Freddy limped down the stairs, yawning loudly. It was nearly 6am, which meant that the humans were going to be showing up to open the restaurant soon. Although he hated leaving his spot, he did it anyways, knowing he'd probably get into a heap of trouble if he was 'missing'. Stretching out when he made it to the bottom of the stairs, he worked his arms for a second, groaning. He liked sleeping on the roof much more than on the stage, even if it made him stiffer than usual.
Going down the hallway after closing the roof's bottom door, he brushed himself off. He had slept right inside the top of the stairs after the rain had started, just wanting to be away from Chica and Bonnie for a while. The sound of the falling water soothed him, anyways. Even if he couldn't be out in it.
Standing up straight, walked into the spare parts room, and began to straighten his bow tie. Taking a step forward, he let out a loud grunt of pain, nearly falling over.
Groaning when he noticed that his legs had locked up, he struggled against them, almost falling over again. Wobbling, he finally regained his balance after a few seconds, forcefully sighing. Looking around for something to help him, he attempted to move, but failed. Not seeing any oil or WD-40 anywhere in reach aside from the table which happened to be a few feet away, he growled, closing his eyes.
"Damn it all..." He grumbled, deciding to try reaching for the oil on the table. Stretching out, he strained for a second before he finally lost balance and fell over. He cried out loudly when his body collided with the hard floor, gritting his teeth. Wincing when he felt the gears and...other objects rattle inside his exoskeleton, he groaned, coughing in pain.
Trying to roll over, he roared in rage when he found he was fully stuck to the floor. Squirming, he growled and gave up, fully unable to move. He guessed he was just going to have to wait for some humans to help.
Bonnie walked in just as Freddy let out a small, weak, pathetic roar of frustration. Looking him over and scoffing to himself, he studied his bear brother silently. He couldn't help but to feel a little bit sorry for him.
Both males locked gazes for a second. Their expressions went from rage to sadness without any exchanged words. Freddy looked away. Bonnie sighed, rubbing his own face.
Slowly, the rabbit walked over to Freddy and carefully helped him up, groaning at how heavy he was. Making sure he was firmly stood on the ground, he backed away, snorting at him before looking around.
Grabbing the nearest oil can from the table, Bonnie bent over and began to gently oil the alpha male's leg joints, keeping focused as he did so. Freddy let out a quiet moan, making the other male grimace in disgust.
After all of Freddy's joints were oiled, Bonnie stood up and placed the can back on the table, staring at the bear. Freddy moved carefully, surprised at the fact that he was fully unlocked from his spot. Testing out his joints, he easily turned to Bonnie. He frowned, looking confused.
"...Why did you do that?" He asked, his blue eyes looking Bonnie over. The purple animatronic shrugged.
"I may hate you, Fred, but you're still my brother. We're still family." He spoke flatly, watching Freddy's expression. "Golden told us to take care of each other, remember?"
Freddy fell silent as Bonnie spoke, his ears drooping slightly.
"So that's what I'm going to do. Take care of you and Chica. Even though I'm not as old as you are, I'm doing my best to be mature. I just wish you could do the same."
Watching Freddy for one more moment before walking away, he left the bear alone again.
He stared at his paws, opening and closing them for a second. Sighing roughly, he balled them into fists and threw them down to his sides. Storming off in the opposite direction Bonnie had went in, he growled.
"Golden's not here. He never will be."
Freddy exited the area, once again going off to be alone.
Bonnie heard him mutter something as they both left in opposite directions, but it was too quiet for him to understand fully. Rubbing the back of his head, he walked over to Chica and smiled a bit, sitting next to her. She plopped down next to him, smiling herself.
"Is everything okay, Bonnie?" She asked, tilting her head. Bonnie nodded quickly, patting her wing gently.
"Y-yeah, it's fine! Fred kinda just fell over and needed help. He's fine, now." Nodding to himself, Chica seemed pleased. Sighing for a second, she looked in a random direction, resting her head on her hand and pouting a bit in thought.
Bonnie noticed this. Raising an eyebrow at her, he couldn't help but to chuckle at her oh-so serious thinking expression. Patting her back carefully, he looked at her face. "What are 'ya thinkin' about, Chi?"
"O-oh!" Seeming surprised that he noticed, she laughed awkwardly, shrugging a little. "It's n-nothing, I'm just thinking!"
