Mable: This chapter is tad shorter than some of the others, but I felt like it was a good place to end it, so I decided not to force more. XD When words get forced, my quality drops dramatically. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Forty-Five

When Mike awoke, he could already the feel the effects of being awake most of the night. He exhaled slowly as he felt light tapping on his arm and let out a questioning sound; almost like a curious groan, if that was even possible and cohesive.

"It's morning," Marionette softly reminded as he kept his hand on his arm. "I didn't know how long you were gone, so I assumed that you could do without the alarm." He was clearly worried about what happened at the pizzeria, but decided against pressing for answers. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," Mike muttered tiredly before turning into the pillow. "Other than me playing taxi driver to a bunch of teens who didn't know how to read a 'closed' sign," he added in with an obvious complaint. Really, it hadn't bothered him at the time, but now he was feeling the effects of that, the post-midnight snack, and the time between that and getting back in bed. "It's over. Don't worry about it."

Marionette wasn't sure if he could just 'not worry', especially when he had noticed those teenagers being so out of place previously, but he pulled away to address the clothes that had been left on the floor. Mike usually didn't discard his clothing on the floor, but it was obvious that he was exhausted. The animatronic chimed softly as he worked on gathering the clothing and folding it.

For a few minutes, Mike stayed in bed. The soft chimes lulled him into a false sense of relaxation and he nearly fell back to sleep. Though the music abruptly cut off. The puppet hadn't left either; Mike could still hear him moving clothing, so the sudden loss of music was odd. The human groggily rolled over only to find Marionette standing directly beside the bed, staring down at him. Mike quirked a brow and in response Marionette raised his hand, a slip of paper clutched in his fingers.

"What's this?" His voice was immediate and direct. His tone was not suggesting any immediate emotion.

The security guard took a moment to recognize the paper, "It's a phone number. Is that a problem?" He playfully asked right back.

Marionette's voice was oddly devoid of tone. "No... Of course, not." Mike started to sit upwards in bed, planning to get up, but the puppet refused to move from where he was. "I hope it's not from one of those teenagers. You should know better than taking phone numbers from people who just- Oh… You still have your paint on." Slight ease edged into his voice as he looked at the mark he had painted. Mike touched it and grumbled, having again forgotten to wash it off.

"You could've reminded me that I left this on. I would've looked more threatening," Mike pointed out with a sigh as he rubbed his head. "After I left the pizzeria, I stopped to get something to eat and met someone. Her name's Louise, I think you'd like her." He stood, Marionette letting him by, and went to search out something appropriate for work.

"That stands to be decided on," the puppet retorted in a more aloof way. His behavior had completely reversed from earlier. His original helpfulness and curiosity had been completely replaced by a reluctance. Mike assumed it was because of the pizzeria, though it could have been from him not coming home after he was at Freddy's. He knew the animatronic was the type to be upset when something unexpected happen.

"We're going out this weekend. Maybe you can see her then if she drives by," Mike suggested as he changed shirts. He had a feeling that Marionette would like Louise. From their talk last night, she seemed to be the bubbly type, which the puppet emulated well. "I mean, it's about time I was back on the market. It's been a while." There was no response and he continued getting dressed.

Then, all of a sudden, Marionette started to the door. "You can lay back down if you like. It is still a bit early; the cake isn't even done yet," he pointed out. Then he was gone. Mike got the feeling that Marionette was still not convinced of the entire situation, but just assumed that he would calm down after a while.

Mike finished getting dressed and eventually did wash the paint off his face. He then stepped into the kitchen expecting to have to slide around a disturbed animatronic. To his surprise, Marionette behavior had, again, took a sudden jerk.

"Here," Marionette chirped as he handed him a plate with a sandwich. "You can't keep going without breakfast. It's not exactly a full English breakfast, but it's more than a cupcake." His voice sounded lighter and his smile seemed a bit more natural. "I'll get you some coffee." Suddenly he was helpful and Mike was suspicious.

"Thanks…?" Mike looked to the plate and then to the puppet, noticing his sudden helpfulness after such dismissive behavior previously. He sat down at the table, considered his words, and then added in, "Just so you know, I'm not planning on bringing her into the house or anything. I wouldn't put you in that spot."

