Chapter Text
Any other day would’ve been less than perfect if you asked the people who experienced this day. The air was warm, but not hot enough to cause anyone to sweat if they were to do a small amount of physical activity. The sky was a clear blue, not a single cloud in sight. For the two boys playing on the playground just outside of a diner, it was the perfect day to play on the swings. Not even they, with their uncanny sense of weather, could detect any sort of problem with the current climate. It was a perfect day for them. Nothing could go wrong!
"Oy, Hugo! Look at this!"
Robin was balancing on one foot on the top of the tower, laughing at the look on his brother's face.
"Robbie," Hugo sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "You are going to fall and break your neck. And I'll be the one who’s blamed!"
Robin ignored him completely and hopped to his other foot, arms windmilling as he tried to keep his balance.
Hugo huffed at his twin, trying not to smile at the other boy’s antics. They were both bored out of their minds, having been at the small park for the majority of the day. Their parents were still probably at work. That, or they were passed out.
"What now?" Robin asked, finally sitting down and resting his chin on his arms. "I reckon we'd die of old age before mum and dad come get us!"
Hugo muttered something along the lines of "... bloody idiot" and pointed at the swings. "How about those?"
Robbie hopped off the tower and made his way over to the swings, Hugo following close behind. "These old things?" Robin got on one of the swings and gripped the chain. He began pumping his legs, relishing in the wind blowing through his hair. "Two dollars I can go all the way around!"
Hugo snorted, crossing his arms. "Your fat arse would break the thing before you could even get halfway up!"
The twins laughed, and Robin swung higher and higher. He laughed with delight as he nearly went horizontal. "These old things are still good!" he cheered.
Robin swung back down and went forward again. Without a word, Hugo stuck his foot out, catching Robbie’s ankle. The ginger yelped as he was taken off the swing. He stayed in the air for a few seconds before he came crashing down, smacking his face against the pavement. He shouted in pain, blood spurting from his nose and into his mouth. He covered his face with one hand and pushed himself back up with the other. He groaned, the sticky liquid seeping through his fingers. Hugo stopped laughing, looking around to see if there was anyone nearby who could help.
There was the diner, but it was probably closed.
"What wad dat gore?!" Robin yelled.
Hugo raised his hands in surrender, eyes wide as realized what he had actually done. "I didn't know that would happen!" he defended. "It ain't my fault your ego got bruised!"
"Dats it!" Robin said. "I'm telling dad you were tying to gill me!"
Hugo swore fluently under his breath and grabbed his twin. He lifted Robbie up by his arms, the latter groaning in pain. Blood seeped through his fingers, trickling down his hands and into the sleeves of his jacket.
"You boke my nose, you addhole!" the boy moaned. "You were trying to gill me, weren't you?"
Hugo rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatic words. "Oh, relax," he told him. "I'm sure you'll be fine as soon as we slap some ice on there."
"Diner?" Robin asked.
"Diner," Hugo confirmed.
The two boys stumbled to the front doors of the diner, Hugo peering inside. Some of the lights were on, but it didn’t look like anyone was there. The oldest of the twins knocked on the door, ignoring the moans of pain from behind him. After a good, long, solid minute of knocking, someone opened up the doors.
"Can I help you boys?" asked the man.
"Uh, yeah. My brother fell off the swings-"
"Dat was your fault!"
"- and hit his face. Do you have any ice or something?"
The twins waited as the man seemed to try and understand exactly what was happening. Then he nodded. "Sure thing! The name's Henry by the way," he said, holding the door open.
The two boys were ushered inside and the man, Henry, produced a rag from a pocket and handed it to Robbie. The ginger took it with a bloody hand and pressed it against his face, hissing at the sharp stabs of pain. The boys sat down at a table, Robin noticing the two mascots on stage for the first time. A yellow bear and rabbit stood tall, grinning at an audience that wasn’t there.
"Who are dey?" Robin asked, pointing at the animals.
Henry glanced at the mascots, looking slightly proud. "That's Fredbear and Spring Bonnie," he told the twins.
"Are dey real?"
Henry laughed. "As real as you want them to be," he said.
Robbie pulled the rag away momentarily, grimacing in guilt at the amount of blood caked on it. His nose throbbed, and he could feel something loose in his mouth. He spat it out, cursing when he saw it was a tooth. He whipped around to find Hugo laughing his head off. Robbie dropped the rag on the table and dove at his twin.
"I will gill you and rip your head off, you queer!"
Hugo cackled with delight, ducking away as his twin lunged for his throat. "Can't catch me!" he taunted.
"Your head will be lopped from your shoulders, you two-faced, yellow-bellied, scum of the earth, peasant!" Robin roared.
As he chased Hugo around the tables, Henry watching in amusement, another man entered. Dark hair was combed back, contrast to Henry’s messy blonde locks. The man wore a buttoned-up shirt tucked into dark pants and a loose tie. Stormy blue eyes landed on the scuffling twins.
"Henry," said the man.
Henry turned around and grinned. "Hey, Will," he greeted.
The man approached Henry, watching the twins scuffle on the ground. "What is all this?" he demanded.
Henry raised an eyebrow. "Nothin' much," he reassured. "One of them got hurt and came here for help."
"They look fine to me.”
