Jack

[london_spy]

(from here)

That uncomfortable flutter of nerves hit Danny again, and he was surprised by how hard it was to shake them off before nodding and following after Jack. He'd done this so many times, why was this any different? Perhaps because it had been so long, that was all he could think as he brushed the feelings away and found a smile.

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[london_spy]

"Wait, wait, just- That man in there, his name's Jack, he says he works for something Called Torchwood," Danny explained, voice calm but words slightly rushed. He needed to get it out, needed to hear it out loud so it could really sink in. "He said you worked together, for the same man. A doctor. ...He said you both worked for the same doctor, and he looked- He was military. I know military. ...He said he made you forget. You can't forget though, okay? Hex, he's... He's dangerous."

[just_hex]

Hex looked to the hotel doors, frozen in place.

"The Doctor?" he said, holding Danny tighter. "Torchwood? No...no, that's not possible," he added, tugging at Danny.

Inklings tickled his memory. He could recall a blue coat and blue eyes. Questions about The Doctor...what had he said? He didn't doubt for a moment Danny was correct about danger. "We need to go."

[london_spy]

Danny glanced back at the hotel, then nodded.

"Yeah, we do."

[just_hex]

Hex looped his arm in Danny's and pulled him away. He checked his phone and the Uber was only a couple blocks away.

"Our ride is almost here," he said. He looked over at Danny and noticed a livid bruise on his neck. He got it then...he didn't need to ask what the man had been doing in the hotel.

[london_spy]

Mind elsewhere, Danny was oblivious to Hex's realisation as he leaned into the other man. In that moment, all he could think about was the fact that there was something Hex hadn't told him. Something Dangerous. ...Just like with Alex. Just like with Alex.

He couldn't lose Hex too.

"Don't shut me out," he said quietly and suddenly. "Whatever it is that you're keeping from me, Hex. If it's dangerous, if you're in trouble- Please don't shut me out."

[just_hex]

"What...what did he say to you?" Hex asked nervously. Danny would have him committed if he knew the whole truth. Fin thought he was a lunatic and Hex could hardly stand that. No one would ever believe such a wild tale. No one. Clearly he was delusional. Hell, if he was on a call and someone told him they'd traveled through time and space, only to come back to when they'd left...he wouldn't believe them.

Well, he might. But any reasonable medic would get that person into a psych ward.

[london_spy]

"That you worked together, to ask about the doctor or something? I asked why you didn't seem to remember him, and he said he made you forget. ...It's why I panicked. He'd claimed to know you, but the moment I told you his name he was signalling for me to stop talking. ...It was a hell of a red flag," Danny confessed.

"Seemed like maybe you might have done something together in the army."

[just_hex]

The Uber rolled to a stop and Hex ushered Danny inside. He gave the address, then sat back, reaching for Danny's hand.

"I'll tell you at home," he said softly, eyes glancing to the driver. There was a knot of dread in his belly. Everything would change when he told his secret, he knew that, and he feared that Danny might decide that he couldn't love someone who was so clearly unbalanced.

[london_spy]

"Alright. ...Alright, I- I need a shower though, and I'm starving. I feel like this is going to be a conversation that calls for clean clothes and a full belly," Danny said softly.

[just_hex]

Hex snorted softly, a bitter little huff.

"It might be the shortest chat we've ever had," he said, envisioning Danny all washed and fed simply walking out on him.

[london_spy]

"Whatever it is, Hex- We'll figure it out," Danny said softly. "We'll get through it."

[just_hex]

Hex squeezed Danny's hand, but turned to look out the window. He didn't want to have this conversation at all. But he wasn't going to lie to Danny. The man had a way of just knowing when someone was being false, and Hex couldn't really lie all that well anyway.

The silence stretched between them and the radio played low to fill the void.

Soon enough they were home and he paid the driver, promising to rate him well. Then he reached for Danny's hand again to walk inside.

"You go wash up. I'll cook something," he said, postponing the inevitable for just a bit longer.

[london_spy]

Nodding, Danny wandered off to the bathroom, eager to get clean. ...He felt filthy.

