*Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read the story! Please feel free to leave me a review and let me know what you think or what I can improve on. I know the Toby/Paige coupling may not be everyone's cup of tea. But I thought it would make for something interesting and different as most fics tend to focus on Waige or Quintis. Hope you guys enjoy! *
It happened during an extraordinarily harrowing mission. Or maybe it happened before that. Maybe it happened that first day when Toby asked Walter to "tell that waitress I'm gonna be right back". Or when Paige smiled as Toby came back boasting about his success and asking for a statue of him to be placed at LAX. Perhaps it was every time Toby expressed sincere concern over his stupid hat or every time Paige was shocked at his keen insight into human motivation and action. Whenever it first was, whatever started it, this was the culmination. And neither Paige nor Toby were sure how to react.
But first, back to that harrowing mission. Scorpion was instructed to obtain a thumb drive from a large corporation that contained sensitive information. The mission was simple, but the circumstances were dangerous, given that it was known that the company had spies working for them that did not exactly have a conscious when it came to taking a human life. The plan was for Toby and Paige to distract the security guards while Happy and Walter used the makeshift device that Walter programmed and Happy built in order to locate the thumb drive.
Everything was going according to plan until one of those soulless spies caught wind of Toby and Paige's act and reprimanded them. They were locked in a jail type cell in the basement, a single silver bench the only piece of furniture in the small cement room with state of the art glass doors that automatically locked. The cell was a true mix of high tech and primitive decor.
"At least he didn't kill us," Toby said looking at Paige as she sat on the bench. He followed suite and sat down next to her. She turned to face him.
"This isn't funny, Toby. He could come back any minute with weapons or friends or anything. And our coms aren't working down here so the team doesn't even know where we are." Toby could tell that Paige was nearing her breaking point and he desperately needed to calm her down. Although he wasn't sure that there was anything to calm her given their circumstances.
"Walter will come through for us. He always does. I don't know where you've been over the past months, but I've been working with team Scorpion and team Scorpion doesn't fail. We will be okay." He looked into Paige's eyes and she held his gaze. Her nose wrinkled and it alerted Toby that she was contemplating what was happening within this gaze. Truth be told, he was doing the same. Questioning what it meant that the moment their eyes locked, his heart fluttered. When she tilted her head, as if about to ask him something, he took the opportunity to reach his hand to hers. Nothing terribly romantic, just a subtle brush back and forth on her finger as if to reassure her. She moved her hand out from under his and looked away.
"I hope so." She muttered under her breath, barely registering in Toby's ears. But he sensed enough to know that Paige needed more assurance. And maybe it also helps to put him at ease.
"This is a normal fear response. Your anxiety levels are rising from the situation and the thought of never seeing Ralph again. It's the expected reaction when put in a situation like this. But it's still irrational knowing what we know. Do you really think the team would let anything happen to us? Do you really think I would let anything happen to you?"
With that, Paige looked back at him. Her eyes were welling up but not allowing the tears to fall. Toby was also visibly emotional, but more in control than Paige. Paige continued to stare at him without saying a word.
"What?" He finally broke the awkward silence that was actually a lot less awkward than one would have thought.
"Nothing...it's silly."
Toby let out a slight giggle and responded, "Have you not met me?"
"Well, that's actually what I was thinking. I mean, we've worked together for quite some time now. And we are currently, and a good portion of the time, in life or death situations and I don't really know you that well." Paige smiled nervously after saying this, realizing how dumb she must sound. Toby gave a half smile himself. The new conversation easing some of the tension and anxiety of the dire situation they were in.
"Well, what do you want to know?" He asked.
SCENE CHANGE
Meanwhile, Walter and Happy had successfully gotten the thumb drive, and backed it up using their homemade device, should anything happen to the actual memory stick. They were running down flights of stairs, yelling into their coms for Toby or Paige to answer. The door on the landing below them crept open, and they stopped in their tracks and fell silent. Walter instinctively put his hand in front of Happy as a parent does to a child when their car makes a sudden stop. They both looked at each other and shook their heads in wordless agreement. Happy was about to drop her bag down the flight of stairs to produce a distraction and hope that the cold hearted spy they were about to meet wouldn't look up. However, when the door fully opened, it revealed Cabe, gun in hand surveying the scene.
"Cabe, thank God." Walter said as he and Happy started their descent back down the stairs towards Cabe.
Cabe looked up at them. "Where are Toby and Paige?" He asked.
"We aren't sure. And they aren't answering us." Happy said.
Walter put his finger to his earpiece to hear better and talked to Sylvester, who was outside in the van, monitoring the video cameras. "Sly, do you have any read on Toby and Paige?"
Sly looked through all the monitors in the van but did not see them. "I'm not sure. I don't see them anywhere. Hold on. Let me look at the schematics." He pulled up the building plans and saw that the basement was much larger than a building this size would normally have. "Guys, they might be in the basement."
