Christmas. (Takes place when the children are unaware Vincent is their killer. So...about Chapter thirty-ish)
For the most part, Vincent kind of seemed to let Christmas roll over whenever it came around.
He usually didn't have any family members to celebrate for...reasons he wished to keep silent. So the holiday just never seemed to be as huzzah! To him as it was to other people.
And that's just what had happened that day. Throughout the eve, he could hear the excited talk of the children and how they would get gifts just gave Vincent a sour feeling throughout the day. Luckily, he played along with the excitement, and none of the children seemed to catch on about his feelings on the holiday.
"I can't wait!" Bonnie said "This year's gonna be awesome!"
While he was suppose to be happy that the children had each other, he just felt awful. More likely, he felt that he had a painful headache and a queasy feeling his in stomach. He tried to mask his pain, but in doing so, he kind of forgot about the conversation
"Uh...dad?" Bonnie asked
"Sorry Bonnie," He said "I'm not feeling too hot. I think I'm going to take a nap."
The bunny lowered his lavender ears.
"Alright then..." he sighed as he walked away to play with his toy counterpart.
After that, Vincent retreated to his room. Maybe resting would clear his head up a little. Or at least, make this rather powerful and annoying headache of his go away.
He flopped right on the bed with what he was wearing, and almost instantly, he started to feel better
Wow... He thought This. Feels. AMAZING!
He moved around a little bit to try and get more comfortable, and after managing to get in a comfortable position on his side, he began to feel even sleepier.
Maybe a quick nap will help out...
He closed his eyes inhaled one deep breath after another. Enjoying the warm comfort of his bed as those painful feelings from earlier seemed to vanish off.
He didn't know how long he lied there, but suddenly, the air around him was...cold?
Vincent opened his eyes and saw that he wasn't in his bed anymore. Although he couldn't see much from his groggy eyes, he could feel that he was outside.
He shivered as he felt the still winter air prick his skin.
W-w-here am I?
Vincent rubbed his eyes and saw that he was in some sort of town square. At least, what he hoped was a town. The office buildings were closed with their windows shut, giving this town a ghostly and empty feeling. A grey concrete ceiling of clouds hung overhead while gentle flurries fell from the sky, causing a thin blanket of snow to cover the roads, empty offices and the town hall in general.
There was no light save for a few streetlamps, the holiday lights wrapping those lampposts, and the large Christmas tree in the center of the town, giving a strangely warm glow on the cold winter night.
There was something about this place. Something that seemed just out of reach from his memory...
Why does this place seem so familiar...
Vincent knew this place.He knew that this town. But he couldn't quite understand where or when it was from, just that he knew he had seen it in the past.
Maybe there's somebody here... He thought I hope so, I need to figure out just what's going on here...After all, nobody falls asleep and wakes up in the middle of a cold town without something strange happening.
He started to walk, careful to avoid some patches of ice starting to develop and when he turned the memorial statue in the middle of the town square, he saw that somebody was here with him.
On a bench facing the stone monument, a child sat with his hands tucked into his grey sweater. At least, he thought it was a child. As he got closer to the person, he saw that it was actually a teenager in his late years or young man in his early twenties.
He walked to the person, hearing his shoes crunch in the thin snow and ice until he was about a few feet away from him. And as he got closer to him, he felt that he knew this person. Just somewhere, this town, this sky, and this teenager somehow were familiar...
When Vincent finally sat down on the bench next to the the teenager, the young adult finally seemed to finally notice how he was close to him, and he looked up. His long black hair parting ways to a stone and tombstone grey eyes.
"Who are you?" The teenager snapped.
"W-William." He lied recalling an old pseudo-name "William Afton. And who are you?"
"Nobody of importance," He sighed "I bet you have a family waiting for you."
He was taken back how bitter this kid sounded. But nonetheless, he needed information.
"I do."
The young adult continued to glare at him.
"Then why aren't you leaving?"
He was still amazed by this kids' bitterness. Yet...it seemed all the more familiar to him...
"I don't know," he said "I was enjoying a nice walk and saw you sitting on this bench. And I felt that you were kind of lonely.
"So you're walking around when flurries are coming down?"
"Snowing is a rather pretty scene," He answered "At least, it looks less suspicious than sitting on a bench all by yourself."
"Suspicious?"
"You're sitting by a bench in the middle of a closed town square on a holiday when most people are indoors." He said "Usually doing that gives the feeling that you're planning something..."
