Mable: Okay, so opinions on my Mike and Mari decision are much more positive than I expected! There's a few negative reactions, but nobody being aggressive or being extremely angry. Which is great; I expected a few to be upset, but I'm glad nobody completely lost it or something. I have a few things to clarify… But I'll be saving them for the message at the end of the chapter. ^-^
Enough of my prattling on. I have a chapter to get along to! I hope you Enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Forty-Nine
He hated doing this, but he had to. His last job for the night, his last duty, and at least it wouldn't be as painful as talking to his aunt. With a somber resolve, he pushed open the door and stepped into the diner. At least Marionette agreed to stay in the car; he didn't tell him what he was coming for, but the Puppet had been pliable. If he had known that kissing him would render him completely agreeable, he would've possibly considered it beforehand. Clearing his mind, Mike approached a booth and sat down to wait.
It wasn't too long before Louise noticed him and approached with a warm smile. "If you're coming to spy, there's no point. The food's not that good," she playfully introduced with a slight giggle on her tongue.
Mike smiled back and tried not to let his strain go through. "It's not good at the pizzeria either. I'll take what I can get," he retorted before nudging a paper menu around on the table. "Think you could get a minute so we can talk?"
"Sure thing! I'll be right back," Louise spoke before heading back to the kitchen to call inside. Mike couldn't help but be nervous about what was going to happen. Regardless of his decision with Marionette, he couldn't lead Louise on when he was so confused. It wouldn't be fair to her. As she sat down, perky and smiling as usual, he felt guilty. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"I've had fun going out the last few times and I think you're great. Especially considering how weird it was that we met in the middle of the night," Mike was trying to sound light, but suspicion was on her face. "I'd like to keep meeting up if you want… But I'm just…" He tensed and cleared his voice. "I'm sort of not looking for a, you know, a romantic thing."
She did look surprised and a little disappointed. "Oh… I sort of thought you were. I thought these were dates."
"Yeah, I did too. This is pretty sudden… And it's nothing you did. It's me," Mike felt desperate and Louise suddenly got a quirk of her brow, as though she didn't buy the 'it's not you, it's me' line. He had to do something, to say something quickly, because he needed something to break the uncomfortableness nagging at him. Then, before he could even think, the only possible excuse slipped out. "I'm having a sexuality crisis."
Louise reacted with the return of the surprise and Mike immediately regretted letting that slip. Especially when sexuality was the least of his problems when involving his confusion about Marionette. Though blaming it on that was much easier than blaming it on the much more logical 'attraction to sock monkey' answer. "Oh…" Louise quietly murmured and Mike, again, tried to scramble.
"But I didn't just start spending time with you to test my sexuality or anything. It wasn't that. You really are great to be around, so I though, hey, let's hang out and see what happens… But it's obvious that I'm still too torn with this. It's not fair to string you along," Mike explained to the girl. "But I still want to be friends."
"Uh… Oh yeah, sure!" Louise got her smile back. Suddenly her tone changed. "No, it- You can't help something like that, right?" Mike didn't know if he was imagining it or not, but she suddenly seemed a little more amused. It was like she was fighting a smile. "I'd rather know now instead of later, right? It's… I guess I'm just relieved that I didn't just show you a bad date or something."
"I had fun the whole way," Mike admitted with a smile.
"Yeah, me too. It was a good run while it lasted," Louise agreed. "You're not the first guy I jumped into a relationship with, but you're the first one who didn't either break my heart or who I dumped… But I'd still like to be friends, and if you'd ever feel comfortable going out for drinks or something, I'd love to go." Mike had a feeling that him suggesting he batted for the other team way probably why Louise still offered this. Though Mike honestly wasn't attracted to men… Marionette was an exception, but he was the exception to a lot of things.
"I think I can manage that," Mike agreed with a smile.
"And, hey, now that we're not about to become a thing," Louise began with a playful smile, "maybe I could ask about getting a job without expecting some sort of biased. It's about time I get out of the diner business." It was a joke, obviously, but the security guard played along with it.
"If you know anyone who can cook, we could really use someone in the kitchen who knows what they're doing." Best case scenario, they could get a new employee and he didn't have to feel so much like garbage for what he was doing.