Marionette chimed lightly as he poured the coffee and brought it to him. The chime was different; it was less lively and more like a reflex. Mike knew it was forced. "I didn't expect you to," he answered, taking a seat on the other side of the table. "But on the more important topic. Next time someone breaks into the pizzeria, wake me up."

"This isn't going to happen a second time. There's no way we're letting this happen twice," Mike answered quickly in his defense. "I couldn't trust you not to follow and I didn't know what I was going to be getting into. Foxy was already involved; we couldn't lose both of our performers in one day, right?" he playfully asked. "Though it would probably take more than a couple of punks to take us out of commission. Am I right?" He gave a wink to punctuate it.

The puppet gave a sort of agreeing shrug. "I think that we've handled worse, yes?" Mike agreed and began to eat. Marionette watched him do so silently, showing little interest anything else.

Because Mike was right; nothing had broken them apart so far. Nobody had broken them apart so far.

It took a while for Mike to realize that Marionette's behavior was still off. At first, he thought that Marionette's behavior was back to normal, as he was being helpful and talkative. Then it started to dawn on him, slowly, that the puppet was a bit more helpful than usual. During the day, Marionette had stuck remarkably close to Mike, and once had directly beckoned him into the Prize Corner so that he could talk to him about refilling his token basket. At the time, this was still normal-looking, and Mike did as suggested.

It only really struck him that evening. Mike was on the couch watching a pitiful attempt at a soap opera on TV. Bored out of his mind, he glanced over at the puppet, who was tucked in the chair. He was just about ready to offer turning on the video game system when he suddenly noticed that Marionette was still there. Usually by now, Marionette would be stitching something, or drawing, or something along those lines. Instead, he was patiently watching the television with his human companion, doing nothing in particular.

Marionette was hovering; he wouldn't leave Mike's side even for a second. The security guard decided not to question this and instead waited to see if it would go away on its own.

Because this wasn't that unusual for the puppet, and Mike didn't mind the company.

Over the next few days, Marionette couldn't help but stick close to Mike and be as helpful as he could. While the human didn't seem to notice, or didn't bring it up, Marionette continued to assist in whatever ways he could. As what was bound to eventually happen, Valentine's Day arrived.

"I'm home," Mike called in as he stepped into the house. He immediately noticed how warm the house felt; especially compared to the cool temperatures outside. It wasn't like this before he left, but he had been gone to both Jeremy's and to the store shortly afterwards, and was glad to be home. He set down a red, paper bag on the dining room table and looked over at the stove. A few pots were soaking in the sink and the oven was on; the house was drenched in the smell of chocolate.

Marionette appeared at this moment with a greeting chime. "I was wondering what kept you! How was Jeremy?" He headed towards the oven, briefly checking inside.

"He's doing fine. He's still putting that Minireena in dresses and things- that's a little weird, but whatever turns him on- he's fine other than that." Mike's casualness changed to a more eager smile as he leaned on the back of the couch. "I had to stop for something on the way back." He glanced over to the item on the dining room table, trying to coax the animatronic. Marionette glanced over and chimed happily.

"You got me something? Mike, you didn't have to do that," he insisted as he approached the table and abruptly dug into the paper bag. He was beaming, he stopped, he stared, and then he slowly raised the item out of the paper bag. He looked over to the security guard with a look of disbelief. His wide smile flickered to a flat look as he held the monkey shaped plush in his hands.

"Don't look at me like that- he's perfect!" Mike smirked in a clearly patronizing way. "You two look nearly separated at birth." Marionette glanced to the red sock monkey in his hands before facially showing that he absolutely didn't agree. "Okay, okay, I saw him in the display and thought you'd get a kick out of him. He was the last one," Mike clarified further as the puppet now looked more intently at the gift. His face softened and he pulled it closer, hugging it to his chest, but then turned away in a somewhat snub-like movement.

"What did you distract yourself with while I was gone?" Mike asked curiously as he sat down. "Smells pretty good in here. Baking?"

"There a cake in the oven, yes. Hold on a moment," Marionette responded as he checked inside the fridge. "Hmm… It's not set yet… Anyway, I made homemade chocolate. It needs a little longer to firm, though."

"You don't have to go through that much effort, Mari," Mike pointed out. Especially after laughing at his expense, it seemed like a necessary fact.

