Sunlight bled in through the window, warming Vanny's skin that wasn't covered by her soft blue blanket. Her chest felt oddly heavy, and breathing felt a little more strenuous than normal. It took her a moment to realize that there was something on her chest. Vanny's eyes shot open in a panic. She stared down at the heavy object that was wrapped around her chest. It was yellow and dingy… and furry. She sucked in a breath and turned her head to stare at the figure beside her. There, in the bed, lay the giant yellow rabbit. His eyelids were shut and his ear was limp as he sucked in soft, gentle breaths that he didn't actually need to take. Ash was now mixed with the other filth in his fur, and it made Vanny wince. She was going to need to clean the bed.
As quietly as she could, Vanny rolled off of her back and onto her side so that she could face him. The rabbit's eyes opened slowly as she placed a gentle hand on his cheek.
She stared into those white pupils with a loving smile. In the daylight, they didn't glow. She could easily gaze into them without it wearing on her eyes, just as he could gaze into hers.
"Hey…" Vanny whispered out. Springtrap perked his damaged ear up slightly as a smile came to his face. For the first time in a long time, he pulled her against his chest as he stretched out his long, damaged metal legs. His entire body trembled as he stretched which made the bed shake as well. He tucked his knees closer to himself, effectively pinning Vanny's body against his own. Vanny snuggled into his filthy fur and relaxed as he began softly petting the back of her head. They stayed like that for a while, basking in the quiet of the morning.
Vanny nearly dozed off a couple of times, but managed to stay awake. Springtrap put his chin on the top of her head as he pushed her just a little tighter against his chest. It didn't take long before Vanny forced her way up to wrap her arms around the rabbit's neck. He didn't protest.
"I missed you." Vanny whispered into his ear. The rabbit shifted and carefully sat up with his arms wrapped around her back to make sure that she didn't fall. Vanny surrendered her hold around his neck and slowly sunk down to sit in his lap. He looked down at her with a small smirk as his hands came up to caress her face, cupping both of her cheeks in his palms.
"You look so… different." He muttered softly. Vanny's smile faltered ever so slightly, but the rabbit didn't seem to notice. She lifted one of her hands up to place over his. "Is that good?" She asked in a soft, hesitant voice. Springtrap smiled and leaned forward, pressing his nose against her forehead. He nuzzled her gently, causing her to relax, then he let out a small chuckle.
"You're still mine, you know. It doesn't matter how time has changed you…." The rabbit pulled his muzzle away from her to look into her eyes.
"But you are still beautiful if that's what you were asking." Vanny gave him a relieved smile and leaned up, planting a kiss on his nose.
"Can you still eat?" She asked as she settled back into his lap, resting her hands on her legs.
"I mean… it's not required, but we can certainly see." He hummed.
Springtrap playfully pushed Vanny off of his lap onto her back on the bed. Under different circumstances, and if William wasn't a seven-foot-tall robot now, Vanny would have assumed that breakfast would be put on hold. The bedroom was filled with William's soft chuckle as he clambered out of bed. He initially shook on his feet at first before managing to steady himself. Vanny hurriedly sat up and watched him with a sympathetic look. "You're going to have to show me how to fix you, you know." She said before she slid off of the bed as well, ignoring the ash and dirt that he had soiled it with. "Of course." Came his response.
"You finally have me back and it's not enough. You have to fix me, too." He teased as he took a few steps towards the door. Vanny rolled her eyes and pointed to the stitches on her cheek.
"Yeah, well at least one of us cares about the other's body." There was no actual weight to her words; she had forgiven him as soon as she recognized him. Springtrap's smile fell, then.
"Don't be an ass." He warned. "I didn't recognize you."
Vanny gently took his hand in her own and began leading him into the kitchen. She was well aware that he knew where their kitchen was, but she wanted to be as close to him as possible.
"Because I'm old and ugly, now?" She asked. Springtrap rolled his eyes and scoffed at her.
"Oh yes, you're a hideous, decaying mess, Vannessa."
They walked through the hallway together; both of them seemed to be in a chipper mood.
Vanny paid very little attention to the large, muddy footprints that had been tracked through the hall and the rest of the house. She could clean it later; breakfast was more important.
