Sorry it's taken so long for this update. I've had exams and stuff...but they're done and I'm back, so prepare yourself for some Torchwood magic.

Or y'know... just my brain rambling away...

Either way, I hope you enjoy it!


The next day, Owen was on-edge waiting for Tosh to arrive at work. He'd gone home before the rest of the team last night. He just couldn't sit there and watch Tosh and Mr Dark-Hair-Blue-Shirt shooting each other 'come hither' glances across the crowded bar. He made some excuse about a migraine and when he reached his flat, he proceeded to drink cheap lager until he stopped caring enough to sleep.

He was horribly hungover as he stumbled into the Hub, but that wasn't what was bothering him.

"Hey Owen, migraine better?" Ianto asked.

"Don't talk. Coffee," Owen grunted. Ianto grinned and handed Owen a paper cup.

"You're lucky. Gwen just did the Starbucks run. Is there anything else I can get you? Aspirin? Glass of water?" Owen shook his head groggily and went to walk away. Then he turned back.

"Actually, two things. One: stop being cheerful this early in the morning. And b…yeah, stop being cheerful…" he trailed off weakly and collapsed into his desk chair. Ianto grinned again. It wasn't that he actively enjoyed seeing Owen in pain, but it could often serve to brighten his day just a little bit. He turned back to his pristine desk, whistling.

"Stop. Whistling. Now." Owen's voice was muffled. Ianto looked over his shoulder and saw that his colleague's head was resting face down on a stack of paperwork.

Tosh waltzed her way into the Hub twenty minutes after Owen had drained his coffee cup. He should've been sorting through his back catalogue of autopsy reports, but instead he was sat staring into his empty coffee cup, willing it to refill itself. He only looked up when he thought he heard Tosh coming in. After twelve false alarms, here she was. Owen tried to gaze at her in a discreet fashion, but his bleary mind meant that he could only manage outright staring. He decided his reputation was safer if he just didn't look at her, though this was much easier said than done.

Tosh breezed cheerily over to Ianto, dumping her bag as she passed her desk. She said a casual hello to Gwen and then Owen, studiously avoiding looking at him. He returned the favour.

"Here you go Tosh," Ianto handed her a paper coffee cup. "Good night?"

Tosh grinned widely, but had the courtesy to blush a little. "Yes thanks, Ianto."

"From the way your new friend was practically salivating over you just before you left, I don't suppose you got a whole lot of sleep…" Gwen chuckled. Tosh flushed an even deeper red.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't," she giggled coyly.

"To be honest, I'm surprised you've arrived in one piece at all. He looked positively carnivorous," Ianto laughed.

"Well…yeah, I suppose…yeah…" Tosh was blushing so much, she had lost the ability to form a coherent sentence. All the blood from her brain had migrated to her cheeks.

Owen listened to this exchange in shock so severe it almost cleared his hangover. Tosh had pulled? His Tosh…he scalded himself as soon as he thought that…okay, not his Tosh, but Tosh? Tosh had actually pulled? And by the sounds of it, a lot more besides.

As Owen raised his head slightly to watch Tosh glide to her desk, he felt a pang in his chest. She looked so happy, radiantly so. Thinking back, he realised that he had never made her look so happy. After spending time with him, she always looked nervous and slightly sad…

This realisation hurt Owen more than he felt it should. She was just a woman. Just another woman. Another body.

He felt bad reducing Tosh to that. She was so much more than just a body. But the only way he could cope with the way he felt was to attempt to lose all his respect for Tosh.