OTA

[im_torchwood]

Jack had a very bad habit of letting his guard down. He loved hard and loved well, but in all his long years he was aware that love was brief. Here and there love had lasted for years. Angelo. His wife. Logan. In between there were others, loves great and small. And when love came, even though he knew better, Jack would let his guard down.

Life with Torchwood was all too often painful, bloody, and short. People came and went, but no one retired. No. No one got out so easily.

And the newest, freshest wound was Val. It had all been going so well. Jack's knowledge of tech and Val's understanding of magic had furthered the research into the portal. They were nowhere near being able to pinpoint a time or location, but they'd gotten one to hold steady for a while. It was promising.

Until it all went to hell.

Val went missing right before Jack's eyes. He'd tried desperately to undo what they'd done, but after a while even Jack had to admit he was lost. Gone.

And so Jack threw himself into work. There was no point in drinking- he never got drunk. There was no thirst for companionship- that was just hollow. But work was always there. Work to be done. Aliens to track. Tech to catalogue. A world to keep safe. Jack jumped right back into it and let the satisfaction he found in duty mask the pain of a broken heart.

Tonight he had just confiscated a crate of 'antiquities' and they were loaded in the back of the SUV. He'd let the sellers go since they were just humans who hadn't the first clue about what they were trying to sell. Jack locked the rig up and looked around, trying to decide if he ought to get a bite. He really hadn't been hungry, not since Val vanished, but he knew he needed to eat. He'd died of starvation before and it was a hell of a way to go.

(OTA find him anywhere in London or the outlying towns if you prefer. Jack needs new friends, and old faces will be welcome too!)

Comments

[whispersoflove]

Anael was not in much of a better state than Jack, for still being bound to this earth. No matter what assurances of progress his magical friends might make, God's silence weighed too heavily on him to let him hope. Magic or not, God's will surpassed everything, and Anael was no man, but a creature as intricately linked to God as possible.

He felt the heartache before he could see who it belonged to. It was a dull, deep ache, something that resonated with his own state of heart, with his own hopelessness. It was nothing he expected to feel coming from Jack, and when he spotted his friend, he stopped briefly on the pavement, before speeding up to catch up with him.

"Jack!" he called out, unable and unwilling to hold back his concern.

[im_torchwood]

Jack turned to the sound of his name. A smile curved his lips, warm enough to even reach his eyes.

"Hani!" he replied warmly. "What have you been doing? It's been a while."

[whispersoflove]

Anael briefly faltered at the ease and cheer of Jack's greeting, but he recovered enough to step in close and put his hand on Jack's arm. Before all of this, he might have moved in straight for a hug, but his enforced stay on Earth had impressed upon him that a comforting touch was not always welcome.

"I'm sorry," he told him gently, with a depth of feeling reflected in his eyes that only beings who had lived as long and lost as many as they had could display.

[im_torchwood]

Jack covered his hand with his own and his brows drew together.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked softly.

[whispersoflove]

That was right; for all that Anael had told Jack what he was, he hadn't gone into those details. "Love is my domain," he answered quietly, leaving his hand under Jack's. "Some of my brethren can feel people's souls. I feel their hearts."

[pecked_by_birds]

There was something familiar about the man, though Prometheus' mind struggled to recall if they'd known one another, or if he was simply familiar. Sometimes it took a moment for the right memories to surface, and sometimes faces simply looked like faces of the past. Still, the itch in the back of his mind was enough to make him slow to a stop.

"You look lost," he noted, ignoring the urge to call the man an albatross.

[im_torchwood]

"No, not really. Just thinking about food. Do you know if any of these local places is any good?" he asked. He could smell rich spices coming from one direction and the warmth of traditional fare coming from another. And then something else hit him. Something primal, something...bright. He looked at the man, curious to know why he tasted like sunlight.

[pecked_by_birds]

"I've taken to having my dinner at the local pub when I'm on my own," the titan admitted, shrugging one shoulder. "I couldn't really vouch for anywhere else nearby. Though there's really no such thing as a terrible curry, is there? If I had to pick somewhere other than my usual spot, I'd likely go that way."

[im_torchwood]

"The best curry I ever ate was in Lahore," Jack said. Now that it had been suggested he was drawn in the direction of the spice. "Since you made the recommendation, do you want to get a bite? My treat," Jack said. It was just dinner, but he couldn't help but flirt and try to pull a little. Even in heartbreak it was simply Jack's default.

