Since their first "bonding Day", the two roommates have gotten a lot better with each other. Michael has been teaching Ennard about other 'dry chores', how to organize supplies, what supplies are needed for what, and even the regular things like 'why we can't make too much noise somewhere'. Their bond grows stronger through the following months, watching as the leaves slowly fall to the sudden topic of snow! Ennard always asks questions, but Michael understands that they never got to know these things before - even when Michael may seem agitated with the constant interrogations. Ennard - as promised - has followed through with their word, even when things have gotten difficult. The two rarely fight, but Ennard supposed that that's just what everyone does. They're right to think so, but they're still learning with Michael. Forgiveness has never been closer, even with their bad Days! Nothing can stop the roommates as they learn more about their surroundings and growing relationship from enemies to friends! It is now Winter, though the household has been very quiet since their fun just the Day prior.
Hot water poured from the showerhead, a light hum mixing with the droplets of water that splattered on the shower floor. Michael carefully washed his hair, though a smile had shown on his face as the water seemingly shattered the stiff feeling in his bones from the snow earlier. His hums grew louder as he bathed, though the action wasn't on his mind, at the moment. 'Ennard has been doing so well these past couple of months!' 'I'm already so proud of them!' Michael happily thought as his smile grew, already washing his rotting skin that he hid from the rest of the world. 'I just love how easily fascinated he is!' 'He's like a kid in a candy store, I swear!' Michael thought again, playfully laughing to his own humor. He carefully sighed as the water hit his back, easing any tension he may have had earlier. 'He is so-' Suddenly something landed in front of Michael, causing him to shriek in panic. Ennard paused, seemingly - just as - shocked as Michael himself, though, now Michael has more reason to panic than the initial jumpscare. "E-Ennard! Why are you in here, the water is everywhere!" Michael quickly called, almost turning off the water. However, Ennard carefully grabbed his wrist, only hearing the bot's laughter vibrate the floor as he turned to face them. "Sorry, Micheal! I wanted to show you my water-proof shield! You can't even see it! How cool is that, huh?" Ennard excited chirped, finally calming Michael's nerves as the two watched the water splash onto Ennard's unharmed wires., bringing Michael instant comfort. Michael carefully sighed, holding his chest that could no longer beat. "God, Ennard; You had me so worried! Though, I am still upset that you came in here without asking me, first..." Michael coolly spoke, puffing his cheek as Ennard laughed again before taking their hand back. "Oh - I'm sorry - Michael! I do find this better than just watching you, though!" Ennard casually commented, only causing Michael's Deep Blues to widen with shock. "W-wait, you what?! Why would you do that?! You can't just watch people as they shower, Ennard!" Michael anxiously countered, his face flushing a deep purple, though that didn't alarm Ennard - thankfully. They just waved their hands by their chest, being careful not to hurt the human with them. "Calm down, Michael! I walk around naked all the time! Although, I've been wondering why you don't do that. Is it because of the rotting corpse thing, or...?" Ennard coolly asked, though they seemed hesitant at the end. Michael's body stiffened, even with the hot water pouring onto him. 'He's still upset about that...' Michael cautiously thought, gently nibbling his lower lip. He took a shaky breath before holding Ennard's hand, feeling the appendage gently entangle his. Michael carefully sighed before returning back to Ennard's gaze, whom seemed pretty calm for their situation. 'Then again, there's times where it is hard to tell what he is feeling...' Michael carefully thought before focusing on the present once more. "Ennard, humans don't - normally - walk around naked. They see it as rude, more than anything." Michael tried to calmly explain, though his cheeks were still slightly flushed from the topics at hand. Ennard slowly nodded before tilting their head. 'Typical Ennard.' Michael coolly thought before sighing as he shook his head. "Anyway, you did a good job with the shield, Ennard; I'm proud." Michael calmly spoke, a proud smile forming on his rotting features. Ennard's eyes shown pride and joy before they carefully took their hand back, only to quickly jump up into the ceiling. Michael watched the spot for a moment longer before going back to his shower, noticing the water start to turn cold.
