#welshpunches

[agentharkness]

*sits on his lap, all smug because she's smacked someone's ankles*

@welshpunches

well, consider jack harkness happy and horny. gray? who's that??

[existencesang]

it's a bit of a task to juggle the tray of brownies and two coffees, but she's just about managing it. as long as nobody comes speeding past her on their way to save the world, or to escape another member of the team chasing them. the place looks empty, damn, maybe she's missed them. " gwen? " voice is loud, yet tone soft, almost lilting.

" i have gifts! " an incentive, perhaps more effective at drawing in her new friend than voice alone. well, she's decided @welshpunches is going to be her new friend. whether or not gwen knows this is another matter entirely.

[agentharkness]

@welshpunches

I told ya'll, but didja listen? Nope. His word seemed to mean jack shit nowadays, now that Looney Lands Yvonne Hartman had stolen his job. And where had that landed them, the city? About to go straight down under beneath a towering wave of water coming towards them from the bay, and all because Yvonne had gotten greedy without a thought for the consequences or she simply didn't care. With any luck, she'd do the honourable thing and go down with the hub, yet he doubted such miracles were possible.

Twenty minutes, that's all he had to complete his mission. Jack couldn't do anything to save the city from its imminent slaughter. That time had long passed, and the loud screech of evacuation sirens overhead, mingled with the panicked screams of Cardiff citizens desperately trying to get out of the city, only proved it further. Right then, Cardiff was hell on earth, and there was only one person The Captain could save. A little girl sat waiting in a nursery for her father, in the city centre, in the eye of the oncoming storm. Gwen hadn't hesitated to beg him to go and get Anwen and Rhys from the nursery, and that meant she was genuinely terrified for them, yet she was too far away compared to him to get to her daughter in time. Rhys hadn't responded to her texts or calls, so who even knew if he'd ever make it to the nursery? As much as Jack adored Rhys Williams, he wouldn't hang around to find out once he retrieved his daughter. Anwen was priority number one.

Bursting into the nursery a few minutes later, out of breath from non-stop running and no Rhys to account for, Jack was met with an unprecedented sight, something he hadn't planned for and couldn't with the time he had left. There they were, happy and blissfully ignorant of what was happening as they played with their toys. A bunch of kids, seemingly abandoned by the staff, and among them the one he needed. Anwen recognised him immediately and ran over calling his name with a toy truck in hand and eager to show it off to him. "Hi, sweetheart. That's a neat truck. We'll bring it with us, yeah?" He swept her up truck and all into his arms with a gentle smile, placing her snug and safe into his coat. At least ten other children remained, but he knew there was nothing he could do. Getting just one of them to safety would take all of his physicality once the water started to bear down on them, and he couldn't watch them all disappear into that unforgiving dark, to watery graves. He'd done enough watching kids die for a lifetime.

"I'm sorry..." He muttered mournfully before turning and running with Anwen clutched tight, and suddenly hoping again that miracles came true.

Still no Rhys outside, so he forced himself to stop thinking of Rhys as part of the picture. He had Anwen, next was Gwen, and they were all that mattered now. Jack turned on the private comms; everyone else had gone radio silent, but he knew she wouldn't be among them. She was one of the strongest people he'd ever known. If anyone could beat the madness happening around them, it was Gwen Cooper.

"Gwen? Are you there? I have Anwen and I'm headed to Capital Tower." One of the tallest buildings in Cardiff. "You better be there...I couldn't find Rhys, and we ain't got much time left."

[agentharkness]

*holds his hand nonchalantly...*

@welshpunches

The two of them had been through a lot together over the years. They'd lost people, too many people, then the hub, and there were times when they'd lost themselves. But somehow, he and Gwen always managed to claw their way back to defend the planet, whatever it took, which was exactly what they found themselves doing on a cold winter morning in January.

A herd of Hypervores had slipped through the rift and right past them for a good two months now. After setting up a colony in an abandoned warehouse, they'd done what animals do and started nesting and breeding, with results that would be catastrophic not just for Wales, but for the whole of the United Kingdom. Their capability to swallow humans whole sped up gestation. Torchwood was facing an overwhelming infestation if the Hypervore couldn't be stopped right there and then.

Jack had fixed an elevator that would take them to the alien loaded basement, since any other human sized access was long since destroyed by time and perhaps vandals, leaving them with the old elevator as the only option. It moved slowly, as expected, creating an air of anxiety the longer it dragged on. If they messed this up, it was all over. Naturally, Jack blamed himself. The Hub's tech never fully recovered from their tangle with the 456, and he felt that disadvantage now more than ever. They were loaded to the teeth with a whole range of arsenal of guns and explosives, including one bomb that needed planting and detonating remotely, if they were lucky enough to get out still breathing. But would it be enough? He didn't know.

