Mable: Hey! So, going to keep this brief, but my birthday is on Friday. Happy Birthday to me and all that. XD Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Sixty-Two

Dinner had been a great idea. Bree had taken Jeremy to a small Italian restaurant about five miles away from the hotel and they had stayed a couple of hours. During which they had fully caught up on as much as they could. Jeremy hadn't quite remembered how well Bree and he got along until they were alone with nothing to do but talk. No wonder her leaving had left such a gap in his life.

As Bree said earlier, she worked with a large programming company. What she hadn't said was that they didn't just work on animatronic programming, but video game design both inside and outside the arcade. Which Jeremy found fascinating, especially when she gave some of the details on upcoming projects they were working on. She seemed a lot more passionate in this line of work than she ever had at Freddy's. He likewise started talking about the restaurant and she was genuinely interested and honestly surprised that it wasn't like Freddy's.

Eventually the night wore on and Bree drove him back to the hotel. It wasn't until then that Jeremy started to feel the slightest touch of guilt. He tried to shrug it off- he and Bree were just friends- but something still irked him. He had mentioned he was relationship, with extremely light details, but still wondered if he had made the right choice. He managed to cover it with a smile as the car parked in front of the hotel.

"We've got to do this again sometime. It's a shame we live so far apart now. I remember when it used to be easy to catch an early breakfast before work," Bree reminisced with a smile. "You promise you'll call me the next time you're coming to the city and we'll meet up?"

"Sure! The same goes if you ever come back to into town," Jeremy offered with a lopsided smile. "Good luck with everything. I'll make sure Scott keeps me up to date on how it's all going."

"And next time we need a game tester, I'll be sending it your way," Bree offered. He wanted to say it was a joke, but she sounded like she really planned on doing it. "Take care, Jere! No more night shifts!"

With a small laugh, Jeremy waved her off and watched as her car pulled out of the parking lot. There was a sadness in having her leave because he knew that he wouldn't be seeing her for some time. There was always a chance that they would lose contact again. In fact, Jeremy pessimistically had his own doubts that he would hear from her again. But there was always hope, and there was that tether through Scott.

Jeremy headed to the hotel room and tried the door. He wasn't too surprised to find it left unlocked for him and he half expected to walk in and find Foxy waiting up for him. Instead, he found the lights off and Foxy sprawled out on the further bed. He was laying face down with his head tucked between the pillows. His arms were sprawled out and his legs were stretched out down the bed. He had thrown the blanket over himself, but it only angled enough to cover his legs and halfway up his back. In short, it was positively adorable and Jeremy couldn't help but get a goofy smile.

"This is why I need to get a second bedroom," Jeremy thought as he slipped off his shoes, grabbed his night clothes, and snuck into the bathroom to change. He decided not to take a show and just washed up in the sink and switched clothes.

He stepped out of the bathroom and walked up on Foxy sitting upright on the foot of the bed.

"Gah!" Jeremy slightly choked as he flinched back. "How- How did you do that without making any noise? Were you just pretending to be asleep?"

"The secret is, ya wait until the shower's on," Foxy answered. It was worded like a joke, but his voice sounded groggy. He rolled his neck to stretch it before looking up at Jeremy. "Woke up when you came in. How'd dinner with the lass go?"

"Great! As great as dinner can go, I mean. I can't remember the last time I had clams. Would've brought you a dessert, but they were serving them in mason jars, and I felt weird asking them to put it in a to-go cup," Jeremy rambled. He gave an awkward sort of smile and Foxy gave a snort of amusement.

"Must'a had a good time. Yer as nervous as a buccaneer 'bout to dance the hempen jig," the pirate teased. This only seemed to make the blond look more uneasy, to which Foxy outright laughed. "I'm just pullin' yer leg, Lad. Why don't ya sit down and take a load off?" So, Jeremy did, sitting alongside him on the bed and dropping the towel into his lap. "How'd it go with the Lass? She ask about us?"

"She asked a lot of questions. About you, about the business, about me… She didn't ask if you and Marionette still 'wandered around' at night, so don't worry, I didn't tell her anything about that."

"Good," Foxy simply said. He stared off at the floor of the hotel room while he listened. "What else?"

