Summary: Superpowers AU. Sebastian is new at the Institute and can’t control his emotions from wreaking havoc with the weather, while Kimi is the Iceman with ice powers so he isn’t the warmest person to be around. But for Sebastian, he tries to be anyway.
It had been another week or so before Scott had been declared fit enough to return to active duty. A fact all of them were grateful for, not only because it meant the eldest was finally well again, but also because he’d been driving them all mad where he wasn’t allowed out with them whenever a call came in.
Time passed and the season changed and before they knew it, it was almost December.
Scott sat at their father’s desk, working on a report, his head buzzing with figures and information as he read and amended the document. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn’t notice the person crossing the room to approach him and wasn’t aware of them until they sat on the edge of the desk.
He frowned at the sudden unexpected presence and looked up to find Alan grinning down at him. “Morning, Scott,” he said.
“Hey, Alan,” he replied, looking back down at his report. “What d’you need? Only, I’m a bit busy here.”
“Yeah, I figured when we didn’t see you at breakfast.”
Scott looked back up at him again. “Breakfast?”
“Yeah, you know? That meal you have in the morning? Most important one people say.”
“You’ve already had breakfast?”
Alan rolled his eyes. “Scott, when did you come in here?”
“Straight after my run,” he answered. “Well, I mean, after the shower after my run obviously. But no one else was up yet so I figured I’d work on this until you guys got up.”
“Well, we all got up and we all had breakfast and you didn’t show.”
“I didn’t realise that much time had passed,” Scott muttered. He saved the changes to the document and sat up properly, stretching his arms above his head. “You guys left me anything?”
“Can’t make any promises,” Alan replied, grinning as he slipped off the table. “Oh, and, uh, have you noticed the date?”
“The date?” Scott repeated. “It’s the first, why?”
“First of what, Scott?” Alan pressed.
He frowned, thinking. He hadn’t really processed fully what the date was, only that it was the first because the report had arrived.
Alan laughed at him. “Scott, are you still asleep or something? It’s December!”
Scott blushed slightly, grinning sheepishly. “I hadn’t even made that connection,” he admitted. “I assume you want to find the decorations then?”
“Of course!” Alan replies enthusiastically. “That’s why I came to find you if I’m honest. That and to remind you to eat.”
Scott nudged him with his shoulder. “Alright, Kiddo. Come on. Let's go find the others then, shall we?”
Alan grinned again. “They’re all outside.”
“Then we’ll go outside.” He closed down his tablet computer and stood up, following Alan out of the room.
They made their way through the kitchen where their grandmother was tidying up from breakfast. “There you are, Scott,” she said, smiling at him.
“Yeah, sorry,” he replied, watching as Alan continued running happily towards the garden before turning back to her. “I got a bit carried away working on my report.”
“Mmm,” she murmured. “There’s some bread left for toast if you want it.”
“That’ll do me fine, but for now, Alan’s just reminded me it’s December now so he wants to do the decorations.”
“Yes, he mentioned that a few times over breakfast,” Grandma stated.
“He does get excited over Christmas,” Scott said fondly, glancing in the direction he’d gone again.
“Yes, he does,” she replied, smiling. “So, I take it you’re gonna decorate today then?”
“It would appear so,” Scott answered. “I’ll give John a call in a minute and see if he’d like to come join us.”
“Good plan,” she said.
“I better go catch him up,” he added. “You gonna help us?”
“Of course,” she said, smiling at him again. “Christmas is a time for family.”
Scott nodded. “Mmm hmm,” he said. “Would you find Brains and Kayo so they can join in too please?”
“Of course,” she replied.
He smiled, stepping closer to kiss her cheek before following after Alan.
“Hey, Alan,” Virgil called out. He’d set up his easel on the patio and was just opening his box of watercolour paints when he’d spotted their youngest brother. “Did you find him?”
“Yeah, up to his eyeballs in reports,” he replied, heading over, noting the rhythmic splashing of a swimmer. “I see Gordon’s in his usual spot.”
“You seem surprised? He waited for a bit after breakfast but was in there as soon as he felt he could.”
Alan grinned. “Shoulda known,” he said, sitting down next to Virgil. “He’ll be in there for hours now, won’t he?”
“Possibly, why?”
“Because I just asked Scott if we could decorate for Christmas today and we gotta do that together.”
