Broken Down (A Bendy & The Ink Machine Story)

Chapter 6: Triggered

Linda tucked him into bed that night, gently rubbing his horns so tenderly he felt like melting, his contented purring noise echoed throughout the small second bedroom. "Goodnight sweetie" Linda whispered as those pie cute eyes closed tiredly, she leaned down and kissed his forehead. Bendy looked up at her in shock, kissing meant that someone loved you, which meant "You l-love me?" he asked Linda quietly.

Linda smiled and nodded "You're hard not to love" she said, Bendy grinned and closed his heavy eyes "G'night Miss Linda" he mumbled happily.

Linda waited till his chest rose and fell evenly with sleep before she stood up and left the room, leaving the door open in case Bendy wanted a glass of water in the middle of the night.

She tiptoed to the kitchen where Henry was still finishing up the dinner dishes "Out like a light" she said, rising on her toes to peck his cheek. Henry smiled. "He's always tired, have you noticed?"

"Probably because he's catching up on sleep he's missed, I don't assume Joey allowed him plenty of sleep, to be honest."

Henry wiped his hands on the tea towel and took her face in his hands "I love you, so much" he said, kissing her nose,

Linda blushed and beamed. "I love you too."

~

Joey paced the office floor, eyes gazing at the cupboard every time he turned. Henry had taken Bendy away from him. He had stolen FROM HIM! 

Joey kicked one of the many empty liquor bottles on the floor, kneading his pounding temples. He was too hungover to be thinking about this. He needed a nap. Yeah, a nap sounded good.

He sat down at his desk and rested his head on the cold surface. Just a short nap, and then he would go get his demon back.

~

Linda folded the other clothing items she had bought for Bendy, smiling delicately at the small childish things, "Henry?" she asked,

"Yes?" Henry replied, stationed at the armchair, TV was going but she knew he wasn't really watching it.

"Do you think this could be our chance?" she inquired, eyes focused on the clothing in her lap.

"Chance?" Henry's voice questioned.

"To have a family, Bendy needs a family, and we, we could never, I just-"

Henry's feet appeared in her line of sight and she looked up from folding a small jacket. Henry took her hand and pulled her up, pulling her into a hug "Honey, you are my family, I know it was hard for you, hard for both of us when we found out we couldn't have kids. But Bendy isn't human, we can't take him out, or do normal family things. But we can still love him and do our best for him as if he was our son right here at home, You understand that, right?"

"I do" she said, leaning down and rummaging through one bag. She took out a baseball hat and passed it to him "I guess if we want to take him out, we'll just need a clever disguise is all" she said.

Henry chuckled nervously.

~

The next day, Bendy was wearing a pair of gray shorts and his favorite Mickey Mouse sweater as Linda prepared breakfast that morning. Henry walked in with a big loud yawn as he stretched, his hair still damp from a shower. "I see you like that sweater, sleep okay?" he asked, sitting down in his usual seat and picking up the hot cup of tea Linda placed down in front of him, he sipped it gratefully.

"Yup!" Bendy said, giving him a grin. He had rolled up the sleeves and taken off his gloves so as not to get the items dirty while he ate. Linda set the food down once it was ready, and Bendy gasped in wonder at the circular brown discs.

Such odd-looking food!

"What is it?" he asked.

"Pancakes, you'll like them, I promise" she said, taking a couple and setting them down on Bendy's empty plate, she had made them sweet since the cupboard was lacking maple syrup. Bendy looked up at Henry, and the man mentally sighed. Bendy was still looking for approval, or in this case permission to eat, the subtle hints were noticeable.

Henry nodded and the ink demon began to eat what was on his plate, still struggling a little with the knife and fork. "You don't need my permission to eat bud, if Linda or I place food in front of you, just go for it" Henry spoke,

"B-But, but that w-would be..." Bendy trailed off, and Henry shook his head "It would be fine, okay?" he insisted,

"O-Okay"

~

Linda made Bendy's messy bed and tucked the clothes she had bought for him in the chest of drawers, she opened the window for some fresh air and made sure the floor didn't need a vacuum before she made lunch for her family. Bendy was sitting at the table, a stack of old printing paper and a pencil case of Henry's old drawing pencils in front of him as he drew. Linda peered over his shoulder. "What are you drawing?"

Bendy gasped in shock and covered the art. "No peeking!" he cried. "It's a surprise!"

Linda chuckled. "All right, I get it. Do you want to help me make lunch?"

"O-Okay" Bendy said, a little unsure as he got down off his chair.

Linda pointed to the pantry "Can you get me three plates, it would be very helpful" she said, pulling out the butter and other sandwich items from the fridge. 

Bendy surveyed the pantry doors and looked back at the table. An idea forming in his head. He rushed back to the table and grabbed a chair, pushing it over and climbing up. He pulled open the door not blocked by the chair and looking inside.

There were food, and cans, and plates and many colourful and nice smelling things housed on the shelves inside. Bendy looked back at the food Linda was making and then picked up the suitable plates. He balanced them on one hand as he got down; and he was sure he had done well. He was just about to get Linda's attention when his foot slipped; The plates fell from his hand with him along with them.

The loud crashing noise made Bendy flinch violently, and he burst into tears and curled up on the floor, whimpering loudly as he made himself as small as possible "I'm s-sorry, J-Joey, I d-didn't m-mean t-t-to break them!" Bendy cried.

Linda scooped him up off the floor, maybe the plates had been a little too much of a chore for the small ink demon "Bendy, sweetie, it's okay, it's me, Linda, you remember me" she said, gently stroking his fur as best as she could to calm him down. Bendy scrunched his eyes tight, sobbing as he waited for the beating. He had broken the plates, important items Joey didn't have a lot of, he was sure to be punished!

Henry, who had heard the crash, came rushing into the kitchen "Linda? Oh, is he okay?" Henry asked, noticing the shivering Bendy in her arms. Linda cuddled the ink demon close "He just got a bit of a fright when he dropped the plates, he's okay," she said. Henry grabbed the broom and began to sweep up the ceramic pieces "Just make him feel safe and secure, he should come back, I think he has PTSD, some things tend to trigger him"

Linda kissed Bendy's forehead softly, and the demon stopped shaking and opened his eyes, watery pie cut eyes that blinked slowly up at her as he returned "Miss Linda?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Bendy" Linda whispered sadly,

Bendy hugged her weakly "Don't b-be sorry, you d-did nothing wrong" he whispered. Linda hugged him back as Henry finished cleaning up. 

(PTSD stands for: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)