"I told her about some of the shows we've had since the renovation. Then we talked about video games. She said she thought there might be old arcade machines based off you that might still be floating around. It would be neat if we could find some of those… As long as we could somehow erase any Fazbear Entertainment logos on it." Jeremy noticed Foxy's lowered ears and his unusual silence. "You're not… Upset that I went out with her without asking you, are you?"

"What?" Foxy looked over, paying more attention. "No, Lad. Nothin' of the sort. I just ain't meself tonight." He gave a wheezy sigh and shook his head. "Just been a long couple 'o days.

"Oh…" Jeremy felt a little silly worrying about Foxy being jealous when he had more important things to worry about.

"But I don't want to talk 'bout that. I want to talk 'bout yer big blast from the past," Foxy reassured as his voice perked again. This time, he decided that distraction was the way to go. "Ya didn't really think I'd be upset about her, did ya? I trust ya more than that, Lad!" he said with a light chuckle.

"I wouldn't have gone if I thought it was going to upset you that much… But it's still a relief," Jeremy answered semi-honestly. He got his own nervous chuckle. "Considering the whole thing, it would've been so easy to take it the wrong way. She's a girl I used to know, she invited me out to dinner to catch up, and she knows about Freddy's and everything."

"Yer me first mate. I'd trust ya with anything," Foxy remarked as he hooked an arm around him and pulled him in. "'Specially not after that little speech ya gave 'er." He leaned in to nuzzle into his neck and shoulder, right beside where his scars were tucked under his shirt. There wasn't even the slightest flinch, beyond the small shiver Jeremy always got when he was getting flustered. "How could anyone be jealous after that?" he murmured.

"Well, I- you know I meant it," Jeremy said as he put an arm around the pirate in return. He couldn't imagine what Bree would think if she knew what he was doing right now. She would've been positively floored. "But it would've been okay if you were a little uneasy about it. I wouldn't want you to be, but it would make sense since Bree and I were close."

"Lad, friends be friends, crew be crew. We got something closer than that," Foxy murmured with another low chuckle. "Ain't like ya ever let Bree drop anchor at your port."

"Well, no," Jeremy agreed. He knew that Foxy was purposefully trying to get him flustered; he always did. In fact, he wondered if he could return the favor. "Nothing like that… We went out a few times, but it was never serious." There was a dull click signaling Foxy's ears perking up. He was paying closer attention. "This was the nicest restaurant we've ever went to. Except maybe that time we ate at her parents'."

"Her parents? What was it, 'bring yer coworkers home night' or somethin'?" the animatronic asked with amusement. He was trying not to sound like he cared.

"Nothing like that. Apparently, she had been telling them so many good things about me that they just had to see me. They invited me to come back and visit again, but I didn't get a chance before we lost contact. They used to joke about me being their 'future son-in-law'. You should've heard Bree stutter and fumble after that!" Jeremy snickered a little. "And then there was that time she accidentally walked us under the mistletoe at the Christmas party. She leaned in to kiss me with her eyes closed, so she didn't see I was sucking on a candy cane and nearly broke her tooth on it."

"That's, err… Where was this? Freddy's Christmas party?" Foxy was outright staring by now. His shoulder twitched slightly.

"No, no. Her sister's. Bree's sister used to throw the best parties and she used to bring me along as a date so that her sister wouldn't use to try and hook her up with anyone. We'd tell everyone that we were dating and pretend we were a couple; putting out hands inside each other's pockets and feeding one another. We had a lot of good times…" Jeremy reminisced. He then smiled at the fox, "And we're going to have plenty more soon. Bree told me she's moving back to Hurricane."

"She said that?" Foxy asked in alarm. "Ya just said she had a job here."

"She said it would be worth it for us to connect again. She even told me that she hasn't been able to find a boyfriend better than me. She was kidding, but still- Once she moves in, we're going to start getting together on the weekends and having Friday family nights at her folks' house. She's going to start looking for an apartment in my building on Monday. Which is great, because the one beside mine is open now. We could be neighbors!" This time, the other was completely silent, staring with wide eyes and patch raised. He just looked dumbstruck. "…Foxy, I'm kidding."

"About which part?" the pirate asked in paranoia.

"About all of it! We didn't do any of that. I don't even know her parents!" Jeremy broke into laughter. He was half surprised he had managed to keep a straight face that long. "You should've seen the look on your face! I didn't know if you were going to internally combust or just- Where are you going?" The animatronic started to turn away. "Foxy, I was just kidding!"

