This was started from a challenge I stumbled across what seems like ages ago. The word was 'blushing' and can be found in a prompt list from creativepromptsforwriting. But anyway, have over 3000 words of frustrated Virgil, worried Scott and concerns over the possibility of Virgil/Kayo. Warnings: Yep, this is the Virgil/Kayo fic I was babbling on about a while back. Not Warm Rain, but completely new. I hope you enjoy it.
-o-o-o-
Virgil Tracy was a seasoned emergency responder. Scott had seen him rescue people in front of entire crowds, seen him speak to police, and even the press. Hell, there was the time Scott had been caught up on the other side of the planet and Virgil had rescued the President of the United States, for crying out loud. It was on film, recorded for history and no doubt would end up in their future grandchildren's school textbooks.
At no point had his brother ever looked fazed at any of the PR tasks required of him.
Sure, he wasn't as smooth at it as Scott and if he had a choice, he would avoid it and handball it off to his big brother. But that was more a case of Virgil thinking he had better things to do.
He'd refused the award offered by the President for that reason. Saw no need for accolades for just doing his job - Scott had tried to talk him into that one, but no, Virgil just didn't seem to care.
So there was no warning, no real indicator that this was going to happen.
Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, Scott had to admit that perhaps that was a lie.
Virgil had been edgy from the first mention of this project. It was Penny's fault, of course, but it was Gordon who had egged her on when Virgil said no initially.
Penny had succeeded with John in the past, so why not tackle another Tracy brother? And it wasn't like Virgil was socially shy like their astronaut. The man had stripped naked and posed for life drawing classes on multiple occasions and as previously noted, had no trouble with the PR tasks required of him.
Virgil was the cool, calm and sensible Tracy brother.
Who was now standing in front of the podium bright red and frozen solid as holocam lights buzzed about him.
The press was a mass of voices they hadn't really expected on opening night, and had Kayo in a furious mood, her satin green dress spinning as she strode over to possibly throttle one of her security contingent. He must keep an eye on that.
Virgil had only meant to welcome everyone to the gallery with a short speech, but the questions about his artworks had begun firing the moment he stood up there and apparently displaying his art was not as easy as Scott thought it would be.
He regretted encouraging this exhibition when he had known Virgil hadn't been confident. But he had thought it was just nerves and his brother had only needed a little push.
He would never have thought Virgil could freeze like that.
Scott stepped up to the podium beside his arty brother. Virgil blinked at him, more fear in his eyes than Scott had seen since the time Scott had fallen into an ice crevasse and his heavy lifting brother had jumped in after him, only barely managing to grab him before certain death.
Apparently, Virgil needed saving this time.
Scott eyed the crowd and in particular the person responsible for the question.
His eyes narrowed in on Kat Kavanaugh. He let out a breath. "Now, now, Kat, when I said you could ask questions, that did not include my brothers' sex lives."
Kat smirked up at him. "Fair's fair, Scott Tracy. He did paint that, after all." She gestured towards the most popular painting in the gallery. There had been an argument earlier over who could purchase it. An informal auction managed by Penny had sprouted up and the sum it finally went for would fund Tracy Industries' charity line for some time to come.
Virgil's eyes had been saucer-wide at that news.
But the painting itself was a mystery. Scott had no idea what it represented other than it was all flesh coloured curves, greens, reds, blues and greys. It obviously meant something to Virgil, but it might as well have been spilt paint to Scott with the minor exception of maybe one eye and a flower. He much preferred the aerial dogfight painting he had nabbed off his brother before he could assign it to the exhibition - Virgil frowned at him and squawked a bunch of art jargon that translated as 'Virgil hated it'. But Scott liked it and had hung it in his rooms.
Virgil glared at it every time he saw it.
But this one, this Picasso jigsaw puzzle, meant something to Virgil. Yet for some reason he had thrown it into the exhibition anyway.
And now it meant something to a bunch of people? It had prompted so many questions, most inappropriate, and now looking at it Scott could see vaguely where they were coming from, but really?
But Virgil had flushed red and frozen, giving credit to the question of who had broken his heart.
Scott hadn't noticed anything. Virgil had never brought the topic up.
And this was definitely not the place.
"This is an art exhibition, Ms Kavanaugh. Please keep your question to the subject at hand."
"I could argue that what is on these walls is exactly the subject at hand, Mr Tracy. Your brother has painted with his heart and now it is up for sale."
