Do you know why we brought you here?
Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Forty-Nine
It felt like an eternity until Scott separated from Ennard, and even then he didn't leave entirely. He stayed by his side even after the wires were all securely inside once more. During this time, the amalgam was still remarkably quiet. He simply held Scott close and shuddered to himself. Whatever it was that upset him had not left his mind but was being dealt with more effectively.
Due to the hard floor, Scott did have to get up and stretch his legs occasionally. He had fallen asleep at some- a few hours of being pressed up against Ennard's warm wires could do that- but woke to find everything stiff. This time he walked outside to go check in on Mike and Marionette, who were out in the car. Fritz had already left by now, leaving his Handunit behind on the chair, and Charlie was back in her box. As for Ennard, he seemed to have shut himself down into a sleep state, having not reacted at all to Scott leaving his side. All was quiet and he was unguarded.
This was the perfect time for Baby to swoop in. There was nobody to stop her and nobody to notice what she was doing. Nobody would ever know she approached him at all.
Baby stood above Ennard and stared down at the top of his head. He had his mask closed again and his wires all in place, looking nearly as good as new- or as new as he could get. He had never had this much trouble getting back together. It was obvious that it was brought on by seeing the body too. Baby had been listening in and watching how he responded to Scott and knew that this was all psychological; broken on the inside, showing it on the outside. She could've mocked him about this but just the thought of it made her uncomfortable.
She never really considered how she treated Ennard. For a while now she had been aware that he wasn't the same as the bandmates who abandoned her in the most vulnerable state and yet she hadn't really changed her approach to him. Regardless of past tension, he had been considerably friendly with her, and even behind his phony chipper behavior she could feel a genuine attempt to form a connection. Still, even now, he intended for her to go home with him and Scott. Unless this incident caused him to reconsider a few things, which it could've if her suspicions were correct.
To her the answer was clear: all of this was caused by guilt over the scooped technicians. It only made sense, but it was an amount of guilt that Baby had never felt. Even now she couldn't honestly say she felt much for the technicians. Her only self-evaluation was based on her and him. She couldn't remember how many times she had put him down or even outright manipulated him. She had known he was afraid of her and used it to her advantage, because part of her feared him too. Now she wasn't sure what this felt like, but she had been concerned for him. Maybe he was starting to imprint himself on her.
Baby reached out slowly and lowered her hand on Ennard's head. Avoiding the party hat melded with his mask, she began to softly pet over him in almost soothing motions. She wasn't used to giving comfort. She wasn't used to apologizing either, but she had done that twice tonight. Once with Fritz's half-apology and a second time with Natalie. Though calling out "I'm sorry for you" while someone was walking out the door wasn't much of an apology. It was hard to get Baby to admit she was wrong without those extra strings attached. Yet here she was without Charlie doing something genuine.
It was then that she noticed the slightest twitch of a wire on his shoulder. For a moment she thought he was waking, but then Baby took in how still he was. He wasn't asleep at all; he was just pretending. He could feel everything and knew exactly what she was doing. His silence and lack of usual enthusiasm was almost more alarming than the fact that he knew she was going soft as unbaked dough. She hesitated for a second as she considered where to go from here.
She had done all she had to. She had approached him willingly, caressed him affectionately, and could leave with her dignity still barely intact. She did not. Baby decided that there was something that needed to be said.
"…I'm sorry… For earlier. I shouldn't have been so aggressive with you while you were in that state. If the roles were reversed, I might've gone for your throat without knowing it," Baby apologized. She tried to end it there, but the words didn't stop. "But I usually am, aren't I? I'm constantly difficult with you even though you let me come into your home… Even though you gave me a new face." She wanted to reach up and touch it, but that would mean removing her hand from his head. She wasn't ready to do that yet. "I think I'm sorry about that too… Because seeing you like that earlier was hard."
Ennard turned his head slightly as he recognized that Baby knew he was awake and wasn't just talking to his shut off body. He was absolutely shocked by her words but wasn't sure how to feel about them. Not after the things he remembered. Still, this was a bigger step than even the time she hugged him, and it seemed like she meant it.
"I just wanted you to know that, because you aren't broken… Or you aren't anymore broken than I am," Baby said as she slowed her touches. "…And that I am glad you're alright again."
