I Don't Own Fnaf
Marionette was quietly freaking out for most of the morning and doing his absolute best to not panic over the fact that his dumb emotions somehow skipped over to having a crush without his permission or somehow realization. Thankfully, as horrible as he felt about thinking about it like this, it was clear that Mike was lost too much in his own mind that he hadn't been able to notice anything up with the puppet, or at least hadn't been willing to question him more than if he was ok.
Thankfully, after a while, the two had to get up and before long Mike had left the house, early on, only grabbing a quick breakfast, to go out and get some rented out movies that the two could spend the day watching while existing on the couch. Something that had sounded like a good idea yesterday, and now he had no idea just how he was going to handle it, because now whenever he thought about being that close to Mike, on the small couch where the two had stayed whenever they watched anything, well, he could feel the gears in his chest tighten up with the thought.
So he spent the time when Mike was out of the house doing his best to keep himself calm and collected, trying to make some kind of plan to keep this as far away from Mike's knowledge as possible. He was not going to risk anything, especially today, by having Mike figure out something was wrong and push on the matter. The man had enough on his mind that he didn't need to deal with Marionette's feelings, feelings that obviously didn't even need to be thought too hard on, if it is what it was, then he could just ignore it. No reason to burden that on Mike for any reason at all, nope, none in the slightest. After all the talks they had, this was not going to be the thing that actually managed to wedge something between them after so long and more than one fight.
Right now he was actively pacing back and forth within his bedroom, trying to get control of his out of control emotions, it wasn't working all that well. He had no idea how he was supposed to just hide something like this! He couldn't just let what was happening keep going right? This morning had been... incredible, but Mike had no idea and it had to stay that way while Marionette worked on getting over these dumb feelings for his friend.
Because he had to get rid of them, or just do something, maybe he should start spending time actually sleeping in his room... When was the last time he willingly went to bed in here? Or slept in his box? It had been a while, a few weeks at least, maybe even a month or so, and the idea of returning to it made something in his chest feel like it was being crushed, the very idea of having to listen to that damn song from the music box to sleep again made something visceral in his chest burn hot with revulsion.
Maybe he could sleep normally then? Just, by himself? He hadn't really tried, hadn't been willing, allowing himself to actively indulge in thoughts and feelings he shouldn't have allowed to get this far. Yes, he could just sleep on his own, he was fully capable of it, he knew he was, he didn't need Mike to do that, the man was just another kind of crutch, just like his box, just one that was much nicer and comfortable and warm and... Oh, this was really bad wasn't it?
Right, well he could handle that, just had to keep his hands to himself, nothing that hard, he was the one who normally started any physical contact right? It used to be that way, but he wasn't sure if it was still now, they hugged a lot hadn't they... Maybe, maybe Mike... No, no that was stupid, Mike wasn't interested in people like that in general, what were the chances that he somehow had tastes for felt fabric and porcelain masks? No, that was just impossible, Mike was just kind, way too kind, kinder than he'd ever realized for himself, but it was nothing more than that. He didn't get it, he didn't understand and that was fine, because that meant Marionette just had to get himself sorted out and everything would be fine.
Besides, even if it could be possible, why would Mike settle for a puppet when he had so many other people in his life anyways? Mari was just a good friend, his best friend, but he couldn't give something like that to the man in any way at all. Not to mention they hardly knew each other that long anyways, only a few months really, half a year, that was nothing really, especially compared to others, who had known him for years and could go out with him and be able to do anything they could want in public, while he was just... him.
No! None of these thoughts were doing him any good at all, and he refused to dwell on any of them any longer. Mike needed him today, the man was clearly holding on and keeping a strong face when he left, this wasn't about Marionette. Mike was having a horrible day, the puppet should just focus on making sure the man was ok, and make sure they got through the day without issue, he could do that, just don't make things weird, that would be easy! The two spent every day for months together, nothing could be weird!
Right, this was... just fine. Turning around, Marionette took a long moment to compose his feelings once more as he stared around his room to try and help gather his bearings with his surroundings. His eyes locked onto the plushies that were now organized on the bed he hadn't ever really been able to get in sleep in.
