this is set before the pilot. so, obviously before Paige and Cabe, and before amy (ew) leaves Toby

Happy slipped her gloves off. They lifted above the tips of her fingers easily, a movement she'd done four hundred and twenty six times since arriving at Scorpion. Whatever hours Walter didn't need her was spent with her machines.

Now she struggled to avoid catching the oil on her skin. But that was nothing unusual. She didn't waste the energy sighing.

She threw the gloves on the ground without watching for their landing. Then, she removed her goggles and dropped it. A clang rattled in her ears as it tapped against the closest wrench. She wasn't much for unnecessary safety, but she was keen on keeping her eyes from oil exposure.

Her attention zoned in on her motorcycle. She grinned because, damn, she loved machines.

Swatting at a falling bead of sweat, Happy pulled up her shirt sleeve five and three fourths inches. The watch, bound in a thick strap of brown leather, blinked 12:47 AM back at her. She blinked. Wasn't it just 9:15 PM five minutes ago?

An abrupt noise clattered in the other room. Naturally, she jumped onto the balls of her feet and snatched the wrench off the ground. She spun around. Bending her arms, she moved the tool into an offensive position. It hovered near her face, prepared to attack. Lacking a clear view of the unexpected visitor, she clenched her jaw.

"Hey! Show yourself!"

"Ha-Happy?"

Instantly recognizing the voice, Happy dropped her shoulders and grunted with a fierce exasperation. "Oh, what the hell?"

And she frowned when she realized she could recognize the voice drunk.

She stormed into the front room.

Toby grinned at her, cheeky and loose. "Heyyyyy! Happppy!" He nearly tripped over his own feet.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I…" Toby furrowed his brows, like it was an impossible question. Jestful, even more so than normal, he stared at her. She didn't move. He swung his arms, and the half-filled glass in his hand came into view. "Oh! Happy-Happy, look! I'm almost done."

"Congrats, Curtis."

He tipped the glass at her before downing a swig. "Thank you."

Happy groaned, but didn't speak until he finished. Her eyes shifted around the garage. She rocked on her heels. "Seriously," she said, "what are you doing here?"

"I dunno. I was just...walkin' and...and walkin' and...walkin'..."

"And drinking?"

"Yeah!" He beamed, perking up. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Lucky guess."

"Oh, Happy. Happy, you're like-you're so smart," Toby sputtered over his words. He flashed another grin and took a drink.

"I am a genius." She crossed her arms, the wrench still dangling from her fingertips. She watched the lump descend his throat. 2.03 seconds. And she paused, awkwardly fumbling for the right thing to say. He was too blasted to notice, making gleeful squeals into the cup. It wasn't one from the garage-he brought it with him.

Judging by the peeling maroon logo on it, the place he got it from was his new favorite casino. She'd seen that logo a lot recently. And unfortunately, she'd seen a lot of this, too. "Why aren't you home?"

Toby tried to take a step forward. His feet instead wavered, barely keeping him from a nasty fall. He clung to the corner of Sylvester's desk while still managing to hold onto his cup. Whatever was in it was not doing as much good for him as he thought.

"I think...Amy and I...we were fightin' about somethin'. I dunno. We fight a lot."

"You can't deal with your problems, so you decide to bother me instead?"

"T-that's the plan, Stan," he slurred.

Happy raised an eyebrow. "Stan?"

Toby cocked his head. It fell downwards further than it should've, since he didn't have much control over his own body.

His fingers clutched the edge of the desk and he pushed himself closer. The single step was a lot to tackle for him, despite moving less than five inches ahead. "It's a joke. Get it? ...Rhyme time."

"I thought jokes were supposed to be funny."

"Oh, what do you know about 'em?"

Only the muscles in her fingers stiffened. Nowhere else. The comment wasn't important enough to affect more than that. Though, she wished it hadn't affected her at all.

Toby took notice of her minimal response this time. Having been oblivious to her actions only seconds ago, she had expected him not to give attention.

"Sorry," Toby stuttered. He picked up his pace to move closer, but continued stumbling. She didn't diminish their distance to help him. In fact, she didn't move at all.

"Sorry-sorry-s-sorry. I mean I-sorry. S-sorry, Happy. I…" His focus got lost in his cup again.

"Stop apologizing and go home."

Her comment made his posture jump upright. He blinked at her. "OH! Did I say I'm sorry yet? Cause I'm-"

"Sorry," Happy finished. She scowled. "Yeah, I know."

Toby's eyes widened as the corners of his lips ascended. "Whoa." He leaned his weight into the hand atop Sylvester's desk. "You're so smart. You're like-"

"Nope. Not doing this again." She held up her hands. The wrench dropped to the floor.

Wincing, Toby pressed his palms to his ears, almost spilling his drink in the process. Had it been any more full, it would've emptied on his feet. She only needed less than a second to do the calculation. "Watch the noise, please."

"Oh, my bad. Am I disturbing you, Toby?"

He grinned and removed his hands. "Ap-preciated."

Happy rolled her eyes. While he swallowed the last sip in his cup, she picked up the wrench. "I've got stuff to do," she said. "So are you gonna keep annoying me or…?"

Toby tried to raise his eyebrows, but his face contorted awkwardly. "Or?"

"Or do I need to kick your ass out?"

"No! No-no-n-no! No, Happy!" He rushed towards her. And then his legs collapsed, leading his chin to slam against the floor. "You can't just...just leave."

"I'm not the one leaving."

Without pulling himself up, Toby raised his eyes at her. "Oh. Yeah. Right."

Happy adjusted her shirt cuff and shifted her weight. "I'm ready for that ass kicking, Curtis. Are you?"

As he struggled to scramble on his feet, he moved the glass the wrong way. It shattered into thirty seven pieces across the floor. Although none reached her. "Aw-oh s-sugar!"

She leaned her head back. "C'mon. Pull yourself together, dude."

"I don't wanna!"

"I'll spare you a beating if you get out now."

"H-Happy Quinn. That's so nice of you." Toby managed to stand on his feet again, but he remained wobbly. He ignored the broken glass.

"You need to go home."

"No!" he protested like a child. "I can't go home."

Beginning to lose her patience, Happy's voice hardened. "You managed to get here. You can get home."

"N-n-no. To Amy. Amy's there. Amy's at home."

Happy groaned. "Fine." She turned on her heel. "Then crash on the couch. Just keep your mouth shut."

"Happy, no! Don't! Don't leave me."

"Why? Scared Walt is gonna get home early from his trip and dock your pay for hitting the bottle?"

"Drink with me."

Happy faced him solely to show her eye roll. "You don't have anything left to drink."

"I've gotta secret stash, Miss Quinn."

She kicked the floor with the tip of her boot. "Of course you do."

"One drink?"

"Go home, Toby."

"Maybe I'll l-leave you alone? Stop bothering you?

"You really gonna stop hounding me so I can work? Just like that?"

"I swear. Just cheers me."

"That's not a thing."

"I-you-no. I mean us. Right? Yeah. You and me are makin' it a thing."