Chapter Text
“Where am I?” Gregory wondered aloud as he looked around the vast and dark room he found himself in. It was cold and he could hear his steps echo through the space, like he was walking through a massive cave. “Freddy?” He called out as he cupped his hands around his mouth. He paused, then tried, “Bonnie?” Only his echo responded. Gregory wrapped his arms around himself and rubbed them as he started to shiver from the cold, feeling his fingers and toes start to go numb. He tucked his hands under his armpits and hunched his shoulders up closer to his ears as he continued forward. “Is anyone there?” He called out again.
“Gregoryyy!”
The boy stopped and perked up when he heard Chica’s voice in the distance. He could suddenly make her out standing a ways away from him with her arms outstretched towards him, but a shadow was cast across her face, as though a light was shining down from above. “Chica!” Gregory cried out in relief and started to hurry over to her. “Where are we? How did we get here?” He asked when he got closer, reaching out to take one of her hands, but suddenly she jerked forward and the light hit her face. Gregory gasped in horror at her dark and twisted face. Her eyes were black and her mouth was too large for her head with far too many teeth, all razor sharp.
She snatched up his wrist. “Got you!” Her sweet voice suddenly dropped into a deep, animalistic snarl.
Gregory let out a scream and yanked on his wrist a few times as she laughed. She watched him for a moment then let his wrist go. The boy didn’t stop to think why before he turned and darted away as quickly as he could. Her laughter, twisted and dark, echoed all around him, sometimes sounding closer, right by his ear. Tears started to fill his eyes as he pushed his legs to work harder and take him faster away from her.
Then abruptly, Roxi appeared in front of him with her hands up, fingers curled, and her teeth bared. She looked just as monstrous as Chica. “You little brat!” She howled then tried to snatch him up. Gregory let out another cry and ducked out of the way. He dropped down to slide underneath her, between her legs, then jumped up to keep running. When he stumbled, his heart nearly stopped beating, but he pushed himself up and kept going, running on pure adrenaline.
He only got so far before he suddenly felt something wrap around his ankle. Gregory shouted as his feet stopped but the rest of him kept going forward. He put out his hands and slammed them against the concrete. He could feel it bite into his palms and his chin when it made contact. They quickly drew damp, but he didn’t dare look at them. Instead, he whipped around to look behind him and saw a green hand wrapped tight around his ankle. The arm disappeared into the darkness of a vent, then suddenly red eyes blinked open and a dark chuckle came. He was yanked back, sliding against the concrete and to the opening. Gregory clawed at the ground to try and stop himself, but it did him no good. Suddenly Monty was over him with far too many sharp teeth. There was madness and murder in his eyes, shining through his sunglasses as though the weren’t even there. “Where ya goin’, little guy? Don’t chya wanna play?” He growled in a voice that was just demonic.
Gregory screamed and started to kick his feet with all the strength he had. He landed one good hit on the underside of Monty’s jaw, causing the gator to let his ankle go. The boy scrambled to his feet and started to run again as Monty’s roar of rage echoed around him.
“Freddy!” Gregory screamed as tears rushed down his face. He sniffled and rubbed at his eyes roughly with his forearm, then looked up again. “Freddy, help me! Please!”
Then just ahead, he saw a purple figure standing in a spotlight, head ducked down. The sight of him shot hope through Gregory’s chest and he made a beeline towards him. “Bonnie! You gotta help me! They’re after me!” He cried when he reached him and grabbed his arm, but the figure didn’t move. He yanked on his arm a few times as his eyes got big. “Bonnie! Do something!” He turned to look back the way he came then back up at the rabbit, but froze. He could finally see Bonnie’s face. It had claw marks all over it, ripping away strips of metal and paint. His eyes were gone, completely gouged out. He noticed his entire body was covered in dents and scratches. His throat looked twisted and his hands had been ripped clean off. He looked just like he had when he found him, broken and alone in that dusty cell. Gregory gasped and took a step back.
Then he heard a giggle and he watched as white fingers slowly wrapped around Bonnie’s arm from behind. Suddenly Vanny was in his face, grabbing him hard by the biceps, her red eyes shining so bright, it cast a light across his face. “I’m going to kill you.” She told him in a quiet, sweet voice, almost like a whisper. Then she lifted her hand and a massive knife appeared in it. Gregory shoved her away as hard as he could and booked it in the other direction when her grip on his arm loosened.
