I Don't Own Fnaf
Mike frowned as he looked over the footage, Mari was beside him, watching as well, the other two human men in the Cove had already left for the night, Mike having not told him just what it was he was looking for. Figuring if there was someone after him, he'd like to keep them out of the way if he could, Mari hadn't liked that, but hadn't brought up the point himself, so Mike figured they were on the same page. Foxy was already resting for the evening, so it was just them.
"Are you seeing this Mari?" The puppet let out a low chime, as the two watched, once more, as Gasper walked up, late at night, placing the card on the front door of Pirate's Cove, held on with tape, and just as he was walking away, the camera on the outside flickered and distorted heavily, just for a second, before the card was just... gone. There one minute and gone the next.
"The timestamps show no time is missing, it just vanished, but that's not the only thing... I should have looked at these sooner" The fact was there were a number of these glitches where the cameras would just sputter out at seemingly random intervals, nothing ever seemed to move about or vanish, but the static was still there.
"You had no reason to... It's weird though, think someone is missing with them? This isn't the same distortion that normally appears on cameras" Mike paused before glancing over at Marionette.
"What?" The puppet just nodded.
"When I don't want to be recorded or viewed, then I can make cameras have large blots of white of where I should be, basically disabling them from seeing them or anything on them, these just are flickers, more ill timed camera glitches than anything else. You should probably ask Fritz to look at it" Mike heard Mari's words, but it still took him a moment to really recognize what he was saying, and instead of acknowledging what idea he just gave, Mike found himself instead asking something else.
"Are there any other abilities you have that I should know about?" It was said mostly as a joke, but then the memories of one of his less than stellar talks with Goldie came back to mind. The puppet though seemed to have no trouble answering.
"Probably, I developed a few, I was the first you know? At least, to my knowledge now, I've been around long enough to figure out a trick or to"
"Gifts included?" The puppet paused for a moment, half considering, and Mike got ready for a deflection, before-
"Did I ever explain what gifts were?" Mike felt himself tense before saying back.
"No, never came up, been wondering about it though"
"I'll explain later then" Huh... Mike thought it would be a lot harder to find that answer, and now he kind of just felt like an idiot and a jerk at the same time for thinking the puppet might have been hiding something from him, Mari just... hadn't thought about it to mention it in detail.
He really did have a habit of blowing things out of proportions didn't he?
"Anyways, we aren't going to get any answers from this, but you're right, I'll ask Fritz to take a look at it tomorrow I guess, because glitching cameras does a good security system not make... What's going on with this place, every other week it seems like something is on the fritz for Fritz to fritz about" Mari gave a decidedly unimpressed look at Mike for that but his point still stood.
"Well, whatever it is, you deserve it for saying that" Mike just huffed.
"Oh quiet, how don't I know it's not you and Foxy?"
"We aren't that kind of haunted, even then acting like we were possessing the building wouldn't appear like this. It's probably just because the place and the cameras are old" Mike nodded.
"Yeah, I talked to Goldie about that before, but this place works well enough so I'm not going to complain until it comes down on our heads"
"Oh, great, well I'll do my best to be in my box when that happens, I'd rather my second death not be one I have to watch happen in real time because of bad construction decisions" Mike rolled his eyes at the dramatic tone the puppet took, before saying back easily.
"Oh don't be dramatic, the good old original's from Freddy's don't break down that easily, you'd be fine"
"...Are you calling me old or the building sturdy?" Mike leaned back to give the puppet a smirk.
"I don't know, how old are you exactly?" The puppet just crossed his arms, looking unimpressed, before finally tilting his head like he was considering something.
"Somewhere between nineteen and twenty I think, I don't remember the date, but I know I was turning eleven the day I was killed and it's been somewhere between eight and nine or so years since" Mike... expected to feel something at the mention of the death, but maybe he was just getting used to the concept of it now, of a life after life not being the worst possible thing or something like that, if so then it was about time. Instead he just leaned back and hummed.
"You're about as young as I thought you were then... Weird"
"And what's that supposed to mean? I'm still an adult, you're hardly not that much older you know" Mike held up a hand of peace, before saying simply.