The whole gallery fell completely silent as the centre of Scott's cardiovascular system fell into his boots.
When he didn't answer immediately, she took it upon herself to fill the silence. "In fact, one of the biggest questions on everyone's lips is why only one out of four of the most eligible bachelors on the planet has a romantic interest. These paintings prove he is not alone, but apparently Virgil is not as lucky."
Scott stared at her. it would have helped if he knew what she was talking about. Virgil hadn't mentioned anything...
Scott held back the urge to look at his brother and instead bore a hole into Kat Kavanaugh's head with his glare. "I repeat, my brother's personal lives are not up for discussion." Holocams stared at him.
"And what about yours, Mr Tracy? Are you still dating that pilot?"
"You know what? This is an art exhibition to raise money for victims of disaster, for the people International Rescue couldn't save. How about you focus on that." She opened her mouth again. "Because if you don't, I will have you and anyone else inclined to discuss our private business, escorted from the building." He put every ounce of commander he had into his words.
She stopped talking, but the smirk on her face that replaced her vocalisations set Scott's blood boiling anyway.
He clamped down on the emotion. "Now, regarding the artworks. All of them are painted by my talented brother Virgil, as you know. He has kindly donated them to raise money for those affected by disaster. So, please reach into your pockets and donate for those who need it most. Thank you."
He turned away from the podium as the silence dissolved into chatter, mostly likely with nothing to do with artworks at all.
Finally he was able to catch Virgil's eye and non-verbally direct him to follow.
The acquiescence in Virgil's expression hurt Scott even more.
He led his artistic brother past a concerned-looking Gordon who was helping Penelope manage the crowd.
Alan was frowning fit to burst a blood vessel, but Gordon grabbed him and pulled him away.
John knew enough to only catch Scott's eye with an expression of 'here if you need me' as he stood off to one side talking to Brains. The fact both were half-hidden by a promotional banner was no doubt no error on their part.
Both had declared they would attend in support of Virgil. Didn't mean they had to like it.
Scott pulled Virgil into a backroom, shut the door and turned to face his brother.
Virgil was looking down at his hands.
"I know I'm clueless on the art front, but apparently the crowd out there isn't. Is there something you haven't told me?" He drew in a breath in an attempt to calm himself.
Virgil glanced up at him with such sadness in his eyes, Scott's widened and he put both hands on his brother's shoulders. "What is it?"
It was Virgil's turn to let out a sigh. It appeared to come from somewhere ever so deep as it visibly deflated him. "It was nothing." And he looked away.
"Doesn't look like 'nothing'." He squeezed those hunched shoulders gently. A nudge of his head in the direction of the crowd outside the door. "They don't think it is 'nothing'."
Virgil looked up. "Well, it is nothing. That's why that painting is out there. Nothing has happened. Nothing is going to happen."
"But you wanted something to happen?" It was like bobbing for apples, but painful. He had never seen Virgil so unsure of himself. "Can I ask who?"
Virgil opened his mouth, but closed it before he could say anything.
Scott hesitated. "You know you can tell me anything. That I'm here for you."
Again Virgil opened his mouth, but again something stopped him from saying anything. He only nodded, blinking.
Scott's heart lurched. What couldn't Virgil tell him? They shared everything. How could his brother been hurting this much and Scott not know anything about it?
But then did he know?
He scoured his memory for indicators.
Virgil straightened suddenly. "It doesn't matter. Nothing is going to happen. That...that ship has sailed."
Who had Virgil fixated on? He ran through their list of friends, acquaintances and came up blank regarding any extra regard his brother might have shown anyone.
Of course, Virgil was kind to everyone they knew, polite beyond reason sometimes, well known for putting others above himself.
Hell, just last week he had flown Kayo halfway across the planet in Tracy Two while he was supposed to be on vacation and resting. Shadow was out of commission at the time and Kayo needed to be in London with Penelope and Rigby. She had protested, but even Scott knew Virgil had a soft spot for his sister and would do...anything for her.
He stared at his brother.
No...really?
Scott blinked as his brain pulled up all the most obvious indicators. Virgil always hovered when their sister was in action. Scott knew he hated it. It was one of the reasons Scott reprimanded Kayo for straying beyond IR's mandate. The family worried about her, but, in particular, Virgil fretted when his...sister...was in danger.
Aw, hell. Looking back, it was now obvious. Damn, how had he missed it?
