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John had had enough excitement for one day. He had been lied to about the size of the party, taken out of his comfort zone to converse and socialise with people he didn’t know, and then had the whole day crashed by the Hood trying to steal everyone’s money as the building lost it’s stability and crashed into the mountains below, almost taking him with it. It was not his idea of a fun time and he wanted to go home. Home in space that is, the Island still felt far too close to the situation, he wanted to be off the earth entirely.
He had showered and wrestled himself back into his usual space suit, ready for his ascent to the sky and beyond, and had said his goodbyes to Virgil, though he couldn’t find his eldest brother anywhere to say his farewells too. Usually Scott hated it when John went up without saying goodbye, and John hated leaving without it too, but the call of his Bird was becoming irresistible and he began to make his way towards the hangars, sending Alan and Gordon a message saying that he would be there soon. Not a second later, he received a response.
‘Good luck with that.’
What? Had they messed things up again? He knew it wouldn’t be EOS this time, she usually couldn’t wait for him to come home and would do everything to aid his return. What could the brats have possibly done now?
Wracking his brains for possible catastrophes his brothers had caused, John almost missed Scott waiting for him by the docking station for the elevator.
“Scott, there you are, I’ve been looking for you…. Are you alright?” His older brother looked… tired. And…scared? Frazzled? Worried? He didn’t look like Scott, was the point. Without saying a word, Scott wrapped his arms tightly around John, holding him close and giving him no chance of escaping. John wasn’t a stranger to these kinds of hugs, the hugs were you held on for dear life in fear of that person disappearing in the next few minutes, the hugs were you reminded yourself that that person was still alive and still with you. He had given a few of his own, but it was rare he was the receiver of such hugs. Oh. Today had really scared Scott, huh? The adrenaline of the rescue had worn off and it had finally hit Scott how close he had come to losing John today.
“Scott?” He asked cautiously, sighing softly when Scott looked at him properly.
“Please don’t go up.” The plea was almost inaudible, John had to truly strain to hear it, and he nudged Scott gently.
“What was that?”
“Please. Don’t go back up. Not tonight. You can go tomorrow, just please, not tonight…” Scott’s grip tightened slightly at the thought of potentially having to let his younger brother out of his sight after the events of the day and John mentally sighed.
“Scott, I have to, those two could be causing mayhem up there. And I need to not be around so much gravity, I think I’ve had enough of that for one day, don’t you?” John tried to joke, though the broken sound his brother let out made him realise it was a little too soon and in poor taste.
“They’ll be okay for one night. EOS will keep them in line, and they both know what they’re doing. Please, I need you to stay down here. Just for tonight. You can go back first thing in the morning, I promise, just please, I need you home tonight…”
Scott was practically pleading with him, and usually, John would say no, and be able to make his way up to his station, but with the way Scott was… John just didn’t feel right leaving him alone. And it wasn’t like Five was unmanned, Alan and Gordon were up there, and as much as John grouched about them messing things up, he knew that they were in fact capable of running the station without him. Making his decision, John nodded, and hugged Scott back briefly before trying to step away.
“Alright. Alright, Scott, I’ll stay for tonight, okay? But I need to go and get changed again, I’m not staying in my spacesuit.”
It took a few moments, but Scott eventually relinquished his hold on John, letting him step back and lead them both away from the docking station and back up from the heart of the Island to the villa, where Virgil did not look surprised to see them at all, and John narrowed his eyes slightly. So Virgil had known that Scott was waiting for him and didn’t bother to warn him? And had known enough to convert the den into a sleepover room, complete with enough blankets and pillows to keep them all comfortable and warm?
“You both planned this?” He asked and Virgil shook his head.
“No. I knew Scott wouldn’t want you to go back just yet and honestly, I need to reassure myself too, so, we’re having a sleepover where we can reassure ourselves that our little brother didn’t almost die today.”
“Can I at least get changed before I’m submitted to this?” John asked as Scott started leading him determinedly towards the very comfortable looking pile of blankets.
“Scott, let him go get changed.” Virgil raised an eyebrow at their older brother, who let out a huff and let go of him.
“Fine.” He pouted, before raising an eyebrow back at Virgil when he came over to start pushing at Scott.
“You too, we should all change, it’s not comfortable sleeping in jeans. Go put your pyjamas on.”
“I don’t own pyjamas.”
“You own sleepwear, Scott, even if you rarely use it, go put something comfortable on.” Virgil rolled his eyes at him before softening up. He knew his older brother just didn’t want to let John out of his sight right now. “You’ll feel better for it, you know you will. I know you want him close by, but he’s not going to be happy if he’s uncomfortable, and you’re not going to be comfortable dressed like that. So the quicker we get changed, the quicker we can all get back to the den.”
Narrowing his eyes for a moment, Scott sighed, conceding to Virgil’s point. Once Scott agreed, the brothers left each other to make their way to their own rooms before convening in the den not ten minutes later, dressed much more comfortably. It didn’t take long for Scott to be glued to John’s side, situating him down in the middle of the den so that Virgil could take the space on the other side of John when he came back with some dishes full of hot homemade soup.
“Don’t worry, Grandma didn’t make it.” Virgil reassured them when both John and Scott gave him a sceptical look. “I did. From scratch. I found dad’s old recipe book.”
Pausing for a moment, John took a tentative whiff of the soup, and when it didn’t smell like death, he took a spoonful, unable to help himself when he melted a little, tension leaving his shoulders almost instantly. It tasted just like the soup dad would make whenever one of the boys were ill, or when they had been out playing in the cold and came inside with their faces and hands bright red from the wind. It tasted like home. And it was perfect after a day like today. From the corner of his eye, John could see Scott having a similar reaction and he smiled at Virgil as he sat down.
“It tastes great, Virge, just like dads…”
Virgil just nodded, and the three elder brothers sat in silence, eating their soup and just relaxing in each other's company without having to worry about the world needing them for once. Eventually, Virgil gathered up their empty dishes and when he returned, put on a space documentary that he knew would keep John’s attention for a while as they all got comfortable and settled in. With his brothers close to him, John could admit that this was nice, even if the events leading up to it had given his elder brother a few extra grey hairs. He supposed spending one extra night on earth wasn’t the end of the world. Life would go back to normal tomorrow, he would head home to the stars and guide his brothers through rescues as usual, but for now, John was content to be the little brother, letting his older brothers have their fill of coddling him to reassure themselves. It was a small price to pay for their peace of mind.