Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Forty-Seven

Mike didn't immediately find Marionette, so he headed straight back to his bedroom and tried the door. It wasn't locked, but the handle felt stuck.

"Mari?" Mike called into the room to no response. "Marionette, we need to talk." He tried the doorknob. It turned but the door itself refused to move. He realized quickly that it was being telekinetically held. With a light huff, he struggled in pushing the door open. It wasn't until he got his hand in the door that the telekinesis withdrew and the door abruptly slammed open. Thankfully, Mike managed to stay standing. Marionette was clearly tucked in his box and Mike crossed to it without hesitation.

"Come on, Mari, don't hide from me." Still, the animatronic said nothing. After a few seconds, Mike began tapping on the side of the box, softly whistling to the tune of 'Pop Goes the Weasel'. He was moderately surprised when the animatronic resisted the sound of the tune. "All around the Mulberry bush,~" Mike started to fit his finds under the flap. "The monkey chased the weasel,~" he continued as the flaps tried to stay stuck. "The monkey decided to lock himself in a cardboard box,~" he edited as he finally got one of the flaps to raise, now hearing discontent static from inside the box.

"Don't make me drag you out here," Mike threatened lightly as he tapped on the edge of the box. He could see Marionette partially under the layer of plush toys that he had collected. "Let's not do this, okay? Not anymore. It's time for us to actually talk."

"What did Jeremy say to you?" Marionette's voice was both demanding and equally filled with dread. He refused to come out of the box still.

"Not much," Mike admitted as he reached inside and felt around the box. "But enough to get me worried. I'm not letting this go on any longer." He got ahold of one of Marionette's wrists.

"Mike…" Marionette's voice held a dangerously warning tone.

"How long have we been together? I think that's too long to ruin this because we suddenly can't talk." He grasped the other striped wrist and started to tug him out of the box. "Just tell me what's going on. No matter what happens I won't be upset. I promise," Mike insisted as he started to raise the puppet out of the box. Marionette lightly tugged back, but was almost defenseless as he was brought out. So, he raised the rest of the way and looked at Mike with a face of discontent.

"I know you're upset with me and I sort of get it. I've been distracted, I haven't been home, and if something happened then I wasn't here to help," Mike listed out in hopes that the animatronic would cave and tell him what's wrong. "But I need you to tell me what's happening. I don't want to hear it second hand from Jeremy."

"So, Jeremy did tell you," Marionette accused as he tried to pull his hands back. His voice was flat, his face was unreadable, and he was still resisting. Mike tightened his grip, not wanting to let him slip away.

"Jeremy didn't have to tell me anything. I see it on your face," Mike stated. Marionette stared blankly at him. "To clarify, your stripes are purple again. Talking or not, I'm not that unobservant."

"It's only because you think I need you to paint them," Marionette remarked, starting to look away. "Which I don't. If I needed to paint my face that badly I could easily do it myself."

Normally, Mike would've given in and stopped his attempts. Yet he couldn't. He instead tried harder and had a feeling of how he could break through. "I'm also observant enough to notice the timeline here. You've been acting like this since I've been going out with Louise." Marionette flinched just a slight bit. This was his confirmation. "Mari, Louise isn't going to get in between us. That sort of thing isn't ever going to happen… But I get why you could be worried. This whole thing was pretty sudden."

"Anyone who you've become this attached to so quickly has the possibility of getting between us," Marionette clarified, letting his guard drop. "How long until you're ready to make her a permanent fixture? It starts with us letting her into our home, but then she becomes the barrier between us, she becomes your everything, and then I leave to spare myself witnessing the display." Mike was staring at him dumbstruck. "We pretend like nothing could come between us, but when the choice comes we know what you would choose."

"Mari, are you completely insane?" Mike directly asked with a continuing look of shock. "A 'permanent fixture'? I like Louise, but I don't like her that much." He released one of Marionette's wrists as he got a look of amusement. "We were just having a little fun. I'm not planning on marrying anyone. I'm not even officially dating her." He noticed the relief that passed Marionette's face and his amusement, and smile, dropped. "That's what you were really worrying over?" The puppet didn't answer him right away so Mike continued.

