Title: Jack's Way
For: Livejournal's writers30days
Theme: Stranded
Warnings: Drinking, Induendo/Jack being Jack
"Now this I got to see!" Martha said with a laugh as she slid onto the bench across the table from the two men. She crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow expectantly.
If they were going to be holed up in this tiny little tavern for the night, she could do with a bit of entertainment. The two men had been arguing about anything and everything until the TARDIS had landed herself in some little town in historic England, thrown them all out the door and refused to let them back in no matter how much The Doctor pleaded; stroking the outside of the precious blue box. The argument had then turned into who started it like a couple of school boys.
"What?"
"Come on, Doc, we're settling this my way."
"What?" The Doctor shifted his gaze back and forth between Martha and Jack, looking utterly bewildered.
Jack beamed, turned to the nearest barmaid and winked. She scurried off giggling, her cheeks a deep shade of pink. She returned a moment later with a pint of ale in each hand and set them on the table in front of the two men, with another bout of flirtatious giggling and bounced away again.
Realization flooded The Doctor's face. "What!"
"The rules are simple, Doc. Just keep drinking. Whoever can drink the most wins, the other will have to admit that he was the one who started the argument. Martha will keep count for us. I warn you though, I've never lost."
He flashed a look which made Martha smile, downed his drink in one go and called for the barmaid with another wink. The Doctor stared down at his mug for a few moments, mulling it over in his mind, then shrugged, draining the bitter liquid. Even an anomaly such as Jack was no match for a Time Lord.
By the time the twelfth round of drinks was delivered to their table, however, neither of the men remembered exactly what they were arguing about or why. They were too busy loudly serenading the tavern and laughing at just about everything. Their arms draped over each other's shoulders as they swayed in time to their merry songs.
"You know what I could use right now?" The Doctor said with a slight hiccup. "A banana! Always bring a banana to a party. Bananas are good!"
"There are a lot of things you can do with a banana," Jack added with an ear-to-ear grin.
Martha laughed awkwardly, both amused and extremely embarrassed, as her two friends started up another tune about the yellow fruit and its many uses. "I think you've both had enough."
With a sigh, Martha coaxed her friends onto their feet and led them up to their room for the night. The two men sang merrily in increasing volume all the way up the narrow staircase and down the hallway, collapsing width-wise onto the bed before falling into a deep drunken sleep.
One glance at the pair of them had Martha laughing again. "I'm never going to let you forget this, you know!" She said with a whispered goodnight.
The two men slept soundlessly. Jack and The Doctor, still arm in arm.