Henry made a noise that told Will he didn't know what to do with the twins.
Hugo, who had Robbie pinned beneath him, looked up. His eyes widened marginally and he quickly stood up, hauling his twin to his feet. The twins began apologizing immediately, Hugo not-so-subtly elbowing Robin. "Sorry!" he said to the newcomer.
"Yeah, dorry," Robin said, wiping away some blood on his sleeve. "Didn't doh you were dere,"
Hugo shuffled awkwardly, fighting to hold back a grin. Henry introduced the twins, explaining to William what they were doing there. Hugo eyed the man, noticing some faint marks on his neck. He whistled nervously, choosing to look anywhere but at William. The two men seemed to share a silent conversation, Henry gesturing towards the twins while William crossed his arms and squinted.
“Alright,” said Henry finally, clapping his hands together. “Come with me,” he told Robin. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Hugo pushed his twin towards the man, snickering when Robin stumbled. With the two of them gone, it was just him and William. The older man sighed and approached the two animals on stage and began fiddling with them. Hugo watched with mild interest, tapping his fingers against the table in a steady beat.
He hummed quietly, letting his eyes unfocus. He zoned out for a good five minutes, letting the sound of gears clicking fill his mind. He distantly wondered how those guys up on stage worked. They looked like animatronics, but they seemed different from the ones he’s heard about. Something was very different about them, and he was reluctant to admit that he wanted to know more.
“Hey, Hugo!”
Robin’s voice shook him from his thoughts. He and Henry were both walking over, Robin’s face considerably less bloody and nose a little straighter. He was grinning, a gap where his tooth was a little obvious.
“Bonjour, puny baguette,” Hugo replied.
He snorted at the gasp of mock offense. “I am not puny!” Robin defended.
“Uh-huh. And pigs might fly!”
Robin shifted his legs, looking ready to spring at the other boy. Hugo merely clicked his tongue and winked. “Love ya!” he said cheekily.
Henry cleared his throat, bringing the twins’ attention to himself. “Do you need me to call your parents so they can come pick you up?” he asked.
“No!” the twins said at once.
“Absolutely not,” said Hugo.
“They wouldn’t want that,” Robin agreed.
“They are very busy,” Hugo added.
Henry raised an eyebrow and looked at William who was purposely facing away from his partner. Henry sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, adjusting his glasses as he did so. What was he going to do with these two boys? Send them home? It was already getting dark, and according to them, they didn’t really seem to have a ride home. He knew he wouldn’t be able to take them to his place, as that would be considered kidnapping, and Will would bite his head off for even suggesting the idea. He’d give them a ride home then.
“Would you like a ride home?” he asked them.
The twins looked at each other, seeming to have a silent conversation with only their eyes and brows. Hugo bit his lip and nodded.
“Sure,” they said in unison.
“As long as you don’t kidnap us,” said Robin.
“Or kill us,”
“Or ra-” Robin had a hand slapped over his mouth before he could finish.
Hugo nodded firmly, keeping his hand over Robin’s mouth and wrinkling his nose in disgust as he felt his twin lick his hand. Henry forced back a smile and looked at Will who, to his relief, didn’t seem bothered.
“You’ll lock up?” he asked him. The Brit nodded wordlessly, looking at Henry to give him a small smile before resuming his task.
With that taken care of, Henry fished his keys out of his pocket and headed outside, the twins following closely behind him. Robin elbowed his twin in the side, earning a playful shove to his shoulder. He retaliated by kicking at Hugo’s ankles, causing the boy to stumble. Hugo lunged for his brother who scampered away, giggling.
Henry watched for a moment before unlocking the car and ushering them inside. “Where do you boys live?” he asked as he started up the car.
“1707 Kingsley street,” they chorused.
“Did you rehearse that?”
“Nope!”
The man huffed in amusement and pulled out of the parking lot, continuing to question the boys. They answered his questions with no problem, occasionally making a joke or two that had the man laughing. He was surprised by how old they seemed, especially when they were only kids! They asked him a few questions too, like what kind of restaurant he ran, who William was, where he grew up, and if he had kids. All of those questions were just as easily answered.
“How come you’ve never gone inside before?” Henry questioned as he stopped at a red light.
“Weeeeell,” Hugo drawled. “We didn’t really think about going inside! We enjoyed playing our games just fine on our own.”
Robin nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” he said. “Besides, mum and dad expect us to be at the park in case they pick us up.”
“Why didn’t they pick you up today?” Henry found himself asking.
The twins shrugged. “They’re busy.”
Henry frowned. He knew he often wasn’t able to pick up his own daughter, Charlie when she got out of school. Work often got in the way. But he always did his best to be there for her. Especially after his wife died. Though there were times when William had to quite literally drag him out of the building long after the restaurant closed for the night.
Before he knew it, Robin pointed out their house. Henry pulled up in front of the house and unlocked the doors. Hugo started to get out but was crushed against the backseat as Robin shoved past him and rolled out of the car. The other boy sighed with irritation before thanking Henry for the ride and following his twin up the walkway.
Henry waited until both boys were safely inside before driving away. He made a quick U-turn and headed back down to the main road. As he drove in silence, he couldn’t stop thinking about how both boys would love to meet Charlie. He smiled to himself as the wheels of his brain came up with another idea.