Mable: Here we are with the new chapter! My mom's doing better, thank goodness, so things have been going well. ^-^ Without further ado, Enjoy!
Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Thirty-Five
Fritz was having an increasingly hard time pretending that he was comfortable in the house with Baby. He knew that both women were noticing it too. The difference was that Baby wouldn't stop her advances even when noticing he was acting strange. She would be persistent, and he knew it and only became more uneasy as evening set in. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Natalie seemed to be becoming more comfortable with their guest. It was fully nighttime when she started growing bored with whatever she was reading when she thought of Baby again.
"Should one of us go check on Baby? She's been quiet for a while," Natalie suggested as she looked up at Fritz. She had been laying back against his chest, as he had been surprisingly clingy tonight. "Oh, hey, I got an idea! Why don't we all watch a movie together? I know Baby's not exactly like Foxy or Mari, but maybe she'd like that. It's something we could do together without much effort." It was clear that Natalie was trying to bridge the gap between them, and Fritz would've jumped at before what happened earlier.
"I don't know. It's a good idea, but I don't think Baby would go for it…" the technician tried to lightly dismiss. She wasn't having it, not when he sounded so unconvincing. Not when she suspected he was just trying to shield her.
"Let me just ask her then. Or, wait. Do you think it would be better if you asked her?" Natalie offered, second guessing herself. Fritz didn't even know what would be the lesser of two evils. He certainly didn't want to be alone with Baby, but he also didn't want Natalie alone with her. Than again, he wasn't sure if he trusted Baby being alone for too long either, but it wasn't like she could get to the front door unassisted. "Maybe we should just go ask together?"
"I don't know, I just don't think we should. She's been used to being kept off the leash and I told her we wouldn't hover. We should just let Baby do her own thing," Fritz insisted, trying not to sound too desperate. "Baby's not exactly used to being social with people. Not even me. The only reason she tolerates me is because I drive her around." How he wished that was true. Natalie still seemed hesitant to let it drop. Part of her couldn't help but feel bad for Baby, who had been sitting down in the basement quietly for the last couple of hours. It was as though she hadn't moved at all.
"Maybe that's it though. Maybe nobody's reaching out to her. Except you, and coincidentally you're the only one she's being social with. Maybe Baby just doesn't know how to go out and ask for companionship. I know that feeling," Natalie tried to convince. Determined, she set down her book, drew away from him and stood from the couch. "I'm going to go ask her. At least if she says no, she'll know that the offer is there." Fritz looked ready to disagree, looking slightly uneasy but not saying why. She sent him an amused and assuring smile. "Relax! Worst case scenario, she tosses me back out of the basement. No big deal!"
Fritz didn't know what to do. True, he needed to check on Baby, but he didn't exactly want to go about it this way. Watching Natalie head to the stairs made him second-guess his judgement and finally he stood to follow her. Natalie headed all the way down the basement and into the sitting room, where she immediately found Baby standing in the center of the room silently, directly underneath where the two had been sitting. The technician, meanwhile, stopped on the landing so he could listen in without being seen. He didn't want Baby getting the wrong idea.
"Hey, Baby! I was just wondering if you'd like to watch a movie with us," Natalie rushed out in a friendly but obviously unconfident way. The animatronic turned to face her slowly. "We could do it down here and you could even pick the movie out. What do you say?"
Under any normal circumstances, Baby wouldn't have even pretended like the idea of spending any time with Natalie was appreciated. However, there was something different at play. Even though Fritz hadn't intended on it, Baby had heard his footsteps and knew he was there. It didn't take her long to get her own ideas. She believed that this plan must've been concocted by the technician to get her to open up to Natalie, that he really wanted to spend time with her, and that he was hoping to make her like the woman through quality time.
How sweet. Pointless, but sweet.
Though what wasn't pointless was the opportunity thrust upon her. Even if she wanted nothing to do with Natalie, this would keep her close to Fritz, and that was always the main goal. Perhaps Fritz would be able to compare her and Natalie better if they were in the same room. Then he would surely see which of them was the more appropriate choice for him to keep.
"Yes," Baby agreed in a rather pleasant voice- pleasant compared to how she wanted to sound. "But I haven't seen any movies in a very long time, if ever. I won't be able to choose."
