"Bonnie? Goldie? Do you two have a minute?"
Bonnie looked up from the papers in front of him, Marie pressed against his side. They were both seated in the main shop floor with Marie's latest batch of homework from Freddy spread out in front of them. Vixen was standing across the room from him with Freddy beside her. All the others were off doing their own thing. Bonnie frowned, but smiled as he looked down at Marie. "Kit, I'll be back in a minute ok?" he said as he got up.
The girl nodded, chewing on her shirt sleeve while turning her attention back to her homework. Eyes narrowed, she frowned. Science was not her favorite thing to do. She was too concentrated in her work to notice Vixen and Freddy waiting for the guitarist.
"What's up?" Bonnie questioned, coming up to the two of them. Freddy and Vixen looked at each other, then back at Bonnie. "Is something wrong?" The bear made a small gesture with his hand as Goldie approached the group. "Nothing's wrong, Bon. Vixen just has some good news for you both." Both parents turned to the white fox.
"After her last lesson with me, I did another scan of Marie's throat." she stated, sending them a data burst containing the scan's results. "Looking it over, Freddy and I are sure she is fully healed." Both Bonnie and Goldie read through the document coming to the same result.
"She's ready to speak. She got back what was taken from her." Freddy said with a smile as he nodded to Marie, who was mouthing something hunched over doing her homework. Bonnie and Goldie's optics began to tear up. "Does she know?" The guitarist asked, his pump speeding up while Goldie's mind was flashing with images. They were going to gave a party for this. Marie being able to speak again was just cause for it. Freddy shook his head no in response to Bonnie's question. "Only the four of us know." He said quietly and nodded to Goldie, knowing what he was thinking. "First things first however, we tell her. Vixen, can you bring everyone in and quietly let them know? Then we can have a party for her." the singer explained.
Bonnie and Goldie nodded. As Freddy and Vixen went off to explain to the others, they walked over to Marie. "Hey, Kit." Bonnie murmured, settling back down beside her. He grinned at her when she smiled up at him. "Vixen said you've been doing really well in your lessons. That you're all healed up now." Goldie nodded. "We're so proud of you, little one."
The young girl nodded silently with a small smile as she paused in her writing and looked up at Goldie and Bonnie. 'She said I did great.' she signed before she realized the last part of Bonnie's sentence. 'She said I'm ok? That my throat's ok?'
The purple bunny nodded, his smile growing wider. "Yeah, you're 100% healed now, Kit." he said softly. "Can…can you…try…um…" Goldie's voice asked and Marie looked between them, biting her lip.
'I don't know…' She signed. 'What if it sounds bad?' She shifted uneasily in her seat on the floor. "Oh Honeybee." Goldie cooed, crouching down beside her. He laid a massive paw over her shoulder, gently squeezing it as the tips of his claws tickled her skin. "It doesn't matter what you sound like to us." "As long as you try." Bonnie added, nuzzling her close. The young girl bit her lip as she tried to think of something to say. This moment was big, a milestone really. She opened her mouth and felt her heart pound against her chest. Panic crept its way in. What do I say? She thought.
Goldie frowned when he saw the distressed look on her face. Leaning in, he whispered into her ear, never once stopping the gentle squeezing of her shoulder. Marie closed her mouth, nodding slowly and chewed on her lip once more. Fiddling with her shirt, she looked up at Bonnie. "…I love you, Daddy." she said slowly in a quiet voice.
Bonnie froze, the words tumbling over him. She sounded so much like…Shaking his head, he looked down at her, optics overflowing with love. Gently, he gathered Marie close, his arms winding around her in a protective hug. "I love you too, Kit." he whispered to her.
"Aww…Ow!"
His head snapped up, taking in the sight of BB rubbing the back of his head after Spring smacked him. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. Marie's cheeks on the other hand flushed in embarrassment as she wrapped her arms around Bonnie. It took her a few minutes to process that she actually talked. "Well, we all know what this means-" Freddy started.
"PARTY TIME!" Blue, Chi, Chelly and Felix all cried, taking off towards the kitchen for human and animatronic supplies. "Oi! Get out of my kitchen!" Chica screeched, taking off after them. Marie smiled a little at their antics before looking back up at her dads. She caught a glance at Foxy and said slowly to Bonnie and Goldie "Do I sound bad?" still not used to speaking aloud.
Goldie's ears twitched. "Not at all, Cub." he murmured. "Actually…." "You sound just like your mum, Bunny." Foxy leaning against a table from behind them. His body had sagged at that familiar tone. It had long since haunted his memory bank, but now sent joy flooding through his system. The brunette looked up at Foxy, noticing his hunched figure.
"Then…why are you upset?" She asked quietly. The fox panted, managing a small smile. "The…They're happy tears, Bunny." He whispered. Pushing himself upright, he held out his arms to her.
The girl frowned worriedly, not really believing him. "You're a bad...liar." she said and crossed her arms as she walked over to the fox. Foxy's arms dropped, and so did his smile. "Yeah, I guess I am." Marie gently held his hand. "Why are you sad?" She asked quietly. Did it have to do with her mom? What happened? Did he miss her?
Foxy shook his head. With a tug, he pulled Marie into a gentle hug. "I'm just glad it's finally been rightened." Marie's heart skipped a few beats and she understood. She nodded, hugging the fox back. "Its not...your fault." She whispered.
