[EcM] 11.08 - Anniversary
Nov. 11th, 2008 12:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
onlysayinghelloIn a few weeks time it would've been one year that he'd known Adam. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade holding some sort of odd nostalgia for a weekend that had prepared him to face whatever life could hold. In a way it was a year he got to repeat, a year that he'd spent willfully tethered to a man he loved, instead of chained to a wall aboard the Valiant being killed over and over again. There wasn't anything he could've wished for his own do-over of a year than to have a man that actually understood everything he knew at his side.
Things weren't perfect, and Jack knew that. He knew though that he didn't want perfect right now. He needed it to be a struggle, for it to be something to work towards, to keep him grounded, to keep him wanting to stay. Adam was that very reason. He was a reason to want to change the world, to prove that it wasn't going to always be this bad. That things would change, and the people would understand and that one day it wouldn't be such a burden to exist for such a long time. That the time passing wouldn't feel like a sentencing but just a life to live.
It was a funny thing though, time didn't exactly have to be such an exact thing. Seconds rounded to minutes, and minutes into hours, and so one and until there was simply a year to look back on and wonder where the time went. Now though he knew more about Adam, knew how he'd spent last year this time and the longer Adam seemed to spend outdoors the more he understood the feeling of confinement sneaking up on him. Anniversaries were often difficult and to have so many of them Jack knew how that could weigh on a man.
Anniversaries were as ironic to Jack as much as the notion of a birthday he thought at this point was a bit redundant. Being buried alive had added a few extra digits to the front of his age, and the fact that he was technically not even born yet was still just another mystery figure of math to make his head spin a bit. The impossible thing that was Jack Harkness. The very fact of him was always going to cause some people to have questions, doubts even and maybe he preferred it that way. To have a bit of mystery about him was far easier than to simply just be.
Now though it was Adam's birthday and the placement of the one the year before hadn't exactly been on the best of terms. Which meant there wasn't really any chance that Jack could actually mess this up. Not that he actually was too worried, but there was always the off chance that something unexpected would happen. It did tend to follow him a bit these days, but then again it wasn't exactly a bad thing... just different.
Jack reloaded his pistol and positioned it into his holster, double checking the rift monitor before putting his jacket back on and heading up to the lift. The walk to the flat wasn't ever too long and he managed to catch Adam just as he was heading in. He took hold of his elbow turning him back out toward the street. "Come on, it's your birthday we're going to do something fun."
Adam looked slightly confused but Jack had the ability to persuade most people to follow him, and Adam was generally easier to convince. The two headed down to the Torchwood vehicle that he'd had parked there from the night before and they drove off toward the small blip on the monitor. Questions were easily deflected with a charming grin and a wink of mystery, two things that Jack knew he had in spades. When they finally arrived the field was still baren, a few sparse trees lining the edge of where an old farm used to be. Stepping out Jack popped the hatch of the vehicle and moved around to the back with a very curious Adam at his side. Glancing to his wrist Jack lifted the leather swatch and tapped on the glass for a moment hearing it beep a moment before the static filled the air.
Jack pointed to the distance where the bolt of lightning seemed to rip into the air itself and open with streaks of light coming off of it. Tipping his head aside he watched the rift open up for a moment trying to figure out just what he'd gotten them into.
"What is it?"
"Uhhh... not sure yet?"
"What do you mean, 'Not sure yet?' I'd have thought you'd know this sort of thing, isn't it your job?"
"Yes... and no. My job is to keep what comes through from making too big of a mess, I generally don't know what it is until it's through though. It looks biggish?" Jack tipped his head to the side watching it emerge through the slip of light, "Yeah. Biggish is right, and hey... at least it doesn't fly, I hate it when they fly."
Adam stood there for a moment slightly confused as to what they were doing there, then Jack pulled the cloth off the varied shapes in the back to reveal the weapons. "Ianto hasn't exactly named them yet, but I like them. Dual combustion fission calibrated and a whole lot of other terms that equal out to a hell of a lot of damage." Grinning nearly from ear to ear he glanced to Adam, "So feel like taking it down and saving the world?"
Without even needing an answer he tossed the other weapon to him and turned his own on hearing the hum of the reactor starting to spin, "They might give off a bit too much radiation still. They haven't exactly been field tested... but I figure who better to test them than us."
