Alonso woke up early the next morning eager to begin his new adventure, he rolled over to wake Jack but found that the bed was empty. Unsure of where Jack was he slid out of bed and went looking. As he left the bedroom he noticed a lone figure standing before the windows. Quietly, he paddled up next to him and put his arm around his waist. "You know it's probably not a good idea to stand full monty in front of all these windows."
Jack laughed, "Yeah well look who's talking." They both giggled like little school girls.
They stood for several minutes before Alonso spoke up. "So what do we do now?"
Jack sighed. He knew he had much too do but still dreaded doing any of it. "I don't think I'm up for a hub revisit, how about I show you around town instead. We can eat some breakfast see some sights just make a day of it."
"I'm okay with that but I think Martha and Mickey were under the impression we would be back there today."
"I'll tell you what, if you'll fix breakfast I will call and let her know we are going out. " Alonso smiled at him and headed for the kitchen but not before stopping by the bedroom and getting a robe. Jack slowly picked up the phone stared at it a moment as if it would reach out and attack him, paused, then called Martha who when she answered sounded very perturbed and demanded to know where they were. It was calmly explained to her that he wasn't there because he was taking Alonso out on the town. Her reply was filled with expletives followed by more expletives and how he'd better get to the hub now, that there was too much too be done for all this Tom Foolery. Jack had never heard her so angry, it had to be all the stress she was under but he stood his ground and told her in his softest, sweetest, smoothest, voice that they would start work tomorrow. One day wouldn't make much difference. She answered by naming off a list of all the reasons they should start today and what a big difference it does make. Her rants were futile. She was told to be patient and as he feigned connection troubles he simply hung up the phone, looked to see if anyone was watching then quietly turned off his cell phone. Alonso peeped in to see if Jack was finished, saw the conversation was over, came back in the room a plated omelette in one hand, coffee in the other.
"So was she alright with us taking the day off?" He set the plate on the table then the coffee and went to retrieve the other one.
"She was fine with it, told us to enjoy ourselves, have some fun." Jack grinned coyly. The smell of coffee awakened memories in him. He drifted off to faces with smiles, warm feelings, and beautiful eyes.
"Harkness I haven't known you very long, but long enough to tell if you are lying and you are not a very good liar but to be honest I don't care because I really would enjoy seeing the city." He set his plate down, scooted his chair up to the table and sat.
"Sometimes I think you already know me too well; coffee instead of tea, bad liar, weakness for a lovely smile, and a fondness for omelettes, yup too well. Lets eat, by the way, this looks great and I'm starved. After we are finished we can get a shower, get a second shower, get dressed and head out." Jacked smiled seductively.
Alonso looked very confused, "Two showers why would we need two showers?"
"Well as you can clearly see I am very excited about all of this." He stood proudly facing Alonso, who for a moment had forgotten Jack was still nude, then suddenly realized what was meant by two showers. "Well eat up I am in need of a shower!" They both laughed and dug in.
Once they had finished breakfast they cleaned up and made a mad dash into the bedroom. There was a lot of activity going on, and the noise coming from the room sounded like a couple of gorillas bouncing up and down on the bed and grunting. Then someone yelled something about hide and seek, the sound of water running was heard, something was knocked over and perhaps some praying since somebody yelled "Oh my god", followed by several repetitions of "Yes." A couple of hours later the shower ran for a 2nd time. Once finished they both emerged from the bedroom, Jack in dark trousers and a blue button down shirt his braces a dark contrast to his shirt. Alonso stood beside him wearing khaki pants, and a green striped pull over shirt. Both were wearing tan boots. As they headed for the door Alonso grabbed a black leather jacket that hung by the door, and Jack grabbed a long grey coat as they walked out of the flat.
Jack wasn't sure where to begin because there was so much to show Alonso. Not really knowing what to do he decided to just start walking and as he passed a familiar place or something historical he would tell him about it, sometimes it was just a building that he admired, sometimes it was a place where they had caught a weevil or found some mysterious object. He just kept walking and talking. Alonso enjoyed listening to the stories admiring the commitment he had to his friends. As they were passing one particular storefront, something in the window caught Jack's eye. He asked Alonso to wait for him while he ran inside, once inside he looked for a clerk and inquired about the item displayed in the window. After some negotiating on the price Jack purchased the item had it wrapped then headed out of the store to a patiently but curiously waiting Alonso.
" This is for you." He handed him the present.
"What is it?" Looking at the package and turned it around in his hands then shook it.
"Well open it up and find out."Jack grins a twinkle in his eye, as Alonso ripped into it."
He stared in disbelief at the box then at Jack. "This is smashing! Totally brilliant!"
" Well put it on. " He slid it out of the small box helped him slip it on his finger and then stood there and looked at him. He was gorgeous, this man who stood before him, young and vibrant but a bit of sadness hidden behind those lovely eyes. The sun flickered across the surface of the six sided sapphire stone that nested nicely in the center of the platinum ring. The blue was so stunning you couldn't help but stop and stare. On one side of the ring was an intricately carved Compass Rose while on the other the representation of a globe.