"If this is all over Louise… Then I can just stop seeing her. She's a nice girl, but she's not worth losing our friendship over," Mike admitted. He was hoping it didn't come to this, as he didn't necessarily want to hurt Louise, but he was willing to do it.

"…You would really do that?" Marionette meekly inquired as he raised his head.

"Course. In the long run, it's pretty small compared to the stuff we've dealt with. It's just not worth it," Mike explained with a more confident smile. He reached out and patted the striped male's shoulder, then squeezed it comfortingly.

"…Mike…" Marionette felt washed over with guilt. "Mike, I'm so sorry. I… I've been very selfish these past few days. I've been treating you unfairly." He looked towards the floor once again, "I've coerced you into this. I don't want you to stop seeing Louise just because you're afraid I'll stay upset. I can… Learn to live with your decision."

"You haven't been selfish," Mike insisted. "You were just a little ticked off. I wasn't exactly on my best behavior either. Could've handled this better." He noticed how Marionette was starting to hunch over, eyeing the floor further, unwilling to look him in the eyes. "Don't start feeling bad about this, Mari." Mike leaned down a little more before reaching forwards and lifting his chin with his hand. "Look, we've got the night ourselves. Let's make up for lost time. I've missed us spending time together, alright?"

"I'm in love with you."

The sentence sort of just hovered in the room for a couple of moments. Mike didn't really move and Marionette refused to raise his head any further. Those words just sat there.

"…What?" Mike couldn't help but be direct. That had been so sudden. It didn't sink in right away.

Marionette slowly raised his head to look at him. He looked melancholic and the limpness still lingered in his motions. "I'm in love with you, Mike. That is why I have been like this. Louise was only a small part of it." He tightened his fists and tried to level his unsteady voice. "I just couldn't deal with the fact that I wanted something I could never have."

Mike was still staring at the puppet, almost blankly, still trying to register the new information. It then hit him all at once and he inhaled. "…Are you sure?"

"I may have not loved before, but I know what this is…" He drew his arms back, turned away, and grasped the edge of his box. "And I know it's not new. I just didn't realize what it was until I reacted to you and Louise. It was so easy to think that I was just fond of you, to think that we were just close, but it couldn't be so innocent."

"So how- how long?" Mike's voice wavered when he didn't want it to. It was a reflex caused by the sudden adrenaline shooting through his body. "How long do you think it's been?"

"Afton's at least," Marionette admitted with no uncertainty. "That moment that I almost lost you. That moment I realized that you were injured. I will never forget that moment; I blame it for changing everything, because nothing was ever the same after that." He tried to keep his voice even as he felt Mike's pulse pick up. He could feel his physical reactions; he was alarmed, but he couldn't tell if he was afraid or not, or angry or not. "I knew how wonderful it felt being together with you, but I didn't realize how weak I was becoming."

The silence that followed was so unbearable that Marionette reluctantly continued. "At some point, I started to truly believe that you were mine and mine alone. That I was the only one to be this close to you… This is where the problem came in, because eventually you would look for someone you could love, and I… I can't give you that." He tightened his grip as an out of tune noise sounded from his chest. It was filled with despair. "That is why the last few days have been so hard… I just couldn't come to terms with this."

Mike was entirely baffled by the admittance. At first, he believed that Marionette was misreading his feelings, or that this was just clinginess that he believed to be love, but with every word Marionette painted a legitimate picture of his own infatuation with the night guard. This being, this dangerous but tender being, this fabric and porcelain being that was capable of such human emotions, this thing that could love and hate had chosen to somehow love him. He shouldn't have been surprised, as he was so affectionate, but it felt sudden.

It suddenly made much more sense in the context of the situation. Especially with all they had done together; the face painting, the dancing, had all only coaxed the puppet on further. Mike had been oblivious to what he was doing, even when he knew he was crossing the line. He had gotten himself into a tight spot.

…And yet Mike couldn't help but feel something positive towards this. Letting himself acknowledge his real feelings for a moment; Mike couldn't help but feel good about the reveal. After worrying that Marionette was shutting him out, he had learned that it was quite the latter. He wasn't being replaced, Marionette didn't suddenly hate him, and instead he had granted him something of a gift. Marionette barely trusted anyone and yet he felt so strongly for the human. Nobody had ever cared that much.

