Log: Complete

[handsomejack.livejournal.com]

When; Backdated to Sunday June 7th
Rating; G
Characters; Anthony Rutherford coffeenspeed and Captain Jack Harknes handsomejack
Summary; Jack shows off the Spitfire and tries not to corrupt today's youth.
Log;

Sunday morning Jack had headed down to the warehouse where he housed the Spitfire to work on the old girl for a bit. It had been a few months since he'd visited the plane and he gave her a silent apology as he ran his hand along the dust that had settled on the metal frame in that time.

Stripping off his coat, he rolled up the sleeves of his service shirt and got to work. First things first he needed to clean off all the dust, then go back over the schematics he had been working from and identify where he was in the project.

As promised, he'd left the side doors open for whenever Anthony had a chance to stop by.

Anthony woke up at dawn, though he would never admit to that. But he had never worked on a plane, no matter how sneaky he tried to be. They didn't allow teenagers in the hangar-bay at the airport and there was no private airports in the DC area where he could beg his way in.
But here, in the City, he was not only building his very own bike from scratch. He was also offered the opportunity to work on something much better. The average speed of a Spitfire was beyond anything he could ever achieve on a motorcycle or in a car.

So maybe getting kidnapped and thrown into this chaos wasn't so bad after all.

He did manage to wait till late morning to go to the warehouse. He didn't want to seem too eager. The conversation over the Network was enough humiliation, thank you very much.
He found the side doors, indeed unlocked, and came inside. The plane didn't look spectacular, it was obvious there's much to be done. But to Anthony, it looked beautiful. He saw every single possibility this plane would offer. He couldn't help but smile.

"Hello? Captain Harkness?" He asked carefully.

By the time Anthony arrived, Jack had finished cleaning away all the dust and was up on the skeletal wing working on some of the finer wire sodder. Swing music from the 1940s played softly from a small CD player set off on some table or other and he was humming along with it but it wasn't so loud that he didn't hear Anthony's arrival.

"Yo!"

Jack called down, standing up to peer over the body of the aircraft and waving the young man over.

"Over here." He invited with a broad, ready smile.

The Spitfire was his baby and he was always proud to show her off.

Anthony walked up to the plane slowly, eyes a bit wider than usual, awe clear in his expression. He couldn't help himself and he touched the Spitfire. If he wasn't working on his own little baby, he would be really close to falling in love.

"She's going to be beautiful once she gets up in the air," he said with a smile.

He looked up at the Captain, there was no way he would be giving this up. He would help get her in the air. Period.

"So, where do you want me?"

"You'll learn that's a loaded question around me," Jack said with a hint of teasing. He couldn't help himself, not when Anthony served him up a nice juicy shot like that.

Nimbly climbing down off the side of wing, Jack rubbed his hands off on a cloth he had stuck in his waistband and waved Anthony over towards a simple table upon which sat the schematics.

"Here, let me show you what I'm working on and we can talk about starting you on something that will give me an idea of your skill levels and let you get used to my short hand."

Because, Anthony would soon discover that every single schematic, from the body to the engine to the electrical and onwards, were carefully hand-drawn and hand notated by someone. Namely, Jack. Yep, when the Captain built something from scratch, he didn't mess around!

Standing by the table, he turned and held his hand out towards the younger man.

"Nice to meet you in person, by the way."

Anthony looked down at the hand and mentally head-slapped himself. Forgetting the manners was becoming a habit in the City. Though if he was looking for an excuse, he'd say that the City was distracting enough.

He accepted the hand with a small smile. "The jury is still out on you, Captain," he said allowing the smile to transform into a smirk. Anthony had spirit, as well as manners. "But you'll probably learn soon that I'm easily bribed. Currently accepting coffee and motorcycle parts." The second one especially, if Mickey Smith was set on his outrageous commission. "Then again, you are ahead because of this beauty," he motioned towards the plane.

He let go of the other man's hand and turned towards blueprints. Hand-drawn, he did notice. And he was impressed. Not many people did that. Hell, even he didn't do it. "You did that?" He asked before he could think about it.

"There are a lot of people who would agree with you on that," Jack said, appreciating the spirit the boy showed and also trying to share that he didn't take himself too seriously.

"There's a thermos with some of Ianto's coffee over there on the stool if you'd like a cup," he offered, standing with his hands on his hips as he looked down at the plans.

