Disclaimer: I don't own the Thunderbirds. Never have and, unfortunately, never will.

Hey, guys! It's been a hot minute since I last posted anything. I hope everyone is staying safe with COVID-19 lurking about. At work, it's a constant battle to keep safe, but we do our best. I started this story as an ice breaker to get my mind moving, and over the years, I've added to it piece by piece. Now with semester over and with a stay at home order in place, I figured now was as good a time as any to FINALLY delve back into this story. This first chapter was a different approach to writing than I usually take.

Pranks and Tempers

Chapter One

The day began with a tranquil start. Of course, things had been quiet lately. There hadn't been a call for help in days, and that left one Tracy with a need to make life exciting. The question was always - how?

Walking to the balcony of his room, Alan stretched his stiff limbs. He couldn't help but let loose a snicker as he thought about the only Tracy in his family that would find a need to excite their lives a little. No one other than his older brother, Gordon Tracy.

Now, considering Gordon was his partner in crime, that meant Alan had been asked several times to help his older brother in his acts of…. well excitement. Shaking his head, Alan quickly raised his white flag to his older brother. He wanted nothing to do with Gordon's pranks this time. The youngest Tracy was still reeling from his last prank on his older brothers. One that had not only left Scott but his father quite upset at him.

Alan had to admit, loading his eldest brother's bottle of favorite whiskey full of salt wasn't necessarily the best idea - especially after his father had gotten into the tampered bottle as well. Expensive was a good word for his prank, considering his brother had high standards for his choice of favorite alcohol. Alan was still paying for that one. Of all the luck, the company his father and brother ordered the imported liquor from happened to be shut down for nearly two weeks. The youngest Tracy had to wait a long time to order more, and his family members didn't make it easy on him.

Yeah, being Switzerland sounded like a great idea.

At twenty-two, Alan was going through a stage where he'd rather stay neutral in his family's lives. The youngest Tracy was still finding it hard to prove he was no longer a kid, but in fact, an adult. After graduating from college, Alan had hoped his diploma would help his cause. Nope. If anything, graduating from college made matters worse. It was like his family had gone into denial at the fact that he was indeed old enough to not only drink alcohol but be a college graduate from Harvard.

A sudden commotion coming from the hallway stole him away from his thoughts. Hearing what appeared to be a distant voice, Alan ventured back into his room.

"GORDON! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

A knowing smirk followed by a snort escaped Alan's lips as he heard his eldest brother bellow after the redhead of the family. "Oh Gordo, what did you do this time?" he asked himself aloud.

Hearing Scott edge closer to Gordon's door, Alan figured it'd be best to stay right where he was. When Scott was in this type of mood, it was best to stay out of his way until he found his target. If you didn't stay out of his way, you quickly became his new target - a lesson the blonde had learned the hard way several times.

Scott Tracy had a temper that rivaled their fathers. Not that Alan was one to talk about bad tempers. It was no secret the youngest of five had inherited his short fuse from Jeff Tracy. Knowing Scott's fuse had been tripped a while ago, Alan wasn't venturing into that hall. Not yet, at least. Of course, that didn't mean Alan couldn't listen to the exchange that was no doubt going to happen right across the hall from him.

Leaning against his door, Alan waited for the war to begin. Sometimes he really did love his family. After all, who got to say this type of situation was normal in their household? If he could put money down on it, he'd bet not many.

A loud bang interrupted his thoughts as Scott's firm fist pounded against the wood. "GORDON!"

The hallway remained very silent as the eldest Tracy waited for a response. Powered by anger, impatience, and a need to kill his brother, Scott pounded harder upon the door of his little brother's room. "I know you're in there, Gordon! You better get your ass out here before I force my way in!"

Alan bit his lip, a smile plastered across his face still. He was finding it hard not to laugh, but he knew not to make a sound. He didn't feel like enduring the wrath of Scott. Hearing the door receive another beating, Alan shook his head. His redheaded older brother knew better than to hide from Scott.

