Mable: Sorry about the lateness on this posting! The chapter needed more tweaking and I was busy in a family event. XD Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Forty-Four

It took Foxy longer than expected to get back to work. It already took almost a week for him to finally start leaving his bedroom and, once that happened, he was just about ready to return to the pizzeria. In this time, Marionette had filled his role nicely. There was the occasional question about Foxy's whereabouts, but most of the kids seemed more than satisfied with the puppet's efforts. After all, it did help that Marionette was so overly attentive towards details, overcompensating to meet standards that he himself set on his own.

However, Foxy was finally ready to return to the pizzeria, and it was just in time for Valentine's Day. Or, more specifically, the week before the holiday. While being a holiday that Mike shrugged off, Marionette again embraced the holiday with the upmost eagerness. Though he seemed to be the only one. Neither Jeremy, Fritz, nor Natalie seemed too focused on getting the restaurant holiday-ready; and this was saying a lot considering that Fritz and Natalie's relationship was only becoming more obvious as the days passed by.

Mike had decided to back off on his teasing of the two, mostly out of the suspicion that they would clam up and start hiding it without need. It wasn't worth the hassle. Besides, Mike didn't like Fritz's recent string of comebacks, but that was another story. Foxy seemed onboard enough for celebrating holidays, but being that this was his returning week to the pizzeria, he seemed less attentive on it. Jeremy didn't seem to have an opinion on it. It really was Marionette who was so wound up by the idea of another holiday.

"Where did you put the paint?" Marionette asked from the hall as he circled the house and searched. Mike glanced towards the clock and noticed he was cutting it close.

"Hall closet, plastic toolbox," Mike rattled back as he slipped on his jacket and buttoned it up. Today would be an easy day, considering that there were no planned birthdays and that it was a school day. The rush would most likely come between three and six and, even then, Mike didn't have the upmost confidence that they would have many children in. Marionette reappeared into the kitchen with the box and sat it on the table, opening it and searching inside.

"Would you do me a favor?" he chimed in questioning. "I need you to paint me."

The security guard glanced back and studied the puppet's face as he dug through the box. "Your paint looks fine to me," he pointed out.

"I need to change colors," Marionette clarified and retrieved two tubes of paint. "I need you to make my cheeks and lips more red and my stripes pink. We just need to make sure I don't cry between now and arriving at the pizzeria." Mike didn't know whether he was joking or serious. Marionette sounded like he was stating it seriously, but even then it could've gone either way.

"Alright…" Mike glanced over to the pastry box on the table. "But I get a cupcake. If I'm expected to focus, then I need the sugar." He was already reaching for the box as Marionette gave him a less than impressed look.

"Those are for the children," Marionette tutted in return.

"I'm not going to be a starving artist. I get a cupcake, you get your face done," Mike playfully answered. It wasn't as though he expected them to sell out the cupcakes on a day without parties anyway. Finally, Marionette raised a hand, the box nudged closer, and the transaction was done.

Mike was more comfortable painting Marionette this time. He still paused his cupcake eating while he did to keep focus. Marionette eagerly pressed into his hand as Mike dabbed his paintbrush into the red. Marionette's mask responded oddly to paint. When painted, it would absorb the color and nearly glow with it, keeping ahold for as long as it could. He had a feeling that he would have to repaint it again once Valentine's day was over and done with. He whistled to himself and pressed the red paint against his cheek.

Marionette trembled and chimed as he was painted on. It seemed like he was having trouble sitting still, but Mike was still having a relatively easy time. At least he could tell that the chiming was out of some sort of joy; as though he was this eager to be painted. He had no idea how much Marionette enjoyed his attention. Alas, the painting was soon finished, and Mike returned to his cupcake.

"You look great. Should we get going?" They would be cutting it close as it is, so he was surprised at Marionette's answer.

"Not yet…" The puppet looked the human with interest. He turned his head towards the box of paints. "…Could I paint you?"

