Hello! Been sitting on this for a while, hoping to push through the majority of the writing before things get too busy again. Still love these guys, and I wanted to explore how the dynamics worked between characters like Mama, who honestly does not seem like he'd be quick to mesh with anyone, and others such as Inky, Henry, and Linda who hasn't even had the benefit of meeting Mama in the studio.
As always, Bendy and the Ink Machine is owned by themeatly, and the Ink Family AU is the brainchild of xdreamer45x on Tumblr.
Inky:
The storm took the whole neighborhood off guard, though for Inky, the abrupt change from dull grey and lingering orange to complete white was enough of a switch to spark excitement, the lankier demon hobbling his way to the back door and pressing his face to the window. Despite a brief start at the chill he could feel through the glass, his enthusiasm remained undampened, Inky nearly bouncing around with excitement at the newness of this weather.
A faint creak behind him alerted Inky to Mama shuffling his way into the kitchen, the stockier demon's slight scowl melting into a momentary soft smile at the elated grin on Inky's face. Even if he wasn't as ready for all this weather, the enthusiasm from his partner definitely took some of the edge off. Though when Inky started tapping at the door in that familiar way, signaling that he wanted Mama to open it for him, the stockier demon couldn't help but have a moment of doubt as to whether or not that was a good idea.
But, Inky was insistent, and while occasionally needing help Mama did not think that the other demon needed to be coddled that much. So, with a slight sigh, he opened the door, bristling a little as a ripple of wind slipped into the home. Inky, though taking a half step back at the cold, still bounded off into the whirling white, changing into his behemoth form as he did.
It was probably about a few hours later that that decision came back to haunt Mama when, from the living room, he could hear Henry make a noise that definitely sounded panicked as he threw on a coat and raced out the back door. He was about to the archway of the kitchen when the back door was flung open again, Henry trying his best to keep a very discombobulated and trembling Inky from whacking his head into the top of the doorframe.
For a moment, it was a little hard to tell if Inky had hurt himself in some way, or maybe ingested something he shouldn't have, given how much he was stumbling around.
Though while the odd sight was somewhat comical, Henry's reaction definitely hinted at something being very wrong given how he was doing his best to usher Inky further inside. But, considering that Inky was heads taller than Henry this was pretty slow going, enough that Mama decided to get involved.
If Mama had any thought that Inky had been kidding or trying to play some sort of a joke, the doubts were immediately chased away as Inky's very chilled and shivering body stumbled into his. The knee-jerk reaction was to push the lanky demon away, though Mama refrained from letting Inky go entirely when the other demon gave a croaky whimper that broke into a sneeze and then a collection of very congested-sounding coughs.
"Let's get him bundled up." Henry's voice came, the animator stumbling his way through the door on Inky's heels. On autopilot, Mama moved, picking up Inky and carrying him to the living room. At some point Linda had joined the procession, bringing with her a blanket that was tucked around Inky's shoulders as he was lowered down into the nest. Another blanket was placed over Inky's long legs, the towering demon shivering as he huddled into the newfound warmth. Immediately Mama settled down next to Inky, pulling the other ink demon into his lap and tucking the leaner frame against him.
Inky purred at the contact, though the moment was ruined when the lankier demon gave another thunderous sneeze that made both him and Mama jolt. Though Mama couldn't say that he liked being shaken around given how Inky was practically curling in on himself while groaning at the internal pressure he figured he could have it worse.
The stockier demon's attention was briefly yanked away as Henry hurriedly balled up some stray newspaper, stacking on top of that some kindling and larger logs in a pattern that Mama had recognized despite only seeing it once. Henry had done the same when it had started to get cold, under the impression that they needed to warm up the fireplace. And, while Mama certainly remembered that it had been good to banish the cold, he was also remembering a very important little fact, that ink did not fare well with open flames.
And as such, while he did pull Inky closer out of reflex, the stockier demon quickly looked around in an effort to spot Bean and Ben, not entirely willing to relax until he could be sure that no one was about to literally go up in smoke. Thankfully, he'd quickly caught sight of the pair nestled in Linda's arms, though the sight of the little faces looking more than a bit perturbed at the whole drama playing out in front of them made a frown play across Mama's own features. For an instant, his desire to protect and shield felt strung out between the two little ones and the still-shivering, lankier bundle huddled in his arms, especially when Inky let out a rattling, very congested sounding cough.
But, as the fire began to spring to life over the wood and paper, Mama was able to see how Linda gently cuddled the pair close, murmuring soft nonsense that had them briefly looking up to her before giving a few softer squeaks and huddling in. It definitely helped Mama's nerves that Linda did not try to take the pair from the room, instead moving to sit on the sofa that he and Inky were leaning up against. The proximity did seem to ease the two little bundles of ink, Bean and Ben occasionally flipping to look at their 'parents' but mostly soaking in the cloud of heat that was starting to permeate the room.