All of his friends were gone and Vanny was after him again. She killed Bonnie, tore him apart. He had no one left, no one but Freddy. Gregory called the singer’s name out until he felt his throat burn and his voice cracked. He felt like he ran miles and miles, until he finally saw the bear in front of him. “Freddy!!” He cried.
Freddy turned around to face him, his eyes widened in surprise and concern. “Superstar! What is the matter? What happened to your hands?” He asked.
“Vanny! She’s after me! A-and she killed Bonnie and the others are hunting me again and… and-” Gregory slammed into the bear’s form and clung to his hips, his body shaking as he started to cry again harder.
Freddy put a hand on his head. “It is alright. I’ve got you. Nothing will- will- will- will-”
The child looked up at him in concern. He saw the singer’s face was twitching as he repeated that last word over and over again, before he stopped, and his eyes went dark. The boy gasped and took a few steps back, then scrambled back again farther as Freddy fell forward and hit the ground hard. He saw Moondrop on his back with a fistful of wires in his hand and a wicked grin on his face. His red eyes shined in the darkness as he chuckled in his throat and tossed the cluster over his shoulder.
“Freddy!” Gregory cried in horror.
Suddenly Moon was grabbing him and leaning into his space, so all the child could see was his face and the rows of teeth grinning at him. “You are nothing!!” He screamed, but his voice was not his own. It sounded like a woman, one he was very familiar with and hated to his core.
**
“Gregory! Gregory!”
Gregory shot up and gasped, then looked around wildly. He felt something touch his shoulders and he panicked, flailing his arms in an attempt to escape as he let out scared little sounds.
“Gregory, it’s me! Freddy!”
The boy stopped and blinked up, his terror filled mind finally starting to clear and see the world around him. He was sitting in his room, in his bed. The space was dimly lit by some fairy lights he kept on for some comfort. His shirt felt cold as it stuck to his drenched skin and his heart pounded against his ribs with such intensity, he thought they would break. Sitting on the edge of his bed was Freddy. His eyes were wide with concern and a touch of fear. “I heard you shouting my name and I came to see what was the matter.” The singer explained. “You were thrashing around and crying. I think you were having a nightmare.”
As memories came flooding back to him, Gregory’s face twisted and his tears renewed. He launched himself forward to bury himself into the other’s chest and clung to him tightly as his whole body started to shake. Freddy wrapped his arms around him in return and hushed him softly. “I’ve got you…” He murmured as he curled his fingers gently into the child’s hair. “No one is going to hurt you, I promise.”
They stayed like that for what felt like hours, until Gregory had no more tears to shed and he felt exhausted. He sighed and closed his eyes as he rested the side of his hot face against cool metal. Freddy continued to card his fingers through his hair and smooth it out. They sat quietly for a moment, until he finally spoke. “May I ask what your nightmare was about? Perhaps talking about it will ease some of your fears.”
Gregory opened his eyes and stared blindly at the rest of his room. He didn’t speak for a minute as flashes of his nightmare ran through his head. “I…” He started quietly. “I was being chased, b-by the others. They were… twisted and scary, with hundreds of sharp teeth.” He huddled a little closer. “I found Bonnie, b-but he was broken and torn to pieces. Vanny had destroyed him, a-and then she started chasing me with a knife. Then I found you and you were ok and you said everything was gonna be ok, but then you started acting funny and fell over and… and Moon was on your back. He had ripped some wires out of you! Then he grabbed me and he said…” Gregory paused, that voice echoing through his head, screaming words so familiar. He clenched his jaw and held onto the singer tighter.
“What did he say?” Freddy asked softly.
“She told me I was nothing.”
“She?”
“He.” The boy corrected quickly, turning his face more into the other’s chest. “He told me I was nothing.”
Freddy frowned at the correction, finding it odd, but decided not to push it. Instead, he started to rub soothing circles into the child’s back. “This is the third nightmare you have had this week…” He held him a little tighter. “I am sorry for what you had to go through, Gregory. No child should have to experience what you did. And now, because of it, your mind is… damaged.”
Gregory sighed and shrugged a little, “It’s… whatever. I’ll get over it at some point.”
