𝐬𝐲𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 | 𝐦. 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐨𝐧

eleven.

when william told michael to take the kids out that day he knew he meant to take them out to a park but he knew better than that. elizabeth and evan were young but they would get bored of the park pretty quickly. evan was an anxious little kid and would play by himself or hide in the playground to avoid the other kids. elizabeth couldn’t stay in one place too long and would get bored after fifteen minutes. and michael certainly didnt want to go to the park either. he was grown, there was no fun in that. he would just sit at one of the benches and wait for them to be ready to leave. so he took it upon himself to take them out to actually do something fun. he knew these kids better than their dad, sadly enough. they would prefer anything else. william took them to the park far too much.

after william gave michael his car keys, he went to their rooms, scooped the two of them up, and dragged them out to the car. elizabeth protested a bit but evan just followed after michael no questions asked. he clutched his fredbear plush close to his chest and held michael’s hand tightly. unlike elizabeth, in her state of sweet ignorance, evan and michael were both painfully aware of the tension in the air of their home. william and clara arguing really ruined the once cozy atmosphere of their home. michael ignored elizabeth’s protesting and opened the front door. once he was out, he let go of their hands and crouched down in front of the two of them.

“dad told me to take you guys out to the park,” he said, looking between the two of them. they both groaned in response, frowns immediately falling on their faces. “i’m definitely not taking you to the park. how about we go out and get ice cream?” he suggested, his signature grin spreading across his face. 

“anything but the park is okay with me,” elizabeth said and giggled before turning away and skipping off to the car. she stood by the driver’s side door, impatiently waiting for michael and evan. that ice cream wasn’t gonna eat itself. she could hear it calling to her already.

he watched her go off before looking down at evan with a smile. he crouched back down in front of him and tilted his head a bit. “you alright with ice cream? we can get whatever flavor you want,” he said and looked down at the plush he has in his arms. “and you can get some for fredbear here too. he told me his favorite flavor is cookies n’ cream.”

evan beamed, squeezing fredbear close to his chest. “cookies n cream is my favorite too,” he said as a smile tugged at his lips. “me and him can share,” he said before skipping off to car and waiting with elizabeth. 

michael walked over to the driver’s side, unlocked the door, and pulled the seat forward so the two of them could crawl into the back seat. he made sure they were both buckled in before putting the seat back into place and getting into the front seat. he buckled up and pushed the key into the ignition, adjusting the mirror to see them in the backseat. 

“alright, keep your asses in your seats because if we get pulled over we’ll all be in trouble. i’m looking at you elizabeth,” he said and stared at her through the mirror. she crossed her arms over herself and gave him an obnoxious ‘hmph!’ in response. he chuckled before leaning over the middle console to open the glove box and see how much money his father had stored away. most of the time he hid money in his car in case of emergency. he had a few twenties hidden away and michael took them, shoving them into his pockets. he adjusted the mirror once more so he was able to see out of the rear windshield and pull out of the driveway. he drove down the street, watching closely to the road and making sure not to do anything that could get him pulled over.

it was only a short drive and michael was a careful driver but it always made him anxious. he regularly took his siblings out but he knew he was driving illegally. he had done (plenty) illegal things before but this was far more anxiety-inducing. once they pulled up to the ice cream parlor, michael let out a sigh of relief and quickly got out. he pulled the seat forward to let elizabeth and evan out before walking up to the entrance with them. he walked up to the counter, picked up evan, and held him up so he could see the menu. it had pictures so michael could point things out and ask him what he wanted.