She stood from her side of the table. "Well, it was fun while it lasted. I'll see you around, Mike," she finished. Then, for a split second, he saw the hurt in her eyes, past her faux carefree smile. It was there; she was more upset than she let on. Though she turned away and started back to the counter before he could properly react. Feeling too uncomfortable to stay, Mike stood from his seat and headed to the front door.
Back in the car, he gave a slow exhale and pulled out of the parking lot. Still covered, Marionette spoke from the backseat. "What happened?" He was curious, but didn't sound suspicious. That didn't mean he wasn't.
"Not much… We'll talk about it when we get home," Mike insisted. His voice was filled with guilt and the confusion that came with such an awkward situation. Marionette wasn't sure how to read such behavior and felt some concern. Regardless, he stayed silent until they arrived home and were safely inside.
Mike was obviously tired from the day. Between his aunt, the trip to the diner, and the erratic night before, there was no doubt that the human was stressed. It made the Puppet second guess if this was the appropriate time to ask questions and prod for answers. Especially since he didn't know what Mike had said to Louise or how he felt now. Marionette watched as Mike filled himself a glass of water before lingering at the sink. He contemplated saying something, but his voice was useless.
"…We're going to have to talk about last night eventually," Mike randomly threw out into the open. He slightly looked back, but didn't turn full around. As though the glass of water was that much of a distraction. "We had an excuse earlier. If we're going to do this then we should do it sooner than later." Yet he still didn't face the animatronic.
"I agree," Marionette responded as he directed his gaze to the kitchen's wooden floor. "What happened in the diner?"
"I had to talk to Louise. With all of this, I couldn't just lead her on. I broke things off," Mike explained, starting to finally face him.
"You didn't have to do that," Marionette reminded. However, he inwardly wouldn't deny the solace that came from hearing it. It didn't guarantee that this conversation would go in his favor, but it took off one weight that had been looming over him. "I could point out the obvious, but I don't think I have to."
"No, I think you should enlighten me," Mike suggested with a mostly interested tone. He leaned back on the counter. "What do you think about this whole thing?" He waited for an answer and Marionette almost shrugged back in response.
"As much I enjoyed last night, as much as I want you for myself, I know that it cannot happen," Marionette gave a low tuning noise. "Let's be honest, will we? We can't do this. It's… Unnatural." Then came a forced chime of fake amusement. "I love you, Mike, but I'm not human anymore. While I will always hold last night with me, I am fortunate to get that… So, you still have my blessing to do whatever you wish. What do you want out of life, Mike?" He honestly wanted to know. He wanted to know exactly what Mike was thinking.
This led to a silent moment. Marionette watched Mike; Mike looked from him, to the table, to virtually anywhere else in the room, and finally spoke.
"If it's my choice…" Mike drew out and still considered it for a moment. Then he decided on it with a shrug, "Let's just go for it."
"…Go for what?" Marionette asked in return. He was obviously concerned.
"Us. Let's just roll with it," Mike suggested. "There's obviously something here that we can't ignore and I'm not attached."
"What?" Surprise was one of Marionette's more rare expressions, but Mike still got a kick out of seeing that carefully controlled mask drop compositor so quickly. "No, Mike. You can't be thinking-."
"Last night's not going away. That thing's going to be sitting between us if we do or if we don't," Mike pointed out with slight amusement. "So let's skip the part where we pretend that we can pretend that we have an option to avoid this. We can skip all ignorance and just go ahead with this. It'll save us a lot of unneeded frustration."
"Mike, I don't think you're thinking this through," Marionette stated a bit more firmly. He sounded almost frustrated at the suggestion, as though he didn't want his hopes being raised. "I know that I was not thinking about the consequences last night. All I could think of was my immediate emotions, but it just can't- it can't happen." He began to move a bit closer as though to clarify his case. "Look at me as a human being, Mike. You may not fear me, but you have to admit that- that this is against nature." His voice continued breaking throughout his explanation.
"I didn't hear you complaining last night," Mike quickly quipped back with a smirk.
Marionette glared back and static shifted into his voice. "Damn it, Mike! You're not helping!" He moved in, abruptly smacking his hand onto the male's chest. He tightened his grip into the fabric of his jacket. If he thought that this was going to stop Mike, then he was immediately proved wrong by Mike's complete lack of concern and growing entertainment.
