For once Freddy was glad the technicians did their jobs so infrequently. If any of them saw him right now, skulking around the back halls like a burglar, they'd surely put him in low-power mode and confine him to his room until they got around to running a diagnostic. Or worse: they'd actually follow protocols and drag him down to Parts & Services immediately…

'But wouldn't I deserve it? Good Lord, all these years…'

It all started with an innocent conversation with an innocent child. The other kids around her had been very wary of the giant robot, not that Freddy could blame them. It was one thing to see him stand tall and proud in a cartoon or on a poster, but seeing him in-person and realizing that he really was over seven feet tall? It was surprising when children didn't hesitate before running up to him. But this one little girl didn't. Even asked to be picked up and squealed in delight the whole time. Seeing her bravery emboldened the others, and soon Freddy had a whole gaggle of them practically climbing all over him. It was great!

Until it wasn't.

'Why didn't anyone tell me?! Was it some kind of joke? Well it's not funny!'

All it took was one child, with one question, to send Freddy on a downward spiral that didn't seem to have an end.

The familiar sound of an angle grinder snapped the animatronic out of his thoughts and actually made him jump, thinking he had wandered into Parts & Services on his own. Fortunately that wasn't the case. Even more fortunately, it was in fact that small section of the storage area their Caretaker had commandeered for himself and turned into a small machine shop.

He hated being in P&S just like everyone else and didn't work down there unless absolutely necessary.

'Maybe Victor can help,' Freddy thought as he made his way closer to the noise, making sure to step a bit harder than he normally would to give the man some warning. He and the others found out early on that Victor did NOT like surprises.

"Hey, Freddy," Victor greeted almost as soon as the bear rounded the corner, even though he had his back turned.

"How did you…"

"You and Chica are the only ones who bother to let me know you're coming, most of the time, and you're heavier," Victor explained.

"Oh…Are you busy?"

"Just finished, actually," the dark-skinned man stepped aside to put down the grinder, revealing a small metal object clamped in a vice.

"Is that…"

"Monty's? Yep. Bit one of his golf clubs so hard that he cold welded a piece of it to one of his teeth, so I had to grind it off and…" Victor trailed off as he turned around and saw Freddy with what looked like two jackets tied around his waist. "Okay, what and why?"

"I don't know if you can help with this, Victor, but…I need pants," Freddy said, unable to bring himself to look his Caretaker in the eye.

"...What?" Victor blinked rapidly, hoping his auditory implants weren't malfunctioning.

"I know it sounds strange, but…not nearly as strange as me…exposing myself to everyone around me!" Freddy growled, or as close to it as he was willing to go. His shame was tremendous, but he had to own it.

"...What?" Victor's voice jumped a few octaves as he genuinely started to wonder if he was hallucinating.

"One of the children asked me why I was…naked when everyone else had clothes. My first thought was to laugh it off and explain it, but then I realized there was nothing to explain: he was right! Everyone has clothes! Chica has her leotard, Roxy has her crop top and shorts, and Monty has pants! All I have is a hat, Victor! It covers nothing!"

'I mean, I'd say they're more hot pants than "shorts", but okay,' Victor didn't know what was worse: the fact that this was actually happening, or that THAT was his first thought on the matter. 'I feel like I should be more worried that I'm getting used to this.'

"For the record, I know it's illogical. But I can't help it; I feel like a degenerate! And please, don't say it doesn't matter, Victor. If it doesn't, then why does everyone else have clothes?"

Victor had an answer, and felt like it was probably close to the actual reason, but he knew Freddy wasn't ready to hear something like that, so he decided on a different tactic.

"I've got a better question for you. Why does Monty have gatorskin pants?"

"...Oh, good heavens," Freddy murmured to himself, hands covering his mouth in actual horror.

"Look, you know all about the original models, so you know that back then all they wore was bowties and bibs. Then someone decided that Chica needed to be, uh, more feminine and covered her up a little, 'cause that's just how things are in America. But Freddy Fazbear was always designed like a pretty generic anthropomorphic cartoon character. And most male anthro cartoons don't wear clothes unless it's for a gag. As for Monty, he doesn't have any history to draw from, so he was a clean slate and they decided to give him pants. Gatorskin pants."

"I…see," Freddy sighed, absently fiddling with his impromptu kilt. "I guess that makes me outdated, then…"

"Nope, you stop that shit right now," Victor snapped as he walked up to the robot. "You had nothing to do with your own design, and it doesn't affect who and what you are. Also, last time I checked it wasn't 1987, but here we are in an 80's wonderland. Everything here is outdated, on the surface, and that's the point."

"I suppose you're right," Freddy admitted. "But now that I'm aware of it…I still want pants, Victor."

Victor chuckled at the seriousness in his tone and shrugged, "Then put in the request. I'm sure they wouldn't deny it. Hell, why stop there? If you really wanna freshen things up, tell 'em you want to try out costumes, maybe even do your own makeup."

"That's…BRILLIANT!" Freddy boomed, eyes quite literally lighting up as all kinds of amazing things went through his head.

"Glad I could help," Victor smiled; it was always great seeing the big lug so happy.

Then, with no warning whatsoever, he found himself wrapped in a firm, but surprisingly warm embrace.

"Thank you, Victor," Freddy said, the sheer sincerity in his voice quieting the alarm bells going off in the human's mind.

"Okay, you're welcome buddy," Victor replied in a short, clipped tone.

"...Did I make this weird?"

"Little bit, yeah."