"That's okay! I can sort of sum up all the ones we have, and you can choose from there," Natalie explained excitedly. She immediately took Baby's willingness as a good sign and thought nothing suspicious of it. After all, Baby was still acting rather disinterested, so any ulterior motive was harder to make out. Natalie headed over to the cabinets under the television and opened them to reveal a few rows of movies. "Okay, let's see what we've got…"
Fritz stepped off the staircase and looked in the living room. He was almost surprised at Baby's willingness but seeing her staring in his direction made him question her reasons for agreeing. He gave her the benefit of the doubt; maybe she just looked over when he came down the stairs. Maybe Natalie was right with the idea.
"We've got Waking of the Blood Suckers. It's old and cheesy, but it's kind of funny in a way. Then we have Skin Deep, which is a thriller about a guy trying to stop a killer whose stolen his identity and is framing him. Then there's The Plunge, but it's kind of depressing. It's about a family getting stuck in a cave while hiking and only the little kid can go for help. It's… Pretty bleak," Natalie listed out. Each time she lifted the movie to show Baby the cover, not realizing that the clown was leering at the technician instead of paying attention. "Oh, geez, and then we got this really terrible romantic comedy. You probably wouldn't like it."
"I don't know that. I haven't laughed in so long," Baby murmured as she continued staring at Fritz. Her green eyes trailed over him. "I haven't felt true love either… But I'm willing to learn." Her voice lowered and Fritz shuddered from the chill that climbed his spine. He glanced to Natalie, who seemed to somehow misconstrue the disturbing nature of the comment as being innocent.
"Well, I don't think you're going to learn from this. It's about a business woman who gets forced to work on her family's farm out in the country to keep them from losing it. Then she falls in love with her high school crush, who runs a neighboring farm, and both farms are about to be bought out by a big corporation that plans on paving over everything. Surprise, surprise; it's the company she works for. It's really…Goofy and unrealistic. I wouldn't watch it by myself… But if you're interested in it then I think I can make an exception."
This was the first thing Fritz could crack a smile at in hours, and it was largely because he knew Natalie loved the movie regardless of how she was vehemently denying it. She could insult and crack jokes at it all she wanted to, but he knew there was a reason that the film kept popping up every couple of weeks. Baby noticed the slight smile and locked onto it. He was interested and that meant she was too. "That will do," she agreed.
"Then we've got a plan! Let me just get everything set up." Natalie was quick to rewind the tape and put it in. She then headed to the couch, pausing when she noticed Fritz and Baby still standing there. The technician looked awkward and the animatronic was just watching silently, but neither did anything more. "Well, come on! Let's get this show on the road! Baby, you want the couch or an armchair?"
"I'd rather stand," Baby denied. Realizing that Natalie didn't look convinced, she added in- just to keep her from pestering, "It's more comfortable if I stand."
"Well, okay. If you're comfortable then it's fine by me," the woman agreed. She then sat down on the couch, pulling a pillow into her lap and patting beside her for Fritz to sit down. Which he did and tried to pay attention to the television instead of the clown looming over the back of the couch. The previews ended rather quickly, and the movie began in full as Natalie leaned closer into Fritz, relaxing against him comfortably. He was rigid, expecting Baby to react, but she did not. There wasn't even the slightest squeak of movement.
It took at least an hour of the movie before Fritz became convinced that Baby wasn't going to fly off the handle. Only then was he able to relax enough to put an arm around Natalie to hold her close. By the final act of the movie, she seemed to be slipping into sleep, whether it be because of the dimmed lights or just the comfort of watching a movie she had seen hundreds of times. On a normal night, Fritz might've considered just waiting until the tape ran out, shutting the television off, and sleeping with her on the couch for a while before moving into the bedroom. That would've been nice.
Any sleepiness was gone as soon as something sharp pricked against his scalp.
Fritz's eyes widened as he stared at the screen, unwilling or unable to turn his head and look at what he knew was there. It was Baby's hand, and after a few tentative taps it began to pet over his head. He could feel the fingertips tracing through his hair and over his skin. They were sharp enough that they could've cut his flesh, but the touches were light enough that they didn't. His heart started to pound, he felt uncomfortable and lightheaded as his adrenaline started to raise, and all the while the dim green glow signaled that she was looking down at him.