Virgil smiled. “I’m sure we could tempt him out for that,” he assured him.
“How though? Once he goes under it’s hard to get his attention.”
“Hmm…” Virgil considered this briefly before smiling. “I think the answer to that one is heading this way.”
“Huh?” He turned to see where Virgil was looking and saw Scott approaching. “Scott?”
“Yeah,” Virgil replied. “Watch.” He turned his attention from his youngest to his eldest brother. “Hey, Scott? Alan tells me it’s time to decorate for Christmas but he wants Gordon to be involved obviously. Can you try and get his attention so we can tell him?”
Scott stopped walking towards them and turned his gaze to the pool, watching the movement of their water-loving brother before facing Virgil and Alan again and smiling. “Sure.”
Alan watched as Scott lifted gently from the floor, manoeuvring his body round to be horizontal before flying out over the pool. He followed Gordon’s progress for a moment, watching him carefully, then flew up ahead of him, lowering down to put his hand into the water just ahead of Gordon and just deep enough that he’d swim into it if he didn’t see it.
Sure enough, Gordon surfaced a few moments later, shaking his wet hair from his eyes. “Scott, you made me jump!”
Scott chuckled, shaking the water from his hand before wiping the residue on his trousers while still hovering above his brother. “You say that every time.”
“Yeah, because I never expect to find your hand in my face while I’m swimming.” He smiled up at him while treading water, his arms weaving slowly back and forth.
“Well, it is the only way to get your attention when you’re under, you know?”
Gordon tilted his head in acknowledgement. “I suppose that’s true,” he said. “So, you have my attention. Can I have it back or did you want something?”
“As Alan excitedly pointed out to me this morning, it’s December first. You wanna come help us decorate? I’m gonna call John down, too.”
“Christmas? Yeah, I’m in!”
“Good. You go get dry and dressed and we’ll go find all the stuff.”
“FAB,” he said, swimming to the edge of the pool.
Scott smiled as he flew back to the patio.
“And that’s how you get Gordon’s attention when he’s in the pool,” Virgil stated, grinning at Alan.
“So cool,” the younger enthused. “So, is he coming?”
“Yep. I said we’d go bring the stuff out of storage while he gets dressed,” Scott said.
“Cool!”
Virgil and Scott exchanged an amused glance as Alan ran back towards the villa, before heading in after him.
Alan sat on the table in the middle of the lounge, fidgeting excitedly as he waited for the others to come in. Kayo and Brains were sat on the leather seats, watching him in amusement.
“Alan, you’re gonna fall over,” Kayo said. “Calm down.”
He looked over at her. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it. I’m just so excited to get the decorating done.”
“We know, Alan,” she replied, grinning.
“He can’t help it,” Scott said as he walked into the room. “He always turns back into a kid at Christmas.”
Kayo laughed as Virgil joined them. “To be fair, there’s something about Christmas that has that effect on me, too.”
Scott grinned. “Alright. Virgil, d’you wanna go grab the decorations from storage while I call John then?”
“Sure,” Virgil agreed, looking at Alan. “Coming to help or wanna talk to John?”
He looked between them. “Um, well, I’ll go with Virgil because I can talk to John when he gets here.”
Virgil chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder. “Alright, come on then.”
Scott watched them go then turned back to the others. “D’you guys mind just having a quick tidy? You know, just a quick sweep of the floor kinda thing?”
“Sure,” Kayo replied. “I’ll go get the broom.”
“Thanks. I’m just gonna call John.”
“Alright, Scott,” Kayo said, waving over her shoulder as she went to retrieve the cleaning implements.
Scott smiled at her then sat down on the sofa, opening a channel to the space station. “Thunderbird Five? You reading me?”
An image of John appeared above the table, smiling at him. “Hey, Scott, something up?”
“Alan wants to decorate for Christmas today. You coming down to join us?”
John smiled at him. “Sure,” he replied. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Scott grinned. “Excellent,” he said. “See you soon.”
“FAB, big brother.”
“So, where are the decorations?” Alan asked, following behind Virgil.
“Just over here,” he replied, leading his little brother through their basement and over to the pile of boxes containing their festive trappings.
Alan grinned, heading over. “This one has the tree stuff in it,” he said, looking inside the box.
“Good, we’ll need that. And the stuff for the ceiling, the lights and there’s a few ornaments, too,” Virgil added, pointing out boxes as he named them.
