Jack/Inara - Complicated People
Fandom: Torchwood/Firefly
Title: Complicated People
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Rating: PG-13 // FRT
Characters: Captain Jack Harkness/Inara Serra
7_crossovers Prompt: 5. Time
Content Warning: N/A
Summary: This wasn’t so much about sex and power as it was about intimacy.
Author's Note: For venetia_sassy who requested Jack for Virginity Meme. Playing with something new. Maybe it works maybe it doesn’t, but I think it does. Set between “Objects in Space” and the movie for Firefly.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Torchwood or Firefly. They're owned by the BBC and FOX. However, all original characters are mine, so please do not borrow them without my permission.
Spending time with Inara Serra wasn’t about the sex-it was about the intimacy. You live over twenty-five hundred years, and it starts to get to the point where you just want to connect with someone, anyone, for any extended period of time. Companions were good for that-it was more than just sex and ritual. Inara understood that better than anyone, more than he thought she would, and for most intents and purposes, he found what he was looking for.
Trying to connect with people was starting to hurt at this point. Everyone else seemed to be so fleeting, vanishing. Even when he did find a meaningful connection-a solid bond with someone-in ten, twenty, fifty years maybe, they would be gone, left to rot in the ground or leaving him for someone that they could grow old with. Everyone left, everyone died, and the one person who could be, should be the constant in his life, was always running away from the impossible thing that had been created.
He moved with the people, but was never noticed by any of them, fought in their wars, but was never there. Became another person every time he stepped on a different planet, but he never directly spoke to any of them. Never reached out and tried to foster a connection the normal way, because the normal way always ended in heartbreak and pain. They would either expect things of him that he couldn’t provide, or he would ask for more than they could give. He rarely ever mentioned his age anymore, or any glimmer of his past-it seemed to be too much for the world to comprehend, and Jack wouldn’t think of asking them to try. Instead he just there and gone, a person who was there, did what he could, and tried not to be too worse for it.
Inara, though-oh, Inara was wonderful. The comfort and intimacy of being close to someone that he craved without the burden of telling her his deepest secrets. He needed to just be Jack for a while. Someone who was in need of some quality love and affection at a relatively decent price. A price that he certainly didn’t mind paying.
“You pride yourself on being a man of mystery, don’t you?”
They were lying in bed, just enjoying the comfort of being close to each other. He had paid for her services for the weekend, and for right now they were just taking their time, so close to being lovers on a long lazy weekend, but not quite. There was still that client-Companion barrier which he was very sure to keep intact, not needing to fall in love all over again. She was on her stomach and he was on his side, letting his fingers gently trail down the line of her spine and over her skin. His eyes had been intent on what he was doing, but they flickered up to her when she spoke, raising an amused eyebrow.
“I’m an open book, Inara. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Inara gave him a look that managed to be both challenging and amused at the same time, which never failed to make him smile as well. “Says the man who hasn’t even told me his last name yet.”
“I wasn’t aware that that mattered,” Jack replied, the smirk still in place. “You’re the one who told me that we could be as-anonymous as we chose to be.”
“That’s not what I mean, Jack. There are moments where I feel like I know you, and you’re this person, and then-something will change and you’ll become someone completely different, and it’s as though I didn’t know you at all.”
Jack watched her face carefully, seeing something flicker in her eyes and taking the opportunity to avoid the question once again. “Remind you of someone?”
And at that, she did her own sidestep. “I thought we were talking about you, not me.”
“We can’t do both?”
“You seem to know quite a good deal about me already,” she replied, shifting over onto her side and propping herself up on an elbow. “I think I’d rather hear about you.”
At that, Jack’s eyes wandered back to her skin again, his hand trailing over her side to the soft skin of her stomach. “People are complicated, Inara. I’m sure you know that better than most. Why is who I am so important to you?”
“You told me once that you were looking for intimacy,” she said softly, her free hand coming up to brush against the side of his face lightly, turning his eyes gently back to her. “Intimacy requires knowing each other, wouldn’t you say?”
Jack looked at her, wondering briefly what it was she saw when she looked at him-if he looked as lost as he felt-before blinking whatever feeling it was away and giving her a small smile. “So how do you suggest we remedy this particular problem?”
She considered this for a moment, before giving him a bit of a grin as she spoke. “Tell me something-personal. Not a deep dark secret or anything like it, just-something that you don’t readily share with people you haven’t met.”
He could tell that the wheels in her head were turning, trying to figure out what he was going to say before he was going to say it. He was thinking himself, trying to figure out what he could tell her that wouldn’t give too much away about who he was and what he did. It was a moment before the smile softened into one of fond remembrance and he shifted so that he was facing her a bit more.
“My first time was with a boy-” He saw the look that crossed her face at that revelation and he snorted. “-oh, don’t look so surprised. You should have seen that one coming.”
“I think I did, but it’s still shocking to hear all the same.”
“Anyway. This particular boy was a local friend from town, and when we got to that age where people normally would experiment and fool around with the opposite sex, we experimented with each other. It was-enlightening, to say the least, if not awkward and uncomfortable, but it was-ours. And that would be the important part, wouldn’t you agree?” Inara nodded slowly, meeting his eyes for a moment. He stared back at her, his hand moving up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face. “But that was a long, long time ago.”
“I see.”
Jack continued to watch her, before switching his position so that he was leaning over her, and gave her a slight smirk. “How about we forget the past for a while? Right now-I’m not as fond of it as I should be.”
At that, her face gave him that composed Companion smile, the one he hated, but he knew she only gave to him when she wanted him to know that she wasn’t quite satisfied with his answers. He just leaned forward to kiss her again, distracting her from what they were talking about for the moment, and just trying to enjoy his time with her as best he could.
