yamx: Captain Envy (Jack/Eleven) [Teen] - SUMMER HOLIDAYS, PROMPT 15
Title: Captain Envy
Author: yamx
Beta: lindenharp - Thank you!
Challenge: Summer Holidays 2
Prompt Group: 15 - impartial - rival - bicker - poke
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Jack/Eleven
Spoilers/warnings: DW: The End of Time (AU after that)
Summary: On a space station about to crash, a new Doctor runs into an old friend.
A/N: In addition to the prompt, this was also inspired by tardis_stowaway's comment to my reaction post to the season 5 episode The Lodger. (Careful - comment contains spoilers, though this fic itself doesn’t - only one reference you'll only catch if you've seen the ep.)
Captain Envy
The Doctor sighs. Just what he needed, so shortly after regenerating. The TARDIS was barely done fixing herself when her sensors picked up a major time squall. Investigating, he's found that it has thrown a relay station out of orbit. In about eleven minutes, the whole thing is going to crash into the bright green sun, taking crew and passengers with it.
No time to fix their systems. And he can't just drag the station back into orbit with the TARDIS either - it's too unstable now, would break apart. There's only one thing to do, and he doesn’t have time to be subtle about it.
He materializes in the middle of the station's bridge. On the viewscreen, he sees panicky humans and other aliens staring at the apparition. A few men in what looks like security uniforms are leveling guns at the TARDIS, and a burly man in a red uniform with lots of bling on the shoulders - must be the station commander - is barking orders. With a glance, the Doctor takes his measure. Military man through and through. Deep distrust of civilians telling him what to do. Might have romantic notions of sinking with his ship.
The Doctor rolls his eyes. Military types. Great. And he has no time to argue with the man.
He strides to the door, straightens his shoulders and steps onto the deck, employing his best approximation of a regimental pose. The temporal upheavals here make his time sense cramp and itch, but he is careful to show nothing but arrogant self-assurance in his expression.
The commander steps towards him. "Who the hell are-" he begins to bark, but the Doctor interrupts him.
He flashes the psychic paper, thinking holobadge at it, and adopts a military tone Lethbridge-Stewart would be proud of. He hopes his tweed jacket and bow tie won't completely ruin the ruse. "Captain Troy Handsome. Intergalactic Rescue. We received your distress signal."
Before the commander has a chance to fully process that, he continues. "This station is to be evacuated." He points towards the TARDIS doors. "Everyone into the rescue ship. Spit-spot!"
He looks around at the crowd staring at him with a mixture of hope and confusion. Putting every ounce of Oncoming Storm into his voice, he bellows, "Get into the ship if you want to live!"
The crew glance at their commander. Well-trained, clearly. The commander squares his shoulders, pulls his uniform straight and nods at his first mate. "Collins, take the log. We're evacuating."
"Excellent." The Doctor suppresses a grin. "Through that door and to the left." The TARDIS should have constructed a holding area for the evacuees by now. Wouldn't want fifty strangers milling around his control room, now would she?
In less than two minutes the civilians and the crew have crowded into the TARDIS. The commander follows last. Almost last. There's one person left. A tall man, leaning in the shadows, watching him, but apparently in no rush to get off this death-bound lump of space junk.
The Doctor yells at him, impatient. "Get a move on, will you?"
The figure steps into the red glow of the emergency lights, and the Doctor almost gasps in surprise. Before he can think of something to say, the tall man crosses the distance between them and throws him a sloppy salute. "Aye, aye, Captain." There's an impish gleam in his eyes at the last word.
Well, damn it. Of all the stupid pseudonyms he could have used…
Jack turns and steps into the TARDIS. The Doctor follows and closes the door. He can deal with this later.
A quick glance confirms that the station's crew is seated in the holding area - his clever ship has made it look like any average crew cabin, which of course doesn’t change the fact that it's much too big for what they've seen from the outside. The men and women are restless, glancing around nervously.
The commander spots him and opens his mouth, but before he can ask a question, the Doctor closes the door in his face with a cheerful, "Never fear, we'll have you on Earth in a jiffy." They may not even be from Earth, but if he gets them there, they'll be able to make their own way home. Beats being burned to a crisp, certainly.
He steps into the control room and finds Jack already there. Of course. "Through the door and to the left" was never going to work on Jack Harkness, was it? Jack strides up to the console, inspecting it curiously and stroking the edge. The Doctor would bristle, except the TARDIS's hum of welcome is so loud and warm that he knows he'd get zapped for it.
"You've redecorated," Jack observes.
He flinches. "Not redecorated as much as… crashed."
"Ah. Well, as an entirely impartial judge…" Jack slowly, very slowly, looks him up and down. "I like the new look."
He feels his ears growing hot. "Umm… err… yes. The split-level design is quite attractive, is it not?"