When they entered the kitchen, Vanny's fingers gently slipped out of Springtrap's hand.
The loss of contact made both of them a little upset, but neither of them voiced their emotions.
Springtrap carefully sat down at the kitchen table, ignoring the way the chair creaked and protested under his weight. Vanny was already digging through the cabinets, trying to fish out something edible. "So… can you drink?" Vanny asked as she pulled a loaf of bread out of the cabinet. She looked back at him with a gentle smile.
"I still know how you like your coffee if you can." Vanny wore a sleepy grin on her face, and for the first time in recent memory, she felt at peace with the world.
"I mean…" Springtrap began with an awkward rolling of his wrist. "I built this body a long time ago. It can handle some food, but I have no way of knowing what's operational anymore."
"And why did you make it capable of processing food?" Vanny asked with a raised brow.
"The kids were always insistent on shoving food down the robot's throats." The rabbit scoffed with a distasteful shake of his head. "It obviously caused some… problems. So," He leaned back in the chair, waving his hands around just like he used to whenever he was telling her a story or explaining something. Vanny smiled over at him as she began making their coffee.
"I decided that I might as well make mine and Henry's job a little easier. Once the food goes in, it's destroyed. It's much easier to deal with than fishing out pieces of cheesy bread and pizza."
"Drinks, too?" Vanny asked. Springtrap shot her a look between disgust and anger; he wasn't angry with her, but the memory of what he had to clean out of his robots clearly pissed him off.
"You didn't see the shit they'd shove in those robots, Vanny."
With a small smile, Vanny turned her attention back to the coffee and toast.
'Should I be glad that I didn't?" She snickered.
"They found a dead mouse one time-" Springtrap began; his eyes widened in excitement like they always did when he got worked up. "They fucking shoved a mouse in the robot's eye socket. It was a melted, smooshy mess by the time Henry pulled it out."
"A mouse? In Freddy's?" Vanny gasped sarcastically as she theatrically placed a hand over her chest in mock awe. "In such a fine, clean establishment? William," She turned away with a shameful shake of her head. "I expected better from a man of your class."
Vanny felt herself smiling from ear to ear as her face burned. It was like falling in love all over again. Springtrap let out a weird chuckle; it wasn't William's voice. It seemed like a completely synthetic noise made by a soulless machine. Vanny wearily glanced back at him but didn't comment on it. William wasn't … the same. She was aware that from the moment she had found him. Whatever had happened to him was beyond her, but she was going to try her best to understand. The kitchen fell quiet aside from the sound of Vanny slipping two pieces of bread in the toaster. She turned around slowly and leaned against the counter so that she could face the animatronic sitting at the table. Despite the fact that he had been in her bed last night and they had cuddled for what seemed like hours that morning, staring at him now brought her a new sense of awe. Light from the glass kitchen doors and the window near the sink allowed a generous amount of sunlight to shine in, making the rabbit's fur seemingly glow.
His mouth was worn and torn and the fur along the edges were blackened and stained with substances that Vanny didn't dare question. He reeked of mold and rot and other smells that the woman couldn't put her finger on. He was disgusting and horrifying; a beast that defied both logic and death itself. She didn't fear him, though. Hell; after she cleaned him up, she would be perfectly content with snuggling against him; not that she had objected to that this morning.
Vanny was aware that William wasn't simply wearing a suit; he was the suit, somehow.
She eyed him with a soft gaze as she tried to process it all.
"What are you?'" She finally questioned. Springtrap didn't seem surprised or fazed by the question at all; he knew it was coming, and Vanny had every right to ask it.
"I'm an abomination," He said sarcastically, though it wasn't truly a lie. His playful smile melted away as a more serious look crossed his face.
"I'm still me, Vanny. I'm just… trapped." Vanny jolted when at the sound of the toast popping up which made the rabbit smile a little. Vanny hurriedly turned and put them onto a plate, buttering them before they cooled off too much. Despite her back being turned, Springtrap continued.
"It's a long, hellish story." He huffed. Vanny gave him a doubtful look; it wasn't that she necessarily doubted that the tale was gruesome and complicated, but she could stomach it.