The singer shook his head. “Do not diminish your mental wellbeing. It is just as important as your physical wellbeing.” He looked down at him. “I promise I will find some way to help you better handle the trauma that night gave you.”
The boy closed his eyes as he started to feel tired again. With Freddy sitting here with his arms around him, he felt safe enough to relax and let sleep tickle at the back of his mind again. He still heard the singer’s promise and felt very skeptical. He had been carrying baggage for a long time and this newest addition didn’t feel any different. It was a little more frightening, a little fresher, but it all boiled down to the same feeling of helplessness, fear, and the sensation of looking death in the eyes and hoping he could outsmart it. “Stay.” Gregory said instead. “Just… until I fall asleep again.”
“Yes, of course. I will sit here with you until the pizzaplex opens and I must make appearances.” Freddy told him as he pulled back to tip the boy’s head up by his chin. “I promise, nothing will hurt you. I will be right here.”
Gregory rubbed his eyes and his face, wiping away tear tracks, then nodded. “Thanks.” He laid back down and let the singer pull the blankets over him.
“Goodnight, superstar. May your dreams be silent or better this time around.” He told him as he brushed his thumb against his forehead fondly. Gregory nodded a little, before rolling onto his side to curl up and closing his eyes.
**
“What’s the matter, honey bear? You’ve been frowning when you think no one is watching.”
Freddy looked up, startled out of his thoughts when Bonnie approached him and spoke. The rabbit turned and hopped up to sit beside him on the edge of the stage then shuffled closer until their shoulders brushed. The mall had just closed for the night, so there was no risk in being closer together now. “You weren’t all there during the show either.” Bonnie continued as he slipped his hand into one of Freddy’s to hold. “I doubt anyone noticed, but I know you. Your heart just wasn’t in it tonight.”
The singer sighed and looked down at the floor as his ears rotated back. “I am sorry. It’s just… I am worried about Gregory.” He explained. “He had another terrible nightmare last night about what happened with everyone, the third one this week.” He shook his head and rubbed his face with his free hand. “I hate seeing him like that and I feel so helpless. How do I fix the broken mind of a child, Bonnie?”
The rabbit hummed and frowned at this as he tipped his head to rest it against Freddy’s shoulder. “That’s a tough one. It’s a wound you can’t slap a bandaid on and call it a day. Those thoughts and fears are always there.” He glanced up at him. “You and I both know how that feels.”
Freddy dropped his hand back into his lap. “Yes, and it is the worst feeling in the world. I cannot imagine what it must feel like for a child.”
“Mm, maybe not, but you do know a thing or two on how to move on from the traumatic parts and separate yourself from the past.” Bonnie sat up so he could turn to face him more. “I know having you and Chica with me, understanding what all that felt like, helped to ground me. So did the conversations we’d have. Maybe you can be that person for Gregory.” He shook his head. “And you don’t need to understand exactly what he went through. Just the fact that you have experienced something difficult could be enough for him to see some of himself in you, so he feels comfortable talking about his own baggage.” He squeezed his hand and gave him a pointed look. “Don’t force him to tell you anything either. Let him do that on his own.”
Freddy nodded quickly. “Yes, of course. I would never force him to do something he did not want to do.” He paused, looking deep in thought for a moment, before glancing up at him, almost hesitantly. “What do I do if he asks what that incident was?”
Bonnie simulated a deep breath, held it for a moment, then sighed. “Well… I’m not sure if he will.” He took his hand back to rub his arm a little as he glanced away. “I sort of… lost my temper when we were underneath the old restaurant. I threatened Vanny and let it slip what I used to do to people like her. I wanted to hurt her for what she did to Gregory and all of you.” He let out a humorless laugh as he looked down at his hands. “I really wanted to play with her like I used to. It was so tempting ...” Freddy reached out to take both his hands into his and gave them a comforting squeeze. This had Bonnie lifting his gaze to his and giving him a little smile as he returned the gesture. “But I didn’t, I didn’t. I just scared her before I knocked her out. However, Gregory was right there the whole time, he heard everything I said to her, so he knows a little bit about my past and he’s a smart kid, so he’s probably figured out you went through something similar, since we’ve been together for so long. He did ask about our past down there, but I told him I couldn’t explain anything because of the promise I made to you and Chica. However, by the end of everything, he didn’t want to know anymore, said he had other things to work out first, so…” Freddy nodded a little at this information, his eyes flickering green as he processed it all. “If he asks you and you decide you want to tell him,” Bonnie started, earning the singer’s attention again. “Then I’m ok with that.”
