londoncallingrpg

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

im_torchwood

"You're not comfortable with fame," Jack said instead of answering.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"No- I mean... Well, it's a bit, um... It's new still. My manger keeps telling me I'll get used to it, but I'm not sure that's true," Fin said quietly. "I love that people enjoy my work, and I love what I do... But it's- I dunno. It's a bit much sometimes is all."

From:

im_torchwood

For a man who made himself little more than an image in the corner of a person's vision, Jack had no idea what being in the lime light might be like.

"I can't even imagine," he replied. "Crowds, attackers, it's got to be one hell of a life."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"It's not always like that," Fin insisted. "I've a nice quiet flat, and a lovely guide dog. ...I live with my- Not boyfriend, boyfriend's still not the right word- Um, my lover. I live with my lover, and his best mate's right next door. ...I have take outs with my mates, and I spend a lot of time listening to audio books and learning to play games again, even though it's proper hard now... It's all really normal usually."

From:

im_torchwood

"That sounds like a nice life. Peaceful," Jack said, smiling softly. "But then you meet a stranger and go for fish and wind up in front of the camera. What about paps? Do they follow you?"

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Yeah- I mean... Sometimes. Yeah. They hang out in front of my place now and then, or they follow me about," Fin admitted. "It's not great, I'll admit."

From:

im_torchwood

"I thought it was everyone's dream to be rich and famous," Jack said. "Are you telling me it's not all its cracked up to be?"

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"I'm just saying that there are bits of it that aren't for me," Fin replied with a small shrug.

From:

im_torchwood

The waitress brought Fin's soda and then left again and Jack smiled at her, giving her an appreciative once over.

"I'll never be famous," Jack said. "I've got no talent for acting."

Which was such a lie...he was acting even now.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"People act all the time," Fin countered pleasantly. "You're acting every time you say hello to someone new."

From:

im_torchwood

"I mean like Shakespeare," Jack replied. "Have you done Shakespeare?"

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"I have," Fin nodded. "My Hamlet got very good reviews, actually."

From:

im_torchwood

"There you go. My Hamlet never got out of college, and I think it pained the teacher," Jack laughed.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"You've got all that confidence though. I can't see you proper, but I can hear it," Fin countered, pointing at the other man with his pinkie as he held his glass.

"That's half the battle. That's what I'm missing when I'm not on stage, if I'm honest. I can do it for the camera, but you get me in a room with some tosser with his index cards, and I'm gone. I lose it. It's going to end my career one of these days."

From:

im_torchwood

"I don't think so. There's plenty of celebrities who don't do well with press. Like that American girl who did those vampire movies. They all call her a bitch because she's so quiet, but I've heard she's just shy," Jack pointed out.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

Fin shrugged a bit, but said nothing more of it. Truthfully, he got tired of talking about his work. It seemed to be everyone's favourite topic- Everyone but himself anyway.

"So, um, did you move out here with family or anything?" he asked, trying to change the topic for a bit.

From:

im_torchwood

That question blindsided him and he immediately thought of Gray laying cold and unconscious in the cryo-chamber. It was a good thing Fin couldn't see the way his face fell.

"No," he said, unable to hide the pain in his voice. "No...I moved here alone."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"Oh, right, sorry," Fin said awkwardly, feeling guilty since he'd clearly brought up just the wrong thing.

From:

im_torchwood

"No, no...it's okay. I just...I just lost my brother is all. And moving here, I split with my boyfriend," Jack said quietly.

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"That's really rough mate- I'm sorry. You settling in alright then? It's hard when you've got no one. I know I had a dreadful time of it when I first got here."

From:

im_torchwood

"Yeah, sure," Jack said, trying to brush off the truth like dirt off his sleeve. "In no time it'll be home."

From:

prince_of_nymphs

"It will," Fin agreed. "Really."

From:

im_torchwood

"You've done pretty well if you had it rough when you came to town and now you've got a home and a lover and steady work," Jack said. "I can only hope it works out as well."