The animatronic gave a soft chime of light amusement. "I think you're worth it," he pointed out. Then he got a slight bit of a sly look, "I haven't killed you yet, have I?"

Mike shrugged his words off, "I don't think you could."

"Perhaps not. I've become rather attached," Marionette agreed. Then he opened the fridge again, impatiently took one of the chocolate molds out of it, and set it down on the table.

"No, I meant that I don't think you can," Mike clarified, or perhaps challenged, and sat down at the dining room table. "There's a reason I outlived the others, you know. Your older brother didn't even get close." He couldn't help but test the waters a little further.

"You never went against me," Marionette reminded him right back. For a split second, his eyes had a glint of a white glow, but not an aggressive one. Perhaps just one continuing this growing challenge between them. Either way, it only riled Mike more.

"We'll see if you can back up that talk sometime. I don't know how; we might just have to break down and fistfight," Mike suggested with the continuing smirk of playfulness. "The next time Foxy decides to split, we can do it at the pizzeria. It should be entertaining enough for the kids."

"I'm not so sure about that. I don't think it would last long enough," the puppet continued and watched as Mike started to pop a couple of the heart shaped chocolates out. He then began to ring further in amusement, clutching his new sock monkey tighter to his chest. "Oh Mike, you have no idea how fortunate you are. What would you do if you weren't my weasel?"

"I have an idea and I have no clue," Mike spoke with a quieter tone and answered both. At first the animatronic thought he had imagined it, but his human companion was clearly looking to him in interest. This sent of tremble of eagerness through him. It was a sharp contrast to the usual sensation he felt when he was getting stared at. He popped one of the chocolates in his mouth and only then broke eye contact. Marionette decided to follow suit and looked down at his plush toy. Maybe it had been a sort of joke intention, but it was soft and adorable, so he would treasure it.

Because Mike got it for him and was spending Valentine's Day with him instead of anyone else.

Though Marionette began to doubt himself, and the thought that nothing was going to change, when the weekend finally came into the picture.

He had waited the entire day, watching Mike go through his normal routine, and expecting any moment for the male to either announce that he was leaving or decide to call off the date. After all, Louise was still a stranger, so it didn't seem too unlikely that the security guard may decide to stay in for the night. This didn't come to pass.

"Alright, I'm going," Mike randomly announced as he passed by the back of the couch. It was around seven o'clock and, from what the puppet had seen and heard, he hadn't received any calls from the girl he was intending to date. This surprised the animatronic who turned around and peered over the couch.

"Now? Isn't it a bit early? You used to meet Natalie later than this," he asked, hoping that the man would agree and decide not to leave just yet.

"Nah, this is about when we were going to meet. Give or take a few minutes." Mike checked his wristwatch, the one he had gotten as a Christmas present, and gave a nod. "I should get down there. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll have my cellphone if anything happens." As though that would make the animatronic feel any better about the situation. "Try not to destroy the house while I'm gone, alright?" There came his playful smirk, a brief respite, and he headed towards the door.

"Be careful out there," Marionette warned and Mike gave a positive answer before leaving. His car could be heard backing out of the driveway and he drove away, leaving his puppet companion entirely alone. For Marionette, it was just a matter of burning off the hours of the evening until Mike returned. Yet, unlike usual, he found his list of possible activities stunted. He simply didn't feel much of an urge to do anything at first. The whole situation had just put him in that sour of a mood.

The one night he wasn't awake and Mike had gone out and became interested in a random girl. The one night that Marionette wasn't awake; he would keep kicking himself for that until this whole fiasco was over. With a huff of static, he put in one of his tapes and hoped to put his annoyance towards something more deserving. Or better yet, the sight of familiar 'friends' would make him feel better. Though it was moments like these that reminded him that he really didn't have to many friends who he could trust with everything. Except Mike.

Though there were some things that he could just not confide in Mike. Case in point, his feelings towards this night in general.

Soon he was watching Bonnie babbling on the television while being comforted by Freddy. This managed to pacify him just a bit. Though his mood continued to decline once he realized what he had landed on.

