I looked over the table I had set up with satisfaction. After about twenty minutes of scrounging around the pizzeria, restaurant, bar, whatever you want to call it, I had found a pizza in the kitchen that was surprisingly untouched. It probably was made a bit late, and they didn't bother to throw it out, or the employees were aware that we were made with what is basically a fully functional digestive system. The latter seemed improbable, but it wasn't too far of a stretch considering other stuff we were designed with. Anyway, the table in the booth had a purple cloth I had found in the Employees' Lounge, the place where Mangle had patched me up in, draped over it, covering the dark, polished, spruce wood table. I had set the pizza on a small rack to the side with two plates set out on the table, now, it wasn't anything fancy, but it was enough considering I had no way to go to the store, and I simply wanted to hang out with her.
At least, I think I did.
I pondered on the thought of me and her for a few seconds, before remembering that we'd really only just met, so I quickly shot it down mentally as I prepared for the vixen to show up at any minute. Thankfully, Freddy and the others had all gone down to the arcade for a bit so they could move around, leaving the bar area empty for the next couple hours as the last of them wouldn't bother coming up here and disturbing us unless they really needed something, something I highly doubted at the moment. I began rubbing the side of my neck, where I had torn myself open earlier that week, feeling where the fur was missing, or only just now coming back from the extensive work of the nanobots that healed it.
Soon enough, I began worrying about Mangle's leg when I thought about my own cuts, remembering that she had gotten pretty cut up by that little twerp just the other day, and I had to quite literally carry her up the stairs. I got pulled out of my thoughts as I saw the vixen round the corner to my right as I leaned against the table in boredom, the entrance to the stairs just out the door to my left as I set up on the far side of the bar.
"I thought we were just hanging out," She asked with a fair smile as she walked over to me. "We are, but I know that neither of us had eaten today, so I assumed you wouldn't mind eating something," I told her, helping her sit down in the booth as she struggled due to her injured leg. "Well, I guess you read my mind," She replied with a grin as I sat down opposite of her, seeing her grab a slice and set it on her plate. "So, what do you want to talk about," I asked her, leaning back against the leather seat with a deep sigh. "Was it always crowded at first," She asked vaguely, causing me to gain a mildly confused expression. "What do you mean," I asked her. "Like, was it always crowded in your cove during the first part of the day," She asked again. "Well, that's a little hard to answer considering that I was in the same room as the others, so the crowds were always a mix of both mine and theirs," I replied. She gave a slight hum. "Did the crowds die down in the afternoon," I heard her ask while I watched her occasionally take another bite of the slice. "Yeah. And today was the grand opening so everyone would want to come and check it out," I told her, watching as she eyed my plate with a concerned expression.
"You going to eat something," She asked me, covering her mouth in case there was still something in it. "In a little bit, right now I'm not too hungry," I replied, noticing that she continued staring at me with the same expression. "Are you sure? You haven't eaten anything today, and you barely ate anything yesterday," She replied, causing me to realize what she said was true. "Yeah... I just don't feel like eating much right now," I told her before we soon sat in silence for a few minutes as she continued eating, me grabbing a slice and nibbling on it every once in awhile as well.
"I almost forgot," I heard her exclaim as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I wanted to thank you for teaching me that little trick of yours. The one where I slide across the stage." I chuckled a little as she said that, the two of us soon getting caught up in the conversation for the next hour or two while we went through several topics, like which type of pizza we liked the best, or some stories of mine from the old location. "What if I were to ask you to use your accent for a little bit," She asked me as I chuckled slightly. "I'd simply say no," I replied, feeling her foot brush up against my leg from under the table. "Really," She asked with a playful aggressive tone, causing me to chuckle. "Yes," I told her, noticing her trying to pin my foot underneath the table, me retaliating by moving mine out the way as I swung it around hers, locking her in place as she struggled to get free with a grin.
