#{ THANK YOU DSFKJDSJK its always bothered me too so i ultimately just said ya know what!!!!! who said a week has to be a linear week HUH }

[curseofbreadbear]

[Bell's silence spoke volumes; he'd almost made a point of directing his line of sight as far from Jeremy as possible, which suggested more than enough. Thank goodness he'd insisted that Bell didn't respond. He probably wouldn't have liked any answer he got...though those nonverbal cues didn't help much, either.]

[Bell seemed almost hurt by the notion that he'd show up just to fire Jeremy; from what Jeremy had seen and experienced from Fazbear Entertainment as a whole, though, he couldn't say that he didn't expect it. Nearly losing your life, only to be told that you were now losing your job at a place you once loved...the news would have crushed him before, even with his "issues" in the workplace, but he didn't know how to feel now. Part of him was relieved...but that relief made him miserable.]

[Jeremy hadn't meant to imply anything from his comment -- really, he'd just been fumbling for something to talk about...though, if Bell really had come with that intention, Jeremy might actually have felt upset. Not over losing his job, but because it would have been such a low move for anyone to make. Bell was hopefully above that.]

❝ I-I'm sorry, sir. I just...it's not...I didn't think anybody would... ❞ [Despite his racing thoughts, he couldn't quite figure out how to word anything in a conversation. Sentences felt impossible. It was stupid of him to think that he could carry a conversation in this state, as much as he wanted to.] ❝ Um...thank you. ❞

[There was a beat of silence, long enough for Jeremy to realize that there was a possibility that Bell might leave. He really, really didn't want to be alone. Talking about Freddy's wasn't ideal either, but his head was filled with existential dread -- he didn't want to be left to his thoughts, not when all of them would make him question the reality around him.]

[Maybe his internal pleading had worked -- to his dismay ( and joy ), Steven seated himself beside Jeremy's bed. Thank goodness.]

[Soon after, Bell delivered the news that Freddy's was closing. Again, where his past self would have been heartbroken, Jeremy felt numb. He still cared about the place, about the characters ( didn't he? ), but...nearly losing his life had warped his perception of them. He might even be happy that Freddy's was closing, especially if it wasn't technically his fault...and he hated that.]

[Bell's acknowledgement that "it was for the best" eased his burden ever so slightly, though the subsequent reminder that Jeremy could have died made his stomach churn. One of his hands unconsciously reached for his head, but upon grazing the bandages, he jumped in his skin. Right. He had nearly died. Was he alive right now...? Was this even real?]

[Thankfully, Bell continued, leaving Jeremy with little time to process a single thought. Trying to contact the old owner had gotten him nowhere, but neither had tapping into the animatronics' criminal databases...the latter of which unnerved him. If there hadn't been a mistake on that end, then what could have possessed the animatronics to treat him the way they had? Why did they look at him with such contempt, like...like he was a monster?]

[His head ached. Trying to solve that mystery would have to wait.]

❝ I, uh...appreciate the effort. ❞ [Even though the results were concerning, to say the least.]

[With that, Jeremy went quiet, unsure of what to add ( without making his migraine worse ). He was relieved when Bell filled the void with more conversation, though the topic was...unintentionally bleak.]

[His family had been a welcome presence, obviously. Jeremy had been especially happy to see Simon light up like that; he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his brother smile. Their entire visit had been...as nice as it could be, but it hadn't been as therapeutic as a family visit should have been. Every conversation today had been rife with reminders that he shouldn't have survived, including those with his parents. He really didn't want to be reminded of that fact again. His thoughts were already spiraling as-is.]

[Then, Bell asked whether anybody else had come to see him. Jeremy's expression fell; he'd almost died, yet the only unrelated person to visit had been Bell. Did he have anyone who would have made the trip, aside from family...? He didn't know. Probably not.]

❝ It was nice. ❞ [Jeremy acknowledged, trying to brush off the visitor topic for as long as he could.] ❝ I-I can't remember the last time my brother smiled. Have you, uh...met him? I think he worked at Freddy's... ❞ [Did he really? Jeremy anxiously paused, setting the dots he may have connected aside.] ❝ Well...if you knew him, y-you'd know he never smiles. ❞

❝ As for anyone else, uh...y-you'd be the first, sir. ❞

There's something surprising about hearing Jeremy talk. It's not the slurred quality of his speech--that's almost to be expected, really--but rather the experience of him responding at all. Steven had seen the kid's head get practically swallowed by that machine; the fact that Jeremy's survived is next to miraculous.

No, it's not good. Steve looks anywhere but at the other man, taking his time trying to think of the most noncommittal way he can answer, until--

Don't answer that.

Thank god.

"Fire you?" Steven appears mildly alarmed, even though Jeremy's suspicion isn't entirely unwarranted; he has almost certainly been "let go" by now. But Steven's not here for that. He knows he's made a life career out of being a spokesman for the company, but does he really come across as the kind of man who would come to someone's hospital room to tell them they've lost the job that almost cost them their life?

"No, no, no, it's not anything like that! I'm not here as--on behalf of Freddy's, or anything. I just wanted to see how you were doing. I, um... I brought flowers."

Bell wants to leave right now. He's come, he's shown support, what else is there to do? He'll probably make things worse if he stays much longer.

...but Jeremy had thanked him for being here, and now looks as though he might break down at any second. Steven can't just leave him like this.

Taking a deep breath, he sits stiffly on one of the chairs closest to Fitzgerald's bed.

"We're closing. I don't know if you heard. It wasn't just about... you." All that shit with the spare suit, the suspicious activity... what happened to Jeremy was just the latest disaster in a long, long list.

"It's for the best. I mean, of--of course it is, you nearly--! ...I told you I was going to try to track down the old owner, right? I couldn't get in touch with him. We still don't have any idea what went wrong with the characters. I asked the technicians specifically to double-check the criminal database, I thought maybe your employee records had gotten loaded in there by mistake? But they didn't find anything. I don't know."

Should he be discussing this right now? Probably not. He clears his throat, glancing around the room as though a more suitable topic of conversation will present itself. There's always the option of falling silent and letting Jeremy take the lead, or simply co-existing in a gentle quiet, but those options don't cross his mind.

"The gal at the front desk told me visitors were allowed in because your family had already been here. That's, uh, that must have been nice, right? I hope so." At least Jeremy has some support in the form of a family willing and able to come to his aid. It makes this situation slightly less abysmal.

"Has anyone else... come?"