"…Are you serious?" Mike asked in confusion. "Paint what?"

"Just on your cheek. Just a cupcake or a pizza slice," Marionette offered with a growing eagerness in his voice. "You could feel what it's like to be under the paintbrush."

Mike wasn't exactly sure whether or not he wanted to have a painting stuck on his face all day. Especially when he was supposed to be some sort of guard to scare off the possible prowlers. On the other hand, Marionette seemed excited about the possibility, and he had seen enough of his sketches to trust that he could freehand and produce something good.

"Sure, knock yourself out. Just keep it small, okay? I can't look too goofy," Mike pointed out with a small smirk.

"I don't think I can make you look goofy, Mike," Marionette retorted as he got his paints out. "Just close your eyes. It will make it easier for me." Mike complied and Marionette began to work. He held Mike still, his free hand under his chin, and gently applied the cool paint to the skin on his left cheek. It didn't take too long before he had painted what he wanted and released the male. "There you are! You look perfect," Marionette chimed as he moved to squeeze the human's shoulder, then passed to wash out the brush. "We need to hurry."

"That's an understatement. We'll have to drive at the speed of light to make it by opening. I'll just sneak you through the back," Mike returned as he put on his security cap and stood. By time he had locked the door and got into his car, Marionette was already waiting in the back. Thankfully, Mike had gotten his car working after he replaced the battery, and since then it had been working without fail. He glanced into the mirror briefly before actually noticing what he had on his face. "Oh, that's clever."

"What?" Marionette asked, seemingly innocent.

"I said nothing goofy. I think your face counts as goofy," Mike remarked as he looked at the small doodle of Marionette's face. It was cartoonish and purposefully too cute to be on the face of an adult man.

Marionette chimed pleasantly and laid his hands on Mike's shoulders, reaching over the back of the seat to do so and seemingly smiling wider than usual. "Just something to show who's on your side." He squeezed his shoulder playfully and Mike groaned.

"I can only imagine what Fritz is going to say about this," Mike responded. Though he understood the gesture and recognized that it was more affectionate than some sort of joke. Thus, he would wear it.

They eventually arrived at the pizzeria, slipped in easily as no customers had arrived yet, and prepared for the day ahead. Foxy didn't seem rusty at all and took back to his job with eagerness. Performing for the children kept him happy and confident, so returning to the normal routine of returning daily wasn't difficult for him. Though Marionette did keep an eye on him in case he became overwhelmed. During the three-thirty 'rush', Marionette decided to leave the prize corner and started to pass out heart shaped cookies.

It wasn't the same as tokens, but the children were just as eager to accept a free Valentine's Day cookie. Originally everything seemed normal and Marionette was having a good time wandering the floor and dodging running children. He had circled his track and was prepared to return to his box when something caught his gaze. Sitting at one of the smaller tables was a small group of teenagers. They hadn't ever been in the pizzeria before and didn't seem to be doing anything except poking at a few pieces of pizza.

Interest slowed Marionette to a halt as he looked between the four. He didn't recognize them, nor did he understand why they were here, but he felt a sort of curiosity. Teenagerhood was something that he mostly missed out on and, as it was, he had seldom encountered one since he had become an animatronic. It was as though he was approaching a strange animal that he wanted to examine; he inched closer to the table. It was then that his innocent curiosity shifted to a firmer prying. Why were they here?

They weren't playing any games, nor did they seem interested in the pizza, so them hanging out in the restaurant was confusing. They noticed him by time he arrived at the table and stared at him questioningly, as though he was the odd one out in his own pizzeria. To silently excuse his arrival, he offered the basket of cookies to the group. One of the girls dared to reach out and take a cookie, a boy said he would 'pass', and Marionette lingered a few more moments before sluggishly drifting away from the table. The teens watched him, but made no attempt to leave.