He looked down at Natalie out of the corner of his eye and considered waking her and rushing them off to the safety of the master bedroom. He could hear the squeaking as the clown rolled closer. Now she stood directly over him, and her hand started to drift down to his ear and cheek. The credits came on just as it started to near his neck and Fritz subtly poked Natalie in the side with his fingers. Or jabbed more like. She sat upwards slightly in confusion.
"Huh?... Oh, the movie's over." She pushed her hair back out of her face. "I think I started to nod off there. What time is it?"
"Getting late," Fritz answered. He inwardly sighed in relief when he felt Baby's hand retract away from him.
"This is what I get for getting up early," Natalie quipped with a half-suppressed yawn.
"Maybe we should call it a night. I'll just go take my shower and you can get in bed," the technician suggested. He stiffly turned back towards Baby but didn't look up at her. "Baby, you'll be okay if we head to bed, right?" Her hand was on the back of the couch, only inches away from him. He couldn't wait to get further away from it- and her, as her piercing stare was starting to burn.
"…Yes, I'll be fine," Baby agreed. He expected her to say more, but she left it there. He untangled himself from Natalie stood abruptly from the couch.
"Then I'm going to head upstairs to take my shower and then head to bed," Fritz repeated as he turned off the dim lamp beside the couch. He then waited for Natalie to stand. Instead, she grabbed the remote and changed the television to the normal channels. "…Nat? Are we going?" Fritz asked with slight desperation.
"I think I'm going to help Baby find something on TV first, so she doesn't get bored down here. You've got to take your shower anyway, so just call down when you're done," the woman suggested. He could see that Baby was watching him again with some sort of glint in her eyes. He wasn't sure if he trusted that look enough to leave her alone with Natalie. "We'll be fine."
"Uh… You know, I could just skip it tonight." He didn't exactly want to skip it. Fritz had a certain nighttime routine that he tried to stick to. Not to mention that he had been sweating so much today that he knew he needed it. "Or… I know. How about I bring my stuff down here and shower in this bathroom? That way it's not like I'm on a completely different level… I could probably even hear the TV through the door." That was a carefully disguised warning to Baby. If she did anything, he would be able to hear it. Or, at least, he hoped that he would be able to. "I'll be right back."
Fritz returned with the things he needed for his shower, along with a change of clothes. He was dreading coming back down the stairs, but the conversation he heard from the living room eased him slightly.
"Leave it on that."
"The Immortal in the Restless? Sure, but it's kind of…"
"It's terrible, I know. I want to watch it and see why that thing at Scott's enjoys it so much. I don't understand it, the show or it."
Derogative comments about Ennard aside, Baby was being talkative and non-confrontational. Fritz took this as a good sign and stepped into the bathroom before shutting the door to a crack. Within a few minutes he was in the shower scrubbing off his discomfort. He was reminded of her caressing his head as he was washing his hair. Considering that he knew the circumstances of Baby's upbringing, this shouldn't have made him as wary as it did. He had been fine with Mike and Jeremy choosing to become affectionate with animatronics, but the thought of himself being courted by Baby unsettled him.
Maybe it was Baby herself. He wanted to believe that he had begun to predict her behaviors and moods, but if his paranoia was any indication then this wasn't the case. Not to mention that he was quite taken. He loved Natalie more than he had anyone else and he wouldn't lose that for anyone, let alone an animatronic who suddenly became obsessed with him. He couldn't even tell if he was holding back from rejecting Baby to spare her feelings or to spare her wrath.
A creaking noise suddenly echoed through the bathroom. Fritz hesitated with his cleaning and turned towards the shower curtain slowly. "Nat? Is that you?" he called out. Through the pattering of water, he could hear the squeaking of wheels rolling on tile. "Oh hell, it's Baby," he realized. He couldn't see through the curtain, but he could hear something lightly tapping the porcelain of the toilet. Probably Baby's claw, meaning that she was now standing right beside the shower. "She's going to rip this curtain right open, isn't she?" He was already starting to panic, trying to quiet his heavy breathing, and waiting for what was coming.
