The Fall of the Aftons

028: William Afton

William watched through the crack in the door as Michael went from just a few tears falling down his pale, freckled cheeks to violent, doubling-over sobs within a few moments. He watched as Terrance wrapped himself around the sobbing boy, not trying to comfort him. Just sitting there, being supportive and validating Mike's emotions. 

The doorbell suddenly rang and William flinched, not expecting to hear it. With a heavy sigh, he went all the way down the stairs and made his way to the front door on the first floor as fast as he could. He unlocked the door and opened it, greeted by a leg-strangling hug from Noah.

"Oh! Hello, Noah," William said, sort of surprised. He tousled the little boy's short brown hair. He looked up from the little boy to Noah's father. "Hello, Mr. Wright. I'll drive him back later around four. Is that all right?"

"Please, just call me Mason. 'Mr. Wright'"--he finger-quoted--"was my father before he left my mother." He carefully bent down on one knee and snapped his fingers at Noah so his son would look him in the eye. "Behave, M.N., I'll see you later." And the stern man walked away.

William picked Noah up from the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked when he noticed how Noah's hands were shaking. But he didn't respond. He just stared out of the door, watching as his immaculate father climbed inside his car and drove away. "Do you want a quick snack? Michael is... finishing something," he tried. Maybe a different question would result in an answer.

Noah shook his head so hard it looked like it hurt.

"Oooooooooooookaaaaaaaaaaaaay," William muttered. He glanced at the stairs, then looked back to the young boy in his arms. "Are you sure you don't want anything? There's plenty of food. If you want, I could get you a fizzy drink. Would you like one?"

"N-No, thanks. I'm not hungry nor thirsty," Noah said quietly as he fidgeted with his thumbs. "Do you know much longer Mikey will take?"

"I haven't a clue. Would you like to look around as I go check on him?" He smiled slightly. 

"O-Oh, uh... Sure." Noah's words were barely audible. William set him down on the hardwood floor and headed over to the stairs. But he didn't hear Noah's footsteps behind him. He turned back. The little one was standing there awkwardly, clearly unsure on what to do.

"Are you going to come?" he asked, chuckling to himself. "You can look around on the second floor as I find Mike. You can try to find the playroom that my nephew insisted on setting up for Michael."

Noah darted to his side, staying close as the two of them climbed the long staircase. William stood close to the poles of the balcony as he waited for Noah to start his exploring. It took a while for him to get the hint, but Noah started to look in the rooms, exclaiming happily when he found the room with the unfinished endoskeletons for Fredbear's. The only reason why William had the endos instead of Henry was because Henry never had the time to take them apart to reuse them for parts. So, whenever one broke beyond repair or Henry didn't need it because he had made a better one, William shoved them in the back of his lorry and took them home to disassemble.

Once Noah started to build up courage while he looked inside all of the numerous rooms, William went up to his son's bedroom. When he got to the door blocking him from his grieving child, he knocked a few times. When no one answered, he called, "Noah's here," through the crack in the door. Again, no one answered. He was curious on what was going inside, but he didn't want to invade Michael's privacy. With a disappointed sigh, he walked off  and went backdownstairs to find Noah, who was back with the endoskeletons. 

"Pretty cool, aren't they?" he asked, chuckling when he found Noah scrutinizing a broken endoskeleton for Springbonnie.

"Did you make them?" Noah asked wonderously. He turned on his heel and looked at William with curious eyes.

William laughed. "Oh, man, I wish," he expressed, laughter filling his words. "No, I didn't make them. The coowner of Fredbear's--my friend, Henry--made them."

"That's Mr. Emily, right?"

William nodded.

"He and my dad went to the same college."

William nodded his head again. "Yeah, I know. Henry told me about that. He and your father were good friends back then. It's a shame they drifted apart senior year." He flinched and turned when he heard the door creak behind him.

Michael unhurriedly slinked through the door. His small face was tearstained. His eyes were red and puffy, still watery but not enough for tears to fall. Yet he still smiled brightly when he saw Noah.