"From memory even," he said. "Used to fly these in the war, was closer to them then some lovers I had back then, though I'm considering looking into adjusting her into a two seater. Those weren't in my experience and I'd need to do some research to make the proper changes. It's either that or put a remote control into her so I can pilot from the ground if anyone else has her in the air but that's not as good as a two seated teaching craft."

Jack caught himself rambling and gave Anthony an apologetic grin.

"Look, go get some coffee and we'll go over where I am in things."

Coffee. Coffee he could do. Like nobody else. Except for Ianto, apparently. He learnt that at the Library. But he could use a cup of good coffee before diving into schematics and oil... There won't be much time for coffee after they actually get going.

He nodded and left the Captain with the schematics.

There was a room with a coffee machine, sink and a table, in the back of the warehouse, which was a relief because not only he didn't have to make the coffee run to the cafe, which wasn't all that close, but he could make his own coffee. He should probably make some for the other man as well.

Anthony gave it some thought. Captain looked like someone who took his coffee black, possibly with sugar. No cream though. And even if he did, Anthony would never insult coffee by adding cream to it. You either drank the coffee black or went for those light coffee imitations. Like cappuccino.

He found two mugs and filled them when the coffee was ready and went back to join Captain Harkness. He handed him one of the mugs and leaned over the blueprints.

"I could have a few ideas of how to make it a two seater, but it'll be just from the top of my head..." he said, because, well, waiting for the coffee did give him some time to think. "But researching first is probably a better idea," he corrected himself quickly.

Jack was a little curious that Anthony had chosen to make coffee rather than hit the thermos but he knew some people were particular about the freshness of their coffee -Ianto!- and weren't keen about it from a thermos. It didn't bother Jack much as the cup Anthony held out to him emitted a very nice aroma and Jack inhaled with appreciation.

"Thank you," he offered for the coffee, taking a sip before leaning his hip against the table.

"They were actually made with dual seats back in the 40s, I just didn't log many hours in the two seaters so I can't recall the specifics. We'll check the Library I think, just to be safe."

Giving Anthony a wink, Jack straighten and pulled down a set of electrical wiring blueprints.

"Okay. I'm here on the port wing doing some of the sodder work to the flap controls. I still need to run the wires from the engine compartment back to the starboard wing. If you look at what I've done on the port you can see how I incorporated the wires into the fuselage as well as here on the blueprints. Why don't you show me what you can do and mirror the same wiring for the starboard and we'll go from there?"

He took a large sip of his coffee and looked carefully at the blueprints. The wiring was usually the easiest thing about cars, but it's one thing to have a messed up wiring when you're on a highway with brakes ready, and it's another thing to deal with that few hundred miles from solid ground. So he studied the design carefully. When he was certain, he could recall the more complicated parts, he looked at the wiring Jack already did. Thank God the man wasn't suicidal and actually used colored wires.

"Okay... Not as complicated as I feared," he said. He went back to table with blueprints and picked up his coffee mug. Another sip and he put it aside.

He reached to his back pocket and fished out his bandanna. He tied it around his head to keep his hair out of his eyes. So maybe Mom was right and they were a bit too long, and he might love her with all his heart. But he was still not admitting he was wrong. His hair were fine.
Anyway.

He took one of the toolboxes and headed to the right side of the plane.

"Have you been working on her long?" he asked before diving under the wing. He was used to working alone, in silence. But when he had company, it felt right to just carry a conversation that was beyond 'hand me that wrench'.

Neatly swinging himself back up onto the frame of the port wing, Jack settled himself back to his own work, quiet to give Anthony a chance to get comfortable. He smiled at the question, working with the delicate bits of wire so his answer might have sounded a little preoccupied.

"Since last October," he said. "I started mapping out the schematics about a month before that I think. Needed something to occupy my time and I'd been thinking a lot about the old girls, so decided to see how much I could remember."

Yep, except for the odd bits, Jack had blueprinted out the Spitfire from memory. Thinking of it as 'memory exercises for immortals only not on DS!'

Last October? That seemed so long. Anthony couldn't imagine staying in the City that long. He hoped he would be able to go home sooner. Then again, he was here almost a month and the deities didn't seem keen on sending him home.

"I get that," he said and stopped when he had to reach up and concentrate on putting the wire in the right place. "Though it still a bit unbelievable that you were able to find the parts. This place doesn't seem like a mechanic-friendly environment."

Maybe it was better that Jack didn't share with Anthony that the blueprints were drawn mostly from memory. He would be forced to doubt whether or not the plane would actually fly. Not that he doubted in Captain's ability to recall details... He was simply taught to always double check.