"I know, I wasn't calling you a kid or anything, the age difference between us isn't even as big as the one between me and Fritz. Just... I don't know, maybe because it feels like I've known you longer than I actually have. Eh, it doesn't matter... Thinking of actually, Goldie's birthday is coming up soon. He's turning eighteen" It would be within a worryingly few weeks actually, the day was something Mike normally dreaded with an extreme amount of distractions, but now...
"Will you be ok with it?" Mike just shrugged at the sudden fidgety concern Mari had over the idea. It was understandable, that day held a lot of very bad memories for Mike. But he has handled those bad memories for going on eighteen years now, he could handle another day of it.
"I'll be… I'll live, but I'll talk to him about it, just to see if he has any thoughts. We probably shouldn't avoid it" Mike felt a hand rest on his shoulder, he thought for a moment about just how used he was now to the inhuman shaped three finger hand that it was more relaxing than a normal person's hand would have been.
"It'll be fine. We should head home, I doubt we'll get anything else out of looking at the same recording again and again" Mike just stared back at the screen for another long moment before deciding Marionette was right, this would get him nowhere just staring at it and wondering. It was weird, really weird, but frankly put, weird was his normal now and had been for a while, so he powered down the computer and just nodded.
"Right, I could really use the sleep" That if anything just seemed to perk the animatronic up again.
"Oh! Right! I bet I can sleep normally tonight!"
"Hopefully, you just have to be relaxed and calm and, I don't know, think sleepy thoughts"
"Oh, yes, that'll be a great help"
"Hey, don't knock my tips, I'm three for three on being able to put you to sleep normally and I've been winding your box for months now, I think I know a thing or two about what I'm talking about" The puppet didn't have anything to say to that, it was true after all, so instead he just huffed and vanished back to the house, while Mike just smirked, looking more amused than anything, before getting up himself, ready to say bye to Foxy and catch up to Mari.
Said fox was on his stage, the curtains were drawn close, so Mike just hopped up and moved over before calling out.
"Hey Foxy? You still awake?" The curtain was drawn back soon enough by a familiar hook, as Foxy peered out of the curtain at Mike for a moment before drawing it back more to let him in. Mike just followed.
"Ahoy there Mike, looking to talk before yah' sail back to shore?"
"Something like that Captain, just figured I'd check in, seeing how you were doing about what we were talking about" Foxy seemed to tense for a moment before waving off his concern.
"Eh, the lad's at peace, that's enough fer me lad. Tha fact that that scallywag was able to' do more than wha' we knew be messin' with' me a bit but I can handle it. He be dead now and serving his pence with good ol' Davy Jones, even if that be still a mercy he don't deserve" Mike just shrugged.
"At least he's out of the picture, still, just making sure, I know Mari's more upset than he's acting. So I just wanted to make sure that you were good as well, sorry I haven't really had time to talk with you for a bit" Foxy just waved him off.
"Nah, it be fine, I've been busy comin' up with more routines as 'tis. I can't remember a time when so many wee ones lined up to see ol' Foxy, it's... It's been real good" Mike gave a nod, giving the animatronic a smile before saying.
"Yeah, it's been really good hasn't it? And you know, you can't say much about them being that young, you're still a kid yourself you know" Maybe it was just because it was already on Mike's mind with the talk with Mari about the puppet's age and Goldie's approaching birthday. Foxy just let out a huff.
"A classic is timeless!"
"You're sixteen"
"A sixteen year ole classic! Shant yeh nah be bringin' that up? I don't reckon the sprog labor laws would look nicely on ye're main star bein' a kiddy" Mike just shrugged.
"Oh yeah, no, that only works in Hollywood. And there they only work the kids to death, not here where you were dead before you started working, so I figure we're in the clear" That got a proper guffawing laugh out of the fox, before he simply shook his head.
"Nay, I've been in tha performin' game fer half me life, ye could say it be me death right" Ok, yeah, that got a morbid snicker out of Mike, before he chose to glance around the stage, his eyes catching on a few more drawing of the fox, clearly done by some kids. Mike just felt the smile on his face stay, Foxy and Marionette both loved and adored every single piece of art the children that came in gave them. Marionette had a section of his corner as well just for the art and pictures. A few of Mike's own works had a habit of migrating to said prize corner as well without his noticing, but still.