Oil dripped from Foxy's face, thankfully missing Marie on it's journey to the floor. Foxy managed another wobbly smile. "Th-hanks, Lass." Marie could tell Foxy was still sad over what happened and she continued to hug him. She buried her face against him with a soft sigh. "Love you, Captain." she said quietly.
"Love you too, Bunny," he whispered back. Bonnie smiled, Goldie wrapping his arms around him. "Nothing can hold her back now," he murmured, recalling when she had told them of her dream. "You mean aside from Freddy's screech training," Goldie teased, smirking at his mate. "I heard that." That just sent the two males into a snickering fit.
"Except for any other kid making fun of her." Spring said with a frown. Marie smiled up at Foxy and pulled away. "Now I can read...to you." she said. The girl didn't want him to be sad anymore about it. A delicious smell hit her nose, making her eyes widen in excitement.
Chica came back into the room, grumbling about idiots in her kitchen. In her hands was a large plate of sausage rolls, chips and pizza squares for Marie, with a massive glass of coke. Bonnie frowned, but Chica waved him off. "She's allowed to indulge once in a while, Bon," Chica stated, setting the plate down at Marie's claimed table, carefully moving her homework aside. She grinned over at Marie. "Come and eat, Chick. You must be famished." Bonnie rolled his eyes, but said nothing as Marie approached the table. Marie's stomach growled in agreement and she shyly nodded, sitting down at the table. She began munching on the sausage, chips and pizza. Freddy chuckled as he watched her, silently thanking Chica. He was at least glad the girl added a few more pounds onto her body from when she first met them. Marie had Foxy sit next to her and she leaned against him. "Did the others leave the kitchen a mess?" Freddy asked the yellow chicken, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Chica snarled, though it held no bite. "Not yet. Chi insisted on teaching Chelly how to bake. Felix decided to help. I got out of there before the flower started flying. And Blue...I think he's hanging around to document the whole thing." Freddy huffed. "Well, make sure you put a dustpan in their hands later." "Too late,," Chica leaned forward, an evil grin curving her beak. "I locked them in there with cleaning supplies."
Spring snickered at that and shook his head in laughter. Marie stopped eating, looking at Freddy before asking quietly "Freddy?" Freddy turned to her. "Yes, Cub?" he asked. All the animatronic shad taken on called her child in whatever their species a while back. The name flowed easily off his tongue. The girl bit her lip and fiddled with her hands nervously. "Does this mean...I can try and sing soon?" She asked very quietly, slow so she could get the words correctly. Freddy's smile softened. Shifitng, he gestured for her to come around to him. Marie carefully got up and walked over to Freddy, looking up at the bear as her hair fell over her hazel eyes.
Scooping her up into his lap, Freddy pushed her hair away from her eyes. "I thin we should give it a few weeks. No, hear me out," he stated, stopping her when she went to interrupt. "Yes, your throat has healed, but we don't want to put too much strain on it. Give yourself a bit of time to get use to talking again, and we'll build up to frowned and puffed her cheeks out in frustration, crossing her arms. "Ok..." She mumbled as she looked down.
Freddy chuckled. Leaning down, he blew a raspberry against her neck. "Don't pout, Cub. We'll get you singing soo enough." Marie squealed and wriggled with a smile. "Ok! Freddy!" She said as she tried to escape. "Freddy, let my Kit go," Bonnie declared, smiling at his best friend and daughter. Freddy, in return, rolled his eyes. "Yes, "Dad"." Marie giggled and shimmied out of Freddy's hold, scurrying back over to Bonnie and hiding behind him. She stuck her tongue out at the bear playfully. She then looked around for Brat, wondering if he was around when she started talking. Was he able to hear her speak before? Hands slipped over Marie's face, turning her world black. "Guess who?" a voice whispered, teasingly.
Marie giggled and hummed in thought. "My conscience?" She guessed, smiling.
"Guess again."
"Brat." She said softly.
"Aww, how did you guess?" he asked, his hands shifting down to hold her, as he leaned forward and kissed the back of her cheek, just under her ear.
She blushed, feeling the gentle kiss on her cheek and looked at him as she leaned her back against his chest. "Your hands." Marie answered. Marie paused for a moment and bit her lip slightly. "Do...you like it?" She asked quietly, referring to her voice. Brat paused, tilting his head. He looked her over again, then whispered. "Say my name, please?"
"Brat." Marie said quietly. Brat shivered. "Oh, I love it, Love. It suits you." She blushed. "Really? It does?" She asked.
Brat nodded. "Oh Yeah. It's so-" "Ahem!" Brat froze looking up. Bonnie had turned around, glaring down at sighed silently and looked at Bonnie. "He's not doing anything wrong." She said quietly with a small frown at Bonnie. Bonnie rolled his optics at her. "Let me at least pretend I'm threatening." "Oh, you are, Sir," Brat stuttered, letting Marie go and taking two steps back.
Marie sighed. I can't catch a break with protective Bunny dad, can I? she thought to herself with a tiny hint of a smile as she watched Bonnie glare at Brat, who backed away slowly. She frowned slightly.
"I'm sorry, Sir," Brat apologized. Bonnie sighed. "Just...not around me, alright?"
Marie nodded in agreement to Bonnie. "We won't." She said quietly and held Brat's hand before going back to finishing her food from earlier.
Freddy rumbled, amusement clear on his face as Bonnie turned back to him. "What?" the purple bunny asked. "You do realize that you just gave Brat permission to do whatever with Marie behind your back, right?" Freddy asked, staring at his friend. Bonnie froze as everyone at the table stared at him.
"SHIT!"