Vanessa opened her eyes. The light in the room was dim, likely still quite early in the morning. Next to her, Gregory slept soundly. He was cuddled up next to Luis, who was sleeping just as soundly. She breathed deeply, basking in their presence.
It occurred to her then, eyes drifting closed, that her dreams last night had been pleasant. Perhaps something to dwell on later.
-x-x-x-
Luis groaned, sitting up. He didn't recall falling asleep last night, but obviously he had at some point. Gregory was wide awake next to him, sandwiched between Vanessa and him. Except, her side of the bed was empty. So, either she'd awoken, or moved to her own bedroom at some point during the night.
"Hey, kiddo. Happy birthday." He patted Gregory on the head, which made the kid giggle. "Ready to have a fun-filled day?"
Gregory frowned. "My…birthday…?"
"Your birthday's April 9th, right?"
"Uh, huh."
"Well, here." Luis grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He turned it on to the lock-screen, showing it to Gregory. "See the date, there?"
He hummed in acknowledgment.
"Can you read it for me?"
Gregory stared blankly at him. "No."
"Right ... can you read the number at least?"
"Nine?"
"Very good, Gregory. So, that word there is April. If we put them together, we get-"
"My birthday!" He cheered.
"Good job." Luis reached over to ruffle his hair. "Now, let's go celebrate!"
-x-x-x-
The Pizzaplex was dead, the parking lot empty and workers and customers gone for the night. There are very few perks of being a security guard here, but one of the biggest is having the security clearance to be able to sneak in after hours. Thank goodness they haven't switched over to their summer hours yet, otherwise this little excursion might not work. (They could only keep Gregory out so late before he started getting fussy).
She went in first, doing a perimeter check and turning off the cameras from the security room. No one checked them anyway - all the safety features were just that. Features. Things Faz-Entertainment could point to when disaster strikes and say, "See? We did something." Besides, Vanessa had an early morning shift tomorrow by herself. If the worst came to worst, she could upload some footage from a few nights back.
Vanessa returned to the door, ushering in Luis and Gregory. The latter was snoozing peacefully in Luis' arms. They put him down for his nap way later than normal, and the poor boy absolutely refused to wake up. He clung to Luis, face buried in the crook of his neck.
"Is everything ready?" Luis asked.
They entered the elevator. "Yep." She pushed the button for the second floor.
"Good."
-x-x-x-
Luis lightly shook Gregory, bouncing him. "Hey, buddy, look where we are."
Gregory groaned, lifting his head. Bleary, unfocused eyes blinked up at the bright lights overhead. "Papa Luis, where-"
Luis put him down, turning him around.
Gregory squealed, jumping up and down. All four main animatronics, the Daycare Attendant, and some of S.T.A.F.F bots stand patiently, waiting for the party to start.
"Mister Sun!" He laughed, lunging for the robot.
Reflexively, the Daycare Attendant catches him, bringing him in for a tight squeeze. "Rule breaker," he teased in a slightly exasperated tone. "No running inside."
Gregory laughed again. "You're silly."
-x-x-x-
"Thanks again, you guys, for putting this together on such short notice. Are you sure you won't tell management?" Vanessa asked.
They were seated at the tables near the stage. Blue and red streamers hung off of the nearby photobooth and the ends of the two tables they squished together so everyone could sit together. A large pepperoni pizza with extra cheese sat in the center of the table. The plates and cups Luis picked out at the mall sat in front of all the animatronics. Even though none of them could eat, all of them seemed delighted at being included. Freddy even chuckled a little at the images on them. They were of two dogs, one dressed in a cop uniform and the other dressed in a fireman's uniform. The man that had helped him, said his own son had loved the show. And Gregory seems to like it, his eyes lit up when he saw it anyway. So, Luis supposed, the man was right.
Roxanne scoffed. "Those losers? No way."
"Roxy," Freddy started, tone mild, "remember what I told you about appropriate language in front of the children?"
"But they are. Anyways, we love kids."
"And the little guy's cute too," Monty added, reaching over to ruffle Gregory's hair.
Gregory grinned, taking another bite of his pizza.
"And thank you, Chica, for making the pizza. These tastes delicious."
"You're welcome!" She chirped.
-x-x-x-
After the pizza was gone, most of the animatronics started making their way back to their respective rooms. S.T.A.F.F bots quietly clean up the mess. Vanessa and Luis helped them, trying to make sure nothing was left behind, lest the corporate gods find out.
Freddy was the last to depart. He was seated across from Gregory, listening intently.
"And then…and then, I's….I went phew really, really fast down the slide. But-but Mister Sun catched me!" Gregory said, wrapping up the story he'd been telling Freddy.
"Wow! That sounds really fast! Good thing Sunny was there, right?"
