"Hey, Ev… there's something strange about Mike's eyes."
"They've been turning purple?"
"You've seen it?"
"Not really… but everyone else has told me about it. I don't understand why, though."
"Yeah, it is weird…"
"No, not that- well, yeah, that. I don't understand what it is or what's happening… but I meant that I don't understand why everyone is coming to me about it."
"...because he's your brother?"
"So?"
"So… I don't know. Maybe you could ask him."
Evan thought of multiple different reasons why he shouldn't be the one to ask his brother about this. For one thing, they weren't very close. They hadn't been in life, and they still weren't in death. For another thing, well…
"I would, but I can't," he told her. Cassidy frowned slightly.
"Why not?" she asked. Evan shrugged nonchalantly.
"He doesn't want to talk to me," he said. Cassidy crossed her arms.
"Clearly, he doesn't want to talk to anyone about it," she said. Evan bit his lip and opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "You're his brother- he's more likely to open up to you than any of us."
"But- "
"Quite being a baby, Evan. Talk to him."
She grabbed his shoulders and turned him in the direction of Michael's bedroom, shoving him forward gently. He sighed and walked in that direction, knowing that, unfortunately, he was not getting out of this.
He bit his lip slightly. What was he going to say? Would Michael even talk to him?
He wished he could turn around and ask literally anyone else to do it- he knew that this conversation was not going to end well.
He still didn't understand why the others thought he was the best one to do this- he hadn't really talked to his brother much since he was… well, since he was alive. The last conversation they'd held had consisted of "Michael please, no" and "I'm doing it anyway" and then CHOMP. No more conversation.
The It's Me thing didn't count. Evan was trying to guilt and scare him with those. And besides, that was too one-sided to be called a 'conversation'.
He stopped in front of Michael's door. Was he really here already? Had the trip been that short? He would've hoped he'd have longer to think of what to say to his brother…
Oh, well… here goes nothing.
He reached up and knocked on the door. He didn't say anything- if he spoke, Michael would recognize his voice, and then they'd never get to talk. He started playing nervously with his fingers.
Maybe he already knows that I'm the one out here.
Maybe that's why this is taking so long.
I should probably go.
Just as he had turned around, he heard his brother's voice from the other side of the door.
"Just a second!"
There was the sound of sheets being shifted around. Evan frowned slightly. Had Michael been asleep?
The door opened and there stood his brother, his brown hair completely disheveled, eyes a concerning indigo. Evan felt his frown deepen when Michael's eyes landed on him and turned into a shade of purple that was so dark, his eyes almost appeared to be black.
"H-hey, Ev," he stammered. "Uh… Evan. How's it going? What are you doing here?"
Evan ignored the slight pang in his heart.
Focus. You're here for a reason.
"I wanted to talk to you about something," he said. Before Michael could say no, he walked into his bedroom and walked over to his bed, sitting down on it. The sheets were perfectly tidy.
He wasn't sleeping…
Then what was that sound?
He heard the door close. He could practically feel Michael's hesitation. Before he could dwell too heavily on the fact that his older brother wasn't coming closer to him, he took a breath and looked up at him.
"Michael, the others have told me that something… strange… is happening with your eyes," he said.
Rip the band-aid off. He'd heard Michael say that to himself right before he told their dad what they'd seen happen to Elizabeth. He thought it might apply to this situation.
Michael hesitated for another couple of seconds before slowly and carefully making his way over to the bed. He sat at the other end of it, leaning against one of the pillows. He was stiff and tense, like he was ready to run away if the need arose.
Don't think about it…
"My eyes?" he asked. "What's going on with my eyes?"
Just don't think about it…
"Well, I didn't believe the others at first, but… your eyes have been turning purple."
Michael frowned at him and began leaning forward. His eyes flashed with slight panic and he leaned back again, pressing himself against the pillow.
"Oh…" he said. "I didn't realize…"
Evan crossed his arms, turning to face Michael properly.
"Nobody knows why it's happening. I was hoping that you'd be able to tell me, but apparently, you didn't know it was happening at all," he said. He saw Michael wince slightly. Evan studied his purple eyes now- incredibly dark. Such a deep shade of purple that he couldn't help being reminded of-
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"...do you have thoughts about it?" he asked. He didn't really like this specific shade of purple. He thought about what his friends had told him about Michael's purple eyes- they always changed when he was talking to them about something personal.