"I'm goin' back to bed," Foxy said as he turned around to lay face down on the bed again. Now he was going to pout. Jeremy snickered a little as he watched him bury his face in the blankets. Once he realized that Foxy was intending to sleep like that, or pout longer, he simply laid back on the bed beside him.

"Well, I thought it was funny."

After two, long, excruciating days it was finally about to end. The second day of Animatronicon had been so slow and uneventful that it felt like it never would. The actual show seemed to go by in only a couple of minutes, which hardly felt long enough when Mike had to again wear full face paint. Though he was so bored that day that he kept it on even after the show just for the chance of having someone ask him about it as he and Jeremy manned the booth. More people did come by, but they had run out of conversation topics long ago.

It wasn't any better in the storage room. Neither Foxy nor Marionette wanted to risk exploring after the day before, so they were stuck confined with the Minireenas. The dolls weren't much better either. Apparently they only had enough patience for one day of standing in the room, because they became restless. They climbed whatever they could, including Foxy and Marionette, got into little tussles with each other, and let out fussy noises of complaints as they waited for the day to finally be over.

Nobody wanted a third night in a hotel room. Sacrificing their chance for proper sleep, Mike and Jeremy decided to begin the long drive home.

That too was largely uncomfortable. The Minireenas no longer had free range of the backseat and were largely confined to the spot above the back seat and by the back window. They ducked down when cars would get behind them, but most of the drive went without any other cars, so they had free reign to do as they wished. Fiddling with their little toys and occasionally breaking into small fights that the third would have to break up. Marionette mostly moved from the floorboard to leaning between the two front seats from time to time.

Foxy was the most uncomfortable. He had to remove the fabric off his legs and feet just to fit in the backseat comfortably and then he was still awkwardly stuffed with little room to move. He couldn't be hidden well either, so when they passed anyone, he would just go limp. Still a bizarre sight but not one that looked suspicious. The only good thing was that the car was much cooler in comparison to the van, so that form of discomfort was no longer an issue. Especially since most of the drive was at night.

Still, it felt like a miracle when Mike drove past the first sign mentioning Hurricane. He was taking his turn driving while Jeremy got some sleep in the passenger's seat. Foxy seemed to be asleep too or was being quiet for Jeremy's sake. The radio was on low to some call-in program, but Mike wasn't paying attention to it beyond it being background noise.

"Not too much longer now, is it?" Marionette's voice from behind his seat almost startled Mike. Arms crept out and encircled the head rest as he leaned over Mike's shoulder to watch the road.

"I didn't know you were still awake," Mike admitted as he sent him a quick smile. "Maybe thirty minutes. It's going to be good to get home and get those three hours of sleep."

"Yes…" The Puppet sounded uneasy as he kept his eyes on the dark road before them. "…Do you think Charlie's going to come home?"

"Honestly? Yeah. Might take her a few days, but eventually Chance's disgruntle-ness will drive her out of the house," Mike answered. He noticed the lack of a response or amusement and sighed. "If you going to keep beating yourself up like this then let's at least get it all over with at once… I got it. As soon as we get home, you're getting fifty lashes, and we're going to have to use your strings since we don't have a whip."

"Oh no. Mike, have mercy," Marionette played along. "The only whip I do well is Cool Whip."

"No mercy, and we're out of Cool Whip."

"It just gets worse and worse," the puppet proclaimed. He then sighed and leaned further between the seats, returning his head on Mike's shoulder. "I promise I'll be easier on myself about this. Because I already know what I'm going to do. No lashes required."

"Are you sure about that? Because I'm in the mood to give something a lashing, and if it's not you then it's going to have to be Foxy," Mike lightly joked. Though he was still curious. "What's the plan?"

"I'm going to call Charlie in the morning and apologize… And say that I'm willing to tell her anything she wants to know… And then I tell her anything she wants me to. Even the things that hurt. Even the things I know she won't want to hear," he quietly explained. He hung limply against his companion's shoulder. "It worked with you so hopefully it works with her."

"I think it's the best chance we have," Mike agreed. "Just lighten up on yourself, even if it doesn't work. Everyone makes mistakes."

Marionette nuzzled into his shoulder before simply resting his head there. The man was unsure if he started to nod off or just didn't want to move because he stayed that way for a while. The warmth was a little too comforting and more than once Mike felt his gaze start to drift. He got so desperate at one point that he was willing to drink out of the coffee that had gone stale and cold after hours of sitting untouched. The disgust worked just as well as the caffeine to get him through the last leg of the journey.