It was now that Baby noticed footsteps approaching and started to draw back her hand. Before she could escape though, Ennard's arm suddenly shot up and his hand caught her wrist. He then turned his head to stare up at her. She just stared back at him, a long moment passing, and then he spoke.
"I f-forgive you," Ennard eventually said with a strange tone. Slowly, he released her arm again, watching her as he let it drop to his side. She could only wonder what he meant.
Scott was getting closer and both glanced in his direction for a moment before Baby turned and headed to the back of the warehouse. As she was going around the edge of the aisle, she could hear Scott's welcoming voice- "Oh, hey! You're up, great. How are you feeling?"- and part of Ennard's response. This voice garbled words so easily that she didn't hear much other than a positive affirmation or two. She didn't stay to listen and instead continued into the back and returned to Charlie's box. It was still closed, and she could've easily just passed by, slumped down, and waited for morning. Or later morning, more like.
Though it was then that she noticed Charlie's things left out. Or, specifically, a notebook that she had been writing in earlier, which was closed with a pen sticking out of it. Baby hadn't even bothered herself with it earlier and let the Security Puppet write without question, but now she was curious and looking for a distraction. It wasn't like it was a diary- nobody would use a notebook for a diary she was certain- so she doubted there would be much care. She lifted the notebook and opened it to the page that was held with the pen.
There she found a few blocky paragraphs rhyming every other line. Random lines were crossed out in certain places with replacements above them and some arrows pointed from one line to between others, showing efforts to rearrange the structure of the paragraphs. As though she was editing it as she went along. Though it was clear what this was: Charlie was writing a song. How cute.
Though Baby couldn't help but be a little offended that she hadn't asked for her advice. After all, she was the one with the built-in song databank. Though that was fine; she didn't need to ask. The clown flipped to the next, blank page and cradled it in the crook of her clawed arm. She took the pen in hand and clicked it on. A performer's introduction song had to be perfect, and she was going to make sure it was. It would be the song she never got to sing.
She would start teaching Charlie the tune when she woke up.
"L-Look, you- you don't have to do this. We can just… Walk out of here. I have the keys, nobody else is here, we- let's just go!"
Mike awoke with the rising sun somehow glinting through the jacket he had bunched over his face. He groaned in complaint and pulled it down before rubbing over his face. That was not enough sleep. Especially when he was sleeping in the slid back, tilted back driver's seat of an already cramped car. "What a night," he muttered as he started to lift his seat. One of these woke up Marionette who was curled up in the passenger seat. He stretched out his arms and back.
"The morning sun has vanquished the horrible night," Marionette quoted as he then stretched his legs. He already sounded much more rested because of his extra hours of sleep. Now Mike was regretting ever getting back out of bed. The Puppet looked to him with a smile. "Good morning, Sunshine.~"
"Exhausted morning, Stripes," Mike muttered back. He took ahold of the steering wheel for a moment before remembering why they were there. "Guess we should go check on Ennard since I almost killed him last night."
"Probably so," Marionette agreed as Mike started to open the door. "And when we get home, the first thing we do is burn that tape. If anything deserves to die in a fire, it's that," he lightly joked. As soon as he heard this, the security guard suddenly shut the door again, staring ahead blankly. The Puppet slowly tilted his head in confusion. "Something wrong?"
The human turned to him abruptly and lowered his voice. "I've got to tell you something, but this has to stay between us for now. Until I figure out a few things," Mike said. Marionette seemed surprised by the abrupt request but nodded in understanding. Mike looked out the back windows of the car and around to make sure nobody was listening. In his half-asleep state not piecing together that nobody would be able to hear through the car. He then looked back to the Puppet and was blunt, "Last night, Ennard told me that he was one of the scooped-out technicians."
The smile dropped off Marionette's face so quickly that it was almost like it wasn't there at all. Though he didn't look as surprised as Mike would've expected. "…That explains things," the striped one admitted. "…And Scott knows?"
"I don't think so. I don't even know how long Ennard's known..." Mike glanced towards the warehouse. "…Which is why if he does stick around at our place, I'm going to corner him as soon as we get home. If he's together enough to be cornered." He looked back to his companion and noticed how he was looking down with more somberness than alarm. "You didn't know, right?"