"She's been stolen away and I was supposed to protect her! Can't you understand?! It's not just sort of my fault, it's ALL my fault!" Bonnie babbled on to his best friend. He then collapsed down onto a chair, covering his face in shame. "I let them take her away. Oh Bea…"

"Stop that," Fredbear frowned and clapped his hands onto the bunny's shoulders. "You did all you could to protect her. We just… Underestimated the true power of the emperor. If it wasn't for Max saving us, we all would be goners." He explained as he looked back to the door. Chica was standing there with a worried look on her face.

"Oh, Hun, she'll be fine! Bea's a tough girl- nobody'll ruffle her fur," Chica tried to encourage as she stepped inside.

"I just care so much for her…" Bonnie looked between them both. "I really do love her."

"Oh, please," Marionette bitterly chimed in on a conversation that he clearly couldn't interact with. "You only love her because she's a female rabbit. Let's see this same conversation if she wasn't clearly made for you." He tried to keep watching, he really did, but growing frustration was causing a return of the static. He muted the volume and looked to the sock monkey and Golden Freddy plush toys on the couch beside him. After a few moments, he decided that they were better than nothing, so he let it slip.

"In real life, someone with a similar name and color pallet doesn't just appear out of nowhere to become your soul mate. If that was the case, I wouldn't be sitting here alone, would I?" It was then that he realized exactly what he was doing. Desperately, he tugged the Golden Freddy plush into his lap. "Goldie, I wish you were here. At least you would be able to… Never mind. You would just say I was being overdramatic," he dropped the plush to the side and pulled his legs to his chest.

Once this event was over, Marionette became determined to waste time. He struggled to distract himself; drawing lasted briefly, baking involved little input, all of the plush toys were mended, and manipulating them to act out little scenes always ended in bitter reminders that things wouldn't end how he wanted. As much as he tried to put Freddy and Bonnie together, Bea would always be a very real thing. It hurt more than he could've imagined. In the end, here he was sitting alone, wasting time.

Eventually it just became too much to stand. He gave up on the evening by nine o'clock. Mike was still not home, which he couldn't understand how he had yet to get home, and Marionette ran out of ideas. There was nothing else he could do to distract him that would involve him staying in the house. The only thing he could do now was pass time in a more efficient way; turning to the entrapping sleep of his music box. He headed to his bedroom and carried the music box to his own box. He folded himself inside, closing the lid, and laid the music box on his lap.

"I won't be able to meet Mike when he gets home… But perhaps I can be awake before he goes to sleep," Marionette believed as he began to wind the box. He couldn't help but linger in that moment, feeling himself already starting to fade as he continued to wind the box. Then the music started to lull forth and the puppet promptly submitted himself to it.

Because there was no point in waiting around if he could just sleep through it.

Marionette beamed as he watched Bonnie proclaim his love for Freddy on the television. "This is wonderful! I've never seen this episode!" He turned to Goldie, who was sitting beside him on the couch, who sat there stiffly, unmoving. "I thought he and Bea were together!" Marionette continued to gush as Goldie continued to stay entirely silent. It was looking at the gold bear that the puppet noticed Mike down the hall, grabbing something out of the closet. He then continued further towards the living room, putting on a dress jacket as he approached.

Marionette leaned over the back of the couch, "Where are you going?" Suspicion laced his voice. "Come and watch TV with us! Freddy and Bonnie have finally become a thing!

"Can't. I'm going out with Louise. Nothing special," Mike obviously lied as he wore such a fancy suit. However, Marionette couldn't prove this until, as Mike was approaching the door, a small box fell out of his pocket. The puppet hurried over, grabbed it, and sat back down on the couch to examine it closer.

"What is this?" he asked in confusion and some due suspicion before opening it. Inside was tucked a gold ring with a large heart-shaped diamond on it. Marionette gasped very audibly and looked over in annoyance. "What is this?! An engagement ring?!"

Mike gave a playful shrug, "It could be."

"No, it either is or isn't," Marionette snapped back with growing irritation. "You just met her, Mike! You're already planning on marrying her?!" He was about to lose control of any restraint he had.

"Depends on if she says yes," Mike chirped back and snatched the ring box back before the puppet could protest. There was a knock at the door. "That's probably Louise now," Mike continued and hurried to the door. He opened it and began to talk to someone who sounded sort of like Natalie, but whom Marionette could not see past the security guard.

Marionette felt like a wreck. His body shook frantically as he shook his head. "No, I don't- This can't happen! No, Mike, you can't marry her! I don't want her in my house!" The puppet called over, but went completely ignored by Mike and Louise, who he assumed was at the door. "I can't believe this!"

