A downpour of rain drenches the exterior of the sizable house as you are safely tucked away inside, wrapped in two blankets but by no means warm.
"Quite a bit of snow is expected tonight," William says, keeping his eyes focused into his hands.
For the past hour, he has been working on the arm piece of an animatronic, taking a few screws out at the end to examine the interior.
This repair was minor, but the Spring Bonnie one Henry had called him earlier about would require his full attention.
The man rarely ever works at home, but knowing Michael would need to be picked up from school before he would be able to finish any Spring Bonnie repairs, he decided to wait until later afternoon to visit the 'Parts and Service' room.
"Snow?" you ask, sitting up from your slouched position in the armchair.
You had mostly been napping, but also secretly watching William as he fixes the arm piece in deep concentration.
Strands of wavy brown hair occasionally falling into his eyes, he has been attentively working himself into a light sweat.
"Would you like any help?" you politely ask.
In all honestly, you had been a bit curious about the mechanics behind his inventions.
Momentarily parting his eyes from the piece, he looks at you with an interested expression.
Before he speaks, a quick glance at his watch causes his eyes to widen slightly before he places the piece down and stands up from the couch.
"Maybe tonight, love," he chuckles.
"If you're curious about the springlock suit, that is. For now, it's time to pick up Michael."
You smile at the sound of his name, his friendship has been nothing short of an unexpected blessing.
"Okay!"
You have been quite bored this afternoon, so the thought of Michael's fun antics excites you.
William laughs softly at your eagerness to leave, halfway standing from the couch as he watches you run towards the garage door.
"Am I not entertaining enough for you?" he chuckles, amused.
"You're not the fun Afton in the family," you tease, sticking out your tongue at him.
He walks over to you, raising an eyebrow with a lip biting smirk.
"Oh, I can be fun, darling girl."
Heat instantly rises to your face at his comment, your obvious blush exposing how flustered you have become.
"Afton! W-why are you like this?"
Your words leave your mouth as more of an exclamation than a question, and you're unable to maintain eye contact.
His amusement grows as you continue to stand there red, not noticing him holding the door to the garage door open.
"This way, dear," he smugly directs, placing one hand on your shoulder to walk you into the garage.
He smiles as he holds the car door open for you, lifting the keys from his suit pocket.
"All I said is that I can be fun, you're the one to take it out of context," he chuckles, attempting an 'innocent' expression.
"I did not think of it out of context!"
"Think of it?!" he laughs harder, "my my, you're worse than I expected."
You couldn't possibly get more flustered at this point, but feel the strong need to defend yourself.
"As if I would ever think such a thing! William, I swear I would never even lay in your arms!"
His face contorts at your words, a sting of hurt mixed in his amusement.
"Ouch, love."
"Well, you know you have done unspeakable things."
He sighs, placing one hand on the back of your seat as he backs the car out of the driveway.
"I suppose I deserve that."
Soon enough, the two of you arrive to pick up Michael, spotting him notice the car from the school's front doors.
"Hello dad and y/n!" he beams excitedly, tossing his schoolbag into the backseat.
"Hey Mikey!" you smile, turning around to face him.
A delighted expression sweeps his face, his blue eyes closing briefly as he leans his head back against the seat.
"I'm so glad it's Friday!" he exclaims, noticeably bouncing in place.
"And all day, everyone was talking about the possible snow this weekend!"
His eyes light up as he speaks, glancing from you to the raindrops outside his window.
"I know! Perfect for the weekend, huh?"
♡~~~♡
The rest of the afternoon is spent chatting and working, with you spending time with Michael while William keeps occupied with some kind of work over the phone.
"Show me, Michael!" you plead, nearly doubled over in laughter.
You seat yourself next to him on the living room rug, laughing harder as he covers his face in embarrassment.
"Come on, it can't be that bad!"
"Oh but it is," he groans, tightly clutching the photograph you so desperately want to see.
"It was the absolute worst haircut ever, I don't know what I was thinking!"
His face contorts as he thinks back, cringing at his most embarrassing memory, but he lightheartedly laughs at your interest.
"Okay okay," he sighs, hesitantly releasing the photo from his chest.
Your hand involuntarily rises to your mouth as you see a much younger Michael with an awful bowl cut and asymmetrical bangs, your lungs burning with laughter.
"Oh my..." you gasp, slight noises escaping your lips from your unsuccessful attempt to keep a straight face.
Both of you erupt into laughter in the moment following, tears beginning to well in your eyes at the sight of him burying his head into a pillow.
"There!" Michael exclaims, taking the photo and slapping it facedown onto the coffee table.
"I showed you, now it's my turn!"
You lift one hand to your chest to steady your breathing, biting back further laughs from the picture in your memory as Michael thinks to himself.
For most of the afternoon, casual conversation between the two of you has turned into a game of some kind, with fun and sometimes personal questions asked alternately.
Light seeps into the living room from the several soft lamps and nearby kitchen, but the dark pouring rain and evening shade dims the setting.
Perhaps it's all the shallow and lighthearted questions he has already asked, or a burst of boldness from the dim lighting, but the playfully mischievous glint in his eyes indicates he is thinking of more interesting questions to ask.
