Title: Valentines Day
By: BellaGwen
Pairing: Jack/Ianto & Tosh/OFC & Gwen/Rhys & Owen/OFC
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood. Nope. Not mine at all.
Summary: What Jack, Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh and Rhys get up to on Valentines Day!

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1) Toshiko

Letting her eyes blur the flickering flame of the candle in the middle of the table as she slowly swirled the red wine in the bottom of her glass, Toshiko, again, thought 'wow!'

She couldn't believe she felt so at ease, so relaxed, even happy.

Around her the hum of the other diners, the occasional click of a fork on a plate, provided the background to her thoughts.

Other people like her, marking the day in as clichéd a way as possible. Still, she smiled, clichéd was sometimes nice.

The white-clothed arm of the waiter laying two cups of coffee on the table were a momentary distraction. As she looked up to thank him the corner of her eye caught the opening and closing of the side door, leading to the ladies room.

She felt a frisson of excitement as she felt her companion returning to the table, Butterflies in her tummy. She could feel her eyes on her back and it made her smile again.

Toshiko felt a light touch on her shoulder as she passed and sat down opposite her.

Tosh watched the languid movements as her companion sipped her coffee, closed her eyes and sighed in enjoyment. Everything she did was so wholehearted, so full of life. She couldn't believe a woman like this would ever look twice at her.

The coffee cup clinked back on the saucer and Tosh felt the elegant hand slide across hers, on the tabletop. The gentle gesture was accompanied by a smile that spoke volumes more than words ever could. Slowly she laced her fingers with the other woman's.

They paid the bill and wandered out onto the Millennium Plaza.

Toshiko felt the other woman's arm slip around hers as they walked along in a warm silence. The sky was clear and black, the twinkling stars looked pretty, she thought.

They came to a stop at railings over looking the bay. There was a cold wind coming in across the water and Tosh moved closer to the other woman. Then, nervously, she rested her head on the woman' shoulder.

She felt two arms circle her in an embrace. Looking up into her eyes their lips met in the gentlest of kisses.

Tosh didn't care that they were close enough to the water tower to be surely on the CCTV coverage. It didn't matter because she wasn't afraid anymore.

The other woman kissed her again. "Let's go home."



2) Owen

Wandering from room to room in his 'executive apartment' Owen was bored. Bored, bored, bored, he kicked a copy of Nuts out of his path.

He pulled open a kitchen cupboard. 'Fuck,' he cursed tipping the Jack Daniels bottle sideways and seeing the inch of liquid left there. That wasn't going to do.

He reached for his leather jacket, heading towards the door, before he changed his mind. Going out would mean having to negotiate all those sickeningly happy couples. He sneered at the thought.

He poured the remains of the alcohol in to a glass. It was a little more than one generous measure.

Going to stand by the huge windows he was paying an arm and a leg for Owen cast a distasteful look down across the city below. It was a stupid 'holiday' only god for drinking and fucking, and that he could do any day of the weak, for less than it would cost tonight.


So why did he feel like shit?

He swallowed the contents of the glass in one mouthful. It burned, but he didn't care.

He had an idea. Pulled out his phone and scrolled through the numbers. Who was most likely to be desperate for a shag this evening?

The first number rang out. 'Her loss,' he moved on to another number. A squeaky voice answered. "Owen who? Oh you, you can fuck off," and the line went dead. 'Bitch,' he thought.

The next name as he scrolled along made him pause. 'Gwen Cooper.' She'd be with the lovely Rhys this evening, no doubt. The thought did nothing for him and he tried to forget the image that came to mind. It was replace with another image of Gwen. Gwen's face close to his, her hand on the small of his back, her lips.... 'oh for fuck sake," he scrolled on, trying not to notice how the memories were arousing him.

He wasn't even looking at the names in his phone as he kept pressing the scroll button until he realised he'd stopped at 'Koko.' That made him smile. Bet she didn't even know he had saved her number under the old nickname. He'd used it for a bit when he started at torchwood. 'What kind of a name of Tosh-eeee-ko?' he'd slagged her, but she refused to answer to anything else and the fun soon wore off.

He addressed her birthday card to Koko though, every year, and she always just smiled and stuck her tongue out. It was a tradition now.

