The Bond

Ch 26

"Bold."/"Bold italic" : animatronic is talking/animatronic is talking in mind

"Normal."/"Normal italic." : human is talking/human is talking in mind

=o^o=

Today is cleaning day.

Michael decided to clean—at least most of the house first before proceeding with his endoskeleton, even though he only had a limited amount of cleaning supplies.

He cleaned the moss in the corner of the room by dousing it with salt water before brushing it a few times, then Michael swept almost the entire house—luckily there was an old broom in good condition there. Removing the furniture to sweep all the floors was exhausting, Michael had to rest for about an hour or two before moving to another room.

Ennard?

Nope.

He didn't help at all, just watched him clean as if he owned the house.

Michael thought that Ennard was taking revenge because all this time it was Ennard who usually cleaned some places in his house, not himself.

The living room has been swept clean, the furniture has been neatly rearranged as usual. Michael exhaled tiredly and smiled, he put his hands on his waist in satisfaction. So now he needs to clean the bedroom then go back to sweeping. Then Michael suddenly came to his senses.

"Ennard," he called out as he looked back—Michael almost screamed in surprise when he came face to face with Ennard, which for some time had been hanging upside down from the air duct in the ceiling without him knowing. "You—stop surprising me!" Michael protested in annoyance, Ennard was indifferent. Michael grumbled for a moment before saying, "I just realized we don't have a mop."

Ennard tilted his head. "You're right."

"I'll buy a mop then, and some room deodorizer too." Michael nodded happily. "You," Michael pointed at Ennard with his index finger, "wait here. I'm going to the nearest shop, while having a look around this house."

"Don't forget to ask if there are any vacancies."

Ennard's words made Michael smile wryly. "Yeah, yeah thanks for reminding me that I'm poor," Michael said sarcastically, he frowned at Ennard snorting as if holding back a laugh. "I'll be out first then." Michael immediately put on his eyepatch and stepped out when he had taken some money that was kept in the desk drawer.

Ennard looked at the eldest Afton until he really left. Just as the door closed, he started to turn and head towards the bed.

The animatronic with the cable unit looked around the room, after a while he finally entered. He looked down at the floor when he heard a creaking sound, then hesitated to take another step—he might accidentally damage the floor. Ennard made up his mind and decided to walk over to the table by the window opposite him.

He glanced back for a moment, wary of if Michael had arrived—but considering Michael had just left, it looked like the Afton would be home in fifteen to twenty minutes.

Ennard frowned, he didn't like the brown-haired man. The man he had killed. The two of them often fought because they were both stubborn, but sometimes Michael started the fuss first. Or himself.

To be sure, he hated that Afton.

He hated how Michael used to argue with him even though they both knew he was right. He hated how Michael talked nonstop and irritated him. He hated it when Michael went his own way. He hated it when he heard the faint sound of crying in the room. He hated it when he put himself in danger again and again. He hated his big smile, his mocking laughter, his pranks. He hated that the image of that person never disappeared from his mind.

Ennard really hated how Michael made him feel so guilty about his death.

And he hated himself even more for realizing he was getting soft on the eldest Afton.

The figure he could see in Michael irritated him so much, how much he looked like him. Ennard was never able to erase his guilt, he had killed many people but Michael managed to make him feel confused like this. Afton was so stupid, Ennard never liked him. Letting others trample on him like trash. Afton was completely useless in protecting himself.

Once again, reminding him of his past figure.

Ennard gritted his teeth in exasperation, clenching his fists tightly. After a while, he tried to calm himself down. His two shoulders that were stiffening slowly slumped down. His robotic eyes seemed to soften when he saw the photo frame on the table.

This house was the first thing that crossed his mind after knocking out that annoying man who kept pushing Michael, although Ennard didn't want to come back to this place anymore, he knew they had no purpose but to come here. He carefully stroked the photo, feeling that he missed her presence.

"Mother ...."

It seemed he would be flooded with old memories while they were here.

"Ennard?"

Ennard gasped, quickly turning around only to find the person who had been haunting his head for so long standing there with a confused expression. Ennard growled in annoyance, while Afton had just realized that he had just made an animatronic that often surprised him, was now surprised by him. Ennard hated the grin that was starting to form on Michael's annoying face.

"Don't you fucking dare."

"Are you surprised?" Michael asked in a teasing tone, Ennard felt his face suddenly heat up. "You surprised~? You~? Ennard the one who feels the most superior~? The annoying animatronics that often surprises me can actually be shocked~?"

Ennard's growl grew louder. "Shut your mouth, Benedict," he hissed angrily, but Michael was teasing him even more—now the only Afton left was chuckling loudly.

"You were startled!"

Michael laughed so hard that he clutched his stomach, Ennard was getting more and more annoyed. Michael was still laughing even though Ennard stepped forward to tug on his collar tightly, Michael wasn't at all intimidated by the animatronic and his laughter continued for several minutes.

If Ennard could be honest, he was a little taken aback by Michael's loose laugh; this was the first time Afton had laughed this freely. Ennard frowned deeply, finally releasing his rough grip and it almost pushed Michael backwards—luckily he didn't fall over because Ennard held him by the handle of the mop Michael had just bought.

Then Michael stifled his laughter, though he was still amused at the memory of how surprised Ennard had been by his presence. "Alright, Enn."

"Ennard."

"Enn." Michael stuck his tongue out at Ennard who snorted in annoyance. "Now let go of the mop, I want to mop the living room."

Ennard didn't let go of his grip on the mop handle.

Michael raised his eyebrows. "Ennard, let it go," he ordered. "Ennard, now."

Ennard's grip tightened even more, Michael felt worry.

"Ennard you can break—"

The handle snapped before Michael could finish his sentence.

Michael glared in horror and his jaw dropped as he watched the mop he just bought split in two. Michael quickly looked at Ennard in disbelief. "You—you bastard—that was just what I bought, you fucking jerk!"

Ennard just smirked back.