torchwoodinstitute | Welcome to the Hub

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Welcome to the Hub

Who: Gabriel and Mohinder with appearances by Jack Harkness and JC.
When: July 20, after this thread of doom.
What: Mohinder and Gabriel accept Jack's invitation and join Torchwood.

Mohinder might as well have had his hands and nose pressed to the ass as the SUV descended on the platform from the plaza above. The Hub was darker and less clinical than he had imagined from the way Jack had spoken briefly about Torchwood Institute. The walls were either brick of off white ceramic subway tiles, shaped like a massive tube around a central core. Walkways and stairs connected levels above and below them and rooms seemed to jut off from the main area like the spokes of a wheel.

No wonder Jack called it a Hub.

Wide eyed and half confused, when the car stopped moving, Mohinder jumped out of it to examine the winch system and try to find the opening they had slowly dropped through, though that had disappeared. He gripped the yellow industrial lift control box, which looked like something out of a warehouse or a mine, and frowned at the buttons.

"I was expecting something more... Futuristic, I suppose," Mohinder muttered to himself and set out around the catwalk, trying to look both up and down at the same time.

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Gabriel would not have let Mohinder take any more books, anyway. Besides, he was cheating with the telekinesis, just a little bit.

It didn't take them long to get back to the entrance of the Archive, and they walked back to the Hub proper. "I saw a number of desks around here- is there one that no one's using?" he asked JC. "I'd like to look through these until Jack gets back."

It was less difficult to treat JC normally than he'd expected. But that was probably just due to compartmentalization. He'd let himself think about all that later. For now, he was happy to leave it. They had enough to think about right now. Like- should he have mentioned more to Jack about Peter's predicament? He hoped that was going okay.

JC was accomodating and though it took them four minutes to clear the Archive and he was rather certain the Captain would be waiting for them by the time Gabriel cracked his first book, JC offered him the use of one of the research rooms and left him alone with Mohinder and their toy.

As he knew already, Jack had returned to the Hub, looking a little worse for wear. He'd gotten into it with Peter, who had lost his temper, pulled a little Sylar trick on him, and then blinked out of Cardiff. Jack hadn't seen that coming but something like that always happened to Peter.

He was a sponge, as Mohinder had once called him, and therefore unstable when he absorbed too much. There was little he could do for his nephew. He spoke briefly with JC before he went to see how the other two were fairing.

He was surprised that they had already cracked to the Gallifreyan.

A research room was even better. Gabriel had thanked JC for the help, had the books open, and was trying to find patterns between the different symbols before they'd even been there five minutes. He was fairly certain that each circle was its own word, and the symbols inside of it represented sounds or letters. Of course, this was somewhat wishful thinking- each circle with each set of symbols could have its own meaning entirely, and one just had to memorize it. But who would do that with clockwork, really? It was all about parts fitting into one whole mechanism that worked together with precision.

He pointed most of this out to Mohinder, speaking most of his thoughts on the matter immediately. He was so engrossed in it that he didn't hear Jack's approach, and continued to babble on with his boyfriend in a manner he never would with anyone else. "So I'm looking for a number system, because it will help us move on from there and I'd bet that numbers are going to be heavily used in most of these books. It might be the notches here, these parts that jut outside the circles? ...that has to be part of it, at least. Eugh, I'm not sure. I need to find more examples."

Mohinder noticed him first, his bruised-purple face still somehow lovely despite the cuts and lumps he suffered. Jack smiled at him, but it was not Mohinder he was interested in. Mohinder was linked now inextricably with Gabriel, and Gabriel was the true gem here. Jack was not and would never say such a thing, he wasn't an idiot.

"How do you like the place?" No, Gabriel, carry on with your reading. Gallifreyan was a dead language, or nearly dead with only one Time Lord left sailing around the universe being utterly selfish in his old age. If anyone could figure out the texts, Gabriel could. "It's not much, I know. It works, though. What have you seen so I don't duplicate it on the tour?"

Jack pulled up a chair and drew up across from the pair.

When Gabriel looked up, the relaxed, pleased expression on his face dropped to one of concern. Jack's state of appearance meant that something had gone wrong with Peter. "What happened?" he asked. Then he added a question, even though he had a strong feeling about the answer. "Where's Peter? I should've stayed with you, I told him I'd help him..."

The texts are forgotten for the moment.

It was a good thing his head had gone back together. And a better thing that Jack had nothing Peter could have anyway. The Captain sighed a bit sadly. "He needs to learn to control himself. And he should be headed there." Lie? Partial lie? Could Jack even know that?

It was difficult to know, really, but he'd not steered them wrong yet, right?

