Shopping.
On Virgil's top 10 list of things he really didn't enjoy doing, shopping was fifth, right between being sick and being woken up too early. It wasn't so much the act of it as it was the tedious nature of it. He hated having to meander around, almost aimlessly, as he and whoever he was with looked for a single item in a sea of marketing. He much preferred shopping from home.
Unfortunately, it was nearing Christmas and he and his two youngest brothers had failed to find a good present for Grandma. Last minute was nothing but stressful for the engineer.
In front of him, Alan and Gordon were busy looking through some of the newest kitchen gadgets, hoping to find anything that would help make meals a bit less lethal. It was destined to fail, but he'd still give them an A for effort.
Sighing, he leaned against the display table behind him, enjoying what little calm he could from this trip. His own bag tapped against his leg, counting the seconds left before they had to be back to Thunderbird 2. If these two didn't hurry up, they might not have a present for their grandmother this year, effectively marking themselves as the woman's personal taste testers for the next year. He shivered at that thought, grateful for the ornate pitcher he'd found, perfect for her Saturday afternoon mimosas.
"Oh! This is perfect!" Alan exclaimed, holding up a device that seasoned and cooked any meat you placed in it. The trick would be getting Grandma to put the correct spices in their compartments and pick the appropriate meat settings. At least there was a high probability it would work.
"Nice!" Gordon held up another box. "I'll get the part that does veggies! No more burnt broccoli!"
Virgil felt a different kind of relief at his siblings' finds. Time to get out of this over crowded, maze of stuff.
Alan turned with his present, looking very pleased. The smile fell, however, a confused expression taking its place as he looked around. "Where's Virgil?"
The medic frowned, surprised by the question. He hadn't moved since they'd stopped at the kitchen supplies. He watched Gordon turn, looking around as well until his eyes fell on him. A second later, the older blonde burst into a fit of laughter, falling back into the display for support.
"What? What's so - oh!" Alan had finally spotted him, literally three feet away. He quickly joined the aquanaut, laughing hard enough to require him to place his present down.
"Um, I feel like I've missed the joke." Virgil took a step forward crossing his arms over his chest, feeling the annoyance build as the laughter continued.
"You - pfft!" Gordon tried and failed to continue. Another bout of laughter pulled the attention of other store patrons. Eventually, the older blonde righted himself, still snickering as he spoke. "You going to introduce us to your new family?"
Virgil's confusion must have been written all over his face, his co-pilot pointing behind him. He turned, looking at the table he'd been leaning against a moment ago.
There, frozen in different poses, were four mannequins, each of varying size and gender… and each wearing a garment of red and black plaid. He could just imagine what his brothers had seem with him posed just at their center.
The chuckle escaped before he could squash it, the ridiculousness of the image making it too difficult not to laugh. No matter how often he had to justify his clothing choices, this was admittedly funny.
"Alright!" He finally qwelled the laughter and turned to the blonde's who still seemed to be having difficulty finding air. "Go buy your presents before I buy some new clothes and you two can join the family."
At this, they hurried off, still giggling. Virgil smiled to himself. At least this shopping trip, they'd be going home with an interesting story.
Giving the mannequin family one last look, he smiled, wondering just how much his real family would appreciate the matching outfits.