I Don't Own Fnaf

Mike felt awkward, to be honest, he didn't really want Jeremy here, he wasn't quite sure why, maybe it was just because he remembered the man could tell what was going on in his head, a head that had gone through enough turmoil today without it being shared even more. But it didn't really matter what he wanted, Mari had wanted the man to stay for dinner, had been almost insistent about it, and he owed the puppet for dealing with him all day without complaint, he knew he had been a bit weird and a pain, so if it was what the puppet wanted, to hang out with Jeremy, then he would deal with it.

Even if it did make something in his lower gut twist a bit at the thought for a reason he didn't quite understand.

Jeremy himself seemed surprised at the invitation, and gave Mike a short look soon after, but accepted quicker than Mike expected him to, as the two men found themselves moving into the kitchen as Mike moved to check the food while Marionette got his stuff ready to bake. Mike wasn't sure if the puppet was baking because of him or Jeremy, a part of him really didn't want to know, so he didn't ask, instead listened as Jeremy asked with faint awe.

"That looks incredible, you cook a lot?" Mike shrugged.

"I'm good at dinners, but lunch and breakfast are whatever's left in the fridge or whatever I can drag out and get made in five minutes. Or pizza, but I think that's a shared experience" Jeremy nodded at that, all three men had eaten more pizza in the last few months than probably any of them had eaten in their entire lives up until then. Mike was honestly sure it was eventually going to get them out of shape, or at least him, he wasn't nearly as active as he used to be.

Maybe he should find a gym or something? Maybe go on runs? Something to think about when he cared.

"More than I can do, I usually just microwave something" Mike just shrugged, while glancing over and noticed that Mari was staring pretty unabashedly at Jeremy who was doing his best to not look too uncomfortable with the clear interest. Mike did his best to ignore it too, while wondering in the back of his mind how he never noticed that. Was Mari really that interested in hanging out with the other man? Was that why he had started to speak to the others? The thought made his stomach twist and something bitter to rise in his throat enough that he over-corrected in the other direction to make sure he didn't say something harsh to Jeremy on accident.

"Well, I always have leftovers, so if you ever want to eat something not nuked, feel free to ask, according to some sources, I apparently make more than enough to spare that I should be giving some away" Mari finally seemed to realize the conversation and chimed in.

"He eats his own body weight but still cooks for two of him, you'd be doing our fridge a favor" Jeremy just laughed a bit, but his eyes were actively moving between the two, searching for something, even if he said something to the topic at hand, it was clear to Mike the man's mind was elsewhere.

"If there is any, I actually eat a lot more than people think" Mike decided to not spend the entire time wondering what was going on in the man's mind, instead said back.

"Now that I can't imagine, but if you're willing then grab a plate, it's done anyways, just cooling off now. Mari's making cupcakes as well if you're looking to keep something in your stomach open for desert" Jeremy nodded, moving over as Mike moved to grab his own plate, and watched with mild surprise as the man really hadn't been kidding, the two hardly shared meals together, so it was shocking to see the man plate nearly as much as Mike was, and given Mike easily had about ten inches and at least seventy pounds on the man... He found himself breaking out of his thoughts mostly just from the shock of it.

"Where is all of that going? There is no way in hell our stomachs are the same size" Jeremy just shrugged.

"No idea really, I just need more food than normal. It's one of the side effects of the whole-" He gestured up to his head, "-Thing I think, like, my body needs more energy or something to compensate. I tried to eat a more normal amount at the start and nearly lost thirty pounds in two months" Mike could only imagine what that would have looked like on the already skinny man, the idea of him with even less weight made something in the back of his mind uncomfortable as he said.

"Well, like Mari said, feel free to ask if you ever need something dense instead of whatever is tossed in your microwave" As it stood Mike felt the urge to make sure the man left with at least most of the leftovers and more than a few cupcakes, he could probably use them. Maybe he should invest in getting some good tupperware in the future so he could make sure Jeremy was getting proper meals in, he couldn't imagine how much the man had to spend on those microwaved crap if this was how much he needed for dinner, Mike usually barely felt like he ate with some of those.

"Oh, thanks but it's not necessary"

"Maybe not, but all it's doing for me is taking space until I remember to reheat it myself, might as well spread it out with Fritz as well and make sure my entire living staff doesn't die from to much pizza grease" The idea that it wouldn't just be him having food forced onto seemed to help Jeremy a bit it seemed as after a moment he nodded.

