Acceptance

It had been nearly a week since Henry performed the ritual to change Norman into something mostly human once more. The Stein family had been both celebratory and cautious about it, keeping an eye out for any unexpected side effects. So far, the Mini Projectionist seemed to be the only side effect. Thankfully the Mini Projectionist seemed to be harmless, though it didn't like being separated from Norman, crying whenever Norman wasn't in the same room as it. Henry still wasn't sure what to make of it, but at least it was something they could deal with.

Currently, Alice and Boris were out showing all the neighborhood kids the Mini Projectionist and letting Norman enjoy being outside in his restored form. The Butcher Gang were out gardening with Linda and Sammy was helping the Connors with some repairs at their house. This meant that Henry was alone in the house with Bendy, though the toon still rarely came out of his room.

Keep faint tabs on his bond with his toon, Henry was enjoying the quiet by reading. He was so absorbed in the story, that he didn't notice his little ink demon had left his room until the toon was already coming down the stairs. Henry made sure not to physically react, instead lightly prodding his bond to see what kind of mood Bendy was currently in.

The emotions Henry was getting from his toon weren't as sad and heartbreaking as they had been for the past few weeks and he hadn't returned to the anger he had been experiencing before that. And while there was still some sorrow and guilt clinging to the Bendy, the little ink demon seemed far calmer than he had in a long time. It gave Henry hope that his toon was finally healing.

Bendy paused at the doorway, watching Henry silently. Henry didn't look up, but he did open out one arm in a silent invitation. Bendy slowly came towards Henry, pausing just out of reach for a moment before claiming up to curl up into Henry's side. Henry let his arm drop down to wrap comforting around his toon and carefully put his book down.

Glancing down at his toon, Henry was glad to see that the little devil darling wasn't clinging to him in desperation, only taking comfort in the physical contact. Henry still didn't say anything as they sat there, just gently rubbing Bendy's back as he waited for the toon to open up.

"I…" Bendy began, seeming to struggle for a way to voice his thoughts. "There's still a part of me that wants you to do the ritual on me…"

"But..?" Henry gently prompted, giving the toon an encouraging smile.

"…but I'm not as terrified about what's happening to me…" Bendy admitted slowly. "I'm still worried about what kind of changes eating a soul could have on me… but I'm willing to lean…"

"I'm glad you feel that way," Henry replied, giving his toon a look full of love and getting a shy smile in return. "I'm worried too, but I'm not afraid. Even if the changes aren't good, I'll be there to help you face whatever they are and help you control them how you want to. You learned so much about controlling your demonic tendencies already, I know you can continue to do so…"

"I… don't have the faith in myself that you do…" Bendy said quietly. "But I trust you…"

"Then just believe in my belief, until you can believe it for yourself," Henry concluded.

"Okay," Bendy nodded, the toon filled with firm resolve.

"I'm so proud of you Bendy," Henry smiled, hugging his little ink demon. "I know this hasn't been easy and you're very brave to be willing to face it. Just remember you aren't alone. I will always be here to help you as will the rest of our family."

"I know…" Bendy agreed, blinking back tears. "There still moments when I think I don't deserve it, but I can't deny that you guys love me, not when I can see it in your very souls."

Henry had no words to respond to that and only held his toon tighter. Once they both felt calmer after their emotional talk, Henry looked down at his toon and said, "Let's spend the afternoon working on some of your sculptures. It'll be something fun and relaxing and a good reminder of the positive things you can do with your powers."

"Yeah," Bendy agreed with a smile. "Let's do that…"

While Bendy wasn't feeling confident in himself to attempt to create new sculptures yet, there were plenty of back stock for them to paint. Henry and Bendy had a lot of fun painting those sculptures, laughing and joking as Henry talked about the other's latest antics.

When everyone came home for the day, they were all happy and relieved to see Bendy acting more like himself than he had since the Liar's final defeat. They made sure not to overwhelm him, but they didn't hesitate to remind Bendy how much they cared for him. Everyone knew that things still were going to go back to normal (if life had ever been normal since their escape from the studio), but right now everything was okay. And whatever may come in the future, be it good or bad, they would help each other through it.

They were family and family would always be there to overcome any challenge that came. Together.

IMPORTANT: Don't expect a whole lot of updates for this story for a while. I'm at the point where I want to start setting up for this universe's version of Bendy and the Dark Revival, but until the game is actually out, I can't plan for that story let alone set up for it.