Mable: Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Thirty-Five
Natalie rolled out of bed shortly after noon and seriously considered rolling back into it. Unfortunately, she knew there were things that needed to be taken care of and was forced onto her feet by them. She got down some coffee and a light breakfast, or lunch, before throwing on some professionally casual clothes to drive down to the Fazbear Entertainment offices.
Fritz had left her a little love note on the counter. She smiled at it and slipped it in her bag for if she needed a pick-me-up later on, went downstairs to say good morning- or good afternoon- to Chance, then slipped on her shoes and left.
It didn't take her too long to arrive in St. George and to the familiar building. She headed inside, showed off her keycard to confirm her employment, and after a few minutes found herself settled at a desk across with a blank paper laid before her to put the details of last night on. For an official report, nobody really seemed too concerned or interested in it, though that could've been because there weren't even that many employees currently in the building.
She made the details very clear: Chica alerted to an unknown animatronic roaming the Superstar-cade and Prize Corner. She, Roxy, and Monty had searched both rooms and the office between them and found nothing. Monty had a disagreement with some of the prizes after he thought someone was hiding amongst them. They then went to the atrium where they saw a Staff Bot that Sunny had been playing dress up with. The Staff bot matched the description that Chica had given of the unknown animatronic. There was also a false alarm security alert when a security Staff Bot got stuck at a recharge station.
When she put it like that, the many flags from last night didn't seem nearly as suspicious. Though she didn't know how she was going to explain any questionable footage if anyone got spotted on camera.
Before Natalie could leave, she got stopped by a familiar woman who she did not recognize the name of.
"Before you go, Mr. Wight wanted to speak with you. He's in his office so you can just head in," she requested. The woman's tone was friendly, and her words lacked any cryptic tone, so Natalie's pulse quickening was entirely on her.
Though it was hard not to break a sweat when she realized she was going to be spending even more time in this stuffy office building. Fritz would get a kick out of that; she would have to remember it for later.
The door to Wight's office was closed but she could hear his voice coming from inside. Thinking he was maybe on the phone, she quietly knocked twice and let herself in. To her surprise, he was standing in front of his desk talking to Ness. They both looked to the door as she came in, Wight greeting her with a warm smile and Ness with what looked to be a more stained one.
"Ah, Vanessa! I didn't expect you so soon. Come right on in!" Wight assured. She stepped in and aside as he led Ness past her and to the door with a hand on her back. "Now, you just think about it. I think it would be an excellent opportunity to really cement yourself in the company and bond with your fellow co-workers," he said.
"I'll think about it," she agreed. He patted her on the back and sent her out, shutting the door to a crack before turning back to Natalie.
"Thank you for coming in. I can't imagine how hard it is to get up and run around after being awake all night. Though I remember very little from collage," he said, then gave a jovial laugh.
"I'm just glad you don't ask for me to come in at the crack of dawn," Natalie said. After that bit of friendliness, she casually asked, "Is Ness getting a promotion?" Knowing that she wasn't and trying to uncover what was really happening.
"In a way, yes. Due to Ness' outstanding work, she has been offered a position on the first ever Fazbear Entertainment company retreat! She's just a little nervous, which I don't blame her in the slightest. Stuck in the woods with a bunch of stuffy co-workers? Hah! If I wasn't required to be there, I certainly wouldn't be," Wight casually explained. He was playing it up, but it didn't sound like he was lying. At least, not on the fly. "You have to be an employee for at least six months to qualify, elsewise you would certainly be a candidate. You have been doing an excellent job down there."
"I have?" Natalie thought. She said instead, "I try."
"You do. Not one break-in since you've started working the night shift!" he assured. He sat down at his desk. "I'll be honest, I was expecting nightly vandalism even before the break-in. A place like this is a magnet for hooligans."
"I know, and half of them are probably my little sisters," Natalie joked. Wight gave a good-natured chuckle. "So, you wanted to speak with me? I'm guessing it's about last night."
"No, though I would like to hear about what happened last night. I heard Monsoon Monty has struck again, and the Prize Counter this time."
"Well, sort of. It was just a case of mistaken identity. Sunny dolled up one of the Staff Bots, the animatronics must've mistook it for an animatronic they didn't recognize, and it sort of spiraled from there," she explained.
"…Now that is very odd," Wight said in genuine confusion. "Hmm… I know one of them is due for vision enhancement, but maybe we should look into investing into that for all of them. When budget allows it, of course. But speaking of budget, what I wanted to discuss with you." He leaned forward on his desk with his fingers laced together. "Starting tonight we are going to be implementing a new method of power distribution to cut back on cost and make sure the mascots are receiving adequate charge. This should also cut back on any issues with wandering."
"It should but it won't," Natalie thought. She just smiled and nodded.
"From midnight to six, there will be a period at the end of each hour during which all power in the building will be rerouted to the recharge stations. The mascots will head into the stations where they will receive a full charge. The power returns on the hour and the night continues as usual until the next period of rerouting. By cutting off all the excess utilities and focusing solely on animatronic recharge, we can refresh and perhaps even supercharge their batteries while cutting back on the excess electrical waste," Wight explained. He sounded rather excited by the prospect; Natalie was much less so.
"That's… an idea. How long are we talking?" she asked.
"Only about five or ten minutes."
"Oh, okay. That's not as long as I was thinking," Natalie confessed. "But is that really going to cut back the electric bill any? It almost doesn't seem worth it."
"Oh, it will be a huge difference. We've already run the numbers and it should cut back our usage by at least five percent. Plus, we will finally be able to narrow down where we're bleeding electricity," Wight insisted. "Now I wanted to let you know this beforehand so that the power didn't cut out on you, and you were left thinking you would be in the dark all night. The front doors will still be locked tight, so you don't need to worry about that, but many of the security doors will not function, the vending machines will be off, and the camera footage will be down. I suggest treating it like an hourly break: grab a cold one and settle in."
"I'll do that. Though speaking of footage," Natalie led in, trying to cover any nervousness. "If I was going to take a look at last night's security footage, where would I go?"
"The center security office in the Pizzaplex. All of the footage from every security camera is kept in there and you can pull it up on the monitors," Wight explained. The nervousness only intensified, only to suddenly bottom out when he continued. "Just make sure to check it before the twenty-four hours overlaps and it records over last night's footage."
"It… What?" Natalie asked in disbelief. "Wait, the security footage records over itself?"