"I guess that's not a bad idea" Content with that, Mike moved around to the table in the kitchen that was frankly way too big for just the two men, even with the puppet around, and instead made the decision to just eat on the island in the kitchen instead of the table. Jeremy didn't seem to mind one way or another, instead waiting a moment before digging in.

Mike found himself watching the man fairly intently, he didn't eat like a starving man, but his hands certainly weren't idle as he worked at the dish, it was probably only because his mouth wasn't big enough for larger bites that it seemed that his working only slowly worked at the food on his plate, but it was a steady effort. Mike absently wondered just how much the man had eaten today and quickly decided it probably wasn't enough, this whole food thing might explain why he was so skinny.

Yeah, he was definitely making sure the blond had food with him on his way home. With that thought in mind he went to work on his own food, he hadn't really eaten much today, skipping lunch and only having a small breakfast which had been ages ago now. He never had much of an appetite on days like these, but it seemed to have returned to him this evening, something he was thankful for, because once he came out of these slumps he was usually starving like mad and he liked to avoid that. He didn't have any weird reason to need this much food, Mike was just a big guy who needed it naturally.

Honestly he thought it would be kind of awkward, and there was something to the small silence that lapsed over the two as they ate, but it was more comfortable than he thought it would be for having his friend just randomly over for dinner on one of the worst days of his life. Thinking of it... after a while, just as Marionette had moved around, the puppet who had been kind of strangely fidgety throughout the quiet meal, to go ice the cupcakes, Mike found it in him to speak up.

"So, uh, how was Goldie?" Jeremy's head looked up at him for a short moment before looking away.

"Honestly? I think today was harder for you than it was for him. But I do think that Foxy still helped him out a lot, they seemed to have fun, Foxy talked a lot about it on the way back to the Cove" Well at least that made Mike feel better about the whole thing, the two still hadn't really talked about... well, a lot of things, but it just felt to... No, if he was being honest, it was scary, approaching some of the matters that they had yet to talk about, the idea that their relationship wasn't strong enough yet to handle it was something that was constantly on his mind and one of the main reasons he had been putting it off for so long.

"That's good, I'll go over there tomorrow to check up on him, thanks for doing the pick up by the way" Jeremy just waved him off.

"I get it, sort of, besides I got food out of it so I'm happy" Mike smirked a bit at that before tilting his head to the side as Marionette reappeared with two freshly frosted cupcakes in hand, they were purple so it was probably some kind of berry flavor, the puppet liked to experiment and Mike hadn't quite yet managed to crack his color code. Purple was usually given on comfort days though, probably because the puppet knew he liked the color as in spite of everything, that hadn't quite been ruined for him.

"I'm pretty sure I'm the wrong Afton to be getting cake today" Marionette just huffed and waved him off and handed the sweets off. Mike took the second to watch as Jeremy easily went in on his, clearly having enough of a stomach for that bit more, and wondered really how he hadn't noticed that. It wasn't like they ate together all that often but he was usually good at noticing things like that which were out of place.

Instead of thinking about it, or the strange feeling that tried to return to his chest over Jeremy having something Marionette normally only made for Mike, he dug into his own small cake treat and used its sugary goodness to quell the bad feelings, it usually worked and this time was no exception. Well at least up until Marionette suddenly chimed up, sounding awkward.

"Uh, Mike, do you mind if I talked to Jeremy for a moment?" Mike blinked before glancing at the puppet, noting the way he fidgeted a bit, he was... uncomfortable, why? His eyes glanced back at Jeremy who seemed just as confused as he was, but when he looked back Mari wasn't looking at him, he was just watching Jeremy. Right, well, hmm.

"I mean, sure, if you want, you can talk in the living room while I'm dumping the leftovers into a takeaway" Mike tried to not look too interested as the two left the kitchen before immediately feeling the urge to move over against the wall to listen in on them. They wouldn't notice, Mike was good at being sneaky when he had to be, but... It was like two wars being waged for a moment over his curiosity and his friend's privacy.

Before he could make the decision he noted the way the footsteps from Jeremy kept going past just the living room. Keeping track of footsteps was something you had to do in Mike's... previous professions to keep yourself from being surprised. So without too much worry but a lot more interest than he had before, he ducked his head out of the kitchen into the living room just in time to see Marionette and Jeremy moving into the puppet's room...

