Ficlet: Odd Woman Out
Jan. 2nd, 2026 05:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Odd Woman Out
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Tosh, Gwen, Owen.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 581
Spoilers: Set just before Greeks Bearing Gifts.
Summary: As much as she wishes she could, Tosh can’t bring herself to hate her colleagues.
Written For:
reeby10’s prompt: any, any/any, "I wish I could hate you", at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
threesentenceficathon.Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
Another day in the Hub, and once again, Tosh found herself wondering what was wrong with her, because there had to be something not right, something that made her so completely forgettable that half the time no one even seemed aware that she existed.
Her colleagues carried on around her as if she’d somehow been rendered invisible, which admittedly wasn’t totally outside the realms of possibility, not considering where she worked. Still, they ignored her presence, oblivious to the pain they were causing her, not that they’d care even if they noticed. She was just the tech girl, useful for fixing things that weren’t working right, and solving the problems other people caused, but otherwise not worthy of their attention.
She loved her job, but she didn’t always like the people she had to work with day after day. Maybe they didn’t mean to be cruel, but… In a way, that just made it worse. If it was deliberate, she could sort of accept it; it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been bullied for being smart. But this was just thoughtlessness; it never crossed their minds that their behaviour might hurt her.
‘I wish I could hate you,’ she thought, watching Owen flirting with Gwen. Gwen who had a boyfriend at home who she claimed to love. Gwen who made eyes at Jack every time she looked at him. Gwen, who was now sleeping with Owen even though she knew full well how Tosh felt about him, and despite probably thinking they were being discreet, was flaunting their illicit affair in full view of everyone.
It wasn’t fair! Gwen already had everything Tosh would die to have: a good, kind, caring man who was completely devoted to her, someone to go home to every night instead of a cold, empty house, someone to share her bed with at night, and yet she still wanted more. She’d barely hesitated when Owen had started making moves on her, had fallen into bed with him in what seemed like a matter of days, despite going on and on about Rhys from the moment Jack had recruited her, telling everyone how amazing he was, and how much he loved her…
Tosh sighed. It was Owen and Suzie all over again, and she knew she should hate him for doing this to her again, taking up with the only other woman in the Hub while ignoring her. Probably she ought to hate them both, but she couldn’t hate Gwen any more than she’d hated Suzie; they’d both simply accepted what was being practically offered to them on a plate, and as for hating Owen…
She’d never been able to do that, no matter how much he hurt her, whether by his thoughtless comments, barbed insults, or by sleeping with her colleagues, and every random woman who’d have him. He wasn’t interested in having a relationship; he’d rather indulge in an endless succession of meaningless one-night stands, all the while ignoring the one woman who’d willingly give anything to be with him.
Surely he had to know how she felt about him, or did he really just not see her at all? Did he look right through her, registering her presence only long enough to decide she wasn’t worth his attention? She honestly wasn’t sure which would hurt more, and yet nothing he did changed the way she felt about him. How pathetic did that make her? Maybe she really wasn’t worth his time and attention.
The End
Her colleagues carried on around her as if she’d somehow been rendered invisible, which admittedly wasn’t totally outside the realms of possibility, not considering where she worked. Still, they ignored her presence, oblivious to the pain they were causing her, not that they’d care even if they noticed. She was just the tech girl, useful for fixing things that weren’t working right, and solving the problems other people caused, but otherwise not worthy of their attention.
She loved her job, but she didn’t always like the people she had to work with day after day. Maybe they didn’t mean to be cruel, but… In a way, that just made it worse. If it was deliberate, she could sort of accept it; it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been bullied for being smart. But this was just thoughtlessness; it never crossed their minds that their behaviour might hurt her.
‘I wish I could hate you,’ she thought, watching Owen flirting with Gwen. Gwen who had a boyfriend at home who she claimed to love. Gwen who made eyes at Jack every time she looked at him. Gwen, who was now sleeping with Owen even though she knew full well how Tosh felt about him, and despite probably thinking they were being discreet, was flaunting their illicit affair in full view of everyone.
It wasn’t fair! Gwen already had everything Tosh would die to have: a good, kind, caring man who was completely devoted to her, someone to go home to every night instead of a cold, empty house, someone to share her bed with at night, and yet she still wanted more. She’d barely hesitated when Owen had started making moves on her, had fallen into bed with him in what seemed like a matter of days, despite going on and on about Rhys from the moment Jack had recruited her, telling everyone how amazing he was, and how much he loved her…
Tosh sighed. It was Owen and Suzie all over again, and she knew she should hate him for doing this to her again, taking up with the only other woman in the Hub while ignoring her. Probably she ought to hate them both, but she couldn’t hate Gwen any more than she’d hated Suzie; they’d both simply accepted what was being practically offered to them on a plate, and as for hating Owen…
She’d never been able to do that, no matter how much he hurt her, whether by his thoughtless comments, barbed insults, or by sleeping with her colleagues, and every random woman who’d have him. He wasn’t interested in having a relationship; he’d rather indulge in an endless succession of meaningless one-night stands, all the while ignoring the one woman who’d willingly give anything to be with him.
Surely he had to know how she felt about him, or did he really just not see her at all? Did he look right through her, registering her presence only long enough to decide she wasn’t worth his attention? She honestly wasn’t sure which would hurt more, and yet nothing he did changed the way she felt about him. How pathetic did that make her? Maybe she really wasn’t worth his time and attention.
The End
