A special thank you to everyone who informed me that Chapter 18 was the same as Chapter 17. That'll teach me to upload at 3am xD.
-x-
Chapter 18.
Kayo returned from Argentina late the following morning.
Her recon had been successful, and she was confident that Scott would be happy with her findings.
Of course, that meant she'd have to talk to him, and it was with an ounce of girlish embarrassment that she realised that she hadn't spoken to him properly since their trip to Montana.
A trip that had been so perfect and so disastrous at the same time.
Shadow's pilot gave herself a quick shake when a small knot of anxiety began to form in her stomach.
'Get over yourself, woman. So you maybe tried to snog him. So what? Like any other woman in your position wouldn't have done the same. Besides, there are no rules forbidding you from being…appreciative, of the boys charms while in the safety of a date environment. It would be rude and unsupportive of you to behave otherwise, and goodness knows their little egos need all the help they can get. How are they ever going to survive in the big bad world if they can't impress even lil' old you?'
Deliberately choosing to ignore the fact that she'd also tried, and failed, to snog John just twenty four hours prior to Scott (maybe she really did need to get out more), Kayo marched off towards the kitchen, her little pep-talk on replay inside her head.
Much to her disappointment, Scott was already down in the kitchen on his lonesome. Typical. On the one day when Kayo would have welcomed the presence of one, or two, or three, or even four extra brothers to help distract from any lingering awkwardness between herself and brother numéro uno, they all chose to be off doing other things.Morons.
"Hey," Scott greeted in his usual friendly manner, "How was Argentina? Anything to report?"
Kayo's mouth suddenly went suspiciously dry, her heartrate increasing slightly when Scott treated her to one of his lopsided smiles.
"It was fine," she croaked in a voice akin to a chain-smoker, "I got the schematic for the ship you requested. It's a converted freighter that's currently used for transporting prisoners and ore between South and North America. Most prison ships of its type have minimal defences and firearms onboard as a precaution against a riot. My intelligence indicates that they usually rely on an escort to cover themselves in those situations."
Scott frowned, "And did it have one?"
Kayo shook her head, "Not that I could see. I rigged it with a tracking device though, just in case. I'll continue to monitor it and report any anomalies."
"Good girl," Scott grinned and made to pull her ponytail.
"I'm off for a shower," Kayo snapped, ducking out of the way while steadfastly ignoring the amused expression on Scott's face.
Seriously though, had he always been that good looking?
"Oh, hold up a second!" Scott called, resuming his original task of slicing a banana onto some bread, "Gordon says to wear something comfy and yellow for your date tonight. He mentioned a tank top and shorts, but I think that was just him pushing his luck. Also, he said he'll be down to meet you at seven instead of the usual six."
Kayo frowned, "Why isn't he telling me this himself?"
Scott didn't look up from filling a glass with water, "Oh, he's upstairs having a short sleep. He was…um…up early doing laps and complained of a stomach ache afterwards."
Kayo scowled suspiciously, her gaze travelling to the taco wrappers poking out of the bin.
Scott followed her gaze and let out a disappointed sigh, "Grandma made Virgil go and get tacos last night. She's been hankering after some good old fast-food for a while, and you know how Virgil never says no to her. I've tried telling her that a woman of her age shouldn't overdo the salt, but she's never been one for listening much."
"Uh huh," Kayo replied drily. No doubt Gordon had won the latest of their silly eating competitions and was now dealing with his gut asking for a divorce.
"Anyway, have fun later," Scott enthused, his desire to change the subject as obvious as the dimples on his cheeks, "I'll be going for a run this evening when the temperature drops, so might not see you before you depart."
Kayo was about to respond with a witty remark about all the taco calories Scott was no doubt eager to burn off, but was promptly floored by another one of his lazy smiles.
'Shit. He's learning to weaponize them.'
Without giving the eldest a chance to see her flushed face, Kayo tore off up the stairs, scowling in mild jealousy when she saw her target return to his lunch.
'If only he looked at me the same way he looks at banana sandwiches.'
-x-
Gordon's phone alarm went off at five on the dot, it's unforgiving shrieks rousing him from his spell of hibernation.
He'd been slipping in and out of consciousness ever since ascending the taco throne, however had paid bitterly for his victory with an entire day lost to trying to sleep off his roiling stomach.
The alarm was silenced with one good punch to the screen, the ensuing silence lulling him back into a comfortable doze.
Then he remembered.
Kayo. Date. Two hours.