“A seven-foot tree? Nah, I doubt I’d manage it either. Good thing you’re Mr Universe, right?”
Virgil rolled his eyes. “I do not hold that title,” he said, amused.
“No, but you would so own that competition,” Alan insisted.
“Hmm, only if it was a fair competition. You know I’d never enter anything like that.”
Alan smiled. “Yeah, I know. Just like we all know you’d win easily.”
Virgil chuckled. “Shall we just gather up what we need then?”
Alan nodded and reached for one of the boxes. “Ah, nope, can’t manage that one,” he said, then grinned again as Virgil lifted it easily, tucking it under his arm. “I’ll take this one and the tree. I think you’re probably safest with the box of lights and the tree decorations.”
“So what’s in that one?”
“Probably all the ornaments, you know the ones that go on the shelves? Some of them used to belong to Nanna.”
“Mom’s mom? Really? I didn’t know that. Which ones?”
Virgil put the box down and opened it, looking amongst the items within. He smiled as he found what he was looking for. Gently, he pulled out the piece, carefully wrapped in layers of tissue paper.
“How d’you know it’s that one?” Alan asked. “It’s all wrapped up.”
“What sort of shape does it look?” Virgil queried, looking up at him as he cradled it in his hands.
“Well, uh, weird. Kinda house-shaped I suppose.”
“Exactly.”
Alan tilted his head, watching as Virgil removed the paper, one layer at a time, finally revealing a clay model cottage. It looked like it was from some old-fashioned village near Lady Penelope’s house with its snow-covered thatched roof, creeper flowers around the porched front door and shuttered windows. Tiny lights decorated the little fir trees on either side of the door, looking as though they were made of small pieces of green bottle brush and they were dusted with white glitter.
“So that’s why it’s house shaped,” Alan said, reaching out to take it. He held it carefully in his hands, turning it to look at it from every angle. “It’s really cool.”
Virgil smiled at him. “Nanna made it when she was younger than you, apparently.”
“Really?” Alan asked, his eyes widening as he looked back up at Virgil. “Cool! I had no idea! So Nanna liked to make things. I guess you get your creative streak from their side of the family then, huh?”
Virgil couldn’t help but laugh a little. “I suppose so. Nanna liked to sculpt with clay and she was really good at pottery too. A lot of the pots and mugs and things at the ranch were made by Nanna.”
Alan smiled. “That’s so awesome. What else did she make?”
“There’s a vase in there somewhere that Grandma likes to put Christmassy flowers in but perhaps we should take all this upstairs? The others will be wondering where we got to.”
“Ah yeah, good point,” Alan replied, handing the little house back so Virgil could wrap it back up again.
He replaced it in the box and put the lid back on. “Alright, so are you able to take those two boxes then?” he asked, pointing again to the tree decorations and the lights.
“Yup,” Alan said, picking them both up.
Virgil nodded. He looked around and spotted the large tree box which he hoisted onto his shoulder, then picked up the ornament box and tucked it under his arm once more.
John had just finished changing out of his uniform and entered the lounge when Virgil and Alan returned.
“Ah, good timing,” Scott said, smiling at them. “Is that everything?”
Alan shook his head. “Nah, I think there’s maybe one or two more boxes. Want me to go get them?”
“If you want,” he replied. “Need anyone to help you?”
The youngest shrugged. “Don’t think so,” he said, putting his boxes down. “Don’t think those are the heavy ones.”
“No, you should be alright with those ones,” Virgil assured him, taking the tree box over to the corner of the room behind their father’s desk, just near the piano where they normally stood it.
John went over, crouching in front of the box and opening it. “I wish we could have a real tree like we used to,” he said, combing his fingers through the folded artificial branches, all tucked tight to fit inside the cardboard container.
Scott picked up the decoration box Alan had deposited on the table and went over to him while Virgil and Kayo started to take the ornaments out to unwrap them all. “I know, but I doubt it’d do well in this environment. It’s too warm here.”
“Evergreens can survive in warm climates,” John responded, looking round at him. “That’s why they’re called evergreen. They survive the summer and the winter.”
A small smile crept onto the eldest’s face. “I know, John, but they get rain and stuff on them. D’you really think between us we’d remember to water it while it’s inside for Christmas? And anyway, how would we get one here?”
John shrugged. “I know, just kinda miss that massive old tree we used to have on the farm.”
