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alexthefly · 3 months

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Take My Hand

This was supposed to be a @flashfictionfridayofficial , but I was a bit late and got my timezones mixed up, and then the word count went over and... well here it is anyway.

Or read it on AO3 here.

Also tagging @tagloveandthunderbirds 'cos ❤️

Fandom: Thunderbirds/Thunderbirds are Go

Word count: 1048

Warnings: feet/shoes

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“You ready to do this, Sweetheart?”

Lucy took her time smoothing down the front of her dress, purposely not looking at the empty dance floor yawning in front of her.

“Are you? You know dancing isn't exactly my forte; a first dance in front of all these people just seems like asking for trouble." She shuffled in her chair. "Are trampled feet covered by the wedding insurance?”

Jeff snickered. “I checked the policy just before I came over here. We’re all set.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. But I’m wearing heels, don't forget; it's going to be like Bambi on Ice out there.”

He shrugged.

“Well I did suggest the hiking boots instead, but you shot me down; something about ‘the aesthetic’. Which looks stunning on you, by the way.”

He stood back to better take her in, grinning appreciatively.

“Last time I make that mistake,” she muttered, waving away the compliment. “Given ‘the aesthetic’ is currently cutting off the circulation to my pinkie toe, respectfully ‘the aesthetic’ can go jump in a lake.”

She mentally cursed the salesperson who’d talked her into putting fashion ahead of comfort.

Concern flashed across Jeff’s handsome face. “Are they really hurting you, honey? We can get you other shoes.”

She smiled up at him reassuringly. “No really, I’m exaggerating …sort of. They just kinda pinch, that's all.”

If she was totally honest with herself, it wasn't even the salesperson’s fault, really. She’d been the one chasing a dream of being perfect and ladylike, even if it was only this once. Dammit, why was dressing up fancy so hard?!

Of course it didn't help that her new husband managed it so effortlessly. He was currently working ‘the aesthetic’ to within an inch of its life, cutting a very dashing figure in his elegant new grey suit and tie, dress shirt and shoes all perfectly matched and filled out perfectly.

Seriously, where did he get off being so good-looking?

She’d just wanted to appear worthy of him, that’s all. Jeff Tracy: ace pilot, hometown hero, handsomest guy in the county and a genuinely good man to boot. He was the prince, and just once she’d wanted to feel like she could be his match - a princess - instead of some awkward, clutzy science nerd who’d somehow managed to win the husband lottery.

She sighed. Clearly that wasn't to be.

There was a pause, then without another word her very handsome husband - God, he really did look good in that suit - knelt down in front of her and took one of her feet gently in his hands. He examined the delicate and uncharacteristically high-heeled white shoe with utmost seriousness, before removing it and flinging it across the room.

“Jeff!”

Lucy felt her face burst into flames as a roomful of eyes turned towards them.

“What? Doesn't that feel better?”

In all fairness it absolutely did. She wiggled her newly-released toes appreciatively even as she fought the urge to hide underneath the table.

“You can't just go throwing shoes around. You’re making a scene.”

He stopped and looked at her, ignoring the rest of the room, then slowly and deliberately reached out and took hold of her other foot.

“I want to enjoy a dance with my beautiful new wife, and if these admittedly pretty little shoes are getting in the way of that…”

The second shoe flew over his shoulder, just missing a nearby waiter.

“...then they’ve gotta go.”

The room was hushed; everyone was looking at them. Part of her wanted to run and hide in the coatroom until they’d all gone, but he was holding her gaze, keeping her steady.

“I don't want anything getting between me and the most amazing, beautiful, perfect person I ever saw, ever again.”

He rose gracefully to his feet and held out his hand to her.

“So how about it? May I have this dance?”

…

It was late spring and the cicadas were singing. Airbase staff were bustling all around, knocking into her, sending papers flying everywhere. She knelt down to pick them up, and suddenly there was a hand in front of her.

“Can I give you a hand, Miss?”

…

It was fall, and the trees around them were every shade of red. They’d talked about everything and nothing, walking side by side, until he stopped and reached out to her.

“Would it be alright if I held your hand?”

…

It was winter and the snow was falling softly. His ice skates made long swooshing noises on the ice around her, while hers clacked noisily as she tried and failed to keep her footing. Another swoosh and then he was there in front of her, hand extended.

“Okay, so not my best idea. How about we go get a hot chocolate instead? My treat?”

…

It was the last days of summer, and the clear water of the lake lapped at her toes. She’d never felt so happy in her life. A perfect day. Beside her she felt him shift nervously, and then he was holding his hand out, a little red box in it, one knee on the ground.

“I’ve got a question I wanna ask…”

…

Her head flooded with the memories of a hundred moments, small and huge, all of them important. A hundred images of him offering his hand, and at last she understood.

He'd reached out for her.

She was the one. And she was worthy, just as she was.

Smiling, she accepted the offered hand.

“Of course you may, Mr Tracy.”

He grinned and bowed. “Why thankyou, Mrs Tracy.”

She rose and he led her, barefoot and spotlit, to the dance floor without a care in the world. Keeping her hand in his, he wrapped his other arm around her waist, enveloping her like a delicate, precious treasure, safe and protected. Their eyes met and he beamed at her like his face was made of actual sunshine.

She grinned back at him.

“You’re sure about that wedding insurance now? Last chance.”

“Don’t you worry about my toes, darlin’. Just keep a hold of me and we’ll do fine.”

And with that the band struck up an old favourite, and hand-in-hand they danced the night away.

Take my hand

Take my whole life too

For I can't help falling in love with you.

#tag:love&thunderbirds #jeff tracy #lucy tracy #thunderfluff #romance #alexthefly fic #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #FFF238 #...kinda #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go fanfiction

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lenna-z · 5 months

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Hii! This is a little something floating around in my mind, I hope you enjoy!

(I apologize in advance for any mistakes...)

"Canopus"

•••☆•••

People trusted them and as IR personnel, they took responsibility for those people's lives.

But then came the days when they could not save the lives for which they took responsibility.

Virgil was remembering his first one. He had told himself a million times that he should have been in that person's place.

He had created many scenarios in his mind to save that girl.

But it was too late for her...

He was also remembering Scott's first too. At that time, It was easy to be there for his brother and comfort him, until he had his own...

Gordon's first happened while he was there. While the people on the island were supposed to be taking care of Gordon, they were also comforting him.

Everyone who was comforting was saying the same thing, even if they didn't want to believe it, "You can't save everyone."

Although Virgil said this sentence to console him or his brothers, he didn't believe until his sister's first time... No one knew until John informed them that someone had died, and this was the day after it happened.

Years had passed for some, months had passed for some, but he didn't think anyone had forgotten their first.

Even their father said he felt guilty because they were left with this responsibility.

They would never have believed it if you had told them before, but they found their father and brought him back home.

They were all doting over him as he tried to get used back to the gravity of the world.

Unfortunately, while everything was going well, the first loss of his youngest brother descended on the island like fog.

They all remembered what it was like to experience their first loss, but still, no one expected to see Alan like this.

So even though it was past two in the morning and he was just going to the kitchen to get a snack, he couldn't pass up the opportunity when he found Alan alone.

His brother was watching the stars on the terrace, with his arms folded across his chest.

Even though he wasn't outside, the coolness of the night was undeniable, so he grabbed a blanket from the living room and slowly walked towards his brother.

He could see him trembling slightly as he got closer to him, and it increased the anxiety in his chest.

He was taking his steps a little louder to let him know that he was approaching him.

"Hey, Allie."

He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk right now. He had every right if he wanted to be alone.

