AN: This story is based off of the ink Henry AU created by shinyzango and themarginalartist. Check out their awesome work on tumblr.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Bendy and the Ink Machine characters. Just my own OCS.
"I dunno Juney, are you sure about this?"
"I-I think so.". She ran her fingers through her hair. " There is no way to keep him out of our house. I feel a little better knowing he's going to show up rather than him sneaking in and out of the house."
"I know, I know." Henry sighed. He really didn't like the idea of the demon hanging around his sister's home. "I just want you to be careful. Never forget: He's dangerous. You can't trust him completely."
"I'll be careful, I promise."
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OOoOoOoOoO
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This wasn't how she wanted to introduce her children to the demon that would be visiting them from time to time. Beth and Sarah was hiding behind her while Ben stood in the corner, staring at them. June sighed. She knew this would happen sooner or later.
"Girls, it's okay." She placed her hands on the girls' heads. "This is Ben. He's not going to hurt you." The children looked up at her, then back at the demon. They looked him up and down with their stares lingering on his bad leg.
"Are you the one from that scary place?" Beth asked. Ben tilted his head as though he were trying to understand her question.
June smiled weakly. "She means the Studio." The demon hissed softly and nodded. Beth stayed glued to her side and Sarah's grip grew a little tighter.
"A-Are you gonna take mommy away again?" Sarah said in a soft voice. The question broke June's heart. Maybe it was too soon for this. It was obvious that the children were scared. Maybe she should have warned them first.
It grew very quiet and June was ready to take the girls out of the room when Ben did something that surprised her. The lanky demon crouched down with his long arms resting on his knees. He was almost eye level with the girls even if he was still taller than them. "Noooo. I'mmm not."
Both girls looked up at their mother, then at each other. Beth let go of June's skirt and stepped forward. "You promise?"
Ben chuckled softly. "I promisse."
Sarah peeked around June's leg and said, "Pinky promise."
Beth nodded and held out her little hand. All of her fingers curled except for her pinky. "Y-Yeah, pinky promise!"
Ben tilted his head and studied the little girl's hand. June wasn't sure if the demon understood the significance of the gesture but he slowly held out his ungloved hand. He curled his long fingers with his pinky pointed outward.
Beth stepped closer to him, wrapped her little pinky around the demon's, and tugged on his hand. "Pinky promise."
Ben was amused by it all and the girls seemed satisfied that the demon wasn't going to take their mom away. June just shook her head. Jason was not going to believe this.
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OoOoOoOoO
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As first meetings go, it went better than she thought. The girls were still wary of him. For the first few visits, they kept their distance from one another. After awhile, Beth's curiosity got the better of her, and she bombarded the ink demon with a bunch of questions. Some of her questions he answered, but others he didn't. He would just stare at her coldly until she backed off. June didn't like that, but was sure he wasn't actively trying to scare her children.
One afternoon, June was in the living room with the girls. She was helping them with their homework when an inky portal formed on the wall. Ben shuffled through. They greeted him as he sat cross legged on the floor near the girls. They had their work books open and spread out on the coffee table. Ben picked up Sarah's math book and looked it over.
June had a hard time getting Beth to pay attention because she was busy staring at the demon. Her brows were knitted together and you could practically see a question forming in her mind.
"Hey Ben?" The demon looked up from the textbook and stared at Beth. The girl fidgeted under Ben's gaze. "Um, do you have eyes?"
June froze. She had to admit, she was curious about that but was too scared to ask. Even Sarah stopped what she was doing to hear his answer. Ben sat back and seemed to look up at the ceiling.
"I-I mean, I know you can see.." Beth stumbled over her words. June began to worry when she heard him hiss softly. She was afraid the demon might act negatively to the question.
Ben lowered his head. He sighed before pressing his gloved hand to one side of his face. June held her breath as the demon pushed some of the ink away. There was a soft gasp from someone in the room when they saw, underneath all that dripping ink, a dark eye socket with a glowing orb staring back at them.
June had thought that if Ben did have eyes underneath all that ink, that it might glow like Bendy's when he's in his monster form. She thought the color might be red or even that harsh yellow that Henry had when he was possessed. Out of all the colors she came up with, a soft violet wasn't one of them.
Ben sat hunched over with his hands in his lap. His eye darted about taking in everyone's expressions. His grin slipped slightly when no one said anything for a long time.