"Well… Due to budget restrictions, and a restriction on memory space- what with the numerous cameras throughout the Pizzaplex- we have implemented a twenty-four-hour security feed. We figured that was more than enough time to retrieve footage if it was required while saving time and space. Otherwise, we risk overloading the system with dozens of multi-hour videos from dozens of cameras. Many of which won't see anything."
Wight wasn't as ignorant as his wording would suggest. Just the halting and somewhat bashful way he explained it suggested that he knew what he was saying was ridiculous, but either due to the budget or some other reason he felt the need to stick to the plan and go along with it and keep pretending that he believed what he was saying.
As for Natalie, she thought it sounded like the worst idea they could've concocted and that there was absolutely no excuse for it. However, she couldn't deny that it came in handy.
"That's…" Dangerous, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him that. "…Pretty smart. Who's idea was that?"
"Dr. Talbert's! The man is a modern Da Vinci. He also came up with this circulating power idea to conserve cost and make sure that the performers are getting the purest electricity that we can give them. No more battery issues- though we still plan on implementing a larger lasting battery into Freddy once it arrives," Wight explained. "But back on topic! The footage will be there until late, late tonight, so you are welcome to go take a look."
"I probably should, but if it's alright with you I'll wait until my shift starts."
"It's more than alright," Wight agreed. "Now then, was there anything else you wanted to discuss while I've got you here?"
"No, I think that's everything covered," Natalie said as she got up from the chair. He eagerly offered his hand, and she shook it, though wasn't sure if this warranted a handshake. "I'll be in for my shift as usual."
"I wish you a pleasant evening and if you need anything, anything at all, then drop by anytime," he assured. He walked her to the door like he did with Ness and after a quick goodbye shut it after her.
With that taken care of, Natalie was eager to get out of the office before anything else needed her attention or anyone else wanted more details about last night. Since the office was mostly quiet, she detected a conversation nearby, which she would've walked past without a second thought if it wasn't for the fact that she heard Ness talking. She found herself slowing down her steps to eavesdrop, trying to see if Wight was honest about what he said.
She heard Ness say something that sounded like the end of, "-Don't know about it."
"Then tell him no. Mr. Wight's not going to fire you just because you don't feel like going." Natalie recognized that as being Luis.
"It's not that easy…" Ness said quietly. "It's a pretty big opportunity, I guess I should take it. When else am I going to get a chance to go out into the woods and… whatever they do on company retreats."
"Try not to kill each other?" Both chuckled a little at the joke.
Natalie finally caught sight of them standing at the corner of the cubicles. They hadn't noticed her though. Luis only had eyes for Ness, and she had her back to the blond. After the chuckle was an awkward pause.
"But uh…" Luis began tentatively, losing his previous confidence with the change of tone. "So… I noticed when Mr. Wight was escorting you out he was, uh, being pretty friendly."
So, he noticed that little gesture too. Natalie noticed Ness' little gesture in response: tucking her arms behind her back and squeezing one hand with the other.
"Oh, that. He's- He was just being nice," she assured him.
"Well… You know if you're not comfortable with that then you can say something. Or I can say something for you if you're afraid to speak up to him," Luis suggested.
"Wait, no, it's nothing like that!" Ness insisted. Her hands yanking apart and raising in defense. "He was just being nice, I swear. He's just excited about me going to the company retreat. Trying to sweeten me into going. But he's not- no. Nothing… weird."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it because that would be seriously inappropriate," Luis said. Though there wasn't much relief in his voice. "…I noticed this wasn't the first time he's been, uh… 'Sweet' on you."
"It's nothing. He's just being nice," Ness said. This time her tone started to change. She practically hissed the words, low enough that Natalie barely heard them. Luis was a little surprised by the shift in tone.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to get pushy. I just don't want someone taking advantage of you," he said apologetically. "…Is he going to the retreat or is it just an employee-only thing?"
"…I don't know," she said vaguely. Luis might've not noticed, but Natalie did, and she knew right away that she knew that he was.
For some reason, Natalie was seriously considering stepping in. She knew it was an invasion of privacy, but Ness was definitely floundering, and whether or not Wight was acting inappropriate it was clear that she didn't appreciate this direct confrontation. Taking a deep breath, she started to walk over towards the two.
Luis was cut-off midway through whatever he was saying when he noticed Natalie walking up. He quickly covered his concern with a smile. "Hey, Vanessa! What's up?"
"The amount of paperwork I've got to fill out. I don't remember that being part of the job when I signed up," she remarked. She then turned to Ness who had that strained smile again. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go."
Ness looked a little confused, but before she could ask Luis did.
"Going to lunch?" he guessed.
"That and we're going to get our nails done," Natalie said. "It's just been work, home, work, home for the last week so it's time we went out and did something for us for a change."
"I didn't know you two hung out outside of work. That's great!" Luis said. He did sound genuinely glad to hear it. "Sorry to hold you up, you two have a good time. And Ness? You don't have to do anything you don't want to, so don't worry it."
"I'll think about it! But we need to get going," Ness struggled not to race out. She boldly hooked an arm through Natalie's, though did so slowly, like she was prepared for the blond to yank away. "We'll talk later. Have a good lunch!"
"I will! One of these days you have to come with me. You would love the fries at this place," he said. She smiled and agreed and headed with Natalie back to the elevator. Not letting that smile drop until they were inside with the doors shut.
"I owe you so big," Ness said quietly. Letting all of that strain deflate into her voice.
"Don't worry about it. I just thought you looked like you could use an out," Natalie assured her. "Someday I'll need to get away from a chatty co-worker and you can return the favor," she joked.
Ness managed a smile but still looked equally nervous. "I don't know how much you heard, but we were just- we were talking about the company retreat," she fumbled her words. "That's all."
"I know. No problem."
"…You heard what he said about Mr. Wight too, didn't you?"
"…Well, yes."
Ness groaned and clasped her hands over her face, rubbing little circles into her temples like that was going to help.
The elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors opened, but both only briefly acknowledged it.
"Okay, well, so you know, it's absolutely one hundred percent not what it looks like. Maybe Mr. Wight is a little nicer to me than some of the others, but it's nothing like that. He's just trying to make me a team player or a productive citizen or something like that. Luis is just a little overprotective." She sighed deeply and quietly added, "But he really shouldn't be. He cares about me too much."
"Hey now, don't say that."
"No, I mean… I have a boyfriend," Ness confessed with a tiny, awkward smile.
Natalie quirked a brow in surprise. "And he's still coming on strong?" she asked. Then, realizing what she said, she quickly corrected. "That's not what I meant. I meant, he's… still being so protective even though he knows you have a boyfriend?"
