 09:02 pm UTC (link)

Yes, Kirk is probably the top probability if he were to hook up with anyone else, though there are others like Wade and Martha, the other people he turned to for variety during those long years in the fictional future. Even if it was fictional, the AIs had probably got the right bunch of people.

Ianto's admission that he did listen even if he appeared not to be is a huge relief as well, and means a hell of a lot. He sets his paintbrush down carefully and then comes down the ladder so he can sit on one of the lower rungs, giving Ianto his full attention.

"It's not even about not wanting to be with you forever," he says, because this is the one part of it that they still don't seem to be communicating properly. It's the part he felt Ianto didn't understand in their argument in that future, and it still seems like they're on different pages.

"I do want to be with you. Okay, possibly not forever, because I daren't even look that far ahead, but when I do look ahead, I can't imagine not being with you. I don't want to not be with you. So it's not about not wanting to be with the same person, it's about not wanting to be with just that person. Not wanting to limit the possibilities. Not wanting to commit to forever, with just you."

He laughs, rather uneasily. "Which is an odd thing to say when there's Spike as well, but I think we all know I don't feel the same way about him as I do about you. But... god, does this make any sense? I just... I'm not about to go off shagging anyone and everyone, because I know it's important to you that I don't and honestly, apart from perhaps Kirk, there's not a massive amount of longing anywhere anyway. It's just that if something does happen, if I feel that connection and want to take it further, or I have a scratch I need to itch that neither of you can take care of, I want to be able to do that - hopefully being able to give you advance notice - without losing you altogether."

He looks at Ianto hopefully.

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readystopwatch
2017-05-13 01:50 am UTC (link)

Ianto has given up pretending to pay any attention to his list as well. His focus is entirely on Jack and how important this conversation is. He isn't foolish enough to pretend this will be their last discussion on the matter or that they won't have to cover more ground as things change but it feels important to lay out the framework for this now, especially with their recent fight hanging over their head.

"I think I understand, or at the very least I want to work to understand it." And he certainly can. He was the one who started this thing with Spike after all. In that artificial future that made him feel like he owed it to Jack to let him do whatever he wanted without speaking up about it. Now it motivates him to really understand what he's saying and where he's coming from. "I think we've proven to ourselves lately we want to make this work and we want to improve the way we communicate with each other. I think that's a good start. Everything else we'll take as it comes." It feels like all they can do for now, but for once that doesn't feel like a bad thing. They've taken a lot of little steps lately.

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foreverjack
2017-05-13 12:12 pm UTC (link)

Yeah, he's aware too that this isn't going to be the last conversation they have on this, but equally it does feel like they're making progress each time.

He nods. "Actually, I think communicating is the key here. In my experience, most things seem a lot more forgiveable if there's some prior communication. And that's really how I'd see this working. I mean, there's always the possibility of a heat of the moment liaison happening without any planning, but that's true of any relationship. But normally, I would expect to be able to see the want building - either for a person or for an act - and check you're okay with me following through on it."

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readystopwatch
2017-05-13 01:44 pm UTC (link)

"I appreciate that." He does. It's not something they had before in Cardiff and it's certainly not something he managed with Spike. He doesn't particularly want to know all the details of every liaison Jack has but being aware that they're happening sounds like a good step. "And for my part if I feel as though I'm becoming uncomfortable with it or left behind by it all I'll do my best to tell you about it early on so we can try to find a solution."

It's not the end of the conversation by any means since he knows there will be plenty more to discuss in the future but it feels like a good start so he sets aside his papers and moves in close between Jack's legs where he's sitting on the ladder, cupping his face in his hands for a kiss. "We're going to make this work. I want to prove them wrong about this."

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foreverjack
2017-05-14 11:53 am UTC (link)

"Deal," he says seriously, with every intention of sticking to his side of it as well as humanly possible, and smiles as Ianto comes over, his insides twisting with love for this man. He kisses him back warmly, tenderly, with appreciation for his understanding and hope for the future. They can do this. They really can do this.