He relaxed a little when his dull eyes looked him up and down and slowly shifted to make room for him in his seat.

He gently placed the blanket on his brother's shoulders and sat down quietly on the spot he had opened for him.

He didn't intend to start the conversation, though, because he wasn't sure if he only wanted a quiet friend by his side.

So he joined him in stargazing and started looking for the constellations' he knew by heart.

"Dad said it might be good to talk to you."

Their father was happy to finally be there for them when they needed him, and he hadn't missed an opportunity to do so since he came home.

"So... do you want to talk?"

He hugged the blanket around his shoulders tighter and a tear rolled down one of his cheeks.

"Oh Alan-"

"How... How do you do this?" He took a deep breath. "How could you forget them, Virgil? Because- I- I can't stop thinking..."

His eyes were still on the sky. It was a familiar method of evasion, something they all did.

"Honestly Alan, it is not possible to forget them, I think we just... learn to live with this feeling."

He shook his head as his eyes looked down. "It was easier to comfort Gordon without knowing what this feeling was like."

He could guess what was going through his mind.

He was thinking if he had a chance to save that man.

He was thinking if the result would have been the same if he had done things differently.

And he was thinking about these things alone before he came home at noon...

"Do you remember what you said to Gordon that day, Alan?"

He was sure a lot had been said, but he hoped he would understand the point he was getting at and give the right answer.

He sniffed softly and looked at him. "You can't save everyone."

"Yeah, we can't save everyone, Alan."

He continued to shake his head in protest.

"He trusted me, Virgil. Even when he realized that he couldn't succeed, he didn't blame me, he was still thanking me for risking my life for him... He- he had a family..."

He turned his head to the stars again.

"I should have saved him."

"Even if it didn't happen this time, it would happen one day, Alan... And if it wasn't that man, it would be someone else."

It could have been him. This is what Kayo experienced.

"This is the meaning of 'you can't save everyone', it's not just a saying hanging in the air."

He needed to understand this because unfortunately this wouldn't be his last.

"So after a while you get used to that feeling?"

"I remember the first time I lost someone like it was yesterday, Alan, and the one after that, and the one after that..."

And the fear of losing someone in rescues never went away.

"However, when I think about the people whose lives we saved...yeah, we can't save everyone and that's part of our lives."

You could see from his eyes that he was starting to understand something.

"So this feeling is still there..?"

He nodded quietly. "Like I said, you learn to live with it."

He always wished they didn't have to go through this, but nature had a law.

He looked better than when he first saw him, and he was glad that the conversation was doing some good.

"Do you think she's still proud of us?"

The question was unexpected. Involuntarily, when he too looked at the stars, he noticed where Alan was looking.

Canopus.

It was the brightest star visible from the island. John and Alan called it their mother's star because it was so bright.

Oh.

Of course.

He was looking at that star from the beginning.

"Of course she is, Alan. You remember what Dad said, right? Look at what we've achieved so far."

He turned to face him for eye contact because he needed him to believe it.

He turned to him with a sad smile and began to approach him with open arms.

Without a second thought, he returned the gesture and slid one arm around his waist, pulling him closer.

He was too wide for his arms to wrap around him, but he still hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Virgil." His voice was muffled because he buried his face in his chest.

He turned his face to the sky again. It didn't take long for him to find the brightest star.

The star winked as if she understood him.

"Always brother, always."

•••☆•••

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #virgil tracy #alan tracy #lenna writes #thunderbirds

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phading · 2 months

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Thunderbirds Light!

I've been all about angst lately so I thought it was time to serve up a little palette cleanser ...

Part of Nutty's FAB-FIVE-FEB Challenge 2024: "Scott" and "quiet".

#thunderbirds are go #thunderfam #john tracy #virgil tracy #scott tracy #humor #thunderbirds light #practical jokes #phading #a phade fic #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #fabfivefeb #fabfivefeb2024

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whatgaviiformes · 6 months

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Trick or treat!!!

Hello Nonny! Happy Halloween! How about a little Earth & Sky?

“I don’t know how you do this.” At Virgil’s work desk, Scott floundered over the array of colored pencils spread across the fine mahogany.

From the neighboring easel, Virgil spun towards him, his black smock adorned with chaotic acrylic.

“Easy. Pick a color, place it point side down on the paper, and keep it in the lines,” he chuckled. But as Virgil came to a moment to step back from his own work, he walked up behind his older brother to glance over Scott’s shoulder. “What seems to be the problem?” he asked kindly, placing one hand on the back of his chair, while the other he rest on Scott’s shoulder to check for what tension was there.

“I don’t know what color to choose. You’re so good at knowing what works together.” The frown on his face reached his eyes – completely the opposite of Virgil’s goal in dragging him away from the office.

“Don’t try to be me.”

The idea came to him quickly, and he knew he had the perfect coloring book in one of his drawers if he could just find it. He had to shuffle through them, and naturally what he wanted was in the last one he checked, but afterward he triumphantly held up the alternative.

“What’s that?”

Virgil slid the elaborate image away from Scott and opened the new book up to the first page. “You’re a patterns guy. Try a mandala instead. Just start with a color and math it.” With a wink, Virgil turned back to his easel. “I have faith in you.”

#gavii scribit #thunderbirds are go fanfiction

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spaceshipsoutthepool · 29 days

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WIP Wednesdaaaaaaaaay

As per winner here's a bit of 'Sand in your Eyes' (or sand in my eye. title not yet vibe checked) and poll for next week below <3

+++

“Do you suppose she told me about the ‘TEA’ that time and her special operative work on purpose?” Penelope had asked. She’d barely said anything on the matter. or any matter for that matter. not since- well. the bad news.

“Not just to pick up the TEA pot, I mean. Just…the timing of it…” She’d trailed off. Must unlike her ladyship. “I couldn’t say m’lady.” Parker replied. “Maybe p’haps her lady Sylvia thought you deserved the truth?”

“Hm. It’s nice to know it’s not just father and the fellows of the family with an exciting history.” Her Ladyship had said. and returning to staring at folder on new information on the Hood’s possible whereabouts. one she’d not turned the page of for nearly half an hour.

It was barely spoken of after that.

Parker had crossed the line at least a dozen times enquiring how she was feeling and was met with a polite but firm rebuff. He’d even overstepped his own line in the sand when he spontaneously tried to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze after a very hard day. But she’d tensed up to the point of being rigid, so he figured the gesture was unwelcome, and hadn’t tried it since.

All was forgiven after a cup of tea, but he never got any answers. He was more worried she didn’t have them for herself.

The Tracy’s and the team had kept in touch. The family had already sent their sympathies, along with care packages for each of them. Parker hadn’t asked what was in her ladyship’s, but he appreciated the beer and new driving playlists he’d received. Alan Tracy had asked to fly out to London, along with Scott to visit. But something, and someone in need of saving, had come up. It seemed like everyone and their pet lizard need International Rescue’s help, and none of the islanders could catch a break.

bit le sad soz. anyway-!

there is a lot of stingray options this week and i am not a bit sorry.

#thunderfam #thunderbirds are go #my fanfiction #wip wednesday #lady penelope #parker #thunderbirds #thunderbirds are go fanfiction

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waty-art · 8 months

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Fan Fiction?

Hello everyone! I love to write and would like to write a small fic to post if anyone would read it. Of course I’m new at posting Fan fiction so I might be a little nervous, but as you can see I am still trying to make a decision what fandom I should write about.😭

please, please, please vote if you want because I am truly at a loss. Thank you so much and have a wonderful day!❤️

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hebuiltfive · 2 months

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HEBUILTFIVE TURNS ONE!?