Again, Virgil cared for everyone, it was in his nature.
Shit.
Scott must have let something of his thoughts into his expression because Virgil looked up at him and his eyes widened. "Scott-"
"It's Kayo, isn't it." It wasn't a question.
"No, I...no, it's nothing...I-" Virgil was obviously scrambling to deny everything.
"She's a good choice."
Virgil froze, staring at him.
"What are you afraid of?"
Virgil spun out of his grip and turned away. "It doesn't matter what I think. She's not interested."
"How do you know?"
Brown, hurting eyes glared at him. "What? You haven't noticed Captain Wayne Rigby?"
Scott blinked. The GDF officer was definitely on his radar, but more on a professional level, IR Commander to GDF representative. He frowned as he assessed what he had seen of the man's conduct towards Kayo, his big brother priorities coming into play.
Sure, he could look at their relationship that way. Kayo didn't seem to mind spending time with the man, but only as the mission required?
That question mark only emphasised the fact he needed to spend more time with his family where an emergency situation was not involved. He was clearly out of the loop on too many things.
Virgil wandered over to a lounge in the corner and sat down, his suit immediately rumpling as he dropped his head into his hands.
Scott shoved his own failures in this matter to one side and tackled the immediate issue - his upset brother.
"Have you spoken to her?"
The strangled scoff of a laugh was muffled by his brother's hands.
Scott took that as a 'no'.
"Why not?"
That at least got Virgil looking at him again. "Oh, sure, It comes up in conversation all the time. 'Hi, Kayo, great to see you. By the way, I've fallen in love with you. Is that okay?'" His brother's eyebrows crushed together and he looked down, his voice dropping to a whisper. "It could destroy so much."
"I really think she would love you either way, Virgil." And he was back to scouring his brain for indications of Kayo returning Virgil's regard.
"What? You don't find it weird that I'm in love with my sister? It's a breach of trust."
"Virgil, she grew up with us. She is a beautiful, smart woman. No one could be faulted for finding her attractive. Hell, I will admit that I can see why you would be interested."
That had Virgil staring at him again.
Scott held up his hands. "Hey, I'm happy with pilot lady."
That stare boggled a bit. "'Pilot lady?' Don't you even know her name?"
"Thank you for giving me zero credit. Of course I know her name. She just likes me calling her 'pilot lady'." Scott grinned strategically.
"Oh god, TMI. Ugh."
Scott chuckled as his brother groaned. Mostly because he was happy to have achieved his target of lightening Virgil's mood at least a little.
"You should talk to her."
"Why? She's obviously gone on Rigby." The name was said with as close to a snarl as Scott had ever heard his brother make outside of a rescue. "You want me to ruin what relationship we already have trying to pursue something she doesn't want?"
"How do you know that?" He stepped closer to his brother. "You haven't given her a chance."
"She's known me for years."
"I've known you since you were born and I didn't know you had a thing for her. How the hell do you expect her to know?"
Virgil leapt off the couch. "I don't want her to know!"
"Why not?"
"Because..."
"Because you could get hurt? I never figured you were one for backing away because of that. I've seen you risk death to save lives, including mine. Why deny yourself the chance for happiness? Her the chance?"
"Because I love her too much to ruin it!" Scott's eyes widened as Virgil literally exploded in front of him. "How could our relationship recover from that? How could she bear to look at me if she didn't...care for me the same way in return? How could I? No, she likes Rigby. She will be happy with him. That's it. The boat has sailed. And I wish I had burnt that damned painting."
Scott swallowed. "I'm glad you didn't."
Virgil's derisive scoff said everything. "I've got to get back out there before they start thinking I'm ready to kill myself due to unrequited love." He strode towards the door.
"Virgil-"
His brother held up a hand. "I'm fine. I'll handle it. Just let me get through the night so I can go home." And with that, he threw open the door and stormed out into the noise.
Damn. Scott thumbed his collar. "Gordon?"
"Yes, oh great leader?"
Scott rolled his eyes. "Run interference for Virgil, please."
"FAB."
Gordon and Penelope would do what was necessary to get the press off Virgil's back. Scott sighed as he strode towards the door Virgil had almost slammed behind him and threw himself out into the crowd after his brother.
-o-o-o-
Cartwheels across the gallery floor hadn't quite been what Scott had in mind, but if he was honest with himself, it worked. Gordon already had a reputation of being the 'fun' Tracy and the press ate it up.