But to Fritz's surprise, Baby did not yank open the curtain and grab for him. She just stood beside the curtain and listened for him. Swallowing thickly, he tried to continue washing. It wasn't like he could leave the shower while she was in there. Fritz was still standing in there when the water started to go cold just waiting for Baby to leave the room and unwilling to acknowledge her and risk the curtain flying open. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he heard the shifting, jingling, and a wheeling noise as she started to roll back out of the bathroom. He waited until he heard nothing at all before peering out.
The bathroom was empty with the door left wide open. Fritz quickly dried off, got dressed, and headed out, wondering why Natalie would've let Baby slip out of the living room. The clown herself was nowhere to be seen as he approached the couch. Natalie was laying prone one arm hanging off the couch and her hair puffed in front of her face. He reached for her shoulder. "Nat?"
But she was just asleep and flinched as she awoke. She rubbed her eyes with a groan. "Okay, I might be fighting a losing battle here," Natalie admitted as she sat up and stretched her neck. She glanced around the room before asking, "Where's Baby?"
"She's uh…" Fritz looked back towards the guest room. The door was half-open, and he could see Baby looking through it. In the dim light she looked more like a misshapen, broken doll than an animatronic. Now he understood why she was so obsessed with fixing her face; in the right lighting she was terrifying. He looked back to Natalie and answered, "She's okay. Let's get you up to bed before I lose you again."
Natalie gave a light laugh and stood from the couch. He coaxed her to move ahead of him, both leaving the television on for Baby, and guiding her to the stairs. Right as she was about to step onto the stairs, Natalie called back, "Good night, Baby!" There was no answer and she looked to Fritz. "I hope she's not upset that we're leaving."
"She'll be okay. Baby's tough," the technician assured as he beckoned her up the stairs. He looked back towards the sitting room but couldn't see Baby from this angle. He didn't dare confront her about earlier and followed his girl upstairs.
"Maybe tomorrow we could see if we could get her back upstairs and I could get her to bake with me or something. I can't speak for every animatronic, but it seems like most of them have a soft spot for cakes and sweets. Not to mention, it's pretty much the way all my siblings used to bond. If you were fighting with someone, Mom would drag you both into the kitchen to help her bake. Usually the fight would be done with by time everything popped out of the oven," Natalie explained in a groggy tone. She sounded tired, but determined, and Fritz wasn't sure why.
"You're really going all in with this, but you don't have to. I'm sure Baby appreciates it- I know I would- but I wouldn't get your hopes up." Especially not now with her new 'affectionate' behavior. Baby had seemed to become fixated with him in only a matter of hours. He was shocked that she had been this friendly with Natalie as it was. It was always possible that she could poke the bear too much in her attempt to be friendly and set her off.
"I know that, believe me, but… I'm pretty used to trying to smooth things over in a family. It's kind of nice to do it again. I haven't really seen much of my sisters since I moved out of the house, so I don't know, maybe I was kind of hoping Baby would be like a surrogate. Or maybe that's the borderline sleepwalking talking," Natalie admitted. Whether it was serious or not, it suddenly gave Fritz an idea of why Natalie was trying so hard. With a yawn, she headed into the bedroom to get changed. He was about to follow when he noticed something.
"Wait…" Fritz patted down his clothes, only then remembering that he had changed into his pajamas. The clothes he had been wearing were downstairs, and he didn't want to go back down unless he really had to. "Nat, have you seen my keys?"
"Have you checked the kitchen?" Natalie called back. Fritz followed the suggestion and looked around the counters and in the change bowl without any luck. He continued looking around the living room, checking the tables and couch, and becoming more irritated with their disappearance.
Finally, he pulled on his jacket and headed to the door. "I'm going to go look in the van!" he called before letting himself out. It didn't take him long to realize that they were also not in the van, which meant that most likely they were in the pants he took off, in the downstairs bathroom. He sat in the van for a moment and considered whether it was worth going down there or leaving it for the morning. The problem that was if they weren't down there, he wouldn't know until tomorrow. He would stay awake all night worrying about something as small as lost keys.
"Why am I even scared of Baby?" Fritz finally asked himself impatiently. "What's the worst thing she can do other than come on to me? It's not like she wants to kill me." Maybe he was taking this whole thing the wrong way. If he could handle the nightshift, which involved numerous animatronics trying to kill him, then he could handle one that was getting a little too clingy. "Forget this. I'm going down there and getting them," he decided as he left the van and headed back inside.