The teenager continued to stand there on the bench. His breath coming out in white puffs while his body shivered.
"Well, I hate to your bubble Mr. Afton, but I'm just sitting on this bench all by myself."
"Are you sure, I'm sitting next to you,"
The teenager made a flat and even colder face than before.
"Why are you bothering me?"
"I'm just concerned about your well being," Vincent answered him.
"Well...I hate to bother you again, but I'm enjoying myself on this bench just fine."
"Don't you have a family?" he asked
He didn't answer.
"Do you or do you not have a family?"
The teenager remained silent. His tombstone grey eyes in his sockets making a silent yell to leave him alone.
That glare... He thought It's so familiar...why do I feel like I've seen that?
"This is a yes or no question." He said trying to re-establish his authority.
The teenager remained as functional and cooperative as before.
"Look, I need an answer or else I'm calling the po-"
"Yes." He said
Vincent was a bit relieved after finally squeezing out an answer from this guy.
"Yes?" he asked him.
"Yes." He answered "I had a family,"
"Had?" Vincent asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes. Had." He said "I'm sure you've heard the rumors about me haven't you?"
"N-no." He replied "What rumors are there about you? I'm certain not all of them can be true..."
The teenager seemed snicker at what he had said and how he was uninformed about this.
"You see, the rumors about me are that I I killed my parents,"
Vincent blinked. Taken back by such a nasty rumor.
"They do?"
"Yes," He said, his grey gaze guided in Vincent's eyes "You see, those kids think I killed my mother, father and godfather,"
It hit him like a brick wall.
He remembered this kid. He remembered that there was only one kid from his memories who had both parents and godparents killed. He suddenly knew when this was and where it was too.
Suddenly, everything seemed to be in ultra high definition, with every atomic detail painfully sharp and crisp.
He found himself processing everything for a few seconds before he answered.
"Don't worry," he answered "I know the difference between what's true and what's not,"
The teenager turned his once outward gaze to him.
"You do?"
"Yes," He answered. "I know what you're dealing with."
The teenager still looked doubtful.
"Prove it, tell me what really happened." He said
"Aright..." Vincent said, gathering up the courage to say the obituaries "Your mother was the first to die. She died of pneumonia a few weeks after your birth. But then again, you don't remember. You were a baby and hardly knew what was going on at the time."
Suddenly, the Teenager's eyes widened at Vincent had said.
"I also know that after your mother's death, you were sent to your godfather's house instead of your genetic father's house, since he had hated that woman. I know that he worked for the FBi and he loved you very much. But he died too, this time by a gang when he was getting too close to some answers.
The teenager suddenly had a look of terror grow on his face. Vincent found it difficult to name the dead, but he kept going
"And your most recent death of course, was that your actual father died in a gas leak accident a few years back. But of course, you hated your father, so the story of the gas leak killing him may or may not be true. For all we know, he might be the actual person you may have killed..."
The teenager's eyes snapped open and he scooted a few feet away from him.
"H-h-how do you know all of these things Mr. Afton?" he asked in a squeaky and scared voice.
"Trust me," He answered "I know all about you Vincent Richardson."
It felt weird, calling himself in the third person. But nonetheless, this was him. More accurately, this was his teenage self from long ago. From a time where Vincent thought he didn't need anybody and that he was better off alone and away from the world.
And upon finding this out, Vincent realized now what this was: It was a memory. This place was the old town square of the town he grew up. In fact, if his memory served him correctly, he ran away from the town at this night, trying to follow the moving Valarie and hopefully try to get hired into his friend's new company: Fredbear's family diner.
The younger Vincent suddenly seemed to be terrified of this older one, and even scooted a few feet away from him.
"You have no reason to be afraid of me." He said "Share your thoughts, I would like to know what you're thinking."
His teenage self looked around to see the town was as deserted as it had been since the unexpected arrival, and moved a few feet.
"How do you know this much about me?"
"I have my sources. Now, why are you spending Christmas all by yourself Vincent," He asked, sounding very strange since he was technically referring to himself in the third person.
The teenager seemed to be less scared, now that he was a comfortable distance away from Vincent.
"I just told you," he said "I have nobody."
"Nobody? I know that's a bad lie."
"A lie you say?" His younger self asked "Then name somebody, since you seem to be an expert of my life Mr. Afton, name somebody who I could possibly spend Christmas with."
