Rain's Writing Archive

a couple animatronics and a kid can be a family, right?

Originally posted to Ao3 on 2/19/2022.

When he woke up, a large metal hand rubbing circles on his back was the first thing he felt. Gregory let out a contented sigh and snuggled deeper under the covers - which, he noted, he had not been under when he fell asleep. Freddy must‘ve tucked him in.

It was childish, but Gregory’s heart soared whenever Freddy did something nice for him just because he wanted to.

The mattress dipped heavily near the end of the bed, telling the boy exactly where his caretaker was. The two stayed how they were for a few minutes, Freddy rubbing his back in soothing circles while Gregory slowly pulled himself out of the realm of sleep.

The teen finally opened his eyes, and Freddy’s blue ones locked onto his immediately.

“Good morning, Gregory,” the bear said softly.

“G’mornin’ Freddy. W’ time’s it?” Freddy took his hand off the kid’s back so he could sit up.

“It is 2:14 A.M.” Gregory hummed and leaned into Freddy’s side. The singer chuckled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, holding the boy close. “Would you like to go back to sleep? I did not see you when the last show of the night ended, so I assumed you had been sleeping for a while already.”

“Nah, you’re right.” Gregory stood up and stretched his arms above his head, a few joints giving audible pops. “I’m actually pretty hungry, let’s go get some food.”

“Lead the way.”

Deciding to not put his shoes back on - Freddy must have taken them off when he tucked him in - the duo left Rockstar Row and headed for the food court.

The tile floor was cold under his socked feet, but Gregory didn’t mind too much. Freddy’s loud footsteps stayed behind him the whole trip, a comforting sound that Gregory had long grown accustomed to.

The trek was short, only lasting a few minutes. The atrium was empty except for a few STAFF bots roaming around, but those hadn’t been a problem since Vanessa gave him a full access security pass (probably a bad idea on her part, but Gregory couldn’t complain).

The food court didn’t have many options, and other than the salads from Salads and Sides, none of them were healthy. Freddy had complained to management, but it never went anywhere. So, Gregory was free to eat as unhealthily as he pleased, even if the bear didn’t like it.

Gregory headed behind the food court and into the kitchen with the chef bot, Freddy following close behind.

“Chili cheese dog. Uh, please,” Gregory tacked on after seeing Freddy’s disapproving look. He got an approving nod from the bear.

“One chili cheese dog. Coming right up,” the bot said. It pulled out a bunch of ingredients and got to work, moving faster than Gregory could keep up with.

A few minutes later, Freddy and Gregory reentered the Atrium, Gregory now one chili cheese dog richer. The teen walked alongside the bear as he ate, taking huge bites and ignoring the raised eyebrow he got from Freddy.

He finished eating in record time. Freddy stared at him.

“What?” the boy asked, crossing his arms over his chest and mock-glaring at the singer.

“Did you even chew?” he asked, eyebrow still raised.

“Shut up! I was hungry!” Gregory elbowed the bear, grinning. Freddy grinned back as much as his metal casing would allow.

The bear’s metal hand found its way into Gregory’s hair, messing it up even more than it already was. Gregory let out an indignant squawk. He grabbed Freddy’s hand and tried to pull it off his head, but unfortunately, the bear was several times stronger than him, so the hand stayed where it was.

The teen tried to pull away, but Freddy had apparently decided that wasn’t going to happen. He grabbed him around the middle, picking him up off the floor and carrying him under his metal arm like a particularly unruly child.

Having decided that this was adequate, Freddy began walking back to Rockstar Row. Gregory hung limp, slightly shocked at the new situation he’d found himself in.

Once he shook some sense back into himself, Gregory started to wiggle in Freddy’s grasp. This got him no closer to being returned to the ground, however. Freddy only held on tighter.

“Gregory, if you keep squirming like that, I will end up dropping you.” Freddy turned his head to look the boy in the face. Gregory huffed and turned his head away.

“Well, if you put me down, then maybe I wouldn’t be squirming in the first place.” He heard the animatronic sigh, but he was still not set down.

Gregory chose to cut his losses; they were almost back at Rockstar Row anyway.

Another set of footsteps were approaching from behind. Gregory craned his neck to see who it was. It was difficult with Freddy holding him the way he was, but he managed.

The bright purple form of Bonnie was speedwalking in an attempt to catch up with Freddy. It wasn’t working too well, considering Freddy’s stride was much greater than his. Gregory got Freddy’s attention and directed it to Bonnie desperately trying to catch up with them. The bear thanked the teen and stopped to wait for the other to catch up.

“Hello Bonnie! It is nice to see you,” Freddy laced the fingers of his free hand with Bonnie’s and continued walking.

“Hey Fred. It’s nice to see you, too.” Gregory was sure that if Bonnie was human, he’d have the dopiest grin on his face right then. As it stood, he had little pink hearts in his pupils, and he’d bet that Freddy had them, too. The saps.

The three of them made it to Freddy’s greenroom, and Gregory finally had both feet back on the ground.

Bonnie and Freddy settled down on the couch while Gregory ran into the back room. He changed out of the clothes he’d accidentally slept in earlier and into actual pajamas. On his way out, he grabbed a blanket off his bed and wrapped it around his shoulders.

He came back into the main room and curled up in the empty space between Bonnie and Freddy on the couch. They all shifted around to get as comfortable as possible before settling down fully.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, basking in each other’s company. Bonnie was the one to speak first.

“Okay,” he said, humor in his voice, “you two will not believe what happened in the bowling alley earlier…”

Their family was a bit janky sometimes, with two animatronics and a human kid, but it worked for them. Wasn’t that all that really mattered?

A/N: this is a series now :D

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