Our past is our future... [attn: Owen]

Lynne was glad to hear that Owen had a best friend. It was more than she could say for herself and it made her feel a bit better that he had at least that, if not a family who cared about him.

She sat down beside him, this time, rather than across from him. The reasoning was two-fold. She could actually see the band without having to look over her shoulder and, well...she could further explore the possibilities of Owen's weakness.

Resting her head on his shoulder again, Lynne took his hand in hers as she leaned over in her chair, her side up against his. Lifting his hand to her mouth, she kissed his knuckles and rubbed her thumb against his before dropping their hands, fingers laced together, down into her lap and placing her other hand on top as she looked up at him again. "Thank you," she whispered, probably barely audible over the noise of the bar and the band's next set as they started playing again.

Owen smiled, smelling Lynne's hair before kissing her on the top of her head as the band started their second set. This set was a bit more mellow, and the drinks were flowing around the bar much more freely then they had been before. He found himself singing along slightly with some of the older songs. He wouldn't let anyone he worked with see him sing, but he was comfortable enough with Lynne that it didn't bother him.

Lynne closed her eyes as Owen began to sing along. The pursuit of his weakness went on hold. His tone was soft and absent, leading Lynne to believe that the songs were either older ones or his favorites. That was, if Owen was anything like her when it came to that sort of thing.
It felt strange to think that they'd only known each other about a week, maybe less, and that they'd only been official for the day, so far. Lynne felt so comfortable and relaxed with Owen; like they'd been together for years. She couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so connected with another person in as long as she could remember.

Their second set was more relaxed and Lynne smiled. The songs were different in their own ways - mainly, clearly, the lyrics - but as most local bands she'd seen in the States, Andy's band had similar sounds in all their songs. A repetitive drumbeat here; familiar guitar chords there. Lynne was able to hum along. She wasn't entirely accurate, but the music spoke to her and some of the sounds were familiar enough that she wasn't entirely off, as she tapped her fingers against her thigh gently in time with the drums.

Today - and tonight - was probably the best twenty-four hours Lynne had had in nearly a decade and it was all because of Owen. She would have to find a way to thank him for it, sooner rather than later. Probably when he got them home, if he was up for it, and if not, she'd have more time to think of some better, more meaningful thanks than sex. On second thought, that might be even better, still...

The show ended, and people applauded, ready for the encore. Owen looked at Lynne and kissed her. "Good, huh?" he smiled at her.

Today had been the best day he'd had in a long long time. He said he'd show her Cardiff, and he had introduced her to some his favorite things around town. Best of all, she enjoyed them, or at least, she seemed like she had.

Lynne hummed her approval through a small smile and kissed him again. "Very. Thank you," she said softly. "Is there any other bands playing?" she asked as she moved boldly to sit in his lap, lacing her fingers together after circling her arms around his neck and touching her nose to his, leaving butterfly kisses there with her eyelashes. She pulled back just for a moment to look into his eyes.

Owen put his arms around Lynne as she sat on his lap. "I don't know... I suppose I could check, there's got to be something going on." He smiled and kissed her again as the band returned for their encore.

"It's up to you," she said sincerely. She didn't want to stay if he wanted to go, but she wasn't quite ready to leave, yet, either. Leaving would mean going home and going home meant going to bed. Going to bed only lead to waking up and having to figure out what to do with herself all day while Owen was at work and she had her own day off. "God, I bagged such a hottie; check me out," she joked before kissing him again.

"God, I bagged such a hottie; check me out,"

Owen grinned as Lynne kissed him. "Like I said, it's a good thing I got myself a girl to match, then," he laughed slightly and kissed her cheek. "I don't usually stay after they finish, but I'm not too sure I want to go home now. I was thinking more of a walk. You know, work out some of this alcohol before I drive, and it's a nice night," he smiled.

Lynne pulled back and looked at Owen inquisitively. "I like that..." she said slowly. She giggled and smirked. "If you get any more perfect, I don't think my brain will be able to continue functioning properly," she laughed before kissing the tip of his nose. "Care if I go get one of Andy's CDs before we head out?" she asked.

Owen grinned up at Lynne. "Of course, I'm not going to keep you from their music. C'mon, I'll go with you, tell you which one's my personal favorite."

"Good plan, boyfriend," she laughed before standing up. She looked down at her watch and frowned. It was starting to get late and Owen would want to go to bed soon. Maybe between the alcohol and the balmy night air, he wouldn't notice. "Lead the way," she said with a grin.

Owen took Lynne's hand and led her through the crowd to a small table set up at the other end of the bar. He searched through the CD's, picking one up and handing it to her, "This one's the best, I think." He waved Andy down for her.

"You find the one you want?" Andy asked.

Lynne took the CD from Owen and then looked over at Andy. "Looks like. What's the damage?" she asked fishing out her wallet from her purse. "And don't say it's free; gotta support the little guy," she added with a smile.

Andy smiled at Lynne. "Oh, no, no. This one's on me. You want to support us, you be sure to come to more shows, yeh?" He laughed and stuck his hands in his pockets, determined not to take money from her. "It was an absolute pleasure meeting you, and I hope to be seeing you again, alright? And take good care of Owen. I won't keep you two any longer," he added with a smirk before walking towards the bar.

