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Tweak says, "I'm too sexy for my shirt."

Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood (lt_to_chaos) wrote in whoville,
@ 2008-04-17 08:56:00

Entry tags:

lt_to_chaos, themaster

Anna's Master (Finished)
Jack woke up to the smell of coffee and cheese danish, rolling onto his side to look at the table the Master had set. Pasteries and coffee and what looked like a mini-fridge that he suspected held whatever else he'd brought back. "Morning," he murmured as he rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Morning, indeed. I just ran into another of myself who was rather worried about you." The Master gestured at the food on the table. "Come, eat something."

"Worried about me?" Jack raised an eyebrow, taking a long moment to stretch before getting out of bed, and scooping up one of the danishes, munching on it while he waited for an answer.

"Seemed to think you were in danger from me."

Jack shrugged. "Sometimes I am. He wouldn't have any way to tell if now's one of those times, or if it's safe." As safe as it ever was around the Master. "Going to pack a picnic and explore today?"

"Actually, I was planning on not going anywhere, and just enjoying some alone time." The Master leaned back in his chair, grinning at Jack.

Jack twitched. "I'd rather go out." He popped the rest of the pastery in his mouth, heading for the wardrobe, and a change of clothes. "I can go alone, if you don't want to come with me."

The Master scowled at Jack's back, his fingers drumming restlessly against the table. "I want to stay in today, with you, and enjoy the day."

"I'm not planning on staying in all day." Jack looked back at the Master, his hand hovering over an undershirt. "Unless you insist."

The Master studied Jack a moment before sighing huffily, and waving a dismissive hand. "Fine, fine. Go on, then. I'll go... find a book." He reached for his mug of coffee, glaring at the dark liquid as if it were the source of his problems.

Jack sighed, pulling on a t-shirt and trousers he'd picked up while waiting for his jacket to be tailored before the party, and headed for the door. He'd find coffee downstairs, before the Master decided that he really would insist on Jack staying in the room all day.

As he stepped out of the lift into the lobby, he sighed, spotting another of the Master near the dining room. Well, at least he knew it wasn't his Master - the suit rather gave it away. Though with no rose, he doubted it was the sane one he'd first run into, either.

"Master," he greeted cautiously as he got closer, giving him a small smile.

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themaster
2008-04-17 05:08 pm UTC (link)

"All right." Truth be told, he really wasn't sure what to make of this Jack. He hadn't had anyone be this casually friendly with him since - well, Lucy, which wasn't exactly that long ago, but certainly felt like another life now.

He glanced at Jack as he set off toward the dining room. "Is your Master here?"

Because he didn't want to get on the wrong side of another version of himself.

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lt_to_chaos
2008-04-17 08:02 pm UTC (link)

"Upstairs. Sulking." Jack found a small table with a good sight-line for the door, and flagged a server as he settled into a chair. Ordering his coffee, he smiled at the Master, shruging a shoulder. "He wanted to stay in, I want to go out and explore. He'll get over it, he always does."

Because Jack always came back. If he didn't go back, hewasn't sure what the Master would do. Well, not here. At home, he knew what he'd do, and he was trying to avoid scorched earth.

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	themaster 2008-04-17 09:43 pm UTC (link)
	The Master sat down, lifting an eyebrow. "I'm not having you use me to get your own back on your Master, Jack. Nor am I going to get between the two of you. Would he be happy to know that you were sitting here with me?" Because he knew damn sure he wouldn't be. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	lt_to_chaos 2008-04-17 10:02 pm UTC (link)
	Jack frowned, pulling his hand back, putting a little distance between himself and the Master. "I'm not about to do something stupid just to piss him off." He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair a moment, studying the Master. "What did you think I had in mind, anyway? Other than coffee?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	themaster 2008-04-17 10:08 pm UTC (link)
	The Master's eyebrows shot upwards. Trust Jack. "If he's anything like me, you having coffee with me would be enough to piss him off." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lt_to_chaos
2008-04-17 10:23 pm UTC (link)

Jack chuckled. "He knows I'm not going to go away. That I'll always come back to him at the end of the day." He leaned forward, holding the Master's gaze steadily. "I didn't leave him when he regenerated, bleeding out from the shrapnel from a bomb in World War Two. I didn't run away when we landed in 1889 instead of 2009, to wait for the Doctor to come get me. He's not stupid, and he's not blind."

