| Characters: Jack Harkness, The Doctor
Link to IJ: thread #75440.4592560 |
 Jack straightened the black-and-grey jacket, taking a breath before stepping into the ballroom. He was a bit late, but it had taken him longer than he liked to find a tailor to put the outfit together. He'd left his great-coat up in his room, along with his Glock, trusting the Master to keep mayhem from breaking out.
He still had the boots he'd worn earlier, along with a new pair of neatly-pressed grey trousers. Shirt and braces and the newly tailored jacket with its deliberate resemblance to military dress uniforms, with the Masterworks logo where unit insignia would be. He stopped at the buffet first, snagging a plate of snacks before looking around for a table, settling at one that had a nice view of the dance floor, his back to the wall. |
 The Doctor did show up. Eventually. All in black. Victorian frock coat and vest, and oddly enough, gloves. It wasn't his usual style. Which was rather the point. He kept the converses, black as well, and the red rose.
He'd finally read the notice, and could help but be amused. Because. He was rather late. He'd have some words with the Master later about the sign. That would be fun. He milled around, scanning faces. Familiar and new. He caught the eye of, well, some Jack. Not one he'd met before, he didn't think. |
| Jack looked up at the unfamiliar face a moment, noting the red rose, and took a deep breath, smiling a little at the Doctor, and waving him over. This couldn't be his Doctor, not with the rose. But it was the Master's Doctor, and he thought he could be cordial to him, at least.
"Doctor," he said in greeting, waving a hand at a chair. "Sit for a bit?" |
| The Doctor beamed, "Of course, Jack." He sat. "Although, I don't think I've met this particular you before." |
| "I've only been here since yesterday." Jack studied the Doctor a long moment, trying to relax. "I met the Master when I stepped through to a street instead of a hallway," he added, cautiously, testing to Doctor's reaction to that. |
| "Well, welcome to. Here, then." He nodded at the mention of the Master. "Which one? Some are easier to deal with than others." This tone was pleasant and fairly neutral. |
| "Yours." Jack shrugged. "He did mention there was at least one psychopathic version of him wearing his face, but I've yet to meet him." He took a sip of the wine he'd gotten to go with his snacks, trying to soothe his nerves. "I'm not too worried about him - I know how to handle the Master when he's in a bad phase."
No, it wasn't the Master that had him wound like a spring ready to snap if a bit more pressure was applied. And he... wasn't sure how to tell the Doctor it was the Doctor he didn't trust, couldn't trust. Maybe he could trust this Doctor, but it didn't make it any easier to tell him he didn't trust any of the others he'd seen come in. |
| The Doctor tilted his head, really looking Jack. "If you say you can deal with the Master at his worst, I'll take your word for it. In my experience, Jacks can deal with Masters pretty well. But I'm glad you ran into mine first, out of the pick here. Probably much more pleasant for you, even if you can take the bad." |
| Jack shrugged. "Not exactly." He picked up a bit of pastry, eating it before adding, "Better the Master than you, though." |
| The Doctor frowned a bit, but wasn't angry. Just curious and concerned. "What do you mean? With both those statement, if you don't mind telling me." |
| Jack met the Doctor's gaze steadily. "I might not have shot you on sight, because your face isn't one that I knew belonged to the Doctor. But anyone earlier?" He shrugged. "I would have."
He took another sip of his wine. "The other... In my world, the Master has been the only constant besides not staying dead in my life for a century. And I have been the only constant in his. He doesn't like to give up control, and to have control... not with him. Or an alternate of him." Jack shook his head. "It's enough to throw me." |
| The Doctor blinked a few times. "I'm going to lay aside the first parts of that. Because I can sort of see how if you and the Master got along, but not with me for some reason. What you said would maybe make sense. But it would take a while for us to untangle the details. And, of course, pretty much any version of the Master is going to have control issues. I'm afraid I'm following not at all the part about control not being with him. And throwing you." |
| Jack smiled wryly a moment, glancing up at the ceiling before he looked back to the Doctor. "My Master doesn't give, when it comes to sex. Doesn't give me any control - and I don't expect him to - and to be offered that, even a little..." Jack shrugged again. "I'm not accustomed to it, not from him - or even from some version of him that wears the same face." |
| The Doctor sat for minute processing that. He hadn't actually had a chance to have a good talk with the Master today, just a "Hey, see you at the party." Clearly he'd been missing a lot, in the last few days.
"I'm not sure how you want me to respond to that. We've not discussed what obviously happened between you, at all. We've been busy. I'm not angry or jealous. A little thrown. So, not a good experience? Do you want to actually talk about it?" |
| "Not particularly." Jack twirled the stem of the glass between his fingers, watching the wine rise up the sides. "And I don't want you to respond in any particular fashion. Because it doesn't matter. It just is. Happened, and not going to be changed." He shrugged, shifting his weight so he could stand. "I think I need to find someone else to talk to, Doctor." He smiled slightly. "Maybe later we can talk again."
He hadn't been able to relax, even knowing this Doctor was safe - as safe as being around the Doctor ever was. That this Doctor wasn't the same one who abandoned him. And right now, he needed space. Before he did something monumentally stupid - even if he wasn't sure whether he wanted to punch the Doctor, or find the nearest unoccupied room and fuck him. He snorted softly to himself. He was relearning some bad habits from the Master. |
| His instinct was to try to grab Jack and get him to talk more. But he thought that would probably end in exactly the kind of altercation that needed (was required) to be avoided during this party.
"Take care, Jack," he said softly, "I'd be happy to talk to you later." So was so confused about what was going on with that Jack. It seemed like a wealth of bad, though. |