Chapter Eleven: The Best Prank Ever

AN: JSYK, this takes place in 2009. which is impt as it crosses into the Cassieverse soon (see my DW fic "Cassie"). Also note that this story will in general not fit with TW canon all that much. This one is going to be major Owen/Tosh. Also will feature our favorite matchmaker!Ianto. Enjoy!

Ianto was frankly at the end of his matchmaking rope. Gwen and Jack? Fine. Perfect, actually. That bout of the flu Jack had had a week ago was possibly the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

But Owen Harper was another story. He refused to admit his feelings for Tosh, even though everyone - Tosh herself included - knew he had a crush the size of the sun. More than just a crush, really. The feelings were totally reciprocated. And Ianto, that clever matchmaker, had no idea what to do. The mistletoe had gotten one kiss. One. One little kiss. And that was ages ago. Months. Even Valentine's Day didn't get anyone anywhere. And now it was March 31st.

Wait… March 31st. The day before April Fool's Day.

Oh, this would be good.

April Fool's was a favorite at the Hub. With tons of alien stuff at their disposal, the team had the capabilities for epic pranks. But Ianto had only one prank on his mind: the one that would crack Owen Harper. And Gwen and Jack were helping him.

The best prank in the history of ever was just about to begin. Jack had managed to replace Owen and Tosh's ID cards with fake ones, and they had gotten them to go into the vault alone (Jack had unlocked it this time). Now it was up to Ianto to… mess with them a bit. Jack had given Ianto a little screen that would connect to the camera feed in the vault so everyone could watch the action.

He went down into the basement and began playing with the lights in the Vault. The Weevils happened to be very particular about lighting, and this was bound to get them a bit agitated. Now all he and the rest of the team had to do was act scared.

"Jack?" Tosh's voice came through the comm. "Jack, the lights are flickering down here. What's going on?"

"I'm checking on it, but I can't seem to see what's going on," Ianto replied, trying to sound as though he were as perplexed as Tosh.

"Well… the Weevils are getting a bit agitated." Tosh seemed a bit nervous. So far, so good, Ianto thought.

"Tosh, put your comm on autoplay, so I can hear what's going on. I might be able to figure out what the problem is."

"Ianto, fix it quickly," Owen interjected. "This is freaking us both out."

"I'm on it, Owen, cool your jets. Can't you get out anyway?"

"Oh yeah…" Owen had an epiphany, apparently.

"Twat," Gwen chuckled.

A few seconds later: "Um, guys? We can't get out." Owen seemed a bit uneasy.

Tosh, on the other hand, was becoming legitimately scared. "We're locked in!" she cried. "Oh my God, get us out of here!"

"Working on it," Jack said. "There's some sort of power fluctuation going on. I can't seem to get control over the door to let you out. Something must be going on with the Rift. He muted his comm and burst out laughing. "Watch this," he mouthed to Gwen, and then he pushed a button on the computer.

"Wait, something's happening. The door! It's opening!" Owen tried to jiggle the doorknob. "What?! It just was…"

"I said, the power's going all-" Jack was cut off by a Weevil making a horrifying sound, apparently not liking the lights flickering. Soon a chorus of Weevils began screaming and moaning.

Tosh was freaking out at this point. She made a tiny little whimpering sound and sat down on the floor, covering her ears and burying her head in her knees, trying to block out the Weevils and the lights. It was out of character for her, but she had never been this terrified in her life.

Owen looked down at Tosh, shaking on the ground, and immediately sat down next to her. "Tosh, it's going to be okay. We'll get out of here, I promise." He wrapped an arm comfortingly around her shoulder. "It's okay," he said softly. He wrapped the other arm around her, cradling her head against his chest and rocking her back and forth. Gwen grinned at the similarity between them and her and Jack when she was scared or upset.

"I'm scared," Tosh whispered, just loud enough for the rest of the team to hear. "Owen, I've never been this scared before."

Owen felt his heart break. He really was in love with Tosh and couldn't bear seeing her this upset. "I've got you," he murmured soothingly. "It's okay, Tosh, I'm here." Just then another earsplitting Weevil scream rang through the room. Tosh squealed and buried her head in Owen's shoulder. He felt tears on his shirt, Tosh's tears, and he couldn't help but let his guard down. Trying to calm her, he began gently stroking her hair and held her even closer.

Tosh was a bit stunned by Owen's sudden affection, but it did help. She felt safer, protected, in his embrace. She relaxed a bit in his arms, trying to just block out the situation and focus on him.

"That's it," Owen cooed, noticing that Tosh was calming down. "There you go, Tosh, just relax. We'll get through this, I promise." But she was still quietly weeping into his shoulder, still so terrified of being trapped with agitated Weevils, and it was enough to break his stubborn will. "Tosh, I'm not going to let you get hurt," he said firmly. And then he whispered something in her ear that the team couldn't catch. But they could guess what it was, as she looked up at him in shock, just in time for him to brush a thumb across her cheek and pull her in for a kiss.

Cheers broke out from the main room and from the basement. Ianto stopped playing with the lights and Jack unlocked the door.

"FINALLY!" Ianto said through the comm. "Oh, dear God, I was worried I'd have to give poor Tosh nightmares.

"Oh, you bastards!" Owen shouted. "You staged that whole thing?" Tosh had wiped away her tears and was now weakly laughing.

"Best April Fool's prank ever," Jack laughed. "Oh, Ianto, that was freaking brilliant."

"I bloody hate you three," Owen muttered. "Come on, Tosh, let's get out of here." He held out a hand to help her up, and held that hand tightly all the way back to the central room of the Hub. "I do love you, though," he muttered in her ear, and she kissed him again with a fiery passion.

"Finally," Ianto said again, this time to himself. And the master matchmaker was finally at peace.

Hey everyone! Finally, Tosh and Owen are together! #TookLongEnough!

Love,

Kate