The fact Gordon could do a backflip midair and land on his feet wasn't really that surprising to Scott, but the media loved it. The reports switched from lovelorn Virgil to crazy Gordon and that was pretty much that.
Penelope was ever so tolerant.
Scott didn't let Virgil out of his sight the rest of the night. His artistic brother put up a great front and only the fact Scott was his big brother allowed him to see that touch of hesitancy in his handshakes and the fakery of his smiles.
What Scott did do was surreptitiously get a good look at the painting responsible for this mess.
It was a Picasso-esque mishmash of flesh, colour and bone. On one hand it could be considered creepy, but there was something about that one single green eye staring out from its midst that said something. Something painful.
The white daisy in the bottom left corner was a familiar motif in Virgil's paintings. Mom's favourite flower often turned up when his brother dove deep into his art. But that eye...
Realisation set in like a lightning strike. It was Kayo's eye. The only part of the painting recognisable, if only for its colour and intensity. Like Kat had said, all the pieces fell into place once that eye belonged to someone. The painting screamed desolation and loneliness.
Aw, hell.
Virgil was on the far side of the room glaring at Gordon, most likely for the acrobatics. The media were still babbling beyond the security Kayo had deployed. Scott had no doubt Virgil knew exactly what Gordon was doing, but that wouldn't stop the lecture.
Scott owed Gordon for this one.
"Permission to expel the media?"
Scott jumped. Kayo had appeared out of nowhere.
Her smile was an amused one.
He glared at her momentarily before letting his shoulders drop. "I wish."
"How is Virgil?"
His gaze flickered to her, abruptly realising his brother's secret was now his to conceal as well. "Getting there. You know how sensitive he is about his art." That's it, cover it up with artistic sensibility.
She arched an eyebrow. "I was surprised he consented to the exhibition."
"Me, too. But Penelope pulled out the charity big guns and you know how Virgil just wants to help people..."
Kayo smiled. "Genetic trait."
His grunt was non-committal.
"Well, it certainly has been a successful exercise. I think just about everything has been sold, even beyond the star of the exhibition." She gestured at the painting responsible for so much.
Scott swallowed. "Yeah, Penelope will be happy."
"What about Virgil?"
"Yeah, he'll be happy, too. He's helping a lot a of people." Scott mentally considered whether whisky on the balcony and some one-on-one commiseration time might help his brother relax.
"Oh, you should know that while you were talking to Virgil earlier, I had to remove Kat Kavanaugh from the building."
Scott blinked, suddenly realising the absence of the woman. It was a sign of his distraction that he hadn't realised she was missing. "Why?"
Kayo's lips twisted. "Well, aside from harassing Virgil," she said it with gritted teeth and obviously hidden expletives, "I caught her eavesdropping on your conversation, outside the door."
He straightened in alarm.
"Don't worry, I nabbed her before she could discover anything...important."
Scott stared at her.
"She and I had some...polite words, and I doubt we will be seeing her again."
"Kayo-"
Green flickered up at him. "Just doing my job, Scott." She lent in a little closer. "You don't have to worry."
"I..."
But Kayo smiled. "So can I expel the rest of them? I think they've had a fair enough go, don't you?"
Another blink and he nodded.
Her hand brushed his arm and squeezed ever so gently. "Don't worry. Everything is under control."
Didn't feel that way. Across the room Virgil was gesticulating wildly at their fish brother, very adamant about something.
"Kayo?" She looked up at him. "Take it easy."
Her lips curled into a small smile. "FAB."
She walked into the crowd, green dress sparkling in the lights, as she spoke into her comms and gestured to her team. He was left wondering what the hell had happened, what she knew and what she was going to do.
But then the feeling was familiar around his sister, so he shouldn't be surprised.
Gordon stopped their engineer brother's tirade by grabbing him into a hug mid-rant.
A perfect tactic to derail Virgil that had worked many a time before.
As predicted, their brother couldn't resist and gruffly returned Gordon's embrace.
The fish certainly had his ways.
The crowd volume increased as reporters started protesting security herding them out of the building. He watched as his sister worked, her team as smooth and as capable as she.
And then he watched Virgil watching her, too.
Scott grabbed a champagne flute off a nearby server and sculled it. Whisky on the balcony was looking more attractive by the moment.
He needed one.
-o-o-o-