"I'm screwed aren't I guys?" The toys didn't answer, they never did, but he really wished they could, he could really use some advice right now from some people who wouldn't be able to tell anyone else what he wanted to be able to talk about. Maybe he could talk to someone? Goldie was out of the question, that was so awkward that Marionette didn't even want to think about how that would go, Foxy was a bit too young to talk about something like this, Fritz? He... probably had experience, wasn't he with Janet now or was that just Mike's teasing the man? No, no, maybe not, maybe he should just bury all of this deep in his mind and never think about it again.
That sounded like a great idea... He was thinking about it again, didn't he just say he wasn't going to do that? Darn it.
His thoughts were interrupted at the sound of movement in the house, as Marionette's head shot over to look at his bedroom door, before taking a deep breath, or at least his equivalent to get his mind once more under control and moved over to the door to head back out to the living room. Mike was there, his eyes seemed downcast, a bag held in his hands, though when he spotted the puppet, he gave something close to a smile, it made Marionette's chest hurt, and not for the reasons he only just realized, no, it was seeing how suddenly listless the man was. It just hurt.
"Hey, ready to watch some crap horror movies? I found one on a haunted puppet that kills people. I thought that was funny" Mike couldn't be said to have a lot of energy, he was low key and often pretty soft spoken, with a fairly dry tone of voice. That wasn't what it was now, it wasn't that familiar tone that often held some kind of teasing or light hint of something to it that came from his constant jokes. It was just... devoid, words being said to be said, but the man himself not even caring to put the same effort in, even at least, pretending to be ok as he usually did on bad days.
Marionette suddenly had the serious understanding that he had vastly underestimated just how bad this day was going to be for Mike. The stark contrast to how the man was now and how he had been not even an hour ago when he had left shocked the puppet enough that he found himself speaking before he could stop himself.
"You look terrible" Mike didn't didn't hesitate.
"Yeah, well, I haven't felt like killing myself yet, so it's already better than last year..." He paused after a moment, a look of faint disgust pulling on his face before it faded back to apathy, as he gave an semi-apologetic look to the puppet, "Sorry, I didn't-"
"It's fine, I know you're joking" It was not fine, it was awful, Marionette already felt awful, wanting nothing more than to get close and just try to squeeze the sadness out of the man, but instead he found himself frozen. Sadly the man just looked away for a second before looking back, saying as he moved over towards the tv stand to mess with the dvd player.
"I wasn't"
"What?" Marionette had spoken before he could think of not saying anything else. Mike just shrugged.
"It was today, last year, when I... you know" He sort of gave a half wave with his left hand and Marionette had to force his mask back into his default expression to not let the look of horror show, clamping tight on his internal music box to not let out a distressed chord as Mike seemed to realize he had said way to much, as he grimaced, "Sorry, again, I'm not good at censoring myself on these real bad days. Here's hoping it makes me funny for the running commentary at least"
Marionette moved over quietly, to where Mike was now hunched over and putting in the first horror movie, and just leaned down and wrapped his arms around the man. His feelings didn't matter, Mike needed someone here and Marionette would do everything he could.
The man tensed for a moment before relaxing into the touch.
"I didn't mention it to get a hug, just... I don't want to do it, haven't even thought about it, figured you should know that" It was probably meant to be reassuring, it ended up heartbreaking.
"Were you alone back then?" Marionette wasn't sure he wanted to ask, but it was so uncommon that Mike opened up about these things, that he felt he should still ask. Mike just snorted at the question as he stood up, pulling himself away from the puppet who just wanted to hold on.
"Yep, just me and the tv in the hotel room I rented... Mari, I've been alone since I was fifteen, this is the first time anyone has been with me today that I wanted to be there in nearly a decade" Marionette had known Mike hadn't exactly... had the best life, the man made idle comments about it often enough to paint a not so pleasant picture, but even the puppet couldn't really imagine that.