"Let me go," She laughed as I held her leg locked in place by mine. "Seriously, stop before you hurt my leg," I heard her say in a mock-serious tone as I unwrapped my leg from around her, seeing her straighten herself up after trying to wiggle free from my little trap. "You're welcome," I smirked while I watched her sigh before she rested her jaw in the palm of her hand. We sat there for a few minutes, me nibbling off the slice a little more as she stared at me for a while. "No wonder you're so thin," I heard her say, catching me off guard as I looked over at the vixen who was smirking back. "Why do you say that," I asked her. "You barely eat anything at all," She replied as she pointed at the slice in my hand which I had barely made any progress on.
"It's called 'savoring my food,'" I told her as she looked at me confused. "There's a difference between savoring your food and eating barely anything at all," She said with a slight giggle. I thought for a few seconds, thinking about what she said as I realized I hadn't actually eaten a full meal in a while, which stunned me a little. "I wouldn't mind going ahead and laying back down," I heard her say with a sigh, soon noticing the vixen rub her right thigh where she had gotten cut.
"I can go walk you down," I told her with a smile, knowing that it must be painful as I saw a slight grimace in her eyes. "Do you... plan on staying in there with me again," She asked me as I shook my head, noticing her head hang low a bit before I spoke again. "I don't want to risk getting caught like we did today. We both could've been in serious trouble," I told her as I looked down at the table, noting to come back and clean it up before the end of the night. I stood up and walked over to the arctic vixen as I reached out my hand for her to grab, soon feeling her hand wrap around mine as I placed my other hand behind her back as I helped her stand up.
"Thanks," She told me softly as I helped her out the room with my arm wrapped around her waist so I could help her walk, she probably didn't need me, but I didn't want to make her suffer from it if I asked her to come back up here. We turned the corner, and to my grace, Jeremy didn't lean out the door with a smart comment as we got to the stairs. "You okay to go down the stairs," I asked her with a slight smile. "I'd rather you carry me going down," She told me as I placed my arm just behind her knees, letting her lean back into my arms as I lifted the surprisingly lightweight vixen and began walking down the stairs.
As we reached the bottom, much to her surprise, I didn't let her go. I continued walking her into her cove causing her to look at me sheepishly as I gained a low chuckle due to how she looked 'out of her element' she seemed, for lack of better word. I had her open the door to her bedroom as I walked in, careful not to let her hit herself on the door frame as I walked in, soon making my way to her bed and setting her on it. "Okay, are you good for tonight," I asked her as I knelt beside the bed so I could be on level with her. "Yeah, kind of sucks that you won't be in here," She said with a slight giggle as she trailed her hand over my right shoulder. "Sadly, I need to go clean up our little mess and go check up on the others," I told her, feeling her hand reach my jaw. "The employees can clean it up," She said with a slightly pleading tone, causing me to chuckle at her while she gave me her version of what someone could call 'puppy eyes.'
"Alright, maybe I can hang out in here for a little bit," I sighed, soon feeling her pull me over her and onto the other side of the bed, me letting out a loud grunt as she did, not expecting her to force me on the bed with her. The vixen then crawled up my side, once again resting her head on my shoulder.
I watched her close her eyes with a quiet purr, the realization soon dawning on me that I was now stuck here...
A few weeks had passed, the both of us hanging out a lot during them, but Mangle had eventually warmed up to hanging out with both Toy Chica and Toy Bonnie again. Though, she still usually hung out with us in the bar. I had managed to finally start sleeping in the parts and service room again, after a long talk with the vixen since we had a few incidents where I was almost caught again. Granted, I haven't been caught yet, but I don't feel like figuring out what happens if I do. Now, I only stayed in there a couple of times a week. We didn't have any more moments as we did on the bench, much to my dismay, but I still felt attracted to the vixen…
A lot…
The nightmares also started up again, I couldn't think of a reason why, but it happened after I had knocked on the door to her bedroom and heard her crying. When I got inside and saw her sobbing into a pillow, she was having, essentially, the robot's equivalent of a mental breakdown. She'd even fainted on stage. The crowd had supposedly grown too much for her, and I had an idea of what happened. That night when I walked out of her room, I went down the hall into the main room and I confronted Toy Freddy about it. He denied having done anything, which I shockingly believed, mainly because Jeremy pulled up the footage after I dragged the bear up and was threatening to throw him over the rail of the second floor until I saw proof he didn't have anything to do with it.
