December 22nd, 1987 -- Cambridge, MA
11:57 AM, EST

"I'm glad we got the chance to eat lunch together, Robbo." Shelby said, her face flushing a pale pink.

Robbo returned the smile as he took a bite of his sandwich. The two were sitting in the library, quickly scarfing down some lunch before they got back to studying. They'd reached exam week, and Shelby was dreading the four weeks she'd spend at home during winter break. She wasn't sure if she could survive four interrupted weeks with Gran back in New Hampshire. She knew that Robbo's hometown in Massachusetts was pretty close to the state border, so she really hoped they'd see each other over break. She really enjoyed spending time with him.

"Me too, Shelby." He said, giving the redhead a grin. Shelby still didn't know what had gone down between Rob and Tony, and even though Rob was convinced Shelby was in love with the Stark boy, he found himself falling for her too.

"So, um, how many exams do you have before you get to head home for the semester?" Shelby asked as she picked the crust off of her peanut butter and jelly.

"One more. Tonight, actually." He said with a sigh. "I'm headed home in the morning."

"Ahh. Well, good luck. I'm sure you'll do great." Shelby said with a smile. "I have two exams tomorrow, and then I'm taking the bus back to my gran's."

"Sounds like a blast." Robbo teased with a smirk. "What's on the agenda for break? Some knitting? Mahjong? Maybe spice it up with some scrapbooking?"

"Ha ha." Shelby said, taking another bite of sandwich. "Very funny."

Robbo grinned and set down his food. "You know, I'm not too far from Portsmouth. If you're not too busy with bingo and crochet class, I could show you around Salem."

"The witch town?" She teased Shelby had to admit, she'd always been interested in the Salem Witch Trials. The women that had been killed were women like her, curious and intelligent.

"Sure. I mean, I know there's witches there. I live with my sister, after all." Robbo joked.

Shelby laughed. "I can't imagine you having a younger sister." She smirked, giving the boy a look.

Robbo laughed. "Well, she's only 14, so a bit younger than me, but you better believe that I hosted the best tea parties back in the day."

Shelby giggled as she imagined a little Robbo wearing a flowery hat and holding a dainty tea cup with his pinky sticking out. "That sounds like a blast."

Rob grinned before adding, "Where do you think I learned how to throw such a great party from?"

"From me, actually." A voice coming from behind Shelby drew the pair's attention away from each other as Tony took a seat to the left of Shelby. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all, Stark." Shelby moved her books to make room for the boy as he pulled up a chair. She was completely oblivious to the glares being passed between the two men.

"How's studying going?" He asked, pulling out his own lunch.

"Good. I should probably get back to it, actually." Rob said, standing as he finished his sandwich. He packed up his books and winked at Shelby. "See you later, Shelbs?"

"Of course." Shelby grinned and gave him a little wave, then looked down at her sandwich with a blush on her face.

"Things going well?" Tony asked as he looked over at the redhead.

"With Robbo? Yeah, I think so." She smiled. "He's so charming, isn't he?"

"Oh yes, quite charming." Tony said with a roll of his eyes.

Shelby frowned as she took the last bite of her sandwich. "Okay, what's going on with you two?"

"Who two?" Tony asked, his eyes focused on his lunch.

"Cut the crap, Stark. You and Robbo." Shelby said as she began packing up her trash.

"Nothing is wrong." Tony insisted. "Why would you ask?"

"Because, Tony. You guys just seem ... off. You're best friends, you think you'd act like it." Shelby said with a frown. Tony had been acting like such a ... well, a dick. That was the best word to describe his behavior as of late. She was not down for that. "I'm going to go meet up with some friends to study. I'll see you later." She said, giving the Stark boy a quick smile before she briskly walked away, leaving Tony alone once again.

December 22nd, 1987 -- Cambridge, MA
5:21 PM, EST

The front door opened while Tony was cooking some hamburgers, alerting him that one of the housemates had returned after a long day of studying and exams. Tony himself had taken one that afternoon. "Hey, Robbo, I hope you're hungry." He said as the boy walked in.

After thinking it over, Tony had decided that it wasn't fair to either Shelby or Robbo to act like a jerk towards the two of them. If they wanted to be a couple, then that was their decision. Tony just had to get rid of whatever embarrassing little crush he was developing on the redhead. He'd snip it in the bud before it became anything long term — at least, that's what he was telling himself.

"Uh, yeah, I'm starving, actually." Rob stared, obviously surprised by Tony's sudden cheeriness. "Thanks."

"Hey, I'm ... I'm sorry." Tony stated as he began to set the table. "Something's been up my ass all week, and I've been being a douche to you about Shelby. I promise I'm cool with the two of you going out."

Rob's eyes flicked to Tony curiously. He was still convinced that Shelby and Tony were in love with each other, despite the fact that he really, really liked Shelby himself. "Really?"

"Yep." Tony nodded, setting a plate down in front of Robbo. "And, what you said about Shelby being in love with me? That's total bullshit. She likes you, that's fairly obvious. She told me you were charming today. I almost vomited on my lunch, but nevertheless, she said it. And me, being in ... pardon my French, love? That's absurd. With Shelby, too? Do you want to make me sick?"

"Charming, huh? I guess I am." Robbo said, a smirk crossing his face.

Tony rolled his eyes. He still had a slight urge to hit Robbo very hard in the face with his fist, but he was one of his best friends, so that urge wasn't too strong — kind of lurking in the back of his mind, he guessed. "I invited Shelby over for dinner, actually." Tony announced. They had their circuits exam the following morning, so they wanted to do some last minute studying together. "Big circuits exam tomorrow."

"Yikes." Rob sighed. "But okay, that's cool. I'm leaving tomorrow, so I'll get to say goodbye, then."

The soft smile that formed over Rob's face was so genuine that Tony's slight anger simmered a bit. It had been clear to him at lunch that Shelby really liked Robbo, and now he could see that her feelings were wholeheartedly reciprocated. "Yeah, sounds good."

"You know, Tony, I'm so glad we can talk about this now." Rob said as he sighed in relief. "I've been wanting to talk to you about her and you were acting so freaking weird so I didn't want to bring it up." He grinned as he looked over at his friend. "She's so freaking smart, and she's hilarious, too. And she's so opinionated and headstrong."

"Yeah, she is all those things." Tony nodded in agreement. Those were some of the particular things he enjoyed about Shelby himself.

"And that red hair? Oh my god." Robbo groaned. "She's so freaking gorgeous and she doesn't even know it!" He shook his head and laughed, looking over at Tony. "That makes her even more attractive, you know?"

Oh yes, Tony thought, I know.

He loved her soft little smile when she thought something was funny but didn't want to laugh, because she was embarrassed to laugh too loud.

He loved how she tied her red hair up in a messy little bun when they were working on their project, and how she always knew exactly what she was doing.

He loved when she bit down on her bottom lip when she focused on something, as if it would increase her brain's ability to function.

He loved the determined look on her face whenever she set her mind to challenge someone.

He loved the way her face flushed when they were walking around campus and some guy checked her out, because Robbo was right — Shelby didn't know how beautiful she was and she deserved to know.

He loved how she was the only one that he had ever met in his entire life that was actually smarter than him, as much as it was hard to admit.

Most of all, he loved that he could rely on Shelby for anything, and that she would always have his back.

"She is amazing, isn't she? You're lucky, in the grand scheme of things, Robbo."

It broke Tony's heart to say those words; to let her free; to admit to himself how he felt about his Girl Genius for real. He was in love with Shelby, but he was just too late. No matter what he felt, though, he wouldn't be the one to stand in the way of Shelby's happiness, even if her happiness didn't lie with him.