Gimliss requested: "Pinky Promise" with Gordon and Scott

Scott grimaced as he pulled up to the house and saw the small blob sitting on the porch steps. He had been hoping that maybe Gordon had forgiven him by now, but his stubborn little brother clearly had other ideas.

"Hey." Scott tested the water by giving his brother a friendly wave as he stepped out of the car. He braced himself for the reaction.

"You promised!" Gordon launched from his step, the blanket on his shoulders falling off. He clearly wasn't up for pleasantries.

Scott winced. His brother had wasted no time to yell at him and was clearly still upset, which meant that he had messed up really badly this time.

"I'm so, so sorry," Scott apologised. "Practice ran on later than I thought it would. I really tried to get out of it, but Coach wouldn't let me."

Gordon stood on the bottom step, still much shorter than Scott, but gaining a bit of height and looking far more intimidating than Scott had ever seen him.

"I take it it didn't go well?"

"I came last!"

Scott wanted to almost cower. Gordon may have been smaller and seven years younger than him, but when he was angry, he was actually quite scary.

"You broke your promise. I was expecting you there!"

Scott could see that his brother was holding back tears, and it broke Scott's heart to know he was the one who had made Gordon feel this way. He had never known Gordon to ever come last at one of his swimming competitions, but he had also never missed one before tonight. He hated the thought that Gordon had been so upset at Scott not being there that it had thrown him off so much.

"I really am sorry, Gordon. I promise next time I will be there."

"How can I know you won't break that promise again?" Gordon crossed his arms. He still had a furious frown on his face.

Scott scrambled for something. He didn't think that anything he said would convince Gordon of how sorry he was. He could be on his knees in the dirt begging his brother to forgive him and Gordon would still be upset at him. Not that Scott could blame him. He had been an awful brother.

There was only one thing he could think of, and he held out one hand.

"Pinky promise?" He extended his little finger towards his brother. "A pinky promise can never be broken. It's the law of pinky promises."

Gordon still seemed unsure, but his frown had softened a little. He stared at Scott's hand for a long moment, before he looked up at his older brother's face.

"Really?" His voice no longer held malice, and now sounded quite small.

"Yep." Scott nodded vigorously. "I promise I will never miss another one of your swimming competitions. I will do whatever it takes. I'll miss practice, I'll fly across the country if I have to. If I break my leg, then I'll drag myself there."

At that, Gordon finally smiled. "You don't have to do that."

"I will. I promise. I won't let you down again," Scott said with utmost sincerity. He meant it. He didn't want to see Gordon so upset again.

He waited in a painful silence as Gordon seemed to contemplate his words. But eventually, Gordon dropped his arms and reached out to Scott's hand. His pinky curled around Scott's, and just like that, an unbreakable promise was created between them.

It was one that Scott kept, for many years to come, and he never once broke it. Even when Gordon stood at the edge of the pool, ready to dive into the water and win his Olympic gold medal, Scott was there, cheering louder than anyone else in the crowd.