John appeared on the holoscreen in the living room."Alan we need you to launch thunderbird 3 now!" He commanded. Alan jumped for joy at the fact he had a mission in Thunderbird 3 he had only been used a back up in thunderbird 2 for weeks.
"That's awesome! What do you need me for John?" He asked excitedly.
John smiled at his youngest brothers enthusiasm. "A NASA Orbital telescope has been undergoing technical difficulty. We need you to go up there and fix it."
"Piece of cake!" The younger brother exclaimed as he sat up from the sofa to walk over to the launch chairs.
Suddenly, Kayo ran across the room and jumped into the co-pilot seat.
Alan stopped in his tracks. "Do you ever use the stairs?" He smirked.
Kayo pretended to think for a moment before replying: "no, no I don't think so."
Then Alan remembered the mission. "What are you doing anyway? I have a mission." He questioned.
"I know. I want to come. If that's alright by John?" She confirmed.
"Yeah, I suppose two sets of hands would be better than one. Go ahead Kayo." John agreed before disengaging from the call.
Alan slowly sat down next to her before they traveled down to the launch bay without another word said. Alan still pondering why Kayo wanted to come with him.
They loaded into Thunderbird there's cockpit and off they went.
A word was not said between them until they had received the coordinates from John and the coms were off.
"Why did you want to come Kayo? I thought you saw this as Babysitting." He questioned.
"Wow Alan it sounds like you want to get rid of me already." She remarked sarcastically.
Alan glanced over at Kayo. "You know that's not what I meant. Anyway you didn't answer my question-"
Kayo drew in a deep breath. She didn't want to lie to him but it wasn't the time or place for the conversation. "I'm bored Alan, Shadow hasn't been needed on call in weeks and there are only so many times I can go out on perimeter patrol." She admitted. Not telling the entire truth.
"Fair enough" he agreed.
Suddenly John appeared through holo-communications. "You are approaching the telescope now. I suggest you both prepare for EVA repair." He announced.
"F.A.B thunderbird five." Acknowledged Alan as John disappeared again.
Alan stopped thunderbird three before removing himself from his seat. He floated over to the back of the cockpit, firstly collecting a small pack of tools to strap onto his belt. Then he collected both his and Kayo's helmets. Alan floated back over to Kayo passing her her helmet, a smile shared between them.
"Alan?" She asked, a sudden realisation hitting her.
"Yeah?"
"How are we supposed to both go EVA if you only have one hover board?" She questioned.
A blush crept onto Alan's face. "I guess we'll have to share."
The heat also rose in Kayo's cheeks. Alan picked up the board and stood on it at the front.
"Where do you want me?" She queried.
"Um, I suggest you go at the back and hold onto me for support- we don't want you falling off now, do we?"
Kayo made her way over to the board, placing her arms around Alan's waist for support. Alan took a sharp intake of breath at the contact between them.
Alan opened the hatch and they floated out into space in order to Pursue the repairs.
Several glances, awkward touches and encouraging conversations later they were done. The telescope had been fixed and the pair were now safely back inside thunderbird three.
"I'm glad that's over." Sighed Kayo as she slid into the co-pilot seat.
Alan scoffed "Says the one who wanted to come up here because they were bored."
Kayo closed her eyes to avoid his glance, feeling defeated, she drew in a sharp intake of breath. Various emotions swimming through her brain.
"I guess I wasn't telling the whole truth." She admitted.
Alan floated into his seat, crossing his arms as he stared at her with a furrowed brow.
"What are you talking about?" He questioned. "Was this a dare by one of my brothers?"
"No. No, okay I'm going to be completely honest here. I enjoy spending time with you Alan. You're funny and lovely and I guess when I saw the opportunity for us to be away from everything for a while I took it. She explained, staring at her feet.
Alan was finding it impossible to form words within his mind as he processed the information. Pondering over whether Kayo might have felt the same way.
Noticing the uncomfortable silence between them, Kayo spoke again: "you're my best friend Alan, and I just wish we could spend more time together, like when we were kids."
Alan could feel the restriction in her voice. He knew there was something else behind it. He wouldn't pressure her into saying it however, as he respected her choice to keep things to herself.
Suddenly an idea flew into Alan's head as he strapped into his seat properly. "Do you want to go somewhere? We are the least likely pilots to be needed on call, they won't need us for a few hours." Alan suggested boldly.
A smile crept onto Kayo's lips. "I'd love to, although where can we go?"
"We can go anywhere you'd like to. We're in space remember. The possibilities are endless. Though I don't think i'd fancy another trip to the sun.." He exclaimed.
Kayo thought for a moment. Concentration written across her face. She knew where she wanted to go, although she wondered if it would give her true intentions away.
Finally giving in to the conflict in her head, kayo spoke. "How about we have something to eat at the Estrelle Grand? It re-opened last month with improved security protocols." She suggested. Trying to not be too obvious.
Alan grinned at her suggestion. "Yeah sure. Do you want a lift or am I coming in too?"