"No, you didn't," Ness said. Her awkward smile became goofier. "But yeah, he is. And- And I appreciate it! I just wish he trusted me a little more. Trusted me when I tell him everything's okay."
"Well, in his defense, he wouldn't know unless he asked," Natalie offered.
"Good point," Ness quietly agreed.
Natalie was uneasy ending it like this. She started to head out the elevator doors before stopping and turning back.
"He was right about one thing. It's your say, so if anyone comes on too strong. Anyone, not just Wight, don't feel bad standing up for yourself. If they can't handle it, well tough for them. That's life," she said assertively.
Ness was a little surprised by it, but then gave a thankful smile. Natalie returned it and turned to leave with a simple, "See you around." She didn't get very far before she heard quickened footsteps following her out of the elevator.
"Wait up!" Ness called. She stopped and turned around. "So, I know that was just a cover back there, buuut do you… maybe actually want to go get our nails done?" Ness asked, cracking a smile. "Nobody will notice if I take off for a few hours and you're leaving anyways, and my nails are blah." She held up her hands. Her nails actually looked fine, they just weren't painted or anything. "Maybe?"
"Sure! It beats doing them myself. It takes five minutes to paint them and then thirty minutes with a bottle of nail polish remover to clean up the edges," Natalie agreed. The brunette's tentative smile filled with relief and excitement.
"Okay! Then let's-… Uh… Actually, wait right here. I've got to go tell someone I'm going and grab my bag," Ness admitted awkwardly.
"I'll bring the car around," Natalie offered.
While Ness hurried back to the elevator, it briefly, briefly crossed Natalie's mind that maybe this was a mistake. She shrugged it off and assured herself it was fine. She could use a day off anyway, and it seemed like Ness could too.
After the long night before, it was pretty much assumed that Mike wasn't going into work. Marionette was given the option not to as well but had gotten enough sleep that he decided to do so, likely spurred on by the knowledge that Freddy's was going to be open as well. This turned out to be a great decision as one of the children with a 'magic ticket', from the hospital, had come by and he had been there to make sure he had a wonderful time.
It would've almost made Mike regret his decision to stay home, but he wouldn't have been in the right state of alertness to handle all the noise. Though he wasn't the only one, as when given the option, Charlie also agreed to stay home. Though that could've been because she was half asleep when Marionette asked her and rolling over into the blankets was really the only option her mind could come up with.
Eventually he and her got out of bed and woke up enough to realize that they had to go ahead with the plan of today and be the bearers of bad news. A quick call to Carlton confirmed that he was trying to get his pictures done at a same-day development store, so they decided to go see Michael first.
The warehouse was the same as it usually was. There wasn't too many cars around outside, so Mike was able to get the door open and Charlie in relatively easily. Springtrap didn't meet them at the front door, but Mike didn't really expect him to. While all animatronics weren't the same, many of them seemed to adapt better to a nocturnal schedule, and Springtrap was no different. Plus, he got the impression he was a night owl. Perhaps because he was a former security guard.
They headed to the office door, and he knocked.
"Who is it?" a gravelly voice called back. Definitely sounded like he had been asleep.
"Pizza man," Mike answered.
"Come in."
That was weird. Normally Springtrap would at least answer the door. In fact, even when he knew who it was, he tended to answer the door- usually with a weapon hidden behind it just in case something else resided on the other side. That amount of paranoia was hard to miss. Mike shrugged it off and let himself in, telling himself that Springtrap had probably just woke up and didn't feel like being paranoid just yet.
He was partially right, yet as he stepped into the office Mike got the distinct feeling that something was off.
Springtrap was laying out on the couch with the blanket half on the back and half over his legs. The way he was sprawled suggested he had just woken up, but oddly he made little attempt to get up and greet them. The tv was droning on something low and was barely audible over the fan humming on the office desk. He noticed that the trash can beside the door was overflowing and spilling over with crumpled up balls of paper.
"Charlie's here too," Mike said as he came in, letting her step in behind him before shutting the door. He continued to get a good look at the room.
"Hey, Michael," Charlie greeted.
"Hey," Springtrap greeted in a mumble. Rubbing a hand over his mask and his fingers into his eyeholes. "What time is it?"
"It's…" Mike looked up to the clock on the wall only to see that it had stopped. "Well, that explains why he's asking me." He checked his watch. "One-fifteen."
"God, that late?" the rabbit muttered. He dropped his arm alongside the couch. "Alright. What do you need?"
"Not much. We were just in the neighborhood and thought we'd drop by with our weekly disaster report."
"It's not that bad," Charlie quickly defended. "We just went by Freddy's last night and thought we'd brag about how close we got to getting caught."
Springtrap blinked before looking a little more alert. "Freddy's- you mean you went to the Mega Pizzaplex?"
"That's right," Charlie agreed. "We snuck in, ate their chips, slept in their bounce house, and left."
"And traumatized every animatronic we could find. At least, Mari did," Mike added in. "He's over at Foxy's right now. That's why he didn't come with us. Always the martyr."
"Ah yes, Freddy's newest shrine capitalism and consumerism. Stick around long enough and you'll see one of the dozens of commercials they air on repeat," Springtrap muttered bitterly. He glared at the ceiling for a moment before languidly looking up between the two. "So, what did you find there?"
Mike let Charlie recount the details to him. He was too busy getting that funny feeling that something was off with this scenario. Including but limited to the fact that Springtrap still hadn't gotten up off the couch.
He continued looking around the room for signs of what was going on and eventually his eyes landed on the television. It was on some sort of news show, though instead of broadcasting news they seemed to instead be doing some sort of cooking program. It wasn't exactly the material he had expected him to watch, but then again, he was aware that the rabbit actively watched the most painfully melodramatic soap opera he had ever seen.
There was a pause that hung over the room after Charlie finished her recounting of Marionette's run-in and revelations with the Sun. While they were letting it sink in, Mike decided to chime up.
"What's this?" he asked and pointed towards the TV. Springtrap looked down at it and hummed.
"…I don't know," he mumbled. He then began to feel up and down the couch beside him, then along the floor and the back of the couch and shook out the upper portion of the blanket. Obviously, he was looking for the remote, to no success.
Eventually Springtrap collapsed on the couch for a long second before tossing the blanket off and starting to get up. The couch fabric slightly clung to his suit and as he sat up, they could hear the faint sound of it peeling off of him. That was enough to get the two onlookers exchanging brief look.
"You've got to spend some time off this couch," Mike remarked. "Or at least clean it."