Mohinder did look concerned. "Gabriel's successfully overcome it. Peter likely needs his brother--"

But Jack interrupted him. "He does. But Gabriel has only just become his brother. He needs the one he's known his whole life. Nathan makes very difficult decisions sometimes and I keep hoping that one day, they won't be so selfish."

Gabriel frowned, thinking. Jack was very good at being vague. And he wasn't entirely sure about Mohinder's assessment, either, that he'd 'successfully overcome it.' It wasn't like any of these urges had gone away, and it was still a despairingly short time since he'd last cut someone's head open. But at the very least, he had more experience than Peter did in dealing with it.

"Maybe I should try to get in touch with Nathan. I know Peter's close with him, but that might not keep him safe..." And Peter would hate himself if he hurt Nathan.

But he'd probably have to contact Angela to find out how to reach Nathan. By the time he got ahold of Nathan, Peter would probably be long gone. Besides, he wasn't exactly raring to talk to Angela right now. He rubbed at his face with a sigh. "Do you think he'll come back here?"

"I don't know," Jack said, which was a lot better than the I hope he doesn't reply he wanted to give Gabriel. "I know you're feeling a familial tie to the Petrellis, and I won't stop you if you feel the need to help them, but I need you here too."

And he glanced at Mohinder, who had been more or less ignored despite his little outbursts of encouragement. "Both of you."

"It might seem counter productive to think this way, but we really don't have all the time in the world to fix the things that come up. Pocket dimensions make it necessary for us to move when they are formed."

Mohinder blinked. "Pocket dimensions?"

"Difficult to explain the science behind, easy to explain the necessity to act quickly. They have the ability to overwrite the current timeline.We can't let that happen."

The way Jack put that was somewhat strange. 'feeling a familial tie'. That, combined with the fact that Jack was purposefully being vague, just reminded Gabriel that he and Mohinder had been wandering around in the dark for far too long. If people were keeping information from him, then they couldn't be too mad if he got it through other means, right? He took note of what Jack was wearing- if he got a chance later, maybe he could use clairsentience to find out what had really happened with Peter.

For now, though, there wasn't much to be done. He'd let Peter try to work it out, and if he couldn't, Gabriel would hear about it somehow- either through the news or from Peter himself. Jack was right, the whole family barely knew him as anything other than a monster. His presence probably wouldn't be wanted.

Jack's insistance that he their help took some of the sting out of that realization. It also didn't hurt that he launched immediately into talking about pocket dimensions, which took Gabriel's focus immediately. "So how do these pocket dimensions pop up? Are they like alternate timelines? Different ways a future could've gone?"

Edited 2015-07-26 16:52 (UTC)

Dealing with Gabriel was a specialized sort of operation and Jack had had practice. Mohinder didn't notice anything odd going on between the two and instead leaned gingerly on the table as he looked up at Jack with bright, if bruised eyes.

"The rift causes them," Jack launched into explanation immediately. "It's a phenomena that happens extremely rarely in the universe but these rifts, even with regulators built on top of them, just so happen to cause time and dimension distortions. They start small but the sensors don't always catch them. That's where we come in."

"We? How many agents are there?" Mohinder asked.

Jack grinned. "Difficult to say. Presently? Fifteen. I'm hoping for sixteen in a day or two. But to answer your question, Gabriel-- It's not like what I was telling you before...with the facets of time and every conceivable direction of a future being part of the same jewel. Rift pocket dimensions can change things radically. They could snuff you out of existence. Add ten more of you... Do you see what I'm saying? These will change the world in ways they should never have been and only those of us affected by rift energy will know it's changed."

Edited 2015-07-26 16:56 (UTC)

"The really strange stuff, in other words," Gabriel said, nodding. That made sense, even if it was completely different from his guess. "I see. So these pocket dimensions are caused by the rift, and need immediate attention- at least, as soon as they're noticed." He figured there must be nothing major going on right now, since Jack seemed to be in the process of recruiting.

Speaking of- "I am glad to hear we won't be the only newbies," Gabriel added, with a slight smile. "The only one other agent we've met so far is JC." That did remind him. "He's a very interesting fellow. Almost familiar, even." He rose an eyebrow at Jack, as if to say 'did you really pull Jesus out of his dimension?' The amused smile still on his face gave away that he was more impressed than anything else. "He showed us the Archives and we were kinda distracted in there-" He tapped the book directly in front of him, because right now there were a number of possible distractions. "So we haven't seen much other than that and the central area, where we came in."

"Does he? I didn't think his counterpart was still around in this dimension anymore. Let's hope I got that right!" Jack said, laughing it all away. It wasn't a lie but he loved and protected the people that worked with him. Even the dicks. JC had been hurt enough. He didn't want the man to be outed unless he did it himself.

Jack turned one of the books around to gaze at the language.