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themaster
2008-04-17 10:36 pm UTC (link)

The Master did his best not to twitch at the display of confidence before him - both Jack's confidence in his Master, and his Master's confidence in Jack. He didn't think he'd ever felt that secure about someone else's affection, that they would come back to him, and some of that, he was sure, must be showing in his face.

He said, frowning slightly, "Why did you stay with him, when you got back to Earth? You could have gone anywhere."

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lt_to_chaos
2008-04-17 10:52 pm UTC (link)

Jack shrugged, reaching out to curl his fingers around the Master's hand again.

"He told me why the Doctor ran away. He hadn't left me at the end of the universe after fixing my wrist-comp. It's easier to survive in an unfamiliar place and time when there's someone to pool resources with."

He picked up the coffee the server set in front of him, taking a sip. "I wasn't ready to try and make it on my own again. And my Vortex Manipulator didn't survive the journey as well as he or I did.

"Pick a reason, I'm not really sure which one made the most difference. Or if anyone is really more important than the rest." He laughed, softly. "Hell, it could even be as simple as he's the only other person on Earth who can understand what it's like not to stay dead."

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themaster
2008-04-17 11:04 pm UTC (link)

The way Jack kept reaching out to hold onto him was slowly, steadily disquieting him. It was actually making him jittery. It took a lot to keep his hand relaxed beneath Jack's fingers.

He glanced up at the waiter and ordered a cup of tea, then looked at Jack. "That all makes sense," he agreed pleasantly. "Except the part where the Captain Jack Harkness I know doesn't exactly see eye to eye with me on the way to go about things. I can't imagine him working alongside me as you seem to, nor being so easy with me as you appear to be with your Master."

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	lt_to_chaos 2008-04-17 11:15 pm UTC (link)
	"We don't always see eye to eye." Jack shrugged. "It'd be boring if we did, no excitement, no life. He needs conflict, I need to protect people. It works." He tilted his head. "How's it different with your Jack? What happened differently?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

themaster
2008-04-17 11:23 pm UTC (link)

The Master snorted lightly. "Just about everything, by the sound of it. He found his way back to Earth somehow and just waited around for the Doctor. For a hundred and forty years. You have to admire that kind of perseverence. Then they both ended up at the end of the universe, along with my Doctor's current companion, Miss Martha Jones. It was actually she who brought the timepiece to my attention when I was still disguised as that disgusting old fool, Yana."

He shuddered at the memory, fingers clenching in Jack's involuntarily. "I can't tell you how good it was to be me again. The Jack in my reality wasn't the only one who spent a long time waiting for the Doctor."

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lt_to_chaos
2008-04-18 12:07 am UTC (link)

Jack set his coffee down, squeezing the Master's hand gently, reaching out his free hand to rub his shoulder a moment. "That's why the Master wanted to control Torchwood, I think. Well, beside them poking around where they weren't wanted. They have the best tools to find the Doctor. The right regeneration of him."

It wasn't something they agreed on, and Jack would be just as happy not to see the Doctor again soon. He didn't like what it did to the Master's stability and sanity, having the Doctor around.

"Perserverence born of loyalty, I imagine," he said lightly. "If he's anything like me."

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themaster
2008-04-18 08:01 am UTC (link)

Again, he had to work hard not to shake off Jack's hand. He appreciated the gesture, he really did, but it felt so wrong to have Jack touch him that way. Familiar and affectionate and - his Jack would never touch him like that.

He took a deep breath, made himself relax, and chuckled, "I assume that's why the Jack in my world joined Torchwood himself, as his best chance of finding the Doctor. It worked, in the end." He tilted his head to the side. "You don't sound as if finding the Doctor is what you want, though?"

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	lt_to_chaos 2008-04-18 11:50 am UTC (link)
	Jack frowned, a hint of bitterness in his expression. "He abandoned me on a floating tomb. Didn't even check to see if I was still alive, or give me a chance to say goodbye - to him or to Rose." He sighed, shrugging. "I don't know if I want to find him or not. I'd like a chance to see Rose again, but him? I don't know." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	themaster 2008-04-18 12:57 pm UTC (link)
	"Ah, the good old Doctor we all know and love," the Master smiled ruefully, nodding. "And then he let you live on Earth for over a century, knowing you were waiting for him, without ever once dropping by, yes? Things aren't so different in my universe, after all. And people call me the evil one." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lt_to_chaos
2008-04-18 01:09 pm UTC (link)

"I wasn't exactly expecting him yet." Jack took a sip of his coffee. "It's only 1989. Another fifteen years, and then I'll start to wonder where he is."