Right, it was one of those conversations. Mike found himself grabbing another cupcake and shoving it into his face before he could think too hard about it as he moved to prepare the leftovers... Before grabbing another one on the way, deciding that Jeremy didn't need to take all of the sweets with him, just whatever was left.

While Marionette on the other hand was mildly freaking out, he had no idea what he was going to say, in all honestly he hadn't really thought that far ahead and he was sorely regretting it now. Jeremy seemed a bit nervous, as he looked at the puppet before asking carefully.

"Are you alright?" The puppet let out a faint dial tone from his chest before he could help it, as the man winced a bit at that before clarifying, "S-Should I go get Mike?"

"No! Nope, definitely not, just... I, uh, well, I need to ask you something, and uh, well, it's, uh, personal" Marionette was not doing alright, Jeremy frowned, looking incredibly nervous and concerned now, as he asked.

"Is, uh, is this you telling me I'm dying?" Marionette felt like a record had just scratched, probably because he literally felt his music box tick past a note a bit too hard at the sudden and beyond unexpected answer causing the sharp note to hit the air with his surprise as he asked with his voice filled past the point of befuddlement.

"I- What?" Jeremy anxiously pulled his hat off to run a hand through his hair, grimacing a bit as his fingers lightly traced over the hidden bite scars in his hair, as he said.

"Well, just, you know, Mike and I were talking about my... you know, thing, and now we're talking, and you've been feeling like the world is ending the entire meal and staring at me, while trying to give me food of all things like you were trying to make me comfortable, and... I just... Am I? Is my, like, soul being rejected by the plate or something?" Marionette suddenly felt horrible, as he quickly shook his head with his hands frantically gesturing as he spoke.

"No! No, nothing like that! You're completely fine I promise! Unless something happens that just removes the plate then you're completely fine! Even then you wouldn't die! You'd just be in that plate until I got it and you moved to a proper new body, unless the plate got destroyed or you want to leave, then you're here for the long haul like the rest of us" Jeremy didn't seem quite as relieved about that as Marionette thought he might have been, but he did seem to sag with relief all the same to know he wasn't actively dying.

"W-well, while I'm not sure how I, uh, feel about that latter part, that's good to know" Jeremy took a moment to compose himself again as after a long breath he asked a bit more calmly, "So, uh, what did you want to talk about?" Surprisingly with how shocking the thing Jeremy had said almost made it easier for Marionette to get it out... It still wasn't that easy though as he fumbled through his words.

"I- well... It kind of has something to do with your thing, just... you know, I was just wondering..." God this was humiliating, Marionette paused just long enough for Jeremy to start getting concerned again before he finally managed to rush it out, "If you knew about how I felt about Mike!"

Jeremy just sort of stood there for a moment before saying with a faint surprise.

"Oh, wait, you figured it out?" Marionette was confused.

"Uh, what?" Jeremy kind of fidgeted as he scratched the back of his head and said.

"I mean, uh, you did figure it out right? About the...?"

"Y-yes?" Jeremy looked about a third as awkward as Marionette felt, which was an amount that felt like any number would pale in comparison to what it was.

"Uh, are we talking about the same thing, just to make sure, because I don't want to make any assumpt-" Marionette was sure if he could blush he would be beyond bright red as he half-whisper shouted at Jeremy just to stop all of this.

"That I'm in love with him, I'm talking about how I'm in love with Mike" Jeremy just stared at him with his mouth opening wide like a goldfish, Marionette was pretty sure he had never felt this embarrassed in his life.

"O-oh... You did figure it out" Never mind, this was somehow worse as he let out a distressed chime and said.

"So you knew?" Jeremy looked incredibly uncomfortable.

"I mean, yeah. It wasn't any of my business though, I can keep things to myself that I know I shouldn't know" Marionette really wished he never started this conversation suddenly.

"So you won't tell him?" Jeremy's awkwardness turned into a faint confusion before melting into a small look.

"Of course not, I won't mention anything until you talk to him" That got the panic back up in working order as Marionette frantically shook his hands and head.

"No! No way, I'm not telling him anything, I just had to make sure you wouldn't say anything either!" Jeremy frowned now.

"So, what, you're just going to sit on it for another few months?" Few months?! Marionette wasn't quite sure he minded the idea of his music box anymore, maybe it would be nice to just sleep forever and never have to face another person ever again.

"I- I can't tell him!"

"Why not?"