Mike realized he needed to say something as Marionette's mood continued to plummet. The Puppet added in, "I didn't want to ruin what we had."

Spurred on, Mike started to move forward and took Marionette's shoulder, trying to turn him around. "Look at me."

"I don't want to," Marionette admitted and, even as he turned, he tried to shield his face to the side. "This is so embarrassing."

"…This is embarrassing? I'd say me falling through the floor and nearly killing myself was way worse." Mike started to try and work the humor in. He could do this; he could act normal and comfort the puppet. He could push aside his own feelings and deal with the matter at hand. "Just… Look at me, okay?"

"I can see you without looking directly at you," Marionette insisted. He then followed by covering his face with his hands. "Oh Mike, what have I done?" He expected to hear one of two things. The least likely, by Mike's joking nature, was him to be furious and disgusted. The more likely was him letting the animatronic down easy. That almost felt worse than this. "I ruined it all, didn't I? I couldn't be happy with what we had."

"Stop doing that," Mike broke in before he could continue. "I don't know what you thought I was going to do, but-… Here, just-." He knew words weren't going to come easy. Instead, Mike pulled him in closer and wrapped his arms around him, embracing the puppet close. This seemed like the right thing to do; it really looked like Marionette needed this comfort for a moment. He could reasonably do that.

Apparently, Marionette needed it too, because he eagerly hugged back to the human's body, wearily giving into the temptation of comfort. He pressed his porcelain face into the crook of Mike's neck and attempted to hide from the world in the pitiful motion.

"You know what I learned in Afton's?" Mike asked his companion. "That you were secretly a badass who wasn't afraid to take on an entire group of animatronics to save me. If you wouldn't have done that, wouldn't have turned against your own, I would've died down there. But I should've expected it after you protected me from Chipper's house of horror and dry-rot the rabbit." There was a light joke, but he was being serious. "And yet you're still here when I get home; waiting to appease me, when you aren't pissed."

He drew back a small bit, but just enough so that he could look down at Marionette. "Mari- Marion, nothing you could ever do would 'ruin' us. I can live with you… feeling this; I just don't want to lose you. I don't want to have you pull away." It felt so weird to say, but Mike meant it. He even felt a shiver of thrill at the continued confirmation that the puppet loved him. Being loved felt unimaginably good. It also helped that Marionette began to lightly chime and thrill against him, nuzzling into his shoulder and hugging him tighter.

Because even though Marionette knew better, he couldn't help but relish in the affection. He didn't want to make Mike uncomfortable, but he was simply so relieved that he wanted to keep living with him. He chirped further in an unspecified tune as Mike continued to pat his back.

"I was so afraid that you were going to want to stay away from me!" Marionette admitted with a delighted chuckle. "Mike, I want nothing more than to go back to how we were. I don't want to change us for this, no matter how I feel. I am happy enough being beside you." He slowly unwound himself and pulled back, keeping his hands on the security guard's arms. "…I would've never told Goldie anything like this. I know that doesn't seem significant, but it is. It very much is." Just because they couldn't be together didn't mean that Marionette would reject this gift. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. This is what we do," Mike pointed out. It was as that moment, however, that everything suddenly changed. It was as though Mike caught his second wind of emotions and it hit him head on again.

He was standing here with a dangerous animatronic in his grasp, one that may have murdered multiple security guards in the past, one that only gave the illusion of being human through menial tasks, and it was in love with him. This puppet, or puppeteer if he really considered it, had attacked him on their first meeting. He could still remember it now; Marionette was almost entirely unpredictable, and yet he had learned his pattern. Mike had a feeling of slipping; not from panic, but from something much worse.

"I think we could use a night together! If you're still offering, that is," Marionette suggested with his smile returning. He sounded so happy and so willing to just accept that Mike would continue being friends. He knew Mike too well, but he was seemingly unaware about Mike's 'react first, respond later' policy. Mike reacted instantly to calm Marionette without letting it get complicated. Now, standing there in the room, alone with the animatronic, it suddenly got complicated. "Mike?"