"I would, but then I would be stuck in the office chair until it dried," Springtrap declined. He pushed up to his feet with a groan, shuffling over to the television and crouching down in front of it. His joints squeaked and rattled as he did so, as though they hadn't been lubricated in ages. He didn't seem concerned, staring dully at the television as he manually turned it down.
Charlie looked to Mike again and it was her concerned expression that assured him that it wasn't just in his own head. He nodded and then gestured towards Springtrap with his eyes. She hesitated, then pointed between Mike and her questioningly, and he pointed back surely. Charlie nodded and finally faced the rabbit. After a moment of getting her words together, she took the plunge.
"Michael…" she began. He turned his head back to face her, expecting her to reveal something that she had left out of her explanation. "Is everything okay?" she dared to ask.
"I'm sorry?" he asked back.
"You just… don't seem like yourself. You know, you seem a little more tired than usual. Usually, you get up to answer the door," she gently suggested. She then quickly added, "Which is fine, I'm just making sure you're not feeling stiff or sore."
Instead of him getting offended, like she feared, he seemed surprisingly blasé.
"I'm fine. There's just not much point dragging myself off the couch just to make sure who's out there is who they say they are. If someone's going to put on that much of a show, odds are they're going to see me anyway. No point in fighting it."
"Uh huh…" Charlie looked to Mike and silently handed him the reins. He inwardly sighed and took a stab at it.
"Good point. Well, now that you're up to speed we're heading over to Scott's. Want to come along?" Mike offered.
"I don't remember you having a van," Springtrap remarked.
"I don't, but you don't care about getting seen, right?"
Springtrap sent him a look before standing up purposefully to send an unenthused look down at him. "If you're just inviting me along because you think something's wrong with me, then I'm afraid you're wasting your time. If anything, my comfort in my own home should be reassuring, not a sign that you need to insert yourself in and fix me."
"No, I'm inviting you along because I know something's wrong, and I'm hoping it's just that you've been stuck in this warehouse for too long," Mike said with an equal look. That bluntness was enough to get Springtrap to close his eyes like he was exasperated, but Mike suspected that he just didn't want to continue eye contact. Mike softened his tone back to a nonchalant one. "Come on, what have you got to lose?"
"My will to live?" Springtrap drawled.
"Oh please, you lost that a long time ago," Mike said. Springtrap rolled his eyes up past his eyelids. "Just give us this much. We're worried about you. We don't want you holing up in here until you lose yourself to it," Mike continued, his voice now more sincere and allowing that concern to come through.
Springtrap closed his eyes again and mimicked a sigh. Opening them slightly, glancing off towards Charlie, and then giving a nod.
"Fine," he agreed.
"Thanks," Mike said, trying to not sound too excited. "Want me to get the sheet or would you prefer to run and dive into the back?"
"Don't make me regret this," Springtrap muttered. He then answered by walking over to the couch and yanking up his blanket, bundling it up under his arm before heading to the door. "Let's go."
"That's a little higher than I was expecting," Natalie finally said after a good minute of staring at the prices displayed outside of the nail salon. Ness didn't look willing to defend it either. When Natalie looked over, she just rolled her eyes away, as though trying to play innocent that she suggested the idea. After a moment Natalie offered, "You know we could probably buy the stuff ourselves and do it for half the price."
Which was how they ended up at the department store picking out nail polishes. They got a couple- Antique Pink for Natalie, Midnight Blue for Ness, and a couple of extra colors since they were there- and then got back in the car. That was when Ness made a suggestion that Natalie hadn't anticipated.
"My apartment's not too far from here. It's not really what you would call 'clean', but it's almost bigger than the car," Ness lightly joked.
"Sounds a lot better than driving us out to my place in Hurricane," Natalie clarified. She honestly didn't expect the offer when she hadn't received it until now. They hadn't really discussed where they were going to do the painting, but she had assumed it wouldn't be just in the car and was trying to figure out how she could discreetly call Chance and warn him to stay downstairs if she ended up driving Ness home. Turned out that wouldn't be a problem.
Ness' apartment turned out to be in a rather nice apartment building. That was, for a young woman living by herself, it was in a slightly more expensive-looking complex than Natalie would've expected. She obviously didn't comment on this, especially not when she noticed that Ness was getting especially fidgety as they got to the apartment. As soon as they parked outside, the brunette quickly popped off her seat belt.
"Here we are! Okay, so you just sit tight for a second. I have to run in and… uh… Just straighten up really quick," she confessed with an utterly embarrassed smile. "I know that's a little weird, sorry."
"No, that's pretty much what I do whenever my parents drop in. I just don't have to drive them to my house, they just appear in the driveway," Natalie remarked. She gave an assuring, if somewhat amused smile, and Ness looked appreciative.
The brunette got out and rushed up the steps and to her door with only slight restraint to hold back from a run. After she let herself inside, it was about five minutes before she leaned out and waved for Natalie to come up.
As expensive as the apartment complex looked, the inside was downright tiny. Natalie figured out as much when she spotted Ness' bed in the living room. It was still large enough to hold a double bed and still have a few feet between it and the couch set in front of its foot, but that suggested there were likely no other rooms other than an assumed bathroom.
Once a few steps in, the kitchen was to the immediate left of the entranceway. It was compact in size, but the granite countertops looked nice. It was sectioned off from the rest of the living room-bedroom by another counter. The kitchen was surprisingly barren, with only a box of cereal and a box of Twinkies sitting on the fridge and no other immediately apparent foodstuff. The sink, she noticed, was filled and soaking dishes. The excessive bubbles suggesting they were just put in.
The rest of the apartment was pretty quaint. The bed's comforter was pale pink and patterned with white daisies, with the pillows being a more peach shade of pink. The couch was green with a sort of plaid pattern to it and there was a standing lamp on one side and a little side table on the other. There was a TV stand with a medium sized TV on it and a line of tapes beneath it. The walls were a simple cream, the kitchen had tiled floors, and the rest was a soft beige carpet.
There were some decoration items that made the apartment uniquely Ness'. Natalie spotted a calendar up on the wall with a picture of a puppy and kitten on it, there was a shelf with trinkets on it- one that she noticed off the bat being a little faux-stone statue of a dragon circling a castle, and unbelievably, there were even more bobbleheads. Though these weren't licensed Freddy Fazbear ones.
The only thing out of place in the apartment was a lump on the floor against the wall, right between the closet and bathroom doors. A lump of something covered by a blanket. She didn't look at it long.
"Nice place you've got here!" she complimented.
