Foxy slowly opened his eyes, having been awoken by the sounds of rustling leaves and chirping birds. He looked up into the bright blue sky, the sun already high in the sky. His neck and back were extremely stiff from sleeping on the ground all night. Still half asleep and somewhat confused, Foxy tried to sit up before he realized that there was something on top of him. He craned his neck to see that something was Bonnie, who was still fast asleep with his head resting on Foxy's chest, a small smile present on his lavender muzzle.
Upon remembering the events of the previous night, Foxy smiled at his still sleeping boyfriend and let out a sigh of contentment before lying back down. The fox lay there for a few minutes lightly rubbing Bonnie's head, allowing his tail to swish freely back and forth. Yesterday had been a dream come true for Foxy, and he wanted to just stay like this, holding Bonnie while he slept by a peaceful lakebed, far away from any prying eyes.
After a few minutes, Bonnie began to stir. He let out a cute yawn before opening his crimson eyes and looking up at Foxy.
"Good morning, sleepyhead." Foxy greeted the rabbit, who let out another yawn.
"Good morning, beautiful." Bonnie replied as he smiled sheepishly.
Bonnie shifted slightly so that his head was closer to Foxy's. Foxy took this opportunity to kiss Bonnie on the forehead, causing the rabbit to blush slightly.
"You're cute when your embarrassed," Foxy pointed out as he booped Bonnie on the nose with his good paw, causing the rabbit to blush even more.
Bonnie simply responded by nuzzling Foxy's neck, an act that Foxy happily reciprocated.
They lay like this for several minutes, wanting to just enjoy their time together alone in the woods. Eventually, however, Foxy broke the silence.
"Uh, Bonnie," he said hesitantly.
"Hm?" Bonnie replied contently, nuzzling Foxy again.
"Not that I don't love holding you like this," Foxy began, "but the ground is kinda hard."
Bonnie looked up at Foxy and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry." The rabbit replied as he sat up, pulling Foxy up with him so that they were both in a seated position.
"Thanks, Dracula." Foxy replied with a smirk.
Bonnie stared at him for a second, confused, before remembering that he was still wearing his vampire costume from the night before. The rabbit chuckled before removing his fangs from inside his mouth (much to Foxy's dismay).
"These things are actually super uncomfortable." Bonnie explained when he saw the look on Foxy's face.
"That's OK," Foxy replied as he leaned in a little closer to the rabbit, "you're still just as cute without them."
He gave Bonnie quick peck on the lips, causing both Anthros to blush slightly, before turning to face the lake. Bonnie did the same, holding Foxy's left paw in his right.
"So," Bonnie began, "have you always known you were, you know..."
His voice trailed off as he stared out at the crystal blue water.
"Gay?" Foxy asked, turning to face the rabbit.
"Yeah..." Bonnie replied, red eyes still unmoving.
"No," Foxy admitted, turning back to face the lake, "although I always had a suspicion. I actually had a girlfriend in high school, but she was always much more interested in the, er, [physical] aspect of our relationship than I was."
"Did you guys...?" Bonnie asked uncomfortably.
"Haha, no," Foxy replied with a chuckle, seemingly relieving Bonnie, "it just never felt right. Like I said, I was never really that into girls like all my friends were. Thing is, it wasn't like I was ever really interested in any guys either, so I didn't know. Of course, then I bumped into you, quite literally if I remember correctly."
Foxy winked at Bonnie, who just smiled shyly at the memory of getting knocked over by Foxy on his run.
"I couldn't get you off of my mind after that day," Foxy continued, "and once we started hanging out more and more, I realized that I was falling for you, but I tried to push those feelings down because I was scared of them. But once you went missing, I was so upset and so worried that I knew I cared about you as more than a friend. I just never thought in my wildest dreams that you would feel the same way."
Bonnie blushed as Foxy nuzzled his cheek.