Jack throws his head back and laughs. "It is. Didn't mean our beautiful lady, though." He strokes the console tenderly and the TARDIS's hum deepens to positively scandalous levels.
Jack winks. "Meant her 'captain.'"
He swallows. Jack's not going to let that one go. Unless he can distract him. "Well, then." He strides up to the console. "Let's get out of here, shall we."
Jack takes his place by the stabilizers as he used to when they were traveling together. The Doctor pauses. Jack throws him a glance, raising an eyebrow. "Permission to help out, Captain?"
He rolls his eyes. He really should tell Jack to stuff it and wait with the others like a good boy.
Except, given the temporal turbulences in the wake of the squall, he really could do with an experienced hand on the stabilizers. He shrugs, which seems to be all the encouragement Jack needs, and slams the lever just hard enough that Jack has to brace himself against the console to keep his feet through the sudden jump. "Lost your space legs?" the Doctor asks with a smirk.
Jack chuckles. "Not for most ships… you just have a very particular driving style."
He grins and begins to maneuver the many eddies in the time stream. Jack keeps the TARDIS beautifully balanced. He hasn't forgotten anything, and the changes to the console clearly don't faze him.
As soon as they're in the open Vortex, the Doctor begins to prepare for materialization. "What year are they supposed to be in, do you know?"
Jack checks his wristcomp. "Fifty-three forty-one. July 28."
The Doctor nods and plots a course to Earth and that date. "Best get there right away. Don't want to turn the TARDIS into a cruise vessel," he says, fiddling with the controls.
"Aye, Captain." This time, the mock-title sounds bitter, not teasing. The Doctor looks up. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
The Doctor looks at him - the shuttered eyes, the rigid pose. He reviews the last minute in his mind. Oh. He takes a step towards Jack and puts a hand on his arm.
Jack looks up. "What?"
"Jack." He slides the hand to Jack's shoulder, squeezes. "I meant them." He jerks his head towards the holding area. "Not you."
Jack's lips curl into a tentative smile. "So…?"
The Doctor makes a sweeping arm movement encompassing the entire control room. "Mea TARDIS est sua TARDIS." He frowns. "Probably lost your old room in the crash, sorry… but should be easy enough to find you a new one…" He brightens. "I think I saw one with a hot tub." He smiles at Jack.
Jack's answering smile makes his hearts speed up.
Then Jack raises an eyebrow. "But won't the TARDIS be confused with two captains around?"
He throws up his hands. "Oh, will you let that go? I only said it so that commander would take me seriously!"
Jack grins. "Because you think captains get taken more seriously than doctors?"
He frowns. "Well… military types like that…" A shrug.
"Rose was right," Jack says in a sing-song. "You have captain envy!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do n- ah, this is too silly!" He pulls his hand off Jack's shoulder as if exasperated - and then pushes it forwards again in a lightning-fast movement, poking a sensitive spot on Jack's ribs that Rose once taught him about.
Jack squeals and half-turns, then dodges closer and tries to retaliate by going for the Doctor's stomach.
The Doctor just smiles at him patronizingly. "That won't work, Jack."
Jack looks baffled. He had good success with that move in the past.
"New me. New ticklish spots." He grins. "You know nothing about this body." The words are barely out of his mouth when he realizes what he's left himself open for.
Right on cue, Jack's lips turn into a seductive smile and he steps closer, so close their chests are almost touching. "Gonna let me find out?" He places a hand on the Doctor's hip.
The Doctor freezes. Jack can't seriously think that… But to his own surprise, he feels warmth beginning to pool in his groin.
Surely not. He doesn’t. Not with companions. Never has. Never even wanted-
Except now, apparently he does.
He gulps. Looks at Jack helplessly.
His friend immediately takes a step back. "Sorry. Teasing. I know you don't want to…"
The Doctor cocks his head. "I… I think I might want to."
Jack's eyes widen. "Really?"
"I'm… not sure. I haven't felt like this…" He shakes his head, trying to clear his mind. It's been centuries. Not since… "I don't know what to make of this."
Jack smiles shyly - an expression the Doctor's never seen on him before. "If you want, I'll help you find out."
"I-"
Jack raises his hands. "No pressure. I'll back off if you change your mind."
"I know that." Of course Jack would. "I just wouldn't want to get your hopes up and then…"
Jack laughs at that. "Ah, Doctor. If there's one thing I'm good at by now, it's dealing with disappointments."
The Doctor smiles uncomfortably. "Let's get these people home, huh?" He adjusts the plotter and opens the throttle.
Jack returns his focus to the stabilizers. "Aye aye, Captain."
The Doctor sighs. He's not going to live this down anytime soon. But watching Jack's large, steady hands skillfully manipulating the levers, stroking and poking with strength and tenderness, he can't help thinking that being teased by this man - in any sense of the word - might not be the worst thing that could happen to him.
