Chapter Text
Owen slipped the pheromone spray bottle into his pocket as he watched the two intoxicated lovers drive away in the back of a taxi. He didn’t think that it’d work like that if he was honest. He didn’t want to go back and just drink alone for the rest of the night, but the idea of going home just as alone was an unpleasant thought to say the least. He took out his phone and scrolled down the contacts. Suzie had been busy more often than not recently so he guessed there was no point in calling her. It’d be a cold day in hell before he called Jack and the new girl was with Jack getting retconned apparently. Was that tonight or tomorrow? He couldn't remember. Either way she had a boyfriend and he didn’t want to fight. Not tonight. Tosh. She’d be free. She always was. It was a stupid idea but he was already tipsy and the dark cloud of depression was threatening to descend already. He hit the call button.
“Owen?” Toshiko asked, surprised that anyone was calling her so late. “Is something wrong?”
“No. No. I was just thinking, as you’re not doing anything and I’m not getting any action tonight anyway, you want to join me? Have a few drinks?”
“Are you drunk?”
“Not yet. Come on, I’m buying.”
“And how do you know I’m not busy?”
“Tosh… A meal of leftovers and wine is not busy. You can at least have wine with company.” He could feel her glare down the phone and he hoped he hadn’t just made sure he was going to spend the evening drinking alone.
She sighed. “Fine. Give me ten minutes to get ready. Your usual haunt I assume?”
“I’ll be waiting.” He smiled in spite of himself. The call ended and he took a deep breath of cold night air. At least a night with a friend wasn’t wasted, even if he did have to deal with her telling him that all this drinking was bad for him. He already knew that. He just didn’t care. His job could kill him at any moment, why not see if alcohol could do it first.
He waved Tosh over as he spotted her from his position at the bar. Neat and tidy as always, she perched next to him.
“It must be a bad night if you’re calling me of all people. Suzie didn’t answer?” She knew him too well.
He shrugged. “She’s always busy. Don’t know what with. Anyway, you’re here now.” He slid a glass over to her, remembering what she’d preferred at new years. She smiled and took a sip. Maybe it was the drink talking but her smile was soft, attractive, and beckoning. No, he couldn’t mess up the one friendship he had because he wanted to get laid. Suzie understood that their relationship was physical and nothing else but Tosh was different. She was the romantic type and he couldn’t break her heart. Who else would listen to his bullshit at midnight or cover for him when he had a hellish hangover. He downed what was left in his glass and gestured to the barman for a refill. The alcohol took the edge off the world, stopped his thoughts rushing from subject to subject, and made him actually relax for once.
“Sorry to call you out like this.” She said, leaning heavily on the bar.
She placed down her glass. “I don’t mind. Like you said, I wasn’t doing anything anyway.”
“You know I didn’t mean that as an insult. I mean that’s what normal people do. Actually go home and put their feet up after work.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call my evenings normal.”
“Yea? Finally invested in a secret lab? Hacked the CIA?”
“No… Well, no to the lab. The CIA thing was Jacks idea.”
“That man has a death wish.”
“It hasn’t been granted yet.”
“Yea. It’s weird. I know, doctor patient confidentiality and all that, but he’s barely got a scar on him. All the shit he pulls and not a damn thing.”
“That can’t be possible.”
“That’s what I thought, but there he is.”
“Maybe he’s half alien.”
He laughed warmly. “If I hadn’t seen his blood samples before I’d probably agree with you.”
There it was, that sparkle in her eyes. That light she always got when she was actually happy. He had to stop himself staring, deciding instead to stare into the bottom of his glass. How many had he gone through? Too many most likely. Tosh nudged him in the arm.
“You’re being watched.” She said softly, gesturing subtly to a woman at the end of the bar. She was pretty, in her mid twenties and trying a bit too hard. Too much cleavage on show and enough makeup to stain sheets. He couldn’t be bothered with that level of laundry.
“Naa. I asked you here. I’m not just going to ditch you now.”
“Don’t let me stop you.” She swirled what was left of her wine around the glass, the sparkle leaving her eyes.
He was about to do something really stupid, he could just feel it. “I’m hungry.”
“What?”
“Have you had dinner yet? I’m starving.”
“O-ok.” She stuttered, her smile returning.
The cold Cardiff rain had driven them back to Owens flat to eat. Tosh hung her wet coat up, hoping it would dry quickly as Owen returned with a towel for her to dry her hair.
“Thanks.” She took it gratefully, trying to keep her hair from dripping all over the floor.
He turned the heating up and took the soaked bag from their half eaten dinner in the kitchen. It was still warm but he was full. As he was wondering if he could get away with eating the leftovers for breakfast, she joined him.
“Aren’t you going to dry off?” She asked, brushing away a water droplet that was running down his cheek. Her fingers were surprisingly warm and her skin was soft. He found himself placing his hand over hers, his eyes closed.