"Y/n, have you ever liked anyone?"
He looks up at you with widened eyes, as if he just asked you some kind of forbidden question.
"I'm seventeen, Michael," you laugh, amused at his innocent expression.
"Of course I have."
"Wait, that didn't count then!" he exclaims, frantically waving his hands in front of his face while he thinks.
A quiet scoff escapes from the kitchen; if you didn't know any better that he is on a work call, it may lead you to believe that William could possibly be listening.
"Hmm... what is your biggest wish?"
You think to yourself for just a moment before your cheeks blush a subtle shade of red, you know your answer would embarrass you.
Michael notices your hesitation with a curious glance, smiling as you debate what to say.
You likely wouldn't admit this to anyone else, but there's something about the boy's comforting blue eyes that reassures you.
"This may be silly..." you start, shyly looking down at your fingers running along the edge of the rug.
"But, I'd like to have my first kiss before I turn eighteen."
Your face reddens as you speak, you can't believe you'd admit something so embarrassing to a child.
Michael's eyes widen when you finally look up to him, and he seems surprised to say the least.
"You've never been kissed before?!"
"Michael!" you exclaim, swiftly covering his mouth with your hand at his loud outburst.
He giggles to himself while taking your hand from his mouth, tilting his head with a big smile.
"I'm sure you haven't either!"
"Well I'm much younger than you," he laughs, sitting himself onto his knees.
"It's actually sweet, just not what I was expecting you to say," he smiles, his body bouncing slightly.
Laughing, you glance at the clock to realize that it's later than you anticipated.
"I know it's the weekend," you start, "but since William and I have to leave soon, would you like to shower and everything while we're still here?"
Michael quietly yawns with a nod in agreement, standing from the floor and walking through the living room towards the foyer.
'I certainly wasn't this sweet at his age...'
You leave the room to enter the kitchen, spotting William as he soon meets your eyes from behind the island.
"Ah, how long have you been off your phone call for?" you ask, a bit nervously.
"Not long, love..." he chuckles, eyeing you with a curious expression.
"Anyway, we should be leaving before this rain gets worse."
"Now? But I've only just sent Michael to—"
"He's old enough to handle himself," William cuts, lifting his keys from his coat pocket.
Silently nodding, you call a loud "goodbye!" in hopes it reaches upstairs before following him into the garage.
A deluge of rain pours down the car windows, the loud sounds of persistent raindrops slapping against metal booming in your ears.
You are more than glad William is the one driving; you're convinced you surely would have crashed through all your squinting by now.
"Love, could you reach your hand into that side door pocket for me?"
You reach down to feel a cylindrical object, your hand pulling out a navy umbrella wrapped neatly.
"Don't you park right in front of the building?" you ask, resting the umbrella into your lap.
"Yes, but even a single drop of moisture is too risky when dealing with springlocks."
You think to yourself as he intently focuses out of the windshield; how he manages to drive at all is a wonder.
"Oh, I forgot about that."
William picks up on your almost disappointed tone, chuckling slightly.
"Dear, if you're curious about the mechanics, I can show you. No need to remember everything at once."
You blush softly with a smile, thankful that he can't see your face right now.
It's not that you cared so much for the animatronics themselves, but rather William's mind fascinates you.
The way he so deliberately designs these intricate creations, leaving nothing up to chance but ensuring every piece works in perfect harmony with the others.
His face locked in deep concentration, eyebrows furrowed and beads of light sweat along his hairline as his hands adjust and improve mechanisms within the suit.
It is true what Henry said to you once before, how William's intelligent mind alone drains his body of all its energy... and the ways in which it works mesmerize you.
Despite his concentration, William notices you staring at him from the corner of his eye, his lips pulling into that smug smirk.
"You like the view that much, dear?"
Cocky bastard.
Your eyes flicker back to the right as a deep red blush settles across your face.
"Shush and drive, Afton."
Somehow, you both safely arrive at the restaurant before long, and hesitantly wait in the car for the perfect moment to quickly rush inside.
William takes a short breath with the navy umbrella in his grip, decidedly opening the car door and coming to your passenger side.
Sharing an umbrella, the two of you run inside together, your bodies held as close as possible to one another in order to avoid the rain.
One of his hands holds the handle above while his other arm is around your waist keeping you pressed against him, raindrops eagerly searching for any chance to conquer an exposed limb.
Your heart continues to pound as you both finally make your way inside; despite the contrasting warmth of the building from the cold winter air, you can't help but wish you didn't have to part from his body.
A quiet sigh of relief can be heard from beside you as William lowers the umbrella, softly shaking it before setting it to the side.
"This way, love," he smiles, guiding you through the dim main area to the 'employees' hallway.
You figure Henry must have just recently finished closing up for the day, as you can tell from the silence and lack of light that you two are the only ones here.
The 'Parts and Service' nameplate that you've seen once before glints while William holds the door open for you.
"Ladies first."
You quietly swallow as you remember the advance he made on you last time you were here, but find that the uncomfortable feeling favors nervousness rather than dislike.
'I shouldn't be wanting him... No, I... don't want him...'
•
[word count: 2122]