I made this blog account a year ago today, which blows my mind (how has it already been a year???), and so I thought I'd post something to celebrate!

Before I made this account, I'd already started writing Thunderbirds Fanfiction. This story never got finished beyond the inital drafts, but I thought I'd share the first part of the first 'chapter' for the first birthday of this blog. It seemed fitting!

It is not great, oh my god it is terrible, and the science in it is awful, but! I hope it's at least a fun read! There is more of this that I might post at a later date, if I pluck up the courage, but for now...

International Rescue, We Have A Situation!

It was just a scratch.

Gordon didn’t know what all the fuss was about, because yes, a fuss was being made, and much to his chagrin. So what if he’d had a little rendezvous with a pointy rock face? He’d survived, hadn’t he? He was convinced it wasn’t that bad of an injury, complaining the moment he’d been prodded and poked and examined. His older brother, the cause of the prodding, poking and examining, however, disagreed.

“Ow! Will you stop that?” Gordon was in two minds to just jump off the infirmary bed and pull his top back on, hiding the wound behind fabric to stop being tampered with. He knew it would have been pointless, however. His brother would have just stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Stop whining and stay still.” Virgil, the older brother who was currently tending to the gash down Gordon’s side, ordered. “You are, without doubt, the worst patient ever. And I’ve had to treat Scott.”

Scott Tracy, the eldest of the Tracy brothers, was notorious for being difficult in similar situations. Much like Gordon, he would have refused to admit that something was wrong, and would have insisted he was fine without the need for worry.

“No, you’re just being fussy.” Even as he said it, Gordon knew that hadn’t been a fair comment to make. Despite his moaning, he knew deep down that Virgil had every right to be fussing over him, even if he didn’t want to admit that to himself.

He barely remembered the flight home, and even Gordon knew that was something to worry about. Though the aquanaut had insisted on staying in the co-pilot seat of Thunderbird 2, Gordon silently regretted not taking his older brother up on laying in one of the beds in the hold.

The whole flight back his head had pounded, sharp pains lancing through even at the slightest of movements. No concussion, Virgil had declared after a quick check over, and no vital damage from where the aquanaut had collided with the rock face, their brother John had confirmed from a quick scan from Thunderbird 5.

Thus, Gordon had been spared from Virgil’s mother-henning until they had arrived back on Tracy Island, whereupon he had been whisked away to the infirmary upon landing, and before their grandmother could worry. That was the last thing Gordon needed. Virgil, he could deal with. Grandmother Tracy was a whole other ballgame.

“That stings!” Gordon flinched as Virgil cleaned the wound. He’d been lucky it hadn’t been deeper. The force at which he’d collided with the rock face had been dangerous, or at least that’s what John had told him on the flight back. In all honesty, Gordon couldn’t remember most of it.

He remembered going out to Belize; a seaquake had caused a submersible to go off course. Full of scientists, it had developed a ruptured hull and was threatening to take on water. John had been worried the quake had been man-made and had warned both him and Virgil to be careful. From there, Gordon remembered going down in Thunderbird 4 to retrieve the scientists on board the submersible. He remembered being on the look out for any signs of unusual activity to suggest a man-made cause for the quake, and then… it got blurry.

How exactly had he ended up outside of his ‘bird? What had caused him to crash into the rocks?

“Hey, Virg?”

Virgil hummed in response as he finished up on his brother’s wound, a go-ahead for Gordon to continue his question.

“What actually happened down there?”

His brother stepped away, taking the various used cotton pads, scissors and tape to the counter nearby Gordon’s bed to sort through. “You were flung into the rocks with quite some force.”

“Yeah, I gathered, but how did I end up outside Thunderbird 4?”

Virgil paused, glancing over his shoulder. “You don’t remember?”

In answer, Gordon shook his head, and pulled on his top now that Virgil had finally finished nursing the wound. From the way the aquanaut sat, casual and calm, anyone who didn’t know Gordon would assume he was unbothered by it, and that he was just curious, but Virgil knew his brother. He could see the confusion, see that he needed to know all elements of what went wrong down there so he could piece everything together for himself. If he couldn’t remember properly then perhaps his little brother had taken more of a hit than Virgil previously thought.

“The scientists were trapped. Thunderbird 4 couldn’t open the door properly, so you had to go out and manually wench it open.” The elder of the two began to explain, dropping the used items into the trashcan beside the counter, and putting the metal utensils into the sink for disinfection at a later date. He then made his way back to Gordon’s bedside.

“It wasn’t supposed to be risky.” Virgil continued. “Well, not more so than usual. You had got them all out and into Thunderbird 4. You were about to get back in yourself when John warned us of an aftershock. You couldn’t get back inside in time, and that’s how you ended up dancing with the rocks.”

Gordon remembered it all then. It was Virgil’s yell through the comms that haunted his thoughts as the memory of the accident replayed. Stuck in the big ‘bird high above the sea, there was nothing his older brother could have done but wait as the radio silence from Gordon answered him. Pain lanced through the aquanaut’s side as the memory of the collision returned. He winced. “Did I find anything down there?”

“Other than the rocks?” Virgil joked. He wasn’t usually one for making light of injuries or accidents, but his little brother seemed like he could use the tension easing. It worked; Gordon cracked a smile. Virgil continued. “If you mean about it being man-made, no. There was nothing down there to suggest those quakes were anything but natural.”

“But John said—“

“John is like the rest of us, Squid. He doesn’t always get it right.”

Something didn’t sit well with Gordon, however. Just because there was something at the scene of the crime didn’t mean there was no further explanation to be had. It felt like there was a missing piece to the jigsaw that was laid out before him. A dull ache had him out of his thoughts in a heartbeat, hand gently pressing to the bandaged wound on his side.

“You’ll be out of action for a few days. I’m tempted to make it a week, just to be sure you’re healed.” Virgil decreed with a nod.

“What? A week? Virgil, no! I’m fine! You saw to the scratch. I can be back on duty by tomorrow.”

“That, little brother, is wishful thinking.” He ruffled the blonde tresses atop Gordon’s head, and made to leave the infirmary, calling back. “No heavy lifting or straining that side, bro, else I’ll have Grandma fix you up next time.”

No doubt with a batch of her famously indigestible cookies to help him ‘heal quicker’. It was enough to make Gordon shiver, and keep him in line.

#thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #thunderbirds are go #five fics #thunderfam #gordon tracy #virgil tracy

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shirubie · 5 months

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What are the Tracys bad at?

Question for you Thunderfam: what do you think each Tracy is bad at? We all know this is a family of insanely talented overachievers, but is there an activity that each Tracy would just suck at? I'm not talking here about Scott and self-preservation or John versus Gravity: the eternal struggle, I'm thinking hobbies or sports or any mundane thing that they tried and were just not talented at. Did they try once and give up, or do they keep trying despite failing spectacularly each time (Grandma and cooking doesn't count, we know that one)?

Just tell me what you think!

#thunderbirds are go #thunderfam #thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #thunderbirds fandom

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alexthefly · 6 months

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Trick or Treat! 🎃

Not my best work, but here's a little something in honour of the scariest night of the year. (Spoilers for S3 Ep 23: Venom)

Fear wasn’t something that was encouraged in International Rescue. There was no time for fear when you were in the middle of a rescue. Fear was a weakness. Fear was trouble.

Fear got people killed.