The silence was broken by Sarah. "Wow, your eye is pretty."
Ben lowered his head and grumbled something that sounded like, "Thank You." They watched as the ink dripped down his face and covered his eye back up. When he looked at them, his face was back to the way it was.
June clapped her hands. "Alright guys, time to get back to your homework." When she was sure the girls' attention was on their work, she looked over at Ben. He was staring back at her.
June smiled and mouthed the words, "Thank You." Ben's smile seemed to stretch a little wider.
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OoOoOoOoO
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There would be days where they didn't see the demon. Then out of the blue, he'd be in the kitchen, stealing cookies or sneaking up on her when she was doing the laundry. Ben was nothing if not unpredictable.
One evening, June was in the kitchen fixing dinner. The girls were playing in the living room with their dolls and stuffed animals. Jason was sitting on the couch, reading the newspaper.
June hummed to herself while she checked on the baked chicken in the oven. So far, the evening was nice and quiet. That was until she felt a presence behind her. She froze when a heavy weight landed on her shoulder. It was Ben! For some strange reason, the demon loved to look over her shoulder while she was cooking.
This was something she would never get used to. He felt so cold that it made her skin crawl. She covered her physical shudder by huffing and sounding annoyed with him.
"C'mon Ben, I'm trying to cook!" With his head so close, his wheezing laughter rang in her ear. She winced slightly and waited for him to back up. She turned to see him smiling down at her. "Now go on, get out of here! I don't need you dripping ink into the food and spoiling it."
June crossed her arms over her chest and tried to glare at him sternly. Deep down, she knew it wasn't working. He just chuckled and shuffled out of the kitchen. She followed him but stopped by the doorway.
As Ben entered the room and the girls greeted him. Jason just grunted and pretended to read his newspaper. He kept his eyes on the demon while he was around his children. Jason trusted the demon about as far as he could throw him. He told June as much.
Ben sat on the floor and watched the children play. There were dolls, toy cars, and stuffed animals all on the floor. He reached out and picked up a pink bunny. It had long, floppy ears and a big puffy tale. It had a big, red bow tied around it's neck. The bunny was missing a button eye and the stitching was frayed here and there, but it was very soft to the touch.
"Um…" Ben looked up from the stuffed animal to see Sarah staring at him. She was standing a few feet away from him and twisting the end of her shirt in her tiny hands. She was always nervous around him.
"That's Charlie." Sarah pointed towards the pink bunny. Ben twisted the bunny around until he saw a name stitched into the bow around his neck. She looked up at him anxiously. The demon huffed softly and handed her back the bunny. She hugged it tightly and thanked him.
Beth ran up to them with a big, golden teddy bear in her arms. She held out the bear for Ben to see. "This is Sunny!" she said with a big smile on her face. Ben hesitated for a moment before taking the bear from her. He turned the stuffed bear in his hand a few times before giving it back to Beth.
Jason shot June a worried glance as Beth introduced the demons to the rest of her dolls. Sarah stood back and watched. June was just as bemused as her husband. Beth was always the more outgoing of their daughters so it shouldn't have surprised them that she'd be eager to get to know him. It just seemed so surreal.
A loud *ding* could be heard from the oven so June checked on the chicken. A few moments later, she returned to the living room and announced that dinner was ready.
"Alright girls. Clean up your toys, wash your hands, and then help me set the table." Beth and Sarah picked up their things and ran up the stairs.
"Hey you two, don't run up the stairs. Walk!" Jason yelled. Jason could see the demon watching the girls out of the corner of his eye. He really hated the way Ben just stared at them. Jason's thoughts were interrupted by June's voice.
"Hey Ben, are you joining us for dinner tonight?" The demon turned towards June and shook his head. He stood up, shuffled over to the other side of the living room, and opened an inky portal against the wall. He tilted his head up for a moment before disappearing through the portal.
Jason frowned and said, "I'll never get used to this." June couldn't agree more.
The rest of the evening went by smoothly. The girls grumbled about not liking carrots and didn't want to eat them. The threat of no dessert changed their tune quickly. Afterwards, they all sat in the living room and watched TV until it was time for the girls to go to bed.
Jason reached out and ruffled both girls' hair. "Alright guys, time for bed." There were a chorus of "awws" and "But I'm not tired!", that rang out through the room. Jason just shook his head and pointed towards the stairs. "Go on up. You both have school tomorrow."