"Yeah, and you've told me plenty of long, fucked up stories." She pointed out.
Vanny turned and walked towards the table with a porcelain plate gently grasped in her hands. The two pieces of toast were for William, not her. She set the plate in front of him and sat in her seat, directly across from him. Springtrap eyed her, then the food, and then his gaze settled back onto her.
"Have you been living off of bread?" He questioned. Vanny narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.
"Don't change the topic." She demanded with just a hint of aggression in her voice.
Springtrap's eyes shifted down to the plate of food.
"Let's not talk about this right now, Vanny." Springtrap said softly. "Surely there's cheerier topics we could discuss?" Vanny shifted in her seat. She nodded, but it was obvious that she wasn't happy.
"Like what?" She huffed. It was rather unusual for her to get so annoyed at him, but he had left her hanging for quite a long time. Springtrap had nosed around the house after he had put her to bed when he arrived home the previous night. Practically everything was the same; nothing had changed, nothing had really moved. Vanny had truly waited for him, keeping everything the same for his return.
"...How long have I been gone?" He asked softly. So much for cheerier topics…
"Eight years." She said flatly. Springtrap's ears perked up and his eyes widened.
He had spent a good portion of that time unconscious in the safe room, so he had no perspective of time, but he had assumed it had been a while due to the suit's withered state.
Vanny watched as the animatronic stared at her in silence; he was clearly at a loss for words.
"Vanny…" He began softly. Vanny leaned back in her seat and nodded to the plate of food in front of him. "Just eat, Will. I don't need your apologies. I don't need your pity." Even though it was definitely said with some venom, there was a hint of hurt in her voice.
Springtrap didn't argue with her. Vanny had never acted like this towards him in the past, but time had clearly changed her, and it had hardened her. She was hurt and still didn't have answers to the questions that she had no doubt been asking since the day he left.
He had left her that night of his own free will, though he had every intention of being back before she woke the next morning. He would explain everything in time, but for now, he just wanted to get settled back into being in a house and enjoy having someone other than lifeless endoskeletons to talk to. Springtrap carefully took a piece of toast into his hands. He made sure not to crush the fragile piece of food in his gigantic fingers; being gentle with this body wasn't something he had practiced. The toast made its way into his jaws in one piece, though; he shoved the entire thing in his mouth. Vanny raised a brow inquisitively as he chewed on it. There was a pause, and then he huffed. "I can't taste anything."
"Yeah, well I can smell you," Vanny complained with a roll of her eyes. She stood and turned back to finish making her coffee. "You're getting cleaned up after I eat." She informed him.
Springtrap once again didn't argue. He wasn't going to track filth all over the house, and he could only imagine how bad he actually smelled. He had grown used to the scent; he had been the source of it for years, after all. Vanny's poor nose deserved a break. She deserved a break from everything. The chair under the rabbit creaked as he shifted his weight and stood to his feet; he gripped onto the side of the table to keep his balance. Once he was steady, he made his way over to Vanny. He loomed above her silently and watched her prepare her breakfast.
Any normal person would be cowering away in fear, but Vanny didn't even acknowledge the robot's presence behind her. She wasn't in such a good mood anymore.
Springtrap leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her stomach as he rested his chin on her shoulder. Vanny relaxed in his hold. Some of her bitterness melted away as she looked down at those fluffy fingers that were firmly planted around her stomach.
If he wanted, Springtrap could disembowel her and she would be powerless to stop him.
Vanny shoved the morbid thought away as a small rumbling came from the animatronic clinging to her. It sounded like a pleased hum, but it reminded Vanny more of a purring cat than a human noise. She glanced over at Springtrap with a weak, defeated smile. She couldn't stay mad at him for long. "You fucking reek." She half-heartedly complained as she leaned closer to him, resting her cheek on his own. Springtrap nuzzled his cheek against her, muttering a soft, "Good."
Breakfast was fairly uneventful; Vanny had eaten the second piece of toast and drank a cup of coffee before deciding that it was time to wash her huge, smelly ass pet. Springtrap had passed on the coffee; there was really no point when he couldn't taste it.