In a smooth motion, Mike quickly slipped his arms around the other's narrow frame and pulled him tighter against him. Marionette responded with a fussy burst of static and tried to squirm out of his grasp, though not struggling very much. "This is serious," Marionette reminded firmly.
"I can tell. What if the kiddies heard their favorite sock monkey dropping words like that?" Mike retorted with a chuckle. "And this is quite a performance, considering how you were acting earlier. Trust me, you weren't that opposed to the idea then." The annoyance was visible, but he noticed that Marionette didn't deny his claim. "What's the worst that can happen?"
"Someone could see us," Marionette pointed out. "Jeremy knows. I know that Jeremy knows. So if he sees you acting oddly, he'll know something happened."
"I'll just tell him it's family issues," Mike shrugged off. "I'm having them anyway. They'll work as an excuse."
"And you're not considering what future you're looking forward to with me," Marionette pointed out. His frustration slipped and his voice grew softer. He averted his eyes; Mike could tell. "Say this did work out, us being together, I could never give you a family. Don't you want children?"
"No," Mike simply responded. Marionette looked with unimpressed disbelief. "Trust me, working at Freddy's and Foxy's turned me off kids. If it's not a have to situation then I'm fine with just not having them," Mike shrugged off, pulling Marionette a little tighter. It felt good to know that he was able to hold him as tightly as he wanted without any repercussions. "Mari, if you were human we'd still not be having kids."
Yet convincing Marionette was still easier said than done. He made an another pitiful attempt to push back before giving in. With a small sigh, he leaned in, wrapping his arms around the human's shoulders and hiding himself against his neck. "You shouldn't tempt me, Mike…"
Mike reached upwards to pet over the back of his head and down his back. He gave his own sigh and it was ironically also one of giving in. He wasn't sure what happened to his logic, but he wasn't seeking it back out. He didn't even understand why he wanted to fight for this so badly. Marionette was giving him a very blatant out and arguing a very good case for him, though he couldn't exactly take him too seriously. Not with how adorable he looked in his mini-tantrum. Not with how warm he felt tucked in his arms.
"You're the one always going on about me tugging your strings," Mike retorted with playfulness. Though it then returned to a slightly more serious, though clearly gentle tone. "Don't think about the extra details, okay?" Mike coaxed as he held him tighter. "If I didn't know what I was asking for, I wouldn't be asking for it." Marionette gave a joyful chime and pressed further against him. His resolve was starting to slip as well and Mike couldn't help but relish it.
He finally started to pull Marionette back. Surprisingly, the Puppet allowed himself to be nudged back without becoming too clingy. He was smiling again, but it was less of a 'default' smile and a more honest one, smaller and more shy. Mike took his cheek into his hand and traced over his mask, over his purple branding, with his thumb. He received another welcomed chime and Marionette further responded by mimicking his motion. He hesitantly touched Mike's skin, dragging his fingers back before brushing his dark hair. There were no longer restraints.
For a moment, Mike briefly wondered if it was truly worth it. If giving into this when he was still uncertain about his own feelings was a smart move. Then Marionette slipped in closer and pressed porcelain back against his lips. There were absolutely no regrets.
Marionette approached Golden Freddy from behind. The bear continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"Goldie, you won't believe what happened! Mike and I are together! I've never been so happy!" His smile was beaming and his tone was light.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"He's not like the others either. I know you don't trust them, but Mike treats me like a human! Security guard or not, he is everything I want!" Marionette continued to gush giddily.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"I really think you two would be good friends. You two aren't too similar, but I know you would like him. He's a good worker," Marionette continued, trying to persuade him.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"I know you're not exactly thrilled, but I love him. I know he will take care of me. I know he won't hurt me," Marionette pleaded further after his friend.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"What did you think, Goldie? That I would stay alone forever? That I would never be able to fall in love?" Marionette questioned, his smile long gone.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"Please don't be angry with me. I can't help that I love him and you don't even know him…" Marionette felt the tears starting to drip out.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"I'm sorry… I know what you said, I know you told me not to trust the night guards, but you don't understand," Marionette was now weeping.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"And what right do you have to control my life…? You… You lied to me! Or withhold the truth- You never told me about my father!" Marionette angrily blurted out.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"And here you are again, blaming me, answering nothing! Am I supposed to forget again?! How many times do I 'forget' when you hurt me?!" Marionette yelled after the bear.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. Then he continued down a hallway into the dark shadows at the end.
