"go long!" you yelled to your oldest son while holding a slightly deflated football in your hand. the boy ran far, frantically shifting his head back and forth between your direction and the grass ahead of him, trying to measure where the ball would land.
as michael caught it, time almost seemed to slow down. you could see him falling on the other side of the lawn in his grey tank top and red basketball shorts. you began to think, "i wish things could be like this forever." in the back of your mind, you subtly hoped days like these were a constant; free to mess around and not concern yourselves with the rest of the world, living in your own happy bubble. you knew that couldn't really happen, though. time sped up again as you came back to reality, ignoring your fruitless thoughts. i'll never get anywhere thinking like that.
elizabeth and evan were inside the house with william, liz presumably playing tea party and evan off crying somewhere for the tiniest, most insignificant reason he could think of. you just couldn't blame the poor boy. he was only a small child, still very sensitive to the world. you also knew michael had a tendency to be a bit mean, but that's how most older brothers acted in this day and age.
you chuckled as michael got himself up off of the ground while holding the ball in one hand and swiping the dirt off of his knees with the other. he was a bit filthy because the two of you had been playing this game of catch for a little over an hour. normally, most would consider this a father-son game, but william insisted that he had to work on something in the basement.
"haha, i'm sorry. sorry! didn't mean to throw it like that."
"don't worry about it, mom! that just makes it more fun," michael sweetly smiled at you.
"alright! i think it's time to go inside, huh? whaddya say?"
he nodded and threw the ball to you one last time. you caught it and wrapped your arm around his shoulder, whispering in his ear as you both walked towards the backdoor of the house, "you know, you're awesome at this. might even be better than your old man."
he giggled like a little kid and grinned, "damn right, i am!"
"language, michael..."
"right, sorry."
in your peripheral, you spotted something out of place, so you sent michael ahead and went to investigate it. "hey, go inside real quick, i'm just... gonna clean up out here a bit." he nodded and complied, entering the house with you staying behind.
as you came closer, you noticed it was a scrap of paper. a familiar scrap of paper, actually. it was a part of your notes. it was singed and covered in dirt, dust, and grime. the rest of it was missing.
it didn't make sense on its own, but you recognized your own handwriting all too well. how the hell did my notes end up out here... why is this torn up? your heart gradually started to sink as you realized what this meant. your notes were gone. well, let's not jump to conclusions, you thought in an attempt to comfort yourself, maybe one of the kids just got into my stuff and only ripped up this one page!
...
yeah, right. i'm fucked.
some hours later, everyone was in the house doing their own thing. will still in the basement, the children still participating in their own tomfoolery. you had been watching TV for the past 45 minutes, but you weren't paying attention. you were too busy trying to figure out what happened to your notes. prior to your mindless channel surfing, you checked the drawer in the bedroom you shared with william. it was an unsuccessful search, you found nothing aside from what normally resided in there. it almost looked as though your notes had never existed in the first place, everything else seeming generally unaltered.
finally having enough, you lifted yourself up off of the couch and made your way to the basement. you hadn't been down there since you first bought the house and helped william decorate it. well, "decorate" is a bit of an overstatement. as you made your way there, your mind began to wander. what does he really do in there all day?
standing in front of the door, you nervously knocked twice and called out, "will?" you were met with pure silence. you turned the knob slowly and stepped inside, trying your best to be as quiet as possible. you noticed he was slumped over his desk, drooling on top of some blueprints for, what looked to be, a purple and white freddy fazbear. standing still for a few moments, you contemplated what you should do next. wake him up just to inquire about your notes or let him rest and ask later?
no, you couldn't just wait! you were tired of anxiously pondering over this. you needed answers. those notes were way too important. not to mention, your exam was in just a few days. you shook his shoulder roughly, suddenly motivated by your desire to be promoted. "willy!" you shouted. he jolted up, startled, and almost hit you. you stepped back on instinct, eyes widened. he realized his actions within a second and quietly apologized. "hey, are you okay? what are you so on edge for?" you softly spoke.
he ran his hands through his thin hair and apologized once again, "nothing, i'm sorry. sometimes... i just worry about these damn machines coming to life and mauling me. sounds silly, huh?" he knew he was lying. you knew he was lying, but you let it slide. if he doesn't want to talk to me about his troubles, i guess i shouldn't pry, right?
"yeah, i get it," you leaned down and kissed his cheek, "maybe you'd feel better if you didn't hole yourself up in here! how about we make dinner?"
"thank you, i'd like that."
"oh, actually, before we do that, i have something to ask you."
william's palms began to sweat profusely. his guilty conscience assumed you knew what he'd done, that you were playing coy before leaving him. "do you remember those notes i told you about? they're... gone. do you know where they went?" you asked, as if they grew legs and ran away. your question didn't hold the undertone of suspicion he expected to hear. "what do you mean, 'they're gone'?" he shot back.
"they disappeared, will. they aren't where i put them. did one of the kids get into our room?"
"what? w-why would... well, i can't say i know. i was down here the entire time."
"don't you think that's a problem, honey? i think it's great and all that you're so passionate about this stuff, but that was really important to me, just like these bots are to you. i don't even have the peace of knowing what happened."
it'll keep you close to me. it isn't a problem, he thought.
"no, i don't think it's an issue. the kids are fine, aren't they?"
he was beginning to get annoyed with you insinuating that he was below par as a father. at least, that's how he interpreted your words. no matter his feelings, however, he couldn't let it visibly show. he had to twist this to dissipate your anger, maybe even redirect it.
"yes, but my notes are not. regardless, just you being down here could've raised problems. they could've been hurt!"
there it was, the opening william had been looking for.
"you've never had a problem with this before. it was only until something happened to your notes that you started to care, hm?"
his statement left you speechless. what was he talking about?
"are you implying that i don't care about our kids? please tell me that's not what you're saying..."
"no, no, of course not. i'm sorry if it seemed that way. listen, darling. we both seem stressed. i'm sorry to admit that i don't know where your notes went," he lied, "but i can help you remake them if you'd like."
he could read you so well. he knew you wouldn't bother making a new set of notes, just the same as you wouldn't bother making another meal if your previous one had fallen on the floor. once the deed is done, you normally prefer to wallow in your loss, rather than feel ignited to fix it. you spoke the very next words he wanted to hear, "no. it's fine, i'm sorry for acting like that."
he had you on a leash just as much as you had him, whether you knew it or not. it was something he was proud of. william afton always gets what he wants, after all.
"don't apologize, love. i understand. if any of my work had been mysteriously lost, i'd be quite upset, too," he stood up and cupped your right cheek, leaning in close. "let's go make that dinner, yeah?"
YOU ARE READING
KICK 'EM BEFORE THEY GET UP!
Fanfiction[ william afton x reader ] the detective, the killer, and how their happy family fell apart.