She blushed lightly. “Owen? Are you feeling ok? How many have you had?”
“Too many… Not enough.” He smiled sadly, looking into her eyes. “Sorry. You can take my bed tonight. I’ll crash on the sofa.”
“No, no. It’s your bed. I don’t mind sleeping on the sofa.”
He brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes. “You’re too nice for your own good.”
“I… um…” Her heart pounded in her head, her cheeks burning, knowing she should really stop whatever this was even if she really didn’t want to. She was about to say something when he kissed her, tasting of whisky.
He pulled away. “Sorry… I’m sorry.”
“Owen. You’re just drunk, that’s all.”
“I wish I was. I’ve fucked up, haven’t I.”
“What do you mean?”
“No turning back. You’re my only real friend and I-”
She pushed him back against the counter, reaching her fingers around the back of his neck to make sure he was going nowhere. He didn’t fight her advances but as he took a breath some kind of clarity broke through.
“Tosh, you know I’m not going for a relationship.” He gasped. “I don’t want to hurt you. We should just-”
“I know.”
“Then why?”
“Maybe I just want to.”
“What about after? What about work? If you end up hating me I-”
“Owen! I’m not asking for a relationship. Would that make me happy? Yes. But it isn’t everything. I’m not a lovesick teenager. If you don’t want to do this then just say so.”
For the first time he looked like the nervous one. “There’s nothing else I want right now.”
“Well then-” She stepped back, unbuttoning her blouse. “If you’re sure.”
Owen's phone screeched as his alarm went off. He rolled onto his back and reached over to shut it up, the events of the night before seeping through his memory. Tosh was asleep, her head resting on his other arm. What had he done? If he’d just kissed her maybe he could just say he was drunk but it definitely hadn’t ended with kissing. Even if he was beating himself up about it, it was nice to wake up with a warm body that he didn’t immediately wish would go. Should he wake her up? He’d have to. She snuffled in her sleep and rolled over, cuddling into his chest and smiling. She was gorgeous, even with the smudged makeup and bed head.
“Um… Tosh?” He said softly.
She slowly opened her eyes, returning to consciousness and working out where she was. After a moment she sat up, holding the sheet to cover herself. “So, we actually…”
“Yea.”
“I… I should get dressed.”
He sat up. “I mean, we still have half an hour before we have to be out the door.”
“I’m surprised you’re not kicking me out.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Well, you know.”
“I don’t.” He rubbed his eyes to push away the mild headache.
“It was meant to just be last night, wasn’t it.”
“So? That doesn’t mean I’m going to kick you out of my bed the moment I wake up. I’m not that much of an arsehole.”
“I should go home and get changed.”
He swung his legs off the side of the bed. “Just wear what you did last night. They should be dry by now.”
“Oh that’s going to look innocent.” She rolled her eyes then began looking around to see where she’d left her phone.
“Who cares? You’re single, I’m single, it’s none of their business… I’m going to shower. You can grab breakfast if you want.”
She watched him stand, red scratch marks still bright on his back, and head towards the bathroom. “Ok.” She used the sheet to cover her modesty as she got up to find her clothing. Her blouse and bra had been discarded in the living room and her phone buzzed in the pocket of her coat. She grabbed it and saw she’d missed six calls and two messages. One was from Jack asking why she wasn’t answering her phone and the other was from Ianto with the same message. She pressed the button to call Jack back. He answered after only one ring.
“Tosh, where are you?”
“I’ve just woken up.” She deflected the question. “Sorry, my phone was in my coat. What’s going on?”
He sighed deeply. “I need you to come in. I’ve got some… Bad news.”
“Oh… Ok, I’ll be in right away.”
“Can you call Owen? He hasn’t been answering calls either.”
“Of course. See you soon.” The call ended. What could have possibly happened to make Jack sound so depressed? He was supposed to be retconning Gwen the night before. A bad reaction? She hoped not. Retcon rarely had any nasty side effects but there was always a chance of an unknown allergy being triggered. She knocked on the bathroom door.
“Owen. Jack called. He has some bad news and he’s been trying to call us all night.” She called.
The lock clicked open and Owen emerged with a towel wrapped around his middle. “Shit. I put my phone on silent when I went out. If it’s been this long then he can wait just a bit longer. Shower’s all yours.”
It wasn’t like he was trying to be dismissive but he knew that it would be too late now to do anything about it. He returned to the bedroom to get dressed and looked at his phone, clearing the missed calls. Maybe this bad news could keep the prying eyes of his workmates off Tosh. They could give him the side eye all they wanted, it didn’t matter, but he knew it would upset her. He rubbed his eyes again, as if that would help push away the fact that he actually cared. It wasn’t even like that with Suzie. Suzie, she’d know what’s going on. He sent her a quick message before he got dressed.