Though this brief period of confidence was short lived. It couldn't last once he stepped inside and heard what sounded like gentle coming from the basement and trailing up the stairwell. He was shocked to realize that the haunting, quiet voice belonged to Baby.
"Down in the willow garden,~" Baby sung gently. "There my love and I did meet…~"
Fritz knew she was singing to him, both because she had asked him earlier and because he had foolishly telegraphed that he would be passing by the stairs. Thankfully, he doubted that Natalie would be able to hear the singing from the bedroom. Or if she did, she would be too tired to realize what was happening, or even guess that it was Baby and not the television. He started to second-guess his decision to go downstairs.
"While we set a courting, my love fell off to sleep.~"
Swallowing down his uneasiness, Fritz headed to the stairs. "It doesn't sound like she's too close to the stairs. I'll just get in, get out, and get back up the stairs." He held his breath as he started down the stairs slowly. The stairs only creaked slightly as he stepped down them and he listened past it for the subtle sound of squeaking wheels. Baby's voice was growing louder, but it almost sounded like she was further away.
"I bought a bottle of burgundy wine, but my true love did not know…~" Baby murmured softly. He stepped off the stairs, carefully looking into the sitting room, and then going to step into the bathroom. "I planned to poison a dear little girl, there on the banks below.~"
Fritz came to an abrupt stop in the doorway of the bathroom. He looked out into the sitting room again but couldn't see any sign of Baby. He took a deep breath and entered the bathroom. His clothes had been sitting on the toilet lid and it looked like something had gone through them. Perhaps Baby had been fondling his clothes. He shivered at the thought and started to look through his pockets.
"I drew a claw through her, it was an awful sight,~" Baby's voice continued to slip through the walls. "I threw her in the sewer and then ran off in the night.~"
"These can't be real lyrics… I wouldn't be surprised if Baby wrote them herself," Fritz thought. He tossed down his pants tiredly. "Not in here. Either she got ahold of them-." Then it hit him. "Wait, maybe I took them out when I was pulling out boxes!" He vaguely remembered them poking into his leg as he was crouched down. That meant they were probably on one of the boxes still. He left the bathroom and quietly stepped into the sitting room.
"My father had once told me that his money would set me free. If I would poison that dear little girl, whose name won't come to me.~"
The voice was coming from the guest room, whose door was now swung wide open. Not that he could see inside any better. Baby had turned off the lamp by the sofa and the television, leaving it dark in the basement, and he didn't even have the glow of her eyes to signal where she was. He stayed close to the wall as he headed under the stairs. He began to blindly feel around in the dark, his hands feeling over the tops if the boxes and short stacks of files.
And then the squeaking returned. The singing trailed off into a low humming as the wheels rolled across the wooden floor of the basement. Fritz froze still even though he suspected she knew he was there. She was like a ghost, coaxing him in with a hollow voice and then drifting out to find him when he got too close. He only looked over when she stopped beside the short hall. The light that fell down the stairwell landed on her and was the only thing illuminating her. Somehow, she had managed to shut off the lights in her eyes. She could've been watching him the whole time.
"Are you looking for these?" Baby asked. She raised her hand to reveal his keyring dangling off it. He stared back silently. "I didn't think you would notice you lost them so soon. I was keeping them safe for you."
"…Thanks." Fritz stood and dared to step closer. He reached for them and she drew her hand back quickly, closing her fingers on the ring.
"But before that… What did you think of my singing?" Baby asked, purposefully keeping the keys out of his grasp. Not that he would reach for them. "I suppose I'm out of practice. I haven't sung in so long… For anyone… But I wanted to sing for you," she explained. Her voice lowered to nearly a whisper. "I knew you were listening."
"It's great," Fritz blurted out quickly. "Great, really. Not rusty at all… I would change the song though, if it was just me. It's a little morbid."
"Life is morbid. People die but classics live on," Baby answered. Her voice lowered once again, almost sounding deceptively seductive as she added, "But maybe you could teach me a better song to sing."
"Baby, please. It's getting late and Natalie's waiting-." Fritz tried to be rational as he tried to squeeze by and back into the hall. Baby's claw sprung out to block his way, scraping the corner of the wall as she tilted her head.
