Series 1 RP for twmagdalena

[quitehomoerotic]

A rare evening alone and Jack should have known things would never go to plan. He told the team to go home, to have dinner, go to the pub, whatever it is normal people do with their evenings. But he hadn't bargained for the six Weevils that appeared in Cathays park

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[twmagdalena]

The only reason she'd come back was that she'd left her wallet in the drawer of her desk. Rhys had said it was no big deal, leave it, get it tomorrow, but she'd heard (and given) one too many don't drive without your license lectures. "I'll be in and out," she'd promised, "I'll meet you and Banana down the pub

[quitehomoerotic]

Jack was used to being alone when he faced things like this. He always had been, it was normal. That was unless he was having it scrutinised. Torchwood liked to do that for a long time, they never really did give up trying to find out how and why it worked. It was no wonder he hid it at the first opportunity he got.

He didn't expect anyone to be there. He'd arrived in silence and it still seemed silent now. Silent that was until he heard the echo of footsteps and the shadow of Gwen enter his vision.

He felt caught off guard and he straightened his back a little. "Hi," he nodded and looked down for a moment at his clasped hands before gazing back up towards her. "I thought you were out with Rhys."

[twmagdalena]

"I forgot my wallet," she told him, walking into the room, into the light. He'd not invited her in, in fact his body language seemed designed to preserve distance, but she came in anyway -- again, she'd gone in before and checked his pulse... oh, and was that his blood on her cuff? Probably -- and came all the way around to his side of the desk.

"Left it in my desk." Her voice was still a whisper, and she set her cup down on the desk before reaching out to touch his cheek. To reassure herself he was warm and alive again. Her small hand, warm from cradling her mug of tea, cupping his face gently.

"You alright?"

[quitehomoerotic]

It was almost jarring to be seen in this situation after keeping it well hidden for so long. But nowhere as jarring as having her gentle reaction to it. Her human and caring reaction.

He breathed out and glanced up at her. Her hand was warm and it felt nice against his skin.

"I'm fine," he nodded, short and succinct. "Just a scratch." He almost laughed at that, the irony in it. In a way it wasn't a lie; that was all that was left now, after all. Just a scratch.

"You should get gone. Rhys'll be worried."

[twmagdalena]

"It was more than a scratch when I came in," she scolds him softly for being so dismissive. She'd taken the sponge-mop and cleaned up some of the blood, in fact, before going down for that cup of tea. "Don't tell me that was a scratch, or that it didn't hurt." She drummed her heels a little against the desk drawers, mostly for emphasis.

"Rhys is off at the pub with a mate. It's fine." Her thumb traced the line of his cheekbone. "It's okay." It's okay to feel shitty. It's okay to crave a little human contact. It's okay to be vulnerable. Her voice contained multitudes.

[quitehomoerotic]

Jack took another deep breath and shifted slightly, his face withdrawing from her hold. As tactile as he could be at times, he wasn't always comfortable with it, especially when feeling vulnerable like he did now.

"I'm fine," he echoed as he adopted his best 'I'm the boss' tone. "It doesn't matter."

He looked down again and cleared his throat. Doing his very best to ignore the fact his formerly blue shirt was now mostly dark red and still sticky.

[twmagdalena]

Gwen lowered her hand when she felt him withdraw, took a sip from her tea and handed him the mug. "Here. Drink this. It'll help."

She hopped off the desk and stood before him, assessing the state he was in. Her eyes moved over him without hesitation and there was, this time, nothing sexual in the frankness of her gaze. "The shirt's a write-off. I should run you a shower, you're caked in blood."

[quitehomoerotic]

He glanced over to the mug as though she were presenting him with a new alien find. "I'm fine," he reiterated. Being looked after wasn't something he was used to, nor was it something he was entirely comfortable with.

Looking down at his shirt he laughed a little, "Oh you think?" He smirked and shook his head, "Plenty where that came from."

Another shake of his head though, and he sighed out. "I'll do that. I'm not an invalid, Gwen."

[twmagdalena]

"I know you're not, but you're also not quite yourself yet from being what looked like ripped apart," she pointed out, lifting her chin stubbornly. "I'm not infantilising you, Jack. I wouldn't dream of it. What I am doing, is being a friend."

Her green eyes were enormous and so dark in the half-light. "You scared me when I found you bleeding out here, all alone." She took his hand -- slightly sticky with his own blood -- and placed it over the centre of her chest (thank god she was wearing red) so he could feel the way her heart was still pounding. "Fussing a bit is calming -- I mean, clearly, this is nothing new to you, but..."

[quitehomoerotic]

"It wasn't as bad as it looked," he insisted. Adamant to maintain that it was nothing, despite the fact it killed him. "Blood always makes things look worse."

He watched her as she took his hand, surprised by the motion, but doing his utmost best not to show it. "Then I'm sorry you found me," he nodded. "Nobody was supposed to be here."

Another breath out. "It's not something I want people to see."

[twmagdalena]

"It's a fact of being your friend, Jack," Gwen pointed out. Her hand rested lightly over his over her heart. "You are who and what you are, and you shouldn't feel you have to hide it away in the dark, like something dirty and shameful."

Her voice took on a more passionate lilt, moving away from the funereal whispers she had been using.

[quitehomoerotic]

"I'm not hiding," he corrected. "Just keeping my personal business personal. There's no reason for people to know things that would only scare and upset them."

He looked up at her and heaved out another heavy sigh. He supposed he'd asked for it in a way, Gwen Cooper. It was her passion, fire and the fact that she never seemed to give up that made him interested in her in the first place, so he should hardly be shocked that she'd be the same where he's concerned.

[twmagdalena]

"We're not children, Jack," she reminded him. Her heart beat just a bit faster.

And then he sighed at her, and she looked away, laughing falsely. If anything, she felt a bit foolish. A bit like she'd overstepped some line that she hadn't realised was there until she'd blundered over it. Jack was an incredibly informal sort of a boss -- it was easy to mistake his easy charm for a sort of intimacy. Especially after a few lessons from him with firearms.

[quitehomoerotic]

"No," he agreed, "children aren't scared of anything, they don't know any better." He smiled a little and looked over at her.

"It was a Weevil. A pack of Weevils," he tells her. An olive branch of sorts reached out. An answer to a question she didn't ask. "Caught me off guard, that's all. Oh and don't worry, I didn't drive like this." He tried to inject a little humour. His defence mechanism so many times.

[twmagdalena]

She huffed a little, a noise that could have been a laugh or could have been a sigh, but was, in reality, somewhere between the two. "I suppose that's something," Gwen allowed. "You'd've been swerving all over the road and scare some traffic patrol half to death."

Her hands were held in her lap, fingers absently drumming on her thighs a bit. "Take off the shirt, please," she blurted, barely even registering the potential suggestiveness of her request. "It's just... so red." Feeling still a bit foolish, she added weakly, "And red's not your colour in the least."

[quitehomoerotic]

"Oh I do that too," he pointed out with a slight smile. "Usually makes driving a little more interesting. Brightens up the day." He was diverting, making light of the situation. But that's how he deals with things. He needed his outlet as much as the next.

The request surprised him, but he nodded. He decided against the obvious and easy comment to make. He could understand her discomfort at seeing him like that. "I'll change," he nodded and spoke with a gentle voice.

He stood and pushed himself from his desk, attempting not to appear still a little woozy on his feet. "A fresh coffee wouldn't go amiss," he suggested with a smile as he paused at the hatch in the corner. "And one of those pastries. If we've still got them."