By sheer irony, Mike felt more awake than ever when he finally pulled into the driveway. He parked without turning off the car and rubbed over his face. "I'll wake Jeremy, you grab our stuff," he said to a thankfully awake Marionette who gave a nod and disappeared into the back. The security guard exhaled slowly before leaning over and tapping the other man on the arm. "Jeremy, we're at the house. You want to crash here and head home in the morning?"

The blonde slowly shifted and roused from the seat. "Thanks but I'm okay to drive," he said groggily. He replaced his glasses as he got his bearings. "You didn't have to drive all this way. I could've taken over."

"No problem. We made better time not switching," Mike reassured. He reached for his cold, unappetizing coffee and tested another sip of it, cringed at the taste, and then offered it to Jeremy. Unsurprisingly, the other declined.

Marionette was getting the face paint container and Mike's costume pieces when he felt a hand pat his back. "Take care, Lad. Get some sleep," Foxy mumbled to him. He was still laid back on the seat, his other arm still as to not wake the Minireenas that were curled up on his chest. The Puppet sent him a smile and a chime before passing the things to the front. Then he teleported into the house.

It was quiet inside the house with only a few of the lights on. He couldn't help but already feel a little lonely even when he just left the car. He slowly turned towards the door and waited for Mike to come in behind him, only to hear movement and looked into the living room. It was only then that he noticed he wasn't alone.

There was Charlie uncurling herself from the armchair and standing. It was like she had been waiting for him, which was surprising as he didn't expect her to be here.

"Charlie…" he quietly began and instantly ran out of words. She seemed just as hesitant and almost spoke, only to stop herself when Mike came through the door. The man was halfway through when he saw the scene, looked between the two, and then slowly shut and locked the door behind him. As soon as the lock clicked, Marionette began to blurt out, "Charlie, about what happened-."

"I need you to take me to the warehouse," the Security Puppet interrupted. The striped one looked shocked for a moment, horrified, thinking that she was saying she was moving out until she clarified. "I want to see the… To see Golden Freddy. I know he's in there, or what's left of him, and I need to see him." She now looked in between them. "…Will you take me?"

To make his own answer clear, Mike simply unlocked and reopened the door.

The warehouse felt darker and colder than ever, even when the lights were flicked on and bathing it in a dull glow. Marionette led the way with his hands tightly clenched and it was clear that he was uncomfortable. Mike was close behind him with Charlie following a little ways behind them. Things were incredibly silent; Mike had tried to make some form of small talk twice on the drive over and neither puppet took the bait. So, he just gave up and went along with the silence, hands in his pockets as he followed into the back.

When they arrived at the door, Marionette stopped in front of it for a few moments and just stared at it. He could've probably unlocked it on his own but didn't. He just drifted out of the way and looked to Mike, like he needed him to do it, and so Mike did so without complaint. When the Puppet didn't move further Mike took the liberty of leaning in and turning on the light. The bulb flickered forebodingly over the suit inside.

Golden Freddy looked just as he had when they moved him in here. He was slumped on the floor with his head tilted, mouth gaping, wires hanging through his suit, and arms laying at his sides. While seeing it made both uneasy, there was no heavy feeling coming from the suit like when it had been active. No, the soul that been inhabiting it was long gone. Mike couldn't help but be relieved, though still subconsciously took Marionette's shoulder to hold him protectively. The striped one sent him a somber look and yet clearly felt the same way.

Mike stepped aside so Charlie could move past and approach the abandoned springlock suit. She didn't know what she was expecting; this was exactly what it should've looked like and yet not what she imagined in her head. Maybe it was just something she never imagined seeing in real life. A long moment of silence passed where she just stared at the bear. The other two exchanged a look, with Marionette looking concerned and Mike gesturing his eyes in Charlie's direction. This was as good a time as any to come clean.

"Charlie, there's… there's no excuse for what I did," Marionette began, hanging his head in shame. Mike moved his hand from his shoulder to his back, coaxing him like he had on stage. "I expected you to trust me and I didn't do the same. I was just… I was just so ashamed. I didn't want you to know because I wanted to distance myself from him. That doesn't make what I did any better, but I hope maybe you understand why…" He fought back the tears that tried to intrude. "I'm sorry, Charlie. I was protecting myself, not you."