Meanwhile, Ennard stayed in the ceiling above the shower, carefully watching the man they deemed their friend as he continued his shower. 'I should have been more careful with that one...' Ennard cautiously thought, carefully holding their chest as the red button brought small comfort to the heavy animatronic. Ennard clicked for a second, seemingly trying to think of something else as they watched Michael slowly turn off the shower, a much calmer aura growing from the male beneath them. 'I know he wasn't mad at me, but what were the odd senses coming off of Michael...?' Ennard quizzically thought, remembering the deep shade of purple on the man's cheeks, as well as the racing thoughts in his head. {'What is he doing in here?!'} {'Why was he watching me shower?!'} {'How long has he been doing this for?!'} {'I could have let him in - sooner - if he said something...!'} {'Bad - Michael - bad!!'} Ennard huffed at the thoughts, remembering many more in his mind. 'Most of the questions - I understand.' 'Though, the last section seemed a bit...' 'tempting...' Ennard coolly thought, gently tapping a finger to their 'mouth' as they watched Michael finish dressing. Michael seemed to sway to and fro, though it was unclear why Michael would be doing that, when there wasn't any music in sight. 'Probably bored like I am.' Ennard casually thought with a small grunt, though that brought another thought to their systems as they continued to stare. 'Maybe I should do more research on the 'inter-webs'.' 'That may give me more results.' Ennard smoothly thought, quietly closing their eyes as Michael left the small room to do whatever else. Tapping their button, lights begin to flash in Ennard's mind, showing them a search engine with multiple other apps below it. Ennard huffed once more, a shock of excitement coursing through their circuits as their inner smile widened.
Hours later ~
Michael quietly stood in the living room, having finished his mopping for the Night as the snow outside gracefully fell to the frozen ground below. Watching the quiet snow fall gave him a sense of calm that he knew he needed, having dealt with so much through the years - even leading up to - his brother's death. Michael carefully sighed, trying not to think of the past again, for he knew what would happen if he let it slip by. 'I swear - if I get one more sleepless Night this month, then Ennard's going to be suspicious...' Michael cautiously thought, only trying harder to rid his mind of his past traumas. Suddenly, a hard 'thud' sounded, alerting Michael of the guest in the room. 'Speak of the Devil.' Michael coolly thought before turning towards the animatronic, which seemed giddier than usual. Michael rose a sharp brow, but couldn't shy away the grin that played his sharp features. "So, what's a kiss?" Ennard unexpectantly asked, causing Michael's face to flush from shock as the two stood in the now awkward silence. "W-what...?" Michael nervously whispered, unsure if he heard the bot correctly. Ennard chuckled before walking closer to the - now flustered - human in the room, which surprisingly stood his ground. "I asked, 'what is a kiss'. Do you know, Michael?" Ennard chirpily asked before standing before the male, only seeming playful before him. Michael swallowed hard, different thoughts running through his head, which only sounded more alarms in his body. "S-sure, but why are you asking...?" Michael nervously asked, trying to keep a calm composure from the initial shock and conversation starter. Ennard calmly hummed, their voice box vibrating in their throat as they kept their focused on the male before them. "Well, I was doing my research on the inter-webs, when I heard about a kiss. So, I decided to ask you about it!" Ennard happily called, though completely aware of the thoughts still racing through Michael's mind. Michael tilted his head, his flushed cheeks still burning in the dim room around them. "You did use a VPN, right...?" Michael cautiously asked, not wanting someone to try to track either of them down. 'I - really - don't want the cops showing up again, and that was before I worked at Circus Baby's...!' Michael quickly thought, though watching Ennard roll their eye told Michael a different story, breaking the clench on his nerves. "Yes - Michael - I did use a VPN. Now stop beating around the bush and tell me what a kiss is!" Ennard quickly demanded, surprising Michael once more. 'Damn, he's getting different everyday...' 'Does he have mood swings or personalities...?' Michael curiously thought, though decided to leave that on the backburner as Ennard seemed to give a warning look. Michael took a deep breath before exhaling, holding his shirt by his chest for comfort from his flushed cheeks. "Okay, geez. A kiss is a physical sign of affection. You can give many different types of these kisses; Nose kisses, lip kisses, hand kisses, eyelash kisses, anything really. Whatever one suits you best, I guess..." Michael coolly spoke, gently wrapping his finger in his shirt before freeing the appendage, only to do so again.
