#ficlets and bits
Advantages to being short
*walks around in NASA joggers and an oversized Denver hoodie*
Note that Virg secretly loves it when his bros wear his clothes cos it kinda makes him feel as if he is helping them just a little? He’s too embarrassed to admit any of it and will just grump if prodded…but never demand the clothes back.
100% it’s got to provoke the protective streak. Wrap them up in warm clothes, thereby make everything better
Gordon knows his style can seem outlandish. It’s just that bit extra - light and colorful, just like him. He’s proud of his style. It’s high-spirited. It screams the tropical surfer boy he knows he is, while his wraps, faux leather and bound more than once around his wrists, remind him of his own strength.
He’s come so far, and wouldn’t give up any of the parts of himself.
But he’s also the fourth of five, a number he’s proud of. Thunderbird Four, Lane Four headed for gold, the Fourth son. Hand-me-downs were not necessarily needed in their family, not by the time Gordon Tracy graced the world with his curious eyes and strong heart. But they were practical.
And so for all the brightness he adorned as part of himself, his family shined as part of him and he was proud to take their hand-me-downs. And sure, maybe that fluid sense of ownership still affected his grabby hands today.
But the clothes are there; like food on someone else’s plate, they are not his. So instantly they are better. More comforting.
And he is the short one.
He one day dreamed he’d be as tall as Scott. Granted, he’d been five at the time to Scott’s eleven. He’d watched Scott and John grow tall into beanpoles (Alan was headed right there with them, for the skies), while Virgil grew broad, all muscle. Gentle hands, strong shoulders.
So when John grew those 2 extra feet and his favorite pair of relaxing joggers came up above his ankles, Gordon couldn’t let him part with them completely. They mysteriously disappeared, and “Santa” brought him a new pair for Christmas.
Gordon has lazy days too. He’ll tell you he’s just wanting to relax, but he also wears them when he’s been missing John up there in the skies. None of his brothers quite have a mind like John. Gordon may not understand what a Quasar really is, but he and John can talk science the way Virgil and Brains can talk engineer.
Virgil.
The sweatshirt is so much more than it seems. Warm, like Virgil. Hooded and all encompassing, a hug of his brother’s kindness. Because Virgil left Denver for Gordon.
And he can never give Virgil that time back, to graduate a normal collegiate scholar with his peers, instead of an academic who struggled to finish learning engineering of all things remotely and from his brother’s hospital room.
And Virgil stayed.
So Gordon steals his brothers clothes because it’s a reminder of how much he loves them, and how much he is loved.
And risking their lives every day, having seen death charging towards him before… he’s not too proud to say it.
(For the record, he’s taught Alan the art and knows exactly where Scott’s Yale sweatshirt ran away to)