"But you were trying to spare my feelings when you didn't tell me that it was my grandfather that tried to burn you," Charlie pointed out.

Marionette slightly winced at the comment. "I'm sorry," he said meekly.

Mike decided to speak up in his defense. "That's not all on Mari. I could've said something too the night we were talking about the fire, but I didn't," he admitted to her. "And I'm against keeping information from someone for 'their own good' or 'the greater good'. It's just hard to say something when you know someone's going to get hurt." He looked towards Marionette and let his own remorse show. He felt just at fault.

"Is that why you didn't tell me that my dad attacked you?"

Marionette's head snapped up at the comment and he looked to her in shock. "Who told you?" He then looked to Mike questioningly. Mike looked back with equal surprise, raising his free hand and shaking his head.

"Fritz told me. He said that the day Dad moved on, he trapped you in here and nearly killed you both," Charlie revealed. She slowly looked back at the two who now stared back at her, both still taken aback, not expecting her to know. "Mari, Mike, please. I need to know everything now," she nearly begged. "I want to know the truth about my father and you're the only ones who can tell me."

Mike slowly looked back to the puppet at his side and watched as brief emotions flittered across his mask. Finally, there was a resolve and the striped one began to explain. "Charlie, your father always did everything he could for everyone else. He loved you, he loved the business, and he wanted nothing more than to make people happy."

It was exactly what her grandfather would've said. She looked away with disappointment, believing he too would cover what she knew was being hidden.

"…But Goldie couldn't control himself."

Charlie looked to Marionette again and he looked away. "Henry was creative and loving, and a good father and guardian. He taught me everything he could… But over the years, Goldie got more frustrated and desperate when we couldn't stop the Purple Man, my father, from going without punishment. Goldie started going to greater lengths and in the process he lost himself more and more to that anger. He made us do things without us knowing the truth. He told us things that we were supposed to believe without question. We still trusted him. I trusted him."

He almost seemed ashamed saying it and Mike began to pat his back again to work him through it. With a shaky, off-tune noise, Marionette continued. "What happened that night was that Goldie had convinced himself that me still being alive was keeping him from moving on and he tried to convince me to move on with him… And like with other things, when he couldn't get his way, he became unhinged. He didn't have his way that night, but Goldie still tried, and I still have trouble accepting the lengths he went to. He had been a father to me. It felt like a betrayal."

Charlie could only silently listen with the shock stealing her voice. Marionette didn't stop either, determined to get it all out. "But your father wasn't a bad person, Charlie. He wasn't like William; he was just human. Maybe he made mistakes and maybe he could be cruel at times, but it wasn't all on him…" Then he got a fierceness in his eyes when he looked to Charlie. "But no matter what anyone says, no matter how it might've seemed, I know for certain that he cared about us. He cared about me and-… And the bite was an accident."

Up until that moment the thought never crossed Charlie's mind. She hadn't even realized that it was the same suit that bit him, even though he seemed to believe that she knew. He also seemed to believe that others thought Henry bit him on purpose, and she couldn't understand it until she looked towards Mike. Because unlike Marionette's fierce determination, Mike looked somber and doubtful. That was all she needed to know that he believed Golden Freddy had done it. This time neither of them were sparing her feelings. This was their honesty.

Suddenly Charlie knew why all this had been hidden from her. Not only had Marionette hidden that his father was a monster, but he had also hid that her father was borderline the same way.

As she raised her hands to her face, holding her head momentarily as it sunk in, the other puppet got a look of concern. "Charlie?... I really am sorry. I just- I don't want you to find out about these things like I did. I promise from now on I will tell you everything," he insisted with that desperation and guilt.

"…Can I just ask you one thing?" the Security Puppet tentatively asked. "How long was it until you found out about your father being the one behind it all?"

She had to know already. She either knew and this was a test or this was a horrible coincidence. "It was… Scott who told me the truth. And it was that day when he told me the full extent of it. That was how I found out about Springtrap being Michael." He hesitated a long moment before adding in, "And by then I couldn't do anything. He was already gone."

Charlie knew exactly how that felt. In an instant she stepped forwards and took him in a tight hug, which he wasn't expecting. Marionette hesitated briefly and then hugged back with a needy sounding trill.