No, he felt like filth. He supposed there was a difference.

He returned nearly an hour later, skin still pink but dry now, wearing a pair of briefs and a t-shirt that hung to his mid thigh. One of Hex's, he realised belatedly. Groggy, he sank onto the sofa and let his bones rest.

[just_hex]

Hex had found chicken and had tossed together a quick bit of pasta. When he heard Danny he plated it and brought it to him. His gut squirmed with nervousness.

"Piping hot," he said as he handed Danny the plate.

[london_spy]

"Oh, right- Cheers," Danny said, having forgotten about the food, but taking the plate. "Listen, Hex, before we talk about anything else- What I did tonight. ...I'm really sorry. It was shit of me. It was really shit, I just..."

He wanted to explain the fear he felt when it came to Hex's relationship with Fin. How he was just scared of being left behind, However, that wasn't what he said.

"...I was being a spiteful prick."

[just_hex]

He nodded and sank into a chair opposite Danny. Hex rubbed his hands nervously on his knees. Honestly, he was so torn up about telling Danny the truth about the Doctor he'd not really thought long on the fact that Danny had gone to bed with someone else.

"Reckon it's only fair," he said, looking at Danny. "I mean...you know. Can't expect you to sit at home and wait for me to make up me mind..."

[london_spy]

"...I didn't realise you were on the fence," Danny replied honestly, his brow knit deep. "I thought. ...I thought he was just someone on the side, not... Whatever."

Uncomfortable, Danny put his meal down on the coffee table and looked away.

[just_hex]

"Not like that, Danny," he said quietly. "I just mean...when I'm not near him, when I can think clearly, I don't want him. I don't want any of that. I want you. But I'm such a twat...I say that and the next time I see him I'm sure I'll be a cunt and risk everything we have."

[london_spy]

"It's not a risk, I told you, it's- It's alright. It's- We can make this work, Hex. I know it," Danny said softly.

[just_hex]

Hex sighed softly and toyed with a bit of fuzz on the arm of the chair.

"You might not want me at all when you hear what I've done," he said.

[london_spy]

"Try me," Danny said softly.

[just_hex]

Hex looked up at him, leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, and held one hand in the other.

"A few years ago now, I met a man. There was an incident at St. Bart's. These...these things were all over, killing patients and staff. Then the Doctor turned up and he and I and this brilliant woman, Ace, we stopped it.

He explained to me...they were aliens. Proper aliens. And then I left with him. He's an alien, too. The Doctor. I got in his ship. A time ship. For years I traveled with him. Helping people. Saving people. I've been so many places, Danny. All over the universe. But we had a bit of a falling out so I had him bring me home, right when I'd left with him in the first place so it was like I was never gone.

And Jack...he traveled with him, too, I think. I can't remember...but I do know Torchwood. They're secret. Keeping aliens from taking over the Earth."

[london_spy]

Danny was silent a long moment, then wet his lips.

"He said that. I mean, not all of that, obviously, but- Aliens. He said he worked on finding them. I thought he meant- You know."

[just_hex]

"Like immigrants, " he nodded. Hex swallowed hard but his mouth was bone dry.

"That's what I've not told you. That's it. That's all. I...im Not mad. I swear I'm not," he pleaded.

[london_spy]

It was mad. The whole idea of it was mental. Time travel, little green men... But what were the chances that two men in London had mad stories that aligned quite neatly with one another? And Jack... Jack had been frightening. Not in an 'I want to wear your skin' sort of way, but more an 'I know how to make people vanish, and do it for a living' sort of way. He'd given off a spook sort of vibe- Something Danny was far too familiar with these days.

More important than all that, however, was the fact that Hex's words didn't feel like a lie. He supposed that could boil down to the fact that Hex believed it, so obviously it would feel true, but- No, mad as it sounded, Danny bought it. Maybe that made him a fool, but if Hex swore it was so, Danny believed him.

"Alright," he said finally. "I suppose what I need to know next is obvious then. ...Are you in danger?"