This fic is inspired by a line from this fic: Medusa's Kiss by GavviAdAstra, which you can read on AO3 Or Tumblr.
For the purposes of this fic I have Scott then Virgil in age order, and a clear three years (4 months) between them.
That last image is seared into Virgil's consciousness.
Scott's sitting at the desk, bent over and scribbling away. There are three screens of data projecting in front of him. The room is all but in darkness, his holo's are the only light being cast.
Virgil had just finished maintenance on Two and it's the wee hours. He yawned massively, grateful beyond measure that there was not going to be an early callout after Grandma had called a 24-hour shut down. With both primary pilots over their flight hours the rest was very much needed.
He paused in the stairwell, watching Scott, and sighed. It didn't matter that they were grounded, Scott always had some paperwork to do, whether it was for the GDF or Tracy Industries or even Alan's schooling. And it never seemed to matter how much he and John did to try and help, Scott was almost always at the desk.
That vision of Atlas with the globe on his back that his Mom had once shown him rose unbidden. Scott really was a child of Atlas, carrying the weight of the world – of several worlds – on his shoulders.
Turning around quietly, Virgil retraced his steps to the kitchen and made his brother a coffee, sure that the one on the desk would be cold. He plated up a couple of cookies from the hidden stash that everyone knew about but only the eldest three could access – height did come with some advantages, and while he may not be as tall as his eldest and immediately youngest brothers, he had engineering to his advantage.
Scott didn't even look up as he thanked Virgil before he had even crossed the floor to the desk, and he didn't stop as Virgil squeezed his shoulder, murmuring that he wouldn't be much longer.
Virgil hummed an agreement, knowing full well that Scott wouldn't even realise when he collapsed at the desk as usual. Gordon was usually the one to wake within the next two hours and throw the blanket over their brother. While Virgil hated that Scott did that, he also knew that arguing with Scott about that right now would only cause an argument that would likely wake everyone up.
Virgil turned in, planning to not get up before lunch.
If only he had forced Scott to bed.
If only he had argued.
If only he had done something that night.