But as much as certain tabloids might like to imply otherwise, they were all still human (EOS aside of course) and humans are not always rational about these kinds of things. And anyway, they were family. So rather than making each other feel bad, the best thing to do in this situation was clearly to be supportive and not make a big deal about it…

#thunderfam halloween #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction

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lenna-z · 27 days

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What Happened There?: Chap. 6 Trouble Signal

I'm sorry I can't update regularly, classes and life are confusing me a lot...

In this space I want to thank my wonderful cousins for reactivating my muse 💜

And I also want to thank @tanushakyrano for interpreting my ideas and giving me new ones as well! Some of the things written there were written thanks to Cora. 🖤

I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Previous: - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 -

During this period, he was entering the same hospital as often as he didn't want.

But this time the reason for coming was different.

He continued walking, trying to ignore his throbbing head.

He had knew something was wrong the moment Talia knocked on his door in the middle of the night.

His feelings did not mislead him this time either because she said that the team around the hospital had identified a suspicious person, and the man ran away when he realized he was noticed.

A lot of things went through his mind, things about his sister and brother.

She said they were fine and unaffected by the situation. In fact, after all this, Virgil had texted him that she had woken up for a few minutes.

Talia said Ames hadn't told Virgil yet. She assured him that everything was fine.

Still, he wasn't going to stay stuck in his room and wait for something to happen.

Kyrano had somehow heard everything and said he wanted to see his daughter. No one could blame him.

And Penny said she was coming to talk to security and help Ames.

They were making their way to Kayo's room, with Talia and a security guy assigned to Kyrano behind them.

She was already on a private floor and only certain hospital staff could visit the floor.

He wasn't sure if the precautions were enough, considering that someone was monitoring a hospital that wasn't shared with anyone.

Ames had a frightening expression on her face that he had never seen before.

Next to her, Jeremy looked no different, but Ames had an expression, like Kayo's, that would make you air all your dirty laundry if you were guilty.

This was noticeable even from a distance.

Unlike when they left yesterday, there was more security on the around. And they were all looking at them as if they were going to eat them... had he missed something?

Their gazes didn't change until all of them, including the security guards behind them, scanned their fingerprints on the device in Jeremy's hand, but eventually Jeremy gave them an apologetic look.

They just had to make sure it was really them.

He appreciated this. Especially when those inside don't know what's going on.

"Ames, darling, I want to know the latest situation."

She stole a glance from Penny to her and then to Kyrano.

"Civilian security guards around the hospital found an unconscious cleaning staff in the bushes... They reported that he had a needle mark on his neck."

This was suspicious enough for anyone.

"We started looking for the unconscious man's face on the cameras, assuming he was using face swapping technology. EOS was detecting suspicious behavior in case we predicted it wrong."

He really wondered how the man could have escaped, even with such a heavy security.

"EOS caught the man on camera entering the hospital, but lost track of him a few minutes after one of our team started following him.We are sure that he changed his face again and left the hospital."

And there was probably a team out there looking for him. This was the thin part where Kayo separated International Rescue from security.

He could give direct orders to staff on International Rescue and family matters, but when it went beyond that, Kayo was the boss.

He didn't know how she did it, but even though she was injured and hadn't woken up yet, all security work continued as if she was still here.

"This could have ended in much worse things, Amethyst... How was that unconscious man not noticed before?"

This time her face fell a little.

"It didn't even take 10 seconds for everything to happen, and it happened at a point where the cameras weren't directly watching."

She looked embarrassed and it was obvious that she did not like this excuse. Another similarity with the woman inside. Scott could bet that she was secretly angry with herself, even feel guilty.

"Nothing like this will happen again, Lady Penelope."

"First of all sweetheart, you know this is Penny. Secondly, I know it won't happen again. Now before we talk about deeper topics, we should also talk to Virgil, right?"

Virgil didn't know they came here, or even what happened.

And if what Penny meant by deep topics was why this could happen, Scott had to find a way to get himself invited into this conversation.

Penny had said that she and Ames shared security matters during Kayo's absence, and that she was keeping him away from the subject for his own good.

Even Penny didn't want him to cross that thin line. Still, there was no way Scott was going to miss this.

Someone had surveilled the hospital where his sister was.

Blow it...

○○○○○

They were all nervous. Nervous might even be an understatement for most in the room.

Someone trying to enter the hospital was cause for enough tension, but Scott suddenly said that it wasn't safe for anyone to stay in the hospital.

Penny was a silent spectator as they argued, and Kyrano had already left the room under the pretext of coffee.

"According to what you said, he couldn't even get close to this floor. And Scott... she's far from okay right now."

His gaze returned to the woman on the bed. Even if it wasn't for the dark bruise on her cheek, the dark circles under her eyes and the pale color of her skin would remind them that she was not well.

And unfortunately, the bruise on her cheek was the least of his worries.

After finding her like that...

Beeeeeeeep...

"Virgil, you said she was awake for a few minutes at night, right? She is strong."

He knew that wasn't an argument that she could leave the hospital. No matter how hard he tried not to show it, everyone was aware of something and his brother was trying to console him.

They weren't there when he found her, nor were they there last night. So he decided to ignore what he said.

"She must stay here until the doctors give her the go ahead, Scott."

"I am sorry, Scott but Virgil is right. And the security measures taken here are not available anywhere else in the world..."

Penny had finally broken her silence. And Scott was more moderate.

"I know I just can't help but worry after what happened... If something happened-"

As Scott turned his full attention to the bed behind Virgil, a small voice came from his right.

When a broken voice similar to the one before was followed by a frown, Virgil was approaching Kayo step by step.

"Kay?"

He wasn't sure if it was a brief wakefulness like last night, but she made a real effort to open her eyes and closed them immediately, her brows still furrowed.

While he was moving forward to block the light coming from her face without thinking, Scott was faster than him and was fiddling with the buttons on the wall to completely cut off the light coming from the window.

"Kay, honey, it's okay." When his brother adjusted the windows so the sun was out of sight, he gently encouraged her to try opening her eyes again. "Can you open your eyes again?"

She was more conscious now than she had woken up during the night, so instead of wiping her tears, he just shook her hand.

He knew how Kayo's mind worked in situations like this, so he wanted to give her space until she got used to it.

"I-"

Her brows furrowed even more as she tried to speak.

Without him noticing, Penny had approached them and was somehow holding a glass of water with a straw in it.

"Would you like some water, sweet heart?"

As she tried to nod her head, a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Slowly okay?"

She couldn't take a sip without frowning further, and he appreciated Penny's handling of the situation.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds, and if her expression hadn't been pained, Virgil might have thought she had fallen back asleep.

Virgil had been alone in the med bay with Kayo long enough to know all the signs of pain. Although he was sure that in this case there was no need to know the signs.

"What- ...happend?"

He was going to avoid answering that question with Scott and Penny in the room. They basically had decided not to tell her everything if she didn't remember what happened. And even though Virgil agreed with that, he didn't want to lie to her.

"Actually, we were hoping you'd tell us that, sweet heart."

That was a pretty smart answer.

Kayo was almost thinking out loud, but the disappointment was evident in her eyes.

"Sorry... I-"

"Hey... It's okay."

Memory loss was something that was expected after head injuries. He just hoped she would remember something soon so they could really find out what was going on.

They knew that she was resisting the person who did this to her. If she had not resisted, her defensive wounds and head injury would probably never have occurred. Maybe she would... be much worse when Virgil found her.

"Can you tell me how you feel? If you are in too much pain we can call a doctor or nurse."

He definitely didn't want this conversation to continue, so he wanted to direct her perception towards herself.

"I'm- a little cold... I might feel better if you tell me why- it hurts everywhere."

