What I Have Realized

(Thunderbirds)

One of my "see it write it" sort of one-shots. Hope you enjoy... I think the characters might be slightly OOC, but oh well. Movieverse, btw!

Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds. Sadly, I haven't even see the TV show...

Sunset on Tracy Island was a beautiful thing; the setting sun giving the sea a colorful glow, adding to the soothing sound of waves and the not-so-soothing noise of the the Tracy brothers and their friends and family. But of course, Jeff Tracy and his sons had a right to celebrate that beautiful spring evening; they had not only survived an attack by a dangerous man, called The Hood, but they had grown closer as a family. Why, if not for the heroic actions of the youngest Tracy, Alan, and his friends Tin-Tin and Fermat, Jeff and his other sons, Scott, John, Virgil and Gordon would have burned up in the upper stratosphere.

It was truly a beautiful evening.

The hero of the day, Alan, grinned as his best friend was helped out of the water by his father. Fermat's swimming was definitely coming along; but with any luck, all he'd have to use his newfound skills for would be leisurely swimming in the two pools on the Tracy estate.

"So, what do you think?"

"He's getting there," Alan replied absently, watching Fermat and Professor Hackenbacker head over to the refreshments table. He then turned around to see Tin-Tin giving him a slightly amused look, wearing the most… alluring outfit he'd ever seen her in.

Alan gulped, trying to put some moisture into his suddenly dry mouth. Of course, he'd known Tin-Tin for years; they'd bickered and argued like brother and sister. But the Hood incident had changed their relationship, in Alan's opinion; he had glimpsed a side of Tin-Tin he'd never seen before… a side of bravery, intelligence, and leadership. In a way, she had been his conscience of the day, and much to Alan's chagrin, she had nearly always been right.

"Whoa, Tin-Tin," Alan finally had the wit to speak. "You're just really, um… blossoming."

"Eugh!" Tin-Tin looked at Alan as if she was unsure that the day's experiences hadn't wrought some damage. "Did you say 'blossoming'?"

Curse Fermat; what did he know about girls and complementary phrases? "That came out- I mean, you're… beautiful… brilliant… stuff like that."

Tin-Tin rolled her eyes. "Those are just words, Alan. How can I believe you if you don't say what you truly mean?"

"What… what I truly mean?" Since when did Tin-Tin care about what Alan said?

"Alan…" Tin-Tin shook her head, taking a step closer to the blonde, so they were a few inches apart. "What are you really trying to say?"

"What are you, my psychologist?"

"Alan!" Tin-Tin groaned, and made to turn away. But the cogs had finally begun to turn in Alan Tracy's head, and with the natural-born impulse that had gotten him into so much trouble that day (and others, to be honest), he grabbed Tin-Tin Kyrano by the shoulders, turned her towards him, and, leaning down, he kissed her full on the mouth.

Tin-Tin stiffened momentarily, but within seconds she was leaning into the kiss just as much as Alan, wrapping her arms around his neck with a happy sigh.

Scott, Virgil and Gordon immediately stopped trying to drown their brother John, who was able to get in a few good soakings before catching wind of the situation and falling as dumb as the rest of them. Lady Penelope looked over from her place by the barbeque, and smiled knowingly. She raised one perfectly manicured hand, and nudged Jeff Tracy's shoulder. When he looked up, Lady P pointed out Alan and Tin-Tin, currently in an embrace. Jeff's mouth fell open and he closed it with one hand, shaking his head.

"Well, Penny," he smiled, looking at his youngest son and the daughter of his good friend/manservant, "It appears you were right about Alan and Tin-Tin. And I definitely didn't see it coming."

"You wouldn't," Lady Penelope reiterated, smiling gently at the couple standing by the pool. Fermat had by this time caught sight of his two best friends, and stood there, grinning. His father began to stutter incoherently again. Onaha Kyrano leaned into her husband's side, eyes glittering with unshed tears. Parker had by now succumbed to his emotions, a handkerchief in his weathered hands.

Alan broke away from Tin-Tin at last, and looked at her radiant face, feeling a bit dazed yet happier than he had felt in a long time.

"There," he said softly, "How was that for expressing how I really feel?"

Tin-Tin beamed up at Alan, at the boy who had been the thorn in her side for years, who in the blink of an eye had become the single most important facet of her existence. "Perfect."

Their happy moment was interrupted by the arrival of Alan's four brothers.

"Alright, lover-boy, enough with all that." Scott grabbed hold of Alan's right arm.

"We want to celebrate," Gordon agreed, grabbing hold of Alan's left arm.

"So…" they began, grinning devilishly at their little brother, "into the water!"

Alan's eyes grew wide as, with Tarzan yells, Scott and Gordon leapt into the pool again, dragging him with them and followed closely by Virgil and John. Tin-Tin laughed as the brothers continued their impromptu mock-drownings.