As much as their circumstances were at times horribly similar, there was these moments as well, Marionette had always been confined, held back in the shadows for what he was, and while he did his best to try to never hold onto that, least he start to get resentful for the life he was now grateful to have. Mike on the other hand, had been free, been able to move and do whatever he wanted, but just... couldn't find anyone in that freedom.
Marionette hadn't often been alone, the only real stretch of time he could remember was his... containment, those horrible years locked away only half aware and unsure if anything would ever give him the chance to escape, but that was only for a portion of the time as his life as the puppet, the rest of it though? It might not have always been great, but he had seldom been alone, he had his friends, the toys and even the original four, with him, and all the others that had come and gone from the halls over time as the Purple man made a graveyard of something once special.
He couldn't truly imagine what it was like to be surrounded by people he could talk to freely, but still feel so alone and helpless that he'd contemplate... It sounded miserable.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Mike just shrugged as he dropped down on the couch, Marionette soon following him there.
"Not really, but you mentioned that you wanted to know more about me, and this day isn't going to be able to get any worse than it already is, so might as well talk about things now" Well, didn't that make Marionette feel even worse about blowing up at the man for what had ended up really being nothing.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's completely fine. I don't need to know, I know enough about you, about who you are" Mike huffed at that, not looking at all amused.
"You say that, but you have no idea the shit I've done Stripes, I am a pretty bad guy" Marionette knew he was being baited a bit, the man didn't want to talk about it, but thought Marionette himself wanted to know even if he was choosing to not press. And in a way the man was right, Marionette was curious, but not that curious. He wasn't like Mike, who required at least one hidden truth a day to be able to function properly. But this was something that the puppet could perhaps spin around to make the man feel better.
"Oh? You know, you say that a lot, but you know you're hardly the only one in this house who is guilty of things that are horrible. I've killed people to Mike, I've killed a lot in all honesty" That was something none of the animatronics liked to bring up about their past, but the amount of guards killed at Freddy's was a figure even Marionette himself couldn't hope to be able to accurately put a number on. Even if he hadn't personally killed them all, he knew he had ended more than one life in the pursuit of the Purple Guy, and at the very least was complicit in every adult death that happened at the locations he had been in.
"You said it yourself, you couldn't tell the difference between a normal security guard and Dave, that's... It's tragic, I don't like that it happened, but none of you were in full control of yourselves back then" Marionette looked ready to say something, and that was probably why Mike continued, "Spring Bonnie was around back then right? She took control of the others constantly, she was basically the leader of the murder fest, and who knows how much of an impact that can have on an animatronic over long periods of time. And we both know she didn't give a damn about who she had to kill or hurt to get to Purple Guy"
That... took the wind out of Marionette's sails and suddenly hit him with the realization that Mike was right, Spring Bonnie wasn't the first, but she was around for a long time, about as long as the Originals, before the toys, when Miller, the horrid man, he used Spring Bonnie on occasion to commit his horrid crimes, but he had stopped after Cassidy, leaving Cassidy to wait years before she got to have the ultimate form of revenge on the man, killed by the same suit that had helped kill her.
He had never thought about it, about what she would have been able to do to the others, Marionette spent so much of that time put to sleep, unable to do anything and almost always confined to the Prize Corner, almost like it was his own little prison before the real thing would come for him, but he knew about possessing the others, he knew what it was like to direct them and move them, and more than that, what it could probably do to them long term. Had... Had she ever done that to him?
She couldn't have, he was an expert in just about every form of possession that he knew about, he was the one who gave the gifts of life, anything else would just be ill-suiting for what role he had played in the tragedy of Freddy's. But the others... "You've put a lot of thought into that" Mike just hummed.
"I'm not blind Mari, I know Foxy has killed people with his bare hand and hook, I know you did as well, but I know for a fact that none of you always got to have control, and even if he did, he thought, you all thought, you were constantly being taunted and watched by that monster. It doesn't make it better, but it makes it understandable. I don't have that excuse"
"You never meant to hurt your brother," Mike just sighed.