Ennard quietly nodded, though their 'smile' couldn't go far to show they were pleased. "Thank you! Now, what does a kiss feel like, exactly?" Ennard curiously asked, only flushing the man before them further. Michael carefully bit his lip, watching the figure before him await his response. 'God, it's been years since I've had one...!' 'I don't really know how to describe it...' Michael nervously thought, still flushing from the animatronic before him. Ennard kept a careful gaze, though the warning shot seemed to have flown out the window, by this point. Michael gripped his shirt tighter before carefully standing on his tippy-toes, almost reaching the animatronic before him, as the human was 5' 11" and Ennard was 6' 2". Ennard hummed in confusion before Michael quickly pecked his lips on the cold metal of Ennard's face, shrinking back down before widening his eyes in complete shock. 'Did I just do that...?' Michael gingerly thought, quickly bringing his hand to his mouth. Ennard - on the other hand - brought their hand to their cheek, only to feel nothing from either metal. 'Dammit!' 'I wish I had a "meat-sack" too...' 'Maybe I could return that kiss...' Ennard defeatedly thought as he stared into the man's eyes, noticing the darker blush his cheeks could show. Ennard wanted to hum to the sight, until something else caught his mind, giving him a mischievous look in his eye. Michael raised a careful brow as he bit his lip, though quickly looked down as his cheeks burned brighter. "'ahem' D-did you have any other questions...?" Michael nervously chirped, though keeping his eyes low from the animatronics' sight. Ennard tilted his head, now allowing the hum to escape their voice box. "Yes, actually!" Ennard excitedly croaked, his excitement rushing to Michael's cheeks. Michael deeply chuckled, a smile showing from under his hand. 'I'm sure you do...' Michael endearingly thought before nodding his head, seemingly letting Ennard talk. "I watched some clips on science channels, when I was wondering 'can humans be artificially created?'." Ennard bouncily cooed, though knowing part of the statement was a lie. 'Please don't catch the lie, Michael...' 'I'm sorry to lie, but I really want to know, without you getting suspicious...!' Ennard worriedly thought before Michael hummed, the tone sounding just as thoughtful. "I mean - if it's on science channels, then it has to be - at least a little bit - possible... Though, you may need better equipment than what they currently have to try to manage a physical form." Michael truthfully muttered, keeping an eye on Ennard's reaction. Ennard hummed again, closing their eyes for a moment before gently patting Michael's head, whom didn't expect the light touch. "Thanks, Michael! I owe you one!" Ennard cheerfully cooed before walking off, seemingly holding their cheek as they walked to the basement for God-knows-what. Michael remained put, quizzically watching the animatronic leave down the stairs before the door shut behind them. 'Odd...' 'I wonder why they asked those questions, if they used the "inter-webs" to find them...' Michael curiously thought, gently pressing his fingers upon his chapped lips, still - one of many - aspects that he always hated about himself. Michael nervously sighed, trying to hold himself for comfort from the years prior. 'Maybe the internet showed them the wrong thing, or something...' Michael nervously thought, though snickered at the thought of Ennard's reaction to the different webs. 'That's Ennard for me...' Michael coolly thought, his smile returning once more.
An hour later ~
The room was dark, even though the cement walls around were - supposed to be - a light grey in color. There were a few tables neatly scattered about, each with blueprints to many different things as they had multiple languages written on them. A computer stood tall near the stairs, seemingly created using the scrap around the place along with other locations before the basement. Ennard quietly picked up one of the blueprints, calmly reading the fine-print that they remember learning to write so well. 'I have so much to work on, but how much of it can I actually make...?' 'How long will it take me to get this all done...?' Ennard quizzically thought before clicking a few times, gently setting the paper back down on the table before them. 'If Michael said it is possible, then I need to work this out...!' Ennard encouragingly thought, caressing the smooth metal face plating that was connected to them. Feeling for the place of the kiss, Ennard mentally frowned before focusing more on the blueprints, though everything soon became a blur as they remembered their dark past. 'Aside from wanting a friend, I really wanted to play outside like a regular Human, but never had the right resources...' 'Even now...' Ennard sourly thought, still clutching the spot Michael pecked only an hour ago. 'I could try to sneak out again, though there's only so many times before Michael finds out...' Ennard nervously thought before remembering some of Michael's thought. 'Something - something cops...' 'Maybe another Human could help with this...?' Ennard quizzically thought as the pieces started to fall into place, giving Ennard a bit more hope than before. 'On second thought, maybe I do have more resources than I thought...'
{I wonder what he's planning...? Knowing me, I won't give specific details, due to not being much of a science major. All-in-all, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :3 Have a good Day/Night, everyone! Shadamy and Nemo, Glitching Out! :3}