Scott nodded. “Yeah, me too. Though that one was taller than the house.”
“Didn’t stop you flying me to the top to put the star on.”
Scott grinned. “Yeah, that was fun.”
Brains walked over, trying to loosen the bundle of lights that had, as usual, managed to get entirely tangled since they’d put them away last year. “Did you not spend Christmas at, uh, Grand Roca?” he asked.
John shook his head. “We tended to spend Christmas on Grandpa Grant’s farm rather than the ranch. Always felt more like Christmas when we were there somehow.”
“Probably because we were more likely to get snow at the farm than the ranch,” Scott suggested.
“Quite probably,” John agreed. “Here, let me sort those for you.” He held his hands out, receiving the bundle from their engineer friend.
“Thanks, J-John, it was beginning to frustrate me. Why do wires always do that?”
John shrugged. “I dunno. I keep saying we should get one of those frames you wrap the lights around so this doesn’t happen.”
“Why?” Scott asked, grinning. “You’ve got the magic touch.”
Without even watching what he was doing, John had managed to untangle the knotted wires so they coiled in front of him into a neat pile. “That’s not the point, it would be so much easier for everyone.”
Scott chuckled. “Well, seeing as you’ve done it, can you tell if they’re still working?”
He nodded. “Yep. Still working just fine,” he said and the string of LEDs lit up, illuminating his feet.
Scott tilted his head. “John, how did you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Look down.”
He directed his gaze as Scott suggested and he blinked in surprise. “I didn’t realise I was.”
“They’re not even plugged in!”
“I’m aware of that,” John retorted, glancing between him and Brains. Normally John’s abilities would involve him programming the static light set they had to pulse and flicker in time with the music, picking up the vibrations of sound whether from the sound system or Virgil at the piano. Being able to provide something with power independently of the outlets was new to him.
Brains looked from the lights and back to John. “Hmm,” he mused thoughtfully, rubbing his chin with a finger. “I wonder. It’s not too far out of the realms of possibility that perhaps your ability to control electrical d-devices might stem from an ability to actually control, uh, electricity.”
“You really think so?” John asked, noting out of the corner of his eye that the others were beginning to take notice from where they’d been unwrapping the ornaments.
“Well, have you ever tried to control electricity?”
“Um, no, I haven’t,” he replied, looking between everyone as they approached, including Alan who’d returned with the last boxes stacked one on top of the other, and Gordon and Grandma who were just entering the room with trays of drinks for everyone.
“Guys, back off a bit,” Scott said gently, stepping forward and holding a hand out. He could tell they were all interested in this turn of events, but it was also quite clear to him that John wasn’t enjoying being the centre of attention. He looked at John, smiling at him. “How about we sort the decorating out and worry about this later?”
John smiled back, grateful to Scott. “Thanks,” he muttered, handing the lights to him which went dark as soon as he handed them over.
“That’s so cool though, John,” Alan enthused.
He offered a shy smile then turned to start taking the pieces of tree out of the box.
Between them the assembled their tree, Virgil handling the heaviest parts that made up the supporting centre structure while the others added the extra branches and unfolded the already attached limbs.
“We done?” Gordon asked.
“Looks like it,” Scott replied, folding his arms across his chest and stepping back to admire their work. He lifted himself from the floor, floating up to bend one of the highest branches so it stuck out at a better angle. “Now we are,” he added as he touched back down.
Virgil smiled at him. “Right, so lights first then. John? You happy to do this bit? You always seem to be able to get them to sit just right.”
“Yeah,” Gordon interceded, grinning. “While you make it look like you tied it up.”
Virgil rolled his eyes and looked back at John.
The space monitor smiled, taking the lights from him and beginning to wrap them round the tree. “I’ll need your help further up though, Scott,” he stated.
“Naturally,” Scott retorted, smirking.
Grandma chuckled. “Now, now, Scott, no showing off.”
He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Grandma,” he replied, watching as John added the lights as high as he could reach. “You ready?”
John nodded, offering him the remaining length.
He was about to take it when he stopped and looked up at the tree.
“Scott?”
“How about we do it the way we used to when we were younger?”
“You mean with me sitting on your shoulders?” John asked, looking concerned.
“What, d’you think I wouldn’t be able to do it?” Scott asked, his eyes as bright as his smile. “I might not be as strong as Virgil but I bet I could still lift you.”