Owen blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head nervously. He bid his friend farewell as Andy departed for the bar and turned to Lynne. "He's a good mate. Bit terrible as a roommate, though. Always 'practicing' when I was trying to study..." He smiled at the memory. "So, uh, how about that walk? I could use a bit of fresh air..."

Andy refused Lynne's money and told her to come to more shows and they could call it even. Seemed like a good enough deal for her, so she nodded and agreed, smiling.

"It was an absolute pleasure meeting you, and I hope to be seeing you again, alright? And take good care of Owen. I won't keep you two any longer,"

"It was nice to meet you, too, and you'll see me again, so long as you keep coming back to Cardiff to play," Lynne replied with a smile. "And I will."

"So, uh, how about that walk? I could use a bit of fresh air..."

Lynne kissed Owen's cheek and smiled at him. "Sounds like a good plan to me," she replied.

Owen took Lynne's hand in his own and left the bar, heading towards Cardiff Bay. They weren't that far away, just a few blocks. The night was cool and the air smelled like it had just rained. He had caught the time and knew it was getting late, but he figured that Ianto's coffee was as good a substitute for sleep as any. "Gorgeous night," he said before taking in deep breath.

"Gorgeous night,"

Lynne walked beside Owen, her hand in his, and looked around. The city lights were bright and the air was cool. The ground was slightly wet, as if it had rained briefly while they'd been inside the bar. "Yeah," she agreed quietly, a small smile playing on her lips. "It really is..."

There were no angry blares of car horns tonight. The few cars still driving past did so without interruption of traffic and their drivers paid Lynne and Owen no attention.

"You know...we should do this more often," she thought aloud.

"You know...we should do this more often,"

Owen smiled and let go of Lynne hand, putting his arm around her shoulders and kissing her on the side of the head. He stopped walking when they reached the bay, leaning against the rail and looking over the water. "This whole day has been perfect." He looked over the water vaguely. He took a deep breath. "I think I needed a day like today. A holiday, sort of..." He turned to lean back against the rail and pulled Lynne towards him and hugged her.

Lynne hugged Owen back and looked over the water of the bay. Even it looked peaceful, its surface smooth as glass and glistening from the street lights.

"I feel really good about today," she said absently as she pulled away from the hug and moved to stand beside Owen, only looking out over the water. "So far, you know, I've just been thinking, 'God, it's really great that Owen likes me back, but...'" she sighed. "I was nervous about today, honestly, ever since you mentioned you had the day off coming soon. I was afraid we'd spend the whole day in bed because we'd have nothing in common or anything to say to one another, you know?"

She paused and looked over at him, giving a small smile. "I wish I'd met you sooner. A lot sooner."

Owen smiled and turned back towards the bay. "I get so consumed with work sometimes," he started, taking a breathing the midnight air in deeply. "I sort of forget how to switch off, you know? I'm glad this day happened. I was beginning to think I'd forgotten how to... connect with other people, I work too much. Sometimes I just stay late because I can't think of anything else to do." He let out a small laugh. A pause fell between them for a moment before Owen turned to Lynne. "I sort of feel bad, though. We did all of the things I like to do and you just sort of followed. Maybe next time you can pick," he smiled.

Lynne understood the sentiment. She'd felt that way, too, for a while, after The Asshole had left and she had no friends with whom to pass the time. She, too, had spent much more time at work than necessary for the first couple of years here in Cardiff.

"I sort of feel bad, though. We did all of the things I like to do and you just sort of followed. Maybe next time you can pick,"

Smiling slightly, Lynne reached over and cupped Owen's face gently with one hand as she leaned over to kiss him fleetingly on the lips. "That's the beauty of it, though, Owen," she replied. "We did all of the things I like to do, today, too."

The game had been something new, but she'd enjoyed it, in any case, so she lumped it in with 'things she liked to do'. The point was...even though Owen had called all the shots, Lynne had been happy to follow, because they hadn't done a single thing today that Lynne hadn't already wanted to do or used to do all the time and missed.

"I think that's why we're gonna make a pretty awesome couple," she added with a wink.

Owen smiled at Lynne, "God, you're amazing," he thought out loud. He looked back over the bay briefly before sighing heavily. "It's getting late, we should probably be going." He frowned slightly, "Guess that's the problem with days like this. They have to end."

Lynne blushed and tucked her hair behind her ears as she looked down. She didn't feel amazing...but if Owen thought she was, she was definitely okay with that.

"It's getting late, we should probably be going." He frowned slightly, "Guess that's the problem with days like this. They have to end."

"Yeah," she replied a little sadly as she looked back up at him. "Guess they do..." she sighed.

Lynne looked over over the bay for a moment. "Hey, you know what, though?" she asked, looking back at him thoughtfully. "There's lots of time for more days like this. And...there's always Paris," she said with a smile.

"There's lots of time for more days like this. And...there's always Paris."

Owen kissed the top of Lynne's head. "I'll make the arrangements," he said quietly. He took her hand in his and smiled at her before leading her back to his car.

"I'll make the arrangements," he said quietly.

"Oh my, Doctor Harper," Lynne gasped in a not-entirely inaccurate portrayal of a Southern belle. She smirked and gave his hand a squeeze, leaning her head over to rest on his shoulder as they walked back to his car. "I cannot wait...to go with you to Paris," she admitted. "I've always wanted to go, but really...what better way to see the most romantic city in the world than with someone you..." she paused, blushing and stood upright again. "Well, with someone like you?" she amended quietly.