Vincent put his cold fingers on the stubble on his chin thinking it over for a few seconds.
"Why, isn't it obvious?" He answered back "You could spend Christmas with your...your..."
As he tried to finish his sentence, he remembered the children. He remembered Valarie.
He remembered how none of them were related. And how they had all gathered under Vincent's small and crumbly condo.
Sure, they weren't family (He would consider them the farthest things away from family) but they were close enough to him to be his family. And after all, isn't Christmas better when celebrated with your loved ones?
Vincent now realized just. And he realized just how much of a fool he had been earlier today, brushing off this holiday when he could have done something great. Probably, something memorable...
"You can spend Christmas with your friends." He finally answered
"My...friends?" He asked
"You can't keep living like this," He said "You need people. Everybody does. We all want to be alone, but not forever."
He looked over and saw that his teenage self was still confused.
"What I'm saying is that I'm sure your friends will welcome you for their Christmas."
He then saw the teenager give a face of understanding, followed by something he hadn't seen nor though the young adult was capable of: Smiling.
"B-but how can I show up? I don't have a gift..."
"Trust me." He answered to himself "You arriving there will make them happy enough."
A new change seemed to overcome the teenager. From when he was as first gloomy to scared and startled, and from scared and startled to joy and possibly, hope. Which was something Vincent knew wasn't all that common in this time of his life.
"Thank you Mr. Afton," He said standing up "Y-you have no idea what this means..."
"I think I can get the feeling..." He said "Now, don't you have somewhere to be?"
The younger self then ran out onto the street, then he took a right and vanished from his view, leaving Vincent all alone on the bench in the cold.
He shivered a little bit, since he not brought gloves into whatever this place is.
"Perhaps it's not too late..." He thought looking up to the dim lights "Just...perhaps..."
Suddenly, Vincent heard a voice...a voice that kept saying "Vincent, Vincent..."
Vincent...Vincent...
"Vincent...Vincent! Wake up you stupid idiot!"
He opened up his eyes only to find everything blurry and out of focus. He rubbed his groggy eyes a few times and saw that Valarie was standing over him on his bed dressed in a black overcoat.
"What Val?" He asked while yawning.
"Do you know what day it is!?" She yelled.
"It's Christmas eve, so what?"
He remembered the dream.
Suddenly, Vincent realized just how dire the situation is.
"It's...It's Christmas eve!" he answered more awake and panicked than he had been earlier.
"And in case you haven't noticed, it's six PM, and we don't exactly have all the time in the world for you to take a nap!" She yelled.
He jumped out of bed. Luckily, he had taken his nap in his clothing, so he didn't really have to change, save for putting on a black overcoat for the unpleasant weather.
"You have their wish lists right?" He asked
"Wish lists?" He asked "What wish lists?"
"The wish lists," Valarie said "You know, the ones the children made..."
He found himself rubbing the sides of his head for a few moments before he realized what she was talking about.
"Oh yeah..." He said "Sorry...I didn't collect any."
"You didn't collect an- ffffffffff..."
Suddenly, Valarie started to turn a shade red, most likely from anger, as she tried to to cuss too loudly.
"You know what? That's okay..." She said sighing "We can make do without wish lists..."
"On the contrary." He said "I think it's better to celebrate this holiday Christmas without a list."
"Um...Why?" She asked
"You get surprised better," He said "It also puts some more meaning into the gifts as well..."
"And how would you know?" She asked
"Like I said." He said "I enjoy Christmas without a list. After all, the few Christmases I did have, I was pleasantly surprised by the gifts since I didn't have a wish list, and what better way to make my kids happy than with a total surprise they never saw coming?"
He saw something flash in Valarie's eyes. Perhaps a bit of pity because he had brought up his earlier life or regret how he could never really have a complete Christmas experience. But nonetheless, that was quickly replaced by a chuckle.
"Yeah...I guess that does make you pretty
"So...we just have to get some gifts?"
"Yep," She said "And if there's anything else you want to do, let me know,"
"Sure,"
He started getting ready, which wasn't considering that he needed to get a jacket, his essentials like his wallet, phone, and weapon. And as he got ready, he realized that there was something he had been wanting to do for some time.
"You know, I think I'll go to church tonight. I haven't been to mass in a while...I probably should go more often..." He said putting his wallet in his pocket and his gloves on.
"If that's the case, then we should get going." She said, cracking a smug smile.
He loved it when she did that.