"I'm not talking just about Goldie Mari, and even if I didn't mean to, I didn't have an excuse, at least not one that well, and even if I did... Everything I did after... I was in prison for a few years and when I got out I had nothing but a list of names of people I was told by people in jail I should hit up if I wanted to make cash. I had nothing else to do and nothing to care about. I'm a criminal, I've done a lot of bad things, I've stolen from and hurt a lot of people Mari, more than a few I knew perfectly well did nothing wrong, and frankly until not to long ago, I didn't care about it, it was just my life, as much as it sucked... Then again, I didn't really care about a lot of things either, I was just... numb to life"
Marionette wasn't sure just what he was supposed to do, what he was supposed to say, he knew the criminal jokes weren't really jokes, but hearing it in plain terms... Well... To be honest…
"I don't care" That got Mike to finally show something other than just exhaustion, as his head sort of half snapped at Marionette like he had said something insane, the puppet just continued, "I'm serious, I don't care. I don't really care about any of that if I'm being honest. Mike, I'm not some moral saint, I've killed people, I've done things I'm not proud of, having some arbitrary excuse to justify myself doesn't do anything to help me, just like you having some arbitrary reason to put your actions against you doesn't do anything but hurt you"
"But-"
"Mike, I care about you, I don't care about what you did, things happen, sometimes we just do what's in front of us because we either don't know any better or just can't think of anything else to do, but we aren't like that anymore. It's over, our past is gone, the things haunting us are done... Just, well, as long as we both agree to not do any more killing, I think we can live with that, right?" Mike looked sort of like a goldfish, his mouth sort of just opened up in a half look of shock, before he leaned back into the couch and just stared off in the distance for a long moment, his face screwing up with thought after another moment.
For a second Marionette was worried he had overstepped, that he was getting a bit too preachy and maybe he really should have just not said anything and let the conversation die instead of dragging it along when it really hadn't been necessary. This wasn't the day to try and act like he could fix the man in front of him, this was just to help him through one the anniversary of loss and pain he had felt for years now.
And instead he had made it an intervention about things that they had already addressed and had been slowly working on... Just great, he somehow went in the completely wrong direction of both what he had wanted to do and had wanted to avoid. And Mike was still just sitting there silently, staring off ahead of him, his face slowly shifting into more and more of a tense look.
Marionette was getting more and more concerned, but suddenly unable to find anything to say, unsure if he would say something more that would mess up the situation even more, when suddenly Mike said.
"I didn't get it" The puppet let out a surprised chime, before hesitantly asking.
"Get what?" Mike just shrugged, looking genuinely lost, but saying his thoughts all the same.
"This. I don't get it. I don't understand it, how I deserve this after everything, how I lived this long, how I had people in my life again that I could trust, you, my brother, everyone else... But I get it now, I think"
"And... what is that?" Mike let out a huff, his head lolling back on the couch as he just stared up at the ceiling with some surprise itching on his face.
"I had the answer, it's unfair. That's all it is, everything about this is unfair, life isn't fair and it just doesn't give a damn about who deserves something or not. I don't deserve this, I shouldn't be happy, ghosts shouldn't be real, I should be dead, Freddy's never should have existed, Purple Guy never should have happened. But it did, and I just have to deal with it. I've had to deal with all of it, and even if some of it wasn't fair, even if it doesn't make sense, it's what I have. It's... what I got"
Marionette was confused and very concerned as he gently asked, "And, um, what does that mean?" Mike simply shrugged.
"I have no idea, just... I need answers, I've always needed answers, I can't just let things stay as they are without this urge to dig deeper and deeper. I think I just... I think I wanted to know why this happened, why I got to meet you, why I got to see my brother again, why I got the chance to revive my family's legacy, any of it, but there is no answer, and I think all I'm been doing is waiting for one that's going to come that tells me I don't deserve it, and it all to be taken away from me, but it's not is it? It's over, everything is done. All that's left is to just stop waiting and live with what I've got... The past is the past right?"
