Work Text:
Snow had fallen heavily over the last week. So much so that school was canceled on Friday, and the students and teachers alike let out a collective sigh of relief as they studied weather reports that said the snow was only going to keep falling… and falling…
It was only November, for goodness’ sake. Inch after inch fell from the sky, and Vanessa had the good sense to pull her car into the garage before it was buried. They kept the fire going most hours of the day, drank hot cocoa with breakfast, and Gregory adamantly refused to go out.
This was the most snow the Hurricane had gotten in years, but it didn’t mean snow hadn’t come early before. He only had horrible memories of snow, bitter and cold in the alleyways he slept in, adding more layers of bad to his already different life. Even when his parents were around… well… it didn't make it better. He hated snow.
Vanessa had caught his reaction early, when the snow first started on Tuesday, and even though he still had to go to school until it was canceled, she pulled him aside to figure out what they could do to help when he was at home. It saved him from numerous anxiety attacks, at least, as they started curtaining the windows when it snowed extra hard, kept the house warm and cozy as often as they could. It was better, but it wasn't always enough.
Vanessa had also warned him about how his friends might react about the snow. “Kids your age like to play in the snow, and knowing Cassie and Ellis- and maybe Tony- they’ll probably come get you for sledding.” She tilted her head at him, hands cupped around a steaming mug. “You know what that is, right?”
Gregory glowered at her. “I’m not stupid.” Resting his head on the table and staring at the window, which was open to the whiteness blanketing everything, he shrugged. “I just don’t like any of it.”
Luckily for him, his sister didn’t prefer going out in the snow either-- or maybe she was pretending for him (he really hoped she wasn’t.) But that meant they could hang out inside, and watch movies and hold video game tournaments anytime they wanted, and never really have to worry about going anywhere, except back and forth from the house and the school.
(Vanessa had taken to working in the basement, her workbench set up and piles and piles of assorted parts lying around, and though she didn’t let him see what she was building, it was clearly paying the bills.)
So Gregory could deal with the snow. It was outside, and he was in here, safe, out of the cold, and Vanessa wasn't going to lock him out, she would never. And he kept reminding himself that, kept telling himself it would be over soon. Mid-February, the sun would reappear and melt away the frozen wasteland the Hurricane had become. That was barely three months away, not that long...
...it was fine. At least until Saturday.
Saturday morning, he and Vanessa were sprawled out on the couch, having been there since early in the morning-- it was too cold to sleep anywhere but near the fire sometimes (they really needed a better heating system.) She was preoccupied with some new idle game on the console, and Gregory was curled around his sketchbook, working on a new sketch, and everything was just fine. He could have stayed like that all day.
He didn’t even notice someone knocking on the front door until Vanessa groaned, paused her game, and heaved herself up to answer it. A moment later, she called him over, and with reluctance he abandoned his work to see who was at the door.
Bundled up in coats and scarves and gloves and hats, his three friends beamed at him from out in the snow. “Hey, Gregory!” Cassie chirped, almost knee-deep in snow. “We were gonna go hang out by the hill. You should come!”
“We have two sleds, too,” Ellis added, tugging the cord of the sled he was dragging. Tony, who was still staring at him, idly waved his own with a tiny smile. “So we’ll have to share, or take turns or whatever, but imagine sledding down the big hill near the Pizzaplex! That would be awesome!”
Gregory chewed his lower lip, looking away. The doorstep was still covered in snow, and so were Ellis, Cassie, and Tony... and so was everything else. And it was so cold... he was bundled up in a sweater and a blanket already, but it was still impossibly freezing outside. “...I dunno.”
This earned him a chorus of protests from his friends. “C’mon, Greg, this might be the only time we get snow like this!” Ellis complained. “And we’ve never gone sledding all together!”
“I’m sure there’ll be more snow,” he muttered, folding his arms. “It’s just... I don’t really feel up to it, guys. I don’t... like snow.”
He’d only ever talked to Vanessa about it, but Cassie, his oldest friend, knew him well enough to see where this was coming from. Ever the intuitive one, she nudged Ellis and Tony, taking a step back. “Okay, Gregory... if you’re sure...”
Tony frowned, brushing snow out of his bangs. His cheeks were red and chapped from the cold, but Gregory couldn’t deny that he still looked cute covered in snow. “Everything okay?”
Gregory stepped back on instinct when his boyfriend reached out a snow-caked glove-- they were covered in the stuff, why?-- and regretted it when his face fell. “Y-yeah, everything’s fine! I don’t like snow, and I don’t think I even have snow gear, so...”
“I bought you stuff last week.” Vanessa tapped his shoulder from inside the house, leaning against the doorframe. “And if you bundle up, you’ll stay warm for a while.”
“But I...”
Vanessa lowered her tone, putting a comforting hand to his shoulder. “Look, bud, I know you don’t like it, but you’re already getting much better at dealing with snow. It'd be kind of a waste not to spend a day out with your friends, especially when it could help you get more used to it.”
It was true, but it didn’t make him feel any better. But then again... if his friends wanted him to...
...besides, Gregory had been isolated for so long that having friends again was a weird sensation. After ghosting Cassie, and having to cut ties with Ellis and eventually Tony, it was a frightening thought that he might be pushing them away again. He wasn’t going to lose them again, and if having a fun snow day was going to ensure that...
Some ten minutes later, Gregory curled his gloved fingers into fists, stuffing them into his pockets, and trudged out into the snow. It crunched under his boots, bunching up under the treads as he walked, but it wasn’t terrible. It was actually sort of cool... Still, he ducked his head under the light snowfall, tugging his hat further down over his bangs, and headed over to join his friends.
The others were waiting by the sidewalk, and Tony joined him trudging through the snow, gloved hand wrapping around gloved hand. “Don’t worry,” he whispered with a small smile, “this is gonna be fun. And we can head back whenever you want to.”
Gregory smiled faintly, feeling Tony’s hand squeeze his comfortingly before slipping around his shoulders to pull him close. “Thanks.”
The four set off down the road together, and Gregory found that it wasn’t impossible to stay calm in the snow. After all, he did have a home to return to if the snow picked up, or if he got too cold or tired. A home where he wouldn't be locked out or sent away. And three friends looking out for him, too.
Except, if Tony’s arm wasn’t still around his shoulders, Gregory still would have bolted back toward the house. There was still some work to be done before he could calm down, and despite it all, his heart was still racing in instinctual panic, but...
...
“It’s progress, at least,” Vanessa mumbled to herself, watching her brother and his friends disappear down the road into the snow-coated neighborhood. Pushing her brother was hard, but he was already doing better. It was the right thing to do. “Progress.” Turning away from the window, she picked up her phone to text Luis.
Nothing against Gregory and his friends, but she’d much rather stay at home, warm and comfortable and watching movies. With a plus-one, of course.