"She's probably asleep by now…" Baby suggested. She raised the keys and jingled them tauntingly. "Don't you want these? You came all the way down here to find them. It was the only way to get you back down here."
"Baby…"
"Why, Fritz?" the clown asked more firmly. "Why did you hide from me? Is it because of what happened earlier?" She gave a mechanical sigh and her claw tapped on the corner of the wall. "You think I don't notice, but I do. I notice how you have been ignoring me, avoiding me, and I don't understand why."
"Well, to be honest…" Fritz wasn't sure which route to take with this. So, he decided to dip into honesty. "Yes, earlier did startle me. After something like that things are just a little awkward… But I'm not trying to ignore you. I was just-."
"Why would they be awkward?" Baby asked in confusion. "I just wanted to show you how much I feel about you…" Her voice became heavier, almost breathy sounding, and her claw slid down the wall before dropping to her side. "You make me feel so many things, Fritz. Nobody's ever been like you. You're perfect." She dropped the keys to the carpet and began to reach for him again. He stepped back out of her grasp and her hand closed, then slowly fell to her side again. She just stared at him, feeling as though he had just rejected her. Her claw started to clamp down. "It's her isn't it?"
Fritz didn't like that tone. His answer was sudden, "It's not her. It's you."
The animatronic made a sharp squeaking noise. In this context it almost sounded like a gasp. Then she just stood there. Her eyes dropped and darted around thoughtfully, and the technician dared to reach down for the keys. She made no attempt to reach for him again as he passed by and headed towards the stairs. He sent one last look back at her and found her in the same position. She hadn't even turned to look at him, as though his words were that powerful. Though that hadn't been his intention at all he felt like he had to say something.
"I'm… I'm sorry," Fritz said. Then he headed up the stairs and to his bedroom.
It took a while for Baby to pull herself together. Fritz said it loud and clear; it was her. Something was wrong with her. He couldn't be with her- maybe he wanted to be and that's why he was sorry- because something was wrong with her. Her suspicion immediately went to her new fixation: her appearance. She reached to her face and felt over the broken plates. The plates he wouldn't fix because he was too busy with other things, with her.
History was repeating itself yet again: Baby was losing her happiness to a carefree human girl. One who could get anything they ever wanted and still managed to take everything from Baby. Last time it was because the girl didn't know her boundaries, this time it was because the girl was standing in her way… But maybe there was hope.
Baby clung to that apology yet again. Fritz had been dodging her and avoiding her feelings, but he had never outright said that he didn't feel the same way. The only reason he wouldn't had to be that he did, but he believed that they couldn't because she was too broken. Perhaps he wasn't thinking of how complete she would be after her face and body was all pieced together again. She would be shiny and colorful, she wouldn't age or lose her looks; she could be perfect for him. Such a talented technician needed someone who would understand his precious talents.
There was still a chance. She still had a chance to go after him and apologize for her boldness. Then she could smooth things over and try again once she was fixed. Baby quickly headed over to the stairs and looked up them.
"Fritz?" she called. She had hoped that he stayed awake after the event. She had hoped he was sitting on the couch; torn, confused, and feeling guilty. Instead, it seemed like he had just gone to bed, but that didn't detour her. She looked down at the stairs, then her skates, and then gave an exhausted huff. This would be degrading. Though it wouldn't be the first time she had to crawl to get where she wanted. She climbed up the stairs on her hand, claw, and knees and came out in the darkened living room. Now she just had to find him, and it didn't take long to deduce which door led to the bedroom.
Baby opened the door slowly and slid herself inside. She was as silent as could be, pushing herself slowly across the carpeted floor, and approaching the bed. She was just about to reach out to wake Fritz when she saw how they were laying.
Natalie was facing the far wall while Fritz laid behind her. He was as close as could be with his arm fit snuggly around her waist. They were both fast asleep, serene and unbothered, and oblivious to her standing over them. Just seeing them so comfortable and peaceful did something to Baby. She wasn't sure what it was except that for some reason it made her hurt inside. Maybe it was just from crawling up the stairs; maybe she knocked some of her wires loose.