"Just a question of knowing which rocks to turn over down in the Underground," Jack admitted. "That and some things I had to strip down to bare components and then build back, like the engine. Wasn't going to find one of those just sitting around so a friend of mine helped me build it from scratch."

Jack was inwardly wincing. Ianto would kill him if he encouraged an 18 year old to go down to the Underground and besides, the rocks Jack kicked over tended to kick back.

"There are the odd mechanics about, not as many as when I first arrived here but a few. Have you heard of Tony Stark? I believe he's quite the engineer."

"Hard to turn over rocks in the Underground when you don't go down to the Underground," he pointed out, though without any negative emotions in his tone. "But I suppose you're right. If you know the right people, finding what's needed is usually easier."

He didn't mind people telling him not to go to the Underground. He knew which rules he could bend, which to break and which ones were more sacred than the law. From people's reactions, he assumed it's safer for him to stay where he could see the sky. Though the limits it put on his ability to get his dream parts were annoying, to say the least.

"I did meet three people who know something about fixing cars. I suppose that qualifies them as mechanics... Three, plus you..." He trailed once again fighting with one of the wires, trying to put it in place. Damn gravity. It was far easier to work the wiring when you could put everything on a table under a lamp. But he'd be damned if he allowed a wire to win.

"I haven't met Tony Stark though," he picked up the conversation again. "I've seen a post of his on the Network though. He's into innovations, I think. Not exactly my thing, unless he wants to discover how to make a Diesel more resistant to Nitro, allowing the car to drive on an alternative fuel for longer than few minutes..." so he had a particular area of interest. Who could blame him?

Try delicate sodder work while hanging half upside down over a metal beam! Jack was beginning to regret having eaten breakfast.

"I haven't spoken to him about inventions or the like, though I've seen some of his posts and heard about him. Actually, you might find him receptive to an idea like that."

It sounded like the sort of 'discovery' that would intrigue a man like Stark. Jack actually knew of a similar alternative along the lines of what Anthony was talking about but 'timey wimey liney' rules prevented him from saying anything. Wouldn't do for something to be 'discovered' 150 years before it was supposed to be.

Or is it 50 years now ... damn it I can't remember

Making a noise, Jack went back to hanging upside down and soddering.

"Fuel is a hobby of yours, Anthony?"

Safe subject, right?

"Not fuel. Cars. Motorcycles. Anything that can go from zero to hundred in under six seconds," he answered the question without thinking. He's been explaining that one a lot lately. People interested in his hobby, but not intruding or pushing themselves into his life. That's exactly what he hated about people at his school, in his world.

"Being interested in fuel is just a means to an end. If I don't end up in the family business, I'll probably be an engineer or a designer at a big company like General Motors or Toyota..." Designing and building new cars, making them more efficient, safer and faster.

"I'll probably end up a federal agent though," he admitted with a certain amount of defeat. There were things that couldn't be stopped, after all.

About to point out where the engine for the Spitfire had come from, Jack got redirected by the federal agent comment.

"Not something you want to do, I take it?" He asked gently. "Why pursue it then?"

Anthony stopped working for a moment and rubbed his neck. The muscles there were a bit tense, but it was more of a delay tactic.
He was never big on sharing, but then again, if they were to work on the plane until it was done, it meant they would be spending a lot of time together. He might as well allow the Captain into his world a little.

"Almost everybody I know works for the law enforcement. Homicide, CSI, lab rats. They are great people, you know? And what they do, it's very important. Building cars and spending entire day knee deep in oil and broken parts doesn't really compare..."

He went back to work, finding it easier to talk when he was preoccupied with something.

"The federal agent thing... It's like when your family encourages you to go to medical school, because they hope you'll become a doctor. So you go to the medical school and end up being a nurse... It's a teenage rebellion thing, I suppose."

Not to mention the only way for the Chief of Detectives, a.k.a. Mom, not to be able to influence his career or have any kind of leverage at home. He loved her. Very much. But.

"I can understand that," Jack said thoughtfully. "But at the same time, going into law enforcement of any sort when your heart isn't in to it is a mistake."

There was nothing judgemental in his tone, if anything it sounded like he accepted the idea that Anthony had other areas of interest and wanted to see the younger man explore those.

"It might not be easy at first, I know that family can put pressure on you even when they think they're just helping but sometimes you've got to stand up and show them where your passion lies."

"They know where my passion lies," he said, feeling the need to defend his family. Nobody was allowed to insult them and suggest they didn't care about Anthony. "And they are very supportive. I mean two of my uncles helped to restore my first car, and boost the engine capabilities. Mom's friend helped me with chemistry, so I could understand how Nitro works..."