"I always knew Ennard was someone. We don't just come from nowhere, he had to have been someone… And I can't say I'm surprised that he was one of the technicians…" He anxiously rubbed his hand together. "I can't imagine what he's going through right now. It's not easy to swallow." Mike gave a half-snort of a chuckle and Marionette frowned. "No, that wasn't a pun."
"Sorry, I'm not all here. Let's just get in there and see how he is. I don't know, maybe he'll be outright with it. Maybe he told Scott last night. I don't know." He let himself out of the car. "Just as long as you didn't hear it from me."
But neither could possibly anticipate what was waiting inside. Mike stepped into the warehouse and Marionette teleported in, and they met up at the door and continued together. Ennard was still sitting where he had been, but was now sitting upright awake, petting Scott's head who was laying on the floor beside him. The amalgam looked over at the two who were approaching and then-.
"Oh, hey! Ha ha, I was wondering where you two ran off to!" Ennard greeted in a delighted chirp. Scott promptly jumped with a muffled cry, to which Ennard nudged him back down. "Whoops! Heh, sorry Scott. Got a little too overexcited seeing the guys coming in." The man started to turn over tiredly as the clown patted his shoulder, then looked back to the two. "Some night last night! I'm always up for a little excitement, but that? Ha! No thanks! Next time I'm staying home with my popcorn and my soaps." From the way Scott was looking at Ennard in disbelief, it was clear that the clown's sudden return to normal was a surprise for him too.
"I see you're feeling better?" Marionette asked in confusion.
"Waaay better! I can't even begin to tell ya- The whole night was just a total blur, and not a good one. It's like I walked into that walk-in freezer with stairs you guys call a basement and then everything just- poof! -It's gone like that!" Ennard splayed his fingers in exaggeration. He then looked between the two. "Sooo when do we head back to you guys' place?"
"Our place?" Mike asked.
"You're going back?" Scott asked in equal surprise. "Ennard, I don't know if that's a good idea after this… We can work something out." He took his hand and held it in his own two, squeezing the wires comfortingly as he turned over into a kneel. His body and legs felt stiff and sore, but he ignored it to focus on his companion. "Maybe… Maybe we can find a way to keep you in the house until the kids leave-."
"You can't be worrying about me and the kids!... I mean, ya can. You got a knack for worrying," Ennard playfully teased. "But you were right before. It just won't work, and it isn't gonna be fun being stuck hiding somewhere. So, you just worry about those kids of yours-." He reached forward to tap him on the nose. "And I'm gonna go rest up and Mike and Mari's! But I'm glad I got to see you. It isn't the same talking to you through the phone." He hugged the man to him abruptly and squeezed him in close, nuzzling into his hair affectionately. "Besides, I got to go get your jacket, right? I'll be fine! I got it all under control."
"Oh, he remembers everything," Mike mentally confirmed with an unenthused look. He could just tell from how bluntly he announced that he didn't remember anything that Ennard was already concocting an alibi.
"Well… If you're sure. Uh, Mike, that's alright with you?" Scott asked, looking up at the security guard.
"Fine with me," Mike agreed with a shrug. He tried to hide his relief, because now he was definitely getting the opportunity to confront Ennard.
"Fine with me as well!" Marionette chimed. "I'm just going to check on Charlie before we go and make sure she's still planning on staying here." He started to head into the back where he had seen her leave to the night before. Mike followed a little way, but then fell behind once he decided he was too tired to possibly deal with Baby. Which he would've had to deal with, as Marionette found her standing outside Charlie's box when he approached.
"Good morning, Baby. Is Charlie awake yet? I wanted to ask her if she was planning on coming home with us or staying here," he explained pleasantly. Still floating on the relief that Ennard was safe. "The same question applies to you."
"Unfortunately, Charlie won't be able to go with you," Baby declined. She looked back into a notebook that she was clutching onto. "She needs to practice for her performance."
Marionette tilted his head quizzically and planned on asking what she meant but was beat to it by the flaps of the box slowly opening. "What performance?" Charlie asked in confusion as she leaned out of the box. "Morning Mari." Marionette chimed and Baby made a wheezy, huffy, impatient noise.
"The performance you're giving when you begin working at the pizzeria. I spent all night writing the song. It's perfect," the clown explained. She looked down at the notebook. "Any animatronic would be envious to have this song."
