Chapter Text
It wasn’t exactly his usual haunt, a bit too local for his tastes. Dark and with a haze of smoke dancing in the lights. It would be full of people at least and there would be drinks. He needed a drink.
Settling at the bar with a lager was a comfort, a balm to his frayed nerves. It was a quiet night, people dotted in the booths while the jukebox played some unintelligible jazzy song in the background. The group in the biggest booth caught his attention as snippets of their conversation drifted towards him.
They were a curious company, with a young couple sitting between older men. There was an air of camaraderie around them that reminded him of the Army, of groups of soldiers knitted together by the hailstorms of bullets and anxious nights.
The younger man was a handsome thing and he was currently doing a fine display of being utterly exasperated while his friends laughed and smiled at his antics.
‘If I have to go to one more assembly, I swear I’ll murder one of them.’
The table burst into laughter at that, curiously unsympathetic. It just made the boy wave menacingly with a coaster at the lanky man sitting opposite to him.
‘God help me, one more night in those horribly tight things-’
The girl next to him swatted playfully at his sleeve and took a sip of her drink.
‘Oh don’t be silly Tom, you love playing Darcy. All aloof and prideful.’
That made them all go into fits of laughter again.
Something about the whole group set his teeth on edge, as if there was more there than met the eye.
‘You can’t stay at school forever, lad’ one of the men said grinning wildly. ‘And if it’s so bad, why not come back? We can always use skilled hands.’
That had evidently been the wrong thing to say. Because the youths both turned quiet and solemn in a matter of seconds.
‘Hogwarts doesn’t give out university diploma’s-’ the girl started. ‘And Mary’s job doesn’t exactly pay well.’ The boy finished for her.
Everyone nursed their drinks for a moment, contemplating the situation at hand. It was really the ideal moment to step off his stool and finish his pint. Jack walked to the table, putting just a bit of sway in his step and listening carefully for the moment he could approach them.
The girl was now taking her turn to vent her frustration. She had to be a seamstress, because when he did arrive at the table she was in the middle of a caricature of one of her clients.
‘But oh no, the latest fashion is not good enough for Dorea Potter, she’s married after all, she needs everything-’
She faltered when he came near and the whole table was staring at him, with rather more distrust than a civvie should harbor. Being in uniform should make you popular, not unpopular, but apparently the world was upside down here. Wouldn’t stop him from trying.
"I love a man out of uniform almost as much as in one."
It wasn’t the most smooth delivery he had ever made, but it had an impact. The last bit of relaxed attitude had vanished in the blink of an eye and he watched as the boy reached under the table, as if he was going for a concealed gun. Jack was surprised really, it was rare that everyone understood who his comments were meant for. The girls would giggle and blush and the men would act embarrassed. But half the table was eying him and the other half was eyeing the boy, as if he was likely to explode.
The girl kicked her friend in the shins and hissed something he couldn’t make out. The lanky man frowned and murmured loudly enough for him to hear over the music.
‘Not the stupid stick.’
It was really a too good opportunity to pass up. So he sidled into the booth next to the boy and grinned at him, determined to break the ice and ignore the odd tension in the air. He looked even nicer up close, all pale creamy skin and dark big eyes. It would be a good way to get his thoughts of the last few weeks. He was on leave after all.
The boy didn’t take so kindly to him, though the other people around the table relaxed marginally when the expected explosion didn’t arrive. Jack allowed him his moment, to gather his wits, but the moment never came and the kid only tensed further. Jack could really only grab the glass in front of him and drain it with a wink. And then pretend not to notice how he stilled and how those pretty brows bunched together in a frown. The boy was twitching with suppressed anger. Did people actually do that?
The boy brought his hands to the table surface again and set them flat on the wood, as if he wanted to dissuade himself from reaching for his gun again. Soldier on leave perhaps? But as far as he knew, you weren’t allowed to carry a gun outside of duty. It was a puzzle he dearly wanted to solve. So he looked the boy in the eyes again and grinned at him while poking him in the shoulder.
‘Need help getting your wand under control, Tom?’
It didn’t yield the laugh he thought it would. There was a moment he could hear a groan and a resigned sigh from somewhere and then he was on him. It was a problem really, that the lapels of his coat were so easily taken hold of.
He couldn’t get out of reach fast enough after the first shock of the fist to his face. Hit his cheekbone, so not a soldier, because they wouldn’t have such poor technique. He was even hotter up close, almost pressed nose to nose. Jack watched the anger flare in his eyes and marveled at the fire.
‘What did you say?’
He couldn’t come up with anything witty quickly enough, so he took advantage of his greater height and tilted his head slightly to kiss Tom full on the lips. It was satisfying to see the shock on his face, to see it eclipsing the anger for a moment. It was funny really, how an unexpected action could make someone so pliable and confused. It only took a few seconds before he was violently pushed away. It meant they both went flying back too, as Jack wasn’t about to let go either.
-
Hitting his head hurt quite a bit and that was the moment he realised that perhaps he had taken it too far. Tom scrambled back, but it was easy to see that Jack hadn’t broken his fall, because his movements were far from the quick reflexes they were before. The girl had gotten up and gotten hold of her friend, leading him gently by his shoulder and back to the booth. No-one was there to help him get up, but he managed just fine.
The barman was looking hostile suddenly and but he wasn’t about to scurry out with his tail between his legs because of a rejection, besides, the boy didn’t know him yet. Anything could happen.