“But what if he sees us differently afterwards?” The singer asked quietly as his brows knitted together. “What if he thinks… I’m a monster?”
“Aww baby, give the kid more credit than that.” Bonnie lifted his hand to rest it against Freddy’s cheek. “He loves you. You are the most important person in his life right now. He already knows you’re coming with some baggage, yet he still wants to be with you. I don’t think he’ll turn his back on you because of some terrible events of the past.”
Freddy sighed and put a hand over the one on his cheek as he closed his eyes. He was quiet for a long moment, then finally nodded a little. “You are right, it’s just…”
“I know. It’s hard to be less than perfect in front of someone you care about.” Bonnie gave him a bit of a sheepish smile then. “I was nervous to see you again for the first time since I disappeared, ya know. I worried about how I looked, what I was going to say, what you would think of me after all that time… Would you be mad at me? Did you still love me? Had you moved on without me?”
The singer’s eyes widened at this, but he quickly leaned forward, holding both of the other’s hands in his. “Never!” He vowed. “I would love you no matter what your appearance was, and I would wait a hundred years if it meant I would be with you again.”
Bonnie glanced down as his smile turned warm and adoring, little hearts appearing in his eyes for a moment, before he looked back up at him. “All the things I was worried about sound silly to you, don’t they? Your relationship with Gregory might be new, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t strong and important to both of you. I honestly don’t think you have anything to worry about, love. He’s gonna want to be with you, even if your past is a little dark.”
Freddy frowned in thought at this, then nodded a little as he simulated a deep breath. “I guess so, I hope so.”
The bassist tapped him on the nose. “I know so. You got this.”
**
With Bonnie’s pep talk in mind, Freddy started to compile how he might approach the topic with Gregory without it sounding forced or sudden. He had a few ideas in mind he thought would work well, but none of this would be able to take off before he spoke with Chica. He wasn’t sure if Gregory would want details of his past, but he wanted to make sure he was prepared, just in case. He wanted to be as open as he could with the boy.
Understandably, Chica was… less than thrilled when he brought the subject up to her. “It should stay in the past, Freddy.” She told him as she crossed her arms and leveled him with a serious look.
“I know.” The singer spoke, messing with his fingers in front of him. “But Gregory is suffering, Chica. You do not see him when he wakes up from a nightmare, screaming and flailing like he’s fighting for his life, or hold him while he cries until he exhausts himself and drifts off to sleep again. It is a pain too intense to put into words.” The guitarist’s expression softened with worry at this, looking up at him with wide eyes, before glancing away and rubbing her arm. Freddy took her hands to hold in his. “I want to help him, and Bonnie suggested that letting Gregory know that I have handled trauma before might help him feel comfortable enough to open up and let me in. If he asks, I want to be able to answer him.”
Chica sighed and tipped her head to the side as she looked everywhere but the pleading blue eyes looking at her. Her eyes flickered green as she rolled thoughts around in her head. Freddy shook his head a little as he leaned to try and meet her gaze. “I will not speak of everything and I will leave your portion out, but he might be able to piece things together. Besides, he already knows about… him and he has learned a few things from Bonnie unintentionally as well. It is entirely possible he already knows, or at the very least has some sort of idea. He is a very smart child.”
“He is…” Chica agreed quietly, nodding a little as she lifted a hand to rub her forehead. “I don’t like this. I don’t want to talk about or even think about the past. We’re done with it, it’s over, it’s gone, things are settled. We should just leave it in that shit hole we found it in.”
“I know… but talking about it does not make it come back to life, does not turn you back into what you once were. We are better equipped now to shape our lives than we ever were before.” Freddy frowned and glanced down at the ground. “I admit, I am also nervous to say anything about it, not because I do not like talking about it or want to forget it ever happened, but I am worried what Gregory will think of me. I am worried he will be afraid of me.” He shook his head. “Bonnie says it’s silly, and I agree, but… that does not make the worry go away.”
The guitarist looked up at him with big eyes, a little startled and taken aback by his confession. “Oh sweetie, you shouldn’t be concerned about something like that!” She told him, instantly going from defensive to comforting in the face of her friend’s insecurities. She held his hands a little tighter and pulled them closer as she moved to meet his gaze. “He loves you.”