So, he decided to make a trip past Foxy and waited until the child clinging to his leg moved on. The fox animatronic looked to him questioningly and the puppet leaned closer to murmur to him. "Keep an eye on those teenagers. They don't seem to be causing trouble, but I find them… Out of place." He didn't say it in an aggressive way. Marionette didn't feel fear or overprotectiveness towards the teenagers, just this lingering confusion at why they were here. Foxy seemed to have the completely opposite suspicion.

"I saw 'em. Prob'bly just a couple of kids lookin' for a hangout," Foxy suggested to Marionette with more confidence. He turned to look back at the teens. "…So what did you do? They're starin' over here."

"I offered them cookies," Marionette responded, feeling stiffness settle in. The teenagers were just old enough that the freezing reaction from being stared at was still present. Not enough to stop him completely, but enough to be moderately annoying.

Foxy hummed and poked at one of the edible hearts with his hook. "Makes perfect sense now…" He couldn't help it, and he couldn't help but chuckling as Marionette responded with silently heading back to his Prize Corner.

At that time, Foxy assumed that Marionette was overreacting.

Regardless, the teenagers left later that afternoon and hadn't seemed to cause any trouble. By that evening the restaurant was closed and after a quick cleaning, Mike and Marionette had left. Fritz and Natalie left shortly after, leaving Jeremy to finish up with sweeping. Then he too left, mentioning something about returning home to Daisy, and Foxy was alone. Which he didn't mind. The pizzeria had become his home and he felt comfortable being there. He didn't have to worry about purple skinned men and dangerous night guards.

Foxy had retreated to behind the curtain to plan for tomorrow when it happened. He could hear the squeak of the back door opening multiple footsteps, and soft talking amongst various humans. For a moment, Foxy naturally assumed that it was his four human coworkers and didn't feel willing to confront them. Or he hadn't at first, until he heard a voice that he didn't recognize. Foxy nudged the curtain open, thinking that maybe it was still them with a new worker. The moment he noticed that the three humans wandering into the party room were strangers, Foxy lost what control he had.

Night mode kicked in and the hunt was on. He thudded down from the stage and sprinted towards the three with an aggressive shriek in his voice. He raised his hook as one of the three was caught in his gaze.

Mike scrambled to grab his cellphone off the nightstand. He was still half asleep and only barely functioning as he answered the phone. "Hello?" he groggily answered.

"Someone broke in," Fritz's voice was practically frantic and he got straight to the point. "Foxy just called me. He's got them cornered in the women's room, but we need to get down there, now. I already called Jeremy." Again, it took Mike a moment to process the situation, but once he had it hit hard.

"Are you serious?" Mike threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. Still on the phone, he searched out his uniform. "How'd they even get in?!"

"I don't know. I'm going to have to look once I get there… Ugh, I don't know what we're going to do if they broke that front window." Fritz sounded stressed as he continued driving, trying to hold his phone with his shoulder. "I'm letting you go. Get over there as fast as you can, okay?"

"I'll be there," Mike finished and they ended the call. The security guard hurried to get dressed in his uniform. His tiredness slowly faded as his adrenaline began to sink in. Along with anger; he couldn't help but be furious that someone would break into the pizzeria. At least Foxy had got them; he hoped that Foxy left some sort of a mark. He finished by slipping on his badge; it wasn't much, but maybe the sight of it would strike fear into whoever was there.

"Until they realize I'm an underpaid security guard. Then I'll have to taze them," Mike mentally accessed as he left the bedroom. There was no reason to wake Marionette, so Mike instead jotted down a note for him and slipped it under his door. He didn't want to risk going in and waking the puppet, as he could hear that the music box had already went out. The note wasn't that important and proclaimed the basics: "Disaster at Pizzeria. I'll be back eventually. Go back to sleep." It would do enough.

The drive felt brief, but by time Mike arrived at the Pizzeria he could see Jeremy's car and the Freddy van. The lights were on in the Pizzeria and Mike parked before jogging to the front door. He bounded inside and immediately saw what was going on, looking over the scene and letting everything set in. He expected to find three adults, not three teenagers. Especially not three teenagers who he recognized from earlier.