It was rhetorical, but the puppet found himself answering all the same, "Yes, yes it is Mike... Are- are you doing better?" He wasn't sure if just thinking hard on it and deciding that life didn't care about him was the answer that was going to be a big help, but the man's tense shoulders had seemingly sagged with some kind of relief, so maybe... But no, the man just shook his head.
"No, not really, I still know what I've done, I still have to live with it, I still have to remember. But I think... I don't know what I think, but... Maybe this'll help" He didn't sound to sure, but he did sound hopeful, and that was more than anything Marionette had heard from the man, as he said after a faint moment, "To answer your question Mari, I'm happy, I'm really happy these days, more than I can ever remember being, and I think I'm going to try and stop wondering why I get to be happy and just... enjoy it"
"And for right now?" Mike's head finally lifted itself up to give the puppet a look, before a small exhausted smile pulled on his face, the barest flicker of familiar light in his dark blue eyes reappearing, as he spoke.
"Right now? I want to stop thinking and just watch this wanna be puppet horror show" Marionette gave the small a short glance before remembering that the man actually had said he got a horror movie with a puppet in it, and said back, slightly teasing, trying to keep with the slowly rising mood.
"If you wanted a spooky puppet I could have helped, no need to rent something like that when you have the real thing at home" Mike gave a soft huff as he reached over to the side table on his side of the couch and said as he half slouched into it, clearly trying to get comfortable, and said.
"Wouldn't work, you're too cute to be scared of" He had said it so casually that for a moment Marionette hadn't really recognized just what he had been told, but when he did he felt something tense up and explode in warmth in his chest as he spoke before he could hope to stop himself.
"You think I'm cute?" Mike didn't seem at all bothered, his eyes still locked on the tv as he navigated the movie menu as he said.
"Well, I certainly don't think you're scary Stripes, and judging by these pre-roll teasers, I have a feeling this isn't going to be all that scary either, just… weird" Marionette forced himself to look away from Mike, least the man see the flustered look the puppet was trying very hard to get off his face, and looked at the tv as well to look at what Mike was talking about. After a second he found himself mostly focused on it just out of shock.
"Is... Is that puppet-?" Mike's dry voice answered before he could even finish the question.
"Yep, I don't suppose you can do that?" Marionette had to just stop for a second in mild disturbance at the idea of... that, before shaking his head.
"I wouldn't even if I could, I couldn't imagine that, how unsanitary"
"That's the issue? I mean, I get it, but I feel like my concern would be the wires moving around inside my limbs"
"Well, yeah, you'd be the one being moved around, but that just doesn't feel right from my side"
"Not interested in being a puppeteer?" Marionette just hummed before shaking his head.
"Not really, I'm kind of too stuck in my current profession to move to the other side of the cross, not that I'd let anyone hold that over me either of course. It makes this puppet's actions justifiable" Mike actually let out a disbelieving laugh at that, it made Marionette feel warm to get the sound from the man in his current state as he said with a faint amusement.
"Oh? You don't like your strings tugged?" Before Marionette could answer, he felt an arm reach over, and a hand placed on his back shoulder. he felt himself tense for a second before finding himself inadvertently relaxing into the touch while inside he lamenting Mike's incredibly long arms and the small couch, before that too was shot out of his head along with any confusion at the action as he felt the feeling of fingers brush over his shoulder where his spools of metal string came out to attach him to his own cross.
"Mike..." He said it warningly, but still caught himself unlocking the coil in his back shoulder to the string to allow it to be lightly and gently pulled and unspooled from his body. It made a shudder go up his back at the feeling of it being pulled and manipulated from him without his input. It was... unsettling as it was causing tingles to force themself up his metal spine. Mike seemed to notice, as he said, a hint of interest.
"You alright?" Marionette found himself almost unwilling to answer.
"I'm fine, just... feels weird. The movie is starting" Mike just hummed, his fingers still lightly fiddling with the wire in his grasp, wrapping his pointer finger around cord and seemed half tempted to continue to loop it around his finger, probably to see just how long the puppet string actually was, Marionette wasn't sure he could handle that. So, with a frankly startling lack of foresight, he reached up and pulled the man's hand away from his shoulder, holding it in his own for a moment before moving it between them, holding it lightly in his own grasp to keep it from moving back to his shoulder.
