John has a particularly bad habit of disappearing after long or strenuous terms up on Thunderbird Five. The first time it happened it took the combined efforts of Grandma and Virgil to stop Scott from Launching Thunderbird One to search the whole island for his missing brother.
"Smothering him isn't going to help him right now. He'll come back when he's ready Scott," Grandma explained as Virgil pinned his brother down.
John did come back. And just as Grandma a predicted he wasn't on edge as much as he had been when he left. Scott sighed in relief and prayed John would never do that again.
Of course John did.
It only took a couple more instances for John to disappear when they noticed Kayo also would go missing around the same time as well. Once they put two and two together and realized that they were going off with each other they stopped looking for him. Kayo knew the island better than anyone else and if they didn't want to be found, they wouldn't be.
Theories grew about what they could possibly be doing out there. The idea of more personal training came up due to the fact that John seemed to miss a few sessions up on the space station. But John wasn't really any worse than his brothers and training had always taken place in the gym. So vanishing into the jungle didn't make much sense. But they kept that theory around.
Another theory was that they snuck off to have some quality time together. No one wanted to think about this particular theory much, and often left the room when this theory was brought up. Besides, they never got the idea that John was much interested in that stuff anyway.
The most ridiculous theory (curtesy of Gordon) was that they were raising mountain goats somewhere on the island. When this theory was first offered, it got a few chuckles from everyone, but nothing ever came from it. It was an idea to ease the tension, and not to be taken seriously. Besides, why would they be raising goats?
The truth of the matter was that they weren't doing anything. And they weren't heading out together. John always vanished first and Kayo was quick to follow. Kayo sought John, not the other way around as they expected.
They always ended up at the same spot. It was a tiny clearing at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. It was surrounded be thick foliage and tall trees on the three remaining sides with the smallest of paths leading back down. The spot where the little trail met the big one wasn't grand or easily noticed. In fact, nearly all of the residents on Tracy Island missed the trailhead when they took a hike.
The most recent instance of hiding in their secret spot happened after a particularly bad rescue somewhere in the Andes Mountains. A side of the mountain sheared away, burying a multitude of small villages under rock and rubble. John had been coordinating efforts from above while keeping in contact with some buried underground. It had taken over thirty minutes to reach them and by that time, some of the people John had been talking with had died.
Forcibly they pulled John down from the station. Ten minutes of everyone pressing in around him went by before he managed to make his escape, tripping and cursing gravity. Everyone watched for a few moments before turning back to address another brother's needs.
Kayo slipped away unnoticed.
She found him sitting in their spot facing the ocean.
"John?"
John made no sound to acknowledge her presence. He merely held out a hand. Kayo understood and slipped her arms around his waist. She hugged him securely. Not too tight that he would want to escape, but tight enough so that he knew she wasn't going anywhere. Together they watched the sun set.
All was silent until John whispered, "They never even stood a chance."
He held himself together for a few more moments before he broke down and began to cry in earnest. Out of all the times they'd sat together out there, she'd only seen him break down twice before. Once when they nearly lost everyone in one foul swoop at the Hood's hands. And the other on the first anniversary of his mother's death without his father.
John gripped onto Kayo like she was his only life preserver. Her own hug diminished until she had a single hand resting on his back with the other stroking his hair.
Somehow through the sobs he managed to talk. Kayo stayed silent, listening and stoking his hair. It had been a long time since the last meetup there, and it was about time for another one to surface. By the end of his spiel, his voice was hoarse, and he'd cried all of his tears. His arms dropped to the grass, but he rested his head on Kayo's shoulder. Her hand never stopped stroking.
She thought that it had been something his mother did when he was a young boy to comfort him.
They had a connection that was different from the others. It went deeper that those between him and his brothers. It wasn't quite the connection that lovers had, but something similar. There was an understanding between them.
Sometimes the listener just needed to be listened too.