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Hanging out in the aftermath of a successful rescue was a precious rarity. Normally because they were straight back in the air on their way to another person in danger, or because while everyone had been saved there was still sufficient damage to make celebrating distasteful. But today? Today was an exception.
The past week had been relatively quiet and today was following the same pattern. Everyone had walked away safely. There had no been no excessive structural damage. So, now they were here – sat around a picnic bench of all things – talking about nonsense and nursing overly sugary lemonade gifted to them by a nearby café while their adrenaline rushes slowly ebbed away.
It was a bright day – warm sunshine, a few wispy clouds promising colder skies higher up and trees in full leaf, gently rustling as a light breeze breathed life into the branches. It had been a relatively simple rescue and as such first responders were already removing barriers to allow civilians back into previously cordoned-off areas.
A cluster of kids with shiny bikes – cherry red, forest green and a stripy yellow-and-black one which stood out amid the crowd – were tossing a volleyball around. The chime of an ice cream van mixed with the steady music of car radios and nearby loudspeakers inside a hair salon. It was hard to imagine that only an hour ago this had been the scene of a near-disaster. Right now, the only sign was that near-collapsed Ferris wheel, still listed to one side but held secure by stabilising foam.
“I want ice cream,” Gordon mused, chin propped on the edge of the picnic bench so that he was flopped over in a position that couldn’t be comfortable. He fumbled for his glass of lemonade. “Something with sprinkles. The sprinkles are very important.”
Kayo pointed a straw at him accusingly. “No. No more sugar for you. The lemonade is bad enough. You’ll be bouncing around the cockpit all the way back home and I’m the one who’ll have to deal with you, because Virg will be busy flying.”
“Why fight the chaos?” Gordon queried, lifting his chin from the wooden slats so that she could glimpse the mischievous gleam in his eyes. “Just join in.”
“Please don’t,” Virgil interrupted before Kayo could consider it. “One of you is already bad enough.”
Gordon shrugged, flopping back across the bench. He lifted his arms into the sun, basking like some sort of lizard which seemed funny given his aversion to reptiles.
“I still want ice cream,” he grumbled, tilting his head to glimpse the open hatch of the van parked by the fountain. There was a small trail of children flocking to the scent of sugar like ants.
Kayo lifted her feet onto the bench and reclined along it, eyes lidded in the sunshine. She twirled a hand grandly. “Don’t look at me. I don’t have any method of payment on me.”
There was a brief pause.
Gordon widened his eyes pleadingly. “Hey, Scotty…?”
Scott had been halfway to dozing off. The background noise of faint music, voices and the gentle splash of that fountain had been enough to lull him into a trance-like state. He had to physically jolt himself out of it at the sound of his name. He repressed a yawn and glanced to Virgil for guidance, having missed the first part of the conversation but recognising Gordon’s scheming smile.
Virgil shook his head. “Just say no.”
“Gordon, no,” Scott complied, then, leaning across the table to whisper to Virgil, added, “What am I saying no to?”
“Ice cream,” Virgil told him.
“Oh.” Scott considered. He examined the overloaded waffle cone of rocky road ice cream being carried past by a couple of teens. “Then I changed my mind – Gordon, yes.”
“Hell yeah.” Gordon held out a hand, jabbing an elbow into Virgil’s ribs at the same time. “Sucks to be you, Virg. Overruled and ice cream-less.”
Scott slapped his wallet into Gordon’s palm. “Bring us all back one. Do not leave out Virg.”
“I’ll consider it,” Gordon teased, ducking Virgil’s hand. “Ha! Missed!”
Virgil tipped back in his chair to hold Gordon’s gaze as his brother stood up. “You’re such a child.”
“And? What’s wrong with being a kid? Look at these guys with their cool bikes and volleyball. They’re having the times of their lives right now.”
Virgil reached for his glass of lemonade with a grimace. “Don’t give me another existential crisis.”
Gordon patted him on the back. “Is true happiness even achievable without the naivety of childhood? Are all adults doomed to overthink the meaning of life so that we miss the beauty of mundane moments?”
“Gordon,” Scott snapped. “Either get the ice cream or give me my wallet back. Stop giving everyone a crisis.”
“He’s not giving me a crisis,” Kayo chimed in, propping herself on her elbows to raise her eyebrows at them. She knocked her shades down so they could glimpse the amusement in her eyes. “I find existentialism entertaining.”
“Oh my god,” Virgil whimpered and faceplanted onto the tabletop.
Gordon let out a loud cackle. “Nice one, Kay.”
“Thank you.” Kayo knocked her shades back into place. “Mint chocolate chip in a cup, not a cone. Mess up my order and I’ll mess up your face.”
“Jeez, I’ll get your weird toothpaste ice cream, chill.”