"Alright, what's going on?" Mike demanded as he crossed his arms and stepped into the scene. Fritz was standing there while the three teens were sitting against the wall, while Jeremy was nowhere to be seen. Before the technician could speak, he swore he could hear one of the male teens say something under his breath. It sounded like 'purple police'. "I heard that, kid. You should be happy that I didn't bring the police with me," Mike scolded right back with growing annoyance.

"These kids decided to break in and snoop around," Fritz replied, forcing a firm time and a slight leer. His exhaustion was too obvious for him to look threateningly. "Turns out Foxy doesn't like strangers in his home." He nudged his head back towards the distant stage. When Mike looked back, he could see Foxy barely peeking through. For a split second, Mike actually felt thankful towards the fox. Things had gotten slightly better between the two of them, or Mike's feelings got better, and this only helped.

"I got it!" Jeremy stepped out of the hallway with a rag in his hand. He looked more awake than both of his coworkers. "They jammed this rag in the door at some point. This kept the door from automatically locking, then they just snuck in later." He looked down at the three teenagers before looking back to Mike and Fritz. "It's locked now."

"Good. We'll have to keep an eye on that," Mike stated and beckoned the teenagers. "Get up. All of you. I'm taking you home." He then glanced to his friends to see if they agreed with his decision.

Fritz gave his opinion with a blunt, "Give their parents hell." He then looked back to Jeremy. "I'm going to check the security tape to make sure everything's in order, but the safe wasn't touched. You need to check the windows and everything else; I don't want this happening again." Jeremy agreed and headed off to check the kitchen.

The three teenagers sluggishly stood and followed Mike out of the front. He expected them to flee the second they stepped outside, but they didn't. If anything, they just kept their gaze to the ground, and seemed rather frightened. Even the boy who he suspected said 'purple police' seemed uncomfortable. Mike opened the backseat door and started to usher them in. "You're lucky we're going so easy on you. If I didn't have to worry about our image, the cops would be here."

The boys climbed into the car and the female was about to join them, but froze. She stared past Mike for a moment before jumping back from the car. "You're connected with Freddy's," she suddenly pointed out, as though accusing the man.

Mike was a little surprised at the random comment, but didn't visibly show it. "I don't know what you're talking about, Kid. Come on, get in the car." She continued to look reluctant, glancing past him. The security guard looked back and realized that she was staring at the van and the obvious 'Freddy' logo. "…We need to burn that thing," he muttered to himself. He rolled his eyes to himself and looked back to the girl in exhaustion. "That was just an inheritance. Has nothing to with- Why am I even explaining myself? Just get in the car."

The girl now did so and soon Mike was back in the driver's seat. "I need an address," he pointed out and one of the boys, the quieter one, rattled out a street and number. The security guard drove out of the parking lot and started on his way. He hoped that they wouldn't ask questions, but the girl mustered enough will to speak.

"You're wearing a Freddy Fazbear uniform too… I recognize the color…" She was hesitant in the words, but still spoke. Neither of the boys had the nerve to ask questions once Foxy appeared and the threat of cops came out into the open. "And Foxy was one of the characters…"

"Don't read too much into it, okay?" Mike really didn't want to have to answer hard questions to teenagers. "Some of our stuff did come out of Freddy's, yes, but that doesn't mean anything."

Silence only lasted for a couple of moments. He made the mistake of glancing into the rearview mirror and noticed the girl, behind his seat, was still watching him. She wasn't sated; he knew that look. Though he didn't expect what was coming.

"We weren't trying to rob anything, we just-." One of the boys made a gesture for her to quiet down, but she completely ignored him. "I just wanted to see some things…" She knew something; that much was obvious. "We were… We were trying to find out more about Fredbear's Diner and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria, but we couldn't find anything. It was only a couple of days ago that I found out this place opened and…" He knew it was coming. "What happened to the diner? To the pizzeria?"