Just when Jack reached the apex of his internal self-blame, a shred of light tore through the darkness, in the form of Gwen taking his hand. While it didn't drain away all the trepidation, it helped to a comfortable degree. He squeezed his hand in hers with a small smile before bringing it up to his mouth to kiss it. There were few other people in the universe he trusted to have his back with this. "Remember to shoot anythin' that moves. I don't suspect we'll see anythin' human down here, but even if we do...we cannot afford to carry those people with us, Gwen. This needs to be quick and slick." It'd be ugly. But saving the world rarely left a person clean. "If things get too hairy--if you think yer life is at risk. Get out. Eliminate any Hypervores that come out after you. I'll take care of the bomb, no matter what." Once upon a time, he might not have minded as much if an agent lost their lives in the field. It happened. He long accepted that. When it came to Gwen Cooper, his Gwen Cooper, her life mattered a lot to him.

[drj0nes]

answering @welshpunches who asked ; when was the last time i saw you ?

a bittersweet question . one that both warms her and wounds her heart in one fell swoop . blissful memories of a united team , sat around a table with takeaway boxes cluttering workspace , making countless jokes at the boss' expense . she'd felt accepted then , one of a team , if she did come and go . yet it couldn't last , like most things in her life . and shame at not being able to help still clung to her back , weight resting upon her shoulders . even now , white coat adorned and medical profession fully embraced once more , she felt that shame .

" too long ago . " it was the only answer she could manage , eyes pulled away from her as she picks up her clipboard . " though all you had to do was ask me to go for coffee , you didn't need to come to a - and - e . " a sad attempt at a joke , sitting down opposite other . " so , what can i help you with ? "

[psychsmart]

aliens. of course they took a private case that's turned out to be aliens. he knew this private detective chaos was going to be how he died, and aliens? of course that's the method. this torchwood lot might be claiming they can help, and sure, mina trusts them, but she would say that! she's an alien!

it's dark hair and a tooth gap that draws gus out of his sulking with arms crossed. " wait, are you gwen cooper? " he's immediately digging in a pocket for his notebook. thank god he started carrying this around with him to note down things shawn says to bring up later. " can i have your autograph? " listen, ok, he's heard endless stories, and when the world ( beyond cardiff ) finds out how badass @welshpunches is? he will be the coolest guy in existence with her autograph. take that shawn.

[drj0nes]

` ★˙˚⋆ ║ ▌︔ ᵐ ᵃ ʳ ᵗ ʰ ᵃ ﹚ ⁀➷ answering ⁽ @welshpunches ₎ who asked : ❛ you were the only person i could go to . ❜

it'd taken a long time for martha to feel comfortable being a safe haven . she was a healer , yes . but whenever someone came crying for help , her soldier side started to bubble . and that side was no longer welcome . deep breath is brought in through her nose before she moves out of the way , allowing other to enter her home . her home , where she had meticulously erased any indication that she was anything but completely normal . no sign of otherworldly adventures , no trophies from alien excursions . a normal doctor .

" do you want a cuppa ? or is. . . are we in a rush ? what's happened ? "

[agentharkness]

👀 + are you in love with gwen bazooka boobies cooper???

@welshpunches icb you tried to convince me this wasn't you. smh.

A question for the ages...

Throughout the centuries, he'd loved many people, and some of their names were long forgotten. Love was a complicated feeling when you're the man who outlived everyone who'd managed to capture your runaway heart. After a point, it became harder and harder to open his heart to that feeling he once lived for. Meeting someone new, getting to know them inside and out, forming a bond you could see yourself staying true to for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, nowadays, it was the rest of their lives and not his own, and eventually he disappeared from their lives like a shadow does when the moon rises. It was easier that way, tearing himself away into the night from the inevitable cyclical heartache before it caught up with him again.

He hadn't meant to fall in love with the beautiful, feisty, big-mouthed, green-eyed wonder that was Gwen Cooper. Before meeting her, none had stirred his heart as dramatically in years. She had that typical Welsh nerve to come into his life and dust the gathered cobwebs away from his heart without even asking. He found himself drawn to her like a moth to a flame, even knowing she'd eventually burn him because that's what always happened. He knew there'd be no future with her as much as he tried to imagine it when left alone at night while everyone else went home to something resembling a slither of normality. It'd been so long since he'd experienced normal, had been normal, and Gwen Cooper deserved better than the thing he'd turned into.

They shared glances, more than a few almosts, but he never allowed it to go full throttle despite how easily he could've. Selfishness had once been a core trait of his. Yet, like so many parts of who he used to be, time washed most of them away, the good and the bad. She might've hated the man he used to be, though none could say he wasn't a fun guy with genuine laughter and real smiles, things that ran hollow from him now. Gwen Cooper and Irvine Singh Jack Harkness had simply met at the wrong time in a universe where they should've never met in the first place. One might think he'd take their impossible meeting as a confidence boosting sign of fate, that it was meant to be. Maybe he did for a glorious moment or two, but it didn't take away from the fact that she'd never have anything resembling what she needed from him. Gwen Cooper wore her heart on her sleeve, Jack Harkness kept his behind walls built hundreds of feet high. Impenetrable, save for tiny cracks seldom searched for.

It seemed pointless to say it out loud now. What good would it do her or him? They had a chance to be the brightest stars in the heavens, and neither took the necessary step forward to make it happen. They'd have been great, beyond great...until it turned into ashes.

He smiled sadly to himself and shrugged his shoulders, suppressing all the romantic fantasies that'd existed in his overcrowded mind for far too long. The endless job of protecting the earth would soon push them back into the lonely depths.

"Oh...she knows."