He's so cute when he blushes. Foxy thought as rubbed his muzzle against the rabbit's face. Good thing, too, he blushes at just about anything.
"What about you?" Foxy asked as he pulled away from the rabbit. "How long have you known?"
Bonnie just sighed as he looked out over the lake.
"My whole life, pretty much." the purple rabbit answered glumly.
Foxy frowned slightly.
"Why is that so bad?" the fox asked, somewhat confused.
"Because my life was hard enough growing up already." Bonnie replied, his voice cracking slightly, "Before I came here, I was picked on mercilessly for anything you could think of. Being too short, being too skinny, being unathletic, you name it. People called me things like "wimp" and "fag" just because they wanted to insult me; I wasn't about to give them another reason to pick on me. I don't think I could have handled it.
"And that's not even getting started on my father," the purple rabbit continued, tears forming in his eyes, "Nothing I ever did was good enough for him. I was always disappointing him in some way or another, no matter how hard I tried. He always told me to "man up" any time I got upset over something, especially if [he] caused it. Not to mention how much he ranted on about how horrible humans were, or anyone that was different than him. I don't even want to know how he would have reacted to having a gay son. I've lived my entire life up until now being afraid of who I was, trying so hard to repress it. Now, I don't really know what to do."
Foxy felt a pang of guilt; he certainly hadn't meant to upset Bonnie like this, especially now that they had just become a couple.
Bonnie, however, wiped his eyes and smiled at Foxy.
"But then I met you," Bonnie continued, "I felt like I could trust you with anything. In my mind, you were the first person who really liked me because of who I was, not just out of convenience. You were so brave and strong and funny and sweet and caring, and you made me so happy. And when I saw your face inside of that slaughterhouse, and realized that you had risked your own life to save me, I knew that I was in love. When they said you still hadn't woken up after a week, I thought that you'd...you'd..."
Bonnie's voice trailed off as tears began to form in his eyes again. Foxy pulled him in for a hug, allowing the purple rabbit to cry into his shoulder.
"You really thought all those things about me?" the fox asked, ears perking up slightly. No one had ever complimented him like that; this time, he was the one to blush.
"Of course I did," Bonnie replied through his diminishing sobs, "you were - [are] - my whole world. I couldn't bear to think of my life now without you in it."
Bonnie pulled away, allowing Foxy to wipe his tears away. Bonnie shuddered at the fox's gentle touch on his face.
"Although," Bonnie continued, suddenly giving Foxy a seductive look, "it certainly didn't hurt that the first time I saw you was with your shirt off."
Foxy's face was now the color of his pirate coat; bright red. Bonnie just chuckled before kissing Foxy on the lips again.
I could get used to this. The lagomorph thought as he wrapped his arms around Foxy.
Before he knew it, Foxy was lying on the ground with Bonnie on top of him, their lips still locked together. Bonnie broke away and sat up so that he was straddling the fox, a look of lustful desire in his eyes. Bonnie then began to slowly unbutton Foxy's shirt. As Bonnie did this, Foxy slid his good paw down to his crotch, clumsily undoing his belt. Both Anthros hearts were racing, faces hot with blush.
However, just as Foxy unzipped his pants and placed his paw on the bulge coming from inside his boxers, he stopped and pulled his paw away.
"Wait," he asserted suddenly, surprising the rabbit, "we shouldn't do this yet. I mean, we did just get together and all, maybe we should wait."
Bonnie gave Foxy a slight frown, but sighed and slid off of Foxy, lying down next to him.
"Sorry," Bonnie apologized, somewhat ashamed of himself, "I just got a little carried away."
"You don't need to apologize," Foxy said, turning his head to face the rabbit, "it's just that, this is all moving really fast. Truth be told, I'm a little freaked out by all of this."
Bonnie turned to Foxy and gave a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry, me too." Bonnie admitted with a slight chuckle. "You're right, we should take this slow."
