Mini!Drabbles - Part One
Music
Virgil has played the piano for years and Gordon has his guitar and they've always enjoyed playing together; with Gordon perched on the edge of the piano stool and Virgil's fingers practically floating over the key's - he's feeling the music more than actually playing it. Neither of them can really sing in tune that well though, despite both of them attempting it, so they usually just play in harmony, letting the notes speak the words for them.
But then John, tucked up in the corner of the room with a book, starts humming along in perfect pitch as he turns the pages, and they both have to stop and stare at him. Virgil's fingers sliding off they keys with a horrible kerplunk of shock and Gordon painfully catching his little finger on the E string with a scraping twang. John looks up, startled at the sudden lack of music, and finds both of his brothers watching him, befuddled. John's face goes bright red and he mumbles out a 'what?' but it's too late and they're grinning at him in a way John is really not sure he likes and that he knows probably spells trouble and then he's got a brother either side of him, under his arms, hauling him to his feet before he's plonked down in front of the sheet music, slid a copy of the lyrics and is bullied kindly into singing for them.
Scott and Alan, downstairs, exchange a confused look at the sounds of song floating from the music room. When they go to investigate, they find John, his face boiled-lobster red with his mouth open and actual melody coming out of it. When the eldest and youngest Tracy's break out laughing, it's Virgil who hits them both around the head with his precious sheet music all rolled up and it's Gordon who growls protectively and put himself between a furiously blushing John and their howling brothers. John has never sung in front of anyone before, it's usually just him, up on five on his own, humming in the dark before bed. It's usually only the stars who listen, and John, thinking his brothers have been having him on, goes to leave, upset, but Scott catches him arm and pulls him back, gentle to reassure that they are surprised, yes, but very impressed.
Later though, when they've gotten over the fact that John, who they've never heard so much of a peep in the shower out of, can sing, the boys settle down in the music room, Scott and Alan happy to provide a gently clapped rhythm for their brothers as they discover that actually, they all have a shared interest here.
…
"Okay but imagine Virgil playing Enjolras in his school's production of Les Miserables and when he gets shot at the barricades little Alan starts crying because he's not old enough to understand that his brother isn't dead and it's all pretend but when Virgil comes back on stage for the curtain call Alan runs on stage to hug him because he isn't dead and instead of just ignoring him or getting him to go away Virgil just picks him and keeps singing without breaking character and it's the cutest thing ever." - doyouheartheangrymen
but but but but THINK ABOUT LITTLE ALAN AS GAVROCHE
Scott as Grantaire, John as Courfeyrac, Gordon as Combeferre and they're all put through watching their littlest brother pretend to die first, perched on a wobbly DIY barricade made of upturned chairs and tables and the horror in their reactions is so convincing because it's genuine. Little Alan, when he's done being still and pretending to be dead and trying not to giggle as he gets dragged offstage, is watching from the sidelines as his brothers are 'shot' and all the blood drains from his little face.
Alan forgets, in that moment, that it's just a play and they're all just acting because those bullet wounds suddenly look too dam realistic and there's red blood on white tunics and it looks too much like red blood on white snow and Alan, terrified his brothers are as dead as their mother is, panics and tries to throws himself back onto the stage, shouting and sobbing, but one of the stage hands has looped an arm around his waist and is holding him back while he screams and cries and struggles. Luckily the music is too loud for the audience to hear him, but his brothers do loud and clear and it takes every ounce of will power Scott has left in him to not leap up and ruin the play just to run to Alan.
They perform the end of the play, gritting their teeth and singing through them for the final number, but the audience are left wondering, in the finale when they're all there and bowing graciously, why little Gavroche is cradled in Grantaire's arms; sobbing softly. The older boy has tucked the kid's head onto his shoulder and is whispering soft, comforting words for only the child to hear. Grantaire presses his lips to the top of Gavroche's sandy head and afterwards, during nibbles and small talk, everyone happily agrees it had been adorable, even if they didn't understand why it was necessary.
(Bonus: Jeff as Val Jean, Lady P. as Fantine and Kayo/Tintin as Eponine.)
…
"There is a small notebook that Virgil keeps under his pillow, where he writes down the name and age of everybody International Rescue save. Every single person from every single rescue they've ever carried out, even the ones where he wasn't needed. It takes him longer to do after missions where larger groups of people are saved, but he does it anyway. Almost instinctively. He flips through the book every single night before bed. And when feeling anxious, depressed, or upset, he'll read it more closely. To remind himself every day that no matter how scared he is for himself or his brothers when they launch, there are already hundreds, nearly thousands of people who are still alive because of them. And it never fails to give him the courage to carry on." - eight-bit-brony
When it's a close call for his brothers, and they're the ones that need saving, Virgil writes their names down in the book as well. As Virgil curls up in his duvet to thumb through the worn pages, his fingertips linger over Scott, John, Gordon and Alan, who are in the book far more than they ever should rightfully be. Virgil has to close his eyes and pray that next time, next time it's a bit too close a call, that his brother's names will be in here again. Because those who don't make it into the book are the ones they don't manage to rescue, and Virgil can't stand the thought of the day his brothers don't make it home.
He does little sketches to accompany the names sometimes. Every time there was an interesting face or a hopeful smile or a shapely jaw line that just caught the light in the right way. There's sketches of his brothers in uniform too; Alan's arms around an old ladies shoulders and Scott ruffling the hair of a small boy, with the most fantastic grins on both their faces. There's a doodle of Gordon, scowling and wiping sweat from his forehead as he glares out his view screen and there's a candid watercolor of John, turned slightly away from him with a distracted, far off look in his eyes as he stares up into a star-studded sky.