The kids grumbled and dragged their feet as they made their way up the stairs. June chuckled and hugged her husband as they lounged on the couch. The past few weeks had been so weird and a little nerve wracking. With a very dangerous being coming in and out of their house without notice, it made it hard for them to relax. Short, quiet times like this was precious…
And then the calm was shattered by screams coming from the girls' room. Jason and June were up the stairs like a shot and rushing down the hall.
"Beth?! Sarah?! What's wrong?" When the only sound they heard was another scream, the parents feared the worse. They ran into the children's bedroom, then stopped dead in their tracks.
Sitting on the floor, near each girl's bed, was two large stuffed animals. The one that sat near Beth's bed was shaped like Bendy. She was sitting on the floor and hugging it. The Bendy plush was bigger than her. "Oh my gosh! It looks just like cousin Bendy!" Beth squeezed it and it let out a loud squeak.
Sarah was a little puzzled by the plush sitting near her bed. It had a long muzzle and wore white overalls. It kind of looked like a big dog. She reached out and squeezed the end of his nose. It squeaked as well. "Mommy, who is this?"
June walked over and pet the plushy on the head. "This is Boris the Wolf. He was one of Bendy's friends in the cartoons." Sarah made a soft "Ohh" sound as she sat in the big wolf's lap. Sarah looked so small next to the stuffed animal, it was very cute. It made June wish she brought her camera.
Jason walked into the room and placed his arm around June's waist. He watched the girls play with the oversized plush toys and chuckled softly. "How did these things get here?"
June leaned against him and smiled. "Ben." Looks like the big, scary demon wanted to give the kids a little gift.
Her smile began to slip when she realized that Ben just brought the girls plush toys that had been sitting in that ink filled studio for over thirty years. June shuddered at the amount of dust and what not that must be crawling all over the toys. It took everything she had not to snatch the toys away from them.
"Okay girls, time for bed!" When the kids tried to drag the stuffed animals into their beds, June started to panic. "No No! J-Just leave them on the floor. You can play with them tomorrow." Jason laughed at her reaction and tucked the girls in for the night.
June picked up the toys and rushed them out of the room. He knew she'd spend a couple of hours scrubbing the poor things.
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OoOoOoOoO
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Henry had been calling her almost every other day. He asked if she was okay and had Ben been behaving himself. June told him about the promise he made to Beth and Sarah and the plush toys he brought for them. Henry sounded genuinely surprised.
"He really did that?"
"Heh, yeah. I'm just as surprised as you." They spoke for a little bit longer with Henry promising to visit them next weekend. He wasn't the only one worried about them. Bendy wanted to make sure they're okay too.
"Make sure you tell my nephew that I love him too." June chuckled.
"I will June-bug. You take care…and be careful."
It was a cool Thursday morning. Beth and Sarah were in school and June used that time to do the laundry. Ben stood in the corner and watched as she pulled wet sheets out of the washing machine. June placed them in a basket along with some wooden pins.
"Hey Ben, why doncha come out back with me? I need to hang these sheets on the line outside." The ink demon nodded and followed her out the backdoor.
This was the first time he'd been outside in the daylight. He froze on the porch as he took in the sights. June chuckled and walked around him. She carried the basket to the line and began pulling the sheets out.
June watched him as he shuffled around the yard. Ben ran his ungloved hand against the bark of a few trees. He stopped and stared at a pot full of colorful flowers that sat at the base of one of the trees. Ben reached out with and brushed his fingers against their petals. "Sssoo many colorsss." He sat down under the tree. He pressed his back against it and stared up at the cloudy sky.
June sighed. She wondered what it was like to be trapped someplace for thirty years. Look at the same yellowing walls day after day. She was sure she would have lost her mind long ago. Maybe something similar happened to him. If so, it would explain why he acts the way he does. In that respect, June felt sorry for the demon.
June watched as a squirrel approached Ben. It came up to him slowly. The demon sat perfectly still as the little creature got closer. All of a sudden, Ben's hand shot out and he grabbed the squirrel.
Ben turned the struggling creature this way and that. It was like he was studying it. The squirrel squeaked and wiggled in his hand. It even bit down on one of his fingers. If it hurt, the demon didn't show it. He just laughed, like it amused him to see the little creature struggle.