Foxy breathed a sigh of relief as he gazed into Bonnie's red eyes, which reminded Foxy of tiny rubies, slightly glinting in the sunlight.
"I mean, I've never even been in a relationship before. Unlike you, Mr. Ladies Man." Bonnie teased with a wink.
"Shut up." Foxy responded with a chuckle as he playfully batted at Bonnie nose with his paw.
Bonnie retaliated by suddenly tickling Foxy's stomach (he had easy access thanks to the canine's unbuttoned shirt), causing the fox to laugh and squirm. This only enticed Bonnie even more, as the rabbit then began to use both paws to tickle the fox.
"Argh', enough of that, or ye be walkin' the plank!" Foxy threatened in a fake, exaggerated pirate accent, brandishing his plastic hook to show that he was 'serious'.
After about a minute of this, both Anthros lay on the ground facing each other, out of breath. Bonnie was the first to sit up.
"We should get back." Bonnie announced as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. "It's already almost noon, and my phone's about to die."
Foxy nodded in agreement, allowing Bonnie to pull both of them up (after he zipped up his pants and re-buckled his belt). Foxy picked up his sword and reattached it to his belt, and Bonnie picked up his guitar. They then set off on the short trek back to their dorms, holding paws as they went.
Freddy heard a knock on his door. He sighed; he really needed to study for this midterm.
"Who is it?" he called out, somewhat annoyed. This had better be important.
"Freddy, it's me. Open up."
It was Chica: both the person whom he really wanted to speak to but avoid at the same time.
He reluctantly stood up from his chair and walked over to the door, opening it slowly.
"Hey," the chicken greeted somewhat hesitantly. She was wearing a gray beanie on her head, as well as a blue sweatshirt and sweatpants. She also had bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept much the night before.
"Hey," Freddy responded glumly, avoiding eye contact.
"Can I come in?" Chica asked uncomfortably. "Please?"
Freddy nodded silently and stepped aside, allowing Chica to enter the room. They each took a seat in a chair, facing each other.
"Listen, Freddy, I-" Chica began.
"Can I go first?" Freddy interrupted.
Chica nodded, slightly taken aback. Interrupting people was extremely unlike Freddy; he was usually so polite. Chica felt even more guilty now; she knew this was her fault.
"Chica, I'm not mad at you." Freddy began, "And I don't blame you for turning me down. But that doesn't change the fact that I've been miserable this past week. I've had enough on my plate with midterms, projects, two of my best friends being in the hospital, BB, Nero, and everything else that's happened to us, but all I can think about is how heartbroken I've been. I'm not even upset that you don't want to be in a relationship with me; I'm just confused as to why you won't even give it a chance. All I asked for was one date, but you rejected me without any hesitation."
Freddy took a deep breath in and let out a sigh. It actually felt good to get all of this off of his chest. Chica waited to see if Freddy was done, and began to speak once she realized he was.
"Freddy," she began, a look of sadness in her violet eyes, "I've lived my entire life hiding behind a mask. I'm afraid of letting anyone get too close. Before I came here, I spent what seemed like every waking moment defending Bonnie from bullies, and they only way I could do that was if I acted cold and distant. I spent years trying to suppress all of my emotions, until eventually there was nothing left."
"So this is Bonnie's fault?!" Freddy asked, incredulous that Chica was trying to put the blame on her own brother.
"Let me finish!" Chica snapped back. "I never once regretted it, nor do I hold any grudge against Bonnie. He's my twin brother, and I love him more than anything. Everyone who tried to get close just ended up hurting me or him, or both of us, and I never had any problem shutting everyone out until I met you."
Freddy raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.
"When I first sat down next to you at Orientation a few months ago, I realized that you were different. When I saw how upset that receptionist made you by going on about your dad and grandpa, I realized that all you wanted was to fit in. I admired that about you and I felt like I could trust you. I had actually developed romantic feelings for you, but I didn't know how to handle them. I tried to just push them down like everything else, but they kept coming back."