Her speech was not completely fluent, she paused while breathing, and her face showed that she was in pain.

And he had couldn't draw her attention to anything else.

"One word, honey, knife."

"You have two stab wounds, one on your liver and one above your kidneys, and the reason for your epic headache is that you took a good hit."

He could guess what she was thinking in her mind, so he continued.

"There will be no permanent damage, nothing that cannot be resolved with rehabilitation."

Adding that it might take months for her to return didn't seem like a good idea at the moment. She needed to feel comfortable right now.

She had exhausted herself just by talking, so he was trying to think of ways to somehow persuade her to rest.

When he heard the soft sound of the door opening, he realized he had completely forgotten Kyrano was with them. He was a little hopeful because he thought she might be distracted by what was happening.

He had thought she would at least be happy when she saw her father, but Kayo's face took on an expression he never expected when she noticed Kyrano entering.

"Bapa?"

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #thunderbirds fanfiction #scott tracy #virgil tracy #lady penelope #kayo kyrano #lenna writes

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cg29fics · 10 months

Text

Gone

Having issues with my post’s again. So If you are reading along with this then you may need to check you’ve not missed previous chapters.

Tagging 🔖 Sorry if I’ve missed anyone: @janetm74 @drileyf @katblu42 @psychoseal @weirdburketeer @alexthefly @misstb2 @thundergeek59 @burningcowboyhoagietaco @dragonoffantasyandreality

Originally this was the final chapter. However, a year later I added the Epilogue - which some of you who originally read Gone may have missed. I’ve added the epilogue at the end of this chapter save waiting.

Thank you to everyone who’s read and commented on these posts. Hope you enjoy these final 2 chapters 🥰

Previous Chapter 53 - Home

Chapter 54. Soul

Everyone had continued to celebrate Virgil’s homecoming, with the party only being wound down when Virgil had begun to grow tired from the day’s activities and had experienced some pain. As he had not wanted to leave the gathering, Jeff and Scott had placed him comfortably on the sofa, while Brains gave him his medication. Shortly after, even though they had all been chatting quite loudly, Virgil had drifted off into a deep sleep.

As none of them had wanted to disturb him, they all made their way into different sections of the household. Not wanting to be far from Virgil’s side, all four boys and their father had gone outside and were now enjoying the evenings warmth from the side of the pool. Except, of course, for Gordon who had decided to take the opportunity, and enjoy an evening dip. Meanwhile, after completing the process of cleaning up, and packing away any leftovers, Ruth, Parker, Kyrano and Tin-Tin had decided to head to their rooms, while Brains had gone straight into his lab, so he could continue his work on some new experiment.

Penelope however, had made herself comfortable next to Virgil, wanting to be with him should he wake. She was glad she had remained when he began to stir from a nightmare. “Hey, it’s okay,”

“Pen?”

“Yes, it’s me,” she soothed, “no one’s going to hurt you!”

Virgil opened his eyes and smiled up at Penelope who was now holding him in her arms. “Hi.”

Penelope looked at him with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, it was just a bad dream.”

“Anything you want to talk about?”

Virgil sighed. “It was just the usual.”

“Hood?” Penelope frowned.

“Yes,” Virgil nodded sadly.

“He’s never going to be able to hurt you or anyone else again, you do know that right?”

“Yes,” Virgil confirmed, “according to the doctors and John, the nightmares are my minds way of processing what’s happened.”

“That does sound like something John would say!” she stated, with an amused smile. “So, other than the bad dreams, how are you feeling?”

“I’m good,” Virgil answered honestly, “how could I not be when I’ve woken up next to you?”

“Charmer!” Penny smiled, kissing him tenderly.

Virgil returned the kiss and then looked around the room. “Where is everyone?”

Your father and brothers are outside,” Penny informed him, “Brains is in his laboratory, and your grandmother, Tin-Tin, Kyrano and Parker have retired for the evening.”

“And why aren’t you in bed?”

“I wanted to be here when you woke up.”

“Oh, you did?” Virgil grinned tickling her.

“Virg, stop!” Penny giggled. “Do you want me to get your dad, or one of your brothers?”

“No,” Virgil said, stopping and pulling her closer to him, “I’m very happy it’s just me and you!”

“Oh, you are?”

“Most definitely!” He replied, kissing her once more.

They both continued to hold each other until Virgil spoke once more. “So, how many of them were hassling you for details about what’s going on between us?”

“Just Tin-Tin, and what about you?”

“All of my brothers!” Virgil chuckled.

“And what did you tell them?” Penelope asked.

“Nothing, I guess I thought it was best to discuss the matter between us first.”

“I believe that would be a good idea!”

They looked at each other, both wanting to speak what was in their hearts, both slightly scared of the others reaction. Eventually, Virgil broke the silence. “I’ve always liked you, but I was always worried that if I did make a move, you wouldn’t feel the same way, and our friendship would be essentially ruined. Then there was Anderbad.”

“Mm… That was some night!” Penelope smirked.

“It certainly was!” Virgil grinned.

“And since then?”

“Well, I know we both agreed at the time that we would remain friends, but after what happened with the Hood, I realised that sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s nearly been ripped away from you… He nearly took everything, but thankfully he didn’t... And it made me reflect upon things… Life is too short to not speak out about your true feelings!”

“And what are your true feelings?” She questioned coyly.

“I want you to be more than just my friend with the occasional added benefit,” Virgil exhaled nervously, as he looked deeply into her eyes, “Penelope, I love you!”

“I love you too!”

“You do?”

Penny nodded. “Of course, I have for a long time… And I would love to be your ‘official’ girlfriend.”

“Good,” Virgil said, kissing her passionately.

They both remained wrapped in each other’s arms until Penny noticed Virgil was staring longingly at his piano. “Do you want to play?”

“I wish I could, but I can’t exactly use the pedals with two broken legs. Plus, I’ve only just started having light physio on my dislocated shoulder, so I’m not too sure how long I can use my right hand.”

“I can play with you.”

“You know how to play the piano?”

“Yes,” Penelope answered, “from ages 5 to 16, my father insisted! Although, I desperately wanted to learn to play the drums.”

“Drums?”

“Yes, what’s wrong with the drums?”

“Absolutely nothing!” Virgil answered. “Did you never get to learn?”

“No, my father said they were unladylike!”

“Unladylike?” Virgil exclaimed. “There’s been some awesome female drum players!”

“I know,” Penelope said, “that was my comeback… But father had spoken, so I made do with the piano. Secretly I loved it, but I pretended to detest every minute of course… So, do you want to play?”

Virgil nodded enthusiastically. “Where’s my wheelchair?”

“Just here,” she answered, pulling herself off the sofa and pushing the chair over which had been tucked away in a corner of the room. “Do you want me to fetch one of your brothers or your father, so they can help you into this?”

“That’s okay, if you inch it a little bit closer, then with your help I should be able to slide into it.”

“Are you sure?” Penny questioned. “I really wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her.

“Okay,” she said, a hint of concern still in her voice, “but if I see any indication that you’re in any pain, then I’ll be getting Jeff.”

Virgil nodded his confirmation while Penny edged the wheelchair a little bit closer. Then with her support he easily slipped into the chair on the first attempt. “Well, that was easier that I thought it would be,” Penny observed, “however, if I find out you attempt to do that without any help, then you will not hear the end of it! Understood?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” Virgil smiled at her innocently.

“Mm… Well, make sure you don’t!” She warned, pushing him over to the piano. “So, what would you like to play?”

“I don’t mind,” Virgil replied, while she adjusted the piano chair so both herself and Virgil could reach the keys comfortably, “there’s some sheet music just over there.”

