Chapter Text
When the Doctor introduced Jack to Alonso, he was expecting someone who needed his help. Maybe, if the Doctor was feeling particularly generous that day, he’d be able to get along with the guy. When it turned out that Alonso wanted to go traveling, and that he was a flexible sort of bloke as well as an adventurous one, Jack decided that the Doctor had been paying him back for the last few times he’d helped save the universe.
Alonso was young, and more than a little naïve. He’d been sheltered in relative prosperity for most of his life, but he’d been a bit disillusioned- while he was with the Doctor, Jack presumed. He was compassionate with the refugees they came across on their travels and stood by Jack’s decision to get involved in an intergalactic conflict.
Jack was surprised by Alonso’s ability to lie and manipulate, despite his innocent face. He slipped as easily as Jack back into military life and was a reliable assistant. He followed Jack’s lead and hid his confusion and doubts until it was just the two of them. Oftentimes his patience, common sense and genuine friendliness helped them solve disagreements among their contemporaries that Jack’s bull-headed approach would have exacerbated.
They’d been traveling and working together for nearly a year when Jack’s suspicious nature was finally given something to work with. For a long time, he’d had an odd feeling about Alonso; almost from the minute he met the young man, in fact. They’d fitted together far too easily, as though they already knew one another at the deepest level. Alonso was so good at guessing what Jack needed, at pasting on a toothy smile even when he was upset. Jack had ignored the prickling in his memory, refusing to allow his past to taint the present.
But when Alonso brought him the quadrant’s newest exotic import, a drink from a faraway plant that scientists had recently begun replicating for mass production, Jack’s sense memory hit him so hard that he saw double for a few seconds. He saw two pale-skinned, wide-eyed faces, two sets of dark hair and two twin smirks at his expression. He swallowed the large gulp he’d taken from the cup, expecting his usual energy drink, and the second figure disappeared.
“How do you know how I take my coffee?” Jack asked, voice rasping from swallowing the too-hot liquid.
“Coffee?” Alonso repeated, looking surprised. “Have you had it before? This is from the first batch to hit the colonies.”
Jack shook his head, staring down into the brew. Milk and sugar, a hint of brown sugar for special occasions. “Never mind.” He smiled at Alonso. “It tastes wonderful.”
The grin he got in return- too bright, too unreserved? Or just right?- warmed his heart.
Jack never told Alonso his suspicions, but he made sure to tell him he loved him, as often as he could.