"The Doctor and I use to be close. Change your face, change your friends," he said to himself before he smiled. "Well most of your fellow agents are closing a pocket as we speak so I'm sure you'll meet them soon enough. In the mean time, how about we figure out where you want to live. We have a few vacant flats open. Are you city folk or water folk?"

Jack's sidestepping of the whole JC issue was actually oddly relieving. He didn't even lie. Gabriel smiled. "That's what I thought, too," he said quietly, with a nod of acknowledgment. Gabriel wasn't used to leaving things alone, but he wouldn't press Jack for details when he could talk to JC himself. And if the guy was intent to keep his identity quiet, well...Gabriel would have to think on whether to even bring it up.

The books clearly held some sort of importance for Jack. Oh, and the agents were busy. He was very curious to meet these other people. He doubted he'd work too closely with most of them- it was just how things went in any sort of office environment and was certainly true of Primatech. But it would be interesting to find out what sort of people they were.

Oh, and now they were on to more fun things. Like living someplace that almost certainly didn't have cameras situated all over it. He looked at Mohinder and shrugged. "Chennai and New York- I'd say we're both city folk. Unless you wanted something calmer to come home to?" He was pleased as punch about having choices, but he wanted Mohinder to have the final say here.

A choice? Honestly, he had no idea what to choose. "Can we see the options...?"

It made Jack laugh and he dug into his RAF coat, one Gabriel might eventually find hanging on an old fashioned coatrack by the door of his office, until he came up with three keys. "High rise, beautiful city views. Second floor walk up. Cozy and close to good dining. And.." Yes. He hesitated. "A one bedroom by the sea, close to the underground but with a nice garden."

He handed the keys specifically to Mohinder.

"The addresses are on the fobs."

"Thank you," Gabriel replied sincerely, smiling down at the keys. He'd noticed the hesitation and wondered, a little, about that. And he wondered whether either of these apartments had been recently vacated.

Well, he appreciated it, regardless. It had been a long time since he'd looked at moving in anywhere. It was nice to have the opportunity to be excited. "Can we go take a look now?" He was sure there was plenty more to go over, and he'd be fine if Jack had more pressing issues to talk about. But the idea of going home someplace was extremely satisfying.

"We can talk about salary and do the paperwork tomorrow," Nack said with a grin. Yes. Paperwork. He ran a reputable company!

With permission to do as they liked, Mohinder pocketed the keys and offered his hand to Gabriel. "Then shall we?" Mohinder was as excited to explore their new city as he was to explore the Hub and their new employment. He wanted to know and see everything and he wanted to do it with Gabriel.

"Oh and books stay here. Torchwood material stays in the Hub but you can look at it whenever you want... And that goes for the bear, Mohinder."

That made the Indian blink. He hadn't even realised that he was still cuddling it!

Gabriel hadn't even thought about salary, much less doing paperwork to join up here. So he sort of blinked and nodded at that statement. At least it could wait until later. And hey, he was actually going to get paid! That had been awhile.

He laced his fingers together with Mohinder's as soon as the man offered his hand. It felt good to have the contact, and the reassurance that yes, they were both pretty pleased with this development. He thought Mohinder wanted to go check them out more than he did, even.

He nearly chuckled to see Mohinder somewhat dumbfounded to be still holding that bear. "I figured it'd all stay here." He started stacking the books in a very particular order. "You don't happen to know Gallifreyan, would you, Jack?" he asked, off-handedly. He wasn't really expecting much, considering it was the language of a people all but dead, but if anyone knew it'd probably be Jack. "I'm hoping to translate these. Who better than a watchmaker, right?"

"Time Lords are-- Were-- A secretive bunch. He never taught me." He hadn't even taught Rose and he was pretty sure Rose was the end all and be all to him sometimes. But she was gone now too. Well, not gone. Just not here. They met up for drinks sometimes when their dimensions crossed by that wasn't often.

Torchwood ate up their lives.

"But have at it all you'd like. We have a lot of old Gallifreyan books you could translate for us."

Half an hour later and Mohinder and Gabriel, armed with keys and some taxi money, headed to the first apartment in the heart of the city, decked out and modern and utterly spotless. Cardiff reminded Mohinder a great deal of London and the view from the corner unit with it's floor to ceiling windows in the bedroom was absolutely exciting.

Fearless, Mohinder leaned back on the glass and gazed up at Gabriel. "Our neighbours could watch, if you're adventurous."

Modern and spotless both appealed to Gabriel. This place was a lot fancier than he was expecting. He stared out of the windows with approval, until Mohinder caught his entire attention. The statement made him turn pink with a blush- Mohinder was quite forward, wasn't he? But that didn't mean much as he immediately walked over and pressed his lips to his boyfriend's, opening his mouth to lick those wonderful, soft lips.

