For Lenna-z who asked: Can I request 25 from Prompts? You sure can! You didn't specify a pairing, and my mind immediately went to Gordon & Alan for this one.
25) "I've never smashed anyone's hand with a hammer before so this is going to be a first for both of us."
Alan eyed his immediate brother with something akin to fear. Gordon was taking too much pleasure in this, and it was slightly unnerving. He looked around. Maybe, if he could spot an older brother, he could get them to make Gordon behave, or even they would swap places! Yeah, that was a great idea.
Gordon, for his part, was sizing up the issue at hand. It wasn't as if he hadn't done this like a thousand times. Ok, that may have been an exaggeration. A slight overestimation (of epic proportions). Fine, he'd done it twice. Both times had resulted in medical treatment and emphatic laying down of the law – never to do that again! But it was still a task that needed doing, and he was the one to do it.
(He'd never tell Alan this, but he didn't trust his only baby brother to be able to accomplish this task. Telling him would risk an all-out war.)
'All you have to do is hold still. That's all. We both know that I cannot hold still for…for…' 'For all the tea in Lady P's kitchen,' Alan supplied. It was a well-known fact that Gordon was born with ants in his pants, and that a still Gordon meant something was very, very wrong. So yes, he could see why he had been chosen to be the one to stand still.
'Hang on, though, Gordon. Does that mean that you might miss the target, because you can't hold her steady?' His brother puffed up. 'Can't hold her steady? Can't hold her steady?' The outrage was loud in Alan's ear. 'I'll have you know I've never, ever had a problem in that area.' Gordon sniffed, wondering how long he could play this out for. Alan looked uncomfortable…and yep, sure enough his brother began to squirm.
'Sorry, Gords, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that.' Gordon gave him a squinty-eye stare, one he had perfected over the months when he had decided he wanted to be a pirate. 'S'ok then,' he eventually graciously gave in.
He got Alan into position, measuring and measuring again to make sure that everything was going to be spot on. Just before he began the delicate task John's hologram appeared, startling them both. Gordon immediately turned around to face the centre and hid his hands behind his back, and Alan did the same. John took one look, raised an eyebrow and disappeared, deciding that whatever the two youngest were up to, it was nothing he wanted to know about.
Alan looked a bit confused by the reaction John's appearance had caused, even if he had followed suit. 'I thought you said that Virgil was alright with you doing this?' he queried. His brother shrugged. 'Of course he will be, I mean , he is. What could possibly go wrong?' Alan could think of several things, but he wisely (or foolishly, depending on how you felt) decided to say nothing and he got back into position.
Scott picked that exact time to walk through. What he saw caused his mouth to drop and him to leap forward. He was too late.
Gordon lined up the hammer he was holding with the nail that Alan was holding. He did a couple of experimental swings. 'Right. Here I go,' he warned Alan. 'I've never smashed anyone's hand with a hammer before so this is going to be a first for both of us,' he muttered under his breath.
Unfortunately, Alan heard him and let go of the nail. Gordon's swing was then put off, and instead of hitting a nail with a hammer, he managed to hit a head with a hammer. And not Alan's head either. Oh no, Scott, having a) seen what his fishy brother was doing and b) knowing how dangerous Gordon was with a hammer from past experience, had charged across the room and shoved Alan out of the way.
The resultant shove unbalanced Alan, causing him to knock into Gordon and unbalanced him, unfortunately not before the hammer glanced off their eldest brother's head, and resulted in both brothers falling over.
The cry brought Virgil running. To find his three Earth-bound brothers on the floor. Scott was leaning back against the wall, hand to the side of his head and wincing. Gordon and Alan were in a heap, Alan holding his shoulder and Gordon his wrist.
The hammer on the floor told Virgil all he needed to know, and he marched them to the infirmary.
Scott would have a wonderful headache, and Virgil would need to look out for signs of concussion. Thankfully there was no bleeding – inside or out.
Gordon had a sprained wrist. It was bandaged and glares were distributed.
Alan had bruised his shoulder.
Virgil sighed. 'I thought we discussed this last time, Gordon. You are not allowed near any of the DIY tools. EVER. That was the agreement.' Gordon muttered under his breath. 'What was that, Fish? Speak up.' He gave his most dramatic sigh. 'None of that would have happened if Alan hadn't have moved.' Alan sat all, quivering with outrage. 'Me? My fault? You said you were going to smash my hand!'
Gordon had the good grace to look embarrassed. 'You weren't meant to hear that,' he admitted.
Virgil looked at the three of them. There was a reason Gordon was banned from doing DIY, and he was only thankful that this time hadn't resulted in the wall collapsing, even if he now had three injured brothers to contend with.
'At least the villa is still standing,' said Scott, reading his mind. 'This time anyway.'