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Gregory was terrified.
It wasn’t the same fear that he felt while running through the Mega Pizzaplex. That steady, fast pace beating of his heart which left his palms sweaty whenever he heard a loud noise nearby. The fear for his life that slowly dulled as time went on yet remained a constant in the back of his mind. That fear he was familiar with after all his time spent on the streets, sleeping in cardboard boxes and scrounging whatever scraps of food he could find.
No, the terror Gregory felt as he watched Freddy slam into the ground while that creepy moon guy loomed behind him was something else entirely. It was like his shoes were glued to the ground, stuck watching as Freddy stared blankly up at the ceiling, sparks occasionally shooting out of his head while those too dull eyes looked at nothing. His mouth felt dry and his hands were shaking. He didn’t know what to do, what should he do-
And then that bastard, that moon bitch had the audacity to wave at him.
Like a switch was flipped inside him, the terror that had previously filled his mind immediately turned into sheer, blinding rage.
It was one thing if Gregory was attacked, he was honestly used to having to duck, run, or fight, but for someone as sweet, compassionate, and caring as Freddy to get hurt? For someone he had grown to care about becoming hurt while protecting him?
Someone was going to die tonight, and it wouldn’t be him or Freddy.
All of Moon’s attention was focused on trying to drag the much larger animatronic over to Parts and Service, and as such he was completely oblivious to the sounds of the recharge station door sliding open and the faint scratching of something metallic being picked up off the ground until it was too late.
The sudden, enraged screaming was the only warning Moon got, glowing red eyes looking up just in time to spot the child racing towards him. A rusted pipe was clutched in Gregory’s hands, grip tight enough to make them ache, as the first of many tears started to fall.
Every scrap of knowledge he had on fighting, watching the older kids and adults duke it out over items and food, flowed into his mind. He had seen what he needed to do before, and knew the exact effect it would have.
Moon might not have been a human, but he still had knees.
CRACK!
Before the animatronic could even reach out to the boy and try to wrestle the pipe away from him, he swung. The blow landed and Gregory watched at the joint bent backwards, feeling an immense amount of satisfaction as Moon crumpled to the ground.
And yet, even with his enemy cowering before him, Gregory was far from done.
“DON’T!”
BANG!
“YOU!”
SNAP!
“TOUCH!”
CRUNCH!
“HIM!”
Each shout was punctuated with yet another swing of the pipe, Gregory aiming at every weak point he could think of to both keep the animatronic down and cause him as much pain as possible. An arm broke under the blows, plastic casing splintering and exposing more of that vulnerable endoskeleton.
He only stopped swinging when those glowing eyes dimmed, backing up as Moon fully dropped to the floor, going still.
Gregory panted as he stared down at the deactivated animatronic, eyes flickering between the cracked face and the pipe in his hands. He was once again filled with the urge to lash out, to feel that plastic shell fully break under the force of his rage, but the sound of a static-laced groan quelled his anger.
For now.
The pipe was tossed to the side, promptly forgotten about as the young boy rushed back to his guardian. He dropped to his knees, ignoring the stinging pain of the harsh concrete scraping them as he focused on Freddy. He reached his hands out, wanting nothing more than to see if Freddy was okay, but he hesitated.
What if he did something wrong? What if he hurt Freddy by accident? What if-
“Gregory…”
The static laced voice was enough to snap him out of his spiral, as well as the heavy, metallic paw that gently landed on the top of his head. Gregory froze, tears trailing down his face as he struggled to get his emotions back under control. Slowly he looked up, his watery eyes meeting those of the animatronic.
He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but before he could form the words he heard the groaning of metal. Joints creaked as Freddy set both his paws on the ground and slowly pushed himself upright. Sparks shot out of his neck, and Gregory swore he could see smoke seeping out of some of the seams.
His fingers felt numb, his heart was racing, and it felt like he was seeing things from a mile away, but that didn’t stop him from trying to help the animatronic. Carefully relying on Gregory for some support, Freddy maneuvered his way over to the closest wall and started standing up.
It took some time, quite a bit of effort, and the occasional pause to make sure the animatronic’s spasms didn’t cause him to fall over, but eventually Freddy was upright as he leaned heavily against the wall. He almost sounded like he was panting, fans gusting under the strain his systems were enduring.
And yet, he still took a step forward. Then another, and another.
“We must… go… not safe… here.”
Each static laced word brought agony to Gregory’s ears, not just because the sounds were painful, but also because of the implication of how hard Freddy was pushing himself to get both himself and his charge away from the, thankfully, still unconscious Moon.
Gregory, of course, was not a fan of this and wanted nothing more than for the animatronic to rest and get fixed. So, after a moment of being left behind, the young boy moved to join the animatronic, dry lips parting in worry as he spoke.
“H-Hey, what’re you-”
Without warning, Freddy dropped to the ground.
Back scraping against the concrete walls and producing an ear splitting sound, his eyes went dim once more as his legs crumpled under him. He was still leaning on the wall, somehow, but it looked like he wouldn’t be moving anytime soon.
It almost looked like he was… like he was-
The young boy shot forward, racing to his guardian’s side. He tripped, stumbled, and nearly fell as he reached out to grab the animatronic’s shoulders. Forgoing his previous worries about accidentally hurting him, Gregory did his best to shake him awake.