"Then what are we waiting for?" He answered back.
One day and one Christmas Eve mass later.
"I still can't believe that you were able to pull that off." Valarie said.
"Neither can I, but I'm glad that we did,"
Vincent was standing on the sidelines in his bathrobe, sipping his coffee with Valarie and just enjoying a good lazy morning as usual.
The only difference between this lazy morning and the previous ones however, was that this morning the children had waked Vincent up early (By early, they woke him up at about four thirty) Luckily he didn't mind waking up early: he usually woke up at about five thirty and didn't fall asleep.
The morning of course, was consumed with Christmas presents being opened by the children. He had tried to be at least creative with his gifts. He had gotten Foxy some ropes and a Manuel for Common knots for sailors while for both Freddy and Teddy, he had gotten them a karaoke machine. For Golden Freddy, he had gotten him a magic set while both Chicas got a cookbook on 100 of the greatest bakery dishes ever made, and both Bonnie and his toy counterpart unwrapped their gifts to find some ukuleles (The guitar was too big for their size so he settled for the next best thing.)
But that didn't mean that there were a few gifts that he and Valarie were a bit unaware of. Such as, how each child had managed to get one white present with red ribbons that just read From nobody and were slightly random: Freddy had gotten a microphone, Goldie a microscope, Chica a knife (Which made him question who was sending these gifts), Foxy and Maggie both obtained cutlasses made for children their size (At this point he just gave up and let the cards fall where they may) and for both Bonnie and his Toy counterpart/brother, the two bunnies got some ukulele string.
Vincent meanwhile didn't really seem to mind the mysterious gifts or where they came from: he and Valarie were happily standing by the sidelines, letting the children enjoy their gifts.
He sighed. He had not gotten a gift yet, nor could he get one for Valarie, since she had been with him for the entirety of the trip.
"I'm sorry if we didn't get anything out of it," He said.
"Hey relax, I'm just glad they're happy," She said "And I don't know why, but whenever they're happy...I'm happy..."
"Welcome to my world," He said sarcastically.
She let out a small laugh.
He then looked down to see his children lined up around him with their large colorful eyes, all full of some desire.
"Um..." He said "Is there something you want to tell me?"
The children looked at each other for a brief moment before looking to him.
"We...we thought you might like this,"
He saw Bonnie lift up a poorly wrapped box covered in much tape.
"Thanks guys." He said picking it up and feeling the weighty object.
"Do you want me to open it?" He asked
"Have ye really forgotten what day it'd be dad?" Foxy asked
He unwrapped the mostly tape wrapping paper and saw just why it had been so difficult to wrap.
The gift was a mug.
Personally, he still didn't have high hopes. Maybe he could drink his coffee out of it, but for the most part, it looked about as plain as any mug that he had seen.
"Turn it over," Foxy said tapping his hook on the back of the mug.
He rolled it over and found that it read #1 Dad written in blue letters. And upon further inspection he saw that inside the cup there were some sticks of butter labeled Irish butter on the paper.
A mug and some exotic butters... He thought looking over the gifts I don't know why, but I can see I'm having coffee and toast in the near future.
Normally, anybody would have felt cheated or at least pretty corny about getting gifts like this. But considering the circumstances that Vincent had with these children, he couldn't have imagined anything better.
"Thank you kids..." He said "This makes me feel ways that I just can't really describe..."
"We also got something for Mom too!" Toy Chica said giving Valarie a box wrapped in green paper.
He looked over at Valarie's gift from the children and she too found that she too got a mug as well. With the only difference being World's best mom written in pink letters and she got some cinnamon sticks instead of butter.
He couldn't help but sneer a little.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing." He said "Just enjoying the today."
"How do you think this is going?"
He looked over to the children - his children- and felt that warm and fuzzy feeling growing in his chest.
"Better." He smiled "Better than I ever thought it would be."
The end.
Hope you all enjoyed this little holiday special. I apologize if this seems rushed and or sloppy, if there weren't any cute scenes, or if it just downright put you in a bad mood. Either way, sorry if this upset you.
If you do celebrate Christmas, I guess this is my gift to you (Yeah...let's go with that) and I hope you have a great holiday!
If not, that's okay! You get a chapter and a nice relaxing day too!
Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I hope to see you in the next one-shot!(assuming you're reading from Father Vincent one-shots...if not, then that's cool.)
So until next time,
Stay magical my friends.