Chapter Text
Vanessa frowns as she stumbles down the dark hallway, almost tripping on a child's inflated ball. She can't see it well, but she knows it's blue with a star and belongs to a neighbor upstairs. She scoops it up and makes a mental note to go return it once the Sun comes up.
Vanessa checks the time on her cell phone, hoping Gregory actually went to sleep on time. Knowing him, he'd stay up all night waiting for her to return. Unfortunately, with his suspension ending, being up this late wouldn't do him any good.
It's 2:13 in the morning. I will strangle Luis if he didn't make sure Gregory went to bed.
Vanessa never follows through on her threats, even when she's truly upset. She hasn't since being freed from Vanny. She simply doesn't want to hurt anyone, not that she can't. Although, with everything that's happened during her week away, she may just change her mind.
First, Gregory somehow runs off without supervision and gets injured. The details of which neither Luis nor Gregory would reveal to her. Then, a boy Vanessa has never met shows up at her apartment and Luis just lets him in. She isn't even informed about his visit until he's been inside for several hours and he was left alone with Gregory despite the danger he could pose. And then apparently a threat letter was left in front of their door, which Luis sent a picture of so Vanessa could read it herself. A threat directed at Gregory but the signature was left blank indicating either none of them will know who's coming or it's someone he should know by the language used.
Vanessa remembers reading it during her break and almost dropping her coffee mug. All of the language was derogatory and there were explicitly homophobic comments and accusations inside. Most of the threats were violent and would leave him with scars if they happen—he already has so many scars. The only other notable threats were sexual in nature and while Vanessa hasn't sat down and talked about it with Gregory, she knows he's ace because of his ring. So it's basically a double threat.
Vanessa will return to killing if the author of the letter ever shows their face. She knows how to hide a body now. This sort of thing isn't a joking matter to her nor is it a brush under the rug and it'll go away matter. She will not let anyone hurt her little brother as long as he's alive—she knows ghosts exist and she would linger just to keep Gregory safe.
Vanessa pulls out her key and inserts it into the lock. She fumbles in the darkness before hearing the familiar click of it unlocking. She opens the door and slips inside, relocking the door behind her.
She leans against the door and takes in a deep breath. The familiar scent of chocolate lingers in the air. They had cookies at some point. Another familiar scent reaches her; blood.
Vanessa frowns as she feels around for the light switch. Her heart rate quickens the longer it takes to find. A voice in the back of her head convinces her Gregory got attacked by the threat letter sender and is just waiting for her to find him ruined.
The light flicks on, momentarily blinding Vanessa. She blinks the spots away and turns toward the direction of the scent. Their couch with a sleeping curled up lump of flesh. She steps closer to him.
Gregory has both arms folded up across his stomach. Each one has lines of dried blood and deep impressions where his skin was cut. Upon closer inspection, Vanessa can make out dried blood underneath his fingernails.
So he had another panic attack? I should get him cleaned up.
Vanessa knows Gregory won't be sharing what happened once he wakes up, so she won't bother preparing questions for him. He fell asleep on the couch, so he was waiting for her like she assumed.
He's also still wearing his ring and his computer is out. The edge of the bandages covering his shoulders peek out from under his shirt, meaning he's still injured from the unknown previous encounter.
Vanessa trudges to the bathroom and collects the first aid kit. She returns to see Gregory in a nightmare. Waking him up in this state would lead only to more pain so she leaves him be.
Vanessa rolls up Gregory's sleeves and wipes his left arm with an alcohol wipe. He doesn't so much as flinch in his sleep. He doesn't show signs of waking up either.
Vanessa wraps up his arm slowly. She's gained experience in wrapping wounds from a first aid course she started taking 6 months ago. She thought it necessary given her's and Gregory's daily life experiences. It also made her a more valuable employee so she could more easily get promoted. That secures a decent college tuition for Gregory one day.
Gregory's face contorts as his nightmare continues. He starts to whimper causing a spike in Vanessa's heartbeat. She trembles as the memories of her time as Vanny begin to flood her mind.