"I'm sorry… And I forgive you. I shouldn't have left like I did without letting you explain. I just-…" Charlie trailed off with a low ring. "I'm just so used to being let down that I'm just always expecting something to go wrong… I know it's silly, but you- both of you- you're like family. You're more family than mine ever was, and when I found out about your father, I didn't even care that he was your father. I was shocked, but it was just that I thought… I just thought I couldn't trust you either."

Marionette had devolved into chimes and out of tune twangs instead of a voice as he reached up to pet over the back of her head. He held her like a child; she wasn't sure which of them would be the child though. Deciding to give into it too, she made a soothing jingle sound, as though communicating in another language. He chimed louder and squeezed tighter.

This was also when Mike stepped in to put an arm around her. "We're not going to let you down, Charlie. We're just new to this 'family' thing and we're still learning."

"Yeah, same," the Security Puppet agreed with an honest smile. They drew back, Marionette now positively beaming and Charlie looking much more relieved. Mike felt like he could let his guard down. "I think I'm ready to go home now… I'm glad you brought me here and I'm glad I got to see him, but I'm ready to go back to being okay."

"That's great, because I've been looking forward to a bed that doesn't smell like cheap cleaner and plastic," Mike said playfully. He started to guide her out, trying to silently reassure her while getting them out of the warehouse, but stopped when he noticed that Marionette wasn't following. He looked back to find that the Puppet was still at the door to the closet, staring inside at the slumped bear. Mike realized he had forgotten to lock it but had a feeling that wasn't why the other lingered. "Mari, you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll be there in a moment, you go on ahead," the puppet assured.

"Alright," Mike agreed. Though once they were a few steps away, he quietly said to Charlie, "He needs a minute."

"Should I have said something to him?... My dad, I mean. Not Mari," the other puppet asked a little uneasily.

"Nah. This is just something Mari needs to do for himself. You're not obligated to do anything you don't feel like doing," Mike reassured her. He then flashed her a smile. "How am I doing on this supportive family role model so far?"

She returned the question with small smile and an honest, "Pretty good so far."

This left Marionette alone with the body of Golden Freddy. He still felt uncomfortable being near the empty suit. It was one thing being with an animatronic that wasn't haunted, but one that had once been possessed and the abandoned. It felt close to standing alongside a corpse. The room itself brought back the horrible memory of him trapped in the back room as a child. Though then there was something unspeakable forced into the suit- he decided not to think about it and faced the bear slowly.

"Hello, Goldie. I'm almost certain you can't hear this, but if you can… Well, maybe you've succeeded in moving on and are now watching us. If that's the case, then I really don't need to tell you what's been going on. You probably have your hands full with the others, doing whatever you're doing out there…" Marionette stopped his rambling long enough to fold his arms behind his back. "…Charlie wanted to see you… And as you probably see, she's like we are now. But she's doing wonderful. She's so strong, Goldie. I know you'd be proud."

The bear stared back silently, and Marionette's face fell. "…I'm sure you would be upset that I kept her with me… I just wanted to give her that chance, Henry. I think maybe I can give her a better life than the others. It's going to be different now. We're going to do this differently." Again, silence. It wasn't as though he expected a response. "I meant what I said to her, by the way. I'm not angry at you anymore. Still a little in shock… Maybe even in mourning… But I understand you now and I'm ready to move on."

He suppressed a chime and started to back out of the doorway. "I shouldn't keep them waiting. Goodbye Henry…"

Marionette then turned off the light and shut the door. He made sure to lock it, not wanting anyone to disturb the golden bear, and then turned away. He slowly made his way through the warehouse. He felt strange; maybe a little sad, but like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders too. He headed towards the door, passing by Candy Cadet.

"Hello there," the puppet greeted. He reached out to brush the bot's arm and felt a tingling on contact. "I hope you are well." Candy Cadet was deactivated, naturally, so he gave no response.

"So, he does have an off switch. I thought he just came on whenever he wanted to." Marionette hadn't even noticed that Mike was still there, walking over from the warehouse door to check on him. "Charlie's already in the car and ready to go. How are you holding up?"

"Me? How am I doing?" A brilliant smile broke across Marionette's mask. "I'm doing fantastic! The convention was a success, we got home without harm, Charlie's coming home with us, and I feel freer than I have in ages! And I think that maybe this is a good sign that our luck is turning around." He offered his hand to Mike. "Don't you think?"