Though Anthony suspected that one had more to do with the unhealthy crush Uncle Jones had on Mom.

"They just... Don't think of it as a real job that could pay the bills and give me a life better than theirs," he shrugged.

Busy up under the wing, Jack smiled at the way the younger man came to the defense of his family. It sounded like it was a good dynamic all in all, Anthony just seemed like someone who was perched on the branch facing a different direction from the rest of the nest.

"Well, that's what you're family is all about," Jack said gently. "Wanting what's best for you. It sounds like you'll all work it out, Anthony."

Figuring he'd best get his busy body nose out of the family affairs before he risked insulting the younger man's 18 year old self.

Anthony couldn't help himself and he smiled that little smile of his. They would probably work it out, just like the Captain said. Before he went to college, or during a break... Or maybe after he graduated... But they would.

"Yeah, you're probably right..." he said quietly. "Though it would be easier if I had an older brother," he joked, trying to create a lighter mood. "They would transfer all their ambitions onto him and I would be allowed to mess with engines whenever I want..."

"True," Jack agreed before he grinned impishly. Grabbing a can of oil, he quickly upended himself and snuck across the fuselage of the plane till he could spy the top of Anthony's head.

"But then you'd have to put up with ... a big brother!"

With that, he squirted a healthy dollop of oil, straight down in the direction of the younger man's hair!

It's safe to say, Anthony didn't see that coming. He was getting another batch of wires ready for installation when something wet and greasy splashed on his head and slowly made its way down his hair.

He frowned and slowly touched his hair. He looked at his fingers, dirty with oil. His eyes narrow, he looked up. Really, Captain. Very mature of you.

Anthony was not amused.

"Are you trying to make a point, Captain?" he asked, his tone dry, though a smirk was there, barely, but still visible.

Jack was amused!

He even waved before wriggling back to his side of the plane.

"Did I mention the bane of having older brothers?" He asked innocently from out on the wing.

Really, Anthony should have made Ianto warn him about Jack and Jack's sense of humor!

If Anthony knew a warning was necessary, he would definitely make sure Ianto provided all required information. But in Anthony's world, when one had a rank of a Captain, it usually implied some sort of emotional maturity... But here? Maturity? He was pretty sure somebody missed the memo.

"You did mention something, Captain Harkness... Thank you for proving your point," Anthony told him calmly and smirked. Thankfully, Jack couldn't see the smirk.

He took off his bandanna and wiped the oil off his hair. At least as well as he could. The bandanna, now almost completely greasy with oil, was completely useless now.

He walked around the plane to the table where the blueprints were and took a sip of his coffee. He turned back to face Jack. "Though I do see a fault in your logic. Because from what I"m told, younger brothers can be equally creative."

With that he threw his bandanna at the other man. He didn't even try to get the head, trying to stay realistic. But getting the Captain on the chest, right in the middle of his nice still clean shirt? That would be satisfying enough.

The chest was a fairly large target and Jack blinked as the greasy bandanna projectile splatted him square on his nice white t-shirt. A few drops of grease even made it up onto his chin and one got up his nose!

Now truth was Jack's t-shirts tended to take a beating, covered in either his own blood, the blood of others, some alien gunk or dirt or goo so he was used to being messy. However, Anthony's point was made and Jack arched an eyebrow down at the younger man.

He tried to look stern but it was a lost cause, what with the way his lips twitched and his blue eyes danced with humor.

"We'll call this even ... maybe ... worry about it," he said, trying for deep menace but really he was a man who could appreciate a good prank war.

Oh yeah, seeing grease on that perfectly white T-shirt was worth it. True, the other man's tone made him suspicious of what would be coming next, but he figured he could handle anything the Captain threw at him. Literally or not.

But just to be safe, and not turn his back to the Captain just yet, he pointedly took the blueprints of the wiring and went back under his wing. At least there he could be sure Jack won't do anything that could in any way damage the plane.

Hopefully.

He was curious though. How creative could he be before Captain Jack Harkness remembers he's an adult, technically.

That curiosity alone might be what Jack had up his sleeve to test Anthony's patience! It would seem that the Captain could learn a few tricks from a certain tea-boy, who was the undisputed master of revenge back at the Hub.

Giving Anthony a cheeky wink, Jack dove back into his work, even starting to whistle along with the music as if he didn't have a care in the world.

As for Jack Harkness ever remembering his was an adult ... that could be an even longer wait!