Title: Complicated People
Author: iluvroadrunner6
Rating: PG-13 // FRT
Characters: Captain Jack Harkness/Inara Serra
7_crossovers Prompt: 5. Time
Content Warning: N/A
Summary: This wasn’t so much about sex and power as it was about intimacy.
Author's Note: For venetia_sassy who requested Jack for Virginity Meme. Playing with something new. Maybe it works maybe it doesn’t, but I think it does. Set between “Objects in Space” and the movie for Firefly.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters of Torchwood or Firefly. They're owned by the BBC and FOX. However, all original characters are mine, so please do not borrow them without my permission.
Spending time with Inara Serra wasn’t about the sex-it was about the intimacy. You live over twenty-five hundred years, and it starts to get to the point where you just want to connect with someone, anyone, for any extended period of time. Companions were good for that-it was more than just sex and ritual. Inara understood that better than anyone, more than he thought she would, and for most intents and purposes, he found what he was looking for.
Trying to connect with people was starting to hurt at this point. Everyone else seemed to be so fleeting, vanishing. Even when he did find a meaningful connection-a solid bond with someone-in ten, twenty, fifty years maybe, they would be gone, left to rot in the ground or leaving him for someone that they could grow old with. Everyone left, everyone died, and the one person who could be, should be the constant in his life, was always running away from the impossible thing that had been created.
He moved with the people, but was never noticed by any of them, fought in their wars, but was never there. Became another person every time he stepped on a different planet, but he never directly spoke to any of them. Never reached out and tried to foster a connection the normal way, because the normal way always ended in heartbreak and pain. They would either expect things of him that he couldn’t provide, or he would ask for more than they could give. He rarely ever mentioned his age anymore, or any glimmer of his past-it seemed to be too much for the world to comprehend, and Jack wouldn’t think of asking them to try. Instead he just there and gone, a person who was there, did what he could, and tried not to be too worse for it.
Inara, though-oh, Inara was wonderful. The comfort and intimacy of being close to someone that he craved without the burden of telling her his deepest secrets. He needed to just be Jack for a while. Someone who was in need of some quality love and affection at a relatively decent price. A price that he certainly didn’t mind paying.
“You pride yourself on being a man of mystery, don’t you?”
They were lying in bed, just enjoying the comfort of being close to each other. He had paid for her services for the weekend, and for right now they were just taking their time, so close to being lovers on a long lazy weekend, but not quite. There was still that client-Companion barrier which he was very sure to keep intact, not needing to fall in love all over again. She was on her stomach and he was on his side, letting his fingers gently trail down the line of her spine and over her skin. His eyes had been intent on what he was doing, but they flickered up to her when she spoke, raising an amused eyebrow.
“I’m an open book, Inara. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Inara gave him a look that managed to be both challenging and amused at the same time, which never failed to make him smile as well. “Says the man who hasn’t even told me his last name yet.”
“I wasn’t aware that that mattered,” Jack replied, the smirk still in place. “You’re the one who told me that we could be as-anonymous as we chose to be.”
“That’s not what I mean, Jack. There are moments where I feel like I know you, and you’re this person, and then-something will change and you’ll become someone completely different, and it’s as though I didn’t know you at all.”
Jack watched her face carefully, seeing something flicker in her eyes and taking the opportunity to avoid the question once again. “Remind you of someone?”
And at that, she did her own sidestep. “I thought we were talking about you, not me.”
“We can’t do both?”
“You seem to know quite a good deal about me already,” she replied, shifting over onto her side and propping herself up on an elbow. “I think I’d rather hear about you.”
At that, Jack’s eyes wandered back to her skin again, his hand trailing over her side to the soft skin of her stomach. “People are complicated, Inara. I’m sure you know that better than most. Why is who I am so important to you?”
“You told me once that you were looking for intimacy,” she said softly, her free hand coming up to brush against the side of his face lightly, turning his eyes gently back to her. “Intimacy requires knowing each other, wouldn’t you say?”
Jack looked at her, wondering briefly what it was she saw when she looked at him-if he looked as lost as he felt-before blinking whatever feeling it was away and giving her a small smile. “So how do you suggest we remedy this particular problem?”
She considered this for a moment, before giving him a bit of a grin as she spoke. “Tell me something-personal. Not a deep dark secret or anything like it, just-something that you don’t readily share with people you haven’t met.”
He could tell that the wheels in her head were turning, trying to figure out what he was going to say before he was going to say it. He was thinking himself, trying to figure out what he could tell her that wouldn’t give too much away about who he was and what he did. It was a moment before the smile softened into one of fond remembrance and he shifted so that he was facing her a bit more.
“My first time was with a boy-” He saw the look that crossed her face at that revelation and he snorted. “-oh, don’t look so surprised. You should have seen that one coming.”
“I think I did, but it’s still shocking to hear all the same.”
“Anyway. This particular boy was a local friend from town, and when we got to that age where people normally would experiment and fool around with the opposite sex, we experimented with each other. It was-enlightening, to say the least, if not awkward and uncomfortable, but it was-ours. And that would be the important part, wouldn’t you agree?” Inara nodded slowly, meeting his eyes for a moment. He stared back at her, his hand moving up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face. “But that was a long, long time ago.”
“I see.”
Jack continued to watch her, before switching his position so that he was leaning over her, and gave her a slight smirk. “How about we forget the past for a while? Right now-I’m not as fond of it as I should be.”
At that, her face gave him that composed Companion smile, the one he hated, but he knew she only gave to him when she wanted him to know that she wasn’t quite satisfied with his answers. He just leaned forward to kiss her again, distracting her from what they were talking about for the moment, and just trying to enjoy his time with her as best he could.