Alonso wasn't sure what he should say so he just stumbled over the words as they left his lips. "I just don't know what to say, this is such a wonderful gift, I am not even sure I should accept it."
" Well you better accept it. It's not returnable." He laughed and patted Alonso on the shoulder. " It's for you Al, you took a huge risk coming here with me, you had no idea what to expect or what would happen, yet you chose to trust me and to follow me here giving up everything. This is the world you gave up", he points to the globe. "This is the direction we are going together," He points at the compass rose. " And this is", as he points to the top of the stone Al stops him from speaking putting one finger on his lips.
" This is the blue of the ocean, the blue of your eyes, the blue of the tardis, but mostly the blue I would be if you ever left me."
They hugged each other tightly, then looked around to see several people had gathered and were pointing and staring at them. Someone yelled a comment about how they should get a room and Jack responded by asking where he lived. After that they turned away from the store and continued on their journey.
Jack stopped abruptly suddenly realizing where he was. It was a cafe, not just any cafe but a place they often frequented for lunch. It was a little past 2 and hunger had crept up. At first he was a little timid about entering, then he decided no one can hide forever so he entered strode over to his favorite table, which was conveniently empty, sat down and watched as Alonso secured the seat across from him. The waitress came over, they both ordered and while they ate Jack continued to talk. Ianto came up in the conversation and how he was always so neat, eating his lunch then folding his napkin afterwards. Next was about Tosh as she sat there quietly eating totally lost in Owen who barely noticed her. Whenever Owen would tell some off colour joke or a funny story Tosh hung on his every word, while Ianto rolled his eyes, and Gwen well, she smiled. Her smile could brighten a cloudy day. Jack stopped mid sentence realizing how much he had spoken about his old team and looked at Alonso who had been listening intently all this time.
"Alonso I am so sorry, I have been rambling on and on, and you have just sat there and let me, you should have told me to just shut up hours ago." Jack's eyes sparkled as he smiled.
"I have loved every minute of it, the stories you have told me made me feel like I knew each of them. They must have been wonderful people to work with, I hope someday you will tell stories like that about me." His heart was full of admiration and warmth as he looked at his new ring.
"I will, I promise." at that moment Jack felt very lucky. Normally he was much more cautious about starting long term relationships. This time though it was different, no waiting, no tip toeing, no lying, well maybe just a little, just dive in and enjoy. He smiled once more.
The two men finished their lunch, paid the bill and walked outside. Jack stood for a moment deciding where to go next. His feet seemed to develop a mind of their own and he just started walking but unlike before he walked slowly, deliberately speaking very little and this time his path seemed to have a specific direction to it. He walked as if in a daze, but before he knew it he was standing in the middle of the Roald Dahl Plass. Though not really sure how he ended up here, he knew there was something Al needed to see. Earlier he had inquired about it's status and was assured it had been repaired. Wanting to share this source of inspiration he kept walking until he was standing in front of the Wales Millennium Centre. It was starting to get dark the sky fading into night as the lights around them began flickering on.
"Al, I know I have been uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes but for reasons unbeknownst to me as we were walking I somehow ended up here. Since we are here I want you to see something very special to me. I often looked at this wall and admired it because of what was written on it." He pointed to the wall as Alonso read it out loud.
""Creu Gwir Fel Gwydr O Ffwrnais Awen/In These Stones Horizons Sing" That's beautiful." He sighed and look at Jack.
"And so are you Alonso." Jack paused as a wave of sadness passed over him, but before anything else could be said he whirled around and strode away. "Come on Al don't dawdle the night is still young!" He turned slightly and gestured shaking his finger and hand as he spoke. "We have so much time, and so little to do! Strike that, reverse it."
They ended up at one of the local pubs. Jack ordered drinks and they sat down at a table together. They drank, they laughed, ordered a meal, ate, made a couple new friends, even danced a little and before they knew it dawn was approaching.
Jack noticed the time and jumped up from his seat. "Come on Al one more thing to show you." He did have one last special place they hadn't visited yet. As they approached the wharf Jack walked up to the the rails and leaned over on them. Alonso stood next to him and leaned over as well. As the sun rose, a golden glaze covered the city, the water glistened and all was quiet. "This is my favorite time of day, the city is just waking up, the dawn is about to break and life will come once again to Cardiff. It's as if it's being reborn, no matter how bad the night was it doesn't seem matter, it was a new day, a new chance to begin again."
"Captain Jack Harkness, I know we haven't known each other that long, but for some reason I feel as if I have known you forever and I believe I am falling for you."
"I must warn you Alonso, loving me won't be easy. There's things about me I haven't told you about but if you're willing to take a chance then I'd like to take a chance on you." Jack turned to face him as Al did the same, he leaned in slowly, used his hand to cup the back of Al's head and kissed him long and hard and deep. Then pulled back slowly to see Alonso standing there, mouth agape, eyes closed, body frozen in bliss. For the first time in a long time Jack could feel his blood racing, heart pounding and the soul rejoicing, love had found him once again. "Come on Al lets go home."
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