“This could be interesting,” Kayo muttered to Alan, chuckling.
Alan nodded, a grin firmly set on his young face. “Yup. I think we should all stand back.”
“Agreed,” Gordon said, nudging Virgil to get his attention as he took a step back, grinning.
“Well, alright,” John replied, sounding a little unsure, while behind them the others took a few steps back.
Scott grinned as he crouched down, his hands out to help John sit on his shoulders before he straightened up, wobbling slightly but mostly maintaining his balance.
“Are you sure about this?” John asked.
“Relax, John, it’ll be fine,” Scott insisted.
“Seeing as you’re taking him up there, why not take the star up as well?” Kayo suggested, heading over to the box to retrieve it.
“Might as well,” Scott responded.
“Scott, I’m not convinced you’ve entirely got your balance,” John stated, feeling him frequently shifting to remain upright.
“I’m fine, John, honestly,” he said. “Though, if you’d prefer, I could do this.” He lifted from the floor slightly, his feet an inch or two above the surface.
“Actually, that feels better,” John said. “You’ve stopped making so many adjustments to compensate for my presence on your shoulders.”
“See? Told you it’d be alright,” he replied as Kayo passed up the tree topper.
“Thanks, Kayo,” he said, looking up to the top of the tree. “Alright then, if you’re certain we’re gonna do this, let’s go up, but slowly. Don’t forget I’m also holding a wire that’s wrapped round the rest of the tree.”
“FAB, John,” Scott responded, floating up the tree.
“A bit closer please, we’re too far away.”
He nodded, closing in on it.
“Perfect, now, we need to circle it so I can wrap it round evenly. I don’t want to just throw it over because one side will look better than the other.”
Following John’s directions, Scott flew slowly round the tree while the younger man carefully wrapped the wire round, occasionally rearranging after placing them so they sat just right.
“Alright, the lights are done,” John informed them. “Just the star then we can go back down.”
“Okay,” Scott answered, floating up to the very top and drawing a little closer again.
Leaning out with the star, John placed it onto the topmost branch then sat back again quickly. “Alright, I’d like to go back down now.”
“What’s wrong, John?” Gordon called out, smiling. His tone was light and playful. “I thought you were used to floating?”
“In zero gravity, yes,” John conceded. “But there’s a whole lotta gravity here and I’m not very good with that particular force so, if you please, Scott.”
He chuckled softly and lowered them both back down to the floor, his feet touching down but just as he was about to crouch, allowing John to climb off, he tilted just a little too far and both of them fell over backwards, despite Scott’s best attempts to stay upright.
He lay there laughing for a moment before he rolled over to look at John. “I’m sorry, are you alright?” he asked.
John rubbed his shoulder. “I’m alright,” he admitted, a small smile of his own on his lips. “But I warned you I’m not good with gravity.”
“Apparently neither am I when you’re on my shoulders,” Scott said, getting to his knees and offering John a hand.
The astronaut took it and they both helped each other up.
“Knew they’d end up in a heap on the floor,” Gordon said to Alan with a smirk.
Between them, they hung all their embellishments onto the tree, transforming it from a blank slate to a glimmering centrepiece.
Scott stepped back, watching his brothers adding the last few objects, a smile on his face.
“You okay, Scott?” Kayo asked.
He looked over at her, smiling softly as he returned his gaze. “Yeah, it’s just good to see them all so happy.”
“And you? Are you happy, Scott?” she asked, recognising that look of wistfulness in his eyes.
He glanced at her briefly, folding his arms across his chest. He lowered his eyes to the floor briefly, sighing before he looked back up. “I am. I mean, I’d obviously be happier if Dad were back, but, well, I know he wouldn’t want us to stop living or enjoying ourselves.”
She put her hand on his arm. “You’re right. He wouldn’t.”
“Each and every one of those decorations has a story, whether it was made by one of us at school, or bought during a family vacation. Our Christmas tree is our family history in a way. I can’t see it and not think about my parents. The reindeer that Virgil’s hanging almost didn’t make it home from a trip to Lapland because Dad did the typical sitting-on-the-suitcase trick when it wouldn’t shut. He almost broke it. The star Alan’s hanging he made with Mom when he was still a toddler and he was the only one of us at home with her during the day.”
