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Jack stepped through the doors of the pizzeria, heaving a sigh and an eyeroll when he rested his eyes upon his boss.
“What now, rotary breath?” Jack said, passing by him without making eye contact. “I didn’t blow up the place, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Peter shook his head. “No, employee, it’s not that,” he said, turning to face Jack even though the latter was still walking away. Jack didn’t want nor care for anything Peter said. Ever. He had better things to do. And by that he means listening to Dave yap his heart out.
Peter sighed. “Can a guy not say good morning to his employees? Christ..” He turned back around and headed for his office with a sigh, lazily raising a hand in ‘goodbye.’ (heh that rhymed lmao)
Hm. That was…odd. Nobody ever wanted to say goodmorning to Jack, other than the usual culprit, that is. Hm.
Jack gave Peter a side eye he wouldn’t see and continued his way to the saferoom. On the way, he saw the animatronics. The usual; Freddy Bonnie, Chica, and Jack’s personal favorite, Foxy. But, for some reason, the Puppet had been taken out of their box. Well not exactly; they were hunched over the side, lifeless, like a ragdoll.
Great. Some kid must have snuck in or something, messed with the animatronics after hours. God, where was a security guard when you needed him?
Jack shuddered. He knew where.
With a grumble, he walked over to the animatronic. He gently lifted its body into its box, noting how surprisingly light the thing was. He didn’t really know how they worked, so he just kind-of dropped them in there. He had always been kind of weirded out by this animatronic, for reasons he didn’t know. It seemed to scare the kids, too, seeing as how only a few of them would gather for their showtime. He should probably ask someone about it. Like Dave. Yeah, he would probably know.
Speaking of which, Jack needed his daily yap session, so he turned to leave.
But something caught his eye, mid-turn, and made him stop in his tracks.
A red…something. He didn’t get enough of a look. But just the color made his heart stop entirely. Once he subconsciously stepped closer, he finally got a good look at it.
It was a scarf, one that looked really familiar, but… he just couldn’t place his finger on why. Or where he had seen it before. Or even when. He reached down and took hold of the object, soft and a little bit scratchy under his fingers, and lifted it up. It was sort of small, something that an adult couldn’t have worn, but it did look to fit a child. The red was warm and deep, like something that could comfort or entertain one even in the worst of situations.
Jack continued to analyze the object, fighting against the foreign feelings of nostalgia to try and remember where, exactly, he had even seen this thing before.
Or, ya know, he could just be crazy and be hallucinating everything up. Yup, this was just some random kiddos’ scarf in which he should probably put in lost and found.
He didn’t seem to notice when someone walked up behind him and set a hand on his shoulder. “Old Sport! I’ve been lookin’ for ya!” Dave greeted, gently tugging at the fabric of Jack’s shirt to steer his attention from the scarf. It worked, for the most part.
Jack looked up at Dave, still kinda lost in thought. “Hey, Dave,” he said back. He again turned his attention back towards the scarf. Where had this thing shown up in his life?
He didn’t remember much after his accident. He vaguely remembers a night full of drinking and regret and grief, but doesn’t remember any actual events. Something to do with… a birthday party? If so, then he was related to the company much more than he once thought he was.
“Uh, Sport?” Dave said, confusion etching itself across his face as he lets go of Jack’s shoulder to wave his hand in front of his eyes. “Hellooo?”
“Whuh? Oh, yea, yea, sorry..” Was all Jack could blurt out in embarrassment, after shifting his focus back onto Dave. He pocketed the scarf and turned to actually face Dave. “Uh, what is it?”
“I was gonna ask you to hang in the saferoom with me, but ya looked real …off. Are you okay?” Dave said, genuine concern dripping into his voice.
“What? No, er, yes, I’m fine. Let’s go,” Jack said, waving Dave’s question off as if it were something he was going to forget. Dave followed with a shrug regardless.
~~~
“So, as I was saying, I’m pretty sure clouds would have emotions in a different universe. Ya know what I’m sayin’? Like, aliens of some sort?” Dave rambled, tinkering with the animatronic in front of him.
Jack and Dave were in the saferoom, because of course they were, and Dave was sitting on the floor, having a somewhat one-sided conversation about… what were they even talking about again?
“Hear me out; the universe is HUGE, there has got to be some sort of life. We can’t be the only ones,” Dave continued, looking up from his work to make eye contact with Jack for a split second before resuming it.
Ah, right.
“You mean everyone else can’t be the only ones,” Jack corrected, “We’re literally zombies. That can’t count as some sort of human being.”
“Ah,” Dave said, raising a scarred hand with a hex wrench in it, “I never said that human beings can’t be the only ones. I only said that we can’t be the only ones,” he smirked.
Jack supposed he had some sort of a point.
And so they chatted for a while in the saferoom, laughing or disagreeing every now and again, before Dave started to look around himself worriedly. He even double checked his toolbox.