"That doesn't explain why you said no to me." Freddy pointed out, "If anything, then you would have been more likely to yes to me."
"When you asked me out, I freaked out." Chica continued, her voice cracking, "I thought back to all of the times I let anyone get too close, and how badly it ended."
"Chica, I would never hurt you like that." Freddy protested, "You know me. I'm not like that."
"I know that," Chica replied, close to tears at this point, "but if I enter a relationship with you, or anyone for that matter, then I would have show my feelings. The thing is, I don't even know if I can open up like that anymore. I'm scared that if we start dating, and if I do something wrong, then I'll lose you completely."
Chica put her face in her wings, bawling at this point. Freddy stared at the ground for a second, thinking.
Chica clearly had more emotional baggage than Freddy had realized. He had heard snippets about her and Bonnie's life before college, and he knew that they had it kinda rough. Still, she was so scared to open up to anyone that the thought of a relationship terrified her more than anything else.
Chica suddenly stood up, ready to leave.
"I'm s-sorry I bothered you," she apologized mid-sob as she approached the door, "I'd better get going before I do any more damage."
However, just before she reached for the doorknob, Freddy put his paw on her shoulder. She turned around hesitantly only for Freddy to pull her into a comforting embrace.
"Chica, I don't want to make you do anything you don't want to do." Freddy began as he held the bird in his arms, "Regardless of what romantic connection we do or don't share, I care about you, and I hate to see you so upset. If us just being friends is what it takes for you to be happy, then I'm OK with that."
And he meant it this time.
"R-really?" Chica sniffled out as she looked up at the bear, being a few inches shorter than him.
"Yes," Freddy answered, smiling, "I just wish you had told me the truth earlier. You know, you have to open up to your friends, too; that's part of being friends with someone."
Chica smiled at Freddy.
"Thank you, Freddy."
"Foxy?" Bonnie asked the fox.
They had just reached the edge of the woods, still barely out of sight from the (trashed) quad.
"What is it?" Foxy replied, still holding Bonnie's paw.
"About us taking things slow," Bonnie began, "I don't think I want to start, you know, telling people about us yet. Is that OK with you?"
Bonnie looked up hopefully at Foxy, who just smiled in return.
"Of course," Foxy reassured, "but you know as well as I do that we can't keep this a secret forever."
"I know," Bonnie replied, "I'm just scared about how people will react, but I still want to be with you. I don't know what to do."
The rabbit sighed as he looked at the ground.
"Tell you what," Foxy offered, wrapping his paws around Bonnie's waist, "how about, for now, we don't change the way we interact in public at all from what it was before, but here in the woods, we can be boyfriends. How does that sound?"
Bonnie blushed upon hearing the word "boyfriends"; just the thought of being in a relationship with Foxy made him giddy.
"I'd like that." Bonnie responded as he wrapped his arms around Foxy's neck, kissing him on the lips.
Foxy kissed back, pulling Bonnie in closer. He knew that it was going to be difficult not showing any romantic affection in public, especially now, but he couldn't fathom betraying Bonnie's trust.
The next few days passed without much incident for Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, or Foxy. All 4 Anthro students were busy the rest of the weekend, since midterms were the following week.
At Fazbear University, "midterm" exams didn't actually take place in the middle of the semester; rather, they actually took place a couple of weeks later, about 2/3 of the way through the semester, since many professors liked to give a first, lower stakes exam 1/3 of the way through the semester to help prepare students for the actual midterm.
Freddy, however, wasn't so lucky; he needed to make at least an 80 on his Engineering midterm, or he would be dropped from the class. He was very smart (he and everyone who had met him knew that), but he had no idea what to expect. Therefore, he was often up late at the library, attempting to remember everything Dr. Schmidt had presented in the past few months.
Bonnie and Foxy, however, had another time commitment they wanted to keep. Every night at about 9:30, right after Bonnie got off of work, the two of them would sneak off into the woods to spend time with each other.