Walter, Happy, and Cabe looked at each other. Happy was the first to speak. "The basement could render their coms useless if there are thick cement walls."
"I'll bet there's some kind of cells down there. They would need a place to hold people they want to question or..." Cabe chimmed in and then trailed off before completing his sentence.
Walter understood what Cabe was implying. "Well, we need to go find them before anything happens."
"Works for me," Happy said as she took the lead down the stairs.
SCENE CHANGE
Cabe, Walter and Happy ran down the long hallway filled with empty cells. Finally, they heard...laughing? The trio rounded a corner to see Toby and Paige sitting on a silver bench in a small cell, with Paige touching Toby's shoulder as she curled over from copious amounts of laughter. Toby was also a bit red in the face as you could tell that this laughing fit had been occurring for at least a few minutes.
"Hey Doc. You enjoying your jail time?" Happy asked as she started working on disabling the electronic lock that was holding the two in their captivity.
The pair looked up to see their friends coming to the rescue. Toby turned to Paige and said, "see. I told you they wouldn't let us down."
Paige took a second to regain her composure and said "Yeah. I guess you were right."
SCENE CHANGE
After getting the files to Deputy Director Cooper, the gang went back to the garage. Sylvester immediately sat at his desk and perused his latest comic book find. Happy started messing around with some metals and a soldering iron. Walter and Cabe were outside by the front door, discussing improvements that needed to be made if Scorpion was going to continue to take on such dangerous missions.
Paige was sitting on the roof looking at the stars. Toby walked up from behind her and sat down beside her. "Enjoying the vast space after our hour in a 9 by 13?" He asked.
"It really puts things in perspective," she answered, her gaze not moving from the sky.
Toby kept staring at her. Admiring the intensity that she had while looking at the stars. "Yeah." He finally said. "Puts things in perspective."
With that, Paige turned to look at him. Their eyes met, and for a single moment, Paige felt as though she wanted to kiss him. Or he wanted to kiss her. Or she wanted him to want to kiss her. But that was insane. This is Toby. And he is definitely in love with Happy. And she, well, she has Walter. Except she doesn't have Walter. And Toby doesn't have Happy. As all of these thoughts ran through Paige's head, Toby was mercilessly trying to use every ounce of human analysis he had to figure out what she was thinking. And he is really good at what he does.
The behaviorist leaned into Paige, and when she didn't back away or try to rebuff him in anyway, he took the opportunity. Their lips met. Barely brushing over each other at first. Both mouths closed. Unsure of how far to take this. Something so new and unexpected. But at the same time not unexpected. Paige realized earlier in the cell that she might have begun to fall for this interesting yet flawed man. She realized that maybe it happened before that. Maybe it happened that first day when Toby asked Walter to "tell that waitress I'm gonna be right back". Or when Paige smiled as Toby came back boasting about his success and asking for a statue of him to be placed at LAX. Perhaps it was every time Toby expressed sincere concern over his stupid hat or every time Paige was shocked at his keen insight into human motivation and action. Whenever it first was, whatever started it, this was the culmination. And neither Paige nor Toby were sure how to react.
The kiss never deepened. And Toby pulled away. His eyes were open and watching Paige open hers. They looked at each other for a moment more before Paige looked at the ground, took a deep breath, and initiated something else. Something more than what Toby had originally planned. Paige's lips met his and this time, it wasn't so soft and unsure. It was harsh and wanting. Yearning for something greater than the little that had just happened. Toby licked at Paige's lips asking for entrance and she gladly obliged. What started out as a simple test of the waters exploded into a full make out session with touching and grabbing and gasping for air.
When the two finally pulled apart, neither knowing who left the kiss first, Paige had tears in her eyes.
"Am I that bad?" Toby asked, genuine concern in his voice where his normal sarcasm would be.
"No." Paige responded. She looked at him as she choked back tears. "This just shouldn't be happening. Right? We can't do this."
"You're right. We're just. Two friends who got caught up in a moment." Toby wanted desperately to console her. Wanted her to not be welling up with tears. More importantly, he wanted to kiss her more. He could tell from the glimmer in Paige's eyes that she too was not ready for their rendezvous to be over. So for the countless time that day, Toby took another chance. "Or," he said looking back to Paige, "maybe this is exactly what's supposed to be happening right now. Someone wise once said that nothing happens by accident. So maybe we should..."
"continue," Paige finished his sentence for him. Uncertainty in her voice and her head. But at the same time, she felt something else. Something new. Something exciting. Something she wanted to continue.
"Yeah," Toby said as he moved his hand to her cheek, cradling it in his palm. She melted into his touch and let out a soft noise, almost pur-like in it's execution. She had wanted to be touched so softly for so long. Toby adjusted his hand so that he could grab her chin and pulled her towards him. Their lips met once again, and this time, they both knew how to react.