This is set around a week after the first chapter.
I love the Tosh/Owen dynamics, and I really wish something had happened between them before they died!
xoxoxo
Tosh and Owen left the Torchwood hub together. It had been a hard day at work, and both were in need of some relaxation. Tosh turned to Owen when they were in the lift to the upper floor.
"Fancy a drink?"
Owen looked at her. "What, now?"
"Why, have something better to be doing?"
Owen sighed. "OK. But if you start going on about work related stuff, then I'm outta there."
Tosh smiled. "No work stuff. I promise."
Two hours later, Tosh and Owen were sat at a random bar somewhere in Cardiff.
"And then the Irish guy said..." Tosh burst out laughing, as Owen scowled. "I haven't even reached the punch line yet, Tosh."
Tosh laughed as she fell off her bar stool. "I think...I'm a little drunk, Doctor Harper."
Owen helped her up. "I think it"s time we got you home."
Back at Tosh's flat, Owen was making a coffee for Tosh as she lay on the sofa.
"What happened to us, Owen?"
"What you going on about, Tosh?"
Tosh sat up. "We used to be so close, you and me. Now, we can hardly stand the sight of each other. What happened?"
Owen sighed, bringing the coffee over and handing it to her. "I dunno. I guess we just grew apart."
"Do you ever think we could get back to the way we used to be?"
Owen walked over to the window and stared outside. "I dunno, Tosh."
"I miss you, Owen."
Owen turned back round. "That's the booze talking."
Tosh stood up and moved over to Owen. "No, it's not, Owen. What you and I had, that was something special. And then, somehow, it all went wrong. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but we changed. We always used to be there for one another, and now, for some reason, we're not."
Owen looked into her eyes, which were gleaming with tears. He pulled her close to him and held her against his chest. "Shh. It's alright. I'm here."
Tosh sobbed against Owen's chest, holding him tight, never wanting to let go.
"This really is the drink," Owen laughed. He led Tosh over to the sofa and sat down with her. "What is it, Tosh?"
"It's everything, Owen. Work, home, me...you."
"Me? What have I done now?"
"Nothing," she sobbed, "that's the thing, Owen. Surely you must know by now, Owen."
"Know what?"
Tosh looked at him. "You must know how I feel about you."
Owen stood back up and started pacing the room. "Oh yeah, Tosh. I know that. You think I'm a selfish bastard; a poor specimen of males around the globe, who doesn't give a damn about how other people feel."
Tosh shook her head, standing up and taking his hand. "No. No, it's not like that at all. I like you, Owen. I really, really like you."
"That definitely is the booze talking," Owen repeated.
Tosh shook her head again. "Ask me tomorrow, if you really want the truth."
Owen walked towards the door of the flat. "See you, Tosh."
When Owen walked into the hub the next day, Tosh was already at her station, nursing a hangover.
"Morning, Tosh."
Tosh waved a hand at Owen and downed some more coffee. She looked up, surprised, as a post-it note landed on her desk.
HOW'S THE HEAD?
HAVE A FEW TOO MANY, DID WE?
O
Scowling, Tosh wrote a reply and threw it back to him.
BE QUIET, OWEN, AND TELL ME HOW TO CURE THIS HANGOVER
T
Owen walked over to Tosh's station with a pill and handed it to her. Tosh raised an eyebrow.
"This is legal, isn't it, Owen?"
Owen smiled. "Trust me, I'm a doctor. Besides, I'm hardly going to give you anything that'll harm you, am I?"
Tosh smiled back. "Thanks, Owen."
An hour later, Tosh had just finished work on some Alien Tech when another post-it note landed on her desk.
CAN WE GO FOR SOME LUNCH?
WE NEED TO TALK.
O xx
Tosh smiled, glad for an excuse to get out of the hub, and glad that Owen seemed to have remembered their talk last night.
SURE, I'LL JUST GRAB MY COAT.
T xx
Ten minutes later, Tosh and Owen were sat in a café near the hub. They had ordered some lunch, and Owen was drinking a pint. Tosh was strictly on water.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
Owen took a mouthful of his drink. "Last night. Listen, I've been thinking, and if you're serious about this..."
"I am."
"Then I reckon there might be something in this. I mean, I've been...uncaring, in the past, and now, I dunno, I think it might be time for me to settle down."
Tosh smiled. "You're being serious, Owen? You're not just pulling my leg?"
Owen smiled back and took her hand. "Listen to me, Tosh. I think I've known for a while that we've been more than just friends. I've just...tried to ignore it." Owen saw the look on Tosh's face and backed up. "You know me, Tosh. I'm not the type who likes to be tied down. But I've thought; I'm getting on a bit. Time's running out for me. I see my mates and family all settled down with a family of their own, and I realised that I want that, too. And after Diane, well, let's just say that I know how important it is for me to find someone before it's too late."
Tosh looked crushed. "So, what you're saying, Owen, is that you just want someone to cook and clean for you, and you've thought you could get that from me. Well if that's what you're thinking, then you're mistaken. I'm not going to settle for someone who just wants someone to settle with me. I want someone who loves me, and if you don't, then this isn't going to work."
Owen was about to reply when Jack's voice rang over their comms.
"Tosh, Owen, I need you back at the hub. We've got a problem."