Kayo smiled. “But it’s nice that you still think about them too, Scott. Hold onto those happy memories.”
He smiled at her and put his arm round her shoulder. “Thanks, Kayo.”
She rested her head against him briefly then looked up at him again. “Actually, I have something I’d like to add, if I may?”
He quirked an eyebrow, curious. “Sure,” he said, watching her run off through the wall. He chuckled, shaking his head.
“What’s made you laugh?” Virgil asked, heading over.
“Just Kayo, she ran off through the wall again,” he replied. “Apparently she’d like to add something to the tree.”
“Fair enough.”
“What you got there?” Scott asked, glancing down at the item his brother was holding.
“It’s that snowman I made with Nanna on her potter’s wheel.”
Scott smiled, reaching out for it. “Yeah, I remember that,” he said as Virgil handed it over, but frowned as he took it. “Oh no, Virge, it’s broken!”
Virgil shrugged a little. “That’s why I had hold of it. I’m gonna check in the bottom of the box once everything is out and see if the top of his hat is still in there. If I can fix it, I will. But even if I can’t, I’d still like to hang it. It’s not sharp or anything.”
Scott nodded. “No reason why not,” he said, watching as Kayo rematerialized in the room. “What you got then, Kayo?”
She walked over to them, her hands clasped together in front of her. “This belonged to my mother,” she stated, opening her hands to show them.
Virgil exchanged a look with Scott before raising his eyes to look at her. “May I?” he asked, smiling when she nodded. He carefully plucked the delicate item by its red velvet ribbon, holding it up in front of them. It was a small gold bell, a tiny clapper inside to give it a tinkling sound as it moved, and its outside etched all over to give it a sparkly finish. “Kayo, this is beautiful,” he breathed softly, turning it to admire it.
She smiled at him. “Apparently, she was given it by her mother, too.”
“A real family heirloom,” Scott said. “And it’d be an honour to have it on our tree, seeing as you’re a part of the family.”
Virgil handed it back and they went to the tree together, the two men holding back as Kayo stepped closer to hang it.
The others all stopped what they were doing to watch.
“That’s real nice, Kayo,” Alan said softly.
“Yeah,” John agreed.
“How come you never wanted to hang it before?” Gordon asked curiously.
“I always put it on the shelf in my room, I wasn’t sure if I could hang it here.”
Scott smiled. “Of course, Kayo,” he insisted. “But don’t worry. I’m glad you felt able to ask, even if it took this long.”
She smiled at them, an arm slipping round Virgil’s waist on one side of her and Scott’s on the other as they all looked at the now finished tree.
As the evening wore on, the room was slowly decorated with all the bright shining accoutrements of Christmas.
“You nearly done up there, Scott?”
He looked down towards the sound of the voice, keeping hold of the garland he was hanging from the ceiling. “Oh, hey, Alan. Yeah, just doing the last one,” he answered, attaching the loop over the hook he’d stuck up. “There.” He floated back down to the floor, stopping in front of his youngest brother. “Done.”
“Good, dinner’s ready,” he informed him.
Scott raised an eyebrow. “I’m not really hungry,” he muttered.
“Really? Virgil’s been outside at the barbeque,” Alan said, smirking.
“Oh, well, in that case I’ll be right there. Just let me wash my hands, some of these decorations were pretty dusty.”
“No problem,” Alan replied. “Gordon’s in the kitchen, too.”
Scott nodded. “Alright, see you outside.” He watched him run out before heading down to the kitchen. “Hey, Gordon,” he said, spotting him by the sink.
“Hi, Scott,” he replied, grinning at him. “You joining us outside?”
“Uh huh,” he answered, then frowned a little. “Gordon, you do realise you’re getting water all over the floor, right?”
Gordon looked down. “Heck, sorry, Scott, I hadn’t realised, no.”
“How did you manage that?”
“I don’t know,” Gordon admitted, going to retrieve a cloth to clean it up. “I was just thinking about the way John was able to power those lights earlier and wondering if his abilities are developing or if it’s just something he’s always had and never known.”
“I’m beginning to wonder if there’s more to you as well,” Scott muttered, his tone sounding surprised.
“Huh?” Gordon asked, turning back to face him.
“Look,” Scott said, pointing. The water on the floor was running up the side of the unit and back into the sink.
“Whoa!” Gordon dropped the cloth and returned to the sink.
“Are you doing that?” Scott asked, looking at him.