Mike seemed almost to fidget for a moment, seemingly finding the puppet's reaction more interesting than the movie, before settling back down, deciding that he didn't have the energy to really try again, instead letting his hand be held in place. It was only after a few minutes, as the two finally turned to really focus on the movie, that Marionette realized he hadn't moved his hand either, as the two simply sat there, linked together.
They weren't really holding hands, more like Marionette's was lightly cradling Mike's left hand. But Marionette couldn't help but constantly be aware of that anyways, his eyes constantly flickering back to the two hands, then at Mike who was simply just watching the movie without seemingly minding in the slightest, he honestly didn't even really seem aware of it. Marionette knew he should move his hand away, knew he had to, his chest felt like it was going to start to overheat anyways, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He was so weak, it was kind of pathetic, but he couldn't stop as he found himself looking at the hand he was holding, it was the one that Mike had his scars on. In a way, it was Marionette who was holding Mike's strings now, holding onto something that was a symbol of something else, something that showed a lack of control at one time, and it made Marionette just want to hold onto the man even tighter, to make sure he wouldn't slip from his fingers. But he had enough control in himself to keep from doing such a thing, instead just keeping it as it was.
Maintaining the status quo, Marionette could handle that, he had to.
And if there was one thing that Marionette and all other animatronics had going for them, they were good at pretending.
The rest of the day blurred by in a wave of honestly interchangeable and forgettable B-movies, Mike wasn't always talkative during them, he had plenty to say about the puppet horror movie, but after that he went quiet nearly completely for the next two before blurting out random comments at seemingly random times throughout the next few. It was like his mood was on a roller coaster, but he never really did much beyond just stare at the tv screen and exist, even when he cracked wise, it was more dry than normal.
Marionette found himself being more active, speaking more regularly when Mike was usually the one that could hold the conversation for both of them during these kinds of movie marathons, but he didn't find himself minding. In fact it filled him with a certain level of pride when he would point something out or make a joke that got a response from Mike, even if at times the man seemed to just be out of it, staring blankly ahead, that told the puppet the man was at the very least still there with him, listening to what he said.
It was... nice, if not always comfortable and not a bit worrying, but it worked and it seemed Mike had needed it, as by the time that Jeremy had come around, looking to borrow Mike's car to pick up Foxy to bring him back to the dinner, something the owner of the car in question winced every time they did that given he was sure his suspension would give out at some point, Mike seemed to be in a better shape.
Not perfect, but better, and that was probably about as good as they could manage for today.
So as Mike moved to get dinner started while Jeremy had just left, Marionette found himself content with the day, it hadn't been great, and he seriously needed to get himself under control, but it would be fine. Everything would be fine, as long as no one figured anything out then he was sure he could keep this to himself and eventually it would go away, and if it didn't... Well, that was fine too, Marionette could handle it, as long as it never became something that came between Mike and him, then it was nothing to really think about. And of course no one could know anyways so... it would... be fine...
Oh... Oh no.
Marionette somehow forgot about Jeremy, the same Jeremy who was just here, the same Jeremy he had been around for months now, the same Jeremy who was an empath who could sense the emotions of people and animatronics around him without any way of turning it off. The same Jeremy... who... oh no.
"Not to be too ironic here, but you look like you just saw a ghost" Marionette let out a surprised chime at the sound of Mike's voice as he spun around to see the man, his sleeves rolled up to not get messy while cooking, looking at Marionette with a faint concerned look, "Think that other puppet heard you and is coming for revenge?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing! Just, uh, realized something" Mike raised an eyebrow, while Marionette, while even panicking still, couldn't help but look at the man's arms. Mike refused to wear anything that wasn't long sleeved, and even then he never rolled them up before now. Marionette was pretty sure he was staring.