How many times had he heard Marionette call his name? In Afton's, at the pizzeria, attentively searching and questioning. He had always been close to him, watching him, observing and learning about Mike along the way. He had let his guard down to the puppet and now he could feel the results of his actions creeping into the back of his mind. "…Are you sure you're fine with this? I promise I won't let this get in the way." Yet it already had.

"Marion…" Mike exhaled slowly and rested his hands on his upper arms, feeling over the soft fabric. He didn't know where this was going, but he had a bad feeling that he had no choice in the direction. Marionette responded with confusion at Mike's continued efforts to call him by his other name. Mike look to him and waited for something, and Marionette's default smile eventually fell to a slightly more worried one. He was the only one who was going to see this. Then his resolve finally dropped in one abrupt moment. Then again, Mike seldom thought things all the way through.

He didn't expect porcelain to grow so warm when pressed against his lips.

Just the same, he didn't expect Marionette to go almost completely limp at the action, save his clinging arms. His legs had completely buckled, but Mike was more than willing to hold him. He didn't know whether this was to spare the Puppet a descent to the floor or to keep them together. By now they were both too lost to whatever had happened to them. Lost to the change.

There was no going back.

When Mike woke, he wasn't gifted with a period of amnesia. He awoke remembering exactly what he had done. He wondered if he was permanently stained; as though Marionette's red paint had gotten on his lips. He then realized that his shoes were still on and, uncomfortable, he slid them off and kicked them off the end of the bed. It wasn't too hard, being that he was currently laying on the remarkably small bed located in Marionette's room. The puppet was curled beside him and facing out into the room while Mike was against the wall.

The lamp was still on, but Mike couldn't tell what time it was. He remembered the kissing, the holding, the eventual moving to the bed, and eventually falling asleep. He looked over towards the puppet and wondered if he was asleep or just laying there beside him. Either way, just staring at the back of his head caused heat and confusion to spread through him.

"What have I done?"

Technically, he cheated on Louise. Technically, he botched the friendship that he and Marionette were trying to salvage. Technically, he did exactly what Fritz liked to hint towards. He had completely submitted to a sudden rush of desire, but damn him if it didn't feel great while doing it. How long had this been inside him? How long had he been gripped by this insane urge to randomly yank Marionette into his arms and kiss him, of all things? It wasn't new. It was suddenly overwhelming, but it absolutely wasn't a new thing. It was too intense; it had to have been lingering and he didn't notice it.

Though it made enough sense. Pretending that he didn't care strongly about Marionette would be a complete lie, to both him and the puppet. Even now he felt remarkably close to him in both an emotional and literal sense. Noticing that Marionette was a little too quiet, he turned to face him and laid a hand on his arm. "Hey…" Marionette turned his head a slight bit, but said nothing. "You want to go watch something on TV and pretend like we didn't massively complicate our already confused relationship?"

Marionette responded with a small nod and slipped out of bed. It was something, at least. Mike followed him out of the room and into the hallway. Only now did he catch sight of his face, which Marionette seemed to be hiding. He had expected to see the puppet in turmoil or confusion, but instead was completely struck wrong. Instead, Marionette was beaming uncontrollably, with an absolutely delighted look on his face. The only reason he was hiding it was possibly out of embarrassment, but he looked overjoyed.

It changed the mood entirely. Mike thought the silence and such would lead onto a dismal note, but the puppet looked happy. Regardless of how awkward this all was. Still quiet, they entered the living room where Mike sat on the couch. It was only ten o'clock, but this meant they had slept a couple of hours. He didn't know how he would handle getting back to sleep later, but deemed it the least of his worries at the moment. He watched as Marionette knelt, his legs folded underneath him, and went to turn the VCR on.

Marionette didn't seem to frequently use his legs; whether it was for walking or while ruthlessly throwing himself at a fellow animatronic. Or, at least, he never seemed to directly walk on them and instead used his levitation to get around. Just thinking of how easily he got them to buckle sent a quiver of excitement through him. Mike had a feeling that he had only opened the floodgates on this inward eagerness. Suddenly he was paying much more attention to Marionette's movements, focusing in more on his behavior, and… And to be honest, it almost frightened him.