Gregory nods. "Mhm." He tilted his head to the side. "Freddy, how fast you go?"
"Well, not fast at all. Roxanne is the fastest out of all of us, but B-" He closed his mouth, cutting himself off. "How old are you turning?"
"Four!" He shouted, holding four fingers in the air.
"What a big age!" Freddy smiled. "Pretty soon you'll be able to play any of the games here. Maybe for your next birthday your parents can take you to Monty Golf, laser tag, Roxanne's Raceway, or the arcade."
"Whoa!" Gregory's eyes practically lit up.
"Gregory!" Vanessa called, waving him over. "Tell Freddy goodbye."
"Aw…" Gregory frowned, sliding off the bench. He waved at him sadly. "Hav'ta go. Mama 'Nessa said. Bye-bye, Freddy."
"Goodbye, Superstar, come again soon."
-x-x-x-
"Thank you, Mama 'Nessa, Papa Luis," Gregory said. Vanessa leaned over him, buckling him into the car seat.
"No problem. But your birthday isn't over yet."
"Huh? Where we going?" Gregory asked.
Luis looks at Gregory in the rearview mirror, smirking. "Can't tell you. It's a surprise."
"Are we there yet?"
"Gregory," Vanessa said, sliding into the passenger seat, "We haven't even left the parking lot yet."
Beside her, Luis hid his laughter behind his hand.
-x-x-x-
"This is the bestest!" Gregory cheered, melted vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup clinging to his chubby cheeks. A few rainbow sprinkles had found their way to his messy hair.
Vanessa sat next to him, eating mint-chocolate chip ice cream in a cone. Gingerly, she picked the sprinkles out of his hair. Every so often, she had to move his ice cream sundae away from the edge of the table.
Luis enjoyed his cookie dough ice cream.
The ice cream shop was fairly busy. Likely since the Pizzaplex was closed for the night. The owner-the son of the previous owner-runs around, fulfilling orders as well as taking them. The shop generally had workers (usually the owner's kids and wife), but no one else seemed to be here tonight.
"Poor guy," Vanessa said, wincing in sympathy when he mixed up two of the orders. Both of the customers looked pissed. "Maybe we should've come earlier."
"It's fine." Luis took Gregory's empty cup, using a napkin to wipe off the table. "Besides, John is a natural."
Vanessa eyed him.
"Watch," he said, pointing over to the counter.
At the counter, the two people whose orders he mixed up were now happily chatting with the owner. John continued to make orders, but also chatted with the customers. He looked completely unbothered.
"See," Luis said, "Things have a way of working themselves out."
Vanessa said nothing, finishing her ice cream.
-x-x-x-
By the time they made it back to the apartment, it was nighttime and very nearly Gregory's bedtime. But since he took a nap later in the day, Vanessa made the executive decision that he could stay up for a couple more hours.
"Okay, we have two more surprises for you," Vanessa said, guiding him to the couch.
Gregory looked up at them. "What is it?"
Luis practically ran to her coat closet. He pulled out two packages. One from each of them. Returning to his spot next to Vanessa, he handed her a package wrapped in newspaper comics.
"Here you go, kiddo." Luis put the present in Gregory's lap.
For a second, Gregory hesitated. He sat there, looking back-and-forth between the box and Luis, as if asking for permission.
"Go ahead."
Gregory ripped into the paper, a smile stretching across his face. The newspaper fell away, and Luis caught it, setting it on the coffee table for later disposal.
"A box!" He shouted. "I love it." He hugged the unassuming brown box to his chest.
Luis smiled, gently taking the box from him. "I'm very glad you love the box, but your present is inside the box."
"Whoa! Really?" Gregory tilted his head to the side, looking at the box with all the intensity that a four-year-old can muster.
"Yep!" Luis opened the box, placing it back on Gregory's lap. "See what's inside?"
"Shoes!" He pulled them from the box. "Freddy shoes!" Gregory bounced in his spot. "Mama 'Nessa, look!" Excitedly, he pointed out the small Freddy symbol on the heel. "Thank you, Papa Luis."
He leaned forward, wrapping his tiny arms around Luis.
"No problem."
Vanessa eyed her own gift. It was nowhere near as cool as the Pizzaplex-themed sneakers. Her's was much lighter. She worried, watching the exchange between the boys.
"And Vanessa got you something too," Luis said, gesturing to her. He stood up, allowing her to bend down in front of Gregory. As he passed her, Luis sent her a reassuring grin.
(How did he always seem to know?)
Vanessa put her present on his lap. Unlike last time, Gregory started tearing into it immediately.
"Gregory." Vanessa started.
He looked at her, pausing mid-tear.
"My present ... it might not be... good. I tried to look for something that I thought you would enjoy, but…" Vanessa sighed, feeling beyond disappointed in herself. After how many weeks of knowing Gregory, and she barely knew what he liked. And, of course, it never occurred to her to just ask him. (Because that would have been too easy). "So, I made you something instead."