With a prick of some emotion he wasn't quite able to recognise, but he had a suspicion it was a kind of protectiveness mixed with a little guilt, he pressed the call button. Tosh would be on her own tonight too. She was the closest thing he had to a best mate at Torchwood and she was sensitive enough to feel lonely on Valentines night, being all alone.

He'd bring round a bottle or two of wine and they could get drunk and have a laugh. It was ages since they did that. She was the only woman he ever wanted to do that with. Just be friends.

The phone rang for a long time and he was just about to hang up when she answered. "'iya Tosh," he stopped. She sounded breathless. "You alright?"

"I'm fine Owen, what can I do for you?" she was trying to be her normal polite self, but Owen could hear, was that giggling?

"Just wondering if you wanted to go for a drink?"

"Oh." More giggling.

"Tosh is everything ok there?" something funny was going on.

"I'm... I'm kind of busy Owen, can we talk tomorrow?"

"Yeah, ok, see ya." But she'd already hung up.

Then the penny dropped. She was with someone. Tosh had a date for Valentines night. Tosh!

AS he collapsed back into his chair Owen felt a terrible, sinking feeling. He, Owen bloody Harper was the only one of the Torchwood crew that wasn't getting shagged tonight.

Another strange emotion enveloped him. Loneliness. And sadness. He was on his own. He didn't want to be on his own. He wanted.... He stopped his thoughts. He wouldn't think it, admit it. He was not thinking about her.

But he couldn't stop the thoughts that came flooding into his head. When he had first seen her stepping out of that plane, the way she had been amazed by the smallest things in modern Cardiff, how she looked in that dress, how she looked out of that dress, what she did to him when he took it off...

He wanted to throw something, or scream at someone, or kick something very hard. But this was his last glass.

"Fuck this," he grabbed his leather jacket again and stormed out of the flat. He took the stairs, he was too angry, up set and frustrated to wait for the lift.

He was going to get the whiskey and he was going to drink her memory away and screw St Valentine and all his hearts and flowers.

He just made it to the off-licence before it closed, ducking in the door as it closed. "We're shut," the girl with the handful of keys objected.

"Just one thing darlin' and then I'm gone." He noticed her legs straight away. Then her arse as she walked back to the counter, sighing. Her lips as she asked for his money.

Half an hour later as they fell through the door of his flat he noticed the freckles on her shoulder as he ripped off her shirt.

He didn't notice her leave later either. He didn't care. He'd fucked away another night, another memory.

3) Gwen

Shaving her legs felt like such an effort, Gwen sighed as she stepped out of the shower, she was tired, it had been a busy day and a long night the night before. She would have been perfectly happy with a card covered in hearts and a bottle of wine.

But that wasn't fair. Rhys had told her he'd planned a romantic evening for them and to 'get yourself tarted up love.' He'd been so enthusiastic. It made her smile and she felt a rush of love her him.

There was no sign of him in the bedroom when she emerged from the bathroom, but as she started to dry her hair he stuck his head around the door. She thought he looked flustered in some way. "Fancy a cup of tea while you're getting ready love?" he'd asked.

She declined, pointing out last time she'd tried to do both the tea had ended up on the floor. Then he disappeared again.

Gwen took her time getting dressed. That red shift dress with the very short skirt that she'd bought last summer but never worn, she decided, would do. With some tights to keep her warm and preserve her modesty.

She was careful with her make up. She was starting to feel more enthusiasm for the evening now that she was getting dressed up. She felt a little bit guilty too, for neglecting Rhys. If it wasn't for him she might have missed Valentine's Day altogether.

She carefully applied the eyeliner and some mascara. She new he liked her eyes.

Nearly ready, she decided, just one last thing. She opened her wardrobe and glanced at the shoes lined up across its floor. Holding her black stilettos in her hand she wondered if she would still be able to walk in them all evening.

"Rhys?" she called walking in her stocking-feet towards the door. "This place we're going, is it far?"

Before she could pull the door open he was there, blocking her path. "No, no love, not far."

"What are doing then?" Gwen was suspicious; he was definitely up to something.

"Nothing," he tried to look innocent and failed miserably. "You just finish getting ready and , ah.. call me when you're finished." He pulled the door closed after him.

"Rhys!" Gwen called, amused now. 'What's he up to,' she wondered she pulled a jacket from the wardrobe, found a small black evening bag she had for 'special occasion' and climbed into the stilettos.

