He had to turn away to hide his darkening cheeks.
Why they were darkening? Tango honestly had no idea. He wishsed he did. It was happening a lot lately, and he had no reasoning for it. His brown eyes darted back to Steve as he held out camera that he had been holding. "Right, sorry. Um, here."
He knew that he wasn't acting like the most mature person right then, but he couldn't think of what else to say. He stayed silent as Steve looked at him again, causing him to shift on his feet as he ran a hand through his gelled hair.
"Are you okay, Rookie? You're looking kinda red."
He almost winced as he brought himself back to the moment. "What? No, I'm fine. Sorry, just thinking about the case, I'm good." He nodded lightly, taking a step back when the tech manager straightened up, giving him some space. It was only his fourth investigation with the team, a small local house that wasn't going to get broadcasted on Syfy. They wanted him to get some more practice, to be ready for anything that may come his way. He was starting to doubt it would ever happen, he hadn't gotten anything yet on the recorders or cameras. That was one experience, though. They had him going over evidence with Steve. Hours upon hours listening to recordings or watching screens to try to catch something. Strangely, it was his favorite part of the investigations. He couldn't explain why, but he looked foward to it.
"Alright, it looks like we have this camera all set up. Have the cords for the next one already?"
Tango nodded instantly, holding up his left hand, the cords held tightly with his fingers. He supposed it was because he was working more with Steve than the rest, what between review and the investigation. He always seemed to be paried with the tech manager. He was still getting his feel for the team - Grant and Jason were always partnered, and everyone seemed to be split up evently among eachother. Other than him. When he went out, it was always with Steve.
Maybe that was why he got embarrassed easily. Why he was always so eager to please. He was the youngest on the team now, only nineteen years old. Still a teenager, a child to everyone else. He had to prove himself still, so they knew he was mature enough for this, so that he wouldn't freak out all the time or run at one noise in the dark.
Maybe it was because Steve had his job he had wanted. Even when he worked with back at home, he had never really been the Tech Guy. He had been the co-founder, they had a friend that was better with the technology than him. But now, TAPS had him training with Steve - someone that when he watched him with the camera, the thermals and the recorders? It almost seemed graceful, elagent. Sure, he had already learned Steve was a butterfingers, but he worked well with the equipment. he knew it all, how the team wanted it set up, taken care of. He wanted a job like Steve's. That was the only reason he worked as hard as he could for Steve. Did everything that was asked. It's why he got embarrassed when he answered a question wrong, or when he forgot a cord back at the van.
That's what he told himself, anyway.
The walkie on Steve's belt-loop crackled, and Grant's voice came out over the speaker. "Steve, how's setup coming?" He watched silently as Steve picked up the walkie, glancing at him for some reason before answering Grant.
"We just got the first camera up, Grant. I'll let ya know when we have the last one up."
"Alright, thanks man. Try to hurry up."
He watched silently, something he had never really been good with doing. He had always been a rambler, filling up space as much as possible with his rancom speech. He wasn't good with awkward silences. But when he was with the team, on an investigation or set-up, even review, he was quiet. As Steve glanced up at him, he shfited his gaze back down to the cords in his hand. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to remember where this camera was. I should have taken notes, I meant to, I have my notebook back at command, I just..."
His words cut off when Steve started to chuckle, the sound making his brow furrow. It was a good sound, he liked to hear the people around him happy. It made things so much easier. But when Steve laughed? The male looked so much younger. Alive. Happy. It was a great feeling. it was like when Steve was happier, he was happier. He wasn't sure why. Maybe they had just clicked easily. Already friends, affecting one another.
So he would venture to guess. That was just him, he couldn't figure out how Steve felt. He was okay with that.
"Come on, Tango. Upstairs to the study."
He knew that. The bedroom they were in, the study, the basement, and then one outside under the terrace. Those were the hotspots. Why was he so distracted tonight? He tried to shake his head, to make himeslf concentrate, but he couldn't. He tried. As they moved up the stairs and into the study, he glanced up from the floor. Not really meaning to, his muddy brown eyes followed Steve's figured - from his feet to his knees, up to his chest and his face. And when his eyes got to others? When he saw the tech investigator's eyes looking back at him? He felt his face flush even more. Much more so than before. His ears were bright red.
"Did you get a good look, Rookie?"
His eyes widened. "What? No, no, Steve, I wasn't... I was just looking up from the floor, and.. h-here's the cable.." He mumbled out quickly, fast. Holding the cord out to Steve. As Steve chuckled under his breath, snagging the cable and easily reaching up to fasten it to the camera, he shifted on his feet. "Wasn't looking at you, come on, dude..." He continued to mumble under his breath, not notcing when Steve moved near him.
"Tango."
When he looked up, he was started to see how close the other had gotten to him. There was less than a foot of space between them. Swallowing lightly, he tried to step back, but when his back hit the wall, he froze. "W-what, Steve?" He watched as the male moved closer again. He could feel the air making Steve's chest raise and fall, each time it inflated brushing against his own torso, making him shiver. "What're you doing, man?" His words were quiet, he wasn't even sure Steve heard them by the way he moved closer. They were practicully flush together now, their chests never breaking contact. A hand moved to rest on his shoulder, making him wince slightly by the unknown contact. The thumb moving against his shoulder was... comforting, if not strange.
"Are you scared yet, Rookie?"
He would later chalk it up later to wanting to impress th emale. To prove that he wasn't a child any longer, and that he could deal with everything the crew would throw his way, but he shook his head, tilting his chin up just a little to show his confidence. Seeing Steve grin though, leaning his head in, he had to lock his jaw in place to not mumble. He could feel the other's breath washing over his skin, making it tingle. Lips got closer to his cheek and he froze. His eyes widened, and the hands against the wall balled into fists so they wouldn't try to reach out and grab the other. Grab him and pull him closer, or to shove the male away... he wasn't sure.
"What about now?"
Again, although more in defiance this time, he shook his head. When the other tilted his head, bringing his face closer, he swallowed. Yet the lip passed his. They passed his cheeks, and they moved to come to a stop beside his ear.
"Just wait till the ghosts toy with you. It'll be a lot scarier than this."
The light, flighty laugh into his ear made him shiver, even after the other pushed away from the wall, laughing louder as he reached down to plug the camera cord into the wall.
"Come on, Rookie, we have another camera to set up."
He watched for a moment as Steve walked out of the room. When he was alone, he finally let himself unfreeze, a deep breath filling his lungs, his hands wringing around eachother for a moment. What had just happened? Was it another recruit thing, welcoming him into the group? Was it a dare, of some kind, from someone else? He wasn't sure, and he wasn't going to ask Steve, that was for sure. All he knew was that he had a problem now, his eyes glancced down at himself, and he sighed out lightly. He could only hope that his body would be calmed down enough by the time he dragged it down to the basement. "I'm in trouble tonight."