im_torchwood

"That's ten years ago," he said, stating the obvious. Jack sighed. "Well, okay, um...you've bathed and eaten, once you get some sleep I'll get you online and we can see about getting you up to speed so it doesn't seem like you've been under a rock for a decade."

Logan shrugged, then frowned slightly as he realized something.

"Do you live here? Are we, like, room mates or something? There were two toothbrushes in the bathroom. ...Why were you going to walk out if you live here? I'm not a total asshole, Jack. I wouldn't demand you move out, man."

"I stay sometimes, but I don't live here. I actually have a cot in the Hub so I can stay on top of monitoring...everything," he said, realizing it sounded a bit...sad.

"Shit, man- How the mighty have fallen. The Jack I knew lived in a fucking tree house with half the damn island," Logan replied, eyeing Jack curiously as he spoke.

"I used to have a team," Jack said. "A family. But not long ago two of them were killed and the survivors...it fell apart. So I came to London for a fresh start. And, I know it sounds crazy, but assembling a team of crack alien hunters isn't the walk in the park you might think it'd be."

"Back on the island you just made jewellery and whatever. Hunted sharks, I guess. Which was crazy," he added.

"The more you tell me about this life I lead the more confused I get because...I was a Time Agent and a con man on Satellite 5. I didn't make jewelry and I didn't do boyfriends. That's something I've learned since I came back to Earth."

He paused.

"But I know you're right. I had you. And I remember other things. Little things."

"I just want to make it really clear right now, that you have not 'had' me," Logan said flatly. "What else do you remember though?"

He closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"I remember the Doctor. And a woman with thick, dark hair with scars down her back. I remember a really ugly concrete building. Heat. Humidity. Jungle. I remember you in a tree in the rain. I remember...us. I have a very vivid memory of fucking you in the snow. Of the way we slept. I remember a cat. And marijuana. And pearls?"

Logan squirmed uncomfortably, looking away.

"You never- You didn't do me in the snow. We've never... I mean, I think we came close once, but, we didn't."

"But I remember it. That's what I remember most. Being home with you. Being naked with you. You sleeping on me. Sex. Sex a hundred ways. And...love. I remember being in love," he said softly.

"I'm not asking you for that. I don't expect it. Whatever happened in that time line, in that dimension, it can't happen here. Not the same way. Maybe not at all."

Logan looked uncomfortable, then sighed as he flopped back against the sofa cushions and looked over at Jack.

"Man, I wish I had a joint right now. Even just some island skunk weed."

"I have no idea where to get any spliff here in London," Jack said. "That's the slang here if you want to fit in. So you know."

"Thanks gramps, gotta be hip to the lingo," Logan snorted, offering Jack a faint smile.

"Fine then, it's totally your job to get me wasted tonight then. Let's drink."

"Okay but the last time I got you drunk you turned into this," Jack reminded him. "Maybe drinking is a bad idea."

"Well then maybe you'll get the version of me you actually like back then," Logan replied with a scowl.

"That's not fair," Jack said and got to his feet. He tossed the remnants of the muffin he'd been picking at onto the tray.

"Come on. I know a pub," he said, his expression stony and his eyes hard.

Logan didn't like that look though, it was darker than any looks the Jack he'd known had ever given him. In fact, this Jack seemed, well, darker overall. Older, way more bitter.

"Forget it," Logan replied quietly, and though he tried to sound like he'd just changed his mind, the fact that he was nervous- Scared even- Was apparent.

Pulling the sleeves of his shirt down over his fingertips, he sank back down on the couch, wrapping his arms around himself and looking out the window.

"Why? You've been on the streets for days. You ate, you're clean, why not go get wasted and then you can forget you're stuck here with me instead of wherever you'd rather be," he shot back, just as caustic as Logan could be.

Logan laughed, a sharp and bitter sound.

"Where I'd rather be? Where the hell do you think that is? Neptune? Back to my father and endless bullshit? The island? Where I get to deal with getting a fucking divorce? Yeah, both of those sound like great options," he said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "I don't want to be anywhere, man. I don't want to, like, exist, alright? So just- Fuck off, Jack. You don't know what the hell you're talking about."

Jack turned slowly to face him and a flash of memory hit him hard. So hard he almost felt a weight around his neck.

"You're going to try to kill yourself again, aren't you?" he said. "And this time I'm not wearing the bullet around my neck. You gave it to me. I remember...Joe stopped you and you gave me the bullet..."

Logan was silent, swallowing hard, then shaking his head as he got to his feet.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said finally. ...Though he kind of did. Ray had caught him, in the woods, with his gun. Joe had taken care of him, and he had, in fact, saved the bullet. He hadn't given it to anyone though.

Quietly he reached for his jacket. "I'm going for a walk."

Jack crossed to him then and tucked the charged phone into his pocket.

"When you come back I'll take you and show you where I live," he said. His expression was so cold but as he looked into Logan's eyes the bitterness, the cynicism and reticence, it thawed within him and his gaze softened.

"Come back soon. And don't forget your keycard."

Logan seemed genuinely startled by the fact that Jack even seemed to care, and after a moment he nodded dumbly and picked up his wallet- Well, the other Logan's wallet- and headed out the door.

He was gone for ages. Nearly two hours. Though he didn't go very far. There were shops close by, a few still open, and he'd found a strange sort of calm wash over him as he did a little shopping. ...He'd forgotten what it was like to be able to have anything you wanted with just a swipe of a card.

When he returned he was carrying some shopping bags, and he dumped them onto the coffee table before sitting down in front of them, wondering if Jack was still here.

"Harkness?" he called out curiously, pulling out a few of the things he'd bought to admire them in a way he never would have before finding himself on the island.

The toilet flushed and the faucet ran, then Jack came out to join Logan.

"You were gone forever," he said. "I ate your cheeseburger."

He looked at the bags, then turned his attention to Logan, relief clear on his face.

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