"You should be keeping an eye on her," Goldie's voice suddenly announced. As though flipping a switch, Marionette was completely enraptured by his command and looked back towards the golden bear on the couch, still unmoving. His stoic tone had been sudden and unexpected. "She's not gone. You didn't get rid of her."

It was obvious that Marionette had no idea what the golden bear was talking about. However, Goldie didn't have to answer any more questions, because 'she' let herself in. There was a grinding noise, a mechanical groan, and something slowly dragging itself closer along the carpet. It slowly emerged around the couch and continued its sluggish approach towards the striped animatronic. It was Ennard.

The puppet looked back to Mike and tried to warn him to no avail. He either couldn't hear him or simply wasn't listening. By time he looked back, Ennard was climbing the couch in front of him. Her blue eyes stared directly into his own as her white face plates shuddered.

"You left me behind…" The amalgam asked before suddenly jumping forwards to grab at him. He didn't even feel her touch.

Because she wasn't even there.

Marionette felt worse waking than he had going to sleep. His box felt cramped, his body limp, and everything was simply too tight. The nightmare was quickly shoved aside as a disturbing cluster of the night's events. With a huff of annoyance, he pushed the music box aside and popped out of his box, heading out into the living room to see if Mike had returned yet. The living room looked mostly untouched and he felt a growing static in his chest as he looked out the window. He couldn't fathom how the man wouldn't be back yet.

It was now that he was taken aback to see that Mike's car was in the driveway. With the static disappearing, he immediately headed to the hall. He glanced at the Grandfather's Clock as he passed and was surprised to see that it was four in the morning. He had somehow managed to sleep through the entire night and hadn't even awoken when Mike returned. Mike hadn't even tried to wake him…

The puppet came to a sudden halt outside of the master bedroom door. What if, and he hated to think it, Mike had brought the girl home with him? Other than Marionette having no choice but to kill him, he wasn't sure how to properly react to an intruder in his house who he had not welcomed. Suspicious, he teleported into the room and scanned it with scrutiny. Though it became apparently quickly that what he expected was not reality. Instead of Mike in bed with a girl, Mike was just asleep in bed, as he usually was at this time.

Now feeling relieved, Marionette approached Mike's side of the bed and looked down at him. Just knowing he was home made everything in the house feel more complete. It was all back into its proper place now that the human was home safe and alone.

…But to Marionette's surprise, he didn't feel immediately better. In fact, his brief relief was only followed by a looming shadow. He reached out and lightly fussed with Mike's hair, getting it somewhat neat, trying to get some warmth out of the gesture. Part of him wished that Mike would've awoken, turned over, and attempted to comfort him. He could've told Mike he had a nightmare, they could've sat together as Mike comforted him- he didn't even need it, but he wanted it- and naturally he would let the puppet slip into bed with him.

…But to Marionette's continued surprise, he couldn't do it. He couldn't purposefully wake him. Instead he turned and left the bedroom. At least he could still tend to the man while he was home, and he decided to leave him sleeping for now.

Marionette returned to the living room and sat down on the couch alongside the sock monkey and the Goldie doll. It was a similar setting to earlier, but an entirely different scenario, and even though he should've felt better he found himself feeling worse. He had no idea how the evening went or whether Mike would see Louise again. He didn't know if this was a one-time thing or would occur again. He could only sit here and wait just as he had before. Though this carried its own revelation.

Even after all this worrying, Marionette knew it was in vain. He couldn't physically stop Mike from seeing her. He couldn't even call Mike, as he didn't have the man's cell phone to use and was reluctant to ask anyone else for assistance. He was in a helpless situation and, even though this night had gone on relentlessly, reminding him of the dreadful future that could come, there was no immediate out. This lonely night was only the beginning of many.

Because Mike was attracted to girls, and even if he wasn't-

Marionette pulled in tighter to himself.

-he wasn't attracted to sock monkeys.

Mable: …
So, spoiler alert, but brace yourself for a good deal of Jeremy in the next chapter. XD I felt the need to forewarn his arrival, I don't know why. Anyway, I hope that everyone enjoyed, and the next chapter will be posted next Saturday! Thank you for reading!