With the fire properly stoked, Henry turned his attention to Inky, who was still shivering but Mama liked to think with the rise in temperature it was becoming a little less. Upon seeing the artist come near, the lanky demon gave a slight, happy rumble that broke up in a gurgling, wet cough.
"Shh, it's alright, just stay there. I'll get you something for that cold. Is the tea still in the bottom cabinet?" The question had been addressed to Linda, her reply a gentle nod as she also clarified.
"Next to the stove."
With another silent nod Henry immediately beelined for the kitchen, Mama following his path before turning his attention back to Inky. The lankier demon shivered in his arms, a faint groan coupled with a grimace making for a pitiful image. Giving a softer, hopefully calming purr in the back of his throat, Mama drew the other ink demon close, nuzzling Inky. There was a brief instant where the contact seemed to help, given Inky's burbling sigh as he settled down next to Mama.
At least, until Inky jolted with a massive thunderclap of a sneeze, making both him and Mama almost fall over and causing the two ink beans to give twin squeaks of fright. As Mama tried to straighten himself, any annoyance he might've felt at the spasm was dashed as Inky gave a gurgling groan. Instead he pulled Inky close, nuzzling the top of the lankier demon's head before giving his forehead a light, quick kiss.
The gentle, careful attention did seem to alleviate some of the misery, Inky making a croaky sort of purring that tapered off as the sound choked into another cough. Mama's response was to give a soft, go-to-sleep type warble, fingers brushing along the other demon's face.
Inky did seem to doze, the heat a definite help though his brewing cold was doing more than enough to keep the poor demon awake. Every time Inky looked ready to fall asleep, something in his throat would catch, or the pressure building in his head would grow too much, and he'd end up waking right back up. Mama did his best to soothe, but there was only so much he could do on his own. The notion frustrated him, but for the moment he shoved the anger down and focused on doing what he could to help Inky. Anything he could do for the other demon might be helpful, and infinitely more useful than indulging in his own upset emotions.
So absorbed was Mama in this task that he'd completely forgotten about Henry getting Inky tea until the man had come back in with a softly steaming mug. He had to shift around a bit to accommodate the tea, though the somewhat garbled, relieved sigh Inky made after the first sip was like music to Mama's ears. It did seem to relieve his throat a little too, some of the gurgling in Inky's breathing tapering down the more he went through the tea.
It was one of the larger mugs, the one that had green and red around it for Christmas, Linda had said when she'd noticed Mama curiously looking it over. There was a fair amount of tea, though Inky was persistent when it came to things like food, or drinks. Still, as he finished off the last of it, a cavernous yawn forced its way out, the lanky demon stretching as exhaustion began to take hold. As the involuntary spasm came to a close, Inky slumped into Mama's front, making a sleepy purring with only the faintest hint of gurgling. Though he'd initially been surprised at the sudden change, Mama couldn't help a faint, but very fond smile. Leave it to Inky to just fall asleep in such a haphazard way, and at least he seemed to be sleeping a lot more comfortably now.
Mama kept his attention split between the slumbering Inky, and the two tiny devils nestled in Linda's arms. Though admittedly with the warmth of the room, neither looked primed to roam very far. In fact, within a few minutes, both were huddled together in an impromptu nap.
It was a little while later that Inky stirred, mumbling in a way that hinted at grogginess rather than delirium. His voice sounded much clearer and better, Mama unable to keep a warm and relieved smile off his face once he'd noticed the improvement. Inky, for his part, crawled his way closer to wakefulness, peering quietly around the room at the edges of the nest, the smoldering fire, the blankets, and then to Mama's face quietly beaming down at him.
And suddenly Mama had leaned down, capturing Inky in a kiss that had the lankier demon starting with a squeak of surprise before the moment caught up with him and he practically melted. It felt like a good while had passed before the pair broke apart, Inky practically putty in Mama's hands as he gave a small, amused snort at the dazed but happy grin practically etched into his lover's features. For good measure, another kiss was carefully bestowed on Inky's forehead, the feather-light gesture causing a happy rumble to reverberate through his gangly frame. However, Mama had to cut the moment short, gently urging Inky back to sleep with a soft rumble and a soft hand stroking the side of the lankier demon's face. Between the careful attention and residual exhaustion, it wasn't long before Inky dropped back into a quiet slumber, Mama keeping up the gentle, soothing touch long after he'd begun to softly snore again.