Because suddenly it was all too easy. That kiss had unintentionally changed everything. Or was it Marionette's confession? The puppet moved onto the other side of the couch. There was a good amount of distance between them, which Mike noticed right away and agreed was probably the best idea. Yet this didn't stop Mike's blue eyes from locking onto him. He was blatantly staring and knew the puppet could probably feel it, but by now he had already laid his thoughts on the line. His poker face dissolved the second he put his lips onto his companion's.

The TV droned out the show, but everything felt abnormally quiet in the room. They had to say something eventually, but Mike had opened the door to ignoring it a little longer. It seemed like the best idea at the time. After all, what was he supposed to say? He had no idea how to start explaining why he did what he did. Except, maybe, that it felt good to do it. He sighed and looked towards the television, then almost immediately found him stuck by absurdity.

"…When did Freddy start skateboarding?" Mike asked with almost exasperation on his voice. It gave away his lack of attention, but this was unbelievable.

"It's their way of getting away from the Dark Emperor," Marionette explained before slowly looking over. His face was still painted in mirth. "And they aren't skateboards. They're hydraulic fueled speed boards." He took too much pleasure out of this.

Mike sent him a look of both complete confusion, complete dumbstruck, and eventually submission. "Okay," he caved, trying to ignore the TV at this point. "…I'm starting to think you were right about this season." Marionette's head snapped to look at him. "I mean, when have you personally ever seen Freddy ride around on a skateboard? It's just- And there's Foxy. It's just getting worse." Marionette chimed in amusement at the comment and, for a moment, everything felt normal. It was short lived when Mike looked back to the TV.

It was at that moment that Marionette suddenly started to move in closer. By time Mike's eyes glanced back, Marionette was halfway across the couch, slowly sliding closer. Though he froze completely still once the human looked at him. Just as still as he would fall in the gaze of a stranger; he was caught in the act of something that Mike couldn't possibly not notice. Yet he looked expectantly towards the human.

Mike understood how confused Marionette was. He admitted that he loved him and Mike had followed suit by outright kissing him. More than likely, Mike had given him an unintentionally reassurance that he felt the same. It should've been now, when the puppet was creeping closer, that he explained that things got out of control. Now he needed to tell Marionette that they wouldn't work out, but he wanted to stay friends. That they could still have what they had before.

Instead, Mike submitted to his continued lack of willpower. He reached out towards Marionette and carefully put an arm around him. Marionette trembled at his touch and his face started to, for lack of a better term, flicker through emotions. Mike felt his smile grow as he tugged him in closer, effectively pulling them together. He kept his arm draped around the puppet's back and felt the animatronic relax against him. His mind felt so numb to the concerns of it all. For a moment, feeling Marionette rest against his shoulder, it was all okay.

"Just tonight," Mike reasoned with himself. "Enjoy it tonight. Tomorrow, in the light of day, everything will work itself out. Everything will go back to the status quo." He honestly did believe that. Things would be awkward, they would go to work, they would come home, and eventually it would return to normal. This was such a welcome relief after Marionette's cold shoulder that Mike was willing to continue. Even if it was wrong, and it was wrong. He was an animatronic.

Mike used to jokingly imagine the people who were attracted to the animatronics. He never met them, but he always imagined the rare human who lusted over Foxy or Bonnie. He always thought of how depraved someone had to be to feel anything romantic towards an animatronic. Especially, and this was only from his knowledge, one that could possibly kill you. They had to be pretty pitiful, he assumed. Yet here he was.

He wasn't going to admit to any sort of romantic emotions. Not just yet, not even to himself; this was mostly just because he was affection deprived. Yet just the fact that he had done what he had tonight suddenly made him the pitiful one. After all, none of those people with crushes physically touched the animatronics. Nobody ever pulled Foxy into a kiss, especially not one that lasted so long. Just the thought sent a new wave of panic through him; his heartbeat started to race, his lungs began to burn, and his head started to feel heavy.

