Collide

He'd weathered just about every other change in his life imaginable. He had a job he could tolerate, with the exception of the abuse heaped upon him by the manager, Michael Scott. Michael went out of his way to verbally abuse him every time he saw Toby, and for a long time he didn't understand why. Now he didn't bother to ask why anymore. It was just the way he was. Just as it was Toby's job to perform HR duties and to show up to work every day, it was Michael's job to put him down and to attack him however he could. The only reason he didn't stand up for himself was at least when Michael talked to him, it meant he wasn't invisible. That's what his therapist said anyways.

And then there was the divorce. Toby never forgot how he felt when his wife announced that she wanted a divorce and that she was taking their daughter with her- everything just fell apart. He knew that he had fallen short of being a good husband- in the back of his mind he always knew that she deserved better- but he always knew that he was a good father. He provided well for her, the best that he could. He read to her. Where others seemed annoyed by the slowness of his voice, his daughter seemed soothed by it. He always was afraid of letting her down too, but somehow she still managed to look up to him. He was somebody's hero.

And now they were gone. His ex-wife had remarried and they had moved to Seattle. There was no consulting him, no taking into consideration his feelings or his relationship with Sasha. His ex-wife's new husband had just been promoted and so they took away Toby's very life, with little to no warning. This was happening so fast. Good things happened to bad guys all the time. He wasn't a bad guy. He was a good guy. Why did bad things happen to him?

He got through the week, he didn't even look Michael in the eyes when he insulted him. Kelly would cheerfully greet Toby, but he didn't notice. What was his purpose anymore? She was probably being sarcastic. So he did his busy work, and counted off the days until Friday night, where he could get drunk, very drunk.

So after work, he went to his local hangout, his escape from work where no one knew he went to. He loved the office's hangout, but sometimes he liked to be totally anonymous. It was comforting.

He took a sip of his drink, a whiskey. Normally he didn't care for the stuff but tonight he needed something strong enough to help him forget. Forget about his ex. Forget about the move. Forget about Michael and the office. Tonight he wanted to be anyone, anyone but himself.

"Oh good. Not enough to ruin someone's day but here to kill everyone's buzz, here in the flesh is Toby Flenderson!"

It was Toby's worst nightmare. Had he drunk so much that he was hallucinating or was that really Michael Scott heading in his direction?

"Hello Michael.." he stammered.

"Hello Michael," Scott mimicked. "You're pathetic. You don't have anything better to do on a Friday night than to come to a bar and get drunk? We know you're sure not here to pick up women. Why don't you try a gay bar Toby? I'm sure you might find someone who might make a lovely party trick out of you."

"Michael please, can we just part ways for the evening? I'll let you hang out with your friends, I'll hang out with mine, we can make this an enjoyable evening for the both of us…"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Am I interrupting something over here? I must have cut through the parade of girls lining up to meet you. You're so popular you know. "

Toby stood up and for a second everyone wondered if indeed he would punch Michael. Instead he grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.

Michael ran up and took his keys.

"Hey man, what do you think you're doing? That's not cool." Toby asked.

"You're not driving anywhere."

"What?"

"You're not driving. You're drunk. Get in my car. I'll drive you back to your place."

Too tired to protest, Toby obliged.

"Thanks, Michael, this is really sweet of you. I didn't know you cared."

"Stop it!" Michael angrily pulled over to the side of the road. "What's wrong with you man? I don't care. Don't you get it? No one cares about you. Not me, not your ex wife, not the office, not anyone. I thought you would get that by now!"

Toby looked at him for a long time, fighting back the tears that he had been holding back for a long time. He couldn't cry, not in front of Michael. He couldn't let him win, not this time. If he showed his weakness Michael would forever hold it over his head, and then he would never be able to show his face at work again. And Toby didn't have much, but for now Dunder-Mifflin was all he had. No, he had to be strong.

But then Michael started laughing. He was laughing at Toby. He was laughing at his weakness, his feelings, at everything that was wrong with him. He was laughing that he had lost. He was laughing at his pain. Michael had seen through him and thought it was all funny. It was just a game to him. And Toby couldn't take any more.

It was just one tear, but it was just enough to capture Michael's attention. Michael slowly stopped laughing, and looked at Toby then looked at the windshield. It slowly sank in what he had done. He had made someone cry. He, Michael Scott, had made another human being cry. Even if it was Toby. As often as he imagined this moment, he realized it just didn't feel as good as he thought it would.

In fact, it actually made him feel weak. All the power that he had over Toby went out the window when he realized he had crossed a line. He knew what it was like to cry. Sometimes when people called Michael an idiot that hurt his feelings, but he tried not to show it. But there were days that he did go home and have a good cry, even though no one knew it. After all, he was Michael Scott. People looked up to him. People wanted to be him. But who loved him. Really?

So he did the unexpected. He grabbed Toby and pulled him in close and held him for what seemed like an eternity. Toby closed his eyes and thought of Sasha. Michael thought of the family he would like to have one day. It would happen. Maybe not one hundred kids, but it would definitely happen.

Toby finally pulled away, and smiled reluctantly at Michael. He didn't smile back, but he nodded, acknowledging the moment between them. It would forever be their little secret.