Kayo hissed at him. “It does not taste like toothpaste. Have you ever brushed your teeth? There is no comparison.”
Gordon sent her an unimpressed stare. “Uh huh. Sure. Of course it doesn’t. Anyway. Vee, I know your order. Scooter?”
Scott dragged his attention away from the fire trucks still parked at the far end of the park. “Surprise me.”
Gordon dropped into a low bow as he backed away from the bench. “Challenge accepted.”
“People are staring at you,” Virgil commented.
“It’s because I’m fabulous. Also because I’m in uniform.”
“No,” Kayo interjected without moving from her spot in the sun. “It’s because you’re making a fool of yourself.”
“You know what, Kay? I might not get your order after all.”
“It’s my money,” Scott pointed out. “And I’m telling you to get ice cream for everybody.”
Gordon let out a dramatic sigh and stalked away, immediately being swarmed by a cluster of inquisitive kids. He was clearly going to be a while, meeting high-fives and matching smiles and answering questions without hesitation, gesturing grandly to Thunderbirds One and Two, waiting patiently, their paintwork gleaming in the sunlight to throw stray rainbows across the grass.
It seemed too idyllic to be true. There were even birds singing in the trees. Scott could spy the pastel-brushed feathers of a pigeon cooing on a nearby branch. He propped his chin in one palm and tried not to obviously stare at those fire trucks. Or, more to the point, a certain first responder currently leaning against the side of one of the aforementioned trucks. She was laughing with her colleagues and the sound carried on the breeze.
Kayo gripped his shoulder to haul herself upright and followed his gaze. “What are you looking at?”
“Not what,” Virgil amended with a knowing smile. “But who.”
Her name was Alicia. She was a feisty blonde who had shouted at Scott for ‘sending his team in to help without getting her approval first’ and a variety of other complaints which he had been a little too distracted to pay attention to. She had then stormed headfirst into the hot zone without hesitation and had proceeded to demonstrate further bravery until the rescue was completed. She had mellowed towards Scott by the end but still treated him somewhat coolly. In other words, she was totally his type.
“I’m going to get her number,” he declared, just as Gordon was returning with the ice creams.
Virgil cast a doubtful look at him. “She’s out of your league.”
“Ouch!” Gordon announced gleefully, sliding back into place at Virgil’s side. “Sick burn!”
Kayo didn’t even arch a brow. She patted the edge of the bench expectantly and examined the cup of ice cream Gordon slid across to her. “Acceptable.”
“Only the best for my favourite sister,” Gordon quipped.
Kayo removed her shades and just looked at him.
“You scare me a lot,” he confessed.
She smirked. “And there’s the truth.”
Scott handed his ice cream to Virgil to guard. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
“No,” Virgil protested, trying to grab Scott’s wrist only he was holding both ice creams. “Scott, trust me, this is a bad idea. Your pride is going to take a hit here. She is not interested, believe me.”
“Hell yeah, Scotty!” Gordon called, sniggering as Virgil tried to get him to lower his voice. “Go for it!”
Kayo delicately scooped chocolate chips out of her ice cream. “This is better comedy than most sitcoms.”
Virgil repressed an exasperated sigh. “Why do I always get stuck with babysitting all of you?”
“Hey,” Gordon protested. “We don’t need babysitting- Oh my god, look at the cute dog!”
Kayo’s eyes went wide. “We have to pet it.”
“No,” Virgil said in a long-suffering voice. “You do not have to pet the dog. Sit down and eat your ice cream until Scott gets back from humiliating himself in front of all those first responders.”
Gordon crunched on waffle cone. “Do you really think he’s gonna get rejected?”
Virgil eyed Alicia. “I have a sneaking suspicion and if I’m right then yes, he has exactly zero chance.”
Scott turned on his heels and stalked back across the grass. He sank heavily onto the bench and didn’t say a word for a moment.
“So…” Gordon began, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice. “Did you get her number?”
There was a long pause.
“Yes,” Scott admitted grudgingly, slamming a slip of paper onto the bench. “…but she told me to give it to Kayo.”
There was another beat of silence while they all processed this information.
“Oh my god,” Gordon cackled, smacking a hand against the table as he doubled over with laughter.
Virgil silently handed Scott back his ice cream. “I hate to say I told you so, but…”
Scott glowered at the digits inked onto the paper. He wasn’t used to being overlooked, particularly not when it was Kayo in the limelight – Kayo, who genuinely preferred hiding in the shadows. He caught Virgil’s eye. “How did you know?”
Virgil tried to hide a smile. “Call it instinct.”
Kayo slid the number into the pocket of her flight suit and stood up. “Thanks for being an excellent wingman, Scott.”
“I hate everything,” Scott sulked.
Gordon tipped backwards off the bench with another loud laugh.