Sheer panic blasting away the cobwebs of his food coma, Gordon leapt out of his bed like a kangaroo and bolted off in the direction of the bathroom.
His hoard of expensive shampoos, shower gels, and scrubs was about to get decimated.
-x-
Kayo wrinkled her nose as she watched Scott work.
She was washed, dressed, and ready to impress. She'd honoured Gordon's request and was wearing a pair of denim shorts with a canary yellow tank top. In a pre-emptive strike against the aquanaut, she'd also opted for flip flops, knowing full well that Gordon would definitely approve.
"Be brave, I'm sure you'll love it," Scott's voice brought Kayo back to earth with a jolt as he handed her the banana sandwich he'd just finished making, "Carbs, fibre and potassium. What else could you possibly want?"
Kayo grimaced as she gingerly accepted the plate on offer, "Fruit isn't meant to go with bread. Would you put strawberries in a sandwich, or blueberries in a bagel?"
Out on the patio, John gave a nod of approval to the blueberry bagel.
Scott smiled as Kayo took a nibble, "You don't want a fruit with a high water content, otherwise the bread will just go soggy. That's why bananas are ideal."
Shadow's pilot chewed thoughtfully for a moment, letting the taste travel around her mouth. Granted, it wasn't quite as bad as she'd expected, but the texture was definitely…unique.
"Not my cup of tea," she announced, handing the sandwich back to Scott. The eldest shrugged and promptly polished it off himself, indifferent to the bite in the crust.
Kayo was saved from having to watch the devilishly handsome way Scott's jaw worked when he chewed by the sudden (and rather loud), arrival of Gordon.
"Kayo! Let's shake'o and get this date'o on the move'o!" the aquanaut hollered, trotting down the stairs, "I've got Thunderbird Four all prepped and ready to go."
Kayo couldn't decide which was louder; Gordon's voice, or his choice of clothing. He'd played it safe and opted for his regular three quarter length jeans, however was proudly sporting a neon yellow shirt that clashed awkwardly with his hair. He had his usual pair of boat shoes on his feet and seemed delighted with Kayo's choice of flip flops.
"Why the yellow?" Kayo queried, gesturing to her own outfit.
The smile on Gordon's face gave way to a small frown, "Colour coordination, of course! All real couples have at least one matching outfit, and since you're going to be riding in Thunderbird Shadow's little yellow sister, you have to fly her colours."
A sigh travelled up Kayo's throat as she shook her head, silently wishing she'd asked Scott for a coffee instead of a sandwich. Her energy reserves would be pushed to their limit trying to keep up with Gordon for the next few hours.
Still, he cleaned up good at least. Even if he did look as if he'd been attacked with a yellow highlighter.
"Alright fishboy, sweep me off my flip flopped feet," Kayo exclaimed, seizing Gordon by the sleeve and linking her arm through his, "Let's go and show the world how good yellow can really look."
Gordon looked nothing short of thrilled and threw his brothers a cocky eyebrow wiggle as he steered Kayo off towards the hangers.
"Don't wait up for us!" the aquanaut yelled over his shoulder, closely followed by a request from Kayo for someone to remain awake in case she needed rescuing.
"I volunteer!" Alan offered, sticking his hand in the air and waving it like a flag.
Virgil snickered and helped himself to a glass of water, "So, I heard an interesting rumour earlier…"
John glanced up from his crossword in mock confusion, "Only one? I heard Alan start at least seven."
The youngest deployed his signature pout and chucked a cushion at his redheaded brother, displeased at being the butt of yet another joke.
Virgil ignored Alan's sulking and carried on, "I am in no position to either confirm or deny the accuracy of this rumour, but word has it that Gordon got the results of his hydrogen breath test this morning."
Scott, who'd been in the middle of pulling on a pair of running shoes, paused and gaped, "Seriously? That was quick."
"I know, right?" Virgil replied, mowing clean over Alan when the youngest predictably asked what a hydrogen breath test was carried out for.
"To help determine if a person is intolerant to certain sugars," John clarified when it became obvious that Virgil and Scott were too wrapped up in their own dialogue to broaden Alan's knowledge, "In Gordon's case, it's most likely to see if he's lactose intolerant."
"And?" Scott asked, his sapphire eyes glimmering with barely contained humour as he finished tying his laces, "What do the results say?"
Virgil's cheeks nearly split as his gaze travelled towards the taco containers that were protruding from the bin.
Tacos which, if he remembered correctly, had contained a lot of cheese.
"Positive."