The End
Author: yamx
Beta: lindenharp - Thank you!
Challenge: Summer Holidays 2
Prompt Group: 15 - impartial - rival - bicker - poke
Rating: Teen
Pairing: Jack/Eleven
Spoilers/warnings: DW: The End of Time (AU after that)
Summary: On a space station about to crash, a new Doctor runs into an old friend.
A/N: In addition to the prompt, this was also inspired by tardis_stowaway's comment to my reaction post to the season 5 episode The Lodger. (Careful - comment contains spoilers, though this fic itself doesn’t - only one reference you'll only catch if you've seen the ep.)
Captain Envy
The Doctor sighs. Just what he needed, so shortly after regenerating. The TARDIS was barely done fixing herself when her sensors picked up a major time squall. Investigating, he's found that it has thrown a relay station out of orbit. In about eleven minutes, the whole thing is going to crash into the bright green sun, taking crew and passengers with it.
No time to fix their systems. And he can't just drag the station back into orbit with the TARDIS either - it's too unstable now, would break apart. There's only one thing to do, and he doesn’t have time to be subtle about it.
He materializes in the middle of the station's bridge. On the viewscreen, he sees panicky humans and other aliens staring at the apparition. A few men in what looks like security uniforms are leveling guns at the TARDIS, and a burly man in a red uniform with lots of bling on the shoulders - must be the station commander - is barking orders. With a glance, the Doctor takes his measure. Military man through and through. Deep distrust of civilians telling him what to do. Might have romantic notions of sinking with his ship.
The Doctor rolls his eyes. Military types. Great. And he has no time to argue with the man.
He strides to the door, straightens his shoulders and steps onto the deck, employing his best approximation of a regimental pose. The temporal upheavals here make his time sense cramp and itch, but he is careful to show nothing but arrogant self-assurance in his expression.
The commander steps towards him. "Who the hell are-" he begins to bark, but the Doctor interrupts him.
He flashes the psychic paper, thinking holobadge at it, and adopts a military tone Lethbridge-Stewart would be proud of. He hopes his tweed jacket and bow tie won't completely ruin the ruse. "Captain Troy Handsome. Intergalactic Rescue. We received your distress signal."
Before the commander has a chance to fully process that, he continues. "This station is to be evacuated." He points towards the TARDIS doors. "Everyone into the rescue ship. Spit-spot!"
He looks around at the crowd staring at him with a mixture of hope and confusion. Putting every ounce of Oncoming Storm into his voice, he bellows, "Get into the ship if you want to live!"
The crew glance at their commander. Well-trained, clearly. The commander squares his shoulders, pulls his uniform straight and nods at his first mate. "Collins, take the log. We're evacuating."
"Excellent." The Doctor suppresses a grin. "Through that door and to the left." The TARDIS should have constructed a holding area for the evacuees by now. Wouldn't want fifty strangers milling around his control room, now would she?
In less than two minutes the civilians and the crew have crowded into the TARDIS. The commander follows last. Almost last. There's one person left. A tall man, leaning in the shadows, watching him, but apparently in no rush to get off this death-bound lump of space junk.
The Doctor yells at him, impatient. "Get a move on, will you?"
The figure steps into the red glow of the emergency lights, and the Doctor almost gasps in surprise. Before he can think of something to say, the tall man crosses the distance between them and throws him a sloppy salute. "Aye, aye, Captain." There's an impish gleam in his eyes at the last word.
Well, damn it. Of all the stupid pseudonyms he could have used…
Jack turns and steps into the TARDIS. The Doctor follows and closes the door. He can deal with this later.
A quick glance confirms that the station's crew is seated in the holding area - his clever ship has made it look like any average crew cabin, which of course doesn’t change the fact that it's much too big for what they've seen from the outside. The men and women are restless, glancing around nervously.
The commander spots him and opens his mouth, but before he can ask a question, the Doctor closes the door in his face with a cheerful, "Never fear, we'll have you on Earth in a jiffy." They may not even be from Earth, but if he gets them there, they'll be able to make their own way home. Beats being burned to a crisp, certainly.
He steps into the control room and finds Jack already there. Of course. "Through the door and to the left" was never going to work on Jack Harkness, was it? Jack strides up to the console, inspecting it curiously and stroking the edge. The Doctor would bristle, except the TARDIS's hum of welcome is so loud and warm that he knows he'd get zapped for it.
"You've redecorated," Jack observes.
He flinches. "Not redecorated as much as… crashed."
"Ah. Well, as an entirely impartial judge…" Jack slowly, very slowly, looks him up and down. "I like the new look."
He feels his ears growing hot. "Umm… err… yes. The split-level design is quite attractive, is it not?"