"OK, I'm ready," she sang out.

A grinning Rhys appeared so quickly she knew he had been waiting at the door.

His grin widened when he saw her and he gave an appreciative wolf whistle.

"Will I ruin your make-up if I do this?" he didn't wait for a reply before kissing her.

"Mmmm," she murmured, "keep that up and you might not get a dinner."

"We can't have that," he laughed, grabbing her hand. "Come on."

"Why are the lights off Rhys? What were you doing....." Gwen stopped, stunned speechless when she walked into the sitting room.

There were candles burning all around the room, more flowers than she had ever seen in their litte flat, and a huge love heart card propped on the table.

"Oh Rhys," she breathed.

"I wanted to take you to the most exclusive restaurant in Cardiff and spoil you," he said, " but then I realised how stupid that was. How often do we get a night together these days?"

"I'm sorry," Gwen started

"Shhh," Rhys was smiling. "I'm not having a go love. I just wanted to say, we have this time, let's spend it together, not faffing around some poncy place where they give you half a carrot and a lettuce leaf and call it dinner."

Gwen laughed. He knew her so well.

"I put out the nice plates, and I got us a take away," he motioned to the cartons in the kitchen.

"I love you," she said pulling him into a kiss.

"Happy Valentines Day love," he said, kissing her back.



4) Ianto

As the working day came to an end not one person in the Hub had yet mentioned what day it was. But Ianto knew. February 14. The day he had first kissed Lisa. It had been a rainy night in London, they'd both been working late. Thy got talking, over coffee as usual, and one thing led to another.

He smiled at the precious memory he usually kept locked away in his mind. It was beautiful, but it was painful. Now it was how he liked to remember her. Not all that stuff at the end. That wasn't the girl he had loved.

In a funny way it had been her who brought Jack to him. Because of her he took the post in Cardiff, in the mistaken belief he could help her. Because of her discovery that every barrier between him and Jack had come down.

Searing pain, livid anger, screaming, shouting crying, long after the others had left the Hub that night. He'd never been as honest with anyone. Or as hurtful. Or as confessional. It was Jack that had saved him from himself. He loved him for that. And for making him live again, after Lisa.


True, they had been very busy today, but Ianto had still expected some kind of comment, sniping or colourful reference to the date. He was actually a little disappointed. They could have done with a laugh.

As the day had started to wind down he had started to wonder about Jack. Should he mention it, would Jack? Would it be awkward, stupid, would he laugh at him for even knowing it was Valentines Day?

Ianto decided to say nothing. It didn't really matter anyway, he told himself.

Wandering around the Hub in the late afternoon, with a tray of coffees, Ianto tried to read the others. Usually he could.

Gwen looked tired and exasperated. She was on the phone to Rhys. Something about dinner arrangements seemed to be Owen was sniggering at something on his computer screen that he clicked off when Ianto approached. Probably porn again Ianto sighed. Normally he didn't care but on a day like this it was just crass.

Tosh didn't notice Ianto put the mug on her desk. It was her lack of a polite 'thank you' that he always heard that made him realise she was daydreaming. That was not like Tosh at all. There was a faint smile on her face.

Jack was nowhere to be seen. His office was empty but Ianto left the strongest mug of coffee on his desk anyway. And beside it a little heart shaped chocolate. He'd picked it up at the corner shop when he went for milk earlier in the day. Then he'd put it in a drawer and wondered whether he should just eat it himself and say nothing.

Jack always told him he thought too much. He'd laughed to himself when he remembered that, then put the 'back in five minutes' sign on the door and wandered downstairs, with the chocolate in his pocket.

That was why they all got coffee that afternoon.

An hour later, as Gwen, Tosh and Owen left the Hub, chatting animatedly about which of the South Park characters had the best lines Ianto asked if anyone had seen Jack that afternoon. He waved a file at them to make it look like a professional query.

Three blank faces, until Tosh remembered he said 'see you tomorrow' when he'd brought some tech to her desk after lunch.

With a resigned sign Ianto headed back downstairs. There were coffee cups to be washed, and a stray chocolate to be eaten, he decided.

