OTA

[im_torchwood]

After John Hart, after Gray, Jack couldn't be in Cardiff. He was Torchwood now, not just what he did but who he was, and he had a small crisis and had to get away. Although he'd broken with London's Torchwood after the incidents at Canary Wharf (which it seemed the population had either forgotten or written off) Jack found himself in England's jewel. He was ready to make a new start. And, he reckoned, the Doctor would probably visit London before Cardiff if truth be told.

He'd settled into the subterranean Hub that Alice and Emily had worked in. It had been long forgotten in favor of the building of steel and glass that had been built atop it. Bloody Torchwood...they were supposed to be secret. He'd made his contacts and had put himself to work. But even Jack needed to eat.

He had all of the city to choose from and rather than just go to a pub Jack stood on the sidewalk looking at his mobile reading Yelp reviews. There was a place just down the block and around the corner. Yelp was good and all but he kind of wanted a real opinion so he looked up from his screen and he smiled at the first person whose eye he caught.

"Excuse me...do you know if this place is any good?" he asked, showing the screen. His American accent immediately marked him as a tourist, even though he wasn't.

Comments

[im_torchwood]

"Water," he replied. "With a little lemon in it so they can justify charging me for it. Thanks."

[whispersoflove]

That made Anael laugh, and he nodded before turning away to go get their drinks. Water with a slice of lemon, and a glass of red for himself, a lovely Syrah with a deep, almost spicy flavour, he was told by the bartender. He came back with the two glasses, and menus tucked under his arm, and took his seat again.

"I'm sorry to report that tap water's free," Anael told him with a smile, setting the glasses down before holding a menu out to the captain.

He had taken two, but the truth was he wasn't certain that he would eat anything. It wasn't as if he were (ever) hungry, but he would see if something struck his fancy.

[im_torchwood]

"More for a tip, then," he said, taking the menu and giving it a cursory looking over. He didn't need to- fish and chips was all he ever wanted. Maybe not ever, but tonight and most nights.

"What'll you have?" he asked. "I think I want a piece of fish."

[whispersoflove]

"I don't know," Anael admitted, looking over the menu and not seeing anything that piqued his interest. "I'm not actually very hungry." He might just have dessert, if the captain had some. Or even if he didn't. Something with chocolate, to go with the wine.

[im_torchwood]

"Yeah? Well there's nothing wrong with wine for supper," he chuckled. He caught the attention of a waitress and told her a 2 piece fish and chips and she set off to get it for him.

"So, Hani...tell me about yourself," he said.

[whispersoflove]

Anael tsked, but he was smiling. "That was my line, I believe. There's not much to tell about me. I'm a student of theology, and I don't get out as much as I should, I'm sure. My work," my God, "means everything to me. What about you, captain?"

[im_torchwood]

"I'm not interesting," he said with an alluring tilt of his head. "I just work too much. A student of theology? Christianity, you mean? Or theology in general?"

[whispersoflove]

Everybody was interesting, Anael firmly believed. Still, he could well understand a soldier not wanting to discuss his work, if nothing else. He never liked to talk of, or even think about the War. "Theology in general, but Christianity in particular," he confirmed.

[im_torchwood]

"It's not a field I'm all that well versed in. Where I came from, my family wasn't religious. I've learned about it in school and from others but I think if you're not raised with some sort of religion it kind of...eludes you. What do you think?" he asked.

[whispersoflove]

"I feel that God can be found under many different guises, as long as one has an open heart," Anael replied with a soft smile, slowly turning the glass of wine on the table. "Religious observance is not an absolute necessity."

Of course, this opinion was not shared by a majority of his brethren.

[im_torchwood]

"That's a little bit different from what I've heard. And what a hundred wars have been based on," Jack pointed out.

[whispersoflove]

The faint smile on Anael's lips faded at the mention of the wars, and he nodded, his gaze vacant for a second or two, before it refocused on the captain. "It's only my belief. Clearly." For all that he wished more would share it.

[im_torchwood]

"It's a good belief," Jack said, then sipped his water. "So what do you do for fun in London? I haven't been here in so long, I don't even know what to see first."

[whispersoflove]

"I did say I spent far too much time buried in my work," Anael pointed out with an amused smile, glad to be moving on from the topic. "I'm not the best person to ask about what entertainment the city has to offer. I mostly find mine in meeting new people, when I take a little time to myself." He took a sip of his wine, glad for the strong burst of flavour across his tongue. Meeting new people, and drinking good wine. Feeling Love all around, and building relationships.

[im_torchwood]

"Truth be told, once I settle into my job I'm not going to have much time to do anything, for entertainment or otherwise," Jack shrugged. "But I might ride the Eye once for the fun of it."

[whispersoflove]

"I have done that," Anael recollected with a happy smile, looking almost proud to have done one of these normal human things. "I like heights, and the cold winds up there."

[im_torchwood]

"I remember the skyline before it went in," Jack said, then followed it quickly with, "When I was a boy."

And the lie was so bold it was palpable. He hadn't been a boy. Not remotely.

[whispersoflove]

Anael's eyebrows raised at the very obvious lie, so obvious even he had no problem noticing it. But, instead of prodding, he simply smiled a little, and answered, "So do I."

[im_torchwood]

"Oh yeah?" he asked, his own curiosity piqued by that.

[whispersoflove]

"When I was a boy," Anael echoed his words, an amused smile on his lips, then swiftly moved on from the topic. "What's the new job that's going to be taking up so much of your time?"

[im_torchwood]

"Oh, it's just government work," he said dismissively. "Monitoring computers, that sort of thing. If I ever see the sun again it'll be amazing."

[whispersoflove]

"Something for the army?" Anael inquired, eyebrows raised. Now Captain Jack Harkness had become a mystery, rather than a soldier not willing to discuss his war days.

[im_torchwood]

"Sure," he said, then his smile softened a little. "I really can't talk about it, though. It's classified."

[whispersoflove]

"The opposite of uninteresting," Anael pointed out with a soft smile of his own, referring to his earlier words about himself. Meant to deflect rather than actually reflect Jack's opinion of himself, it was now clear. But there was nothing sharp or prodding in Anael's comment; clearly he accepted that he would get nowhere with that line of questioning, and did not mind it in the least.

[im_torchwood]

"Touche. It's actually really interesting...I just can't talk about it," he laughed. "You caught me out."