Seeing Red

Seeing Red

Happy liked black, whether it was her black shirts, her black leather jackets, her black boots, her black welding helmet, or the motorcycle she'd been rebuilding. She found comfort in the color. That wasn't to say she didn't have other colors in her wardrobe. She had white tank-tops, usually to go under her wide range of plaid flannel shirts. She liked clothes that were comfortable, that could get dirty but were easily washed. She preferred simple, rugged things, but that were also well-made.

She didn't want to buy something only to have it break after a few uses. Like tools. There were few things she hated more than a tool breaking, because a tool was designed and built to work. So for one to fail, it understandably made her angry. It was one of the instances that made her see red.

She also saw red whenever anyone insulted her friends who had become her family. She saw red whenever anyone pushed her around, or worse, flirted with her. She was cute, she got that, but that shouldn't have anything to do with her work. She was a damn fine professional, and anyone who thought that her gender would hinder her performance had another thing coming.

“You have Anger Dissidence Syndrome,” Toby stated when he came over to her workshop that morning.

“So what if I do?” Happy challenged as she gripped her hammer a little tighter.  

“Here, this may help,” Toby offered as he set a red book on her work table before he walked away.

Happy glared at his back and then continued to work on her project.

But an hour later, when she had 'cooled off', she wiped her hands and looked curiously at the book. She picked it up and looked around, when she sensed she was alone, she started to read.

A few hours later, Walter walked in with a burrito and something to drink, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw her sitting at her work table, obviously deeply engrossed in a book. He watched her for a moment before tentatively walking forward and gently setting the food down next to her. He managed to take a peek at what she was reading, and then he retreated to go do a quick search on the bits of text he had been able to see.

Once he found it, he leaned back in his chair and peered at those around him. Sylvester was still working on an algorithm and probably hadn't moved all day except to drink some water every now and then. He looked over at Toby who conveniently and 'casually' avoided his gaze. Bingo.

Walter smirked and strode over to Toby, looking at him expectantly. It wasn't until Walter cleared his throat that Toby finally looked up.

“What?” Toby asked.

“I saw something interesting when I walked into Happy's workshop,” Walter baited, trying to suppress his grin when Toby's pupils dilated just a tiny bit. “Happy appeared pretty captivated by a book she was reading. It had a red cover, and it’s about anger and finding personal peace. It's not something Paige or Sylvester would get for her, because Paige isn't that comfortable with Happy yet to make that kind of suggestion, and Sylvester is... well, Sylvester. So that just leaves you.”

“Look, I've said time and time again that Happy has hostility and anger issues, and while I personally don't have a problem with them because they have helped to insure her survival, she and the team would be better off if Happy could put a handle on it now and then. Bad things happen when she sees red. You know it, I know it, and most importantly, she knows it,” Toby explained.

Walter nodded, able to see Toby's reasoning. “Okay, just give me a heads up next time you play therapist,” Walter warned as he walked away.

But before he could make it back to his desk, Paige came in late from lunch wearing a completely different outfit than she had been earlier.

“What happened to you?” Walter asked as he took in her new attire.

“Ugh, I spilled a chocolate milkshake on myself in the car, so I just went home and changed. Sorry I'm getting back late,” she answered apologetically.

“No need to apologize; accidents happen,” Walter tried to reply, but it was difficult since his mouth had suddenly gone dry.

Paige smiled sweetly back before going over to the kitchen area to make a fresh pot of coffee. Walter's gaze followed her every step. He didn't know if it was the tight, red skinny jeans, the matching red lipstick, the flowy blouse, or just the whole ensemble, but somehow his eyes weren’t able to tear themselves away on their own accord. A beeping from his phone was what finally snapped him out of his reverie.

It was a text from Toby, who was only 10 feet away and at this point almost in tears from trying to hold in his laughter.

The text read - “Looks like Happy isn't the only one 'seeing red'.”

Walter gave him an unimpressed look so as to disguise his embarrassment at being caught. But Toby saw through it and grinned victoriously before putting on Scorpions “Here I am” and letting it blare through the room.