"Yeah, me too," he says breathily, forehead tilted against Ianto's before pulling back enough to search his face earnestly. "You don't feel so scared of speaking up now? You do feel you can talk to me?"

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readystopwatch
2017-05-14 01:21 pm UTC (link)

"I just admitted to a lie a moment ago, didn't I?" He answers with a smile, leaning against him and draping his arms across his shoulders. "That's a start, wouldn't you say?"

He knows how much he cares, how important this must be to him. He can't imagine Jack has had this conversation with many other people over the course of his life. Just the fact that it's happening, that he's working so hard at this says how important this relationship is. How important he is to him. "I know what it mean, that you open up to me like this, Jack. I really do."

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foreverjack
2017-05-15 07:17 am UTC (link)

He chuckles lightly, admitting that yeah, that's a start. As is what he's doing. This certainly isn't a conversation he's had with many people. In fact, Ianto may well be the very first. Mostly, in the past, he kept his other liaisons secret from each other, or at the most his partners were aware but not really considered or informed, like when they were back at Torchwood.

This really is a massive step away from the way he's lived his life.

He wraps his arms loosely around Ianto's waist as he leans in, and gives a comical little shrug against him. "You're the first person who's made me really want to," he admits, with what might actually be the tiniest bit of shame. He's actually starting to realise he might not have been quite fair to some of his previous partners, the ones he thought he loved and wanted to be with but actually never quite let in on enough of himself, or respected enough to change for.

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readystopwatch
2017-05-15 12:48 pm UTC (link)

There's something very sweet about that admission and at the very least it deserves another kiss. He was so in awe of Jack when this first started out that he could never have dreamed of him saying something like that to him. Even now it still means more than he can say to hear it. It makes him more determined than ever to make this work, through the good and the bad, and it seems a good place to end that particular topic for today.

"We should probably get back to work." Despite those words he makes no move to pull away.

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foreverjack
2017-05-16 04:26 pm UTC (link)

"Eh, no hurry, I'm sure there'll be other people coming to help soon." And he's comfy here, comfy and content with Ianto in his arms, feeling so at one with him.

Besides, since they're talking...

"Should we talk about Kirk?" he asks, without any particular urgency. There's a thing simmering there that could flare if they let it, but... "I'm not planning on letting anything happen there," he says matter of factly. "But you know how things go here. If something beyond a mistletoe-prompted kiss should happen, how much would you hate me?"

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That icon is so adorable my heart just melted

readystopwatch
2017-05-16 05:29 pm UTC (link)

He's obviously not complaining. He didn't really expect to get much work done here with the two of them if he's honest. And right now this feels just right.

Jack won't feel any tension or surprise run through him at the question because it's not unexpected. "I'd ask you to be discreet about it but beyond that? If something happens I won't hate you for it." It feels good to be able to say that and mean it.

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I know! They're so cute :-)

foreverjack
2017-05-17 10:20 pm UTC (link)

Well, you know, if it's a choice between cuddling or making out and actually having to do work...

The lack of reaction from Ianto and the calm reply are incredibly reassuring, and he gives him a grateful little squeeze. "Thank you. That means a lot," he says humbly. "I mean, I can't honestly promise something won't happen, especially since I sincerely doubt the new regime will mean that glitches are actually a thing of the past!"

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readystopwatch
2017-05-17 11:12 pm UTC (link)

"It means a lot that you asked." He replies sincerely. That Jack is making an effort to communicate about t instead of just chalking it up to being who he is is just as important as Ianto being willing to actually listen to him and not just bottle all his thoughts and feelings up under cover of being fine.

"Now, what sort of things have you ordered in stock here to make it up to me?"

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	foreverjack 2017-05-19 01:43 pm UTC (link)
	"Well, I don't really think I have anything to make up to you yet..." he drawls, and grins mischievously against his ear. "But actually, I do have a few things out the back I put aside for our personal use. Want to come and see?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	readystopwatch 2017-05-20 01:49 am UTC (link)
	"I find my curiosity has gotten the better of me." Like he ever stood a chance to begin with. He steps back only far enough to let Jack stand up but still keeps as much of that wonderful physical contact as possible. "Lead on." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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