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“Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato,” Rose’s eyes lingered on the last person Jack pointed out. “And this is Ianto Jones, he’s the one that keeps us functional and makes some of the greatest coffee I’ve tasted.”
She almost thought she saw an eye roll from Tosh out of the corner of her eye, but as soon as she turned around, she was staring back at her computer in contemplation.
“Welcome to Torchwood,” Jack's smile at that moment would be intoxicating to anyone, but Rose just smiled awkwardly.
“Oh, and if you see a pterodactyl flying around, that’s just Myfanwy, her cage gets accidentally unlocked some times.” Tosh ducked her head in silent laughter that no one seemed to notice. (Myfanwy’s cage never gets accidentally unlocked, she would learn later, it was all Ianto who was just worried that being trapped in the cage for too long would be bad for her serotonin levels ... if she even had any.)
She tried to steer the conversation away and bring up more serious topics, mainly...
“Where am I going to sleep?” There was a shared glance between them, almost making her think they were deciding who would take the burden of another person in the house.
“We’ll have Tosh take you,” she seemed to perk up, but Rose couldn’t tell if it was from excitement or that she wanted to say something. After a few moments of silence, Owen stood up to go sleep, walking briskly out of the front door. Gwen left next, her boyfriend with some lasagne ready at home. Ianto and Jack had retreated to his office, for reasons unknown. Tosh began to collect her things in her purse, fumbling a few times.
“You seemed like you wanted to say something earlier, what was it?” Rose stood off to the side, watching her gather various notebooks.
“Oh, well, I only have one bed,” another long pause followed.
“That's fine,” Rose replied so casually, but both of them seemed to be in a state of bi panic. Tosh could barely keep her hands from shaking as she clasped her bag close and Rose began to smile, staring at her hands fidgeting together.
“We should, um, go before it gets too dark.”
Tosh closed the door behind her, dumping her keys on the counter and immediately heading for the shower.
“Feel free to look about, I'm just going to take a quick rinse,” she called back. It was a pretty nice place, Rose thought as she wandered into the bedroom. The sheets were a crimson red, and as she flopped onto the bed she sunk into the soft mattress, feeling content at last.
A few moments later, Tosh came out to see a half-asleep Rose sprawled over the bed, her blonde hair already a mess and leaving no space for anyone else.
“You know, if we’re going to share, you have to give me some space,” Rose merely flopped sideways in response, now spread over only half the bed instead and pulling most of the covers to wrap around her. Tosh laid on the other side timidly, turning off the light and huddling to herself in the absence of a blanket.
Rose, this time actually sleeping, turned around, draping her arm against the panicking bisexual. Neither of them moved, and that is where they stayed until Tosh’s nerves calmed down and she was able to fall asleep.