[pecked_by_birds]

Prometheus seemed to consider the offer for a beat, then nodded. "Alright, I suppose it would make a nice change."

He considered the man again, then frowned. "Have we met?" he asked, forgetting for a moment that if they had, he'd likely been wearing a different face at the time.

[alcuin]

"... Jack?"

Alcuin had been heading home when he spotted Jack just down the street. It was enough to make him change course briefly and stop.

[im_torchwood]

Jack was debating between the pungent scent of spices coming from the left and the comforting greasy smell of fish and chips coming from the right. But when he heard his name he turned to see who it was and he smiled.

"Alcuin," he said warmly. "Fancy meeting you here."

[alcuin]

"I was just on my way home, and I saw you," Alcuin confessed. He was walking in part because he'd had a few glasses of wine. Which still hadn't helped. In fact, the whole evening had been a disaster. "It's nice to see a friendly face."

[im_torchwood]

"It is," Jack purred, reaching out to stroke his arm. "I hadn't expected to see anyone tonight. I just finished work and was thinking about food." He paused. "Are you hungry?"

[alcuin]

"Actually yes," said Alcuin. "I'm starving." He hadn't even realized until then, he'd been too preoccupied.

[kersenjr]

Bonnie had gone out. She didn’t have any plans, or anywhere to go, but being miserable on the streets of London was slightly more appealing than being miserable inside Kersen’s house.

She caught Jack’s scent from a long way away, and she didn’t know who or what it belonged to, but she knew she wanted to find out. She followed it to where he was standing, approached and addressed him casually, as if she had just been walking past.

“Are you lost?"

[im_torchwood]

Jack chuckled and shook his head.

"No, not at all. Just trying to decide where to get a bite," he said with a warm smile.

[kersenjr]

She could give him a bite. She was already salivating. It was a little hard to concentrate, but she managed to smile back.

“Well, I don’t know any restaurants around here, so I guess I’m no help at all."

[im_torchwood]

"I think my nose is a good judge," he said, and breathed in to show. But what he smelled wasn't food. it was her. The slightly dusty scent of death, undeath. Jack looked at her with new eyes. "I'm not sure anything in a restaurant is going to satisfy you, though, hmm?"

[kersenjr]

Her smile died and she looked almost guilty, like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't. "What do you mean?"

[harrowgate]

Felix, as a rule, did not care a great deal about food. Fish and chips, cold cuts, or a full-course Italian feast -- it was all a means to an end for him. However, the one thing that he did have a weakness for was sushi. He adored the colorful rolls and the odd flavors, and the wide variety of choices available. Sake and plum wine didn't hurt, either.

Today, he was interested in trying a new sushi counter that promised experimental flavors, but he was having a difficult time locating the newly-opened restaurant using the GPS on his phone. As he strolled down the street, dressed in his usual bold paisley with his hair escaping his attempt at a queue, Felix caught sight of the man with the exceedingly fine face, and zeroed in on him for assistance.

"Do pardon me," he said brightly. "I don't suppose you're familiar with this area?"

[im_torchwood]

"Only vaguely," Jack replied. He looked the man up and down, appreciating fully what a peacock he looked like. Definitely not a shy one.

"I know a couple restaurants, a few shops, and I'm pretty sure I could find an Underground stop...but something tells me you're not one to ride the tube," he chuckled, then offered his hand. "Captain Jack Harkness."

[harrowgate]

"Felix Harrowgate," he answered, taking the man's hand without taking his eyes off his pretty face. American, certainly. Military, perhaps? Alluring, no doubt at all. "Captain, is it? The sort of captain who excels at navigation?" He smiled, a beautiful little curving of his lips, and offered up the screen of his smartphone with the map displayed on it.

"I'm looking for this restaurant, but I declare every time I get close to it, the entire bloody map recalculates."

[im_torchwood]

"That's actually a pretty common problem. Let me see it," he said, taking the phone from Felix. He looked at it and touched the screen a couple times. "Yeah, it's just a glitch. I've got the address, though. I can find it."

He handed the phone back and jerked his head to the left.

"Come on. It's going to be down here," he said. "It's probably down an alley, which is just confusing the tech."

[harrowgate]

"You're a wonder," Felix told him approvingly, turning off the phone and sliding into a pocket of his jacket. The dratted little thing served as an excuse to introduce himself to so many fascinating people.

"I don't suppose you enjoy sushi? I wouldn't mind someone to share with, if you're free. As thanks," he added, "for rescuing me from own phone."