Expecting to hear a door being bust open, the youngest Tracy was shocked to hear Gordon's voice come from down the hall. A knowing chuckle was escaping the lips of the ginger. If Alan knew his brother, a cheshire cat smile accompanied that chuckle.

"Hi'ya Scott, did you enjoy that shower after your run?"

Alan covered his mouth. Gordy, do you have a death wish? By now, Alan could picture the scene going on outside of his room. If a cartoonist could draw it, he was sure that steam would be shooting out of his eldest brother's ears. However, the question remained - what did his brother do?

The first response Alan heard from his irate brother was a huge sigh escaping his lungs. Yep, his older brother was close to losing his temper - maybe even blowing a gasket would describe it better. Alan knew that sigh all too well. He could hear the tightness in Scott's chest as his eldest brother did all he could not to strangle Alan's closest sibling.

"You think this is funny?" Scott's constricted voice spoke. "I'm completely covered in this crap!"

Gordon's voice didn't skip a beat. "I just wanted you to appreciate the true color of Thunderbird 4. You shouldn't insult her striking beauty. Maybe you'll think better of it next time."

Okay, Alan was officially interested. Opening his door, it took everything the youngest Tracy had within him not to burst out laughing. In front of him stood an outraged Scott, but his features - brunette hair and tan skin were replaced with yellow. From what his mind could put together in just those few seconds, Alan could guess that Gordon had filled Scott's shower head with yellow paint. Paint that no doubt had to have come from Virgil's collection. This had been an old school prank, one the swimmer of the family hadn't attempted in years.

"What's going on?" Alan asked, trying to play off he hadn't heard the whole exchange. The angry glare he received from his eldest brother almost made the youngest step back into his room and shut the door.

"What does it look like, Alan? So help me if you had any part of this!" Scott fumed.

"Whoa," Alan held his hands up as if to surrender. "I don't even know what's going on."

"Leave Alan alone, Scott. This is between you and me," Gordon warned.

"I don't know why any of us bother to think either one of you will ever grow up. It's all just a game for the two of you."

Alan walked over to stand next to Gordon. "Now wait a minute, Scott. Maybe you should have all the facts before you start dishing out insults."

Gordon put a hand on his little brother's shoulder. "Don't even try, Alan. This is "Mister Serious" we're talking about. He doesn't know how to joke around anymore. We're just kids, remember. We'll never grow up. Well news flash Scott, you don't know everything!"

"I'm going to make sure Dad finds something useful for you to do besides acting like an adolescent!"

"You go ahead and do that, Scott. Just remember we're not ten anymore. Dad doesn't have much say," Gordon glared.

Having had enough of his two younger siblings and his temper reaching its limit, Scott shoved both Gordon and Alan out of his way and made his way toward Jeff's office.

Unfortunately for Gordon and Alan, sometimes Scott didn't know his own strength - especially in anger. The momentum of the shove caused them to lose their balance as they fell backward along the ledge of the stoop that led to their bedrooms.

Taken by surprise, Alan tried to stop his fall and only managed to save himself by placing his back foot towards the wall. His back fell into the antique table, its sharp edge hitting the small of his back. Landing on his side, he dodged the large glass vase that fell and landed next to him, breaking into pieces. Alan fought the urge to scream "Real mature!" at his oldest brother's retreating back. The youngest Tracy was surprised the same type of comment hadn't escaped Gordon. "Well, that went well. Gordo, I think you might be losing your touch with Scott."

Expecting a smart-alec comment, Alan only frowned when nothing but silence answered him. "Gordon?" Pushing himself up from the floor, Alan looked to his right. Gordon lay on the floor, unmoving. "Gordy?" he tried again.

Moving stiffly along the lament floor, Alan quickly bent over his older brother. Gordon remained motionless, his eyes shut. "C'mon man, this isn't funny," Alan protested. Alan quickly scanned his brother for some unforeseen injury. He gasped as he saw a cut on Gordon's left temple.

Fear quickly overwhelmed Alan's body. He did the only thing his mind had told him to do since he was a little boy. "SCOTT! HELP!"

TBC…