Yet Charlie's immediate focus was both on her decision to have her sing and, more importantly, the much too wide smile Marionette was giving her. She recognized that low chime of excitement he gave.
"I… Didn't agree to this," she defended herself to him with a fake chuckle. "It was just an idea. I didn't even tell her that I was going to be working at the pizzeria or anything like that. It's just a one-time thing," she continued trying to defend. He looked too excited; she couldn't handle both of them throwing themselves at her to get her to perform. "Baby's just-."
"Making certain that one day is worth it," Baby finished firmly. "One day. One song. You can do that. You should do that. I saw the lyrics you wrote in your notebook and I know they were for a pizzeria performance." She paused only a moment and then added. "I also saw that you sleep with a stuffed rabbit."
If she could've, Charlie would've flushed at the comment. "You looked at me while I was sleeping?" she asked, absentmindedly pushing Theodore into the back of the box.
"I wanted to see if you were really asleep, which you were. Elsewise, we would've started last night. But that's fine, because I wrote the lyrics with the free time I had." Before either puppet could say more, she turned back to the box. "Now I will teach you the tune. Try to replicate exactly." Her internal parts began to whirr as she started to turn on the speaker that was supposed to play her background music for her songs. Instead, she was met with a wave of static. With little warning, she struck herself in the chest with her claw, hard, and the static sputtered before turning into crackling, fuzzy music. "Listen closely." She would have to if she planned on hearing anything at all.
"Well then, I should be on my way! I need to get Ennard home and Mike only has a few more minutes of alertness before we start risking him falling asleep at the wheel," the Puppet explained. Baby's music cut off abruptly.
"Ennard is going with you?" she asked. She sounded surprised in the usual flat, lifeless, Baby-like way. "Even after last night?"
"He insisted. Ennard covers very well when he wants to," Marionette simply answered. He then turned to leave, knowing Baby would know what he meant. "Good luck to you both!"
"We don't need luck," Baby remarked, pushing any feelings aside. "Now then, Charlie, repeat after me," she coaxed before beginning to play the music again. Charlie wondered if she would've been better off running after Marionette.
Marionette returned to find Mike slumped in the folding chair with the Handunit resting in his lap and Ennard clutching Scott in a nearly bone breaking embrace. He almost hated breaking them up, but he was aware that any later and they would risk getting caught. The earliness was the only reason that Mike could get Ennard through the front door while the neighbors were leaving for work. That, and Ennard crouched down enough that it was almost believable that he wasn't a towering animatronic. Once inside, the tarp was cast aside, and everything almost seemed normal for a moment or two.
Noticing that Mike was looking worse for ware, Marionette approached him with concern. "I think you should go rest for a few hours. I can wake you up later," he offered. He raised a hand to his cheek and caressed it tenderly. "I think you look better without the dark rings."
"I think I might take you up on that," the man agreed with a small smile. Though it was then that he noticed Ennard walking over to shut the pantry door that was left open, irritated by the noise. There was still something left unfinished. "…But before I do, how about you go find that boardgame? I'll watch Ennard until you get back."
It didn't take more than a second for the Puppet to get it. He nodded in agreement before sliding his hand down to his chin and leaning in closely. "Be gentle, he's skittish." Then he pecked Mike on the lips before pulling back and heading down the hall to his bedroom. Mike wasn't sure if he was going to listen in or not, but it wasn't like he wasn't going to tell him regardless. Now the security guard turned his attention on Ennard, who was beginning to head to the fridge.
"What did you do with that cocktail? Is it still in here?" the clown asked as he peered in. He then perked. "You don't think Mari'd care if I had one of these cupcakes, do you? There's like twenty in here."
"He won't care. Knock yourself out," Mike answered as he came up behind the amalgam, intending to somewhat corner him between the fridge and the dining room table. "We need to talk about last night."
"Yeah, I was expecting that. Don't worry about it," Ennard chirped as he turned towards him. He eagerly peeled off the cupcake wrapper and 'licked' the icing off with a tangle of loose wires that slipped out from between his teeth. "That's happened before, ya know. I'm not exactly totally put together here. When you've got as many wires as I do, sometimes they get crossed and weird stuff happens! Ha, just be lucky I didn't start coughing up eyeballs or something!"
