happy Scorpion Monday!

56 - "It brings out your eyes."

"Man up, numbnuts."

"Oh, I'm sorry. My back's a bit sore from you stabbing me with your knife."

"Really, over a stupid video game?"

"Mario Kart is the ultimate game of all games."

"How much have you been hanging out with Sly recently?"

"...Just start the race, Hap."

Happy hit the A button on her Wii controller, selecting the map for their next race. The music started to play as the game started to load. Both of them had their fingers off the controllers. That was one of the rules for Mario Kart in the Quinn-Curtis household. Fingers off until the race officially started. No hacking into the controllers to make one of them function worse or one function better. No mind tricks to screw with each other. And those were just some of the basics. Every time they played, more were added to the list.

The countdown landed on one. Toby got a headstart, one place ahead of Happy. But she caught up quickly. Within the first bend of the course, her bike drifted past his kart. He cursed under his breath. She didn't give him the satisfaction of a response.

They crossed the first checkpoint line. Toby fell two places behind. It didn't take long for him to go back even further. Meanwhile, Happy climbed up the leaderboard. She tilted her head and said, "That's a faster decline than I expected, doc."

He pressed his lips together. "Oh, just you wait, sweetheart. I'm going to make a comeback bigger than that time I went from owing big money to owning big money to wipe the floor with the house at Lucy's Ace in Koreatown."

He shuddered.

Happy rolled her eyes, though she proceeded to press her lips together briefly and glance him over. But he was okay.

The action lost her spot in third place. Neither of them commented on it.

Then Toby threw a red turtle shell, knocking Happy off, and the moment was over. Toby tried not to laugh while he stole her rank.

She scowled, seething. "How the hell did you get up there so fast?"

"It's all in the wrist," Toby quipped.

The race kept going. They scampered across the finish line for lap two. She started gaining speed. Of course he noticed, and of course he pressed the controller harder. His fingers twitched.

Happy grunted a stream of curses as she narrowly avoided crashing. Toby threw a banana peel back at her. She avoided it.

She hurled a turtle shell at him, this one green. It slammed into his kart.

"Cheese and crackers!" Toby yelped. Happy grinned. She resumed her position as rightful heir of third place. But she quickly overtook second, too.

Toby fell into fifth.

He struggled to maintain his place. When Happy stole first, though, he found the motivation to pick up speed.

Lap three wasn't far behind. The final third of the race began with Happy in first and Toby about to nab fourth. Banana peels, turtle shells, and rockets flew among the pattern of zigzagging racers. Toby reached third place.

Happy smirked as the distance between her and the other competitors, including her husband, increased. The pace didn't change for the next minute. But by the last thirty seconds of the race, Toby had miraculously taken over second place. Happy, unfazed, kept her eyes on the screen.

She had enough space on him to guarantee a victory. Until he collected a mystery box to reveal a blue turtle shell. A blue turtle shell that would go straight for the racer in first place and knock them off course. It'd be enough time for Toby, if he didn't mess up, to take the spot.

Happy shot him a look with widened eyes and raised eyebrows. "Husband," she warned.

He shrugged. "I love to see you win, Happy. I swear. Victory looks good on you. It brings out your eyes." He pressed his lips together. "But this race has my name written all over it." He released the shell.

"Son of a bitch!" Happy grumbled.

While she was off to the side of the course, Toby zoomed past her. And, with the finish line in sight, he nailed the last turn for first place.