"Foxy," I heard the vixen say from beside me as I looked at her, noticing that she had her back snuggled up against my chest as we were relaxing on her bed. "Yeah," I asked her softly as she looked over her shoulder at me while I had my arm draped over her waist, though, it wasn't as much me wanting to be closer, granted that did contribute to it, it was more so me being protective of the vixen I had grown attached to over the past few weeks. "Would you mind telling me a story or two of when you performed," She asked me as I felt her roll around, underneath my arm, so she could face me with a smile as I thought for a minute. "Did I tell you about when Jeremy accidentally blacked the building out of power during the winter due to a stunt of his," I asked her with a grin as I remembered the memory of the poor night guard. "No, you didn't," She told me as I saw her staring at the one uncovered eye I had at the moment. "Well, it was the middle of winter, probably six years ago. He was just hired, but we still treated him like family. The kid brought in like five or six space-heaters to warm up the place since the main climate control broke the weekend prior. After about ten minutes, we had placed the heaters around the building and were satisfied for a little while before the fuses had gone out… Well, I wasn't too surprised when I wake up in the middle of the night after a long day and it's freezing cold, not to mention the nearly-frozen Jeremy we found in the office" I told her as she smiled at me.
"That sounds fun," She replied with a giggle before I felt her head nuzzle itself against my neck with a long sigh as well. "So, are you now good on stories," I asked her as I felt her trace over my torso with her finger, following the now faded 'scars' that were left there, that the fur had finally covered back up. "Well, I've noticed you waking up in the middle of the night," I heard her say as she looked up at me once again, this time with concern in her eyes. I felt my breathing shift a little as she mentioned this, as well. "Is there something bugging you," She asked me as I thought about it for a moment.
I sighed as I thought about what she said, watching the vixen who patiently looked at me. "Remember when I showed you the picture," I asked her as she nodded to me. "I've been thinking about it again… A lot," I added, feeling her wrap her arm under my head and pull herself closer to me. "I wish I knew how to help you," She said, once again nuzzling herself up against my neck. "You're helping me enough," I told her with a small smile, moving my hand to the back of her head and rubbing behind her ear, earning a low purr from her.
"You sure know how to get me going," She said with a pleasured voice as she gained a drowsy expression. My heart-rate skyrocketed when she said that as I tried to change the subject. "You mean to make you sleep," I replied with a chuckle as she stayed snuggled up against my neck and chest, purring even louder. "...Sure..." She barely managed to say, seeing her close her eyes. I laid there with her for a little bit, until I eventually noticed her fall asleep, causing me to get a grin as an idea popped into my head. I moved my mouth near her ear, patiently waiting for a few seconds before I shouted that someone got into the room, causing her to throw me back a little as she looked around the room violently, causing me to burst out in laughter as I accidentally got too close to the edge.
"Ha- Oh, shit! Mangle," I shouted as I felt my stomach sink while I began falling off the bed, holding my hand out for her to grab before she proceeded to push me the rest of the way off, careful not to hurt me in the process while I slammed into the floor with a huff as I felt the air get pushed out me. "That's what you get," She told me with a grin as she looked over the edge of the bed at me. "Y-you didn't have to… kick me off..." I said, holding my chest as I tried to catch my breath again. "You didn't have to shout in my ear," She retorted, her grin fading away as she said it. "Okay, okay… I'm sorry for shouting that close to your ear," I replied, growing my own smirk as I saw her staring at me with a miffed expression.