"Alright, so let's just cut the beating around the bush," Mike started. He nearly said 'mulberry bush' and wanted to smack himself for the inward thought. "We all know what the consensus is about Freddy's. Everyone either thinks it was haunted or evil, or something like that. Everyone thinks it." He briefly glanced at the mirror and noticed that she was still listening, unfazed. Of course, she heard the rumors. "The truth is that Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was mismanaged. Nobody knew what they were doing, nobody was checking the hires, and the place fell apart."

"What about the missing children?" the girl continued to ask. They had done their homework. Mike didn't know whether to be impressed, concerned, or generally not care.

"One whacko stalked out a pizzeria to kidnap kids. It's a terrible thing, but that's what happens when businesses get away with slacking." He tightened his fists on the wheel. He hated saying this when he knew what he knew, but he couldn't help but blame the company for what happened. William Afton wasn't the only person who led to the murders. Henry Johnson has stood aside and did nothing while Fredrick only stepped in once there was nobody else. They were all at fault. "And eventually it caught up to them and business went under."

The girl fell silent as the car slowed to a stop in front of a house. "This it?" Mike questioned and the quieter boy nodded and hopped out. He ran to the neighboring house, but it was close enough. "Who's next?" Mike inquired. The two teenagers looked to each other in an unreadable moment before the other boy gave his address. Once back on the road, the questioning continued.

"You… Worked there?" the girl asked. She sounded so interested and he couldn't really understand why. She had to have been a child when Freddy's was at its prime; how would she know about it?

"I was a night guard when Freddy's was on its last leg," Mike admitted. "But it went under and we opened Foxy's with our own money and our own intent…" He paused and then added, "But not our own van. Not enough in the budget for a new van." This seemed to pacify her enough that she stopped asking questions. He dropped off the second teenager at his home, then got the last address. There were things left unsaid and Mike decided to end the drive with a final statement.

"I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt that you weren't coming in to steal anything or vandalize. You three weren't wearing masks, you weren't carrying any tools or anything, so I'll give you that much." Mike grew more firm, "But take my advice and don't look into Freddy's. There's nothing worth finding." At least this was the partial truth. "And make sure that your friends know that if you try to sneak in again, I'm pressing charges… If you can get in. We're getting actual locks after this." A slight smirk passed his lips as he turned onto the appropriate road.

"We really weren't," the girl reassured. "And we won't. We just- It was stupid."

"Mind telling me why you're so interested in Freddy's anyway?" Mike asked curiously as he slowly rolled down the road. "Which of these is it?"

"The white one on the left," she pointed out. "…And my dad used to work there." There was an odd somberness. Mike decided not to ask; he had dealt with enough daddy issues between him and Marionette already.

As he stopped outside the house, the front door opened and a robe enwrapped woman hurried out. Mike couldn't help but send a smirk into the backseat, "I'm glad I'm not you right now." The girl quickly got out of the back seat in time to have the woman rush to her and start propositioning her with questions. It was surprising that she was awake, considering that Mike was shocked that he hadn't passed out at the wheel, and she looked like she wasn't sleeping anytime soon. She was inquisitive and furious.

After the two exchanged some words, mostly demanding for answers on where the girl was, the woman approached the passenger window. Mike rolled down the window and she leaned in.

"Thank you for bringing her home. I don't even want to know where you found her," the woman, possibly her mother, pointed out with weariness in her voice.

"No, you don't," Mike mentally tutted. However, he decided to give the girl a break. If only because there was already a possibility of two-way blackmail with the break in and Freddy's. "It's nothing, Ma'am. I was driving by and saw her walking home, and being how late it was it didn't seem right to leave her walking."

The woman had started to stare at him. He wondered if it was because of his uniform and if she recognized it too. "You have a good night," he continued, questioning slightly in his voice.