The longer the demon held the poor creature, the more uncomfortable June got. She was about to tell Ben to put the squirrel down, but the demon reached up with his ungloved hand, gripped the little creature by the head, and twisted it. There was a dull pop and the squirrel's body grew limp.
He killed it! Just like that. June had to slap her hand over her mouth to stifle the scream that tried to crawl up her throat. Her brother's warning echoed through her mind as Ben played with the body. He held the squirrel by its tail and shook it. He chuckled as the limp body swayed from side to side. The demon laid the body in his large, gloved hand. A ball of ink formed and swallowed the squirrel's body. When the ink dissolved, the squirrel was gone. Ben sat back and stared up at the sky like nothing happened.
She had forgotten. He had spent years in that studio hunting people down and drowning them in ink. Ben had no problem taking the life of another. He even tried to kill her brother multiple times! Still, the way he killed that poor squirrel reminded her that she couldn't let her guard down around him.
June spent the rest of the morning trying to act normal even though her nerves were frazzled. She tried to clean up in the kitchen, but her hands kept shaking. The whole time this was happening, the demon was staring at her. June could feel his unseen eyes on her. It made her even more nervous.
She could hear Ben moving behind her and she hoped he'd go into the next room. No such luck though. He stood behind June. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on cleaning the stove. June nearly lost it when he reached out and gripped her shaking hand. Thank goodness her scream couldn't get past the lump that formed in her throat.
"What'sss wrong? You'rrre ssshaking." June turned slowly to face him. He was frowning. She cleared her throat and hoped her voice didn't betray her.
"Nothing! Nothing's wrong." She didn't think he was buying it. Ben leaned in close and stared at her face. June was about to stammer out a lame ass excuse when she heard the honk of a school bus outside.
"O-Oh, the girls are home! I-uh, I need to go…". She pulled her hand free of his grip and walked around him. June wanted to sprint for the door, but she took a few deep breaths and calmly walked to the front door. She knew Ben was still watching her.
June opened the door just as the girls stepped off the bus. They ran down the walkway and she caught them in a big hug. They started talking all at once and June was glad for the distraction.
They walked into the house and Ben was gone. At that moment, June was a bundle of emotions. One the one hand, she was relieved that he had left. She needed some time to calm her nerves. On the other hand, she hoped she didn't do anything to upset him. She wasn't sure what he would do if he got angry. She hoped she'd never have to find out.
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OoOoOoOoO
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It was Saturday afternoon when Ben showed up at the house. It was a nice day so everyone was outside. Jason was at the side of the house working on 'Lucy'. The girls and Ben were out in the back. They were showing the demon the colorful fall leaves. June was on the back porch, watching the children like a hawk.
June had calmed down considerably, but she didn't want what happened a couple of days ago to happen again, especially with the girls around. She didn't tell her husband what happened with the squirrel. She didn't want to cause any trouble.
The little group was huddled around a bush near the end of the yard. They stayed in that spot for quite awhile. June grew concerned when Beth jumped up and ran towards her.
"Mommy, mommy! Come see what Ben found!" Her heart dropped as she sprinted across the yard. She prayed it wasn't another squirrel he was trying to kill or worse. Ben had his back to her by the time June reached him. She couldn't see what he was holding.
"Hey Ben? Whatcha got there?" June tried very hard not to sound worried.
Ben turned to her and there, in his large gloved hand, sat a little grey kitten. The poor thing shook like a leaf and blinked at all the new faces surrounding it. It didn't have a collar and looked very young. It must be a stray. Probably wondered away from its momma.
Ben lowered his hand enough for the girls to coo and pet the little thing. He looked absolutely pleased with himself. June was freaking out on the inside. She didn't want him to kill that kitten in front of her children…
"Can we keep it?"
June blinked as her thoughts came crashing to a halt. "What?"
"Can we keep it mommy?" Sarah said shyly.
"Yeah, can we? Can we? Pleeaase?" Beth was excited. She always wanted a cat.
June ran her fingers through her hair. "Aww guys, I dunno…" Ben looked down at her. The corners of his mouth twitched and he pulled the kitten closer to his chest. June didn't like where this was going and she needed to do something quick.
She held out her hand. "Ben, give me the cat." The demon frowned and hesitated for just a moment before placing the little ball of fluff in her hand.
June turned the kitten around so she could get a good look at its face. It had bright yellow eyes. It blinked at her a few times and squeaked out a cute little meow. She felt her heart melt a little the longer she looked at it. June sighed. Maybe she could use this to her advantage.