"Mhmm..." Bonnie hummed, looking unamused. Chica shrugged again, smiling innocently. "It's nothing, really!"
The purple animatronic and the yellow animatronic continued to talk for a bit until Freddy finally made his way to the stage. Like always, the restaurant opened up on time and they went about their usual performances.
The only thing different was that Chica was studying Freddy more than before.
Freddy sighed. Stretching and cracking his endospine back into place, he shivered, rolling his shoulders. A long day on the stage always wore him out, and like always, he was looking forward to his alone time.
Walking up the stairs, he frowned when he saw the roof door open. Snorting, he got to the top and went outside, looking around at the building and the dusk sky. He flinched when he heard the door slam shut suddenly, much to his shock and confusion.
Whirling around, he widened his eyes in surprise when he saw Chica standing in front of the door, leaning against it with an unamused expression.
Huffing, he looked her up and down, crossing his own arms. "What are you doing up here, girl?"
He had never really seen her up close for an extended amount of time, and he had heard some humans calling her a "he". This had lead him to think she had more male features than anything. However, in another animatronic's view, she was definitely female.
Watching her roll her eyes, she stomped up to him, glaring. His ears drooped by an inch. He was suddenly very intimidated by the look on her face. It wasn't anything like when Bonnie would get mad, it was something more ferocious and terrifying that he couldn't put his finger on.
"I'm really sick of your attitude, Mr. Grumpy!" She exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips."How hard is it to just talk to us like we're normal robots?"
"L-look, Chicky-" He started, putting his paws up in defense.
"Chica!"
"Chica, right..." He grumbled, looking at her in annoyance. "I had a long day, Chica. I came up here to relax. Now, would you kindly leav-"
"NO!" She shouted, making Freddy recoil a bit. She walked towards him again, causing him to back up a few steps.
"Freddy," She started, her tone a bit calmer than before. Grabbing his paws and not letting go, she stared into his eyes, frowning.
"I don't know what happened all of those years ago, and there's no way I can relate. But please, I know Bonnie needs you right now. We all need to be together to welcome this new animatronic in as a family member."
Freddy stared at her, before finally dropping his shoulders. Sighing, he looked up at her. "You're right. I'll try, I guess."
Smiling at him, Chica let go, putting a wing on his shoulder. Pulling him into a small hug, she sighed, looking out at the forest. "Thank you, Freddy."
Squinting a little just as she pulled away, the words finally registered. "Years?" He questioned, blinking a few times. "Hasn't it only been a few months?" He asked, frowning.
"No, Freddy. It hasn't." Chica said simply, heading back down the stairs.
"Come down whenever. Or don't. I hope you do, though..."
Shutting the door as she left the roof, Freddy stared out at the horizon. Sitting, he sighed, deciding to clear his mind for a few hours.
Hours passed. Bonnie and Chica sat on the stage, both eating some pizza as a bedtime snack. It was nearing 3am, and Chica was getting slightly anxious. She kept taking glances down the hallways, waiting for Freddy to show up. This made Bonnie stare at her with suspicion, crinkling his nose up a bit. Finishing a slice of his food, he crossed his arms, giving her an expecting look.
"What's going on, Chica?"
Looking at Bonnie, she shrugged and smirked a little, biting into another slice of pizza. "Oh, nothing. Just a thing."
"A thing? What thing?"
Just as Chica opened her beak to speak, both of them heard heavy footsteps coming towards the stage. Looking over to see Freddy emerge from the darkness, Bonnie stood up straight, eyes wide. He looked to Chica in confusion, his ears slightly flopped forwards. "Chica, what is this?"
"That's your brother, Bonnie!" She replied, laughing at her own joke. Bonnie gave her a look, snorting. "Only I'm allowed to make the jokes, Chica."
Looking over at Freddy again, Bonnie snorted. "Well, why is he here?"
Freddy growled under his breath at Bonnie's reaction, crossing his arms. Chica sighed harshly at them, shaking her head.
"Both of you, stop. I talked to Freddy, Bonnie." She said, looking to Bonnie. "I want you to tell him what you told me."
"Tell me what?" He growled again, looking to the rabbit. Bonnie froze in his spot, looking over to Chica again and then to Freddy. Taking a breath, he walked towards the bear.
"Freddy..." He began, stopping in front of him.
