Gregory's The Kind Of Kid That Would Take Apart All His Toys To See How They Work And Put Them Back Together

gregory's the kind of kid that would take apart all his toys to see how they work and put them back together again

anyways I think it's very funny whenever someone tries to get gregory to actually leave at 6am after desperately trying to keep him safe and he just goes. actually no ——.

"don't say i didn't warn you ."

↪ 𝑫𝑶𝑵'𝑻 𝑺𝑴𝑰𝑳𝑬 𝑨𝑻 𝑴𝑬 . ( a collection of lyric starters from an assortment of billie eilish songs .

★ — It's 6am.

They're standing by the front doors of the pizzaplex.

The shutters have lifted, for the first time in hours — by all accounts, Gregory should be running out the doors as fast as he can possibly manage, never looking back. He isn't trapped any longer. Against all odds, he survived. But he stands firm in his ground, just in front of the double set of doors. A mere footstep away from being outside. With his hands balled into fists at his side, brows furrowed and jaw set.

His gaze flickers between Freddy ( a few steps away, seemingly lingering behind ) and Michael ( just in front of him, almost like he might just push him out the door ), one looking almost optimistic while the latter looks at him in shock.

Gregory refuses to leave. If he leaves, it will only be a matter of time until it's another child — only maybe Freddy won't be himself to protect them, maybe they won't last long enough for Michael to find them. This horrible cycle will just continue, and his own escape will mean nothing. But if he stays .... if he stays, they can keep going. They can get to the bottom of this. Put a stop to it, make sure no more kids are trapped in some sick game of cat and mouse.

He'd made up his mind before they even reached the doors. Michael never stood a chance of convincing him otherwise. ( especially not when Gregory would have turned around and come back inside the moment the man was out of sight, even if he was pushed past the doors ).

A smile crosses over the kid's features when the man reluctantly gives in.

He half - bounces in place before quickly clearing the distance between himself and Freddy, flashing the bear a momentary bright grin. ( doesn't quite reach out for his hand, even though it seems like he might for a moment ). Smile is tempered down, and he glances back towards Michael.

"So where are we going first?"

★ — Gregory can't help but roll his eyes at Rosa's statement ; he doesn't mean to be rude, not really, but it's hard to believe her when he knows if there were any other option, Michael wouldn't have taken him in. ( or, at least, he's convinced himself of that fact ).

Nervous motion ( the way his fingers absently play with the open edge of the bag of chips, the way he keeps shifting despite being seated on the ground with his back against a wall, the way his eyes seem to be constantly flickering, as if he needs to be entirely aware of his surroundings at any given time ) stills at her question, lips pressing together into a thin line. What did he like? It was a little pathetic to say he didn't know — but that was the truth. Even before the pizzaplex, before he was tossed into foster care, Gregory was never afforded the time to simply be a kid. He shrugs in answer.

" .... arcade games are pretty cool. Like all the one's at the pizzaplex. I got the high score on one." ( after he snuck in, but before the doors were locked on him. he doesn't mention that, of course ). "Video games too, but I don't get to play them that often."

make  no  mistake  gregory,  she  does  not  like  disclosing  too  much  information.  rosa  thinks  herself  a  failure  of  a  mother,  &*  of  a  wife.  no  matter  how  many  times  people  will  tell  her  she  did  the  right  thing,  it  won't  feel  like  it.  though,  michael  was  always  .  .  .  he  was  her  special  boy,  her  first.  the  one  she  perhaps  should  have  payed  more  attention  to,  if  that  was  even  possible.  so  she  averts  the  boy's  eyes  &*  looks  to  the  ground  to  grin.  yup,  sounds  like  him.  those  chocolate  hues  of  hers  hold  so  much  pain,  but  she  does  her  best  to  set  that  aside  talking  to  gregory  but  it  seems  he  doesn't  know.  that  there  is  no  real  family  anymore.  she's  said  too  much,  she's  not  going  to  air  out  his  dirty  laundry  for  him.  '  well,  i  guess  not.  but  we're  glad  you're  here.  '

the  thing  in  talking  with  kids  is  you  have  to  find  something  they're  interested  in,  even  if  they're  abnormal  kids  like  gregory.  who've  seen  so  much  in  their  short  time.  but  she  tries,  wants  him  to  feel  as  though  she  is  genuinely  interested.  '  hey  listen  tell  me  what  you  like  instead.  do  you  like  card  games  ?  board  games  ?  since  michael  failed  in  talking  about  you,  why  don't  you  do  it  ?  '

ash and I every time we have Realizations about our tlou au: we girlbossed too close to the sun

❝ like i told you, i’m gonna get you there safe. ❞ waaahh

resident evil: 4 remake starters

★ — Gregory knows it's meant to reassure him ( and god, Michael says it with so much conviction that it makes his chest ache ), ease his worries and make him feel safer. He doesn't need that comfort, though ; if there's one thing he's sure of at this point, it's that Michael is going to keep him safe. The man has proven that time and time again. And yet ——.

And yet Gregory can't help but avert his eyes, turning his attention to the dirt beneath them. He feels small ; he's making himself small, sinking into his shoulders, an arm wrapping loosely around his own torso while the hand that's still free scrubs harshly at his cheek. His breathing is almost shaky ( barely noticeable ), but he puts his focus into keeping the nervous edge out of it.

"What about afterwards?"

That's the question, isn't it? Everything narrows down to this one moment, but what happens after? Beyond the cure. It was almost as if life itself didn't exist beyond that.

"Do you think it's gonna hurt? Getting, uh, whatever it is that makes me immune? I mean, I got vaccinated back in the QZ, but I dunno what happens with making a vaccine."

His head lolls to the side, briefly letting his gaze flicker up to Michael. If he let himself, he'd almost think the man actually cared about him ; at least, beyond his promises. The way he constantly looks out for him, bickers playfully back and forward, tried to ease his fears. They've been traveling together for months. Gregory thinks he must, at least a little bit. But every time he pushes, he gets pushed back equally as hard.

"And after that? You're gonna — I dunno. Go somewhere else. And I'm stuck there, right. So do I just stay with the fireflies? Or am I .... on my own?"