The singer gave her a little smile. “Bonnie said the same thing.”
“That’s because it’s true! I think even if for whatever reason, something changed you now, like that virus came back and affected you, I don’t think he would be afraid of you.” She paused and glanced away. “Well I mean, maybe a little in the moment. You can be quite scary when you want to be.” She shook her head and looked back at him. “But he would know it wasn’t you and the moment you were ok, he would rush up to you for a hug, no hesitation.”
Freddy was quiet at this, as he looked down at the floor, then chuckled a little in his throat. “I am the one that is supposed to be comforting you, Chica. Not the other way around.” He told her as he met her gaze.
“Nonsense! We’re BFFs, we comfort each other. We love and support each other.” Chica nodded once at this, standing a little straighter.
“Thank you. I do not know what I would do without such amazing friends like you.”
“You don’t need to thank me, buttercup.” Chica then simulated a deep breath and sighed. Her eyes flickered green as she thought, gazing down at the floor. “Alright.” She looked back up at him. “If… if you wanna tell Gregory what happened, you can. I don’t like dredging up the past like this, but if you think it could help him in some way, then go for it. I don’t like seeing you upset or knowing Gregory is suffering.”
Freddy smiled at this and gave her hands a squeeze. “Thank you, this means a lot to me. And like I said, I will not mention anything about you, or any of it if I do not have to.”
Chica nodded a little and gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Thanks.” The singer pulled her into a firm hug, which she returned, melting into his embrace with a little sigh.
**
While Freddy wanted to try and help Gregory as soon as possible, he didn’t want to rush into this, and took some time to organize his thoughts, even going so far as to create a little folder of notes in his mind so this could hopefully go as smoothly as possible. He approached the boy one night after the pizzaplex had closed, when he was curled up on the sofa in his room playing a game on his phone. “Gregory, would you mind if we talked about something for a moment?” Freddy asked him.
The boy blinked up at him, looking a little taken off guard, but he nodded. “Sure.” He shoved his phone into his hoodie pocket and pulled his feet closer to him so the singer could sit on the other side of the sofa. “What’s up?”
“Well… for a while now, I have been trying to figure out a potential solution to help you with your nightmares.” Freddy started, messing with his fingers nervously in his lap.
“Oh.” For a moment, Gregory looked a little guarded as he shoved his hands into his jacket pocket and looked down at his knees.
The singer gave him a little smile. “I know it is not something you really wish to talk about, and I am not going to force you to, but I know talking about things in the past that have hurt me helps me to handle them better. It makes me feel… like I am not alone, and that does a great deal to ease my anxiety.”
Gregory blinked in surprise at this and glanced up at him curiously. “You have anxiety? Really?”
“With some things, yes. When it comes to things like entertaining I’m fine. It is something I love to do and brings me great joy. But sometimes…” Freddy paused and frowned a little. “Memories of the past will pop up, either randomly or because something startled me. I am much better at handling it now and I have things I can do to relax and settle that anxiety again, but it is always there.”
“Your past… is it the same as Bonnie’s? Does it have something to do with that rabbit guy I saw beneath that restaurant?”
Freddy simulated a deep breath, then sighed. “Yes, it does. He hurt us very badly, used us against our wills, made us do things we did not want to do for a very long time, and it twisted us into people we did not want to be.” Gregory frowned down at his knees and moved to wrap his arms around them. The singer watched him for a quiet moment, before reaching out to place a gentle hand on his arm. “My intentions here were to not speak of my own past, I do not want to make this about me. However, I bring these things up so that you know that I understand the struggle that comes with having a traumatic past. And… if it makes you feel better or more comfortable speaking to me about what has been plaguing your mind at night, then I will tell you what happened.”
Gregory looked up at him in surprise. “But Bonnie told me you guys never talk about it, that you promised each other not to.”
Freddy nodded. “We did, but I spoke with both Bonnie and Chica and received their approval to tell you, should you desire to know. But I must warn you, it is a very dark tale, filled with many horrors.”
“You would really tell me if I asked you to?”
“Yes, I would.”
