Torchwood: Fanfic: Too late for love?

[m_findlow]

Title: Too late for love?
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Tosh, Ianto, Owen
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 1,073 words
Content notes: none
Author notes: Written for badly_knitted's prompt "Torchwood, Tosh & Owen, Tosh resolves to stop waiting for Owen to notice her just as Owen resolves to ask her out." at fic_promptly
Summary: Tosh has finally decided to stop, pining after Owen.

'I've made up my mind,' Tosh said, slamming her glass down on the bar and startling her companion out of his quiet reverie.

'About?' Ianto asked.

'No more sulking at the bar after work like some sad, single desperado.'

'I thought we liked sulking at the bar after work?'

Tosh reached out and placed her hand on his arm, which was resting lazily on the bar next to his glass of merlot. 'Don't get me wrong. I love going out with you, sitting here hanging out, bitching about work over glasses of wine, but let's face it, I'm never going to meet anyone sitting here with you. Half the place will think we're a couple.'

'Could be worse,' he joked.

Tosh smiled back at him. 'You've got Jack, and I would never get in between that. You're so lucky to have each other, but look at me.'

'You're gorgeous,' he replied automatically. 'Jack would have you in a threesome in a heartbeat if I didn't keep a leash on him.'

She blushed. 'That's very kind, but I think I need to start with a twosome first. One that isn't complicated by Torchwood. Sleeping with aliens and guys from the nineteen forties probably isn't the solution.'

'Jack would offer that too,' Ianto quipped. 'Works for me,' he grinned.

'We can't all have some dashing, immortal hero. Of course, that means getting out there somewhere to meet people. I'm not going to meet anyone sitting here with you.'

'You want to go clubbing?'

She laughed. She imagined fitting in at a club scene about as much as Ianto. 'I think a library would be more my speed.'

He laughed at her. 'Yes, but they don't let you talk in libraries. Kinda hard to meet someone in a library unless you exchange notes on paper.'

'Sounds romantic to me,' she said.

It did have a certain charm, he had to admit. 'So, you're really giving up on Owen?' He found it hard to believe, but he also supposed that a person could only take so much rejection, and Owen was a master at letting people down hard.

'Yep. He's had his chance. It's time I stopped wasting my life and just moved on. Gosh, did I really say that?'

'You really did.'

'That's right. I'm going to go out there and meet someone new to share my life with. Oh,' she paused, setting her glass down. 'I'll have to keep Torchwood a secret, won't I? Bugger. How am I going to keep that secret?'

'I don't know,' Ianto replied honestly. 'I've never dated anyone who didn't know about Torchwood.' Funny how he'd always considered his own relationships complicated, but in reality, knowing about Torchwood had probably made them simpler. 'Well,' he said, 'maybe you wouldn't have to keep it secret. Not forever anyway. Gwen and Rhys made it work.'

'They were together a long time before Torchwood came along.'

'I know. But they had to get used to Torchwood being in their lives. You're already used to it.'

'There's that, I suppose,' she said, taking another sip of wine.

'But... dating Owen would make things easier.' He hadn't entirely given up on the prospect, and he and Jack had done whatever they could to try and push the two of them together.

'No.' She sounded more determined this time, and she was proud of herself for it. She'd already wasted so much time trying to get him to notice her. If she'd learnt anything, it was that life was precious and short. She still wanted so much from life: love, marriage, children, to grow old and have someone there to look after her. 'It's time to move on.'

He really admired her resolve. If anyone deserved love and happiness it was his best friend. He only wished everyone else saw in her what he did. In another lifetime, in another universe, maybe they might have been good for each other as more than just friends, but not here. He loved her like a sister.

'Well, good for you, Tosh. If you ever need a wingman... or someone to bail you out of a date that's tanking...'

'Thanks, 'she said. 'Here's to finding love,' she said, raising her glass.

He raised his own in reply. 'Iechyd da.'

She clinked her own with his. 'Iechyd da.'

Ianto slung his jacket over his arm as he sauntered back into the hub. His head felt a little bit fuzzy from the wine, but fuzzy in a good way. Not drunk, just floaty. He wished that like him, Tosh was returning home to crawl into bed with someone warm. Jack wouldn't be far away, he was sure. Instead he heard a clattering coming from the medical bay. He leant over the railings and spotted Owen.

'What are you still doing here?'

'What's it look like?' he griped. 'That ball breaker boyfriend of yours told me I couldn't go until this mess was cleaned up,' he said, pointing to the remaining bits of dissected alien corpse littered across his work bench, oozing onto the floor underneath.

Ianto kept his face neutral, not wanting to show his own pleasure at watching Owen clean up after himself for once.

'Listen, since you're here,' Owen said.

'Yes?'

'What d'you reckon Tosh would say if I, um, you know... asked her out for a drink?'

Ianto quirked an eyebrow at him. 'A drink?' The way he said it made it sound so inadequate

'Alright, dinner then.'

'You mean a date?'

'Er, yeah,' he said, realising he'd just been negotiated up from drinks to dinner and now to a date.

'What makes you think she'd be interested in you?'

Owen got his back up at the comment. 'Why wouldn't she be? You're the one always nagging me to be nicer to her.'

Ianto just shrugged at him. 'You can only try,' he said. 'Just don't get your hopes up. You might not be her type.'

'Oh, and you fucking are, are you?' Owen said, getting annoyed. 'You and your little dates,' he seethed. 'I know that you two go out. Maybe I should tell Jack.'

Ianto smiled congenially. 'Who says he doesn't know... and approve?'

'You two are sick,' he grumbled. 'Get out of here before I have even more bodily fluids to have to clean up.'

Ianto grinned and left, slipping his phone out of his pocket.

"Maybe don't give up on Owen just yet," he texted.

Comments

[jo02]

Owen always has to be difficult, even with his timing.

And I so loved how Ianto scaled him up from drinks to dinner to date, then primed him by annoying him just the right amount :)

[bk_forever]

Awww, kind of cute!

Ianto proves once more what a master manipulator he is, now Owen can't back down and just invite Tosh for a drink =D