Home » The Archives » Chapter 7 » Trouble Under the Hood
| Re: Trouble Under the Hood [message #1885 is a reply to message #1884] |
Sat, 28 July 2012 18:27   |
Lillehafrue
Messages: 478
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northeastern USA
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TB Pilot
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From: Tikatu Sent: 4/20/2006 2:46 PM
Thursday, July 12, 2068, 9:30 p.m., Tracy Island
John shivered slightly as he left the warmth of the villa for the outside. How can he do this? he wondered as he wrapped his towel tighter around him. In the spring and summer, yeah. The autumn? Possibly. But the dead of winter? Does Scott have a death wish or something?
He had spoken quietly to his oldest brother during dinner, indicating that he wanted to talk later, just the two of them. Scott had smiled and suggested that John join him in the hot tub that night. So now John was hurrying across the damp, chilly concrete and flagstones, nothing on his feet but a pair of thin shower flip-flops, wearing a swimsuit and t-shirt, his towel acting as a blanket.
As he approached the hot tub, he saw that Scott was there before him, submerged to the neck in the hot water. "Come in, the water's fine!" Scott called, grinning.
"How can you do this?" John asked as he divested himself of t-shirt and flip-flops and quickly slid into the water. The relief he felt was immediate; the water was really hot and comfortable, and he sighed in pleasure.
"I think you just answered your own question," Scott pointed out. "The dichotomy of cold to hot is so sharp..."
John wagged a finger at him. "Don't you go using words like 'dichotomy' with me, bub. I'll have you remember that I'm the linguist in the family."
"And I'll have [i]you[/u] remember that I'm the graduate of Yale and went to Oxford," Scott snapped back in an amused tone. "So if I want to use big words, I'll use 'em!"
The blond rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. I give. It just sounds funny coming from you."
"I don't think so, but... to each his own, the woman said as she kissed her cow."
John flat out stared at his brother. "Where did you get that one?"
"What one?" Scott asked, pretending to be blasé.
"The one about the cow."
"Did I say cow?"
"I distinctly heard you say cow."
"You heard a cow?"
John stopped to think for a moment, then sat back, a wry smile on his face. "You're not getting me with that 'herd of cows' joke, Scott. That's old and lame."
"Oh? I thought it was rather clever," Scott replied. "Tyler got me with it."
"It was clever... when Tyler got me with it, too," John admitted with a grin. "What did his birth father teach that kid, anyway?"
"I dunno, but he must have had a weird sense of humor," Scott replied. He sat back and gave John a long, piercing look. "So, what did you want to talk about?"
John blew out a frustrated breath, and pushed his hair back with a wet hand. "Well, I tried to do something nice for one of our new recruits and it backfired on me, rather spectacularly." He went on to describe the situation between Kat and Callie. "I feel like no good deed goes unpunished, y'know?"
Scott whistled. "Yeah, you got yourself into a pretty pickle, John." He stopped to think for a moment. "I think that, as much as you'd like things to smooth over between Kat and Callie, you need to let them work it out now. You've done all you can. You know that Callie will eventually forgive Kat. But you'll have to remember that they'll still be cool for a while. And for the record - I think your gesture was a generous one. I know how frustrated you got when Alan would weasel his way out of some of his duty. For you to actually volunteer to go up so soon is really big of you. Kat and Callie don't understand how generous your offer really is."
"And no one is going to tell them, either," John said in a warning tone. "I don't want them to know."
Scott nodded. "Hey, if they find out, it won't be from me." He cocked his head a little and frowned slightly. "Y'know, this also gives you an indicator of what Kat thinks of pursuing a relationship with you."
John sighed. "Yeah. I noticed. I've basically tried to tell her that, though I want to get to know her better, at this point, my world doesn't revolve around her. I don't want to rush into anything, or feel like I'm being rushed into anything. I want things to develop slowly, starting with a friendship. I also don't want her world to revolve around me. She has other friends to make." He shrugged. "I'm giving us both some space. Maybe over the weekend we can do something together."
"You do want this to go somewhere, though, don't you?" Scott asked. "You were so shocked when you first found out you had feelings for her..."
John cut in. "Yes, yes. Of course I want it to go somewhere... maybe even down the aisle if that's in the cards. But I want to be sure. Sure of myself. Sure of her. And sure of us together." He chuckled. "Kind of like Mom and Dad were. And like Dad and Dianne are."
"No divorces in your future, huh?"
"Not if I can help it."
The two men sat back in the water and let the bubbling jets massage away some of their tension. John rested his head back and sighed in relaxation, closing his eyes. But his eyes flew open as a large, cold raindrop fell between them, the water running down both sides of his nose.
"Damn," Scott muttered. He rose from the water. "I was hoping that the rain had stopped for the night. Help me turn this off and cover it up, will you?"
John hurriedly got out of the tub, the cold rain showering down on his back and making him shiver. He hastily threw his t-shirt on and put his towel over his head and shoulders. But it didn't help much. Even Scott's teeth were chattering by the time they had gotten the hot tub squared away. The two scurried back into the house, rubbing their wet arms and shivering as they entered the warm dining room. There they got strange looks from Tin-Tin and Brains, who were sharing a pot of hot cocoa.
"C-C-Can w-we have s-s-s-some?" Scott asked plaintively.
Brains smiled and shook his head. "Tin-Tin, would you please make these two drowned rats some cocoa while I fetch some dry towels?"
"Of course," Tin-Tin said with a chuckle. "You two had better wait for the towels, though. Father would not be pleased if you got the dining room upholstery wet!"
98% pure evil...and loving every minute of it.
 
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