Penelope rifled through the variety of music books that were on the shelf that Virgil had pointed at, eventually she brought one over. “How about this to start with?”

“Ah, that’s perfectly easy,” he remarked, when she rested the page on Edward MacDowell’s, ‘To a Wild Rose,’

“Well, you may be a genius when it comes to playing the piano. However, it’s been a fair few years since I attempted to play, and this was one of the very first pieces I learned.”

“Then this is perfect,” Virgil commented, gazing fondly at her.

“Okay then, are you ready?” She asked.

Virgil kissed he once more. “I am now!”

Penelope relished his lips on hers and then smiled at him sweetly, as they both began to press the keys, allowing the melody to sing out. “Virgil Tracy, you are far too good to be playing with me,” Penelope observed, as she faltered a few times, while Virgil’s fingers glided effortlessly across the keys.

“Nonsense,” Virgil remarked, “you are doing wonderfully!” As the tune built to a crescendo, a cough interrupted them. “Oh, hi guys.” Virgil said, glancing up at the five faces standing in the doorway.

Jeff gazed at him sternly. “I would normally reprimand you for getting into your chair without any help.”

“But?” Virgil grinned.

“But,” Jeff added, moving over with his four sons to stand by the piano, “it’s too good hearing you play!”

“it feels great to be playing!” Virgil stated.

“How did you get in your chair?” Scott asked.

“Penelope helped me.”

“Penny, you managed to lift him?” Gordon giggled.

“Hey,” Virgil interrupted, “I’m not that heavy!”

“After all that cake and apple pie you shovelled down earlier,” John chuckled, “I’m not too sure!”

“Hey!” Virgil protested, “Why am I suddenly getting picked on?”

“Because, you are home,” Gordon informed him, “there’s no more special treatment for you now!”

Virgil pouted for a few seconds and then grinned. “Good, I wouldn’t want it any other way!”

“Great, because the jokes will be ‘wheeled’ out!”

Virgil shook his head at Gordon’s bad pun, and then looked at Alan, who was uncharacteristically quiet. “Everything alright little bro?”

Alan nodded. “Just wondering if you could play something?”

“Yes, of course. Anything in particular? Virgil enquired.

“Can you please play…” Alan hesitated.

Virgil smiled at him knowingly. “Do you want me to play moms song?”

“Yes please,” Alan answered enthusiastically, “if that’s okay with you?”

“Of course,” Virgil replied.

“Where’s the sheet music?” Penny asked.

“There isn’t any. Mom was always going to write it down but unfortunately, she never did. Thankfully, she taught it to me and now it’s all up here,” he informed her, pointing to his head, “I really should write it down though.”

“So, do you need any help?” She questioned.

“I should be alright using my right hand for this piece, I’ll use it to count towards my physio time,” he laughed.

“And what about the pedals?” She enquired.

“Yes please,” Virgil confirmed, “they won’t be needed to much, so I’ll let you know when,”

“Okay,” Penny smiled getting herself comfortable.

Virgil prepared himself, then paused as he looked at his family. “Are the rest of you okay if I play this?”

“Yes,” Scott, Gordon and John replied.”

“Dad?” Virgil enquired.

“I would love to hear it son!”

Virgil nodded, closed his eyes, and began to play.

They all exhaled slowly, as they watched Virgil’s fingers slowly caress the keys. Each one of them becoming transfixed by the melodious tune as they all thought back to just a few weeks prior when they had sat and wept together, each believing they would never hear this captivating, incandescent sound again. Now though as the notes continued to radiate from him, each one of them was brought back into the present. Here was Virgil, he wasn’t gone, he was here with them, and his musical soul was once more filling their home.

** **

Chapter 55. Return - An Epilogue.

It had been 1 year and 3 weeks since he’d sat here, a lot longer than he’d anticipated. Yes, the doctors had told him it would take a while to get back to full physical fitness, and he had achieved that, way before they had expected him to. However, it was the unseen injuries that had held him back, the ones the doctors hadn’t picked up on, but his family had spotted straight away.

The nightmares… Ones where he was still being held by the Hood, still chained, the camera set up in front recording everything as the whip was brought down onto his bare skin again and again. These, of course, had woken him with silent screams, occasionally vocalised, but a family members presence, and the realisation that it was just a dream quickly settled him, then sleep came once more. However, there was, of course, the flipped around nightmares, the ones where he’d be the one staring at a screen, watching a brother being tortured, and he’d be screaming out in pain, but every time there had been nothing he could do to save them. Gut-wrenching cries would fill their island home, awakening all the inhabitants, and would see him physically shaking for several hours in someone’s arms… Thankfully, agreeing to talk had helped and the dreams had eventually dissipated, however, an unexpected flashback when Gordon playfully dunked him in the pool (To when the Hood’s men had submerged his head and held him repeatedly under the water) had set off an anxiety attack, which had reawakened the nightmares, and he was once again back at square one… A vicious circle that happened on more than one occasion.

Eventually, with time, and many one-on-one sessions with various members of his family the mental healing eventually caught up with the physical, and that had in turn led to this point, him sitting here… 1 year and 3 weeks later, which was 386 days, an exact total of 9,264 hours… Not that he’d been counting…

A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts, “are you okay?”

A short breath out, he glanced back at Gordon, who was now buckling himself into the co-pilots seat. “Yes… Yes, I am!” Turning back to the control panel… His left hand, which now had a treasured silver wedding band on, reached forwards, he didn’t need to even think about what he was doing, even after all this time, he knew his girl like the back of his hand. She moved forwards, trees parting for her, allowing the sunlight to light her beautiful green paint… God, it really had been too long…

“So, are you going to do the honours?” his brother asked.

“You bet I am!”

Gordon settled back as the green machine raised herself, ready and waiting. “Then she’s just waiting for your final command.”

Pressing the final button, then holding the controls in his hands, Thunderbird 2 shot into the air…

Virgil felt the smile light up his face… “Thunderbirds Are Go!”

#thunderbirds fanfiction #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds original series #thunderbirds fandom #virgil tracy #cg29fics #thunderbirds are go fanfiction #thunderbirds #TAG Fic #thunderfam #tagficgone

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whatgaviiformes · 9 months

Text

Fic: Variegated

Summary: They shared a craft, but approached it differently. Crafty!FishTank

Characters: Gordon, Virgil

Words: 3,300

A/N: This is what happens when you start to explore what kind of crafters these two are. Let's be honest, I wrote this completely self-indulgently, but if for some reason this inspires you, 1) please enjoy the image of Gordon and Virgil with bags of yarn and 2) know there's absolutely no right way to craft. The most fun thing to do is to do what makes you happiest.

Single day write, so be warned.

I'll do an AO3 post eventually, but for now just for you, tumblr.

****

Variegated

“You know you want to.”

“No, Gordon. Not right now.” His brother was incessant. Though they were busy finishing up a rescue, he wouldn’t leave Virgil alone about the strip of stores across the street from where they’d parked Two. International Rescue was known to occasionally take a detour to collect takeout after a mission, but it was not time to shop. They still had work to do, and Gordon was the worst distraction.

They were finishing a rescue at a mall complex, which for entirely avoidable reasons had been about to collapse with two thousand occupants inside. The design flaw in its foundations frustrated Virgil to no end. The lack of safety protocols was enough to rival Fischler. Except there were tried and true blueprints for super structures like the one they’d just evacuated, so there was no excuse. Fischler was annoyingly careless; this was just deliberately built to be unsafe.