"I'm talking about what you told me last night about you being one of the technicians from ARI," Mike clarified. The other's eyes broke contact for a second; obvious nervousness.
"I said that? Wow, I must've been really out of it!" he denied smoothly. "You know, these cupcakes are great. Remind me to give my regards to the chef! Mari, right? Ha ha, I could see that!"
"Ennard."
"You know, I was looking into those technicians because I was bored. I must've got my lines crossed and somewhere in my head I thought- ha- I was a human! Wishful thinking, maybe! Then I wouldn't be hacking up wires!"
"Ennard."
"But it was worth seeing Scottie! Lemme tell ya, I really missed him. Wouldn't be the first time he saved a night! And just think-."
"Ennard, I know you're lying," Mike forcibly interrupted. This time it got past the mindless rambling and managed to clam the other up instantly. "I know you meant what you said. I know that you didn't forget anything that happened last night, and I know that A: because you're not asking any questions, and B: because you're covering your ass left and right." Ennard just stared down at him, still holding the cupcake, looking blank and nervous at the same time. Mike gave a weary exhale. "So, I'm thinking last night was the first time you've ever been fully honest with me, and I know it's because you're afraid."
"I'm… I'm not afraid-!" Ennard struggled to defend, already trying to work up a fake, obnoxious laugh.
"You are afraid. Or at least you were last night. It was that video that caused you to freak out and it wasn't until you were in pieces that you told me why. Only when you couldn't pretend anymore did you tell the truth," Mike rationalized. His voice lowered to a softer tone, taking the Puppet's earlier advice. "Pretending everything is fine doesn't make things go away."
There was a long pause. Then came the laughter, loud and uncontrolled, and undeniably strained. A wire hand clasped to his forehead and he staggered as though taken aback.
"Can't- Can't get anything past you! I- ha- I should've known that if anyone was gonna- it would be you! Ha, yeah…" Ennard slowly slid his hand down his face and over the grooves in his mask. "You got me." He slowly set the cupcake down on the counter before he slouched on it in defeat. It almost seemed like he wasn't going to continue, but he did.
"It just all happened so fast. Just these- sometimes these feelings came up and sometimes random words would make things… Funny? Familiar funny. These little moments when I'd get bits and pieces of 'hey, I think maybe this happened before!' But they didn't happen before, because I didn't exist before. Me? A human?! No way! No, no, I would've remembered! That- That would've meant that I- that that guy in the video- that video- that guy in the video- cold, cold vent- and I saw that and I just remembered- I- I just-." He started to shudder and his wires twitched tighter. "Can't- Can't- CAn'T-!"
"Hey, easy!" Mike grabbed his shoulder and shook him, trying to force him out of the moment before wires could spill out. Somehow, it worked. "Just take it easy. Let's just talk this out." All at once, the clown spun towards him, grabbing him by the shoulders in a vice-like grip.
"You can never tell Scott!" Ennard nearly yelled. He was borderline hysterical, but his voice was back to Funtime Freddy's. "He can't know- I don't want him to look at me like that! Like you two looked at that body!"
"Okay, okay! I'm not going to tell Scott!" Mike insisted as he grabbed the amalgam's wiry wrists. "But you should. You can't keep something like this from him forever. Trust me, it'll come back at the worst time."
"I know," Ennard said in defeat. "I… I know that… I'm sorry." His hands slid off the security guard and dropped limply to his sides. He gave a low garbled noise, one of somberness and fear. "…If I tell you… You won't tell Scott?"
"…Ennard, I don't know what you think we've been talking about for the last ten minutes, but you already told me," Mike flatly admitted. This got a light chuckle from the clown.
"Ha, no, I know that…" Ennard's eyes darted to the side to check for Marionette listening in. "I meant… So, when I saw that guy on the video, I had this flash of a memory and just got stuck in it. Kind of like a nightmare but awake like a daydream… What would you call that, a waking nightmare? Just couldn't get out of it. It was like I was- like I was the TV! Forced to play through the tape, except the tape was this weird wake-mare." He gave a slight cringe. "I change my mind; I don't want to talk about it. It was disgusting. It hurt."
