Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds.
IRRelief fic, using gumnut-logic's prompt "artist!Virgil and science!Gordon go on an underwater photography jaunt" (although I forgot the photography bit, whoops)
Virgil had a soft spot for Thunderbird Four. While nothing could possibly replace Thunderbird Two for him, and as far as piloting his brothers' Thunderbirds went, Four was quite possibly at the bottom of his preference list, there was something about the little yellow sub that brought a smile to his face.
Maybe it was the fact that she was, in a way, part of Thunderbird Two. She had her own island launch, yes, but Thunderbird Two had an entire module dedicated to the small 'bird, which definitely counted for something. Or maybe it was her bright yellow colour, a splash of cheer that matched her aquanaut's taste for loud shirts and lightened the mood.
Alternatively, it was because she gave him views like this.
He was trained to pilot her, of course, but the cabin was minuscule (perfectly suited to the soon-to-be shortest brother) and he got a shoulder cramp if he remained in there for any real length of time. But her passenger bay was reasonably spacious in comparison, and he sat perfectly contently in one of the seats, looking out the clear airlock doors to the underwater view.
And what a view it was.
Gordon had received an invitation from the Shelby family to come and see the restoration work that had been taking place on the Supreme Barrier Reef, and being Gordon he had immediately leapt at the opportunity to live underwater for a few days. As an oceanographer-in-training, particularly one with an interest in the underwater ecosystems, the Supreme Barrier Reef was a dream come true and woe betide anyone that tried to tell him he couldn't go (no-one tried).
Virgil's presence on the trip was not quite so clear cut. Having two operatives out of action at the same time made Scott jittery, but his eldest brother also refused to push them too hard, nowadays – Dad's return had marked the end of that problem, even if others had sparked up in its wake. Virgil was due time off, and it had been Gordon's idea that he come along, too. Dad had supported it, reasoning that if Two was needed, Alan or Scott could pilot her. Virgil sincerely hoped Two would not be needed, and not just because if she was needed that meant someone was in trouble. Speed freaks had no business piloting a freight plane, and he didn't plan on replacing burnt-out coils (again) because a certain brother had forgotten she only went a quarter of the speed of his usual ride.
That was a potential problem for when he got back. For now, he had much higher priorities.
From a scientific standpoint, Virgil knew nothing about reefs aside from the fact they were coral and had a thriving ecosystem when not being attacked by acid. That area was all Gordon's, and he was welcome to it. However, from an artistic standpoint, reefs were a thing of beauty. Virgil had always wanted to draw one, but the films and photographs didn't do them justice, and getting to see one up close was incredibly difficult.
Unless, of course, you were an oceanography student who also happened to be a member of International Rescue and chose to save the reef as well as the human lives at risk. Then, you got invitations to come back, and Gordon had pushed his luck to get the invitation extended for a 'plus one'. Virgil suspected the Shelbys had been expecting Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward, not an older brother. Still, he'd promised to behave, obey all instructions given, and stay inside the submarine, so the sharp-eyed Helen Shelby had approved his presence.
Deep-sea diving was Gordon's area, anyway. Virgil was fine splashing around near the surface, but at these depths he was perfectly content to stay in the dry, sketchpad open across his knees and pencil skating across the high-grade paper as he got the basic shapes down. Almost out of view, three figures were darting in and around the coral, taking measurements and photographs of the recovering section.
It was their second day underwater, Thunderbird Four barely large enough for the two of them to live in without ending up on top of each other. Given their location, neither cared to complain at the cramped quarters. One of the lockers had been temporarily repurposed for Virgil's required belongings – most of them art supplies, with actual hygiene essentials pared down to the absolute minimum. Already, he'd filled a sketch book with study after study of the fantastic sight before him, acutely aware that he was unlikely to ever get such an opportunity again. That had been all in greyscale, a practice in identifying and translating the shapes. His current sketchbook was based in colour.
The B pencil had been discarded, placed back into the tin with its fellows. In its place Virgil wielded coloured pencils, teals and turquoises, indigos and azures, aquas and cadmiums to try and capture the depth of colour in the water. The reef itself used every colour in his not inconsiderable arsenal, so vibrantly full of live and movement as fish and other aquatic life Virgil couldn't begin to identify flickered around the plants and coral that made up such a magnificent feat.
Tomorrow would be their last day, and it was then that Virgil planned to combine his two studies – shape and colour – to try and accurately reproduce the indescribable beauty of the reef.
Gordon had already pre-emptively called dibs on the first piece of art Virgil deemed suitable for sharing, peeking over his shoulder during the mandatory breaks back inside the submarine to replenish his oxygen supplies and rest from the swimming.
His younger brother was different, in this environment. Nothing could ever take away his natural tendency to joke, but while he was often making a nuisance of himself on downtime, or determined on a rescue, here he was relaxed. This was the Gordon doing what he truly loved the most, with no expectations or consequences.
Virgil had a fourth sketchbook that he found himself sporadically adding to, one Gordon (probably) didn't know about. Inside it, various Gordons smiled lovingly at the fish – and other things that the blond could no doubt name instantly but Virgil couldn't begin to guess at what they were – that came up to investigate the strange blue-clad creature encroaching on their home.
The sketch of Gordon and the clown fish (thank you, Gordon's childhood obsession with Finding Nemo, for that identification), was headed John's way. A surprise encounter with what Gordon had told him on his next rest period was a dugong would find its way into Alan's room. The breath-taking appearance of a whale would be a present for Dad. Kayo would appreciate the sea-snake, while the seahorse would go to Scott. Grandma would get Gordon cautiously greeting an enthusiastic dolphin, and then Gordon could pick whichever one he liked from the rest to go with his pre-claimed reef artwork.
Outside the little submarine that had claimed a small soft spot from Virgil, her aquanaut was returning, signing something beyond Virgil's basic underwater sign language knowledge (which consisted entirely of a thumbs up that didn't mean 'okay' and a thumb and forefinger circle that did) to the Shelbys as they headed for their own craft. Virgil hid the fourth sketchbook away before Gordon's attention returned to him, a jaunty wave that warned him of an imminent airlock opening.
Gordon kept his distance as he re-entered, aware that paper was not waterproof and that, amazing though his uniform was, it was still wet after the latest expedition into the water. Still, he peered over Virgil's shoulder from the other end of the bay and made an appreciative noise at the splash of colour on the open sketchbook. Virgil nodded in acknowledgement of his presence and turned onto a fresh page.
His eye caught by what looked like some sort of anemone, he once again put pencil to paper.
IRRelief is an amazing idea and bless Gumnut for coming up with it! For those that don't know, it's a collection of prompts anyone can add to and use on tumblr, with a focus on fluff, to give us something to do while we're stuck indoors. Full details are on tumblr under the tags #irrelief and #irrelief2020
Thanks for reading!
Tsari