"A few of those look new" Foxy's uncovered eye moved to follow Mike's gaze before he let out a soft delighted hum, moving quickly over, pointing and tapping on the different pages, happily chatting away and explaining what was happening in each and what each child that gave him one was like. Mike just watched and listened, occasionally asking questions of letting Foxy go on for a bit, but mostly just... appreciating the moment.
This is what that bounce palace missed, this is what Mike and the others had that would keep them going, that raw joy, the life of this place ironically helped given by the once dead.
The next day had an aggravated puppet and a nostalgic and pained Mike. The first part had come from the fact that Mari had once more been unable to get any sleep the night before, having spent the whole night getting more and more annoyed before eventually getting up and moving around in the early morning. while for Mike, he had just finished digging through one of the hallway closet, and from it pulled out the thing he was looking for.
Moving it into the kitchen table, he set it down, which instantly perked the puppet up, as he floated over to look it over.
"A photo album?" Mike just let out a hum before saying.
"Yep, family album actually. Just a bunch of pictures of my family. Goldie asked about our mom and sister, so I figured I could show him this, might help jog his memories. Apparently being around things from his past helps bring things to the surface. Most of his memories were about me, though... eh, I don't really know, it's a whole thing, apparently he tried to not remember them for a while and they broke through in a bad, or at least, confusing order. I don't really understand it" Marionette let out a faint chime at that, seemingly half listening, but more interested in the book.
"I-... I see, uh, I didn't know you had a sister" Mike felt his smile tense for a second, before saying back casually.
"Oh, yeah, she was a year older than Goldie, she... she went missing back in '85 apparently, a formal death certificate was issued three years later once my dad was confirmed dead around that time" Marionette glanced over and up from the album, staring at Mike for a long moment before asking quietly.
"Do... Do you think Miller could have...?" Mike's hands tensed harshly on the countertop, but eventually said.
"I can only hope not, I... It doesn't really matter now, just... Here, this is her, Elizabeth Afton" Mike had reached out, grabbing the book and flipping it open to a page before spinning it around to show the puppet. Marionette took it as the distraction it was supposed to be, and willingly let the topic drop, instead looking down before letting out a delightful chime.
"She's adorable, so were you!" On the page was a picture, on the two, both clearly children, Elizabeth probably only four or five, while Mike looked around ten. Mike just huffed, leaning over to look at the page before saying.
"No way, I look like I want to jump out of a window" Sure enough, while the little girl was beaming with a wide smile, Mike on the other hand, even as a kid, had a surly look on his face, it being clear just from his body language he was trying his best to not cross his arms like he wanted to. Marionette just let out a chime.
"It's nice to know you haven't changed that much, you just got tall" Mike rolled his eyes, but he smiled a bit all the same, staring down at the picture, before saying lightly.
"Yeah, I guess, I sprouted up like a weed, I went through like three growth spurts, one was just a bit after this picture, I was the tallest elementary schooler by a country mile" Marionette let out a laughing chime at the image that was in his mind, which was honestly just the idea of Mike, as he was now, dressed like a rough and tough middle schooler, backpack and everything, walking down the hall, a solid foot and a half taller than all the kids around him, Mike just smirked before saying, "What? Don't believe me? Here, look"
He flipped a few more pages, showing off a family picture, and sure enough, while his father towered over everyone, just like Marionette had been told about the man, though the puppet was startled by just how right Mike had been about how much the two looked alike, kid Mike maybe not so much, with the clear chubbiness to his cheeks, but mid-twenties Mike? The one standing next to him? They weren't identical, but the resemblance was quite clear, the main difference being Mike's hair was a fair bit longer and much more messy and unstyled like this William's hair was, but if someone took two pictures of the two men at the same age… Mari wouldn't be surprised if someone mistook them at least for brothers.
While for said kid-Mike himself it was hard to tell how big he was, given just how tall his father was, but he was pretty big for his age. Then there was Elizabeth, clinging onto her father's side, having to be lifted up to even be in frame with the massive form that was William in the same picture, while in Mike's own arms...
"Is that Goldie?" Mike didn't seem to hear the puppet for a moment, seemingly transfixed on the picture in front of him before snapping out of it to say.