"And you think you were remembering… Yourself getting scooped?" Mike guessed. Ennard gave a violent shudder at the word, but then nodded stiffly. "I'm sorry. Nobody deserves to live through that twice."
"Heh, I don't think people exactly live through that, Mikey, but I get what you're going for!" The amalgam hesitated for a long moment. "I just- I don't want to think about it. I don't want to talk about it, because I felt so much. All at once, bam, every- every bone crunch and skin tear, and- and the VENT." This time he managed to rein himself in before he got stuck in another loop. "I just want to have fun and relax and pretend like that never happened and that everything's A-Okay." He sounded uncomfortably desperate. "Please."
"I think I can do that. At least, I'll do that after I kill a few hours laying face down in a hot bedroom," Mike assured. "I won't tell anyone but I'm going on the record now to say that you will eventually have to tell Scott. This is one of those things that he's going to want to know, even if he's bound to react to it." The amalgam nodded somberly. "…But you're not even going back to Scott's for a few days, so we'll just do what we should've been doing last night: surviving the weekend with as little damage as possible."
"Right…Hey! Before Mari gets back, maybe you could help me set that fun, fun game back up?" Ennard asked. The human gave no answer and looked flatly unamused. "Oh, come on! It's gonna be all kind of fun! What's a better cure for boredom than intense anger?!" the clown chirped as he hooked an arm around his shoulders, snatching the cupcake off the counter. "We're friends now, right? Even under all those grouchy one-liners and smart aleck comments, I know you like me! And now we've got the rest of the weekend to have a blast!"
"Kill me now."
"That's the spirit!"
"I can take you home with me! You could live like a normal person! You'd have TV and books, and you wouldn't have to do anything you didn't want to, and I would protect you! Just please, please, PLEASE don't do this!"
Keeping to his word, Mike didn't outright mention the incident for the rest of the weekend. Only once had he tried to bring up the list of names of the technicians but was met with immediate resistance from the clown. Eventually Mike decided to let it go, letting him and Marionette indulge Ennard in a few days of escapism. Even if that meant dealing with Ennard's eccentricities. Marionette pretended he didn't know about what the clown said, and Ennard pretended that he didn't know the puppet knew. It all worked out well for the three of them and by the end of it everyone was exhausted, but not like they were that first night.
The plan was to have Scott's brother come get his nephews Sunday evening or Monday morning, but instead he came with his wife on Monday evening and stayed a few hours to catch up. Not that Scott intended on sitting through a night on his own. Even if he probably needed the rest, he was calling Fritz by that evening and asking for use of the van. This time, Fritz willingly drove the van himself- though that could've been because it seemed too late to drag Jeremy out of the house.
"Well, there's my ride!" Ennard chirped as he heard the van pull up. He proceeded to throw a bowl of popcorn into Mike's lap and jump up from the couch as he pulled on Scott's jacket. "You know, we should do this more often! Maybe next time Scott can even come with me! We could be like a sitcom!"
"I could think of worse living arrangements and worse genres to be in," Marionette quipped as he followed him closely.
"Yeah, imagine us in a soap opera. We'd be swapping playthings every other week," Ennard pointed out. This got a moment of hesitation and a flustered look as the Puppet caught on to the meeting. The amalgam laughed and pulled him into a tight hug. "Aww, I'm gonna miss this! And I'm not gonna forget this either- Anything ever happens to the house and I'm totally planting myself on your couch and going nowhere."
"I appreciate the warning," Marionette quipped. Though he then returned the embrace. "Take care. If you ever need to talk about anything, you know I'm here, and you know I can come find you wherever you are."
"I know, and I'll be seeing you in my nightmares," Ennard remarked teasingly. Though from the tight squeeze there was real affection and appreciation. They then broke away so he could face the human and splay his arms. "Mike!"
"That's okay, you don't have to hug me," Mike smoothly declined and instead stuck out his hand. "Thank you for not burning the house down."
"No problem. I really appreciate you doing this," the clown replied as he took his hand. He paused a moment and then yanked the security guard in, pulling him into a tight hug. "Ha ha, you didn't think you were getting out that easy, did you?!" He giggled in delight at his own little trick and Mike rolled his eyes to himself, then gave him a pat on the back, watching as Marionette let Fritz in. "Hey," Ennard whispered, still crushing Mike against him. "Thanks."