That pain was quickly replaced with white hot anger. Baby turned a glare to Natalie and started down at the blonde strands obscuring her face. All at once she hated her. Natalie didn't know what it was like to be an animatronic. She probably knew nothing of machines or sacrifices, or fear and pain, or the horror of looking into a mirror and seeing a monster look back. She didn't deserve someone as wonderful as Fritz. Baby had never wanted so more to reach down and clamp her claw down on someone's neck.
…But she wouldn't. She might've looked like a monster, but she wasn't going to act like one. She knew the consequences of that. Not for Natalie's sake, but for Fritz's. He could still realize his mistake and come crawling back to her.
Baby was still infuriated when she rolled out of the bedroom and into the area between the living room and the kitchen. Her hand was shaking, her claw chattered, and she had half a mind to lose her mind and trash the house. The other half of her mind was there to remind her that she could let herself out the front door and find her way to the old pizzeria on her own. That idea was more tempting than any other and she started to head to the door.
Only to spot the pair of scissors laying on the counter.
They looked so innocent sitting there unused. Someone had probably used them to open a package of food or to snip open a piece of mail. Looking at them now, Baby thought of hair. Hair had to be the important part of someone's appearance. That little girl had beautiful hair; long, strawberry blond, and as soft as could be. Natalie had lovely hair as well, though not quite as impressive as the girl's own. Those blonde locks blocking and crowning her face in gold. Real hair was something that Baby never had and could never compete with.
Perhaps it was time to level the playing field.
There was part of Baby that was very aware that what she was doing was wrong. Yet as she took the scissors in her hand, opening and closing them like her claw, it felt so good. It would grow back anyways, and if Fritz couldn't stand looking at Natalie with something less then perfection, then maybe they shouldn't be together. Maybe she would be doing him a favor.
Nobody noticed as the clown entered the bedroom again and now circled onto the other side of the bed. Now she could look down at Natalie's face to watch whether she was waking up so she could stop. She already had her excuses lined up; all she had to do was play dumb and pretend that she thought she was doing something good. Natalie would surely believe it and Fritz was too meek to even tell her about what happened earlier. It was worth it, she decided, and she lowered the scissors towards her.
The scissors opened and slid over a lock beside her ear, being careful not to touch the flesh. One accidental nick would ruin her work. The scissors started to slide closed and with a small snipping sound cut off a small piece of hair. Just a test, but soon to be followed by more. Hooking under a thicker piece of hair, Baby slowly began to clip at the hair, and took too much joy out of the quiet snipping sound. She didn't even notice that Fritz was starting to stir, having heard the odd noise in his sleep, and opened his eyes.
The first thing Fritz made out was Baby standing over the bed with something sharp pointed in at Natalie. He lashed out immediately and threw out his arm to knock the scissors back.
The scuffle yanked at Natalie's hair and she too roused from her sleep, confused and sputtering, blurting out, "Oww! What happened!? What was that!?"
Baby was startled by the sudden turn and rolled back from the bed. Fritz sat upwards and looked to the floor in a panic, expecting to see a knife. Instead, he saw the scissors, and his eyes widened as he pieced everything together.
"What's going on? Fritz?" Natalie asked as she started to sit up. The small amount of her cut hair fell onto her chest and she felt and looked at it in the dim light. "Did… Did you rip my hair out?"
This was about to get out of hand. Baby evened out her voice and tried to sound rational and innocent. "It's not what you think. I was just trying-."
"That's it!" Even Natalie jumped at Fritz's yell as he nearly sprung out of bed. "That's it! I'm taking you back to the warehouse!" He grabbed for his keys and jacket in a fluster. Natalie only now realized Baby was in the room and started to figure out what was going on. She was just shocked, looking between the two, watching with wide eyes. Baby was equally shocked at Fritz's tone. An appropriate enough reaction, maybe, but not like him. She refused to move as he gestured to the door. "Come on, let's go!"
"I'm not going," Baby simply stated. Her claw tightened as she stared him down. "You can't make me."
"I can and will! Look, Baby, I was willing to take the threatening singing and you stealing my keys, but I draw the line when you start creeping in here and pulling stunts like this!" Fritz yelled back. He pointed towards the door. "You're going to go out that door, you're getting into the van, and I'm driving you back! Go on! Now!"
"Get back on your stage. NOW."