There always seemed to be a touch of sarcasm in Mike's responses. He always used it to ease a tense situation and it would've been so easy to make a joke right now. But just seeing Marionette with so much confidence, unsure if he was truly this relieved or putting on a front, he found that he didn't want to think of the more pessimistic side. Marionette was right, things were better.

"I think you might be right, Stripes," Mike agree with a growing smile. He gladly took the other's hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "And to think we thought this running a business thing was going to be hard."

"And starting a family, to whatever extent this is," the puppet playfully answered. He led his companion to the door. "Let's go. I'm ready to get out of this warehouse, go home, and put this behind us all behind us."

"Yeah, sure," Mike agreed. Though as he started opening the door he got the ghost of a smirk. "We'll be back here by next week."

Marionette gave a chime of laughter and pulled Mike in, cupping the back of his neck and pressing his forehead to is. "I don't know what I'd do without you Mike," he admitted. Then his smile twitched into a smirk. "Except be just a little saner, perhaps." He then pulled back and guided his companion to the door.

The warehouse door was shut behind them and Mike locked it before going with Marionette to the car. From inside the warehouse, one would be able to hear the hum as the car drove through the late night and back home. All was well once again as silence fell over the dark shelves and cold concrete. It was time to finally go home; things were back to normal.

…

"But he could never leave them."

The only warning that Jeremy was home was the sound of rapid footsteps and the jingling of keys. Max's eyes flickered over from the TV screen while Balloon Boy dropped off the couch and nearly skipped over to the door. He climbed up onto the chair beside the door and sat there waiting, fully aware that they would most likely not notice him at first and completely fine with startling them. Max had to admire that.

The front door was flung open before a figure barely covered in a jacket hurried in. It was obviously Foxy even before the jacket fell off halfway through the entrance. He held the Minireenas in his arms and they were all acting like they were trying to sleep. Though it was doubtful that they really were. More than likely they wanted a free ride and knew they could convince Foxy better if they pretended to be asleep.

"I'm home!" Jeremy called into the apartment as he went to shut the door. "How was-?"

"Hello," Balloon Boy greeted loudly right as Jeremy's eyes landed on him. He had gotten used to the animatronic enough that all he gave was a slight shiver instead of a jump. Still he was surprised, and Balloon Boy gave a proud, "Hi," followed by a laugh. The blond rebounded with a quick smile.

"Hey, BB. I didn't think you'd still be up. You didn't get your nighttime schedule turned all the way around, did you?" he asked dotingly and reached forwards to pat his head.

"Ain't no schedule that he's gonna follow. BB does whatever he feels like. Ain't that right, BB?" Foxy asked while grinning in his version of a smirk. Balloon Boy laughed again, this time in agreement, and the fox headed towards the hallway. "Gonna drop these three off in yer room an' then I'll be back."

"No plans to make a quick escape through the window tonight, eh Captain?" Max asked after him. He gave a somewhat nonchalant 'eh' as a response, with the magician's focus quickly returning to Jeremy.

Foxy stepped into Jeremy's bedroom to find the bedside lamp on and every other mini-animatronic standing right inside the doorway. They had all heard him coming and he just stepped over them without a word. Lilium excitedly skipped behind him as he headed to Minireenas beds, eager to see her siblings home again, and stood alongside them attentively as Foxy crouched down and piled them into one of the bigger beds. Even with the fourth Minireena's excited giggling, he couldn't help but hear whispering behind him.

"I knew it was him. Max was right, he's the favorite," one of the Bidybabs fussily complained. Though her tune changed instantly. "Which means… Daddy's home!"

Without another word, the Bidybabs dashed out the door. Plushtrap followed behind them with a squeaky gait and chattery teeth. As annoying as they could be, or outright offensive when they wanted to be, it was endearing to see how much they cared about Jeremy. Going as far as to think of him as their parent. Foxy couldn't deny that Jeremy fit the role well, being just as supportive and warm as any good father would be.

Yet on the back of his mind there lingered that detestable word they just happened to say: Favorite. Just one of those words that loved to bring up feelings.

He gave a weary groan as he walked over to Jeremy's bed and sat down for a minute. This would give the little ones time to get Jeremy's attention while he had a moment to rest. He flopped back on the bed and stared at the ceiling above. It felt like such a naturally human thing to do, even when his hook was digging into the bedding.