"You too. Thank you so much," the woman regained her voice and started back to the house with the girl. Just driving away from their house made Mike feel slightly better.

"I should've kept my mouth shut. What was I thinking? We're trying to stay separated from Freddy's and I decide to let her know, flat out, that we're connected to Freddy's. Great plan." His own self-scolding didn't necessarily make him feel any better. At least he was somewhat certain that the girl wouldn't tell her mother. If she did, if any of them did, all they would have to do is supply the video evidence. Still, he doubted that it would get that far.

It had been a long night. In the end, Mike either did the right thing or had made a very foolish mistake, and the further he got away from the house the less he thought of it. It was around this time that he noticed a restaurant that looked to be open. He had passed it a few times before, but had never been interested enough to stop, especially when they were now in partial competition with Foxy's. After very little consideration, he turned into the parking lot. He wasn't probably going to sleep tonight anyway and he didn't expect Marionette to be awake.

The restaurant was almost empty. An older man sitting at the counter was the only customer there. Other than the waitress manning the counter, Mike caught a glimpse of another woman heading into the back. It was still three more people awake than he expected. He sat down at the counter and glanced at one of the paper menus stacked nearby. He didn't want to get coffee, he wanted to sleep at some point tonight, but he didn't want to just come in and order nothing. It was weird enough that he was driving teenagers home.

"I'm two steps away from being Purple Guy creepy," Mike reminded. "I've got to at least get toast or something."

"Is it a mime?"

Mike glanced upwards at the sudden comment from the brunette waitress. She was leaning against the counter further down, staring perplexingly at his face. "Is what a mime?" She tapped on her own cheek in response. Her hair was wavy and framed her freckled face in small curls. Like him, she was also clad in a uniform for her place of business. A playful smile made it to her lips as Mike got a suddenly look of alarm.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…" He touched his cheek and recognized the dry paint sensation. "And that explains why that woman was staring earlier. The one night I don't take a shower. That's just great." The waitress was still looking at him and he forced a smile. "Forgot I was still wearing that. I work over at the children's restaurant across town, you know?" As though this would excuse the painted face.

"I had a feeling it was something like that," the waitress chirped back. "But it's cute! So mime?"

"Close enough. We're not really sure ourselves," Mike joked back as the waitress gave a polite hum in return. "I'm Mike."

"Louise," the waitress returned with continued eagerness. Maybe he wasn't reading her right, but she seemed more interested than he would expect her to be with a normal customer. "It's a little late for business, isn't it? I didn't think anyone else was open."

"Yeah, I have a feeling that this town shuts down at seven," the man returned with a small smirk. "But no. I had some security guard duties to take care of." As though dropping the title meant as much as it would when mentioning Freddy's.

"Oh, a security guard? I knew it had to be something special. We don't get many men in uniform in here," Louise responded. She was definitely flirting and he could clearly tell.

"What? Are you saying most people don't walk in dressed in electric purple?" She giggled in response. "Didn't think I'd be getting such a good audience or I would've brought better material."

"I think everyone's got better material when it's not the middle of the night," the waitress responded. She then noticed that the older man was starting to stand and that she had to tend to him. "Hold on, I'll be right back." She left for only a few moments to tend to him before returning. She carried his dirty dish, stopping by Mike before heading towards the kitchen. "You know, I'm a pretty good judge of character."

"Are you?" Mike responded in equal interest.

"Yeah. That's why I spend my nights working in this place. I don't have to see much of them," she added in, as though a joke of itself. "This might be presumptuous, and I might be rushing this, but I think I might like to see more of you. Why don't I get you something I know you'll like," she started, "and maybe you could return the favor by taking me somewhere nice this weekend?"

For a split second, a single moment, Mike thought about Marionette's reaction. Though he instantly recovered enough to answer. "Sounds good to me, as long as I'm not required to paint my face." Louise giggled in response.

Maybe the evening finally turned around.

Mable: Next chapter will be posted next week on Saturday! I hope you enjoyed! 83