Baby had intended to fight to stay, to proclaim her false story, and to resist getting stuck in the warehouse yet again, but that tone stopped her. Just hearing him like this while dressed in his purple uniform jacket made her extremely uncomfortable and reminded her of something awful. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so disgusting on the inside. It was as thought Fritz was someone else, someone who she could only barely remember, and someone who she couldn't help but obey. Maybe she had a brief blackout, because the next thing she knew she was in the garage and loaded into the van.
Fritz was silent the entire drive and Baby made no attempt to speak. Part of her expected a taser thrust into her side if she even tried, so she could live with silence. She could only imagine what Fritz intended to do once they got back to the warehouse. Perhaps he would try to shut her down, maybe he would just punish her with shocks. She wouldn't willingly stand for either but there wasn't much she could do now but wait. Soon they backed up to the doors and Fritz let her out of the van and into the warehouse. He was still silent as he closed the doors.
He was still standing there facing the doors when he addressed her again. His voice was surprisingly quiet, and he sounded more defeated than angry. "I don't know what to do anymore… I've tried so hard to help you, Baby, we all have, but you just… You just keep doing these things. It was one thing when you were just putting people down- that I can live with- but to go out of your way to do this…"
"It was just hair," Baby defended. She realized this was a mistake when he turned on her with the return of that anger.
"That's not the point, Baby! The point is that you decide after one day that you suddenly like me and think that gives you the right to try and hurt someone else!" Fritz scolded. He got an incredulous look, utterly baffled by the situation. "And it's not even like you actually like me like a person, because you don't see people as people! You see them as toys and obstacles, with me being your toy and Natalie being your obstacle! She went out on a limb for you and you don't even care!"
"I do care," Baby protested. Her mind felt fuzzy and her normal method of thinking out strategies before she spoke wasn't working. She had never seen him act anything like this. "I care about you, Fritz."
"Baby, you don't know the first thing about caring for someone," Fritz stated matter-of-factly. "Because if you did, you would've stopped this a long time ago. You had to know that I wouldn't suddenly love you because you did something to Natalie. You're not stupid. You just did it to make you feel good about yourself. That's the most selfish thing you can do." He paused to catch his breath. His glare intensified as his fists tightened. "And if you think that wanting someone justifies you doing bad things, then there really is no hope for you. I've really tried to help you, Baby, but you're not willing to change."
"That's not true. You won't let me change," Baby denied. "You only took me home to pacify me, not because you wanted to help me."
"Okay, you want me to be honest? Yes. Yes, I only took you home because I knew if I didn't that you'd do something crazy like you always do. Like when you ran off to Chica's Party World and started destroying animatronics. Do you even think these things through? Do you realize what could happen if someone caught you?" Fritz paused for a response and Baby stayed silent. "They would do the same thing Chance tried to do. If they couldn't take you apart and sell you off in pieces, then they would burn you." But that was not what had rendered Baby mute. It was instead his reveal that hit its mark.
"You wouldn't have taken me home just for my sake," Baby clarified, staring at him. "…Because you don't love me."
There was a heavy moment where Fritz's anger started to sputter out. It didn't exactly change to sympathy, but he knew this would be painful even though it had to be said. "No, Baby. I don't."
"…I see." Baby rolled back slightly towards the side of the aisle. Her back bumped lightly against it and she lowered her head until her eyes were hidden. "…Then you can go. Go home. Go back to her."
"Baby-."
"I said go!" In a split second, Baby yanked a cardboard box off the shelf and threw it at his feet. Parts, pieces, and other worthless items flew out as the loud crashing nearly shook the shelves. Fritz backed away quickly and looked up from the box to the animatronic, now looking with dread instead of frustration. She was twitching, her wires flailing like they were trying to crawl out from her body, and her claw was nearly grinding into itself. Unwilling to wait for him to leave, she spun on her wheels and stormed off to the office where she slammed the door behind him.
Baby clawed at her chest with her hand as though to tear out the growing discomfort inside. It was almost as though he shocked her without a taser, save that the pain was dull, more emotional than the raw electricity coursing through her wires. She almost preferred the taser to this. She didn't think she could bear even looking at him ever again. Which was fine, because she didn't want to. She could get the parts and fix herself on her own, as she had done before. She didn't need Fritz's pity or protection anymore, even if it all felt wrong.
Humans were always more trouble than they were worth. In the end, they always led to her downfall.