Christmas Miracle

It was quite a production, the first time Tosh got up the nerve to kiss Owen.

She was a scientist at heart, a logistician. There were parameters to be set and variances to be considered. After many hours she came up with a solution that would leave her dignity mostly in tact if it didn't completely work but still would give her a high probability of meeting her goal.

It was the holidays after all, so the mistletoe was a given. The deployment of the mistletoe gave her pause. But she thought she found a way it would work. She calculated all the permutations and it yielded a kiss from Owen 95% of the time.

Step one was to kiss Ianto. Kissing her other team members with the mistletoe should've made Owen more open to it as he'd only be taking part of a tradition and not declaring any feelings for her. She chose Ianto as the first co-worker to kiss because they were friends, he was sweet, and she was almost certain that he would give her a kiss.

And he did. She slipped Ianto his gift and held the mistletoe over her head. "Happy Christmas, Ianto."

He smiled fondly at her. "Happy Christmas, Tosh." He leaned over and gave her a small, but heartfelt kiss. As they pulled back, she noticed that his ears had turned a bright red. She laughed and kissed his cheek.

Next up was Suzie. Suzie would be the tricky one. They were never particularly close, though, as the only two women in Torchwood, they did share a certain bond. No gift really for Suzie, but Tosh had baked her a plate of shortbread and sugar cookies. She presented them and held the mistletoe over head. "Christmas kiss?" she asked.

Suzie looked up at her with her eyes that saw too much. There was a pause before she leaned forward and gave Tosh a quick air kiss on each cheek. "Happy holidays, Tosh."

"You as well, Suzie."

For Jack, she waited until she had some of Ianto's rum-filled eggnog in her, during their annual holiday party. She wasn't afraid that he'd reject her. She was slightly concerned about just what he would think the kiss meant.

As it turned out Jack, being Jack, knew exactly what the kiss was about. She had the mistletoe dangling overhead, and he waited until Owen turned to face them before sweeping her into his arms, dipping her low, and giving her a kiss that literally took her breath away.

He disengaged and returned her to her upright position. She said the only thing that she could manage in that moment. "Wow."

"I know," Jack grinned. "I've had some practice."

"It shows." Shaking off her daze, she smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Toshiko. Anytime."

Despite all the build-up when it came to Owen's turn, she lost her nerve. It didn't help that the others were all watching her expectantly. This included Owen. She approached him at his desk and he smiled up at her, waiting.

"Here's your gift," she said, laying the small wrapped box next to his hand. "Happy Christmas." It was obvious that he was expecting more, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it, and she retreated to her own area without another word.

She looked over to where the other three had been watching to catch Suzie roll her eyes and head back to her station, Ianto smile at her sympathetically, and Jack grin enigmatically.

About ten minutes later, all her work finished and no reason to stay, she took her leave and headed across the Plasse to meet the taxi she'd ordered. About halfway to the street, she was brought up short by Owen jogging up to catch her.

"Oi, Tosh, hold on." He caught her sleeve just as she was turning. "What was that, then?" he asked.

Best to play dumb. "What was what?"

"You know what. You snogging everyone but me."

"It wasn't snogging," she sniffed. "Just a little peck under the mistletoe."

"Oh, come on, Jack's tongue was halfway down your throat."

He really was the most frustrating ass, and she decided she didn't feel like dealing with him on Christmas of all days. "Good night, Owen."

Turning back towards the street, she made it two steps before he stopped her again. "Sorry, sorry. I'm being a twat." Hard to argue with that. "I guess I'm just feeling snubbed."

His smile was sweet and the look on his face was so adorably apologetic, that she couldn't help but smile. "Would you like me to get out the mistletoe, Dr. Harper?"

"Please, Miss Sato."

She pulled the greenery from her pocket and held it up over her head. All she expected from Owen was a small peck, similar to what she'd gotten from Ianto. What she didn't expect, was him to snake an arm around her waist and pull her close, and use his free hand to gently push an errant lock of hair off of her face.

"Happy Christmas, Tosh," he whispered, before lowering his lips to hers. It was a brief kiss, but gentle and heartfelt. He pulled away a few inches to look her in the eye. Staring back up at him, she wondered if he could hear her heart hammering in her chest. His head lowered again and she closed her eyes and let instinct take over.

The mistletoe dropped to the ground as she looped one arm around his neck and combed the fingers of her other hand through his hair, lightly scraping her nails on his scalp. She imagined it met his approval, as he moaned and deepened the kiss. His arm tightened around her back and his hand cupped her cheek before sliding back to comb through her hair.

Their lips massaged each other and soon his tongue was gently probing hers. His body pressed flush up against hers and she desperately wished they were against a wall because her knees were starting to go weak.

Both of his hands came up to cup her face and he pulled back a few inches. "Bloody hell, Tosh." His voice was ragged. For a moment they just stared at each other, his eyes boring into hers and she couldn't read his expression. He lowered his head again and gave her a hard kiss.

This kiss was something different and everything had shifted so fast that Tosh couldn't find solid ground. She took his head in her hands to get back some control and that just seemed to fuel their fire more. They were grappling with each other and Tosh wondered if the this was really the same world it had been five minutes ago when someone cleared their throat behind her.

"Sorry to interrupt," Suzie said in a dry voice, forcing them to break apart from each other. "Just wondered where Owen got to as he left his jacket back in the Hub."

Owen's eyes were downcast, but he lifted them for a moment to look at Tosh one last time. Then he disengaged and stepped around her to face Suzie, and Tosh did the same. "Yeah, sorry, just wishing Tosh a happy holiday."

"Well, it seems you've done a pretty thorough job of it, haven't you?" Suzie's tone remained dry, but her eyes flashed, confirming what Tosh had long suspected: Owen and Suzie had something between them. A sense of guilt and jealousy ripped through her, instantly bringing her down from the high she had been riding.

Suzie's eyes fixed on Tosh. "Isn't it funny how if you don't watch things constantly, people may just come and steal them away."

Still a little annoyed, Tosh wasn't about to be cowed by Suzie so easily. "Pardon me?"

"Your cab, love," Suzie smiled smugly. "It's waiting on the road, but it's Christmas Eve, and I see that couple eyeing it."

Sure enough, the taxi was waiting patiently by the curb, and a young couple were gesturing towards it from down the street. "Oh, yes, I shouldn't keep him waiting." Nodding vaguely at both of them, she said, "Good night," and quickly strode to the car.

After getting in and giving her address, Tosh looked back to see Owen and Suzie bickering with one another. As her cab pulled away, she saw Owen look up, his eyes following her. With her lips still tingling and the warmth of his hands still on her face, she couldn't help but feel that maybe she had a chance with Dr. Owen Harper after all.