"Thanks. It's small, but it's just me, so I live with it," Ness excused. "Couch or stools?"
Indeed, there were a couple of barstools on the other side of the counter. Probably to replace the fact that, as she noticed now, there wasn't a dining room table.
"Stools. It'll be way easier to do our nails with our hands flat," Natalie suggested.
Ness was more than eager to go along with this. In fact, her tone had perked up considerably from the car earlier, barely showing any of the nervousness she previously had. She hopped up on one of the stools and got their supplies out of the plastic bag she had toted with her.
"Mind doing me first?" she asked, shaking the blue bottle.
"Fine by me. You're sure you want to be stuck painting my nails with yours still wet?" Natalie reminded.
"Sure am! Worst case scenario, yours turn out goofy," Ness joked. Then almost instantly recanted, "I'm kidding! They're probably going to be fine."
"Eh, I can live with those odds."
There was definitely something off about this whole situation. Natalie couldn't put her finger on it, though it probably had something to do with her coming home with someone she barely knew to paint her nails. Something that would've seemed totally innocuous to do with Louise but felt peculiar in these circumstances. Yet that wasn't just it. There was something a little more difficult to pin down.
Something was off about the apartment too. It smelled stale, like it hadn't been aired out in a while. The only sound was a ticking clock from somewhere, but she couldn't look for it now. Not when she had already started painting the dark blue polish onto one of Ness' nails. It did remind her that it was unnaturally quiet, so she decided to speak up.
"So, how did you wind up working at Freddy's? Or with Fazbear Entertainment," she asked.
"I work in IT. Sort of, it feels like I mostly do a lot of paperwork and computer-work and not a lot else. Right before they started construction on the Pizzaplex they hired a workforce en masse to support it. I was one of the lucky people to hop on board. And I loved the feel of old Freddy's. I think I mentioned that when we met, when we were talking about old and new Chica."
"I remember that! Speaking of which, I'm starting to see the difference between the two. Not that anything's wrong with Chica, but sometimes she gets this weird stare and it's hard not feeling a little uneasy."
"Wow, so you're getting really close to the animatronics," Ness said with mild surprise.
"I shared a ride in the Prize Counter elevator with Freddy last night," Natalie clarified. She glance up in time to see Ness' tensed look, either having a good idea on the size or the smell.
"I don't know how you do it. I don't think I could do it! Seven hours alone in a dark mall? It sounds like it would get really lonely… Not that you'd want company when your options are, well… Them."
"Freddy's alright," Natalie said. She didn't defend very hard though as she left it off right there. That and she needed to focus in a little more while doing Ness' ring finger after running off slightly on the middle.
"But since we're not at work and nobody can hear us, and you know I'm not going to tell- what's it like working at Foxy's?" Ness asked curiously. "It's got to be like a blast to the past working in that cozy pizzeria with the curtained stages and the pizza parties that everyone feels like they're a part of even when they're two tables over."
"It's actually pretty nice. It gets busy sometimes and you deal with the occasional bratty kid, but it's easy to feel like a family, and to see the results of your work. I'm not saying the Pizzaplex isn't nice, but you can get lost in there."
"Please, the Pizzaplex is too big. I'd give myself, like, leg cramps just trying to walk from the arcade to the Prize Corner- err, Counter," Ness interjected. "…Sorry, go on."
"There's not much else to say. I think it's a nice place, but I might be biased," Natalie confessed. She finished up the hand and gave Ness a moment to wave it dry before moving onto the second one.
"You're so lucky," the brunette said while still waving out her hand. "I was so psyched when I heard there was going to be a diner and all this cool stuff in the Pizzaplex that I guess I assumed that somewhere in the building there was going to be a real, traditional pizzeria and it would have the old Freddy experience, but that didn't happen." She cut off her ramble with a disappointed sigh. "They don't make them like they used to…"
"I know," Natalie agreed. Assuming that the other had fond childhood memories from Freddy's and not terrifying ones from the night shift.
"You've been to one?" Ness asked.
"No, but my boyfriend used to work at one. He's told me all the dirty details," she said. This wasn't a slip-up; she intentionally meant to slip a little more information Ness' way and see how she reacted.
In this case, the woman reacted with her eyes popping open in a look of total shock.
"Wait, really?!" she sputtered. "That's- That's crazy! I didn't even think- but that really makes a lot of sense! Nobody who worked on the Pizzaplex worked at Freddy's, but Foxy's- Foxy's is like a traditional Freddy's, and of course it would be!"
"Hey, I didn't say he worked at Foxy's too!" Natalie protested with a small smile.
"Isn't he that brown haired guy who was looking for you on opening night?"
She didn't expect that answer in the slightest. She hadn't even realized that Fritz had talked to her at all. He hadn't said he had.
"…Well, yeah," Natalie hesitantly agreed.
"And he's also one of those guys who was talking to Mr. Wight about the Foxy deal. So, yeah, Foxy affiliate," Ness said with a rather triumphant little grin.
There was just the slightest tinge of anxiousness starting to build somewhere in Natalie's stomach. A growing panic that she might've just really screwed up.
"…Umm, not that I'm going to tell anyone. Not-Not that it really matters! It's just a little weird that none of the people who used to run the old Freddy's came back. At least, I find that kind of weird…" Ness confessed. Slightly relieved, Natalie nodded in agreement and looked down to continue painting the rest of her nails.
"Well, for the record, I never worked at Freddy's. I just worked as a daytime security guard for a couple of years," Natalie clarified. She paused a moment, popped her lips, and asked, "What about your boyfriend? Did he work at Freddy's? Or does he work at Freddy's, the new Freddy's?"
Unlike Natalie, Ness seemed a lot more nonchalant about the question. In fact, from how quickly she responded, she was pretty eager to talk about him.
"He doesn't, which is why nobody at the office has ever met them and is kind of why they all think I made him up," Ness said. Noticing Natalie glance up, she quickly reassured, "Which I didn't. His name is Brad and he's a wonderful guy. He's supportive, he's loving, he's just perfect. He accepts me for me. We just want to keep things quiet- and it's not like there's a 'bring your boyfriend to work' day anyways. There's just some things you have to keep… separate."
"I get that. Especially considering this job," Natalie sympathized. "Though, here me out, it might put a stop to some of this unwanted attention if you did mention him more at work. Or put a picture at your desk… Or just wear a ring. That might put a stop to it."
"I might. I'll think about it," Ness quietly agreed. Hearing the change in tone, the blond quickly amended.