"Come with me, we'll have so much fun!"
Vanessa squeezes her eyes shut and counts to 15 before opening them again. It's just her sweet smelling swamp colored apartment with her adopted brother laying on their dirt cheap couch obtained through less than moral means. No Vanny, no Pizzaplex, no death. All of the blood has been cleared and Vanessa needs to be stable for when Gregory wakes up in likely the next 5 minutes from a nightmare.
Vanessa finishes bandaging Gregory's right arm and pulls his sleeves down over both. She lays his arms back over his stomach. His hands start to grip his shirt tightly.
Vanessa collects the trash and first aid kit and brings both to the bathroom. She returns the kit to its place on the shelf and drops the used wipes into the can. She takes a moment to look at herself in the mirror before returning.
Her hair is disheveled from the flight and drive combo with no break in between. Her eye bags are deeper than they've ever been before. Her freckles are hard to discern from winter's tampering. And the yellow green of her eyes looks murky in her reflection. And more yellow than they should be.
Vanessa peels herself away from her own reflection when she hears screaming. She walks quickly into the living room. Gregory is sitting upright and looking around in a panic.
"Hey, I'm here."
Vanessa comes into view as Gregory breathes heavily. His eyes continue bouncing from one corner of the room to another. He doesn't settle his gaze even a little.
"Can I sit with you?"
Gregory doesn't respond to her question. Uncharacteristic for a regular nightmare.
Vanessa moves closer to Gregory. He shoves himself off the couch and stumbles into her. His knees buckle beneath him and she barely manages to keep him upright.
"Sit back down. You lost enough blood to consider yourself on your period."
Gregory shakes his head.
"Tony and Cassie... something bad happened... I can't..."
Gregory fights to take a step but falls forward instead. Vanessa holds him up.
"It's just a nightmare. They're both at home and in their beds, sleeping off today like you should be."
Gregory shakes his head again, but allows Vanessa to lead him back to their couch. He trembles and pulls at the hem of his shorts.
"Do you want to talk about it? I'll listen."
Vanessa's never been good at comforting anyone, least of all Gregory. But all he ever needs from her is a non-judgmental ear and a possible solution. She can supply both, but it takes more effort to be non-judgmental than helpful.
"I..."
Gregory looks at Vanessa with a look of pure horror.
"I hurt them. I tried to kill them! And I'll do it again! I don't want to. I don't want to!"
Gregory drops his head to his knees and sobs. His nails dig into his legs.
Vanessa understands how Gregory feels. He hurt his friends in his nightmare and he thinks he'll do it to them in the real world. She felt similar while coping from Vanny's control, she still feels this way sometimes. Dr. Rabbit's control is just getting to him.
"It's just a nightmare, Gregory. Your friends are okay. You won't hurt them. I know you won't."
Gregory shakes his head even harder.
"No, no, you don't get it! I already did! They have scars because of me! And I'll do it again because that's who I am!"
Vanessa reaches out to Gregory to place a hand on his shoulder before recalling the bandages and going for his upper arm. His whole body vibrates as he chokes on sobs.
"That's not you, that's him. You're different from him. You're kinder and you love your friends. You won't hurt them. Those scars aren't and will never be from you."
Vanessa thinks this has been her best attempt at comfort yet. But Gregory still seems distraught. So distraught he doesn't seem to mind that he's crying in front of Vanessa. Something he doesn't do even when he needs to.
"It doesn't matter if it's not me! It looks like it's me and my friends will be hurt and I won't be able to stop him! He'll just come back again!"
He'll just come back again! As in, he's already come back once. I don't think this has to do with his nightmare anymore.
"Gregory, why did you...... wait up for me? Was there..... something you wanted...... to discuss?"
Gregory coughs wetly and looks up with snot starting to drip. Vanessa pushes a box of tissues across the coffee table. He takes one and nods. His body continues to shake and tears continue falling even while not making sound.
Gregory wipes his eyes and gestures to the light switch.