He rubbed a thumb over the back of the Master's hand. "Besides, I have the Master, and he's not going to run away. What do I need a coward like the Doctor for?" There was a hint of steel and anger underlying Jack's tone, repressed but there.

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themaster
2008-04-18 01:22 pm UTC (link)

He still couldn't help but be a little surprised by Jack's venom for the Doctor. Because as he'd just pointed out, this Jack hadn't experienced anything different from the Doctor, yet the other versions of him seemed quite willing to forgive and forget.

He didn't comment, though. Just stored the information away and gradually started to relax and enjoy Jack's company - and the potential for some fun.

His tea arrived, but he didn't look away from Jack. "Oh, I'm sure you're much better off with the Master," he murmured, with a small smile, finally turning his hand and curling his own fingers around Jack's. "What exactly is your relationship with him?"

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lt_to_chaos
2008-04-18 01:42 pm UTC (link)

Jack idly turned his cup around for a moment, thinking before he spoke.

"We're friends, we've been lovers off and on for the last fourty-eight years. He gives me the chance to be as much a hero as I need to be, I keep him as stable and sane as he ever gets. He doesn't ask about other lovers I've had - past or present, I don't stop him from planning to take over the universe."

He shrugged one shoulder, drinking more of his coffee. "Mutual trust and caring, concern, love. Complicated, mostly."

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	themaster 2008-04-18 01:53 pm UTC (link)
	"Friends," the Master echoed, because he'd kind of stuck at that point. He flexed his fingers in Jack's. "I'm getting that vibe. It's not something I'd ever expect. It's... it feels very strange." He met Jack's eyes, one eyebrow raised. "If you were my Jack, I'd feel you were taking a lot of liberties here." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

lt_to_chaos
2008-04-18 02:07 pm UTC (link)

"Liberties how?" Jack met the Master's raised eyebrow with a curious expression, tightening his grip on the Master's hand a moment in response to his flexing his fingers. "What is he to you?"

He was curious about how his alternate had turned out, and... well, maybe later he'd go looking for him, ask him his point of view, but right now, he still didn't want to walk away from the Master. Not until he was sure this version was saner than he'd been warned he was, at least.

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themaster
2008-04-18 02:25 pm UTC (link)

The Master let out a short, bitter, bark of laughter. "He's not mine, not really. Temporarily mine, back in the real world, but here..." He lifted his eyes to Jack's face, with a self-deprecating smile. "We're on better terms than we were, but nothing like you and your Master. It's more of a... truce, shall we say, than anything else."

He took a sip of tea, and added, "And where he is mine, back in the real world, we're not friends. He wouldn't dream of presuming to be allowed to hold my hand. That's something Lucy would do, or possibly the Doctor. My relationship with Jack is... different."

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	lt_to_chaos 2008-04-18 02:34 pm UTC (link)
	"Temporarily yours?" Jack raised an eyebrow, rubbing his thumb across the back of the Master's had again. "How temporarily?" And how different, he wanted to ask, but... he wasn't sure if he really should ask. "Who's Lucy?" he added, curious about the unfamiliar name. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

themaster
2008-04-18 02:41 pm UTC (link)

"I believe I have another nine months of him, when I get back home," the Master replied, not without humour. "That is, according to the various people here who appear to be from my future - and assuming I don't change my future when I go back."

He was still undecided about that. His original list of information from Lucy was still in his pocket. He hadn't written himself any different instructions - yet.

"Lucy is my wife. Human wife. I've been forced to stay on Earth too lately, though for a much shorter period than your Master, and I needed a companion and someone to help my family image to become Prime Minister of Great Britain."

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lt_to_chaos
2008-04-18 02:52 pm UTC (link)

"I hope you do change your future, then." Jack sincerely meant it, trusting the Master to find a better future than the one laid out for him in whatever universe the others came from. Maybe a bit foolishly, knowing the times he'd had to remind his own Master that blowing up 10 Downing Street wasn't the best of plans when one wanted to occupy the place later. But it was there.

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	themaster 2008-04-18 02:57 pm UTC (link)
	The Master raised his eyebrows. "He's really that good to you?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)