“What?” Jack asked, noticing the interruption from their conversation.
Dave continued to look around himself as he talked. “I needa’ screwdriver, but for some reason I can’t find my personal one.” He stood up and headed for the door, causing Jack to spring up as a result.
“Woah, where are you going?” Jack asked, a bit of panic washing over him. For some reason.
Dave turned back around, innocently looking down at Jack in confusion. “Chillax, I’m just gonna go and get another from Matt. I’ll be two seconds,” Dave replied, trying for a reassuring smile as he opened the door to the saferoom.
“Oh.” Jack walked over to the couch. “Okay.” He sat down.
Jack saw the door shut behind Dave. Great. Now he was alone.
Jack never really liked being alone. But for some reason, he could only recall those moments… recently. Like whenever Dave wasn’t at work, or when he went home to an empty house. He never liked it.
He did wonder why though. He can’t remember anything from before his accident. At least, all the memories are really foggy.
Oh, that reminds him.
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the scarf from earlier, rubbing his fingers against the fabric as he did. It was still that warm, deep red. It didn't change, yet Jack’s opinion on it subconsciously did. Every time he looked at it, he seemed to have a strong sense of grief. And yet again, he didn’t know why.
He mulled over everything that he could remember before the accident, trying his best to make somewhat conceivable memories. What could possibly tie him to such a random object? Unless…
Then it hit him.
He had a family, didn’t he? A sister, right, whom he loved very much. He would come back from work everyday to her smiling face. It easily made his day better.
But, a pet died, Jack thinks, and… he drank a lot? Yea, yea… it gets really fuzzy there, and no amount of remembrance can recover what happened then.
His string of memories ends with an empty and dark restaurant, filled with birthday balloons and empty plates on the tables.
He never saw his sister after that.
All of these…emotions started crashing in on him at once. Grief, sadness, confusion. And it wasn’t like one was showing more– oh, no, they were all equally mixed and equally horrible. He hated it.
His vision started to narrow, almost like a tunnel, and he kept focusing his eyes on too many things all at once. His heart felt like it was pounding out of his chest, and he felt like he was suffocating at the same time. He didn’t realize, amidst his other thoughts, that he was crying until tears that hadn’t been on his face since… since that fateful night, he bets, fell down.
God, he missed her so much. So, so much, and yet he only realized he even knew who she was seconds ago. Or, was it minutes ago? Time slowed, to the point where Jack couldn’t tell. After his parents inevitably died, she was one of the only family members he had left. How dare he lose her while she was so young.
Was it even his fault? Knowing himself, he ultimately chose that it was in the midst of it all.
The scarf was bunched up in his hand, forgotten, when he ran his hand through his hair, gripping halfway through, trying to act as a subconscious reminder to calm down.
He was spiraling. He knew he was. The worst part was that he didn’t know how to stop.
He noticed how his crying sounded like, pathetic and whiny with each exhale and sniff. Maybe if he focused on that, put all of the weak thoughts that came with it away, he could calm down, right?
No, that wouldn’t work, oh no no no…
He kept running his hands through his hair subconsciously, like just about anything he was doing, his cries turning into hyperventilations. Now it felt like he was actually suffocating which didn’t help his situation.
He couldn't stop thinking about her. Was she the reason he was even working at this place? He can’t remember. God, when will he ever?
His ears were ringing very loudly, only a few sounds being able to reach him. But he did hear, but not pay attention to, a door opening through his ragged breathing.
He couldn’t move, though. He couldn’t do anything but sit there and slowly collapse in on himself.
Chapter two title insert…. Ehghghg…
Dave, screwdriver in hand, starts his retreat back to the saferoom, where he would continue his repairs on his springlock suit. That was his train of thought, at least, until he heard Jack from inside the saferoom.
It sounded like muffled mumbles, followed by a sort of quick breathing. He approached the door wth caution, not knowing whether or not he was crazy and making it up, before he took a peek and noticed Jack kneeling on the floor, head in his hands and a red scarf at his feet.
Oh no. Oh no no no no no.
Dave immediately rushed in, dropping his screwdriver onto the nearby table and dropping to his knees beside Jack. He was probably having a panic attack of some sort. Dave knew what those were like. They weren’t ever fun.
Dave never knew what to do in moments like these. Did he, like, … rub his back or something? Tell him comforting phrases? Nobody taught him how to help. And nobody helped him either.
Jack looked up at him with a heave and a quick shudder before immediately leaning into him, keeping his face hidden away in his hands.
Hm. Well. Dave guessed it was a start.
He wrapped his arms around Jack, encompassing him in a hug Jack didn’t reciprocate. He could hear his heartbeat, beating extremely loud through his chest. He must be freaking out.
What always helped Dave whenever he was in a situation like this was to do the expected – breath.
