Absence:

I do not own Bendy and the Ink Machine, TheMeatly Games does!

Written for Twelve Shots of Summer: Quarter Queller - Week 2…

"The studio feels different without Henry here. I remember when we first rented out this place, working hard to buy and own it ourselves… but now it depends on the revenue we earn from our viewership… But before then, we were fresh out of collage, wanting to show the world our cartoon… our dream! I remember how everyone seemed excited by our idea, for Bendy and Boris with their adventures… but it wouldn't have been possible without Henry. …It's still hard for me, not seeing him first thing in our studio anymore. I mean, we have been through so much with the show… and just seeing him leave our dream behind daunts me. Even though it's been three days since I last saw him, I feel like it's been forever since he left this place-"

"Hey, Mr. Drew! What are you doing there?"

Joey paused, immediately lifting his head up slightly. He drew his hands together promptly when he noticed his janitor had entered his office. "Oh, Mr. Franks, I was just…" His voice tapered, slurring for a little before he picked up his speech again. "Recording my thoughts... that's all."

Wally was silent for a while before he spoke, "Oh, I see…" After a few seconds, he cocked his head to one side, slowly propping his broom against the door frame. "And what were they about, Mr. Drew… if you don't mind me asking?"

Joey heaved out a sigh, shaking his head before placing his hand over his forward. "Well, I can't stop thinking about Henry."

Wally's posture sagged straightaway. "Oh yeah… Henry. Your animator." Pausing for a pregnant moment, the janitor soon grimaced. "If you want the next episode running on time, you're going to have to pick up the pace."

"I know, I know-" Joey gritted his teeth, and closed his eyes tightly as he shook his head. "And Henry drew Bendy better than me!" Breathing in and out deeply, he sighed again. "It's been three days, Mr. Franks, three days and I still don't understand why he left!"

"Didn't he tell you?"

"He didn't really say…" mumbled the studio owner crestfallen. "Said something about needing to move on, but he didn't tell me why he wanted that." Joey couldn't help but take in a unsteady breath of air before biting his lower lip. "We've been friends for years, but he couldn't even tell me that…"

"…Look, I get it," said Wally quietly; his expression projected a smaller degree of sadness. "He was a great guy… he's been practically with you at the helm of running the show since forever, from what I've heard. So I can't blame you for missing him. Heck, we all miss him."

"It just… feels wrong that he's not here." Joey couldn't help but lightly brush his fingers across the recording machine before him, finding slight comfort in doing so as he went on, "It's almost like a part of Bendy has been lost as well. I've tried to draw him, but something about the way I do it doesn't match the way Henry ever did." Joey shifted his gaze down as he frowned. "It's like Henry gives Bendy something that I can't…"

"Heh, you two worked on the show for so long, I can see why you might think of it like that." It was a few seconds later when Wally raised an eyebrow at him. "So, has voicing your thoughts helped?"

"A little bit, but talking about it makes me think more about Henry. We've been living our dream… yet he leaves when our show needs the both of us the most." Joey rubbed his temples, closing his eyes. "I don't know how I can get through another day getting an earful of complaints from our audience without him toughing it out with me…"

Wally sighed. "Mr. Drew… you have to remember you still have us. Even though I'm just your janitor, and I just clean up the mess created from everyone working on Bendy's show… there's no way anyone's going to let the show die when everyone has worked so hard at it."

Joey blinked slowly and sighed at that. "Do you really mean that?"

"Do you really think we will up and leave you when Henry did?" asked Wally warily, scowling slightly as he crossed his arms. "We wouldn't be dragging ourselves out of our beds to just wallow in the depths of the studio, Mr. Drew! You have to have more confidence in us as you did with Henry! And we're not here for just the paychecks!"

Joey smiled a little from hearing that, meeting Wally's eyes as he murmured, "Thank you, Mr. Franks."

"Well, you're welcome, Mr. Drew." Wally nodded. "I know everyone else would have said the same thing. After all, you're our employer… we're here because we want to be here."

Wally turned to grab his broom and brush pan, leaving shortly after that. Joey guessed Wally still had a lot of ground to cover in the studio, and didn't want to clock out too late. But it was nice of him to pass by when he did… Joey would have still been lamenting about Henry.

For a long time, Joey mulled over what Wally said, but eventually he became aware of barely audible whirring. He looked in the direction of the noise, noticing that the radio recorder was still running. He could have sworn he turned it off when Wally walked in, but nonetheless he pressed the stop button, cutting the machine's humming short. As he continued to stare down at the machine, his eyebrows furrowed as he frowned.

Even if Henry was no longer here, Joey couldn't let their dream die. There were plenty of people to fill in Henry's position, and they were depending on Joey...

With or without Henry.

- END -

I hope you enjoyed the story! =3

…

EeveeGen9988: Is it a good idea to write about a fandom that you don't understand everything about? Maybe not… but it can give some leeway for fanfiction… So I may not know everything about what happens in this game (just yet) but I thought it might be cool to write a little something about it, heh. =3

So I mainly tried to go about using the [The Legacy Lives On] prompt, mainly in the form of the recording. After all, one day someone or something will find it… or not.