“Freddy?!”
There was no response to his plea, and he could feel his breathing start to quicken as panic took over.
He wasn’t waking up, he wasn’t waking up-
“FREDDY-”
Without warning he was pulled towards Freddy’s chest, tugged into a hug. He couldn’t stop the surprised shout from escaping him, and the animatronic mumbled a faint apology before resting a hand atop his head, just as he had done before. With more care than Gregory could ever remember experiencing in his life, Freddy ruffled his hair.
“I should be… protecting you. Not the other way around. ” The animatronic sighed as his glowing eyes landed on the distressed boy in his arms. It seemed as though the static was gone for now thanks to Freddy no longer forcing himself to move.
Hopefully it would stay that way.
“That’s okay! I’m used to that kind of stuff!” Gregory objected while vigorously shaking his head. “I can handle it-”
“But you shouldn’t have to.”
Those words spoken with such conviction, the statement that Freddy had made, left the young boy speechless. Having to be independent, having to stand up for himself, these were things that Gregory had assumed were just a part of life. That he would always have to do things on his own, that he wouldn’t get help.
His parents had always told him to take care of himself, from making his own food to getting dressed and cleaning himself up.
His supposed guardians had always scolded him when he got pushed around and bullied, telling him that wouldn’t get involved and it was his responsibility.
His teachers, the few times he had really attended class and paid attention to them, always told him to be nice and make friends, that he needed to be more mature and forgiving.
No one had ever truly been there for him, everyone had just brushed him aside and treated him like a burden. Like he had already failed at life.
But, Freddy…
The choked sob that burst out of Gregory was only the first of many as he finally broke down. All the stress he had felt throughout the night, his constant fleeing for his life, the insults and threats directed his way from the other animatronics-
The terror he had felt when he almost lost Freddy.
It was too much.
Openly bawling now, Gregory hid his face in Freddy’s chest as he cried. A noise of concern left the animatronic as he did his best to hold the child, his child, as best he could and provide the comfort he had lacked for so long.
Freddy was optimistic, but he was nowhere near as naïve as most assumed he was. He had seen the signs and recognized the implications. From the somewhat dirty, torn clothes, to Gregory’s underdeveloped frame and how distrustful he had been of everyone, even Freddy, the signs were clear. Alarms and warnings danced across his vision, the demand that he report signs of abuse and neglect to the nearest Pizzaplex employee.
It only made him want to protect the boy more.
So, he held Gregory close and did his best to rock him back and forth, humming a lullaby. Some of these things were instinctual, he had been programmed to protect and help children, but others he had picked up throughout the night.
Learning and listening, seeing how the young boy reacted to gestures and words. How Gregory always preferred to be the one initiating a hug rather than being pulled into it, the cringing and immediate attempts to escape. How he liked to be called superstar rather than dear as Chica occasionally did as she hunted the boy down.
He cared for Gregory not because he had been designed to, but because he wanted to.
It was why he had pushed Gregory to run ahead of himself as Moon climbed up the elevator platform and closed in on them. Why he had been so willing to sacrifice himself and get dragged off somewhere if it meant that Gregory would be safe.
Of course, Freddy had never expected the young boy to snap, flee the safety of the charging station and fight on his behalf.
His so very, very brave superstar.
The duo stayed like this for some time, Gregory taking in all the comfort and reassurance he could while Freddy reminisced over everything that had happened so far. After his tears had long since dried, making his face feel weirdly scratchy, the young boy finally backed up. He took a deep breath in, let it out, and looked up at his guardian.
He had been thinking while he had been crying, ever the multitasker, and he hoped Freddy was at least willing to consider his idea.
Please… please…
“How… how about instead of you just protecting me, or me protecting you, we protect each other?” Gregory suggested, watching as those faintly glowing eyes met his own.
It was always hard to read his expressions, but he swore that Freddy’s eyes somehow widened in surprise. Surprise that soon faded and turned into something else, something that he couldn’t identify. Panicking a bit, Gregory backed up and started shaking his head.
“If you don’t want to, that’s okay-”
“I would be honored,” Freddy began, reaching out gently brushing away the hair that fell into Gregory’s face. “To have someone as strong as you protecting me, superstar.”
That was almost enough to make the young boy start crying again. He scrubbed at his face to chase away the tears before they showed, and smiled at his guardian. No words were exchanged, Gregory’s expression of joy and gratefulness being enough.
But they could stay like this for long. Freddy still needed to be repaired, Moon might reactivate at any moment, and time was ticking away.
So, with great reluctance, the duo got ready to move.
“Parts and Service is not too far away.” Freddy said as he slowly started to stand up once again, still using the wall as a source of support. “I can be repaired there, although I might need your help. However, you will need to be careful as I might not… act like my normal self. Follow the instructions closely, please.”
“I will, don’t worry.” The young boy reassured the animatronic. However, as all fell silent between them, he couldn’t stop himself from impulsively holding a hand out for Freddy to take.
Embarrassing.
Any sense of embarrassment vanished the second Freddy reached out and completed the gesture, carefully taking hold of his charge’s hand. Confidence and comfort filled him, as did a sense of peace.
Freddy was here, he was alright, and once they got to Parts and Service all would turn out fine.
Now hand in hand with his guardian, Gregory smiled.
“Let’s go!”