‘A round for everyone, as apology for the brawl,’ he said with a rueful smile and handed the man a twenty. That seemed to mollify him at least. The group at the table wasn’t mollified in the least when he walked towards them again. The girl has acquired a chair somewhere and was examining his catch thoroughly when Jack slunk back into the booth.
She eyed him balefully but didn’t comment, choosing to berate Tom instead.
‘At least you didn’t break your fingers this time, you idiot.’
Tom did not agree with the treatment she was giving him and started glaring at Jack while she bent his fingers every which way to check their mobility.
‘He started it.’ The tone was petulant enough that he didn’t even have to imagine the finger jab that came with it.
She sighed and let go of his hand to stand up and stare in his eyes again. They had been through the routine before apparently, because she didn’t even have to tell him to keep his eyes open.
‘I’m going to have to stay up with you again, but I don’t think it’s a severe concussion at least.’
One of the men wordlessly handed her her half drunken cider as she rejoined them in the booth. Tom looked rather forlorn in his chair at the head of the table, with a frown and a displeased expression marring his face.
‘As if I’m not staying up with you already,’ he said, with surprising venom. The girl’s face fell and Jack suddenly realised that perhaps the two of them were together. Tom’s face crumpled together with hers, as if he regretted his words.
‘Damn, sorry, I shouldn’t have said that, it’s not your fault.’
She looked down in her glass and shrugged. ‘It’s fine.’ Jack got the distinct impression that it was anything but, but he wasn’t about to intrude in the obviously private moment. They would probably throw him out if he said anything now.
The silence lingered and he felt compelled to at least start with a proper introduction.
‘I’m sorry about that. I’m Captain Jack Harkness, pleased to meet you.’
The lanky man grinned at him, as if he hadn’t just kissed one of his friends in the face. ‘Mr Edwards, pleasure.’
The other men around the table slowly introduced themselves but the flow of words halted when it came to Tom and the girl.
Mr Edwards rolled his eyes and motioned to the girl.
‘Our nurse here is Mary and you got punched by Tom, because somehow, being lousy at it doesn’t stop him.’
Mary smiled at that and Tom clutched at his head with a groan.
‘He assaulted me!’
Mary’s smile abruptly disappeared but Tom hadn’t stopped speaking yet.
‘I thought he was Avery for a moment.’
It sounded vaguely embarrassed, but Jack’s confusion rose with every word that came out of the boy’s mouth. Maybe he should find someone a little less complicated.
Mary rubbed her eyes for a moment and took another sip of her drink.
‘So you’re going to punch anyone who tries to flirt with you? Or better yet, attack Lord Avery next time he invites you for tea?’
Tom didn’t answer that and Jack was looking for some safe topic now, because this wasn’t at all the relaxing evening he had been dreaming off. And he wasn’t about to give up now, despite his misstep. Chemistry was a thing, he just had to convince Tom that not liking someone was a good basis for a fling. The boy obviously disagreed with him on that one.
He didn’t respond to his friend’s sarcastic comment either, staring at the table surface, with a faraway look. Jack wanted to hug him but that would likely result in another blow and perhaps it wouldn’t just glance this time.
‘So, you’re on leave then?’
Tom’s head shot up in his direction and Jack watched as his hair bounced with the movement. He grasped for Mary’s cider and took a sip before answering with a rueful smile.
‘Suppose so.’ Mary snorted and stole her drink back again.
‘Yeah, on leave from the idiots.’
The whole table murmured assent and a picture slowly began to form in Jack’s mind.
‘I see, you’re one of those posh boys, with a rich daddy who protects them from being drafted huh?’
Tom blinked at him and Jack waited for the burst of righteous fury but surprisingly there was no anger in his stance at all.
‘I’m a bastard.’ ‘He’s an orphan.’
Mary and Tom stared at each other for a moment and Jack wondered where his luck with people had gone. Was he going to keep stumbling on painful subjects with every single word that came out of his mouth? These people had too much secrets for their own good, honestly.
The rest of the table didn’t exactly agree with his observation either.
‘Now hold on,’ the portly man in the corner said and straightened his back with a smile. Jack could practically feel the story coming. The pride streamed of him in rivets.
‘You are looking at the best Heavy Rescue squad in the whole of London, sir. Tom might not look like much, but he’s done good things for his country.’
‘You don’t need to be in the Army to do your bit, you know,’ someone else added.
‘Mary here is amazing with any kind of injury. Never fails to do what she needs to do, even when the rest of us are feeling faint at the sight.’
‘We got the most people out, still breathing too!’
Jack felt his curiosity creeping up again.
‘What did Tom do then, exactly?’ he asked and watched as they all exchanged glances before answering as a single voice.
‘Buildings!’
Tom groaned and let his head fall onto the table surface, Jack wanted to do the same. He had clearly walked into the wrong kind of pub. He patted the boy’s shoulder instead and got a half-hearted glare for his troubles.
‘I just handed over the planks to the experts,’ he muttered. ‘No need to exaggerate.’ Mary raised an eyebrow at him while the men burst out in laughter.
Jack could relax by his third pint, listening to the banter of the group around him. They didn’t include him exactly, but it was comforting to hear their jokes and laugh with the sarcastic comments thrown at around at random. Mary and Tom may have a secret, but he’s on leave, he doesn’t have to find out what it is.