“I dunno, I…” He looked at the water pooling in the bottom of the sink, tilting his head. He watched as it swirled around and up the sides before draining away. “I think I might have.”
Scott lifted his eyes to look from the water to his brother. “Gordon, that’s amazing!”
“I really did that?”
“Well, water doesn’t usually run against gravity of its own accord, you know?”
Gordon’s stunned expression slowly melted into a bright smile. “This is so cool! How have we not realised we could do these things?”
Scott shrugged, a grin of his own forming at the infectious nature of Gordon’s excitement. “Perhaps it really is a case that your abilities are evolving and that’s why.”
“Maybe,” he replied.
“What’s taking you guys so long?” Virgil asked, entering the room. “Everyone’s waiting to start.”
Scott looked over at him. “Sorry, Virgil, Gordon’s made a discovery.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, come here,” Scott said, gesturing him to approach with a wave. Virgil obliged, heading over. “Watch this.”
Virgil tilted his head, looking between them as Scott turned the tap on. “So, you’ve finally worked out how the faucet works? Well done, Scott.”
Scott folded his arms, raising an eyebrow at him. “Funny. Look.”
He turned to face the sink and his eyes widened to see the water running not in a steady stream from the appliance, but swirling round in three separate corkscrews from the single point.
“Oh wow! You’re doing that?” he asked, looking at the aquanaut.
“It would appear so,” he replied.
“That’s pretty cool, Gordon,” Virgil admitted.
“Right?” Gordon agreed. “But I’m starving, maybe we should head outside now. I reckon I’ll be able to explore this better on a full stomach.”
Scott nodded. “Good idea. Who did you leave in charge of the barbeque?”
“John and Alan, but Kayo’s on standby so I think we should be alright.”
“Hmm, we’d better still go out now though,” Gordon said thoughtfully.
“I’ll be right there,” Scott said. “I still haven’t actually washed my hands yet.”
“Alright, see you there,” Virgil replied, leading Gordon back out.
Once he finished washing up, he grabbed a towel, leaning against the sink and watching his family as he dried his hands. It warmed his heart to see them all looking so happy and relaxed.
He leaned on the counter, watching Virgil dishing out food to the others as they approached him with their plate, each of them then taking their meal to the seating around the pool. That was one of the things he, strangely, both liked and disliked about Christmas on the island. He liked the fact that it was lovely and warm so they could spend so much time outside. Christmas dinner was usually eaten around one of their picnic benches under the blue skies. But on the other hand, he also disliked that fact because it was so different to the Christmases he’d known as a child. He missed the big tree on their farm and bundling up in as many layers as he could physically move in to protect against the frosty air. But at the end of the day, Scott just enjoyed Christmas wherever his family was.
He knew what that noise would be even before he opened his eyes. Rolling away from the door where the sound of knocking meant a certain little brother was right outside, Scott hugged his light blanket closer round him. “Go’way,” he called out, his tone full of fatigue. He’d been up late the night before attending a callout in which he’d had to help a group of cavers. They’d fallen down a shaft but none of the local rescue crews had equipment that could reach deep enough. As they’d fallen straight down, Scott had gone out solo and used his winch to retrieve them, but the time zone difference meant he was out until the early hours.
“But Scott!” Alan retorted, still knocking as he dragged out the word in a whiny tone. “C’mon! It’s Christmas! The others are all up!”
Scott buried his head under his pillow. “The others were asleep when I got home last night,” he replied, his voice muffled by the pillow. He groaned as the door opened.
“What d’you say?” Alan asked, holding onto the door as he poked his head round.
Scott sighed, removing the pillow from over his head and sitting up. “I said I was out last night, Al, I got a call after you went to bed.”
“Oh,” Alan replied, his expression betraying how awkward he now felt at disturbing his oldest brother. “Man, I’m sorry, Scott. I didn’t know.”
“Evidently,” he retorted, stretching his arms wide as he yawned. “Alright, I’m up.” He reached up, rubbing his hands through his hair and making it stick out in every direction even worse than it already had been. “D’you know Dad used to wear ear plugs to bed on Christmas Eve when you were really little because he knew you’d try and get him up early?”
“Did he?” Alan asked, grinning as he went in, sitting on the edge of Scott’s bed. “Did they work?”