Vanny put her mug in the sink and turned to head towards the bathroom.
"Are you waterproof?" She asked as she looked back at him. She was making her way to the closet in the hallway to grab several large body towels. She was going to have one hell of a time with the laundry. The rabbit visibly tensed at that question. Water couldn't really hurt him anymore, though. Whatever could be damaged by water already had been.
"Just don't fill it completely." He grumbled irritably. Vanny gave him a cheery smile and marched into the bathroom, preparing the bathtub for a mess that would no doubt stain it's pretty white walls and clog the drain. Once she had vanished inside the bathroom, Springtrap turned and walked in the opposite direction towards the living room. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he made his way to the tall windows that allowed him to gaze out into the yard. He watched as the wind blew the grass and barren tree branches. It was an odd sight to him. He'd spent so much time staring at the same four walls of a tiny, claustrophobic room for so long that he never thought he'd see the outside world again. He watched in silence as a few birds fluttered through the sky, soaring much higher than he could ever reach. The scenery must have made him space out because he didn't hear Vanny walking up behind him until she was at his side. Despite her small size, her sudden appearance still made Springtrap jump. Vanny looked up at him with a matching surprised expression. She hadn't thought that startling him was even possible. He was a walking killing machine and she wasn't even five foot eight. Springtrap eyed her and relaxed.
Being cooped up in a building with his victims for so long made him a little jumpy at times. He had always done his best to avoid the Puppet and all of her little friends, but they tormented him constantly. A small part of him had expected that tall, slender figure to creep out of their closet when they went to sleep last night. Like a scared child, he had checked inside of it for any unwanted guests. The only thing of interest that had been in the closet were two lifeless suits. The golden rabbit suit stared at him, perfectly groomed and taken care of. Seeing that suit filled him with mixed emotions. His own suit was complete while Vanny's was missing its head. He had made sure to bring her mask home, though. It was still sitting on the couch; he had been far too exhausted to clean the ash and filth off of it that night. He had shut the closet door once he was satisfied that Puppet wasn't inside, then crawled into bed next to his sleeping little demon.
There were no monsters in that closet; only their empty shells. The monsters were sleeping on the bed that night.
"Are you okay?" Vanny asked softly. Springtrap reached out and ruffled her hair.
"Of course. Yes." He turned and began making his way towards the bathroom. Vanny followed right behind, clutching a scrub brush in her hands. This was going to take a while.
Upon entering the bathroom, William was faced with a literal bubble bath. The tub had only been filled enough to submerge a good portion of his legs; he was well aware that they were already damaged, but submerging himself any higher up was out of the question.
He wanted to prevent whatever was still functional from completely breaking down.
Vanny stood in the doorway, watching as he carefully clambered into the tub. He slowly sat down in the water, then looked over at her. Vanny smiled as she made her way over to him, prepared for the sore arms she was most definitely going to have.
"Should I take pictures?" Vanny asked with a playful smile. Springtrap didn't reply; he just stared at her with a confused expression until she continued. "It's your first bath."
Springtrap shook his head and scoffed. "Just hurry before I get out and track water all over the house." He warned. Vanny gave him a soft smile as she dipped the brush into the water.
"Alright, pissy pants."
The bathwater had turned black. Vanny stared in disgust as it drained for the third time. She kept refilling the tub, then draining it once the water looked like tar. It would be a miracle if the drain didn't get clogged at this point. As the tub filled back up for the fourth time that morning, Springtrap examined his hands and arms. That was the first thing that Vanny had set out to clean, and she was hoping to clean his chest next. She stared at his soaking fur that now vaguely had a mango scent mixed in with the more offensive odors. She was beginning to wonder if spraying him down with Febreze would be her best bet. Vanny turned the water off and began scrubbing at his chest and sides, working through the tangled fur as best she could. A hairbrush sat on the edge of the tub with chunks of dirty yellow fur tangled in its bristles.
"How did this even happen?" She grunted as she gave up her scrubbing in favor of reaching for the brush. She needed to get that tangle out of his fur before she could continue.
"Hey," Springtrap spoke up, "-be happy that I evicted all the rats."