"Oh, yeah, he was three here, he was always kind of small when he was younger, took that after our mom, he sprouted up a bit later, but I was the one expected to be as freakishly as tall as Dad was"
"It's weird to see him like this now, here, let me!" Marionette moved, reaching over and quickly began to flip through the pages, the pages had a lot less pictures than the first half, but there were still plenty to be found, most though were clearly on more special occasions than just randomly taken pictures like they had been before. Still, Marionette watched with interest as almost in a time lapse, he watched as Mike jumped and grew and grew over the next few years, as Goldie aged himself, getting bigger and bigger, same with Elizabeth.
Then... Then it just ended, the last picture being one of Goldie clutching an old fredbear plushie, looking away a faint look on his face, Mike staring off to the side, wearing a muscle shirt showing off his arms while glaring off to the side a familiar mask knocked to the side of his head, while Elizabeth was still smiling, but it was clearly more strained than it had been so much earlier... Marionette just stared at that last photo for a moment, before his eyes moved away, closing the book before pushing it back to Mike.
"I'm sure Goldie will appreciate it" Mike just nodded, picking it up and looking it over before pausing for a second.
'"Maybe I should bring another one, it's... somewhere, it has pictures of some family friends, I... I haven't seen them either in a long time" Maybe it was the wistful tone in Mike's voice or just the puppet still curious about his friend's childhood, but he felt something in himself feel the need to ask.
"Oh? Who?" Mike shrugged.
"Mostly just the Emily family. Henry and his kids really, I didn't really get to know his wife all that well, they were twins, about a year older than Elizabeth was. We, uh, fell out of contact for obvious reasons. Haven't heard anything from any of them since" There was a faint grief there that told Marionette there was something else there, as he lightly poked at it, unsure if he should, but feeling the need still to ask anyways.
"Do you know what happened to them?" Mike shrugged, trying to act casual but Marionette could easily see through it.
"His son vanished after I left, and Henry ran off with his daughter a few years later after his attempt at his own location failed... Thinking about it, you two were probably around each other pretty often at that location though I doubt you'd have recognized him. I tried to reach out, but I have no idea where to even start... Knowing what I do now though... If when I'm dead, if I'm heading down stairs, then me and Dave are going to spend a long eternity together" Marionette felt something stir in his chest, but he quickly pushed it away as just from the sheer hatred that slipped through Mike's naturally dry and bordering on monotone sounding voice.
"I'm sorry" Mike just waved him off.
"It's fine, well... Not really, but I've had time to adjust to those losses for a while now, I'll look for it later, in the meantime, I believe we should start getting ready for the day" Marionette let the topic change, instead just watching Mike move around with concern, slowly moving a bit closer and simply watched him get himself something quick for breakfast ready. The thought stayed with him... for about as long as it took to fall back into some other conversation with Mike.
The next few days passed without much incident, Fritz had a small moment about the cameras being wonky, but beyond that it went by easily enough. Mike dropped off the album to Goldie and the two spent nearly a full day just going back and forth over what it was in, talking about memories only one of them remembered, but by the end of it, both wished they could have talked more. While on the other side of things, Marionette wasn't having too great of a time.
He wouldn't say he was getting snappy but he knew he was being a bit more miffed than usual. He knew he didn't need the damn music box anymore, he knew he could sleep, it was just he couldn't seem to get in the right headspace to do so, and past that, he refused more than anything to use the box again until he figured out how to sleep like a normal haunted robot!
...Ok, maybe the lack of sleep was getting to the puppet, but that's besides the point, he was determined to be able to get to sleep tonight, even as he knew this was probably going to be a bit awkward, he refused to back down no matter what! With that, he steeled his nerves, glanced over at Mike, who he was currently sharing the couch with, as the man ate his dinner while staring ahead, somehow enraptured in the episode in front of him of some werewolf soap opera, because the vampire one hadn't been cliché and dramatic enough.
This was the best time to strike, so with a brief moment to gather his courage for one last push, Marionette said out loud in a single burst of sound-
"I think we should sleep together!" That... was a bit louder than he meant it to be. Mike jumped a bit at the sudden sound, his eyes flickering over to the now slightly mortified puppet before they quickly returned back to focus on the screen in front of him.