Susie had told him that his brother seemed more tired than usual when she asked him what Michael's favorite dessert was. Evan had noticed that too. Lately, when Michael finished up his practice sessions with Jeremy, or when he finished baking something with Susie, or the other day when he was carrying Gabriel…
Evan shook his head slightly.
Stay focused.
"...Evan? Are you alright?"
Evan's eyes focused back on Michael's. His brother's eyes were a lighter shade of purple now, but they were laced with concern. He nodded at him.
"Yeah, I'm fine… why?" he asked. Michael frowned slightly and bit his lip.
"It's just… I said something, and you didn't respond…"
Evan inwardly facepalmed.
I thought I told you to FOCUS.
"Sorry, just… thinking," he said, averting his gaze. Michael started scooting closer to him, but again, he hesitated. He backed away again. Evan frowned heavily at him. "If you wanna say something, say it."
Michael swallowed.
"W-what do you- ?"
"You clearly have something you wanna say, so say it," Evan repeated. He wished his brother would just… SAY SOMETHING, talk to him… it didn't even matter what the conversation would be. Just… something. Anything.
"Evan, why are you upset?" Michael asked. Evan took a deep breath.
Stay focused.
"I'm not upset," he said.
"Yes, you are," Michael said. Evan couldn't stand the way Michael was looking at him right now- he stood up and walked away from him, trying to keep his thoughts in order.
Stay FOCUSED.
"Did I do something…?" Michael asked. He started standing up, too, reaching a hand out to Evan.
He shook his head.
"No, you didn't!" he said. He turned to look at Michael, trying his hardest to fight back tears because dammit, we're getting too close… I got distracted… we were talking about something important-
"Then why are you upset?" Michael asked, his eyes growing more concerned. Evan watched his eyes turn from a lighter shade of purple to indigo. It made him pause for a moment.
"I'm not upset," he insisted. He watched Michael's eyes turn slightly more blue.
"You clearly are," he said. The tentative, almost scared man from earlier was pretty much gone in the wake of the moment.
Talking to them about personal things made his eyes turn purple…
Now they're indigo. And this is personal.
…or is it?
Evan's eyes widened at the realization. Talking about everyone else's personal things wasn't what was turning his eyes purple. It was talking about things personal to him. Thinking back on the past, seeing different struggles in his friends that Michael had had…
"Evan, if something is bothering you- "
Evan frowned at him.
"What, talk to you about it?!" he bit. Michael winced slightly at his tone, his eyes turning back into a more purple type of indigo. Originally, he'd only said that with the intention of testing his new theory, but… well, he'd opened a can he couldn't close. He couldn't stop the next words out of his mouth. "How can I when you've been avoiding me this whole time?!"
The two brothers were silent. Evan couldn't bring himself to look at Michael.
I can't believe I told him…
He shook his head, taking a deep breath to get himself under control.
"...that's not even why I came in here," he said. He still couldn't force himself to look at his brother. "Look, I'll send someone else in here to talk to you- you've made it clear that you don't wanna spend any time with me."
He started reaching for the door handle, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. He paused, not wanting to turn around.
"...I'm sorry."
He felt a light tug on his shoulder. He turned around and stared into Michael's dark purple eyes.
Evan opened his mouth to say something, but Michael pulled him into a loose hug. Evan froze for a second, not having expected their conversation to turn into… well, this. He could count on one hand the number of times Michael had hugged him in their lives, dead AND alive.
He slowly brought his arms up to return the hug. He felt himself squeezing harder the longer the hug went on. He felt a familiar burning sensation building in his eyes.
Don't cry… don't cry… don't cry…
Michael's hug tightened, too. That was Evan's breaking point. Tears started spilling from his eyes, and he squeezed Michael even tighter. The older man made no sounds of protest, nor did he pull away.
"W-why have you been avoiding m-me?" he sobbed.
Why do you spend more time with my friends than with me? Do you not like me? Am I not even worthy of your attention anymore? Not even for a scare?
Admittedly, Evan would have preferred being scared to near death by his older brother over being ignored and avoided completely. Seeing him bonding with the others, spending time with them, laughing with them… did he just… not care about Evan? At all?