"Again? You said the same thing this morning, anything interesting?" Shoot, Marionette had hoped Mike would have forgotten about that, or at least not remember it at all if he was lucky, but apparently not. Scrambling for something to say, Marionette unfortunately said the first thing that came to his mind, which was even more unfortunately about Mike remembering that.
"Just thinking about this morning, uh, we were pretty close" Marionette wondered if it was too late to go back to that storage container and never leave, somehow that felt like a nice alternative to the reality he just made for himself. The man tilted his head, before shrugging.
"We fell asleep like that, what kind of realization came from it? Was it uncomfortable?" Marionette had no idea just how to answer that, so instead he just asked the question back.
"Uh, well, I mean, were you uncomfortable?" Marionette really understood just how much his feelings were affecting his judgment, or maybe it was just Mike who over-thought such simple things but accepted others without a second thought, when the man answered without a hint of hesitation.
"Nope" Marionette wished he could have that same level of blase casualness.
"Uh, well, I wasn't either"
"Alright, then what did you realize?" Marionette just waved the man off, certain that whatever he said wouldn't come out the way that he wanted it to, instead focusing on just getting out of the situation.
"It's nothing important, just something I had been thinking about for a while now" Thinking about it for about as long as he realized it at least, so about... ten hours. The man didn't push, probably being able to tell that the puppet was deflecting for a reason, as he just moved back to the kitchen. Marionette took his freak out and pushed it down tightly, realizing that Jeremy would be back soon to drop off Mike's car and take his own back to his apartment. Marionette needed to find a moment to speak with the man, but how?
Mike would notice if he just vanished randomly, he could be excused for a few minutes, but he hadn't really spent much time in his room in recent weeks, there hadn't been much reason beyond looking over and adding to his collection, and Mike would tell it was out of character for him to do something like that now of all times... Shoot, this was more complicated than he thought. Maybe it could wait until tomorrow where he could speak to the man at the pizzeria?
No, nope, he couldn't have that, Marionette wouldn't be able to sleep at all if he didn't get answers on if the man knew anything, and that would make the whole thing tomorrow a lot worse to handle, and there could be plenty of people around who could overhear them, it wasn't safe.
It had to be tonight, with that in mind, and the sound of pot ware moving from the kitchen, inspiration struck, as Marionette found himself calling out.
"Do you think you should invite Jeremy over for dinner?" The sound paused, as once more Mike leaned his head out of the kitchen doorway to ask.
"Where did that come from?" Marionette just shrugged, but felt the idea of it gave him more energy than he wanted, his words coming out a bit too quickly.
"Oh, no reason, just figured it might be nice if he joined us, and you always make extra anyways" Mike seemed to consider that for a moment, he didn't look overly interested, so Marionette quickly added on, "It would be nice to do for him given he's the one picking up Foxy" That seemed to help tip the scales as Mike found himself nodding.
"Yeah, that's true... Well, I hope he likes chicken, and that there's enough" Relieved, Marionette found it easier to tease the man back.
"You make enough for at least an extra you, Jeremy's half your size, he'll be leaving with leftovers if anything"
"Oh, so you're inviting him over, and planning on sending him away with extras, trying to incite him to come back are you? I'm not that good a cook you know" Mike's words for about half a second took a strange tint to them, but it faded before Marionette could hope to figure out if it meant anything or not. Instead just saying back.
"From what I can tell, you're more than good enough. And I guess I wouldn't mind the extra company" Mike hummed, his face twitching for a moment as he turned back into the kitchen, calling over his shoulder.
"I didn't know you to were all that close" Marionette himself wouldn't quite say that, but this was the first conversation they really had since they stopped watching the movies, and those conversations had mostly just been occasionally tossing a joke back and forth every few minutes, so he kept on talking on the topic anyways, unsure of what else to talk about instead as he followed the man into the kitchen.
"I guess, we haven't really talked much, but he's kind of the same as me and the others in a way. Just he never got to the point of possessing a suit" Wondering briefly as he spoke, Marionette wondered if he should make something for dessert, it would help Mike, the man had said he appreciated the sweets when he was feeling down. With that in mind Marionette moved over and began to look through the cookware to find his cupcake tin, those were quick enough that they could be done and cooled for frosting by the time Mike and Jeremy were done eating.
