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

[im_torchwood]

"If only it was allergies," Jack said. "It's synaesthesia. I picked it up in Peru back in the thirties," he explained.

[pecked_by_birds]

"I didn't realize that was something one could just acquire. You make it sound as if you were furniture shopping," the titan laughed, starting to lead the way back to his shop.

[im_torchwood]

Jack laughed warmly at that, following along.

"I'm not sure how easy I'd say it was. It involved a volcano, and aliens, and a particular polarity to the ley lines there. But I picked it up and it's never gone away. Most of the time I can control it, but sometimes things get to be...a bit much."

[pecked_by_birds]

"Remarkable," the titan replied, shifting the bags of food to his other arm. "Though from what I recall, you are in many ways. Not quite human, not quite mortal. ...An oddity all around."

[im_torchwood]

"That's about the nicest possible way I've ever heard to describe me. I usually get things like 'impossible' and 'wrong'," Jack replied.

[pecked_by_birds]

"I like impossible, impossible is good," Prometheus shrugged, offering the bags to Jack as they reached his shop.

"Hold these, we can head up to my old flat," he said, digging out his keys.

[im_torchwood]

Jack took the bags and when Prometheus opened the door he followed him in.

"Nice place," he said, looking around at the art and decor. It looked like it was empty for long periods of time, but clearly a home. A place Prometheus liked to return to.

[pecked_by_birds]

"Oh, thank you," the titan smiled, clearing off the coffee table and gesturing at the well used sofa. "I really only use it as an art studio now," he confessed, I live with my lover."

[im_torchwood]

That made him smile and soften.

"That's wonderful," he said, a bittersweet feeling welling up inside him. Val's loss hit him harder in some moments than others. And usually at the most inconvenient times.

[pecked_by_birds]

"It's temporary. He'll get bored, or I'll lose what few marbles I have left... But it is nice, right now. It's lovely," the titan confessed.

[im_torchwood]

"Everything's temporary for guys like us, though, isn't it?" he said. "Too long a life in a world of people who hardly live more than a century. So fleeting."

[pecked_by_birds]

"I try not to get attached anymore," the titan confessed, beginning to put the food out and then grabbing knives and forks.

"Wine?" he offered, already picking up a bottle.

[im_torchwood]

"I'd love some," Jack replied. He never even got a buzz, but he did like the taste of wine, especially the ones that had aged well. Where many people struggled to find the subtle notes, for Jack wine was an explosion of sensations.

[pecked_by_birds]

"Mind popping the cork?" he asked, offering the bottle and the opener to Jack as he sorted out the glasses and then finally plopped himself down on the sofa.

[im_torchwood]

"Not a bit," he replied, setting to work to open the bottle. It gave itself up fairly easy, a soft pop as the cork came out of the bottle. "Smells good. I'm not a real connoisseur...but I know what I like."

[pecked_by_birds]

"I should be a connoisseur by now, given how often I imbibe, but I must confess- I only know what I like as well," the titan smiled, taking the bottle and pouring them each a glass.

"This is nice though," he noted. "Us, sitting down for a meal. Much better than being huddled in some trench."

[im_torchwood]

"I've had too much of war," Jack replied, taking a seat, then his glass. "Funny, though...for me it never seems to end. Always something to fight for."

[pecked_by_birds]

Grabbing one of the containers of food, Prometheus started to eat.

"I try to avoid wars these days," he replied between bites, pointing at the other man with his fork. "Perhaps you're just the sort who relishes in danger and the like."

[im_torchwood]

"I won't deny that," Jack laughed softly. He took another container and dug in. "I tried having a normal life for a while. Wife and daughter. It didn't last long."

[pecked_by_birds]

"Normal is painfully hard to maintain when you're anything but," the titan nodded, pausing for another mouthful. "I've done the same, it never lasts. Though very little ever does."

[im_torchwood]

"Truer words were never spoken," he replied. "At least I've been on Earth, mostly, for all this time. I'm sure eventually I'll make it back out there." He gestured vaguely toward the sky.

[pecked_by_birds]

"I wouldn't dare leave Earth. I'm certain it would end badly for me," the titan confessed, passing Jack one of the containers.

[im_torchwood]

"I have always held this hope that if I really will live as long as it seems I will, maybe I'll get back home to see my family. Before the war. They won't know me...but that won't matter," Jack replied.

[pecked_by_birds]

"I've never had that family connection," Prometheus confessed. "Other than my twin, I never see my family. ...And I'd not mind seeing less of him, if I'm honest."

[im_torchwood]

"Yeah? You two don't get along?" Jack asked with his mouth full.