Scorpion Ships

Toby

I glanced over at Happy, who was bashing on some type of motor. As always.

I'd heard a little snippet of Sly's conversation, enough that I was starting to get an idea of how much he liked her - whoever she was. He was even telling her about his weirdness when it came to romance novels. I frowned. Sylvester was actually weird when it came to anything romantic, and I wasn't yet able to pick up why, since he avoided the topic like the plague.

I was getting bored, so I wanted to harass Happy. It was always fun, trying to get a rise out of her. A little smirk grew on my face as I thought about my final comment to her. One great way of getting people interested in you was leaving them wondering.

I walked over to Happy's station, pushing the sleeves of my shirt up as I went.

"Hear that?" I asked, aiming a thumb sloppily in Sly's direction. "It looks like love is in the air for Scorpion."

She raised both eyebrows. "And you're thinking; hey, why don't I distract the last un-love-struck member?"

"There's always Cabe," I defended.

The eyebrows went higher, causing me to notice the perfection of them. Curved, middling size, and just the right shade of brown as to compliment her skin tone.

"My eyes," Happy said drily, "are down here." She indicated them with her pointer fingers. "You do realize you just called yourself love-struck?"

"Yup," I replied automatically, not registering her words. "I mean, no, that's not what I meant."

"Do I hear too much denial?" Happy smirked, rendering me speechless. My own snark turned against me.

"That you do not," I replied hotly.

"Really? Because I hear a lot of defensiveness."

"Drop it," I snapped. Woah. I backed up a little in shock. She was right; I was way too defensive for just a simple denial.

She raised her eyebrows from where they'd settled. "Okay, geez. Calm down." Her hands went up in a placating gesture.

"Mmmm," I acknowledged, still confused. Why was I automatically being so defensive? It wasn't like I was love-struck. I knew better then to fall in love. Again. Probably my subconscious just defending against the idea of love at all.

I didn't much like the idea of the team falling apart due to emotions. I dealt in emotions; they were my currency, my life's work. If I couldn't fix us, I'd be a failure. But something told me that love was the trickiest emotion. Actually, I'd already known that. Love was blind, made you crazy, and was easy to manipulate. It defied expectations and could quickly change directions. It was psychologists' worst nightmare.

But now that the team was 'pairing up', so to speak, I was in my own personal hell. Thank God things with Happy and I would stay the same. I might've gone insane without her.

"What're you thinking so hard about, Doc?" Happy asked, real curiosity in her voice. "I can almost see the steam."

"You," I responded absently.

"That's cute." Happy stepped back a little, subconsciously distancing herself from me. The way she always did when I started getting too intense. When it became more than teasing.

"I'm cute." I smirked at her, watching the tiniest flush warm her cheeks.

"Not what I meant," she informed me, twisting a knob on the motor, keeping her eyes down.

"But it's what you thought," I sing-songed. "What's this?" I reached for the knob, my fingers brushing hers for an instant.

"Nothing you'd understand," she snapped, instinctively pulling her hand back.

"Try me." I crossed my arms, waiting.

She said something. She was right. "Um, I understand motor. . ."
She snorted. "The genius Tobias A. Curtis strikes again, folks! Can't you just see the potential?" Her arms gestured wildly.

"Just because you don't see it," I said softly, "doesn't mean it's not there."

She finally looked up, perhaps sensing I wasn't talking about my mechanical potential, but a different type.

"That's pretty deep, Doc," she muttered skeptically. "You use that line on all your patients?"

"Aaaaand up go the walls!" I sighed.

"Aaaaand away goes the Toby!" she countered, shoving my chest in an attempt to make me go away.

"Nope." I smiled. "I'm planing on sticking around and annoying you for a long time."

She shifted her feet back and forth. "And what movie did you get that line from?"

"I don't know, some cheesy one though."

"Sounded kinda sweet," she muttered, not intending me to hear.

"What was that?" I asked innocently.

"I said, get away from me." She met my eyes, hers steely.

I put my hands up. "Gee, Happy, and here I thought we were making great progress."

She groaned. "Oh, piss off."

"And you called 'love' British," I mumbled, but I listened, heading back towards my desk.

"Hey, Toby?" she questioned.

I turned around. "Yeeeees?"

She smirked. "Oh, nevermind."

Obviously her way of getting me back for doing the exact same thing to her earlier.

"Kk," I replied, blasé as could be. I snuck a quick glance at her on the way back to my desk. She looked so. . .confounded.

"Hey guys," Ralph's voice called, on his way in.

"Ralph," I called back, heading back over to the door.

I couldn't wait to see his reaction to Walter and Paige's new. . .development.

Heyyyyyyyyyy! I'm proud-ish of this one, even though it's super difficult for me to write Quintis. And as Toby.
I don't know who to write as next-any suggestions?
~Amanda