"But you know what? You shouldn't have to do that. You do what you want, you don't have to prove anything to anybody," she affirmed. "…But I told you about the Freddy's thing, so you at least owe me one juicy tidbit about Brad."
Ness perked up and was off once more. Talking about anecdotes of candlelit dinners, spontaneous bouquets of flowers, stereotypically romantic gestures that came straight out of the movies. Natalie didn't interrupt, even when they switched and she was the one getting painted. She just let Ness talk and listened. She talked like she had been waiting for this moment her entire life.
And it was kind of sad that Natalie realized that maybe she had been. That maybe this was the first time anyone had listened in a while.
Maybe that explained some things.
Mike, Charlie, and now Springtrap arrived at Scott's not too long after they left the warehouse. Charlie called Carlton on the way and he agreed to meet them there as he was now finishing up with his errand. They still arrived long before he did.
They pulled up to the front of Scott's house and caught a glimpse of someone peeking through the window before disappearing inside.
"I bet that's Baby. Probably running off so she can pretend to not notice me coming in," Charlie joked knowingly.
"Or she saw me and is attempting to restrain Ennard," Springtrap added. Mike smirked a little and turned off the car.
"So, which of you wants to go first?" he asked.
"I'll make a run for it and get the door open. You come in after me," Charlie said, turning around in her seat to address Springtrap. He simply nodded. "Okay. Here I go." She readjusted her hood, pulled the sheet over herself like a cape, and swung open the car door, hopping out and shoving it closed, then ran for the door. It was unlocked so she was able to let herself straight in.
"I don't think I need to tell you this, but I'm not running," Springtrap announced.
Mike snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Darn! You should've told me before I wasted the gas bringing you out here."
Springtrap gave a tired look and started pulling the blanket overhead while Mike climbed out to stand guard. There were some people outside and they had to wait a few minutes for the coast to clear out before following inside.
Meanwhile, Charlie slipped into the house in time to meet Scott and Ennard coming out of the kitchen. Baby was nowhere to be seen, but the garage door looked to be slightly ajar.
"Hey, Kiddo!" Ennard excitedly greeted. Resting on his hands on the back of the couch. "Boy, I heard you had one heck of a night last night!"
"That's not the word I'd use for it, but yeah, it was crazy," Charlie admitted.
"Sounded like it. Mari called earlier and brought us up to speed on most of the details. There's a couple of big holes waiting for you to fill in, but we heard about the whole getting chased around a Mexican restaurant part," Scott said. As nonchalantly as he said this, he did get a look of gentle concern. "How are you doing?"
"I'm good."
"You're sure?… Sorry, I don't even know why I asked that. I'm not trying to pry," he apologized.
"Yes, he is. We want all the dirty details," Ennard teased. He winked at Scott cheekily when he looked over.
"Okay, maybe I am, but that's just because, all things considered, we've both got a little, uh, emotional investment in Freddy's. That's a good way to put it?" he asked Ennard, who nodded. "And, you know, we do worry about you all. Usually a little more about Mike, I'm sort of just relieved that I didn't get another call that he was in the hospital… Don't tell him that."
"I won't, but I think he already knows," Charlie said teasingly. "What else did Mari say?"
"He said you had a run-in with Sun Man," Ennard said coyly. His voice lowering just a touch. Scott's mouth pulled a little at that shift in tone.
"I did. You might've too. He's got a friend named Jake who saw you at the dump," Charlie retorted. She felt a bit of self-satisfaction when Ennard stared at her blankly for a long moment.
Though before he could respond- and right after Scott's brows furrowed into an exaggerated look between confusion and budding horror- the garage door opened the rest of the way and Baby rolled out. She looked towards the puppet.
"Oh, Charlie. I didn't hear you come in," she said. Charlie jingled slightly as Baby rolled out. "How did-?"
"OH, WHOA! HOLD UP! You didn't say YOU were coming by!" Ennard suddenly exclaimed, drowning out the entire room. This was because Springtrap had just come walking in the front door with Mike close behind to shut it behind them.
The clown came around the couch and passed through the now crowded entrance before hooking a welcoming arm around Springtrap. One that he returned, but only momentarily as Ennard straightened before leaning in.
"Are you wearing cologne?" he asked. Springtrap gave him a questioning look instead of an answer, but by then it was clear that it wasn't him. The clown snapped his head in the other direction, catching Mike as he was trying to squeeze past behind him. "When'd you start wearing cologne?" Ennard asked.
"What do you mean? I always wear this," Mike said. Then he realized how defensive that sounded and quickly tacked on, "I had to cover up the funk of Freddy's with something, so I tried a second layer of Christmas Tree."
"Oh, it's working, alright!" the clown said with a smirk on his voice. Mike got a purposefully flat look and pointedly stepped past him and up to Scott where the two exchanged greetings.
"How's it going?"
"Fine for me. You look tired."
"Eh, so what else is new?"
Scott wasn't entirely satisfied with this answer but accepted it. He had felt the same way too many times not to.
In the meantime, Baby, perhaps to reclaim Charlie's attention after Ennard's outburst, came forward and took her hand. "Were you able to sleep at all?"
"Plenty. I got in a nap at Freddy's and a few hours of sleep at home too," Charlie said. She gave the other's hand a soft squeeze or tried to. It wasn't easy to squeeze a metal hand.
"Good. And it's good to see you," Baby said. She looked past to Springtrap. "You too, Michael. Even if I'm not as overbearing about it as some of us." She glanced to Ennard who had absolutely no shame, only amused at her comment.
"Same. I hope he hasn't been too much," Springtrap said. He almost sounded a little tired. One could've easily assumed this was just to play along with Ennard's 'overbearingness', but after hearing similar exhaustion when he was dragging himself off the couch earlier, Mike had trouble ignoring it. If anything, it reminded him of the other issue they came for.
He took a moment to plot an excuse before turning to Scott again. "Hey, I hate to mooch off you like this, but could I have one of those granola bars you keep around?"
"I hardly call it mooching when you're asking for a granola bar, but sure! You're welcome to whatever we've got," Scott said.
"Thanks. I shall stave off starvation for another day," Mike said. He glanced back at Springtrap and Ennard and saw his chance, with the former now paying attention to Baby and Charlie. He pretended to scratch his cheek and beckoned Ennard.
Ennard caught on and played along instantly. "Lemme show ya where they are!" he offered. He released Springtrap and followed into the kitchen.
"There's some stuff in the fridge too! Just grab whatever you want," Scott called after them.