"Stop walking away from me and tell me the truth! Was Foxy right?! Were you just using me?!" Marionette demanded, refusing to continue the cycle.
Golden Freddy turned a corner and went down a flight of steps. He then approached a familiar door and stepped through. Marionette didn't remember where he had seen it before, but wasn't anticipating what he was going to see. Golden Freddy was gone and instead… A pair of green, illuminated eyes were staring back.
It had been a trick. Had Goldie been there at all, or was it always just her?
"You can't forget me forever, Brother."
Mike was awoken out of a light sleep from the sound of a nearby door closing. After a few groggy moments, he assumed that Marionette had decided to leave his room. He had escorted him to his room before he came to bed and had wound his box, so it was somewhat odd that he was awake again. Marionette had not asked to sleep with him and he was moderately surprised that the Puppet didn't appear in the master bedroom. That being said, he wasn't too concerned about it, so he tried to return to sleep.
Unfortunately, his body had other plans. It was somewhat expected, considering the events of today, but he hated it. His mind would go to this new situation and ease. Then it would go to his family, his mother, and he would rouse again. Mike tiredly rolled over and started to get out of bed. This wasn't working; he wasn't going to sleep like this. Surprisingly awake, he stood from his bed and approached the door. He stepped out into the hallway and caught sight of a light on in the living room. He raised a quizzical brow and headed towards the living room.
It wasn't that Marionette was awake that confused Mike. It was that Marionette was awake when Mike had escorted him to his room before he had gone to bed. The Puppet's music box didn't usually last all night, but it was still rather confusing that he was already back out in the living room. He was currently folded onto the opposite side of the couch, tucked close to the lamp that was turned on, and was reading a book. His head perked as Mike leaned against the back of the couch.
"What are you doing awake?" Mike asked curiously as he glanced down at the book. Marionette closed it to focus his attention fully on the security guard, turning his body to face him fully.
"I could ask you the same!" Marionette chirped, not fully responding to the question. He gestured to the other side of the couch. "Sit down with me?" Mike nodded in agreement and stepped around the couch before sitting down across from his companion.
"I love how this always happens when I've got work in the morning," Mike pointed out as he tiredly laid back against the couch. "I'm going to love dealing with hundreds of kids while I'm half asleep. This is why we're not having kids." Marionette chimed in amusement and set his book on the armrest. He eagerly slid beside the human and put an arm around him, pressing into his shoulder. Mike slipped his arm around his back. "So really, what are you doing awake? You don't usually get the urge to read in the middle of the night."
"…I had an unsettling dream. I thought if I was awake for a bit, it would keep me from returning to it," Marionette admitted. He didn't want to be honest, but he felt his voice slip and the words come out without his full control. He continued to nuzzle against the human, eagerly seeking his comfort from the man.
"You could've come got me," Mike pointed out. "It's not like I was sleeping." He gave an amused smile, but while the Puppet chimed, he didn't give any sort of answer to why he didn't do so. "Do you want to talk about it? It sometimes makes you feel better," Mike reminded as he turned his body. With his back facing the armrest more, he could pull Marionette against his chest further and hold him properly. It definitely felt more comfortable, especially with the fabric body being so soft and warm.
Marionette considered it for a moment. He stayed silent for a few seconds before finally daring to speak. "It was mostly about Goldie being upset with our relationship." He could tell that Mike was confused and clarified, "In the dream, he was upset that I got together with you and he… He wouldn't listen to me. He just was- He acted like he always does." Marionette slumped in defeat and let his eyes close, shutting out the world so that he could instead focus strictly on the comfort. "Goldie hated almost everyone who worked at the pizzeria."
"Considering the track record, I could see why," Mike slightly agreed and almost joked. Though it wasn't much of a joke considering that it was completely true. He wasn't too concerned with Marionette's dream; this was a big change so reflection and doubts were to be expected. Especially if Goldie had as much power over Marionette as Foxy suggested that he had. "He would've had a hell of a time trying to get rid of me."