"Yeah sure" Marionette had been ready to say something to defend his point, or... really do anything but have it just... go over like that. As he let out a startled chime before saying.
"Wait... Yeah?" Mike seemed to continue to take it way more casually than Marionette thought possible, still staring at the tv without much care.
"Yeah, I figured you'd bring it up sooner or later, I know how much this sleep thing has been bothering you, and if you can sleep easier with me in the same room, then I don't have a problem with it" Oh... Huh... Marionette apparently had been thinking about this a lot more than it really needed to be, of course that's when Mike finally turned back from the tv and said with a smirk, "You probably could have phrased it better though"
Admittedly it took Marionette a long second to realize what Mike meant... but when he did, he shot Mike a decidedly unimpressed look, "Really?" Mike just shrugged, looking completely unbothered.
"I didn't say anything" Marionette just huffed, crossing his arms to act like he was pouting, while instead he silently just enjoyed the comfort of knowing tonight should work out fine, as he went back to watching the tv show in front of him. Corny or not, the puppet could admit it was still pretty entertaining.
Before long though, it was time to go to bed, and Marionette admitted to himself, he felt strangely disappointed when Mike moved to the puppet's room to grab his box... Only for the man to pause, staring at the gift box from the doorway, before absently, seemingly without thinking about it, resting a hand on his side, which Marionette was sure was still bruised up from his encounter with Browboy. Before suddenly asking.
"You mind sharing the bed?" Marionette tilted his head before saying.
"I think the one in there is a bit small for either one of us, much less together" Mike shook his head, closing the door to his old and Marionette's current room, instead saying.
"Not talking about that one, if the one upstairs is more than big enough for me, then it's easily big enough for the two of us" Marionette answered before he really thought about it.
"Sure" Which was how Marionette found himself staring at the queen sized mattress as Mike drifted into the bathroom connected to the master bedroom to change into something more comfortable for sleeping.
Was it weird to be nervous? Probably, Marionette had been in this room plenty of times before, had helped clean it out and move Mike's own things in, but it had been a while. So he just chose to look around, most of the walls were bare, save for a few old posters that Mike had put back up of some bands that Marionette recognized as the ones Mike occasionally played in the car in and out of work, and most recently on their long drive up and down the state.
Apparently the man's tastes haven't changed much since he was a teenager. Though... There was the Foxy mask which was also hanging off the wall.
Marionette always found the mask kind of particular, he at first figured it was just because of how many states he's seen more than one foxy model that caused him the sensation, then he figured it was just something unrelated, finding it a weird piece of merch he couldn't quite remember. He had since tuned it out and simply just equated it to a Mike thing, the mask had made a number of appearances in the photo's Marionette had been shown, so it was another thing that hadn't changed much about the man.
Thinking about it... Seeing young Mike and the foxy mas-
"Right, ready for an awkward night of mutually staring at the ceiling wondering if the other or you're supposed to say something?" Marionette let out a faintly surprised chime, spinning around to see Mike, now in sweatpants and a loose grey t-shirt, who was already moving over to the side of the bed. The puppet managed to say make once he recovered from whatever strange thought had almost occurred to him, while his eyes focused on the man's bare arms, Mike didn't wear short sleeves often, or ever really. It mostly just told Marionette that they needed to do the laundry soon.
"Is that a regular occurrence with you?" Mike huffed, though there was a clear level of sluggishness to his movement and the faint delay in his reply that showed he was more tired than he was acting as he slid into the bed.
"Awkward silence? Never, I prefer awkward conversation, that way it at least feels like I'm actively participating in the hole that I'm digging for myself" That got a chime from the puppet as he slowly moved around before suddenly quickly moving under the covers as well. The bed was big, made for two full sized adults, as in, it could probably be fine with two Mikes, Marionette... wasn't nearly as large as Mike was, he wasn't even as tall, being a small number of inches shorter, and certainly much thinner.
So he kept himself somewhat near the edge, and... Yeah, Mike was right, he was just staring up at the ceiling with mild awkwardness building up in his chest, the fact that Mike had no problem at all, having already fallen asleep by the time Mari had built up the thought of talking. So now he was just... there. Staring up at the ceiling. Wondering when he was going to go to sleep.
Yeah, this was just the same situation as before, just now he was sharing the bed with someone else.