And so he tried to do just that. “Sportsy? Can you hear me?” He started, hoping that even in his current state, Jack could form some sort of response.
All Jack did was lean further into Dave’s embrace.
“Breathe, okay? All you need to do is breathe,” he continued, trying his best for something soothing. Jack still tucked into Dave, seemingly trying. “In, out, in, out.”
Dave could feel Jack’s chest slowly start to rise and fall, going from erratic and uneven to fast but rhythmic. Good, he was doing good.
Once his breathing started to slow, Dave could hear his cries. He was crying and Dave didn’t even realize until then. Oh, God, he needs to pay more attention.
Jack slowly dropped his arms from his face, resting them on his knees, his quiet but very present shaky exhales giving away his cover. Dave could just barely see how wet his hands were, how tears already started dripping onto Jack’s pants. He was a mess.
Jack eventually and slowly wrapped his arms around Dave’s torso, giving Dave a wave of relief Jack would never know the extent of. He didn’t stop crying, though, which still broke his heart.
He started mumbling quietly into his shirt, something that sounded like ‘I miss her.’ He kept repeating that, over and over. Dave didn’t know what he meant but decided to worry about that later.
Dave set his head on top of Jack’s, still in the crumpled position they originated in, and started taking deep breaths himself, trying to give a gentle reminder to continue to breathe.
And, for some reason, Dave let himself go and gave Jack a kiss on the head, resting his cheek against his hair afterwards. His hair was soft, and Dave wanted to nuzzle in it more but remembered what was going on.
He could feel his chest start to moisten, bringing him back to the fact that Jack Kennedy was crying against his shirt like his life depended on it.
Dave lifted his hand and started to slowly run his fingers through Jack’s short hair, causing Jack to pathetically cling even closer.
Words eventually started to tumble from Jack’s tearstained face.
“I miss her. So, so, so, so, so much.” Dave could hear how desperate he sounded, how embarrased he was by all of this. But Dave couldn’t help but hug him tighter.
“Dave, you won’t understand, she was…. everything,” he continued, sniffling in the middle of his sentence, wiping his face best he could. “You won’t ever, ever understand…”
Dave didn’t say anything. His arm found itself back around Jack.
“She’s gone, Dave, gone…” he continued to ramble.
Dave reached for Jack’s face under him, cupping his cheek and angling it so that he could wipe his tears. Orange makeup smudged under his finger, revealing faint freckles underneath his eyes that wouldn’t usually be visible. Dave made a mental note to bring those up later.
Jack avoided eye contact, settling between looking off to the side or just simply closing his eyes. Eventually, almost miraculously, the tears stop pouring from his eyes and he looks Dave straight in the eye.
“Oh, Dave,” he said, grabbing the arm that held his face up. “Dave, can we do something else? Or, like, talk about something… else?”
“..Like?” Dave said, still processing Jack’s sudden change.
“Dave, literally anything, I don’t c–”
Jack was cut off with a kiss, in which he didn’t mind and Dave didn’t even know he was capable of starting. Dave just went by the first thing that came to mind, and it wasn’t like it wasn’t what Jack asked for. He said anything, after all.
Dave could feel Jack’s wet face as he mashed his mouth against his, but he didn’t really mind. It seemed that Jack didn’t either, he kissed back and even held onto the back of his neck. He seemed to really need this distraction.
Dave could feel his hair between his fingers as he held him, and he felt like his everything melted once he felt Jack’s hand find it’s way to his shirt, in which he pulled so Dave was more at his level.
Jack was the first to break apart.
“Dave, I didn’t mean… this,” he said, lifting up Dave’s tie.
“I, uhh….” Was what Dave could stutter out, before Jack pulled him back gently by the tie into another kiss, a smile spreading across his lips as he does so.
Dave leaned into Jack’s touch, like he always seemed to do, and realized that they were still on the floor.
He pulled away and stood up, lending a hand to help Jack up. Once they were both standing up, the realization of it all made them stand there and contemplate life choices awkwardly. Eventually Dave broke the silence.
“So… if ya don’t mind m’askin, what …happened? Did somebody ..hurt you?” He asked, fearing the worst.
Jack opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it. He looked to be thinking hard for a few moments before saying “I’ll tell you later, just..” He waved a hand dismissively. He eventually looked back up at Dave with a smile.
“Thank you.”
He walked towards Dave once again, grabbing him by the neck tie once again and dragging him into another kiss. Dave easily leaned into it, framing Jack’s face. He was in heaven. He had to be.
After God knows how long, they eventually broke apart and faced each other. Dave decided to head out the door first, Jack was quick to follow.
“You never told me you had freckles,” Dave said, a smirk growing on his face.
“You never asked,” Jack replied simply.
“I wanna see them again, sometime.”
Jack seemed to think it over.
“I’ll consider.”