Marionette wanted to defend Goldie. To say that Goldie would've understood eventually and that he thought Mike and Goldie would've been friends, but he couldn't. He knew Goldie to well to ever imagine that he would lower himself off his pedestal. He hated humans, he hated night guards, and he hated when Marionette was 'distracted'. So controlling, but also so overprotective, and at times so friendly to him alone. In fact, it wasn't his behavior towards the Puppet that was under scrutiny, it was his behavior towards everyone else and the decisions he made for his puppet.
"Mike…" But Marionette had been too steeped in his mourning to ever question Goldie. It was Foxy who had recently shaken this resolve. When Foxy had blatantly pointed out what Goldie was hiding from them, he had to start questioning the older being's motives. Goldie was willing to kill any security guard, whether or not he could tell if he was purple. Now Marionette didn't know if he was a victim to the sight of purple or the one who initiated it in the other animatronics. "I'm glad you're awake. I didn't want to wake you myself."
And that was ignoring the elephant in the room… Or the other animatronic in the dream,
"No problem," Mike responded with a light yawn. While he hadn't been able to sleep earlier, he did feel the effects of weariness start to set in. It was most likely from the new source of warmth curled against his chest. "Want to stay with me tonight? It's worked before," he suggested, petting over the back of his head. Marionette nodded again him and gave a purring warble at the suggestion. He moved back to allow the human to get up from the couch.
It wasn't until they arrived at the bedroom that Marionette began to grow shy again. He lingered by the doorway as Mike somewhat fixed the blankets on the bed. He then glanced back towards the striped animatronic. "Don't get uncomfortable on me now. This is the most tame thing we've done since last night," Mike pointed out teasingly. Coaxed forward, Marionette repeated the pleased noise from before and approached the bed.
Then in he stopped. "…Mike, about the nightmare… There was something else," Marionette admitted uncomfortably. Mike sat down on the edge of the bed with all his focus on the Puppet. "…Never mind! It's not important," Marionette abruptly recoiled from his confession.
"Are you sure?" Mike lightly pressed. Good things never came when Marionette stayed quiet about something bothering him. Most of the time he would find out about it later, once it was too late to do anything. "I'm still awake."
"It's nothing. I was just… Considering how different you and Goldie were," Marionette excused as he disappeared under the covers entirely.
"I'm assuming that you're not counting the obvious human to bear comparison," Mike quipped out as he turned off the light. Maybe he was overreacting; it seemed like everything was alright. Marionette hadn't been nearly as flustered after this nightmare as he had before, so perhaps he really was doing alright. As he laid down, Marionette slid beside him and eagerly wrapped his arms around him. Mike turned to face him and returned the gesture by throwing an arm over his slender frame.
The nightmare was over. That was the end of it.
But that wasn't the end of it, as Mike realized over the next few days.
For the last few days, Marionette behavior became much more affectionate, as Mike had expected. He was much more prone to loving gestures, such as embraces, and had stayed closer to the human. However, Mike had noticed that something was a little off as well. He became more sluggish in his motions and, when at work, he spent more time tucked in his Prize Corner. By day three, Marionette's behavior was extremely obvious, and Mike was growing increasingly more concerned. Though he wasn't the only one who noticed it.
This was the first day that anyone other than the Puppet was working in the Prize Corner. After noticing how bogged down he was, Natalie had stepped in and offered to stay behind the counter. It was Marionette agreeing to her help that was concerning Mike. There was no way that, under normal circumstances, Marionette would let anyone step in and take over his own job. He took too much pride and joy in his work to even consider letting someone else replace him. Yet he made no attempt to fight for his place.
Mike knew that Marionette wasn't sleeping. Though it was only now that he realized it. Now, at Foxy's, in the middle of work, Mike finally pieced together that Marionette was going through another cycle of 'nightmare followed by refusing sleep'. The Puppet had done this before as he remembered, but never had he gotten this tired. Mike could see it as he left the Prize Corner to accompany Foxy to the only birthday party of the day. He was moving slower than usual and his body looked just a bit more limp than typical.
As such, Mike caught Marionette's arm outside of the Prize Corner and stopped him before he could approach the table.