Jack throws his head back and laughs. "It is. Didn't mean our beautiful lady, though." He strokes the console tenderly and the TARDIS's hum deepens to positively scandalous levels.
Jack winks. "Meant her 'captain.'"
He swallows. Jack's not going to let that one go. Unless he can distract him. "Well, then." He strides up to the console. "Let's get out of here, shall we."
Jack takes his place by the stabilizers as he used to when they were traveling together. The Doctor pauses. Jack throws him a glance, raising an eyebrow. "Permission to help out, Captain?"
He rolls his eyes. He really should tell Jack to stuff it and wait with the others like a good boy.
Except, given the temporal turbulences in the wake of the squall, he really could do with an experienced hand on the stabilizers. He shrugs, which seems to be all the encouragement Jack needs, and slams the lever just hard enough that Jack has to brace himself against the console to keep his feet through the sudden jump. "Lost your space legs?" the Doctor asks with a smirk.
Jack chuckles. "Not for most ships… you just have a very particular driving style."
He grins and begins to maneuver the many eddies in the time stream. Jack keeps the TARDIS beautifully balanced. He hasn't forgotten anything, and the changes to the console clearly don't faze him.
As soon as they're in the open Vortex, the Doctor begins to prepare for materialization. "What year are they supposed to be in, do you know?"
Jack checks his wristcomp. "Fifty-three forty-one. July 28."
The Doctor nods and plots a course to Earth and that date. "Best get there right away. Don't want to turn the TARDIS into a cruise vessel," he says, fiddling with the controls.
"Aye, Captain." This time, the mock-title sounds bitter, not teasing. The Doctor looks up. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
The Doctor looks at him - the shuttered eyes, the rigid pose. He reviews the last minute in his mind. Oh. He takes a step towards Jack and puts a hand on his arm.
Jack looks up. "What?"
"Jack." He slides the hand to Jack's shoulder, squeezes. "I meant them." He jerks his head towards the holding area. "Not you."
Jack's lips curl into a tentative smile. "So…?"
The Doctor makes a sweeping arm movement encompassing the entire control room. "Mea TARDIS est sua TARDIS." He frowns. "Probably lost your old room in the crash, sorry… but should be easy enough to find you a new one…" He brightens. "I think I saw one with a hot tub." He smiles at Jack.
Jack's answering smile makes his hearts speed up.
Then Jack raises an eyebrow. "But won't the TARDIS be confused with two captains around?"
He throws up his hands. "Oh, will you let that go? I only said it so that commander would take me seriously!"
Jack grins. "Because you think captains get taken more seriously than doctors?"
He frowns. "Well… military types like that…" A shrug.
"Rose was right," Jack says in a sing-song. "You have captain envy!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do n- ah, this is too silly!" He pulls his hand off Jack's shoulder as if exasperated - and then pushes it forwards again in a lightning-fast movement, poking a sensitive spot on Jack's ribs that Rose once taught him about.
Jack squeals and half-turns, then dodges closer and tries to retaliate by going for the Doctor's stomach.
The Doctor just smiles at him patronizingly. "That won't work, Jack."
Jack looks baffled. He had good success with that move in the past.
"New me. New ticklish spots." He grins. "You know nothing about this body." The words are barely out of his mouth when he realizes what he's left himself open for.
Right on cue, Jack's lips turn into a seductive smile and he steps closer, so close their chests are almost touching. "Gonna let me find out?" He places a hand on the Doctor's hip.
The Doctor freezes. Jack can't seriously think that… But to his own surprise, he feels warmth beginning to pool in his groin.
Surely not. He doesn’t. Not with companions. Never has. Never even wanted-
Except now, apparently he does.
He gulps. Looks at Jack helplessly.
His friend immediately takes a step back. "Sorry. Teasing. I know you don't want to…"
The Doctor cocks his head. "I… I think I might want to."
Jack's eyes widen. "Really?"
"I'm… not sure. I haven't felt like this…" He shakes his head, trying to clear his mind. It's been centuries. Not since… "I don't know what to make of this."
Jack smiles shyly - an expression the Doctor's never seen on him before. "If you want, I'll help you find out."
"I-"
Jack raises his hands. "No pressure. I'll back off if you change your mind."
"I know that." Of course Jack would. "I just wouldn't want to get your hopes up and then…"
Jack laughs at that. "Ah, Doctor. If there's one thing I'm good at by now, it's dealing with disappointments."
The Doctor smiles uncomfortably. "Let's get these people home, huh?" He adjusts the plotter and opens the throttle.
Jack returns his focus to the stabilizers. "Aye aye, Captain."
The Doctor sighs. He's not going to live this down anytime soon. But watching Jack's large, steady hands skillfully manipulating the levers, stroking and poking with strength and tenderness, he can't help thinking that being teased by this man - in any sense of the word - might not be the worst thing that could happen to him.
The End