June held the kitten close to her chest and looked at the group. Beth and Sarah were hitting her with the big, puppy dog eyes. And Ben, well, he actually looked…anxious. He was rubbing his hands together and everything.
"Okay girls, go tell your dad…that we're getting a cat." Both girls screamed and ran towards the side of the house. June narrowed her eyes at the demon.
"Ben, we will keep this cat but on two conditions!" The demon hissed softly, the frown never leaving his face.
"One: You can't take this kitten to the studio. It's just a baby and it'll get hurt there." The demon took a moment, but ultimately agreed.
"Two: Don't kill the cat!" Ben's head shot back like he'd been slapped. "Don't act surprised. I saw what you did to that squirrel." The demon lowered his head and looked off to the side.
"If I even get a hint that you'll hurt this kitten, I'll give it away. Do you understand?" The girls would be very upset, but June would feel better knowing she kept the demon from killing it.
Ben lifted his head and stared at her for a few seconds. June wasn't budging on this and he knew it. He huffed and nodded. "I unnderssstand."
June shoulders sagged and she relaxed slightly. She just hoped she wouldn't life to regret this. She told Ben to hold out his hand. She handed the kitten back to him. "I'll show you and the girls how to take care of it okay?" June could hear the girls coming back. "I'm trusting you Ben. Please don't let me down." She whispered. The demon gave her a slight nod.
For the rest of the afternoon, Jason and June watched as Ben and the girls played with the newest member of their family. Jason would tell them to be gentle when the play got a little too rough. He reminded them that the kitten was still a baby and they needed to be careful. After awhile, the kitten curled up in Ben's large gloved hand and fell asleep. He sat under the tree and ran his fingers along it's soft fur.
"Well, we have to give the puffball a name." Beth and Sarah hummed softly while Ben stared up at the clouds. He looked down at the kitten in his hand. "Cloudy" Everyone looked at him, then down at the kitten.
"Cloudy." Sarah reached over and scratched the kitten behind its ear. "I like it."
"Me too." Beth was all smiles. "It's puffy like a cloud!" The adults agreed even if they were surprised that Ben picked the name.
After an hour or so, Ben got up and shuffled over to June. He placed the sleepy ball of fur in her hands, opened an inky portal on the side of the house, and returned to the Studio.
June looked down at the little kitten in her hands. Her shoulders slumped and all the tension drained out of her. She made a deal with a demon to save a kitten's life. She must be loosing her mind.
Jason wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. She leaned into him and they both stood there, staring at the spot where Ben had been.
"I don't know the first thing about taking care of a cat!" June chuckled. "We had a dog growing up."
"Don't worry about it. It's not that hard." Jason just smiled and scratched the little kitten behind the ear. "Mom had one when I was little. I'll pick up a few things for it." Jason plucked the kitten from her hands and turned it over. "Ahh, looks like Cloudy's a little boy." He chuckled. "Don't worry hon, everything will be fine."
June sighed. She sure hoped so.
A week went by. Henry and Bendy came up that weekend. The girls were happy to see their uncle and cousin again. They even introduced the little toon to the kitten.
"Oh my gosh Henry! They have a cat. Isn't it cute!" Bendy held the bundle of fluff up for Henry to see. It mewled and blinked its golden eyes at him. Henry took the cat and looked it over.
"Um, sis? When did you guys get a cat?" June chuckled nervously and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Ben found him!" Beth ran up with a feather in her hand. She waved it in front of the kitten. Cloudy meowed and pawed at it.
"Ben?" Henry turned to his sister. She was looking everywhere except at him. "Juney?"
June cleared her throat. "Ah well, you see..."
There was a soft splashing sound as an inky portal opened up on the wall next to them. Ben emerged from it and froze when he saw Henry and the little ink spot.
June took the kitten from her brother and placed him in the demon's large, gloved hand. Ben turned the kitten onto its back. He wiggled his fingers and the little kitten pawed at them.
Henry and Bendy watched in mild shock as the demon played with the little kitten.
Henry turned to his sister with his arms crossed over his chest and said, "Juney, you have some explainin' to do."
June smiled weakly. Henry wasn't going to be happy about the squirrel. She knew she was going to get an earful by the time she was done. But at least Ben kept his word. That had to count for something, right?