…
"John: did you always want to be an astronaut? Or did something or one encourage you to do it?" - Anon
"Oh yeah, I've always wanted to be an astronaut. Ever since I was a dorky little kid with those gappy teeth I used to have and a space-ship print duvet. It was all Dads fault really. NASA had a 'bring your enterprising space-orientated offspring to work reunion day' when I was about six and Scott had had Air Force Cadet camp and Virg was still chewing on building blocks under Grandma's watchful eye, so I went with just Dad and Mum.
And it was amazing. Truly. There was a live stream of images from the old Hubble Space Telescope and we sat on beanbags and stared up into the projection field, the stars stuck in the air all around us; moving, glowing. I was enthralled. Thought it was just magical. I was perched in Mum's lap, listening in to Dad chatting with old work colleagues about his last lunar landing and I think that was probably when little me decided I wanted to get up there amongst the stars for real, just like he'd done.
We got a tour of the latest training facilities, the pressurization chambers and the hazmat labs and the launch sites, and I was determined that as soon as I was old enough I'd enroll on their junior astronaut program and that I'd be in space by the time I was twenty. Dad bought me a planetarium from the gift shop and from then on I was out on the roof whenever I could get away with it, with my telescope, pinpointing my position in the cosmos.
I was posted on the United Word Federation's manned satellite only two months after I turned eighteen. I first stepped aboard my Thunderbird when I was twenty five.
I go back to visit NASA every year and take Alan with me. He likes to embarrass me by pointing out my books in the gift shop, right next to the little plastic planetariums."
…
Dangerous
Rescues can get scary, sure, there are always close moments out there; hanging over the cliff edge, stuck in space on low O2, trapped in a mine with no simple way out. Their job is never easy, but they don't expect it to be and if anything, Alan likes the way "dangerous" rings in his throat. Still, he knows that no matter what, despite whatever odds are thrown their way, at the end of the day his four big brothers will always be there for him to lean on when he limps back home.
…
Freckles
As the ginger, pale-skinned Tracy, John gets super freckly whenever he comes down from Five and spends long periods of time in the sun. His brothers tease the hell out of him for it, but John doesn't really mind.
…
"John - does it ever get boring up there?" - Anon
"Umm, well, you'd be surprised. I know sitting up in space alone wouldn't appeal to most people, but I find it pretty easy to keep busy.
When there's no rescue calls coming in I mostly work on my research - studying the stars. I trained as an astronomer as well as an astronaut, and last year I completed and published my fourth book and made the discovery of the LucilleX10-37; a beautiful red dwarf star in the Tracy quasar system. Being up on Five really gives me an amazing advantage! I'm currently liaising with NASA and the Hubble Space telescope to provide data for an astronomy paper about exo-asteroid debris fields in the Flame Nebula (the NGC 2024), which is a spectacular emission nebula that surrounds a cluster of some 800 newly formed stars and… oh, sorry, I'm doing it again, aren't I? Gordon calls it rambling techo-space babble and says it's one of my worst habits…
When I'm not researching, I'm reading space fiction. Scott calls it predicable; I call it relaxing. I'm half way through my fourth re-read of Buzz Aldrin's Mission to Mars, and I really enjoy old Star Trek novels and almost all of Jule Verne's works. I know, full well, I can get whatever e-books I want digitally on Five's systems, but I just think there's something special about having a real old book in your hands. I go old bookstore raiding with Virgil whenever I'm home. He's in it for the artistic literature and the old sheet music. I'm in it for the sci-fi novels.
Speaking of Virgil, my brothers are all always only a phone call away - they keep in contact regularly. That said, sometimes rotation never seems long enough; especially when it keeps me away from Gordon's pranks! I'm the only one he's yet to push in the pool, and I'm keeping it that way!
I'm good at keeping in touch with my old Harvard friends too; the old crowd from the Laser Communication's course especially, and while I'm a little jealous of their lives in their constant updates, I wouldn't exchange being on Five for the world. I've also got fitness routines to take up my time; as an astronaut it's very difficult to maintain muscle mass and bone density, and that results in hours on the treadmill, which are tedious, but necessary.
Oh and if I'm still bored after all of that, there are always re-runs of my favorite shows! As you can imagine, I get an amazing TV signal from up here."
…
Photo
Jeff Tracy has an awful, awkward teenage photo of himself; one he'd sworn never to show the boys but Grandma apparently keeps a copy in her handbag amongst the boiled sweets and is it even murder if they're over the age of sixty and showing your sons your bad life decisions?
…
Tea
John has developed a tea addiction and it was all Lady P's fault. She'd begun it all by inviting him to sit with her, as she took her early morning tea; English Breakfast with dainty biscuits and continental pastries. Then John had started joining her regularly, and then, pretty soon he'd renounced decaf coffee and turned to the British side of hot beverages. Penelope was so proud.
Alan hadn't helped it; his youngest brother had bought a new mug, on his last birthday and it's HUGE and fantastic and has rockets and stars all over it and is now his favorite because it holds a whole pint of tea in one go. He's got 17 different types of tea in the 'tea cupboard' up on Five and his brothers are forever complaining about how much space loose leaf takes up, as they try to store their instant coffee between the boxes. His favorite is vanilla chai because it tastes like cinnamon and heaven and it was the first tea Lady P. ever brought him over from England, all of his very own in its little Harrods box.
John is currently curled up in his favorite reading corner, a book open in his lap and the mug balanced on one of his knees, its heat warm and reassuring as he turns the pages, scouring the text. The t-shirt he's got on was his Dad's from his NASA days and it's soft and comfy and he wears it way too much and his whole posture is gently relaxed, slumping against the wall behind. He takes a sip of his newest Assam; a soft, hazelnutty blend with subtitle hints of chocolate through it and smiles at something on one of the pages.