He closed his eyes for a second, opening them again once he gathered all of his courage. "Every time I look at you, I remember the same bear who horribly attempted put me together. You were there on the day of my birth. You were with me when times were awesome, when times got tough, and when we both felt broken. Y-you ar-...were my best friend."
He paused, taking another breath. "B-but when we talk, that's a whole different story. Y-you're not the same bear, Freddy. Y-you're...c-cold, distant, and just...n-not Fred. T-there's not a day that goes by where I want you back..."
Bonnie's breathing grew harder as he continued speaking. "W-we were built in 1973, F-Freddy. It's 1986. I-it hasn't been days, o-or months. It's been years since I've lost you. E-even after all of these years, nothing's getting easier without you."
He stared at Freddy for a while, who remained silent. There was no movement, no expression of remorse, nothing.
Feeling tears begin to form, Bonnie grit his teeth, closing his eyes. He let out an anguished wail, falling to his knees, emitting a loud clang in the process. He choked, clawing the ground.
"F-FREDDY, P-PLEASE!" He screamed out, tears flowing freely now. Looking up at the bear, he let out a few full-fledged sobs, not even bothering to hide it in any longer. "I-I LOVE YOU! DO YOU WANT ME TO SCREAM IT FROM THE FUCKIN' ROOFTOP, WHERE YOU ALWAYS ARE ANYMORE?! I-I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT!" He was screeching at the top of his lungs. Letting his head drop, he choked out a whimper, clenching his hands into fists.
"P-please, I c-can't keep bein' s-strong anymore, but I have t-to...F-for all of us..." Trailing off, he hid his face in his hands. "I-I need you...I n-need help, I need m-my brother..."
Freddy was in shock. Never in the thirteen years of his life had he seen anybody else break down, or even imagined anybody to. Especially Bonnie. Only when he felt a tear fall from his face he realized he had been crying himself.
Collapsing to his knees as well, he grabbed Bonnie by the shoulders, pulling him into his arms and holding him close. Bonnie immediately accepted the contact, hiding his face into his older brother's chest.
"I love you t-too, Bonnie..." Petting the rabbit's face carefully, Freddy could feel him shake and shiver, bombarded with another series of sobs.
Freddy held him close, petting his head in attempt to comfort him. "I'm s-so sorry, Bonnie..."
Not knowing what else to say, he simply let out a shuttery breath, resting his face on Bonnie's head. The two stayed like that until they both relaxed and fell asleep.
Chica smiled to herself and walked off, knowing it was best to let them be.
Author's Note:
Before I start, am I the only one who's reminded of "All My Circuits" from Futurama when I hear "Brother of Circuits"?
Heya, everybody! Sorry for the delayed update! I'm starting to get writer's block. Yikes. I'm even getting writer's block for this AN!
Big thanks to Chillaid for beta reading! (And catching the 'ans' thing. Ifuknowwhatimeanhuehueuhe)
Before I get into too much detail, I have two things I want to say.
1. On November 21st, I am going to be very busy then, and the few days after what. Why? Because the 21st is the ORAS launch! I've been waiting for this for months. If you can't tell, I've been a huge, diehard fan of Pokémon since I was three. I haven't missed a launch day since Platinum! (I totally won't be getting a Teddiursa from the GTS and naming one of its babies 'Freddy'. Itotallywillifyoucan'ttell.)
2. Dear random Foxy fangirls/fanboys that have suddenly shown up; Yes, Foxy will be in the next chapter if things go as planned!
Uploads will be more spaced out due to the ORAS launch, but they'll still be there! In fact, I'll be speed-working on chapters before the 21st, so I don't have to write anything, and so you guys won't have to wait for updates!
I'd really like to thank Anon Guest, Anon Pumpkingirl1216, MCHaunter, JH24, Sissel Torikki, Anon jules, Anon rocio, and Unknown Forgotten Friend for the reviews! I honestly can't believe how sweet you guys are. Thank you so much for caring about this story, even if it's just a silly fanfiction. It means a lot to me!
Reviewer Spotlight: Today's reviewer spotlight goes to MCHaunter for the Wrecking Ball comment. Mademelaugh.
Song Spotlight: Today's song spotlight goes to the song "What Your Friendship Means to Me" by Sim Gretina! Whenever I have trouble writing anything from the BoC universe, I just listen to this song. It helps!