“Nah, because he’d sleep through you knocking on the door and calling out but Mom didn’t. She woke him up instead. The following year she told you to just run on in there and jump on him if knocking didn’t wake him.”
Alan laughed and Scott offered a sleepy smile then shoved him playfully. “Go on, go away. Let me get dressed then.”
“Alright then,” Alan replied brightly, heading to the door. “Virgil’s got the coffee machine all warmed up already.”
“Virgil is a life saver,” Scott said, grinning. “Now go on. I’m not coming out until I’m showered and dressed.”
“Might wanna do something about your hair, too,” Alan offered, smirking. “It’s sticking out in more directions than a hedgehog.”
Scott rolled his eyes. “Which will be dealt with when I shower. Now get out!” he repeated with a grin, getting up and putting his hand on Alan’s back to direct him out. He was about to turn and head back into his room when he stopped, facing the youngest. “Oh, and Alan?”
He halted, turning to look at him. “Yeah?”
“Merry Christmas.”
Alan smiled. “Merry Christmas, Scott,” he replied.
vettonso crackfic is starting to enter my head, based on the tags here
also i am starting to get vague plans of posting at least 1 chapter of superpowers fic, since the next chapter is on christmas eve, and it’d be nice for that to line up... if i can get the next chapter written before christmas day and i’m happy with it, that might be nice to go up too...
Summary: Superpowers AU. Sebastian is new at the Institute and can’t control his emotions from wreaking havoc with the weather, while Kimi is the Iceman with ice powers so he isn’t the warmest person to be around. But for Sebastian, he tries to be anyway.
Summary: Superpowers AU. Sebastian is new at the Institute and can’t control his emotions from wreaking havoc with the weather, while Kimi is the Iceman with ice powers so he isn’t the warmest person to be around. But for Sebastian, he tries to be anyway.
Chapter summary: Christmas Eve! Aka nosy family members and traditions~
Summary: Superpowers AU. Sebastian is new at the Institute and can’t control his emotions from wreaking havoc with the weather, while Kimi is the Iceman with ice powers so he isn’t the warmest person to be around. But for Sebastian, he tries to be anyway.
Chapter summary: The day after the ice sledding...
legit not sure if i should just play tanks for the rest of the night orrrr continue editing superpowers fic...
i’m changing a few things... and i’ll start updating chapters on ao3 at some point so that people stop reading the current version. yeah i didn’t think some things through very well but then i HAVE been updating as i write/when i’m not even near the end of the fic, so of course i’m now having to edit to shove in more ‘clues’ because i wasn’t really thinking about the ptsd aspect of the fic for some reason when i started writing it lol (???????)
idk. i guess i’m feeling a bit lonely.
i also have a simi fic that might be posted soon... and i have another complete one but i haven’t read it for like two weeks so maybe i hate it now
um hm. it’s my cat’s birthday today! (aug 15.) she’s 1 year old now :3
yeah idk. this is just a ramble post. every first game after a long time of not playing wot is just kfjgnfjng because there’s always something that doesn’t feel right; this time i was just zooming out too much. also, life’s hard when your skorp has a shitty crew and gets spotted whilst going into a bush... meanwhile the other skorp on your team is happily sitting in the same bush and not even getting spotted going into it etc
um, back to superpowers fic (who said this post had to be structured??) i took out lewis, put mark in (i think he’s a better fit, amongst other reasons), i seem to be rewriting ch 6 in light of the ptsd stuff seb obviously has but... grr it’s like... when i started out writing this fic i just didn’t want to do the ptsd angle too hard, but now i’m starting to realise... yeah there needs to be more. so that’s mainly what the edits are about. also for my crappy writing style... like i said in another post at some point, i do feel like i forgot how to write, and only remembered after i took a break from the fic and started writing oodles of fluff
so yeah other than superpowers fic these are the fics i have kicking around:
a seb retirement fic (could be posted tonight)
office workers kimi and seb (finished, but haven’t read it in ages so i might hate it now)
robot seb fic (still unfinished but not forgotten :P)
all simi ofc
(sometimes i wanna write smut for them... maybe because i haven’t written smut for them in aaaaaaaaaaaaages)
Summary: Superpowers AU. Sebastian is new at the Institute and can't control his emotions from wreaking havoc with the weather, while Kimi is the Iceman with ice powers so he isn't the warmest person to be around. But for Sebastian, he tries to be anyway.