But Jack's desk, when he got there, was not what he expected. The coffee mug was drained and beside it was a little gold goblet, made from the screwed up golden wrapper of his chocolate heart. Stuck on the mug was a post it. 'Thank you.'

Ianto looked around, a little bewildered. Of course Jack hadn't needed to come in the front door but he normally noticed when someone came or left the Hub.

Walking back out to the open area he heard a shrill whistle and then a swoop of wings.

From high in the ceiling the pterodactyl swooped towards him. What was that in her mouth? She dropped it as she sailed past and back towards the roof.

Ianto picked it up. It was the cheapest, tackiest fake red rose he had ever seen, with a 'be my valentine' ribbon tied to it.

"Do you know how long it took to train her to do that?" Jack's laughing voice close behind him made him jump.

He closed his eyes and laughed as the strong arms circled him. "This is really cheesy, Sir."

"Well I was hardly going to send you an anonymous card now, was I," Jack's teasing voice tickled the back of his neck. "Happy Valentine's Day."


5) Jack

Jack Harkness cursed in a 47th century language as he checked the time on the SUV dashboard. He should have thought of this earlier. He should have thought of anything earlier, something. The pterodactyl thing might be a disaster and he had to have something.

Even to him the excuse 'honey, aliens ate your roses' sounded like a crap excuse.

Valentine's Day, who invented such a stupid, useless, commercial holiday anyway, He cursed Hallmark, card shops, chocolate makers, dewey-eyes teenagers.

So why did it matter to him that he had completely forgotten about it until he ran into that deliveryman this morning. Literally. Ran head long into a dozen red roses, with thorns, as he tried to chase a weevil into a park.

Absentmindedly he touched the scrape along his neck. He told Owen it was from a branch when he went to get some antiseptic for it. Close enough.

So roses... he though. Would Ianto want roses? No, they were for girls. In this century anyway. It was so much simpler back in the 51st century, stupid holidays like this had died out a long time before.

But he didn't want Ianto to think he didn't care. Because he did. He cared a lot. The young Welshman had taken him completely by surprise and made him care.

He glanced across at the dashboard display again. Well it wasn't like he had been going to get a dozen red roses anyway, even if there were any left at this late hour. He just needed one. Was that too much to ask? Apparently it was.

He pulled up outside his fifth florist of the afternoon. (Yes he knew that sounded like one of Owen's jokes).

'One red rose, that's all I want. Just one," he pleaded with the hassled looking girt behind the counter. She gave him a look of pity, thinking how pathetic men were. But she felt sorry for him too, or rather whoever he was going home to with no roses.

"Well...." She started, he looked so hopeful. "If you are really, and I mean really desperate..."

"I am," Jack nodded.

"I have these left from the window display," she walked over to the window and pulled two very fake, very tatty looking plastic and fabric roses off the wall, where they'd been sellotaped on.

Jack tried to hide his disgust. He knew he had no choice. "I'll take them, how much."

The girl suppressed a snigger at his desperation. "Nothing, just take them, they would have been going in the bin tomorrow anyway."

He almost hugged her with relief.

Racing back to the Hub, which he now realised was the whole way across town, Jack wondered if he should call Ianto, make sure he didn't leave before he got there. No, Ianto would never leave this early.

Why was he feeling nervous? Ianto wouldn't laugh at him, he was too polite for that. Sure he might bring a cyberwoman into the base, threaten to kill him, shoot Owen, (but from what he heard Owen really deserved that) but no, Ianto wouldn't laugh at him for this.

But he didn't feel confident until he snuck back into the Hub, just as the others were leaving, and saw his desk. Sure the coffee had gone cold a long time ago, but he felt strangely happy as he picked up the chocolate beside it.

Ianto could try and pull the suave and sophisticated act all he wanted, but Jack knew, he saw the soft heart Ianto tried to hide, tried to protect from hurt.

He took the roses out to the Hub and whistled to call the pterodactyl. It took few tries but she came to him. And a few more rehearsals of his trick and he was happy it would work.

Now he just had to wait for Ianto.

He sat back, propped his feet on his desk and popped the chocolate in his mouth. While he watched the CCTV of the front office, for advance warning of Ianto's arrival, he absent-mindedly twisted the gold paper into shape.

Then he saw Ianto get into the lift and he sprang to his hiding place with a grin. This was going to be fun......


The End

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