Even though they’d saved all of the families inside, Virgil’s blood boiled knowing just how many people had been put in danger. And, for what! Nothing but a money-saver.

Scott had been amazing coordinating with the local emergency services, while John and Eos had worked on comparing their scans of the building to the final designs that were filed, identifying the weak spots for them to secure. Gordon and Alan had made quick work of that at Virgil’s direction, and once the three of them were done they joined Scott for the evacuation efforts. The seals would only give them more time, not hold the building forever, so time was of the essence still.

His brothers were awesome today. Yet, Virgil couldn’t find it in himself to be happy over the job well done. Not when people like that were still out in the world, making irresponsible decisions, making it just that much harder to be available for the unavoidable whims of the planet.

“You know John’s going to find them, right?” Gordon slid up beside him, wiping his hands on a rag before wiggling his way into Virgil’s space at the pod controls. He selected the disassembly button, and turned towards him, knowingly. “I’d be surprised if their license isn’t already revoked.”

Virgil grunted, but it was swallowed all too quickly by the thundering shriek of metal as the building gave in to its final shudder. Onlookers were taking video in awe, shop owners whose wares were still inside were watching with fear and horror, emergency services were turned away to keep the crowd back but still jumped in surprise at the sound, and the International Rescue operatives observed solemnly from their positions at the inevitable.

Virgil closed his eyes at the echo. No one had been hurt.

“Al, do me a favor and go shadow Scott in One.” Gordon’s voice sounded like it was coming from underwater.

“F-A-B.” Alan’s footsteps faded away quickly.

And they were alone. Not only that, but Virgil also realized, once he opened his eyes, that he felt the floor of Two’s cargo-pod under his backside. His legs must’ve given out on him.

“Are you ok?” Gordon, sitting beside him with his arms extended behind him to prop himself up, nudged his shoulder lightly. “Talk to me, big guy.”

“Yes,” he said honestly. “I’m angry.”

“I can tell.”

“People are terrible.”

“Oh, come on now, V. You know you don’t believe that.” His gaze was locked away from him, and Virgil followed it towards the crowd of people hugging each other after their ordeal and comforting the shop owners whose livelihoods had been devastated.

He breathed deeply, feeling the dust settle in his heart as it fell towards the ground safely away from them. “No, I know,” he sighed.

“I think we’ve both seen enough destruction for one day.” He hopped back onto his feet and offered Virgil a hand up. “What do you say?”

Virgil accepted it. “About what?”

Gordon waggled his eyebrows at him. “You know. Creating.” The blond pointed across the street towards the row of shops where patrons were starting to head back inside after the excitement outside. “I’ve been trying to get you to go with me, but you kept blowing me off. You know you need it.”

He shook his head. They couldn’t just shop after a rescue. There was debrief; he needed to get the dust off his girl. “Gordon, I don’t think-”

“I need it too, Virg.” Gordon bounced on his feet. It was the lack of begging puppy-dog-eyes that convinced him of the sincerity, the sigh of relief when Gordon noticed Virgil’s expression soften.

Twist my arm, he thought. The frown that had forged creased into his forehead eased as his smile lifted into a grin at his brother’s enthusiasm. “Fine.” Virgil uncrossed his arms while Gordon whooped. “We can go to the yarn store.”

~*~

They drew everyone’s gaze when they entered, the little bell above the door chiming to herald their arrival. They still had the return journey ahead of them, so though they had washed up from the rescue, they changed back into one of their spare uniforms. Virgil was regretting that decision as the cashier’s eyes took in their iR blues, the baldrics that really had no sense being brought into a place of retail.

“Maybe we should change,” he mused. It would’ve been more time changing back and forth, but for the sake of everyone’s comfort level, it might have been better off. John was the one that encouraged uniforms until everyone was home. That was the official end of any mission by his and Scott’s definition. No sooner.

Virgil pulled at his collar from the scrutiny. But his little brother, unaffected in the slightest by the staring, bounded in and hadn’t heard Virgil’s discomfort.

“Uh - Hi, how can I help you today?” One of the saleswomen asked, grabbing Gordon’s attention on the way towards the wall of variegated skeins. She’d gathered her composure quickly, Virgil had to give her that. Gordon eased the tension in the room with his most winning smile. Once the employees realized they weren’t there for danger reasons, they returned back to what they were doing before the two rescuers had entered. A few patrons were sat around a circular table working on their WIPs - works in progress. The man who had halted in caking up a skein for a customer slowly began winding again to rotate the wooden swift that held the threads of bright pink. Virgil felt their eyes watching them still though, the curiosity in the space so strong he could taste it.

Gordon had long since abandoned him to discuss colorways with a sales person, so Virgil shifted on his feet and focused on taking in the display.

The store was sorted by yarn weight, brand, and then finally to Virgil’s great pleasure, color. The display itself evoked the threads of inspiration, of artwork that explored shades and spectrums. Where he’d been tightly swirling on the grays and metallics of unsafe structures, the array of blue-into-green-into-yellow and on, was just what he needed to loosen that coil around his mind. To dissipate the stress of his anger with the grand possibilities of color.

Art supplies always gave him the same boost of inspiration, but there was just something about the yarn store with its colors prominent that immersed him fully into his ideas.

They’d been meaning to go anyway. That was one of the reasons Gordon had been so determined to drag him in here. Though they both needed supplies for their holiday gifts, the number of rescues had kept them both busy with no down time anticipated for a few more weeks. Of course, they had time until Christmas - but depending on the project, they would need most of that time. Often, Virgil started in the winter - months ahead - to prepare for Christmas summer. Gordon was a bit more rebellious with deadlines.

At the back wall, he was holding up a speckled blue against a variegated orange. Gordon was a bit more rebellious about a lot of things.

Virgil shook his head, and scanned the store for worsted weight, then approached, eyeing up the different greens that had caught his attention.

He and Gordon had an arrangement when it came to homemade yarn gifts. Both were aware of their own inspirational whims, so it was nothing too organized or controlled. But if either of them had an idea for one of their family members, they would always share so as not to overlap their gifts too much during the season. And their family members saw how involved the homemade gifts were, so they didn’t press or make requests. Virgil was grateful their family members were so understanding and grateful. Last year, Virgil had made Kayo a cashmere scarf in a shimmery peridot that matched her eyes, and Gordon had made Alan a chevron pillow cover.

He didn’t know yet what Gordon was planning for this year, or who for; this early on Gordon probably didn’t even know. Where Virgil planned in advance and had his patterns in mind when he went to the shop, Gordon would find a color that grabbed his attention first, then plan.

This year, Virgil was far in his pattern design for a cable sweater for John. When out of uniform it could get cold up on Five, and even when he was home, his body temperature would fluctuate as part of readjusting to Earth. The length of his stay often made him prone to colds, so even though the Island was a bit on the warmer side, John gave Virgil an excuse to explore winter garments.

With winter on the mind, he picked up and admired a dark gray that, upon closer inspection, danced with subtle blues and greens. It was stormy and evocative, and oh, so soft. Though Virgil felt it pull him into the depths of a lakeside forest, it wasn’t the kind of green he was looking for. He replaced it back on its hook.

If he admitted it, he’d been looking online at various greens for a while, though no holo screen would replace getting the chance to squeeze the fibers.

“Gordon?” he called, looking around for his brother, a few hanks held close to his chest. He’d selected a scattering of greens he thought would be good for John’s sweater. One was a more olive green, similar to the peridot he’d gotten last year for Kayo just with more brown; one was a teal - maybe not as much John’s style with how bright it was, but it would match his eyes; and the last was a pine green with just enough blue undertone to complement the red of John’s hair. Though they were all the same weight they all were different brands. “Can you come feel these?”