"Cause all it will do is ruin everything" Now Jeremy just looked almost exasperated.

"I doubt that Mari" And, alright, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but...

"Maybe, but I don't want things to be awkward between us"

"So it would be better for him to be unaware entirely and you feel awkward by yourself until something else happens that makes it awkward between you because you couldn't talk to him?" Marionette didn't like that Jeremy was making good points, even worse was the man clearly trying to not press the puppet, he was speaking softly and simply, just laying the facts out in a way that Marionette couldn't even get defensive about it without feeling like he was blowing up over nothing.

"But... But what is that going to do? He can't... He doesn't, right?" Jeremy got a pained look on his face, his eyes flickering at the door for a moment before saying with a grimace.

"I can't answer that Mari" Marionette knew he shouldn't press but he couldn't help it, as he asked imploringly.

"But you'd know right?" Jeremy shook his head, turning his focus back onto the puppet as he said with a tone that genuinely did say he was sorry, but with a firmness to his voice that showed just how serious he was.

"Mari, I'm not your check engine light. I didn't mention anything from you before to Mike, and I'm not going to mention anything from Mike to you. I can't help but know about these things, but that doesn't mean I get the right to pry or should even think about using that information to seek this kind of stuff to other people behind their backs. You're all my friends, and I'm not going to do something like that to any of you. You have to ask and talk to him yourself about this if you want to know"

Marionette knew that, he knew better than to have asked, but he still felt this urge, this desperate want to hold onto some kind of hope, even if he knew it wasn't anything real, so the answer hurt, but he had to respect it as he found himself nodding.

"I- I know, I... I already know the answer anyway, he's not. He doesn't even like people that way, we've talked about that before at least, and even if he did, who'd choose a puppet, but... I- I just, I just don't know what to do now. Everything just got so complicated so suddenly!" Because Marionette had turned away, he didn't notice the faint flash of just pure exasperation on Jeremy's face, before it shifted quickly into sympathy.

"Yeah, well, life is like that sometimes, it hits you hard with things like this, just... Don't let it build up and put something between you two. You're good for each other, more than you both know, whether or not there gets to be anything more or not" Marionette just gave a small nod, he knew that, it was still hard, but eventually he looked up and said.

"You're right... Sorry about just dumping all of this on you, I know it's probably not really comfortable to talk about or anything" Jeremy just gave Marionette an honest smile.

"Don't think like that, I'm always happy to help, you're my friend just as much as Mike is. And I get it, my situation is weird, trust me if I could turn this off and never have it turn back on I would, this whole emotions thing really isn't fun" Marionette moved forwards before he could think to long on it to give the man a hug, he stiffened for a long moment before giving a quick pat on the back to the puppet as the two separated, as Marionette said.

"We might be able to work on that, you know? You don't get to have as much control as we do, but that just probably means you need more practice, if you ever want to try, feel free to ask me or Goldie, we have... experience in a way with more mental based abilities" Jeremy seemed surprised at that before giving a grateful nod to the puppet.

"That would actually be really appreciated, I don't know how much help it would be, but an off switch or even just making it a bit less... loud would be incredible"

"It's the least I could do for helping me out here, well, that and a large amount of leftovers. Seriously, if you ever need food, just ask, our fridge is barely containing it right now, I think Mike stress cooks" Marionette wasn't sure he was allowed to say that himself give he definitely stress baked, but the point was still true as Jeremy gave a soft smile and said.

"I think Mike's going to make sure I don't get the chance to ask, he seemed a bit determined to get me to agree" Marionette shrugged, that did sound like Mike.

"He's like that" The two moved on from there, returning back to the living room after a moment to find Mike leaning against the kitchen, a large box of leftovers in his hands as his eyes flickered between the two for a short moment, staying on Jeremy for a bit longer than what Marionette figured was normal, a clear light of intrigue in his eyes that the puppet knew he was going to have to come up with a reason to explain, while Jeremy just moved forwards with a smile on his face.

"Hey, thanks Mike" Mike just nodded as he handed over the leftovers.

"Just make sure you don't lose thirty pounds again, I don't think you can handle being that skinny" Mike sounded completely normal, but Marionette noticed the way Jeremy paused for a moment, looking confused before lightly surprised by whatever it was in his mind, before he just glanced back at Marionette and said.

"It'll work out fine no matter what happens alright?" Marionette wished he could hold that level of optimism for this, but instead he just said.