"Turn it off.... before I calm down."
Gregory coughs again.
"Please."
Vanessa knows Gregory doesn't like the dark that much so the insistence of lights out strikes her as weird. She's been gone a week and he's already flipped his entire routine on its head.
Vanessa keeps an eye on Gregory as she approaches the light switch. He looks entirely miserable or akin to a soaked cat in a cardboard box. He's stopped crying, but his eyes are still wide in fear and his body still shakes from pure panic.
Gregory stays in her sights as the lights go off. She sees what exactly has been bothering him. His eyes are glowing bright red. An indicator that used to mean their alter egos were taking center stage.
So that means, Dr. Rabbit is back?
"Gregory are you still... you?"
Vanessa slowly approaches the boy on the couch. She's entirely unsure if it's still Gregory sitting there miserably. The glowing should mean he's swapped.
"Yeah, yeah it's still me. For now. I have a lot to tell you. And I won't wait until the morning."
Vanessa knows she can't dissuade him despite the effects on his health. And she knows neither of them are getting sleep until this is resolved.
"Let me make some coffee. Tell me everything."
____________________
Vanessa tucks Gregory into bed. The Sun peeks just over the horizon. He drools as the world is lit up with gold.
I'll just write a note saying he was recovering from an injury. It's not technically a lie and he needs the rest.
Gregory spent the better part of the last 4 hours catching Vanessa up on everything. Dr. Rabbit's recent resurgence during Sunday's thunderstorm. The glow color and intensity changing based on his mood and mental state. Cassie observing it prior by several months. The lack of anything that would mean Dr. Rabbit is back aside from the eye glow.
Then he got into the full situation with that boy. Vanessa isn't too pleased with him because he knew he shouldn't have come over before she got back from her work trip and he did anyway. Plus, he brought back several difficult memories Gregory isn't equipped to handle without proper support. And he's from a time in Gregory's past when he was hardly himself. That only spells a recipe for disaster.
Unfortunately for Vanessa, Gregory likes this boy. No, he loves this boy. She can see it in the way he talks about him. And he already gave himself a scare over whether or not they were dating prior to his amnesia. Gregory concluded they weren't but he chose to share all of his thoughts and observations that made it difficult and made her promise never to bring up any of it ever again.
After hearing everything, Vanessa concluded the boy, Tony, loves Gregory too. And they weren't dating beforehand, but not because of the reason Gregory decided on. Vanessa decided it based on the personality of Tony, what she could gather from Gregorys' explanations. He doesn't seem like he'd express his feelings or even know about them for a long time.
Their Tony discussion went on for much longer, which Vanessa was fine with because she got to know the strange boy before he comes anywhere near the apartment again. And Gregory looks so happy talking about any of his friends, but especially his crush.
Can he even be called a crush at this point? There isn't another word because most people are dating the person they're in love with. Except sapphics.
Vanessa learned about Tony's curiosity and interest in solving mysteries. That alone told her what kind of trouble he would be. She also learned maybe too many personal details about him, notably the fact too much sugar in a meal will give him intense nausea and migraines.
Tony only stayed the discussion topic for so long because he wants to help Gregory fill in some gaps of his past and discover the oddities with his amnesia. Which he couldn't explain to Tony because he doesn't know about Dr. Rabbit yet. Which caused Gregory great distress when it came up.
Gregory finally got to explaining his nightmare being a memory from when he tried to kill his friend. He avoided as many details as possible but cited it as the reason he has a scar on his thigh and Tony's face is cut up, when Vanessa finally sees him she won't have to question it.
Vanessa understands wanting to help Gregory with his amnesia. She wants to help him too. But it's a delicate situation and the boy, Tony, doesn't understand how much damage the wrong memory surfacing could cause Gregory. So she asked him not to go to Tony first for amnesia help.
Gregory agreed more easily than he normally would and moved on to his most recent friend discussion. Another boy, Ellis. Gregory started the discussion out with saying he's cousins with Cassie, but she refused to mention that which both of them are upset about.