He pulled away after a moment, but only slightly. It was just enough to say quietly, practically under his breath. "You're more adventurous than me- at least when it comes to this. But you know? I'm willing to go anywhere you want to take me." He realized the double entendre a little belatedly and gave Mohinder a breathy chuckle. "Is this why you wanted to see both places? You hoping to 'try them out' first?" He leaned in again to kiss Mohinder on the neck, slowly working his way up to the ear.

There was little in life that was better than kissing Gabriel Gray, of that Mohinder was sure of. He kept his arms low, to wrap around his boyfriend's waist, eyes bright. In a week, it would be hard to tell he had suffered so from the last encounter the Company sent him on. A week more than that and he would be willing to prove his flexibility in other areas as well. He pressed his nose to Gabriel's chin when he pulled away to delight in his scent while he spoke.

"Are you capable of trying out beds three times in a row?" he teased. "Your stamina might be better than mine."

They would need to get some items while they were out then. And he didn't meant just milk and bread and new tea cups. His hands reached around to squeeze the other man's ass.

"Perhaps we might be better off to see the lot before we make our choice and enjoy three times in the same bed?"

Mohinder's bright eyes were what captured Gabriel's attention this time. He often longed for someone to look at him like that, like he was the center of their world and it couldn't make them happier. It made him feel like he'd made the right choice to stay here instead of running fruitlessly after Peter.

Mohinder's squeeze to his backside made him jump slightly and shiver with anticipation. "That'd probably be better, yes. I want to make sure everything's settled, and then we can celebrate. No worries about stamina." He tugged lightly on Mohinder's earlobe with his teeth. "I'm starting to see that waiting's the hard part, here."

He ran his hands lightly over Mohinder's shoulders, then pulled back slightly. It was enough for them to break apart and follow their plan, but he hadn't pulled away completely yet. Of course, this meant he had an extremely good look at Mohinder's face, which was nearly irresistible. "Good thing I've learned patience," he muttered, leaning down to kiss him on the lips again. He didn't notice that he wasn't pulling away quite yet, which was somewhat undermining his statement.

One might think that they hadn't seen each other in some time the way that they were carrying on, but they were alone here and with no one to bother them and a good future on the horizon, there was nothing to stop them from taking their time and enjoying one another.

Eventually, as much as he wished it wasn't so, Mohinder decided that it was time to explore the neighbourhood a bit. It was really quite nice here, the lofts were beautiful, but the area felt too rich and high end. Mohinder also had a more homey aesthetic and white walls with polished chrome was not it.

The more young couple neighbourhood with outdoor cares and lots of coffee shops was much better. The second floor walk up wasn't too bad either though the place was small and the furnishings bare.

There was a tiny kitchen and a tiny bathroom and Mohinder immediately wrinkled his nose. "I'd like to be able to do more than make grilled cheese."

Gabriel could tell that Mohinder wasn't particularly happy with either of these places, giant windows or not. The second one would've been perfect if he'd been on his own, which instantly made him dislike it. "So no on this one, then. Too bad we saw the nice neighborhood first." He didn't sound too broken up about it. "Let's check out the last one."

This was quite a bit less hectic than he expected today to be. As they left the apartment and started heading toward the one by the sea, he reached for Mohinder's hand again. "I'm feeling downright domesticated, looking at apartments with you. Thought today would be more strange gadgets and assigned rooms."

"We got to play with talking, emotional toys and books in alien languages," Mohinder laughed. "Baby steps." He let his fingers lace with paler, larger ones as they headed down to the underground towards the water. Jack was right. The last place was only a few stops away and very beautiful. He could hear the water and there were the promise of seaside cafes and restaurants and shopping not too far. This was less an apartment than it was a small cottage and the garden was meticulous.

Mohinder handed over the key to Gabriel. "Would you care to do the honours Mister Gray?" He asked, cheeky

Gabriel would be getting quite a lot from that key... Late nights of Jack and that younger man that had flashed upon him when touching the coffee machine kissing and fumbling for the key to get it in the lock, for instance. Evidently there was a reason why Jack had hesitated.

This was Ianto's home.

Gabriel grinned at Mohinder as he took the key, but the memories made him pause for a moment. It was long enough to be noticeable, and his grin had disappeared. He shook his head. "Sorry, just getting some memories. I'm fine. Let's take a look."

He'd like to touch the ground near the garden, see who'd been keeping it up. But he suspected he'd be getting more memories than he wanted here. He'd have to let Bridget know that he was having some of the same breakthrough issues she did, when he felt safe emailing her again. She'd wondered about that, the last time they talked.

Well, there wasn't much to do about that now. He'd just have to keep working on increasing his control. He put the key in the lock and opened the door.

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