"Can you help me up," I asked the vixen, once again holding my hand out as I gripped where she kicked me, feeling it become sore now. "Hmm… Maybe," She replied, pulling herself off the bed, pressing herself against my chest as she stared at me with a grin. "Or maybe I can stay down here with you." She spoke with a hint of sultriness and she gave me a look that mirrored the tone of her voice, that's when I remembered the night I first slept with her in here. She had the same voice right now as the one when she opened the door to see me. I kept myself calm as she rested her jaw against my chest, staring at me with her sultry-filled eyes, though, I'd be sweating bullets if I could.
I slowly brought my arms up around her waist, hovering over her so she didn't realize, then squeezed tightly around the vixen as she let out a yip at the sudden jolt, causing me to laugh. "Really," She exclaimed, trying to push herself up as I held her close to me, continuing to chuckle at her reaction. After a few minutes of holding her still, she eventually calmed down and rested her jaw against my chest again with a sigh. "You're not letting me go, are you," She asked me as I leaned my head down and rested my jaw against her forehead. "Nope," I whispered to her.
We laid together on the floor for a while before knocking was heard from the door, causing the vixen to groan as she climbed up and walked over. I stayed laid out on the floor because I didn't want to be seen by whoever it was and deal with a large conversation over it. I listened as she opened the door, but then my ears dropped as I heard who spoke and I gained an annoyed expression. "Where's the fox," I heard Toy Freddy say as I continued laying on the floor, hidden behind the bed. "I don't know, and he has a name, y'know," I heard her retort. "I know, I don't care, but there's something important he needs to hear," He told her as I stayed behind the bed. "What's it about," She asked him, a hint of agitation in her voice. "Well, their owner called ours about their pizzeria nearly being finished with renovating, probably three more weeks until it's finished," He replied, causing me to blot upright, staring him directly in the eyes as I heard him.
"What did you say?"
"I thought you said he wasn't in here," The bear said with a grunt as he looked over at me. "I assumed that you wouldn't come in here yourself," I replied as I walked up behind the vixen, lifting my eye patch in the process so I could see him with both eyes. "What do you mean that their pizzeria is nearly renovated," The vixen asked him as I continued staring him down. "I mean just that; in about a month, they're leaving," He replied with a tantalizing voice, but the vixen slammed the door in his face before he could begin any taunting and locked it behind her before turning around and wrapping her arms around my torso.
Her face was buried into my chest as I felt her breathing quicken. I got lost in thought about what the bear had said, however.
'Why would they even bring us back so soon? They probably won't even put me up to perform.'
I quickly wrapped my arms around her back, holding her close to me as comfortingly as I could. Though, she was once again tangled up around me, tightly at that. I thought about running away as well, I'm sure that I could convince the others as I know they know just as well as I do that I wouldn't even be shown in any way, much like the month before I came here. Well, that probably isn't rational, I wouldn't know how to survive on my own anyway.
I felt her loosen up, causing me to look down at her and I attempted to ask her if she was alright, but she grabbed the back of my head and pulled me down, kissing me as I kept my arms wrapped around her back. Emotions filled me as I tightened up around her, taking control as I leaned forward a bit, throwing her off balance as I continued holding her to prevent her from falling to the floor. After a few seconds, I pulled back, rubbing my cheek against hers as I heard her pant in my ear. "I'm not leaving on their terms," I told her quietly as I continued holding her close to my chest.
"What do you mean," She asked, catching her balance as I stood up straight again, pulling herself back from me as she looked me in the eye. "I'm not sure, but I'll sure as hell figure something out," I told her, feeling my pride come up once again as I continued to get lost in my thoughts.
'I'm going to figure something out…'
The vixen pulled me back onto her bed, once again wrapping herself around my chest. We continued to hold each other tightly as I watched the forlorn expression continue to fill her eyes.