"I always do!" Ennard quipped back. He slipped past Mike who stopped at the sink and headed back to the pantry. "So, whatcha in the mood for? We've got raisin and cinnamon, peanut butter and chocolate chunk- Oh, and you're going to hate this." Ennard crackled and pulled out a box that he shook. "Sour candy ball filled granola bars! A match made in heck!"
"It must be if you don't like it," Mike quipped.
"I'd like it a lot more if the little balls didn't keep getting lost in me," Ennard retorted. He shoved the box back in and pulled out the chocolate and peanut butter one, to which Mike nodded and was promptly tossed a bar. "Now that that's out of the way, what're we really in here for?" Ennard asked, lowing his voice to a playful whisper.
"Right…" Mike looked down long enough to open the bar and gather his words before looking back up and asking, "…Is something up with Michael?"
"Oh no," Ennard said, instantly giving away that this was probably going to turn into a 'yes'. The clown's voice dipping from its typical boisterousness to concern. "What do you mean?"
"Let me start by saying that there's a chance I'm reading too much into this." A slim chance, but a chance. "But when I got to the warehouse, I don't know, I got a weird vibe."
"What vibe?" Ennard probed.
"For starters, he didn't answer the door, he just told us to let ourselves in. He just stayed on the couch. If it wasn't for him losing the remote, I don't think he would've gotten up at all, and he must've not been up for a while because the couch was starting to mold onto his suit. I thought maybe it was just me but then Charlie noticed it too," Mike explained. "…I take it from that look that it wasn't just us."
If Ennard could look anguished, then he did. He almost looked to be in pain, slinking down and propping himself up with an arm on the fridge, his free hand wiping over his mask.
"No, it wasn't just you," he murmured. His volume low and pitch leveling into a somber tone. "I noticed something funny was going on, but I just hoped, y'know, it would go away? Maybe I was thinking too much into it? I worry about him a lot, and you can only get told 'you worry too much' too many times by someone before you start, sort of, internalizing it?"
Mike nodded and Ennard continued. "I-I just noticed that he was starting to sound a little… down, and I, uh… Don't tell him this." Ennard leaned in closer, voice low and serious. "I remember he used to get in these slumps a long, long time ago- but back then it was different! He wasn't alone over in that rinky-dink warehouse, and I can't get him to stay here-!" He barely cut off his ramble and finished with, "It's not good for him, being alone over there like that."
"Yeah, I know," Mike agreed. He took a deep breath and asked, "Should I offer for him to stay with me and Mari?"
"You can. It's not gonna work," Ennard said with slight exasperation, sending a tired lidded glance towards the kitchen door. "Michael's got this thing about taking handouts, even if they're not handouts. Like that granola bar? He would've gone hungry before he asked for one. For himself, he'd probably ask for me." Suddenly Ennard started to straighten up. "Scott's coming. Play cool."
"I don't have to play cool. I am cool."
"Course you are, o' Christmas Tree," Ennard said cheekily. Then eagerly bounced back into his typical persona. "Hey, Scottie! Felt like getting a snack too?"
"Err, sure!" Scott agreed. From that hesitation alone, Mike realized that he must've heard something, or had come in to snoop. Ennard turned to grab him one. "So, uh… what's new?" he asked Mike.
"I couldn't unload any of the sour ones," Ennard answered.
"Augh, foiled again!" Scott joked. Ennard snickered but it was obvious he was tense. Both men noticed it and Scott clear his throat. "So, uh… I was thinking that maybe we could-."
"I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Uh…" Scott trailed off at the unexpected sharpness from the living room, from Springtrap. Mike looked back too.
"You didn't say anything about that," Springtrap continued. His words directed towards Charlie who was standing there looking a little jolted. Baby was looking at Charlie with her hand now recoiled to her chest in surprise.
"I forgot all about it. There was just so much going on. This is the first time I even remembered it since we got home," Charlie explained.
"Oh boy, I wonder what anecdote from last night he just found out about," Mike quietly remarked. He didn't expect Springtrap to hear him- he also didn't expect the room to go dead silent right before he said that, and the rabbit looked to him.
"Did you know about this?" he asked sharply. "About that Moon Man trying to hypnotize her?"
"What?" Mike betrayed his shock immediately and looked to Charlie. "He did what?"
"I don't even know if that's what he was doing," Charlie defended, raising her hands and looking away. Only for a moment before looking back and admitting, "Okay, I know that's what he was doing. I don't know how he did it though."
"When did that happen?!" Mike exclaimed. "Was it when he was with you in that theater?!"
"…Yeah, it was. Before the lights came on and before Jake showed up," she said with a sigh.
Mike was utterly dumbfounded, but he could hardly stand there and keep asking obvious questions where there were a lot more important ones. "How'd he do it? Did he play a song? Was it a music box thing?"
"Weirdly enough, no. He sort of did this swaying rocking thing and then his eyes started flickering- it was the flickering, I'm sure. But I was fine! All that happened was I turned away and it didn't work. I think that's what the dance was for, to distract me long enough for the lights to affect me."
"But you did feel it," Baby clarified.
"A little?" Charlie tried.
"And you didn't see this?" Springtrap asked Mike, looking back at him once more.
"No, I didn't get there until after everything calmed down. If I had walked up on that happening, I would've fed that Moon his own ass," he firmly defended. Despite the situation, it forced a guffaw out of the utterly horrified Ennard. "You could've given me a heads up before I ate that candy he gave me," he continued, though not harshly.
"Now, that's your own fault. Not taking candy from strangers is one of the first rules every child learns," Baby remarked. Though then suddenly snapped her head back to Charlie, "But that means- you let him get close after that happened?!"
"Uh… Well, sort of, but I wasn't alone." Baby gave a frustrated mechanical huffing sound- both like frustrated sigh and the noise a machine might make before going completely berserk. "Once he flipped into his Sun persona, his friend Jake ran in and broke the whole thing up. I was so thrown off track by meeting him that it was the last thing on my mind," Charlie explained.
"Sun persona, right," Springtrap muttered. He shook his head. "I can't believe Marion would let him get off scot-free. Let alone continue to allow him to hang out in your vicinity."
"Mari went easy on him because by time we got there he switched into the Sun and because he's one of the kids he suited up," Mike said matter-of-factly. When the rabbit looked at him, he quirked a brow knowingly, getting the point across that he shared some of his sentiments.
All the while that this conversation was going on, Scott was noticing Ennard getting significantly more worked up, and it was making him increasingly nervous.
"Don't do anything," he warned quietly.
"What am I going to do, fly over there?" Ennard barely whispered back.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The room fell silent.