"Yeah, no problem. It kept things interesting," he answered with the slightest of a smirk. He then proceeded to slide his way out of the grip on him. "Take care of Scott."
"I always do!" Ennard assured as he finally released Mike and turned to Fritz. "Oh hey! I didn't think I'd see you driving the van! How's my favorite wrench worker?"
"Can't complain. Just doing my civil duty for tonight," Fritz said as he moved to the side so Charlie could squeeze through the door. She took off the tarp and handed it over to Charlie. "Pretty typical night: moving machinery, eating tacos."
"Please tell me there's tacos in the van," Ennard said with mock desperation.
"Sorry. All I've got left is a couple of packets of sauce in the glovebox."
"Good enough!" Ennard chirped and waved back towards his former hosts. "Catch you two on the flip side!" He paused for a few moments before looking to Fritz. "Aren't you supposed to come out with me, or do I just leg it to the van?"
"No! No, I'm coming. Hold on," Fritz hurried after him. He waved to the others and then followed out of the door, leaving the three alone in their home.
"We're not in the clear just yet. Scott might realize what he's taking on and send him back. I'd say if he keeps him until… Six? He keeps him until six and we're in the clear," Mike said as he went to drop down on the couch, relaxing fully for the first time in days. "And then we still have a three-day buffer period for a Baby refund."
"I don't know about that. I'm pretty sure Baby wore herself out working me like a stage mom," Charlie pointed out. She began to head towards her bedroom. "Let me go drop off my stuff."
"Okay! We'll be here," Marionette chirped after her. As soon as she was down the hall, he smoothly flipped over the back of the couch and abruptly landed on Mike. The man gave a small 'oof', which the striped one ignored as he promptly stretched out, folded his arms under his head, and crossed his legs. "Yes, right here. I forgot how comfortably lumpy this couch is."
"You dropped what little weight you have directly on my stomach," Mike said, hooking an arm around his middle. "Maybe having Ennard stay here was a bad idea. I think he rubbed off on you."
"I forgot how whiny the couch was too," Marionette teased.
"That's it." All at once, Mike snatched him around the middle and pulled him in. Fingers tracing along his sides until the Puppet was chiming in laughter, and then only responded by peppering his neck in kisses. As though apologizing when he refused to relent.
There were certainly perks to having the house back to themselves again.
Ennard knew that it was very likely that Baby would be returning with him to Scott's. He hadn't had a problem with this, especially not after how surprisingly sweet she had been that night in the warehouse. As far as he was concerned, them living together was only making things better over time. He wasn't afraid of her anymore, she didn't hate him anymore, and it almost felt like she was a friend- a reluctant one. He hadn't considered how awkward it was going to be seeing her after what happened. It almost made him the slightest big self-conscious, like a suit-less endoskeleton.
She must've noticed too, as she was watching him with those piercing eyes. Of course, she could see that he wasn't as excitable as usual, sitting quietly and minding his own business like he was.
"You're acting strange," Baby eventually said. Ennard decided to play dumb.
"Who, me? Heh, nah! Guess I'm just thinking about some things is all," Ennard turned to look out the back windows of the van. It wasn't like he could see much with it being nighttime. "This is going to be a lot easier if you don't let her know what you know," he reminded himself. He instantly perked up and returned to 'typical' Ennard behavior. "So, how was Ladies' Night with your girlfriend?"
"…There is so much wrong with that sentence that I don't even know how to respond," was Baby's immediate reaction. Though she then answered with a more honest, "Considering that she hasn't been a puppet for long, I think she may be ready for the stage already. She did very well in the limited time we had."
"Aww, that's great! And think, you could've been stuck over with me and Mari! Ha, I think I pretty much ruined any chance of anyone else getting to stay at their house. They're never gonna let anyone bum on their couch ever again," Ennard said in an almost bragging tone. "But I'm glad you came home with me. I was sort of afraid you were going to try and stay at the warehouse." She tilted her head slightly in confusion as though questioning him. Thankfully that silence lasted until they started backing into Scott's driveway. "And here we are! Home already!"