"Hey, you need to go back to your box," Mike firmly stated as he looked at the Puppet's face. His eyes looked surprisingly vacant. It was hard to explain it, but there was just a sort of lifelessness in them. "You're not up to performing for the kids. Foxy's got this covered."
"I'm fine," Marionette responded with a slightly slowed voice. There was an awkwardly long pause before he finished, "It's just one party. I should be there." Mike clearly disagreed with this line of thinking.
"Foxy's with the kids, Jeremy has the cake, Natalie has the Prize Corner; you need to return to your box." Mike's face softened a bit more. "Please, Mari. You're only hurting yourself." The Puppet looked away and rubbed his arm. The physical gesture gave away his inward shame. "I don't know what's going on," Mike began in a more gentle tone, "but this is out of control. You've never been like this." Quickly glancing to make sure that everyone was either distracted or too far away, he slid his hand down to take the fabric skinned one and gave a soft squeeze.
"…Fine," the animatronic caved, "but just let me attend the party first. I want to feel like I did something today." Mike was going to protest, but Marionette's face briefly flickered to a more pleading one. Unfortunately, their newfound 'relationship' was making him more pliable, and that look of begging was enough to pull his own strings.
"Fine, fine… But if you're over there for more than ten minutes, I'm coming to get you," Mike forewarned and released him, letting him go. Marionette slowly continued along his track to join Foxy at the birthday table. Jeremy was already there with the cake and the birthday song just began. Marionette took position beside Foxy and started to chime, but stopped when he noticed how delayed it was.
The fox teasingly leaned over and complimented it, "Aye, nothing like a birthday eulogy to get yer toes a tappin'." Marionette didn't even have the strength to retort beyond a quick jolt of static. It was high enough frequency that the humans could only barely detect it, but low enough that Foxy heard it and got the annoyed message. Then their focus returned to the cake as the birthday boy, who was smiling wide even though he was missing a front tooth, blew out the candles. Foxy did a partial clap and began to congratulate.
Then, without any provocation, weariness suddenly nudged in. Marionette started to feel much more exhausted and tried to limit what activities he could, as to keep from completely shutting down. Unfortunately, in this one moment, while watching Jeremy cutting cake, his focus faltered. With it went his telekinesis and in that brief hiccup, he plummeted to the floor.
Jeremy could only make a grasping motion with his free hand while choking out what sounded like, "Fox-! Fox-!" He assumed that he was calling for Foxy, who didn't notice the descent until the Puppet thumped to the ground. Thankfully he landed backwards, as he didn't know if he could've properly protected his face while falling down on his front. The sound of rapid footsteps moved in before he was being grabbed at. He was glad that Mike got to him before anyone else, but he couldn't help but feel extremely embarrassed.
"Just having some technical issues," Mike randomly excused to the kids, parents, and or whoever else was in the immediate area. Foxy started to lean down and help as Mike slipped his arms under Marionette's back and legs. The security guard stood, easily hefting the puppet in his arms and starting out. To somewhat further defend the situation, he called over to Fritz, "The track collapsed!" He hoped that this way people would assume that the track released his strings. As he started towards the back, Marionette weakly laid his hand on Mike.
It was so obvious that he was exhausted. Mike was somewhat ashamed that he hadn't stopped it sooner and guiltily squeezed the animatronic tighter. He decided to forgo the Prize Corner and take him into the office, but was interrupted along the way. Almost there, a young girl seemed to appear from nowhere with worry in her eyes.
"Is Mari going to be okay?" she asked in concern. Mike was only a little surprised that a child had caught on to calling the Puppet 'Mari'. Though looking close, Mike recognized the little girl, guessing that she was a frequent customer.
"Don't worry. Mari just needs a little rest while we fix his strings," Mike encouraged with a half-hearted smile. "He'll be back out before you know it."
The girl nodded, but still watched as they approached the office door. She waved, gave a call of 'goodbye', and then the door shut and left the two secluded. The office wasn't much of an office. It had a desk, a monitor for the security, a safe, and a couch shoved against the wall. Barely any of them were here in the office during the day, but this made it a prime location for Marionette to recover. He laid the striped animatronic down on the sofa and knelt beside it.
