brutal | grayson hawthorne

the foundation (deragatory)

***
National Anthem by Lana Del Rey
***

There's something surreal about walking into the Hawthorne Foundation building after finding out you own it.

Even more so when Grayson Hawthorne is standing there to greet you.

If you had told Liz at any point within the past 13 months that she would be in this situation, she would've punched you in the face for saying something so ridiculous.

But now, she can act somewhat normal around Grayson, and as the two sit down and go through files and files of charities and good causes to donate money to, Liz finds herself less indulged in the fancy French cologne she's sure the boy next to her is wearing, and more so at seeing the world at her fingertips to change and help for the better.

"This is yours, y'know?" Liz suddenly says as she stops taking in the words Grayson is saying and starts taking in the fact that he's the one saying them. "This foundation, I mean. I don't know why he gave it to me, but I can't be the one to take it from you," she doesn't know why she's saying this. Maybe it's her version of an apology. Maybe she's just looking for an excuse to stop looking at charities before her brain explodes.

"It was never mine for you to take," Grayson says without meeting her eyes and the words run deeper than what they have to do with the foundation.

"Are you kidding?" She takes them at surface level even though she's sure that's not all he was trying to say. "Look at this place, Gray," she gestures around her. "These photos- your photos, even these files," she gestures to the table in front of them. "They're all your hard work. I can't do this to you."

"He wanted you to have it," it isn't until she hears the lack of breath in his throat that she realizes what she said.

Gray.

Maybe she's not the only one with a sensitivity to nicknames.

"I think. . ." Liz trails off. She doesn't want to say that to him just yet.

"What?" Now he's staring at her.

"I think I'm done for today," she settles on, and stands up to take her leave.

***

Liz doesn't know how she ended up spying on Jameson and Avery that night as they walk back and forth on a bridge, but it definitely had something to do with the way Grayson looked at her before they left - and not because he caught her eating his ice cream.

They both felt like their conversation from earlier wasn't really done yet, but neither knew what more to say, so instead they stare silently as Jameson dangles Avery over the edge of the bridge.

"He's not trying to kill her is he?" Liz whispers to Grayson who's in between her and the wall they're attempting to hide behind.

"Shh," is Grayson's answer.

"Comforting."

"I always am, Lizzy."

"I didn't realize you were into the game," Liz tries to keep talking so that he doesn't have the last word. That last word.

"I'm not. I'm into making sure my brother stays safe."

"Not Avery, though?"

"Who do you think I want him to stay safe from?"

"Hopefully not the five foot three chick over there who's crawling under a bridge, because then you'd have some serious judgement problems."

"I don't trust her."

"You don't trust anyone," Liz rolls her eyes.

"I don't trust anyone who can come between me and keeping my family safe."

"You mean anyone who can come between your family and their safety."

"What?" Grayson moves his eyes from Jameson and Avery to stare at Liz, but she doesn't waver.

"It's not your job alone to protect your family," Liz misses when she could help Grayson understand the weight of the world isn't on his shoulders, but now he can't even look at her the way he used to.

"Then who will?" He questions as if she can genuinely provide an answer.

"It doesn't have to be 'who,'" Liz watches as Jameson and Avery discover something on a floorboard, then run off somewhere else, probably home. "It could be 'what.'"

She leads Grayson to the place Jameson and Avery once were after making sure the coast was clear, then flips over the same floorboard they did.

"Eight," Grayson acknowledges the carving on the other side.

"A clue," Liz furthers. "Or maybe even an answer."

"Are we in this?" Grayson looks at her under the moonlight. "The game, I mean," he says before she gets too lost in his eyes.

"Yeah, we're in this," Liz flips the board over again and walks off, expecting Grayson to catch up easily. "This can be how you help your family," she explains, if she can't prove he's wrong, at least she can help him feel better about it all. Even if she's not supposed to help him. "Find out why all this is happening before you stop it. To help you stop it."

"Why are you doing this?" He says the words she's sure both of them have been thinking since they first started talking more.

"Because I miss when we were on the same team," she answers fearlessly.

They don't talk for the rest of the walk home.

"God, you two always do this," Jameson falls back in his chair dramatically as Liz and Grayson high five after successfully solving another clue in Tobias Hawthorne's game.

Liz and Grayson may be the closest in these games, but it's really only because Liz and Jameson prioritize their god given duty of getting on each other's nerves more than they prioritize actually attempting to win.

"It's better to make allies than enemies," the old man nods thoughtfully.

He started inviting Liz to play with the guys since he caught her wandering the board game room with Nash who taught her to combine Chutes and Ladders with Candy Land to create a super game that she totally would've beaten him at if baby Xander hadn't crawled in started trying to eat the pieces.

"They're just gonna double cross each other at the end," Nash has memorized all their tactics by now.

"Nah, Grayson always lets Liz beat him," Xander provides his input as more of a spectator.

"Maybe I'm just better than him," Liz is taken aback by the disbelief Xander has in her abilities, especially considering they both know she lets him win whenever they play chess.

"No, it's true, I let you win," Grayson nods, knowing it'll piss Liz off.

She throws a pillow from the couch behind her at him, laughing, and all five of the kids take a quick intermission from the puzzle for their impromptu pillow fight.

a/n:
august by ts - the summer I turned pretty version