Absently rolling around after a while, Marionette just found himself on his side, staring at Mike, who was sleeping on his own side, having already rolled onto it in his sleep, so they were now facing each other. Marionette found himself just... watching the man. It was strange, Mike always looked fairly calm, even when he was freaking out, he somehow managed to keep himself composed for the most part, it was something the puppet admired, but it was... different seeing that almost bored level of constant stoicness compared to the genuinely relaxed and peaceful look on the man's face he had now in his sleep.
Marionette found himself moving slowly but surely closer, just... studying the man's face, noticing things he hadn't really ever paid much attention to, the faint stress lines that made him look just a bit older than he really was, a faint almost unnoticeable scar along one of his brows. The faint laxness to his normally set and lightly defined jaw, things like that, just... small things that Marionette couldn't help but feel interested in looking more and more closely at.
He didn't know how long he spent simply resting there, nor did he notice when he slipped into sleep.
Mari was being clingy again, that was one of the first things Mike noticed, it had been a bit less noticeable before, but now the puppet wasn't even trying to hide it, hovering around and constantly by Mike's side no matter what he was doing. He didn't really mind, but it was no doubt something that had been triggered from what had happened at the BB ripoff. he tried a few times to mention he was fine, so either the puppet just didn't realize what he was doing, or just didn't believe him.
Either way, it was beginning to get to him. Mike didn't do well with concern normally, and he honestly thought he was getting better about that, but what he couldn't handle was someone treating him like he couldn't handle himself to keep himself safe when using the oven of all things. Hence what he was doing now, it was a bit mean, he could admit it, but he needed a small break and this was something he had been looking to do at some point anyways.
"I'm off" Mike had been ready to slip out from the kitchen into the garage, but the puppet managed to catch him on the way out anyways. Asking with clear curiosity lacing his tone.
"Where are you going?"
"I'm going to some bar with Jeremy and Fritz. Janet might be there if Fritz invited her out, but I know those two will be there. Figured it would be nice to hang out outside of work hours without something work related being involved. It was Jeremy's idea" It actually was, though Mike had been thinking about it for a while without ever really knowing just how to bring it up. Needless to say, Mike wasn't really great at knowing how to socialize like a normal person without something work related being involved.
Mari seemed to pause at that, tilting his head to the side before saying casually enough.
"Oh, I didn't know you were planning anything, well have fun then, try to not have too many drinks" Marionette definitely said that because it was said on the tv. Mike just smiled back before saying.
"I don't drink so I'm there mostly to be the designated driver, and it was a bit sudden, mostly just forgot with everything else going on" It... wasn't his best lie, honestly while work was still running the entire crew into the ground, they frankly had found their groove and nothing so far had put a bump into it, if anything this was one of the more easy and less stressful weeks the pizzeria has had in a while. Still, the puppet didn't question him, just nodded before waving him off as he headed out the door...
Ok, maybe he was overreacting a bit, but... He didn't really have any excuse he could think of for himself, so instead he just got into the car and headed off to the bar Mike had been told about. He really was looking forward to this, to say Mike didn't go out much would be a bit of an understatement. For the most part it was just because he had no interest in having any kind of social life, he's had a social life before with a very bad crowd and it wasn't something he was looking to repeat in any real way, it had been exhausting then, and he had a feeling it would be exhausting if he tried now.
But Fritz and Jeremy were good friends and he already got along well with Janet, though it was clear she and Fritz seemed much more interested in each other than she and him were, much to her mother's disappointment. But Mike figured if Fritz and the woman ever got to meet, then that tune would change pretty quickly... Or maybe not, Fritz was a bit older, not that much but some people had things about that given Janet from what Mike remembered was about a year younger than himself...
Anyways, the point was, his social life was pathetic enough he was spending the drive over to the bar thinking about the relationship status between three of his only human friends. That summed up the situation well enough, though he was mostly thinking about it to try and figure out if it was too early to tease and make jokes about it or not, the two hadn't known each other that long after all, but it seemed like it was heading in that direction. Then again, Janet had to show up first... Eh, he was also probably over thinking this as well.
Choosing to just stop thinking about it entirely, Mike pulled up to the bar. It was in the evening already, so there were a couple cars parked out in the parking lot. Mike got one that was close enough that he wouldn't have to walk too far, before heading in.