Gregory giggled. "Mama 'Nessa, you're so silly."
Taken back, Vanessa stared at Gregory. "Wha-"
"You already gave me the bestest present ever!"
"I did?" She asked, quirking a brow. A quick glance at Luis told her that she hadn't given Gregory any gifts recently. Unless food counted, but that was kind of a necessity.
"Uh, huh," he said.
"And what was that?" Vanessa asked, playing along. Anything to avoid the inevitable disappointment, and feelings of rejection from setting in.
"You!"
"Me?" Vanessa placed a hand over her chest.
Gregory nodded. "Yep! A mommy!"
Instantly, Vanessa was flooded with emotions. Some good, some bad. She didn't know whether to hug Gregory and never let him go, or run and hide.
She felt sick.
She'd never felt better.
She'd…
…a pair of amber eyes flashed into her mind's eye.
"Mama 'Nessa?" Gregory tugged on her sleeve. "You okay?"
"Yes, sorry. Thank you for that." Vanessa said, forcing the thoughts from her head.
He grinned widely, returning to her present. Just like last time, the newspaper was set aside to be dealt with later. Gregory opened the box. A framed photo of all three of them together, sat at the bottom of the box.
Excitedly, he pulled the picture out. "That's- that's us. Papa Luis, look!" He held the picture up for Luis to see.
Vanessa sighed in relief. "I'm happy you like it."
"I love it," he said, holding it to his chest.
-x-x-x-
They sat together on the couch. Luis on one side, Vanessa on the other, and Gregory in between them. Luis put on Tangled.
"Mama 'Nessa," Gregory nudged her, "she looks like you." He pointed at the screen, where Rapunzel was threatening a man with a frying pan.
"Thanks, kid," she murmured.
Gregory smiled, leaning into her side.
-x-x-x-
It didn't take long for Gregory to fall asleep. He was sprawled out across the couch, head on Vanessa's lap and legs on Luis'. Forcing them to scoot closer to each other. It wasn't the most comfortable of positions, but it could be a lot worse.
Vanessa rested her head on his shoulder, idly stroking Gregory's hair. It was getting long. Pretty soon, if his family wasn't found, they'd have to take him to a hairdresser, or cut it themselves.
Luis hummed along to one of the many musical numbers.
She smiled to herself. What would she do without him?
Really, honestly, truly, what would Vanessa do without him?
Without him, she'd still be wearing a bunny costume murdering people.
Without Luis, she'd have to manage a sickly, traumatized toddler all by herself.
Without him, Vanessa wouldn't be here today. Sitting on the couch, watching "Tangled," of all things.
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the low light of the TV, a smile on his face.
It occurred to Vanessa then, that despite everything she'd done not to, she kind of, sort of, really, really liked Luis. Like a lot. That kind of 'like' that made you want to do something stupid, like making breakfast in bed for a person on your only day off or watching ten seasons of a show you despise because they love it so much, and seeing them light up is worth the headache.
The realization made her face burn red, and she was glad that they'd decided to turn the lights off for the movie.
She needed to tell him.
"Luis?" Mentally, Vanessa kicked herself. Why, oh, why, was she born without a proper brain-to-mouth filter?
"Yes?" He whispered back, glancing down at Gregory. "Is something wrong?"
"I think…I think…I like you." She waved her hands furiously in the air. "But it's okay if you don't feel the same way! We don't have to talk about what I just said ever again. It was stupid, I'm sorry for bringing it-"
"Vanessa," Luis interrupted, "I like you too."
"Oh." Vanessa's face reddened further. "That's good."
"So, does this mean we're a thing?"
"Like boyfriend-girlfriend?"
Luis nodded.
"Yes," Vanessa answered without hesitation. Realizing how that might come off, she hurriedly added, "If you want."
Gently, Luis grabbed her by the chin, and turned Vanessa's head so she was looking at him. "'Ness, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, I want more than to be here with you, right now. So, yes, I want to be your boyfriend."
They stared each other in the eyes for a minute longer, Luis stroked his thumb along her jawline, before they both leaned in at the same time…
…and proceeded to bump noses.
"Sorry," Vanessa mumbled, rubbing at her nose.
"No, no, it's my fault."
They laughed it off and leaned in again. This time they both remembered to turn their heads a different way. But kissing was harder than either of them realized, and they missed the mark a couple of times.
In the background, "At last I see the Light," played.
Finally, through fits of giggles, their lips met.
His lips were blissfully warm, like slipping under the covers after a cold winter day.
They pulled away from each other. Both smiling from ear-to-ear, like the fools they were. Luis tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
This, right here, was happiness. And no one could ever take this away from her.
Ever.