Michael leaned down slightly to pick him up, bringing him over to the bed. He set him down gently, keeping one hand on his shoulder. Evan took this moment to try and get himself under control. He wiped at his eyes, trying to stop the tears.
Once that was done, he focused on what Michael was doing. His brother had moved the pillow he'd been leaning against and picked something up.
He was hiding something?
His eyes widened when Michael handed the object to him.
It was a small plush bear. The fur was a dull yellow. It was slightly dirty, and there were stitches from where it was torn. The hat and tie were purple, the eyes black with yellow pupils. Evan remembered that it had been a factory error that their father tried to throw away. Michael kept the toy anyway, giving it to Evan because he'd seemed to like it alot, despite the miscoloring of the eyes.
He hugged Fredbear close to his chest, feeling Michael sit down beside him and wrap him in another loose hug.
He kept Fredbear…
"...I finally understand why you carried him around everywhere," Michael said softly. "He's nice to hug…"
Evan nodded.
"I-I thought… I always assumed that you…"
"...I couldn't bring myself to get rid of him. I tried once… but I couldn't do it."
Evan sniffled and leaned into the hug.
"...you're right. I've been avoiding you. I just thought… well, I thought you… that…"
Evan blinked down at Michael's bedsheets. His brain finished the sentence.
"...you thought I wouldn't want to be around you."
Michael was silent. Evan shook his head slightly.
"I don't get it… why did you think that?" he asked. Sure, he and his brother had never really gotten along before, but… Evan didn't hate him or anything. Michael pulled away from the hug, finger to his chin in thought.
"Let me think," he said. He started counting on his fingers. "I would always put on a Foxy mask and chase you around the house while you screamed, I'd laugh at you when you started crying, I threatened that 'Foxy was gonna eat your toes' then laugh when you freaked out… hmm, what else is there… oh, yes. I also shoved you inside of Fredbear's head while you were hysterically screaming and crying knowing full well that the animatronics were dangerous and that you were absolutely terrified of them."
Evan shrunk a little into himself with every terrible thing Michael mentioned. His big brother sighed, turning his head a little away from him.
"If I were you, I wouldn't want anything to do with me," he said. Evan stared at him sadly, his shoulders sagging.
His brother was right. He'd been cruel and horrible. Admittedly, Evan still tried to keep a little bit of a distance. He was mostly fine around his brother, but… he still couldn't help but expect that stupid Foxy mask and a jumpscare. He always reminded himself of the good that Michael had done- he'd freed their souls, he'd fought their father, he literally gave up his life to save everyone- but he still couldn't shake the distinct fear of that mask…
Looking at Michael now, he realized that, if they both continued to boil alive in the cauldron of their past, they would get eaten up inside. Nothing would ever get better for them, no matter how much the world around them improved.
He took a deep breath, clutching Fredbear to his chest. One of them would have to try and walk away from the past. Hopefully, he could drag his brother along.
Evan pressed himself against his brother, and leaned his head on the older boy's shoulder.
"'If you were me, you wouldn't want anything to do with me'?" he asked. "Do you realize how confusing that is? I mean, you would be Evan, not wanting anything to do with Evan…"
He felt his brother's soft, almost inaudible scoff.
"You know what I meant."
Evan grinned.
"Do I? You weren't very clear."
He felt Michael's shoulders shake slightly, heard the breathy laughter coming from his brother. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
Evan called his friends together. Everyone gathered around him, eager to hear what he had to say about Michael. Honestly, he was nervous about telling them. For one thing, he knew they'd be concerned and try to cheer him up.
For another thing, Evan knew that his brother had always been tight-lipped, especially in life. It was only now, while he was thinking about it, that he realized Michael had steered the conversation away from himself- by asking Evan what was bothering him, being there for him, etc. While Evan appreciated the comfort that his brother had given him (something he never thought he would ever be thinking) he couldn't help but worry at how easily the conversation had shifted.
And he knew for a fact that Michael would try to pull it on the others if they approached him about it. He'd most likely succeed, too.
After explaining his thoughts on Michael's eyes to the others, they discussed different ways that they could subtly help him with whatever was bothering him. He'd been helping them for days… years, technically. He'd done so much for them.
They all shook hands.
It was about time they did something for him.