"You... You know, you never really explained the give gifts thing, we got distracted" Marionette paused, the words sounded casual, but there was a distance to them, but that had been happening the entire day, it was nothing new. So he simply explained.
"It's one of my abilities, my gifts... They aren't really a fun conversation, but you are right, we've been moving around it for a while now" Marionette wasn't a major fan of his gifts, he never regretted a single one, not even when some made things harder for the living animatronics. They were lives spared and given new purpose, perhaps not one he wished for them for a time, but one all the same, one he had found solace in and hoped the same for the others. But each gift willingly given had only had to because of the thing that had been forcefully taken, there was nothing joyous about those gifts unlike all the others he loved to give, so he avoided it, admittedly, but Mike had been kind enough to let him. He quietly hoped it would be the same this time as well.
"I like to think I can handle it... How about this, we talk about it tomorrow instead of keep saying we should talk about it for the next few weeks like we've been doing" Marionette thought about it for a moment, the idea of having a set date on it, one so soon, didn't make him feel great, but Mike had been incredibly patient about it, at least by Mike's standards of patience, the man always seemed to be like that with the puppet and Marionette couldn't find it in him to disagree.
"Alright" Before the two could talk more about it or let the conversation die, the doorbell rang as the two's eyes looked over in the direction of the sound as Mike moved over, quickly checking the oven, before moving away.
"I'll go let Jeremy in" Marionette wasn't sure why, but he was almost certain he heard a hint of bitterness in Mike's tone, as he moved around, pulling his sleeves down to cover his arms once more.
Fun chapter, real depressing. Being pure Mari POV was a decision I wasn't sure how I'd feel about, but I like it a lot with how it turned out.
Marionette having gay panic was fun to write, and Mike has his own moment of realizing something important, life doesn't give a shit about him and what he does, there is no scales or book he's trying to balance, he just is. He's not cured or anything, he's still depressed, he said it himself, he's not better, just hopeful which is all a person really needs some times. Beyond that, Mike's admitted it! I don't know if I wrote it before or not, I've written a lot of stuff at this point, but Mike's never really admitted properly to being just happy, or at least being happy and being able to genuinely enjoy it, at least not for faint moments at a time. This was a big step for him, as little as it might have seemed with how it didn't seem to have an instant impact. That's Mike's problem, he refused to leave the past, the good and bad of it, and as such he got trapped in it, and the unique perspective of the puppet was able to help him realize he didn't need to do that anymore.
Beyond that, real talk folks, how we feeling about Mike and Mari? I am fully expecting hate, I write these end notes weirdly, some of these were written the second after I finish the chapters themselves, and others I don't write until the day I'm about to post them, these notes and the last ones are in the former category, meaning for me it's going to be a long time until I get a response on how people are feeling about this decision that has clearly been leading up to for thousands and thousands of words at this point and has already been called out a few times already. So if anyone missed it and are annoyed by this 'surprise reveal' then just... learn how to read subtext... or actual text, cause I was not being that subtle with these two.
And yeah, I'm sure I'm going to get some hate, I don't really give a shit if that's the case, and here's a fair warning, I don't give a shit about what anyone says, I always appreciate positive reviews and comments, they make my day to read sometimes, but I have been around this space to long to think twice about getting hate for something stupid, so if you're thinking about just posting about how I ruined the story with this decision or something, just don't. I didn't. To ruin this story I would have to do something that I would later regret so much that I stopped writing it all together.
Because this isn't something for you to read, this is something for me to write, this is my hobby that I'm sharing, your negative opinions on it don't matter as long as I can still find myself enjoying exploring these ideas and being able to write them in a way that I find fun, then I'll keep writing. Anyways, that's all I got to say on that matter, just as a preemptive note about it, but maybe I'll be wrong and it'll go over well? Who knows, I might change these notes later, but for right now, See ya.