Gregory just stared up at him for a long moment, before lowering his gaze and hugging his knees closer to his chest. He didn’t say anything for a long moment and Freddy didn’t press. He just patiently waited while the child sorted through his thoughts. “How are you so ok with talking about something like that?” Gregory eventually asked. “If it was so terrible, wouldn’t you want to just… try to ignore it?”
Freddy hummed, “That never worked for me. Ignoring it made it worse, actually. It made it feel bigger and scarier. It was as though every one step I would take to get away from it, it would take two steps right behind me. In fact, not long after we arrived here at the pizzaplex, I… lashed out at one of the workers when she touched me. I scared her pretty badly and she quit the same day.” He frowned down at his lap. “I felt truly awful about it, I really did. It was then that I realized what I was doing was not working. I wasn’t happy or relaxed, I was lying to myself when I said I was alright.” He balled his hands into fists. “I was wrapped up tighter than an aluminum wire, and if I did not change how I was coping with the past, I was going to hurt someone by accident.”
The singer dropped his hands back in his lap and looked at Gregory, who was quietly watching him behind his folded arms. He gave him a little smile. “Bonnie was the one that helped me figure out that I needed to talk about what happened instead. Turns out he needed a similar outlet. He was angry instead of anxious and would lash out at the smallest things. He went through so many bass instruments at the beginning because he would either snap them in two or swing them like they were a baseball bat and trash whatever area he was in.”
Gregory looked surprised at this. “Bonnie did?” He frowned and glanced down at his feet. “I mean, I remember how angry he was when he saw that rabbit guy downstairs and when he confronted Vanny, but he didn’t destroy anything or even hurt Vanny. And other than that, I’ve never seen him angry or break anything. He’s so gentle and happy.”
Freddy chuckled a little in his throat. “He is, and he has worked very hard to get to that point. I had to talk everything out, but he had to express it. If he was angry, he would scream until he shredded his voice box. If he was sad, he would cry until his tear banks were empty. Once he got it all out of his system, he was able to implement ways to start moving on. He took up tinkering with a new varosity, determined to be in control of his mind and body at all times. He also started meditating, where he shuts down nearly every part of his body and retreats back into himself for an hour at a time. He is still susceptible to outbursts, of course, but he has improved greatly and just as you said, he is much happier.”
The boy considered this for a quiet moment and nodded a little before glancing up at him. “And… how do you handle what happened? You just… talked about it?” He asked.
The singer nodded. “Yes, but I told Bonnie everything, from the darkest, heaviest thoughts and insecurities I had, to the twisted desires I felt, down to how scared I was that it would happen again. I never hid anything and I never lied about how I felt or what I thought.”
“And it did happen again…” Gregory said quietly.
Freddy hummed, “I suppose in a way it did, but this time, I was in control of myself. And… honestly, having you helped me a great deal, because I could protect you.” He reached out to take one of Gregory’s hands to hold.
The boy looked up at him with wide eyes. “Really? I helped you?”
“Yes. I was scared when I realized what was happening, but not when I had you, because you gave me a task and a purpose, a mission to focus on. My desire to protect you overrode any anxiety that might have come up. Even when we were in that strange room under the old restaurant, when I learned… he was there, I was not scared. You and Bonnie were there, and I knew I would do anything to keep you both safe.”
Gregory stared up at him with big eyes that slowly started to swirl with a mixture of emotions, ranging from overwhelmed, to affection, to confusion. His shoulders tensed as he looked down and gripped the hand in his tighter. He pressed his lips together firmly and hugged his knees tighter. “B-But you didn’t even know me for that long! I could get you feeling that way about Bonnie, but I was just some random kid that crawled into your chest while you were sleeping!” He shook his head. “You don’t know anything about me or- or where I came from or what I’ve done. How can you be so… so… sure about me? How can you care about me so much?” He took his hand back to rub at his face and eyes with both hands. “No one has ever wanted me around before. The only person who ever liked me was some fucking stray dog I met once that I gave the meat off my burger to. Adults would chase me away from supermarkets and bus stops, a-and even other homeless people I met didn’t like me! They’d chase me away too!” He sniffled and hiccupped as he started to cry, his shoulders starting to shake. “I-I don’t understand why you’re different; why any of you care about me!”