"Not now," Mike tried to will himself out of what was nearly turning into a panic attack. It was so close to turning this already strange situation into a disaster. "Breathe. This isn't anything to panic about. It's just Mari." Though the looming threat sunk further in. "I could've just screwed everything up. This could screw everything up." He looked down at Marionette, wondering if he could hear his heartbeat. Most likely he could but, hopefully, he took it as- Never mind. Him taking it as nervousness would be just as damning.

Marionette soon decided to show that he did notice it by reaching down and squeezing Mike's hand to comfort him. Maybe he didn't know the full extent, but he recognized something was wrong. Then, closer and clearer than the bizarre display on TV, he began to gently hum. He couldn't recognize the song, but it was a soothing lull, and a comforting relief to a suddenly overwhelmed mind. His heart started to slow, his breathing became less heavy, and slowly the vice along his body started to ease. The panic was receding just enough to become comfortable.

He pretended that he was watching Freddy slide around on a skateboard- as though that was the more respectable action- and studied their conjoined hands. Black, slender fingers were intertwined in his own. They weren't human, they weren't even made of flesh, but he was so entranced by staring at them. As though he was suddenly looking at the Puppet's hand for the first time. As though he had completely forgotten how interested he had been in him when they first met. He had wondered how everything worked and wanted to see how it all clicked.

That interest had returned at the most inopportune of times. While he knew how most everything worked, Mike wanted to seek out more. He wanted to scour Marionette for every significant and elsewise detail.

This time the thoughts were relaxing, so he welcomed them.

Ironically enough, Marionette did not ask to spend the night with Mike. Perhaps he had gotten enough time earlier, stuck on his twin sized bed, but he didn't address it. Instead, he had only asked the security guard to wind his box. Now, being the next morning, Mike had no idea what it was going to be like. It was one thing to be late at night, when the mind was foggy and inhibitions were tugged with puppet crosses, but addressing it during the day was just going to be odd. Still, he stepped into the kitchen with no hesitance.

Marionette was in the process of icing a cake at the dining room table. Usually he didn't wait this long to finish the pastries for the day, but it made more sense today above all others. A flat of cooling cupcakes rested on the oven, not yet iced, and Mike slowly wandered over before going to pluck one out. His silence was halted when he accidently brushed the searing metal of the pan; he had no idea that they had just been brought out. He hissed and shook out his hand as Marionette turned to face him.

"I told you to stop doing that," Marionette scolded lightly as he moved in. "I just pulled those out." Mike made another grab for the cupcake; this time more hesitant. "Again? You're so impatient! My goodness!" He raised the cupcake out of the pan with his telekinesis. "There. Now stop trying to burn yourself."

"I'll do anything to get a free cupcake. This is just one tactic," Mike responded with a playful smirk as he snatched the cupcake and walked over to sit down at the table. The mood had eased immediately, especially as he saw the male cross his arms in a sort of pout. No awkwardness this morning; it was as though it all went back to normal.

"Your aunt called again this morning. You really should call her back," Marionette quipped matter-of-factly as he began to ice the cake once again. Mike winced at the comment and averted his eyes.

"Yeah…" He ate at the cupcake to avoiding having to explain more. The puppet looked to him in concern.

"You never mentioned your aunt before. I'm assuming you two aren't close?" his question sounded natural, but he was clearly exhibiting protectiveness and worry. After all, this was the first time that Mike had acted so peculiar towards a family member.

"We… Used to be. It's not her, it's just what she's going to want once we get on the phone. She's going to start asking questions and talk about me visiting- I'm not close with my family, except my Grandparents. You know about this. I already told you about me taking off and all of that," Mike waved off quickly. Though Marionette pause of a reaction made him second guess this. "I know I mentioned it."

"But we haven't talked about it," Marionette pointed out. Though this made him even more unsure of whether or not he told the Puppet about the scenario.

"What's there to talk about? I left home, I came here, I worked at Freddy's, I met you. That's basically everything important," Mike pointed out in a further attempt to drop the subject. "I would've called her, but she just wants me to go back home… That's not even my home anymore. This is my home. I shouldn't be required to go back just to make them feel better." He managed to stop himself before he broke into a rant of some kind. Marionette was staring. "…What? Don't say you agree."