The place wasn't that big, and had more than a few corners in it, so instead of finding any of the people he was looking for, it was more accurate to say they found him. Perk of being big is people could easily pick him out of a crowd at least. Mike ignored the few eyes that drifted on him as he caught sight of Jeremy, already sitting down in a back booth who was waving towards him. It was just the man right now, apparently Mike showed up before Fritz, so he simply slipped in on the other side of the booth and said.
"Hey"
"Hey Mike, you doing ok?" Mike just raised an eyebrow.
"I think you know the answer to that, are you ok? I figured this isn't the kind of thing you'd be into, I wasn't really expecting the invite" Jeremy just shrugged.
"Better to ask than tell, and I actually really like places like this, the atmosphere is quiet and warm, and emotions usually aren't at an all time high when the people around have a few beers in their system" Yeah, that made sense to Mike as much as it could. Looking around, the room was pretty quiet, only the sounds of a band in the back corner lightly playing some simply but accenting the atmosphere music along with the light chatter of the people around talking to each other at their own tables, booths, or just at the bar on the stools. It was more peaceful that he was used to, so much so that he felt the need to mention it.
"Cool, I'm... not really used to these kinds of bars, I'm more used to more... uh, seedy places I guess" Jeremy raised a bit of an eyebrow at that, asking plainly.
"Should I ask questions?" Mike shook his head pretty quickly.
"No, unless you want to hear about the stories about how I learned to recognize drug dealers from across a room to know to avoid them" Jeremy just short of stared before smiling a bit, shaking his head.
"It's always surprising to remember you used to be some bad boy huh?" He had a bit of a coy smile at the idea of it, Mike just scoffed.
"Oh, I'm still bad to the bone Jere, just no reason to pull it out anymore" Jeremy just smirked.
"I watched you panic perform for kids a few times now because you still walk around with a fox mask on that you've had for over a decade" Mike ignored the faint red appearing on his face as he waved Jeremy off.
"That doesn't mean anything!"
"Oh? What about when you tripped over yourself when you were trying to get a cake to Foxy, you nearly covered the both of you in frosting and had Mari on your case the second the day ended for nearly wasting one of his cakes. How 'bad to the bone' is that?" Mike huffed, leaning back with a cross of his arms.
"I get it, I've lost my hardcore edge. I'd like to see you stay strong when an angry puppet is swatting at you with cleaning wipes over a two inch icing stain" He said it to be teasing, but Jeremy just short of gave Mike a long side glance before saying casually.
"Yeah, I guess you are pretty weak around Mari" Mike blinked, confused, before asking.
"Is that a puppeteer joke? If so you should work on your cross handling, otherwise the threads might get a bit twisted in the punchline" Jeremy just stared at Mike for another moment before saying.
"Sure," Before Mike could question... any of that, Jeremy perked up waving off in the direction of the door, as Mike glanced over and noticed Fritz and Janet entering... at the same time. Mike leaned back, getting a small grin on his face. Yeah, he could definitely make jokes about that at least.
Something something, glass stones rock houses.
Filler chapter more than anything, but there was some important stuff at the top of it, while the rest was just character interactions with some of the supporting cast and some bonding between our two main boys. They're kind of stupid, but it's fine. Beyond that, next chapter is going to be very interesting, it's about time we get back to the plot huh? What's it been? Like, an chapter since something important happened? That's way to long, we need to get this act moving! My main plan for it is this second act is going to be about twenty to thirty chapters, and if that's the case we're around two fifths of the way through it already, wild.
Want to know something even more wild? At the time that I'm writing this, I just posted chapter seventeen, yeah, that's how far ahead I am at the moment, it's nuts just how much I've been able to invest myself into this story. I just hope everyone is still enjoying it given I know it slowed down a bit in the last dozen chapters or so. Out of curiosity, and as a little surprise for future me, as I never remember what I have written in the end notes, what's everyone thinking so far? Like, you know, what's been the stand out moments or character interactions that have kept any of you here? It's interesting to hear about to know just what parts of this story people are the most invested in at different points of the story, I might ask this a few times over however long this story goes on for, like a... benchmark or something. Anyways, See ya.