Freddy’s eyes widened at this. He felt his heart break from the boy’s words and tears. He knew he had a hard life before this, but he didn’t realize there were so many other factors adding to the boy’s stress. Oh how he wished he could have found him sooner…
The singer reached out to gently touch one of his knees. “I cannot explain it to you, Gregory. Sure at the beginning, I saw you as a little boy who was lost and needed help, just as I might see any other child, but as the night continued, you became more. I could not tell you where it started or what you did, if anything at all. I just… grew very attached to you. There was nothing else in the entire world I wanted more than to keep you safe and make you happy.”
“But why?!” Gregory looked up at him with red rimmed eyes, tears pooling against them and running down his cheeks. “My whole life I’ve been treated like I was nothing. Even my mom told me I was nothing!” He shook his head. “She didn’t even want me! She was my mom and moms are supposed to care about you and love you and want to protect you, but she didn’t give two shits about what happened to me! She didn’t care about me at all! No one has!” He sniffled and ducked his head to bury his face into his knees as he lifted his hands to bury his fingers into his hair. “I don’t understand why you do…” His voice came out quiet and weak, almost like a whisper.
“Oh Gregory…” A sickening horror settled into the bear’s chest when he heard all of this. He felt sorrow and fury all at once. He felt a familiar distrust and hatred towards adults rise in him. He wanted to find Gregory’s mother and do to her what he had done to countless adults he encountered in his past. He wanted to make her regret ever thinking of hurting this sweet boy before him, but honestly, that wasn’t a realistic goal. Who knew where his mother was now. He couldn’t chase phantoms, but he could comfort the very real child in front of him. He reached out and gently touched Gregory’s shoulder, unsure if he would want to be comforted right now, but when he didn’t pull away or react negatively, he scooted closer and pulled him into a hug. At first Gregory didn’t react, didn’t lean into him or return the gesture, but slowly, he unfolded himself and curled into the other’s chest, wrapping his arms around him. Freddy held him and gently ran his fingers through his mess of brown hair. He didn’t say anything, just allowed him to work through his emotions until he felt solid again.
He wasn’t sure how long they sat just like that, but soon, Gregory had quieted down again. They didn’t speak for a long time, before Freddy finally broke the silence. “You have been through quite a bit, in your past and more recently. Things have not been easy for you, and for that, I am sorry. However, believe me when I say it will not always feel like so much. It will at first and moving forward can be difficult, but it is something you are very capable of and you do not have to do it alone if you don’t want to. I will always be here for you, however you need me, I promise.” Gregory didn’t say anything in reply to this, just buried his face into the other’s chest. The singer just hummed a little song and toyed with his hair gently.
**
A few weeks had gone by since their talk. Bonnie asked how it went and Freddy expressed he thought it went well. He did share what he learned with him, but only him. Gregory’s past wasn’t information to be spread like gossip, but he trusted Bonnie and knew he cared just as much for the boy as he did. Hearing what had happened sent a jolt of anger through the bun, a flashing of red in his eyes Freddy was quite familiar with. He was outraged to know a child was treated in such a way, but more so because it was their child.
“I despise adults.” Bonnie had hissed with venum in his tone. Freddy silently agreed and took his hands to hold to help calm him down. With a few deep breaths, the bun’s eyes returned to normal and he sighed.
“I suppose that is something Gregory and we have in common.” Freddy mused quietly.
That night, the singer awoke from his idle sleep mode to find Gregory standing in front of the recharge pod, looking hesitant and tired, but sure. Freddy’s internal clock told him it was about four in the morning, long past the time the child normally went to sleep. “Hello, Gregory.” He greeted when he stepped out of the pod and moved to kneel in front of him. “Is there something you need?”
The boy hesitated, pressing his lips into a firm line as he seemed to go back and forth with his thoughts, before looking up at him again. “I… I’m ready.” He told him.
Freddy tilted his head to the side a little. “Ready for what?”
Gregory looked back down at the floor, clearly tense and perhaps a little uncomfortable, but still sure. “I want to… talk a little bit about the stuff that happened. I want to feel better.”
The singer blinked in surprise at this, but felt a rush of warmth and excitement rise in him. Not because he was eager to hear of the boy’s past, but because he actually felt comfortable enough to tell him about it. He had made the choice to do this and came to find him. Freddy gave him a sweet smile and nodded. “Alright, let’s go back to your room. I think you will be more comfortable there.”