These precious hours alone in the woods were sacred to Bonnie and Foxy. For now, this was the only time and place they could be completely open about their feelings. They usually didn't do much besides walk around holding paws, with occasional small talk, but that was all they needed; as long as they were together, they were happy.
However, Bonnie's constant disappearances didn't go unnoticed; Freddy became immediately aware of Bonnie's sneaking around and suspicious behavior. When Bonnie didn't return to their room the day after Halloween until past noon, Freddy had been worried, remembering the last time Bonnie didn't come back to his room. When the bear asked his roommate where he had been, the rabbit simply replied with with a vague "out". This struck Freddy as strange, but he didn't push the matter; as long as Bonnie was alright, Freddy didn't worry.
The first strange thing that happened to Foxy and Bonnie was on Tuesday, during their English class. Their midterm was on Thursday, so this class was going to be review.
Foxy was the first of his table to arrive to class. He placed his notes on his desk (many of them were actually Bonnie's, who had photocopied them and given them to Foxy while the latter was in the hospital), and began skimming them, trying to make sense of them. He grunted in pain as he lifted his arm; he had just been cleared to go back to class, but he still felt stiff and weak.
His mood only worsened when he saw Brad sit down across from him; the small blue rabbit's presence only annoyed him, with how cocky and rude he was.
"Foxy, I heard about what happened," Brad began, a flat tone in his voice that almost hinted at sarcasm, "I'm glad to see you're finally up and around again"
"Thanks." Foxy replied curtly, not looking up. He was behind enough in studying as it was, he didn't need Brad making things worse by distracting him.
"Anyway," the rabbit began, "now that you're back and healthy, I wanted to ask if you'd reconsidered my offer. We certainly have a place for you in Tau Alpha Nu, and-"
"Listen, Brad," Foxy interrupted, "I don't want to join your fraternity. I don't want to join any fraternity. You however, cant seem to take no for an answer. In fact, I don't understand why you even still [want] me, even though I've made it abundantly clear that I have no interest in bring in your organization. You motivation confuses me, and I want no part of it, end of story. So, for the last time: Leave. Me. Alone."
Foxy spat out the last three words, clearly about to lose his temper. Brad, however, just smirked, not even saying anything.
"Oh trust me, you'll join us," he taunted, "One way or another, you'll join us. Mark my words."
Meanwhile, Bonnie had just walked into the classroom and was heading over to their table.
"Hey." Bonnie greeted Foxy as he sat down, ignoring Brad.
"Hey." Foxy replied casually.
Part of Bonnie and Foxy keeping their relationship a secret was staying as casual as possible around each other, hoping that no one would pick up on any romantic hints between them.
As Bonnie sat down and reached down to open his own backpack, Foxy shot Brad a quick glance. Brad simply gave a smug look in return, making Foxy instantly nervous. There was no way Brad could possibly know about him and Bonnie, right?
Foxy looked back down at his notebook as their professor, a short Anthro owl with circular glasses, walked into the room. Whatever the case was with Brad, it seemed that Foxy and Bonnie weren't out of the woods quite yet.
Author's Note: Wow guys, it has certainly been a long time! Sorry for the wait. I'll get right to it, updates are going to be slow for the next couple of months. Basically, I won't have access to a computer until August, but I will have my phone, though writing takes much longer than on my laptop. Thing is, I'll have very little free time this summer during which to write, but I don't want to cancel this story or put it on hiatus. I also don't want the quality of these next few chapters to be any less than what it has been, so I'm going to need a lot more time between chapters in order to create a quality product. I AM doing something I love this summer, but I still want to keep writing, since I've found that I really enjoy it. Thanks for bearing with me on this.
tl;dr - Story is NOT cancelled or on hiatus, but updates will be way slower until August.
Thank you for all of your continued support, and I will see you guys in the next chapter!