After dinner, Alan managed to escape his brothers constant ribbing about him and Tin-Tin (perhaps, he should have kissed her in a more secluded area of Tracy Island), and with his newfound love accompanying him, the two teenagers hit the beach, enjoying the twilight and the presence of each other. Eventually Tin-Tin came upon a large slab of stone, sticking out of the sand. She and Alan sat down on it, and watched the waves roll in.

Tin-Tin kept glancing at Alan, feeling a little overwhelmed. How had this happened? And why was she so darn ecstatic? She glanced up again to find Alan staring at her, his eyes slightly unfocused as if seeing something other than Tin-Tin.

"Alan?" she asked, nudging his arm. Alan came out of his reverie, blinking.

"I was just thinking," he said in response to Tin-Tin's unspoken query. "How did this happen? One moment we can't stand each other, the next-"

"You lean in and kiss me," Tin-tin finished, chuckling. "Crazy day, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Alan?" When the boy of her dreams looked at her questioning, Tin-Tin couldn't help but blush a little. "This may sound a bit… stupid-"

"You couldn't say anything that would sound stupid to me, Tin-Tin," Alan interrupted, taking her hand and stroking the palm. "It's the other way around, remember?"

Laughing, Tin-Tin argued that that notion had changed for her, too, but then her question came to mind again. "Alan… what do you see in me that made you want to kiss me? I mean…"

"When did I realize that you were my one and only?" Alan mused, not catching Tin-Tin's gasp (well, that was one way of phrasing it). "I guess… it must have been when you dove from Thunderbird 2 to attach that cord…"

"You realized you loved me today?"

"Give me a break," Alan laughed, "I'm a teenage boy. But in a way, it really came to mind today, when we rescued those people in the monorail. You were so brave, diving into the water from that high up, without any oxygen to breathe, and you did it without a second though… it really struck me, you know? But after that, I viewed you in a different light, and I saw that you were not only brave, but intelligent, spunky, and a wicked good friend."

Then he turned to see that Tin-Tin's face was beaming, despite the tears beginning to trickle down her cheek. "Alan… that's… that was very unexpected."

"I'm a spontaneous person at heart," he joked, and kissed her again. When he pulled away, Alan gestured to Tin-Tin. "Your turn now. Why did you kiss me back? When did you realize that-"

"You were the focal point of my existence?" Tin-Tin smirked as Alan began to stutter like Fermat. "That's quite easy. It's been coming on for a while. I've known for years that you've liked me," she put up a hand to quiet Alan, "even though you didn't know it yourself yet. That's sort of why I've always bickered with you; I wanted to see that you could be the kind of person I could love… that you'd hold your own against me, and not back down from your opinions just to make me happy."

"That could change," Alan said wryly, and Tin-Tin slapped his shoulder.

"Anyways," she said, rolling her eyes, "It was only today that I caught a glimpse of what life would be like without you. In the vault this afternoon, I… was almost too late. Transom was safely trapped, and I had gone after you and your father, to save Lady P. But then I saw you dangling from a walkway, inches above The Mole, and…"

Alan pulled Tin-Tin to his chest as she began to sob quietly, overcome by the near-tragedy.

"You were going to fall to your death, and all that crossed my mind was 'Not him!'. So I distracted my uncle, and when his attention was on me and not you, I hit him with all the psychic energy I had. I wasn't about to let him take you away, wasn't about to let him destroy the only future I wanted. So I thought of you.'

"He was surprised, my uncle. He didn't know that his powers ran in the family. An advantage for me, and because of him already half-drained by his fight with you- which, by the way, was a very stupid thing to do," she glared at Alan and he chuckled, pulling her closer, "I was able to beat him and twist the walkway so you couldn't fall. My head was pounding afterwards, believe me. But it was worth it."

Alan lifted her head up and wiped the tears from her cheeks. He leaned in for another kiss, trying to get across how much he loved her, how proud he was of her, how amazed and delighted that she was his.

They pulled apart after who knows how long, Tin-Tin's hair mussed and Alan's shirt twisted. They grinned at each other, secure in the knowledge that their other half was safe, unharmed, and that their future stretched out ahead of them, as distant and unbroken as the sea in front of them.

"I could almost thank the Hood," Alan muttered into Tin-Tin's hair, as she snuggled into his warm body. "If it wasn't for him, who knows how long it would've taken for me to realize what you meant to me."

"I didn't need my uncle to tell me what I have realized today," Tin-Tin whispered, and they stared out across the water at the setting sun, signaling the end of two lives, now enjoined as one.

Terminus

Cheesy? I know! That was the point... sort of.

Anyways, don't expect more of this. I write HP, remember? Constructive criticism is most welcome though!