"I- Sure" Jeremy left soon after that. After a bit more simple conversation and a fairly short goodnight and farewell, Jeremy was out the door and the sound of his car pulling out and heading off filled and left the air. And just like Marionette expected, Mike asked right after.

"So what was that about?" Marionette... really should have spent that time when they were saying goodbye to think of something to say.

"Uh, nothing important" Mike raised an eyebrow at that, and Marionette was quickly realizing that he had been saying that a lot, "It was, uh, personal, but not about me! Just... Something with Jeremy, don't worry about it" Mike had looked almost hurt for a second before his head just tilted to the side as he asked for clarity.

"So, you asked him to talk so he could tell you something personal?"

"Uh, something like that, we talked about his possession situation, I asked if he wanted help to see if he could try and learn to control it" Mike slowly nodded before asking blandly.

"So you'll be spending more time with him soon then?" Marionette... hadn't thought of it that way, but nodded all the same.

"I suppose so, either me or Goldie, Foxy doesn't have much experience in this sort of thing to my knowledge so it'd be us helping him" Mike seemed to think that over for a second before saying.

"Alright... I'm tired, I think I'm going to turn in early" Marionette wasn't sure why the topic was being changed that suddenly, but instead of questioning it, found himself asking instead.

"Oh, it's not that late, thinking about making this a routine?" Mike just shook his head.

"No, just... Want today to end sooner rather than later"

"Right, well, goodnight then" Mike paused for a second, seemingly having expected something else, but quickly saying back as he moved to the stairs.

"Right, night... I'll probably still be up for a bit but feel free to come to bed whenever, I doubt you'll be able to wake me tonight" Oh... right, when... When was the last time they went to bed at a different time? Not since they started sharing a bed. Marionette managed to recover somewhat quickly and just gave a nod while Mike just lingered for a moment, his eyes staying off to the side, but eventually moving to head up the stairs.

Now that he was alone again, and the sudden reminder about their sleeping situation, Marionette suddenly found him at the impasse he had thought he had already addressed this morning, but instead he was just suddenly confronted with the want to float up the stairs and join Mike, to sleep restfully with the man by his side. Instead after a long moment he managed to pull himself away and head back into the kitchen, the night wasn't quite young anymore, but there was still a few hours before he, himself, would really be tired, meaning he could spend the mean time doing something to take his mind off the fact he'd be sleeping alone tonight.

That idea had worked for a while, but only for a while, he found himself with some very ill-fitting kitchen gloves on washing up the cookware that Mike and he had used that evening so they wouldn't have to do it later, putting them up and then finding himself just doing the basic tidying that he already did normally, just now trying to find something out of place to work on, there wasn't as much as he would have liked. But it made the hours pass, if more than a bit slowly, making the night feel like it was dragging on in places.

Eventually he caught himself constantly looking more and more often at the clock, half hoping and half dreading what it read, even as it only changed slightly every time given the frequency in which he checked on it. He wanted the night to just skip over, but he also wanted it to be late enough already that he could also go to sleep and just get it over with. And eventually it was the latter that came to pass, as around eleven, Marionette could admit he was more exhausted than he thought he would be, the constant fretting throughout the day seemingly taking a toll on his energy.

And now he was forced to make the decision.

He knew what he should do, but that didn't stop what he wanted to do, as he found himself in the living room, stuck between the distance between the hallway that would lead to his room, and the staircase that would lead him to Mike. But... he'd never get over this if he didn't do something, this was how it had started in the first place, and he had to be the one that ended it, without Mike knowing if possible. And if that didn't work... Well, maybe then Jeremy had a point, but as it stood he had to at least try.

With that he moved over, making his decision to head to his room, moving inside and finding himself with a faint sense of dread looked inside, before seeing his plushies still on the bed, before making his way over to his box. The comfort of the item should hopefully take away from the bitter twisting feeling pulling at his insides.

Awkward... Anyways, I don't have much to say at the moment about all of this, it's just a short in between chapter to fill space in and have the needed conversations in place before moving to the next scene. The next chapter will be the end, hopefully, to what I've lovely dubbed the 'Trauma-versary Mini-Arc' but do I want to say it's just hilarious for me to write Mike being incredibly split on being awkwardly jealous of Jeremy and being overwhelmed by the older brother instinct to make sure the skinny man is eating enough. That back and forth confusion was great to write out. Anyways, See ya.