He knew which one he favored based on color alone, but he valued Gordon’s opinion. John was as sensitive to certain textures as Gordon. For John, it was due to how quickly he could bruise, and the softer the fabric the better, especially since the cables would make his piece more rigid by nature. For Gordon, certain types of cotton reminded him too much of the gritty texture of the blankets at the hospital. During that time, touch became the most important sensation to ground him, and those preferences he carried with him long after he’d healed. If Gordon was going to spend a length of time with a yarn, he wanted to enjoy the way it felt in his hands or else it wasn’t worth the suffering.

“Gimme, gimme,” Gordon agreed. In the time that Virgil was comparing greens, Gordon had managed to procure and fill a shopping basket with an array of chaotic colorways which he slid into the crook of his arm while he reached for the options Virgil had found.

The olive green was quickly set to the side once he squeezed at it, but the other two Gordon squished in each of his hands for a few moments to compare.

“What do you think?”

“The turquoise is softer,” - Virgil knew better than to correct him on the colors as he handed it back to him - “but you like this spruce-y green better for him, don’t you?”

He did. It was a softer shade, and as soon as he saw it he knew just how dreamy it would look against the cable pattern he’d designed. Virgil nodded, “I was afraid of that. Is it it too rough, you think?”

Gordon was looking away further down the wall, then grabbed his arm to pull him away from the display. Virgil barely had time to replace the olive green back on the wall, following with the teal while Gordon lifted the darker color against another display. “Can you adjust your pattern down to DK?” he asked, triumphantly pushing into his hands a skein only slightly darker than his preferred color, but in the brand of the softer yarn.

“Yeah, of course.” The new yarn was soft against his fingertips. He was already mentally calculating the math involved, while the image in his mind immediately started to take shape with the new shade. “I’ll need more yarn.”

Gordon flagged down the saleswoman he’d befriended earlier, then grabbed the teal from him to return the medium weights back where they found them. Gordon already had a much more complete picture of the store it seemed. The worsted weights must’ve kept his attention far longer than Virgil realized.

“Any chance you have a sweater quantity of this?” he inquired once the shopkeeper approached and asked how she could help. She smiled warmly at him, much more comfortable with their presence this time around.

She took his selection away to look in the back at their stock.

“Wanna see what I found?” Gordon enthused while they waited. He led them to the table, nodding in greeting to the women at the table as they sat. One of them was crocheting up what looked like a granny stripe shawl with a color-changing yarn, and the other was knitting a baby-sized cardigan in a soft yellow. Both smiled at them, then turned back towards their projects.

Gordon plopped the basket on the floor between them, and chose first a mostly purple colorway. But in true Gordon-fashion, the violet also had flashes of yellow and pink interspersed along the twisted hank. “I’ve got a few of these for a shawl for Grandma.”

Virgil wiggled his finger between one of the strands, observing the way the colors fell. The purple wasn’t exactly solid either, and the yellow especially looked splashed in. It was definitely eye-catching in the display, but there was no way to imagine exactly what it would look like worked up, he admitted.

“That’s the fun of it,” Gordon beamed, admiring the second skein of the color.

“Are you going to knit or crochet it?” Virgil asked, handing the yarn back. He laughed fondly at just how much fun Gordon had with color, and in a way that was entirely different than his own style. Random would have driven him crazy, while Gordon thrived in the color journey.

“Crochet. I think I’m going to lean into the granny of it all.” He nodded towards the woman making exactly that, who likely inspired the idea.

Gordon’s version of the shawl was going to look like chaos.

Grandma was going to love it.

“What’s this one?” Virgil leaned over to select a much more muted blue. There was only one of it in his basket.

“It screams Scott, don’t you think?” The main tone was cobalt, heathered with gray.

“What are you going to make with it?”

“Dunno yet,” he shrugged. “Something small. Fingerless mitts maybe. For the next time he goes spelunking in a radioactive mine.”

Virgil snorted.

“Right.” It hadn’t been funny at the time; Scott would’ve been sick as a dog if not for Brains’ ingenuity. Still it hadn’t dissuaded him from wearing the fingers free version of their uniform. The idea was very Scott. Pleased, Gordon returned it to his basket.

Virgil was nervous the shopkeeper hadn’t yet returned from the back. If they didn’t have the sweater quantity he needed, he probably could just order it. But now, with the excitement of finding the right yarn for his pattern, he desperately wanted to be able to bring it all home with him.

Although he didn’t have a pattern in mind for anything else, Gordon sent him off to explore the fingering weight yarn anyway for the sake of keeping his mind busy. Virgil hadn’t had the chance to see the rest of the store the way Gordon had, and as he ambled from wall to wall, he saw a few of the colorways that had taken Gordon’s fancy.

This was such a special hobby to share between the two. Although Virgil had learned yarn crafts early in his life, Gordon hadn’t picked up a crochet hook (or knitting needle) until he was an adult. There was a part of Virgil that would always feel a sense of pride in anything his brother created, knowing that he’d given him the bare bones to learn the craft. The rest had been him, and having the ability to create something had given Gordon a world of possibility when the colors of the world seemed muted and stalled. He made his own sunlight with golden yellow, covered white walls with rainbows.

The shopkeeper was successful at finding more of his yarn in the back, and she graciously offered to keep it behind the counter while they continued looking around the store.

The subject of his thoughts himself had discovered the stickers among the notions at the front of the store, laughing fully at the puns that only really made sense to others in the craft.

It had been a while since they’d made anything for each other, he realized. John’s sweater would have to be his primary focus, but in the moments of Gordon cackling, Virgil found himself inspired to capture his exuberance for him this season. Even if it meant working in a way that was outside his comfort zone.

“Gordon!” He waved him over again. “Pick out a skein,” Virgil offered, gesturing towards the fingering weight. No matter Gordon’s selection, he’d be able to work out a sock pattern - and Gordon loved a good chaos sock or five.

“Ohh! Yes!”

Unsurprisingly, Gordon returned quickly with a self-striping swirl of neon yellow with coral orange and soft cyan. Virgil tucked it under his arm, and once Gordon returned to the notions section, he also selected a complementary blue for the offsetting heel, toe, and cuff.

Figuring they’d been at it long enough, Virgil finished up at check out and waited for Gordon by the front once all his yarns had been purchased and bagged up. The blond glanced up for him and practically skipped over to him to show him a sticker with a hen wearing a sweater. “It’s a yarn chicken!”

“Yeah, you’re getting that,” Virgil demanded, taking it from his hand and placing it carefully in the shopping basket. As he did so, he noticed the stormy green he’d been eyeing for himself earlier, clashing with the purples of Grandma’s shawl-to-be. They’d had a similar idea, and Gordon, seeing him catch sight of it, tapped the side of nose purposefully.

Virgil fielded Scott’s anxious call while Gordon finished purchasing his selections, exchanging his shopping basket for his own bag of yarn goodies. The little bell rang as they left the building, and they walked back to the lot across the street where Thunderbird Two was parked amidst flashing sirens, caution tape, and collapsed metal.

Gordon wiggled his way under his arm, beaming and bouncing. “Better, right?”

Virgil ruffled his hair. “Yeah,” he admitted. “This whole thing is less under my skein.”

A beat. Virgil grinned at himself.

“Oh my GOD, stop.”

The End

End Note: I've written Virgil teaching Gordon yarn crafts in "In Stitches" if you are interested. Angst.

#Gavii Scribit #for the love of fishtank #gordon tracy #virgil tracy #thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds are go fanfiction

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