"Your buttons are a little off," Marionette randomly added in. Mike looked down and, as predicted, they were off. Though they weren't just a 'little' off. Somehow, they were all buttoned to the hole beneath the current one, leaving everything lopsided on his jacket, and he hadn't noticed.

He stared before shrugging, "I'll fix it before I leave." He returned to the cupcake.

"I'll keep telling her that you aren't here, but eventually she will stop believing me," Marionette spoke as he continued work on the cake. "I actually had a dream about her last night, oddly enough! Though halfway through she turned into Ennard and you wanted to buy a skateboard. I have no idea why my mind turns dreams into this madness." There was a light amusement on his voice. He sounded so carefree and happy, and Mike loved hearing it. If he wasn't physically floating, Mike could've compared his behavior also to 'floating'.

It brought a smile to his face. Marionette had him again distracted from the frustrations of his life. He even had shrugged off the concerns from the night before. He and the Puppet already were back to normal, better than normal. Though that was when he stood to finish getting ready.

"Oh, let me help you!" Marionette volunteered as he set the spatula down and approached the man. He began to quickly address his buttons, undoing them all and beginning to redo them into the correct pattern. He softly hummed, almost as he had the night before to calm Mike down.

"I could handle it, you know," Mike pointed out. He wasn't going to stop Marionette, but he was inwardly hoping that the striped male would stop on his own. That way they continue the normal morning at the same, normal pace.

"I know you're more than capable of buttoning, Mike," Marionette sarcastically taunted back. "But it's quicker this way…" There was a pause hanging off the end of the sentence. Mike quipped a brow, Marionette edged closer to the top, and then he quietly added in. "It gives me a moment to be close to you before we get to work." There was no innocent playfulness. There was no suggestive, but obviously just friendly annotation in his voice. No, that was a direct carry on from last night. Completely honest and completely direct.

Mike could feel the quicksand already. There was no getting out of last night, unless he directly confronted Marionette about his true intentions.

"About last night…" Mike began, hoping the words would come to him. Though they didn't. He wasn't sure what to lead with next. They were supposed to discuss last night and fix everything, but he found himself unable to figure out what to say. He was at least a little reluctant to just jump in and say last night was a mistake, because it absolutely wasn't. Kissing Marionette had been completely willing on his part. Yet that left him with no clue on where to go from here.

"Try not to stay too distracted, alright?" Mike felt the playful smile easily slip into place. It felt so much easier just to keep like this. He caught Marionette's hand in his own before it could pull away from the top button. Though Marionette had left it lingering there anyway. "Maybe later we'll figure this out, but we've got a job to do."

"I understand," Marionette agreed. Though Mike didn't know if the Puppet had any idea what the internal back and forth was doing inside his mind. He chimed too happily; looking downwards in a more shy than sad fashion. Marionette was willing to set aside this bizarre shift in relationship so that they could work.

"Because he knows we're coming home together," Mike had his own words come back to him. He didn't know how unintentionally suggestive he was at the time, but what he did know was now, at this moment, the knowledge that he would only have to answer to Marionette tonight was a relief. It was their home; everyone outside of it could wait until Mike got his story straight.

He had a bad feeling that he wasn't going to be able to clear his mind like his Puppet could, but maybe a few hours of mind numbing work could help him remember what it was like when he could think rationally. Rational Mike would've told Marionette it was a random thing, that logically it could go no further than that, and that their friendship would have to suffice.

But Irrational Mike, the Mike from last night, was already trying to think of a way to let Louise off easy. He took this as a bad sign.

Mable: …Okay, let's all be honest here. Everyone knew this was coming. From the questions I've gotten, to the comments I've received, at least 90% had to know this was eventually coming…
But where it will go is the more important question. It seems that submitting to a spur of the moment has left Mike understandably confused, and he's capable of any decision. But perhaps this isn't the only thing they should be worrying about…

Also, a few things to clarify in anticipation for coming reactions, which I am slightly terrified to see. This isn't something I just intended on doing halfway through. This has always been looming in the background from day one, but I was never sure whether to give it the go ahead or not.

So, next chapter will be posted next Saturday. If you excuse me, I have to go consider my choices and second doubt myself repeatedly. Have a nice day!