Vanny's face scrunched up as she grimaced. "That's disgusting."
Springtrap let out that odd, mechanical chuckle again. Vanny pulled away, allowing her arms to rest for a moment with a tired huff. The animatronic in the tub shifted and leaned against the wall, watching Vanny with interest. It had felt like decades since he'd seen her, yet part of him still felt empty.
He was still upset that he had left her for even a week, let alone years. What she saw in him, he wasn't sure. She clearly was batshit crazy to take interest in him, to begin with, but they had always been crazy together. Now, he could offer her nothing. He was no longer human; he couldn't take her out on wild adventures like they used to go on. He couldn't hold her at night against his skin. She wouldn't ever feel his heartbeat or be able to take him into public with her.
Their relationship had never been normal, but it had at least been somewhat functional.
Why she still felt drawn to him, he couldn't understand. He wasn't even technically human at this point. He couldn't truly be there for her like he had been before. Sure, protecting her would be absolutely no problem ever again, but any semblance of a normal relationship had been lost.
Despite his better judgment, Springtrap felt words leaving his mouth before he could think.
"Why are you doing this?"
Vanny blinked and paused picking clumps of fur out of the brush. "What?"
"Why are you fixing me? Why are you cleaning me?" Why didn't you move on?
"Why wouldn't I?" Her face was twisted in confusion.
"I'm not even technically alive anymore, Vanny. Wouldn't finding someone else be more appealing?" Vanny threw the clump of fur on the floor and leaned in, returning to his matted chest fur she had been working on. Springtrap perked his ears up, but didn't say another word. It took Vanny a moment to respond, but when she did, she sounded confident and sure of herself. There was no possible way that Springtrap could doubt her words; they were genuine.
"I don't love anyone else." She said simply. There was that word; that damn word that he hadn't heard in an eternity. Vanny smiled in triumph as the fur was successfully detangled; it was a welcome distraction from the words that this conversation had put into her head.
"You fear that I don't love you. Vinny. Sweetheart, I never did."
Whatever that doll was that had been at Freddy's, she tried to assure herself that it had burnt up in the fire that had nearly killed her and William. She had come to assume that it, too, was one of William's victims, but its mere existence was still beyond disturbing. If the dead children were able to cling to things like that, she could only assume that the rabbit sitting in front of her was similar in some way. He had just admitted his death to her, after all.
'I'm not even technically alive anymore,'
Vanny's eyes drifted up to meet the rabbit's as the brush was left on the side of the tub.
Springtrap knew by just the look on her face that she was about to ask a question.
"How did you die?"
There it was. That was the question he had been dreading. Springtrap shifted in the tub, causing the dirty water to slosh around. How could he even begin to explain it?
"This suit," he began softly; he immediately had Vanny's full attention. "-was one of two of its kind. We called them spring-lock suits. They were meant to double as both animatronics and costumes." The rabbit paused to stare down at his withered, soaking body. "There were accidents. They were quite risky and had their faults, and in the end, I built my own coffin."
Vanny stared at him, bug-eyed and silent. "Your… body is still in there?" The rabbit moved forward as if he were about to reach up for his own head, but he decided against it and turned the movement into a quick nod. Vanny didn't need to see, and he wasn't going to let her.
"William." She croaked out. There were tears in her eyes again. If she went the rest of the day without crying, it would have been a miracle. He had watched her cry far too much since they'd reunited. These were sad tears slipping down her cheeks, this time.
"Stop fucking crying," he hissed out. Despite the harshness of his words, there was no real anger to them. She was damaged because of him, both physically and mentally. Her emotions had been all over the place, but he understood why.
Vanny turned away from him as she sniffled, trying her best to hide her tears. While William had no issue with her crying her feelings away, having her cry over him was a different story altogether. It became obvious that his words had come across as harsh, cold and uncaring when Vanny quieted her sobs as much as possible.
William wasted no time and reached out to brush her cheek with the back of his hand.
"There's better things to cry over," he said softly. Vanny shook her head in the negative.
She wrapped herself around his neck, pulling him to the edge of the tub to better hold him against her chest, seeking comfort. He was there, hugging her right back. She didn't care that her clothes were getting even more disgusting and wet; they were material things that meant nothing to her. They had already been singed from the fire she'd escaped; she hadn't bothered to change this morning.