Of course as Jack spoke one of the few trees that lined the property was hurled over his head, "Less talk more shooting I take it?"
"Agreed."
"Happy Birthday Adam," he replied quickly before kissing him and turning toward the creature now lumbering toward them. "Oh... you poor thing you have no clue what you just walked into."
Things weren't perfect, and Jack knew that. He knew though that he didn't want perfect right now. He needed it to be a struggle, for it to be something to work towards, to keep him grounded, to keep him wanting to stay. Adam was that very reason. He was a reason to want to change the world, to prove that it wasn't going to always be this bad. That things would change, and the people would understand and that one day it wouldn't be such a burden to exist for such a long time. That the time passing wouldn't feel like a sentencing but just a life to live.
It was a funny thing though, time didn't exactly have to be such an exact thing. Seconds rounded to minutes, and minutes into hours, and so one and until there was simply a year to look back on and wonder where the time went. Now though he knew more about Adam, knew how he'd spent last year this time and the longer Adam seemed to spend outdoors the more he understood the feeling of confinement sneaking up on him. Anniversaries were often difficult and to have so many of them Jack knew how that could weigh on a man.
Anniversaries were as ironic to Jack as much as the notion of a birthday he thought at this point was a bit redundant. Being buried alive had added a few extra digits to the front of his age, and the fact that he was technically not even born yet was still just another mystery figure of math to make his head spin a bit. The impossible thing that was Jack Harkness. The very fact of him was always going to cause some people to have questions, doubts even and maybe he preferred it that way. To have a bit of mystery about him was far easier than to simply just be.
Now though it was Adam's birthday and the placement of the one the year before hadn't exactly been on the best of terms. Which meant there wasn't really any chance that Jack could actually mess this up. Not that he actually was too worried, but there was always the off chance that something unexpected would happen. It did tend to follow him a bit these days, but then again it wasn't exactly a bad thing... just different.
Jack reloaded his pistol and positioned it into his holster, double checking the rift monitor before putting his jacket back on and heading up to the lift. The walk to the flat wasn't ever too long and he managed to catch Adam just as he was heading in. He took hold of his elbow turning him back out toward the street. "Come on, it's your birthday we're going to do something fun."
Adam looked slightly confused but Jack had the ability to persuade most people to follow him, and Adam was generally easier to convince. The two headed down to the Torchwood vehicle that he'd had parked there from the night before and they drove off toward the small blip on the monitor. Questions were easily deflected with a charming grin and a wink of mystery, two things that Jack knew he had in spades. When they finally arrived the field was still baren, a few sparse trees lining the edge of where an old farm used to be. Stepping out Jack popped the hatch of the vehicle and moved around to the back with a very curious Adam at his side. Glancing to his wrist Jack lifted the leather swatch and tapped on the glass for a moment hearing it beep a moment before the static filled the air.
Jack pointed to the distance where the bolt of lightning seemed to rip into the air itself and open with streaks of light coming off of it. Tipping his head aside he watched the rift open up for a moment trying to figure out just what he'd gotten them into.
"What is it?"
"Uhhh... not sure yet?"
"What do you mean, 'Not sure yet?' I'd have thought you'd know this sort of thing, isn't it your job?"
"Yes... and no. My job is to keep what comes through from making too big of a mess, I generally don't know what it is until it's through though. It looks biggish?" Jack tipped his head to the side watching it emerge through the slip of light, "Yeah. Biggish is right, and hey... at least it doesn't fly, I hate it when they fly."
Adam stood there for a moment slightly confused as to what they were doing there, then Jack pulled the cloth off the varied shapes in the back to reveal the weapons. "Ianto hasn't exactly named them yet, but I like them. Dual combustion fission calibrated and a whole lot of other terms that equal out to a hell of a lot of damage." Grinning nearly from ear to ear he glanced to Adam, "So feel like taking it down and saving the world?"
Without even needing an answer he tossed the other weapon to him and turned his own on hearing the hum of the reactor starting to spin, "They might give off a bit too much radiation still. They haven't exactly been field tested... but I figure who better to test them than us."
Of course as Jack spoke one of the few trees that lined the property was hurled over his head, "Less talk more shooting I take it?"
"Agreed."
"Happy Birthday Adam," he replied quickly before kissing him and turning toward the creature now lumbering toward them. "Oh... you poor thing you have no clue what you just walked into."
