[ FORT ]: Sender Builds A Blanket Fort For The Receiver Following A Long And Difficult Day. (let Gregory

[ FORT ]: sender builds a blanket fort for the receiver following a long and difficult day. (let gregory have a normal kid moment!!)

this has been in my inbox for almost an entire year

★ — The living room is torn to pieces when he gets home, and all Gregory can do is stare from the doorway.

It's the last thing he expects ; he hadn't been sent home early from school, but it had been a near thing after a fight had broken out. The teacher who caught the incident had refused to hear Gregory out, and had sent him straight to the front office, where they had .... at least sort of listened, agreeing to talk to the other students that had been verbally harassing him until he had finally gotten fed up. But the office had also insisted on calling his parent— his guardian— to inform them of the situation.

So Gregory knows Michael knows. And he also knows that drawing attention to himself is putting their arrangement at risk. So he's steeled himself for the oncoming lecture, for the disappointment, half - preparing to be yelled at the moment he opens the door. ( all his foster parents would yell, they'd never listen ). But that doesn't come.

Instead, the living room is in shambles — and for a split second Gregory wonders if he'd made Michael that mad. It's too structured to be that, though, and that makes it all the more confusing.

He sees Michael poke his head out from underneath the cushions and blankets, obviously having heard the door open. Gregory's brows furrow. There's an invitation to come closer, but Gregory doesn't move from his place in the wide open doorway.

( he's still not entirely sure if he should bolt or not ).

"What'd you do?"

She honestly doesn't remember when Gregory's birthday had come up, maybe in a conversation about them sharing a birthday? Doesn't matter, she know it, so she tries to do something. Even if that something is...largely just stolen Fazbear goods. A cake made using the Pizzaplex's ingredients and recipes, a card she put together, and few pieces of Freddy-centric merchandise. All of which is set out on the table she's guiding him to. "Happy birthday, little guy." Hey, maybe the cake will put him into a sugar coma for the night.

★ — He has no idea where it is that Addy wants to lead him to, yet he follows with little convincing needed .... and a significant amount of whining, intentionally annoying ( sometimes he really can't help himself ), saying she should just tell him already before they stop at the little table and —— .

Oh. That's not what he'd been expecting.

It stops him dead in his tracks, quickly falling silent. He didn't even know she knew his birthday — doesn't remember the small - talk amongst nights upon nights of him sneaking in and her trying to keep him under control. Hadn't crossed his mind then that she might remember. ( no one ever did ).

So now Gregory stands wide - eyed, gaping like a fish as he glances between the older teen and the small display in front of him.

"You — how'd you — why —— uhm."

He can feel his cheeks heating up from embarrassment, quickly scrubbing a hand against his face as if that might hide the color.

"What's the catch?"

❛ I won't leave again. I promise you that. Not for anything. ❜

THE WALKING DEAD SEASON ONE SENTENCE STARTERS

★ — Really, it was only a matter of time before Gregory got sick. The kid hasn't been around large groups of people for extended periods of time in nearly a year.

He hasn't been able to leave his bed all day, spending most of the time drifting in and out of consciousness. Fever is high enough that he's practically radiating heat beneath the blanket — he's barely there, even in the time he does manage to keep himself awake.

Even so, it's clear he's trying to hold himself together. Trying to not whine, to not make himself a nuisance, a burden. An old, ingrained fear bubbling to the surface while Gregory's not aware enough to keep it hidden ; what happens when he's more trouble than he's worth? He's mumbling apologies each time he's awake enough to notice Michael slipping in and out of the room, making sure he's drinking, has something to eat if he needs it, taking care of him, making sure he's comfortable.

At some point, the dam finally breaks.

It feels like a simple question: Aren't you gonna leave? M'no good.

( dead weight like this. bad luck all of the time. a bad kid. trouble ).

After fending for survival as long as they had together, leaving someone this sick behind seems like the natural option. ( he hadn't left michael behind. they're family, now. they're safe, now. it's not only about survival in the commune, it's about community. home. thriving ). He hadn't meant for it to reveal so much — wouldn't have said anything close had he been in his right mind. But when Michael asks what he means, all Gregory can do is whine a little bit and bury himself deeper into the comforter of his bed.

Like Michael had wanted to do when he had first seen the bite. Like he'd wanted to do when heading to Bill and Frank's. Like he'd wanted to do when they reached the commune the first time. Like he almost had, bleeding on a mattress.

Bleary - eyed, he looks towards his guardian. Had he said anything? Or did Michael know from silence? Gregory's not sure. He sounds so serious when he says it though, like he's intent on the promise getting through the fogginess of the sickness. If he didn't feel so warm already, he thinks the words would make him feel the pleasant kind of warm ; right now, all he can do is nod.

"M'kay,"

Mumbled into the blanket he hasn't quite lifted his head entirely out of. He can feel his consciousness fading fast, lulling him back to sleep. He doesn't think he imagines the hand in his hair, unable to confirm the sensation's truth as his eyes flutter closed of their own accord.

" .... love you."

★ — There's a tension in the boy's posture that only seems to increase as the man sits down beside him. He doesn't move, but he does lean slightly away, very intentionally leaving a distance between them. He looks ready to bolt at any moment. Despite being so young and alone, he seems to at least have some sense of stranger danger.

"Not lost. I don't need help. I'm just— taking a break."

' alright, alright — i hear you. no calls. ' daniel looks down at the boy for a moment before sitting beside him on the sidewalk. ( he looks to be about ten, far too young to wandering around by himself. ) ' are you lost? 'cause i know my way around here pretty well ... could help you out. '

“ in case any of you needed a reminder this place is a twisting nightmare ”

I think this is a buzzfeed unsolved meme from months ago

★ — There's a frown tugging at the corner of his lips which he doesn't bother to completely fight off ; he wears it more akin to a pout, his lower lip ( unconsciously ) jutted out ever so slight, his brows almost comically furrowed. They hadn't made it far into the sinkhole — the elevator had been broken, evidently stuck at the bottom.

Why? Why was it all the way down there? If it were the only elevator, shouldn't it have brought someone back to the pizzaplex itself before getting stuck? Was someone down there? Had it fallen?

The sound of her voice brings him out of his thoughts ; he blinks, his expression falling to something childlike and confused.

"I, uh .... really don't think I needed a reminder."

The day Vanessa got banned from TikTok