"Favorite, bah! Phone's favorite, Bree's favorite, everyone's favorite. All the kiddies love Foxy," the captain muttered under his breath. He sighed and bent his right arm under his head, still staring up at the ceiling at turned off light fixture. "Guess I can't blame 'em. I loved him too." That just sounded wrong saying it out loud. Just acknowledging that slim line where Foxy and Gabriel became one was always so strange. "Sure don't remember Gabe bein' anyone's favorite," he muttered.

He was taken off-guard when he felt a soft tugging at the bedding. He turned his head to see that Rose was awake and climbing onto the bed. She crawled over to him before crossing her arms on his chest and resting her head on them. She continued to watch him as she relaxed, completely content in just laying on him. He gave a small rumble of a chuckle and reached up to pet the back of her head with a finger.

"Come to use Foxy as a pillow, have ya lass?" he playfully asked. Rose nodded in agreement. "Well, yer welcome to stick around fer a lil bit, 'til I get back to Jer'my." This seemed just fine to her.

Foxy raised his gaze to the ceiling once more before closing his eyes. He didn't go to sleep, he just let himself meditate in his thoughts for a few moments. At least he finally had a moment of peace.

It had just all been too much. Too many strangers and so many yelling children; purple people and confusing screams. So many sights and smells overloading servos that weren't used to feeling this overwhelmed. He couldn't do it, he needed a quick out, so he did the only thing that he could. There was only one thing he knew would get him out of the performance. So, Foxy broke down on stage in what almost felt like a real malfunction, if not for him having to help it along a little.

He spent the rest of the afternoon hiding behind a purple curtain and an 'out of order' sign that was planted on the stage. It should've been horrible and yet he found being alone assuring. Not to mention the control of being able to shut down his own show. He almost felt safer hidden behind the sign than he ever did on stage. Even as he listened to the singing of his three bandmates outside.

Eventually afternoon led into evening and soon the restaurant cleared out. It wasn't until around midnight that Foxy could hear activity again and even then he knew that it wasn't the employees. He recognized the clunky footsteps as someone approached the stage. He had a good idea of who it was even before the curtain was drawn open. It revealed none other than the visage of Freddy Fazbear standing on the other side.

"Hey there, Bud," Freddy greeted him. He watched as the fox raised his head and was almost relieved to see that he was still able to move. "How're you holding up?" he asked sympathetically.

"I be fine. Just gettin' me sea legs still," Foxy excused quickly. Freddy was still staring, now seeming a little more concerned. "Gonna need a shot o' rum after this. Be a shame there ain't a pub in walkin' distance."

"Good! We were worried about you after earlier. With you shaking like that and all…" Freddy's blue eyes lowered a moment to the floor. Then they snapped back up as he got the nerve to say more. "…The show is over, you know. The place is closed and there's nobody here except us…" When Foxy didn't seem to catch on- he had but decided not to say anything- Freddy added quieter. "Gabe, you can come out of character."

There was a long pause between them. Freddy just stared at him and Foxy wanted to hide. So he did, easily sliding behind the guise of an unphased pirate captain.

"Nah. Don't feel like it," the pirate dismissed quickly. "An' I think I might be takin' a few more days off. Gives me a little bit o' a vacation, don't it? You can man the ship without me!"

"Well, yeah. Of course… Just… They're going to want you back eventually. If you stay broken too long, they might- I don't want you to get taken away, alright?" Freddy tried to convince. "Besides, the kids will miss you… Foxy's their favorite!"

"Aww, you've got this ol' salt blushin'. Iff'n ya could see it past me fur, of course," Foxy said in a tone that sounded playful and appreciative. In actuality, it was dismissive, sweeping Freddy's concerns right under the rug. The bear looked back to the dining room and he knew that he was looking at Bonnie and Chica. They were probably worried too but sent Freddy over to broach the subject. "I be alright, Lad! Just not feelin' up to comin' out and wanderin' about tonight. Ya understand, yeah?"

"Sure. If you change your mind then we're out here," Freddy offered. He slowly closed the curtain to a crack. "See you in the morning, Gabe."

"Night, Matey!" Foxy said back. As Freddy headed away, he slowly lowered down and sat down on the floor of the stage, trying to rest his tense body with a sigh. "See you tomorrow, Chris…"

Mable: Whether it be 'Baby', 'Favorite', or 'Scoop'- or 'Ice Cream'- word activated discomfort still runs rampant in the animatronic community.