Vanessa learned much less about this boy and Gregory cited the reason as he doesn't remember Ellis as well which is the most notable oddity in his amnesia. And Ellis is full of energy and is fun to hang out with. He said Ellis is a "being of joyous whimsy even when the world is falling down around him."
Vanessa thinks that description is similar to Luis. Always keeping a smile up and remaining calm and fun to be around so the people around him don't crack under the pressure of another unhappy person. Seeming ignorant, but really he's just trying to make sure nothing bogs him down. High emotional intelligence and incredibly observant, but never using it in a noticeable way which adds to the "joyous whimsy" effect.
Vanessa knows that type of person can easily start to crack from always wearing that joyous mask and needs someone to say it's okay to let it down otherwise they'll need three to five business days in a psych ward. Now, Luis hasn't gotten to that point, but there is a high chance he could have if Vanessa didn't notice his health declining and intervened on his behalf.
Vanessa decided she'd give Ellis advice directly when she meets him, only because it shouldn't be on any of the kids to make sure he knows. She's aware they're friends, but they're just kids. That kind of responsibility is for adults who consent to caring for another person. And as one of Gregorys' friends, Vanessa is going to care about him.
Vanessa needs to sleep on the information before she comes to any conclusions. There's still so much she hasn't gone over in her head again, but her visions starting to swim and every step is taking more and more effort. She wants to help Gregory with everything, but she has a whole weeks worth of findings to catch up on. Then there's the whole threat letter and how he got those shoulder wounds that haven't been addressed. Thankfully, Luis made sure Gregory didn't know about the threat letter otherwise that would be keeping him up.
Vanessa stumbles to her own bedroom where Luis is just waking up. He smiles at her making her heart swell. He notices her swaying on her feet and helps lead her to her bed. She mumbles a thanks before falling onto her pillows and promptly passing out.
______________________
Vanessa drags herself out from under her sunflower covered quilt and stumbles into her pink kitty house slippers. She notices then she never took her work socks off last night. This morning more accurately.
She can hear Freddy's voice beyond the door, and based on how fast he's talking, Luis must still be here. She thinks it's good he's here because as mad as she is about him breaking her rule—she does not forgive easily and will be trusting him with less now—she appreciates having him around. He's nice to talk to and has rare moments of being genuinely funny.
Vanessa smooths her clothes out as best as she can—it's a complete failure—and makes her way out to the main room.
"Good afternoon Vanessa! Did you sleep well?"
Vanessa nods at Freddy and accepts a mug of coffee from Luis. She takes a whiff and snorts to herself at the flavor of creamer Luis chose.
Frosted sugar cookie. Seasonal sweetness with a hint of
Never gonna give you
up
by Rick Astley in falsetto. Definitely the flavor I want first thing in the morning.
Vanessa sips her coffee while waiting for her brain to properly wake up. Luis happily chats with Freddy with momentary interruptions to look over at Vanessa. She smiles back at him each time and he takes that to mean he doesn't need to worry about her. Their routine anytime they don't see each other for several days and are engaged in other activities.
Vanessa enjoys the warmth for a little until a noise in the kitchen catches her attention.
Did someone break in?
Vanessa walks slowly towards the kitchen before a crash! Then she's running.
"Do make sure he is not hurt," Freddy calls from behind her.
Vanessa mentally face palms as she enters the kitchen. It's just Gregory. It makes sense he'd be awake first this time, he fell asleep first and got a few hours before Vanessa arrived.
Gregory is sprawled on the ground and not moving. The stool he was standing on is on its side. The cabinet above is still open and the sprinkles on the top shelf are on their side.
Vanessa pulls down the sprinkles and sets them on the counter. She sets her coffee there too. She then moves the stool to the side. She crouches down next to Gregory who still hasn't moved.
"Need some help?"
Gregory blinks slowly and moves a hand to his chest.
"I thought I was about to die. Like actually die this time and not come back."
Vanessa nods and offers her hands to Gregory.
"Grab on," she orders.