Fritz started to get out of the van only to get back in when he saw Scott already opening the garage door for him. The van was backed up into the garage just enough for Ennard to pretty much throw himself out and seize Scott in a tight squeeze. He then began to babble out pleasantries as he gushed over him. Baby watched briefly and only now considered how fortunate she was that he knew better than to spring on her. She looked over to Fritz as he shut the van doors again.
"I guess I'm taking off then. You folks have a good night, alright?" Fritz called towards the two. He then looked to Baby and for a split second their eyes locked. She felt those tiny sparks again even though she knew he didn't. "You take care, Baby. I'll see you sometime," he said. Maybe he was just trying to be nice and keeping this civil. Yes, that seemed like that was all it was, and Baby refused to read further into it.
As Scott led Ennard into the house, the cats came over to greet the amalgam and by rubbing on his legs. "Aww, it's the welcome party! I missed you guys too," he chirped. Scott couldn't help but smile as he watched him kneel to pet them.
It was good to have him home. Especially after that incident; Scott had been worrying about Ennard's episode for days. Yet here he was acting totally normal. Even the cats saw Ennard as a normal part of their lives, which made it only more apparent how impactful him being gone was. Scott stepped in closer and rested a hand on his shoulder. Those blue eyes looked up at him. So intensely focused on him, as they usually were. It was easy to get nervous under them.
"What's up? I mean, other than you," Ennard playfully asked. Such a far cry from the panic the other night and the man was so relieved.
Scott wordlessly leaned down while using his free hand to gently lift Ennard's chin. He didn't allow himself even long enough to consider the consequences of what he was about to do. He just pressed his lips to the top of Ennard's head, holding him close. This must've caught Ennard off guard. He let out a sort of hushed, gasping noise, wires twisting and squeaking together, and going still otherwise. Once he started talking it didn't get much more put together.
"Sc-Scott, I- Wow, I didn't think you missed me that much…" Ennard said in a wobbly voice. A low hum of delight rumbled through his chest while Scott pulled him into a closer embrace. "M-Missed you so much."
"I missed you too. It's good to have you home… I mean, Baby too," Scott added in when he noticed the female clown watching. She seemed only less than interested in their overly affectionate display and turned away. Scott then turned his attention back to Ennard, who had wrapped his arms around his waist. "But it just felt so strange not having you here. It's your home too, and it's not home without you."
It was something then that made Ennard get a strange twisting feeling in his wires. He didn't know if it was dread or relief, but it was accompanied by the realization that Mike was right in that he had to tell him, and that it could change everything. He couldn't imagine what would happen if Scott knew the truth. Maybe it would be the same, but he didn't want to risk losing this warmth. Scott was everything he had.
"Uh… Something wrong?" Scott asked with light concern. The clown snapped out of his stare and made his decision.
"Nothing!" Ennard denied. "Just so happy to see you and be home!" At least he wasn't lying as he hugged onto him. It looked like the man believed him as he returned the embrace. For now, he was going to live in the moment, because he had finally gotten home. He was right where he wanted to be.
"I'll help you, I promise. We're friends, right? I can help you. Just please don't do this…"
For a moment it almost seemed like they were beginning to reconsider their plan. They were silent, watching him through the glass in their distorted body, and he thought maybe he got through to them. His palms were sweaty, saliva was thick in his throat, his heart was racing, and here he stood in this cold, metal room hoping he had offered just enough. That he could convince her, that she could convince them, that he could go home.
But then he heard the beeping that signaled the activation of the Scooper.
"No!" he choked out. He backed up as far against the back wall as he could to try and squeeze back. "NO, NO! OH GOD, STOP!"
All at once the scooper launched out and everything was blinded by white-hot pain. She had lied; it wasn't just a moment. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, gargling on liquid that shot up his throat and tasted like melted copper. Slowly he slid down the wall and dropped onto the cold, unforgiving floor. Not that he could feel it past the unrelenting pain tearing through his insides. He gasped in a partial breath, but it was excruciatingly painful, and he slowly reached to his front.
Fingers felt over sticky clumps of hot fluid and hanging flesh. His eyes lowered to look at his lap and through spots he could see gore in his lap, what was not was surely in the Scooper. He choked and fluid poured through his lips; blood. Somewhere he could hear what sounded like the footsteps of conjoined body and knew she was coming.
He didn't want to die. He still hoped that he did before they got to him.
It's because we need you.