If only she had looked a little harder at Freddy's all those years ago, maybe William could have been saved. The past couldn't be changed, and she knew that. Even death couldn't tear him from her, though. Despite the fact that his heart had withered away years ago, he still loved her. He could still feel that fluttering feeling as he held her, and he would die a second time to keep her safe. Vanny was the only thing he had left in his pathetic afterlife, and he was all Vanny had wanted in her life. Her dedication to preserving their home was proof of that. She couldn't ever think of finding someone else. William held her close, comforting her as best he could.
Despite the fact that she was holding the man she loved in her arms, Vanny felt a pang of horrible, choking guilt. There were several ways she could blame herself for his death, and she was going to feel horrible about it for the rest of her days. Fate had brought them back together, though, so, despite her regrets and guilt, she would make it up to William somehow. She was going to spend the rest of her life trying to make up for his death that she had no hand in and could have in no way prevented. Springtrap rubbed her back gently as he quietly shushed her.
Vanny's sobs eventually came to a stop, and she peeled herself away from him with a small sniffle. She felt like a crybaby, and even though William hadn't said it, she wondered if he felt that she'd grown to be weak. The woman wiped her runny nose on the back of her already disgusting sleeve. Springtrap leaned back, making himself comfortable in the tub.
"I'm sorry." Vanny managed softly as she went for the scrub brush once again.
"I am, too," he replied. Before she could ask what he was referring to, one of his large fingers found its way to her stitches. "I didn't know it was you," He repeated.
Vanny nodded with a small sniffle. "You've said."
She returned to the task at hand, cleaning William to the best of her ability. Despite the fact that there was a corpse inside of the rabbit, Vanny couldn't find it in herself to shy away in disgust.
That corpse was William, and even though his consciousness had shifted over to the rabbit, part of her felt relieved that his body had come home as well. She felt a little at ease, despite the gruesome and disgusting things she had learned. She had brought home all of William, and he was completely hers.
The morning stretched into the late afternoon, and as four o'clock came rolling around, Vanny finally finished cleaning the mess of fur and filth in front of her. Springtrap was examining his fur, clearly impressed with how clean she had actually managed to get him. As the bathwater drained for a final time, Vanny slipped her socks off and tossed them onto the bathroom floor. The rabbit gave her a questioning glance as she grabbed a bottle of shampoo out of the cabinet, then made her way back over to the tub. "I thought we were done?" He asked with a curious tilt of his head. Vanny shook her head. "Stand up," She offered her hand out to him, prepared to help him up. He hesitated a moment before taking it. He didn't actually pull against her since he would have just pulled her in the tub on top of him, but he placed his other hand on the edge of the tub to push himself up. He shook once he was on his feet, then regained his balance as usual. Vanny let go of his hand and turned to grab one of the clean rags off of the counter. Springtrap watched her with curious eyes as she examined herself in the mirror. Her grey T-shirt was no doubt already ruined; at least it wasn't her favorite jacket. She would fight to hell and back to scrub stains out of that thing. Springtrap remained still as she walked over to the tub and stepped inside. He seemed a little surprised as she closed the curtain, then turned on the shower. The showerhead blasted water onto her already partially wet body, completely drenching her. She popped open the cap of the shampoo and squirted a generous amount onto Springtrap's shoulders. One extra scrub wouldn't hurt, and she needed to clean herself as well. Vanny gave him a little smile as she lathered the fruity soap into his fur and looked up into his inhuman eyes. He returned her smile as he towered over her, allowing her to clean him as best she could. The water warmed Vanny's skin and made her shiver. Springtrap relaxed as she moved down to lather the soap in his chest fur; it was much more soothing than the awkward ordeal of brushing and yanking his fur out. Vanny leaned forward and hugged the rabbit tight, pressing her cheek against his soapy chest.
"I love you," Vanny said softly. Springtrap's hands slid down her back, trailing over her soaked shirt as they made their way down to rest on her hips. His voice came out soft and calm, barely sounding robotic. "I love you too."