Torchwood/Journeyman (PG)
Title: Extended First Meetings
Pairing: Gen
Length: 8,300 words
Author on LJ: xwingace
Author Website: An Island in the Void
Why this must be read:
Well, for one thing, the author wrote the very first Torchwood fic recced here. For another, the other canon featured in this story, Journeyman, was an excellent NBC series in which Dan Vasser - husband, father, newspaper reporter, and reformed gambler, played by Rome’s Kevin McKidd - found himself taking sudden, uncontrollable trips between the past and present. xwingace finds a clever way of connecting the two shows. Double the time travel, double the fun!
“So why are you here this time, Dan?” he asked.
“Hell if I know.” Dan paused. He still didn’t know how much he should say. The fact that Harkness had previously admitted that he was looking for time-travelers indicated that he probably shouldn’t say too much...
Oh, to hell with it. “But it’s probably something to do with you.”
Harkness jumped upright, and was in Dan’s face more rapidly than he’d thought possible on such a narrow ledge. “How’s that?”
Dan instinctively took a step backwards, causing him to wobble slightly. There was a wind picking up, which really didn’t help with his stability. “I don’t see anybody else around here.” He caught his balance again, helped by Harkness, who held out an arm to steady him. “Why are you up here, anyway? How did you get here?”
Harkness let go of him again and took a step backwards. He gestured to the ladder that had probably been installed to let the maintenance guys touch up the paintwork. “I climbed up. To watch the sunset, mostly.”
“You really expect me to believe that?”
Harkness studied Dan for a few long seconds, and then that seemingly ever-present grin returned. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “If I really wanted to commit suicide, would I come up here? Jumping into the water from road level would kill me just as dead.”
There was something there that Harkness wasn’t telling him, but Dan didn’t get the chance to ask after it, because Harkness continued. “But that would be something, wouldn’t it? Eight to ten seconds of free fall. It would almost be like flying.” He was looking up at the sky again, at the stars visible in the sky in this time of less light pollution. He turned his head to look at Dan again. “Still can’t beat the real thing, though.” Then he went back to his stargazing.
What the hell was he talking about? Flying? Falling? There was still nothing to indicate what Dan was supposed to be doing here, and Harkness was just one cryptic comment after another. It was frustrating. He took a step forward, toward Harkness, and gestured with his hands to emphasize the question. “Who the hell are you, anyway?”
His foot hit the raised edge of a nail and slipped. At the same time, a gust of wind pushed him a little further in the direction he was already wobbling in, enough to unbalance him completely. Dan flailed with his arms, but it was futile. He went over the edge.
Extended First Meetings
Pairing: Gen
Length: 8,300 words
Author on LJ: xwingace
Author Website: An Island in the Void
Why this must be read:
Well, for one thing, the author wrote the very first Torchwood fic recced here. For another, the other canon featured in this story, Journeyman, was an excellent NBC series in which Dan Vasser - husband, father, newspaper reporter, and reformed gambler, played by Rome’s Kevin McKidd - found himself taking sudden, uncontrollable trips between the past and present. xwingace finds a clever way of connecting the two shows. Double the time travel, double the fun!
“So why are you here this time, Dan?” he asked.
“Hell if I know.” Dan paused. He still didn’t know how much he should say. The fact that Harkness had previously admitted that he was looking for time-travelers indicated that he probably shouldn’t say too much...
Oh, to hell with it. “But it’s probably something to do with you.”
Harkness jumped upright, and was in Dan’s face more rapidly than he’d thought possible on such a narrow ledge. “How’s that?”
Dan instinctively took a step backwards, causing him to wobble slightly. There was a wind picking up, which really didn’t help with his stability. “I don’t see anybody else around here.” He caught his balance again, helped by Harkness, who held out an arm to steady him. “Why are you up here, anyway? How did you get here?”
Harkness let go of him again and took a step backwards. He gestured to the ladder that had probably been installed to let the maintenance guys touch up the paintwork. “I climbed up. To watch the sunset, mostly.”
“You really expect me to believe that?”
Harkness studied Dan for a few long seconds, and then that seemingly ever-present grin returned. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “If I really wanted to commit suicide, would I come up here? Jumping into the water from road level would kill me just as dead.”
There was something there that Harkness wasn’t telling him, but Dan didn’t get the chance to ask after it, because Harkness continued. “But that would be something, wouldn’t it? Eight to ten seconds of free fall. It would almost be like flying.” He was looking up at the sky again, at the stars visible in the sky in this time of less light pollution. He turned his head to look at Dan again. “Still can’t beat the real thing, though.” Then he went back to his stargazing.
What the hell was he talking about? Flying? Falling? There was still nothing to indicate what Dan was supposed to be doing here, and Harkness was just one cryptic comment after another. It was frustrating. He took a step forward, toward Harkness, and gestured with his hands to emphasize the question. “Who the hell are you, anyway?”
His foot hit the raised edge of a nail and slipped. At the same time, a gust of wind pushed him a little further in the direction he was already wobbling in, enough to unbalance him completely. Dan flailed with his arms, but it was futile. He went over the edge.
Extended First Meetings