"So, I'm going to give you a choice. Do you need music or can you sleep on your own?" Mike inquired, verbally showing both his concern and his determination. The Puppet limply turned his head to look at the wall.
"I'm okay. I just need a few minutes, then I'll return to my box," Marionette promised. However, he was too weak to move his body more that the littlest bit, so this answer was not going to fly with Mike.
"You need actual sleep," Mike insisted as he looked over his form. He hated seeing him so weak, seeing him in such a poor state, and he couldn't help but feel his overprotectiveness growing. He gave an impatient huff before reconsidering what he was going to do. He reached over to pet his head, seemingly innocently. Marionette wasn't willing to push him away until humming accompanied the touches. Naturally, it had to be the one song that would make him further undone. Marionette reached upwards to stop Mike's hand.
"Stop," Marionette tried to sound commanding, but his voice was as worn out as the rest of his body. This didn't stop him from starting to sit up, trying to prove that he was ready to perform. "It was just a slip. There's no need to get so worked up." He leaned on his side on the back of the couch, trying to get his body to respond properly. He couldn't get enough focus to use his telekinesis and simply gave up in trying.
Mike stood and unbuttoned his jacket before draping it over Marionette's shoulders. The Puppet eagerly clung to the familiar fabric and Mike moved onto the couch in front of him. Marionette knew that Mike was going to press for an explanation, but he wasn't in any position to leave the room. With the jacket, the exhaustion, and Mike being so willing, Marionette abruptly gave in.
"It's her," Marionette blamed. "Every time I sleep, she's there, waiting for me."
Mike had thought it was Goldie, or subconscious worries about their relationship, but instead it was something much more straightforward and yet so much more complicated. It didn't help that Mike had a suspicion who 'she' was.
"I thought at first that I was imagining her, but she's there every time I sleep… And she's more demanding," Marionette admitted with sorrow in his voice. His discomfort was evident as he pulled his legs to his chest, pulling himself tightly together. "But she's a liar. I can't trust her, but she won't leave me alone… I just wanted some time. I didn't think a few days would make me this weak."
"You can't do this to yourself," Mike insisted gently as he reached out to pull the other closer. Marionette eagerly accepted his grasp, burying into his shoulder and holding on with what grasp he had. The pizzeria was much less important for the moment. This was his puppet, first and foremost, and he needed to help in whatever way he could. "She can't get you here. All she can do is try to call for you. That's all it is; it's literally a phone call from an annoying relative who you can't hang up on." This roused a soft chime.
"I'm not going anywhere. Don't worry about the pizzeria, don't worry about dreams, or Foxy, or Ennard, or anyone else. Just relax." It was easier said than done, but this time Marionette didn't protest to Mike's suggestion. He allowed himself to be lulled into a sense of security. By time the human dared to hum soft chords of 'My Grandfather's Clock', Marionette had already started to fade into unconsciousness.
Marionette received mercy; he was too exhausted to dream.
Mable: So, here's a few things:
While I was thrilled that people were already shipping Mike and Mari before my recent decision, they weren't the reason they became what they are. I didn't change the fic to have a romance occur between the two; this was intended from the very beginning. However, when I started the fic I didn't know how long I would continue it, so I never knew if I would reach this point or not. That being said, I decided not to list the story as a 'romance' because of how late it comes in and how it isn't the majority of the tone.
Though I did go back and forth in the decision for a while. I considered getting Mike a girlfriend early on and maybe finding someone for Mari… But it was just so depressing. The point of the story is to focus on Mike and Mari, their friendship/relationship, moving on from past events, and dealing with current threats. It would've been hard enough creating a character for that specific role, let alone making one that could have enough interesting chemistry to hold such a large role, being the love interest of one of the main two characters.
In the end, I cut out the middle man. If they trusted each other, were friends, and were happy, then why not? The species thing is, yes, a big issue… But I can use that to my advantage. This is a delicate situation that holds a lot of weight… But isn't that, technically, the best kind of situation? XD Okay, that's a subjective question, but still.
Anyhow, the next chapter will be posted next week, as planned, on schedule. Finally hitting '50'! It's been a while since I've had a fic hit fifty chapters; it's a bizarrely wonderful feeling. ^-^ Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!