"That might be Carlton," Charlie finally said.
"I really hope so and not the neighbors dropping off another casserole," Scott tried to joke as he squeezed around the mass of people. He made it to the door before looking and waving back. "You might all want to step back a little."
Everyone migrated a little closer to the wall. Including Mike, who didn't want to get spotted and hit up for an introduction.
Thankfully, it was Carlton. Who proceeded to step into the house with a, "Yo, what up? I got the goods," and promptly stare at Springtrap like he had been the one to say it.
"Ah ha! Excellent!" Ennard crackled as he clasped his hands together and rushed in to see. By then Scott had gotten the door shut, so he was able to eagerly claim some of the photos Carlton was carrying for himself. He willingly handed them over, still outright staring at the rabbit in the room. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the clown beside him, who hooked an arm around him like he had done earlier to said bunny. "You remember Michael! Michael, this is Carlton."
"Burke's son," Baby quietly tagged on behind him.
"Our newest employee. Intern errand boy sort of thing," Mike added before taking another bite of granola bar.
"I'd say take a picture-…" Ennard's wisecrack was cut off the second he caught sight of something in the splayed picture. He spread them further and lifted them closer and was rendered speechless.
Springtrap gave him a less than enthused look before reaching out a hand towards Carlton.
"Michael, right! Hey! Sorry about that, I didn't sleep a lot," the redhead excused. While this excuse wasn't entirely believed, it was accepted since Carlton willingly shook his hand and didn't wipe off his own afterwards. Springtrap continued keeping his hand out afterwards and was given the rest of the photos. He began to go through them.
"So, how'd they turn out?" Charlie asked.
"Terrifying," Carlton answered with a smile. "You should've seen the look of the guy who handed them to me. I told him my brother had a party at the Pizzaplex and me and my friends got to mess around with the animatronics afterwards."
"Did he believe it?"
"Seemed like it. The magic of Freddy's is that the 'whole animatronics being alive' thing is so unbelievable that the idea of a bunch of people staging pictures with animatronics to make them look alive is believable," he said with a sly smirk.
"Take. A look. At THIS thing," Ennard said as he slid a photo over for Scott beside him to see. He looked down and practically did a doubletake.
"Oh, okay," he said. He adjusted his glasses. "So, uh, that's the new direction of Freddy's."
"Unfortunately, it looks like this is the new direction of Freddy's," Springtrap muttered, handing over a picture of Freddy Fazbear to Scott.
"Huh, he kind of looks like the, uh… What's he like? Is he as friendly as Foxy said?" Scott asked, looking to Mike for answers.
"He seems like it. He was downright hospitable to us and even went along with setting us up for the night, but I can't say if that's just because he's generous or because of Foxy," he said.
Springtrap gave a suspicious hum but didn't interrupt. Mike looked down at the picture in Scott's hands. It was a photo Carlton had taken while they were in the arcade touring for rabbits and tickets, long after the chaos in the Prize Counter had wound down. Freddy was waving at the camera with an open-mouthed smile. Mike himself had his back to the camera, partially looking over his shoulder, hunched over one of the basketball games.
Maybe not one of his best pictures. He definitely looked like he was up to no good, but that could've been the oversized black hoodie that instantly made him look half his age. He decided to focus more on Freddy.
"Truth is, there's something up with Freddy," Mike confessed in a murmur. "I'm not sure what it is and I don't think he's faking what he's like, but something's off. I think there's a chance the employees are mistreating the animatronics."
"I sort of got that impression too…" Charlie admitted.
"That doesn't give them the excuse to act out, but I would be a hypocrite if I didn't show them some sympathy. I know what it feels like to be trapped in a place like that," Baby said. She turned her head slightly towards Ennard. "We both do."
"This is a really scary sun. I can't believe they let this thing around children," Ennard remarked.
"As on-topic as usual," Springtrap remarked. Ennard held out the picture for him to see. He narrowed his gaze on it. "…It really is nightmarish, isn't it?"
"The point is, there's something up with Freddy's, and it's not just our history with them making me paranoid or their questionable animatronic designs," Mike said.
And as he stood there and really thought about it, he had felt that feeling the entire night. He felt like there was something Freddy wasn't saying when he talked about the arcade games, the felt like there was a warning neither Jake nor Sunny were saying out loud, and it went beyond the rabbit. They were willing to talk about the rabbit, but there was something they weren't willing to talk about.
"I get this feeling…" Mike said, crossing his arms as he thought deeply. "…That something, not sure what but something, went down long before we got there."
"There's a good chance that you're right on the money," Scott agreed tiredly. "But if this Fazbear Entertainment's anything like the last one, they've already got rid of all the evidence."
"Yeah, you'd think that…" Mike murmured. He hesitated with that same pensive expression, then added, "…Must be hard to do a cover-up when you can't get rid of the witnesses."
Maybe next time he would be a little more direct with Freddy. The worst he could do was clam up, but with how social he was it couldn't last forever.
Baby looked to Ennard who had an equally knowing glint in his eyes. Springtrap simply returned to looking at the pictures, eventually giving a soft chuckle at one of them.
"I might have to keep this one for my desk. This is precious," he murmured. He proceeded to hand it to Charlie to sate her curiosity, revealing that it was a photo of her and Marionette lying together in the bounce house.
She sent a side-glance towards Carlton- he was looking smug, of course- and Baby gave the quietest little 'aww' from beside her. Soft enough that she could pretend it was condescending if anyone else heard and made a comment.
"…This one's pretty cute too," Springtrap added. He then flashed a picture of Jessica eating some tortilla chips with weirdly focused look. Probably lost in thought, probably why Carlton snapped the photo.
"She's single," Carlton chimed up.
"I'm contagious," Springtrap shot down.
Ennard looked up from his tight stare at the picture of the Moon to look at Springtrap with a rather interested glint to his eye. Whatever wheels were turning in his head had a wrench thrown in by Baby, who had been listening to the ordeal and promptly shook her head at him. Maybe later, he decided, and he returned to looking through the pictures, as did Springtrap himself.
The only one who hadn't made any attempts to do so was Mike, who was still slowly eating while replaying the moments of last night through his head.
He stopped midbite when he thought about the smell in that elevator.
Then bit the rest of the way through, chewed, and swallowed. He couldn't shake the feeling that he already knew what happened at Freddy's, but they were just going to have to take this one step at a time.
Mable: This is the closest I've gotten to a Wednesday posting day in weeks and it was entirely unintentional. XD Regardless, I hope you enjoyed!