You and Penny being best friends is for real so sweet! Did your bro consult with you before deciding to date your best friend? 0.0
“I should have told you, I know.”
“Told me what?” John looks up, eyebrows furrowed into wrinkles, from the book he’s curled into a corner with, knees tucked up near his chest and an oversized sweater bundled around him to stave off the post-space chills. “Gordon, what are you talking about?”
“I-should-have-told-you-that-I-liked-Penny.” He says it almost all in one breath and there’s an awkward, embarrassing moment that follows it in which John just stares at him. “W-What?” Gordon blinks, surprised by the lack of reaction on his brother’s face. “I, uh, thought you’d be mad.”
“Gordon.” John says flatly, “Why ever would I be mad? I really don’t care who you want to date. If no one thought Chad the surfer was an odd choice, then why would we be less accepting of Penelope? At least we know and trust her.”
“But…” The kid flounders visible for a moment, fishing in the air for answers he doesn’t have, “You two are… you know…” John has no clue what that hand gesture was supposed to indicate, but he thinks it was probably rude and he’s suddenly got the cold feeling that Gordon has a very wrong idea of just what the Lady Penelope means to him. John closes his book with a snap, not even bookmarking the page on astrophysics he’d been halfway through, dread mounting.
“You’re both so close and all,” The blond is rambling on, “and you’ve known her since we were kids and she always tells that story about how endearing you were when she met you in her Dad’s library and you went to that cosy semester at Oxford together and you get invited over for tea parties and croquet and-”
Gordon is forced to trail off as, against all odds, John Tracy starts laughing.
It’s not like John doesn’t enjoy Penny’s company. She’s a precious, trusted old friend and she’s been manipulating them together since back when they had a seating plan, but that’s really all there is to it. They’d bonded over caring for their younger siblings and the loss of their Mother’s and by the time he was taking a placement semester at her University, she’d been absolutely determined to be his friend - and because Penelope is the stubbornest, most persistent person he knows, somehow it had happened.
John suspects Penny had never met anyone as… curious as him before and he imagines, she’s probably not met anyone quite like him since. He has always had a feeling that she finds how awkward he is amusing though.
“And you thought-? Geez Gordon, no.” Big brother shakes his head, “Heavens no. Penny’s… wonderful but I’m definitely not interested in dating her, and she knows that.” Gordon’s staring at him like he’s a bit mad, but that’s not exactly anything new. “Look, she latched onto me for who knows what reason back at uni, probably as someone she knew as one of her Father’s business associates. We’ve got a lot in common and I’m very lucky to count her as a friend, but really, that’s all there is to it. It’s more like having an annoying older sister than anything.”
“You don’t have a crush on Penny?” He’s gaping now, openly. “But she posts you tea. To space.”
“No.” John steeples his fingers under his chin and regards his brother flatly. “I don’t have a crush on anyone. If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly wired for the whole dating thing. I live in orbit, for one. For two, I don’t like people.”
“Oh come on John, yes you dooo.” The kid wheedles, sneaking in toward his brother's personal space with a dreamy grin spreading slow as butter across his face. “And Penny’s perfect. She’s an angel. A goddess in pink.”
“She could kick your ass. If this is just a chance for you to gush about how great you think Penelope is, then you should be telling her that yourself, not asking me about whatever imaginary relationship your anxiety has cooked up between us.”
“Oh.” Gordon’s cheeks go very pink. “Well, I mean I did, sorta.” He flusters around for a moment. “Not the anxiety thing, I mean, that’s what I was trying to tell you… I asked her out.”
“And she said yes?” One ginger eyebrow gets quirked, truly shocked.
“Oh, no. She looked at me like I was a bug under her heel and laughed, but you know me.” Gordon grins. “I’m nothing if not persistent. She’ll say yes sooner or later.”
“Gordon Tracy you are a brave brave man.” John claps a hand on his little brother’s shoulder, his face earnest, “Now bugger off,” He commands, with full Space Monitor authority, “You made me lose my place in my book.”
