londoncallingrpg

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!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Mmmhmm," Alcuin said. "And I'm even going to kindly give credit to the company rather than the food." He winked.

"I do't know that I've done anything," Jack chuckled. "But if you're feeling better that's good. Tell me a little more about what had happened before I ran into you."

Alcuin shrugged a bit as he ran a finger over the rim of his glass again, looking slightly uncomfortable. "I met a man last week. He asked if I wanted to have a drink. A date. It seemed so awfully... normal. I haven't done a lot of that. So I said yes. Only - well, it was clear very quickly that he did not have much interest in me. He wanted sex. Which just wasn't what I was expecting, and when I decided to leave - " He looked down at his glass. "He got mean. It's okay, it isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened, won't be the last I imagine."

"Unfortunately, there's a lot of those in the world," Jack said sympathetically. "Have you dated much? I mean, like, dated around?"

"No," Alcuin said, which was certainly true. He'd been paid for sex. He'd had lovers. He'd been in love. But he hadn't been on many dates.

"You should. It's good for you. I've always found that meeting people, doing that dance, you get to know a lot about humanity. You get to know yourself better, too," he replied before shoving a bit of fish in his mouth.

"Is this a date?" Alcuin asked, sounding only thoughtful and curious, as if he wasn't sure of the answer.

"No. A date is something you set up. Anticipation can't be overrated. This is...chance," he said.

"All right," Alcuin said, and shrugged. "Fair enough." He didn't mention that he'd anticipated running into Jack again at some point.

"Besides, don't you think you ought to be dating people your own age?" he asked before popping another bite in his mouth.

"My previous relationships were both with men older than you," said Alcuin.

"Have you ever dated anyone your own age?" Jack asked, skipping the fact there were few men older than he was.

Alcuin thought of his attempt with Anael. Thinking he was his age. Oh how wrong he'd been.

"I'm not exactly normal for my age," he said.

"And what does psychology say about gravitating toward older men?" Jack asked.

Alcuin looked at him for a second. "It probably says something about the fact that I never knew my father and that my first sexual experiences were all with older men who were paying me. But that doesn't change who I'm attracted to and how I felt about the men I loved."

Jack nodded, chewing a chip as Alcuin spoke.

"Well, I'm not a psychotherapist or anything, but I don't think it would hurt to break out a little. Get on Grindr or something. Meet some new people. Maybe not the ones who just want sex. Maybe go to okcupid for that. Or, hell, I don't know where kids meat up now. Is there an avocado place in town? Guys your age love avocados, I heard."

Guys your age. Like Alcuin knew anything about guys his age. He wasn't normal, he didn't want to pretend to be, and he had very little interest in young men who could have no conception with the kind of utter shit he'd been through in his life already.

"Look, Jack..." He'd finished most of his meal, and he put his fork down. "If you're, ah, entirely uninterested in me then I can stop flirting."

"You don't have to. I'm just not in a great place right now, Alcuin. Your love life isn't the only one in the toilet," he said, smiling as he tried to make light of it- a smile that didn't touch his eyes.

"... right," said Alcuin. "I'm sorry."

God he really was oblivious lately. This was worse than when he'd kissed Anael.

Jack chuckled lightly.

"You don't have to be sorry, Alcuin," he said. "It's going to be alright. Time heals all wounds. I just...I wasn't ready for him to go, is all."

Alcuin had apologized partly for being so oblivious that Jack wasn't interested in him.

"How much time?" he asked. Because he certainly didn't feel particularly healed.

"Just a few months together, and it's been not quite a week since he disappeared on me," he said softly.

OTA

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