Kayo frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Alan coughed before putting on a terrible, girly, British accent. "Oh, Alan I need a lift in Thunderbird three!"
"I do not talk like that!" She scoffed with a slight smirk.
"I'm only joking kayo" he laughed as they approached the hotel.
Changing the subject as reality hit her, kayo expressed the matter with words. "You still have the spare clothes, right? We can't really go in wearing uniform."
"Yeah sure, it's all in the cargo hold." He explained as thunderbird three stopped at a halt.
"We'll go on then" she ushered nonchalantly.
"What happened to ladies first?" He frowned.
"Exactly" she smirked.
"Very funny Kayo" he chucked as he lifted the restraints, floating over to the door which lead to the cargo hold. "Well if you insist, I will get changed."
Alan emerged moments later, clad in grey jeans and a red t-shirt along with his blue trainers.
Without a word, Kayo too went into the cargo hold to get changed. When she was done, she entered the cockpit only for Alan's Jaw to completely drop.
Kayo was wearing light blue skinny jeans, a grey T-shirt and a leather jacket along with her usual brown shoes. Her hair was no longer secured in a ponytail, instead it flowed freely in a wave past her shoulders.
Kayo smirked at Alan's bewildered face as she floated towards him.
He struggled to piece together the right words, finally blurting out: "that's what you packed as spare clothes?"
"Why? What's wrong with it?" She teased.
"Nothing, nothing's wrong. You just, uh- You look great- Yeah, you look really great. Not that you don't always look great, you always do. Only right now you look amazing." He stammered nervously, a blush creating onto his freckled face.
"Alan, stop talking" she advised.
Alan cleared his throat before clambering back into the pilot seat. "Ok, so how about we dock with the hotel and then we leave when the next shuttle wants to dock?" He suggested, changing the subject.
Kayo too sat back down again. "Yeah, I'll program it for my wrist communicator to let us know when a shuttle comes to dock." She agreed.
Once inside the hotel it struck Alan that it was Valentine's Day. Living on an island caused him to forget these things.
"Erm, maybe we should go, what with all of the valentines celebrations." He pondered.
"Alan, relax. We are just here for a bite to eat. Food is food right?" She encouraged.
Once seated, Alan and Kayo began sharing jokes and stories with one anther. Enjoying the moment as it lasted. Fuelled by the company within each other.
Then with a tap of a microphone and the interruption of a loud voice, the mood completely changed.
"Right everyone grab your partner it's time for the Valentine's Day dance!"
And and kayo gave each other an apologetic look before leaving the table.
"Do you know if there is anywhere we can go away from dancing couples in this Hotel?" Alan questioned.
"Yeah, I did a 360 degree run through this place. Follow me." She answered.
The pair ran through the crowd and into a white corridor. Alan playing strict attention to Kayo's every movement.
They went through an electronic door, stopping in their tracks as it shut behind them.
"Here we are, compartment A11. This is where I found one of- the hood's devices on the wall. As long as a crack doesn't form while we are here we should be fine." She explained.
Alan took in her words, noticing her stumble as she mentioned the hood.
"You can say it you know?" He confirmed lovingly.
"What?" She queried, taken off guard by his statement. She sat down on the floor with her back to the wall.
Alan joined her. "You can say that he's your uncle. It's been a year since he told us. You know it doesn't change the way I see you."
Kayo looked over at Alan seeing the content in his eyes. "I suppose old habits die hard. Keeping that secret for so long and then suddenly being able to talk about it. It's kind of a weird transition."
They sat in a comfortable silence for what seemed like eternity before Alan finally spoke.
"So, uh. You said you found the device on the wall. How did you get it off?"
Kayo smiled at the memory. "I might have roundhouse kicked it..."
Alan's eyes grew wide like Saucers as he looked at Kayo in. Amazement. "Nice! I wish I could have seen that!"
"Yeah it was pretty spectacular." She emphasised.
Alan and kayo looked at each other before laughing for no reason other than the fact that they were happy in each other's company.
The music from the main auditorium still heard despite the distance.
Once their fit of laughter came to an end, a glance of pure admiration was shared between them as the faint sound of a slow song played in the background.
A smile crept onto Alan's face as he stood up reaching out his hand towards her. "Would you like to dance?"
Kayo raised an eyebrow. "Only if you are willing to participate in the most uncoordinated dance in history." She replied as she stood up to join him.
"Oh that's only half the fun." He confirmed as he placed his hands on her waist and her hands reached his shoulders.
Staring lovingly into each others eyes as they swayed, feeling as if nothing else mattered. Yes they must have trodden on each others toes a hundred times, but they didn't care. There they were on the brink of falling In love and nothing could get in their way.
Until Kayo's wrist communicator beeped of course. Indicating that it was time for them to leave as another shuttle wished to dock with the hotel.
They would get there eventually. The seeds of love just needed time to grow into a relationship. They were still young, they still had a chance.