Lethean (William Afton X Reader)

彡[ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 29: ʟɪꜰᴛᴇᴅ]彡

My eyes blinked a lot of times and darted to the side as my mind searched for an answer to Michael's question, except not a single response popped up, not even a maybe. It's the middle of the night and I get asked the most complex question of all. I haven't even talked about this to anyone.

"Uh... (Y/N)?" the child's voice drew me out of my thoughts, making me cringe in surprise. "Ah-... I don't know the answer to that yet..." I replied, my fingers fidgeting. The idea of love itself was enough to confuse me again. I didn't understand the concept of it. How would I know the difference between romantic and platonic love if I've only gotten a pinch of it?

I heard Michael chuckle under his breath and say, "It's okay, figuring stuff like that takes time. Don't rush it!". It was a great piece of advice from a kid, to be honest. "Dad's taken a great liking to you, I've never seen him so interested in someone—Well, other than my mom", his voice went quiet in the last sentence.

"Does your mom call you often?" I folded my arms and leaned back on the couch. "No... the last time she did was around uhhh.. last year? I answered the phone that time, but she was looking for Dad so we didn't talk" His expression became somber.

Michael put his hands on the back of his head, mumbling, "Both of my parents have complicated minds, sometimes they want each other, sometimes they despise each other" That's what marriage does to you I guess, it's a love-hate relationship. "But hey, you're free to like my dad if you're wondering"

I don't know, but getting somewhat of a go-signal from the kid was hilarious, even though I wasn't sure of my feelings yet. I was thinking of consoling Vanessa tomorrow about the whole love thing so I can get this sorted out. I can already sense her wave of excitement from a mile away.

===== Timeskip: 1:30 PM =====

"WAAAAAH! I FUCKING KNEW IT!" Vanessa had her feet kicking on the floor while giggling like a little girl during lunch in the break room. I asked her something along the lines of 'how do you know if you're in love' or some shit, and she just burst like this as if she knew right away what I was getting to.

"Dude, I didn't say anything about that part yet," I chuckled, getting a light nudge on the arm from the blonde woman. "But the fact you're asking about it means you ARE feeling something! Who is it?—Ah, why am I asking, it's obviously Mr. Afton!" she clapped her hands.

I threw my cold hands in the air in defeat, "Fine Fine, it is him, but I'm still not sure if what I'm feeling is either platonic love or romantic one."

Vanessa put her hand on her cheek, her elbow placed above her crossed arm, and began to explain. "Ahhh, platonic love is more about friendships while romantic love is... well, romantic. Platonic focuses on what you guys have in common, and you don't get embarrassed because you only see them as a friend"

"In Romantic, there's this desire that you want to touch them. Ooh! And it usually starts with your heart beating fast whenever you're with that person. Then your face turns super red when they say something like a compliment or some sort!"

"To put it simply, platonic love is friendship, and romantic love is wanting to date that person." She ended with a snap of her fingers and a genius grin. "So, lemme ask you a few questions so you don't get confused!"

"Sure...?" I glanced sideways and raised a brow. I understood the difference between those two things, and I genuinely hope whatever Vanessa throws at me can help me understand further.

"Okay so, first question—" Before she could continue, someone slammed the door open. "Damnit Neil! Could you at least knock?!" Vanessa exclaimed at the bored man.