Gregory lays still for another minute. He lifts himself slowly into a sitting position and grabs Vanessas' wrists. She pulls him up while he pushes himself forward. She pushes him back so he doesn't fall over.
"There, not dying. What are you even doing in here? You hate cooking."
Vanessa has spent a considerable amount of time with Gregory and she knows very little about his past, but plenty about his opinions. Cooking is tedious and waiting for food makes him hungrier so he needs to cook again when the food finally finishes and it's not worth it for the amount of calories spent to do it. Anything with a slimy texture is mucus based and therefore inedible—especially jello. And pepper spray should be able to double as a defense weapon and a seasoning.
"I am preparing snacks in advance. These are funfetti pretzels for my friends. Gluten free. Next will be blueberry waffles. I'm just waiting for them to freeze, and then I'll start making the batter."
Vanessa watches Gregory set up his work space and laughs to herself. It's a bit messy, but identical to the setup on the baking show Vanessa watches on Tuesdays.
An idea strikes Vanessa then. She calls for Luis and Freddy's head to join them in the kitchen. Gregory gives her an odd look.
"Do you want some extra hands? That way you'll have plenty for everyone with some extras to bring in your lunch box."
Gregory silently considers it as Vanessa brings the idea to Luis. (Freddy doesn't have hands so he would just be hanging out with them.) Luis agrees enthusiastically.
"You guys really want to help?"
Everyone affirms that they want to help. Vanessa even insisting that he lets them all help.
"Okay... Freddy you can keep an eye on the time. There, now no one is left out."
Freddy smiles at Gregory.
"Alright, everyone wash your hands. We are handling food," Vanessa urges the boys.
Gregory drags his stool over to the sink and Vanessa holds it in place to make sure he doesn't topple over. Vanessa washes her hands next and uses her drying time to check the recipe Gregory has. His slightly smudged handwriting has become harder to read the longer she's seen it.
Gregory sees her trying to decipher it and apologizes.
"Look, we can have Freddy read each step out for us. That way I don't make you guys need eyeglasses from my terrible letters."
Gregory angles the recipe page towards Freddy.
"First, you will need a large bowl. It appears you already have one. Now, fill the bowl with coconut flour. How interesting."
"Don't forget the measurements. They're just as important as the ingredients," Vanessa reminds Freddy.
"I am metaphorically marking it down. These are per serving, correct?"
"Correct. Umm, multiply by... 12?"
Gregory gives Vanessa a questioning look. He doesn't cook or bake much so his experience is limited. Vanessa bakes for fun—quality once it goes in the oven varies greatly—so she knows how much adjustment would be necessary for a larger group. Seeing as they're making so much more...
"Make it 15. Teens have large appetites."
Boys especially have large appetites.
Freddy's head makes a loading screen sound as he calculates 15 times whatever the base number on the page is. A ding sounds off when he finishes.
"Fill the bowl with 18 and 3/4 cups of coconut flour. It is recommended you use a measuring cup."
Vanessa picks up the quarter measuring cup and scoops up the coconut flour. She knows from her own personal baking you use 1/4 of the amount of coconut flour in a recipe compared to all purpose flour. She also knows coconut flour is a bit dry. But it's fairly stable and makes for a good cake. So long as you don't burn it like I did.
Vanessa pours two more of the quarter cups into the bowl. Gregory and Luis take turns pouring whole cups of coconut flour into the bowl with their measuring cups. Luis has a two cups measuring cup, while Gregory has just one cup. They say what number they're up to after each pour. Luis gets the last pour in and both of them shout 18 at the top of their lungs.
Vanessa smiles at them gently. This is my family. And they're loud and difficult and honestly draining most of the time. But I wouldn't change a thing about them.
Vanessa reaches past Luis to pick up the yeast. He ducks out of the way and turns his head slightly. He matches her smile and a warmth spreads through the kitchen.
Vanessa steps back to her spot in front of the counter, giving Luis back his space. She returns her focus to Freddy so she can help complete the pretzels like she said she would.