Whumptober No. 11: Loneliness
Characters: Scott
Warnings: None
Scott stifled a yawn, stretching out the kinks in his back from working at the desk for hours at end.
He looked up as Virgil and Gordon came into the room. They were deep in conversation and as he watched they crossed the room and left for the kitchen without giving him a glance.
With a small smile Scott got back to work. It was always a source of happiness that Virgil and Gordon got on so well. Even now he could hear Gordon talking and Virgil laughing…Damn these reports! They mounted up so quickly.
The next time he threw his stylus down and looked up the room was in darkness. Scott blinked. Wow, time had gotten away from him! He picked up his cold coffee and stood, stretching his back out once more.
Quietness was unusual in the villa – six men, two women and several robots made that extremely rare – but at this precise time there was nothing but the background noise of one of the Roombas.
Moving to the main window Scott looked out over the island. There in the distance he could just make out a fire on the beach. Part of him wanted to make his way down there and join them, but he still had so much work to do, so with a sigh he dumped the cold coffee, made a fresh one and went straight back to work.
He didn't stir from his faceplant on the desk when Gordon came down for his customary glass of water in the early hours of the morning.
…
It had been another day of long and stupid rescues and once more Scott found himself at the desk doing more of the dreaded paperwork. He took a quick break to stretch, walking over to the window and looking down at the pool.
Alan and Gordon were horsing around in the water while Virgil and John were on loungers chatting. As Scott watched Alan made his way over to John, drying himself off as he went, and sat beside him. The two became animated with whatever they were discussing and it suddenly hit Scott.
His brothers didn't need him anymore.
They were friends with each other, looked out for each other.
What did they need him for?
To fill in the paperwork, to keep iR and TI running so that they didn't need to.
Scott never minded being the one to complete all this work – someone had to do it and he would rather it was him if it meant that his brothers were free to be themselves.
A pang of loneliness hit him.
His brothers had each other.
Who did he have?
He had a desk and a pile of paperwork and if he didn't finish these ones before the night was through he'd have both the GDF and TI on his back.
Scott returned to the desk and settled back into work.
What did it matter if he was lonely? It didn't. It didn't matter at all.
He didn't matter.
He saved the file he was working on and opened another.